The novel Huck Finn takes a strange approach to dealing with money

The novel Huck Finn takes a strange approach to dealing with money. It's not a work that simply promotes a trite theme prevalent among other great novels: Money is not important in this life as some intangible matters (freedom, morality, etc. ) and that wealth has nothing to do with how happy one's life is. Mark Twain did not place a character that could serve as an avatar of social prominence, wealth, and misery despite achieving the two (e. g. Estella in Great Expectations). Most of the people in Huck Finn are either dirt poor or middle class townspeople. Nonetheless, money still has a starring role in the novel, for a character's relationship to money and how far he would go to become rich determines what kind of person he is. Huck Finn proved that money has never made a person happy and it never will, for there is nothing about the nature of money that can bring one joy. The more one has, the more one wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it creates one. The main characters in the book are â€Å"have-nots†. But they can be further divided into categories based upon the extent to which they value money: People like the Duke and the Dauphin have created a vacuum inside themselves, an bottomless pit that all the riches in the world couldn't fill. In stark contrast to the two is Huckleberry Finn, who knows that it takes more than money to make a man rich. Huck Finn â€Å"can't stand† hypocrisy, greed and â€Å"sivilz'ation†. Twain seems to suggest that the uncivilized way of life is better: he draws upon the ideas of Rousseau in his belief that civilization corrupts, rather than improves human beings. Huck has had very little contact with society, and Twain implies that it is this lack of â€Å"civilizing† that has allowed him to remain so free of greed. The Watson sisters are considered by the people of their town to be upstanding citizens, yet they had few qualms about auctioning Jim off. Huck was much poorer than the Watsons were, but no matter how badly he needed money, he would never consider selling Jim, or turning him in for the reward. In addition, during the Wilks sisters incident, he had several chances just to grab the loot and leave. If he was of mediocre morality, he might leave some of the money for the girls before running off to the territories, never to be heard from again. However, as we know, Huck, instead of making himself wealthier, puts his own life at risk to save the girls. Altruistic actions like those aforementioned are what sets Huck apart from the archetypal â€Å"good guy†. He is so far removed from human nature's desire to do what's best for oneself that he seems almost unrealistic. Nevertheless, perhaps that is Twain's way of illustrating how wonderful a boy could be without society's corrupting influence: Huck's upbringing (or lack thereof) has led him to the conclusion that money is a luxury, rather than a necessity. He is one of the few characters in the book who is truly rich–he has everything that money can't buy, and he knows the value of those things. Huck is obviously the hero of the story, and displays no sing of covetousness whatsoever. However, there are other characters in the novel who are far better people than the Duke and the Dauphin, but are still not as free of corruption as Huck, who serves as an the epitome of magnanimity. Two of these less-than-perfect characters are the Widow, and her sister, Miss Watson. The Watson sisters were certainly kind to take in a loutish waif; doing so could not have contributed to the serenity of their household, nor could it have helped their financial situation. However, their image as compassionate, charitable old ladies is marred when Miss Watson decided to sell Jim down to New Orleans, and the widow agreed to let her. Since they had no reservations about tearing a man from his family for a few hundred dollars, they are obviously not the â€Å"good Christians† that they proclaim to be at heart. However, the sisters were partially redeemed when Miss Watson set Jim free in her will: one would have a hard time imagining such and action coming from the Duke or the Dauphin. Therefore, the Watson sisters are several tiers above them, and can be regarded as examples of the typical person, who is basically good at the core, but who cannot perceive and amend the ethical shortcomings of a defective society. Another person in the novel who is rather fond of money, but has a good heart despite his desire for capital, is Jim. He exhibited something akin to avarice when, near the beginning of the novel, he asked Huck to pay his hairball a quarter in order for it to reveal Huck's future. This covetousness reappears when Jim arrives on Huck's island, and talks of nothing but money for several days. However, Jim's greed is quite different from the pure, sickening type exhibited by the Duke and the Dauphin. Jim sees money as equivalent to freedom: with money, he can buy his own freedom and that of his family. Money also would allow him to live like a white person, thus raising his status in the society. In short, Jim does not want money for money's sake; rather, he sees capital as a way to correct the injustices thrust upon him by society. Therefore, throughout the novel, Jim constantly tries to get money, whereas Huck takes an fairly apathetic attitude towards the subject. In stark contrast to both the innately moral Huck Finn and the â€Å"civilized† people of the time stand the Duke and the Dauphin. They are not your average con men: they are beneath than the worst rascals, for they will stop at nothing to obtain money. They are utterly shameless, and possess none of the honor and mercy that God supposedly granted all human beings at birth. When they produced the Royal Nonesuch show and used the weaknesses of â€Å"small town America† to rake in money, it was a low thing to do, but the scam didn't hurt anyone significantly. When the King convinced a devout religious community to take up a collection for him so that he could go back to the Indian ocean to â€Å"turn pirates into the true path†, the prank is more ignominious than the last because he played the faith of gracious people. But truly ignoble is the way in which the Duke and the Dauphin posed as the uncles of the Wilks sisters and almost made off with the entire fortune without leaving a cent for their â€Å"nieces†. Only with Huck's intervenence were the â€Å"sweet girls† saved from the amoral swindlers. This time, the Duke and the Dauphin really proved themselves avaricious and heartless, perhaps almost sub-human. From their former scams, they already had enough of money for a comfortable lifestyle, so they could not even use necessity as an excuse to bilk the Wilks. Also, this last scandal truly hurt people, and had it been successfully pulled of, the girls would have been bereft not only financially, but emotionally as well. Not yet mentioned is their selling of Jim after failing to run off with the Wilks' fortune, which was particularly disgusting not only because they were betraying a companion, but also because Jim wasn't their â€Å"property† to peddle in the first place. All of these incidents prove that once a man has devoted himself to the pursuit of money, he will have destroyed his heart. He will no longer be capable of enjoying life, for he will have lost all respect for all of humanity, which includes himself. Even if the Duke and the Dauphin had become rich, they could never be happy for they cannot enjoy any of the things that make life worth living (e. g. love, friendship, etc. ). All in all, the simplest moral of the book may be that money corrupts. People like the Duke and the Dauphin have become possessed by their desire for money. The void hole inside of them was carved out by their voracity and it has replaced their heart, soul and character. Like a black hole, it sucks in everything that enters, yet can never be full. Therefore, despite their success at trickery, the Duke and the Dauphin will never be as truly rich of a person as Huck Finn is. When the pair of swindlers are tarred, feathered and driven from town â€Å"astraddle of a rail†, the readers realizes that the pursuit of money cannot lead one to a good end. The theme of money was threaded throughout the novel not only to convey a moral to its audience, but also to highlight the differences between the characters: it revealed how deeply the root of all evil had taken root in each man's heart.

Cost of Capital Essay

1. WACC is used for discounting cash flows in the future, thus all the modules of cost must reflect firm’s future abilities in raising capital. Cohen made the mistake of using the historical data in estimating the cost of debt yet the share price has changed considerably over time. The market value of equity should be used instead of book value. 2. Cohen calculates the cost of debt by taking total interest expense for the year 2001 and dividing it by the company’s average debt balance. This is an estimate of the true cost of debt, but is inaccurate and may not reflect Nike’s current or future cost of debt. 3. Cohen obtained the corporate tax rate of 38% which is used to calculate the adjusted cost of debt by adding state taxes of 3% to the U. S. statutory tax rate 35%. In WACC calculation, marginal tax rate should be used as a corporate tax rate for the future estimate. We can use Yield to Maturity (YTM) on 20-year Nike Inc. Bond issued in1996 of 6. 75% Cost of Equity The 20-year old U. S. treasury used by Cohen for a short-term investment of NorthPoint for the short-term 3 months to 1 year yields is more suitable. Given the risk-free rate (Rf) of 5. 74%, the market risk premium (Rm-Rf) of 5. 90% and beta value of 0. 80, we can calculate the cost of equity using the CAPM as follows: Cost of equity = Rf + ? *(Rm-Rf) = 5. 75%+0. 80(5. 90%) = 10. 46% Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) We calculate the WACC of Nike Inc. using the weights and costs of debt and equity using the following formula WACC = Wd Kd(1-T) + We Ke. = 10. 05% x 7. 5 %( 1-38%) + 10. 46% x 89. 95% = 0. 4682% + 9. 4083% = 9. 8765% The weighted average cost of capital for Nike Inc. is approximately 10% percent. Recommendation Given the stock price at WACC of approx. 10% ,stock price should be greater than $50. 92, which is higher than current stock price $42. 09. This shows that the current stock of Nike is undervalued and is discounted rate of 11. 17%. Cohen’s WACC of 8. 4% of the stock was undervalued compared to 10%. Therefore Kim Ford should invest in the Nike for her mutual fund.

Animal Farm in England

Animal Farm in England Today animals celebrate an heroic victory against the odds. They were never expected to be able to outsmart and out muscle the men. Earlier reports had indicated that the farm’s previous owner, Mr Jones, had been forced out of the farm one night after he forgot to feed his animals. To regain ownership of the farm Jones and his fellow neighbours have planned to attack the farm. The catalyst was apparently the claim that Jones and his men had heard rumours that the animals from the farm were bleating â€Å"The only good human being is a dead one†. Reports suggest that Jones was expecting to catch the animals off guard but the animals had other ideas. According to the animals all the men were armed with sticks except for Jones, who had a gun. As the men approached, the animals prepared to go into battle. Once the men were close enough to pose a threat, the animals first line of defence was to attack. Although the men easily fended off the geese and the pigeons this was apparently part of the animals plan to lure the men into thinking the animals would be an easy beat. The animals then launched their second attack which included Snowball their leader, the sheep and the goats. Once again the men were too powerful with their weapons and the animals were forced to retreat back into their yard. Whilst the animals retreated the men started celebrating their efforts, but what they didn’t realise, was that the animals still had further plans up their sleeves. As the men forced the animals further into their yard the three horses, the three cows and the rest of the pigs appeared from the cowshed. The men suddenly found themselves cut off. The animals led by Snowball then charged at the men from all angles creating havoc. First Snowball took down Jones and then blind panic reigned as the other men desperately tried to find a way to escape the yard. According to human sources all the men who were forced to accept defeat escaped, apart from a young stable-lad who was stomped on and reportedly accidentally killed by a horse known as Boxer. It iss said that Snowball had been studying an old Julius Caesar novel, which documented Caesar’s previous campaigns. Undoubtedly this was pivotal to the animal’s success. A funeral was held at Animal Farm for the single sheep which Jones had killed with his gun. During the funeral Snowball emphasized the fact that all the animals had to be ready to die for Animal Farm if need be. The battle has unofficially been named ‘The Battle Of The Cowshed’, as this was where the fight was based. Despite attempting to seek comment from Mr Jones, he was not willing to provide his version of events in relation to the battle. This appears to be an evolving story and we will attempt to keep you informed of further information as it comes to light.

The Structure Of Criminal Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Structure Of Criminal Justice System - Essay Example Trial courts and police departments are organized at a city as well as country levels. The statewide system has many variations, which are determined by factors like overcrowding of local jails, court congestions, problems of justice administration and differing types of crime. US Congress, FBI, Secret Service are major parts of the federal system along with defense and public attorneys, the Federal Sentencing System and US Bureau of prisons. Dealing with crimes that involve laws of immigration and income tax also come under this domain. (Criminal Justice System) This relates to the goals, values and specific procedures of applicable criminal laws. While state legislative bodies have powers to enact statutes to deal with various offenses, local legislative bodies have the power to enact ordinances creating minor offenses. However, many criminal statutes are general in nature and can be interpreted by courts at various levels. In addition, certain defenses like a defense of property, self-defense, duress, and insanity do not have any statutory basis.(Criminal Justice System) The criminal justice investigation starts with a behavioral definition of the criminal act, while criminal case processing has many stages with the involvement of different agencies at each stage. Many offenses come to the knowledge of police only after the crime has been reported, minor crimes, like traffic violations and disorderly conduct, are directly dealt by local law enforcement officers.

Book review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book review - Essay Example After presenting the background, the author shows how â€Å"professionalization of medicine† has affected the residents of Appalachia (Haberland). The author further provides an exploration of the historical perspective of advancements in the context of the Southern Mountains in which differences in gender and social classes are interrelated (Barney 12, 71). The rural areas of mountain countries which included â€Å"Kentucky†, â€Å"Virginia† and â€Å"West Virginia† were also explored by the author and she claims that these countries comprise physicians who were not well trained and only few of them had formal medical training (Haberland). The people of Appalachia, especially the rural population, were self-dependent in regard to different medical aspects, whereas the midwives preferred the medical diagnosis along with its treatment procedures. According to the â€Å"labour historians,† the coal-mine industries provided the best and foremost medica l services; their physicians were claimed to be highly qualified and properly trained in many parts of Appalachia (Haberland). ... Moreover, the natives believed that properly trained and educated medical experts were more expensive as compared to the other untrained and local physicians (27). The issues between the traditional physicians and formally trained medical experts kept on intensifying until the beginning of the twentieth century, after which trained medical experts engaged themselves into alliances with other medical organizations (Barney 17). The author then elaborates how the trained medical experts organized themselves and pursued the traditional physicians in the region by chasing them and demanding their authority to carry out medical services (Haberland). The author’s main focus in the book rests on the â€Å"midwives,† â€Å"clubwomen,† â€Å"nurses† and â€Å"other medical works† (Haberland). The medical trainers, in the beginning, motivated females in particular to provide medical services in a professional manner. As the things progressed, women, who partic ipated in providing the health care services under experts’ supervision, started developing awareness among other locals about the benefits of proper medical treatment under the supervision of formally trained medical staff (Haberland). Moreover, the middle class women health care workers, on behalf of the physicians to provide their medical services, developed awareness among the Appalachian people about the benefits and positive attributes of scientific medicines and to make them understand the differences between the treatment of traditional healers and trained doctors. The author basically feels that a person, who is unaware of the proper medical services because of lack of education, opts for an ordinary healer for medical

The Dimensions of the Self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Dimensions of the Self - Essay Example To summarize my identity is not easy, but in essence, I am a Middle-Eastern, male, middle-class Muslim, Emirati, young adult, who supports racial equality and enjoys talking about politics, business, society, and food. When asked about my ethnicity, I see myself as a national of the UAE, an Emirati. Some people find their ethnicity very important in distinguishing themselves from others in their own country, but I do not feel that way. Some non-UAE people might see me immediately as Arabic or Middle Eastern, but those descriptions are too vague for me. I dislike it when they stereotype me as a sexist because they think all Arabs are anti-women. This is not true because I believe that men and women are created equal in the eyes of God. Most of all, I see myself as an Emirati. Emiratis are known for their hospitality. In my family, we feel honored when we receive guests and socialize with our relatives and friends. In our house, it is common to have visitors dropping by. Family relativ es drop unannounced frequently because my mother is such as a gracious host and a good friend to them. Sometimes, this is good because we are updated about the events about the clan. Their presence can be very refreshing, as they bring their stories and humor to us. Other times, I feel no privacy. My family can be very intrusive at times, but I know this is because they want the best life for me. When our guests are in the house, we enjoy time with them, while drinking coffee or tea and eating sandwiches and fresh dates. My mother is a fantastic cook and baker, so she would invite them to lunch or dinner too. They love my mother’s Al Majboos (beef or chicken recipe) and Al Khabeesah (dessert), as well as her gourmet sandwiches. Maybe they come more for my mother’s great dishes. Though the banter can be so noisy, at the same time, they seem to be so peaceful. These are the voices of my blood and they are my soul too. My ethnicity affects me because it is the basis of my culture. My elders teach me what is right and wrong- the right clothes, the right attitudes at the right places and with the right people, and the right words to say to men, women, and children. They say this because it is Emirati and it is Muslim. They are the sources of our norms. To some people, our norms, especially for women, are very restrictive. But I believe that some conservative values protect men and women alike. As long as women can still access the same quality of life as men, conservative attitudes are not wrong. My age group is a young adult and that affects me as a person too because I am expected to make mature decisions as a student and as a man and to be prepared for family life. Right now, I have the privilege of the youth. My parents are lenient with my activities, as long as I have good grades in school and remain focused on my studies. Of course, they also want me to be a dedicated Muslim, wherever I may be. In addition, my age is the time when people prepare them for arranged marriages. My family still practices arranged marriages, but they do not force their children and relatives to marry strangers nowadays. They are not concerned with how much they will get for these marriages, but they want me to marry an Emirati as well.

Dan And Mike Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dan And Mike - Essay Example However, the return on investment (ROI), was low as compared to other funds thereby meriting a change in approach a view also subscribed to by the younger generation of analysts in EPI. Mike's entry into EPI challenged the existing 'status-quo'. The founder members of EPI were unprepared and therefore unwilling to accept Mike's style of functioning as the traditional values of the firm were being challenged. That these new methods practiced by Mike produced amazing results as also earned the loyalty of junior analysts further caused jealousy amongst the senior partners. Riding on Mike's success, other fund mangers and researchers also began to back Mike in various forums, further widening the rift between the 'old' and the 'new'. This dissension within the organization had the effect of adversely affecting the operations of other members. The senior partners felt that Mike was deliberately going against EPI's laid down policy to "provide safe and moderate income[and that it was]the philosophy we used to solicit the investment[and therefore]approach we are obligated to maintain"(p373-4). In such an organizational climate, Mike began o criticize those who would not t oe his line. This would even include the senior partners who felt that Mike was willfully challenging their authority and position in the company by being insubordinate. Thus the conflict was both at a personal as well as organizational level. Q. What are the approaches to manage the conflict A. Essentially, the conflict was between the conservative senior partner of EPI and Mike the maverick. Obviously there was a need for a mediator who would be acceptable to both parties. Accordingly, one of the senior partners approached Dan, a founder member of EPI, as also is CEO. As the CEO it was Dan who had recruited Mike, overriding the reservations voiced by the other partners while at the same tie offering Mike, "the freedom and flexibility to operated a segment of the fund as he [Mike] desired"(p 373). By requesting Dan o resolve the conflict, EPI showed a degree of maturity. However, by insisting that, "Mike must either conform to the philosophyof the organization or else resign' (p 373), the senior partners showed a forcing approach to conflict management of impinging their views on others, an approach that can also have a negative fall-out. Dan on the other hand, had a reputation as a 'great equalizer' who liked to work through consensus. Dan's management philosophy was based on, "loyalty - loyalty to the organization...to membersto friends"(p372). Dan approached the situation keeping in mind this very fact that the resolution of the conflict must be a 'win-win' situation for all the players. Not only should the concerns of the partners be met and the EPI itself continue to prosper, but his promise of autonomy to Mike should also be upheld. Accordingly, Dan tried to reason with Mike in an attempt to find a compromise solution. While accepting the need for change, Dan pointed out that everyone in the company had to be taken on board and that, "The rate of change is as important as the direction "(p

Poverty and Pollution Case Study Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poverty and Pollution Case Study - Term Paper Example In later part of 20th century, the industrialization process was still young in the developing world, and so they were not in a position to change gear and switch to environmentally friendly technology. Many developing countries are still not able to tackle the problem of environmental pollution because it is not economically feasible for them to invest in environmental friendly technology. The issue of environmental pollution will be discussed in the paper with regards to developing countries. A global plan for pollution control will also be laid down in the end of the paper. Third world countries are more prone to environmental pollution than the developed countries because businesses in the third-world countries pay little heed towards environmental concern (Taylor, 2002). The moral repercussions of environmental pollution in the third-world countries are substantial. When businesses pollute the oceans, rivers, lands, and atmosphere of third world countries, they indirectly affect the health of the inhabitants of those countries. This is why the act of pollution can never be ethically justified. Environmental pollution in the third-world countries can also not be justified through argument of economic progress. There is no doubt that industries and businesses offer employment opportunities to local people which is instrumental in improving their living standards. But this opportunity comes at the price of their health and this cannot be ethical. Basic ethics demands that every person is given employment opportunity without compromising his health or the health of others. When businesses pollute the environment of a third-world country, they endanger the health of the people of that country. This is why there is not sound ethical justification for doing so. Businesses in the third-world countries have many reasons to ignore pollution control. The cost of investing in environmentally friendly equipment is extremely

Technology Brought Both Advantages and Disadvantages to Students Research Paper

Technology Brought Both Advantages and Disadvantages to Students - Research Paper Example As the paper declares one of the great advantages of new technologies in the classroom is the digitalization of learning resources such as books and journals by converting them into electronic formats that not only embraces text and illustrations, but also multi-modal features such as animation, sound, music, video, in addition to hyperlinks. The current generation of books is nothing close to the conventional formats, particularly because, by using software like Adobe Reader or Microsoft Reader, students can access a large proportion of learning resources in the form of e-books by viewing them on their personal computers both at home and at school. The digitalized learning resources provide a broad reservoir of learning resources, which students can access easily by purchasing e-books from online bookstores or by renting them free from online libraries. According to the discussion findings the electronic book resources have many advantages over the conventional books because they often have user-friendly interphases and editing tools that allow the reader a lot of control over the reading resources. Introduction of learning technologies has also created new opportunities for extended learning, particularly because students are able to conduct extra research on their own away from the classroom situation, in addition to the knowledge delivered in the classroom. Technology enhances both teaching and learning efficiency in the classrooms.... Reader, students can access a large proportion of learning resources in the form of e-books by viewing them on their personal computers both at home and at school. The digitalized learning resources provide a broad reservoir of learning resources, which students can access easily by purchasing e-books from online bookstores or by renting them free from online libraries (Larson 122). The electronic book resources have many advantages over the conventional books because they often have user-friendly interphases and editing tools that allow the reader a lot of control over the reading resources. For example, the students can utilize those tools to manipulate the text in so many ways including editing, deleting, marking passages, highlighting, and even inserting comments on sticky notes, among many other things. This way, students engage more with the learning material, thereby enhancing their comprehension and overall performance; in this case, technology leads to enhanced student perfo rmance because it leads to the transformation of learning experiences in the classrooms. Introduction of learning technologies has also created new opportunities for extended learning, particularly because students are able to conduct extra research on their own away from the classroom situation, in addition to the knowledge delivered in the classroom. The internet is a rich source of diverse information and learning resources that students can utilize on their own away from the classroom, thereby not only transforming their experiences by understanding the knowledge gained in the classroom further, but also extending their learning experiences through additional information. The pervasive spread of information and technology has facilitated the access of course material by students

The History of the American Association of Adult and Continuing Research Paper

The History of the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (1926) - Research Paper Example History of AAACE Adult education operations in the United States have been dependant on interaction of five dimensions including â€Å"institutional, content, geographical, personnel, and activity† (Henschke). Numerous types of voluntary adult education institutions mainly included professional societies or associations. In the opinion of Knowles (as cited in Henschke), the adult educational role has two perspectives; (1) facilitating adult education by means of publications, conferences, and educational travel, and (2) motivating different associations and general public by providing educational resources regarding their areas of interest through various channels including mass media and publications. In the United States, adult education had not obtained considerable importance before 1924. In 1921, The National Education Association established the Department of Immigrant Education (DIE) in order to extent its operations to adult education field; the DIE was renamed to Depa rtment of Adult Education (NEA/DAE) after broadening its scope in 1924. Kessner and Rosenblum (1999) report that in 1923, Frederick P. Keppel, President of the Carnegie Corporation envisioned an association that could work effectively to unify adult education programs in the country. Carnegie Corporation called a series of regional conferences by 1925 and early 1926 with intent to achieve its goal of establishing a new national organization for adult education. As a result of these intense efforts, the American Association for Adult Education (AAAE) was established on 26th March 1926 at a national organizational meeting held in Chicago. Since purposes, programs, and memberships of both the NEA/DAE and AAAE were extensively overlapped, a strong sentiment developed for the merging of these two associations by 1949 which resulted in the formation of Adult Education Association of the United States on May 14, 1951. In 1952, the AEA/USA approved the operations of National Association for Public School Adult Education with intent to focus on the educational requirement of adult educators serving in public schools. The NAPSAE became a department of NEA in 1955. During the next thirty years, the NAPSAE grew into a separate organization and its name was changed to the National Association for Public Continuing Adult Education (NAPCAE). On realizing that they shared many members and objectives but had only limited resources, both AEA/USA and NAPCAE decided to integrate its operations. Consequently, AEA/USA and NAPCAE were amalgamated to form the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) during the National Conferences held at San Antonio in Texas in 1982 (Adult education association). Even though the AAACE continued to serve as the primary association for adult education, it restructured its goals and strategies to meet the different interests of a wide range of audiences in adult education. The Commission of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE) wa s formed in 1955 on the strength of the financial assistance provided by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The CPAE worked very closely with AAACE and its main was to assist the full time professors to carefully evaluate their own work, frame decisions on common issues, and choose most preferable courses of action. As Kasworm, Rose and Ross-Gordon

Heat Detector Essay Example for Free

Heat Detector Essay When present, humans can be excellent fire detectors. The healthy person is able to sense multiple aspects of a fire including the heat, flames, smoke, and odors. For this reason, most fire alarm systems are designed with one or more manual alarm activation devices to be used by the person who discovers a fire. Unfortunately, a person can also be an unreliable detection method since they may not be present when a fire starts, may not raise an alarm in an effective manner, or may not be in perfect heath to recognize fire signatures. It is for this reason that a variety of automatic fire detectors have been developed. Automatic detectors are meant to imitate one or more of the human senses of touch, smell or sight. Thermal detectors are similar to our ability to identify high temperatures. The properly selected and installed automatic detector can be a highly reliable fire sensor. Our automatic fire alarm system is designed to detect the unwanted presence of fire by monitoring environmental changes associated with combustion. In general, our fire alarm system is classified as either automatically actuated, manually actuated, or both. Automatic fire alarm systems are intended to notify the building occupants to evacuate in the event of a fire or other emergency, report the event to an off-premises location in order to summon emergency services, and to prepare the structure and associated systems to control the spread of fire and smoke. Whenever the system detects a high temperature, the fire alarm will inform the area and send a text message to the fire station and will inform them the specific block/area in the subdivision which is on fire. GSM/GPRS module is used to establish communication between a computer and a GSM-GPRS system. Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) is an architecture used for mobile communication in most of the countries. In our system, we will be using GSM modem Nokia 6300 for the output of text. The device will send a text message to the nearest fire station and will inform which house is on fire. Control Panel The control panel is the brain of the fire detection and alarm system. It is responsible for monitoring the various alarm input devices such as manual and automatic detection components, and then activating alarm output devices such as horns, bells, warning lights, emergency telephone dialers, and building controls. Control panels may range from simple units with a single input and output zone, to complex computer driven systems that monitor several buildings over an entire campus. Upon fire occurrence, one or more detectors will operate. This action closes the circuit, which the fire control panel recognizes as an emergency condition. The panel will then activate one or more signaling circuits to sound building alarms and summon emergency help. The panel may also send the signal to another alarm panel so that it can be monitored from a remote point. Alarm Output Devices Upon receiving an alarm notification, the fire alarm control panel must now tell someone that an emergency is underway. This is the primary function of the alarm output aspect of a system. Occupant signalling components include various audible and visual alerting components, and are the primary alarm output devices. All fire alarm systems require notification devices, including sirens, bells, horns, and/or strobes. In residential applications, each automatic alarm initiating device when activated shall cause the operation of an alarm notification device that shall be clearly audible in all bedrooms over ambient or background noise levels (at least 15dB above noise) with all intervening doors closed. Bells are the most common and familiar alarm sounding device, and are appropriate for most building applications. Horns are another option, and are especially well suited to areas where a loud signal is needed such as library stacks, and architecturally sensitive buildings where devices n eed partial concealment. In this case, we will be using Siren as the alarm output device. Some of the major benefits of installation of fire alarms are as follows. †¢ Safety is the most important reason why we should have fire alarms in our house, even before a fire breaks out, the smoke detectors tell you there is a possibility of a fire and you can safely be out of danger. Secondly being pre informed about a possible fire, a prompt message can be conveyed to the fire workers. As a result of this, damage can be minimized and valuables can be saved from being burnt to ashes. †¢ A house with a fire alarm is a safer house and fetches a far better price in the real estate market. The customers feel secured when they see that they are opting for a property that has the safety measures installed. †¢ Using a fire alarm is a cost effective way to ensure that your assets are not in danger. Being noted beforehand you can move them out quickly thus saving your valuables from being burnt. †¢ The alarm works even when nobody is in the house and thus alerts the neighbours. This way your home can be protected from any major damages. Limitations of our Heat Sensor †¢ Heat detectors do not sense particles of combustion and are designed to alarm only when heat on their sensors increase at a predetermined rate or reaches a predetermined level. Heat detectors are designed to protect property, not life. †¢ Warning devices (including horns, sirens, and bells) may not alert people or wake up sleepers who are located on the other side of closed or partially open doors. A warning device that activates on a different floor or level of a dwelling or structure is less likely to awaken or alert people. Even persons who are awake may not notice the warning if the alarm is muffled by noise from a stereo, radio, air conditioner or other appliance, or by passing traffic. Audible warning devices may not alert the hearing-impaired (strobes or other devices should be provided to warn these people). Any warning device may fail to alert people with a disability, deep sleepers, people who have recently used alcohol or drugs, or people on medication or sleeping pills. Temperature Sensor The Thermistor Thermistors are temperature sensitive resistors. All resistors vary with temperature, but thermistors are constructed of semiconductor material with a resistivity that is especially sensitive to temperature. However, unlike most other resistive devices, the resistance of a thermistor decreases with increasing temperature. Thats due to the properties of the semiconductor material that the thermistor is made from. A Thermistor is a temperature dependent resistor. When temperature changes, the resistance of the thermistor changes in a predictable way. Sensor Advantages and Disadvantages [pic] Each sensor type has advantages and disadvantages. For thermistors, the major advantages are: Sensitivity: This allows thermistors to sense very small changes in temperature. Accuracy: Thermistors offer both high absolute accuracy and interchangeability. Cost: For the high performance they offer, thermistors are very cost-effective. Ruggedness: Because of their construction, thermistors are very rugged. Flexibility: Thermistors can be configured into a wide variety of physical forms, including very small packages. Hermetic Seal: Glass encapsulation provides a hermetic package, eliminating moisture induced sensor failure. Surface Mount: A wide range of sizes and resistance tolerances are available. Of the thermistor disadvantages, typically only self-heating is a design consideration. Proper care must be taken to limit the sensing current to a low enough value that self-heat error is minimized to an acceptable value. Types of Thermistors Thermistor Elements The thermistor element is the simplest form of thermistor. Because of their compact size, thermistor elements are commonly used when space is very limited. OMEGA offers a wide variety of thermistor elements which vary not only in form factor but also in their resistance versus temperature characteristics. Since thermistors are non-linear, the instrument used to read the temperature must linearize the reading. Linear Response Thermistor Elements For applications requiring thermistors with linear response to temperature change, OMEGA offers linear components. These unique devices consist of a thermistor composite for temperature sensing and an external resistor composite for linearizing. Thermistor Probes The standalone thermistor element is relatively fragile and cannot be placed in a rugged environment. OMEGA offers thermistor probes which are thermistor elements embedded in metal tubes. Thermistor probes are much more suitable for industrial environments than thermistor elements. Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) RTDs (Resistive Temperature Detectors) serve as the standard for precision temperature measurements due to their excellent repeatability and stability characteristics. RTDs provide the designer with an absolute result that is fairly linear over temperature. The RTD’s linear relationship between resistance and temperature simplifies the implementation of signal conditioning circuitry. The RTD requires external current excitation, as well as signal conditioning to account for lead wire effects and self-heating. Analog Devices supplies the ADT70, which provides both excitation and signal conditioning for a platinum RTD. The output of this device (5 mv/ °C) is be fed through an analog to digital converter, to be converted by the DSP to temperature readings.

Quicksilver Essay Example for Free

Quicksilver Essay Quiksilver purchased Skis Rossignol for $560 million in 2005, but is selling Rossignol in 2008 for $147 million. [1] It owned golf-equipment maker Cleveland Golf up until October 31, 2007, when it sold the company to a Japanese sporting goods company. [2] The companys DC and Hawk brands are also synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach- and water-oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, and LOOK brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels. Quiksilver also carries a line of high-end apparel and accessories under its QuiksilverEdition brand. In the fall of 2008, Quiksilver will introduce its newest brand, Quiksilver Womens, aimed at the 18 to 24-year-old demographic. Quiksilver also supports the worldwide boardriding community through its self-titled foundation launched in 2005. The Quiksilver Foundation works to provide environmental, educational, health and youth-related projects to worthy boardriding communities around the globe. Quiksilver Travel also offers snow and surf travel packages to exotic locations such as Samoa, Peru and Costa Rica. TypePublic (NYSE: ZQK) FoundedAustralia (1970) HeadquartersHuntington Beach, CA, USA Key peopleRobert B. McKnight, CEO Chairman of the Board ProductsApparel, sporting goods Revenue^ $2. 362 billion USD (2006) Net income^ $107. 12 million USD (2006) Employees7,875 Quiksilver Today Quiksilver operates over 600[3] stand-alone stores in major cities across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa. There are two types of Quiksilver operated stores which are known as either Boardriders Club or Factory stores. Their products are also sold in many other outlets across the world such as the Fells Point Surf Company or the Ron Jon Surf Shop. In addition, the company operates a number of separate Roxy and Quiksilver Youth stores. As of 2008, Quiksilver sponsors around 500 amateur and professional surfers, snowboarders, skiers, and skateboarders. Among them are surfer Kelly Slater and skateboarder Tony Hawk. They also have the naming rights to the Quiksilver Pro surfing tournament for men and Roxy Pro tournament for women in Gold Coast (Australia) and France. [edit]Quiksilver Womens After four decades marketing primarily towards males, Quiksilver developed a line of clothes for women. The collection includes a full range of knits, wovens, dresses, denim, essentials and organic cotton tees. iteLA As part of the introduction of its new collection for women, Quiksilver selected six women to be Visionaries in Residence at Quiksilver’s siteLA, a communal work and exhibition space in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The residency program is a year-long engagement for women working in and across creative cultural fields. Although they have been selected for their independent projects, t hey share a communal workspace and together create public programs and host special events at siteLA.

Impact Of Positive Organisational Behaviour Saudi Corporation Management Essay

Impact Of Positive Organisational Behaviour Saudi Corporation Management Essay This section includes a comprehensive discussion of the major concepts and theoretical literature that are relevant in this study on the impact of positive organisational behaviour in a Saudi corporation. This chapter builds the research framework by reviewing relevant literature on organisational behaviour, the role of managers and leaders, managing diversity and ethics, the role of behaviour and work outcomes, positive psychological capital, employee engagement, and psychological contract. Organisational Behaviour It is an accepted maxim of the modern business world that if organisations are to obtain a degree of competitive advantage, they require several key factors. Chief amongst these are a highly skilled work force; an excellent level of technological proficiency; and consistency in delivering higher quality products and services than their competitors (OReilly and Pfeffer 2000, p. 48). Obtaining and developing these factors is possible only if a company has a highly motivated workforce, which is willing to devote large amounts of discretionary effort to helping the company meet its goals. This argument has been supported by research that has shown that it is generally employees that drive success in the modern world, regardless of whether that success if defined as profitability, productivity or some other form (Pfeffer and Sutton 2000, p. 32). Unfortunately, the question still remains as to what steps companies can take to consistently motivate their employees to achieve this improved l evel of performance. One of the most prominent systems for achieving this, and one which is widely applied in modern organisations, is the concept of behavioural management (Stajkovic and Luthans 2003, p. 155). This concept focuses on the principle of contingent reinforcement, arguing that by rewarding desirable behaviours and punishing or discouraging undesirable ones, humans will moderate their behaviour to achieve the maximum rewards. However, this theory has come in for criticism with Bandura (1987) arguing that If people acted on the basis of informative cues but remained unaffected by the results of their actions, they would be insensitive to survive very long (p. 228). This implies that, over time, people will work out that the behavioural approach to human resource management is having consequences in terms of making them work harder, and hence will moderate their behaviour further to address this point. The thrust on organisational behaviour as an important human resource management concept did not come until the late 1980s (Robbins 2003). Traditionally, business students and future managers received intensive technical training in economics, statistics, accounting, and management theories in order to equip them with the tools in successfully leading companies. There was no mention of the importance of analysing human behaviour in the management equation. Capitalising on the technical aspect of business management had its advantages, but business researchers and practitioners soon found that while technical skills may have increased employee specialisation, it did little to produce successful employee relationships or interactions. Organisational theorists and researchers such as Luthans, Hodgetts and Rosenkratz (1988) were able to demonstrate that human resource skills and communication skills were in fact vital factors in effective leadership and management of business organizatio ns. The traditional skills such as planning, controlling, and decision-making only accounted for 19 percent of the formula for success. Organisational behaviour is defined as an interdisciplinary field which studies individuals and their behaviour within the context of the organisation in a workplace setting (Miner 2005, p. 3). Organisational behaviour focuses on the moods, feelings, and emotions of people in the workplace and studies stress, employee-manager relationships, physical settings, group dynamics, and reward/punishment systems in the work setting. Miner (2005) stressed the importance of the feelings, thoughts and actions of employees in influencing organisational culture. When workers are unhappy, they are unproductive (Luthans 2002a). However, ensuring excellent performance and high productivity is a multidimensional process. Organisational values change over time and employee behaviour is not static. This makes organisational behaviour a focal point in mapping out organisational development. By examining the behaviour of employees over time, management can formulate policies and solutions that impact emp loyees. So far, studies on management and organisational theory have pointed to different variables that drive employee behaviour and productivity. Managers have decided to implement policies to influence team productivity and enhance overall organisational efficiency with differing results. The strategies and approach have also been heterogeneous no one strategy has been proven to be effective in all internal or external organisational environments. What works for one company may not work for another. What several studies have highlighted is the importance of organisational personality in influencing a positive or negative work environment. Nelson and Cooper (2007) explained that the behavioural approach toward management improves organisational processes, interaction, communication channels between employees and managers, and the overall quality of service delivery of the organisation. Aparnas (as cited in Nelson and Cooper 2007, p. 87) study on team behaviours within organisations sugges ted that an organisations identity is influenced by both internal and external forces. Nelson and Cooper (2007) suggested that an organisations strategic plan can modify organisational culture. This finding supports the theory that external influence is effective in forming organisational personalities. This external influence falls within the scope of the functions of managers and leaders. By crafting strategy plans around organisational behaviour, managers and leaders can influence business success by motivating positive behaviours among employees. Managers and Leaders As pointed out earlier (Nelson and Cooper 2007), managers and leaders have an important role in introducing external influences to promote positive organisational behaviour. Managers and leaders are often referred to in the same context or not distinguished at all but in the study of organisational behaviour, a distinction is made (Nelson and Cooper 2007, p. 23). Categorising managers and leaders on the same level leads to role confusion and sometimes places individuals in functions they are not proficient in. This is especially true for large business organisations. Griffin and Moorhead (2010) believe that in the interest of maximising the true potentials and proficiencies of people in organisations, the organisational structure must differentiate the manager from the leader. Theorists (Bennis 1989, Yukl 2002) consider the manager and the leader as having unique functions and characteristics although these may overlap from time to time. Bennis (1989) considered leaders to display pa rticular traits such as inspiration, innovation, and development while managers were maintainers, controlling, and administrative. A manager is a person who identifies and achieves organisational objectives through the deployment of appropriate resources (Griffin and Moorhead 2010, p. 14). Managers are those that traditionally assume responsibilities in human resources which require communication skills and documentation. In the era of globalisation, managers have been challenged to be more knowledgeable of information technology to greatly enhance the management enterprise and to boost managerial capability to document and communicate with people in the workplace (Bloomberg 2009). On the other hand, a leader is a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal (Yukl 2002, p. 132). As a characteristic, leadership is considered to be the result of both nature and nurture and while there are people born with natural leadership traits, leadership can be learned (Bennis 1998, Yukl 2002). Moreover, not one leadership style is best-suited in all work environments. Two theories adopt this view: the contingency theory of leadership by Fred Fielder (1978) and the situational leadership theory by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard (1969). Fielders contingency theory emphasised on the behaviours and reactions of leaders in particular situations. They believed that effective leadership depends on how a leader matches his style of leading with the organisational environment. Hersey and Blanchards situational leadership theory stressed that there is no singular best leadership style. According to both, successful leadership is task-relevant and is dependent upon two factors: 1) the leadership style adopted and the 2) maturity level of the group being led. Choosing the appropriate leadership style also has to consider the type of tasks or functions which need to be accomplished by the group (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 1996, p. 34). The main difference between managers and leaders is that the former are more goal-driven while the latter vision-driven. Bennis (1985) pinpointed the difference saying, managers are people that do things right and leaders are individuals who do the right thing (p. 21). Whatever differences they may have, Griffin and Moorhead (2010) opined that organisations need both management and leadership if they are to be effective. Leadership is necessary to create and direct change and to help the organisation get through tough times. Management is necessary to achieve coordination and systematic results and to handle administrative activities during times of stability and predictability. Management in conjunction with leadership can help achieve planned orderly change, and leadership in conjunction with management can keep the organisation properly aligned with its environment. Managers and leaders also play a major role in establishing the moral climate of the organisation and in determining the role of ethics in its culture (Griffin and Moorhead 2010). Managing Diversity in the Workplace A prominent reality that managers face in the modern organisational environment is diversity. Diversity is an important facet in the study of organisational behaviour because it characterises the different beliefs, persuasions, and behaviours of employees especially in multicultural organisational environments (Adler and Gundersen 2008, p. 65). Diversity is present when people with similarities and differences in age, ethnicity, religion, culture, and educational attainment are grouped together within the same working environment (Griffin and Moorhead 2010). Workplace settings today have become increasingly diverse due to equal opportunity legislations that secured the presence of women, minorities, and differently-abled persons in the workplace. Managers use different strategies in approaching diversity. On an individual scale, diversity may be handled by learning about others and demonstrating empathy and respect for cultural differences. On an organisational level, managers may use mentoring, training, work/life balance problems and implementing alternative work schedules. To manage diversity, Adler and Gundersen (2008) believe that organisations must establish a system of ethics in the workplace to support an ethical organisational culture. Relevant to this particular study is how to manage diversity in a multicultural workforce. In a society characterised by a melting pot of cultures, managers of Saudi companies are challenged to adapt and handle cultural differences vis a vis ethics and performance (Al Kibsi et al. 2007). Managing diversity in multicultural work environments is difficult but attainable if organisational leaders are sensitive and are committed toward adapting to cultural differences. Diversity must be handled with sensitivity and tolerance. Ethical questions may be interpreted differently by one culture and not by others; connotations may be attached to the meanings of some words which may be taken negatively by individuals or groups. Managing diversity has also become a priority in order to prevent legal claims of employee discrimination (Cameron, Dutton, and Quinn 2003). As a result, oganisations are turning to diversity training and multicultural strategic planning and organisational development to combat these problems. Human resource management is inextricably linked to handling cultural issues (Cameron, Dutton, and Quinn 2003). Because culture defines people, their behaviours and beliefs, managers need to be sensitive and proactive in addressing ethical or work relationship conflicts that pertain to differences in culture. When tackling the human resource strategies that are applicable to specific companies, culture should be seriously taken into account. Bell (2005) explained that managers in Saudi companies face numerous challenges in driving the performance of business organisations due in part to cultural factors. Problems such as low motivation (Bell 2005), tardiness and high turnover (Al Kibsi et al. 2007), and emphasis on higher pay (Al Kibsi et al. 2008) are some of the cultural characteristics of the Saudi workforce. Bell (2005) attributes this to the historical development of Saudi society. Many of its young professionals are members of privileged families and the influence of accumulate d wealth due to the oil boom has instilled a cultural preference for managerial positions and disdain for labour-type jobs. Al Kibsi and colleagues (2007) found in their study that foreign labour has become so necessary in running Saudi companies because private companies are unable to provide organisational structures that meet the desired rewards, career paths, and salaries demanded by Saudi professionals. Gopalakrishnan (2002) revealed in a study of culture of Saudi companies that honest and candid evaluations of performance have a high likelihood of eroding self-esteem among employees. Gopalakrishnan (2002) explained that unlike the highly individualistic culture in the United States, employees in the Middle East value collectivism and group work. Culture is a significant factor that managers must take into consideration because it also impacts employee motivation and consequently, work performance. Motivation in the Workplace Motivation is an important management process because it allows managers to influence the behaviour of employees by knowing what makes them tick (Luthans, 1998). Motivation is defined by Luthans (1998) as the process that arouses, energises, directs, and sustains behaviour and performance (p. 43). Motivating people is stimulating them to work toward a desired task. Employing effective motivation has been shown to impact employee satisfaction an organisational commitment (Luthans 2002a). Salary increases or promotions are not the only effective motivators; other incentives can be offered in order to spur employee motivation. It is a common assumption in management that organisational goals cannot be attained without the sustained commitment of organisational members. Motivation is characterised by factors which cause, channel, and sustain human behaviour in a particular committed direction (Adeyemo as cited in Alder and Gundersen 2008, p. 29). Some of the fundamental assumptions that managers and management researchers have about motivation are: 1) that it is a positive thing because a person cannot be confident about him or herself without being motivated (Alder and Gundersen 2008), 2) motivation is just one among several factors that contribute to a persons work performance aside from skill, resources, and work conditions (Luthans 2002a), 3) motivation is a renewable resource that needs continuing replenishment (Zhao 2009), 4) motivation is a management tool that managers should capitalise on in order to direct organisational performance (Griffin and Moorhead 2010). If managers are knowledgeable about the needs and drives of their workers, they can tailor work assignments and rewards according to what is stimulating for them. Managers motivate by appealing to the needs and desires of individual workers (Luthans 2002b). Theories of motivation Abraham Maslow, in his 1943 seminal work A Theory of Motivation, suggested that human beings five basic needs form a hierarchy: from physiological, to safety, to social, to esteem, to self-actualisation needs (Adler and Gundersen 2008). In his model of the needs hierarchy, Maslow explained that individuals are fundamentally directed toward the satisfaction of physiological needs. Physiological needs include basic human needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. As the primary need, Maslow believed that these needs have to be satisfied first before people can be motivated to satisfy other higher-order needs. After the satisfaction of physiological needs, safety and security go next. Safety and security refer to the need to be free from physical harm, from basic needs deprivation, and self-preservation. Next comes social affiliation which is the need for the individual to belong to one or more social groups and to be part of meaningful human relationships. After the social needs are sa tisfied comes the need to fulfill individual desires such as self-esteem and greater personal recognition from other human beings. Achieving self-esteem allows the individual to acquire self-confidence, power, prestige, and control over their circumstances and their contribution to their immediate environment. When self-esteem is satisfied, individuals progress toward self-actualisation which refers to the need to maximise ones potential and to become what one is capable of becoming (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 1996, p. 81). According to Maslows needs hierarchy model, higher order needs (esteem and self-actualisation) only become activated, and thus motivate behaviour, after lower-order needs have been satisfied. This approach has been critiqued to be applicable only in the Western organisational context since motivation of employees from more collective-oriented cultures differs from that of their more individualistic Western counterparts. An individuals needs are particularly bound by culture (Alder and Gundersen 2008, p. 75). While Maslow concentrated on satisfying extrinsic factors to drive motivation, Frederick Herzbergs two-factor motivation theory stated that intrinsic factors are also important (Alder and Gundersen 2008, p. 76). Extrinsic factors include supervision, relations with co-workers, salary, company policy, supervision, and administration. Intrinsic motivators correspond to higher-order needs on Maslows hierarchy, including the work itself, responsibility, recognition for work done, and achievement and work advancement. Despite the acceptance and recognition of the two-factor motivation theory, its universality cannot be assumed. Factors which act as motivators and demotivators vary across culture (Griffin and Moorhead 2010). Hence, managers who are about to enter a new culture should be observant about the cultural factors which appear important and not assume the transferability of their earlier experiences with a particular culture. Positive Organisational Behaviour While organisations are looking to use human resource management concepts to boost the performance of their employees, only around half of all organisations have positive experiences of using them, and believe that they actually matter (Pfeffer 1998, p. 12). As a result, only a small fraction of organisations consistently implement and devote sufficient attention to high performance HRM practices. This further increases the degree of scepticism amongst workers, as more and more of them encounter poorly implemented practices that are often abandoned due to a lack of time and effort (Luthans and Youssef 2004, p. 143). This can lead to the spread of a negative and pessimistic form of organisational behaviour spreading throughout organisations that are using traditional forms of human resource management. The popularity of positive psychology has led to a reconsideration of traditional HRM practices that focus more on the negative aspects of organisational behaviour. Positive organisational behaviour has been defined by Bakker and Schaufeli (2008) as a management concept which emphasizes the need for more focused theory building, research, and effective application of positive traits, states, and behaviours of employees in organisations (p. 147). This implies that not only do organisations need to work on developing positive organisational behaviour, but also on ensuring that this behaviour is effectively applied and thus produces the desired outcomes. Otherwise, if the positive organisational behaviour fails to produce noticeable improvements, employees may lose heart and much of the optimism in their behaviour may be lost. Further to this, the concept of positive organisational behaviour needs to show the added value of the positive over and above the negative (Bakker and Schaufeli, 2008, p. 147) in order to gain wide acceptance and the attention needed to develop further. One of the main potential methods through which this added value could be demonstrated is that positive organisational behaviour is strongly linked to levels of work engagement. According to Bakker et al (2008) this implies that the development of positive organisational behaviour can lead to a positive, fulfilling, affective-motivational state of work-related well-being that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption (p. 187). In other words, developing positive organisational behaviour is more likely to make employees feel positive about their work, and also to engage more strongly with it. This in turn will lead to the employees caring more about the outcomes of their work as outcomes in their own right, rather than simply as tasks they have to complete in order to gain promotions or justify their salaries. This argument is supported by Bakker et als (2008, p. 187) empirical research, which showed that work engagement is influences strongly by the level of job resource s that employees have access to, and the level of personal resources that are inherent to the employee themselves. Of these, job resources focus on factors such as the supervisory coaching and feedback that the employee receives, whilst personal resources include many of the resources associated with positive organisational behaviour, such as optimism, self-efficacy and self-esteem. In addition to this, the research shows that work engagement is a valid predictor of job performance and client satisfaction, indicating that it can help to achieve the employee performance boost needed by modern organisations (Bakker et al, 2008, p. 187). Positive organisational behaviour [POB] emerged from the positive psychology approach in 1999 and was pioneered by Fred Luthans. Positive psychology departs from the traditional negative thrust of psychology as a field which studies illness rather than wellness and instead, proposes that the strengths and virtues that allow individuals and communities to thrive should be studied. Positive organisational behaviour focuses on theory building, empirical research, and application of positive attitudes, traits, and behaviours of employees within organisations (Luthans and Youssef 2007). Luthans (2002a) defined positive organisational behaviour as the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in todays workplace (p. 59). Positive organisational behaviour is a psychology-based approach toward human resource management and operates within a framework t hat considers employee happiness as viable objectives in themselves. Proponents of positive organisational behaviour treat employee well-being and health to be of strategic value for businesses. Instead of viewing occupational health and employee well-being as costs, positive organisational behaviour proponents consider them sound investments. Typically, POB focuses on use of organisational resources in increasing psychological capital, employee engagement, emotional intelligence, and psychological contract. POB is implemented in organisations to stimulate peak performance and enhance the conditions under which employees function and thrive. Psychological Capital The concept of psychological capital has become an important construct, not only in human resource management, but also in other areas such as leadership research. Psychological capital is seen as a key factor in allowing leaders to develop positive organisational behaviour within the organisations that they lead. This link is strongly supported by the research of Toor and Ofori (2010, p. 341) which found that psychological capital is strongly correlated with both leadership authenticity and transformational leadership. In their leadership study on construction and engineering project leaders, a distinction was made between traditional project leaders who drove performance through power, task orientation, and authority and authentic leaders who drove performance through positive values such as morality, ethics, and collective well-being. Authentic leaders who use positive behaviours capitalise on the environment of trust and are able to motivate people better and accomplish challengi ng tasks (Toor and Ofori 2010). Authentic leadership possesses high potential for development as well as veritable performance of construction project leaders. At the same time, the existence of transformational leadership in an organisation plays an important role in the ability of the organisations psychological capital to drive positive organisational behaviour and desired outcomes such as extra effort and satisfaction on the part of employees. However, there is also evidence to suggest that the development of psychological capital in organisations and its ability to drive positive outcomes at both the individual and organisational level, is strongly linked to the level of focused training and development that employees receive (Luthans et al, 2010, p. 41). An exemplary case is UK retailer Tesco which has one of the most impressive workforce development programmes. Tesco employees were considered the happiest and the most loyal in a survey among UK companies (European Monitoring Centre on Change 2007). Tesco has built its image on positive values such as ethics, morality, and human rights. For instance, it has a Working beyond retirement policy which accepts workers above the age of 50, a Remploy policy which brokers jobs for disabled individuals, a basic skills training program, and The Step Change Programme which values the initiatives of employees in suggesting company policies to enhance customer service and satisfactio n. This has resulted to high levels of employee and customer loyalty, positive relationships with suppliers, and efficiency savings amounting to GBP350million (European Monitoring Centre on Change 2007). The Tesco experience implies that psychological capital is not only something which emerges at work through the day to day actions of managers and leaders, but can also be developed through direct training interventions for the workforce. Indeed, the study by Luthans et al (2010, p. 41) indicated that said training interventions not only may be used to develop participants psychological capital, but can also lead to an improvement in their on-the-job performance. This indicates the importance of developing psychological capital at all stages of the human resource management cycle, in order to maximise the potential gains from positive organisational behaviour. Psychological capital refers to the positive psychological states that an individual owns and can use to achieve greater effectiveness in organisations. A comprehensive definition of psychological capital is: An individual state of positive psychological development, which is characterized by: (1) possession of confidence (self-efficacy) by which challenging tasks can be successfully completed through showing and paying necessary efforts; (2) positive attribution should be made on the current and future success (optimism); (3) targets need to be adhered to, and if necessary the line of achieving goals can be re-selected in order to be successful (hope); (4) When confronted with the problems and difficulties, success can be achieved by sticking to goals, quickly restoring and taking roundabout ways (resilience). (Luthans, Youssef and Avolio 2007, p. 15). According to Luthans and colleagues, psychological capital or PsyCap leads to positive organisational behaviour which in turn makes employees work more diligently, adhere to ethics, and acquire higher job satisfaction and improved performance (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, et al. 2007). Psychological capital has four components: 1) self-efficacy, 2) hope, 3) optimism and 4) resilience (Luthans 2005). When used together with social and human capital, psychological capital represents the human resource that each individual owns and which organisations can measure, invest in, develop, and manage effectively. Today, the application of PsyCap is growing in many global companies (Avey 2007). The Kellogg Corporation has institutionalized PsyCap training for all its managers. Engineering leaders and senior managers of The Boeing Company also underwent PsyCap training. Moreover, Boeing has included PsyCap as a workforce development indicator (Avey 2007). Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of attaining specific goals by mobilising motives, cognitive resources and actions (Bandura 1997, p. 76). It refers to positive beliefs and confidence on ones skills and abilities to perform desired task. Persons having high self-efficacy perceive highly that they are capable of taking action and modifying their environment using several resources. Stajkovic and Luthans (1998) believed that people with high psychological capital are more persistent despite failures and are less disheartened and less likely to resign when faced with possibility of failure. Hence, self-efficacy positively impacts work performance. Luthans (2005) recommends ways in which organisations can nurture self-efficacy of employees in his Psychological Capital Intervention [PCI] model. One is to allow employees to identify concrete targets based on employees professional skills. In this manner, employees can process goals in groups and analyze methods in achieving them while criticising and modifying goals. This form of intervention strengthens goal commitment and task control among employees. Another intervention is provide avenues such as trainings and drilling programs where employees can share success stories and exchange experiences in order for them to appreciate that success comes with positive and sustained efforts. Another intervention is to establish expectations by mobilising emotions and persuasions to stimulate confidence among employees that with the proper strategies and timetables, goals can be met. A fourth intervention is the use of positive and constructive defense mechanism in organisational culture through humor, compensation, and sublimation. The idea is to not embarrass or humiliate employees who are frustrated over unachieved goals but to deal with it positively while regaining the employees self-confidence and psychological stability in the process. Hope Hope refers to a positive motivational state characterized by a sense of success resulted from interactions based on agents (goal-oriented vitality) and the paths (plans to achieve goals) (Snyder and Lopez 2002, p. 34). Hope represents an individuals determination that goals are achievable and the individuals conviction that pathways will lead towards attaining these goals. Hope can be determined through two factors: path and willpower (Snyder, Feldman, Taylor, 2000). Peterson

Three Threats to the Sustainability of Forests Essay -- Deforestation E

When speaking about the sustainability of forests, sustainability itself must first be defined. The concept of sustainability is not easily defined in a single sentence or even in several sentences. As quoted by Steve Nix (n.d.), the British Columbia Forest Service defines sustainability as the integration of 3 elements, the environment, the economy and the social system, into a single system that can be maintained in a healthy state indefinitely. To achieve and maintain this delicate balance, many different factors within those 3 elements are required to work together in unison. With so many factors working toward creating a balance there would ultimately be factors working against and threatening the balance of sustainability. The temperate forest biome is home to most of the world’s industrialized nations including the United States, Canada, China and Russia. In this biome, there are three main threats to the sustainability of forests: overuse, pollution and the sustained u se of traditional methods. As with many elements in nature, these three threats are both significant individually and also interconnected. In the modern industrial age, everything is about making a profit. Manufacturers of consumer products strive to maximize their production of products at the same time reduce the cost of production. Because most of the world’s industrialized nations are populated in the temperate mixed forest biome, the actions of these manufacturers directly impact and threat the sustainability of forests on a much larger scale than most other parts of the world. Manufacturers find the cheapest and easiest way to obtain energy and raw materials for production. Because alternative sustainable sources of energy are more expensive, manufactu... ...ilable at: [Accessed 25 October 2010] Ontario Nature, 2010. Threats to the Boreal Forest. [online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Hanlon, et al., n.d. Endgame Dealing with Decline. [online] Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] A. et al., 1998. Shades of Green: Earth’s Forests. [online] Available at: [Accessed 25 October 2010] Government of Ontario, 2010. Landfills, Garbage, Incinerators, Recycling and Composting. [online] Available at: [Accessed Nov 15 2010]

Holocaust Death Camp Inhumanity Essay example -- History, Auschwitz

A 40 acre piece of land is attributed for over 2 million deaths, this is more than the total number of British and American soldiers combined that died in World War II. This small acreage was called Auschwitz and to the prisoners who stayed and died there it caused both mental and physical inhumanity to them. Mental inhumanity is an act against someone or a group of people, which is considered immorally wrong, on which affects their thoughts or feelings. Physical inhumanity is an act against a person or people which is considered immorally wrong, on which affects their body and health. Both of these acts of inhumanity were committed not only at Auschwitz but at every death camp established during the Holocaust. Edward Bond a playwright that lived through WW2 says that, â€Å"Humanity's become a product and when humanity is a product, you get Auschwitz† (BrainyQuote 1). This means that when humanity becomes a privilege to some and not a natural right to all then things lik e Auschwitz and in turn the Holocaust happen. The Holocaust death camps were considered both mentally and physically inhumane; the total effect of them shows the true level of inhumanity they installed. The death camps were mentally inhumane on the prisoners; especially during the first few days because most inmates had some to all of their family taken away and killed. The camps tore families apart and people watched as their loved ones left to be killed. Elie Wiesel talks about the last time he saw his mother and sister and how when he left the train he and the others were forced into groups with, â€Å"‘Men to the left! Women to the right’ Eight words spoken quietly in differently, without emotion. Eight simple short words, yet that was the moment when I left my ... ...hat the level of inhumanity in the camps had to of been so large and so deeply implanted in him in order for it to still so majorly affect him some 33 years later that he would take his own life. The total after effects of the holocaust death camps were the levels for both mental and physical inhumanity they placed on the prisoners there. The mental inhumanity was so bad that most prisoners thought of suicide and some even committed it. Along with this was the pain and torture the prisoners felt from the physical inhumanity which resulted in deaths of over 50% of the inmates who stayed there. The total effect of both of the camps is shown throughout inhumanity brought about in there. The fact that inhumanity was able to cause the deaths of just about 6,000,000 people shows how easy it is for it to hurt other humans. The question remains†¦ †¦can it be stopped? Holocaust Death Camp Inhumanity Essay example -- History, Auschwitz A 40 acre piece of land is attributed for over 2 million deaths, this is more than the total number of British and American soldiers combined that died in World War II. This small acreage was called Auschwitz and to the prisoners who stayed and died there it caused both mental and physical inhumanity to them. Mental inhumanity is an act against someone or a group of people, which is considered immorally wrong, on which affects their thoughts or feelings. Physical inhumanity is an act against a person or people which is considered immorally wrong, on which affects their body and health. Both of these acts of inhumanity were committed not only at Auschwitz but at every death camp established during the Holocaust. Edward Bond a playwright that lived through WW2 says that, â€Å"Humanity's become a product and when humanity is a product, you get Auschwitz† (BrainyQuote 1). This means that when humanity becomes a privilege to some and not a natural right to all then things lik e Auschwitz and in turn the Holocaust happen. The Holocaust death camps were considered both mentally and physically inhumane; the total effect of them shows the true level of inhumanity they installed. The death camps were mentally inhumane on the prisoners; especially during the first few days because most inmates had some to all of their family taken away and killed. The camps tore families apart and people watched as their loved ones left to be killed. Elie Wiesel talks about the last time he saw his mother and sister and how when he left the train he and the others were forced into groups with, â€Å"‘Men to the left! Women to the right’ Eight words spoken quietly in differently, without emotion. Eight simple short words, yet that was the moment when I left my ... ...hat the level of inhumanity in the camps had to of been so large and so deeply implanted in him in order for it to still so majorly affect him some 33 years later that he would take his own life. The total after effects of the holocaust death camps were the levels for both mental and physical inhumanity they placed on the prisoners there. The mental inhumanity was so bad that most prisoners thought of suicide and some even committed it. Along with this was the pain and torture the prisoners felt from the physical inhumanity which resulted in deaths of over 50% of the inmates who stayed there. The total effect of both of the camps is shown throughout inhumanity brought about in there. The fact that inhumanity was able to cause the deaths of just about 6,000,000 people shows how easy it is for it to hurt other humans. The question remains†¦ †¦can it be stopped?

Northern Cascades National Park :: essays research papers

The purpose of this paper is to give you some background information on Northern Cascades National Park and to talk about the management techniques the park uses to preserve it. Northern Cascades National Park became a national park on Oct 2, 1968, when Lyndon Johnson sighed the North Cascades Act. Twenty years later congress designated 93% of the park as a Stephen Mater Wilderness. When congress declares an area as â€Å"wilderness,† it provides extra protection against human impact. Northern Cascades National Park is mostly used for backpackers and mountain climbers, who have little impact on the park. There is one gravel road open to the public that is in the park, but very few people utilize it. Each year Northern Cascades National Park receives about 400,000 visitors for recreational purposes. Native Americans were amongst the first to use this area. Four Indian tribes inhabited the Cascades; the Upper Skagits, Sauk, Suiattle, and Swinomish who were attracted to this area for its plentiful resources. By the 1770’s there was Euro American presence in the Cascades. The Euro Americans used this area to get furs and pelts for trading. The beaver, wolf, and grizzly bear were the most sought after pelts in the cascades, do to their abundance. Later many would come to mine the cascades, but there wasn’t much of what they were looking for. Northern Cascades National Park is about 684,000 acres and encompasses Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. In today’s society there are very few wilderness areas that aren’t impacted by human activity like Northern Cascades National Park. Many areas within the park have had little human intervention. In many areas of the park the only human impact is coming form air and water pollution, which doesn’t sound good. But this is still a lot less impact than other parks receive. The Cascades stretch as far south as California and continues north to British Columbia. The cascade mountain range didn’t used to be part of North America, but millions of years ago it attached itself do to accumulation of sediment, colliding tectonic plates, and volcanic activity (www.north.cascades.national-park.com/info.htm). The Cascades is one of the youngest mountain ranges in the world and one of the fasting growing. Depending where you are in the park the climate can dramatically change. From the hundreds of small lakes and rivers that sculpt the lowlands to the mountain tops that reach up to 1000

Critical Analysis Of “Enduring Love” Essay

In â€Å"Enduring Love†, McEwan again creates a family that confronts a challenge and finds it difficult to survive. Joe and Clarissa are intellectuals living together in a well-appointed flat in a comfortable neighborhood in London. Clarissa is a professor researching Keats, and Joe is a well-known science writer with a doctorate in quantum electrodynamics who is somewhat dissatisfied with his decision to leave academia behind. Through the story utilizing the characters of Joe and Clarissa, McEwan articulates the idea humans are emotionally and intellectually evolved and are therefore less fit for survival than animals. Joe and Clarissa have figured out how to retain their individual identities within the relationship, so that they do not feel guilty that they lead separate lives, and do not become parasitic when they are together. Joe and Clarissa are aware of their individuality, and ultimately their relationship entails a defense against enmeshment, a protection of self against the encroachment of others, as a primary motivating factor. In the end it is their insistence on â€Å"me† over â€Å"us† that renders their connection vulnerable to withstand the challenge of obsession and madness from an outside source. In the novel’s celebrated opening scene, when Joe and Clarissa witness a hot air balloon in distress, Joe attempts, with several other men, to rescue the terrified boy inside the basket by pulling the balloon back to earth. The experience is undeniably traumatic. Joe’s guilt at letting go is overwhelming, and the sight of the dead body haunts him. Back at home, Joe and Clarissa comfort and support each other, cooperating in each other’s recovery by talking through the event and their feelings, and trying to work together to make meaning of it. McEwan is careful to show that their initial reaction to the trauma appears to reinforce the solidity of their relationship. It is an appropriate, mutual, and affiliative response. Clarissa recognizes Joe’s feelings and tries to help him: â€Å"‘ We’ve seen something terrible together. It won’t go away, and we have to help each other. And that means we’ll have to love each other even harder'† (McEwan 36). Moreover, Joe appreciates Clarissa’s efforts and feels delivered from his trauma by the physicality of her love: â€Å"she put her arms around my neck and brought my face close to hers. She knew I was a fool for this kind of encirclement. It made me feel that I belonged, that I was rooted and blessed† (McEwan 37). But for the reader, the event’s revelation of Joe and Clarissa’s relationship resonates on another level as well. Joe’s reflections on the nature of the cooperative effort enacted by the group of men can equally be applied to his relationship with Clarissa. He is remarkably aware, both during and after the event, of the extent to which human interaction is governed by a weighing of benefits, a balancing of pros and cons: â€Å"Selfishness†¦ is our mammalian conflict: what to give to the others and what to keep for yourself. Treading that line, keeping the others in check and being kept in check by them, is what we call morality† (McEwan 15). And, in the end, it is this constant hedging, this instinct to protect the self at the expense of risking connection with others, McEwan says, that dooms both the rescue and the relationship: â€Å"Someone said me, and then there was nothing to be gained by saying us†¦ Suddenly†¦ we were disintegrating. Suddenly the sensible choice was to look out for yourself (McEwan 15). In a sense, the extent to which Joe and Clarissa’s relationship is more of a compromise than a connection finds its expression in Joe’s astute observation about the men: â€Å"There may have been a vague communality of purpose, but we were never a team† (McEwan 11). With the metaphor of the balloon accident, McEwan implies the necessity for Joe and Clarissa to face the same choice as the rescuers – to let go and survive, or die. The audience is aware from the start of â€Å"Enduring Love† that the veneer of togetherness in this family belies a strong undercurrent of disconnection. To begin with, the reunion picnic is necessitated by the couple’s six week separation while Clarissa has pursued her own research abroad, leaving Joe home alone. Perhaps even more of a signal to the reader, however, is McEwan’s refusal to clarify the exact nature of Joe and Clarissa’s relationship. As the narrator, Joe describes his relationship with Clarissa as one of marriage: â€Å"We were seven years into a childless marriage of love† (McEwan 8). But then he refers to Clarissa not as his wife, but as his friend: ‘†Look, I’m sorry, I’m going back up to see my friend'† (28). Later, when he is talking to the widow of the balloon accident hero, he says it again: â€Å"I shook my head. There was my friend Clarissa, two farm laborers, a man called –â€Å"‘ (McEwan 122). It is significant that McEwan will not allow the consistent use of the word ‘wife’, even for the sake of convenience, and his refusal to do so comments on this couple’s lack of a formal commitment to connection. From the critical perspective and comparing to humans to animals in terms of the organizational system, Joe and Clarissa have learned to mediate conflict by focusing on the defects and failings of the partner. In a sense, McEwan implies, Joe and Clarissa’s relationship has always been about competition. In particular, Joe’s decision to give up â€Å"real science† for popular science puts him at a disadvantage with Clarissa, a promising scholar with a place at a university, who has a famous scientist as a Godfather. Moreover, their relationship is illuminated by the conflicts inherent in their chosen fields-the objectivity of science and the subjectivity of the humanities. Despite their mutual instincts for connection, and their evident love for each other, Joe and Clarissa have not, as a family, internalized a regulating dynamic by which the closure of their family can be defined and maintained. Unlike animals, Joe and Clarissa as humans are complex and evolved human beings that are reliant on comfort and habit rather than intimate dedication to each other, as evidenced by their readiness to turn the tension of the event onto their relationship rather than absorbing it together. As such they are less fir fit survival in a broad context and are vulnerable to inside and outside threats to their integrity. WORKS CITED McEwan, Ian. Enduring Love. New York: Anchor Books, 1999.

How does Hughes convey his response to pike in the poem? Essay

Hughes’ responses to the pike include admiration, curiosity, respect, fear and horror. He shows this through use of description, similes and metaphors. During the poem his fear of the pike increases from section to section. He describes the pike as â€Å"perfect†, â€Å"stunned by their own grandeur†, showing his respect for them. In this, the first, stanza he shows his admiration and fear of the pike with the phrase â€Å"They dance on the surface among the flies†. This metaphorical phrase shows admiration through â€Å"dance on the surface†, which shows beauty and grace of movement but it shows fear through â€Å"among the flies† as this can be taken to mean that the pike are ‘the lords of the flies’ which means devil; the word ‘tigering’ evokes a sense of beauty and fear at the same time, much like the tiger. In the first stanza he also shows his fear of them by saying that they are â€Å"killers from the egg: the malevolent aged grin†, this phrase coupled with the next line shows the pike as devilish killers, who have no choice in the fact that they kill, yet take pride in knowing that they have killed; pike are horrifying, destruct ive and fearful monsters. Their â€Å"malevolent aged grin† coupled with â€Å"hooked clamp and fangs/Not to be changed at this date† conjure the image of a terrifying, emotionless killing machine with a permanent glum expression, that will not let go of its prey once it has sunk its teeth in. The â€Å"aged grin† gives the pike an appearance of inborn wisdom. â€Å"In ponds, under the heat-struck lily pads—†, the pike’s evil behaviour is demonstrated by its choice to hide in shadows under lily-pads. This associates the pike with darkness, a common factor amongst predatory creatures. â€Å"Of submarine delicacy and horror./A hundred feet long in their world.† â€Å"Gloom of their stillness:† â€Å"The gills kneading quietly, and the pectorals† These show the pike as being very silent; able to sneak up and ambush their prey. These egotistical predators are much like the dangerous and beauteous submarine gliding silently through the water. In the second section of the poem, stanza 5 – 6 and a half, a truly vivid illustration of the pike’s behaviour is demonstrated where we see that there were three pike in a tank who, although were being fed enough food(fry), started to eat each other. This is emphasised by â€Å"With a sag belly and the grin it was born with† which shows that the pike seems to enjoy and is proud of the fact that it has killed and eaten its brethren. Hughes uses this to show how horrifically uncaring and evil pike are, even towards their own kind; this is the first glimpse we have of the violent nature of the pike; yet this may not be a true glimpse of their nature but rather an evasive and illusory glimpse, caused by the pike being trapped in a tank . In the third section, stanza 6 and a half – 7, the pike’s full-scale craving for violence is brought closer still to the reader. There is no longer a glass wall to protect us from the pike as in the previous section. Two large pike are caught and tied up to dry out in the sun. One of the pike is â€Å"jammed past its gills down the other’s gullet†. In order to prevent us from mistakenly assuming that the violence exhibited by the pike â€Å"kept behind glass† was a result of their captivity, Hughes establishes the presence of the same savagery manifested in the wild. This also shows desire for supremacy which could be interpreted as causing one pike to kill another in the only way it knows how, this is similar to human nature and shows that a pike is willing to step on anyone and anything that gets in the way of it becoming top of the food chain. In the fourth section, stanza 8 – 11, we see how dangerous the pike have become, as the persona, who used to keep pet pike, is now frightened of them. We know this from â€Å"That past nightfall I dared not cast†, which shows his fear of what the pike might do to him if he couldn’t see them. This is emphasised by a human belief that with darkness evil becomes more powerful; in this case the evils of the pike. This last section also gives the pike a mythic quality â€Å"Pike too immense to stir, so immense and old†. It also produces an air of fear and suspense, which is shown through â€Å"Darkness beneath night’s darkness had freed, /That rose slowly towards me watching†. The suspenseful and fearful feelings, at the end, make the reader feel that, one of these monster pike could come up at any time and kill him.