Occupational Safety and Health

CT301 Understand Health and Safety in Social Care Settings ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with health and safety legislation, To preserve life, To minimise the consequences of injury and illness, To treat injuries and illnesses effectively. 4. 1 Routes of infection may include: Blood circulation, Digestive, Respiratory, Body fluids. 4. 2 Own health or hygiene might pose a risk by e. g. : Causing a serious infection, Causing illness, Causing fatalities. 4. 3 Method may include: Using soap, Using running water, Using hot water, Thoroughly, Frequently,Rubbing palms and interlacing fingers, After every contact with an individual, body fluids or tasks. 4. 4 Personal protective equipment – refers to any protective equipment or clothing that an employer must provide where risks have been identified. This may include: Gloves, Aprons, Masks, Hair nets. When to use may include: During personal care, Handling waste, A change of activity, To protect the carer, To protec t the individual. 5. 1 Current legislation may include: Manual handling Operations Regulations, Health & Safety at Work Act. 5. 2 Principles may include: Avoiding hazardous manual handling,Conducting a full risk assessment of load, task, environment and individual, Reporting immediately any difficulties, Adhering to agreed working practices, Using equipment correctly. 5. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with legislation, To minimise injury to individual, self or others, To safeguard own and others health and safety, To apply agreed working practices, To use equipment correctly. Disposing of food may include: Wiping all spillages quickly, Ensuring all left over food is disposed of quickly, Ensuring bins are emptied frequently. 11. 3 Common hazards could be:Not cooking/heating food until piping hot, Re-heating food more than once, Using food that has passed its use-by date, Not following correct thawing instructions for food, Contamination through different foods spilling onto each ot her. 1. 1 Current legislation and subsequent amendments may include: Health & Safety at Work Act, The Management of Health & Safety Work Regulations, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), Manual Handling Operations Regulations, The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), Personal Protective equipment regulations. . 2 Policies and procedures may include agreed ways of working as well as formal policies and procedures Main points may include: The significant risks in relation to the workplace and work tasks, Control measures for hazards, The arrangements for reporting accidents or health problems, The arrangements for first aid, fire and emergencies, Who the key person is for health and safety matters, How health and safety is communicated in the workplace, The arrangements to protect others. Individual refers to someone requiring care or support. 1. Responsibilities of the social care worker may include: To take reasona ble care for own and others’ health and safety, To report to employer potential and actual hazards and risks, To take part in health and safety training, To understand and comply with health and safety instructions and procedures. Responsibilities of the employer or manager may include: To provide a safe place of work, To assess risks and take action to reduce them, To provide information, instruction, training and supervision, To provide safety signs, To provide adequate welfare and first aid facilities.Responsibilities of individuals may include: To understand and comply with health and safety instructions and procedures, To take reasonable care for own and others’ health and safety. 1. 4 Tasks that the learner should not carry out without special training may include those relating to: Use of equipment, First aid, Medication, Assisting and moving, Emergency procedures, Food handling and preparation. 1. 5 Accessing additional support and information may include : App ointed person(s) responsible for health and safety, Line manager, Health and safety Executive (HSE),Environmental Health department. 2. 1 Meaning of hazard may include: The potential to cause harm e. g. working practice. Meaning of risk may include: The likelihood of harm occurring e. g. through exposure to a hazard. 2. 2 Using a risk assessment may include: Identifying hazards, Evaluating risks, Taking precautions, Reviewing risks, Reporting and recording outcomes. 2. 3 Reporting potential risks may include: Recording findings on a risk assessment form, Communicating findings immediately to manager/appointed health and safety, representative. When to report potential risks may include:Immediately, When existing control measures are inadequate, When additional control measures are required, When there have been changes to original risk assessment e. g. changes to working practices. 2. 4 Risk assessment can help by e. g. : Making the individual aware of the risks, Making the individu al aware of the responsibilities employees and the employer have, Being used as the basis for safe working arrangements. 3. 1 Accidents may include: Falls, Burns and scalds, Slips and trips, Swallowing a hazardous substance. 3. 2 Sudden Illness may include: Cardiac arrest, Difficulty with breathing,Stroke, Hypoglycaemia, Seizures, Loss of consciousness, Food poisoning. Procedures may include: Recording and reporting of accident or illness with full details, Registered person submitting notification to CQC and HSE, Informing individuals’ next of kin. 6. 1 Reasons may include: To understand individual’s needs and preferences, To meet individual’s needs and preferences, To apply agreed working practices, To move the individual safely and correctly, To minimise injury to individual, self or others. 6. 2 Care Plan – may be known by other names (e. g. support plan, individual plan).It is the document where day-to-day requirements and preferences for care and su pport are detailed. Importance of care plan and fully engaging with individual may include: To understand individual’s needs and preferences, To meet individual’s needs and preferences, To move the individual safely and correctly, To involve individual as an active participant in process, To minimise injury to individual, self or others, As a way of ensuring that move is comfortable for the individual. 7. 1 Hazardous Substances may include: Cleaning materials, Disinfectants, Body fluids, Medication. . 2 Safe practices for storing may include: In correct and labelled containers only, Under correct conditions as per instructions, In a secure area. Safe practices for using may include: Reading instructions on label before using, Not mixing substances together incorrectly, Only using substances if trained to do so, Using PPE as instructed, Reporting any difficulties immediately, Safe practices for disposing may include: Under correct conditions as per instructions, By foll owing disposal workplace procedure. 8. 1 Procedures to prevent fire may include:No smoking, Not having fire doors propped open, Checking appliances are turned off, Checking plugs are switched off, Following a procedure checklist. Procedures to prevent gas leaks may include: Checking appliances are turned off e. g. cooker, fire. Procedures to prevent floods may include: Being aware of how to turn off main water supply, Ensuring taps are turned off after use e. g. bath, sink. Procedures to prevent intruding may include: Being vigilant of security of building i. e. doors, windows, Locking doors and windows, Not giving out key codes to others,Following a procedure checklist. Procedures to prevent security breaches may include: Being vigilant of security of building i. e. doors, windows, Reporting any concerns, Following a procedure checklist. 8. 2 Procedures to follow in event of fire may include: Raise the alarm, Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Go to f ire assembly point, Move self and others away from danger area if safe to do. Procedures to follow in event of a gas leak may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Do not turn any switches on/off,Go to assembly point, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. Procedures to follow in event of a flood may include: Turn off main water supply, Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Do not turn any switches on/off, Go to assembly point, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. Procedures to follow in event of intruding may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Move self and others to a safe area if possible, Record incident.Procedures to follow in event of a security breach may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. 9. 1 Stress can have positive as well as negative effects, but in this unit the word is used to refer to negative stress. Common signs and indicators of stress may include: Feeling more tearful or sensitive, Loss of motivation, Changes in sleep patterns, Changes in eating habits. 9. 2 Circumstances may include: Increased demands from others, Changes in working practices or new working practices,Changes in team members, Relationships, Unexpected changes i. e. financial, personal, work. 9. 3 Ways may include: Taking time out for yourself, Talking through how you feel with your line manager, Attending any stress management courses available, Engaging in relaxing activities whilst away from work. 10. 1 Handling medication may include: Ordering, Receiving, Storage administration, Recording, Disposal. 10. 2 Person responsible for medication may include: Trained worker, Designated person, Individual when self-medicating. 10. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with legislation, To ensure it is administer ed safely,To ensure it is administered correctly, As workers are accountable for their actions. 11. 1 Current food safety standards may include: Food Standards Act, Food safety workplace policy, Food safety guidelines. 11. 2 Storing food may include: Ensuring all food stored is covered over, Storing food on correct shelf/container in fridge/cupboard, Labelling with date all food stored, Storing cooked food when cooled down. Maximising hygiene may include: Keeping yourself clean, Wearing protective clothing, Keeping workplace clean, Using separate utensils and equipment for different types of food, Regular and through hand washing.

Cert Introduction Essay

205 cert introduction to duty of care in health, social care or children and young people’s settings. 205 cert. 1 understanding the implications of duty of care. Q 1.1 Define the term duty of care. A 1.1 Health and social care organisations have what is called a duty of care towards the people look after, that means that they must do everything they can to keep the person in their care safe from harm, it is not only the care establishment that needs to prioritise the safety, welfare and interests of the people using its services, but also the care workers of the establishment. My employer also has a duty of care for staff members, to ensure that workers conditions are safe, suitable to deliver the service. Q 1.2 Describe how the duty of care affects own work role. See more: how to start a paragraph A 1.2 Duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeable harm others. 205 cert. 2 understanding support available for addressing a dilemmas that may arise about duty of care. Q 2.1 Describe dilemmas that may have arisen between the duty of care and an individual’s rights. A 2, 1 as a care worker my aim is to help people live independently. That means encouraging them to make decisions for themselves. When someone in our care decides to do something that we think is unsafe, we face a dilemma (a difficult choice between two decisions). If we stop them doing it, are we denying them the right to take risks? If we let them do something dangerous, are we failing in our duty of care? Q 2.2 explain where to get additional support and advice about resolve such dilemmas. A 2.2 Additional support may come from: Families and friends of the individual. Colleagues. Peers. Senior carers. Managers. Registered managers. Advocates. Care standards. Community psychiatric nurses. Health visitors. Doctors. Police. Local counsellors. Members of parliament. 205 cert. 3 Know how to respond to complaints. Q 3.1 describe how to respond to complaints. A 3.1 Individuals and their relatives and friends are confident that their complaints will be listened to, taken seriously and acted apon. The registered person ensures that there is a simple, clear and accessible complaint procedure which includes the stages and timescales for the proses, and that complaints are dealt with promptly and effectively. The registered person ensures that the person home has a complaint procedure which specifies how complaints may be made and who will deal with then, with an assurance that they will be responded to within a maximum of 28 days. A record is kept of all complaints made and includes details of investigations and any action taken. The register person ensures that written information is provided to all individuals for referring a complaint to the QCA at any stage, should the complainant wish to. Q 3.3 Identify the main points of agreed procedures for handling complaints. A 3.3 There are principles of good complaints procedures by the local government ombudsman and heath service ombudsman .they are the following. 1 Getting it right.

“London 1802” vs “Douglass” Essay Essay

Throughout the centuries, there have been an infinite amount of literary works written by a sea of authors that write a variety of genres. All of these works are precious in their own way, and even if their theme is similar to that of another, the author always ads a bit of his/her own flare in order to make said literary creation unique in some way. William Wordsworth’s â€Å"London 1802† and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s â€Å"Douglass†, although quite similar in form and sentence structure, do add their own flare through the use of specific details. Through the use of these devices, the speakers show their disgust for the evil deeds humans do and attempt to change them. Form is a very important aspect of literature. Both â€Å"London 1802† and â€Å"Douglass† are sonnets therefore hinting that the work will be very much a serious topic, which as the reader continues, is proven to be true. The rhyme scheme used in the first two quatrains is simila r in both sonnets. The last quatrain and couplet, however, are different in rhyme. In â€Å"Douglass†, the first quatrain is used to tell this person of the evil that is occurring in that time, and how even his wildest nightmares could never measure up to that is now being done whereas in the first quatrain written in â€Å"London 1802† is used to describe the place and what it is like at the time. In the second quatrain, the speaker believes as if he truly believes that the presence of this man to whom he writes could change the evil that is occurring. â€Å"Douglass† on the other hand, describes what the situation he is in is like. Although each speaker approaches this in a different manner, the ultimate goal of both is to shed light on the wrong doing of humans. Another device used by both speakers both similarly and differently is sentence structure. On both, the last six lines compose one sentence. This sentence in â€Å"Douglass† is used to ask for guidance and comfort from Fredrick Douglass however, this happens in the second sentence in the sonnet â€Å"London, 1802†. Dunbar’s purpose for making the last sentence about Douglass ability to â€Å"guide the shivering bark† ( Dunbar line 12) is to give the reader a sense of repulsion, like his own repulsion and therefore encouraging the reader to  change. The last sentence in Wordsworth’s poem, on the other hand, is used to praise John Milton. This leaves the reader with the impression that Milton was in fact a great man, and that we should strive in order to become more like the person. Even though they are written in different sentences, the fact that this is even mentioned at all suggests that man kind has become repulsive and although they are expressed in different manners, it is clear that the eventual goal of these speakers is to make the readers change. There are specific details used throughout both sonnets that, again, help to reveal the speaker’s ultimate purpose. First, the way the speakers begin both poems is completely different. Wordsworth commences in a tone of urgency and forcefulness by saying â€Å"Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:† (Wordsworth line 1). This makes the reader excited about reading the rest of the poem and also, adds interest to the work. Dunbar, however, takes a more meditative approach by saying â€Å"Ah, Douglass, we have fall‘n on evil days.† (Dunbar line 1). This, although not as exciting as the previous example, is also effective in grabbing attention because it leaves the reader wondering what it is that could be inspiring such deep thought while still, clearly stating his position. The speaker in this poem also says â€Å"Give us comfort through the lonely dark† (line 14). This line makes the reader believe that there is still hope in humanity. All we need is comforting from the wicked world and we can become better people. We have the qualities that make for decent citizens, we just no longer show them. Wordsworth, however, shows no sympathy nor hope for humanity. He states â€Å"Oh! Raise us up, return to us again; and give us manners, virtue, freedom, power† (Wordsworth line 8). This suggests that Wordsworth has lost all hope in humanity and believes that the qualities that make for decent people are lost. People need someone to show them the qualities that make for good people, they need to be shown. Although both speakers believe that humanity is cruel and abominable, the way they perceive the solution is obviously much different. With the devices used throughout both poems, it is apparent that society needs to change in order to become better. The way things are is absolutely horrendous and by no means is it suitable for living in. Although both poems express similar ideals, the state of mind of the speaker is clearly much different, and the way to go about fixing society is also much different. Because the devices and tone used throughout both poems was  different, it in turn made their works of literature truly a one-of-a-kind.

Developing an Evaluation Plan and Disseminating Results Essay

Developing an Evaluation Plan and Disseminating Results - Essay Example Because these values are distinct, indivisible amounts, the random variable is discrete. This samples should be a large sample size that allows for ample amount of calculations to point root error. This can be used for instance to detect the level of toxic in a blood sample. The second step is explore, in which data sampling must be visualized. In a disease management policies, this is utilized to explore the correlation of measles per vaccine. This is one of the variables that must be implemented. The third step is modify in which methods of rectification for data purposes are examined. Conducive research indicates that clinical interviews can be good enough to meet third-party diagnostic requirements for the purpose of reimbursement. The fourth step is modeling in which data mining is utilize in various ways. Since testing is one of those elements that is highly standardized, it reduces the faculty time of grading and evaluating which can be time consuming. However, one cannot refute the fact that mentoring and collaboration is also a valid assessment that demonstrates proficiency in the medical field. The last step is assessment, in which these samples are utilized to make sure that conclusions are

Social Performance, Part 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Performance, Part 1 - Essay Example Customer relationships are often improved with the use of social performances as the use increases. Modern times have caused the use of such techniques in organizations to increase. This is since everyone is keen to be affiliated with progress in their respective corporations. What it aims at improving is seen with the poverty eradication schemes that it has enabled grow in the areas that it is in close proximity with. Social performance advocates primarily for the different functions that stakeholders, for example, the community present and employees of a company have at a specified time. Firms have specified their functions, and through rules and regulations, they can ensure that the organization’s standards are met. This paper will review the social performance of an organization. Also, how changes incorporated in the field could lead to improvements in the organization. The company being dealt with is a security firm that deals in protecting high profile people. The role it plays ensures that whenever something important is happening in the city, the firm would be able to protect them, and ensure their safety. There are different ways in which these personalities’ security is ensured. When they do seek the services of this firm, they entrust it with their lives. This means that everything they do is handled by the firm from when they arrive, to when they decide to depart. Stakeholders are people interested in the dealings of a company or business entity (Cooper, 2004). These interests make them want to be part of the growth of this venture so that they get to benefit from it. The primary stakeholders in this firm are the people who find that they are directly affected by the actions carried out by the firm. In this case, the primary stakeholders are the persons in need of the security details. They are directly affected in that the actions the firm undertakes make them highly susceptible to

Drama essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Drama - Essay Example Many women were still constrained in their activities by the wishes of their male relatives, whether the dominant voice belonged to the father, the oldest brother or other guardian figure or the husband. These are the issues explored in Henrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll’s House† through the character of Nora and in Susan Glaspell’s short story â€Å"Trifles.† Comparing these two characters provides insight into the various constraints women had to deal with in their physical setting, their relationships and in their position in society. In both stories, the primary action takes place within the homes of the two female characters involved and each has much to say about the women who are trapped there. Nora’s house is presented in direct reflection of the play’s title. It is a doll’s house, perfectly decorated and arranged for the display of a happy family atmosphere without going to extremes of expense. This can be discerned from Nora’s careful selection of gifts for the upcoming holiday. She tells Torvold, â€Å"they [the gifts] are very plain, but anyway she [Emmy, their little girl] will soon break them in pieces† (Act 1). Gifts for the rest of the household include a new suit for Ivar and dress lengths for the maids, all highly practical and economical. Minnie’s house, in contrast, is introduced as two women and three men, none of them residents, enter into a gloomy farm kitchen. The house is set away from the road and far from the closest neighbor. This does not necessa rily mean the house was a trap for the woman who lived in it, but Mrs. Hale tells Mrs. Peters that she stayed away because the house was gloomy and lonesome. As she mentions this, she reflects that it must have been that much harder for the woman who had to live there. This is made clear in the half-cleaned table, the bread sitting next to rather than inside

Cyber Bullying Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cyber Bullying - Research Paper Example With the rapid advances in technology, however, bullying evolved into a form of harassment that can be perpetuated anytime and anywhere. Specifically, the use of the Internet and mobile technologies has enabled many bullies to harass their victims even when they are at home or sleeping. Unfortunately, authorities seemed to be caught off-guard when cases of bullying online reportedly caused several suicides across America recently. This highlighted how it has become imperative to solve this issue immediately because the degree of harm of cyberbullying is clearly pervasive and fatal today. To underscore the severity of this issue, there are already several research findings that found the prevalence of the problem. For instance, a survey conducted by I-Safe America found that 37 percent of middle school students admitted to being bullied or threatened online. (Shore 2006, p. 19) Pew Internet and American Life Project supported this with their report that one in three online teens has e xperienced online harassment. (The Colorado Trust 2008) The statistics established the numbers that should alarm responsible authorities. The issue is no longer some figment of imagination or opinion of alarmists that needed to be substantiated. The facts are already there for everyone to see. The implication of the above trend is that youngsters are no longer safe from bullies. The perpetrators only need a computer, Internet access or a cellphone in order terrorize hapless victims. This is aggravated by the fact that bullying acts can be done anonymously. Almost anyone can invade someone else's life and ruin it at a click of the mouse, enabling bullies to be more vicious and consistent with their attacks. According to Shore, this is demonstrated in two ways: first, there is the argument that bullies can strike out at others with the knowledge that they will not be caught; and, secondly, â€Å"by being removed from their targets and thus not seeing the impact of their actions, cybe rbullies can delude themselves into thinking they have not really hurt anybody† effectively taking away their ability to feel empathy or remorse for their victims. (p. 20) It is easy to understand, hence, how helpless victims find it difficult not only to escape the kind of torture due to the sheer pervasiveness of the Internet and the huge number of its users but also to bear the stress of online attacks against their persons for its sheer viciousness and intensity. In the past face-to-face bullying has been difficult to quantify because victims are hesitant to report them. The case has been complicated by technology further. The anonymity that technology provides bullies has made it extra difficult for its detection. This development is already a main contributor to the growing number of suicides as evidenced by the case of Tyler Clementi, who jumped off a bridge after his sexual encounter was streamed over the web by his dormmates for everyone to see. Unfortunately, this po sting of hurtful content is just one of the many types that could significantly cause harm to young minds. Maggio listed numerous ways by which cyberbullies can attack their victims using technology. The most serious of these include the posting of abusive content against victims such as threatening and embarrassing messages that are easily accessed by

Indicators of health paper Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indicators of health paper - Coursework Example An analysis of certain indicators of health and evaluation of the determinants of health is done in this essay to ascertain the cause of poor health in the country. Indicators of health The indicators of health which can be compared and evaluated are death rate, infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. According to statistics of Haiti, in the year 2009, the death rate is 8.65 per 1000, infant mortality rate is 59.69 per 1000 live births and maternal mortality ratio, as determined in the year 2005 is 670 per 100,000 deliveries (Global Health Facts, 2010). In the United States, according to the 2009 statistics, the death rate is 8.38, the infant mortality rate is 6.25 per 1000 live births and the maternal mortality rate according to 2005 statistics was 11, per 100,000 deliveries (Global Health Facts, 2010). On comparing all the 3 indicators, it is evident that despite similar death rates in both the countries, the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate are very hig h in Haiti when compared to the US. Determinants of health Key determinants of health in Haiti are poverty, illiteracy, environmental factors like calamities and political factors like violence. During its creation, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Critics argued the completeness of this definition and in 1986, in the Ottawa Charter for health Promotion, the WHO modified the definition of health and defined it as "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities." Even this definition has not been accepted completely and thus several models of health have come up in an aim to provide complete definition of health. Health is determined by an interplay of several factors which are known as health determinants. The main determinants o f health are social factors, environmental factors, physical environment and; various behaviors and characteristics of the individual. While some of these determinants are in the control of the individual, many factors are beyond the scope of direct control of the individual. These factors contribute to health inequalities in a society. Some such factors include social status and income, education status, physical environment of the individual at home and work place, "social support networks", individual genetics, accessibility to various health services and gender (WHO, 2010). Higher the income, higher is the health status of an individual. Thus, poverty is a major contributor for health inequality. Individuals with lower education levels have poorer health status, lower levels of self esteem and decreased self confidence when compared to those with higher education status. Physical environment constitutes of clean and safe air, water, environment and food at home and workplace. Th ose who have better support form friends, family member and various community groups enjoy better health than those who do not have established social networks. Genetics often influences health -related behaviours like smoking, alcohol, coping skills and balanced intake of food and thus indirectly influences health of an individual (WHO, 2010). Public health researchers have identified social determinants as the main cause for health inequa

Strategic Management and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Strategic Management and Leadership - Essay Example â€Å"GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services† (Company Q2 report, 2009). I would now begin this report by giving an in-depth and thorough internal and external analysis of General Motors that led it to its decision to withdraw from its European Operations. General Motors’ automobile production and sales business was greatly affected by global economic downturn. The economic meltdown across the world and the financial crunch adversely affected the business and sales volume of most of the corporate entities and businesses across the globe. General Motors also felt the pinch of this turmoil and observed a decline in sales and profits because of falling demand of its brands. The increasing levels of unemployment, subsequent reduction in incomes and purchasing power because of higher energy and oil prices increased the inflation that forced consumers to reduce their spending and increase saving. In short, sales decreased considerably and GM with high overheads found it difficult to assimilate the shock. Higher costs of production in European countries where company’s plants are located, weak British pound and â€Å"unfavorable mark-to-market commodity hedging† (company Q1 financial report, 2009) are others reasons that added to the miseries of GM. In short, the General Motor’s financial position became so weak which compelled It to announce its Bankruptcy on June 1 (2009). The money losing units of General Motors in Europe are Opel and Vauxhall. These units observed a drastic reduction in sales (from around 2.2 mn in 2007 to 2.04 in 2008) and profits which tumbled from positive 0.357$ bn (EBT) in 2006 to negative 2$ bn in 2009 (company Q1 financial report, 2009). The sharp reduction in sales and resulting mammoth losses forced GM to sell off its European Operations (Opel and Vauxhall) to an Austrian-Canadian automotive group Magna and its Russian partner

The Anti-War Message of In the Lake of the Woods and How I Learned to Essay

The Anti-War Message of In the Lake of the Woods and How I Learned to Sweepp - Essay Example This is because of the manner or style that the both Alvarez and O’Brien applied in expressing their ideas. In terms of style, both authors definitely differ and this can be attributed also to the fact that the historical context of the novel and poem are not the same. In terms of substance, they also have some differences which is again brought about the different social, emotional, and historical context of the characters created. Apparently, the differences stem from the fact that the authors’ involvement in the war that they were protesting against also differed. Nevertheless, each expressed profoundly through their respective literary works their opposition to the war due to bases that they have tackled through the characters they created. In the Lake of the Woods is a story of how one individual had to fight his own personal battles long after the Vietnam War ended. As the writer, O’Brien may well be considered as an authority on the subject because he too was once an infantryman in the said war. He did not only see the bloodshed or understood why these happened; he was very much involved in it. He was not a third party observer; he played an active role. O’Brien, therefore, felt what the rest of the American servicemen experienced while they were fighting a war they believed should not be fought. As his book apparently proves, he was one of the many soldiers who fought a war that he opposes. His opposition to the war though is presented through the perspective of the soldier and not from the vantage point of the anti-war and non-soldier activist that was more popular during the times when the Vietnam War was at its peak. Because of this, O’Brien credibly presents the arguments against the war using psychological and emotional bases. He may have cited the J.W. Appel and G.W. Beebe when he wrote that â€Å"psychiatric casualties are as inevitable as gunshot and shrapnel wounds in warfare.† (O’Brien 27) Howev er, he did so not because he believes that such conclusion is intellectually accurate but because he saw his comrades suffer psychological problems resulting from the war and he himself may have felt the same too. John Wade, the main character in the story, is basically personification of O’Brien’s argument against the war. It must be emphasized though that such argument could be best defended and promoted only when the psychological issues arise, which obviously occurs after the individual goes home from the battlefront; a condition which is often regarded as post-traumatic stress disorder. The conditions surrounding Julia Alvarez are much different to those of O’Brien and her poem How I Learned to Sweep is greatly influenced by these. Alvarez saw the war from the perspective of a non-participant. She found it disgusting not because it directly affects her personally. She did not suffer psychological and emotional issues arising from it but she did see the viol ence and bloodshed that people had to go through for being in the war. While O’Brien felt the horrors that his fellow soldiers went through, Alvarez expressed pity for both the fighters and civilians caught in the war. In the Lake of the Woods is the result of O’Brien’s empathy while Alvarez displayed sympathy in her poem. In the poem, she wrote the lines â€Å"I swept all the harder when/ I watched a dozen of them die.† (Alvarez) Obviously, the poet depicted how she reacted upon the sight of so much death.

US History Essay Example for Free

US History Essay 4. Describe how prokaryotes carry out photosynthesis and cellular respiration when they lack compartmentalized organelles such as chloroplasts and mitochondria. The area of cellular respiration in prokaryotes is the respiratory membrane. For aerobic prokaryote the infoldings of the plasma membrane are similar to the cristae of mitochondria, whose purpose in eukaryotic cells is cellular respiration. In photosynthetic prokaryotes, the area responsible for cellular respiration is the thylakoid membrane. It functions are similar in manner to chloroplasts in eukaryotic cells. 5. Explain why prokaryotes are unable to grow in very salty or sugary foods, such as cured meats or jam. Prokaryotes have the ability to live harsh environments. Prokaryotes however are unable to live in very salty or sugary foods like cured meats or jams because they lack the essential nutrients that water etc provide. In response to these harsh conditions endospores are formed. In essence, endospores are a touch wall surrounding a set of chromosomes. Eventually as water is removed from the cell its metabolism halts and the rest of the cell disintegrates. In this manner prokaryotes die out in harsh conditions like sugary or salty foods. 6. State the function(s) of each of the following prokaryotic features: a. Capsule i. A capsule is a sticky layer that surrounds the cell wall of some prokaryotes, protecting the cell surface and sometimes helping to glue the cell to surfaces. b. fimbriae ii. A short, hairlike appendage of a prokaryotic cell that helps it adhere to the substrate or to other cells; also known as an attachment pilus. c. sex pilus iii. In bacteria, a structure that links one cell to another at the start of conjugation; also know as a conjugation pilus d. Nucleoid iv. A dense region of DNA in a prokaryotic cell. e. Plasmid v. A small, circular, double stranded DNA molecule that carries accessory genes separate from those of a bacterial chromosome. Plasmids are also found in some eukaryotes, such as yeasts. f. Endospores vi. A thick-coated, resistant cell produced by a bacterial cell exposed to harsh conditions. 7. List three factors that give rise to high levels of genetic diversity in prokaryotes. Rapid Reproduction- Rapid reproduction is comparable to a prokaryote reproducing by binary fission repeatedly. After rounds of division most of the offspring cells are identical Mutation- Genetic Recombination- 8. Describe three processes that produce recombinant DNA in prokaryotes.

Biography of Fernando Botero Essay Example for Free

Biography of Fernando Botero Essay Fernando Botero, also named the most Colombian of Colombian artists, has developed a style the world notices as his own. Fernando was born in 1932 in Medellin, Colombia. Fernando came across heavy schooling as a child, which isolated him from traditional art in museums and such cultural institutions. It was his strict school however that brought art to be an interest for Fernando, the school Botero attended was run by Jesuits who were strict and brought little enjoyment into Botero’s life. To find enjoyment Botero began to draw at a young age. At that young age his inspiration was anything that interest him such as bullfighting. Fernando was a great fan of bullfights so he would paint scenes of this then sold them in front of the arena for 5 pesos. He spent nearly two years painting this subject. He had a growing interest in art his entire life; he shared his thoughts, and studied. When Botero was seventeen he worked for the Medellin newspaper, El Colombiano, titled Picasso and the Nonconformity of Art, which showed Botero’s mind and how it is linked with art. Botero is so well known because of his signature style, robust and round objects and characters. Botero tells critics that he is simply attracted to his form without knowing why. He claims that artists never know why artists use a form, he claims the style is intuitive and that the explanation for their style can be rationalized after it’s adopted. Botero is difficult to understand, as he doesn’t share his opinion with his art or even explaining his art. â€Å"He shares his vision with us but not telling us how to feel about it. Navas- Nieves says. We know his works are personal as some of his famous works depict his youth, â€Å"The Bishop†, â€Å"The Nun†, â€Å"The Bullfighter†, and â€Å"The Widow†. It is unknown to all except Botero however if these drawings reflect the beauty with these no proportional, bright colored, exaggerated sized or the turmoil. Botero eliminated brushwork and texture in his paintings as he favored a smoother look. Botero’s works are abstract and are educated by a Columbian upbringing and social commentary. When Colombian children go to church they see all these Madonnas, so clean and perfect. In South America china-like perfection is very much a part of the ideal toilet of beauty. More so even than the polychrome wood sculptures in Spain, Latin American sculptures look like porcelain. So, in contrast to Europe or North America, you connect the notions of art and beauty at a very early age. I grew up with the idea that art is beauty. All my life Ive been trying to produce art that is beautiful to discover all the elements that go to make up visual perfection. When you come from my background you can’t be spoilt by beauty, because youve never really seen it. If youre born in Paris, say, you can see art everywhere, so by the time you come to create art yourself you’re spoilt – youre tired of beauty as such and want to do something else. With me it was quite different. I wasnt tired of beauty; I was hungering for it. † Botero said this knowing he was not raised with art, which is his beauty. The lack of art in his life made him develop such an original style. The church influences Botero, his baroque style was adopted from the church. Botero is the most Colombian of Colombian artists because of his insulation from international trends. Botero once remarked â€Å"A painter can do things a photographer can’t do, because a painter can make the invisible visible. † This thinking lead Botero to create a series of serious paintings about prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. Botero, through his paintings in this series allowed us to feel the prisoners suffering. The paintings brought us to the agony of the victims, the humiliation they felt and all the pain was transferred from the painting to us, making us the victim. This series proved moreover Botero’s skill of art. Many critics thought the series was out of Botero’s league claiming that Botero’s style cannot do justice to the seriousness of the subject. Botero proved the critics wrong when he captures the emotion of the victims. The difference between photographs and paintings are that photographs come with a story. Just something that happened. They can be beautiful but paintings show affects and emotion and thoughts and different depictions. Much more thought goes into a painting, which sets the two apart.

Case Study: Ryanair | Analysis

Case Study: Ryanair | Analysis The report is mainly a case study analysis based on Eleanor OHiggins review of Ryanair conducted in 2007. However, other secondary research has been analysed and used to support the arguments put forward in this document. Purpose of this case study is to conduct a strategic analysis of environment and the industry as well as the company. Firstly I conducted a critical evaluation in-order to figure out the critical issues of the five restructurings of Ryanair. Next I have conducted an environmental scan to analyse the external and internal environment of the organization. Then I took my attention to carry-out a SWOT analysis in-order to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the firm that would shape the competitive advantage of Ryanair. In sorder to justify my argument I will be using strategic management models and theories such as, PESTEL analysis,Poters 5 forces model,Market segmentation analysis,Strategic grouping model, Value chain analysis etc.. After concluding the analysis I will deliver my recommendation for Ryanair. Overview of the Company Ryanair started in year 1985 with only 57 staff members and with one 15 seater turboprop plane from the south of east of Ireland to London-Gatwick which carried 5000 passengers on one route. In 1986, inspired from the story of the company go after the big guys for a slice of the action and end up smashing theor British Airways high fare cartel on the Dublin-London route. The staff increased from mere 57 to 120 staff members and the plane carried for about 82,000 passengers on two routes. In 1989, the company employed 350 staff and their average maximum passengers increased to 600,000. In 1990-1991, the company has 700,000 passengers. However, despite of the increase of passengers, the company is not so good in managing cost that the company has lose its money. A new management team is brought in to sort it out and re-launch as a low fares or no frills airline, closely modelling the Southwest Airlines model in the U.S. And in 1994, Ryanair bought its first Boeing 737 aircraft which carried over 1.5 million passengers. In 1995, Ryanair is the biggest passenger carrier on Dublin-London route, the largest Irish airline on every route being operate and carried 2.25 million passengers in the year. In 1997, the EU air transport deregulation allowed the airline for the first time to open up new routes to Continental Europe with over 3 million passengers on 18 routes carried. Ryanair launched services to Stockholm, Oslo, Paris and Brussels and took time out to float Ryanair plc on Dublin and NASDAQ Stock exchanges. The company was awarded as Airline of the Year in 1999 by the Irish Air Transport Users Committee. In 2000, they announced the launch of 10 new European routes for the summer 2000 after much deliberation and watching others burning money. The company has also jump onto the internet with the launch of their new online booking site and in just 3 months the site is taking over 50,000 bookings a week. By 2001 there are more than 1500 employees working for Ryanair and more than 10 million passengers are carried to 56 cities in 13 European countries. The company has opened Frankfurt-Hahn in 2002 as their second continental European base and announce a long term partnership with Boeing which will see the company acquiring up to 150 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft over an eight year period from 2002-2010. The booking in their web accounts have increased to 94% which has probably has something to do with opening another 26 routes. In year 2003, the company is characterised by rapid expansion and the start the year by announcing that the company has ordered an additional 100 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft to facilitate the rapid European growth plans. They acquired Buss from KL M in April and re-launched 13 buss routes in May. In February they opened their first base in Italy at Milan-Bergamo and launched their Stockholm base in Sweden with six new European routes. In all 60 new routes are added throughout 2003 to bring the company a total of 127 routes. By 2004, the company is named as the most popular airline on the web by Google and they launched their 10thand 11th bases in Rome Ciampino and Barcelona Girona and continue to add more routes to their already extensive network. The company has also passed out British Airways to become the UKs favourite airline in United Kingdom and throughout Europe. Critical Issues Although the company had encountered different problems, specifically in line with its cost structures, the company had been able to survive and grow in the marketplace. Ryanair implement different marketing strategy to make the company survive in the competition and to be able to gain competitive position in the airline market. It is said that the company was regarded recently as the most punctual airline between Dublin and London. And because of the strategy of the industry, Ryanair is now recognised as the second largest airline in United Kingdom and Europes largest low-fares airline having a network of over 57 routes in 11 countries and served by a fleet of 31 Boeing 737-200 and -800 aircraft with over 1,400 staffs and personnel. In order to position itself in the marketplace the company continuously concentrates on driving own its costs to offer the lowest fares possible and remain profitable. In addition, Ryanair offer minimum standards of service and very low prices for point-to-point, short haul flights. The goal of Ryanair is to meet the needs oftravellingat the lowest price. The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are as follows in airline industry: the strategic focus of having the lowest prices, being reliable within the marketplace, comfort and service and frequency. It is noted that low-cost companies concentrate on this first critical success factor by trying to offer the lowest prices. Although Ryanair has eliminated extras such as in-flight meals, advanced seat assignment, free drinks and other services, it still prioritises features which remain important to its target market. Such features include frequent departures, advance reservations, baggage handling and consistent on-time services.(Ryanair vision,mission,goals and objects has been elborated in Appendix 01 External Environmental Analysis By using a PESTEL Analysis we scan the macro environmental factors that would influence the performance of an organization. It is often used to generate market ideas and product ideas. PESTLE Analysis of Ryainair (P)olitical/(L)egal Change of government/policy Ryanair have been involved in various legal disputes with governments both in this country and the EU regarding their business deals with airports and airline regulatory bodies Political changes in countries where they have routes to (could also be affected by above point) Governments in countries they fly to may support their own flagship carrier Local councils objecting to noise and new runways being built as in past Governments looking to increase tourism might welcome Ryanair and therefore act in their favour. (E)conomic Potential economic recession, Irelands economy has already been stated as growing however this may suddenly change. Because of above main customers wouldnt fly for business as would be cost cutting Energy and fuel costs are cause of uncertainty Economic change within countries they fly to or would hope to open new routes to, for example war with Iraq has shut off any hope of tourism there for the foreseeable future and other factors such as SARS (OHiggins, 2004) and more recently, Bird Flu. (S)ocial Because of economic growth at the moment it has become normal to fly away for holidays therefore market has expanded and new opportunities for tourism have opened in previously unconsidered countries. Business trips, although Ryanair do not offer luxury they are possibly more attractive because less cost to a company means they can travel more frequently. Lower costs means attract a wider demographic of consumer (T)echnological Main threat to business market is video conferencing To a lesser extent VOIP Online check-in, self service check in at airport OHiggins, (2004) discusses that Ryanair currently have a fleet of mainly Boeng 737s which are one of the best known and used commercial aircraft. Thus, the company is able to obtain spares and maintenance services on favorable terms thanks to economies of scale, limit costs of staff training and offer flexibility in scheduling aircraft and crew assignments (E)nvironment Using more environmentally- friendly aircraft. Aviation represents 2.6 per cent of carbon emission in the EU and airline industry should pay environmental taxes for the contribution they make to global warming. Deploying more efficient aircraft that use less fuel and produce less pollution. Industry Analysis Industry can effects profitability and the competitive positions of members. To identify it we can use, Market Segmentation Ryanair lay claim to their market segment by stating they were Europes first no frills airline, www.ryanair.com. Ryanair have made strategic decisions based on increasing their competitive edge, the main one becoming involved in attracting customers at both ends of their routes. Haberberg and Rieple , support this by showing that Ryanairs key source of revenue from as far back as a decade ago has been in enticing passengers from France, Italy and Scandinavia. This has had the advantage of increasing their market share as well as the added bonus of creating a well recognised brand name across Europe. Competitive Advantages Their main competitors are carriers including easyJet, BMI baby, FlyBe and ThomsonFly all of who try to attract potential customers by emphasizing their low cost tickets. This makes the competition in this market segment fierce as in order to offer the lowest fares, costs must also be kept to a minimum. The well discussed fact that Ryanair possesses a more than favourable relationship with airport operators has benefited the carrier in a time of industry growth and aggressive pricing. The carrier continues to pay little or no costs despite being the focus of the EU Commission in February 2004, which ruled that Ryanair had been receiving illegal state subsidies for its base airport at publicly-owned Charleroi Airport, OHiggins (2004). Ryanair and the airport in question defended themselves by declaring they paid a fee for every customer and therefore complied with the EU state aid rules. OHiggins (2004) claims that Michael OLearys main argument was that the state aid rules allow the Wallonian government to stimulate traffic at an unused airport facility in exactly the same way that every private airport reduces its charges it if wishes to grow its business. However, although these decisions by the EU Commission went against Ryanair, it also made them even more of a household name across the EU. The free publicity was an added bonus, as well as the position Ryanair took, of being almost a savior of the lesser known airports, bringing them trade and tourism and then being persecuted for it. Porters Five Forces Model Porters five forces analysis is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. It uses concepts developed in Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces which determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in this context refers to the overall industry profitability. Porters five forces model has been fully elaborated more on Appendix 02 Threat of substitutes is medium for Ryanair and is basically in the form of land,travel. Barganing power of buyer is high as low budget air travel is almost a commodity today and carriers are many. Buyer are well informed at prices and deals via internet and other mediums. Barganing power of the suppliers as Ryanair with its large scale holds the power to switch suppliers and demand better terms, especially to cut cost.Threat of new entrants is medium- as entrance to tarvel industry needs special licenses etc as well as high capital investments.Existing Rivalry is high with Ryanair competing against national carriers as well as low budget carriers for their share of market. Overall the industry witch Ryanair in is of medium attractiveness. Strategic Group Analysis The value of strategic group analysis as a tool for understanding industry dynamics and structure. Studing strategic groups, but that the analysis can help a firm in effort to understand the industry in which it competes and to identify its most relevant competitors. Internal Environmental Analysis Resources There are two kind of resources, tangible and intangible again movin further it can be categarise as financial, human, physical resources. Physical Resiurces and Human Resources has been fully elaborated more on Apendix 03 Financial Resources In the low cost structured airline industry Ryanair was the highest profit making airline.(ratioes has been fully elaborated on Appendix 04) Value Chain Analysis An analysis of an organisations resources can include its financial, physical, human, intellectual and reputational resources. In the deployment of these resources, it is also important to understand the competences and core competences of an organization. Porters (1985) value chain concept is an important part of this process. Ryanair strongly manages and forms relationships with various suppliers e.g. Boeing and food/beverages etc, to ensure goods are received of requirement standards and on time in-order to add value throughout its value chain In addition to this by forming strong relationships with Boeing, they are able to obtain spares and maintenance on favorable terms reducing costs, thus offering lower prices to passengers and safer flights (adding value). In-order to add substantial value for its service by providing low-fares, they closely monitors relationships with airports around Europe, so they provide subsidies to the airliner in order for them to provide low-fares and seen as adding greater value for customers. Furthermore they have agreed with these airports to provide storage hubs as to when a plane enters these sites its automatically refueled and beverage/duty free products are reloaded at negotiable prices reducing costs and quicker turnaround timing is achieved, thus seen as adding val ue. For the airliner to provide low-fares to consumers it contracts staff for aircraft handling, ticketing and baggage handling to third parties at competitive rates as well as engine repairs and heavy maintenances of its aircrafts. Thus reduces direct exposure to employee relationships and disputes reducing costs all through value chain. Additionally, to add greater value for customer, the aircraft staff e.g. pilot, cabin-crew, they holds close relationships, giving the right training making them competent enough to feel confident to answer on flight questions. The airliner has a commission placed for its aircraft crew linked with the sales of duty-paid goods (rewarding mechanisms).Thus close management with aircraft crew ensures good labors turnover reducing the threat of staff being absent for flights, thus seen as adding value for customers.(more on Appendix 05) SWOT Analysis of Ryanair Factor Ways which factor applies to Ryanair (S)trengths Marketing strong branding and reputation, aggressive price strategy. Low costing due to airport operator deals. Reputation as biggest budget airline. Lots of publicity due to OLeary and controversial issues. Air Transport World magazine announced that Ryanair was the most profitable air line in the world. 2006 Annual Report, Ryanair desinged itself as the Worlds Favourite Airline. (W)eaknesses Cash tied up in purchase of new planes. Entire company based on European low cost airline market. Shock profit warnings may have used cash reserves and weakened fiscal structure Refusal to back down over issues such as EU Commission Poor employee relations Total dependance on the CEO Michel O Leary (O)pportunities Possible new routes, New planes = larger capacity. Advertising space on website and planes, more revenue International Airline colloborated EU expansion (T)hreats Competitors BMI baby, Easyjet, ThomsonFly. Economic recession would mean less disposable income. EU Commission could put restrictions on company if do not adhere to state aid rules Subsitute transpotation like car and high speed trains. Fluctuatioans in fuel prices Conclusion On the whole Ryanair seem to be following a strategy which works for them. They are obviously aware of their business environment and understand the importance of monitoring it as they took advantage of the opening in the market when they restyled themselves over a decade ago. However they need to be aware that this environment is constantly shifting and evolving and therefore maintaining a close eye on it and being ready to adapt to any changes should be a fundamental part of their strategy. Recommendation Ryanairs aim to keep fares low, mainly by not introducing fuel surcharges. Actions like this, which were of course highly publicised, ensure Ryanair is constantly attracting customers. Part of Ryanairs success is made possible by the fact they are such a lean company, both in the way they operate and the services they offer. OHiggins (2004) claims that when the carrier dropped their cargo services, although they were going to be losing  £500,000 of revenue a year, they decreased the turnaround time of their aircraft from 30 minutes to 25 minutes to attract more business travellers who required the punctuality. Innovativeness like this has ensured Ryanairs sustainability and will carry them forward into the future. To recommend any major changes would be to predict how the airline industry will change which ultimately cannot be foreseen. However it has been concluded that the budget airline will continue enjoying its boom, with many passengers now enjoying the short breaks away at a low price. Also the advent of new routes will bring more custom, from both departure points. If there was to be a drop in demand Ryanair would certainly suffer and subtle shifts in their strategy could be appropriate. For example offering drinks vouchers onboard for the customers next Ryanair flight might entice more people back, or making alliances with hotel groups in order to offer a complete package, rather than just selling advertising space on their website. References Finlay, Paul (2000), Strategic Management. An Introduction to Business and Corporate Strategy. Pearson Education. ISBN 0 201 39827 3 Haberberg, Adrian Rieple, Alison (2001), The Strategic Management of Organisations. Pearson Education Ltd, ISBN 0 130 21971 1 Lynch, Richard (2000), Corporate Strategy 2nd Ed. Pearson Education Ltd, ISBN 0- 273-64303-7 McManus, John, Maybe its time for Ryanair to jettison OLeary, Irish Times, 11 August 2003 OHiggins, Eleanor, (2004), Ryanair OHiggins, Eleanor, (2007), Ryanair the low fares airline www.ryanair.com www.grin.com Appendix 01 Company Vision Ryanairs CEO, Michael OLeary, has a vision of a world where the fare could drop to nothing as local communities would subsidize the airline to bring a steady traffic of business people and tourists to their region. Main Aim To firmly establish itself as low fares,scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings Rayanairs Main Objective Ryanair will become Europes most profitable lowest cost airline by rolling out the proven `low-fare-no-frills service in all markets in which we operate, to the benefit of our passengers, people, and shareholders (Ryanair Report, 1997). Ryanairs other objectives GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR 6 YEARS TILL 2012. To raise the market share within the low cost sector up to 40%. Fleet of 200 airplanes in 2012, To double the annual passenger transportation to 80 million by 2012. To eliminate the rest of our costly call centers To base the distribution only on online booking. To quadruple its annual profit up to  £1,230 billion in 2012. (www.grin.com/ebook/ryanair.) Appendix 02 Suppliersbarganing power low Competitor Rivalry High Threat of new entrants Medium Threat of Subsitutes Medium Buyers barganing power low How poters 5 force analysis effect Ryanair; Appendix 03 Physical Resources The physical resources which Ryanair possess is the 196 Boeing aircrafts. The huge amount of money being spent by them on their physical resources for the maintainance. They need to keep resources proper and running to make sure that these will not harm their low cost structure. They also have the youngest fleet in whole Europe with a highly fuel efficient capacity. Human Resources Human resources can be considered one of the most important functions of a business. The vast majority of organisations all employ staff and Ryanair is no exception especially due to their size. When the carrier was established over twenty years ago they only had fifty one members of staff on their payroll. (www.ryanair.com.) With this amount of staff they have to ensure that, in order to have operations like call centres and cabin crews running smoothly, they keep their staff happy and motivated. They do this by offering incentives and a share option scheme which allows employees to participate in the success of the company overall. Ryanairs technical operations should mainly revolve around their aircraft as this is the core of their business. In February of last year they announced an order placed with Boeng for 70 firm aircraft as well as 70 options, www.ryanair.com. This means that between now and 2012 Ryanair will have 225 firm aircraft and options for another 220, allowing them to grow to over 70 million passengers per year. Due to this excellent deal negotiated by the carrier their growing amount of aircraft will not add huge amounts to depreciation costs as they will be depreciated over 23 years. Technical operations have to run smoothly for obvious reasons, if a plane scheduled to make a flight for technical problems, for example, then this will impact on all of Ryanairs operations and functions and also cause disharmony amongst their passengers, possibly costing them future ticket sales Appendix 04 Financial Ratios Net Profit Margin Net Profit Margin (NPM) tells us how much profit a company makes for every $1 it generates in revenue. Net profit margin indicates, when compared with GPM, how well a firm is managing its indirect costs in addition to cost of goods sold. Return On Assets Return on Assets (ROA) provides a view of how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. ROA for all three primary competitors is virtually the same. Therefore, we can say that all three companies are generating similar revenue per dollar of assets. Current Ratio The current ratio is a financial ratio that measures whether or not a firm has enough resources to pay its debts over the next 12 months Inventory turnover Inventory turnover ratio shows how many times a companys inventory is sold and replaced over a period. This should be compared against industry averages. A low turnover implies poor sales and, therefore, excess inventory. A high ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying. High inventory levels are unhealthy because they represent an investment with a rate of return of zero. It also opens the company up to trouble should prices begin to fall. Here are unreasonable Inventory turnover ratios of each company. However, the inventory in the motion picture industry is not so important compared to other manufacturing companies.

Existentialism in The Stranger (The Outsider) :: Camus Stranger Essays

Existentialism in The Stranger Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes a few main points, such as the freedom to choose and the choices you make should be made without the assistance of another person or standard. From the existentialist point of view you must accept the risk and responsibility of your choices and follow the commitment to wherever it leads. Someone that is put in a particular situation understands it far more than someone looking in on that same situation, one commonly used situation that appears often in existentialist writing is that of death. The existentialist should learn to accept death when the time has to come and should know that the most important questions in life are not accessible to reason or science. Acting on your own experiences is essential in arriving at the truth and "man is condemned to be free. (Sartre)" There were two parts in The Stranger that helped me better understand existentialism the most. One part of the novel that helped me to understand existentialism better was when Meursault shot the Arab on the beach and how he handled the situation afterwards. The Arab had drawn his knife and held it up to Meursault, but this wasn't what bothered him, it was the light from the sun that shot off the Arabs knife, and the intense heat along with the salt from his sweat in his eyes that was bothering him. Meursault shot the Arab mainly because he was uncomfortable and not because he felt threatened, but in any case he made the decision to shoot him. In the next chapter Meursault can't understand why he would need an attorney for his case because it's simple to him, he had murdered a man and was now ready to pay the consequences. He had made a choice that might not have been the right one but he accepted it and was ready to go through with his decision to wherever it would lead. The other part in The Stranger that helped me to understand existentialism better was at the end of the novel when Meursault is sentenced to death. I don't think Meursault was an existentialist but I do think that he faced death the way an existentialist would have.

Sistine Chapel :: Essays Papers

Sistine Chapel Papal chapel in the Vatican Palace that was erected in 1473-81 by the architect Giovanni dei Dolci for Pope Sixtus IV (hence its name). It is famous for its Renaissance frescoes by Michelangelo. The Sistine Chapel is a rectangular brick building with six arched windows on each of the two main (or side) walls and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The chapel's exterior is drab and unadorned, but its interior walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes by many Florentine Renaissance masters. The frescoes on the side walls of the chapel were painted from 1481 to 1483. On the north wall are six frescoes depicting events from the life of Christ as painted by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandajo, and Cosimo Rosselli. On the south wall are six other frescoes depicting events from the life of Moses by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Botticelli, Domenico and Benedetto Ghirlandajo, Rosselli, Luca Signorelli, and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Above these works, smaller frescoes between the windows depict various popes. For great ceremonial occasions the lowest portions of the side walls were covered with a series of tapestries depicting events from the Gospels and the Acts of th e Apostles. These were designed by Raphael and woven in 1515-19 at Brussels. The most important artworks in the chapel are the frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling and on the west wall behind the altar. The frescoes on the ceiling, collectively known as the Sistine Ceiling, were commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 and were painted by Michelangelo in the years from 1508 to 1512. They depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament. The "Last Judgment" fresco on the west wall was painted by Michelangelo for Pope Paul III in the period from 1534 to 1541. These two gigantic frescoes are among the

Kirk Hammett Role Model :: essays research papers

Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Metallica. He is particularly admirable to me for his eloquent lyrics and quotes, stunning guitar solos and the accomplishments he has achieved in life. He is and always has been a most influential person in my life since I discovered Metallica in 1996. The lyrics Kirk places in his songs are, to me, the most expressive and meaningful of any songs. It is a persons ability to correlate and understand lyrics that makes it so they can truly appreciate the meaning. Kirk’s quotes are sharp but hold merit. One of my favorite quotes by Kirk is, â€Å"In the time between albums, we wondered, 'How does Metallica fit into all this?' and then we realized we didn't fit into it at all, never have, never will." It is his habit of originality that strikes me as someone to look up to. He says, "We never let mainstream music filter into our psyches too much. We try not to let ourselves be influenced too much by what goes on around us musically." His guitar solos are masterpieces within themselves. His mixture of classical guitar and heavy metal is unsurpassed in the heavy metal guitar world. He will always be considered to me, the greatest guitarist of rock music. He picked up a guitar for the first time at the age of fifteen. He was fascinated by the art of guitar and worked hard towards becoming a guitar legend. He took lessons from Joe Satriani, another guitar prodigy, where he learned a method of playing guitar that has yet to be found defective. In this aspect he has encouraged me to follow my dreams. Kirk inspires me, in the biggest way, because of his success over obstacles that stood in his way. Alcoholism was his main obstruction in life. His problem brought him to depression numerous times until he decided that enough was enough. He took care of his problem by going to special programs to help him with his alcoholic lifestyle. At one time during this â€Å"intoxication period† the band actually split up until Kirk changed his life.

Einstein- A Life in Science

This critical account, addresses the life of Albert Einstein, surrounding his remarkable scientific discoveries, unwrapped by the authors Michael White and John Gribbin in a book published in 1993. The book has evoked and attracted great interest from magazines and newspapers. If you have ever wondered what `E=mcà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½` means, this is definitely the book for you. The book elaborates one of Einstein's most renowned theories, that of Quantum physics for which he received the infamous Nobel Prize. Einstein used to be a Patent Officer, which he enjoyed because he had a great deal of spare time to accomplish his scientific work. He died on the eighteenth of April 1955. His brain was removed for medical research, which you would find astonishing as it makes one think, would Einstein have really wanted his brain removed? The book explains the theory of relativity (E=mc2), extremely well. The theory was based on two subsequent variables: Firstly, `echoing` which as explained by Newton, was that the speed of light is the same for all observers, irrespective of what their relative speed is. If an American rocket, for example, had a physics lab on board and was launched in one direction, and the same was done with a Japanese rocket, sent off in the opposite direction, any experiments carried out on either rocket would be exactly the same. The second postulate uses Maxwell's equations, which conclude that light is constant so it is written as `c`. This led to Einstein's predictions, which were not `commonsensical.` He predicted that a moving ruler and everything around it shrinks and gets heavier, while a moving clock runs slow. If an observer sees a spaceship going past him at three-quarters of the speed of light, and another one flies in the opposite direction at the same speed, observers in either spaceship will measure the relative speed of the other spaceship as 0.96c, not 1.5c as the time slows down. This shows that the closer a person travels to the speed of light, the slower the time will get. If someone travels at the speed of light, time will stop. `E=mcà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½` means that energy is equal to mass at rest. When mass disappears, for example in a nuclear fission process, this amount of energy must appear in some other form. This also tells us the total energy of a particle of mass, `m`, sitting at rest. Einstein formed part of the team working on the atomic bomb. It was calculated that a vast amount of energy released in a fission reaction would be used in an atomic bomb. Einstein agreed to be the spokesman for the scientific community and sign a letter persuading Roosevelt to take action. He was later known as the father of the atomic bomb because of this. The result was devastating. This was against Einstein's pacifist views but he had no choice as the Nazis could build the bomb if the allies did not. Since then, the Americans and Russians have been racing in warfare. The atomic bomb was built by the USA. The Russians followed. It was an arms race between the Democratic and Communist world. The USA made the hydrogen bomb, Russia eventually caught up. Then the USA built the nuclear bomb. Several other countries built the nuclear bomb too. His strong pacifist views and political views also made him a marvellous person with the public. Einstein A Life in Science is an excellent book and is worth recommending to those who are curious about what `E=mcà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½` means. It is fascinating to learn that Einstein based his work on the remarkable achievements made by other scientists such as Newton and Maxwell. I would recommend this book to the older audience, particularly to those who have an interest in relativity and quantum physics. This is a very interesting book, which I enjoyed reading because there is a lot to learn about Einstein's life and his incredible work. One should not get put off by looking at the thickness of the book and the small print writing. Once you get into this book, you will not want to stop reading. Overall, I do not think this book explains the science very clearly. I had to read through the special theory of relativity twice before I understood the concept clearly. This book needs to be more concise so the reader can understand the concept more easily because it can be confusing at times. The language used in this book is at a high level, so the younger audience will find it hard to understand the concept. On the other hand, the variety of sentence structures stops the reader from getting bored. This book is a great example to people as the message is that if one works to their utmost potential, they can achieve a lot.

Looking for Alibrandi Sumary

chapter 29 summary Josie at speech night. Speech night was a very emotional night, the HSC was almost over and it would be the last time that they would be wearing their uniform. â€Å"I’m only Dux because I didn’t want you to be† she told me. When josie went to the ladies she bumps into Ivy and they start to talk to each other about how close they were to john and that they didn’t know what could have caused him to commit suicide, in the end Josie and Ivy hug each other and Josie tells Ivy that if they ever go to the same university that if they bumped into each other they would go out for a cappuccino.In this chapter we get to see that Ivy and Josie can get along when they choose to be and even though they had there ups and downs they still ended up as good friends, just the way that john hoped it would be like. chapter 28 summary Josie is hit with a shocking surprise.When Josie went to school the next day she sees Ivy sitting on the stairs holding her h ead in her hands and Josie asks her what was wrong then Ivy tells her that John was dead but Josie thought that it was a joke when Ivy told her but then when she saw anna come up to her and hold her in her arms and say that she was very sorry josie had to go to the ladies room and she vomited and then when she was done she fell to the ground and she felt like she wanted to cry but she couldn’t because she was so angry. â€Å"he killed himself. â€Å"He swallowed tablets and they found him this morning. † â€Å"For God’s sake, josie, he’s dead, my father wrote the fucking autopsy report. † In this chapter we get to see that josie and ivy have so much in common because they both loved john and they both cared about him so much, we also get to see that josie has a lot of fear in her because she is to scared to die and she never wants her family to die because she loves them so much. chapter 27 summary Josie goes to watch her cousin robert play at his rugby union game.While at the game josie bumps into john who was also watching the game and asks josie what she was doing at the game, she said that she bribed her cousin because if she went to his game he had to take her to the St. Anthony’s graduation. â€Å"Oh yes, where only the privileged can attend. I promised Ivy when we were about twelve I think. † In this chapter we get to see that josie and john get along very well and that they both like each other but they were both to shy to tell each other that they did when they were younger. chapter 26 summaryJosie forgives her grandmother for doing what she did over thirty years ago. â€Å"your grandfather francesco treated me like one of his farm animals. † Josie and her friends were going to go to Anna’s to do some last minute studying for the HSC but when the bus came Josie say’d to her friends that she would miss out and instead she went to her grandmothers house. When Josie got to her grandmo thers house she gave her the biggest hug she has ever given and she cried her guts out, when they sat down in the living room Josie asks why?And then her grandmother tells her more of what happened and because of that she starts to resent her nonno a bit because of what he did to nonna katia. In this chapter Josie learns that her grandmother had dreams like her and that she did what she did because she was angry with francesco and only him because he had left her alone for so long. chapter 25 summary Josie  and her family celebrate her mothers birthday. Josie lets her mother go to her cousins house and stays at her grandmothers house and then she blows her top off at her grandma and finds out that marcus sandford is her mother’s father and not her nonno.In this chapter we get to see that Josie dislikes her grandmother for doing what she did and she has been telling her that australians are bad and she should go out with an italian man instead. chapter 24 summary Jacob wants to meet Josie's grandmother. When Josie and Jacob are walking down the stairs she sees her grandmother and Jacob tells Josie that he wants to meet her because he thought it would be nice but Josie repeatedly says no because she has just earned her grandmothers trust again and she doesn't want to lose that. â€Å"My grandmother wouldn't understand, jacob. give it time. he was brought up in a different time and place . i know it's hard enough for you to understand. It's hard enough for me. † In this chapter we get to see that Josie feels kind of ashamed of her grandmother because her grandmother always to carry on with her family tradition. we also get to see that Josie and Jacob don't always have the right things to say to each other. chapter 23 summary Josie gets to understand her grandmother more than she has ever before. Josie learns that her grandmother was a very lonely person when she moved to australia because nonno had to work and he worked on the cain farms when they lived in Queensland. He came to see me though. he said that it would his heart if i would leave. i could see it in his eyes. but if i stayed i knew i would break my heart. † In this chapter we get to see Josie and her grandmother really close to each other, we also get to see that Josie is interested in what her grandmothers life was like when she first moved to Australia. chapter 22 summary Josie and her mum have a splurge day. they decided to go to one of the harbourside restaurants and although the weather was cool, it wasn't wet enough to ruin the view. â€Å"he's ultra cool, you know.Not cool as though he drives a sports car and dresses trendy, but he's a cool guy, he's up front. No bull. † â€Å"take things slowly, and they will work out. † this chapter reveal that christina was treated very badly by her father when she was pregnant and even before that, he called her every name under the sun, a tramp, a slut. he even hit me across the face and even hit my mother. chapter 21 summary Josie goes to the movies with John Barton to see Macbeth. While at the movies they bump into Jacob and he tries to have a go at John because Josie and Jacob are going out, but in Jacobs eyes that s not what it looks like. Well,, for your information, Miss Intellectual, we're studying Macbeth at school and that's what i'm going to see tonight,so never ever presume what i like and what i don't like. † In this chapter we get to see that Jacob gets jealous when Josie goes out with other friends that are boys, we also get to see that they both can get pissed of very easily with each other. if Josie had the option to go out with John and not Jacob she would but the only thing from stopping her is that he isn't that fun as Jacob but he shares so many things in  common with Josie and Jacob doesn't. chapter 20 summaryJosie is put in charge of keeping an eye on he little students at St Martha's on their annual Walk-a-thon that they have every year to celebr ate St Martha's day. While Josie is supposed to be looking after the slow people she instead goes with her friends to see Trey Hancock at the Sebel Town House. The next day Sister  Louise calls the girls into her office but dismisses three of them and tells Josie to stay behind. â€Å"Ivy doesn't have â€Å"one offs†. She's   responsible from the moment she walks into school till the moment she walks out. † â€Å"You were voted school captain but i gave the job to Ivy because she'd do a better job. In this chapter we find out that Josie was supposed to be school captain instead of Ivy, we also learn that Josie loves to do what her friends do and that she and her friends are trend setters for all the little people of St Martha's. chapter 19 summary Tomato Day! Josie and her family have a tradition that they have to make their own pasta and sauce to go with it, this is when the whole tomato thing comes into place every year on a specific day all the family comes tog ether and they pick tomatoes for the sauce, they squash them by hand and then cook them and then squash them again and then cook them one last time.Robert and I call this day â€Å"Wog day† or â€Å"National Wog day†. Nonna and Zia started to tell the story about Marcus Sandford and how he helped them with the garden while the men where at camp. â€Å"I thought that maybe by spoke to someone they would feel sorry for us and send us back one man. Maybe all our husbands. † This chapter reveals that Josie and her family get on very well when they aren’t fighting and telling others what to do and how to do it, we also get to see that Josie’s family loves to carry out tradition. chapter 18 summaryJacob surprises Josie by getting a car so they can go places instead of having to ride on his motorbike. â€Å"Tons of things ,† I said excited. â€Å"We could form a company. I’d be the theory part of the business and you’d be the practic al. † This chapter reveals that Josie believes that she can have a wonderful life with Jacob but at the same time she doesn’t as well because she doesn’t believe that she has chosen the right man for her. chapter 17 summary Josie gets to know her father more than ever over the holiday that they had together in Adelaide. â€Å"You sound like Mama†, I said, standing up through the sunroof.Josie enjoys the time that she spends with her father in Adelaide and meeting the rest of her family for the first time in seventeen years. This chapter reveals that Josie likes being with her father because she feels like she has known him for her whole entire life. When Josie gets back she sees Jacob on Saturday night and he tells her never to leave him again. chapter 16 summary Josie wags school on friday to go on a date with Jacob Coote. He leaned over and kissed me quickly. â€Å"what was that for? † i asked, embarrassed, but laughing. â€Å"I like the way you talk, I like the way you think. So much passion behind those bifocalled eyes.So much to say†. This chapter reveals that Josie is really opening up to Jacob and letting him into her life, and the same thing goes for Jacob he is letting Josie into his life and telling each other what they have done and what their families are like. chapter 15 summary Josie goes out with the girls to darling harbour after school, at the cafe` they see Jacob, Anton and four of their friends cramp themselves in to the booth behind them much to the dismay of Anna and Josie. â€Å"Listen, we’ll start over again, Okay, I looked into his clear green eyes which always seemed so warm and sincere no matter how bad he looked at times†.Eyes, my mother told me, never lie. This chapter reveals that Josie starts to like Jacob again even though he treated her like he did on their date to the movies. when Josie gives Jacob a second chance he asks her to wag school with him so they could go out on a proper date. chapter 14 summary Josie meets up with John barton again and give each other their pieces of paper with their emotions written on it. John talks to Josie about the fact that his father hates him at the moment just because he didn’t win the maths competition. My father was home when i got there this afternoon . Went through my mail. He owns m y life so of course he is entitled to open my mail,† he spat out bitterly. after John finishes telling Josie about what his father think s about him at the moment they decide to talk about the HSC and that they have to write what they are feeling at the moment and then they have to give it to someone else and then after the HSC the person that they gave the note has to ask them how they are feeling and read out what they felt before the test.In this chapter we are shown Josie’s feelings for John Barton again, we are also shown that Josie cares about what John does with his life and tries to help him with his pro blems. chapter 13 summary Josie goes out on a date with Jacob Coote but ends up spending the night with her father Michael Andretti. â€Å"Just because you had to meet my mother, you went and acted like a prick. Why? † â€Å"Okay, this is my proposition. How about you come work for me at the chamber? You can do photocopying and help the secretaries,† he suggested.Josie starts to dislike Jacob Coote because he was being a snob to her and her mother when he came to pick her up so they could go to the movies, when they got to the movies they started to have a fight and then Josie ran off and hid in one of the arcades and when she thought the cost was clear she ran out of the movies and started to walk home when she was being followed by a car, when it pulled up next to her she shouted at the driver saying that her father was a police officer and the person driving said actually he’s a Barrister, Josie jumps in the car and has dinner with Michael Andretti at a pizza place on Glebe point road.In this chapter we get to see a father, daughter relationship build and start to get strong we also get to see Josie’s true feelings towards her father, she feels that she wants to know him more but at the same time she doesn’t want to because what he did to her mother over seventeen years ago. chapter 12 summary Josie ask’s her grandmother to show her the photos of when she was young and her past. â€Å"I regretted it when i saw the look of glee on her face. Because the way Nonna makes my mother feel , I hate making that women happy. † Even hough Josie doesn’t like to make her grandmother happy she still tried to pay attention when she was telling her stories behind all the photos, Josie screeched when her grandmother told her that her first Australian friend was a hunk, but when her grandfather had found out that her grandmother had an aussie over about every day he got jealous and said she was never to see him again. I n this chapter we get to see that Josie tries to be nicer to her grandmother. chapter 11 summary Josie talks to her mum again and ask’s if she can go to the movies on saturday. Is that what all this buttering up has been all about† after telling her mother that she wants to go to the movies with Jacob Coote, her mother says that she will think about it. this chapter reveals that Josie has strong feelings for Jacob Coote more than ever because not only did he protect her after she as hurt by Greg Sims and she liked that he was being a protective person. chapter 10 summary Josie gets raped by Greg Sims and his posy. â€Å"He grabbed me by the front of the uniform and slobbered all over my mouth and i could hear Anna scream and pull me away while the bile rose in my throat†.Jacob Coote comes to comes to Josie’s aid while she is being forced upon by Greg Sims. In this chapter we are shown that not only can Josie be mean and cruel to other people, Jacob Coote c an also be just as mean and cruel to people. When Jacob drops Josie off she tells him that if he wants to go out with   her that he has to meet her mother, Jacob puts up a fight but in the end he gives in and ask’s her out to the movies on saturday night. chapter 9 summary Josie fights with her mum. â€Å"I don't like the fact that you're going out with him again. Josie doesn't like it when her mother leaves her at home alone just so she can go out with a guy, Josie doesn't want her mum to get married because she just wants it too be the two of them until they die. The chapter reveals that Josie loves her mother but she also doesn't want to hurt her by doing the wrong things. Josie has her moments with her mother every now and then, but they usually end up hugging each other or if it doesn't go well they don't talk to each other for a while. chapter 7 summary Josie goes to her grandmothers house because her mum is going out for the night. Oh God, Ma, I have to sleep in the same bed as her. She doesn't shave her legs. † Josie learns a lot about her grandmother that night that she sleeps over, she told Josie that she used to look exactly like her when she was her age, she also told Josie that she was forced to move to Australia with her husband and that meant that she would probably never see her family again. This chapter reveals that Josie starts to develop a stronger relationship with her. chapter 8 summary Josie brakes a girls nose. we are introduced to one of the beautiful girls Carly Bishop â€Å"they were all wogs. hey seem to be ever where,† she snickered. â€Å"I'm just the same as them and I'd appreciate you not going on about wogs every day. It offends me†   In this chapter we get to see a father daughter relationship develop between Josie and Michael Andretti. the chapter reveals that Josie does have feelings for Michael Andretti even though she told him to stay away from he he still came to the rescue when she called. chapter 6 summary Josie meets her father for the second time. â€Å"I don't want her,† he said flatly. oth Josie and Christina had a fight with Michael Andretti, first it was Christina who told Michael that they didn't want anything to do with him, then later on in the day Josie followed him into the lounge room and watched him look at all the photos that her grandmother had all around the place, Josie told him that if he ever hurt her mum that he would be in a lot of trouble. This chapter reveals that Josie feels anger and hatred towards Michael Andretti because he left her mum when she was young and didn't try to contact her since then. chapter 5 summary Josie goes to the regional dance.Jacob Coote gives Josie a ride home on his motor cycle even though Josie knows that if her mum found out that she did she was going to be dead or one of the people in another car saw her and recognized her they would tell her grandmother and she would tell her mother. â€Å"My mother will murder me†. â€Å"she'll find out alright†. this chapter reveals that Josie starts to develop a strong relationship with Jacob Coote. â€Å"do you know that I've been in this country my whole life and I've never spoken to an aboriginal†. chapter 4 summary Josie works with Poison Ivy at the debating night.We are introduced to John Barton. â€Å"To walk into the regional   dance with John Barton would make me the envy of every snob at St Martha's†. This chapter reveals that Josie shows her feeling for just more than one particular boy. she likes to flirt a lot with boys that she hasn't seen for ages or just met. chapter 3 summary Josie hates to go to her grandma's house because its her family ritual only because her mum makes her. We are introduced to Josie's father Michael. â€Å"Michael! my heart began to pound at one hundred miles per hour and I could feel the hairs at the back of my head standing up on end†.This chapter reveals that Josie feels hate towards her grandmother because she sayed that the daughter's behaviour always reflects on how good the mother is. chapter 2 summary Josie speaks about AIDS at the ‘Have A Say Day'. Josephine has friends such as Sera, Lee and Anna, who influence her life greatly. We are introduced to Jacob Coote at the ‘Have A Say Day' â€Å"†¦. If your an outcast with your own kind, you'll never be accepted by anyone†. â€Å"No matter how much I hate Poison Ivy, I want to be in her world†. This chapter shows more about Josie's relationship with her friends and how she deals with her family life.For days I just couldn't help thinking about my father. I felt sick at the idea of meeting him, though at the same   time I desperately wanted to. chapter 1 summary The reader is introduced to the main character and narrator of the story, Josephine Alibrandi. as a reader we find out that Josie goes to St Martha's high school. The narrator is a typical teenager who worrie s about issues such as peer pressure and relationships with others and teachers. â€Å"My biggest problem though, is being at a school dominated by rich people†¦ ho i can't see having a problem in the world† This chapter shows how Josie feels insecure because she is an outsider. My Mother was born here so as far as the Italians were concerned we weren't completely one of them. Yet because my grandparents were born in Italy we weren't completely Australian. Whole Book Summary ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ is a story about a young girl, growing up in Sydney in the nineties. The only side of life to create any hassle is that she is Italian, with an Italian mother, grandmother and father, somewhere, growing up in an Australian world.Throughout the book, she spends her entire year twelve either at her home or at her grandmother’s, school or suburban areas, learning about herself and making friends. The main character, Josephine Alibrandi, or Josie, is a feisty a nd head-strong seventeen year old. She received an English scholarship at the beginning of highschool to go to a strict, Catholic college, St. Martha’s. She is very intelligent academically and can achieve excellent grades when she applies herself. She is also the vice-captain at St. Martha’s to Ivy, an Australian favourite of all, whom she calls Poison Ivy.Most of her friends from primary school didn’t end up there, so she has made new friends, although most of the school is from the rich, Australian side of Sydney. She has only just introduced boys as a major part of her life, mostly involving Jacob Coote from the state school and forming a friendship with John Barton, from the Catholic boy’s school. Josephine was born illegitimately to a seventeen year old Christina Alibrandi. The father, a boy of the same age named Michael Andretti, had to move away to Adelaide with his family before she was born. There was a part of him that knew Christina had gone t hrough with the pregnancy, however he as scared and not prepared for a child. Michael had to come back to Sydney when Josephine was seventeen for his work as a barrister and bumped into Christina at a wedding. Michael Andretti is stern and serious. Even Josephine notes him as â€Å"a worrier†. They have separate lives, he has a good job and a girlfriend. By the end of the story, they have grown close and he had gotten her out of trouble many times, like when she smashed Carly Bishop in the nose with a textbook and when she was wondering the streets alone after she stormed out of her date with Jacob Coote.He begins his life with her by saying that he doesn’t need any ‘complications’ and that it is all going perfectly without an ‘obnoxious creation’. Eventually they get to know each other and Josey works at his law chamber and begins to consider changing her last name to Andretti. Christina Alibrandi, Josie’s mum, is supportive of her dau ghter and has raised her on her own for her whole life, with the occasional help of her mother. Jacob Coote said: â€Å"You [Josephine] come across all tough and fearless while on the inside you’re a softy. She [Christina] comes a across a softy, whereas deep down she’s tough and fearless. Christina can be strong and honest when she needs to be and will do what she thinks is right, like suggesting to her daughter, the first time she met Jacob Coote and he was acting like a pig, that she didn’t think it would be good to let her go out with him again. She also is known to compromise, in letting Josie go out with him after she saw he’d smartened up a bit. She is like Josie, a dreamer. She says herself, â€Å"I wasn’t a rebel Italian [when I had you], I was a naive Italian. † She’d give her very life for her daughter and she loves her mother very much, despite not admitting to it.Katia Alibrandi, known as Nonna to Josie, is the mother of Christina. She felt things too, just as her daughter and grand-daughter; she describes herself as a youth to have been a â€Å"gypsie†. When she was younger and came to Australia with her husband, she was alone in the outback with little knowledge of the language. She had the help of an Australian man, Marcus Sandford, who loved her dearly and would do things for her, seeing as her husband would be away on work. She did not pursue a relationship with him; people were talking as it was. â€Å"People will talk† is the quote that she practically lives by.The Italian community are known to ‘talk’. He came into her house one day and Christina was born nine months later. Marcus was going to take her away where nobody knew them, however, seeing as she’d defied her marriage so much, she at least had to stay with her husband. Her husband had lied to her all of these years, he could not have kids, however they stayed together. Nobody knew about Christinaâ₠¬â„¢s illegitimacy, Katia distanced herself from her because of it, until Josephine figured it out after finally taking interest in her grandmother, and she never told anybody.Katia and Josie develop a good relationship, even though Christina must never know. Katia was strong and has memories, even though she is old-fashioned, just like how she would never accustom herself to Josie’s Australian boyfriend, who she has no knowledge of. Jacob Coote is the captain of Cook State Highschool. He is â€Å"deep and meaningful when he wants to be† in the words of Josie. He is with the ‘in’ crowd at Cook High. He has his pick of the girls and is popular and athletic. Jacob bullied Josephine when she was younger, not her specifically, however that was how life worked.He then falls for her and defends her, he beats Greg Sims when he tries to rape her and his friends, her friend, in the McDonald’s car park where she worked before the law chamber. They go through their fights, however they have high prospects in their relationship by the end of the book. Jacob’s mum died when he was young. It did hurt him, however he tries to move on from it. He does think about it, sometimes, however he is contented in his life otherwise. He now lives with his dad, who drinks a bit, and has an older sister of about 24 years of age with her own family now.Of course he naturally has prejudices against John Barton. John Barton grows up in a prissy world and has all of the doors open to him. He does enjoy it sometimes, however it isn’t really what he wants to do with his life. He is expected to do well; while Jacob and Josie aren’t expected to get far, and he’s prefer that. Ivy Lloyd, or Poison Ivy, decides that she owns him. John does quite like Josephine though. He tries to be diplomatic with things, although he does not want to enter politics as everyone expects him to.By the end of the book, he commits suicide with a drug overdos e right before his year twelve exams. That ruined the story for me, made me cry. Ivy and Josie begin to accept each other, however they are hurt as he was a true friend to them both. I can almost relate to John Barton, not the suicide, however in means of having pressure on him and having to meet expectations. I can understand that, because it is so real. All of these characters are real and this story is only too possible. The Italian Empire, where â€Å"people will talk† is real. It is very humorous actually, because it relates so much to my own life.Illegitimacy being the end of the world, and how gossip can start in one place and everybody know. I understand the gender stereotypes and the important role of religion, in when Katia cannot leave her husband. It is fairly old-fashioned and stubborn, the things that Josie is restricted from doing, however that seriously is life, no doubt about that. You’d have to be there to know it, and I’m there. I’m a l ot like Josephine. I can see how things aren’t fair, however I am able to accept them because decisions are made for me for my own good. Josephine says, â€Å"No way, Mama. If you say no I’ll accept it. I also do think, like Josephine does, that the entire world is crumbling around me and I can be a little inconsiderate at times, accidently of course. I’m learning about myself and growing up, just as she is. Only I’m not in year twelve yet, and I’m not in a leadership role, as much as I like to be a leader. The story is basically about growing up, which can be a challenge in itself, however the main complication is that she is Italian in an Australian world as previously outlined. It creates expectations and a way of life that may have been ethical in Italy, however not so in Australia.Also, the Italians here haven’t modernised with the Italians back there. Things that seem ordinary here just won’t flow with the Italian community, th ings like widows and women with children marrying, and two unmarried people living together, problems that both Katia and Christina face, and that Josephine will too unless she can run from it as she says she will, â€Å"I’ll run one day. Run for my life. I’ll run to be free and think for myself. † There isn’t really a resolution, except that Josie learns to accept who she is.She may still want to run, however, for the time being, she is happy with it. She even says that it will be a part of her forever, her nationality, and even if she dislikes it sometimes it will always make her who she is: â€Å"You can’t hate what you’re a part of. What you are. I resent it most of the time, curse it always, but it will be a part of me till the day I die. † Josie grows up, that is how it all works out. She learns more about the world around her, like the hardships that both her mother and her grandmother went through, and she becomes more aware o f the world around her.A major turning point is after the death of John, she suddenly realises that her life will always be what it is, and her deciding to get along with Ivy is another way of saying that she has gotten more mature, and that she understands. In the story, the way things progress, how relationships develop, and the steps that Josephine takes to grow up, all happen through the things that she encounters. She begins her journey at a public event where every school has to make a speech. Josephine represents her school, as Ivy is too busy talking to the Premier of the entire state.There she meets Jacob Coote and doesn’t really know what to think about him, however he is impressed by his speech on the vote. However, she hardly considers herself interested, despite everyone, including herself, finding him attractive. We then meet her grandmother and get a glimpse of her family life. She sees her father for the first time when he shows up at her grandmother’s house, however they do not converse, as ‘Nonna’ does not know who he is, and he’s only an old neighbour so far. There is inter-school debating and Josie talks to John Barton. He is friendly and Josie gets along with him well.They decide they will see a movie together for school. He would have been her ideal boyfriend. Ivy comes and steals him away, despite the fact that he is reluctant to go with her. He doesn’t get a chance to be with her at the school dance a while afterwards, being caught up with Ivy, seeing as he is in that crowd with her. Josie dances with Jacob Coote, who gives her a lift home on his motorbike, as much as she’d rather not ride on it. She finds out that his mother died when he was younger. He tries to kiss her, however she refuses, they agree that they are from two different worlds and he leaves on good terms with her.Next is Josie’s second encounter with Michael Andretti at her grandmother’s house. She speaks to him after her mother. Everyone is very clear that they want nothing to do with him. It is then that her grandmother realises who is and his relation to the family, at that, she decides she would not want to see him again, however she doesn’t cause a fuss. Josie stays with her mother overnight and learns more about her. She begins to take an interest after realising that her grandmother was a seventeen year old once too.She arrives at school and attends class where she overhears Carly Bishop bagging people of European descent, calling them ‘wogs’ as an insult. Josephine had taken it for years and finally had gotten sick of it. They argued and then Josie hit her with her ‘Concepts of Science’ textbook. She calls Michael Andretti, as he is a barrister to help her, seeing as she’d probably have been expelled and sued. He comes to her rescue, even though they’d agreed to never speak to each other again. On Friday, Josie speaks to Sister Loui se, the headmaster of her school, as scheduled.She realises that she does care and notices that she’s human, despite being a nun. Her mum goes out on a date for the first time. Josie and her grandmother are furious, however her mum has a good time and Josie accepts that. Whilst working at McDonald’s with her friend, Anna, Greg Sims, a boy who teased her as a child, enters with her friends. He would have been rude to her, however police came in to buy something so he leaves her be. They wait for her and Anna in the car park; they are ready to rape them both. Jacob Coote is just passing by with his friend, Anton, and he sees what is appening. He beats the living daylights out of Greg Sims. Anton takes Anna home, and they are quite fond of each other. Jacob takes Josie home. He asks her out, she considers it and decides to ask her mother. He agrees to meet her, only he’d never do that any other time and dislikes the idea. She talks to her mother who agrees to let h er go out with him. Curiosity gets the better of Josephine as she asks her grandmother to see photos and to tell her about her life. She finds out about how she met Marcus Sandford in a post office and he would help her, seeing as she was alone in the country.When her husband found out, he was furious and didn’t want to let her see him anymore. On Saturday, she goes on her date with Jacob. He is a pig to her mother in spite of the fact that he has to meet her. The date lasts ten minutes and she storms out of the cinema complex before even entering the movie. On the long walk home, her father is driving past and picks her up to go and get pizza. He tells her that ignoring her existence won’t make her go away and they begin to develop an understanding relationship. Her mother is not angry, only she isn’t too keen on Jacob Coote.Josie is enjoying her job at Mac Michael and Sons law chamber. Her joy is shattered when she has coffee with John Barton ant they talk abo ut life. He worries, her, saying things like, â€Å"I don’t think I want to live this life anymore, Josie. † She is extremely worried and they decide to write on a piece of paper the way they feel and keep each other’s so that they can read them after graduation. It gives him a little hope, however she is still extremely concerned. Josephine talks with her friends and tells them that she’d like to be a barrister when she grows up.Jacob Coote asks her out on another date. They decide they will wag school for it, not that she’d have ever dreamed of doing so in a million years. There won’t be any mother-meeting this time. They have a wonderful time and share in their first passionate kiss. On the mid-term holidays, Jacob gets a car. Her mum is supportive of them being together. There is the St. Martha’s Walk-a-thon. Josie leaves with her friends and is in major trouble with Sister Louise because it meant that the little kids were unsuper vised. She goes to see that movie with John and Jacob sees them there.They argue but they get over it. A couple of weeks later she is at his house for the first time. He would have liked to have sex with her, and she refuses it. After some conversation he accepts it. She finds out about Marcus Sandford being her real grandfather and promises not to tell if her grandmother accepts Michael Andretti. She talks to John Barton and he is cheery and happy and the day later at her year twelve exams she finds Ivy crying that he had killed himself. It is sad. She reads the note he wrote earlier that year and realises that it was what he wanted to do.She attends the funeral. Jacob was also torn up; he was taking it harder than Josephine. He felt had something in common with John, somewhere, and he’d experienced death before and this probably reminded him of his mum. Only now I realise that he was happy because he knew he would do it. He even said only the day beforehand, â€Å"Iâ€℠¢ve got my whole future planned out the way I want it to be and there is nothing anyone can do to take that away from me. † It is sad, but also a good thing in a sense. It is what he wanted. I think Josephine learns to accept it a little at the end.At the beginning of this book review, I though the ending was ridiculous and too sad. Now I understand more that it was really what John Barton wanted to do, kill himself. He was really looking forward to being able to run free, just like Josephine always said she’d wanted to do, even if that meant death for him. I like the ending, now I do. I now like that there was a challenge in figuring that out. Besides that, I liked that Jacob and Josephine ended up having a caring relationship and that they became incredibly happy. I like happily ever afters.Throughout the book, I enjoyed that they were always able to become friends again after a fight. It made the book a lot more exciting. I also enjoyed how the book exhibits how rela tionships developed throughout the novel. It was interesting to read about the way emotions develop between characters, specifically Josephine and her father. It was thrilling to read how they learn things about each other and accept each other in their lives, and the way that the Alibrandi’s become comfortable with him. It is also good to see how Josie takes interest in her grandmother and she can confide in her.I’d change the time she spends with her friends. I’d like them to have played a more prominent role, or not be included in the story, as they add little to the plot. It would’ve made me happy if she did not skip school. It just ruined a little of the part of her that I though resembled myself. I thought I’d have liked to change that John died. I now would not change that, it adds an important lesson for Josephine to learn on her journey of growing up. Death is something she had to learn to accept. However it could be in the blurb, it would ruin the story a little, although a warning would be nice for the light-hearted.I’d have liked if Melina Marchetta would elaborate more and explain how he saw his death was ‘running free’. I wouldn’t have understood if I hadn’t written this essay. I learnt more about death from reading this. That pretty much sums it up. I never saw suicide as a relief or an escape, although it apparently can be. I picked up on a few facts that I’d have found in a history book, they were another factor that kept me engrossed in reading. This would be a good book for somebody of European descent. It made it highly enjoyable for me as so much is only too true.It could possibly be aimed at someone a little older than myself, somebody who certainly has the insight to deal with suicide and not let it get to them. It has to be taken maturely, so possibly it would be a good story for the sixteen-and-up age group, however it does matter on the individual. ‘Look ing for Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta is an extremely wonderful book, definitely worth reading and re-reading. It gave me a lot, and I can understand why people made such propaganda about reading it. I rate it ‘I