Friday, November 29, 2019

This I Believe An Intermission from This Fastâ€Paced Life free essay sample

The majority of my childhood was spent in an old, tired town in the Philippines. It was not a wealthy town; yet, it was not a poor town. Consequently, we would often have these power outages that would last overnight, and, I have to say, those were some of the most memorable scenes of my childhood. Further, the wick of the candle blinking near my face elicits this feeling as if time stood still, and my worries about the future kind of go away even if it was just for that moment shrouded in darkness. And so I believe that by taking a short break from the bustle of life, it yields a more composed and prepared deportment for whatever the future holds. Therefore, I believe that by taking my time, I am more likely to achieve greater feats. At this point in my life, however, time has been described to be somewhat of a currency (time is money) or to be somewhat of an essence (time is of the essence). We will write a custom essay sample on This I Believe: An Intermission from This Fast–Paced Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, everyone is rushing towards the gates of these prestige colleges, and here I remain undecided—and a tiny bit regretful of ever growing up. Moreover, family and relatives would frequently meet me and pester me about what college I want to attend and what career I want to go for; but can I just graduate from high school first? At this point in my life, planning ahead and taking immediate action has been stressed as top priority. I am told to aim for a career that is stable in order to sufficiently provide for a family. Hence, I am told about careers that earn a lot of salary, and I am diverted away from the careers that I am actually interested in. However, I am not in a situation where I have to provide for anyone, except for myself, yet; so can I just graduate from high school first? At this point in my life, I have been taught how to safely and efficiently handle money for the future because of insurance and student loans and retirement—and all those other fun things. On the other hand, I have a whole fifty years ahead of me before I even retire, but who can tell how fast those years can pass by or how they can be cut short; but, again, can I just graduate from high school first? For now, let us just all admit that we are going to be all adults at some point or sooner, but I do not see the rush in becoming an adult. To be frank, most adults do not live a particularly lavish life, and becoming an adult means more (a lot more) responsibilities to maintain. So live life how it is right now, and worry about it when it comes.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Shakespeare In Love Essays - Films, Shakespeare In Love, Free Essays

Shakespeare In Love Essays - Films, Shakespeare In Love, Free Essays Shakespeare In Love Modern theatre still falls more or less in the category of popular culture, it is the cinema that equates more to the Elizabethan drama than the theatre. Thus it is a film Shakespeare in love, that we see exploring a fictional depiction of the life of William Shakespeare. Timeless themes and modern motifs are threaded through the film's plot making it easily accessible to the viewer. Shakespeare in love is a celebration of Shakespeare in a modern culture, a postmodern society where he is reproduced through various froms of media, like, T.V or film , but above all youth culture. While ostensibly a romantic comedy, Shakespeare in love in essence, is a celebration of words, language and the narrative form. Virtually a shakespearean plot in itself, this film applauds the brilliance of Shakespearean writing while demonstrating the prowress of one of the best 20th century playwrights, screenwrighters, Tom Stoppard. As the film starts, the actor and playwright William Shakespeare is suffering from writers block - he is unable to devise a story out of his new play Romeo & Ethel, the pirates daughter. Philip Henslowe, the owner of the prestigious theatre The Rose, is threatened by slimy creditors into bringing profits, and pleads for William to quickly deliver his play. Shakespeare's loss for words miraculously fades once he lays his eyes on Viola De Lesseps, a noble woman who is deeply touched by his work. His eyes light up once he starts to fall in love with Viola, and the play Romeo & Ethel slowly becomes the tragic Romeo and Juliet.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Democratization in The Philippines and South Korea Essay

Democratization in The Philippines and South Korea - Essay Example -97).Perkins argues that the president started far- reaching anti-corruption campaigns which to the public appeared to be genuine, the president introduced some reforms like exposure of assets by high level public officials and he amended the elections and political fund laws. Personally, he explains that the president led the campaign against corruption by declaring that he would not be receiving money as president the way the previous presidents used to. The author believes that Kim Young-Sam's campaign against corruption reached peak with the arrest and indictment of two former presidents on corruption charges. Kim Dae-jung's was the next president after Sam, the new president found public expectations for anti-corruption reforms being very high and similarly, he initiated some reforms that were basically based on transparency of public administration and other organizations and it is during his tenure when a comprehensive anti-corruption law was enacted (Cecil 2008). Next, and why is the Philippines more corrupt than South Korea Your answer, it has been performing poorly in the Transparency International corruption ranking tables than her neighbour.Well, Mr. Tony (2008) tells us that in the late 1960s the Philippines regime was challenged by rural insurgency and subsequently an urban protest movement. The author reports that the president Ferdinand Marcos, who himself had been elected amid accusations of electoral fraud and corruption declared martial law in 1972, this was in response to these insurgencies and the country was faced with several challenges. Under martial law, he argues that the Philippines was transformed from an elitist democracy into a "constitutional authoritarian" system. "Marcos friends and associates monopolized major industries, and cronyism... In Korea, the democratization process was more tailored to fight corruption than in the Philippines. We shall see later in the research that, anti-corruption movements in Korea started earlier even during the colonial regimes; in contrast, we shall see how in the Philippines the regime did not embrace serious reforms aimed at fighting corruption. When explaining why Korea is much less corrupt than the Philippines, Mr. Schmidt (2000) considers the part played by the religious group and the civil society. The author explains that democratic reforms and the growth of civil society seem to increasingly play a positive role in curbing corruption in Korea than in the Philippines .He argues that unlike Philippines, in Korea there was unity of religious groups in democratization movement and that the religious leaders in the democratization movement were naturally accepted by the general public as good shelters. Further more, he maintains that even during military dictatorial regimes some re ligious groups had taken the most important role in human rights movement. During this period Mr. Schmidt asserts that many religious leaders were put into jail and the government of the day was very oppressive. The author argues that it is on the background of this oppression that ironically made unity among various religious groups and with civil society in Korea. It can be argued that a central factor working in favor of Korean democratization is that the people took direct action in a revolutionary circumstances and forced political reforms, while a persistent source of weakness in the Philippines democracy is the general feeling that it lacks grass roots.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Structured System Analysis and Design Method Research Paper

Structured System Analysis and Design Method - Research Paper Example Additionally, this methodology is believed to be a public domain, as well as is officially represented in British Standard BS7738. Basically, software development methodologies are a most important element of the software development sector which aspires to offer a structure for action and to gather, store, process and distribute information in an attempt to support the economic growth of information systems and software development that are well for purpose. In this scenario, structured systems analysis and design methodology is a kind of linear sequential process model through which software systems are designed and developed. Additionally, this methodology is considered as a representation of a pinnacle of the thorough document-led mechanism to design a software system, and differ with modern RAD (Rapid Application Development) approaches for instance DSDM (Samyal, 2013; Rouse, 2008; Patel, 2005, p. 75). In addition, one of the most attractive features of this software development methodology is that it divides a software development project into several manageable components, steps, stages and activities, and offers a mechanism for defining projects in a way that is easy to manage and control. Some of the major objectives of SSADM methodology are outlined below (Rouse, 2008; Samyal, 2013; Schumacher, 2001): Provides management team with effective control over the software development process Allows software development firm to make more effective use of skilled and new development personnel Facilitates software development team to build high quality systems The loss of staff does not affect the progress of projects Encourage use of computer-based tools for instance computer-aided software engineering systems Establish and maintain a structure for effective communications and collaboration between stakeholders in a project Moreover, this software development technique effectively manages all the aspects of software development life-cycle varying from the pha se of a feasibility study for the actual software development. Additionally, many software development firms use this methodology in association with various other approaches, for instance PRINCE and PRINCE2, which is effective in dealing with various activities of project management. In addition, this software development methodology forms a flow or a waterfall vision of software development, which is based on carrying out a series of steps, and all these steps are interrelated. Some researchers contrast it with the RAD model as it pre-supposes a need to conduct steps autonomously. As discussed above, structured systems analysis and design method divides the software development process in various stages which are outlined below (Rouse, 2008; Samyal, 2013; Schumacher, 2001): In the first step a detailed feasibility study is done to determine the feasibility of a project. Analysis and study of the current environment In this step different business system options are identified At t his stage system requirements are defined This step involves identifying various system options At this stage logical design of the system is developed Last stage involves the development of a physical design Furthermore, for every phase, structured systems analysis and design method forms a set of procedures, techniques and rules for communicating and recording information

Monday, November 18, 2019

What you learned Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What you learned - Assignment Example And Aristotle was also the one who had pointed on mimesis in human nature, so things can be learned on examples. After studding philosophy myself I think one should examine it to have a feeling he’s getting wiser and becoming more thoughtful and reasonable person. Felling of self-improving gives you dignity. And also philosophy gets thinking and questioning into a habit, so one will do less false and forced choices. I think following ethical goals in everyday life is necessary, because originally ethics is about rules and norms that keep society, compared to professional life where also professional ethics rules exist. According to Aristotle, ethics is about good actions. So I’m going to make actions in order to respect animal rights by not buying products made from natural animal’s skin and forming myself a habit to check if production was tested on animals. And I’m going to try to persuade my family and friends do the same by setting an example and by giving them knowledge why respecting animal rights in such way is good. Because like Plato, I think reasonable understanding what’s good is prerequisite for good

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Male Bias In Heart Of Darkness English Literature Essay

Male Bias In Heart Of Darkness English Literature Essay It seems that the essential uncertainties and inconsistencies in Conrads metanarrative, the indirectness and ambiguous nature of the narrative Marlow gives. Marlow in Conrads Heart of Darkness has the typical nineteenth century view of women; women are not as good as men, they are not as smart and are not worth as much. There are only 3 women in the text, Marlows aunt, Kurtzs fiancà © and Kurtzs Amazon lover. None of these characters are not important to tale Marlow is telling. Marlow even says its queer how out of touch with truth women are, they live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be (Conrad, 27). Even though there are few women in the text and they have very small roles, Marlow makes women seem significant when he talks about them. Marlow outright talks about the relationship between men and women The mind of man is capable of anything because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the futureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Very well: I hear: I admit; but I have a voice too, and for good or evil mine is the speech that cannot be silenced. (Conrad, 51) He goes on this rant the he believes only men are intelligent enough to understand what he is saying. He is saying that men cannot be silenced, but by saying this he is implying that there is a chance that male voice can be silenced. Its like he secretly believes women can somehow silence men. It seems that Conrads goal is to silence the women in the text. Marlow states They, the women I mean, are out of I, should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse (Conrad, 63). The language he uses makes it seem like women keep the world of men from falling apart. Of course this is a male narrative telling the story of a man doing manly things. The Heart of Darkness exhibits a biased male view of women demonstrated by Marlows use of the sexual metaphor of penetration and other diction used in the text. Gilbert and Gubar argue that Heart of Darkness penetrates more ironically and thus more inquiringly into the dark core of otherness that had so disturbed the patriarchal, the imperialist, and the psychoanalytic imaginations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conrad designs, designs for Marlow a pilgrimage whose guides and goal are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ eerily female (Conrad, 44) (Gilbert and Gubar). The narrative seems to keep with the male-controlled design, with a hero conquer whom defeats hurdles and becomes one of the socially elite. The plot itself follows the typical male hero who saves the day and becomes a hero, just like the stories Bewolf, and the Odyssey. The storyline, however Marlow seems to sit on the fence as to whether he sides with the colonialists or the natives, and the story itself doesnt provide a closing and we never really know which side Marlow is on. Conrad shows some characters in his writing style that portray the Congo women, as well as his attitude toward the moral issues of social system in Heart of Darkness, as Là ©criture Feminine (Kristeva). He shows characteristic of feminism, which Kristeva associates with a genderless, pre-oedipal stage. Kristeva relates the semiotic as a female whose sexuality has not yet been constructed (Kristeva). While acknowledging that the fictive world of Heart of Darkness belongs to men, nineteenthcentury, imperialistic, European men, Sedlak, for example, says that Conrads women do display a separate consciousness (Crouch, 2). French feminists, such as Helene Cixous, state that the diction is essentially bi-sexual, one which proposes to analyze all the rigorous binary by bewildering the boundaries between the masculine and feminine and the binaries, such as; proper and improper, normal and divergence, rational and irrational, expert and subservience, by which civilizations live on. According to Eagleton, Most women are like this: they do someone elses-mans- writing, and in their innocence sustain it and give it voice, and end up producing writing thats in effect masculine. Great care must be taken in working on feminist writing not to get trapped by names: to be signed with a womans name doesnt necessarily make a piece of writing feminine. It could quite well be masculine writing, and conversely, the fact that a piece of writing is signed with a mans name does not in itself exclude femininity. Its rare but you can sometimes find femininity in writings signed by men; it does happen. (, 232). Bode claims that Heart of Darkness portrays a powerful female network, which frequently takes charge and assumes control of the novellas events (20). This may seem absurd because as the story opens, the narrator describes the Thames as a manly domain crowded with memories of men and ships it has borne to the rest of home or to the battles of the sea (Conrad, 18). It is a place to think about the dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germ of empires (Conrad, 19). However these ships sailed only for the glory of the Queens highness, and when she meets the ship, it thus pass out of the gigantic tale (Conrad, 19) of masculine venture and splendor and into a domanin which apparently allows women on board. The issue is not one of elaborating a new theory of which woman would be the subject or the object, but of jamming the theoretical machinery itself, of suspending its pretension to the production of a truth and of a meaning that are excessively univocal (Irigaray). Therefore is it possible for a male text such as Heart of Darkness also be as popular if it was on a feminine text and not a masculine one? Well, while listening to Marlows narrative about his journey to fill in the blank spaces on the earth (Conrad, 22) or in this case Africa his journey seems to seem quite feminine; because he has to rely on others to help him, his motives are questioned, and he makes moral decisions that dont seem masculine. This is first evident when he has to get help from his aunt to get a job. This is something that was typical of women in the late 1890s. He seems humiliated when he has to ask would you believe it? I tried the women. I, Charlie Marlow, set the women to work- to get a job. Heavens! (Conrad, 23). Then before leaving for the Congo he has tea with his aunt and says good by, she gives him her blessing, like mothers of the Great War who send their sons of to battle, expcecting to have him return a hero. However, Marlow returns more tame than hero, m ore feminie than conquering hero. Then Marlow questions himself about being able to become a conquering hero when he says I dont know why a queer feeling came to me that I was an imposter (Conrad, 27), which is considered a feminine quality. Then when he gets to the Congo he eavesdrops on a conversation involving the station master and his nephew where they are plotting to foli Kurtz. Then he doesnt let anyone know what he heard. This makes him seem incapable and weak, which is again making him seem feminine. Why would Marlow still make this journey with all these doubts? The answer rests in his masculine boyhood when he was a child, there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map I would put my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there (Conrad, 22). When he got to the Congo it was no longer this virgin space, it now has rivers and lakes that have already been explored. All that was left for him was a river that is reminiscent of a giant snake with its head in the sea and body turning through the country. He concludes, the snake had charmed me. (Conrad, 23) According to Straus, It is Conrads text itself that stimulates the notion that the psychic penury of women is a necessary condition for the heroism of men, and whether or not Heart of Darkness is a critique of male heroism or is in complex complicity with it, gender dichotomy is an inescapable element of it (125). Marlow first views the map of the river as a snake in a Brussels office, where two knitting women operate as protectors of the gates of Hell. Marlow says, it was fascinating-deadly-like a snake-ugh! (Conrad, 23). When Marlow enters the chief officials office he is metaphorically entering the underworld of the snake river, the sinister female power Marlow wishes to explore in order to purge the feminine inside himself; however he ends up embracing this femininity instead of purging it. From the very start of the text Conrad exposes Marlows feminity, by first showing him as a submissive man, because he follows Buddha who believes in obtaining peace by being enlightened. This idea is directly contrasting the attributes of a conquering hero, which he is supposed to be in this story he is telling us. Then the text itself leaves us full of questions about who Kurtz is and how Marlow feels about Kurtz and his crime. Furthermore we dont really know what Kurtzs crime was. All of theses questions make us question Marlow. As Marlows expedition continues, we see more binary oppositions, as his compassion shifts between the white colonialists (whom are viewed as superior) and the blacks whom have been robbed of their culture and deprived of their homes. This is evident when he is outraged by the treatment of the natives as less than human as they are moving around as ants (Conrad, 29). He cannot stand the fact that the natives, who are creating the railway that will support the expansion of the colonialst, are being treated worse than most animals. You can see this viewpoint is evident in Conrads picture of the chain gang: A slight clinking behind me made me turn my head. Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps. Black rags were wound around their loins, and the short ends waggled to and from like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar around his neck, and all were connected together with a chain, whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking (Conrad, 30). Then he goes on to depict them as black shapes crouchedin all the attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair and further describes standing horror-struckas one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went off on all fours to the river to drink (Conrad, 32). Chinua Achebe in his article An Image Of Africa, states that Conrad in this passage is stereotyping the African as savage and primitive, deserving of our compassion but not our respect. However you can look at this passage as Marlow identifying with the natives and being disgusted by their treatment at the hands of the colonialists. Therefore he would be taking the natives side over that of the white colonalists; he feels sympathy for the unempowered female, because he may end uo powerless like the natves he has come to defeat and the marginalized women at home. Nevertheless, Brook Thomas (as quoted in Murfin) believes there is another way of looking at this depiction of the natives in a chain-gang; Even though Conrad had himself been there, he chose to tell his story indirectly through an idiosyncratic, first-person narrator, Marlow, whose narrative is in turn relayed by another narrator who presumably has not even been to Africa. This elaborate structure makes us aware of structure as structure; thus, the novel, doesnt pretend to offer us a perfectly clear, uncluttered, unbiased, perfectly natural view of the facts of the past (Murfin, 236). Thomas viewpoint validates the idea that the language and structure of this story allow for a lot different interpretations. Another important fact that most people overlook is that Conrad is Polish and is actually exiled in England. His second language is English and therefor he was also not always accepted as normalin the English society. Edward Said declares: Because Conrad also had an extraordinarily residual sense of his own exilic marginality, he quite carefully qualified Marlows narrative with the provisionality that came from standing at the very juncture of this world with another, unspecified but different (Culture and Imperialism, 24). Furthermore North describes how Conrads polish nationality was viewed as a racial differentiation by his friends in England. Conrads Polish accent was associated by them with the Orient, and further that his appearance and mannerisms were considered by H.G. Wells and Ford Mad Ford to be Oriental. Several critics thought he was Jewish. Another found him positively simian (North, 50). This view of him being different from his English friends also made him seem inferior, and may have lead to his understanding for the women and natives in the text. Marlows expedition is a journey toward the realm of multiple perspectives caused by the exiled life of Conrad. Said commented on the imperial background of Conrads Heart of Darkness; Like most of his other tales, Heart of Darkness is not just a recital of Marlows adventures; it is also a dramatization of Marlow telling his story to a group of listeners at a particular place in a particular time Neither Conrad nor Marlow offer us anything outside the world-conquering attitudes embodied by Kurtz and Marlow and Conradthe circularity of the whole thing is unassailable. Except as I said a moment ago that Conrad is self-conscious about setting and situating the narrative in a narrative moment, thus allowing us to realize after all, that far from swallowing up its own history, imperialism has in fact been placed and located by history, one that lies outside the tightly inclusive ring on the deck of the yawl Nelly. (Said, 49) Therefrore Conras is self-consciousness, and this causes multiplicity in the perceptions within the narrative. This idea is further repeated by Kristevas feminist viewpoints about the obliqueness, uncertain and ambigious perceptions essential in a narrative genre. In Marlow journeys to the semiotic he avoids his real feelings about Kurtz because he is worried that he may identify that his is like Kurts, therefore he can end up like Kurtz. Marlow states I think it had whispered to him [the wilderness] things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception, so he took counsel with the great solitude and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating (Conrad, 73). Conrad displays a comparable uncertainty in describing Marlows conflict with the feminine standards personified in Kurtzs mistress, who is viewed a dominant female goddess as well as a sumptuous temptress, both connected with the native savage race by the white English males. Marianna Torgovnick contends that the African woman is the crux of Heart of Darknessthe representative native the only one fully individualized and described in detail, except for the Helmsman, who also dies in the story. She is, the text insists, the symbol of Africa (154-55). Kurtzs mistress has a sexual power that Marlow fears, because he fears the female inspiration within himslef. This female inspiration shows herself in the uncertainties and oversights of the narrative. Conrad has a hard time getting through to his narrator, Marlow. He struggles to speak about the conquest over the savage temptress; however he is unable, or unwilling to do so. Marlow is articulate in his ability to deacribe, however at the end of the text the silent look from the savage native woman is more powerfulk than Marlows own words; And from right to left along the lighted shore moved a wild and gorgeous apparition of a woman. She walked with measured steps, draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth proudly with a light jingle and flash of was done in the shape of a helmet; she had bright leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her neck; bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at every stepShe was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous and stately in her deliberate progress, and in the hush that had fallen suddenly upon the whole sorrowful land, the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul Her face had a tragic and fierce aspect of wild sorrow and a dumb painSuddenly she opened her bare arms and threw them up rigid above her head, as though in an uncontrollable desire to touch the skyA formidable silence hung over the scene. (Conrad, 76) This section of text shows Marlows split attitude toward female power; on one side Conrad and Marlow are concerned by the native womans sexual ambiguity, and on the other side they are captivated by her. Kurtzs savage lover is seen as almost mute in the text and this silence is symbolic of the undiscovered and unexplored spots in Africas jungle that Marlow and secretly Conrad had longed to travel. However these blank spaces, unexplored areas are fantasy; as he admits the muteness of the women to be fantasy, on the linguistic level. The idea of a silent female is in fact a fantasy because he shows the savage mistress to have a very powerful diction, just as powerful as that of the colonists. This is evident when she rushed out to the very brink of the stream. She put out her hands, shouted something, and all that wild mob took up the shout in a roaring chorus of articulated, rapid, breathless utterance (Conrad). According to Gilbert and Gubar, she is a silent symbol in the text that expresses her unknown history as well as her intimidating hystery. The mistress is the typical monster female in the text. She is not only a threat to the men because of her voice she is also standing in direct opposition to Kurtzs Intended. She is seen as the strong hostile monstrous monster woman while Kurtzs fiancà © is seen as the angle, pure Victorian fantasy. Torgovnick states that, Marlow clearly conceives of her as a substitute for, an inversion of Kurtzs high-minded, white intended. Like the Belgian woman, she is an impressive figure, but unlike the Intended she is not high-minded: she is presented as all body and inchoate emotion. The novella cuts from the figure of the African woman with outstretched arms to the Intended: one woman an affianced bride, one woman all body, surely an actual bride (Torgovnick, 146-147). The British code states that miscegenation is wrong and therefore Marlow is scared to fall in love with a savage native woman and end up like Kurtz. However the savage woman is so attractive and seductive, as exposed by the texts illustration of her, that Marlow has a hard time fighting it; this is seen as a representation of Conrads true feelings about femininity. The African woman, who purposely remains unnamed, represents Conrads natural idea of the savage female, because not lonely is she seductive, she is also deadly, just like Africa . Kurtz has been ruined by a devastating femininity; while this femininity is mesmerizing it also destroys men because it is forbidden. The Savage native woman is the femininie standard that Marlow needs to block in order to triumph. Torgovnicks and Gilbert and Gubars, are the only studies of Conrad that notice that the native woman may have something to do with his concerns with inptralism. This native woman makes Marlow tackle his boyhood desire for filling up the blank spaces on the African map he pointed to as a child. He travels all the way to the Congo and instead of finding blank spaces he finds other humans who have their own culture. So the question is: how can he fill up a blank space on a map is another people are already living there? This question or a variation of this question has been contemplated by Conrad regarding the connection concerning masculinity and feminity, when looking at the power of colonialism and their weakness, and Conrads racism and his compassion for the conquered Conjoins. Is this not woman as dark continent which Marlow fears in himself but cannot re-press (Kristeva). The savage womon in the text is seen in three differet ways, the first being as the other, as an African temptress, and as a mute savage with no individual characteristics. Faced with anything foreign, the Established Order knows only two types of behavior, which are both mutilating: either to acknowledge it as a Punch and Judy show, or to defuse it as a pure reflection of the West. In any case, the main thing is to deprive it of its history (Barthes, 96). The native African woman cannot be seen as just one of these things, she is walsy multi-dimensional and will never be understood in Marlows view of the world. Conrad places the African temptress in the middle of his issues with colonialism, by making her speechless. I ascribe a basic importance to the phenomenon of languageone of the elements in the man of colors comprehension of the dimension of the other. For it is implicit that to speak is to exist absolutely for the otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (He argues) further that Existence is language, and language is always a matter of politics (Fanon, 17-18). Therefore, in order to exsits you must have language and the subordinate of the colonialists must learn their conquorers language in order to be viewed as human. Therefore when Conrad makes the African temptress mute he is making her unable to speak with her master and therefore less than human, except through her sexual power over Kurtz. Eric Cheyfitz points out that; The conception of the orator as emperor, conquering men with the weapon of eloquence, is a classical and Renaissance commonplace, and argues that this imperial common place finds its place in the story of the orator as the first settler, that is as the first civilizer and colonizer of humans (112-113). Marlow learns about the various accomplishments of Kurts and his eloquence through stories he hears, however by the end of the story his articulacy is gone and all he can utter is the horror, the horror. A colonized person confronts the language of their civilizing nation; that is with the culture of the mother country, the colonized is elevated above the jungle status in proportion to his adoption of the mother countrys cultural standards. He becomes whiter as he renounces his blackness, the jungle (Fanon, 18). As you can see with Kurtz the opposite is true, he accepts the blackness of the jungle, and he doesnt loose his western way of behaving. According to Marlow, All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz (Conrad, 65). Fannons belief that the colonized will assume the language and philosophy of their colonizer, the native seductress remains her darkness, whereas Kurtz loses his whiteness. Conrads representation of the savage temptress insinuates that you must look at her with all three perspectives, instead of just looking at her with one or two opposing perspectives. Therefore Conrad echoing the feminist ideals of vagueness, obscurity, and various perceptions characteristic of most female narratives, thus Marlows arrival back to England is reiterating Gilligans psychosomatic interpretations regarding female moral growth. There is very little written about Marlows motivation for being dishonest with Kutzs Intended. What I did find didnt even look at the idea of female awareness that has been evident in the anaylsis so far in this research. For example, Marlow never shrinks from judgement, but he judges without abstract ideals, without general principles, indeed without consistency. He derides moral absolutes and willingly suspends universals in favor of concrete discriminations (Levenson, 56). We know from his characterlization in the text that he hates lieing and believes that Kurtz is due honesty; however when he meets with the Intended he is not fully honest, and doesnt even speak about justice. Instead he acts like a saint who would rather, not hurt her feelings, than tell the truth. Marlow explains his motivation for lying to Kurtzs Intended, he doesnt try to bring up their progress, or show pity on her. He merely believes that the truth would have been too dark-too dark altogether (Conrad). In this text the darkness becomes a moral sensation (Levenson, 56-57), which promotes the idea of several different perceptions in Conrads moral replies to racism, feminism, imperialism, and colonialist exploitation. Nevertheless, the ridicule of moral fundamentals in Marlows choice to lie, as pointed out by Levenson, is a female focused approach that Gilligan creates the framework for and Levenson doesnt seem to contemplate. The moral development and judgemnet of women, according to Levenson, is linked to Marlows reaction to Imperalisim and also to Kurtz. This makes it seem like he was being compassionate and not sexist when he lied to Kurtzs Intended. Therefore due to Marlows experiences in Africa his moral awareness has taken on a feminine characteristic. In her text In A Different Voice Gilligan hypothesizes that womens ethical rationalizing is not founded on the ideas of right and wrong, however unlike men, it is based on the situation and the observations of anguish and compassion. The reluctance to judge may itself be indicative care and concern for others that infuse the psychology of womens development and are responsible for what is generally seen as problematic in its nature (Gilligan, 172). Women will usually choose the option that will not hurt anyone, or hurt the least number of people. Why should we believe that the moral sequence through which boys pass constitutes moral development tout court? (Gilligan, 174). Perchance, females are more concerned with kinship and accountability; furthermore not moral in the formal tone of the word, but more reasonable morality. Whereas Men have a more definite idea of right and wro ng, neutral justice (so they would have us believe). If Marlow was judged by Gilligans philosophy for his conclusion to lie to the Intended, then he would be believed to have lied to her to safeguard her from unnecessary pain that telling her the truth would have caused her. In this critical reading of Heart of Darkness Conrads text has been viewed as having a feminine writing style. It has also been revealed that Conrad was viewed as an outsider, exiled by his own Polish people and an immagrant to his home of England, and this created his compassion for the subjugated people of the colonlized Congo. This does not mean that Conrad isnt racist and isnt imperialistic. The reading advocated that the lot of women are unable to making moral choices based on a more definite idea of right and wrong. Marlow uses various sexual metaphors, such as penetration, and other diction used in the text; exhibit a male biased view of women and their roles in society.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Affirmative Action - Public Opinion vs. Policy :: Affirmative Action Racism Discrimination Essays

Affirmative Action - Public Opinion vs. Policy When Justin Ketcham, a white college student from the suburbs, thinks about affirmative action, he thinks about what happened when he sent out letters seeking scholarships so he could attend Stanford University after being accepted during his senior year of high school.The organizations that wrote back told him their money was reserved for women or minorities. To Americans like Ketcham, it's a matter of fairness. The average white male will claim that it's not fair to attempt to rebalance scales by balancing them the other way. Students like Ketcham are also more likely to claim that affirmative action is a program geared towards curtailing workplace prejudices that really don't exist anymore.But when Hillary Williams, a black insurance company manager from the inner-city, thinks about affirmative action, she thinks about the time she had to train three consecutive white male bosses for a job that no one even approached her about filling. To her, it's also a question of fairness. African-Americans like Hillary feel that there is just no other was besides affirmative action to level the playing field in certain businesses.And so the disparity in public opinion begins. A racially-divided America creates separate groups, which "Affirmative Action issue taps a fundamental cleavage in American Society" (Gamson and Modigliani 170)--each with their own view of affirmative action on different sides of the line. Government attempts to create policy based upon the voice of the people but affirmative action seems to present an almost un-solvable dilemma. Traditionally, it had been a policy that was greatly scrutinized for its quotas and alleged unfairness towards Blacks, but at the same time it had also been praised for its inherent ability to help minorities gets jobs they deserve but could not obtain otherwise. So how do we reach a "happy medium" so-to-speak? In American political culture, it appears as though individualism and egalitarianism are values that find themselves on opposite ends of the political battlefield. In a complex world of political ideology and political culture are sets of values and principles that are widely endorsed by politicians, educators, the media and other opinion leaders that make up the definition of what is to be American (Feldman and Zaller). Some favor the values of individual freedom, especially individual economic freedom, over other values, especially equality and popular sovereignty (egalitarianism). These people are labeled Conservatives. The other side of the spectrum consider themselves as Liberals (Feldman and Zaller).Because we live in a meritocracy created by the strong forces of capitalism, there is a tendency for people to fall behind either in the economy or in the academic community.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Chanel Marketing Plan

Marketing Interim Report By Bilal Rasheed & Hisham Ahmed Executive Summary Chanel’s objective is to provide a sense of luxurious, elegant and fashionable bringing up for women introducing timeless style. If Chanel wants to retain the same kind of brand image then it needs to continue with the same strategies which are currently being applied. However, in order to increase market share, emphasis on mass media and e-commerce would be effective which the competitors are already practicing. Chanel’s vision is’ o be the ultimate house of luxury’.Chanel is an established brand and specializes in haute couture, luxury goods, accessories and ready to wear cloths. With the vast positive change in the global economy, the trends are changing with time like demand for luxury products is on its boom. Company Summary Chanel started back in 1909 and it is operating mainly in europe,asia and most parts of united states. The house of chanel is known for its fashion stores all over the globe. In this new milinoum Chanel stepped up its purchsess in luxury sectors.Chanel offers and is known for fashion apparel ,watches ,eye products and various other fasion able accessories for women. Products and services Product description: Chanel specializes in wide range of products. Famous Perfumes by Chanel include Allure, Chance Eau Tendre and N5, which used to be global perfume leader and is still one the best perfumes in the world. The company offers trendy handbags as well. These emply different leather and locks in order to be adjustable to individuals One of the famous unisex wristwatches line by Chanel is J12.Chanel also has a clothing line for women. Competitive Comparison: Brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci are strong competitors for Chanel as they have a very strong image amongst the people. Technological needs: Chanel, a luxury goods brand with a long tradition, has evolved into what it is now by constantly adding new innovations to its tradition. Instea d of resting on the business fields where it has proven successful, the company has brought forth new ideas. Technology management refers to business management conducted around sophisticated technological proficiency.Although Chanel was a latecomer to the watch business, Chanel’s commitment to technology is noticeable in the establishment of its own workshop. Chanel’s commitment to technology will be considered through the example of the â€Å"J12,†, Chanel’s first mechanical watch. Market Analysis Target market Target Market Segment Strategy: Chanel customers are women who wants to identify what Chanel represents which is elegance, simplicity, modern and class. Chanel’s cosmetics are targeted to younger consumers but they still retain the classic market which is their strong suit.With the launch of chance perfume, Chanel is targeting women between the age group 18-39. Market Trends: Trends change every now and then and it is important for a busin ess to keep a track of changing trends especially in the target audience. In Chanel’s case changing trends could be more like e. g. ; in accessories, size of pendants or shapes of earrings keep changing with time however, style remains the same and Chanel’s market image is such that what they bring into the market is labeled as fashion. Market Growth:Chanel’s success started from the sale of their famous, world leading perfumes, N5. Later on in 1920’s and 1930’s they decided to launch new perfumes amongst the public to gain more market. Soir De Paris was another fragrance launched after N5. To keep flourishing in the market and to make the business grow, cloths were also being sold under Chanel’s name. In late 1980’s more than 40 boutiques were opened worldwide. This was later followed by other product chains like Shoes, Chanel watches and various other highly priced accessories Industry AnalysisIndustry Participants/Key Players: The key players in the industry same as Chanel would be; * Louise Vuitton * L’Oreal’s Lancome * Calvin Klein * Gucci * Burberry * Alberta Ferretti * Bulgari * Canali Main Competitors/Competitive Analysis: Chanel’s biggest competitors in the market would be L’Oreal’s Lancome who are also focusing mainly on luxury cosmetics along with Chanel creating a very tough competition. Not just this but other renowned brands like Gucci and LV are also equally strong competitors specifically for Handbags and other accessories.Perhaps it’s really hard to dominate in such a market where brand image for competitors is also very strong. Strategy and Implementation Summary Marketing Strategy: Chanel is focusing a lot on developing plans to take an impressive lineage into today’s market. During 1999, Chanel took an initiative to target the age group of people under twenty five which was earlier ignored by the company. It was really important to take some ne w initiatives like this in order to compete with competitive fashion stores like C Pricing Strategy: Chanel is known for its luxurious products around the globe.To Maintain this top quality image products, high prices are being charged for its products. For similar reasons, their products are usually not discounted as it won’t be really consistent for their image at all. Prices for their product are decided and selected entirely by Chanel, France. Promotion Strategy: To grow their market, Chanel focuses more on promoting their new products instead of older ones. For this, their website is updated frequently providing information for all the up to date promotions and also about their new upcoming products, if any.Not just this but to keep up with customers, very clear and easy information is provided for the customers to reach the company and contact them. This would help the company get their feedback and work on it in order to main the relations with customers and satisfy th em. Distribution Patterns: Products by Chanel such as their perfumes are not only sold in their own boutiques but also by other distributers. E. g in Canada, Distributors such as The bay, Luwinna etc are selling their perfumes aswell. Basically chanel uses a comparatively short channel for distribution.Chanel has mostly signed with local distributors in different country along with their own boutiques. This is just to diversify and make the most out of sales. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Very strong brand image * Efficient management with intense training * High quality products Weakness * Poor geographical coverage * Work needs to be done on website as it does not specifies the prices for products Oppertunities * Can look forward to expand more, specifically In asia irorder to gain more market * Keep up with technology Threats * Highly priced and counterfiet productsWeb Plan Summary Website Marketing Strategy: To grow sales and gain a foothold in competitive markets, having so many to ugh competitors, products were sold online directly through their website making it easier for all the customers to get the product. This would definitely enhance their total amount of sales at the end of the day. Development Requirements: * Invest in the emerging markets, open more stores * Increase emphasis on new media technology * Pay more attention to the counterfeit and possible invest in technology to prevent it.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Develop your organizational culture and leadership  - TheJobNetwork

Develop your organizational culture and leadership   - TheJobNetwork A critical task for any HR professional is to help ensure that their company’s organizational culture and leadership accurately and effectively reflects its values, beliefs, and mission. How does your company fare in this critical area?In today’s impossibly crowded business climate, having a clearly developed culture and identity is essential for an organization. According to Inc., â€Å"Culture has always been important, but today, it’s becoming more than just a buzzword. Culture is an important differentiator to set your company apart from the competition. It’s also what attracts the right talent and brings in the right customers†¦ Plus, with more than 30% of the workforce now made up of Millennials,  according to the Pew Research Center, culture is more important than ever. Millennials want to work for companies that share their same values. They want to feel like their work has a purpose and makes a difference. In short, they want a good cultur e fit.†With companies eager to rise above the noise in their respective industries and connect with their target audiences, all in an effort to be successful, a key piece of the puzzle is developing an organizational culture and presence that’s transparent and elicits positive feelings- both from within the company and from prospective customers. Inc. identifies four primary factors why this is so important:Culture builds brand identity.Your company’s personality and how your organization is perceived by the world at large help form your brand identity. According to Inc., culture is what tells the world who you are as a brand. â€Å"The more your audience understands and identifies with your brand, the more they’ll want to buy from you.† Everyone wants to feel like you’re talking to them personally, and in order to do that, you have to establish a company vibe that people can relate to.Culture increases loyalty among employees.Do you want you r company’s employees to love coming to work each day and feel a loyalty toward helping fulfill your organization’s mission (beyond their paychecks)? Of course you do, and the best way to make this happen is to help them connect with your company’s core culture. According to Inc., â€Å"Companies with a strong culture have employees who like the challenges of their job, get along well with their co-workers and enjoy the atmosphere of the workplace†¦ Culture gives employees a driving goal and purpose for what they do. It connects your leadership team with the rest of the employees and binds them with a set of shared beliefs. Your employees want to feel like they are contributing to something larger than themselves.†hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Culture attracts and retains talent.A company with a strong culture and well-perceived brand identity does not have to work very hard to attract and retain top talent from around the world- rather, it will attract talent to you. Once people are a part of your team, they’ll be energized and continually drawn to supporting your organization’s core goals and mission. It will make your job as an HR professional easier while helping your company to operate at peak levels- a real win-win.Culture makes advocates out of employees.When employees genuinely feel good about the work they do and the company they work for, they become effective brand advocates. According to Inc., â€Å"It’s true that good talent knows [good talent]. And when your employees are happy with their work, they are more likely to share with others. They’ll spread the word about their positive experience with your company, and you’ll soon gain a strong reputation.†Hopefully, it’s now clear why having a well-developed organizational culture and supportive leadership structure is important for the health and success of your company. But as an HR professional, how do you affect real organizational change in an effort to develop and maintain your culture? The Society for Human Resource Management recently published an article that discusses the role of HR professionals in the development of organizational culture and outlines key steps you can take to make positive, lasting change.According to the article, â€Å"The key to running a successful organization is to have a culture based on a strongly held and widely shared set of beliefs that are appropriately supported by strategy and structure. When an organization has a strong culture, three things happen: Employees know how top management wants them to respond to any situation, employees believe that the expected response is the proper one, and employees know that they will be rewarded for demonstrating the organization’s values.†As an HR professional, you play a key role in this cultural development. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, â €Å"Strategic thinking and planning must extend beyond merely meeting business goals and focus more intently on an organization’s most valuable asset- its people.†To this end, HR professionals should focus on building a strong organizational culture by:Being a role model for the organization’s beliefsReinforcing organizational valuesEnsuring that organizational ethics are defined, understood and practicedEnabling two-way communications and feedback channelsDefining roles, responsibilities, and accountabilitiesProviding continuous learning and trainingSustaining reward and recognition systemsEncouraging empowerment and teamsPromoting a customer-supplier work environmentRecognizing and solving individual and organizational problems and issuesOnce a strong organizational culture is set in place, HR professionals can do a great deal to maintain the work done in this area, including the following:Mindful hiring practices, including looking at the organization’ s vision and mission and conducting cultural fit interviewsOnboarding programs that help employees become enmeshed in the organization’s cultural frameworkReward and recognition programs that incentivize employees whose behavior supports the company’s values and missionThere you have it- some helpful background on the power of organizational culture and leadership, along with effective tools for building and maintaining your organization’s brand identity. Use the strategies and advice presented here to help set up your company for lasting success!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Ethics Final Notes Essay

Ethics Final Notes Essay Ethics Final Notes Essay Jeremy Bentham Classical Utilitarianism Humanity is governed by pain and pleasure. The principle of utility is that which approves/ disapproves of actions according to their augmentation or diminishment of happiness. Pain/pleasure are measured by their intensity, duration, certainty, frequency, fecundity (measure of pain/pleasure as juxt. to the first), and purity; only if the sum of these produces more pleasure than pain should the action be taken. John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism Refined Emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in regards to pleasure. The only ones fit to judge if a particular pleasure is worth a particular pain are the experienced. William Ross Intuitionism Posits that we inherently know right from wrong, but this knowledge is not in every case self-evident. There are certain duties that we naturally assume and those are: fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and non-maleficence. Non-maleficence is more important than beneficence, and that fidelity, reparation, and gratitude are, in general, more important than beneficence as well. Immanuel Kant The Moral Law Ethics are absolute and its duties are categorical. Ethics are based on reason, not emotion. The Good life is a virtue, regardless if it requires sacrifice of pleasure or not. The only moral action to be taken is that which should become universal law. Garret Hardin The Tragedy of the Commons "The morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed." The optimum population is less than the maximum because the planet and its resources are limited. The tragedy of the commons is the depletion of shared resources i.e., water, land etc., by individuals each acting in their own immediate self-interest but contradictory to the collective long-term interest. Hardin comes to the conclusion that appealing to the conscience is largely ineffective and the only effective action is the recognition of the necessity to legislate temperance of breeding through a form of penalties delivered via taxation. Karl Marx Each person should contribute according to their ability and receive according to their need. "Communism abolishes...all religion and all morality, rather than constituting them on a new basis." Jesus Sermon on the Mount Do not judge, but love. Love your enemies as yourself. Be modestly pious for piety's sake; do not do it to be lauded by others. Do not worry, but trust in God and he will provide. Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil The noble or

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Impact of American Civil War Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Impact of American Civil War - Term Paper Example The authority of National Government was owned by Lincoln as he was the elected President by the Republicans. Lincoln did not bear any harsh values for Southerners; in fact he wanted U.S.A to stay as one nation with one regulatory body. He once said on his second inaugural address:â€Å"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.†Every war or a fight leave its impacts on a nation and the greatest impact Civil War made was the condemnation of slavery in Southern America and growth of industrial sector in North America. Southern America was rich in cotton and was considered as the â€Å"King of Cotton† at that time. South was the biggest cotton ex porter across the world, therefore was confident on their economical stability. Southerners in cotton business possessed 55% of enslaved people and were greatly threatened on the idea of freeing the slaves. However, North was growing fast with industrial development. The war against slavery infused the spirit of nationalism and equality within America and especially Republicans with 25 states supported Lincoln’s ideology whereas, 11 stood against it. It is true that America after its independence was still a weak nation. (Todd, 2001) People of America fought revolutionary war for freedom with an aim that all human beings should be treated equally but soon after America was declared as an independent nation, Southern Americans forgot the point they got freedom for. Southerners themselves adopted the strategy of keeping slaves and discriminated people according to their color, cast or creed. Civil war emerged when Lincoln officially stood hard against the concept of slavery and while the civil war was going on, (Schwartz, 2008) Lincoln authored the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which was legally declared in 1865 by making Thirteenth Amendment in legal structure of laws which says: â€Å"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction† IMPACTS: It is not deniable that Civil War proved to be the bitterest war in the American History in which America lost 600,000 lives and 400,000 people were severely wounded, but the impact it made on the civilians was far more better and improved their ideology for ever after. Lincoln was unfortunate that he did not get any chance to watch the positive outcomes but his efforts are still respected and traced. (Nevins, 1960) The civil war brought United States of America together in many ways: Slavery was the major bone of differences between the two regions but it was ended after Civil War and it helped people from both regions to think together as one body. It ended the idea of seceding states on every next issues and it is since Civil War that America

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Statement of Purpose Personal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Of Purpose - Personal Statement Example I have recently completed my graduation in field of business finance from Edmonds community college. My basic aim is to get admission in the master degree program in order to gain an in-depth understanding of all issues and concepts related to businessI think this is a right time for me to pursue a master level degree in business as I have not only completed my graduation but also it will help me get a good job upon completion. My good grades in the business related subjects, such as, economic, finance, accounting, and math, which I studied at the bachelor level, also show my extreme interest in studying business. The University of Washington Bothell is known for its well-experienced faculty not only in the field of business management but also in all other subjects that are being offered by the university. It is due to the highly qualified faculty of this university, that today I feel satisfied while thinking of getting admission in this prestigious university. I want to complete my masters under the guidance of well-experienced faculty of the University of Washington Bothell, as it will help me become a highly qualified business expert with excellent command over economics and finance. I have a desire to make educational and professional progress in the field of business management because of my huge interest in this field. I also want to take part in the industrial development and economic progress of my country. I want to be able to analyze the development of debenture certificates, GDP, and other matters related to economics. I have a belief that a country can progress in every field of life only if its citizens get high quality education from the most prestigious universities of the world. I have collected information from various sources about the universities that offer master degree program in business. Through the research, I have come to know that the University of Washington Bothell is the most suitable university, which can help me fulfill my aim t o get a masters degree in the field of business. I am seeking a career in some field related to business management, and that can only be possible if I get an opportunity to study under the supervision of highly qualified faculty of this university. In graduation, my main courses were economics, accounting, math, and English, whereas, some of the minors included psychology, health, and physics. I got good grades in all of these courses, which is a strong proof of my academic skills. I believe that my relevant educational background and interest in business management make me a suitable candidate for getting admission in the University of Washington Bothell. Another thing, which I would like to mention here, is that I had always been one of the position holders at my school and college. I have the ability to contribute to the educational experience of other students studying at the University of Washington Bothell. I can help my class fellows understand complex issues related to econ omics, accounting, and other business related subjects. Some of my core strengths and abilities include: Excellent interpersonal communication skills Excellent critical thinking skills due to excessive reading Ability to mix up with the people belonging to different backgrounds and cultures, as I have been a foreign student in the United States since 2008 Good understanding of different issues related to business management, and Knowledge of two key languages, which include, English and Chinese I also possess the ability to contribute to the recreational experience of other students studying at the university. I can teach them music as well as some key techniques related to soccer. I was the captain of my club and college soccer teams in China. As a captain, I won many titles for my teams at