Tragedy In Things Fall Apart Essay Example For Students

Tragedy In Things Fall Apart Essay Consider the Aristotelian tragedy. It has yet to go the way of Eddie Bauer. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe devised a tragic African hero in Okonkwo, consistent with the classic stipulations of the figure. Thus, the novel–to its greatest practicable extent inherently existed as a tragedy on all levels to accommodate Okonkwo. To illustrate this, I will dissect and analyze the many factors that make Things Fall Apart an exemplary model of Greek tragedy by Aristotle s own towering ideals. First and foremost, the tragic hero must be of noble stature, occupying a high position within the community, innately embodying virtue and majesty. We will write a custom essay on Tragedy In Things Fall Apart specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Okonkwo distinguished himself as an exceptional wrestler, defeating Amalinze the Cat who had not been defeated in seven years and winning thus a reputation as a manly figure. In his family compound, Okonkwo lives in a hut of his own, and each of his three wives lives in a hut of her own with her children. The prosperous compound also includes an enclosure with stacks of yams, sheds for goats and hens, and a medicine house, where Okonkwo keeps the symbols of his personal god and ancestral spirits and where he offers prayers for his and his family. Though the hero may be great, he may not be perfect. We must be able to identify with him, seeing him perhaps in others or ourselves. Having a notoriously short temper and an infamously wasteful father rendered Okonkwo imperfect, one who has problems and a past like everyone else. The hero’s downfall, therefore, is partially his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. In fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw that contributes to the hero’s lack of perfection noted above. This error of judgment or character flaw is known as hamartia and is usually (albeit hesitantly) translated as â€Å"tragic flaw†. Often the character’s hamartia involves hubris. The proud Okonkwo, a prisoner of his own male-centric culture and his disgrace-ridden ancestry, was determined to be the paragon of masculinity, producing his tragic flaw: the fear of being thought womanly, or the fear of weakness. His readiness to explode into violence sans provocation demonstrated his need to express anger through brutality and without rationalization; his stubborn and irrational behavior began to divest him negatively from the other villagers. Okonkwo s feelings differed from his words and actions, evident in the killing of Ikemefuna in the seventh chapter, where the tragic hero disregarded his inner feelings of love and protectiveness, showing that the deep abyss between his divided self accounted for the beginning of his decline. The hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved. The punishment exceeds the crime, which is seen at different occasions: banished to the motherland for seven years (chapter fourteen) for an accidental womanly crime and his concurrent Euro-induced suicide upon his ill fated return (chapter twenty-five). Okonkwo sought to protect Umuofia s culture, only to face apathy from the townspeople, and final failure in taking his own life. The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero. In chapter fourteen, Okonkwo seemed to realize that his chi was not made for great things a reluctant admission that he may not achieve everything he wants because it is not his fate to do so. Two chapters later, the Roaring Flame understood the destructive nature of his behavior with the insight: Living fire begets cold, impotent ash; it left only coldness and powerlessness in others evident in his son. In the next to last chapter, he finally knew he could not save his village and its traditions no matter how fiercely he tries. .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .postImageUrl , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:hover , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:visited , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:active { border:0!important; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:active , .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udcbabf2244bcfd8ee4a74d69edadd83c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: A Show About Nothing EssayThe Umuofia he had loved and honored was on the verge of surrender, and Okonkwo himself felt utterly defeated. Though it elicits solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the â€Å"unhealthy† emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis (which comes from watching the tragic hero’s terrible fate) cleanse us of those emotions. Achebe accomplishes this with the successful final epiphany, completing Things Fall Apart as an exemplary model of Aristotelian tragedy, to the greatest extent possible.

Cloud Computing Research Paper

Cloud Computing Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Cloud computing is an emerging model where users can gain access to their applications from anywhere through their connected devices. A simplified user interface makes the infrastructure supporting the applications transparent to users. The applications reside in massively-scalable data centers where compute resources can be dynamically provisioned and shared to achieve significant economies of scale. A strong service management platform results in near-zero incremental management costs when more IT resources are added to the cloud. The proliferation of smart mobile devices, high speed wireless connectivity, and rich browser-based Web 2.0 interfaces has made the network-based cloud computing model not only practical but also a source of reduced IT complexity. Players across the IT industry have announced cloud computing efforts of varying shapes and sizes, leading analysts to attempt to identify various characteristics, such as infrastructure outsourcing, software as a service, and next generation distributed computing, to describe these efforts. Keywords: Clouds, Grid computing, Cloud Storage, SaaS, Server Virtualization, Data Center 1. Introduction Cloud computing comes into focus only when we think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends ITs existing capabilities. The term Cloud Computing derives from the common depiction in most technology architecture diagrams, of the Internet or IP availability, using an illustration of a cloud. The computing resources being accessed are typically owned and operated by a third-party provider on a consolidated basis in Data Center locations. Target consumers are not concerned with the underlying technologies used to achieve the increase in server capability, and is sold simply as a service available on demand. Grid computing is a technology approach to managing a cloud. In effect, all clouds are managed by a grid but not all grids manage a cloud. More specifically, a compute grid and a cloud are synonymous, while a data grid and a cloud can be different. Cloud computing describes both a platform and a type of application. A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Cloud applications are those that are extended to be accessible through the Internet. These cloud applications use large data centers and powerful servers that host Web applications and Web services. Cloud computing is an emerging approach to shared infrastructure in which large pools of systems are linked together to provide IT services. Cloud Computing will allow corporate data centers to operate more like the Internet by enabling computing across a distributed, globally accessible fabric of resources, rather than on local machines or remote server systems. Organizations can use them as much as they want and as wireless broadband connection options grow, wherever they need them. It describes how computer programs are hosted and operated over the Internet. The key feature of cloud computing is that both the software and the information held in it live on centrally located servers rather than on a end-user’s computer. A Google spokesperson added, â€Å"This means people can access the information that they need from any device with an Internet connection- including mobile and handheld phones- rather than being chained to the desktop. It also means lower costs, since there is no need to install software or hardware.† The architecture behind cloud computing is a massive network of ‘cloud servers’ interconnected as if in a grid running in parallel, sometimes using the technique of virtualization to maximize compute power per server. The term cloud computing is used for both the platform and the type of application. Cloud computing makes use of servers, physical or virtual, dynamically when the need arises. This type of computing even makes use of other resources such as SANs, network equipment, and security devices. It can also support applications that are accessible through the Internet. These applications make use of large data centers and powerful servers that host Web applications and Web services. 2. Architecture A cloud computing system, can be divided into two sections: the front end and the back end. They connect to each other through a network, usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. The back end is the cloud section of the system. The front end includes the clients computer (or computer network) and the application required to access the cloud computing system. Fig 1 A typical Cloud Computing System Not all cloud computing systems have the same user interface. Most of the time, servers dont run at full capacity. That means theres unused processing power going to waste. Its possible to fool a physical server into thinking its actually multiple servers, each running with its own independent operating system. The technique is called server virtualization. By maximizing the output of individual servers, server virtualization reduces the need for more physical machines.On the back end of the system are the various computers, servers and data storage systems that create the cloud of computing services. In theory, a cloud computing system could include practically any computer program you can imagine, from data processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicated server. A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly. It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a special kind of softw are called middleware. Middleware allows networked computers to communicate with each other. A typical high-level architecture of a cloud computing platform consists of a data center, provisioning manager, monitoring server, application server, and virtualization components. Fig 2 Architecture of Cloud Computing Platform User interaction interface: This is how users of the cloud interface with the cloud to request services. Services catalog: This is the list of services that a user can request. System management: This is the piece which manages the computer resources available. Provisioning tool: This tool carves out the systems from the cloud to deliver on the requested service. It may also deploy the required images. Monitoring and metering: This optional piece tracks the usage of the cloud so the resources used can be attributed to a certain user. Data Servers: The servers are managed by the system management tool. They can be either virtual or real. These components serve as the back-end of the cloud computing environment. Apart from this backend architecture, it even has a couple of user interfaces to provision servers, one fully loaded, and other for basic provisioning requests. All requests are handled by Web 2.0 components deployed on the application server.The trend toward cloud computing started in the late 1980s with the concepts of grid computing when, for the first time, a large number of systems were applied to a single problem, usually scientific methods .Many people ask us what the difference is between grid and cloud computing. The primary difference is how each provides the needed resources to a workload.? In grid computing, the focus is on the ability of moving a workload to the location of the needed computing resources, which are mostly remote and are readily available for use. Usually a grid is a cluster of servers on which a large task could be divided into smaller tasks to run in parallel. From this point of view, a grid could actually be viewed as just one virtual server.?In a cloud environment, computing resouces, such as servers, can be dynamically shaped or carved out from its underlying hardware infrastructure and made available to a workload. In addition, while a cloud does support grid, a cloud can also support nongrid environments, such as a three-tier Web architecture running traditional or Web 2.0 applications. The concept of cloud computing has evolved from the concepts of grid, utility, and SaaS. It is an emerging model where users can gain access to their applications from anywhere through their connected devices. These applications reside in massively-scalable data centers where compute resources can be dynamically provisioned and shared to achieve significant economies of scale. The proliferation of smart mobile devices, high speed wireless connectivity, and rich browser based Web 2.0 interfaces has made the network-based cloud computing model not only practical but also a source of reduced IT complexity. The strength of a cloud is its infrastructure management, enabled by the maturity and progress of virtualization technology to manage and better utilize the underlying resources through automatic provisioning, reimaging, workload rebalancing, monitoring, and systematic change request handling. Although cloud computing is an emerging field of computer science, the idea has been around for a few years. Its called cloud computing because the data and applications exist on a cloud of Web servers In a cloud computing system, theres a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the users side decrease. The only thing the users computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing systems interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the clouds network takes care of the rest. If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, theres likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it requires to keep all its clients information stored. Thats because these devices, like all computers, occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all its clients information and store it on other devices. The copies enable the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable. Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy. Cloud storage refers to saving data to an off-site storage system maintained by a third party. Instead of storing information to your computers hard drive or other local storage device, you save it to a remote database. The Internet provides the connection between your computer and the database. On the surface, cloud storage has several advantages over traditional data storage. If you store your data on a cloud storage system, youll be able to get to that data from any location that has Internet access. You wouldnt need to carry around a physical storage device or use the same computer to save and retrieve your information. With the right storage system, you could even allow other people to access the data, turning a personal project into a collaborative effort.Cloud computing systems offer users access to not only storage, but also processing power and computer applications installed on a remote network. There are hundreds of different cloud storage systems. Some have a very specific focus, such as storing Web e-mail messages or digital pictures. Others are available to store all forms of digital data. Some cloud storage systems are small operations, while others are so large that the physical equipment can fill up an entire warehouse. The facilities that house cloud storag e systems are called data center. Creating an effective data center requires careful planning. The three big concerns every data center must be able to address are security, electric power and cooling: Physical security is just as important as network security. Data servers are valuable not only because the machines themselves are expensive, but also because the data stored on them could include sensitive information. A single data servers power requirements arent very taxing. But when a data center has hundreds of servers, its crucial that the centers electric wiring can support the workload.Like all computers, data servers generate heat. Too much heat can impair or damage servers, so the data center needs an effective cooling system to prevent such problems. Cloud storage systems generally rely on hundreds of data servers. Without redundancy, a cloud storage system couldnt ensure clients that they could access their information at any given time. Most systems store the same data o n servers that use different power supplies. That way, clients can access their data even if one power supply fails. For all the talk about cloud computing becoming a persuasive force it relies on one very simple thing ubiquitous global broadband access. Without this global access for everyone regardless of their economic place in society this move to the cloud on a large scale could end up widening the technological divide that already exists. Cloud computing changes the economics of IT by enabling you to pay only for the capacity that you actually use. Compute capacity can be scaled up or down on demand to accommodate changing workloads and business requirements. Taken to the next step, this implies that cloud computing infrastructures, and specifically their middleware and application platforms, should ideally have these characteristics: Self-healing: In case of failure, there will be a hot backup instance of the application ready to take over without disruption (known as failover). It also means that when a policy is set that says everything should always have a backup, when such a fail occurs and backup becomes the primary, the system launches a new backup, maintaining reliability policies. SLA-driven: The system is dynamically managed by service-level agreements that define policies such as how quickly responses to requests need to be delivered. If the system is experiencing peaks in load, it will create additional instances of the application on more servers in order to comply with the committed service levels - even at the expense of a low-priority application. Multi-tenancy: The system is built in a way that allows several customers to share infrastructure, without the customers being aware of it and without compromising the privacy and security of each customer’s data. Service-oriented: The system allows composing applications out of discrete services that are loosely coupled (independent of each other). Changes to or failure of one service will not disrupt other services. It also means services can be reused. Virtualized: Applications are decoupled from the underlying hardware. Multiple applications can run on one computer (virtualization a la VMWare) or multiple computers can be used to run one application (grid computing). Linearly Scalable: Perhaps the biggest challenge. The system will be predictable and efficient in growing the application. If one server can process 1,000 transactions per second, two servers should be able to process 2,000 transactions per second, and so forth. Data, Data, Data: The key to many of these aspects is management of the data: its distribution, partitioning, security and synchronization. 3. Other Technologies involved Cloud computing is closely related to grid computing and utility computing. It is not a revolutionary new development. Rather it is an evolution that has taken place over several decades. Fig 3 Evolution of Cloud Computing In a grid computing system, networked computers are able to access and use the resources of every other computer on the network. In cloud computing systems, that usually only applies to the back end. Utility computing is a business model where one company pays another company for access to computer applications or data storage. Utility computing relates to the business model in which application infrastructure resources - hardware and/or software - are delivered. While cloud computing relates to the way we design, build, deploy and run applications that operate in an a virtualized environment, sharing resources and boasting the ability to dynamically grow, shrink and self-heal Cloud computing is a broader concept than utility computing and relates to the underlying architecture in which the services are designed. It may be applied equally to utility services and internal corporate data centers. Grid computing is a term for either of two broad subcategories of distributed computing: 4. Cloud Computing Concerns With cloud computing, we are at a point similar to when people started realizing that their money was safer in a bank than under their mattress.Some people envision a future in which the entire Web becomes a massive storage cloud. People will constantly upload and download data to and from the cloud. The concept of data ownership will lose its meaning. Everyone will have access to everything and secrecy will cease to exist. Other people dismiss these ideas and say that cloud storage is just a tool like any other. One issue that information experts, computer scientists and entrepreneurs debate is the concept of data ownership. Who owns the data stored in a cloud system? Does it belong to the client who originally saved the data to the hardware? Does it belong to the company that owns the physical equipment storing the data? What happens if a client goes out of business? Can a cloud storage host delete the former clients data? The biggest concerns about cloud storage are reliability ,privacy and security. The idea of handing over important data to another company worries some people. Corporate executives might hesitate to take advantage of a cloud computing system because they cant keep their companys information under lock and key. Clients arent likely to entrust their data to another company without a guarantee that theyll be able to access their information whenever they want and no one else will be able to get at it. A typical cloud storage system architecture includes a master control server and several storage servers.To secure data, most systems use a combination of techniques, including: Encryption, which means they use a complex algorithm to encode information. To decode the encrypted files, a user needs the encryption key. While its possible to crack encrypted information, most hackers dont have access to the amount of computer processing power they would need to decrypt information. Authentication processes, which require to create a user name and password. Authorization practices Te client lists the people who are authorized to access information stored on the cloud system. Many corporations have multiple levels of authorization. Even with these protective measures in place, many people worry that data saved on a remote storage system is vulnerable. Theres always the possibility that a hacker will find an electronic back door and access data. Hackers could also attempt to steal the physical machines on which data are stored. A disgruntled employee could alter or destroy data using his or her authenticated user name and password. Cloud storage companies invest a lot of money in security measures in order to limit the possibility of data theft or corruption. Its in each companys best interests to provide the most secure and reliable service possible. If a company cant meet these basic client expectations, it doesnt have much of a chance there are too many other options available on the market. 5. Advantages Potential advantages of any cloud computing approach include location of infrastructure in areas with lower costs of real estate and electricity. Sharing of peak-load capacity among a large pool of users, improving overall utilization, separation of infrastructure maintenance duties from domain-specific application development ,separation of application code from physical resources. Ability to use external assets to handle peak loads Not have to purchase assets for one-time or infrequent intensive computing tasks Storing data in the cloud already has some distinct advantages over client-based access. We can leverage the sheer processing power of the cloud to do things that traditional productivity applications cannot do. â€Å"For instance, users can instantly search over 25 GB worth of e-mail online, which is nearly impossible to do on a desktop. To take another example, each document created through Google Apps is easily turned into a living information source, capable of pulling the latest data from external applications, databases and the Web. This revolutionizes processes as simple as creating a Google spreadsheet to compare stock prices from vendors over time Why would anyone want to rely on another computer system to run programs and store data? Here are just a few reasons: Clients would be able to access their applications and data from anywhere at any time. They could access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to the Internet. Data wouldnt be confined to a hard drive on one users computer or even a corporations internal network.It could bring hardware costs down. Cloud computing systems would reduce the need for advanced hardware on the client side. You wouldnt need to buy the fastest computer with the most memory, because the cloud system would take care of those needs for you. Instead, you could buy an inexpensive computer terminal. The terminal could include a monitor, input devices like a keyboard and mouse and just enough processing power to run the middleware necessary to connect to the cloud system. You wouldnt need a large hard drive because youd store all your information on a remote computer. Corporations that rely on computers have to make sure they have the right software in place to achieve goals. Cloud computing systems give these organizations company-wide access to computer applications. The companies dont have to buy a set of software or software licenses for every employee. Instead, the company could pay a metered fee to a cloud computing company. Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Some companies rent physical space to store servers and databases because they dont have it available on site. Cloud computing gives these companies the option of storing data on someone elses hardware, removing the need for physical space on the front end. Corporations might save money on IT support. Streamlined hardware would, in theory, have fewer problems than a network of heterogeneous machines and operating systems. If the cloud computing systems back end is a grid computing system, then the client could take advantage of the entire networks processing power. Often, scientists and researchers work with calculations so complex that it would take years for individual computers to complete them. On a grid computing system, the client could send the calculation to the cloud for processing. The cloud system would tap into the processing power of all available computers on the back end, significantly speeding up the calculation. By reducing the traditional costs and labor associated with deploying, maintaining and upgrading business technology, IT departments are increasingly becoming free to devote their limited resources to projects more strategic to the business. And since software lives in the cloud, it can be improved as often as needed without tying up the IT department or inconveniencing users. This â€Å"versionless† software eliminates upgrade projects and helps technology keep pace wi th the speed of business, giving employees access to new technology early and often rather than forcing them to wait for a final, packaged product to be shipped. 6 Current Implementations IBM is the most recent company to announce plans to tap cloud computing technologies. On Nov. 15, IBM executives in Shanghai unveiled a system, dubbed Blue Cloud, that will let banks and other customers distribute their programs across large numbers of machines to deliver faster, more sophisticated data analysis. The first Blue Cloud products are due in the spring of 2008. Googles search engine and productivity applications are among the early products of efforts to locate processing power on vast banks of computer servers, rather than on desktop PCs. Microsoft has released online software called Windows Live for photo-sharing, file storage, and other applications served from new data centers. Yahoo has taken similar steps. Amazon.com (AMZN) recently broadened access for software developers to its Elastic Compute Cloud service, which lets small software companies pay for processing power streamed from Amazons data centers. It enables you to increase or decrease capacity within minutes, not hours or days. You can commission one, hundreds or even thousands of server instances simultaneously Web e-mail providers like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail store e-mail messages on their own servers. Users can access their e-mail from computers and other devices connected to the Internet. Sites like Flickr and Picasa host millions of digital photographs. YouTube hosts millions of user-uploaded video files.Web site hosting companies like StartLogic, Hostmonster and GoDaddy store the files and data for client Web sites.Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace allow members to post pictures and other content. All of that content is stored on the respective sites servers. Services like Xdrive, MediaMax and Strongspace offer storage space for any kind of digital data.Cloud computing is particularly valuable to small and medium businesses, where effective and affordable IT tools are critical to helping them become more productive without spending lots of money on in-house resources and technical equipment. â€Å"But we are seeing large businesses moving to the cloud as well, for a variety of reasons, such as cost savings, remote access, ease of availability and real-time collaboration capabilities. Cloud computing can be used in a variety of areas including intern al pilots, hosting virtual worlds, e-business, social networks, and search. In the future, cloud computing would be able to solve many management related issues of organizations and help make the best use of resources available within an organization. 7. References ?1) Web Service for Estimating Capacity and Performance of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Workloads, October 2006 at www.software.ibm.com/software/dw/wes/hipods/SONOM 2)www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/zones/hipods/library.html 3) IBM’s Vision For The New Enterprise Data Center, March 2008 at www.ibm.com/systems/optimizeit/datacenter/pdf/NEDC_POV_MAR_2008_-_02.pdf 4) Consensus Routing: The Internet as a Distributed System John P. John Ethan Katz-Bassett 5) Market-Oriented Cloud Computing:, Rajkumar Buyya, Chee Shin Yeo, and Srikumar Venugopal, Proceedings of the 10th IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC-08, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, USA), Sept. 25-27, 2008, Dalian, China. Research Papers on Cloud Computing Research PaperOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part One

Pricing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pricing Strategies - Essay Example Competition-based pricing would allow the ZC gemstone to enter the market at a known acceptable price. It would provide the flexibility to offer prices at or slightly below the competitors. This would eliminate the need for market research. It would also gain immediate market share from the competition upon launch of the product. Competition-based pricing would also tie the price to the overall market. That would benefit the company by taking advantage of increased profits when the market went up and continuing to sell as the overall market dropped. Because the product does offer a unique quality advantage, ZC could be priced slightly higher than the competition. However, Finlay et al. (1996) warns, "[...] consumers may easily isolate products which are overpriced and disregard them in their buying decision making process" (p.73). When using a competition-based pricing strategy, there needs to be considerations made for cost and survivability. If the price is set below the competition's lowest price, it may be below the cost of manufacturing it. It should be noted that in a competition based pricing strategy, the price will be set by the "least sophisticated or most aggressive competitor" (Docters 2003 p.18). In an attempt to eliminate the competition, it may drive ZC out of business. However, since the seller also manufactures the item, cost reduction and control could return the product to profitability. Another drawback in this scenario for pricing based on the competition is that the consumer will connect the quality to the price. Since ZC is a higher quality item, we may not want it to be priced at or lower than similar items of less quality. A lower price may give an indication to the market that it is of lower quality. This psychological barrier may be hard to overcome on an infomercial or through advertising. Since the product launch is on a televised home-shopping network in the United States, it's imperative that the initial offering be received positively. This will allow ZC to continue and go global. If the ZC Company has adequate resources, they may be able to tolerate cutthroat pricing while making a minimal profit with the objective being long-term expansion. With expansion and increased international sales, production costs will drop and profits will again begin to rise. The other strategy to consider would be perceived-value pricing. This strategy would be the most effective at setting the price for maximum profits. Setting a higher price based on the uniqueness of the product could offer a sizable competitive advantage. By using premium pricing, it would differentiate the product and set it apart from the competition. This would increase demand and move the price upward. According to Docters (2003), "[...] price alone can influence that demand or move the product into a new demand category" (114). A higher price would also add to the consumer's perception of quality. A study reported by Maxwell (2005) concluded, "[...] consumer price-quality perceptions were strongly related to their estimates of the price level of the product category" (358). Price is often the indicator that the consumer uses to gauge quality. By setting a higher price we are gaining perceived brand quality. Another advantage of perceived-value

Financial Analysis of Granite Construction Industry Plc Essay

Financial Analysis of Granite Construction Industry Plc - Essay Example (Penman, 2003). In addition, investors consult investment analysts who provide an almost endless stream of information and recommendations to sort out. There are often claims that some shares are undervalued and vice versa. (Penman, 2003). This information at times becomes confusing leaving the investor with no clear indication of what the true prices of stocks should be. (Penman, 2003). Under such circumstances, the investor is forced to make the investment decision following his/her instinct or based on the information provided by the market. (Penman, 2003, Kaplan & Norton 1992, 1993). Investors who make the decision based on instinct are referred to as intuitive investors while those who make investment decisions based on capital market efficiency are referred to as passive investors. (Penman, 2003). Passive investors carry out their investment decisions based on the assumption that the market price is a fair price for the risk taken, that is, that market forces have driven the price to the appropriate point. (Penman, 2003). These investment mechanisms appear to be very simple, as they do not require much effort. (Penman, 2003: pp 3). However, both investors run risks that are even more than the risks of the firms they are investing in since they can either pay too much or sell for less and as a result suffer a decrease in returns on their investments. (Penman, 2003). According to Penman (2003), the intuitive investor has the problem of the intuitive bridge builder: "one may be pleased with one's intuition but, before building gets underway, it might pay to check that intuition against the calculations prescribed by modern engineering as not doing so, may lead to disaster". (Penman, 2003: pp 3). The passive investor runs the risks of either paying too much or selling for less should stocks be mispriced. (Penman, 2003). Although economic and modern finance theory (Bodie et al, 2002; Penman, 2003) predict that capital markets are perfect it is good practice to check before taking action. (Penman, 2003). Therefore, both the passive and intuitive investor run the risk of trading with someone who has done his homework well, that is, someone who has analysed the information thoroughly. (Penman, 2003). This study is aimed at carrying out financial analyses of Granite Construction Plc with particular focus on the liquidity, profitability and solvency ratio so as to gain a reasonable basis for providing recommendations to investors and suppliers on whether to invest or continue business for the company, and finally see the various methods through which the company access the capital market. Having said this,

Data, database, and database management systems Essay - 2

Data, database, and database management systems - Essay Example The installation file for DB2 Express-C can be downloaded from the IBM website at no charge. It is free for everyone; so long as you register on their site. The registration process is very short and does not take a long. All that is required is the name of the subscriber, the address, and the email address to keep in touch with the company on their products and support information. This is a convenient way for the company can keep in touch with everyone who uses their database software. It is also a good way to ensure user data can be received from the registered users. The setup process is quick and the database is also easy to use too. It has capabilities that are self-managing. There is optional annual subscription for users who may need technical support from the company and any additional functionality for the software. For instance, the extra functionality that comes with the yearly subscription is the high availability data replication and clustering. DB2 Express-C server can run on any computer system irrespective of the number of processors or the amount of memory available. However, it requires 2 core processors minimum and a 2GB memory for the best performance. The operating systems it runs on are quite a handful. It is able to run on 32bit or 64 bit Linux, Windows, Solaris, and the 64 bit Intel processors on Mac OS X. The installation process is easy with clear guidelines from the dialog windows as well as in the IBM DB Express book. Any difficulty that may be experienced in installation is covered in the book. That said, when installation is complete, it is time to create a database; along with its tables, and all the fields that the tables will hold. A database name must be provided along with the number of the tables that the database is to consist of. After all the tables are created in the database with their attributes; their names, the

Roles Of Women In Hindi Films Media Essay

Roles Of Women In Hindi Films Media Essay Bollywood, the second largest film industry is widely known for its form of creative art. It is a form of art with the ability to entertain, educate, and reflect and shape our sense of who we are and our understanding of the society in which we live. In Hindi films there exists the hero and heroine, however gender hierarchy can be seen and importance is imposed on the male actor. One would agree that the Hindi film industry is male-centric, with limited space for females to be versatile in the character they play. The roles played by the heroine are almost replicated by the same guidelines seen within the Indian society. The Indian society is an influence to Bollywood and is what shapes and defines the roles played by females in films. It has been quoted if the image [of women in the cinema] is submissive or secondary, it is the society who is responsible for it . . . filmmakers, keeping in mind the commercial aspect of films, simply highlight what exists1. The portrayal of women in Hindi films has been stable in correspondence to the norms and values contained in the Indian society. India is known to be a hierarchal society, whether it is religion, northern or southern Indian, all groups of people are ranked according to various qualities. Within gender hierarchy, men outrank women of the same or similar age, and senior relatives outrank junior relatives2. This same concept is taken into the Hindi film industry where more emphasis is created on the male actor. From the beginning of the film process importance is on the male. For example within the internal aspects of film processing the second step is acquisition of leading male role and then followed by female acquisitions3. None the less, females are a priority in films; however their portrayals in films are steady and follow certain guidelines according to the roles played. Indian society has many norms and values, one being the role played by an individual in the society. In Indian society the dominant forms of how women are seen are either as the nurturing mother, innocent wife, the vamp, or the educated modern woman. One or more forms of these roles are always portrayed in Hindi films. With these roles come specific characteristics that are viewed in the society which are then followed and expressed in Hindi films. For example it is considered ideal for a woman in Indian society to have characteristics that include, passive, victimized, sacrificial, submissive, glorified, static, one-dimensional and resilient4. These are the traits that are then brought into the film which not only reflect culture, but also shape culture. India is a religiously complex society with dominancy in the complex religion of Hinduism. In traditional Indian society there were definite and essential norms of behaviour that were usually passed down from previous generations. For example Sita, from the Hindu mythology of Ramayana was seen as ideal woman and ideal wife as she was unwaveringly loyal to her husband and obeys his wishes unquestionably5. Hindi films have achieved this ideal of wifes self devotion. The Indian society is known to be restricted to strict rules and regulations which are to be followed by women. The moral of the Indian society states no independence in women and that she should always be under the guidance of another significant male. For example a female in childhood is subjected to her father, in youth to her husband and after to her children. This interpretation of females can be seen in the film Mother India directed by Mehoob Khan. This film reveals the ideal characteristics of a mother played by Nar gis. At the beginning of the movie it seen that she plays the typical role of a female who is married in an Indian traditional manner. The song Pi Ke Ghar Aaj Pyari Dulhaniya Chali is a significant with the line that states that it is a womens fate to leave home. This applies to the traditional moral of the female being passed on from the authority of the father to her husband who now she must be committed to. This is seen in the character. Dharma referring self-subsistence or a universal law or norm, which applies at the moral, the ritual and social level6. This is another religious and mythological aspect that is inflicted upon women. This is also portrayed in the film through and expressed in the song Duniya Men Hum Aaye Hain. Here the lyrics in the song express that the only honour that a women has in her life is a womens dharma. In context of the movie it states that a women may overcome her struggles but with the conditions that are still expected with the role of a mother. Af ter her husband leaving her she still has hope that he will return and keeps faith and raises her children on her own sacrificing everything she has. This shows the over stress on the love for husband and the duties she has as a mother. It can be seen that in any case, in Indian society the first priority of females is to always keep in mind the norms and values placed on them as females. One may argue that these norms and values have changed within the Indian society with the progression of modernization. However, the lifestyle may have changed in roles of mothers, but the beliefs of the values and norms still exist. For example Kal Ho Na Ho directed by Nikhil Advani is a film set in New York with a modern setting. The role played by Jaya Bachchan shows similar characteristics of a mother which were portrayed by Nargis in Mother India. Jaya Bachchan, also a widowed female in the film experiences many difficulties due to her husband committing suicide. Even though the true reasoning behind the suicide is known by her, the blame is turned towards her by her mother-in-law. However, this does not stop her from being loyal to her husband as she stayed widowed and to the challenge to raise her children and show her devotedness to her husband. Throughout the film we see that she still supports her husband when people including her daughter talk negatively about him. Here she is also in the struggle of raising her children up on her own and sacrifices all she has to raise them and keep them happy. In both Kal Ho Na Ho and Mother India the role of the mother can be seen to be dedicated with the qualities of self sacrifice, devotion, and religious beliefs. If not seen as a traditional woman with traditional values, in Hindi films the female is then portrayed as the vamp or modernized women. Bollywood shows both the traditional and modernity of females, yet tends to portray the modern as immoral and favour the traditional aspects. The vamp is usually portrayed as morally dishonoured person and associated with everything that is disagreeable about the west7. Again this is due to the norms and values seen in the Indian society. In this case women are seen as decorative objects and used for entertainment. Courtesan is another common role played by women which is attended for an arousing effect upon men. These types of roles are usually associated with protagonist character. The female is seen modern and revealing clothes and becomes an object of male desire. In many films with picturization of this role of female is usually seen to be glamorous and captures the females beauty in a sensual manner. An example of this is seen in the movie Sho lay directed by Ramesh  Sippy in the song Mehbooba Mehbooba. Here the female dancer appears very different from the other female lead roles. She is there for entertainment and to add glamour. Her clothes are revealing and she is used for the pleasure of the antagonist. A similar but slightly different scene is also seen in Kal Ho Na Ho with the song Its the time to disco. The difference in this song is that the lead female is in the song but is portrayed with a different characteristic that is not the usual in her role. Here Naina (Preity Zinta) is raised in New York but is a casual girl. In this particular scene the audience sees that her attire is modernized, but not revealing. However, in the song a different perspective of her is seen when she gets drunk. Her clothes become more revealing and her actions are different. This is intended to show how a female may act when they go outside of their boundaries of the Indian society and the consequence of it. Jaswinder (Lilette Dubby ) in the movie is would be seen as the vamp in the movie as her clothes are trendy and she is flirty around men. Not only are women who arent seen in traditional clothes seen as vamps, but also those who dont obey traditional rules. These would include those who are adventurous, independent and have values different from the norms. Thus, women commonly in Hindi films are either the modernized seductive role or the sophisticated tradition Indian women. There are many women in the Bombay film industry. Many have reacted with different opinions on how females are being portrayed. For example quoted from Ayesha Jhulka, an actress: You have to accept the fact that its a male-dominated industry. And you have to accept that basically heroes are given much more importance than the heroineSo its better to accept it and then carry on. You have your own place which nobody else can take. What you can do, the heroes probably cant do8. Another opinion quoted by the actress Shabana Azmi: The one thing that hasnt changed only superficially I think, is in its portrayal of womenI think its a waste if you dont offer them and give them roles that are on par with their heroà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I think that would be very interesting, and basically do films that are pro-women8. Lastly. Actress Ritha Bhaduri states: At the moment I think character roles have more to say than the female heroine, actressà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦There are very few films that are women-orie nted, or have a women dominating the whole thing8. From these opinions of several actresses it can be concluded that many actresses are aware of the stereotypical roles given to women in Hindi films. They do feel that there isnt much importance given to their roles, but also know that a film without a complementing female role would not do very well in the box office. Even though the roles of females are driven by the aspects in the Indian society, actresses have continued to accept the roles and play them according. As stated previously the main cause for this orientation is due to what takes place in the society. As the Indian society makes different progression a change in female roles in Hindi films will also be seen. In conclusion, the female roles played in Hindi film are very restricted and do not have space for variety. Either they are seen as objects to add glamour and entertainment to the film or they are portrayed with important roles such as mothers but with general Indian societal values that come with that role. The Indian society has a main impact on the portrayal of women in Indian cinema. The Indian society has been shaping the role of women in Hindi films Endnotes: 1 Boot, Gregory D. Making a Woman from a Tawaif: Courtesans as Heros in Hinidi Cinema. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 2007: 3 (http://www.nzasia.org). 2 James Heiztman, Robert L.Worden. India Country Studies. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 1995: 235. 3 Class lecture (Vishwanathan 2010) 4 Pattanayak, Saswat. Women journalists in Hindi Films:http://saswat.com/articles/bollywomen.htm. 5 Chap. 5 Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change, by Wimal Dissanayake K. Moti Gokulsing, 79. Trentham Books, 2004. 6 Chap. 6 Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change, by Wimal Dissanayake K. Moti Gokulsing, 39-44. Trentham Books, 2004. 7 Wimal Dissanayake.79.2004 8 In Bollywood a guide book to popular Hindi cinema , by Tejaswini Ganti. 187-192: Routledge

Free Catcher in the Rye Essays: Symbols and Symbolism :: Catcher Rye Essays

Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", published in 1951, is his best piece of work. The story is about a sixteen-year old young man by the name of Holden Caulfield. Holden is being expelled from Pency Prep and decides to leave three days early. He chooses to not go home, enabling his parents to receive the letter that his head master at Pency Prep wrote to his parents about his expulsion. He chooses to hang around in New York until Wednesday, when he is going to be able to return home. Throughout the three days, Holden is having a difficult time finding out who he is. Throughout the novel, the reader is presented with many different symbols. The symbols are clearly seen by Holden's constant repetition of their importance. The symbols are so important and their symbolism is directly related to the major themes of the novel. Allie, Holden's young brother who died several years earlier, was a major symbol throughout the story. When Holden remembers incidents from his past involving Allie, his attitude changes, such as when he writes the composition about Allie's baseball glove or when Holden broke his hand after punching all of the windows after Allie died. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it". (39) He feels that Allie was one of the few people who were not phony in a world full of phonies. More importantly, Allie represents the innocence and childhood that Holden strives to find throughout his three-day journey. In Holden's opinion, Allie represents the purity that Holden looks for in the world. Holden admits that he admires Allie more than he admires Jesus, and even prays to Allie at one point, rather than Jesus. Allie is Holden's role model, whom he judges the rest of the world according to. When Allie dies, it creates turbu lence in Holden's life. At several points during the course of the novel, Holden asks as to what happens to the ducks who are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and the water freezes. On page 60, Holden asks, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?