Chose a subject of popular culture and analyze this subject using Essay

Chose a subject of popular culture and analyze this subject using course concepts - Essay Example ra of Swing music, and thus this paper helps to give an insight about the musical genius’ life and subsequent contributions towards culture and also how the socio-economic, political and historical factors played a role in making significant changes towards the same. Bessie Smith’s inherent passion for music was discovered fortunately at a very young age as she and her brother took to the streets of their local neighbourhoods in Chattanoonga, as they sang and danced in order to earn money for their meals. However, her brother soon left her to join a professional troupe and she was left behind due to being very young. Soon enough, her brother arranged for a meeting and interview for Bessie for the Stokes Troupe and she was hired as a dancer but not as a singer, thus her true potential had yet not been realised. In 1915, the singer left and became a part of the Theater Owners Bookers Association, an African American performance group and this became the milestone in her career. The group helped her to gain popularity all over and become a recognised singer. Following this, offers began coming in for Bessie to be part of musicals and one of her firsts, titled ‘How Come?’ made its way to Broadway as well. Here, Bessie co starred with Sidney Bechet. Looking at her success and getting motivated by the same, Smith moved on to working in theatre, mostly Black theatres as they accepted her better, and in 1923 she landed with her first recording contract. Soon enough, Bessie became one of the highest paid black women in her field however, the money did not make much difference to her life then and she realised she wanted to sing all her life. Smith’s voice, mellifluous and harmonious, was something she was able to practice and develop on her own. She did not receive any formal training from anywhere, and with the practice she had had since her early years, she dedicated and devoted more time to get even better than what she was and all that she had

History response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History response - Essay Example The poor felt they were only working hard and long hours without anything to show for their efforts but acting as mechanisms intended to cushion lives of the elite whom the majority were in the government and resided in posh regions. This is evident in the quote, which was a sentiment raised by a young laborer claiming despite how hard they toiled in order to make their lives better and bearable, employers were the sole determiners of their fate. Since, they mercilessly used policies to compel them in operating machines in their factories for long hours while in return offering extremely low wages that could not sustain them well where they lived. Based on this scenario, I tend to think most of them lost their jobs at a very high rate because employers had a big selection of choosing what they want and wished to pay in terms of labor. I wanted also to show the then lack of workers’ authority to influence determination of their salaries and wages. Employers especially the then manufacturing moguls enjoyed big margins due to cheap and easily available labor by willing people working long hours to earn more. This is to cater for numerous and even costly medical costs in their shanty residential areas. Therefore, employers in this case used meager earnings as a hook to retain poor laborers in their industries because they had no other options of earning the money they desperately needed for their daily sustenance. However, workers despite exploited by these moguls had the courage to voice their grievances. This is evident in the young man’s sentiments who without fear stood out to protest what he deemed was the then moguls’ state of exploiting poor laborers. Keen analysis of this sentiment brings out much untold exploitation despite being a short quote. For instance, the young lad contends of â€Å"oppressed on every hand† thus summarizing utter oppression and neglect even

Heathrow Airport Project Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Heathrow Airport Project Evaluation - Essay Example This meant some of the Star Alliance airlines having their operations at terminal 2 and 3 would have to move to terminal 1. Completion of this project on time would enable Heathrow Airport, which currently caters for 90 airlines, to rise up to more than 180 airlines worldwide. Though completing the project on the laid timeline was one of the most important things, there were other factors that had to be considered, including the safety and health issues (BAA, 2012). This was important because the terminal was to be used by passengers, and their needs came first. All factors had to be considered so as to maintain the reputation of BAA to the stakeholders , the public, and the media. The passage of terminal 1 may lead to delays which could cause not only significant penalties but also loss of other clients. A project manager, David Buisson, was chosen to manage the project as he was a certified project manager who also had more than 13 years of working experience as a manger in various challenging and complex projects (BAA, 2012). Mr. Buisson had worked with teams of professionals from various places around the world, including professionals from industries who were skilled enough to tackle major transport and communication projects. Using the experience developed from many years of experience and meeting different people around the world, Mr. Buisson had the required sufficient knowledge to choose a team that would be able to complete the project in the required timeline. The teams chosen would be required to collaborate and make the success of the project the most important thing they do. They should also remember the safety of the project as it is supposed to serve millions of people and for decades of years to come. Planning Approaches Planning and survey are a continuous process wh ich may take time before being implemented. There are three proven planning approaches for projects which include top-down execution and responsibility; top-down policy and bottom-up planning and execution; and bottom-up execution and responsibility (Kerzner, 2000). The top down execution and responsibility is the department responsible for coordinating and planning of procedures and policies. The management in this approach is centralized as it involves a few people making decisions for the rest of the team (Cooke-Davies, 2000). In this case, the stakeholders are informed of the proceedings of the project and they make the decisions of whether the project would still be done or not. They decide whether the request for time extensions would be necessary, whether additional resources would make any changes to the project and they make conclusions without consulting the teams doing the project. This approach has its disadvantages as various departments may not get the special attentio n required to complete the project on time. Different teams may also not understand how they should relate to each other while trying to complete the project. The other approach is the bottom-up execution and responsibility which encourages each department to develop or come up with their ideas and implement plans without much supervision (Morris, 2004). In this approach, there is a manager in charge of them, but they only report to them in critical circumstances. In our case, the project manager encourages the team members to use the collaborative approach while solving various problems. This approach involves training various people as well as having different parties which can be expensive especially to big projects such as refurbishing Heathrow Airport Terminals. The last planning approach is the top down policy and bottom up planning and execution which have overall planning rules or guidelines which are

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Film - Essay Example tion of America, the film industry took a high recovery path between 1970 and 1980, through the integration of the television and the film division of the MCA with new blockbuster films. This was to be reversed back to the studio system balance of power, after the deregulation of the media that swept through the 1990s, coupled with globalization and digital technologies (Schatz, n.d.). Between the 1920s and the 1940s, the film industry was controlled by the Big Eight Studios, which operated on a factory-based mode, and the studio control made the industry flourish through the depression and the World War II, such that the government had to tolerate the studio control. However, by 1947-8, the studio control experienced one of its major blows that saw the revenues drop drastically. This is because, the Supreme Court ruled to prohibit the collusive trade practices that enabled the big studios to control the industry (Schatz, n.d.). This resulted to the change of the mode of operation of the film business in Hollywood, to a new business model that operates to date. The ‘telefilm’ concept developed in the 1950s, with the rise of the profitable television production based on the West Coast films, which the studios started pursuing (Schatz, n.d.). Though initially the big studios such as the Warner Bros and the 20th Century Fox had initially resisted the ‘telefilm’ lure, they were eventually absorbed into it by the success of other studios, and by the 1960s, the TV series production had shifted from New York to Hollywood. Further, the 1960s were the years of increased film importation and international co-production, and during the same period, Hollywood ventured into regenerating its own art cinema (Schatz, n.d.). However, the excess youth-marketed art cinema coupled with the flop of high budget film resulted in a high recession for the industry between 1969 and 1971. This led to the revolution of the industry through the introduction of the theatrical

Mechanical testing of cancellous bone (Bio-mechanics) Essay

Mechanical testing of cancellous bone (Bio-mechanics) - Essay Example Therefore, the plotting of stress curves was done. Basing on the intercept and the slope of the graph obtained in this experiment, compressive strength, the stiffness, the zero strain point, as well as the failure strain were then calculated. It was found that density was in directly proportion with the three mechanical properties (stiffness, strength, and failure strain) for samples from porcine, as well as bovine bone. Following these results, it was concluded therefore, that the mechanical behaviour of cancerous bone in both pig and the cow is almost similar although it was somewhat lower in the cow samples relative to that from porcine. Trabecular bone or the cancerous bone is the porous material that often represent a type of osseous tissue forming bones (Jee, 1996). Research indicates that trabecular bone has a higher surface area relative to other types of osseous tissues (Foss, 1992). Contrary, it has been found to have less density and stiffness (Currey, 1987). Arguably, the cancerous bone mechanical behaviour is somewhat similar to the other related cellular materials including the polymeric. This is because of its possessing a cellular structure consisting of the connected network of plates and rods (Bursten, & Frankel, 1999). There are contributing factors to the cancerous bone strength with bone density identified as one such factor. According to WHO (1994) there is need to determine the fracture risks using bone mineral density. It is also worth noting that other than the density of the bone, testing conditions, as well as the species of the animal are essential factors affecting the stiffness and strengt h of cancerous bones (Bell, Olive & Grabb, 1988). From the explored body of literature, it is evident that there are numerous experiments that have been conducted with a view of evaluating the density, and strength of a bone. However, there are limited research conducted on dependent of the strength of the cancerous bone on either

Understanding and interpreting financial data Coursework

Understanding and interpreting financial data - Coursework Example The vast competition and globalization that businesses face today means necessary steps to ensure continuous growth must be put in place. One method of doing this is the analysis of financial ratios. In this case, Bravo Ltd can obtain financial ratios using their latest financial statements and comparing the results with a competing business within the same industry. Alternatively, a business with the best business practice and a good track record is chosen as a benchmark for Bravo Ltd's improvement.It is a tool for interpreting the financial statements to assess financial and management performance. There are several types of financial ratios available that will benefit Bravo Ltd: Liquidity Ratios, Asset Management Ratios, Profitability Ratios and Gearing Ratios. Each ratio is measured differently and used according to the necessary analysis needed. This measures the ability of Bravo Ltd to meet its short-term financial liabilities as they fall due. It is of particular interest if Bravo Ltd wishes to extend its short-term credit facilities. There are two kinds of Liquidity Ratio - Current Ratio and Quick Ratio.Stocks are excluded in the calculation because stocks may include items that have uncertain liquidation values. Ideally, a ratio of 2 is considered safe for the former while a ratio below 1 is recommended for the latter.This measures how well Bravo Ltd utilizes its assets for the benefit of its business. Having a sound ratio will ensure that Bravo Ltd is better received by would-be investors. We will look at Inventory Turnover, Receivables Turnover, Average Collection Period and Fixed Asset Turnover. Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold / Inventory Receivables Turnover = Credit Sales / Accounts Receivables Average Collection Period = 365 / Receivables Turnover Fixed Asset Turnover = Sales / Fixed Assets Generally, a high turnover ratio is preferred. 2.3 Profitability Ratio There are several ratios available that can measure the ability of Bravo Ltd to generate profits from its sales. These include Gross Profit Margin, Return on Assets and Return on Equity. Gross Profit Margin = (Sales - Cost of Goods Sold) / Sales Return on Assets = Net Income / Total Assets Return on Equity = Net Income / Shareholders' Equity A good profit margin is essential in any form of business to ensure there is always enough cash to run its operations. Thus, it is also important that receivables are collected on a timely basis. 2.4 Gearing Ratio This assesses the financial risk of Bravo Ltd. A high gearing ratio poses risks if Bravo Ltd is unable to meet its financial obligations as this can very well lead to bankruptcy. Therefore, it is important that this is constantly monitored. The ratio is used is Debt to Equity Ratio. 3 FINDINGS RATIO 2007 ('000) 2008 ('000) Working Result Working Result Current Ratio 1770 / 560 3.16 2490 / 840 2.96 Quick Ratio 1770 - 930 / 560 1.50 2490 - 1250 / 840 1.48 Inventory Turnover 3020 / 1770 1.71 4550 / 2490 1.83 Receivables Turnover 4940 / 820 6.02 6850 / 1230 5.57 Average Collection Period 365 / 6.02 60 Days 365 / 5.57 66 Days Fixed Asset Turnover 4940 / 2600 1.90 6850 / 3210 2.13 Gross Profit Margin 1920 / 4940 39% 2300 / 6850 34% Return on Assets 460 / 4370 11% 450 / 5700 8% Return on Equity 460 / 3810 12% 450 / 4860 9% Debt to Equity 560 / 3810 15% 840 / 4860 17% Our findings show that Bravo Ltd has a good Liquidity Ratio. Its Current Ratio is 2.96 (3.16 in 2007) and its Quick Ratio is 1.48 (1.50 in 2007). This means Bravo Ltd is more than able to generate enough cash to settle its short-term liabilities. There has only been a slight change in its Liquidity Ratio over two years. As a guide, a current

Textual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual analysis - Essay Example In identifying this problem one of the salient features that immediately must be considered is a condition that Lukacs refers to as reification. An elucidation of reification will reveal how the commodities structure penetrates and transforms all aspects of bourgeois society and indeed transforms thought within capitalist society. This transformation irrevocably limits the ability for philosophical inquiry and critical theory to function separately from societal forces and for Lukacs the inquiry itself "springs" directly from this now reified structure. The problem of commodities is one that was comprehensively outlined by Marx and is a fundamental theme in much of the subsequent Marxian analytical tradition. As products are bought and sold in the marketplace, they become commodities. These commodities are alienated from the laborer that was initially responsible for the creation of the product. Individuals who purchase or exchange these commodities are not directly aware of the laborer who produced this commodity, but instead place a value on the existence of the commodity so that it can be exchanged in the market without having to come into contact with the laborer. As a result this so-called exchange-value of a commodity commodifies the labor itself. The structure of commodification whether it applies to the product o... The problem with this structure is that necessarily conceals what it is supposed to reference, and hence is inherently duplicitous (Lukacs 83). This duplicity has economic consequences for the proletariat that Marx explicates elsewhere. For Lukacs, this structure serves as a "base" and a point of departure for the typical economic concerns that Vulgar Marxists are keen on parsing out. (84) Commodity fetishism, the term Marx uses for this obscuring of social relations has both a specific local context and as a more general application for Lukacs. The specific context deals with the commodity within the framework of the marketplace, and deals with the exploitation and alienation of the laborer. The general application asks the question, "how far is commodity exchange together with its structural consequences able to influence the total inner and outer life of society" (Lukacs 84). The answer as it turns out will be completely and totally. Yet, he is careful here, and in following Marx, recognizes that commodity-exchange is an "episodic" feature present in the history of mankind (Lukacs 85). That is, as the objective forms of bourgeois society are periodically instantiated, the role of commodities can operate as a non-dominant form of "metabolic" exchange. Its transformation or reification into the principle organizing structure of a thoroughly capitalist society is attr ibuted to the subjectivization of the commodities-structure where "man's activity becomes estranged from himself," and is possible when the marketplace is fully commodified (Lukacs 87). Though as Lukacs stresses, this reification manifests itself qualitatively