Filinvest Company Background Essay Example for Free

Filinvest Company Background Essay Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) is one of the leading real estate developers in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), which has more than 40 years of experience in real estate development. Founded by Mr. Andrew L. Gotianun, Sr., FDC is the holding company of the Gotianun Family. Originally engaged in the small-scale financing of second hand cars in 1955, the Gotianun Family’s business later expanded into consumer finance in partnerships with foreign institutions such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Ford Philippines. By the early 1980’s, the Gotianun Family’s Filinvest Credit Corporation had become one of the leading consumer finance companies in the Philippines in terms of assets, and the â€Å"Filinvest† name had become well recognized in the Philippines. The Gotianun Family entered the real estate business in 1967 through the incorporation of Filinvest Realty Corporation, which engaged in the development of residential subdivisions. In 1984, the Gotianun Family consolidated their real estate interests in FDC after divesting their shares in two family-owned banks, Family Bank and Trust Company and the Insular Bank of Asia and America. By 1990, FDC expanded its products line to include the development and sale of low-cost and medium-cost housing units. FLI was incorporated on November 24, 1989 as Citation Homes, Inc. and changed its name to FLI on July 12, 1993. It began commercial operations in August 1993 after FDC spun off its MISSION AND VISSION The primary responsibility of Filinvest Land is to the people that inhabit the cities, communities, and homes it has created. Filinvest will continually contribute to the economic development of society and will function as a good corporate citizen. II.View point Based on the researcher’s opinion, Filinvest Alabang Incorporated is a well established enterprise in the Philippines. In fact, Filinvest Alabang Incorporated was ranked as high as number 5; Top Real Estate Companies in the Philippines. Although it’s a well established company here in the Philippines, still, they do encounter minor and major problems depending on the situation and due to some environmental factors. Since Real Estate is the main source of profit for the company, it is very important that the management will hire highly qualified employees who possess a quality that can help the company grow. And to make the employees perform better, the management should provide rewards that will help motivate the employees to function effectively and efficiently. Overview Although Filinvest Alabang, established a stable place in the market; it should be always equipped with â€Å"contingency plans† in case of crisis or if any problems will rise. And in this paper, the researchers will provide a concrete analysis of the problems of the said company, and might will provide solutions for the given problem. III.Time context Filinvest Alabang, Inc. (FAI) was incorporated on August 25, 1993 in connection with the development of Filinvest Corporate City (FCC) in Alabang, a joint venture with the government’s Public Estates Authority. FAI is 80% owned by FDC and 20% owned by FLI. FAI’s primary project is FCC, a 244-hectare mixed-use development project located at the southern end of Metro Manila and adjacent to the South Expressway in Alabang. FAI uses modern, ecological urban planning and design in developing FCC as an alternative to Metro Manila’s business districts. Since the start of its development in 1995, FCC has grown to become a major destination in southern Manila that services all segments of the population with a wide array of retail, office and residential developments. It is home to key anchors such as Insular Life, Asian Hospital and the fast-growing Northgate Cyberzone BPO hub. The second busiest transport terminal in Metro Manila is in the immediate vicinity, making FCC a major gateway for commuters going into and out of Metro Manila from the south. The extension of the Skyway elevated road to Alabang significantly enhances the value of FCC and further increase its attractiveness as the location of choice for offices and residential living in the South of Metro Manila IV. Statement of the problem MAIN PROBLEM: Relationship basis inside the corporation MAJOR PROBLEM: †¢Low recruitment process †¢Lack communication inside the industry MINOR PROBLEM: Relationship basis inside the corporation †¢Reward and benefits of the employees are small and little in hand †¢Salaries and wages are not accommodated well V.Statement of objective †¢To identify the cause of the slow recruitment process in Filinvest Alabang Inc. †¢To provide possible solutions for the slow recruitment process. †¢To analyze problems occurring inside the cooperation and providing solutions to patch-up the problems of employees regarding the delay of their salaries and having less rewards and incentives. †¢To provide solution for improvement of employees and worker’s skills regarding in handling customers service and maintaining good image of the industry. * Specific †¢To identify the different demands and problems of the employees inside the organization’ which they think is affecting their performance. That way, the firm will be able to provide any possible solution so to trim down those types of problems affecting the employee. The study will cover the common types of problems that employees encounters: Salary and Wages, working hours and relationship among other employees. * Measurable †¢The company could provide seminars once or twice a month to address all the concerns that i bothering the employee. That way, the manager will be able to point out what exactly is the problem within the organization. And by providing seminars for the employee, they will be able to know more how to interact with their co-employees. With this type of structure, most probably, the organization will be able to solve any ongoing long term problems within a year. * Attainable †¢The objectives of this study are indeed attainable as it will focus more on solving the problems of the employees. Although it will take some time to discuss, know and solve their problems, still it is very important for the part of the management to address all the employee concerns so that they will be able to function well. * Realistic †¢The plan is bound to be effective if it’s implemented, although it will take some time to execute it properly. * Time bound †¢The target audience of this study is mainly the employees of this organization. And this plan should be implemented for a year. VI.SWOT analysis Strength Filinvest Alabang Incorporated has been one of the leading Real Estate developers here in the Philippines. Boasting a total of 70 Billion assets and earning an all-time high of 20 Billion of sales the year 2011, this year, they aim to earn higher; 30 Billion of sales, so to provide Filipinos a chance to experience a dynamic living in a vibrant master planned city. What gives Filinvest Alabang Inc. an edge compared to other Real Estate developer? Simple, they bounded their project in a very good location, wherein the city is connected to 5 major road points; giving them maximum exposure to businessman, commuters and even prospect buyers. In terms of their recruitment routine, applicants undergo a series of observations, interviews and training so to identify if they are well qualified for the job and somehow has the ability to achieve the given job description. With this type of assessment, Filinvest Alabang Incorporated accepts highly qualified sellers to help the company achieve its target mark for this year, making sure that the ones they accept will be able to function really well. Weakness Given the amount of time that the recruitment process takes to finally hire employees, there is a possibility that they might miss out other highly qualified applicants due to the long process of interviews and series of training. Some applicants might lose their interest given the time that the training process eats. And due loss of interest of applicants, there’s a blink of probability that other Real Estate companies will snatch the chance of getting those type employees and definitely that gives Filinvest a slight margin of disadvantage. Opportunities With a well renowned name in the industry of Real Estate, that puts Filinvest Alabang Inc. in a good position as a top of mind priority for businessmen and job applicants. Knowing that selling real estate requires a huge workforce, evidently the corporation is in search of many inspiring job applicants who want to earn big money. And Filinvest Alabang give those kinds of opportunities to unemployed individuals who wants to make a living. They actually have a very flexible standard when they hire applicants, because they can’t throw away the fact that they need an individual with great talent, given that he/she wasn’t able to meet one of the required standards to be hired be swatted away. Threats Obviously, Filinvest ALabang Inc. is not only the renowned RealEstate developer here in the Philippines. Other top competitors Ayala Land and SMDC for example use different kind of strategies to lure prospect buyers to buy their luxurious properties and of course, they have a different style of training used to hone the skills of their employees. With the presence of other top real estate companies, that makes the stakes of hiring highly qualified employees divided among those corporations. VII.Alternative courses of action Detailed Background Check. ( Past Employment ) To make the process of recruitment shorter, the Human Resource management could use a background check with regards to the individual’s past employments (if available), whether he/she has background working on a sales team which will help clarify points if the individual is capable of being part of the Filinvest Alabang sales team. Putting a little bit of emphasis on the applicant’s background would help shorten the period of training knowing that he/she is capable of being a seller. That will definitely help cut the expenses that the company supply for training and seminars as part of the training program Experience Experience is definitely a plus when you apply for a job. And for Human Resource managers, an applicant with plenty of experience makes the job easier. Knowing that the individual is already knowledgeable of the job description and knows what are the functions of being a seller, those type of statistics may lead to fewer training and interviews. But the management definitely should not rest easier; they should conduct a detailed background check regarding the past performance of the applicant like consulting the previous company where he/she worked for about how he/she dealt with the stress of the job and etc. VIII.Recommendation †¢Conduct seminars for improvement of customer relationship and as well as the employee to employee relationship. †¢Conduct monthly meeting to be aware of the status of each organization of the corporation. †¢Get feedback from customer to distinguish the quality and satisfaction of service and products the Filinvest offers. IX.Action plan / time constraint The Human Resource management could make a proposal to be sent to the higher level management regarding the issue of slow recruitment process and suggest that they should focus more on analyzing and looking briefly at the individual’s experience by conducting background check so to lessen the time that the training and interviews are taking. That way, the recruitment process would somehow speed up, and in case they get better results, they should continue to do it or perhaps improve the system more. And in case that the strategy is not working out, they should try to evaluate on what seems to be out of sync and once they were able to point out the problem, they should be able to come up with good solutions to the problem. X.Conclusion The researcher recommends that the management of Filinvest Alabang Incorporated should speed up the process of hiring highly qualified employees without sacrificing their thoroughness in selecting the best among the job applicants. They could focus more on looking briefly at the resume of the employee and perhaps, they could perform through background check on the individual to ensure that they are qualified for the job. That way, they could cut the cost allotted for many sessions of trainings and undying interviews.

Characteristics And The Theological Aims Of Marks Gospel Religion Essay

Characteristics And The Theological Aims Of Marks Gospel Religion Essay Marks gospel is known to be the earliest and shortest of the synoptic gospels and its purpose was to impart a written declaration of the redemption brought about through Jesus with an importance appropriate for Gentile Christians. Though it contains very few of Jesus parables compared to the other gospels, Mark tried to identify with Jesus through what he did rather that what he said. John Kilgallen wrote, If we are to know the events of Jesus life, we are brought to them only through Marks story telling. This essay is going to examine the characteristics and theological aims of Marks gospel, and further analyse and evaluate the discussions in order to find out of in what ways they should influence the churchs teaching. Marks gospel is symbolised with a lion which represents the sovereign authority and the effectual power of the son of God and perhaps thats why it is fully packed with action in regards to Jesus ministry. Referring to the prophecy in Isaiah, presumably Mark did not want his listeners to doubt about the testimony of Jesus who was on earth to complete the mission of redemption for mankind. The purpose and whole ministry of Jesus, according to Mark was to die and save sinners. (1: 14-15) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. The fact that Mark explained the meanings of Jewish custom and translated some Aramaic words shows that his gospel was intended for the non Jewish audience and one could argue that he wanted to express a clearer message of the Gospel, with no obstruction of understanding the purpose of Jesus on earth. This implicated the importance of discipleship (1: 17) Jesus said to them, Follow me and I will make you fish for people., and faith in The Son of God being crucial to those who believed as in the case of the paralytic man who was brought to Jesus to be healed, but because of the massive crowd they showed the extremity of their faith when they broke through the roof in order to get the sick man in Jesus presence. May be that is why Mark recorded such high numbers of miracles compared to the other synoptic gospels. An illustration of the kind of opposition Jesus experienced from some of His family members, friends, followers, religious leaders and political figures was also expressed in Marks gospel, but Jesus took carriage and did not deviate from His purpose according to Mark who told of the many places that Jesus went to deliver His message. This shows that Jesus was always on the move. He indicated the major roles of Jesus ministry were to serve and suffer through his sacrificial love Marks intention could broadly be interpreted as a pastoral mission, that had a purpose of teaching and building up the faith of his listeners by showing the relevance of Jesus teachings in their own lives as it is in the church today. (3: 14-15) And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,  to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. Jesus entrusts His followers with the proclamation to all nations to the end. As Jesus gave authority then, it is the same authority given to the church today until the good news  is proclaimed to all nations. Overall, the characters and theological aim in Marks gospel can still be addressed in the church as a continuation of what Jesus started when He announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Therefore the call of repentance and belief should still be the theme in the church. Jesus came to serve not to be served, and he sacrificed his life for all mankind, so the church should illustrate this kind of servant hood as emphasised by Lightfoot, The purpose of the Lords manifestation in the future is not so much to introduce a new order of things, but rather to complete that which already exists. The church can be transformed through the influence of Marks gospel by compelling to a divine mission of not our own agenda but that of Christ and acknowledging for who He is (8: 29) He asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered him, You are the Messiah. Dependency on God is a requirement today as much as interdependency to each other working in unity in order to continue reaching out with the gospel regardless of criticism and opposition as according to Mark. **Jesus often warned His disciples of the hardship and suffering that they would encounter as He did. The Church still faces persecution as in the days of Mark, but we are encouraged to remain steadfast in our faith as then. The characteristics and theological aims, of Marks Gospel teach the church, representative of Christ, to continue spreading the word of God. Discipleship is  a part of life for Christians as clearly demonstrated in Mark.   Known as missionaries today, discipleship duties of servant hood is still the core that is required, and through the teachings of Jesus who encountered both the sick and the sinful in this gospel transformation is relevant and still acts as a model for the church. Jesus has always been the representation of the just man, who was treated unjustly, but he responded with patience and he did not lose hope and trust in God. The theological aim of evangelism should be another influence in church as expressed in the first verse of Mark, to proclaim that Jesus is son of God and saviour. The need to lose one self remains as necessary and true now as it was then. In terms of discipleship it is from Jesus that discipleship started and that is still a relevant characteristic in church to follow the example of Jesus, which is another influence in understanding of Christian faith. Mark expressed a high degree of honesty in the disciples of Jesus then by giving an account about their misunderstanding of what Jesus was telling them and the fearful reaction of the events that surrounded the resurrection which mirrors the weakness in the church. Consumed by pride of who is the greatest and not confronting the fear of being misunderstood, has overwhelmed the church of the twenty first century. The church should continue to teach that true discipleship is only possible after the resurrection as stated in Mark, and thats when the full significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus can be known. The church today has no excuse than those first followers if it does not teach the believers to take up the cross and follow Jesus. The Gospel of Mark strengthened his listeners to stand strong in their faith even through a period of persecution as Jesus did; it is a characteristic that still needs to influence the church as it has never stopped being persecuted even in this 21st century. The importance of faith is stressed as the ambience in which Jesus mighty works were performed (6: 5, 6) From the analysis of the main features in Marks gospel, it becomes possible to draw certain conclusions in regards to his intention. Jesus prepared himself to total obedience to God as introduced by Mark The Son of God. The church should continue to have total faith and obedience in God as Jesus did in order not to deviate from the truth. It could be argued to a certain extent that the teaching and actions of Jesus have a continuing value in both Christian life and death and that the death of Jesus was not in vain. Therefore, according to the examination of the above characteristics and theological aims in Marks gospel, the church should still be strongly influenced, by that same message of redemption by following the example of Jesus who was a servant of the Lord regardless of deeds of suffering, strengthening in the faith and continue to spread the good news according to the gospel of Mark. (10: 44-45) And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Air Passenger Duty Tax In The Uk Economics Essay

Air Passenger Duty Tax In The Uk Economics Essay According to the new system, commercial flights are divided into four bands which differ in price and distance. This essay will attempt to determine whether the new policy is justified and how it will affect the market for short haul flights, the competition, environment and the revenue for the government. a) In order to find out how the increase in Air Passenger Duty affects the market for short haul flights, it is necessary to carry out a supply and demand analysis of air travel. Figure 1: Market for short haul flights after the APD increase (Adapted from Sloman Garratt, 2010). Figure 1 shows airplanes supply and passengers demand for flights after the APD increase. According to Sloman and Garratt (2010), when price of a product or service rises, quantity demanded falls, and when price descends, quantity demanded increases. Therefore, the demand curve is downwards sloping to the right. On the other side, as price rises, quantity supplied goes up. As price decreases, quantity supplied goes down. In effect, the supply curve is upwards sloping. The point in which both curves intersect is the equilibrium price. At this point the amount supplied equals the amount demanded. Before the hike of the tax the seats (Q1) were sold at the price of P1. The increase of APD causes the supply curve to shift upwards to the left. It is because change in supply can be triggered by determinants other than price, like government policies (i.e. taxes), which in result increase costs of production (Sloman Garratt 2010). In order to cover it, an airline needs to raise the price per seat. This increase in fares affects passengers, who are now willing to purchase fewer seats. This is shown by a movement along D curve to the new equilibrium point P2 Q2. If the movement did not happen, it would result in a surplus, i.e. the quantity of plane seats would exceed the number of customers willing to buy it. Basing on the law of demand, the quantity demanded of plane seats drops due to the increase in fares, illustrated by P2 and Q2. However, taking into account the fact that a rise in APD is relatively low ( £1 in economy and  £2 in premium class), it is unlikely that the drop from Q1 to Q2 will be steep. b) The increase in APD on short haul flights will not necessarily mean that the passengers will foot the whole bill. Such flights are frequently used and the rise in APD is relatively low, so in many cases the increase will be shared by customers and airlines. Sloman and Garratt (2010) explain that consumers pay to the extent that price rises. Producers pay to the extent that this rise in price is not sufficient to cover the tax. So, passengers should face a rise of the price difference between P1 and P2 (Figure 1), which is less than  £1. The remaining part should be paid by an airline. However, this will depend on specific airlines: their revenue, policies and popularity of their offer. The more price inelastic is the demand for the airline, the bigger customers share. So budget airlines, like Ryanair and easyJet, are very unlikely to cover the increase in APD. This is due to the fact that their fares are very competitive, thus customers will be better off choosing their service even if the whole APD is passed in them. On the other side, traditional airlines (like BA) operating on domestic and short European routes could decide to bear the burden of the whole amount due to the fact, that they face a numerous competition in the industry and from other means of transport. Therefore, it could be reasonable for such airlines to cover some share of APD increase and keep the demand and profit high. They could achieve it by, for instance, reducing ticket prices and sales or scrapping other charges where possible. Therefore, if the increase is shared by customers and airlines, the price-increase for passengers will be less than  £1 in the cheapest class. c) Long distance fast train travel is considered to be the closest substitute to short haul fights. Therefore, if the price of the flights rises due to APD increase, customers (especially leisure travellers) may switch to the cheapest alternative, i.e. trains. According to Sloman and Garratt (2010), if demand is affected by other factor than price, the whole demand curve shifts to the right or to the left. The number and price of substitute goods is one of the determinants of the shift in demand. This means that if the price of one product rises, the demand for its substitute will go up. Figure 2: Market for train journeys after the price increase of short haul flights. (Adapted from Sloman Garratt, 2010). The graph illustrates the effect of the increase in short haul prices on the market for train journeys. The horizontal axis represents a number of passengers, whereas the vertical axis shows prices for a train ticket. Before the increase in flights prices, the equilibrium for train journeys was at the price P1 and quantity Q1. However, the demand for train journeys reacts to a high price of the substitute good, as more people travel by train rather than fly. Thus the demand curve shifts to the right. As a result, at the current point of price P1 there is shortage of the service, as more customers are willing to choose train travel than is available on the market. In order to eliminate the shortage, there must be a movement upward to the right on the supply curve to the new intersection point P2 Q2. In effect, more commuters use train service at a higher price. d) Knowing how elastic the demand for air travel is, it is possible to predict the effect of the increase in APD on the demand, as well as on the environment and tax revenue. Sloman and Garratt (2010) suggest that as the price of goods rises, the quantity demanded falls. Therefore, demand responds to a change in price. This is called the price elasticity of demand. To examine this concept, the percentage change of quantity demanded must be divided by the percentage change in price. The result of the calculation determines whether demand is elastic or inelastic. Demand is elastic when the result is greater than 1. It indicates that a change in quantity demanded is larger than a change in price. Consequently, inelastic demand occurs when a change in price causes relatively small change in quantity demanded. When quantity demanded and price change by the same proportion, then demand is unit elastic (Sloman Garratt, 2010). The price elasticity of demand is affected by various determinants, like substitutes, proportion of income spent on the product and the time period. The more alternatives there are, the bigger is the price elasticity of a good. The more income is spent on a good, the less elastic it is. Finally, with a passage of time, demand for a product may become more price elastic, because consumers may have time to find better options. Overall, average price elasticity for air travel is below 1 (Department for Transport, 2009). According to IATA (2009), prices of short haul flights and are more elastic than prices of long haul flights. This is due to the fact that companies operating on short haul routes face bigger competition from other airlines and different means of transport. Taking into account delays and time consuming check-in process, travel by car, coach or train seems to be a good alternative. However, the long haul flights cannot be easily replaced as there are not many substitutes for them. According to HM Revenue and Customs (2009), APD increase will reduce the demand by 1% in 2010-11 and by 1.5% in the following year. This small reduction in demand is supposed to save hundreds thousands tonnes of CO2. Therefore, other things being equal, the policy has a potential to help the environment. This, however, depends on the customers, because if they switch to cheaper airlines, the effect on pollution will be less significant than expected. APD increase is predicted to raise additional hundreds million pounds in tax revenue, because people, even if the demand falls, will still need to fly and pay extra charges. e) The reform of APD has been endorsed by the government and environmental agencies as a necessary green tax. They claim that the aviation is under-taxed in comparison with other industries. According to IATA (2008), the rise could possibly generate over  £700 million additional revenue per year, which could help in reducing the deficit. Moreover, the policy has a potential to reduce flights by 0.4% in 2010-11 and by 0.6% which could save 0.4 and 0.6 million tonnes of CO2 respectively. Other pollutants will also be reduced, as well as congestion and noise around airports (HM Revenue Customs, 2009). The policy divides flights into four bands, ensuring that passengers on long haul flights pay more, due to the bigger environmental impact. It also encourages business passengers to use clean alternatives, like video-conferencing or high-speed train. The government emphasise that thanks to the increase in APD, other methods of transport are given a green light, because other than price, they would not be able to compete with air travel. Another benefit of the reform is that it ensures that regional employment on domestic routes is not largely affected by it. Therefore the increase in Band A is only  £1  £2. What is more, the policy does not discourage airlines from opening new routes or keeping the routes in rural areas. If there was a tax per plane instead of APD, connections with a low passenger load would be discontinued (HM Revenue Customs, 2009). On the other side, the reform has many opponents who argue that APD is unjust for passengers and environment. The Independent (2010) points out that the new division is not based exactly on the mileage, but on the distance from London to the capital of the country destination. Therefore, in some cases it will be cheaper to go further, for example Hawaii falls into Band B, whereas Cancun, Mexico into Band C. This negates the whole idea of APD as a green tax. What is more, the policy rewards inefficiency by charging tax per passenger rather than per plane. A flight with empty seats is charged less tax than one which is full, even though they both have the same effect on environment. Also, charter planes are unfairly exempt from APD. Moreover, APD reform strikes families who would have to pay extortionate charges to go on holiday abroad. Decrease in demand for exotic package holidays may bring a loss to British travel agencies, as well as to many developing countries who count on revenue from tourism. As it was mentioned above, the policy favours certain destinations over other, even if the distance is very similar (e.g. Turkey and Egypt). Also, the tax hike can force many budget airlines to cancel unprofitable routes and move their businesses to Europe, where the charges are not as severe. Many UK travellers may want to reduce the burden of long haul prices by flying from Europe. Finally, foreign visitors may be put off by the highest tax in Europe, which they have to pay on the flight back home. They can decide that their visit in UK is not worth the price and instead they pick up different destinations. All these cases suggest that British aviation and tourism could suffer a loss and the government would lose much revenue from both industries. In conclusion, the policy seems to bring more damage than good. Because it raises many controversies, especially with regard to rewarding inefficiency, the government should look for another solution, possibly more competent tax per plane. To sum up, according to the law of demand, APD rise should slightly reduce the demand for flights and increase the demand for substitutes, like train journeys. In many cases the additional charge will be partially covered by airlines. The policy could raise an additional income for the government and reduce the pollution. However, all these optimistic objectives depend on the decisions made by passengers. Soon it will be known if the policy is a blessing or a curse for economy and environment.

Tragedy in Sophocles Oedipus The King and Antigone Essay -- Sophocle

Tragedy in Sophocles' Oedipus The King and Antigone The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature.   However, the tragic ends for the characters were not ordained or set by fate, but rather caused by certain characteristics belonging to that person.   Such is the case with the characters of Sophocles' plays Oedipus the King and Antigone.   Oedipus from King Oedipus, and Antigone and Creon from Antigone posses characteristics, especially pride, that caused their tragic ends.   As the play progress, other characteristics appear and further add to the problem to such a point that it is inevitable that it will end in tragedy.   Therefore the tragedies were not a result of a plot by the fates, but rather a result of the characteristics that the characters possessed. The characters posses a multitude of traits, some of them common to all of them.   Pride is especially prevalent.   This characteristic seems to be the major tragic flaw or hamartia that eventually causes the downfall.   Oedipus exhibits a vast amount of pride, which seems to border on sheer arrogance.   This is demonstrated in the beginning of the play where he states, "I, Oedipus, whose name is known afar."(p. 25).   This is reinforced by the priest's replies of, "Oedipus great and glorious,"(p.26) and, "O greatest of men."(p.26).  Ã‚   Therefore it may be concluded that Oedipus obviously posses a large amount of pride.   Antigone, daughter and sister of Oedipus also posses the same trait.   Creon acknowledges this when he says, "This girl's proud spirit,"(p.139) and Antigone confirms this with her grand speech to Creon, where she states, "I knew that I should have to die... living in daily torment as I do, who would not be glad to die?" (p.138).   Thus the pri... ...in both King Oedipus and Antigone there were characters whose lives ended in tragedy.   However these falls from grace were no the deeds of fate, but rather that of the character themselves.   The characteristics, especially pride, of the people set them on the path.   Therefore the faults of the characters were the cause of their ill-fated end. Works Cited Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 17-29. Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997. Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001.

The Fellowship of the Rings :: essays research papers

The Fellowship of the Rings Book Report I want to introduce you to, The Fellowship of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the first book to the Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkien. The settings in this book changed many times from the hills of the Shire, where the hobbits live, to the deep darkness of the mines of Moria. The book takes place in Middle Earth, which is described by Tolkien as a mysterious place that is full of good and evil. The way Tolkien described each place is amazing and it is as if you were looking at a picture and copying it down into your head. The setting in the book is very important to the story. It kept me thinking and wondering what was going to happen next, which made me read more and more. I couldn’t even begin to describe the setting of the whole book, so I mainly mentioned some of the major locations that took place in the book. In the book, the Protagonist is Frodo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire who becomes the Ring-bearer. The Antagonist is Sauron, the Dark Lord that forged the One Ring to take over Middle-Earth. In the fellowship, aside for the ring-bearer, are three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck, three of Frodo’s closest friends. There is also Gandalf, the wizard; Legolas Greenleaf, son of the Elf King of Northern Mirkwood; the dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin; Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and heir to the throne of Gondor; and Boromir, oldest son of the Steward of Gondor. They all have some talent or purpose in aiding Frodo in the quest. As the action rises the mood is often tense with suspense and a sense of doom. They are in constant danger, always being watched or hunted. The hobbits leave their precious homes and travel through the Old Forest to get to Bree, where they meet Aragorn and he aids them in their journey. All five later leave for Rivendell and the mood is quite tense with the Black Riders hunting them down. On the way, they stop at Weathertop, where Frodo is, unfortunately, stabbed with a Morgul blade. Luckily, they all get to Rivendell safely with the help of Glorfindel, an elf. The fellowship continues on their quest to get rid of the ring and was forced to trudge through Caradhras in order to avoid ‘the dark and secret way’.

Hiv/Aids in Africa Essay

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is most affected by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations reports that an estimated 25.4 million people are living with HIV and that approximately 3.1 million new infections occurred in 2004. To put these figures in context, more than 60 percent of the people living with the infection reside in Africa. Even these staggering figures do not quite capture the true extent and impact that this disease causes on the continent. In 1998, about 200,000 Africans died as a result of various wars taking place on the continent. In that same year, more than 2 million succumbed to HIV/AIDS (Botchwey, 2000). The pandemic can be likened very much to the Bubonic Plague of the fourteenth century in terms of its killing ability. Both the Black Death and HIV/AIDS have wiped out a large proportion of the affected population. Until the AIDS pandemic, the world had not experienced a mass shrinking in their populations since the Black Death. However, unlike the Black Death, the pandemic has become much more than a health problem as it encompasses economic, social, political, psychological and cultural dimensions. (Arndt and Lewis, 2000) HIV/AIDS is so severe that it sends ripples to the edges of society, spreading its effects on families through communities to countries as a whole. Due to the fact that the pandemic is widespread in young and middle-aged adults the epidemic destroys the very core and nucleus of society as well as the foundation of the nation’s economy. The pandemic is not a disease for adults only as in 2005 alone, an estimated 2.3 million children globally were living with HIV (UNAIDS 2005). Hence, HIV/AIDS rids the continent of what is arguably its most important resource; human capital. This is especially true in locations exposed to rampant HIV prevalence rates. In such regions, the economic growth of the country is affected which makes the provision of highly needed social services more diffic ult. We realize that countries find themselves in this sadistic cycle, as by aggravating the already poor conditions individuals become more susceptible to the spread of HIV. The impact of AIDS may be felt as an immediate shock, as when a family loses a breadwinner, or in the case of a firm, an important employer leaves. However, at the national level the impact is felt as the gradual accrual of losses. The toll of HIV/AIDS on households can be very severe. Many families lose their bread winners. Many of those dying have surviving partners who are themselves infected and are in need of care. They leave behind children grieving and struggling to survive without the care of the parents. The disease strips the family assets further impoverishing the poor. In many cases, the presence of AIDS means that the household eventually dissolves, as the parents die and children are sent to relatives for care and upbringing. The gravity of the impact depends not only on the numbers infected and directly affected by the pandemic, but also on the resources available to manage the situation. This may be resources accessible at family, community or national level. The pandemic also has dire impacts on the demographics of a country. This impact is usually more difficult to assess as it is largely dependent on data from birth and death certificates, and health records, all of which are poor or almost non-existent in that part of the world. Due to this, life expectancy at birth has fallen, dramatically, and the population structure has changed shape eroding years of progress made by many African countries. This obviously has implications for growth. (World Bank, 2000) Despite its serious implications, however, original research on the impact of AIDS is scarce. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the level of human capital in Sub-Saharan Africa. The basic question surrounding this study is â€Å"Does HIV/AIDS have a negative impact on human capital accumulation†. We believe that it does have a negative impact on human capital accumulation as resources, effort, and time are diverted to attend to the various issues associated with the pandemic. In an attempt to answer this question, the study will specify human capital as primary school enrollment. We do this because this is the level of schooling at which an individual receives basic education. Basic education is the formal education deemed necessary for somebody to function properly in society. Development economists have regarded basic education as a priority for developing countries the benefits of which include reduction of disease through knowledge of hygiene and nutrition and better understanding of non-violent ways to solve problems. In this light, many African countries have implemented free universal basic education programs that aim at encouraging households to enroll their children in school. This is the primary way in which the impact of the pandemic may be offset. This is just one of the many dynamics of the issue of the HIV/AIDS and human capital.

Enders Shadow Book Report Essay

Bean- Main Character, Protaganist: A homeless boy on the streets of Rotterdam that uses his intelligence to keep him alive, and eventually earn him a spot on the ranks of Battle School. Andrew â€Å"Ender† Wiggin- Another boy recruited to Battle School, a lot like bean, small, and extremely smart. Is Beans mentor and example as he goes through Battle School. Poke: A nine year old girl, that also lives on streets of Rotterdam. Takes Bean into her family and gives him a chance. She is one of the main reasons for Beans survival. Sergeant; Pokes right hand man. He is eight years old. He knows Achilles killed Poke but doesn’t tell anyone and then sides with Achilles. Achilles: A bully of Rotterdam, has a bad leg, is jumped and forced to join Pokes family for protection. It was Beans plan that got Achilles into the family. Helga: An advisor in the kitchen of Rotterdam, supervises the lines outside. When Achilles brings his family to the kitchen she has compassion and immediately lets them to the front of the line. She changes the rules so that any older child that has and cares for younger children will always eat first. Nikolai Delphiki: Enders twin brother, he helps Enders in Battle School and is one of the few people he can trust. Sister Carlotta: is the woman who recruited Bean to Battle School and saw his intelligence and recognized it. Petra Arkanian: takes Bean under her wing when he is first assigned to Salamander Army, while Bonzo, the commander, refuses to teach him anything. Bonzo Madrid: Bonzo is an enemy of Enders. Colonel Graff: the head advisor of Battle School. Islolates Bean to make him learn to survive and strengthen him. Dimak:The man who questions Bean when he first gets on the shuttle, lets everyone know he is smarter than them. Mexican Janitor: Finds Bean in the Toilet in the orphanage. Dr. Volescu: Beans father This story starts out with Bean at age 7 attempting to survive on the streets of Rotterdam. He is very small for his age but extremely smart. There are a lot of little groups of homeless children on the streets of Rotterdam that stick together and help each other out, because there is strength in numbers and it increases their chances of survival. He isn’t part of any of these groups he only finds food by what he scavenges out of garbage cans. â€Å"In the streets of Rotterdam food was hard to come by, my only source of food came from what I could find in the garbage cans (Card 8)† But one day he goes up to poke and tells her he has a plan to help her survive. At first she pushes him away and threatens to kill him, but as she listens to his plan of recruiting a bully for protection she finds that she likes the idea. â€Å"You got to get your own bully (Card 18).† â€Å"If I get me a Bully, if what you said works, then maybe I feed you(Card 19).† So Bean makes the plan that they need to jump one of the bullies that are still strong and dominant but can still be taken down and controlled. So they decide that Achilles is perfect for the job. â€Å"If he doesn’t comply then we kill him (Card 19)† When Achilles walks down a alley way all of the kids jump on him and pound him with rocks until he is only holding to life by a thread. They tell him they will let him live if he joins their family and protects them. â€Å"You get us to the front of the line at the Kitchen(Card 20)?† â€Å"Sure, Right, I will, I promise(Card 20).† â€Å"Don’t believe him, Kill Him(Card 20)!† â€Å"Don’t be stupid, said Poke, He’s in(Card 20).† â€Å"If you don’t kill him now he is going to kill you.(Card 20).† Achilles gets them into the Kitchen like he promised and he slowly starts to take over Pokes position as leader. Soon enough he has all of the kids calling him â€Å"papa.† â€Å"It’s your crew not mine, This is more of a Crew to me this is my Family(Card 23).† â€Å"Bean saw at once Achilles had won. Powerful bully, and he had called these kids his sisters, his brothers. Bean could see the hunger, the deep hunger, for family, for love, for belonging. They got a little of that by being in Poke’s crew. But Achilles was promising more. He had just beaten Poke’s best offer. Now it was too late to kill him(Card 23).† When Achilles takes his family to the kitchen Helga lets them go right to the front of the line, but before they get there Achilles stabs one of the other bullys with a knife to let everyone know he means business. Later that night Bean hears some of the Bullys saying they are going to kill Achilles for cutting in line. That same night Bean meets Sister Carlotta, a nun, and she tells him she can get him out of there. The next day when Bean tells Achilles what he had heard he doesn’t seem worried, then later Sister Carlotta has him take a few more tests and Bean passes with flying colors. Later that night Bean sees Poke slip away, follows her and sees her meet up with Achilles and sees them kiss! He starts to head back to the family then turns back for a moment, and sees Poke with a knife in her eye and Achilles nowhere to be seen. â€Å"I trusted him, I knew what he was from the first and I trusted him(Card 47).† â€Å"Aww Poke you poor, stupid, kind, decent girl, you saved me and I let you down(Card 47).† Sister Carlotta begins talking to the Advisors of Battle School, at first they say they want Achilles, but after learning he committed a murder they decide they don’t. When she tells them about Bean they say they might want to wait a few more years before they take him in. Bean begins having dreams about his past, he tells Sister Carlotta about them. He says he remembers living in a clean place and remembers a man would come in and clean at night and Bean would get scared when he heard him so he would hide in a toilet bowl. Then he remembers the cleaning man taking him to his house. She attempts to find the janitor that saved Bean in attempt to recover answers about his past. When she finds the janitor she brings a cop with her for questioning. They discover that Bean was raised in an Organ Farm, but the people behind the Organ Farm are untraceable. The Commanders decide that they are going to bring Bean to Battle School despite their doubts. When Bean first gets on the shuttle a man comes out and introduces himself as Dimak and immediately starts quizzing them. He calls out Bean and though he was smaller he made sure all of the other kids on the shuttle knew that Bean was smarter than them. When Bean first arrives at Battle school he starts exploring. He finds the older kids classrooms, but before he can go anywhere else, a girl named Petra Arkanian leads him back to the Game Room. The game room is a room filled with games. While in the game room Bean notices some air vents that with his size, he could crawl into, and so he does. He can travel from place to place by the air vents. The Commanders notice that Bean took a long time to get back to the barracks, due to the tracking devices that they have in the suits but they don’t give it much thought. Next they let the launchies (or new kids) set up their computers in their rooms, Bean sets up two, and they say that on their free time they can play this fantasy game on the computers. Bean know that if he plays this game it will allow the Advisors to know more and more about him but he doesn’t care. Then he meets Bonzo Madrid a enemy of Ender and he tells Bean all of Enders weaknesses but Bean doesn’t care about his weaknesses he just wants to know more about Ender. Bean creates a secret folder on his fake computer and put a lot of files and maps of Battle School on there. Then later the advisors see that there are one too many users and they tell everyone to change their passwords because someone is signing in as someone else. Meanwhile the advisors are fearing that Bean will plan a revolt, and contemplate sending him home but they don’t. Meanwhile back on earth Sister Carlotta has met with an old Russian Scientist named Anton. Anton learned too much about something that he shouldn’t know, so authorities placed a device in his head that restricted him telling other people about the things he discovered. But, when he and Sister Carlotta talk, they use references to code their talk so the implant wouldn’t give him a panic attack and end their conversation. Unfortunately, the guards eventually figured their code out and gave Anton a panic attack. Sister Carlotta did learn that Bean was genetically altered to be super smart. The downside to this, though, was that he would have a short life and die in his twenties. The next day Bean leaves lunch extremely early to go in search of an air vent in his room, he finds one and that night he crawls in it and finds Colnel Graff talking to sister Carlotta saying that she found Beans father Dr. Volescu and he took some of his own genes and put in other Genes to make his children super smart and really small, but would grow to be giants by age 20, but would o nly live to be about 25. Then when Bean comes back he sees an advisor logging on to his computer he memorizes the advisors password and with this he now has access to a lot more information. With this new knowledge he writes many papers about the corruption of Battle School and other things. The Advisors find that Bean has logged on to an advisors account and discover that he writes as if he is an English professor, but instead of change the password they see what he does with the newly discovered information. Then they ask Bean to write a roster for the Dragon Army, this army has never won a match, Bean writes the roster and gives it to Dimak and immediately every person Bean requests is transferred into the Dragon Army, and Bean is the Commander. The next week sister Carlotta is requesting that they run tests on Bean to see if he really is Dr. Volescu’s son. They find out that he isn’t Beans dad but his Uncle. And sister Carlotta gets word they are bringing up Achilles, Sister Carlotta is 100% against this. This week is also the first week of Practice, Bean is the best one in the army, and asks Ender for his own Toon, Ender says he has to prove his worth first then he will get his Toon. â€Å"If your fair I will have my own Toon in a month(Card 223).† Ender puts in a formation that can allow the team to break apart and scatter at any time. One of the members disagrees with the formation, Bean yells at him, then the kid pushes Bean up against the bunk, only to be saved by Nikolai. Sister Carlotta finds out that there were 24 other cloned eggs, but 23 of them are missing, but the other one is in battle school and discovers it is Nikolai, and that Bean and Nikolai are twins, the only difference is that Bean is much more intelligent. Bean and the Dragon Army soon get their first battle, they win, and they start having battle after battle, day after day. Ender says that they can’t fight like this anymore because his crew is getting worn out. Then later Bonzo meets Bean in the hall and asks how to beat Ender, when Bean won’t tell him, he chokes him up against the wall and threatens to kill Bean and Ender both. The next day The Dragon Army has 2 battles in one day. Except on the second battle the team is allowed a 20 second head start. Dragon army wins but barely. That night Ender tells Bean all of his worries and problems and gives Bean his own Toon. Ender gets a few kids together and forms his Toon, he finds some chord that is used to hold up pillars. They discover that they could use it in battle, and it could allow them to change direction quickly. Then later when Ender is in the bathroom Bonzo and his friends come into the bathroom and gang up on Ender. Ender kicks Bonzo in the crotch and gets him on the ground and hurts him so bad he accidently kills him. The next day dispite Enders fight they have a Battle, except it is against 2 teams at once. Ender uses Beans special Toon and their chord, they defeat the two teams, then after the battle all of the Toon leader are made into commanders, when Bean goes to tell Ender this he finds that Ender has been promoted to Commander School. As Beans first action as commander he gives a speech in the mess hall, then he discovers that Achilles has been placed into his Army, he lays down the ground rules and makes sure he knows he is the boss, and treats him as any other launchy. That night Bean gets Achilles to crawl with him into the vent, Achilles trys to kill him, then all of the members of Beans team tie him to the fan, and tell him he can either confess all of his murders or they will hang him. He confesses them, then they hang him anyways. After this Bean is sent to command school, with nine other kids. Bean and other kids start training on simulators as if they are commanding a quadrant and fighting against Buggers. The command to the ships are instantaneous and soon Bean discovers that they aren’t playing a simulation at all they are sending messages across galaxies and commanding real fleets. During the simulation, Petra falls asleep, and her fleet is blown to pieces, another kid loses his mind. The fleets are falling apart. But the day of the final battle, the Bugger forces are all grouped around the Bugger planet; Ender sends in all the ships and destroys the Bugger planet, and the Buggers. And they win the war. â€Å"As the planet exploded it engulfed all of the Buggers, the Buggers were all dead, they had won(Card 465).† Bean goes home with his brother Nikolai and they see there long lost mom. And they are a big happy family again. As for Ender he goes and lives and attempts to repopulate the Bugger Planet.