Modern Museums Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Modern Museums - Essay Example A museum collects, cares for, and researches the objects it displays. It also keeps a study collection of un-displayed objects. These objects are sometimes called artifacts and are often studied by students and researchers. These Museums preserve and exhibit paintings, sculpture, and other works of art. The collections of some art museums include work from many periods. Famous museums of this type include the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Some museums specialize in artworks of one period. For example, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City displays works created since the late 1800's. Other museums exhibit only one type of art. The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, specializes in folk art from around the world. They illustrate the life and events of the past. Their collections include documents, furniture, tools, and other materials. Many cities and states have historical societies that operate history museums. Most of these museums have exhibits on local history.4 Other types of history museums include living history museums. Museums of this type include living history farms, historic houses, and historic villages. These museums show how people lived or worked during a certain period. On living history farms, workers demonstrate how crops were planted and harvested in earlier times. Historic houses, such as Mount Vernon, George Washington's home near Alexandria, Virginia, have been restored to their original condition and are open to the public. Williamsburg, a historic village in Virginia, has restored and reconstructed buildings that date from the 1700's. In this village, costumed interpreters demonstrate how early colonists performed such tasks as cooking, making shoes, and printing newspapers.5 Science MuseumsSuch museums have exhibits on the natural sciences and technology. Museums of natural history exhibit displays of animals, fossils, plants, rocks, and other objects and organisms found in nature. Most of them, including the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., have exhibits on ecology and the evolution of human beings. Many museums of natural history have special exhibits on dinosaurs and other topics.6 History and Origin of Museums Early Stage of Museums The modern public art museum owes its origins to the systematic ordering of objects that resulted from Enlightenment efforts to classify and make accessible various branches of human knowledge. The art museum's foundation, however, reflects a more fundamental attitude in Western culture, the tendency of separating certain artifacts from others to give those artifacts special reverence, especially for their aesthetic value.7 The Greek word mouseion was originally applied to a sanctuary dedicated to the muses of Greek mythology. While it soon became known

The reasons for a growing consumer preference for branded jewellery in Dissertation

The reasons for a growing consumer preference for branded jewellery in India - Dissertation Example Showing from where do you prefer purchasing jewellery Table 23. Showing if brand, what are the factors responsible for this choice Table 24. Showing, if local retailers, what factors affect this decision Table 25. Showing, from where did you get the knowledge of this store/brand Table 26. Showing, how long have you been making purchases of jewellery from this store/brand Table 27. How satisfied are you with the jewellery you buy Table 28. How important is the advertisement campaign followed by the store to make you opt for it Table 29. Before making any jewellery purchases, do you compare the designs and prices of the same between the branded showroom and the local dealers Table 30. Do you plan to shift or change the source of purchasing jewellery LIST OF FIGURES Analysis of Growing Consumer Preference for Branded Jewellery in Mumbai Figure 1. Showing how frequently do you make jewellery purchases Figure 2. Showing from where do you prefer purchasing jewellery Figure 3. Showing if br and, what are the factors responsible for this choice Figure 4. Showing, if local retailers, what factors affect this decision Figure 5. Showing, from where did you get the knowledge of this store/brand Figure 6. Showing, how long have you been making purchases of jewellery from this store/brand Figure 7. How satisfied are you with the jewellery you buy Figure 8. How important is the advertisement campaign followed by the store to make you opt for it Figure 9. Before making any jewellery purchases, do you compare the designs and prices of the same between the branded showroom and the local dealers Figure 10. Do you plan to shift or change the source of purchasing jewellery Analysis of Growing Consumer Preference for Branded Jewellery in Delhi Figure 11. Showing how... India has traditional relations with jewellery. Branded jewellery in India has established a niche for itself in the competitive Indian market. Branding is the procedure involved in making an exclusive picture and name for a product in the customers mind, generally in the course of advertising campaigns by way of a reliable and consistent theme. Significantly, the younger generation has more disposable earnings these days and they are ready to expend it on luxuries of preference. The younger citizens in their mid thirties and their seniors are normally prepared to buy branded jewellery. The aim of branding is to establish a differentiated and considerable presence in the marketplace so that it can retain and attract faithful and loyal customers. Branding is also a technique in establishing a significant business asset, which is nothing but an excellent reputation. The gems & jewellery business is one of the fastest growing businesses in the country with a market share of $13 billion in 2011 and is estimated to grow to $20 billion by 2015. In 2008-09 the business was $17.1 billion in opposition to $16.64 in 2005-06 billion, reflecting a growth of 26%. The picture of Indian ladies, wearing a sari and various types of ethnic jewellery in festival season and wedding, is no longer the sole customer profile of the world’s major gold importing state. Indian ladies around the world are turning out to be more emancipated: conveying a way of life that combines the strong values and traditions of their society and their modern worldwide approach to life, job and spending

Hardware Replacement Project Essay Example for Free

Hardware Replacement Project Essay Assignment: 1 Hardware Replacement Project: Hardware Replacement Project: Your Name Instructors Name Date Assignment: 2 The IT- department in implementing a new CRM solution to its corporate offices. The hardware currently in use is out of date and will not support the CRM application. The hardware must replace prior to deployment. How do the five major variables of project management-scope, time, cost, quality, and risk – relate to this scenario? Scope: Defines what work is or is not included in a project. For example, the scope of a Project for a new order processing system might include new modules for inputting orders And transmitting them to production and accounting but not any changes to related accounts Receivable, manufacturing, distribution, or inventory control systems. Project management Defines all the work required to complete a project successfully, and should ensure that the Scopes of a project not expand beyond what was originally intended. Time: Time is the amount of time required to complete the project. Project management Typically establishes the amount of time required to complete major components of a Project. Each of these components is further broken down into activities and tasks. Project Management tries to determine the time required to complete each task and establish a Schedule for completing the work. Cost: Is based on the time to complete a project multiplied by the daily cost of human Resources required completing the project. Information systems project costs also include The cost of hardware, software, and work space. Project management develops a budget for The project and monitors ongoing project expenses. Risk: Refers to potential problems that would threaten the success of a project. These Potential problems might prevent a project from achieving its objectives by increasing time And cost, lowering the quality of project outputs, or preventing the project from being Completed altogether. We discuss the most important risk factors for information systems Projects later in this section. Assignment: 3 What consideration must be applied when selecting projects that deliver the best business value? A project is a planned series of related activities for achieving a specific business objective. Information systems projects include the development of new information systems, Enhancing existing systems, or projects for replacing or upgrading the firm’s information Technology (IT) infrastructure. Project management refers to the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to achieve specific targets within specified budget and time constraints. Project management activities include planning the work, assessing risk, estimating resources required to Accomplish the work, organizing the work, acquiring human and material resources, assigning Tasks, directing activities, controlling project execution, reporting progress, and analyzing the Results. As in other areas of business, project management for information systems must deal With five major variables: scope, time, cost, quality, and risk. What factors that influence project risk? Results of not meeting or achieving the goal the company needs. Some systems development projects are more likely to run into problems or to suffer delays Because they carry a much higher level of risk than others. The level of project risk is Influenced by project size, project structure, and the level of technical expertise of the Information systems staff and project team. The larger the project—as indicated by the What strategies would you recommend for minimizing the projects risks? In a parallel strategy, both the old system and its potential replacement are run Together for a time until everyone is assured that the new one functions correctly. The old System remains available as a backup in case of problems. And the direct cutover strategy Replaces the old system entirely with the new system on an appointed day, carrying the Risk that there is no system to fall back on if problems arise. Minimizing the projects risks would be difficult for me I would really have to hire someone that would be more of a High Tech IT- to be sure that all the risks that may come with adding new software systems would be easy to manage for a lower tech that may be in house of the company, in my opinion when you change the entire systems to be updated there has to be a happy medium. In order to keep all systems functioning the way they need to. Data for any company is very important in keeping it safe from and harm during the new change processing as well. The strategies I would consider would be to make sure that every data within the company had a storage space to keep it in to avoid the risks of losing it, I would also make sure that we would start with a small portion of the updating to make sure that this new operating system would work for the company as well. There are many OS available to bigger company’s and provide very good updates for the company’s new systems that can and do run excellent without having a lot of risk or problems, but it was tested before actually putting in to action and use. This gave the company a better view and was able to train the employees that were going to need to know, fix, and keep the main performance and upkeep of them. Any organization can add a new OS’s, but the key is learning to the best of your ability to make sure that it will keep the company functioning to its best and completing the goals and requirements it needs to keep them in business as well. Also if you keep your organization with the right level of systems updating then you can be sure that you don’t need to hire a High tech IT service to have the up keep kept up and you are more likely to be able to train your existing IT, this will also save costs because you will not need to constantly call the high tech when you encounter a small problem. Keeping the operating system to the level of the project and the risk would most likely be less than having a system that would be overboard to what each company needs.

Country Development Comparison: Sweden and Vietnam PESTEL

Country Development Comparison: Sweden and Vietnam PESTEL Table of Contents Vietnam background Political factor Economy Social Technology Legal Environment Sweden Background. Political factor Social factors Technological Factor Legal Factors Environmental factor Intra Analysis of Sweden and Vietnam Political Factors Economical Factor Conclusion References PESTEL ANALYSIS Initially known as PEST Analysis, this is a macro environmental structure used to recognise the impact of the external factors on the institution and is used as strategic analytical technique. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological† factors. Francis Aguilar is referred to as the originator of this tool. He talked about ETPS – Economic, Technological, Political, and Social– as the four important factors for Scanning the Business Environment. Later Legal and Environmental factors were also introduced by some analysts and thus evolved the term PESTLE Analysis. Vietnam background Vietnam is a country situated in the extreme east on the indo-China peninsula. It is the 13th most populated country in the world with 90.3 million people being estimated in 2012. It is one among the fastest emerging countries in Asia. It has a very fast growing economy as many first world countries are being attracted by its resources and Foreign Direct Investment showed an increasing trend for some years. Political factor 2011 Vietnam Communist Party held an eleventh congress in 2011 by which followed an election where the leading party was the Party Central Committee. Following the event, Prime Minister Mr Nyugen Tan Dung retains his former position. Mr Nguyen Phu Trong was elected as General Secretary and Mr Truong Tan Sang as Vietnam’s president. The new party brought about some amendments in the current 1992 Constitution. Companies which have a say to economic development were given certain facilities when the government took some extra tax actions. Also, concerning the conflict between Vietnam and China over the East Sea, some senior bureaucrat of the two countries had to visit each other in order to reduce the pressures. 2012 Following an issue of farmers and villager’s land being confiscated by governments’ officials, the police force used extreme force to combat the riot. Conferences session were held to deal with these problems but no actions was taken to improve human rights which was elaborated in 2011. Prime Minister Mr Nguyen proves his supremacy by restricting citizen from deriving their rights. Economy 2011 The year 2011 proved to be a dynamic year for the Vietnamese economy with the first year of establishment of the Socio-Economic Development Strategy. It aims to boost up the country’s labor force, creating high standards infrastructure and stabilizing the economy. However, the Vietnam Development Report of 2012 showed that in the recent years there was an agitating macroeconomic experience. Vietnam experiences a slow GDP growth of 5.8%, inflation being 11.75% in 2010 to 18% in 2011. Both imports and exports rose and FDI increased as investors were attracted by certain core business of the country. 2012 Following the slowing down of GDP in 2011, 2012 also depicted a slow pace with GDP growing by only 5%. However, inflation decreased as it change from a two-digit figure to one digit figure of 9.1%. FDI inflows witnessed a fall of 4.5% in 2012 and seeing a boost in exports of 18.3% and imports of 7.1%. Social 2011 In vietnam, education is considered to be the key of good moral values and that every person should have a desire for achieving it. Despite having a poor education system, the economy has a highly educated population. The National average population rose by 1.04% (87.84 million) with a working age of 46.48 million which is a rise of 0.12% and constituting an unemployment rate of 2.27%. 2012 Average population rose by 1.06% (88.78 million). Working age from 15 and above rose was 52.58 million in 2012 which Is a rise of 2.3%. Unemployment rate was 1.99% and people’s standard of living decrease by 27.6% to 2011. Technology 2011 Year 2011 illustrated a new implementation of a strategic plan for social and economic development. Vietnam’s government emphasize on the establishment of new infrastural building and thereby constructing new express ways to facilitate the task. This would help to ease the modenisation concept. Various training is being offered to have competent scientist and also the government promoted technological innovation. 2012 Being cost advantageous compared to other countries, Vietnam captured some big economies for investment including South Korea and US technology enterprises. This boosted up the export revenue. One of the major influences was the implementation of Samsung’s mobil-phone plant which totalized an investment of $700 million. Legal 2011 Vietnam was called upon in a conference on the Rule of law to restructure its legal system and bring it into line with the international Human Rights Laws. The Human Rights were only theoretically being used in Vietnam after the war. In 2011, Vuong family created havoc by wounding 6 civil servants. The Prime Minister had to step into the matter so as to solve the case and the Haiphony Government was proven wrong. 2012 The dominance of the ruling party persisted. Human Rights were only proposed in 2011 and it was not given legal force. It did not abide by the international standards even in 2012. Freedom of the population was deprived from them. The police force still do massacre to the general public. Foreign countries tried to step into the matter to reform the legal system but the supremacy of the government remains. Environment 2011 Recent report of the World Bank stipulated that due to rapid economic growth and technological advancement in Vietnam, the environment is being affected significantly. Many natural resources are being deployed. Moreover, 2011 was officially the year where Vietnam Rhino was declared extinct. Also, with the growing urbanization, environmental pollution has increased. Water pollution is the main one as lakes’ area is decreasing sharply while many are disappearing. 80% of lakes are polluted and this called upon environmentalist to take necessary measures to tackle the problem. Vietnam is a country with drastic damages concerning climate change with 257 people missing and dead, 1200 houses being damaged or carried away. The natural calamities caused a loss of approximately over 10 trillion VND. 2012 With the support of US, in 2012 at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Vietnam developed a strategy for sustainable development following the increase in industrial work. Agriculture as a percentage of total national income is declining. Sweden Background Sweden was army powered in the 17th century, but it was no present in any war for almost 200 years. It remained armed neutral in both World Wars. It is a capitalist country. In 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns it had to face unemployment to a great extent, but fiscal policies were planned and implemented in a way that has permitted the country to survive in economic difficulties. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public disagree to the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum. It is located between Finland and Norway. The Population of Sweden is 9,074,055 (July 2010 EST.) Religion is Lutheran 87%, other 13 %( includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) Language of Sweden is Swedish (official), also Sami- and some Finnish talking minorities. About Literacy rate it is observed that age 15 and over can read and write Capital of Sweden is: Stockholm GDP growth rate is 4.5% inflation rate is said to be 1.4% Currency: Krona (SEK) Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles Sweden is retaining its place as the tenth most attractive country in the world that is the result of the 2012 year’s Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index (NBI), this index measures the global likeness (image) of 50 countries in attractiveness and perceived qualities. Political factor Official name of the country is Kingdom of Sweden Legal system Based on the constitution of 1974 Head of state Sweden has King Carl XVI Gustaf as head of state. The nations legislature is the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), with 349 participants. Elections are heald on a four year basis but it should be pointed out that the king plays no role in government. In the 2006 election, the Riksdag set a new world record as 47 percent of its elected members were women.The Cabinet is headed by the prime minister. There has not been any major change in the political factor in Sweden between 2011 and 2012. Economic Factor It is going forward to maintain a sound fiscal support, improving greater labour force participation and efficiently increasing the public expenditure would help handling future undesirable events. The industrial as well as the agricultural sectors both play an important role in contributing to the GDP. The estimate of investments in research and development is about 4 percent of its gross domestic product. In 2011 in order to prevent long-term unemployment The efficiency of labour market policies could be elevated by increasing the training, specially those who need it most and getting strength in cooperation between institutions. Reforms in the social benefit and tax systems to provide the right incentives for increasing hours worked. In 2012, Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment Credit is made available to foreign investors in an unbiased way. The private sector have been given access to a variety of credit instruments. The central bank focuses on increasing the international co-operation. Combined with a well-educated labor force, excellent telecommunications network, and a stable political environment, Sweden has become more competitive as a choice for foreign companies forming a presence in the Nordic region. In the World Economic Forum’s 2011-2012 report, Sweden ranked third out of 140 countries in overall competiveness and productivity Sweden’s economy has strong potential to benefit from growing, technology-driven global competition. Sweden already hosts one of the most globally integrated economies in the world. Sweden’s effectiveness is manifested by large flows of trade, capital, and foreign investment. It is seen as a leader in adopting new technologies and setting new consumer trends. Products can be tested in a market with demanding customers and high levels of technical sophistication. Social factors Sweden’s people in general are very on time. They do not smoke in general public places. It is a custom to remove shoes if a person is invited by a friend or anyone to his/her house. Swedes students are informal but they are always willing to help. It is not a practice to exchange business cards in Sweden. Swedes don’t take generosity for granted they will surely give thanks. Fault to say thank you for something is perceived negatively in Sweden. Competition is not encouraged Maintaining eye contact along with a firm handshake, shake hands with all attendees on both arrival and departure. Call first names when you meet Swedes. These social factors have not change in one year i.e from 2011 to 2012 Technological Factor The image is adapted from The Global Information Technology report of 2010-2011 Hennigan (2011) states that Sweden stands 1st in rankings of The Global Information Technology report of 2010-2011, by the World Economic Forum. The report emphasizes the role of ICT (information and communication technologies) as a facilitator of a more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable world. According to new ranking report published by the UN ITU, Sweden holds the first rank in the ICT Development Index (IDI). Legal Factors Swedish laws provide a variety of types under which a business can be established. The Swedish Law, Act (1992:160) applies to overseas companies functioning some type of business The foreign branch’s president must be living within the European Economic Area (EEA). Each and every business enterprise in Sweden are required to register at the Swedish Companies Registration Office. Trademark must be registered in Sweden so that legal protection can be obtained. The president if, not from EEA country, needs special permission from the Financial Supervision Authority to set up a branch in Sweden Taxes: Swedens taxation structure is straightforward and corporate tax levels are low. Sweden has a corporate tax of 28% in nominal terms. Individual’s income taxes are one of the highest in the world. Since it spends a lot in public finances to reduce deficits. One particular area has been tax reductions to encourage employers to hire long-term unemployed people. There are further deductions for personal income taxes by the government. Profits earned by a Swedish branch of any foreign enterprise may be sent abroad without implication of any tax other than the regular corporate income tax. Incentives: The government also offers specific incentives to set up a business. Loans are also given by the National Board for Industrial and Technical Development (NUTEK) and from regional development funds. The variety of regional support programs are in Sweden like location and employment grants, low rent industrial parks, and economic free zones. There are also several European funds that offer subsidies for starting enterprises and the Swedish Government provides collection of incentives for research and development Environmental factor Sweden was an early adopter of sustainable thinking. Back in the 1960s, it acknowledged that the rapid loss of natural resources had to be deal with, and took a lead in setting up the first UN conference on the environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. Since then it has continued to work actively with environmental issues, both nationally and internationally. In 2011, Sweden had the highest percentage of renewable energy in the EU (over 47 per cent). By 2020, at least half of the country’s energy should be renewable, a target the Government says is within reach. Sweden has implemented a water management program in 2012. Tap water is drinkable, and in the summer you can swim in central parts of the capital, Stockholm.Although Sweden is a frontrunner in environmental policy, the Government recognises that there is plenty of room for improvement. For 2013-2016, Sweden will allocate approximately SEK 22 billion to environmental measures. Intra Analysis of Sweden and Vietnam Political Factors Unlike Sweden with a sound and stable political state, that of Vietnam is quite unstable. Vietnam’s political party shows its supremacy upon its citizen by depriving them of their human rights. Sweden can be said a country where its political factor would be less risky that Vietnam. Following the comparison of year 2011 and 2012 of the two countries, Sweden proved to be consistent where as to correct the Vietnamese political stability various countries had to step forward. Economical Factor Economic stability is of great concern to countries. Vietnam encounters a very fluctuating macroeconomic state with drastic changes. Sweden has a stable economic state as its figures do not change by a quite large amount. Vietnam with such agitation could be vulnerable to crises. This makes the economy poor and may lose investors’ confidence. Sweden on the other hand has a good economy and can boost up investors’ confidence. Being among the top competitive and productive countries in the world, investors are easily attracted. Social Factor In comparison with Vietnam, Sweden can be said to be more socially stable. Swedes are well repute for their moral values. It has a highly educated population with high prospect of flourishing as the people are back up by their government. Vietnam on the other hand also has a highly educated population but do not have the means available to ameliorate their living standard as year 2012 showed a decline. Sweden with its determination and perseverance became the third out of 140 countries for being competitive and productive. Technological Factor Sweden being a country of high level of technology has a major advantage over Vietnam. The latter is now on the path of major technological advancement. Many efforts have been done to flourish its technological innovation. It is in 2011 and 2012 that the government is opening itself to new technologies and is constructing the required infrastructure whereas the case of Sweden is very different. Sweden is rank number one in information, communication and technology. Its telecommunication services is among the best due to high technology. Legal Factor Both Sweden and Vietnam encourages companies and individuals to prospect via tax cuts. Sweden is considered a country which is well known due to its high individual taxes and its large public sector. It encourages companies to hire persons by reducing corporate tax thereby reducing unemployment rate. Its government also helps to promote small and medium enterprises. Environmental Factor Sweden is the first country to adopt the sustainable development approach. It organises various conferences on environmental issues, the first one held in Stockholm. It has a clean environment where tap water is drinkable and it has the highest level of renewable energy in EU. Vietnam is on the other pole where pollution affects its water resources badly. Tap water is not consumable as its lakes are over 70% polluted due to industrial operations. Conclusion Sweden is a developed country and this can clearly be seen from the PESTLE analysis. Swedish society has developed an exclusive culture with a robust work code and strong ethical attitudes regarding the appealing of welfare benefits. There is also a great level of trust and social consistency. At present Sweden is now putting emphasis on its tertiary sector, more precisely on its financial sector. Vietnam on the other hand is a developing country still trying to struggle with its primary and secondary sector, its main goals are to establish a continuous trend in its macroeconomic factors such as GDP and inflation. The difference between these two countries is eye catching and there is technically no way that in the near future they will be on the same level even if Vietnam development is at a more than average pace.

Te Great Gatsby :: Essays Papers

Te Great Gatsby Setting This story takes place at West Egg in Long Island, an unfashionable town. It is in the early 1900’s. Characters A. Nick Carraway- Nick is the story narrator. He is a young man from Minnesota who moves to the east after fighting in the First World War. He is Jay Gatsby’s next-door neighbor. B. Jay Gatsby- Jay is the title character. He is a wealthy man who lives in a gothic mansion in West Egg. He was born with the name Jay Gatz on farm in North Dakota. C. Daisy Buchanan- Daisy is Nick’s cousin. She is the woman with whom Gatsby is in love. She lives right across from Gatsby with her husband Tom. She is bitter and a little cynical. D. Tom Buchanan- Tom is Daisy’s husband. He is arrogant and hypocritical. E. Jordan Baker- Jordan is Daisy’s friend who becomes romantically involved with Nick during the story. She is a talented golfer but cheated her way into winning her first tournament. F. Myrtle Wilson- Myrtle is Tom’s lover. Her husband George owns a run-down garage. Summary Like the setting says, the story takes place at West Egg in Long Island. The narrator, Nick, is not like the people of West Egg. He drives out to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom where he is introduced to Jordan Baker, the woman who he will begin a romantic relationship with. She informs Nick of Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s secret lover. As the summer goes on, Nick learns more about his mysterious neighbor Gatsby. He throws extravagant parties at his mansion every Saturday night to impress the women he loves, Daisy. Nick arranges for Gatsby and Daisy to reunite. After this they fall in love and start and affair. Tom finds out about his wife’s wrongdoings and confronts Gatsby at a suite in the Plaza Hotel in New York. Tom claims that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand. He also tells Daisy that Gatsby’s fortune comes from bootlegging illegal alcohol and other criminal activities. On their way home Nick, Jordan and Tom discover that Gatsby’s car struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s lover. They rush back to Long Island where Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car that struck Myrtle, but Gatsby intends to take the blame.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Great Expectations by Charles

Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens `Lord of the Flies`, by William Golding was written in 1954 almost a century after Charles Dickens wrote `Great Expectations`, in 1860. Both of the novels are considered as being classics and have been made into films and the books while seeming completely different do have similarities although they are in different social, historical and cultural settings. The frameworks of the books are completely different, `Lord of the Flies` starts as a traditional boy's adventure story like `Coral Island`, by R.M. Ballantyne, however it is subverted to a dark, menacing story about how people behave when the constraints of society are removed. The island is a microcosm of society, and in the book we see examples of hierarchy, the social divide, human nature, and how the boys, with no adults, start to rely on their basic savage instincts. `Great Expectations` is mainly about the divides between the rich and the poor, a popular theme in the Victorian times as the industrial revolution had broadened and highlighted the divide, however both books do reflect on society, and the weakness of human nature. Both the books, while having a traditional framework, have an original element. Not many memoirs are as strange and varied as Pip's, and not many boy's adventure stories turn as dark and menacing as Golding's novel. In the opening chapters the settings of the books are contrasting, in `Lord of the Flies`, the boys are in tropical splendor, (the pool) "It was clear to the bottom and bright with the efflorescence of tropical weed and coral" (pg 17), while in `Great Expectations` the opening chapter is set in a graveyard, which is dank a... ...agwitch in his torn, coarse and disheveled state, "A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped". From this the reader can see that, although the opening chapters of both novels seem completely unrelated, in fact when the reader looks more closely, many parallels can be seen. For example though the settings are very diverse, one being a wind swept moor, and the other being a tropical island, both are menacing. Although these books were written almost a century apart, and at first seem to be on different topics, many of the key features are the same, and many of the characters posses similar qualities.

A Comparison of the American and the Japanese Health Care Systems

Both the United States and Japan are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, an organization composed of industrialized countries) and as such both countries are under the pressure to live up to a certain median when it comes to the quality of health care. Apart from the median created by OECD countries, the US and Japan are also equally pressured by such organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO) that sets up checklists for good health care systems. In a report last 2000 on the health care systems of 191 countries, WHO set some goals for a health care system.These goals are the following: good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing (WHO in Bureau of Labor Education of the University of Maine 2001, 1). By â€Å"good health† WHO refers to the good health status of the entire population although out the human being’s life cycle. â€Å"Responsiveness,† on the other hand, refers to â€Å"the extent to which careg ivers are responsive to the client/patient expectations with regard to non-health areas such as being treated with dignity and respect† (Bureau of Labor and Education o the University of Maine 2001, 6).Fairness in financing generally refers to the progressiveness of the health care system wherein those who have less are also to spend less on medical care. These goals shall be utilized to evaluate and compare the Japanese and the American health care systems. But before an effective evaluation and comparison could be done, it will be important to individually describe the health care systems of these two countries. As such, this paper shall consist o the following parts: a description of the American health care system; a description of the Japanese health care system; an evaluation and the comparison of the two health care systems.The American Health Care System A. The Framework of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System could best be illustrated using figure 1. In figure 1, it could be noted that there are two insurance systems in America, public and private. Public insurance system refers to Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and the Veteran’s Administration (VA). Private insurance system, on the other hand, refers to either employer-sponsored insurance or private non-group insurance. We shall discuss each of these types.Medicare is a federal program that insures seniors aged 65 and above as well as some disabled individuals (Chua 2006, 2). This is a single-payer, government-administered program that covers hospital services, physician services, as well as prescription drug services (Chua 2006, 2). Medicare is financed three ways: federal income taxes, payroll tax (paid both by employers and employees), and individual enrollee premiums (Chua 2006, 2). There are individual enrollee premiums because even if Medicare provides the above-mentioned services, there are still import ant services that are not covered without the premium coverage.These premium services include nursing facilities; preventive care coverage; and coverage for dental, hearing, or vision care. This means that the elderly who are covered by Medicare would many times still need to avail of premium services and as such, they contribute a total of 22% of their income for the cost of health care (Chua 2006, 2). Medicaid is a state-administered health insurance program that provides coverage to low income citizens and disabled; specifically, this insurance â€Å"covers very poor pregnant women, children, disabled, and parents† (Chua 2006, 2).As for its administration, Medicaid is paid for by the state and the federal government. At the very least, the federal government pays $1 for every dollar that the state pays for (Chua 2006, 2). Unlike Medicare, Medicaid offers a more comprehensive health benefits. S-CHIP is like Medicaid as regards administration but it is specifically for child ren whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid due to their income but still do not make enough money to provide insurance for their children. VA is a state-sponsored health insurance service for the veterans of the military.This insurance provides comprehensive health benefits that make the veteran spend almost nothing for health care. Employer-sponsored insurance refers to private health insurance services the premium of which are largely paid for by employers. Under this system are the many organizations that offer health maintenance (HMOs). This is where corporations like Aetna and Kaiser Permanente fall. The coverage offered as well as the degree of co-sharing by the different HMOs differ also (Chua 2006, 3).Private non-group health insurance is the sort of insurance availed by those who are self-employed and those that could not avail of employer-sponsored insurance. This sort of insurance allows the insurance company to impose rules regarding pre-existing conditions. Usually, pre-existing conditions are not covered by the insurance. This sort of insurance is fully administered by the HMOs and the benefits vary widely as well. B. Characteristics and Problems of the American Health Care System The American Health Care System is mostly a combination and interaction of public and private entities.This is most exemplified by the two general types of health insurance services: the public and the private. This fact could be demonstrated by a 2003 statistics on Health Insurance Coverage of the nonelderly (in Chua 2006, 1). This statistics shows that 62% of nonelderly Americans receive private employer-sponsored insurance, while 5% purchase their insurance in the market (Chua 2006, 1). 18% of these nonelderly individuals are in public insurance like Medicaid or Medicare, while the remaining 15% are uninsured (Chua 2006, 1).Elderly Americans aged 65 years and above are mostly insured through Medicaid (Chua 2006, 1). Or, better yet, we might as well look at statist ics from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid represented as a pie graph in figure 2(American Hospital Association 2005, 6). In the 2003 statistics on the â€Å"Distribution of US Health Care Expenditures by Payer Source,† of the total $1. 7 trillion expenditures on health care, more than half are paid for by private entities. The lion’s share goes to private insurance. In this statistics, 35.8% are paid for by private insurance (American Hospital Association 2005, 6). Consumer’s out-of-pocket spending on health care account for 13. 7% of the 2003 health care expenditure, while other private expenditure account for 4. 8% of the expenditure. Medicare, a government health insurance system, pays for 17% of health care expenses, while Medicaid, another government health insurance system, shoulders 16% of the expenditure. The remaining 12. 7% of expenditure is paid for by other government systems like the S-CHIP and VA (Centers American Hospital Association 2005, 6; Chua 2006, 2).As such, we could see that the American Health Care System’s expenditure is more than 50% private. In spite of the big percentage in the budget that the federal government allots to health care, probably the biggest budget allotment in the OECD countries, a big percentage of health expenditures is handled by private entities. It is worth mentioning that America is spending on the average 15% of its GDP on health care when the average on OECD countries is only 8. 6% (Chua 2006, 5).This also means that America has the highest per capita spending on health care compared to other OECD Countries. It was documented that almost 10 years ago, the US was already the biggest per capita spender among its OECD colleagues. It spent $4,178 per capita while Switzerland, then second to the US on per capita spending, spent only $2794 per capita on health care. In spite of the big role of private entities and the high percentage in budget that health care system has, a big percen tage of non-elderly adults are uninsured (15% are uninsured as we saw above).This means that millions of adults in the working age have to spend their own money for health services. This also means that probably America is the only developed country that does not provide health services to all its citizens (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 3). Another problem is the fact that the United States has a high infant mortality rate compared to the other OECD counties. In fact, the United States ranked 26th in infant mortality rate among the industrialized countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5).Neither did America rank well in disability-adjusted life expectancy ranking 24th among OECD countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 2001, 5). This means that a number of Americans expect to live parts of their lives in disability which probably is a consequence of not having access to health care (as a big percentag e of nonelderly are uninsured). Aside from these problems, American health care is also characterized by a deficit in resources as most emergency departments in hospitals report of being â€Å"at† or â€Å"over† capacity (American Hospital Association 2005, 25).In figure 3, we could see a bar graph showing how some hospitals (especially teaching hospitals) could be at 43% beyond capacity. Such a lack could be accounted for largely by the lack of critical care beds, and not necessarily by overcrowding, in these emergency departments (American Hospital Association 2005, 27). This would mean that a number of hospitals, both in their emergency departments and intensive care units, would need to spend time on diversion (American Hospital Association 2005, 26). These are all ironical problems in a country that is supposed to be most advanced in economy and technology.The Japanese Health Care System A. The Framework of the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System, in contrast to the American system, offers coverage for all the citizens. This system offers services that are fairly comprehensive. Currently, the Japanese Health Care System provides â€Å"a basic package of benefits (including medical consultation, drugs, and other materials; medical treatment, surgery, and other services; home care treatment and nursing; and hospitalization and nursing at medical institutions) and they may offer additional benefits (e.g. , funeral benefits, maternity allowances) under the collective scheme† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). This system is best illustrated by figure 4. Health services are paid for in four ways: health insurance contributions, by patient co-payments, by taxes, and by out-of-pocket payments (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 10). Health services are given by providers which could be categorized according to the following: hospitals, doctors’ clinics, health centers, and pharmacies. Most hospitals are categorized as general hospita ls which mean that beds are allocated for long term care.These hospitals are closed to doctors who have clinics, these clinics being capable of minimum bed capacity of 12 (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 11) and may have the latest medical devices needed for diagnosis. Pharmacies may have their own doctors who may dispense their own prognoses and prescriptions. Nursing services are also considered as health providers. The insurance services, though provided by more or less 5,000 HMOs, are largely non-autonomous non-governmental bodies (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). These HMOs are basically in charge of operating the compulsory national health insurance system (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13).These HMOs experience control by the national and local governments. In fact, even doctors’ fees as well as other health services fees are standardized. The Japanese Health Care System may be categorized into two big divisions: the Social Insurance System (SIS) and the National Health Insurance (NHI) (Ward and Piccolo 2004). People are assigned to a health insurance such that those who are working in a company or office are assigned in the SIS, while everyone else who cannot be classified as working in a company or office (including self-employed professionals) should fall under the NHI (Ward and Piccolo 2004).63% of the population is insured under the SIS. Under the SIS, employers pay 50 to 80% of the premium while employees, depending on their income, pay around 8. 5% of their income for health insurance premium. In this system, the insured and their dependents pay 20-30% of in-patient and out-patient costs, at the same time act as co-payers in prescription drugs (Ward and Piccolo 2004). The NIH system, on the other hand, covers the remaining 37% of the population. Premiums paid by the insured depend on incomes and assets. The insured as well as their dependents are required to be co-payers of 30% of the cost.In spite of the requirement for co-payment, Japan offers a co-payment cap: â€Å"The cap is at ? 63,600 (US$600) per month, with the average monthly disposable income being ? 561,000 (US$5,300)† (Ward and Piccolo 2004). In addition, those who are elderly may benefit from long-term insurance which covers 90% of long-term maintenance costs. B. Problems with the Japanese Health Care System The Japanese Health Care System boasts of having state-of-the-art equipment accessible to its citizens. In fact, Japan has the highest CT and MRI scanners per capita among all countries.Japan also has low infant mortality rate in spite of lower GDP spending (7. 6%) for health care, well within the OECD median (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Japan is also able to provide co-payment cap though like the United States, Japan’s health system is also highly paid for by private entities: â€Å"Japan spent ? 29. 8 trillion (US$280 billion) on healthcare, of which 53% was covered by insurance, 32. 3% by the government, and 14. 8% by patients' co-payments† (Ward and Pi ccolo 2004). Nevertheless, the Japanese Health Care System has its own share of problems.For one, unlike in most Western countries, specialization does not matter as much as in America. What matters is where a doctor is affiliated, thus making the distinction between a general practitioner and a specialist blurred. This makes having a â€Å"family doctor† difficult to have and standardization difficult to come by (Jeong and Hurst 2001, 13). Also, Japan has 2 to 3 times longer hospitalization time compared to other countries which means that Japan would need more beds to accommodate patients (National Coalition on Health Care, 3).Probably the biggest problem that the system is facing is the increasing number of elderly population which would obviously strain (National Coalition on Health Care, 3). There is also the problem of weak preventive care as well as low public awareness on â€Å"taboo† illnesses such as HIV and AIDS (Ward and Piccolo 2004). Comparison Between th e Two Health Care Systems In the introduction, we spoke of the WHO requirement for good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing. Let us evaluate the two systems based on these WHO goals.The American system, aside from the problems posed above, obviously lacks in its ability to provide â€Å"good health† for the entire population. For one, the American health care system does not cover the entire American population. There is just no mandate for such. The Japanese system is obviously different. Japan has a national mandate for universal coverage. This means that the Japanese system is made in such a way that all Japanese would have to fall into one of the two insurance systems.The fact that all Japanese are insured at the same time Japanese spending on health care against GNP is well within the OECD median is something that Americans would have to learn from. The very concept of a co-payment cap is a very good thing that makes health care more responsive to the call for â€Å"good health for the entire population. † As regards responsiveness, the fact that millions of Americans are uninsured automatically makes them not capable of even evaluating client/patient relations for issues such as dignity, respect, etcetera.Nevertheless, the Japanese system also has room for improvement as the existence of â€Å"taboo† sicknesses would obviously compromise the treatment of patients with dignity and respect. Lastly, as regards the requirement for fairness in financing, the Japanese system is way better than the American system. To a certain extent, the American system would make it difficult for certain parts of the population to be insured as they are not too poor to qualify for Medicaid but they are also not employed nor financially endowed enough to pay for private insurance. This is totally not a problem in the Japanese system.