LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Tomorrow marks thirty years since the Roe vs. Wade decision that gave women a reproductive choice in America. The occasion reminds me that women are continuously struggling to attain and maintain various levels of freedom. Elizabeth LeBlanc’s gender criticism of The Awakening---a novel published before women acquired suffrage---highlights one such freedom: the freedom to live on one’s own terms. The discussion delineates how Kate Chopin’s tale of one woman’s â€Å"choices, actions and attitudes may be construed as the attempts of a woman trapped in a sexually (in)different world to reconstitute herself as lesbian† (241). LeBlanc clarifies that Edna is a â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† who â€Å"creates a narrative or textual space in which she interrogates accepted norms of textuality and sexuality and constitutes herself as subject† (238). The use of the word â€Å"trapped† connotes a state of being cornered, with few choices and at the mercy of someone else. At first, Edna does seem trapped to a drone existence of bourgeois Creole society. But once she was â€Å"initiat[ed] into the world of female love and ritual,† (247) she began â€Å"seeking fulfillment and selfhood† outside of marriage and motherhood (244). Her gravitation toward a woman-centered existence, outside of culturally defined spaces, is an act of self-reconstruction. For example, at the risk of damaging her reputation, she rejects the obligation of her social class to host ‘callers.’ This is a figurative loosening of the ties that bound her to a tradition of waiting for life to happen. She defies that tradition and, in doing so, restructures her existence as a woman. Edna progressively moves away from all-things-traditional, or culturally predefined, into a space all her own. As a metaphorical lesbian, she â€Å"engages in a variety of woman-identified practices that suggest but stop short of sexual encounters.† One such practice is finding solace in a woman who already lives on the margins of society, Mademoiselle Reisz, who LeBlanc suggests is the actual lesbian in this narrative. Edna, LeBlanc writes, â€Å"is drawn to [her] whenever she falls into despondency and hopelessness† because Reisz’s â€Å"music penetrated [Edna’s] whole being like an effulgence, warming and brightening the dark places of her soul† (Chopin 103). It is she, who describes herself as â€Å"captivated† by Edna, who â€Å"fosters in Edna a sense of the possibilities for joy and fulfillment outside the realm of male tradition and meaningless codes† (252). Edna learns not to define herself in relation to her familial attachme nts, such as mother or wife.

Functional Requirements

1.Functional Requirements Functional requirements define the fundamental actions that system must perform.The functional requirements for the system are divided into three main categories, Reservation/Booking, Food, and Management. For further details, refer to the use cases. EXAMPLE 1.1. Reservation/Booking 1.1. The system shall record reservations. 1.2. The system shall record the customer's first name. 1.3. The system shall record the customer's last name. 1.4. The system shall record the number of occupants. 1.5. The system shall record the room number. 1.6. The system shall display the default room rate. 1.6.1. The system shall allow the default room rate to be changed. 1.6.2. The system shall require a comment to be entered, describing the reason for changing the default room rate. 1.7. The system shall record the customer's phone number. 1.8. The system shall display whether or not the room is guaranteed. 1.9. The system shall generate a unique confirmation number for each reservation. 1.10. The system shall automatically cancel non-guaranteed reservations if the customer has not provided their credit card number by 6:00 pm on the check-in date. EXAMPLE 22.Food 2.1. The system shall track all meals purchased in the hotel (restaurant and room service). 2.2. The system shall record payment and payment type for meals. 2.3. The system shall bill the current room if payment is not made at time of service.The system shall accept reservations for the restaurant and room service. EXAMPLE 33. Management 3.1. The system shall display the hotel occupancy for a specified period of time (days; including past, present, and future dates). 3.2. The system shall display projected occupancy for a period of time (days). 3.3. The system shall display room revenue for a specified period of time (days). 3.4. The system shall display food revenue for a specified period of time (days). 3.5. The system shall display an exception report, showing where default room and food prices have been overridden. 3.6. The system shall allow for the addition of information, regarding rooms, rates, menu items, prices, and user profiles. 3.7. The system shall allow for the deletion of information, regarding rooms, rates, menu items, prices, and user profiles. 3.8. The system shall allow for the modification of information, regarding rooms, rates, menu items, prices, and user profiles. 3.9. The system shall allow managers to assign user passwords. 2 Nonfunctional Requirements Functional requirements define the needs in terms of performance, logical database requirements, design constraints, standards compliance, reliability, availability, security, maintainability, and portability. EXAMPLE 1Performance Requirements Performance requirements define acceptable response times for system functionality.The load time for user interface screens shall take no longer than two seconds.The log in information shall be verified within five seconds.Queries shall return results within five seconds.Example Logical Database Requirements The logical database requirements include the retention of the following data elements. This list is not a complete list and is designed as a starting point for developmentBooking/Reservation SystemCustomer first nameCustomer last nameCustomer addressCustomer phone numberNumber of occupantsAssigned roomDefault room rateRate descriptionGuaranteed room (yes/no)Credit card numberConfirmation numberAutomatic cancellation dateExpected check-in dateExpected check-in timeActual check-in dateActual check-in timeExpected check-out dateExpected check-out timeActual check-out dateActual check-out timeCustomer feedbackPayment received (yes/no)Payment typeTotal BillFood ServicesMealMeal typeMeal itemMeal orderMeal payment (Bill to room/Credit/Check/Cash)EXAMPLE 3Design Constraints The Hotel Management System shall be a stand-alone system running in a Windows environment. The system shall be developed using Java and an Access or Oracle database3. Illustrate a timeframe needed to complete each task based on the requirements from question 2.(5 Marks)Answer Estimating time framesTo manage your time well, you should know not only what tasks you need to accomplish, but also when those tasks must be completed and how long they'll take. Making accurate estimates about how long a task will take is one of the keys to effective time management. Many management problems are the result of unrealistic estimates of how long it will take to complete specific tasks.If you estimate time frames accurately, you'll be able to schedule work efficiently and meet deadlines:†¢ schedule work efficiently – Accurate estimates about how long tasks will take to complete make scheduling a lot easier. They ensure that you won't have to keep changing your schedule. If you have a task that you accurately estimate will take six hours, for example, you can allot that time in your schedule and be reasonably confident you won't have to change the schedule. But what if you didn't accurately estimate the time for that task and allotted it only three hours? It would throw your schedule off, and you'd need to rework it.†¢ meet deadlines – If you're accurate in estimating the time it will take to complete tasks, you'll be better able to meet your deadlines. If you're estimates aren't accurate, you may need to ask to change deadlines or disappoint others who are relying on you to complete certain tasks. With accurate time estimates, you'll also be more confident about setting deadlines because you know that the time you assign for completing each of your tasks is realistic.Time estimate equationIt's important to estimate the time frames for your tasks accurately so that you can schedule all your work effectively and meet deadlines. To go about doing this, you first need to know the requirements of each task and your experience with activities – both when they run smoothly and when they don't – to produce three time estimates:†¢ The likely time is the time that the task normally takes you to complete. It helps to consider the time it takes to complete the task without interruption. You should also think about a time frame you would be comfortable with based on your workload, the task, and any external factors that may delay or speed up the completion of the task.†¢ The shortest time is the least amount of time that you have taken to complete the task in the past. It may also refer to the shortest time in which you think you can complete the task if there are no interruptions or distractions.†¢ You can estimate the longest time by considering what may go wrong when performing the task and then adding this extra time to the task's likely duration. This estimate should be based on your experience of this type of activity in the past, as well as on any foreseeable difficulties.You use the three time estimates to calculate the shortest possible time to complete a task based on an average of the likely, shortest, and longest times. Because in most cases a task will take the likely time to complete, this time is given more weight. You need to multiply it by 4, add the shortest time, and then add the longest time. You divide the total by 6 to get the shortest possible time.One important thing to remember is that you must use the same measurements for each type of time. For example, if your likely time is a number of days, the shortest and longest times must also be in days. If your estimates are in different measurements, start by changing them so they are all the same. The time frames equation often produces a shortest possible time that is longer than the shortest time you put into the equation. This is because the equation helps ensure that you're realistic about how long things will take.To manage your time effectively, you have to estimate the time it will take to complete each of your tasks. Doing this ensures you can schedule your work appropriately and meet all your deadlines. To estimate the time frames for your tasks, you can use a simple time frames equation, which uses estimates for the likely, shortest, and longest times to calculate the realistic, shortest possible time that it will take to complete a task.https://library.skillport.com/courseware/Content/cca/pd_11_a02_bs_enus/output/html/sb/sbpd_11_a02_bs_enus002005.html4. Identify and explain five (5) threats to your business that you need to consider for the success of this system.Answer: After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your business for your business plan, look for external forces, like opportunities and threats, that may have an effect on its destiny. These changes includeThe appearance of new or stronger competitorsThe emergence of unique technologiesShifts in the size or demographic composition of your market areaChanges in the economy that affect customer buying habitsChanges in customer preferences that affect buying habitsChanges that alter the way customers access your businessChanges in politics, policies, and regulationsFads and fashion crazesList the threats and opportunities facing your business, and follow these guidelines:When listing opportunities, consider emerging technologies, availability of new materials, new customer categories, changing customer tastes, market growth, new uses for old products (think about how mobile phones and even eyeglasses now double as cameras and computers), new distribution or location opportunities, positive changes in your competitive environment, and other forces that can affect your success.When listing threats, consider the impact of shrinking markets, altered consumer tastes and pu rchase tendencies, raw material shortages, economic downturns, new regulations, changes that affect access to your business, and competitive threats, including new competing businesses and competitive mergers and alliances. Also think about the impact of expiring patents, labor issues, global issues, and new products that may make your offering outdated or unnecessary.If you're having a tough time getting specific, look back at the strengths and weaknesses, but this time, use it to list strengths and weaknesses of a competitor. You won't know as much about your competitor's capabilities as you know about your own, but you probably know enough to flag areas of strength and weakness. Your competitor's strengths are potential threats to your business, and its weaknesses present potential opportunities.http://www.dummies.com/business/start-a-business/business-plans/how-to-identify-opportunities-and-threats-in-business-planning/5. Write down three (3) elements of risk and two (2) example each that relate to the project.(9 Marks)Answer. All risk management standards agree that the goal of risk management is to enhance the chances of success of the relevant endeavor. However, each of them provides a different definition of risk: ISO31000:2009 calls it â€Å"effect of uncertainty on objectives,† the PMI â€Å"PMBOK Guide† has â€Å"an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on the project's objectives,† and the preferred Risk Doctor definition is â€Å"uncertainty that matters.†Each description is true, but only partly so. This matters because, until we know what we are dealing with, we cannot manage it in the best way possible:If we use the ISO definition, then our first thought will be to focus on the effect;If we follow PMI, then we will start from the potential occurrence;With the Risk Doctor definition, we start from uncertainty.Each of these — the effect, the event and the uncertainty — is a component of risk, but on its own is not a risk.Even taken in pairs they do not provide the full picture:an effect plus an event is an issue;an event plus an uncertainty is a prediction;†¢ an uncertainty plus and effect is a concern.It is only when you put all three together that you can see what a risk is made of, and use this information to decide on what, if anything, to do about it. Of course, this then requires a longer definition, but the goal enhancing the chances of success is worth the effort.But what is â€Å"success†? It is more than simply â€Å"meeting objectives;† it must also include the condition of â€Å"complying with project constraints† in order for the final result to remain within scope. Given this clarification, a more complete definition is: â€Å"Risk consists of three parts: an uncertain situation, the likelihood of occurrence of the situation, and the effect (positive or negative)that the occurrence would have on project success.†The three-part definition helps with three important stages of the risk management process: In 1.risk identification, it supports the structured description of a risk (â€Å"risk metalanguage†) in the form: â€Å"Because of , may occur, leading to In 2.risk evaluation, knowledge of potential causes allows you to evaluate the likelihood; identification of effects provides a basis for quantifying the impact.In 3 risk response planning, the different parts of the definition suggest different response approaches:for threat avoidance, understanding the situation may allow you to stop it happening or protect against its results;understanding the situation can also be used to help us exploit opportunities;in risk transfer or sharing, we seek a partner better equipped to address the effect;for threat reduction or opportunity enhancement, we focus on the effect and/or the likelihood;in risk acceptance, any contingency plan has to address the effect.Including these three components when you describe risks (the uncertainty, the event and the effect) will help everyone involved in risk management to take account of these three important aspects of risk, and act on them to enhance the chances of success.EXAMPLETwo examples of Managing risk in hote

Warrantless Wiretapping

Dave Gorman November 20, 2008 Writing About World Affairs Word Count: 708 Warrantless Wiretapping Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, many of the counterterrorism measures taken by President George W. Bush and his administration have been questioned concerning their legality, morality and practicality. Chief among the issues being debated is that of warrantless wiretapping and data mining inside of the United States. This unprecedented use of executive power has been directed by the National Security Agency since 2001. Bush administration officials argue that the civil liberties concerns are unfounded. They also state the NSA program does not target Americans. â€Å"Nothing could be further from the truth,† wrote John Yoo, a former official in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Several official also assert that the program had helped expose a plot byIyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver and naturalized citizen who pleaded guilty in 2003 to supporting al Qaeda by planning to demolish the Brooklyn Bridge with blowtorches. Another plot involving fertilizer bomb attacks on British train station was revealed and thwarted in part due to the NSA’s program, officials said (Bush Lets U. S. Spy†¦). Many law scholars, judges, activists, and intelligence experts have pronounced that the counterterrorism actions taken by the Bush administration, namely warrantless wiretapping have been unlawful, impractical, and immoral. While the administration contends that the measures it has taken since September 11 have made the United States safer, those same opponents would vie that it has not, while still violating civil liberties and Constitutional law.

The Strength of Weak Ties

Here I would like to emphasize a bit on Social Capital. Social capital according to me is the pool of ties that a person encompasses during his lifetime including strong and weak ties. Persons with higher social capital are bound to be better off with greater health and general well being. Social capital helps to leverage the people we communicate with for the benefit of our shared and individual interest. We can relate this with a famous punch line – â€Å"I scratch your back, you scratch mine. The basic hypothesis of Granovetter’s work is that our acquaintances play a very important part in connecting different networks to one another. A personal example which I would like to share is that I have around 30 very closely knitted friends and family members and about 300 odd acquaintances. These acquaintances are comprised of my old classmates, co-workers and some friends through social networking groups. In the digital world these are friends connected through facebook, LinkedIn, orkut etc. Personally speaking it makes sense that in some cases my family and my close knitted friends are best suited to provide me with quality options and choices. For the most part I believe this is true under certain circumstances during personal care when I am sick or when I need advice for some personal decisions in life. But when it comes to looking out for a job the theory comes true to life. I would be naturally tapping my network of acquaintances and assuming I have a good amount of social capital in my network, I would be more likely be presented with more opportunities than my family and close knitted friends. Another example explaining the theory of weak ties is between the social networks existing in this globe. We can take an example of how LinkedIn is different from Facebook and why that difference matters. Weak ties are the social â€Å"degrees of separation† beyond the people we actually know. Facebook primarily is about knowing who you know, connecting with people who are already in your social circle. In my experience it does little to help you develop weak ties and it does nothing to introduce you to people you do not know. There is an interesting paradox that Facebook, perhaps, reinforces our stereotypes, because we are just getting content from our mostly like minded friends. LinkedIn by contrast, is about helping people expand their circles and improve their opportunities. LinkedIn has been slower to take off because it is a harder â€Å"get. † Beyond being a resume building site, why do I need this? If I'm not looking for a job or to find sales leads, why bother? Once you look at it from a content perspective, however, the benefit becomes clearer. Those â€Å"weak ties† provide you with â€Å"micro-nutrients† that your â€Å"strong ties† may not. Further investigation into the analogy of strong and weak bonds in physics is warranted, but the most immediate application in terms of content strategy is the serendipitous model of magazine content. If we consider content that a reader is looking for (through a Google search, for instance) to be strongly bonded, then the content they find along the way (in sidebars and various â€Å"asides† to use the html5 term) are weakly bonded. Magazines have always created content environments where their readers discover new things—and some of those things are advertisements. This serendipity of discovery is key to the pleasure of magazine reading and the financial success of the magazine business, but it has not translated all that well online. To end my observations I completely agree with this theory however I would like to bring an important aspect that a perfectly balanced strong and weaker ties help an individual to do the best and for the society at large. Thanks & Best Regards Pranav

Police and Victims Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Police and Victims - Case Study Example In Australia, there are two levels of police forces, the state police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The AFP is only 25 years old whilst State Police Forces were established in the 1800s The Australasian Institute of Policing (AIPol) is a non-industrial, not-for-profit incorporated association that has been established by practitioners, for practitioners to further the policing profession. As such, it is the professional body for Australian and New Zealand policing and has been established with the object to: The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously New South Wales Police Service & New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. (ASHWORTH, A 1987) It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police. Divided into eighty Local Area Commands (LAC),[1] the NSW Police Force consists of over five hundred local police stations and covers an area of 801,600 square kilometres whilst serving the state's population of seven million people.[2] Under the Police Regulation Act (1862), the organisation of the New South Wales Police Force was formally established in 1862 with the unification of all existing independent police units within New South Wales. The authority and responsibility of the entire police force was given to the Inspector General of Police.[3] Presently, the Commissioner of Police controls the police force. Crime and Justice System in Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia is federalist government composed of a national government and six State governments. The government of the Commonwealth is responsible for the enforcement of its own laws. The most frequently prosecuted Commonwealth offenses are those related to the importation of drugs and the violation of social security laws. Offenses against a person or against property occurring in Commonwealth facilities are also regarded as offenses against the Commonwealth. The States are primarily responsible for the development of criminal law. Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania are described as "code" States because they have enacted criminal codes which define the limits of the criminal law. The remaining three States, New South Wales, Victoria,and South Australia are regarded as common law States because they have not attempted codification. In practice, however, there is little ifference in the elements of the criminal law between the "code" and "common law" States. Local governments can pass

Northern Short Grass Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Northern Short Grass - Research Paper Example The common animals of the region are bison, cattle, pronghorn, sharp tailed grouse and dung beetle. The grassland soil is probably the richest in the world. The soil of the short grass land is an amalgamation of metamorphic and igneous outwash, limestone, sandstone, shale and loess. The important soil types are mollisols and alfisol. In the past few decades the shortgrass ecosystem has been declared as an endangered habitat due to human invasion. Some of the terms that will be frequently used in this research paper are defined below: Johnson (2001) defines the below mentioned terms in the book â€Å"A Walk in the Prairie†. Prairie: Prairie is a word used for grasslands in North America. The climate of the prairie habitat does not allow the growth of trees. It allows only the growth of small plants (Johnson, 2001). Grassland: A biome where only grass and small plants grow and where the climate is not suitable for the growth of tall trees (Johnson, 2001). Shortgrass: It is a typ e of prairie where the amount of precipitation is very low and because of which the plants in the region are not taller than a person’s knee (Johnson, 2001). Tallgrass: It is another kind of prairie where the amount of precipitation is sufficient for the growth of tall plants (Johnson, 2001). ... According to Malin prairies are the large area of grassland or natural meadows. They have their own type of vegetation which contains less tress and more grass, flowers and other herbs. The height of the grass in the grasslands varies depending upon the type of soil and the amount of precipitation. Grasslands are those areas which, on one hand, are too moist for the deserts and on the other hand are too dry for the growth of forest type of vegetation. They exist due to the seasonal droughts, continuous grazing by the herbivores and occasional fires. These three factors play an important role in preventing the growth of large trees and shrubs. The three types of grasslands are tropical, temperate and cold. However we will restrict ourselves to the discussion of temperate grasslands since shortgrass prairie of the Northern America falls in this category. The aim of this paper is to discuss the shortgrass prairies in North America. The methodology of the research is based on exploration of the relevant literature for a detailed understanding of the topic. Authentic websites and peer reviewed articles and books have been consulted. Several problems related to the area under discussion have been brought into light for a better future of the short grasslands of North America. Maps, diagrams and charts have been included for a detailed understanding of the topic. Pic. 1: Map of grasslands in North America (Source: FAO. 2005) http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y8344e/y8344e0d.htm Tinker and Hild (2005) describe the location of the grasslands in North America which are found in the east of Rocky Mountains from Nebraska and Wyoming southward through the high plains. The North American grasslands spread in the east between the Great Lakes and Ohio River going as far as Indiana

The Transformation of Tata Group to the Biggest Conglomerate in South Research Paper

The Transformation of Tata Group to the Biggest Conglomerate in South East Asia - Research Paper Example A change agent is an individual or group who undertakes the process of creating and managing change in an organization. Change agents can be internal, such as employees or managers or it can be people appointed to oversee the change process. In many large organisations and companies driven by innovation, both employees and managers are trained to build up the skills needed for managing the process of change (Tschirky, 2011). Change agents also can be external, such as consultants from outside the firm. The most important contributions that a change agent can make are by sustaining the firm’s present performance and assuring its future growth and performance. A change agent works by enabling employees and other staff members to work effectively according the plan implement and experience the change strategically. The change agent also aims to increase the ability and efficiency of people and resources to produce a change that is sustainable and growth-oriented. For an organisat ion to sustain and show continuous growth, the senior management must establish themselves as leaders and help in reinforcing and establishing the cultures of the company (Carson, 1999). Continuous monitoring and assessment from the senior leaders is very important for the steady growth of the company. The transformation of Tata Group can be greatly credited to the vision and execution of the chairman, which was extraordinary. He is credited for the excellent transformation because he could see his vision for the company and transform it into a reality. After he took over the Tata group, he started introducing strategic changes in the company. The first was by regulating a compulsory policy for retirement age. This step removed a large number of employees from top management. This was done to remove those departments and companies of the group which were not growing and making loss. By replacing these individuals, he cleared the entry for young and fresh talent which will bring new ideas to the company. In addition he also created a Group Executive Office whose members were representatives of the strategic group, on the boards of the Tata companies. The Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) was introduced as the Tata Group’s largest change initiative. Excellence Model of the Tata Business (TBEM) was maintained and implemented through specific procedures and quality services. Ratan Tata showed a democratic style of leadership that encouraged openness and creativity among groups. With this approach of leadership he induced openness and creativity among young members of the organisation. He also acted as a supportive leader by helping and encouraging these young professionals in their ideas and plans and implementing them wherever it fitted. Answer 2 Business Streamlining becomes very important during economic instability.