No Mans Land Essay Example for Free

No Mans Land Essay I tiptoe through the night, scared for even my sweat to make the slightest noise as it drips off my face and onto the ground. I am not thinking of anything at the moment but my survival and how my life will be once I am free of the Soviet grip around my wrists. My heart feels like it is breaking through my ribs and protruding out of my chest with every breath I take as I run faster and faster towards the barrier that has incarcerated me over the years. As I throw myself over the eleven-foot concrete wall with barbed wire at the top, I can hear gunshots all around, and I pray they are not intended for me. I hit the cold, hard ground on the other side, but I am not even close to being safe any time soon. I am in no mans land now. I would be better off asking for someone to shoot me than to make it out of here alive. I have only one chance. At least that is how I imagined it would have been like if I were in trapped in the tribulations of East Berlin trying to escape into the desired West Berlin between 1961 and 1989. However, it is a gray December day in 2004, and if it werent for remains of the Iron Curtain and Checkpoint Charlie, people would not be able to relive that part of history or be reminded of the dictator that destroyed so many lives. The temperature was eight degrees Celsius as the gloomy sky attempted to cough up snow onto Berlin. Before that moment I had only heard of the Berlin Wall through history books and stories. I would sit and listen to travelers tales told by my courageous father who had walked through Checkpoint Charlie and into East Berlin in seventy-five. He told me how he had to exchange West Berlin money into East Berlin money at Checkpoint Charlie before entering East Berlin. Then going back into West Berlin he had to drop it in a rusty tin can at Check Point Charlie because you were not allowed to keep East Berlin money. He witnessed two tourists getting assaulted by the guards for trying to smuggle East Berlin money into West Berlin. My only expectations of Berlin came from the adventures of my dad. I expected Checkpoint Charlie to be a barricade miles long with tollbooths that have the arms that swing up and down. Similar to the tollbooths that run across the freeways of really large cities, or at the airports you go through after short-term parking. Once you pass through the chomping arms of the tollbooths I imagined East Berlin to be scattered with desolate buildings and run down streets. But as I approached the once controlling wall and Checkpoint Charlie I realized nothing was as I imagined it at all. It was like walking down any other street in a big city. A few people who were always pushing their way through the gaps that opened up between the wandering men and women, obviously in more of a hurry than anyone else on the street. Christmas lights clung to the tall buildings that ran down the streets of Berlin. People popped in and out of the busy stores, squeezing their last bit of Christmas shopping in before the Holiday. Suddenly the bustle of people slowed like a murmur in time as I stood right before the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie which are now surrounded by the commercial buildings of downtown Berlin. My gaze dropped to an engraved brick in the ground that now serves as a commemorative plaque for the Berlin Wall. A chill ran from the tip of my toes all the way to the ends of my hair as I realized how lucky I was to be standing right there in no mans land. I can now speak of the Berlin Wall, not as hearsay from a history book, but as a memory. No mans land, a memorial now, is where 171 people who attempted to escape into West Berlin were shot, and left to bleed to death like a deer on the side of the road. This area contained walls on either side with mines and stern East Berlin guards to make it almost impossible to escape. As I stood in the middle of no mans land facing East Berlin, I looked over my left and my right shoulders only to see black, wooden crosses a little taller than I am. The crosses looked as if snow had only given them the pleasure of its company and nothing else around them, when really it was just white sand covering the ground. I took a deep breath in as if I was trying to swallow it into my memory, making sure to keep it forever. I am motionless. Where the median strip of the road would have been, an American soldiers somber picture was enlarged and hoisted up on a pole staring out towards West Berlin. On the opposite side was a Russian Soldier keeping close watch over East Berlin. Below the soldiers pictures was Checkpoint Charlie. Wilted flowers surrounded this one room shack that once controlled the passage of people from East to West Berlin. Now it also stands as a memorial for people who died crossing over into West Berlin. On either side of me, there were remains of the wall still standing. I got an eerie feeling as I stared at them. My sense of time was completely altered. There I stood at one of the most historical sites imagining what it would have been like to be boxed in by a concrete wall that was suffocating you more and more each day. But when I looked around I was in the middle of one of the largest cities in Germany. It was like time slowed when I was walking through no mans land, but everything else around no mans land and Checkpoint Charlie was full of life. I was in my own little bubble. I walked about a block and returned to the normal noises and the packed sidewalks of what use to be the Soviet controlled East Berlin. My view of Berlin has been altered for the better, with a greater understanding of the saying seeing is believing.

Using research (eating Christmas in the Kalahari) explain how social actors give meanings to their actions through social interactions. Essay Example for Free

Using research (eating Christmas in the Kalahari) explain how social actors give meanings to their actions through social interactions. Essay Using research (eating Christmas in the Kalahari) explain how social actors give meanings to their actions through social interactions. Also consider how this can lead to cultural misunderstanding. In ‘Eating Christmas in the Kalahari’ Richard Lee kills an Ox for Christmas dinner. Richard kills a big ox for the tribe to eat on Christmas but instead of being greeted with the tribe saying well done for killing such a big ox like he clearly expects he is greeted with tribesmen telling him that the ox is just bones and how no one will eat or dance on Christmas. The tribesmen are the social actors in their Culture, the Kalahari and Richard Lee is a social actor from another culture, America. As they are from different cultures their actions and the way they act will be different because they have completely different social statuses so the way they act socially will be different. The !Kung give this reaction to the ox because they believe that no man should be greater than another man just because he can bring the tribe food and they don’t want anyone to be arrogant. Richard misinterprets their actions and feels bad, as he believes that the tribe will not have a good Christmas because of his misjudgment but learns in the end that it was just how they acted. In every culture there are social actors and social statuses but for every culture these social statuses may be different which means the way people act are different too. Because in every culture people have different roles this will lead to misunderstandings because different roles have a wide variety of meanings in separate cultures as Richard Lee finds out.

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay The world is considerably very small because of globalization. The virtual closeness of the countries has made the trade and commerce an international event. Global businesses make every community more closely around the world. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. In this case, the situation surrounding Unilever will be taken into consideration. The following annotations and propositions discussed in this discussion are supported by claims on journals, books and Unilever website. The modern technology is really helping those businesses where is using a Management Information System in the various level of managerial approach. The chosen company is Unilever to describe in this report how Unilever is benefitting using Management Information System in various level of the company. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Background of the company 4 Analyzing Mission Statement 4 PESTEL Analysis of Unilever 4 Political Factors 4 Economical Factors 5 Socio-Cultural Factors 5 Technological Factors 5 Environmental Factors 5 Legislative Factors 5 SWOT Analysis of Unilever 5 Strength 6 Weaknesses 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 7 Recommended Information Systems 7 Strategic Level 8 Management Level 9 Knowledge Level 9 9 Operational Level 9 Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever 10 Conclusion 11 References: 12 Background of the company Unilever is a Dutch-British multinational company which acquired many consumers product brands in foods, ice-creams, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever got two headquarter one in Rotterdam, Netherlands and other one in London, United Kingdom. The Unilever is a dual listed company which has same directors and runs effectively. The current non-executive chairman of Unilever is Michael Treschowand and Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. The main Competitors for Unilever are Proctor Gamble, Nestle, DANONE, Reckitt Benckiser, Kraft Foods, S.C Johnson and sons and Henkel. Analyzing Mission Statement The mission statement of Unilever UK represents two dimensions of their company, one is how Unilever products attached to the people everyday life and the other part is what Unilever wants to do in the nearest future. Everyday around the world, more than 150 million people in over 150 countries using Unilever products because people know they can help themselves feel good look good and can get more out of life, a few examples, Flora helps keep hearts healthy, a cup of PG Tips refreshes, Magnum gives an indulging treat, Persil to clean familys clothes, Domestos keeps germs free, Sure helps unbeatable protection and hair wash with Sunsilk helps looks great also gives confidence to take on life. The company is committed to provide a healthy lifestyle, variety, taste, quality products, enjoyment supporting increasingly precious commodity. The company is also committed to the vitality of the environment and the communities. The Unilever doing business in a responsible way has a positive b enefit also working in partnership with governments, international agencies (such as, UNICEF) and nongovernmental organizations (such as, WWF) to make a difference. PESTEL Analysis of Unilever Political Factors Unilever operating their businesses in globalise environment around the world. Unilever now operates their business over 150 countries around the globe. The performance of Unilever is highly influenced by legislative and political conditions of individual serving countries. If consider the employment legislations, the rules is different for every countries there need to be followed a rules for providing a mix job opportunity including flexible, lower paid locally based jobs, higher paid centrally located jobs etc. Also there has to be meet a demand from vast population categories like students, working parents and senior citizen, disabled people. Economical Factors Unilever is concern about economic factors because this is related with demand, costs, prices and profits. There is another most influential factors of economy is high unemployment which is directly related with the demand of many products and adversely affected on that may products. Those kinds of economic factors can not be controlled by the Unilever Socio-Cultural Factors The consumers demand the type of goods and services on the basis of consumers social condition, consequent attitude and beliefs. Now a day, the consumers are more aware of health related matters and the attitudes towards products are constantly changing. Technological Factors Technology is a macro-environmental variable which help the development of the Unilever products. The new technologies are beneficial for both companies and the customers; customer satisfaction rises because products are readily available. Unilever uses latest technologies for example wireless devices, intelligent scale, radio frequency identification etc. The use of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Fund Transfer systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities etc. (Finch 2004) Environmental Factors There are some issues threatening the producers and retailers have been environmental factors. In 2003, there was an increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their responsibilities to the society and act in a way which can help society (Lindgreen Hingley 2003). Unilever corporate social responsibility has to be concerned in this way where any organization exceeds minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through the regulation. (Johnson Scholes 2003) Legislative Factors There is the law of land and policies have a direct impact on the performance of Unilever. There is an enforceable Code of Practices have to be followed to set up banning many of current practices, for example, the payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices . (Mintel Report, 2004) The powerful competitors established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and a strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector such controls on license requirements and limits on access to raw materials. (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). SWOT Analysis of Unilever Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis helps businesses to understand overall business environment and exploit new opportunities more faster than any other competitors. Strength The market Share is increasing day by day because of playing a great profitable contribution the world economy. High reputations for quality products are a key strength. Unilever got excellent product safety in health, beauty and foods. Unilever is a global business which do business more than 150 countries around the world. There is a high performance of distribution where the suppliers are located around the UK. Competitive pricing is also a key strength in Unilever. Unilever uses latest technology which helps the company to introduce consumers good products. Unilever got experienced and qualified research and development team for product development. Weaknesses Brand image some time affect the common customer. High pricing for various products causes low earning customer to buy another companys less price products. Customer Relationship Management must be a qualified team as there have no retail shop company business always depends on sole distributors. Lack of market research in Unilever reduces total sales figure in a financial year. They do not have retail and online shop, it some time causes high pricing of products in the distributors retail shop. Depends on the distributors where some time does not take proper initiative to increase the sales. Opportunities Increasing market share comparable to the competitors is really a good opportunity which can help company to increase the growth rate. Unilever can open retail shop which will help to approach direct consumer. Increasing brand value by providing good quality of products. Unilever can acquire more companys brands and services which can be a key step to increase the value in the market. Greater promotion of some products can get more customers to use their products. Threats All successful businesses attract competition so the competitors would be a threat. International competitors may also intrude as Unilever expands. Every products can not be marketed every countries because of different race of people around the world. Natural disaster could damage many area of the business, for example, earthquake in Haiti and Chile. Recession causes loss of jobs where people less use of branded products, for example recent recession in USA, UK and Europe caused a vast impact in world economy. Recommended Information Systems The following cross-functional system concepts and how they can provide significant business value to Unilever will be discussed in this document: The operational level is for taking day to day decision. Transaction Processing System can help to take operation level decision like supermarket, Biometric device etc. The knowledge level of decision is takes for research, design and procurement. Knowledge Work System can help to take knowledge level decision. The tactical or managerial control level decision takes for 1 to 3 years, it is for resource allocation. Management Information System or Decision Support System can help to take the managerial level decision. The strategic level decision takes for 3 to 10 years, it is for long term. Executive Information System can help to take the strategic level decision. Figure 1 Strategic Level Complex Mathematical Model: Unilever can use a Complex Mathematical Model for monitoring operations, costs, revenues, market shares, share prices etc. Unilever is categorized as fast moving consumer goods, quick acquisition, processing of market information. The information of market is usually collect from research companies, historical data and individual analysis. Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence Solution: In order to gain a clear view of business performance across Unilevers companies in around the world. Unilever Information Program: When transformation is taking place in the organisation, information systems are inevitably involved. Currently Unilever is reshaping operational responsibilities for greater clarity between what is better done by the local company, at regional level or global organisations. The Unilever Information Program (UIP) is to develop an infrastructure to support the Path to Growth strategy, with the key priority of finding a quick data integration solution to allow user access to any number of data sources for in-depth analysis. Management Level Supply Management Information System: Unilever can integrated a supply management information system which will helps local, regional and global supply managers make appropriate sourcing of decisions, allowing them to collate and analyze informations more quickly and easily. The system enables managers to negotiate with suppliers in a transparent and efficient way where benefiting both parties. Knowledge Level Procurement System: The procurement is inevitability for future supply chain optimisation the supply market, particularly in Europe is still suffering from under-development. The Procurement System can help total supply chain operation rather than just transactional activity. The Procurement System provides a catalyst for positive improvement in supply management profiles. Supply-Chain Management Systems: The using of a variety information system and several other supply chain management technologies, Unilever can enhance the usability of the supply chain. Research Development System: Used for formula development Operational Level Specifications System: Specification System will help in packaging, formula, raw material, finished products and process specification. Manufacturing Planning System: Manufacturing Planning System can help in production orders, purchase orders, standard costs, inventory, financial transactions, and production reporting. Planning System: Planning system can help in Demand Planning (DP), Demand Requirement Planning (DRP), Constrained Product Planning (CPP), Finite Scheduling. Order and Cash System: Order and Cash system can help in order entry management, terms of sale, deduction tracking, stock allocation and invoicing. Finished Goods Management System: Finished good management system can be used for shipping, warehouse, transportation, production and traceability. Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever A new technology introduces some new ethical dilemmas. Computer technology is used for gathering, storing, manipulating data and spread the processed data which is information. Information system uses local and global networks, databases, programs for processing information. Information is a key to prosperity and it is a source of power also. This is very important to think about ethical considerations, how information will be used in an information system because there is social and political issues involved. There are severe social problems exist today because government and business organisations have failed to uphold the highest ethics standard in Management Information System use. These problems exist in such forms as invasion of privacy and software piracy. The most widely publicized classification of human rights in the computer area is Richard O. Masons PAPA. The letters in PAPA stand for Privacy, Accuracy, Property and Accessibility. (McLeod and Schell, 2001) Privacy: The right of privacy is threatened by two forces. One is increasing ability is of the computer to be used for surveillance and other one is the increasing value of information in decision making. Decision maker sometime invade someones privacy to get the information. Unilever need to do market research in need to know what type of products customers really need or what they use. There is a ethical issue concerned because of Data Protection Act, UK 1998. Accuracy: The Management Information System is given credit for making possible a level of accuracy and which is not unachievable in manual system. Most of the time errors cost much greater. Property: There is some intellectual property like computer programs. The software or the systems Unilever using are they copyrighted, agreed to use from the vendors. Access: There are some information is available to the general public in the form of printed documents or microform of images stored in libraries which includes news stories, results of scientific experiments, government statistics and so on. Access right is required to access some other databases to get information. A right to access is a Modern-day ethical issue. Conclusion Finally it can be said that Unilever can make their market position stronger than before by using different information system at different level. But Unilever must have enough consideration in various sectors to use Management Information System.

The Magic Circle :: essays research papers

The Magic Circle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Magic Circle, by Donna Jo Napoli dealt with three main characters. In the story a woman named The Ugly One possesses the power to heal. The woman has a beautiful daughter named Asa. The Ugly one is a sorcerer; who also helps sick people who are possessed by demons. The Ugly one becomes a witch after biting the finger off a deformed baby child and desiring an exquisite golden ring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main character is The Ugly Sorcerer who is a hunchback. At first she helps deliver children at birth and then she becomes a sorcerer when her neighbor persuades her to learn the ways of a healer. She uses an amethyst stone that is holy so that she can draw a circle known as a magic circle. The circle keeps her safe while summoning demons that try to turn her into a witch. A man asked her to heal his child with an extra finger, but instead of using her powers she simply bites it off and then she foolishly steps out of the magic circle to grasp the once desired ring and is regrettably she is turned into a witch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A boy named Peter is one of her patients. The Ugly one cures him and they become friends. Peter teaches her all he knows about the devils. Peter is a normal young child who keeps his faith in The Ugly one till the end. Peter turns into a strong young man who is very knowledgeable about anatomy and demons due to his studies in books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bala was the neighbor who convinced The Ugly One to heal people. The Ugly One was not sure if the Bala was good or evil because of her name. The letters in Bala's name were so similar to the Devils' names. Bala treated The Ugly one very cruelly and had no respect for her because she was a hunchback. When The Ugly One turned into a witch, Bala was very quick to turn against her and sided with the crowd. The Magic Circle :: essays research papers The Magic Circle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Magic Circle, by Donna Jo Napoli dealt with three main characters. In the story a woman named The Ugly One possesses the power to heal. The woman has a beautiful daughter named Asa. The Ugly one is a sorcerer; who also helps sick people who are possessed by demons. The Ugly one becomes a witch after biting the finger off a deformed baby child and desiring an exquisite golden ring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main character is The Ugly Sorcerer who is a hunchback. At first she helps deliver children at birth and then she becomes a sorcerer when her neighbor persuades her to learn the ways of a healer. She uses an amethyst stone that is holy so that she can draw a circle known as a magic circle. The circle keeps her safe while summoning demons that try to turn her into a witch. A man asked her to heal his child with an extra finger, but instead of using her powers she simply bites it off and then she foolishly steps out of the magic circle to grasp the once desired ring and is regrettably she is turned into a witch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A boy named Peter is one of her patients. The Ugly one cures him and they become friends. Peter teaches her all he knows about the devils. Peter is a normal young child who keeps his faith in The Ugly one till the end. Peter turns into a strong young man who is very knowledgeable about anatomy and demons due to his studies in books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bala was the neighbor who convinced The Ugly One to heal people. The Ugly One was not sure if the Bala was good or evil because of her name. The letters in Bala's name were so similar to the Devils' names. Bala treated The Ugly one very cruelly and had no respect for her because she was a hunchback. When The Ugly One turned into a witch, Bala was very quick to turn against her and sided with the crowd.

The Great Depression in America Essay -- essays research papers

There were many primary causes for The Great Depression, Unequal distribution of money to the economy, and the stock market speculation, and much more which all played a major factor for The Great Depression. The Great Depression impacted everyone, it impacted different people of all kinds of backgrounds. It was a low time for Americans in the 1920's, and for other countries also. One of the causes were Uneven Prosperity, 0.1% of families made 100,000$ a year, and 80% had zero savings. 200 companies controlled 49% of all U.S industry which caused uneven prosperity. Although the economy was booming in the 1920's most purchasing was done by credit. U.S wealth was not spread evenly and the economy was unstable. The U.S. economy was booming in the 1920’s and Uneven prosperity made recovery difficult. People were buying thousands of shares of stock for as little as 10% down. Then people lost ten times as much as they put in.For the economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In the 1920's there was an oversupply of goods. 60 percent of cars and 80 percent of radios were bought on credit. The U.S. economy was also reliant upon luxury spending and investment from the rich to stay afloat during the 1920's. The significant problem with this reliance was that luxury spending and investment were based on the wealth's confidence in the U.S. economy. imbalance of wealth lead to large market crashes. Black Tuesday, 1929. People saw stocks were actually falling. People hurried to get out of stocks and minimize their losses. As this happened, more people did the same which exacerbated the situations. On Black Tuesday, a record16.4 million shareds were sold. This led to bank failures. Many people lost as much as ten times their initial investment in the crash of Black Tuesday Speculation in the 1920s caused many people to by stocks with loaned money and they used these stocks as collateral for buying more stocks. The stock market boom was very unsteady, because it was mostly borrowed money and false optimism. When investors lost confidence, the stock market collapsed, taking them along with it.People loss confidence and since they were developing mistrust of the economic situation, many wanted there money out of banks and buried in their yards. The same thing that happened to the stock market. Banks ran out of cash an... ...his programs aimed at stimulating business recovery were 'too late.' His hesitation to initiate government action gave the economy time to spiral further downward and for his relations with the leaders of big business to sour. The RFC, Hoover's only major attempt to aid the recovery of business and finance, pumped much needed capital into the economy, but it was little more than a bread line for business, according to its critics. The RFC simply gave handouts to businesses, rather than taking a role in shaping the ways in which those funds were used. Hoover eschewed direct governmental intervention under the principle of small government and free market economics. The experience of American citizens during Hoover's term left them desiring something new from the government. The nation demanded intelligent and effective governmental intervention to revive the flailing economy. They demanded a president who would be a hero and representative of his people rather than an aloof, uncompassionate bureaucrat--a departure from the do-nothing presidents of the 1920s. Franklin Roosevelt, elected in 1932, strove to answer this call during the remaining years of the depression.

Comparing the Families in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Az

Comparing the Families in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Hoban’s The Mouse and His Child Creating â€Å"worlds of their own, with particular kinds of boundaries separating them from the larger world†, families ideally provide encouragement and protection for each of their members (Handel, xxiv). In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, however, the Dursleys and Aunt Marge fail to fulfill their roles as Harry’s primary caregivers. In Russell Hoban’s The Mouse and His Child, the father mouse is unable to give his child all that he needs and longs for. In these two children’s stories, the expectation that families will provide physical support, emotional support, and encouragement for their children is not met. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the orphaned Harry is physically neglected by his only living relatives, the Dursleys. Harry’s Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley think that by endorsing Harry’s non-existence in their lives, their fear of non-Muggles would disappear. Treating Harry like a wild animal, the frightened Dursleys physically confine Harry to their home and do not allowing their nephew any contact with the outside world. When Harry finally runs away from the Dursleys, he panics because his family never gives him Muggle money. While forcing Harry to stay indoors, the Dursleys also encourage Harry â€Å"to stay out of their way, which Harry [is] only too happy to do† (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 24). Shunning communication and distancing themselves physically from Harry, the Dursleys fail at being the loving family that Harry needs and craves. By giving Harry little to eat and old clothes to wear, the Dursleys contin ue to treat Harry as n... ...ting and abusing him. In The Mouse and His Child, the father mouse is fond of his little son, but he is inept at keeping his family of two stable. Being a passive and pessimistic parent, the father mouse, like Harry’s aunt and uncle, fail at providing the mouse child with physical support, emotional support, and moral encouragement. Although they are family, the Dursleys and the mouse father provide a dysfunctional setting for Harry and for the mouse child, forcing their children to grow up painfully faster. Works Cited Handel, G. Introduction to the first edition, 1967. In The Psychosocial Interior of the Family. Ed. G. Handel and G.G. Whitchurch. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1994. xxiii-xxx. Hoban, Russell. The Mouse and His Child. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Vancouver: Raincoast Books, 2000.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists

Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born on March 6, 1475, in the small village of Caprese (Today, Caprese is known as Caprese Michelangelo or Tuscany, Italy). Michelangelo grew up in Florence, Italy. His Father was a government administrator and his Mother died when he was only six years old. After the death of his mother Michelangelo lived with a stone cutter and his family in the town of Settignano, where his father owned a marble quarry and small farm. Along with living with a stone cutter (where he learned to handle marble), Michelangelo's influences included da Vinci and Dominico Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo showed no interest in school, he preferred to copy paintings from churches and seek the company of painters. His artistic talents were noticed at a very early age. At the age of thirteen, Michelangelo was apprenticed to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. At age fourteen Michelangelo’s father persuaded Ghirlandaio to pay Michelangelo as an artist, which was unusual at the time. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. For two years beginning in 1490, he lived in the Medici palace and attended the Humanist academy, where he was a student of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni and studied the Medici art collection, which included ancient Roman statuary. At the academy, both Michelangelo’s outlook and his art was influenced by many of the most prominent philosophers and writers of the day. At this time Michelangelo sculpted the Madonna of the Steps (1490-1492) and Battle of the Centaurs (1491-1492). Lorenzo de Medici, the man who gave Michelangelo the tools and schooling to perfect his artistry, passed away in 1492. Michelangelo decided that it was time to return home to his family, but he continued studying on his own. Although the practice was forbidden at the time by the church, Michelangelo got special permission to study anatomy of the dead at a hospital in the church of Santo Spirito. He used his new knowledge of the human body to create some of his most famous works, including the famous statue of David (1501-1504), the sculptures in the Church of San Pietro, and the Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, which there is a hypotheses that part of it is shaped like the human brain. Michelangelo’s love for sculpture continued to grow, and so did the attention of the world to his work. His demand as an artist grew, and he began creating some of the most famous works of his career. And then there is his architecture, where Michelangelo reordered ancient forms in an entirely new and dramatic ways. Michelangelo was principally a sculptor and always claimed that architecture was not his profession, but, with a sculptor's vision, he saw buildings as dynamic organisms – metaphors of the human body and he designed some of the most impressive architecture in all history. Among his best-known buildings are the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian Library in Florence and he finished the architectural work on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Michelangelo renewed architectures potential for the next generation of architects, freeing them from the need to slavishly imitate models from the past and allowing them to arrive at their own forms of expression. Michelangelo, though best known for his sculpture, was also a poet. He composed over 300 pieces of poetry during his life time including the poem about the hardships of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In his poems he discusses categories pertaining to love, death, evil and good, and beauty. His writing is similar to his art in that every word is carved into the realities of life. Michelangelo's art is his love of male beauty, which attracted him both by the nature of natural beauty and emotionally. Such feelings caused him great anguish, and he expressed the struggle between reality and desire for the male body in his sculpture and his poetry. The sculptor loved many youths, many of whom posed for him. His greatest love was Tommaso dei Cavalieri, who was 16 years old when Michelangelo met him in 1532, at the age of 57. Cavalieri was open to the older man's affection and Michelangelo dedicated many poems to him. Some say Michelangelo’s relationship with Cavalieri was only a deep friendship and not sexual. Even if Michelangelo had homo-erotic impulses, there is no evidence he acted on them. Cavalieri was not the only inspiration for Michelangelo’s poetry. Later in life he fell in love with Vittoria Colonna. She was a widow and friend to Michelangelo in his later maturity. Between Michelangelo and Vittoria Colonna a deep friendship developed, one might almost say an absolutely pure love, inspired by poetry and faith, out of which were to emerge some of Michelangelo's finest lyric poems, overflowing with admiration and devotion. She died at the age of 56 and Michelangelo was deeply affected by her death writing many commemorative pieces in her honor. Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88. He caught a fever and a few days later he passed away. Michelangelo's revolutionizing artistic techniques altered the artist's method for centuries, and still effect how art is made today. His view on the world and its leaders changed the way artists portray their subjects and how bold they allowed their artwork to be. Michelangelo will always be known as one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Michelangelo www. sparknotes. com Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy as their starting point. In 1990, an Anderson, Indiana physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger, M. D. noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain. 5] Dr. Meshberger's interpretation has been discussed by Dr. Mark Lee Appler. [6] On close examination, borders in the painting correlate with major sulci of the cerebrum in the inner and outer surface of the brain, the brain stem, the frontal lobe, the basilar artery, the pituitary gland and the optic chiasm. [5] Alternatively, it has been observed that the red cloth around God has the shape of a human uterus (one art historian has called it a â€Å"uterine mantle†[7]), and that the scarf hanging out, colored green, could be a newly cut umbilical cord. 8] â€Å"This is an interesting hypothesis that presents the Creation scene as an idealized representation of the physical birth of man. It explains the navel that appears on Adam, which is at first perplexing because he was created, not born of a woman. â€Å"[9] Michelangelo was both highly literate and plain-spoken. He felt passionate toward individuals, both female and male (Vitoria Colonna and Tommasco Cavalieri in particular. Platonic love suited Michelangelo because the demands of his profession came first. Vittoria, who was independent and highly intelligent, was inaccessible. She was the woman who came closest to being his intellectual equal, and a person characterized by loftiness, nobility and virtue–all of which appealed to the poet. He turned to her for guidance and idealized her through the ecstasy of his religious mindset; Michelangelo was a deeply religious person who believed in prayer and all the accompanying Renaissance religious imagery characteristic of his era. She was a widow and friend to Michelangelo in his later maturity. She died at the age of 56 and Michelangelo was deeply affected by her death writing many commemorative pieces in her honor.