Prison and Finn

Book Review on: Incarceron Author: Catherine Fisher Number of pages: 442 Publisher/Year: Dial Books 2010 Imagine a living prison so vast that it contains forests, towns, and even seas. This is Incarceron. It is a self- sustaining prison like no other. Incarceron’s prisoners live in cities, not cells, and they live normal lives. The prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man, in legend, has ever escaped. The story starts with Finn, a seventeen year old, who is convinced he doesn’t belong in Incarceron.This is because he has dreams where he sees stars, and there are no stars in Incarceron. He thinks he came from the outside and got stuck there somehow. The story tells that Finn is part of a tribe with his oath brother, Keiro. They just caught a prisoner who turns out to be a Maestra, or leader, of another tribe so they trade her back to them for her weight in goods like coins and treasures. Finn finds a strange key in the treasures and decides to keep it. The o ther â€Å"key† part of this book is a character named Claudia who is the warden of Incarceron’s daughter.She sneaks into her father’s study and finds a key in one of the drawers of his desk. She quickly takes it and goes to her teacher, Jared. He says that he has never anything like it and that he will have to do research to see what it does. That is when the story really takes off because Finn decides he has to find a way out of Incarceron and Keiro, Attia, a prison girl who lives on the street and a prophet who always wanted to see stars and the outside named Gildas follow him. Finn then began to fiddle with the key and it started to glow. Claudia pops up out of nowhere as a holographic image because she also had a key.She tells them that she wants to help them escape and their journey soon comes to an end near the edge of Incarceron, the wall. Claudia goes back to her father’s study to search for clues. She sits down in the chair in the middle of the room and is instantly transported to Incarceron. She had no idea what was going on but she soon found Finn and the others. Her father couldn’t stand that she was in there so he told them how to get outside. He said that the keys are actually transporters so that when you press the eye of the eagle on the keys you teleported out.The dilemma was that there were only two keys and five of them. After a lot of fighting Finn and Claudia promise to return for the rest of them and they left. We later find out that the prison is actually inside the watch that the warden carries around with him. All in all, I truly believe that this is an awesome book. The way that the author melds two story lines into one plot amazes me and I had a great time reading this story I would recommend Incarceron to anyone that likes fantasy books with twists. I can’t wait to start reading the second one. Reviewed by: Andrew Caldwell ***** English IV Period 4

Shinto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shinto - Essay Example 1. Koshitsu Shinto, or the Shinto of the Imperial House, which includes the rituals performed by the Emperor. Until 1945 the Emperor was considered to be the descendant of Amaterasu, the most worshipped Shinto deity. Nowadays he is referred to as the "symbol of the state and of the unity of the people" in Japanese Constitution. Shoten and Nai-Shoten, the male and female clergy help the Emperor to perform the rituals. The most important ritual is Niinamesai, the offering the first fruits from the harvest to the deities. 2. Jinja Shinto, or Shrine Shinto. The most widespread form of Shinto in Japan. Until 1945 the followers of Shrine Shinto worshipped the emperor as a living god. This form of Shinto puts the emphasis on the importance of the shrines. Shinto is one of the most tolerant religions worldwide. Nowadays it has the elements of Buddhism, and of some other religions. Shinto accepts the elements of other religions, and Shintoists are usually very tolerable forwards the beliefs that are different from the ones they hold What is peculiar about Shinto is that while it has been a main Japanese religion for thousands of years, it has always shared is cultural and spiritual role with other religious movements, like Buddhism and Confucianism. Some researchers eliminate the four phases of the historical development of Shinto: Before the arrival of other religions in Japan Shinto and other religions together in Japan The Meiji reinterpretation of Shinto in the 19th century Shinto after World War II (Religion and Ethics, Shinto) Scott Littleton, the author of the comprehensive guide towards Shintoism, states that the Shintoistic iconographic evidence appears when the more complex Yayoi culture arrives (300BCE - 300CE) (2002). It is reported that before the 6th century CE there was "no formal Shinto religion, but many local cults that are nowadays grouped under the Shinto" (Religion and Ethics, Shinto). The ancient beliefs and customs were first written in the Kojiki [records of ancient matters], which were prepared under the imperial order and completed in 712 AD. (Reader, 1998) At that times Shinto was different from the religion we know nowadays. From the scientific point of view, the sets of beliefs that existed among different tribes that inhabited the territory of contemporary Japan cannot be referred to as "religion". In the minds of the ancient Japanese their beliefs were just a part of the world that surrounded them. Their beliefs were secularized, and used in their day-to day existence. The ancient Japanese developed Shinto to explain the world they saw around. Lots of natural phenomena were incomprehensible for people who lived at those times, thus they had to invent explanations. It's well known that the things people don't understand scare them the most. Like all the other ancient belief systems, Shinto was developed to help ancient people cope with their

Managing Change in Global Organizations Research Paper

Managing Change in Global Organizations - Research Paper Example In recent years, a lot of debate has centered on how global business organizations should define, enter and operate in markets. The study on which this article by John Amis and Michael Silk is based examined the thought processes and processes of senior managers at Guinness. Their findings revealed that effective management of a global brand called for strategic marketing initiatives that would enable the brand to be in sync with local realities and brands while maintaining its global status. This paper by Michael Harvey and Milorad Novicevic explores the role of global teams in the strategic initiatives of global organizations. Strategic initiatives refer to those major decisions and actions reached and taken by a global organization with a view to achieving far-reaching results. An example of a strategic initiative is rebranding. This article by Gedeon Mudacumura examines empirical studies on the participative approach to management in public and private sectors. Given the phenomenon of globalization, the author identifies the concepts of interrelationships and complexity as major challenges to management. The concept of interrelationships implies that many changes that global organizations are highly intertwined such that they cannot be addressed in isolation. Consequently, management scholars must look an approach to change management that is more suitable for global organizations. This article by Leong Choon Chiang reports the findings of a study that examined the role of management and the concerns of employees when a hotel rebrands.

McDonald's Public Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

McDonald's Public Relations - Case Study Example This organization need is what has evolved to Corporate Social Responsibility (Bardhan and Weaver, 2011). Corporate Social Responsibility is the attempt by an organization to address some of the emerging issues concerning their role in society. However, there have been debates on some organizations appear to circumvent this responsibility, regardless of corporate social responsibility requirement in social or legal terms (McKee and Lamb, 2009). This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of McDonald’s corporate social responsibility, as well as the organization’s ability to identify public relation opportunities and problems, and their reinvention from bad publicity. The growing public demand and awareness for socially responsibility businesses has prompted business organizations to consider corporate social responsibility. One of the international companies with a corporate social responsibility is McDonalds. McDonalds is the largest food chain in the world, s pecializing in hamburger. McDonalds considers corporate social responsibility as achieving results, maintaining open communication with customers and other stakeholders, and taking actions. As part of its framework for corporate social responsibility, McDonald’s works in association with its suppliers to ensure that its supply chain promotes socially responsible practices (Eyre & Littleton, 2012). According to its website, the organization has code of conduct purposely for its suppliers, which clearly stipulates how the suppliers should treat its customers (Aidoo, 2005). McDonald’s has had success in supporting suppliers phasing out gestation crates in the supply chain. The organization claims that about 50% of all contracted hog farms of Cargill use the new-generation system that do not incorporate gestation stalls. In 2007 for instance, the food chain giant embarked on sustainability projects with efforts of improving the working conditions for its farm workers in th e tomato industry in Florida. The result was an enhanced environmental practice in the agricultural supply chain of the organization and made the farm sustainable. Despite the fact that MacDonald’s buys about 1.5% of the tomatoes in Florida annually, the organization and the suppliers laid down the industry-leading growing standards, improving the working conditions in the farms and making the farm business sustainable (Sriramesh and Vercic, 2009). One of the indicators of MacDonald’s approach and its contribution to the communities is the Flagship Farms Initiative (FAI) in Europe. This particular program involves seven progressive farms that employ innovative farming practices in Europe, carrying out research on the ethical farming practices that incorporate into commercial farming systems. Another prime example is visible in the Sustainable Fisheries program, incorporating the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The program essentially lays down sustainable standards that stipulate McDonald’s worldwide purchases for wild-caught fish into making Fillet-o-Fish, thus making the relevant fishery business a sustainable business (Royle, 2005). McDonald’s also engages in donating some of its profit portion to corporate philanthropy as part of its corporate social responsibility. The organization donates to the communities through the Ronald McDonald House Charities, a foundation that aims to create, support, and find programs that improve

Horror Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Horror Film - Movie Review Example However, sometimes a filmmaker might choose to reveal these gratuitous aspects of their craft less directly, or even just imply them. As the genre of horror films grew more sophisticated in the mid portion of the 20th century, filmmakers such as Georges Franju began making important decisions about which horrific scenes to display and which so leave up to the audience's imagination. In his 1959 classic Eyes without a Face, Franju deliberately paces the film to heighten the anticipation of the truly graphic scenes. In this case, it is all about the audience's expectations. Meanwhile, the themes of the film were not simply bodily excess, but the full extensions of psychological control in its characters. Accordingly, the horror stems from the excessive control of a father over his daughter, his possible lover and the world around him. This level of control is reflected in the mask that the girl is forced to wear and the environment in which she is forced to live - only the latter of wh ich is the audience privy do early in the film. Ultimately, Eyes without a Face is an example of a horror film that makes use of invisible horror, in order to heighten the audience's awareness of what it may be about to see, and allow its imagination to run wild. Essentially, the film is driven forward by the moral choices of Dr. ... Genessier's daughter, Christiane, a most of all. Early in the film Louise briefly questions the actions of her employer - who, as the film implies, may also be her lover or even her husband, which could even make her Christiane's mother. Before the audience is even fully privy to the actions that the pair of murderers is taking, Louise states that she cannot go on, and Mr. Genessier promptly slaps her, which brings her back to her senses. This brief scene illustrates one of the main themes that will run throughout Eyes without a Face, which is the control of Mr. Genessier over everything in his life. The issue of control is significant because it highlights one of the ethical messages that Franju attempts to convey through the film. Since this is a horror film, it is not enough to merely illustrate how the control of one man over the lives of two women can be detrimental to everyone; instead, the audience must be brought face-to-face with the most extreme or even gruesome consequences of such a form of control. Genessier specifically wants to control the appearance of his daughter and, accordingly, the course of her life. The audience is left to infer that he believes that his daughter will have a better life if she is beautiful once again. However, this is never directly identified by Christiane as a personal goal belonging to her. This is clearly her father's goal. It is suggested that Mr. Genessier holds himself responsible for the injury to his daughter; but rather than attempting to correct the possible flaws in himself that led to her disfigurement, he acts to take more fir m command of her life, as well as the lives of other women in Paris. Women are abducted, mutilated and murdered with zero regard for their

How a firm can make an entry into EU economic zone Essay

How a firm can make an entry into EU economic zone - Essay Example According to the research, European Economic Area was established in 1994 in order to facilitate trade between different member countries and to outline a uniform framework for member countries to actually trade with each other without any significant barriers to entry. In order to make a successful entry into any new market, it is important that the international firms must take into consideration particular factors related to that economic zone. Each zone has its own unique characteristics in terms of its demographics, culture, economics, legal framework, political environment as well as other issues which can directly have an impact on the organization and the way it is going to operate in that region. EU shares a larger cultural heritage which is relatively similar across all countries with most of the countries speaking either German or French with English being dominating language in the UK only. The cultural similarity coupled with integrated economic zone has actually made it easier for international firms to actually make an entry into this region. However, due to the uniqueness of the culture, economic integration, geo-demographics as well as legal and social factors, new businesses can easily tap into the great potential offered by EU economic zone comprised of many countries of the region. Increasing economic burden on the countries like UK and Germany to actually pay off for the sovereign debt of countries like Ireland, Greece, Spain, and Italy making it difficult for these countries to actually normalize political pressure in their own home countries.

Telling the Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Telling the Christ - Essay Example The gospels of Matthew and Luke are examples of what has been mentioned earlier and to prove this point, it is encouraged that the authors’ approaches be considered in the retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reading Matthew 27:45 to the last verse of the book, one could see details of the accounts of Matthew from the time Jesus was crucified until He met with His disciples in Galilee after His resurrection. Luke, on the other hand gives a more detailed descriptive narrative starting from the same time Matthew used until Jesus ascension to heaven, found from the forty- fourth verse of chapter twenty three until the last verse of the last chapter. From these readings, one could determine some similarities and also differences which will bring a clearer picture of the circumstances as we look closer. Matthew and Luke both start their narratives by describing the setting, mentioning and confirming that there was darkness that fell on the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. The two authors probably have seen the importance of making mention of this because the darkness was a fulfillment of the prophecies during the ‘day of the Lord’ mentioned in Joel 2:10 and 31 and, Zephaniah 1:15. Both prophets mentioned the dreadful day of the Lord when the sun stops shining, the moon turns to blood and the stars fail to shine. This similarity is a confirmation of each other, making the claim strong and acceptable in the analysis of the scriptures. Following the introduction of the setting, the two authors mention two different utterances of Jesus as he was hanging on the cross. Matthew quotes Jesus saying, â€Å"Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?† wherein he was understood by the spectators as calling unto Elijah for help. He was given a drink of wine vinegar and cried out in a loud voice before he gave up his spirit (Attridge, 1719). Luke on the other hand quoted Jesus saying, â€Å"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.† This does not mean that Matthew and Luke have different stories of the same event rather, Luke filled in the information that was just mentioned in passing by Matthew. Matthew mentioned Jesus crying in a loud voice before he died and Luke quoted the last words of Jesus. This is what is meant by what was mentioned earlier that the gospels complement each other. Another difference is the mention of Matthew of the guards who were paid to make sure that no one would steal the body of Jesus. The story continues to show that the guards witnessed the rolling away of the stone that covered the tomb and that they have seen the angel of the Lord who was like lightning in appearance. They told the chief priests what happened but they were paid to tell that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Matthew went on to mention that the story circulated and was retold ‘until this day’, meaning even until the day the gospel was written. This part is not mentioned at all by Luke, showing that Luke had other things in mind that he wanted to emphasize in his gospel. Matthew on the other hand, showed how concerned he was in proving the authenticity of the story of the resurrection of Jesus so he made sure to mention the plot of the high priests against the claim of Jesus’ resurrection. After narrating the plot to deny the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew proceeds with his story to the arrival of the eleven disciples in Galilee, meeting with Jesus.