Response of chapter 1 of inside rikers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response of chapter 1 of inside rikers - Essay Example In this context, Jennifer tries to understand the issues and the prison conditions. The rest of the book involves her visiting the prison as a rehabilitation teacher and eventually as the director of the program that she had established in the prison. Her major goal in going to the prison was to get some sort of understanding of the social context in there. After acquiring this, the book explains that she intended to take up the matter with the respective authorities in a bid to get prison reforms (Wayne, 2002). This was inspiring to me as I have always been a person who supports justice and equality despite the different social statures around. The chapter states that in the prison, she talked to some of the inmates, after which she was able to go and visit their homes and talk to their families. The stories provided by their families are very touching and leave one contemplating the feeling of having one of their family members in prison. Jennifer talks about the food that the inmates eat. She complains stating that the fact that they had broken the law does not mean that they had to suffer the conditions which they were going through. One of the points stated in the book is where she explains the manner in which one of the inmates wakes up in tattered clothes as he walks around the cellblock. This was one issue I found very disturbing as the welfare of inmates was ignored even after guards looking at him and giving a scornful laugh. Another key point that I noted explained in the book was that of drugs in prison. In the prisons, many of the interpersonal relationships found to go well were those that involved drugs. She was able to find that there were different gangs, or rather territories as they referred to them. These were the major causes of the violent activities witnessed in prisons. Not only does Jennifer focus on the welfare of inmates but also looks at the condition of the correctional

Describe somene who taught you to read or write and explain this Essay

Describe somene who taught you to read or write and explain this person's significance in your life - Essay Example He exposed me to many narratives, which he liked, and often tasked me to compose narratives and recite to him. My narratives were brief and incoherent but he appreciated them, may be because of his professional background, and motivated me to compose a narrative each time he recited one to me. This became the basis of my writing class as he then tasked me to start writing my compositions and guided me through my mistakes in spelling and word structure. The literature routine perfected my writing potential at the early stage. The approach that my uncle used in teaching me to write identifies his significance in my life. He instilled a culture of creativity in me and demonstrated to me that I can utilize my environment for creativity. While this potential was earlier restricted to narrative composition, I have learnt of its application in real life and utilize it in creativity and innovation for solution of real life problems besides development of artistic work. My uncle therefore empowered me into a social and economic resource in the

The Year Of 1776 In American History History Essay

The Year Of 1776 In American History History Essay The year of 1776 was an important year in American history. The Revolutionary War had just begun and the outcome was still uncertain. It was year that would decide Americas future and test the will of our American soldiers. Several key battles were to be fought in an 18 month time frame and some of the most key battles were fought during the year of 1776. The author David McCullough takes the reader back in time to the 18th century right after the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. These battles marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He starts the book off with the Siege of Boston and continues through to the Battles of New York, Princeton and Trenton. David McCulloughs vivid knack for story telling captures the ups and downs that the Continental Army would face during the year of 1776. The Revolutionary War, (1775-1783), also called the War of Independence was between Great Britain and the thirteen British colonies. The King of Great Britain was George III, he was very popular during his reign, but he lost the loyalty of the American colonist who felt that being taxed without representation in Parliament violated their rights. Congress appointed George Washington as Major General and Commander-in-chief to lead, the soon to be independent states, against the super power Great Britain. The lives of both these men are fairly portrayed in this book. King George and Parliament have had enough of the traitors turned rabble in arms. (McCullough 20) George Washington, is portrayed as a human man, who has doubts and is always wondering what the future holds for them around the corner. The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War in which the New England militiamen, who later became a part of the Continental Army, surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within. The first battle for Boston began at Lexington and Concord, where the New England militia surrounded Boston. The British successfully seized Bunker Hill but they suffered many casualties despite fighting an army half their size. The end of the siege came when George Washington decided to seize the high ground at Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. Since it was the middle of winter, they were unable to dig in and they had to use logs branches and anything else available to fortify their position. The British cannons were out of range and their barrage of cannon fire could not reach the Americans at such a height. They planned an assault on the heights but due to a terrible storm they decided to withdraw peacefully as long as they were allowed to leave undisturbed. While the British were leaving, they thought they saw some movement and opened up a massive hail of cannon fire that lasted all night. It only killed four men but they were again out maneuvered by General Washington and his rabble in arms.(McCullough 20) McCullough does an excellent job portraying the differences in the Continental Army compared to the British. The Continental Army was made up of mostly volunteers. Often they were short of gun powder and clothing. They were unskilled in combat but they did have a few advantages. A major advantage was they fought on their own soil and knew the terrain well. They may have lost some battles, but they took the lives of many British soldiers who could not easily obtain reinforcements. For the British, it was discouraging to win battle after battle to realize how many men and supplies it cost them in the process. Surely to conceive that you were far superior in the art of war but couldnt bring the Continental army to their knees had to have severe psychological effects. The British troops eventually turned their focus to capturing New York City. The King hired Hessian troops to assist with defending New York. The British would drive back the American troops to the Brooklyn Heights. Washington had to withdraw his entire remaining army and all of their supplies across the East River in one night without the British noticing. This led to Washingtons decision to attack the Hessians on Christmas night by way of crossing the frozen Delaware River. They captured almost 900 Hessians at the Battle of Trenton. McCullough states With the victory at Trenton came the realization that the Americans had bested the enemy, bested the fearsome Hessians, the Kings detested hirelings, outsmarted them and outfought them, and so might well again. (McCullough 290) Cornwallis marched to retake Trenton but was outmaneuvered by Washington, who successfully defeated the British at Princeton. In my opinion this book is a must read for anyone interested in early American history. McCullough has a keen way of bringing readers back to the fateful year of 1776. He has a great eye for detail and has a knack for bringing the story to life. He was fare to the English and George III and was able to show why the English felt the American colonist rebellion was illegal but, an insult to them as well. I also like how he showed the human side of George Washington as indecisive and apt to makes some key errors at times. He also shows it was the determination of the Continental Army that made all of the difference in winning the war. Without these men our country would most likely still be under British rule. Every American should read this book it would help a vast amount of people to gain some appreciation of the founding of our country and the sacrifice of all of those who made this the great nation what it is today.

Gifts of the Greeks :: essays research papers

The Gift from the Greeks The first Olympic Games were held at Olympia, in the Peloponnes. The most famous are the games that were held in Olympia in honor of Zeus every four years from August 6th to September 19th. Olympics have been a symbol of the camaraderie and harmony possible on a global scale. The gathering of athletic representatives from participating governments, even throughout the recent Cold War period, is proof that world unity is possible. It was a gift from the Ancient Greece The Pentathlon consisted of five events; the long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, foot race, and wrestling. The Pentathlons, especially the successful ones, were often treated and even worshipped like gods. Because of their exquisite physiques, they were used as the models for statues of the Greek Gods. The superior athletic ability of these athletes affects the games even today. The twisting and throwing method of the discus throw, which originated in Ancient Greece, is still used today. The original events were even more challenging than those of today. The modern discus weighs in at just 5 pounds, one-third of the original weight, and the long jumps were done with the contestant carrying a five pound weight in each hand. The pit to be traversed in this jump allowed for a 50 foot jump, compared to just over 29 feet in our modern Olympics. Apparently, the carried weights, used correctly, could create momentum to carry the athlete further. Legend has it that one Olympian cleared the entire pit by approximately 5 feet, breaking both legs as he landed. These legends, for all their blood, sweat, and tears, were awarded an olive branch from the tree behind the alter of Zeus when they won. Fortunately, the regions they represented were usually somewhat more grateful for bringing honor home. It was not uncommon for the victors to receive free food for life, money, or other valuable offers. They were often worshipped as gods and sometimes their sweat was preserved and sold as a magical potion. In the later years of the games, an additional event was added which signaled the end of the games and the return to the war ridden life of ancient history. Soldiers, adorned with a full body of armor weighing upwards of 50 pounds, would compete in a foot race. Unfortunately, even the apparent athletic ability of these soldiers could not prevent the fall of Greece to Rome in the middle of the second century BC.

The Invisible Man

In the novel, The Invisible Man, there are many characters that go against the Invisible Man and try to keep him from succeeding. The definition of a Villain is: A wicked or evil person; a scoundrel; A dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero. Since the Invisible Man is the protagonist of the novel, Dr. Bledsoe would fit as a villain towards him. Dr. Bledsoe is the president of the IM’s college, and the IM looks up to him until he turns out to be a big phony. While Dr. Bledsoe preaches a doctrine of hard work and humility as the key to black advancement, he retains his power as president of the college by â€Å"playing the nigger† – he scrapes, bows, and all the while deceives the powerful white men upon whose patronage his power depends. Thus Dr. Bledsoe's supposed commitment to his race is a sham; at one point he declares that he would see every black man in the country lynched before he would give up his position of authority. What makes Dr. Bledsoe such an influential villain is that the protagonist (IM) truly did trust in him and look up to him as a role model. Bledsoe had the IM’s fate in his hands. One of the most important things to the IM was to go to college and become successful, but Bledsoe had the power to take all of that away. Bledsoe has three faces: one he shows to important whites, another he exhibits officially to the students of the college, and the private and true side he reveals to the IM. When the IM sees Bledsoe's true nature, he soon comes to realize the corruption and malevolent methods that Dr. Bledsoe utilizes. This is the IM's first encounter with such deep-seated corruption. The IM's perception is that his world is at its deepest levels corrupted by certain varieties of radical dishonesty and manipulation. He sees this, when the man he idolizes, Dr. Bledsoe, is heavily entrenched in dishonesty and manipulation. Dr. Bledsoe attributes his success to a similar ability to feign humility. The power hungry Bledsoe would have done anything to keep his power, even deceive a vulnerable student or the white trustees. Bledsoe advocates lying as a good way to interact and manipulate Mr. Norton and the white trustees. His belief is that deceit is a means to obtain dignity and status. Because of Bledsoe’s false identity, the IM recognizes his grandfather’s sentiment that true treachery lies in believing in the mask of meekness. For, echoing Booker T. Washington’s philosophy, Bledsoe practices humility and preaches the virtue of humble contentment with one’s place; but, in fact, he uses his seeming passivity to mask his true aims. Bledsoe employs this mask of meekness not only as a method of self-preservation or even self-empowerment but also as a method of actively grabbing power. He uses the college and Washington’s ideology to gain a position of power rather than to achieve broad social progress for his people (something that the IM initially looked up to him for). Bledsoe’s declaration that he has â€Å"played the nigger† long and hard to get to his position and won’t have one young, naive student erase his accomplishments reveals his priorities: his concern for the college’s image masks his greater fear that his own image will be defiled and his power stripped. The IM’s grandfather advised his family to use masks as a form of self-defense and resistance against racist white power, but Bledsoe uses masks as a weapon against members of his own race. Moreover, he uses deception to achieve an influential position within the white-dominated power structure rather than to dismantle that structure. One can argue that Bledsoe’s character shows the ultimate limitations of the grandfather’s philosophy: African Americans will not win true power for themselves as a people if they continue to lead double lives. This is a major theme in the novel, and it’s something that the IM does not truly understand until the end of the book. Dr. Bledsoe, although a villain to the IM and to the entire black community, the IM is still able to learn a lot about him when it comes to his invisibility. The IM learns that to be invisible is to be unacknowledged by others, and he learns that by â€Å"playing a role† or pretending to be something that you are not (mask’s) you end up losing your true self and sense of identity. Behind the many masks of Bledsoe, he ends up getting lost in his multiple identities and does not know who he is. Bledsoe seems to be blind to the fact that he too is black, and although he may have a higher position than other blacks, he is still â€Å"invisible† in the eyes of the white people to whom he â€Å"sucks up† to. Dr. Bledsoe is a villain who seems to be lost in his own evil, power hungry motives. Dr. Bledsoe is blind to the truth of his own identity, and therefore it causes the IM to rethink his life. Bledsoe serves as a villain because of the many roles he played to fool people. He did not care about anyone else but himself. Bledsoe had many twisted morals, but the protagonist, the IM was able to learn from Bledsoe’s blindness and ignorance. He learned that your true identity does not come from the power of putting others down, but it comes from the realization that you are powerless but that you can still make an effort to change things for the betterment of all people.

Green Mountain Coffee Essay

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) started as a small cafà © in Waitsfield, Vermont in the year of 1981. It was in 1993 that the company went public and acquired the early phase of Keurig Incorporated Inc, and then completed the acquisition in 2006. (Unknown.( 2004). Gmcr.Retrieved from http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html) Once these two companies combined it made the way we drink beverages different than ever before in both the home and office. According to GMCR’s website â€Å"Today, GMCR is recognized as a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, and acknowledged for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and environmentally and socially responsible business practices.† ((Unknown.( 2004). Gmcr.Retrieved from http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html) GMCR has three business units that they operate with today. The first being specialty coffee which includes Green Mountain Coffee, Tully’s Coffee, Diedrich Coffee, and Coffee People. The 2nd unit is the Keurig business unit, which created the signal cup brewing system. The 3rd and final is the GMCR Canada. The GMCR Canada is owns all sales for the company and includes the Van Houtte business as well as Timothy’s World Coffee brand. ((Unknown.( 2004). Gmcr.Retrieved from http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html) The current CEO is Brian Kelley who joined GMCR in 2012. Before GMCR Brian Kelley was Coca-Cola’s Chief Product Supply Officer , and president and CEO of SIRVA, Inc. ((Unknown.( 2004). Gmcr.Retrieved from http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html) as well as other companies such as Ford Motor Company, GE, and Proctor and Gamble. In 2011 net sales were 2,650.9 million which was up 95% over fiscal 2010. (http://investor.gmcr.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=622448) The acquisition of Van Houtte which took place in December, 2010 in addition to the partnership with Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts with the K-cups option of their coffee has helped add over 321.4 million to the net sales in 2011. (http://investor.gmce.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=622448) GMCR has seen accelerated growth over the last couple of years due to its Keurig single cup brewing system and the K-cups that go along with it. Below is the breakout for the 2011 Fiscal Financial Review provided by (http://investor.gmcr.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=622448). 2011 2010 $ Increase SWOT ANALYSIS StrengthsWeakness S1-Strong reputation with it’s customersW1- Keurig single-cup brewers all made by one manufacture S2-AcquisitionsW2-Large % sales from one area of the business (K-cups & brewers) S3-Marketing W3-Forecasting due to such overnight success OpportunitiesThreats O1- Increase marketing to the age group of 40 and older T1- Risk of patents expiring allowing other competitors into the market O2-Increase marketing in the Supermarket locationsT2- Keurig single-cup brewers all made by one manufacture O3- Introduce other manufacturesT3-Product recalls & product liability T4- Coffee availability ANALYSIS VIA PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL The threat of new entrantsThe bargaining power of buyersThe bargaining power of suppliers The competition of this type of product & service because of cost overhead would need to come from an already known company or a company that becomes successful after the patients expire that GMCR hold. Strong threatOver time as patients expire buyers will have bargaining power. ThreatGMCR has one manufacuting for the K-cups and brewing systems which resides in China. Weakness The threat of substitute product and servicesThe intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry The threat of substitution is high. ThreatAlthough there are other companies that try to offer the same service, GMCR is at the top of the coffee industry for this type of service. Strength STRATEGY USED GMCR is using a differentiation strategy by offering a different way for the consumer to enjoy specialized coffees, teas, hot chocolate, and other hot beverages in their own homes, workplaces, and hotels at an overall lower cost than coffee houses. They are able to do this by taking the lead in the market due to their strengths in product development, licensing agreements with partners, and on-going successful acquisitions. GMCR growth through their acquisition strategy and their licensing agreements have been the biggest contributors to their growth. In 1998 when Keurig launched its first single- cup brewer for the office environment GMCR was there to partner with. (Dess,G, Lumpkin, G. & Eisner, A.(2012). Strategic Management (6e). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.) From that point on it just continued whether it be the agreement with Starbucks in 2011 or the agreement with Dunkin Donuts in that same year to sell K-cup’s with both Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts coffee they continue to thrive in the market. If we look at Porter’s generic strategies that our text talks of we can identify the following. †¢Differentiation – The product and service that GMCR brings to the market is the best value for price and quality. †¢Focus strategy – The acquisitions and licensing agreements that GMCR has been able to focus on continues to allow success to the buyer markets and geographic markets. †¢Overall cost leadership – GMCR is able to keep cost low because of the amount of product they supply to the customer without much competition. THE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING THIS COMPANY I think for now GMCR will continue to have competitive advantage. GMCR should be able to accomplish this by continuing to offer their K-cups and brewing systems at the same competitive price to the same type of customer. Although patents are ready to expire and more of the product and service will be able to join the market, I feel that GMCR with their past record of new product innovation will continue to strive in the coffee market and lead the way for competitors to follow. COURSE OF ACTION RECOMMENDED It seems to be that because of the success of Keurig & K-cups that GMCR has put all their eggs in one basket without much focus on the rest of their products. We can see this in both the 2010 and 2011 earnings (http://investor.gmcr.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=622448). With patents becoming expired in the near future by recommendation would be that GMCR starts to focus on the other products that they sell or that they start to work on the next great product for the coffee industry. My fear is once patents expire that you may see some of the larger distributers try to come into the Market and possible succeed if there able to produce the same product at a lower cost. OPINION My opinion of the case study is first I had no idea that GMCR was such a large company. I don’t drink coffee but am a tea drinker and I guess I just didn’t pay much attention to the marketing and advertising . I’m sure they would like to hear this feedback, it may give them a clue as to where the marketing needs to go during the next phase. With that being said this company to me shows the true meaning of great business leadership and a successful supply chain and focus strategy. During the research I even found a joint venture with 3M the company I work with. It seems that 3M helped GMCR develop a coffee filter. This was a very enjoyable case study and it showed a great example of how to be successful in my opinion. References Dess, G., Lumpkin, G. & Eisner, A. (2012). Strategic Management (6e). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Green mountain coffee roasters, inc.. (09/1). Retrieved from http://investor.gmcr.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=622448 Unknown. (2004). Gmcr. Retrieved from http://www.gmcr.com/about-GMCR.html