History the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

History the world - Essay Example decision for the sale of these Chinese unsafe items, the PRC government was reported to threaten and imposed retaliatory actions which resulted into consternation among the leaders of the area. These issues of controversy have remained as flashpoints between the Southeast Asia and China. China made some relative gains to the United States in areas of political and cultural power. In a 2007 poll, only 27% of Malaysians and 27% of Indonesians had favorable view to the United States in contrary to the 65% of Indonesians and 83% of Malaysians who favored the views of China. Although the nearby people responded well in looking at China as the future leader of Asia, China has fared much worse than what the people expected in its soft power. China had its legal system, political system, normative appeal, and respect for human life score very low grades in the eyes of the Beijing nearby neighbors. Although the American culture form the movies in Hollywood to MTV have remained much more accessible and popular, the trend of China is undeniably catching up quickly, at least according to the nearby people. The nearby people responded to the giant China through the cultural exchange that existed between the northern nomads and Chinese, which saw them experience the adoption of C hinese language, inter-marriages, and religion adoption. However, the pastoral communities in the nearby did not adopt the ways of Chinese people. Chinese as a giant of the area directly depended on the northern nomads by taking their horses for its military. Chinese people also took their products such as furs, forest skins, and amber. Being self contained or isolated civilization means that China was cut off from the outside world. However, China was not like this, the country remained in contact and in open trade with the outside world. This can evidently be seen in the Coming of Buddhism across the Silk Road. We can also prove that China was not isolated from the fact that it was conquered by the

HR as a Strategic partner Essay Example for Free

HR as a Strategic partner Essay Human Resources – the one department that is the most important to a company’s bottom-line is also one that is treated with the least respect across all industries. The general consensus is that the HR Department and the rest of the organization are Strange Bedfellows, when in fact they are Strategic Partners who should blend seamlessly to achieve organizational objectives. But what we see is a single-minded dislike for the HR department by most employees of the organization. The reason for this sorry state of affairs can be traced to several widespread myths regarding the function among employees. Two of the most important ones are as follows: Myth No. 1 – Employees feel that â€Å"The HR function is responsible for making employees happy. They should take care of everything, from providing employees good food to ensuring that the AC’s temperature is just right†. When in reality, an HR manager’s job is not to make employees content; it is to make them competent. In simpler words, HR Managers will not provide you a beanbag at work to recline on, but they will strive to increase your competencies that would hold you in good stead for the rest of your life. And that is all that matters in today’s professional and highly competitive world. Myth No. 2 – â€Å"The HR department comprises of a bunch of people who sit around in their ivory tower and make rules according to their whims and fancies†. While actually, HR as a function not only belongs to HR Managers, but to all managers across the organization. Translated, it means that the HR function is highly inclusive and works in tandem with all departments of the company. The criticality of the HR function can be understood by asking a simple question – What is it that makes any organization a success or a failure? Planning, Strategic decisions, Productivity, Sales figures, etc. , are a few things that instantly come to mind. What we forget to acknowledge is the fact that all these factors are a result of the efforts of the â€Å"people† of the organization. And who ensures that the right kinds of people are positioned in the right jobs in the company? The answer to that one is quite obvious. The HR department performs an array of complex activities – From Manpower Planning to Recruitment, Performance Management to Compensation and Benefits, Training and Development to Career Advancement; all of which aim at Organizational as well as individual employee development. And yet they are accused of being a ‘necessary evil’ and a ‘dark bureaucratic force’ by many. The HR function is Necessary, Yes; is it an evil? No! It is a Force, yes; but Dark and Bureaucratic? No and No! So why is HR misunderstood and mistrusted by so many, especially when the function is a benign one? Honestly, the blame lies partly with the HR managers as well for letting things get out of hand. Somewhere in the trade-off between the various roles that they are expected to play, HRs in general have started placing more importance on the roles of the ‘Admin Expert’ ‘Strategic Partner’ and have foregone the roles of the ‘Change Agent’ and ‘Employee Champion’. While they are performing the former two flawlessly, the latter roles are of great importance as well. And this negligence has resulted in widespread manifestation of disregard for the function. And unless we strike a balance between these paradoxical roles, redefining HR as an EmployeeFriendly function would be an uphill task. That said, let’s take a look what other options we have, as future HR personnel to dispel the feeling of general animosity towards the function? The answer quite simply lies in the basics. As with any other relationship, proper communication is the key to mend damages in professional relationships too. The HR person is every employee’s first point of contact before/ immediately after joining an organization. Right from the induction programs, it is the HR who facilitates the transition of a person from an outsider to a member of the organization. And we need to leverage this power for all its worth right from the word go! We need to establish proper communication channels right from the time of entry of the employee into the organization and ensure that this process of communication is a perpetual process and not an intermittent one. Next of course are the all-encompassing and highly coveted employee engagement programs. Ensuring that the HR department is projected not merely as a facilitator but also as the interface that conducts such engagement activities would ensure that employees have a change in perspective regarding HRs in general. Instead of going about this the tried and tested way, HRs can get creative and use several innovative means to achieve this. From videos depicting ‘a day in the life of an HR’ to shadowing programs (which would give employees a real-time feel of the trials and tribulations of an HR person) the possibilities are endless. And most importantly, as stressed upon earlier in this article, HR is not just about performance appraisals and pay cuts. The function is the backbone of any organization, performing an array of critical activities. HR managers need to convince the employees that they are in fact their allies and not their detractors. The new age HR managers need to remember that each action of theirs reflects on the image of the function as a whole. A slight change in our attitudes would go a long way in changing employee perceptions about our function. We as a team honestly believe that it is not a question of ‘If’ this change would happen; rather it is a question of ‘When’ it would happen. And when this happens, the HR function would assume its rightful position of importance in the Organizational structure.

ICT In The Hospitality Industry

ICT In The Hospitality Industry Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is supposed to be one of the basic building blocks of the modern society and it is a necessary component of business culture. Information and Communication Technology plays a vital role in the hospitality industry and its importance has dramatically increased over the years. In todays world, each and every business uses ICTs and it is no more a distinct characteristic or a unique quality of any business, but using ICTs in a more effective and efficient way will help in obtaining a competitive advantage. Hospitality industry belongs to the service industry and consists of number of fields such as restaurants, lodging, theme parks, transportation, event planning and various other fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry always depend upon two main factors: one is the availability of leisure time and the other is the disposable income. Hospitality industries is one of the worlds largest and most permeant industries, the industry has exposed itself to the forces of change, especially by the ongoing developments in ICTs. E-commerce has been negatively influenced by few factors such as the current political developments and the slowing economy, but it is still booming in the hospitality industry. In the hospitality industry, the internet is not only used for gathering information, but it is also being used for acceptance of ordering services over the internet. Information and communication technology and hospitality are two of the most dynamic drivers of our global economy. In the case of hospitality industry, many authors have claimed that tourism must be treated as an information-intensive industry (Poon 1993; Sheldon 1997; Inkpen 1998), whereas, travel and tourism can be defined as an information business. Hospitality industry is a business that is related to information in all the ways, because information is one of the most important quality parameters to support actions for the tourism area as a service industry. Information is also used in various means in the hospitality industry, mainly they are observed in areas where gathering of information, generation, application, processing, application and communication of information is as important for day-to-day operation. Hospitality industry is also considered as a hybrid industry because more than any other services, they are more dominated by information. In the whole tourism sector, hospitality industry is considered as the forefront and it is always sensitive to the competitive pressure which keeps increasing constantly. The industry is also sensitive to the operational needs that are effective and control tools which are always the growing need. In order to overcome all the competitive pressure and to be effective, the use of ICTs will be the only solution as it is capable of bringing in new business opportunities as well as help in the overall business development. NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES Innovation is a process that mediates between two streams of human activity. Market and technology develop in parallel and independently, save for a linkage through innovation. Innovation, therefore, is a response to changes in one or both of these streams. As the market changes, firms have to innovate with new products and services, frequently having to seek out new technology in order to accomplish this. On the other side, rapidly changing technology creates new opportunities and sometimes even creates changes in market structure. As a consequence, the more rapidly that stream changes, the greater the pressure will be for firms to be innovative. (Morton 1991) ICT always has a significant impact on all the industries and the growing importance of ICT in the daily business started causing threats and opportunities for the business. The current markets are changing, becoming bigger, faster, getting more standardised, it is always being segmented properly and all these makes it completely competitive. ICT has created a all new information infrastructure which resulted in a new way of accessing information between the buyer, seller and the middleman. Over the past few years, there has been a transformation from an industrial economy to an information economy in the industrialized world (Parker, 1998). ICT has been completely changing the business world and will also be changing the forms, processes as well as the substance of the firms and organisations. One of the most important scenes in the current world is that ICT has been driving the productivity as well as the profitability of any business. The scenario is not just about the decrease in computing costs or the increase in computing speeds and capacities, it is all about the new ways of using the computers and technology which would influence the existing business processes as well as the value chain in the hospitality industry (Thompson 1990; King 1998). Porter and Millar (Porter and Millar 1985) contend that ICT is also affecting the competition in major ways: ICT can change the structure of an industry, and alter rules of competition. ICT can be used to create sustainable competitive advantage and provide companies with new competitive weapons. ICT enables new business which can be developed from a companys existing activities. Porter (Porter 1985; Porter and Millar 1985; Porter 1995; Porter 2001) recognizes that ICT is reshaping industries and organizations competitiveness by changing the nature or conduct of business. ICT enhances the ability of organizations to manage their resources, increases their productivity, to communicate their policies and market their offerings, and to develop partnerships with all their stakeholders, namely consumers, suppliers, public sector, etc. We can state that ICT supports the development and maintenance of organizational competitiveness and competitive advantage. ICTs ADOPTION IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY In the hospitality industry, technology is considered as an important of sustainable competitive advantage and a strategic weapon (Poon, 1993; Sheldon, 1997; Connolly and Olsen, 2000; Rao, Metts and Monge, 2003). Various studies (Buhalis and Main, 1998; Evans and Peacock, 1999; Vich-i-Martorell, G.A., 2004; Tang and Louvieris, 2004) have found that the hospitality industry have been always keen in adopting information technology. The reason for the adoption of ICTs in hospitality industry is that they require a diverse range of information which basically made them encouraged to adopt the technology, as well as because of the widespread use of e-mail and the development of an on-line presence amongst the vast majority of organisations. Buhalis (2003) proposed that internet has been an ideal way of selling inventories on-line because of the broke up nature of the hospitality industry. Further investigation revealed that the level of ICTs adoption varies between various enterprises (Sigala, 2003). In most of the small and medium organisation, these services are available rarely because of the inadequate on-line booking services (Fux et al. (2007). Most of the earlier studies have cited the issue about the problems in answering to e-mails and defensive adoption of e-mail marketing in the small organisations. (Frey et al., 2003; Murphy et al. 2003; Schegg et al. 2006; Schegg et al. 2007). The following indicates the ICT index in the hospitality industry for various activities. Activities and ICT Index 4. ICT IN USE 4.1 Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Electronic Data Processing is usually referred to the use of automated methods to process data. The technology adoption increased before many years but it was basically limited to only the operational and administrative areas. Most of the organisation does not utilize the information that is available in the information system in order to use them in their strategic planning and decision making processes. 4.2 Property Management System (PMS) In the hospitality industry, ICTs are mainly used in booking systems which is considered as an internal technology. Property Management System acts as a central point that coordinates both the technology and hospitality operations. The main purpose of property management system is to manage room inventory, produce billing information and also to record the details of the guests or the customers. In order to integrate the billing and management reports, it often creates a interface with various other systems such as telephone system and food and beverages point of sales terminal. 4.3 Central Reservation System (CRS) Central Reservation System is a computerised system that helps to store and distribute information. When an organisation has a chain or belongs to any franchise group, Central Reservation System always helps in various ways. The system helps to book between all the organisations in the chain and would also accept direct booking from the central reservation office. The systems always have a direct access into property management system which would automatically update information to the front office. 4.4 Global Distribution System (GDS) Global Distribution System is also a computerised system which will include hotels, airlines, car rental and also other travel resources and they are most commonly used by travel agents. Global Distribution System is actually an operation in the computer reservation system and helps to book and sell tickets to multiple airlines. The system is not always connected to the main system and information will not be updated automatically, which means the information has to be updated manually. 4.5 Yield Management (YM) Yield Management which is also known as revenue management is a process in which the consumer behaviour is understood, anticipated and also influenced. It will result in maximizing the revenue as well as the profit from the resources. In the hospitality industry, yield management is used widely and largely in the same way. Using yield management, the rates, rooms and restrictions on sales are calculated in order to maximize the return of the business. The revenue managers in the hospitality industry have acquired over the last few years and in such a global economy the right distribution channel, correct controlling costs and the right marketing mix plays a vital role in yield management. The services are sold to the right people, at the right time and at the right place. Model of ICT INTERNET AND ITS USAGE IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY The Internet is a worldwide network and a global system that is interconnected to computer networks which use TCP/IP protocols to serve billions of users. The Internet plays a vital role in the hospitality industry and is being used in various forms. It also supports a wide range of services and tools that would enable communication and also data sharing. Some of the most important usage and activities on the internet are: (Cockburn and Wilson 1996) 5.1 Communication The Internet helps a lot in communication especially in the hospitality industry. It represents the largest part of the traffic that crosses the Internet. eMail is one way to communicate and it is also better for many companies and a way to go online. The main reason eMail is efficient is because it is cheap (eMail costs less than long-distance charges for fax machines or the phone), fast (most Internet mail arrives at its destination only minutes after dispatch), easy to use, and links many companies. The other advantage of eMails is that the message that is being delivered to the destination will already be in the electronic form. It reduces the time to scan and re-enter the data into the computer. eMail is the most used communication medium today for internal as well as for external communication. 5.2 Collaboration Collaboration is one other way the Internet can be used and most of the companies use the Internet to link themselves to the outside world. Usually, the connections are very easy to set up and also are very fast. In the hospitality industry, most of the companies are some way or the other linked with each other, so establishing a connection is very important and the Internet helps a lot. Staples, which is an American office that supplies store chain uses the Internet in a effective way and helps the customer to order various office supplies. Staples have also created their own customized supply catalogs which can run even in the intranet of the customers. All these catalogues will contain various items and their prices which are negotiated in the contract with each company. Using some of the eProcurement technologies, the customers are able to reduce cost of purchase order processing dramatically and also helps them to search and order items electronically (Ghosh 1998). 5.3 Information gathering The Internet can also be used to gather information easily and faster. Many companies use the Internet to gather data and information which can be used as an additional resource, especially companies that are involved in research and development. Almost most of the information and data are available over the Internet free of charge which helps the company to reduce their overall operating costs. One such example is Magna International, which is a leading global supplier of automotive components, systems and also complete modules. The company has created a database of their own which stores all the information about several of their competitors, rivals and partners. Information about their activities, development and future plans are stored in the Internet, most of which are extracted from the Internet. 5.4 Direct marketing and advertising The Internet and worldwide web is a useful resource which most of the companies use to improve their overall performance and profitability of the company. The Internet is an ideal medium in the business world that helps to promote the company as well as their services and products. The Internet marketing is one way of promoting the hospitality industry to the entire world which is also flexible and interactive. It helps to deliver all the required information to the consumers or the customers. Most of the companies in the hospitality industry have created their own homepages on the web which helps to get in contact with millions of people all over the world. It is helpful in one way or the other for the small companies to compete with larger ones. 5.5 Direct online selling Nowadays people are not required to go to some shopping centres or malls to do their shopping. They can do all that at the convenience from their house, companies have got their virtual experience into the web, where the customers can browse through the entire range of catalogs, and also examine their products more in detail. Whereas in the hospitality industry, customers are able to order food, book air tickets, rail tickets, browse through the events, and books the hotels with all the customized options. One good example of online selling will be the companies like Dell and Amazon. Dell sells their computers online, where the customers can choose their required configuration and they sell computers online at the rate of about $1 million a day. The travel platform Tiscover has almost initiated about 500,000 reservations and bookings in the year 2008. Different Forms of eCommerce CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE OF HOSPITALITY The hospitality industry has started realizing gradually that the revolution of ICT has changed all the operational practices and various paradigms; it has also altered the competitiveness of all the major hospitality actors in the market. In order to take advantage of the capabilities of the Internet, the hospitality industry has integrated the front office as well as the back office in a framework. Greater speed, connectivity, information-sharing and transparency is achieved by the convergence of all the technological devices. Because of which, all the organisation in the hospitality industry are focusing more on knowledge-based competition and are in the need for continuous innovation. The management are also under pressure and are forced to stay abreast on all the developments that occur in the market (Connolly et al., 2000). The organisations in the hospitality industry are focussed on increasing their online booking and online services by promoting their presence in the web more aggressively. The organisations have also capitalised on various collaboration and partnership marketing. In order to help the organisations connect to the wide range of distributors in the market, a multi-channel strategies are used. Some of the reports say that there are almost 35,000 websites where the consumers are able to book rooms in various hotels. All these developments have given way to wide range of challenges, integrity of rates, perception of brand, customer value and also segmentation. Because of the advancement in technology, the consumers are able to contact various organisations constantly which in return increase the transparency. The increase in transparency has made the entire organisation in the hospitality industry to rethink about their pricing strategies. The Internet has come up with many new tools for communicating with partners and consumers, which has implication on the distribution of the industry. The personalisation of products, information and processes has resulted in the emergence of high-tech and high-touch opportunities which the industry itself has to appreciate. The industry now has the opportunity to create a relationship with the customers and basically makes it to adopt the customer-centred approach. The organisations are able to add value at each and every stage of consumer interaction just because all the departments in the organisation are coordinated using ICT-enabled processes. In order to demonstrate the benefits and to illustrate the innovation of small properties, the ICTs are utilised strategically. The organisations are also enhancing their virtual size and compete with larger players by developing links with other properties. Whereas, all larger organisations are benefitted from the multi-channel distribution strategies, economies of scale and also from streamlining their operations through e-procurement. Globalised agenda are developed and are ensured that their operations and strategies are coordinated throughout the world by all the larger chain of organisation. In any case, ICTs and the Internet will be critical for the competitiveness of both large and small hospitality organizations. CONCLUSION The aim of the research is to explain the various uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the hospitality industry. ICT has been already used by all the key players in the industry which gives them the required competitive advantage, whereas small organisations are at a lower level. However, the Internet can be used as a powerful instrument to overcome all the disadvantages and helps to establish a competitive advantage in the market. Using ICT will not offer a competitive advantage, because the entire world is well aware about the technology and its usage. So the organisation should focus on using the right technology more effectively and efficiently. Basically, there are three objectives which the industry as well as the organisations in the industry has to focus on: Define a framework with which competitive advantage can be gained, and make the process systematised and evaluated from eCommerce solution Consolidating the business values of the Internet Explore the ways in which the competitive advantage can be enhanced and improved The advantages of the internet can be classified into two main categories: one as a primary tool for distribution, reducing the overall costs and by increasing the occupancy rate, and secondly it can be considered as a tool to increase the direct contact with the consumers or the customers. To extend the success factor in the hospitality industry, the internet can be used in product development, online surveys, online booking and also for various personalisations.

The Ingenu Essay -- Essays Papers

The Ingenu Le Connaissance Nouveau de L'Ingenu Francios-Marie Arouet's, assuming the pen-name of Voltaire, L'Ingenu is a satirical story that begins in 1689 when a ship of English merchants are coming to France to trade. This is when the Ingenu is first introduced. The French are most intrigued by his appearance. Because of a picture believed to be the brother and sister-in-law of the Abbe de Kerkabon and Mademoiselle de Kerkabon, the Kerkabons felt that they saw a resemblance and take him in as their nephew. This is only the beginning. With no set beliefs, the Huron comes to live with these people of France and is taught to live as they do. Under appearingly unfortunate circumstances, he becomes imprisoned and able to educate himself. He learns of the French society on a hands-on basis by feeling their cruelty. This Child of Nature symbolizes John Locke's "blank tablet". The Ingenu, also known as the Child of Nature, Becomes enlightened through his experiences with French society by having no prior worldly knowledge of his own, being taught by the French, and disregarding everything they have taught him to learn for himself the lessons of French society. The Child of Nature comes into the French society with no worldly knowledge of his own or beliefs. He is a spontaneous, curious young Huron and is viewed as quite naive. The French feel that they can easily mold him into their society. All he has are his youthful charming looks, "HE was hatless, and hoseless, and wore little sandals; his head was graced with long plaits of hair; and a short doublet clung to a trim and supple figure. He had a look about him that was at once martial and gentle" (Voltaire, 190) and an awkward manner of being courteous to the Kerkabons "all with such a simple, natural air that brother and sister both were charmed" (Voltaire, 190). When asked countless questions, "the traveler's answer would be very much to the point" (Voltaire, 191). Instead of in a roundabout way in which was inevitable if their roles are to be reversed. "The Huron did not turn a hair" (Voltaire, 191). But does speak his mind when the questions were coming too fast. He simply and clearly tells them, "Gentlemen, where I come from, people take it in turns to speak" (Voltaire, 191). Upon questioning him, they find out that he has no particular religion. He ... ..."Doubtless he was the most alarmed and upset of all, but he had learned to add discretion to all the happy gifts which nature had showered upon him, and a ready sense of what is proper was beginning to dominate in him"(Voltaire, 249). He has learned of the horrors of the world. He shares in on the radical views of the time. After all of his adventures, big and small, he comes to the conclusion that "an ill wind blows nobody any good"(Voltaire, 255). The Child of Nature becomes enlightened through his experiences with French society by having no prior knowledge, being taught by the French, and disregarding everything they have taught him to learn for himself the lessons of French society. He starts representing Locke's "blank tablet" which opens itself to beliefs of any kind. This tablet is filled with the thoughts of the cruel French society. The Child of Nature's enlightenment comes when he takes it upon himself to erase the thoughts and beliefs on this tablet and fill it up with his own. Voltaire's L'Ingenu is just an example of a man becoming enlightened during the Age of Enlightenment. It classifies itself as a standard for other stories of enlightenment.

Collectivism Enforced by the Government

Synthesis Essay Halley Dunlop In the books, Anthem, Fahrenheit 451, Harrison Burgeon, and the movies The Hunger Games, and Wall-E, the government contains all of the people to make them equal. They strictly control the societies and allow no differences. Within all of these sources, there are certain individuals who choose to rebel against their government, but with rebellion comes the need to find yourself first. The pitfalls of the quest for equality are the lack of individuality, inability to be creative, and lack of intelligence.One of the pitfalls is the lack of Individuality. In the book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montage finds himself following the society because that Is the way that he grew up and he believes he is happy doing it. When Montage meets a girl, Claries, she began to help him come to realize that he was unhappy and that he must become an individual. â€Å"Darkness. He wore his happiness as a mask. (peg. 91†² This quote is important because it is the f irst time that Montage questions the way he is living, and the first time that he thinks about his Individual happiness.Because Claries Is already an Individual, she has to help Montage overcome the governments' ewer of concealing his personality and help him to be himself. Also, in the book, Anthem by Any Rand, the government restricts all possible factors of being an individual. Equality attempts to showcase his invention of electricity to the council members, and they said, â€Å"What is not done collectively cannot be good. (peg. 73)† This quote is significant because it shows how council believes that any kind of individuality Is a crime.The government has drilled the idea of â€Å"we† Into the minds of their whole society to make sure they have no thoughts about themselves as individuals. In addition to the other books, Harrison Burgeon by Evensong, the government overtakes the society and forces them to wear handicaps so no one person is any better or worse than the next. This act of collectivism restricts all individuality. â€Å"She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And It was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two- hundred-pound men. peg. 169)† This quote Is Important because It puts an image In our mind about how much the government tries to make sure that every man and woman is stripped of their own selves. Individuality is non-existent in this story because the handicaps given to the society do not allow them to have complete thoughts. The government believes that when the people have complete thoughts, they might be thinking about themselves, or how to overthrow them, or how to escape their handicaps. In all of these books, collectivism Is present In the society to make it more difficult for someone to stand out, be different, or cause someone to be jealous.Equality, Harrison, and Montage are the ones who managed to overcome the government to make a statement and ultimately find who they really are and make themselves happy. The next pitfall of the quest for equality is the inability to be creative. When the government takes away the society's individuality In Fahrenheit 451 , their ability to have creative thoughts and actions Is taken away a. â€Å"Stuff your It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. † This quote by Montage is basically stating that people should live how they want with no regrets.It goes along with the idea of creativity because your own wonders and dreams are ways of thinking creatively. Since that is not allowed in their society, it is considered a risk, so if they are living life as if they were to die in ten seconds, it would be better to have creativity in that time instead of sitting around and watching TV and being anti- social. In addition to that example, in the book Anthem, when Equality is in the Home of the Infants, he explains how everything was plain and boring. â€Å"The sleeping halls were white and clean and bare of all things, save one-hundred beds. peg. 2)† This quote shows the reader how their society wants the children to grow up; plain and bare of all things. They do not want the wall painted colors, or the children to have toys because then they will start asking questions and that is not a part of their society. Creativity is an individual trait, and the collectivism in that book does not allow individuality. The final example of a society that inhibits creativity is in the movie, The Hunger Games by Gary Ross, based on the book by Suzanne Collins.In the movie, Catkins Evergreen is a very creative girl, which makes her stronger than the there and therefore she is frowned upon by her opponents and the government. At the end of the movie, Catkins and her partner, PETA, are the only contestants left, but only one person can win. She uses her creativity and finds a way o ut of the government's rules and makes sure they don't get their way. Catkins pulls out poisonous berries and they were to either eat them, and have no winner, or Just threaten to eat them, so they could both win.This ties in to the pitfall because in her quest for equality, she found a loophole in the restrictions on creativity, but she will eater be punished for her actions. These examples show how the lack of creativity is a major set-back in a society. The final pitfall in the quest for equality is the lack of intelligence. In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred is a good example of how uneducated someone could be, in a society with collectivism. Mildred is completely under the spell that the government has cast over the society and she constantly is forgetting things.Education and individual intelligence is not a priority in their society; therefore everyone relies on their technology. Maybe you took two pills and then forgot and took two more, and forgot again, and were so dopey you kept right on until you had thirty of forty of them in you. (peg. 17)† This quote shows how Mildred can be senseless to the point where she can't recognize when she is putting her life in danger. This is an issue because in order to find equality, one must have the brains and be able to rely on their own instincts. Also, in Anthem, intelligence is allowed to some people but not to others.Equality wants to be in the Home of the Scholars, but because he is so smart, the nuncio makes him a street sweeper which involves no intelligence at all. â€Å"We would accept of life mandate, and we would work for our brothers, gladly and willingly, and we would erase our sin against them, which they did not know, but we did. (peg. 25)† When Equality says that, he shows that he is accepting the Job that the council has given him, but he is not necessarily happy about it. He wants to expand his intelligence but he can't because the government no longer allows him to do studies.When he said, â€Å"erase our sin against them†, he is talking about the fact that he was society. The last example of how the government causes their society to lack intelligence comes from the movie Wall-E. In the movie, the move all of the people into space because the earth is no longer able to sustain human life. The captain, who is like the government but only for the spaceship, does not give the people on the ship information about earth. They are completely oblivious to the fact that Earth has been destroyed. This ties along to the other books because of how the influence of the government can make people so clueless.Hunger Games, and Wall-E, the collectivism that is enforced by the government intros and brainwashes the society. The three major pitfalls while looking for equivalence and equality are the lack of individuality, inability to be creative, and lack of intelligence. Without individuality, you cannot be creative. When you do not have creativity, you have no way of being truly intelligent. These three pitfalls cause a domino effect because without one, you cannot have the other. This is why the societies in the stories are not functioning the way they should, and is also why people are chose to disobey the government.

Everyday Use: A Question of Quilts Essay

In Everyday Use, Alice Walker presents the reader with two sisters who are as different as two sisters could ever be. They have very little in common, and in fact they think, walk, stand, and talk, so differently that strangers would not take them for sisters. They differ in a more significant way in terms of the themes of the story, too. Dee and Maggie have very different ideas about their heritage and their culture, and the part that culture plays in their lives. Only one sister can be right when it comes to culture and the question of who should get Mama’s quilts, and in this case, Maggie is more deserving, because she has a much more complete understanding of her culture and heritage than Dee does. Even though they have grown up in the same home, Maggie and Dee have very different values in terms of the way they see their culture. To Dee, culture is something that she has only recently discovered has been taken from her. Maggie, however, does not feel that her culture has been lost. She lives in her family home, with family objects around her, and culture is something she lives each and every day. Dee rejected her family and left home as soon as she was able, and never realized that she was leaving culture behind her. Even the quilts are proof of this—Dee does not even know who made them, whereas Maggie does know, and she was even taught to quilt by the women who made the quilts they are fighting over. Maggie, therefore, has a much better understanding of the fact that culture and family are inseparable. A second important aspect of this issue is family. Maggie and Dee see their family very differently. For Maggie, family is something to remember and be proud of, and she loves and honors her mother and other family members. Dee visits her family only because they have something she wants, and even as an adult she still believes that she is better than her family. She seems to have always considered herself superior, trying to improve their minds with knowledge that they â€Å"didn’t necessarily need to know†, and then later she says that â€Å"no matter where they ‘choose’ to live† she will try to see them. This implies that Dee would prefer them to live elsewhere—perhaps in a better area or in a place that is more convenient for her to visit. Dee seems to be ashamed of her family, but Maggie has never left them, and she has learned all about her heritage from her family members. The third is the use each sister will put the quilts to. Dee wants them to hang on a wall and look at. She seems to think they will â€Å"prove† that she has regained her cultural heritage. She does not understand that she could have had it all along if she had wanted to. Maggie will actually use the quilts for the purpose they were intended, and she knows that the quilts represent a link to her family as well as to her culture. Maggie and Dee fight over the quilts because they represent different things to each of them. For many reasons, Maggie deserves to have them more than Dee does. Maggie is the sister who understands and accepts that family, culture, and the quilts are all linked together and are all part of the heritage that Dee rejected.