Death of Hector Summary Essay

Except for Hector, the Trojans are inside the walls of Troy. Apollo turns to Achilles to tell him he is wasting his time pursing a god since he can’t kill him. Achilles is angry, but turns around to return to Troy where Priam is the first to spot him. He tells Hector he will be killed since Achilles is much stronger. If not killed he will be sold into slavery as has already happened to others of Priam’s sons. Priam can’t dissuade Hector, even when his wife Hecuba joins the effort. Hector gives some thought to going inside but fears the ridicule of Polydamas, who had given sage advice the day before. Since Hector wants to die in glory, he has a better chance facing Achilles. He thinks about giving Achilles Helen and the treasure and adding to it an even split of the treasure of Troy, but Hector rejects these ideas realizing Achilles will just cut him down, and there would be no glory in that. As Achilles bears down on Hector, Hector begins to lose his nerve. Hecto r runs towards the Scamander River (Xanthus). The two warriors race three times around Troy. Zeus looks down and feels sorry for Hector, but tells Athena to go down and do what she wants without restraint. Achilles is chasing Hector with no chance of reprieve unless Apollo steps in (which he does not do). Athena tells Achilles to stop running and face Hector. She adds that she will persuade Hector to do the same. Athena disguises herself as Deiphobus and tells Hector the two of them should go fight Achilles together. Hector is thrilled to see his brother has dared to come out of Troy to help him. Athena uses the cunning of disguise until Hector addresses Achilles to say it’s time to end the chase. Hector requests a pact that they will return each other’s body whoever dies. Achilles says there are no binding oaths between lions and men. He adds that Athena will kill Hector in just a moment. Achilles hurls his spear, but Hector ducks and it flies past. Hector does not see Athena retrieve the spear and return it to Achilles. Hector taunts Achilles that he didn’t know the future after all. Then Hector says it’s his turn. He throws his spear, which hits, but glances off the shield. He calls to Deiphobus to bring his lance, but, of course, there is no Deiphobus. Hector realizes he has been tricked by Athena and that his end is near. Hector wants a glorious death, so he draws his sword and swoops down on Achilles, who charges with his spear. Achilles knows the armor Hector is wearing and puts that knowledge to use, finding the weak point at the collarbone. He pierces Hector’s neck, but not his windpipe. Hector falls down while Achilles taunts him with the fact that his body will be mutilated by dogs and birds. Hector begs him not to, but to let Priam ransom him. Achilles tells him to stop begging, that if he could, he would eat the corpse himself, but since he can’t, he’ll let the dogs do it, instead. Hector curses him, telling him Paris will kill him at the Scaean Gates with the help of Apollo. Then Hector dies. Achilles pokes holes in Hector’s ankles, ties a strap through them and attaches them to the chariot so he can drag the body in the dust. Hecuba and Priam cry while Andromache is asking her attendants to draw a bath for her husband. Then she hears a piercing wail from Hecuba, suspects what has happened, emerges, looks down from the rampart where she witnesses her husband’s corpse being dragged, and faints. She laments that her son Astyanax will have neither land nor family and so will be despised. She has the women burn the store of Hector’s clothing in his honor.

A Synopsis of the Movie I, Robot Essay

I always asked myself if those stories about robots overcoming humankind will become real. Sci-Fi books are being my favorites since I was a kid and I watched every major movie about this subject. My favorites is â€Å"I, robot† that tells the story of a society in the future that relies on robots for all its domestic activities, but somehow one of those robots became aware of his own self and started to develop a mind, but most important, a soul. The robot started to develop a sense of what is right and wrong, and not because some program installed in its memory or an algorithm protocol of orders, it begun making decisions not based on instructions or learning by mistake process, but by searching deep on its â€Å"heart† what was the right thing to do. The robot’s name is Calvin and the movie, starred by Will Smith, is based on a set of short stories by Isaac Asimov, prolific writer considered a master in hard science fiction. On his â€Å"I, robot† short stories, one of them titled â€Å"Three Law of Robotic†, and which he considered his maximum contribution to human kind of the future (Asimov wrote the book on 1950), he came up with three laws that he thought a future society must input on robots in order to coexist with them as part of their day by day living. Those laws are: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. These laws seem to be really basic, but their logic really doesn’t have any gaps, at least at first impression. When Calvin (the robot) encounters a conflict with those commands, he started to develop its artificial intelligence and becoming more human. When Calvin is in a situation that its deactivation will be harmful for his two human friends, he decided to fight for his existence, and a new era of robots was born. Like Asimov there are several authors and scientists that predicted a future where robots and artificial intelligence are a big part of society. And they have reasons to believe on this. After the Industrial Revolution took place, we have being searching for more productive ways to increase manufacture. Industrialization and mass production levels demand better, faster and smarter ideas to satisfy the greater demand of consume based societies. To achieve those exigent goals, technology and specially robotics is used more and more often. Some factories are made only on robots that build equipment parts or process food in a way no human can do. Major companies know where we are heading and invest more and more in robotic technology and artificial intelligence, like we read in the following citation of the article of Nicholas Carr â€Å"Is Google Making us Stupid?†: â€Å"Where does it end? Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the gifted young men who founded Google while pursuing doctoral degrees in computer science at Stanford, speak frequently of their desire to turn their search engine into an artificial intelligence, a HAL-like machine that might be connected direct ly to our brains. â€Å"The ultimate search engine is something as smart as people—or smarter,† Page said in a speech a few years back. â€Å"For us, working on search is a way to work on artificial intelligence.† In a 2004 interview with Newsweek, Brin said, â€Å"Certainly if you had all the world’s information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, you’d be better off.† Last year, Page told a convention of scientists that Google is â€Å"really trying to build artificial intelligence and to do it on a large scale.†Ã¢â‚¬  There is no doubt for me that there is a future where robots will be everywhere: Some robots might be performing precise heart surgeries, controlling traffic and overseen proper transit on the streets, cleaning our houses as domestic service or maybe even teaching English Composition at the local Community College (no offense to Ms. Patrice Fleck), but let’s be ready if some day they become aware of their own existence, giving the next step on their evolution as metallic beings. Let’s hope that their intentions towards us are attached to the Three Laws of Robotic stipulated by Asimov, they could be the difference between our survival and coexistence, or our total annihilation.

World leaders and their leadership styles. How did they affect the Research Paper

World leaders and their leadership styles. How did they affect the world - Research Paper Example This paper discusses a number of world leaders and their affect on the world today. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was a powerful and relentless leader who was considered to be an inspiring leader during his early years of leadership as he demonstrated his intellectual capabilities during phase one of World War II by directing the Blitzkrieg tactics. The strategic capability of Adolf Hitler assisted the army in handling the unforeseen shock attacks against airfields, military installations and communication centers. Hitler amused his followers by winning the May 1940 Battle of France and May 1942 Battle of Kharkov. As he faced all the challenges with confidence and courage, he was successful in defeating the Nazi Germany (Megargee, 14). This defeat became famous globally and many remember Adolf Hitler via defeating the Nazi. Adolf Hitler governed the NSDP autocratically by establishing the Fuhrerprinzip  style of leadership; the principle behind it is that all subordinates have to remai n obedient to their superiors and government has a pyramid like structure. Hitler viewed himself as the perfect leader at the apex of the pyramid. In the party, all the positions were filled by people who had high ranks and ensured that they will be obedient to the leader’s will without asking any questions which showed that people having strong powers were given a place in the party (Popper, 64). Compulsion of following the rules of the leaders impacted the followers in making them powerless and also no freedom to speak or protest. Hitler used to give contradictory orders to his subordinates so that the strongest one was able to do the job; as a result, he fostered competition, distrust and power struggle among the subordinates so that he could strengthen his legitimate power. Contrary orders are difficult to abide by as all subordinates are not of the same level and hence there would be many that cannot fulfill the requirements of the order. Before 1941, Adolf Hitler was re garded as an excellent leader who inspired many people but afterwards he became sclerotic and started punishing people for their wrong doings. This started impacting the image of Hitler in a negative way and now in many places he is remembered as a harsh ruler. However, Hitler had strong power in making all operational decisions in Germany and it was under his leadership that Europe and Germany had to face the supreme calamity in his ruling period. The ability of making operational decision timely and accurately allowed him to face success in Germany. Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi was the paramount leader of the Indian nationalism during the period when the British were ruling India. The leader introduced the concept of fighting with a tactic known as ‘non-violent civil disobedience’ by stirring innumerable movements of civil rights, non-violence and freedom worldwide (Barnabas and Paul, 135). This tactic proved to be highly successful for Gandhi and via this strategy h e was able to achieve his goals. Gandhi initiated his first fight for the protection of civil rights of Hindu and Muslim Indians in South Africa by implementing a fresh technique of non-violent public defiance. After years of sincere efforts and determination, the government of South Africa accepted their mistake and decided to compromise with Gandhi on treating everyone equally in the country. This was a huge success achieved by Gandhi and from hereon he became quite successful in fostering other movements. After his return to India in 1915, he joined the Indian National Congress to raise his voice against unacceptable policies and rules of the British government that were depriving people of their rights. One of his famous protests was Salt March against

Human Computer Interaction - Usability and Evaluation Essay

Human Computer Interaction - Usability and Evaluation - Essay Example Hartson, Andre, and Williges (2003, p.145) note that usability, also referred to as human factors, or human-computer interface design or user-centered design, has become a major field of interest in both industry and academia. This is attributed to the roles computer play in the daily lives of individuals. That is, the more we need to interact with computers, the more we tend to demand well-designed software interfaces. Software developers play a crucial role in answering such demands. Designing better interfaces have quite a number of commercial merits as having been demonstrated by big companies such as Apple, IBM, Eastman Kodak, SAAB, Rank Xerox and Microsoft just to name but a few. The advantages of well-designed software include increased productivity, reduced human error, as well as making the software use enjoyable (Matera, Rizzo, and Carughi 2006, p143). Nonetheless, usability is sometimes ignored not because it is considered worthless, rather because it is considered very ex pensive, which is a misconception, according to experts. Software developers also sometimes ignore usability, which does not justify the cost of usability testing and evaluation. Ignoring usability in interface design has greater cost attachments, as having been demonstrated in past fatal accidents that has resulted due to the failures of interface to show vital information. One such accident occurred in 1987 when an American airline crashed during takeoff at Detroit killing 156 passengers on board (Matera, Rizzo, and Carughi 2006, p143). The accident, according to investigations, was caused pilot’s failure to recognize the wrong positions of flaps during the aircraft’s takeoff. A skilled interface designer would have proper knowledge of organize an interface in such a manner that vital information cannot be missed. This paper will explore the principles of usability and the methods used to evaluate software interfaces. Finally, the paper will evaluate an Amazon.com we bsite in line with the usability principles. Usability design principles Adebesin (2011) argues that the interactive systems ought to be designed in a manner that supports the user to achieve his or her objectives. To do this, the design team need multi-disciplinary, with practitioners possessing ergonomics, cognitive science, and computer skills among others. This ensures that the team understands physical capabilities, human problem solving, their working environment, and the entire interaction context. A number of design guidelines are used in the software interface development. The design guidelines range from general to application-specific rules. Hartson, Andre, and Williges (2003, p.146) classify the design rules according to their level of authority and generality. According to Hartson, Andre, and Williges, the authority of design rule spells out whether or not the rules are to be followed or not. The level of generality, on the other hand, directs developers in ascertaining whether a particular guideline can be widely applied in different design situations. There are three basic principles of usability identified by Matera, Rizzo, and Carughi (2006, p.145). The first principle of usability design principle, according to Matera, Rizzo, and Carughi (2006, p145), is the principle of unity. The principle of unity in interface design is crucial since ensures congruency in the use of the interface. The unity principle also allows software interfac

Service Blueprints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Service Blueprints - Essay Example According to the researches conducted by Dr. Sabine Moeller (2005) and Wong (2004), humans never get satisfied just by the products that they purchase; in fact, they are looking for the best service as well so that there complete service experience is enhanced. In order to survive in today’s dynamic and competitive environment, the organizations need to design blueprints for their services so that they have clear picture about the level of service as perceived by the customer and what they can do to enhance their experience (Weber and Sparks, 2004). According to Bitner et al. (2007), from the organization’s perspective, the service blueprint is best described as the perfect mix of all the components both physical and non-physical ones and the systems of the services must be designed incorporating appropriate processes of customers and achieving the desired level of service performance. According to Chuang (2007), service blueprint can be best described as â€Å"Service blueprinting is the most effective tool used by the service providers for developing a visual template of expressing their goals and desires and link them to the perceptions of the customers and their needs as well with the progress happening in the service delivery process.† Similar to the blueprints used by architects, these service blueprints will act as a communication tool for the service providers and also the service designers as well. The service designers will help their clients in understanding the complete mechanism of the service design and will enable them to keep the track and delivery status and level of their services. The best aspect of the service blueprint is that all the stakeholders can have a visual look at the complete service process and the customers can even discuss any modifications required in the blueprint so the service level of the service providers get enhanced to a much higher level (Spraragen and Chan, 2008). The main aim of the blue print as identified by Mueller et al. (2003) is to ensure that the highest quality of service is provided to the customers and every element important for the customers is incorporated in the service delivery process. Hence, it is rightly stated by Chuang (2007) that the service blueprint is the best tool for helping the service providers in designing appropriate service delivery mechanism so that the customers remain attracted and loyal to the companies. Hence, every service provider must design its service blueprint so that the customers are satisfied with the service quality and are able to generate good stream of revenues as well. Various Lines of interaction in service blueprint According to Dr. Sabine Moeller (2005), there are six major lines in the service blueprints that are crucial for monitoring the level of service provided by the service providers i.e. Line of provider influence (it is the word of mouth about provider or impersonal communication activities or the service provide r), line of customer-customer interaction (the moment at which the interaction takes place on a customer level), line of provider-customer interaction (interaction between the customers and providers that is on bilateral level and the

Enzymes Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enzymes Limited - Essay Example As such, the company was also using the same method to calculate the cost incurred thereof. But, conceptually thinking of traditional costing methods brings about many errors in the modern era and therefore raises many doubts regarding its effectiveness in this changing module. There are numerous variables that add upon the cost structure of a manufacturing company rather than only labour or machine cost e.g. advertisement, customer, raw materials, and few others. Moreover, the traditional costing method applies a volume based allocation which often proves to be inappropriate in the modern market assuming something which is not adhered to the actual causes of costing (Averkamp, n.d.). But to take any kind of management decision regarding costs, the information about accurate product costs, resource allocations and many other variables is very significant part. Here the traditional method fails to work with accuracy and therefore has a very minimum contribution in managerial decision making. In this context the growing applicability of Activity-based method is non-negligible, as it emphasises on almost every aspects that traditional methods do not. Activity-based Costing Method assumes that cost variables causes demand for activities, which in turn causes expenditure, unlike the traditional method that assumes only variable cost as reasons of expenditure. Moreover it proves to be more accurate than traditional method in calculating the overhead costs of a product (Minbiole, 1998). Numerically, according to the traditional method, if the total overhead cost is $ 1, 00,000 and the total direct labour dollars comes to a figure of $ 1, 20, 000, the overhead cost per direct labour comes to be $ 0.83, (i.e. $ 1, 00, 000/$ 1, 20, 000). Again assuming the per unit labour cost to be $ 0.387, the overhead cost will stand at the figure of $ 0.32. In the case of Activity-based calculation,

Government Corruptness in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Government Corruptness in China - Essay Example It is very hard to fight against corruption in the country with self-appointed leaders. Their work is performed by their advisors and thinkers. It is necessary to take Chinese leaders out of their thinking vacuum filled with Marxism into a global context. Another thinker George Zhibin Gu supposed that occurrence of corruption in Chinese government is possible and even predicted. Li was a cruel ruler, who forbade freedom of thoughts, reading some books, travelling and other insane communist methods (Glassman 1991, p. 32). From a social perspective, corruption in China may be referred to: â€Å"the low wages of civil servants, the many opportunities for corruption during the last two decades of Deng Xiaoping's modernization policy, and the lack of political will in implementing anticorruption measures against senior party officials† (Glassman 1991, p. 41). Unfortunately, no radical measures were taken to stop corruption in the country. The death penalty for bribery was not effec tive against senior party officials. Corruption in Communist China In 80s Chinese society considered bribery as "the most prevailing social crime" (Gu, 2010). A social turmoil caused by protests against corruption occurred in 1989 when students went to demonstration against it. Mass media in China has "dramatically increased the exposure of corruption cases to highlight the party's determination and efforts to repress corruptions" (Gong 1994, p. 54). Unfortunately, these actions were not effective and corruption remains one of the most negative phenomena in the Chinese society. Corruption is an unhealthy practice and there is a need to look for an efficient remedy for it. On the other hand, once political system of the country has started its work in a close coexistence with corruption, it means that it accepts it. Nevertheless, for Chinese society the Chinese Communist Party makes an attempt to purify its image and develops anticorruption strategies and rules. For example, it stren gthens a production control; forbids any presents at work for officials; disciplinary penalties are applied for public offenders (Wei-Ming, 1996). The cases of corruption were mishandled in 1987 when the Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC) and the Ministry of Supervision (MOS) were reestablished to curb corruption and maladministration (Wei-Ming, 1996). This happened in 1982. But 1987 numerous complaints were accumulated by these institutions, but they could not be dealt with because of a lack of political will. The Chinese government has decided to subject corrupted officials to death penalty in case they accept brines exceeding 100,000 Yuan, or US$ 12,000 (Gu, 2010). Explanation of corruption Therefore, it is relevant to develop a complex approach for dealing with corruption in China. In accordance with Huntington's theory on corruption, this phenomenon is positioned as a lack of a proper "political institutionalization"(Wei-Ming, 1996). In case institutionalization is present to the fullest extent, political processes are stable and applied procedures are valuable. Moreover, the researcher suggests that a possible reason of corruption may be bureaucracy dependency on other social groupings and act in accordance with bureaucratic methods of behavior. It should be noted that corruption may be caused by an external influence of officials caused by their families and relatives, because the primary goal of officials is not to act in favor of the government, but to act in favor of their families. It is possible to take into account other factors causing corruption: an improper adaptation of the government to the changing environment; deregulation of social activities and economic practices of the country; excessive discretion

Entrepreneurial DNA Reading Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Entrepreneurial DNA Reading Assignment - Essay Example Various definitions have attempted to present what it takes to become successful entrepreneurs. Some relate entrepreneurial success to age, education among other factors. While these factors are essential in ensuring the success in business, they lack reliability and validity. However, Entrepreneurial DNA development types present an understandable, valid and reliable approach. As a result, BOSI represents the four types of Entrepreneurial DNA that exists among entrepreneurs. These types relate to Builder, Opportunist, Specialist as well as an innovator that form the DNA of entrepreneurship. Builders tend to possess the characteristics related to high maintenance with a keen focus on increasing the sales volume and the lowest limit that an organization may effectively operate (Abraham 2011). These individuals are like chess players in the business environment as they concentrate on achieving two or more moves ahead of other players in the business environment. Opportunists, on the ot her hand, attribute everything at their disposal as achievable. To the opportunist, the word the word failure only exists in the mindset of a person but not in the real world. One of the significant achievers that Abraham suggests as an opportunist is Richard Branson, who has successfully enlarged his business empire based on his instinct ability to identify a course of corporate action and react. Opportunists influence workers towards achieving milestones that under typical situations workers may fail to meet. The other type of entrepreneurs relates to specialists who engage and focus on defined set of activities and works to achieve perfection. A leading example is Bill Gates and his Microsoft Corporation, where he has focused on one thing and worked to perfect the results of the activity. Abraham recognizes these types of entrepreneurs as essential to the economy as they play a significant

Final research project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Final project - Research Paper Example We use plastics, as we turn on the television, microwave oven and the list could go on endlessly. We are on an era of plastic. Plastics are very convenient to use. It is cheap and durable. One time use plastic wares are convenient to both ‘on the go’ buyers and storeowners. It is cheaper to produce and to transport because of its weight lightness. However, plastic garbage is becoming a nightmare and a great waste of energy. After we’d use those plastic products it end up on our garbage bins and so long plastic garbage. Very few of us ever care where it ends up after the garbage trucks collect it. Who cares, as long as we are having a convenient life? But folks, I think it is high time we analyze our lifestyle and how do we contribute to the overwhelming plastic garbage in our society and in the entire world. Plastic waste constitute the majority of the world’? garbage and its becoming a threat to both human and marine life. The Extent of Plastic Waste Plast ics have only been in circulation in the last 100 years, but its harmful effect on the health and lives of people and marine life is increasingly becoming severe. Globally, it is estimated that more than 500 billion of plastic bags are consumed every year. Currently, in the United States alone, Americans are throwing 100 billion plastic bags every year which is roughly equivalent to 12 million gallons of oil as plastic are made from carbon drawn from petroleum (Mcnamee). Moreover, it is estimated that more than 350 tons of plastic waste are disposed directly into the sea world wide. A single plastic bag takes more than a hundred years before it breaks down. It is durable and very convenient to use and seemingly very harmless. Ironically, the single plastic bag, which was use to put on the classy shoe or bag that we purchase on the mall can cause the lives of several animals. Can we imagine how much damage the billion of plastic bags and other plastic waste can do to marine lives and to our own health? Plastic Waste as Threat to Marine life In 1997 during a Transpacific Yacht Race, between California and Hawaii, Captain Charles Moore accidentally discovered what is now known as the TRASH VORTEX or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean. The trash vortex is approximately twice the size of Texas and four times the size of Germany in Pacific Ocean which is filled with various floating plastic waste from old toys, golf balls, kayaks, plastic bottles and a lot more which will not be able to decay in our lifetime. Besides to the floating trash vortex, it is assumed that 70% of the plastic waste sinks into sea bottom. According to Greenpeace, approximately 110 pieces of plastic waste were to be found per square kilometer at the sea bottom. It is calculated that a total of 600,000 tons of plastic waste are found at the bottom of the North Sea alone (Greenpeace). Plastic bags entangle birds which eventually strangled them death as they are unable to free t hemselves. Sea animals and other marine mammals have mistakenly eaten plastic, which causes their eventual death. According to a study conducted by marine biologist at the University of Kiel in Germany, 93% of the 180 dead birds which has been collected along the German shoreline, has been found to have plastic waste inside their stomachs (Altnau).In Australia, a crocodile named Whitey, which was part of a government wildlife tracking program was found dead and upon autopsy was