NYSEGs Corporate Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NYSEGs Corporate Responsibility - Essay Example This altruistic program conforms to Milton Friedman and R. Edward Freeman’s concept of attempting to satisfy the profits needs of the company as well as the social responsibility needs of the employees and other stakeholders. This shows that the company is not only concerned with maximizing profits from its operations but it also has a duty to be socially responsible to the people in the environment in which it is operating from. Friedman states that the executives of the company ought to operate profitably while at the same time fulfilling the needs of the stakeholders impacted by its operations. In this case, it can be observed that Project Share is designed to appeal to the customs laws or public policies which require the companies to give back part of their profits to the members of the society in which they operate. This program does not interfere with the operations of the organization since there are responsible people who handle issues related to donations of funds to different people while the managers in the company are expected to focus on their core business of generating profits for the firm. But I believe that NYSEG uses this program as a marketing gimmick where it seeks to maximize profits in the guise of corporate social responsibility citizenry. The customers and stakeholders are very important for the survival of the company according to the stakeholder theory advanced by Edward Freeman. All stakeholders including employees, managers, customers among others must be treated as valuable asserts.

Japanese Management System Essay Example for Free

Japanese Management System Essay Management Styles Corporation management is necessary for an institution to survive during times of change as it is the role of management to provide a plan of action, leadership and delegation of authority. Management structure ensures growth will be maintained for the organization and that the corporation will continue to function. Multiple styles of management are determined by who has the responsibility for the delegation of responsibility for decision-making as well as the degree of participation in the decision-making processes across the company. In general, management systems appear to be impacted upon by the aims of the corporation, the magnitude of the organization and the cultural context the organization operates within (Kim, pp. 538-39). Optimal management style is essential to a corporation as the style used will determine how the institutions processes are organized, as well as how efficiently employees will work cooperatively or in competition with each other. Work experiences such as employee cooperation, corporation leadership and employee loyalty to the company will be dependant on the style of management used by the corporation. As such, it is important for different nations to develop human resource management practices that reflect their local circumstances and socio-cultural, political and economic situations. For example, some Asian nations such as South Korea, Taiwan and Japan have adopted a HRM strategy that is grounded in Confucian values of respect for the family foremost, and an emphasis on obligations to the collective (Rowden, pp. 163-64). Japanese Management System Japan is a democratic nation and has a highly refined and formalized culture that is in many ways restrained. The work ethics of Japanese business appears to focus dealing with work pressures in ways that are remarkably different to those of western industries. This is due to the lifetime socialization of Japanese citizens to think in terms of the collective, and behaviours that resemble individualism are highly discouraged. One way to ensure that its people conform to the practice of â€Å"maintaining face† is by the use of ostracism to disengage the non-conforming individualist from the group. Hence, team work and cooperative practices are very salient within the Japanese society. Especially, employees work with a high commitment to their organization, and also display a commitment to the economic welfare of their nation. The Japanese legal system maintains the labour standards that currently exist, a principle one being lifetime employment. Although some employees would prefer a different system to lifetime employment, the ingrained cultural management means that the practice is likely to remain. In fact the government and industry work together most cooperatively. The overall aim of the nation and its industries appears to be steady and continuous growth rather than a focus on profits, shareholder interests are secondary, and investors appear to be content with making minimal profits as long as growth is the focus. The form of management appears to be quite paternal and authoritarian (Mroczkowski, pp. 21-22). Japan tends to be very authoritarian in management style, and so there is little dispersion of power sharing across the company. Redundancy does not seem to be a concern for employees, as lifetime employment ensures that they are receiving a wage at home or they are relegated to another part of the company. As part of lifetime employment the homes of employees may likely be owned by the corporation that they work for. Employees tend to go on leisure trips as a group. Many areas of employee’s lives are influenced by the corporation that they work with. This is one of the ways conformity is expected. There is an emphasis on a team-oriented approach to corporate running. This incorporates Common and consistent goals, Organizational commitment, Role clarity among team members, Team leadership, Mutual accountability with the team, Complementary knowledge and skills, Reinforcement of required behavioural competencies and shared rewards. It s expected that such approaches fulfil the familial and community need that there is a gap present in today’s society, and so the company can fulfil a basic human need. Kaizen   The Japanese style of management is clearly characteristic of its collectivist cultural background. Foremost, the most prominent characteristic of the Japanese corporation is that it is family like in quality. As such, the Japanese corporation can be described as an â€Å"entity† firm, in contrast to a â€Å"property† firm. As an entity, the corporation functions as an institution in that it is maintained across time and has an identity of its own, that is separate and non-dependant on the employees and managers who work within it. This system of corporate governance has existed by way of lifetime employment, seniority of wages and promotion, as well as enterprise-based unions. Lifetime employment is characterized by management being primarily of employees who have spent their entire career within the firm. In this way the seniority wage system could be utilized as a promotion process by way of seniority of age and on the job task ability. Performance merit remained and rivalry was highly dependant on ones ability to cooperate with others (Bamber, p. 303).    What Is The Japanese Management System? This segment sketches the chief management practices that are mostly agreed to have applied in Japan until now, at least in large corporations in the manufacturing sector. As we shall notice afterward, the system as illustrated here is currently experiencing significant amendments. Employment and Personnel Practices Amongst many prominent features of the Japanese management structure, one is the lifetime service. The expression is, however, something of a misnomer and is better expressed as enduring employment with a particular firm. In comparison with much western practice, large firms in Japan aim to sign up all their employees, both blue and white collar, directly from the learning system. Regular workers enter the firm at its minor levels and are then projected to keep with it for the rest of their operational lives. Though some movement between firms is bearable, this is generally restricted to immature employees at the start of their profession. Apart from this, there is an indulgent between employer and employee that to depart the firm amounts to a severe contravene of mutual commitment. This system is self-maintaining because large firms hardly ever enlist personnel from other corporations. Once the preliminary exploration phase is over, employees cannot leave without rigorously damaging their profession prospects. To westerners, life span employment seems perplexing, not least because it appears to restrain a firms capability to amend its employment costs in response to varying business surroundings. But the system is underpinned by the use of transitory workers who can be laid off as the need arises. Lifetime service is therefore far from worldwide in Japan, even in large manufacturing companies. Furthermore, women are expelled from the system. Some approximations have indicated that only 40 to 60% of those functioning in large firms and trading houses are covered by lifetime employment (Coad, pp. 314-16). New employees are given exhaustive technical guidance plus a more general orientation into the firms culture covering such subjects as its history and values. Additional training is offered during each step of the employees livelihood, and is anticipated to be taken very sincerely. For example, upgrading to better levels may depend on successful completion of the firms encouragement examinations. Job-rotation is another major trait of Japanese management approach and is not limited to ground levels and carries on all the way through an employees live of business. Besides rewards of job-security, pay and position, Japanese firms offer a broad range of safety benefits. These may consist of financial support with housing and schooling, medicinal facilities, free transportation and social conveniences. Retirement profits are, however, insufficient by western principles. As with life span employment, welfare necessities express the paternalistic relationship among employer and employee, although momentary workers are not permitted to obtain these benefits. They are also disqualified from membership of the organization union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, the Japanese policy to decision-making involves wide communication and discussion. Suggestions for change are disseminated within the organization and intricate attempts are made to secure agreement from the parties that are likely to be influenced. Ideas for enhancement to operating actions are encouraged from underneath and are considered at every stage until an agreement is completed (House, pp. 6-7). Taken collectively, practices such as lifetime service, constant teaching and job-rotation, seniority-based pay and sponsorship, wide-range welfare necessities, and agreement decision-making provide centre employees with employment sanctuary, non-stop upgrading in pay and status over a long period, extensive all-encompassing safety benefits, proficiency development through training, and a grade of contribution in decision-making. In return, employees are predicted to display full commitment to their job and to their company. Japanese Management in Japan The well-known advocates of learning from Japan be predisposed to assume that Japans employment and personnel practices and the Japanese management style were the foremost causes of the success of large firms, and hence of national success. Although Japans economy has been triumphant, its industry has not been uniformly so. Industrial and hi-tech competitiveness is one of the burning current issues in Japan. Japans dominance in manufacturing has been displayed chiefly in the mass-production and high-technology industries. This could signify that firms in less successful industries have not applied the employment and personnel practices of Japanese management in the way that those in flourishing industries have (Grein and Takada, pp. 19-20). But an alternative and more reasonable possibility is that these practices are less important to success than has been assumed. Conclusion Yet, the Japanese management system should not be conceptualized as if it is composed only by practices within firms. Japans system of alliance capitalism comprises commonly supportive networks of industrial and financial firms and relations with government which play a momentous role in the economys operation.   Theorists argued that Japans system is adjusting to new conditions but that its basic model of corporate governance, struggle and employment remains largely intact. So even if the personnel practices practiced by large Japanese firms are uniting with those of the Western States, Japans overall management system looks likely to retain its pre-eminent character. Works Cited Bamber, G. and Leggett, C. (2001), Changing employment relations in the Asia-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pacific Region, International Journal of Management, Vol. 22 No.4, pp. 303. Coad, A.F. (2002), Not everything is black and white for falling dominoes, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol. 21 No.6, pp. 314-16. Grein, A.F. and Takada, H. (2001), Integration and responsiveness: marketing strategies of Japanese and European automobile manufacturers, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 9 No.2, pp.19-20. House, R. (2002), Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE, Journal of World Business, Vol. 37 No.1, pp. 6-7. Kim, J. (2000), Perceptions of Japanese organizational culture, Journal of Managerial Culture, Vol. 15 No.6, pp. 538–39. Mroczkowski, T. and Hanaoka, M. (1998), The End of Japanese Management: How Soon? Human Resource Planning, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 21-22. Rowden, R.W. (2002), The strategic role of human resource management in developing a global corporate culture, International Journal of Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp.163-164.

Medical Ethics: Patient Wishes vs Doctor Actions :: Medical Ethics

A conflict between a doctor who wants to treat his patient a certain way, and a patient who wants to be treated by the doctor the way she wants. The doctor feels the that certain treatment that the patient wants is dangerous and warns the patient that he will pronounce the patient mentally unstable. This is exactly what happened in the case of Mrs. Jackson and Dr. Lowell. The conflict in this entire article is if weather the doctor can, or can not, accuse his patient mental instability to go about the treatment as he sees fit. Is this an invasion of the patient’s wants and desire for a certain way of treatment? or does the doctor have moral rights to do anything and everything even though it is against the patient’s wishes. What justifies as moral and immoral procedure for a doctor to treat his patient. When faced with this hard dilemma, the article suggests that is use Rule Utilitarianism and Kantian Deontology, to help me solve the problem of weather this justifiable or morally incorrect. Rule Utilitarianism basically reads that â€Å"a person ought to act in accordance with the the rule that, if generally followed, would produce the greatest balance of good over evil.†(Mappes & Degrazia, 13) According to this, if anyone faces a moral dilemma, they should always try to sort of do a Cost/Benefits analysis on the outcomes of their actions versus the good that they would cause. So even today when I was debating if or not I should personally write my research essay, or, pay somebody else to write my essay for me, it took me all of 30 second to decides that even though I might not like what i would be doing for the next three to four hours, part of me know that the happiness i would get from it was unparalleled to anything. However, now, if you look at the Kantian Deon tology, you will find a lot of things that are different. What this theory of morality says is the outcomes are not at all important, but your duty hold precedence over anything. Similar to Rule Utilitarianism, this theory of morality says that any act, as long as it complies with a rule, is morally justified. When we think about this problem in a rule utilitarian way, we have to abide by the rules which clearly state that the patient has the final say in what treatment is going to be used on them. Medical Ethics: Patient Wishes vs Doctor Actions :: Medical Ethics A conflict between a doctor who wants to treat his patient a certain way, and a patient who wants to be treated by the doctor the way she wants. The doctor feels the that certain treatment that the patient wants is dangerous and warns the patient that he will pronounce the patient mentally unstable. This is exactly what happened in the case of Mrs. Jackson and Dr. Lowell. The conflict in this entire article is if weather the doctor can, or can not, accuse his patient mental instability to go about the treatment as he sees fit. Is this an invasion of the patient’s wants and desire for a certain way of treatment? or does the doctor have moral rights to do anything and everything even though it is against the patient’s wishes. What justifies as moral and immoral procedure for a doctor to treat his patient. When faced with this hard dilemma, the article suggests that is use Rule Utilitarianism and Kantian Deontology, to help me solve the problem of weather this justifiable or morally incorrect. Rule Utilitarianism basically reads that â€Å"a person ought to act in accordance with the the rule that, if generally followed, would produce the greatest balance of good over evil.†(Mappes & Degrazia, 13) According to this, if anyone faces a moral dilemma, they should always try to sort of do a Cost/Benefits analysis on the outcomes of their actions versus the good that they would cause. So even today when I was debating if or not I should personally write my research essay, or, pay somebody else to write my essay for me, it took me all of 30 second to decides that even though I might not like what i would be doing for the next three to four hours, part of me know that the happiness i would get from it was unparalleled to anything. However, now, if you look at the Kantian Deon tology, you will find a lot of things that are different. What this theory of morality says is the outcomes are not at all important, but your duty hold precedence over anything. Similar to Rule Utilitarianism, this theory of morality says that any act, as long as it complies with a rule, is morally justified. When we think about this problem in a rule utilitarian way, we have to abide by the rules which clearly state that the patient has the final say in what treatment is going to be used on them.

Deception Point Page 52

Only fifteen feet away, Gabrielle Ashe stood in the shadows, rigid. From the den came the harmonious clink of crystal snifters and the crackle of the fire. 58 In a panic, the young NASA technician dashed through the habisphere. Something terrible has happened! He found Administrator Ekstrom alone near the press area. â€Å"Sir,† the technician gasped, running up. â€Å"There's been an accident!† Ekstrom turned, looking distant, as if his thoughts were already deeply troubled with other matters. â€Å"What did you say? An accident? Where?† â€Å"In the extraction pit. A body just floated up. Dr. Wailee Ming.† Ekstrom's face was blank. â€Å"Dr. Ming? But†¦ â€Å" â€Å"We pulled him out, but it was too late. He's dead.† â€Å"For Christ's sake. How long has he been in there?† â€Å"We think about an hour. It looks like he fell in, sank to the bottom, but when his body bloated, he floated up again.† Ekstrom's reddish skin turned crimson. â€Å"Goddamn it! Who else knows about this?† â€Å"Nobody, sir. Only two of us. We fished him out, but we thought we better tell you before-â€Å" â€Å"You did the right thing.† Ekstrom exhaled a weighty sigh. â€Å"Stow Dr. Ming's body immediately. Say nothing.† The technician felt perplexed. â€Å"But, sir, I-â€Å" Ekstrom put a large hand on the man's shoulder. â€Å"Listen to me carefully. This is a tragic accident, one I deeply regret. Of course I will deal with it appropriately when the time comes. Now, however, is not the time.† â€Å"You want me to hide his body?† Ekstrom's cold Nordic eyes bore down. â€Å"Think about it. We could tell everyone, but what would that accomplish? We're about an hour off from this press conference. Announcing that we've had a fatal accident would overshadow the discovery and have a devastating effect on morale. Dr. Ming made a careless mistake; I have no intention of making NASA pay for it. These civilian scientists have taken enough of the spotlight without my letting one of their slipshod errors cast a shadow over our public moment of glory. Dr. Ming's accident remains a secret until after the press conference. Do you understand?† The man nodded, pale. â€Å"I'll stow his body.† 59 Michael Tolland had been at sea enough times to know the ocean took victims without remorse or hesitation. As he lay in exhaustion on the expansive sheet of ice, he could just make out the ghostly outline of the towering Milne Ice Shelf receding in the distance. He knew the powerful Arctic current flowing off the Elizabethan Islands spiraled in an enormous loop around the polar ice cap and would eventually skirt land in northern Russia. Not that it mattered. That would be months from now. We've got maybe thirty minutes†¦ forty-five at the most. Without the protective insulation of their gel-filled suits, Tolland knew they would be dead already. Thankfully, the Mark IXs had kept them dry-the most critical aspect of surviving cold weather. The thermal gel around their bodies had not only cushioned their fall, but it was now helping their bodies retain what little heat they had left. Soon hypothermia would set in. It would start with a vague numbness in limbs as the blood retreated to the body's core to protect the critical internal organs. Delirious hallucinations would come next, as the pulse and respiration slowed, cheating the brain of oxygen. Then, the body would make a final effort to conserve its remaining heat by shutting down all operations except the heart and respiration. Unconsciousness would follow. In the end, heart and respiration centers in the brain would stop functioning altogether. Tolland turned his gaze toward Rachel, wishing he could do something to save her. The numbness spreading through Rachel Sexton's body was less painful than she would have imagined. Almost a welcome anesthetic. Nature's morphine. She had lost her goggles in the collapse, and she could barely open her eyes against the cold. She could see Tolland and Corky on the ice nearby. Tolland was looking at her, eyes filled with regret. Corky was moving but obviously in pain. His right cheekbone was smashed and bloody. Rachel's body trembled wildly as her mind searched for answers. Who? Why? Her thoughts were muddled by a growing heaviness inside her. Nothing was making sense. She felt like her body was slowly shutting down, lulled by an invisible force pulling her to sleep. She fought it. A fiery anger ignited within her now, and she tried to fan the flames. They tried to kill us! She peered out at the threatening sea and sensed their attackers had succeeded. We're already dead. Even now, knowing she would probably not live to learn the whole truth about the deadly game being played out on the Milne Ice Shelf, Rachel suspected she already knew who to blame. Administrator Ekstrom had the most to gain. He was the one who sent them out on the ice. He had ties to the Pentagon and Special Ops. But what did Ekstrom have to gain by inserting the meteorite beneath the ice? What did anyone have to gain? Rachel flashed on Zach Herney, wondering if the President was a coconspirator or an unknowing pawn? Herney knows nothing. He's innocent. The President obviously had been duped by NASA. Now Herney was only about an hour away from making NASA's announcement. And he would do so armed with a video documentary containing endorsements from four civilian scientists. Four dead civilian scientists. Rachel could do nothing to stop the press conference now, but she vowed that whoever was responsible for this attack would not get away with it. Summoning her strength, Rachel tried to sit up. Her limbs felt like granite, all her joints screaming in pain as she bent her legs and arms. Slowly, she pulled herself to her knees, steadying herself on the flat ice. Her head spun. All around her the ocean churned. Tolland lay nearby, gazing up at her with inquisitive eyes. Rachel sensed he probably thought she was kneeling in prayer. She was not, of course, although prayer probably had as good a chance of saving them as what she was about to attempt. Rachel's right hand fumbled across her waist and found the ice ax still bungeed to her belt. Her stiff fingers gripped the handle. She inverted the ax, positioning it like an upside down T. Then, with all her energy, she drove the butt downward into the ice. Thud. Again. Thud. The blood felt like cold molasses in her veins. Thud. Tolland looked on in obvious confusion. Rachel drove the ax down again. Thud. Tolland tried to lift himself onto his elbow. â€Å"Ra†¦ chel?† She did not answer. She needed all her energy. Thud. Thud. â€Å"I don't think†¦,† Tolland said, â€Å"this far north†¦ that the SAA†¦ could hear†¦ â€Å" Rachel turned, surprised. She had forgotten Tolland was an oceanographer and might have some idea what she was up to. Right idea†¦ but I'm not calling the SAA. She kept pounding. The SAA stood for a Suboceanic Acoustic Array, a relic of the Cold War now used by oceanographers worldwide to listen for whales. Because underwater sounds carried for hundreds of miles, the SAA network of fifty-nine underwater microphones around the world could listen to a surprisingly large percentage of the planet's oceans. Unfortunately, this remote section of the Arctic was not part of that percentage, but Rachel knew there were others out there listening to the ocean floor-others that few on earth knew existed. She kept pounding. Her message was simple and clear. THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD†¦ THUD†¦ THUD†¦ THUD. THUD. THUD. Rachel had no delusions that her actions would save their lives; she could already feel a frosty tightness gripping her body. She doubted she had a half hour of life left in her. Rescue was beyond the realm of possibility now. But this was not about rescue.

Poem appreciation – A Poem should not mean but be

In the poem ‘A Poem should not mean but be' the poet causes the reader to question themselves over how they read a poem, how they see it. ‘A Poem should not mean but be' the Poet here from the title is saying a poem should not be looked upon by people as just words on paper, seeing them as empty and meaningless, but experience the feeling and emotion that has been expressed in poems. A poem is a verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme. This is what the Poet is trying to get across to the reader of this poem ‘Does it work when the word happiness is pronounced?' here right from the start of the poem the Poet asks the question ‘Does it work when the word happiness is pronounced?' he is putting this question to the audience forcing them to think does it make it happen?, does it bring it to life?, happiness?. In this quote from the poem the Poet is asking the reader are they really feeling the feeling and emotion which is being expressed in poems when they read them rather than just seeing the words. ‘Never is the happiness because orgasm and orgasm are worlds apart', in this quote from the Poet it shows him expressing his view when he says ‘Never is the happiness' meaning not ever, on no occasion, at no time is it felt in the poem. The Poet uses the word orgasm to represent the strong feeling of emotional excitement which he obviously feels has been put in poems should be conveyed to the reader. The Poet does not feel that these feelings of emotional excitement expressed in Poems are being picked up by the reader, this is shown when he says ‘orgasm and orgasm are worlds apart' this shows just how often the Poet feels the readers of poems are on the same wavelength, way of thinking as the one who wrote the poem. ‘At times I see it – words that are pulled from the depths of unknowing', here the Poet is telling the reader on occasion he sees the words from Poems rely being fully felt for what he believes they should be, the true feeling and emotion ‘from the depths of the unknowing' I quote from the Poet.  Read also Critical appreciation of the poem â€Å"Old Ladies’ Home†. ‘The secret of life in a sudden line of poetry through the washed rooms of the simple senses', here the poet is once again speaking about how he feels the readers are seeing the poems. ‘The secret of life in a sudden line of poetry', here when the Poet says ‘the secret of life' he is telling us just how much feeling he thinks is put into poems. ‘The secret of life' refers to the feelings and emotions inside of the Poet who has written the poem . ‘In a sudden line of poetry', in this quote the Poet uses the word ‘sudden' to relate to the unforeseen feeling and emotion that has been put into any poem it is unforeseen by the reader because it is coming out of the Poet. ‘Through the washed rooms of the simple senses' here the Poet once again tells us how he feels readers are not feeling the fullness of poems. This quote from the Poet tells us he feels that the feeling and emotions in poems are passing through the mind, as ‘washed rooms' he refers to it in the poem. The Poet believes the reader is unaware of how to feel the of the depths of the poem by not seeing past the words on paper, using their ‘simple senses' I quote from the Poet. A Poem should not mean but be is an exceptionally well written composition which really conveys the feelings of the Poet onto the reader through by the literature used in the text. This Poem really shows the reader how much feeling and emotion is put into a poem and acknowledge the hidden depths of a poem. I found it a compelling ballad which causes much cerebration.

Ouranosaurus - Facts and Figures

Ouranosaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Ouranosaurus (Greek for brave lizard); pronounced ore-ANN-oh-SORE-us Habitat: Plains of northern Africa Historical Period: Middle Cretaceous (115-100 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 23 feet long and four tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Row of spines jutting out from backbone; horned beak About Ouranosaurus Once considered to be a close relative of Iguanodon, paleontologists have now classified Ouranosaurus as a type of hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)albeit one with a major difference. This plant-eater had rows of spines jutting out vertically from its backbone, which has fueled speculation that it may have sported a sail of skin, like the contemporary Spinosaurus or the much earlier pelycosaur Dimetrodon. However, some paleontologists maintain that Ouranosaurus didnt have a sail at all, but a flattened hump, rather like that of a camel. If Ouranosaurus did in fact possess a sail (or even a hump) the logical question is, why? As with other sailed reptiles, this structure may have evolved as a temperature-regulation device (assuming that Ouranosaurus had a cold-blooded rather than a warm-blooded metabolism), and it may also have been a sexually selected characteristic (that is, Ouranosaurus males with bigger sails had the opportunity to mate with more females). A fatty hump, on the other hand, might have served as a valuable reserve of food and water, the same function as it serves in modern camels. One lesser-known feature of Ouranosaurus is the shape of this dinosaurs head: it was unusually long and flat for a hadrosaur, and lacking any of the ornamentation of later duck-billed dinosaurs (such as the elaborate crests of Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus) save for a slight ridge over the eyes. Like other hadrosaurs, the four-ton Ouranosaurus may have been capable of running away from predators on its two hind feet, which presumably would have imperiled the lives of any smaller theropods or ornithopods in the immediate vicinity!

Apocalypse Now essays

Apocalypse Now essays I have always enjoyed movies. But at some point I started to think of movies as more than just entertainment. I began to view them as a movie critic would, rather than just a casual viewer. Because of this perspective, I think of "Apocalypse Now" as one of the best American made movies I have ever seen. As a student of and an active participant in the late twentieth century media age, I feel justified in making this statement. In my lifetime of observation of American media, including fourteen months of intense movie watching in conjunction with my employment at a local video store, I have had an opportunity to observe a broad sampling of the films, and feel more than qualified to make this statement. By referring to "Apocalypse Now" as one of the best American movies, I do not want to diminish my praise for the movie, but rather, acknowledge the fact that my knowledge of foreign movies is limited. I first saw Francis Ford Coppula's "Apocalypse Now" in a high school literature class after reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the story from which the movie was derived. After viewing the movie the first time, it was clear to me that "Apocalypse Now" was something special, not only superior to the mindless drivel that permeates much of what is produced by Hollywood, but also better than many of the movies that have come to be regarded as classics. Now you are probably thinking, "How does an eighteen year old college freshman decide how one movie deserve such recognition? How does he judge the quality of movies?" To me, a good movie presents a well constructed plot combined with skilled cinematography. A great movie incorporates a message into the attributes of a good movie. An excellent movie goes further by adding deeper levels of meaning. When I watch a movie which I judge to be excellent, I feel that it can be viewed from many angles and appear seamless from each direction. I see an excellent movie as being like a well made ...