Sir Gawain in Transition Essays -- Sir Gawain Papers

Sir Gawain in Transition Sir Gawain has played a significant role in Arthurian legends since the Middle Ages. His first major appearance in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight depicts Gawain as a warrior rather than a womanizing knight like others from King Arthur's court. Even in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain focuses on his battle with the green knight rather than the advances of Bercilak's wife. During Gawain's visit to Bercilak's castle, his wife makes three specific advances to entice Gawain into an adulteress relationship. Although Gawain faces certain death with the Green Knight, he declines any sexual involvement with Bercilak's wife. Gawain's character remains faithful to his warrior image by rushing into battle with the green knight rather than prolonging his stay at Bercilak's castle. Although he exhibits this obsession with battle in many stories, Gawain's role changes drastically between his appearance in The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell and his later appearance in Howard Pyle's "The Story of King Arthur and His Knights." Although these stories employ similar plots, Gawain's character undergoes's a dramatic transformation. In The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell Gawain reveals his loyalty to King Arthur by agreeing the marry the "Loathly" lady after she saves the king's life. This not the first appearance of the "loathly" lady in Medieval literature. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the "Knight's Tale" reiterates the "familiar folklore motif [that] concerns the transformation of the ugly hag into a beautiful woman after a man has placed himself under her 'sovereynte'" and incorporates "the theme of A Riddle Asked and Answered" (Wilhelm 467). .. ...en he learns to love the women he marries, Gawain argues with his new wife and then mutters "so be it" when confronted with her choice. Gawain refuses to learn from his mistakes in Pyle's story. In both Pyle's story and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, Gawain does not battle as he does with the green knight; instead, he marries and enters the marital war zone rather than those fought on the battlefield. Bibliography Lupack, Alan, ed. Modern Arthurian Literature. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992. Vasta, Edward. "Chaucer, Gower, and the Unknown Minstrel: The Literary Liberation of the Loathly Lady." Exemplaria. 395-419. Wilhelm, James J., ed. The Romance of Arthur. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994. Web Text version of The Marriage of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell is at http://rodent.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/ragnell.htm

Case Study †Gourmet Burger Kitchen Essay

C. I would say that Paul Campbell is an example of Labour. I think this because the Case study states that he ‘heads’ the company. This statement could suggest that he has a managerial role in the company, which would therefor mean that he is skilled in that particular domain and that he has experience. This could also suggest that he is a paid employee and that he earns a better living than the people working in the kitchen or the servers working in the restaurant. However, some could suiggest that he is an example of enterprise as the statement ‘heads the company’ could also mean that he is the owner of GBK. He might be a owner of the company or a stakeholder which involve some risk taking and some entrepreneurial skills. This being said, I still think that Paul Campbell is an example of Labour and not Enterprise. 2) I believe that GBK is mainly involved in Secondary production and Tertiary production. I would say they are involved in secondary production as the definition of secondary production is the process of converting a primary product into a finished good and that is exactly what GBK are doing. They convert primary goods such as meat and potatoes into burgers and chips. The finished burgers and chips then act as input for the busines. GBK purshase the ingredients needed to create their burgers and then turn the ingredients into the burgers. I also think that GBK is involved in tertiary production as they are commercialising their product in a personal way. They directly sell their product to the customers and not through another company which could be the case for other products such as Michelin tyres, where the tyres are sold in Michelin stores but also through other tyre shops. GBK are provide a service, but also leads to the production of a meal (the burgers) from the raw material (the ingredients). 3) In my opinion, I think GBK could use feeback in order to improve efficiency by using things such customer comments. By using customer comments, they can indentify common complaints such as slow service or rude staff. This would allow them to focuse on what needs to be done/changed to improve the service, quality of food. Customer feedback can help you uncover flaws in your business, whether there’s a technical problem with your website or whether your prices are too high. 4) Sales Revenue – cost of bought in materials, component and services.  £8 –  £0.30 =  £7.70 The added value on a pizza is  £7.70 5) In terms of Labour, GBK might improve their efficiency by educating the staff in such a way that they can answer any questions asked by a customer, maybe teach them social skills in order to ease their relationships with customers. This would also make the workers happier and make them feel empowered which would lead to them enjoying their work more, it would make them feel important. Another way pf improving their efficiency could be by getting rid of the staff which aren’t satisfying the customers and aren’t showing as much enthousiasm towards their work and customers. This would keep the best employees and make GBK more efficient and more successful. Graff showing the effects of increasing the efficiency of labour on success of the business. In terms of Capital, GBK could increase efficiency by investing. They could invest in some new kitchen equipment in order to facilitate the cooking of the burgers and chips. They could also invest in computarised booking, which would facilitate the whole booking idea for customers. Through this, they could also get known by the public if their name is on a few websites, this could increase the demand for GBK. Another way in which they could make their business more efficient would be by using new credit card machines which is to date with the latest technology so that the customers can pay online or from the telephones. In terms of Entreprise, GBK could increase/decrease their willingness to take risks in order to find the right balance and the efficiency needed. They could try new exclusive dishes for example, wich could lead to an increase in GBK demand or in a complete fall. This would be an example of enterprise as it is a matter of making decisions and taking risks. 6) Higher quality, better service, better staff, more exlusive staff, probably more interested in their jobs, better paid, healthier burgers. More exclusive. Reputation more of a restaurant than fast food. I believe GBK can achieve higher levels of added value than Mc Donalds for many different reasons. Firstly, GBK serves way better quality food than Mc donalds does. This is a huge factor regarding that matter as GBK is seen as an actual restaurant and is more exclusive than Mc Donalds. This may lead to different types of customers going to have a meal in GBK, higher class people who can afford better quality people or just people looking for a ‘healthier’ burger than in Mc Donalds. Secondly, the service in GBK is much more satisfying to customers than in Mc donalds. The staff are better trained, treat the customers kindely, and respect them; which is rarely the case in Mc Donalds. In Mc Donalds, you just feel like you’re one of so many other customers and you are just one of so many others having a burger, they don’t give you the satisfaction of having made the effort to go out for a meal and don’t make you feel special at all as a customer which is more the case in GBK. This is one of the reasons why GBK can achieve a higher added value. The staff seem better trained and seem to be enjoying their job a huge amount more than in Mc Donalds. Thirdly, the appearence of the two ‘restaurants’ don’t have much in common appart from the fact that they both serve burgers. GBK restaurants look like proper restaurants, staff have nice uniforms, look nicer, they come to you to order your food and overall just seem kinder. In Mc Donalds, their shops are not very clean, you have to queue to order your food, once the food is ready, which sometimes takes a long time of standing, it’s given to you on a tray. Overall the service in GBK is on a completely different scale than Mc Donalds. Overall, GBK just generally have a higher reputation of quality of service and food thank Mc Donalds which allows them to have higher added value to their products.

How to Start Writing a Book

How to Start Writing a Book Youve finally decided to write a book, and youre pumped about it. Youre confident your book is going to be one of the greatest written works in literary history. It will be the hot topic of discussion at book clubs everywhere! But when you consider actually starting the process, you feel stuck. Now what?Everyone has his or her own distinct writing style. Some gush out words to create a lengthy and very rough draft, while others agonize over every single word and sentence. Certain writers start at page one, while others create the body first and then fill in the intro later. Some arent even quite sure what genre they want to follow until theyve hashed out several pages.Whatever your creative process, youre likely to run into a few walls as you embark on your writing journey, so here are a few tips to get you started and to simplify the process.Dedicate a special space to your writingFind a spot that is set apart from the other events of daily life, and use that space each time you wri te. Cater the environment to your specific needs. Does music help you relax and inspire creativity? Or, do you prefer silence? Do you need to look out the window? Consider your personal preferences and the elements that will best invite the magic into your writing process.Devote part of each day to writingOnce youve established a good environment conducive to writing, make a plan to establish a solid, regular plan of action. Just like getting six-pack abs requires regular exercise, your literary masterpiece also needs constant, dedicated attention. An obstacle many writers face is the lack of motivation to sit down each and every day and ignore all of the distractions. Set aside a certain amount of time every day (or even a certain exact time; set an alarm on your phone!) to add content to your book.Set a goal for how many words you will write per day. Start small- say, 200 words a day- and increase your volume of daily work from there. Even small contributions can add up with consi stent effort.Solidify your ideaOnce youre ready to start putting words down, begin with one sentence describing what your book is about. This statement offers a big-picture view of your book. You might even use this sentence when youre ready to market your final work! But for now, focus on this short expression as a very simplified summary and a means to focus your intent. Instead of using your characters name, use vivid descriptors. For example: An enterprising teenage boy starts his own business in a rural town unaccepting of new ideas and confronts the woes of poverty within the community.Create memorable charactersIn most book reviews and recommendations from friends, I find a common thread: The characters were complex/relatable/likable. Very seldom will I hear someone rave about a book if he or she wasnt moved by the people in the story. Consider characters like Sherlock Holmes; we all know who he is, but the details about his stories are a bit hazier. People latch on to charac ters.This means your characters need depth and background so your readers can lose themselves in their lives. What is your characters name? What are her goals and desires? How will she achieve them? What conflicts does she face? How will she change?Mapping out the path of your characters development follows what is called a character arc. Each character goes through a transformation from the beginning to the end of your story. Just as Harry Potter starts out as an innocent boy and becomes a steely-eyed young man, your characters go through a transformation. Typically, a character progresses through a series of stages.Stage 1 - Ordinary lifeHere the characters before picture is set up. We learn some details about the foundation of life before anything juicy happens.Stage 2 - Call for adventureSomething happens to our main character to motivate him to follow a certain course. For example, in Hamlet, the kings ghost appears to Prince Hamlet and tells him who his murderer was, stirrin g Hamlet to seek revenge.Stage 3 - Refusal of callAt this stage, the character hesitates to embark on this grand mission. Here we see the characters flaws and fears.Stage 4 - Encouragement from a mentorThe character musters up courage with a little help from a wise friend.Stage 5 - Trials and challengesInevitably, the hero faces his foes, and his outlook and personality are significantly changed.Stage 6 - RebirthThe ordeals the character has faced cause him to rise again as a new person, usually with renewed strength, determination, and focus.Stage 7 - Resolution and restThe characters woes seem to settle down, and life offers a quiet pace once again for our hero.Crafting the details of your characters story can present a daunting task, but once you decide on the path your protagonist will follow, the details will fall into place through the events of your story.Set your settingAre you writing a work of historical fiction? Do your research about the particular time period and a rea of the world. Are you on the beach? In space? Figure out what that means for the flow of your text. In works of nonfiction, hash out what you want your readers to learn. Will you go broad on a subject or focus on exploring one aspect in depth?Outline your storyMap out a summary of your story. In a work of fiction, what happens to your characters and when? If youre writing nonfiction, create an outline of the points you want to cover and in what order. In a nonfiction work, writing out a table of contents can help you focus the direction and points of your book.Heres an example of an outline Id create if I were writing a book about road cycling:IntroductionAbout the BookChapter 1: What is Road Cycling?Road cycling vs. mountain bikingGetting the right equipmentWhat kind of bike is right for me?Benefits of cyclingChapter 2: Finding Your PathRiding with trafficCommuting by bikeLocating out-of-traffic paths in your areaCreating an outline provides you with the scaffolding for your bo ok and gives you a springboard from which to launch into your story. Seeing the bare bones of your intended story will inspire you to fill in the gaps and will give you much-needed direction.Start at the endIf youre not sure where your story will start, focus on the ending of your work and figure out how you want to get there. Does Captain Yellow Beard find the treasure at the end? What state is he in when he gets there? Deciding the conclusion of your work first will give you a better idea of the details and events youll need to incorporate.When you work back to the first chapters, keep in mind that the first few sentences of a book are very important to readers. Some look at those first sentences to get a feeling of whether they want to proceed through the whole work. So hook them in quickly. Dive into the conflict of the story to set the mood instead of describing the scene first. You can provide character development as you go. For nonfiction books, an author can hook readers by relating a surprising or interesting example related to the subject matter. For example, in my road cycling book, I could relate my first experience scaling a mountain road in the snow.Plan for discouragementDuring the process, youre bound to face frustration, confusion, and self-doubt. Plan for these obstacles and prepare a plan to counteract them. Perhaps you can be ready to visit an inspiring mentor who always manages to boost your confidence and motivation. Maybe you can save a really enjoyable section of your book to write when you feel like youre running on empty. Whatever your strategy is, prepare it in advance. Even simply steeling yourself for that doubt to creep in can help you avoid being swallowed up by it.Above all else, doing something is better than doing nothing when youre facing the task of getting started on your book. Following a plan can help you feel more focused on the task and help you overcome those first twinges of self-doubt or the dregs of writers block. Dive in! Before you can publish your masterpiece and bask in its bestselling success, you have to write it. Good luck!

Why Every CoSchedule Employee Gives A Book Report - CoSchedule

Why Every Employee Gives A Book Report If you work at , you’ve done a book report in front of the entire team. Yes, a book report. Just like the kind that you used to do in the fourth grade in front of the entire class. Why? It’s already a fairly common practice among startups to assign new hires a book or two to read once they join the team. For us, however, there is one book that is just so special that we need to follow up and make sure they’ve read it. At , that book is Linchpin by Seth Godin. Here’s why. How Linchpin Turned Me Into An Entrepreneur Linchpin is an important book for me on a very personal level. I read it at a critical time during my career. I was working at a small advertising agency and felt like nothing more than a cog in a wheel. It certainly didn’t feel like my work was â€Å"art† and I certainly didn’t feel like I had the permission to do something else. I was stuck. For me, Linchpin was a wakeup call. In his book, Seth Godin outlines a few key perspectives: All work is art. The linchpin is indispensable because they ship. The first step is to give yourself permission. The key point for me was the third theme: permission. Up until that point in my career, I hadn’t given myself the permission to not be a cog. I was stuck in world where cogs were appreciated and artists weren’t. I needed a wakeup call to leave my job, start a business, and relentlessly pursue my art. Five years later, after giving myself permission and working my tail off, my art is now 100% activated in , and the lessons learned from Seth continue to pay off. They mean a lot to me, and they are something that  I like to share with our entire team. So, we require all team members to read the book within their first 90 days of work, and give a book report on what they’ve learned. It’s has become a happy tradition. The Business Case For  Requiring Book Reports From Your Team So, why should you require a book report for members of your team? Well, here are five of the major benefits that our team has realized from this quirky practice. 1. It Helps Us Foster A Consistent Culture Startup culture is frequently (and mistakenly) defined by the Xbox or PlayStation in the break room. At , we don’t have any gaming consoles in our break room. Rather, we define ourselves by the core principles of the company: Maintain a Passion for Product Think Big Hold a Bias for Action Never Settle Every Customer Matters Trust in your Team While the book Linchpin doesn’t specifically address all of these values, it goes a long way in doing so.  By doing company book reports, I believe we have found a scalable way to instill some of these values in our team members, and ensures that it stays in place no matter how much we grow. Company book reports create a scalable way to instill your core values across all team members.Core values like â€Å"maintain a passion for product† or â€Å"never settle† build off of the concept of our work as art, whereas â€Å"hold a bias for action† encapsulates Godin’s concept of shipping.  I could easily make an argument for how each of these values relates to a principle in the book, so it’s really ideal preparation for working at . 2. It Enables a Culture  of Shipping One of my favorite themes of Linchpin is the constant encouragement to ship the project that you have been working (or sitting) on. In the book, Seth outlines the force against shipping as the â€Å"lizard brain.† The lizard brain is a negative fear-monger that prevents us from reaching our potential. As a startup, however, â€Å"shipping† is literally our most important job. We have to learn how to outsmart our lizard brain and beat the fear that will keep us from starting and creating something new. New blog content, new features, new ideas in action, and crazy marketing experiments are essential to a startups survival. It is essential to your startup’s survival that you keep shipping. Never fear failure! #startupOne of my favorite questions to challenge our teams with is â€Å"what can you ship today.† Sometimes this involves breaking a larger project down into smaller pieces, and other times it means pressing publish on a product or idea that we are hesitating on, just to see what happens. Either way, equipping our team members with a mentality of shipping keeps us running like a startup. Fast, willing to take risks, and even more important, willing to learn from our mistakes and move forward. 3. It’s A Reminder That Work Is Art The concept that â€Å"all work is art† is usually the hardest to accept by new team members. We’ve been taught that art is something you do with paint or musical instruments, but Seth makes the argument that human output, whatever it might be, is our art. This could be writing, customer service, code, or actually painting, but the medium doesn’t matter. The art is the delivery of your unique gift to the world. Art is the delivery of your unique gift to the world @garrett_moonArt is much more about doing the best work that you were created and enabled to do than it is about any specific method. This makes it a universally valuable concept for anyone who joins our team. 4. It’s A Shared Experience As a leader, I believe that one of my jobs is to create shared experiences for our team. Shared experience build teams, by giving everyone something in common. Knowing that every team member before you has completed the same task is valuable, and gives everyone that works with us common ground and a shared experience to lean on. This is a small but powerful team building tool. The book report process also teaches us something about our newest team members. It builds connections, and that is always a good thing. 5. It’s A Tradition This may seem simple, but reading Linchpin and doing a book report is just a tradition around here. Justin and I have required it since we started our first company in 2010, and the tradition has stuck. Now, it is one of those things that makes , , and that’s a good thing. Do you have any traditions in your startup? If not, maybe it’s time to add a â€Å"company book report† to your on-boarding checklist. Is a book report program right for you? â€Å"Linchpin thinking† obviously has a lot to do with our team here at , but I understand that it may not be right for you. Chances are, however, that some book would be a good fit. What book could your team adopt as a company read? It’s worth noting that many of these same benefits I outlined above could be accomplished at any time during your company's life cycle. Even if you’re no longer a startup, pick a book or a take a vote, and read it together as a company. Conclude this process with a verbal book report by each participant and pass the tradition down to all of your new hires. You’ll be glad you did! Maybe you already have a â€Å"company book† and you just need to add the book report portion. If so, here’s a breakdown of how we do this for our team. You can also download our pre-built worksheet that will work you through the entire book report process top to bottom. How Runs Its Book Report Program Every team member is supplied with a complementary copy of Linchpin on day one. If they prefer a Kindle or audio version of the book, we will also provide that upon request. Team members are give 90 days to complete the book, but they aren’t allowed to consider it completed until performing a formal â€Å"book report† in front of the entire team. We follow up on this requirement during our mandatory 90 day review to keep everyone honest. Once team members are ready to give their book report, they are giving a standard format of three questions that they must answer. I’ve included these questions in the pre-built worksheet that you can download here. Book reports are verbal and usually last between two and five minutes during our weekly all-hands meetings. In some cases we do accept written versions of the book report as well. Once a book report is complete we all clap and provide a bit of encouragement to the person giving the book report. As a prize, they also get a sticker of their choice from our bag of stickers – usually well stocked with unique selections from StickerMule or other places. The Final Case For a Company Book Report: It’s Fun Having every employee complete a book report is unique and memorable. In all honestly, it’s fun. I love hearing our team’s thoughts and comments about the book, even from a few people who didn’t like it all that much. The diversity of opinions and interpretations is always fascinating, and helps me understand the people I work with every day. We   always learn a thing or two about he people we work with, and that’s definitely a good thing.

Confusion and Loss of Direction in the 1960s Essay

Confusion and Loss of Direction in the 1960s - Essay Example Released in 1970, the album Let It Be includes popular songs such aslike Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, Two of Us and Dig a Pony, among others (Beatles 1970). Despite the different topics and situations that the songs present, they commonly project common themes, particularly, confusion and loss of direction of the personas. Confusion and loss of direction are fairly common topics in the music of the 1960s andup to the 70s. Ritzen (2005) and Fendrich (1993) confirm this general atmosphere, which may be attributed to the wars of the time. In the songs of the Beatles, confusion occurs as a main theme, especially in the song Let It Be (Beatles 1970). The song begins with the lines, â€Å"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be† ((Let It Be; lines 1-3). The persona expresses being in trouble and seeking divine intervention. The statement, â€Å"let it be† further shows the persona's inability to decide by him and get over with his troubles. Confusion and loss of direction in the songs of the Beatles is mostly associated with travelling, being on transit, or going around in circles. This theme is strongly reflected by the song, Two of Us (Beatles 1970). The song begins with the following lines: Two of us riding nowhere spending someone's Hhard earned pay (Two of Us; lines 1–3) In the lines above, the persona does not know where to go and implies having no goal in life. In the song, Dig a Pony, the persona also demonstrates having no place to go and not thinking of what islies ahead (Beatles 1970). These feelings are expressed in the lines, â€Å"Well you can penetrate any place you go/Yes you can penetrate any place you go† (Dig a Pony; lines 6-7).

Why dog food quality matters Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why dog food quality matters - Research Paper Example Many famous personalities are seen to have publicly endorse the keeping of dogs and other animals. An important part of the care of the dogs is providing them with adequate nutrition and the quality of the food given to them should be maintained. When it comes to the nutritional needs and shelter necessities of the animal, then the crucial task of getting what is best for the dog lies ahead. Different dogs have different needs and not to mention even the same breed of dogs can differ in their demands. Pet owners face difficulty in choosing things that are best for their dog and suit them accordingly. Dog food is another major issue that the owners have to be careful about. In the market there are various sorts of brands and products available that claim to be the best for household dogs but can actually cause more harm than good to the canine kept. The basic key of it all is understanding the needs of the dog and then catering to it accordingly. It is seen that dogs might be different in needs, so it is necessary that the dog in question is not a test subject rather the keepers should know what it wants and why does it want that. Every dog owner faces nutritional need questions and has a hard time figuring out what exactly d oes the pet want to survive and perform at its best. While any dog food can cater to the canine hunger, there are some specific things to be kept in mind that help in establishing a good health. Dogs need proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals to survive. (National Research Council 2). All of these are needed in the canine system so that it actively performs and does not get ill or is susceptible to illness. The second most important thing is keeping a check of when to feed the dog kept in the household. Most dogs are trained into asking for food when they get hungry and owners usually establish timings for feeding but keep in mind that do not over feed or under feed the canine as it can impact the health and over all

Week 7 discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 7 discussion questions - Essay Example , our inquisitive car owner can safely assume that he/she can (at least for a very brief period of time) pack approximately 20 students into his/her Volkswagen. The number is slightly lower than the equation yields because of the fact that unusable space such as headroom and foot space will be unusable. 2. Most useful and interesting to me of the different activities we performed were the probability games. I found these interesting because seemingly simple probability problems had unexpected and unique twists that left the problem solver at times baffled as to how something so simple could be so complex. Specifically, wrapping my head around the Monty Hall problem was a bit of a stretch. Mathematics and probability are not at all times fascinating or captivating; however, when what seems like common sense and logic proves wrong it helped to make a memorable and lasting impression on me. Additionally working with the tessellation patterns in MS Paint also helped to break down the notion of volume and size to the content of their respective