Memento opening scene

Memento is a film about a man, called Lenny, who seeks to find the man who raped and killed his wife during a burglary. What makes this harder for him is that he suffers from short-term memory loss. To cope with his condition, he takes many photographs with his Polaroid camera and tattoos his body in order to direct him to the man who killed his wife. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan, and Guy Pearce stars as Lenny. The film opens with slow, peaceful music. The music chosen by Nolan is perfect; it gives the audience a calm peaceful atmosphere, settling the audience to contrast what is to come soon on. Additionally, as one note changes to the other, the previous note can still be heard, fading into the background until gone, much like Lenny's memory. The credits fade into blue, and then fade out to white. This is a perfect representation of Lenny's memory; because as he learns about the past it quickly fades away. The choice of colours Nolan chose are very effective. White represents purity and innocence, this is chosen well as Lenny believes he is doing the right thing, yet he lacks depth stability to hold onto his memories, which is commonly associated with the colour blue. After part of the credits, a Polaroid picture appears on the screen. Held by a clean, gentle looking hand. On the picture, we see a dead body, with large amounts of blood on the wall behind it. Nolan does this to make the audience feel the aggression and power of the kill. Despite this, the calm and peaceful atmosphere still lingers, the music still plays and we notice the background is green, unlike the white background in the picture. This and safe looking hand, gives the audience some distance from the murder, making them feel safer and further away from the murder. Because of this, the audience will feel upset for the Lenny who is holding it. Lenny begins shaking the Polaroid, and the ink begins to fade away. This tells the audience that the scene is actually in reverse. Nolan does this because we, like Lenny, do not know any events that have occurred in the past. The audience also learn at this point that the movie will be is a ‘reverse mode'. The scenes are chronologically going in reverse but they are actually played forwards. The ink fades from the Polaroid completely, and the camera angle changes and begins to follow the Polaroid until the picture was taken. Once Lenny moves the camera from his face, the audience sees Lenny for the first time. He looks nervous, and the scratch on his face discourages us from believing that the clean hand holding the photo earlier is actually him. Also the music stops at the camera flash, and the audience feelings change to the new music playing; eerie and suspicious. The hand was misleading, as well as the colour of the walls seen in the previous shot. This makes the audience become suspicious about Lenny, and to wonder why he is really there. Our feelings for Lenny have completely changed as we discover more about him. The audience first felt that he was a good guy, but now the audience are starting to believe that Lenny is a cold-hearted murdered. Nolan arouses these suspicious to draw the audience into the story. Nolan gives hints in the scene that Lenny has killed before. Firstly, when we see his face, his expression is rather dull and emotionless, and shows no regret or guilt what so ever. Nolan also makes a clear connection between the camera and a gun. For example, Lenny slips his camera out of the inside of his jacket like it was a gun. The camera flash also sounds like a bullet is being fired. Furthermore this heightens our feelings on Lenny, making us even more suspicious about Lenny. As the scene goes on, we see blood climbing up Teddy's skin. This is a very powerful clip as it extends the brutality seen previously in the Polaroid. The gore of it sends the audience a shock, and emphasis the power of the kill. The extreme close up of the bullet overpowers the audience, and leaves a cold shadow over them. It informs the audience that it was defiantly murder that had taken place, and that it was by a gun. The glasses, thought bloodstained and cracked, stereotype an intelligent, good person. We assume that whomever they belonged too was innocent of death, and therefore making the audience feel worse about Lenny. Glasses usually help one to see better, yet with no face behind them the audience themselves find it hard to see the mystery of the man, and therefore making his death seem unreasonable. The low angle shot of Lenny makes the audience feel smaller than he is, making him seem more dominant, powerful and threatening. Nolan does this to keep pressuring the thought on the audience that Lenny is the killer. In conclusion, Nolan uses many effects in the first scene to establish a general feeling from the audience, that Lenny is a killer. Nolan has used various types of effects to deliver his messages.

Project on Time Series

Project 4 Fall 2012 1. Open the data file called JCrew on Blackboard under the Assignments link. 2. Get a 4 point Moving Average for the data using Time Series Analysis. 3. Highlight the Revenue column and the 4MA column. Insert /Line. 4. Go back to the data. Time Series Analysis/ Exponential Smoothing. Use alpha of . 7. 5. Highlight Revenue and Smoothed and Insert /Line. 6. Go back to the data. Time Series Analysis/ Trendline / pick Exp Ln. Check the Scatterplot and all boxes on the right side. 7. Finally, go back to the data and choose Time Series/ Deseasonalize. Questions: 1.Compare the 4 point moving average chart to the exponentially smoothed one. Which one shows the SECULAR trend better? Explain. The four point moving average shows the secular trend better because its values aren’t as volatile as they are in the exponentially smoothed model. 2. What is the forecasted revenue for JCrew in Quarter I of 2010 using Exponential Smoothing? 377. 388 in Q1 of 2010 Look at the Lo gged Model 3. What percent of the variation in Revenue is explained by Time? 84% of the variation is explained by time 4. By how much does Revenue change per quarter on average? Revenue changes by 4. % per quarter on average 5. Are there any outliers (suspicious or definite)? There is one outlier at time period 4, but it is only suspicious 6. Is Autocorrelation a problem? No because the Durbin-Watson is 2. 77 therefore reject fail to reject H0 H0: No residual correlation (p=0) H1: Positive residual correlation (p>1) 7. Does the data seem to fit the plot well? Explain. Yes it fits the plot well in general. There is one suspicious value that skews the plot. Look at the Deseasonalized Model 8. What is the secular trendline? y=10. 15x + 139. 39 9. How well does the model explain JCrew’s revenue? 94. 2% of the variation in Jcrew’s revenue is explained by the model 10. Which quarter is most prosperous for JCrew? 1st Quarter is the most prosperous for Jcrew with a seasonal in dex of . 898 11. Fill in the following table: |2010 |t |Predicted |SI |Forecast | |QI |Â  21 |352. 54 |Â  . 898 |Â  316. 58 | |QII |Â  22 |Â  362. 69 |Â  . 968 |351. 08 | |QIII |Â  23 |Â  372. 84 |Â  . 938 |Â  349. 72 | |QIV |Â  24 |Â  382. 99 |Â  1. 196 |Â  458. 06 |

Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act - Essay Example Taxpayers finance roughly half of the total medical costs annually through Medicaid and Medicare (Hinman, 2011, 16). In view of this growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration recently signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to intensify its fight against childhood obesity. However, the ratification of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act generated varied responses all over the United States. In the view of some, the additional 6-cents for each meal given are valued, but others are dissatisfied with the extra 6-cents which is argued to be insufficient. This paper presents a comprehensive a discussion of the arguments for and against the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Ultimately, the author discusses its position in the debate. Overview The Obama administration recently released a new cluster of federal policies that would regulate the quantity of calories permitted state-sponsored school meals, prohibiting majority of trans fats at the same time as boosting the quantities of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The projects, proposed by the Agriculture Department, embody the initial large-scale overhauling of school lunch rules in the 21st century (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The guidelines would be valid to all partly and fully funded meals and may have an impact on a vast number of children. Supporters claim revamping the price in the country’s school lunches is fundamental in mitigating childhood obesity since large numbers of children take at least half of their everyday calories at school (Hinman, 2011, 16). However, a number of conservative detractors, headed by Sarah Palin, have denounced federal attempts to oblige nutritional intake and control school vending machines and bake sales as unwarranted government intrusion. A number of local school administrators and personnel have questioned the cost of putting into effect the new guidelines, with a large number of the suggested menu selections more costly to acquire and prepare. The U.S. is confronting an obesity outbreak, and the predicament of poor diets puts the future of the children and the nation at risk, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, emphasizing that the country confronts an enormous cost from poor diets in chronic health crises (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The rules are a reaction to the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. The $4.5 billion policy enlarges the population of students entitled to school lunch initiatives and raises the federal financial backing by 6 cents a meal (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). Aside from mandating calorie restrictions, the recommended policies demand cutting down sodium by at least half over a decade (Hinman, 2011, 17), increasing quantities of whole grains and forbidding bad fats. The Argument for the Healthy Hunger-Free Free Kids Act Many individuals and organizations within the food industry supported the implementation of the Act with eagerness like the Internatio nal Dairy Foods Association, the United Fresh Produce Association, American Bakers’ Association, and Grocery Manufacturers Association (Julian, 2010). As argued by Center for Science in the Public Interest’s director of nutrition policy, Margo Wootan, criticizing the legislation by the cost only is very crude since there are other resource-saving

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Report - Essay Example ABC being Australia resident also wanted to directly invest in business with his friend in India. They have planned to start cottage stitching factory in name of ABC STICH in slum area of India in beginning and later proceed to expansion based on results. With vast variation on present in two countries business methodologies, it is agreed upon to use basic project management technique to evaluate business idea and its processes. 2.0 PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project is complex non- routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget and resources and performance specifications designed to meet customer needs. To accomplish project work in due course of planning to accomplish desired results, application of project planning is very important 3. There are different ways or techniques of managing a project. These techniques discusses all the activities that are expected to become part of project, possible time and details required to complete each activity as well sequence of activities and their dependency on each other4. ABC STICH will be using the following techniques to evaluate feasibility of the project and manage it: Work Break Down Structure (WBS) Gantt chart Project / Program Evaluation and Review technique (PRET CHART). 2.1. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE: Work Breakdown Structure as the name suggest is the breakdown of entire project into smaller chunks that identify various tasks’ details 5. It provides break-up of task in various levels in an organized way usually presented in hierarchical form; however, tabular form is also no exception6. Work Break Down is the foundational building block to initiating planning and executing, monitoring and controlling processes used in managing projects. It represents an explicit description of the scope, deliverables and outcome of the project; both internal and external deliverables. Highest level defines the ultimate outcome of the project while each lower level defines more details into small job chunks in logical manner . It only addresses the input, deliverables and output and not the process and schedule for these; therefore, forming base for other techniques. 2.1.1 Few Key characteristics of Work Break down Structure are as follow: Deliverable Oriented: every level is aimed at producing / completing certain task or phase that makes it aligned with due deliverables. Hierarchical Decomposition: hierarchical breakdown provides more manageable pieces of work that effectively provide greater details of work that contributes to overall project in question. The 100% Rule: The 100% rule states that Work break Down Structure encompasses the entire scope of the project from starting to end point while including all interim processes. Every chunk of the broken structure is an important contributor in overall project completion. Presentation Method Flexibility: presentation method flexibility depending on the project from hierarchical to tabular or any other presentation method also makes it more adaptable to various business and project needs. 2.1.2. APPLICATION OF WORK BREAKDOWN METHOD ON ABC STICH: To identify various levels, work break down structure of ABC has been so developed: 1. Identification of various possible locations. 2. Analysis of various locations based

Human Resources Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Resources Management - Assignment Example As a result of which the position and status of women in the workplaces are changing at a rapid pace as compared to previous days. Apart from this, due to the introduction of the law of schooling of girls and women in the year 1767, the craze for education and schooling enhanced thereby amplifying the talent of women segment. As a result of which, the typical house-wives of recent age are not expected to spin, cook or sew rather to perform their assigned duties effectively in a workplace. By doing so, the inner knowledge and morale of the female segment is amplifying thereby strengthening their bases more efficiently as compared to previous age. So, the intensity of various crimes is also reducing at a significant extent as compared to previous days. This proved extremely effective for the female segment of the society thereby amplifying their position and fame in the entire globe among others. Moreover, as the female segment of the society is attaining high level of education, so bo th the segments (males or females) might easily apply for a particular job in a workplace. And as a result, the degree of professional integration between male and female segments enhanced thereby declining the inequality of wages and positions as well. Along with this, the unemployment gap within male and female segments of the society reduced significantly resulting in amplification of their living standard and life style. Thus, it might be predicted that due to the enhancement of the earning members of the families, the status and living style also improved Therefore, due to the presence of educational skills and knowledge, females or women continue to hold the leadership position both in public and private sector as compared to males. As a result of which, the supremacy of women is quite similar as compared to males in both public and private workplaces. So, it helped almost 70% of the female segment of the society to become educated and employed thereby offering approximately 3 /4th of the total amount expense of a family. Just like award-winning corporate lawyer named Franci Blassberg is also one of the best examples of a female, who became successful in positioning itself in this male dominated world. As a result, the dominance and status of female segments enhanced resulting in amplification of its popularity and control. It became possible only due to the inner morale and confidence of the Franci Blassberg to flight against the complications and obstacles of males in the world. Other than this, due to the presence of effective communication skills and problem solving nature, Franci Blassberg is now recognized as one of the most efficient and talented lawyer among many others. Not only this, decision making attitude as well as action taking nature acted as the backbone for Franci Blassberg that enhanced her position and expertise among many others. Therefore, it might be clearly depicted that the self awareness, confidence, experience and responsible ch aracter are some of the most essential weapons of the women’s of today’s era. And without the help of these characteristic features, a woman may not sustain or retain her position in this corporate world among the males. Along with this, exact vision and task completion nature is also extremely essential for a woman like Franci Blassberg to retain her portfolio in her workplace thereby amplifying her image and craze among

Pappper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pappper - Essay Example Specifically, the firm required the participants to take more time to the website before matching (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). Notably, this helped in distinguishing between the serious partner-seekers and the jokers. In effect, the firm reduced the speed of forming a relationship by ensuring the interested parties provided adequate information to help in making a match that would lead to a long lasting relationship. As a late entrant with a rigorous process and time-consuming to know the applicants, the firm faced high competition from the established businesses. In addition, clients were unsure about the trustworthy and effectiveness of the company (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). Therefore, the company experienced a low rate of application forcing it to strategies a campaign to create awareness and attract clients. Forgratch believes the first radio advertisement worked for two primary reasons. First, the resulting turnover was promising as the company recorded an increase in revenue that reflected in the promotion costs that reached $20 million by 2004. Secondly, the use of Dr. Neil Clark Warren was efficient as he was a household name in the marriage therapy (Mariotti & Glackin, 2012). In addition, his distinctive voice, credibility, and a meaningful message worked to the advantage of the enterprise. The eHarmony business uses a service promotion concept in which it sells the services it offers to the public. Therefore, this direct action advertising strategies focuses directly on the potential clients. The firm achieve the success using real customers who have benefited from the company in an attempt to gain credibility and increase the number of paying customers (Mariotti & Glackin,

Jackson the leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jackson the leader - Essay Example However, he was alleged to have more political main appointments and many people have reservations regarding his honesty and objectives. Jackson endeavored to present a constitutional reform to eliminate Electoral College System and restrict the President’s incumbency to only one term, maybe because of resentment in the 1824 election. The constitutional reform never gained importance and advancement; nevertheless, the 22nd amendment was passed in 1947 and according to this amendment, the President’s tenure was restricted to just two terms. Jackson was also on front line in opposing the â€Å"American System† that was a greater part during the Presidency of John Quincy Adams, revolving around the Second Bank of the USA, an extremely secured tariff, and inner system of advancements. The Nullification Crisis The Tariff Issues was one of the most significant aspects of Jackson’s presidency. As a result of a tariff that displayed incommensurately in Southern ru ral states, USA went into nullification calamities. Southern states acknowledged the tariff of 1828 as unacceptable to claim their constitutional rights and insisted that it is required to be canceled. South Carolina was the home of Vice President, John Calhoun, whose endorsement of nullification led to his political separation with Jackson. Jackson had very hard time dealing with the nullifiers during the 1832 election. He even had to threaten at one point to send the Army into South Carolina to ensure the implementation of laws. The nullification of tariff came to an end in 1833 in South Carolina when a new conciliated tariff was ultimately approved. The Bank of the United States Jackson is also well reputed for his opposition to National bank of USA, as he had firm belief that this bank provided more facilities and benefits to the rich people than poor people and it was inhibitor of liberty. Jackson struggled to reinstate private economic organizations and agriculture states. For this purpose, he decided to put an end to the National Bank of USA. Jackson rejected bank’s restoration bill presented by congress in 1832. He adopted a disdained and sardonic behavior and withdrew his funds from bank in 1833. Debt and inflation increased significantly and quickly when the paper money was no longer controlled and supported with help of federal government’s gold and silver exchequers. By 1837, Jackson’s policies engaged with other elements that led the country into economic disaster and consequently transformed nation into extremely depressive state that had never been faced by the people of the country before. Indian Affairs Another contentious decision which made the Jackson well known as controversial President was to offer land to West Indians. He decided to do this when Indians protested that states are illegally entrenching to their lands and violating the human rights. Jackson demonstrated that he had no rights to prevent this, further ad ding that Indians should locate homes outside of the states if they wish to enjoy their rights. He also asserted that Indian were required to submit the rights of the states in which they lived, or they are required to move beyond Mississippi. While implementing this assertion would not occur Until Van Buren was in office. Jackson was main responsible for the strategies which caused

Discussion Board 5-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board 5-2 - Essay Example Three known forms of managed care that patients or clients have exclusive discretion to choose are Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Primary Care Physician. In all the three forms, clients chose from a list doctors desired to manage their health. The chosen doctors then stand the right to make any decision such as to refer a patient to another specialist. Since the given doctor is to deal with the patient directly, they need to understand personal constructs and understanding of the patient. This becomes easier when applying Psychoanalytic Family Therapy (Nichols, 2013). With Psychoanalytic Family Therapy, individual therapists are able to analyze self-psychology of patients to understand the cause and nature of an underlying problem. Despite complexity of the theory, charges for services offered by Psychoanalytic therapists vary with variation in the conduct of the individual therapist. This exonerates simple reasoning that complexi ty of Psychoanalytic Family Therapy makes it expensive than other

Clinical Biochemistry Essay Short questions(degree)

Clinical Biochemistry Short questions(degree) - Essay Example To diagnose Cushing’s syndrome levels of free cortisol are checked in the urine. Levels of cortisol in the saliva and serum are checked at midnight to confirm the disease. Dexamethasone which is a synthetic glucocorticoid is administered which leads to decreased cortisol if the increased levels are due to a tumor in the anterior pituitary. Addisons disease is characterized by insufficiency of cortisol which is caused mostly due to production of antibodies against the adrenal gland within the body. This leads to decreased glucose metabolism in the body causing hypoglycemia and it can prove to be fatal in periods of stress and mild infections. Hyperpigmentation is also seen. Levels of free cortisol are checked in the urine and serum and saliva levels of cortisol are checked at midnight. Adrenocorticotropin hormone is then administered and levels of cortisol are measure. If they do not rise it indicates the insufficiency of the adrenal gland and rules out any problem with the ant erior pituitary. Radioimmunoassay is a technique in which a known quantity of labeled antibody and a labeled antigen is taken. This known complex is added to with unknown quantity of serum containing the antigens which needs to be measured. The unlabelled antigen displaces the labeled antigen and combines with the antibody. This unlabelled antigen and antibody is measured. Different quantities of serum are taken and added to the labeled complex and a graph is plotted and the values for the antigen in serum are measured. This method is extremely sensitive and specific because the antigen and antibody complexes formed are very specific for each other. It is also very sensitive because it can detect small amounts of antigen. The results obtained are accurate if many samples are taken. To improve accuracy it is important to purify the sample as well the reactants from foreign particles to prevent any false results. More samples

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy - Essay Example Considering the variation in cultural predisposition, myths also varies. Different beliefs persist in different parts of the globe defining culture, traditions and rituals of that particular region. A comparative account could be established between different mythologies and this is packed under comparative mythology. Myth refers to variety of stories sharing distinctiveness, making it special and diverse from other genres, folklores and legends. Formulating this as a basis, myths could be defined as "Myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values." (What is Myth?). William Bascom in his article entitled â€Å"The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives† defined myth as "tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra- human, inhuman, or heroic characters". Considering the extra-human description in most of the mythologies across the world, myths are considered as "cosmogenic" or cosmogonic or "cosmic" taken from Greek word kosmos meaning order. Beliefs represent this order as the tradition and culture of that particular geographical location and these features delineate the nature of the inhabitants belonging to that milieu. Concepts of myth encompass definition of myths in various paradigms, from the thought of origin of the universe to the rules of nature that paves the way to modulate culture, rituals, ceremonies, food and medicines. Depending upon the climatic condition, seasons, flora and fauna, ancient beliefs called myths lay their foundation. Myths are therefore considered as narratives of cosmogonic origin as they define origin of the universe and life from primordial forms to the present form (What is Myth?). Believers laid the foundation of Sacred Nature of myths as myths narrate the r ituals, sacred stories and folklore of the tradition, these beliefs institute the basis of religions and narratives specify the truth and develop a system of faith and holy credence. Every existing culture portrays the co-existence of secular and sacred myths. Myths thereby narrate influential or expressive form of societal order or significance contained by a way of life. The functioning of the society centers around the beliefs and myths prevalent in that locale. Cultural beliefs are framed through epistemology or the level of understanding displayed by the followers, culture in turn epitomize myths and therefore myths are of paramount significance to exhibit the predilection of residents (What is Myth?). Involvement of Heroic characters is the most imperative characteristic of every myth. These Heroic personalities arbitrate inheritance, disturbing dualities, reunite individuals to the veracities of life or ascertain the prototypes of life. To certain extent myths are believed to co-relate realities with the established facts as any happening in the present could have some instituted facts in the mythology. The predictions made by the astrologers and those who tell the future prospects perform certain calculations that define a particular character that has been already reported in the mythology. Therefore, mythology has certain traits that connects past to the present situation (What is Myth?). Mythology & Philosophy

Bank Julius Baer Case Essay Example for Free

Bank Julius Baer Case Essay Before the arrival and leadership of Stuart Adam (â€Å"Adam†), Bank Julius Baer, North America (â€Å"BJB-NA† or the â€Å"Company†), the largest independently-owned European private bank in the United States, faced financial difficulties. By mid-2001, a worldwide market downturn caused a significant decline in Julius Baer Group’s (â€Å"JB† or the â€Å"Parent†) performance. In 2001, JB’s stock price was down by over 40% while the Parent experienced a 39% decline in net profits, 9% increase in operating expenses and an increase of 14% in employee headcount. BJB-NA, the â€Å"crown jewel† of JB, was barely profitable but no one inside the Company knew its true financial condition. JB had always been led by a member of the Baer family until January 2001. Despite significant family ties at JB, BJB-NA did not have a strong leader to drive the company. There was a lack of clear vision or direction for the Company. BJB-NA did not focus on profitability as a measurement of success. The attitude around BJB-NA was more about â€Å"keeping the peace† than creating any conflict or hostility. Even with a passive work environment, employee morale was low. Employees tended to blame other parts of the Company for their problems. The competitive environment in the High Net Individual (â€Å"HNI†) private banking sector increased dramatically during the 1990’s. BJB-NA was a boutique private bank in a business where bulge bracket firms dominated the competitive landscape. As such, the key factors for success in the HNI market were now recognized as differentiation (not cost leadership), improved client relationship management, broad product range and strong client-responsiveness. BJB-NA strived to be a partner organization that differentiated itself from the competition by satisfying the needs of its clients. The existing organization structure consisted of BJB-NA organized into four regionally-based â€Å"teams. † Poor communication existed throughout the Company as the staff didn’t know what was going on and there was little cohesion among units. BJB-NA operated on a â€Å"need to know† basis. Team leaders were not responsible for their own budgets, as it was not known if their teams were profitable or not. To further support the lack of accountability at BJB-NA, the Company did not have a systematic performance valuation system and lacked a compensation system tied to customer growth and returns. Bonuses were virtually guaranteed and all bonus decisions were made by Bank’s top leadership. Most likely, there were employees who â€Å"flew under the radar† if they underperformed since the Company never laid anyone off. Adamà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Changes and Evaluation Adam arrived at BJB-NA and immediately laid out an action plan to turn around the Company. One of Adam’s best early moves was his selection of Denise Downey to head the Segmentation Study Team. Downey was well respected by the employees that she led and was able to thoroughly evaluate the organization and deliver results to the Company and Adam. Based on the Segmentation Study, Adam wanted BJB-NA to really stand-behind its promises to be a partner organization. He encouraged full transparency and a strong focus on measurable results and accountability. Specifically, he focused on the following three initiatives: Refocus the Company strategy: Adam emphasized that BJB-NA shift its focus to Europeans, Asians, Canadians and Latin Americas who live outside the U. S. who had U. S. based asset management needs. By targeting specific geographic and customer segments, it allowed the Company to specifically focus its strategy and resources rather than spread itself too thin to satisfy a larger, diverse customer base. In addition, he asked some longstanding personal clients who were not profitable to close their accounts. Not only did this change the Company’s customer focus, but also, it signaled to employees that Adam had confidence and high expectations for BJB-NA. Establish new performance expectations: Adam developed productivity assumptions that would hold employees more accountable. He established measurable criteria related to book value, relationships and accounts. Previously, Company employees truly did not know their clients. As a result, it was difficult for management to identify top and low performers. Adam’s established criteria that pushed Relationship Managers past their comfort zone. Before Adam took the helm at BJB-NA, almost everyone received bonuses regardless of their performance. Tying a bonus program with a structure performance evaluation system incentivizes those who bring success and growth potential to the Company. Modify the organization structure: Adam slightly altered the structure of BJB-NA by having a client-segment focus within existing geographic areas. As such, the decision making processes were now decentralized to each of the regional teams. Previously, the advisory and product services departments worked with all regions. After Adam took charge, he assigned advisory teams to each of the different regions to further strengthen customer relationships. Recommendations BJB-NA recognizes that its future success hinges on one important factor: its clients. Our consulting firm wants the Company to further expand and impact its clients beyond what Adam has already planned. Our approach is a client-centric strategy that focuses on two key initiatives: (1) Aggressively recruiting top talent to enhance client acquisition and performance (2) Overhauling the compensation scheme and performance measures. Each initiative, accompanied by supporting tactics, will align to elevate the client experience, resulting in deepening wallet share, increasing warm referrals, and building the BJB-NA brand in supreme customer service. I. Recruiting the Right Talent. Recruiting the right people to manage and advise BJB-NA’s clients will be critical to sustaining long-term growth and increasing assets-under-management. Recruiting will align with the Company’s geographic approach to segmentation by adopting three tactics:  · Local talent recruitment – a successful private banker needs an outgoing, service-orientated personality, and the ability to connect with potential and existing clients. In connecting with clients, it becomes mandatory that future private bankers will be recruited from local regions. This strategy will generate bankers who know the local customs and cultures, speak the language, and are involved in the community. As a result, it creates comfort and familiarity for potential clients.  · Recruit from bulge bracket private banks –Company acquisition is not a feasible option at this time. However, employee/talent acquisition is an even better method to help improve the Company. Bulge bracket private banks are typically a part of much larger conglomerates, often weighed down high-level corporate strategies and â€Å"red tape. To attract bulge bracket private bankers, BJB-NA should promote an entrepreneurial environment that offers autonomy and flexibility while still offering resources found at larger firms. Recruit from ultra-boutique private banks – BJB-NA should actively target private bankers from smaller, boutique firms that have larger books, but have a need for a more global reach. Private bank clients are becoming more global, and with that, have a specific need for banks that have an international presence. BJB-NA provides a solution with offices in Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the United States. At the same time, by aggressively recruiting boutique bankers, BJB-NA will be able to expand its presence by acquiring the books of these bankers who may have a strong presence in untapped markets within the targeted regions. II. Restructuring Compensation and Performance Measures BJB-NA should introduce a compensation scheme that will not only be more beneficial for keeping clients’ interests first, but also offer higher potential incentives for the Company’s bankers. First and foremost, bankers will be paid based on client portfolio performance. No one will be paid on the basis of commission. While this tactic may seem counter-intuitive in the short-term, especially in the midst of a struggling economy, it acknowledges BJB-NA’s long-term commitment to its clients. Other positive externalities resulting from a new compenstation structure include: differentiation from competition, potential referrals from clients, and attention to BCB-NA’s innovative thinking. In short, BJB-NA’s message is: â€Å"We make money only when our clients make money†. Second, standard annual bonuses will be foregone. Employees would be accountable for their performance and compensated accordingly. BJB-NA will incentivize bankers by the value they add to their clients and related portfolio performances. This compensation structure ultimately rewards bankers who take of their clients and strive to grow their assets under management. Finally, BJB-NA should revise the position title of its company leaders. To accurately reflect the duties of the position, the title †Team Leader† should be changed to â€Å"Managing Director (MD)†. MD’s would have full PL and people-management responsibilities of his/her respective branch. In addition, MD’s could receive an additional bonus based on the branch’s bottom-line performance. This change will push decision-making down to MD level, promoting entrepreneurship and autonomy. III. Management and Leadership Since Adam decided to resign from his position as the leader of BJB-NA, it is vital for the Board of Directors to select a successor that will be able to implement the changes initiated under Adam’s tenure. As discussed, BJB-NA needs to aggressively put its clients before anything else in its business. The new successor should be an experienced professional who deeply understands the Company’s clients and industry. Taking these requirements into consideration, we recommend that the Board of Directors pick Adam’s successor from a list of internal candidates only. Currently, the firm is in a state of fragility. Employees are stressed and morale is low. With the initial round of layoffs that included six people, any move will be highly scrutinized and may have a long-term impact on the organization. Employees were already caught off guard with Adam’s resignation, especially after he led the restructuring efforts at an off-site meeting that seemed to build positive momentum. To replace Adam’s with an external candidate may put the Company in a state of flux. An external candidate would not have attended the restructuring meetings and participated in the Segmentation Study. He/she may have different views of how the organization should be changed. In addition, the HNI private banking industry is built around relationships. To bring on a new leader who hasn’t built a strong rapport with a majority of the Company’s clients would make the leadership transition a difficult process. One potential internal candidate BJB-NA should consider is Denise Downey. Downey is currently the Head of U. S. Domestic Clients, but more importantly she led the Segmentation Study that evaluated areas of improvement needed at BJB-NA. Employees viewed Downey as a strong, effective leader who always delivers results. As a sign of trust, Adam gave Downey significant autonomy during her time leading the study. Elevating Downey to the C-suite level would be a fairly seamless transition. Downey has significant experience understanding the clientele of BJB-NA since she already leads U. S. client group. With all of the â€Å"client-focused† changes that need to be implemented by Adam, Downey will be best candidate to effectively communicate the steps needed during the transition period. For example, during her time as the Segmentation Study leader, Downey took the initiative to send updates to the entire bank. Alternate Approaches Deviating from a client-centric strategic plan could negatively impact BCB-NA’s future success. Nonetheless, two other alternate approaches were considered. The first approach considered a compensation system where bankers would be paid variable commissions based on fee-based transactions. The variable in commissions would depend on the type of investment vehicles clients would invest in. This viable approach guarantees cash flows from transactions with no dramatic culture change. However, after careful consideration, this alternative was rejected since bankers would be incentivized more by selling a diversity of investment vehicles to clients rather than working for clients’ best interests. The second approach considered but rejected involved an overhaul of the organization structure. After the Segmentation findings, Adam seemed adamant about moving away from the geographic-focused organizational structure of the Company. As such, an alternative approach considered was to eliminate geographic departments and implement an organizational structure focused on client-type. One of the key success factors for companies in the private banking industry is to customize services based on the needs of customers. A BJB-NA client-focused structure based on client characteristics (such as wealth, age, income level) may be more advantageous, especially with raised expectations now required by Adam on bankers’ book of clients. Additionally, within a geographic organization, conflict may occur between local regional management and the executives at corporate. As such, this may hurt the opportunity for knowledge sharing and collaboration, values emphasized by the Baer family. However, as much as a client-focused structure might have its advantages, a geographic organizational structure still is the most effective for BJB-NA. Communication is much more personal in geographic organizational structures. Instead of calling or videoconferencing with olleagues across the globe, it forces employees to sit next to each other to form collaborative teams, values preached by the Baer family. In addition, it allows employees to understand each other’s personalities and work styles. Besides the human capital element, geographic work teams allow BJB-NA to hire leaders familiar with the local business environment, something vital for the relationship-focused private banking industry. Not only will employees understand the client better but the clients will be more comfortable around employees who share similar interests and culture.

The History of Algebra

The History of Algebra The dissertation will discuss about history of algebra, which is one of most important branch of arithmetic, the founder of algebra, meanings of algebra and its benefit in our daily life, how we can learn and teach in the best way? What is Algebra? Algebra is a branch of mathematics, as we know maths is queen of science, it plays vital role of developing and flourishing technology, we use all scopes in past and newly, the algebra is not exceptional the maths. Algebra is one of the main areas of pure mathematics that uses mathematical statements such as term, equations, or expressions to relate relationships between objects that change over time. Here is a list of names who have contributed to the specific field of algebra. Algebra is seen by much arithmetic with letters and a long historical precedent the textbooks, stretching back of the 14th century. As such it deepens upon experience and facility with arithmetic calculations. It provides student with skill to carry out algebraic manipulations .many of the which parallel arithmetic computation. At the very least ,school algebra is a collection of mathematical practices and procedure to be internalised and integrated into learners functioning ,at the very most in its tradition form its afford glimpse of a powerful tool for modelling and thus resolving problems, (page 559 jifa cai) Word Algebra The word algebra is a shortened misspelled transliteration of an Arabic title al-jebr wal-muqabalah (circa 825) by the Persian mathematician known as al-Khwarizmi [words, p. 21]. The al-jebr part means reunion of broken parts, the second part al-muqabalah translates as to place in front of, to balance, to oppose, to set equal. Together they describe symbol manipulations common in algebra: combining like terms, moving a term to the other side of an equation, etc. In its English usage, in the 14th century, algeber meant bone-setting, close to its original meaning. By the 16th century, the form algebra appeared in its mathematical meaning. Robert Recorde (c. 1510-1558), the inventor of the symbol = of equality, was the first to use the term in this sense. He, however, still spelled it as algeber. The misspellers proved to be more numerous, and the current spelling algebra took roots. Thus the original meaning of algebra refers to what we today call elementary algebra which is mostly occupied with solving simple equations. More generally, the term algebra encompasses nowadays many other fields of mathematics: geometric algebra, abstract algebra, Boolean algebra,s-algebra, to name a few. Algebra is an ancient and one of the most basic branch of mathematics, invented by Muhammad Musa Al-Khwarizmi, and evolve over the centuries. The name algebra is itself of Arabic origin. It comes from the Arabic word al-jebr. [1] http://www.cut-the-knot.org/WhatIs/WhatIsAlgebra.shtml The English invented the world (Kelly 1821-1895) algebra of matrices and the research (Paul 1815-1864) may have emerged since 1854 and from this research Boolean algebra, also appeared in 1881 forms of art to illustrate the Boolean algebra, (availablhttp://www.jeddmath.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5330/15/052011). History of algebra In history, we find some following mathematicians who have great contributions in development of algebra. Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (1474 -1559) was born in Hackforth, Yorkshire, England and died in Lambeth, London, England. He was a significant royal advisor, diplomat, and administrator, and he gained two degrees with great proficiency in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. In 1522, he wrote his first printed work that was devoted to mathematics, and this arithmetic book De arte supputandi libri quattuor was based on Paciolis Suma. Robert Recorde Robert Recorde (1510-1558) was born in Tenby, Wales and died in London, England. He was a Welsh mathematician and physician and in 1557, he introduced the equals sign (=). In 1540, Recorde published the first English book of algebra The Grounde of Artes. In 1557, he published another book The Whetstone of Witte in which the equals sign was introduced. John Widman John Widman (1462-1498) was born in Eger, Bohemia, currently called Czech Republic and died in Leipzig, Germany. He was a German mathematician who first introduced + and signs in his arithmetic book Behende und hupsche Rechnung auf Allen kauffmanschafft. Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (1560 -1621) was born in Oxford, London and died in London England. He was an astronomer and mathematician, and founder of the English school of algebra. William Oughtred William Oughtred (1575-1660) was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire, England and died in Albury, Surrey, England. He was one of the worlds great and formally trained mathematicians. Oughtred, in his book Clavis Mathematicae included Hindu-Arabic notation, decimal fractions and experimented on many new symbols such as ÃÆ'-,::, >, and John Pell John Pell (1611-1685) was born in Southwick, Sussex, England, and died in Westminster, London, England. Pells work was mostly based on number theory and algebra. Pell published many books on mathematics such as Idea of Mathematics in 1638 and the two page A Refutation of Longomontanuss Pretended Quadrature of the Circle in 1644. Reverend John Wallis John Wallis (1616-1703) was born in Ashford, Kent, England and died in Oxford, England. In 1656, Wallis published his most famous book Arithmetica Infinitorum in which he introduced the formula /2 = (2.2.4.4.6.6.8.8.10)/ (1.3.3.5.5.7.7.9.9). In another of his works, Treatise on Algebra, Wallis gives a wealth of information on algebra. John Herschel John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) was born in Slough, England and died in Kent, England. He was a great astronomer who discovered Uranus. In 1822, he published his first work on astronomy, a small work to calculate the eclipses of the moon. In 1824, he published his first major work on double stars in the Transactions of the Royal Society. Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (1791 -1871) was born in London, England and died in London, England. In 1821, Babbage made the Difference engine to compile tables of mathematics. In 1856, he invented Analytical Engine, which is a general symbol manipulator and similar to todays computers. Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was born in Lincolnshire, England and died in London, England. He was a great physicist, mathematician, and one of the greatest scientific intellects of all time. In 1672, he published his first work on light and color in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1704, Newtons works on pure mathematics was published and in 1707, his Cambridge lectures from 1673 to 1683 were published. ( http://www.barcodesinc.com/articles/algebra-history.htm) How is Algebra used in daily life? Every day in our life and all over the world we use Algebra many places as well as finances, engineering, schools, and universities we cant do most scopes without maths.( It is actually quite common for an average person to perform simple Algebra without realizing it. For example, if you go to the grocery store and have ten dollars to spend on two dollar candy bars. This gives us the equation 2x = 10 where x is the number of candy bars you can buy. Many people dont realize that this sort of calculation is Algebra; they just do it). (http://wiki.answers.com and http://wiki.answers.com) Other Definitions Algebra is the parts of mathematics where numbers and letters are used like A B or X and Y, or other symbols are used to represent unknown or variable numbers. For examples : in A +5 = 9, A is unknown, but we can solve by subtracting 5 to both sides of the equal sign (=), like this: A+5 = 9 A+ 5 5 = 9 5 A +0 = 4 A = 4 3b+12=15 subtract both sides 12 3b+12-12=15-12 3b=3 divide both sides 3 to get the value of b which is 1 and so on 5x/5x=1 if you substitute x any number not zero the equation will be true (Algebra is branch of mathematics that substitutes letters for numbers. An algebraic equation represents a scale, what is done on one side of the scale with a number is also done to the other side of the scale. The numbers are the constants. Algebra can include real numbers, complex numbers, matrices, vectors etc. Moving from Arithmetic to Algebra will look something like this: Arithmetic: 3 + 4 = 3 + 4 in Algebra it would look like: x + y = y + ) artical http://math.about.com/cs/algebra/g/algebradef.htm Terminology used in algebra to make algebra easy or any other branches of maths, we must understand well all basic sign in all operations and use it right way, these signs are , subtractions ,division, addition ,multiplication. variable is also called an unknown and can be represented by letters from the alphabet letters. Operations in algebra are the same as in arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. An expression is a group of numbers and variables, along with operations. An equation is the equality of two expressions. (Polynomials are often written in descending order, in which the terms with the largest powers are written first (like 92 3x + 6). If they are written with the smallest terms appearing first, this is ascending order (like 6 3x + 92). equation An equation is a mathematical statement that contains an equal sign, like ax + b = c. exponent An exponent is a power that a number is raised to. For example, in 23, the exponent is 3. expression An algebraic expression consists of one or more variables, constants, and operations, like 3x-4. Each part of an expression that is added or subtracted is called a term For example, the expression 42-2x+7 has three terms. factor The factor of a number is a number that divides that number exactly. For example, the factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6. formula A formula shows a mathematical relationship between expressions. fraction A fraction is a part of a whole, like a half, a third, a quarter, etc. For example, half of an apple is a fraction of an apple. The top number in a fraction is called the numerator; the bottom number in a fraction is called the denominator. inequality An inequality is a mathematical expression that contains an inequality symbol. The inequality symbols are : > greater than (2>1) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ less than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ greater than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   not equal to (1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚  2). integer The integers are the numbers , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . inverse (addition) The inverse property of addition states that for every number a, a + (-a) = 0 (zero). inverse (multiplication) The inverse property of multiplication states that for every non-zero number a, a times (1/a) = 1. matrix nth operation An operation is a rule for taking one or two numbers as inputs and producing a number as an output. Some arithmetic operations are multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. polynomial A polynomial is a sum or difference of terms; each term is: a constant (for example, 5) a constant times a variable (for example, 3x) a constant times the variable to a positive integer power (for example, 22) a constant times the product of variables to positive integer powers (for example, 2x3y). monomial is a polynomial with only one term. A binomial is a polynomial that has two terms. A trinomial is a polynomial with three terms. prime number A prime number is a positive number that has exactly two factors, 1 and itself. Alternatively, you can think of a prime number as a number greater than one that is not the product of smaller numbers. For example, 13 is a prime number because it can only be divided evenly by 1 and 13. For another example, 14 is not a prime number because it can be divided evenly by 1, 2, 7, and 14. The number one is not a prime number because it has only one factor, 1 itself. quadratic equation A quadratic equation is an equation that has a second-degree term and no higher terms. A second-degree term is a variable raised to the second power, like x2, or the product of exactly two variables, like x and y. When you graph a quadratic equation in one variable, like y = ax2 + bx + c, you get a parabola, and the solutions to the quadratic equation represent the points where the parabola crosses the x-axis. quadratic formula The quadratic formula is a formula that gives you a solution to the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0. The quadratic formula is obtained by solving the general quadratic equation. radical A radical is a symbol à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ that is used to indicate the square root or nth root of a number. root An nth root of a number is a number that, when multiplied by itself n times, results in that number. For example, the number 4 is a square root of 16 because 4 x 4 equals 16. The number 2 is a cube root of 8 because 2 x 2 x 2 equals 8. solve When you solve an equation or a problem, you find solutions for it. square root The square roots of a number n are the numbers s such that s2=n. For example, the square roots of 4 are 2 and -2; the square roots of 9 are 3 and -3. symbol A symbol is a mark or sign that stands for something else. For example, the symbol à · means divide. system of equations A system of equations is two or more independent equations that are solved together. For example, the system of equations: x + y = 3 and x y = 1 has a solution of x=2 and y=1. terms In an expression or equation, terms are numbers, variables, or numbers with variables. For example, the expression 3x has one term, the expression 42 + 7 has two terms. variable A variable is an unknown or placeholder in an algebraic expression. For example, in the expression 2x+y, x and y are variables. +, (www.EnchantedLearning.com) Learn algebra Symbolizes the number in the account to a group that contains that number of things, for example, No. 5, always stands for a set containing 5 things. In algebra, the symbols may be replaced by numbers, but it is possible to solve the number one or more replace one icon. To learn algebra, we must first learn how to use symbols replace the numbers. And then how to create a constraint for strings of numbers. Groups and variables. There is a relationship between the symbols in algebra and groups of numbers. It is certain that each of us has some knowledge of groups of objects, such as collections of books, collections of postage stamps, and groups of dishes. And groups of numbers are not different for these groups a lot. One way to describe sets of numbers in algebra is that we are using one of the alphabet, such as the name of her p.. Then half of the numbers of this group Bhzaretha brackets of the form {}. For example, can be expressed set of numbers from 1 to 9 as follows: A = {1, 2.3, 4, 5.6, 7, 8.9}. The group of odd numbers under 20 are: B = {1.3, 5, 7.9, 11, 13.15, 17, 19}. These examples demonstrated the models of the groups used in algebra. Suppose that the age of four persons were respectively: 12, 15.20, 24. Then can be written in this age group numbers. A = {12.15, 20, 24}. How is the age of each of them after three years? One way to answer this question is that we write 12 +3.15 +3.20 +3 and 24 + 3. We note that the number 3 is repeated in each of the formulas  ¸ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ four. In algebra we can express all previous versions form a single task is m + 3 where m is any number of numbers of a group. That is, it can replace any of the numbers 12, 15, 20 or 24 m are indicated. Is called the symbol m variable, called the group a field of this variable, but No. 3 in the formula m+3 is called hard because its value is always one. Known variable in algebra as a symbol can be compensated for the number of one or more belongs to a group. We can replace any names lead to correct reports or reports the wrong variable. For example: Hungary is bordered by the State of the Black Sea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Report of the wrong, as in fact can not be like this report is correct only if compensated by the variable r one of the States: Bulgaria or Romania, or Turkey. The report shall be  ¸ Turkey is a country bordered by the Black Sea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ for example, the right one called the compensation that makes the report and called the right roots group consisting of all roots with a solution. The solution set is the previous example. {Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey}. And in reparation for not use the names to compensate for variables, but we use the numbers. Equations known as the camel sports is equal to reflect the two formats. Phrase: Q +7 = 12 For example, an easy equation  ¸ mean the sum of the number 7 with the number equal to 12 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To solve this equation, we can do to compensate for different numbers of Q until we get a report of the equation makes the right one. If we substitute for x the equation becomes number five report is correct, and if we substitute for x any number of other reports, the equation becomes wrong. So to solve this equation set is {5}. This group contains only one root. It is possible that the equation more than one root: X  ² + 18 = 9 o. No. 2 highest first variable x means that the number of representative variable Q is the number of box, that number multiplied by itself once. See: box. In this equation, we can make up for X number 3: 3 ÃÆ'- 3 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 3 9 + 18 = 27 27 = 27 We can also compensate for X number 6: 6 ÃÆ'- 6 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 6 36 + 18 = 54 54 = 54 Any other compensation for making the equation Q report wrong. Then 3 and 6 are the root of the equation. Thus, the solution set is {3.6}. There are also equations having no roots: X = + 3 If we substitute for x any number, this equation becomes a false report, and a solution is called the group of free and symbolized by the symbol {}. and some of the equations, an infinite number (for high standards) from the roots. (X + 1)  ² = x  ² + 2 x +1 In this equation if we substitute for x any number we get the right report, the Group resolved to contain all the numbers http://nabad-alkloop.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38762 What is best way to learn and teach algebra? Step-by-step equations solving is the key of teaching and learning. To find fully worked-out answers and learn how to solve math problems, one step at a time. Studying worked-out solutions is a proven method to help you retain information. Dont just look for the answer in the back of the book; There are five laws basic principles of math governing operations: multiplication addition subtract and expressing the variables and can be compensated for any number Algebra is an essential subject. Its the gateway to mathematics. Its used extensively in the sciences. And its an important skill in many careers. Many people think, it is a nightmare and causes more stress, homework tears and plain confusion than any other subject on the curriculum but that is not true. The importance of understanding equation Connotation and denotation on extension of a concept two opposite yet complementary aspects is clarified the extension is defined vice versa understanding the concept equation includes its connotation and denotations. This session of observed lessons will show the essential nature or the equation is consolidated by designing problem variation putting emphasis on clarifying the connotation and differentiation the boundary of the set of object in the extension. (Page 559 Jifa cai) Whats the best formula for teaching algebra? Immersing students in their course work, or easing them into learning the new skills or does a combination of the two techniques adds up to the best strategy? Researchers at the Centre for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins are aiming to find out through a federally funded study that will span 18 schools in five states this fall. The study, now in its second year of data collection, will evaluate two ways to teach algebra to ninth-graders, determining if one approach is more effective in increasing mathematics skills and performance or whether the two approaches are equally effective. Participating schools in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Virginia will be randomly assigned to one of two strategies for the 2009-2010 school year; to be eligible, students must not have previously taken Algebra I. Twenty-eight high schools were studied during the 2008-2009 school year. One strategy, called Stretch Algebra, is a yearlong course in Algebra 1 with students attending classes of 70 to 90 minutes a day for two semesters. This approach gives students a double dose of algebra, with time to work on fundamental mathematics skills as needed. The second strategy is a sequence of two courses, also taught in extended class periods. During the first semester, students take a course called Transition to Advanced Mathematics, followed by the districts Algebra I course in the second semester. The first-semester course was developed by researchers and curriculum writers at Johns Hopkins to fill gaps in fundamental skills, develop mathematics reasoning and build students confidence in their abilities. The question is, Is it better for kids to get into algebra and do algebra, or to give kids the extra time so the teacher can concentrate more on concepts started in middle schools? said Ruth Curran Neild, a research scientist at Johns Hopkins and one of the studys principal investigators. Teachers using both strategies will receive professional development. Mathematics coaches will provide weekly support to those who are teaching the two-course approach; the study will provide teacher guides and hands-on materials for students in Transition to Advanced Mathematics. Johns Hopkins researchers will be collecting data throughout the school year. Findings are expected during the 2010-2011 school year. http://gazette.jhu.edu/2009/08/17/calculating-the-best-way-for-teaching-algebra/ Learn Algebra, the easy way The key to learn and understand Mathematics is to practice more and more and Algebra is no exception. Understanding the concepts is very vital. There are several techniques that can be followed to learn Algebra the easy way. Learning algebra from the textbook can be boring. Though textbooks are necessary it doesnt always address the need for a conceptual approach. There are certain techniques that can be used to learn algebra the fun and easy way. Listed below are some of the techniques that can be used. Do some online research and you will be surprised to find a whole bunch of websites that offer a variety of fun learning methods which makes learning algebra a pleasant experience and not a nightmare. But the key is to take your time in doing a thorough research before you choose the method that is best for you, or you can do a combination of different methods if you are a person who looks for variety to boost your interest. 1. ANIMATED ALGEBRA : You can learn the basic principles of algebra through this method. Animation method teaches the students the concepts by helping them integrate both teaching methods. When the lessons are animated you actually learn more ! 2. ALGEBRA QUIZZES : You can use softwares and learn at your own pace best of all you dont need a tutor to use it. What you really need is something that can help you with your own homework, not problems it already has programmed into it that barely look like what your teacher or professor was trying to explain. You can enter in your own algebra problems, and it works with you to solve them faster make them easier to understand. 3. INTERACTIVE ALGEBRA : There are several Interactive Algebra plugins that allows the user to explore Algebra by changing variables and see what happens. This promotes an understanding of how you arrive at answers. There are websites that provide online algebra help and worksheets. They also provide interactive online games and practice problems and provide the algebra help needed. It is difficult to recommend better methods for studying and for learning because the best methods vary from person to person. Instead, I have provided several ideas which can be the foundation to a good study program. If you just remember all the rules and procedures without truly understanding the concepts, you will have difficulty learning algebra. (http://www.ehow.com/how_4452787_learn-algebra-easy-way.html)

Feminism And Nationalist Themes

Feminism And Nationalist Themes The twentieth century Indian literature has drawn a considerable amount of its themes especially feminism and nationalist themes from two major epics: The Mahabharata and The Ramayana. Like Bible in European culture these two major epics dominates the Indian culture strongly and powerfully because they discuss all the major problems that are faced by all kinds of people. They discuss the issues of social inequality, gender inequality and for the rights of the lower class people too. Especially in India, for most of the people, myth is a lived reality, is a part of ones lived reality, every day existence, and large communities of people live by myths. As Daniel Tehapda, the philosopher from Cameroon states in La Place du my the dans Lexistence du negro-African. Another critic Ritwik Ghatak says the purpose of using such ancient myths and traditional music is to constantly point towards some dormant inspiration that lies hidden in reality. Sita, the female protagonist of the Ramayana and Draupadi, the female protagonist of the Mahabharata have become signs or cultural icons as pativratas (ideal wives) and as earth born Goddess. In the epics and in the culture that influenced and is influenced by them, a woman alone, a woman the powerful, a woman capable of bringing shame upon her family-that is to say, any woman is a woman in need of control. On a relatively innocent level, she is viewed as vulnerable creature in need of masculine protection. More insidiously, she is seen as essentially unable to control her own fatal force. But literary texts have brought subtle readings of these two epic women- sita can wage a psychological war against her captor Ravana; Draupadi can argue. The Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, is generally agreed to have been composed between 500BCEto 400CE. The Ramayana, attributed to Valmiki, is likely between 200BCE to 200CE. In the eleventh century, the Tamil poet Kamban wrote a recension in the south, and in the sixteenth century,Tulsidas translated the epic into Avadi(old hindu),which was later brought into Bengali by Krittivasa,and into modern Hindi. William Jones translated it to English. Both the epics recension of oral and written have emerged in all major Indian languages, as well as in European languages, from palm leaf into paper, drama, film, poem, etc. When one speaks of epic in India at large, with its literate and non literate audiences, no one written text is necessary to mind: Mahabharata or Ramayana is more likely to be envisioned. Doordharshan televised version of Ramayana, generally based on Tulsidas, but incorporating other major texts, faithfully watched by over80,000,000viewers,some of whom Bathed before watching, garlanded the set like a shrine, and considered viewing of Rama to be a religious experience. (Rich man 3) Most of the versions of epics focus upon the tradional heroes (Rama in the Ramayana, the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata); only very few versions focus the views of the heroine. India is casted as Bharathmata, a maternal figure who has been captured, insulted humiliated by evil men or rakshasas (demons) Draupadi at the hands of Duryodhana, Sita at the hands of Ravana. Social activists or writers perceive the darkness and power of sita and Draupadi to rescue from their avenging figure to liberate one of a nation, of a gender, of a class. This chapter concentrates on the major crisis Sitas reunion with Rama at Valmikis Ashram; Draupadis humiliation at Hastinapura after Yudhistra has lost her in a game of dice, the innocent lives of innocent people was written or reworked in literature. Mahaswetha Devi says, Im not a student of history but anyway I read, I wrote, then I tore away the pages, I collected folklores, ballads, things like that. I was drawn to the great importance of collecting the oral traditions. I was only 26 or 28. Because at the time Thakur mansingh was operating. I had left my child son at home with my husband. I went to all these places. Never have I faced any danger, except one small Encounter with a dacoit. That was the time when I realized that oral tradition, folk material, is very important of historical, material. So those must be kept and preserved and printed if possible, because when these people die, the next generation, their life style might change, they will not see these. Indian people anywhere, tribal or non-tribal whatever happens; they keep it alive in folklores. Else, you will be surprised to know how many songs about Telegana struggle have been collected and published. I have taken After Kurukshetra story collection, Dopdi from Breast Stories and Ambais Atavi for the study. In all these stories, the women move on. They do not wait for endings. They meet the demands of life and find resolutions in nature. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana has received a great deal of exegetical and explicatory attention over the years, yet the voices of the oppressed in the great epic have remained a somewhat neglected field of critical enquiry. Mahaswetha Devi and Ambais palpable intention is to underscore the contrast between the Rajavritta and Lokavritta, in which one Honours and celebrates life. Kunti and Nishadin epitomize these two contrasting world vies respectively. The fifteenth chapter of the original version of the Mahabharata the ashram Vasik Parva describes the three years stay of the three familiar characters of the great epic Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti- in a forest towards end of their lives. After fifteen years of reign, they opt for a life of vanaprastha which is the third of the four stages of life, prescribed tradition for a caste Hindu, the stage of abandoning worldly affairs. Much against his wishes, Yudhistra lets them go. One day, as Dhritarashtra finishes his ablutions and returns to their hermitage, he comes to know that the forest has caught fire. The wind blows and the flames spread everywhere. The animals and the birds start deserting the forest. The blind Dhritarashtra, Gandhari with her blindfolded eyes and kunti, all awaiting death, ready to give themselves up to the flames. They have spent their times in penance, prayers and yogas till their death in the forest-fire. In her attempt to rewrite the story, Devi has made a couple of brilliant interpolations-Kuntis confession, her guilt-stricken conscience at being unwed mother and her helplessness in not accepting Karna as her son in public. What shocks her more is the Nishadins reminder of a greater crime committed by her, of which she was totally unaware, that is, the murder of six innocents belonging to the lower caste society. In her introduction to the politics of literary theory and representation, Pankaj.K.Singh states that, this is an interrogative rewriting of a segment of the Mahabharata from the point of view of the Nishadin whose mother-in-law and her five sons were made to die in the fire of Lakshagriha to cover the escape of Kunti and her sons, and who holds up for interrogation the whole practice of Rajavritta. Commenting upon its cotemporary relevance Singh states further that contemporary India has its own subalterns in the lower castes, the tribal, the landless, the poor and their women, Devi gives voice in her writing. Devi says, its my realization that the more we read through the lines and give voice to the countless infantryman used to protect the landed epical heroes, the dasis (mother of vidura, mother yuyutsu and countless others) and the vratyas used as cannon fodder during rajavritta emergency, the more the mythical time come into focus and the eternal game of politics comes into view. The first thing which strikes us, as the story opens, is the pitiable, pathetic plight of Kunti, the mother of mighty pandavas, queen of Pandu undergoes an existential despair, Mother of the Pandava, wife of Pandu, the role of a daughter-in-law, the role of a queen, the role of a mother, playing these hundreds of roles where was the space, the time to be her true self? All that while, amazingly she never felt that anything was hers, hers alone. She feels betrayed by life, now, she cant bear to keep it all locked inside her. But never tried to learn the life style of Nishadins, even she did not care their presence, one day she sees some middle-aged Nishadins moving about the forest with their children and familiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Kunti never tried to learns the language they speak. Kunti is not happy, she laments of her present situation, whereas Nishadins are happy without any crumbling. This forest is full of tall, resinous trees. They gather this resin, honey, tubers and roots. They seem to be a tranquil, happy, hardworking lot, their faces always wreathed in breath smiles. After watching nishadins life Kunti feels that she has wasted her life by following the rituals of rajavritta. Watching Nishadins, it strikes her for the first time that she is wasting herself living like this, subsisting on rotting, withered leaves. Blindly following predetermined predestined path to death. Then realizes that, she never knew that she carried within her such a burden of unspoken thoughts. She feels guilty of being on unwed mother to Karna, one of the greatest heroes of Mahabharata and her helplessness, in accepting him openly as her son because of the oppressive patriarchal social order gnaws away at her conscience, Karna looked so much at peace as he lay there, dead. Gandharis piercing cry at the sight of Karnas body struck me like a whip. Why did I not have the courage? To cradle Karnas severed head in my lap and say, this is my first born? Dhananjaya! You have murdered your eldest brother! The son I abandoned for fear of public shame! Had I not disowned him, my name would have been sullied forever. Karna is the only one of my sons whose father I took of my own free will. What irony! What irony! Not one of the five pandavas as is sired by Pandu! Yet they are Pandavas. And Karna? A carpenters son. O! Ancient mother! That day Kunti stayed silent. What greater sin can there be? Gandhari knew she was pure and innocent. This knowledge gave her courage to publicly speak t he truth. Death is approaching slowly towards her and she feels the urge to unburden herself before she dies. She knows that the confession at this stage is urgent because Silence would be unpardonable. Then, her second confession, its about when she directly went to Karna asking him to leave Duryodhana and join to Yudhisthira I hesitated no more. I have not committed just, one sin, after all. I had not told my sons about the birth of Karna. Then, the day before the battle, I went to Karna and told him, abandon Duryodhana, side with yudhisthira. At this time she feels for being Rajavritta, living in the Rajavritta makes one cunning, treacherous. Because love did not dry Kunti to meet Karna only her self-interest did. Against the world of Rajavritta, the dark Virgilian world of deceit, duplicity and double moral standard stands the world of Lokavritta, world of Nishadins that is guided by natures law, where different standards of judgments do not have any place. Natures law. Nature abhors waste. We honour life. When a man and woman come together, they create a new life. But you wont understand. As the Nishadin proudly tells Kuti, we do not deny the demands of life. If we are widowed we have the right to remarry. Those who wish to, can marry again. We did so. We have husbands, childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth that is the way of the Rajavritta. That is what Kurukshetra was all about. The Lokavrittas ways are different. The conversation between Kunti and Nishadin brings out the sharp contrast between the worlds of Lokavritta and Rajavritta, the Rajavritta folk and the Lokavritta folk have different values, different ideas of right and wrong. If a young Nishadin girl makes love to the boy of her choice and gets pregnant, we celebrate it with a wedding. After the conversation Kunti understands clearly that Lokavrittas moral and spiritual ethics have been destroyed by the Rajavritta and which does not allow her to lead instinctive life and to confess her sin. It is in the forest Kunti realizes her true self, do not forgive me, o mother! The brute wealth of the royal palace, the might of the son on the throne, I felt caged and torn to pieces. Kunti dreams of her past life. She recalls her life as Rajavritta, the life of Rajavritta was so different, and she had so many roles to play. Deep in the forest she notices the Nishadins but nothing registers on her mind, oh, yes, I not only understand it, I speak it too. Of course you never thought of us as human, did you? No more than mute rocks, or trees, or animals. The Nishadins are so self-composed, hardworking, innocent people. But Rajavritta knows only to attend the Brahmins and worshipping the Gods. Kunti does not remember ever talking to a lower-class people, how could they? Her life had been the Rajavritta, the Gods, serving the Brahmins. Had she ever spoken to a dasi? Had she developed any genuine bond with hidimba? Life outside the Rajavritta had not touched her at all. Kunti wishes to confess, to purge herself of the sins she had committed. After every confession Kunti finds herself at peace, cleansed light and on every occasion. The nishadins hear her maternal lamentations, but Kunti believes them to be as dumb as rocks. Nishadins do not know her language or Kunti their, still the elderly nishadins reprimands her: no confessing of sins today? Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ive heard you out day after day, waiting to see if you will confess your gravest sin. Your languageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦likes mineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦? Oh yes, I not only understand it, I speak it too. Of course you never thought of us as human, did you? No more than the mute rocks or animals. The elderly Nishadin accuses her of committing the most heinous crime, the massacre of innocents for self-interest. As the Varanavata episode from the Mahabharata was a conspiracy to kill Pandavas. But the Pandavas came to know the plan of Kauravas and hatched a counter-plan for survival. When the vax palace was set to fire by the trusted soldiers of Duryodhana, the pandavas escaped through a secret tunnel. In order to make the Kauravas to believe that Kunti and Pandavas were burnt to death, an elderly Nishadin and her five sons were invited to a feast and oceans of wine were served with food. The innocent Nishadin and her five sons drank too much and slept well. The elderly Nishadin, in Mahaswetas story whom discusses with Kunti is none other than the daughter-in-law of the dead old Nishadin. Kunti is shocked by this revelation and fears for her life. The elderly Nishadin makes clear view of their (tribal) ethics to kunti. She says, no I wont kill you. The Nishadin informs Kunti that a forest fire, which is disastrous natural phenomenon, has already broken out. She says, Yes, we can tell, from smelling the air, just as the other creatures of the forest can, that a fire has started. That is why they are fleeing like we are. Where to? Far away, beyond the reach of the forest fire. Where there are mountains, lakes and winding rivers. Kunti asks for forgiveness but the elderly Nishadin says, three blind, weak and infirm people cannot make it there. One is blind from birth, another has chosen to be a blind, and you, you are the blindest of the three. The thought of forest fire makes Kunti fearful but the Nishadin is not ready to forgive. She believes that it is easy for the Rajavritta to commit sin. to beg forgiveness is typical of the Rajavritta . The narrative ends with Kuntis acceptance of the destiny with the sense of finality. She got up. She has to go back to the Ashram. Wait for the forest fire. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, after their loss of a hundred sons, are waiting patiently for death, waiting for the final fire to consume them. Kunti also welcomes death. In the story the five women, the narrators are five war widows, their husbands, foot soldiers, died in Kurukshetra war to protect the chariot mounted heroes. these women are not of the rajavritta, women of royalty, nor are they servants or attendants. These women are from the families of the hundreds of foot-soldiers Podatics from various other little kingdom. The women of Rajavritta strictly follow the ordeal but the women of Janavritta lives life in close association with the natural world. The Rajavritta is represented by Kunti, Draupadi, Subhadara and the pregnant Uttara where as the five women from the Kurujangal represent the Janavritta. I am Godhumi. This is Gomathi, holding my hand. That is Yamuna, with the red spot between her brows. That one standing there with a finger on her chin is Vitasta. And this is Vipasha, Vitastas sister. The five women consider the war as futile clash of egos, so many great kings joined in a war between brothers. Some choose one side, some cross over to the other. It was not just brother slaughtering brother. We know of quarrels jealousies rivalries too. But such a war for just a throne? This, a holy war?! A righteous war?! Just call it a war of greed! The five women are appointed to keep Uttara company and help her to overcome her grief. But to Uttara all the five women seems to be inseparable. the five women seem to think as one. They are so close that they seem to understand each other without words, speak to one another with their eyes alone. They look, they understand. The companionship of these five women is in contrast to the isolation of the women of the Rajavritta. Uttara feels as a stranger to them. Uttara, like the other women of Rajavritta believes that all the soldiers who died in the holy war are very secured in Divyalok the heaven, but the five young women reject this idea. Gothumi says, no chariots came down from Divyalok. They did not go to heaven. The foot soldiers, died fighting in the very same Dharmayudha. But no funeral rites were held for their souls. Further they reject the idea of Dharmayudha, this was not out Dharmayudha. Brother kills brother, uncle kills nephew, shishya kills guru. It may be your idea of dharma, it is not ours. The Janavritta women enjoy the public participation where as it is denied to rajavritta. Thus Uttara expresses surprise, imagine men and women singing together. The rajavritta women have no companionship or bond with their child, at best her child will stay with her a year. After that, the wet nurses will take over its upbringing. Royal offspring are not raised by their mothers. Then will begin the prescribed rites and rituals, the self-denial, the penance. So, this story clearly shows that the rajavrittas were restricted by false notions of high civilization. The natural human state is represented by the five Kurunjugal tribal women, whose life, ideas and quests are opposite to the destructive and sterile attitudes of the higher class of society. Uttara understands the difference and is not ready to leave them. But as widows of rajavritta, all the women (widows) concerns only for Uttara and not for the five young widow. Rajavritta women expect them to give a good company to Uttara because she may beget a son for the throne. how anxious her mother-in-law are! Draupadi, Subhadara, all the others, are deeply worried. If Uttara bears a son, he will be a king. After becoming so close with the five people Uttara used to question, did the rajavritta the royalty ever care to know about the Janavritta common humanity? through the story the five women Mahasweta Devi reveals to the reader the other side of Kurukshetra war and the ingenious of rajavritta women towards Lokavritta people. The third story, Souvali focuses on the irreconcibility of the rajavritta and the Janavritta. Souvali is a former handmaid who served to Dhritarashtra and bore him a son named Souvalya; known as yuyutsu. Souvali, a woman from Janavritta is forced to send her son to the Gurugrigha at the age of five. She is not able to bare the life of Janavritta so she gives up her dasi status and lives outside of the town, waiting for her son to return. On the margins of the town live the marginalized. Their settlement is a lively, noisy place. The alleys are narrow, the houses small. Ponds here and there, surrounded by trees, cattle sheds beside the huts. There, on the stoop of a large hut, sat Souvali. Souvalya is insulted and discriminated from the Kauravas, Dasiputra! Slave child! Its because of this Dasiputra that you got water from a sons hand! Kunti! Gandhari! Gandhari never once, in all these years, acknowledged you as a Kaurava. But he only performs the last rites (tarpan) for Dhritarashtra after the forest fire. The conversation between mother and son reveals that Souvalya is happy to rise above the status of dasi-putra by the pandavas. But his mother is not happy to accept the recognition rather she calls it as a farce. She wants her son to be a Janavritta, her son is foolish. Following the norms and customs of royalty even though he is one of the common folk. She thinks to herself, if you must learn, learn from your mother. I was nothing but a dasi in the royal house-hold but here, amongst the common people, Im a free woman. This story shows the difference between centre and the margins of society. its true. Its in the janavritta,amongst the common people, that we are in touch with our natural emotions. Tenderness,caring,compassion romance,love anger,jealousy. But in the rajavritta,you know how they keep such natural emotions strictly in check. Thus, mahasweta devi shows the two types- the subaltern as gendered subject and the subaltern as class subject clearly. The charcters exemplify the twin problems of class and gender. Mahasweta devis another story draupadi concentrates on the major crisis of drupadis humiliation at hastinapura after yudhistra has lost her in a game of dice. Briefly the Mahabharata chronicles the ancestry and the escalating conflicts of two sets of the brothers, the pandavas and the kaurauvas,for ruler ship of the land. In most recensions, drupadi is born from the earth(although some have her emerging from the fire of her fathers ritual sacrifice). Not long thereafter (she emerges as a young woman of marriageable age), her father arranges a sw aymvara, a gathering of eligible men who compete for her hand in marriage. Arjuna, the third of the five pandavas,wins,as she had hoped he would. But when he returns with his brothers to tell their mother the joyful news, their mother thinking he has won some material goods, commands him to share his winnings with his brothers. As her word can never be taken back, arjuna must share her, to the consternation of all. Draupadi marries all five pandavas in turn, yudishtra, the eldest and wisest; Bhima,noted for his physical strength and tenderheartedness; Arjuna, the consummate warrior, friend of Krishna, and Draupadis favourite; and the twins nakula and sahadeva, celebrated for their good looks. They device an arrangement to eradicate jealousy: beginning with Yudhisthira, each brother ha sole right of conjugal acces to Draupadi for a year at atime, during which the other may not even accidently enter the marital bedroom. Draupadi bears a son to each husband. Eventually, due to pressure exerted upon them by the king Dhritarashtra, the two sets of brothers reconcile, although mutual suspicion remains. In a move of anticipatory, Dhritarashtra divides up the kingdom between the two sides of the family: half to the pandavas and the other half to the hundred kauravas, an arrangement most unsatisfactory to the kauravas. The leading kaurava , Aduryodhana, arranges for yudhisthiras horse sacrifice and coronation,followed in the kauravas grand assembly hall by a ritual game of dice in which players are supposed to ceremonially lose to the new king. But Duryodhana puts his maternal uncle Sakuni, a master at dice, to play in his stead, and the loaded dice take away yudhistras land, wealth and slaves. Yudhistra then stakes each of his brothers in turn, again losing each time. He stakes himself, and again he loses. While the pandavas, stripped to their undergarments, stand aside helplessly as slaves, Duryodhana demands that Draupadi be brought out of the womens hall, and sends a messenger to fetch her. Informed about what has just occurred, she asks whether Yudhishtra lost her before or after he lost himself, and argues that one who no longer owns himself cannot own another to give up. She sends back the messenger. Another messenger is sent, and again returns. Finally, in frustration, Duhshasana himself goes to the womens hall; Drupadi tells him to leave her alone that she is having her period and unable to come to mens gathering. Ignoring her protestations, he drags her by the hair out to the assembly hall, where she pleads in vain with her husbands to help her, which they cannot do. Draupadis fury unmans all present. A debate ensues, interrupted by Duhshanans demanding that Draupadi be stripped, and Duryodhana laughingly patting his thigh to invite her to sit. This humiliation in the assembley hall is Draupadis central crisis, and is related in varying ways. Most recensions show her caling for Krishna to protect her; some show her merely as being jeeringly told to pray. In either case, a miracle occurs: as Duhshasana pulls at the cloth, Draupadi remains clothed:sari after sari appears, and ultimately, after pulling off hundreds of saris, Duhshasana collapses,weary and confused. Dhritarashtra halts the proceedings and grands Draupadi twoo boons. She asks for the freedom of Yudhisthira and for that of the other pandavas. The king grands freedom to every one, and restores all of their posssssessions and land to the pandavas. A second dice game ensues, which Yudhisthira again loses:the terms of the loss are that the pandavas must go into exile for twelve years, remain in exile in disguissse for another year, after which their half of the kingdom would be restored.draupadi follows them into exile, and tjhrought their years away from the kingdom is most eager for revenge: Bhima fulfill his promise to break Duryodhanas thigh and to drink Duhshasanas blood. A reworking of the mahabharatas assembly hall scene, draupadi brings forward the struggle of a santal woman(black like the epics draupadi, for whom she has been named by her mothers master). A cadre in the naxalbari rebellion, draupadi, in the text referred as dopdi is ultimately captured by senanayak, a Bengali army officer whose expertise in anthropology makes him perfect for the task of apprehending tribals. in order to destroy the enemy,become one . senanayak has become one just as in the Mahabharata , kauravas planned to wipe out draupadis husband,the five pandavas. Both the narratives clearly show the struggle of less powered people at the hands of powered ones and the less powered peoples wake of the powerful cheating. Similarly to the disempowering of the epic draupadis husbands,who,enslaved by the loss at the dice,cannot move,dopdis husband is murdered. on one such search, army informant Dukhiram Gharari saw a young Santhal man lying on his stomach on a flat stone, dipping h is face to drink water. The soldiers shot him as he lay. As the 303 threw him off spread- eagled nd brought a bloody foam to his mouth, he roared Ma-ho and then went limp. They realize later that it was the redoubtable Dulna Majhi. She refuses to fall into the armys trap by going to bend his body. The problem is thus solved. Then, leaving Dulnas body on the stone, the soldiers climb the trees in green camouflage. They embrace the leafy boughs like so many great God pass and wait as the large red ants bite their private parts. To see if anyone comes to take away the baby. This is the hunters way, not the soldiers. But senanayak knows that these brutes can not be dispatched by the approved method. So he asks his men to draw the prey with a corpse as bait. All will come clear, he says. I have almost deciphered Dopdis song. The soldiers get going at his command. But no one comes to claim Dulnas Corpse. Rather than lead her pursuers to capture other rebels, Dopdilets herself be caught, refuses to tell names.unlike the epic Draupadi,whose sari flow out in endless profusion,she is stripped, Draupadi mejhen was apprehended at 6.53 pm. It took an hour to get her to camp. Questioning took another hour exactly. No one touched her, and she was allowed to sit on a canvas camp stool. At 8.57 senanayaks dinner hour approached, and saying,Make her. Do the needful, he disappeared. The next day she is ordered to senanayaks tent and offered a pot water to slake her by-now overpowering thirst. But her response upsets all expections, Draupadi stands up. She pours the water down on the ground. Tears her piece of cloth with her teeth. Seeing such strange behavior,the guard says,shes gone crazy, and runs for orders. He can lead the prisoner out but does not know what to do if the prisoner behaves incomprehenstably .so he goes to ask his superior. Mahasweta devis Deaupadi refuses to be clothed again. She forces the confrontation with her tormentors-letting them see exactly what they have done to her, refusing to futilely attempt to cover herself. No goddess will come to help her and no king will fight for her behalf. Senanayk is paralysed at what he sees, Draupadistands before him, naked. Thigh and public hait matted with dry blood. Two breasts,two wounds. What is this? He is about to bark. Draupadi comes closert. Stands with her hand on her hip, laughs and says, The object of your search,Dopdi Mejhen. You asked them to make me up, dont you want to see how they made me? Where are her clothes? wont put them on,sir. Tearing them. Drauypadis black body comes even closer. Draupadi shakes wih an indomitable laughter that senanayak simply cannot understand. Her raveged lips bleed as she begins laughing. Draupadi wipes the blood on her palm and says in a voice that is as terrifying, sky spiliting and sharp as her ululation,whats the use of clothes? You can stripe me, but how can you clothe me again?are you a Man? She looks around and chooses thr front of senanayaks white bush shirt to spit a bloody gob at and says, There isnt a man here that I should be ashamed. I will not let you put my clothe on me. What more can you do? Come on, counter me- come on counter me-? Draupadi pushes senanayak with her two mangled breasts, and for the first time senanayak is afraid to stand before an unarmed target, terribly afraid. In the Mahabharata Draupadi is dragged from her menstrual cycle into the assembly hall in one garment, the stained garment is signifier that dushasana is expected to understand. She is not to be touched, and she certainly is not to be brought to the view of men. She reminds him,but he mocks at her and forces her to be in the hall. Dopdis signifiers of bllod, in contrast , mark a rape and torture completed rather than forestalled. The soldiers and senanayak are paralysed rather than goaded like Duhshasana into further action. Like the epic Draupadiu, who decries the impotence of her husbands, dopdi can find no man present within the camp. Ferociously, she defiles senanayak with her blood-she spits on him with her bleeding mouth, and pushes him with her wounded breasts into hiswhite shirt. Occypying his physical, forcing him to see her made up, she shoves his own fear into his face. Unarmed, but threatens what the actions of the next hour may be. In dopds case,the insults she hurls at senanayak and his men- which echo those that the master narrator Vyasa gave to the epic Draupadi in the assembly hall, and even her spitting and her pushing her wounded