Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Compare and contrast the two companies on the various features shown Essay
Compare and contrast the two companies on the various features shown in each demo within your paper - Essay Example Interactive analysis and the presence of a powerful dashboard makes users very comfortable to create excel and securely share them across the enterprise. It enables IT teams to manage data and metadata in a central and control permissions as well as scale up to wide deployments in the enterprise. Tableau is a generational business intelligence and visual analysis software that the work by putting data on the hands of the individuals who needs the information (Havenstein, 2006). IBM Cognos is a business intelligence dashboarding solution that helps the user in monitoring, measuring and managing performance of corporates. At a glance, performance that are timely, factual and views of the business are provided by the dashboards. Anomalies that can turn into business issues that are of significant importance can be identified using IBM Cognos and the root causes can be dug deeper. IBM Cognos offer the following solutions to their users; personalization view of the information that are, deliverance of high degree visualization that have graphs, gauges and charts. IBM dashboard can be delivered easily in multiple formats that can suit specific needs of users who do business. Finally, they are easily managed from IT perspective. IBM Cognos has scorecard software that helps the individual to align teams and tactics with strategies, communicating goals consistently and monitoring performance against targets. Individuals can use IBM Cognos Scorecarding in management of the full scope of processes in business (Havenstein, 2007). Business intelligence is a term that means to end despite the approach used. The term end sounds decision making in the organization. Therefore, there is a need to understanding organization decision-making process. There is a need to differentiating information, data and knowledge in an organization. Information is differentiated from data by the use of context. When related to other data, data itself
Monday, October 28, 2019
A Change of Heart Essay Example for Free
A Change of Heart Essay A Change of Heart I was only fourteen years old. The time had come for me to make a decision, to choose between two destinies. It was the time for me to decide whether I would maintain the plain look and keep my mom jeans, or whether I would ditch those loser jeans and go with the sleek skinny jeans. Though most people wouldnââ¬â¢t consider this a matter worth debating over, it reached the highest of my concerns. Knowing the knowledge that we live in a judgmental world, a place where people judge based on outward appearance, I went with the choice that was clear; I must invest in the skinnies. The mall was the place for a guy like me to be! After me and my brother arrived, we browsed a large variety of pants. Red, yellow, black, and white, the clothing stores contained many unique fashions and colors. The prices made everything easy: the higher the price, the better the product! Due to my brother, who has the fashion sense of a queen, I was bound for the looks of awesomeness. He would tell me what matches and what does not. I trusted him. After all, it was him that got me interested in this style! Now that I have this tremendous change of heart, there ainââ¬â¢t no going back. Never in a million years would I trade a pair of my tight-around-the-booty jeans for a yucky, bland pair of mom jeans like I used to have. I remain thankful for the fun tradition me and my brother have of broinââ¬â¢ out together at the mall and movies. The memories and knowledge I have gained goes higher than any mountain Iââ¬â¢ve ever climbed.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver :: Radio Technology Electronics Essays
The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver The AM Radio has been around for a long time. When the AM radio was first invented, it was not meant to be used to broadcast music. That is why today most music radio stations are on the FM band. Instead, the AM band was used to carry voice frequencies, thus, all the AM talk radio stations. Due to new technology, music is broadcast over the AM band but does not have the same sound quality as the FM band. According to the FCC regulations at www.fcc.gov, the AM broadcasters are only allowed 5 KHz each side of their carrier frequency for their side bands. These side bands will be explained in more detail later on. In order to understand an AM receiver, one must understand each stage and what it does. An AM receiver can be broken down into six stages. These stages will be explained one at a time. The first stage is the RF amplifier. The AM antenna runs into the RF amp where the desired frequency is selected. As stated by Grob (1997), the typical band for AM is 535 Hz to 1605 KHz. For the duration of the paper, we will assume that we are trying to receive a station that is located on 1290 KHz signal. The antenna used must be able to pick up all the stations on the AM dial. Knowing this, we need to select the one we want to hear. In this case, we want 1290 KHz or The Country KOWW. When the dial on the radio is turned to select 1290 KHz, it does two things. There are two variable capacitors The Physics of an AM Radio Receiver being adjusted. I will begin by discussing the first capacitor. This capacitor is connected in parallel with an inductor. While the capacitance changes as the dial is turned, the resonant frequency of the LC circuit also changes. This process is called inductor and capacitor in parallel. When the capacitor is in just the right spot, the resonant frequency will be 1290 KHz. This LC circuit is designed so that only the resonant frequency is passed. The 1290 KHz will now be passed on to the next stage and all other frequencies will be filtered out. The RF amp must also have good sensitivity, which according to Scott Rasmussen (2003), is the ability to amplify a very weak signal.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Administrative research paper
Operational efficacy in any institution is essential to the success of the organizational goals and objectives. Healthcare institutions encounter an increasing challenge in proper utilization of resources, improving care and lowering costs. The reduction of bottlenecks and the implementation of solutions that facilitate efficient elucidations to major challenges allow any business to prosper. However, In Long term acute care (LATA) hospital facilities for seniors, the assertion Is easier said than done.Successful action management is not a ââ¬Ëone time' event. Our Lady of the Lake demands rational ND accurate decision-making. The capturing, evaluating and improving data is the first phase on the path to prosperity. This research paper examines the fundamental aspects of operational management in an L TACT hospital setting. Our Lady of the Lake is focused on how events will be planned and organized to advertise the hospital and ensure that the community embraces all of the services .Our Lady of The Lake Hospital explores how advertising will be done to increase the publicity of the facility. In conclusion, it explores the purchasing and inventory processes that the Hospital ill need in order for its success. Operation management is focused in dealing with facts to streamline future performance of an organization. Therefore, it is imperative to capitalize on the sizes and accuracy of data collected.The tools that are essential for improving the operation of L TACT are contained in the data collected. The management of the analyzed data is essential in supporting quality decision-making. Inherently, data is determined by the numbers and figures collected. In each series of numbers lies a specific pattern. The recognition of the trends in these series enables one to exploit hem in improving the day-to-day operations of the facility (Russell & Taylor, 2010).The critical phases of ensuring effective operation management in L TACT hospitals include: Setting the obje ctive Identifying the inherent and potential risks Defining success criteria in terms of benchmarks Assessing risks involved in meeting the set success criteria Producing the action plan and setting the timeline Implementing the action plan Monitoring and reviewing the outcomes of the plan The increasingly competitive healthcare industry requires facility management to improve hospital and health systems through the incorporation of innovative operation management strategies utilized in other successful industries such as manufacturing plants and factory floors to get ahead of competition and gain market share through the provision of high quality health services. The Kamikaze Technique will be utilized to ensure success in the facility. The technique is widely and successfully used in the manufacturing industry.The approach will comprise of the analysis of the client's experience from start to finish. This will be a continuous process where relevant and appropriate alterations will be initiated to improve all service aspects. The process starts from the design of the facility, through the organization of surgical supplies and planning of Mrs., to the movement of clients. As the operations gradually improve, the facility will save 3. 5 percent per patient annually. The efficacy improvements will enable the hospital serve 40 percent more clients in the next five years. The move will allow the company to circumvent more than $30 million in capital expenditure.Therefore positioning the hospital to have sufficient funds for further expansion. Planning and organizing events New businesses require marketing regarding their existence, the offering of alternatives, improved services compared to the existing ones and consumer awareness. Community events are among the events that have previously proved successful in engaging the community to ensure that they can identify with an organization. The events that involve patients and their family members are essential in dem onstrating the potential of a L TACT facility. Considering that Our Lady of the Lake hospital in this research paper is new, it is essential to demonstrate to the public the potential of the services and the staff.Initially, in order to reach a wide customer base, the hospital will engage the services of an advertising agency to forums for adults where they can freely interact with the hospital staff. The marketing department will use the opportunity to promote the services offered by the facility. For children, the events will include plays that will keep them engaged as the adults are given information about the hospital and the new services that will be offered. It is imperative to develop a strategy that will ensure attracting a huge customer base. In this regard, the hospital will offer free long-term service for the first three patients in each of these events.Others that will attend the events will be given free one-time service and consequently requested to make follow-up vi sits to the facility (Punk, 2013). Planning and coordinating advertising for visibility The emergence of many hospitals requires that the institutions invest significantly on advertising to promote the services offered and attract clients. Intrinsically, few hospitals do not advertise their services particularly those that offer services unavailable in other hospitals such as cardiac and neurological services. In financing advertising, hospital managements require implementing a variety of best raciest to ensure the success of the strategy (Russell & Taylor, 2010).These strategies will be utilized to ensure the success of the L TACT facility. The facility will embrace retail advertising. This strategy requires taking the promotions to where the potential clients are located. Prior to camping in these locations, the hospital will place adverts in the local newsprint, social media, bill boards and television. The adverts will only be meant to catch the attention of the public about a forthcoming exhibition in selected shopping malls building one on one relationships with community members. The actual demonstrations will be inducted in the exhibition stands in a variety of the selected shopping malls, parks and streets.The approach will allow clients see the available products while marketing staff will explain the services, and the physicians and clinical officers will answer questions (Carcinoma, 2013). The marketing division will target holidays and condition-cognizance months to promote the technology, services and medical staff. The holiday-based promotion is projected to expand. The hospital will therefore have the opportunity to engage clients, relatives and medical staff in a constructive way. At the same time, the managements will attract media coverage. Considering the wide target market, the management will require increasing the marketing manpower (Moan, Kumar & Superhumanly, 2013). Additionally, it is imperative to be discriminatory when selecting th e advertising and promotion efforts.For instance, it is economical to label the pharmacy bags of the hospital. Passersby are likely to notice the hospital's logo on the bag when carried by a patient. They will become inquisitive about the new hospital in their backyard and people tend to remember images the more they see them. To properly encode a memory, you must first be paying attention. Since you cannot pay attention to everything all the time, most of what you encounter every day is simply filtered out, and only a few stimuli pass into your conscious awareness. Purchasing and inventory The first step towards the effective operational management is the purchase of of processing devices and servers.The Health Information Technology (HIT) will cater to the rest of the software to run an efficient operational management system. There is a wide range of inventory materials that require to be purchased for maintaining patients' records. However, considering the contemporary level of technological advancements, it is imperative to embrace emerging technologies to ensure competitiveness in the healthcare industry. Among the technologies that will be utilized in the facility to facilitate operational management include Electronic Health Records (ERR), Electronic Medical Records (EMMER), Personal Health Records (PAR) and Health Information Technology (HIT). To successfully purchase and implement the technologies, there will be a process involving the mapping of chart data.This process aligns contemporary used data components with the features of the ERR. In order to maximize the reimbursements of the HIT, the conversion process will be leaned and the workflow will be reviewed to establish any opportunities for improving the processes. The digitizing of all the hospital records will simplify and prompt access of any information that facilitate the efficient delivery of services. These technologies will be integrated with accounting packages that will enable the eval uation of the hospital's financial performance while reflecting the impact of other technologies aimed at streamlining service delivery (Russell & Taylor, 2010).The Arena BOOM Control assists organizations in managing bills of materials (MM). It also helps in controlling the equines change process while sharing product and service information with suppliers and providers. Using such a strategy in the L TACT facility will ensure that the right products are generated, patients get the right service, schedules are met and costs are controlled. Implementing solutions using an operational lens, the facility will receive extra- and well-earned-visibility in addition to the attention received through advertising. The package is essential for monitoring resource utilization. References Carcinoma, A. (2013). Strategies for hospital advertising success.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
the best movie I have ever seen
In my personal opinion Avatar is the best movie I have ever seen. I loved everything about the movie, especially the state-of-the-art technology. When I first saw the trailer for Avatar there were no famous actors in it but the thing that did draw me into seeing it was the amazing scenery. Most of the scenery in the movie reminded me of a tropical rain forest except the rain forest literally jumps out at you. After I saw Avatar for the first time with my older brother and dad, I felt like walking outside and hugging a tree. The director James Cameron has been working on this film for more than 15 years and a budget over 300 million. James Cameronââ¬â¢s Avatar is like nothing you have ever seen. The movie unfolds on a digitally created world called Pandora, the craziest world you canââ¬â¢t even imagine. Huge rock formations hang miles above the ground with waterfalls running off them into the air; flowers that look out of this world hide in the ground if you so much as touch them; little floating flowers that swim through the air like little jellyfish off the sacred tree. Since the movie is in 3D most of this beautiful scenery dances before your eyes. On the beautiful plant of Pandora, humans seek to find mineral deposits of Petroleum which is worth more than diamonds. The problem is not finding the Petroleum itââ¬â¢s the native forest people called the Naââ¬ËVi. The Naââ¬â¢Vi live in a tree thatââ¬â¢s as big as a skyscraper, the huge tree is sitting on top of the richest Petroleum deposits. The military wants to take action to force the Naââ¬â¢Vi out of their homes but the scientists urge the military to let them try a more diplomatic approach before they take action. This is where the scientist recruits a young paraplegic soldier, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), to infiltrate them by linking his mind to one of their bodies, genetically bred by the army for the purpose. They put Jake in a device that lets him control one of the Naââ¬â¢Vi bodies so he can move among their people and earn their trust. While all this is happening Jake is safe at the military base sitting in this machine for hours like a vegetable. The reason why they choose Jake for this assignment is because his older brother was on this mission but died. The military didnââ¬â¢t want to get rid of the avatar so they found his twin brother Jake to help. Jake acts as a spy for the humans learning the ways of the Naââ¬â¢Vi but in time falls in love with the Naââ¬â¢Vi princess, he starts to wonder if heââ¬â¢s really on the right side. Most movies that I see I can easily predict what was about to happen or going to happen in the future. But I could never have guessed most of the things that happened. When I saw Avatar it was like I was in this futuristic dream that I couldnââ¬â¢t escape from, not that I wanted to even leave for a second to go to the bathroom. I remember having to go to the bathroom really bad after drinking a large coke; I held it in for most of the movie until I couldnââ¬â¢t any longer. Avatar has been nominated for 9 Oscar awards. Those nominations are best art direction, best cinematography, best directing, best film editing, best original score, best picture, best sound editing, best sound mixing and best visual effects. There were no performance nominations; Iââ¬â¢m not surprised at this because the visual effects and graphics are what draw you in to see the movie. In my opinion the acting wasnââ¬â¢t good or bad it was just ok. I think this movie would have done much better than it has if Cameron higher some better known actors such as Leonardo Dicaprio. Above all I would highly recommend going to see this big-budget mainstream film. If you can go to the loudest, biggest, brightest theater you can find and if you go deaf or blind from seeing this movie it will be well worth it.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
ECHR and the British judiciary essays
ECHR and the British judiciary essays Has the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British Statue law fundamentally altered the role of the judiciary in British politics? The European Convention on Human Rights was drafted as a reaction to the human rights violations of the World Wars; the convention was an attempt to ensure that basic human rights would be protected thereafter. After being the first nation to sign European Convention on Human Rights in 1951, the British government did not feel it necessary to incorporate the convention into British statute law. The primary reason was that the government felt that the rights protected by the treaty were already upheld by the combination of British statute and common law. However, a growing number of cases where British citizens have been forced to go to the European Court of Human Rights in order to have grievances heard that are protected by the treaty, but not by British law resulted in the government reconsidering this position. This led the passing of the Human Rights Act in 1998 by the Blair government; this incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into British statute law. The outcome of the Human Rights Act (1998) is that the judiciary in Britain have been granted a new power, the ability to deem a law incompatible with the convention. This has altered the traditional role of the judiciary, throughout the rest of this essay I will examine to what extent the position of the judiciary has been altered by the incorporation of the convention. The role of the judiciary in the British system has traditionally been interpretation of the statute law made by Parliament and the common law. This stems from the manner in which the judicial system came to be at the end of the English Civil War in 1641. Medieval judges were appointed by the Crown; they had the sole ability of declaring and applying the law. They did not however have the mandate to amend the law or interpret it in...
Monday, October 21, 2019
An Examination of Figurative and Literal Debris in Concrete Island Essays
An Examination of Figurative and Literal Debris in Concrete Island Essays An Examination of Figurative and Literal Debris in Concrete Island Paper An Examination of Figurative and Literal Debris in Concrete Island Paper Essay Topic: Literature J. G. Ballardââ¬â¢s Concrete Island tells the story of a wealthy architect, Robert Maitland, who is forced to survive on a manmade island in the middle of a motorway intersection following a car crash. As Groes points out in his paper, Ballardââ¬â¢s Concrete Island examines the social and cultural trends in postwar London through an extreme situation experienced by the main character Robert Maitland (2011). It is argued that Ballardââ¬â¢s writing depicts how changes in urban spaces are reshaping social relationships (Groes, 2011). Notably, debris forms as a result of the people and places that have been leftover from rapid societal transformations. Ballardââ¬â¢s Concrete Island examines the importance of literal debris (the wasteland) and figurative debris (outsiders of society) in Maitlandââ¬â¢s experiences on the island. Despite being an architect who contributes to architectural changes, Maitland struggles to survive on the island until his encounter with Jane and Proctor. These two characters are the figurative debris in this novel. To demonstrate, Proctor is described as an ââ¬Å"aged defectiveâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 86), while Jane is said to resemble the ââ¬Å"prototypal drop-outâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 82). In particular, the presence of Jane and Proctor prevents Maitland from dying and his interactions with them allow him to gain a better understanding of himself. Maitland thereupon becomes increasingly dissatisfied with his past life and uses the isolation of the island (the literal debris) to rebuild himself psychologically. Therefore, Concrete Island shows that figurative and literal debris are indispensible for Maitland to rebuild his life. The days on the island weakens Maitland physically. However, he survives because he is able to manipulate Jane and Proctor to complete tasks that would benefit him. The existence of these two characters allows Maitland to exercise dominance over them and in effect the whole island. At the beginning of the novel, Maitland uses self-pity to motivate survival. However, after encountering Proctor and Jane, his source of motivation shifts to the cruel exploitation of these two characters (Ballard, Concrete, 139). For example, Maitlandââ¬â¢s mistreatment of Proctor is shown in the sentence, ââ¬Å"Proctor gestured thickly, his face a planet of creases, like a hungry child unable to accept the reality of a bare cupboardâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 148). Here, simile is used to compare Proctor to a hungry child that is willing to accomplish almost any task in exchange for gifts. In particular, it provides evidence that Maitlandââ¬â¢s manipulation of Jane and Proctor relies on his ability to identify and target the charactersââ¬â¢ desires. Moreover, regarding Proctor, Maitland uses knowledge of his past experiences to conduct cruel physical treatments such as urinating on Proctorââ¬â¢s face (Ballard, Concrete, 135). In the case of Jane, Maitland plays with her feelings of guilt in order to weaken her emotionally (Ballard, Concrete, 138). The narratorââ¬â¢s diction choice indicates Jane and Proctorââ¬â¢s acceptance of Maitlandââ¬â¢s control. For example, Maitland ââ¬Å"steersâ⬠Proctor in order to move around on the island (Ballard, Concrete, 143). Furthermore, Proctor easily accepts this manipulation when he steers ââ¬Å"himself with his scared handâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 144). Lastly, Maitlandââ¬â¢s frequent reinforcements that he would not survive without help of Jane and Proctor shows the importance of his dominance over them. To illustrate, Proctor is able to lead Maitland to the food source on the island (Ballard, Concrete, 126), while Jane is able to nurse him back to health (Ballard, Concrete, 96). In fact, Maitland specifically tells Jane ââ¬Å"unless [she]ââ¬â¢d come [he] would have died thereâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Ballard, Concrete, 83). However, survival is only the initial step that contributes to the change observed in Maitland. The figurative debris also helps Maitland to realize his own flaws. As has been noted, Maitland exploits Jane and Proctorââ¬â¢s weaknesses in order to control them. However, through interacting with these two, he also gains better sense of his own weaknesses. An important characteristic of Maitland is his detachment from others. To emphasize this, he uses the phrase ââ¬Å"emotionally loaded transactionsâ⬠when describing his relationships with Helen, Catherin, and his mother (Ballard, Concrete, 83). The comparison between relationships and transactions is magnified through interacting with Jane and Proctor. For example, when Maitland first meets Jane, he hopes that money will help him escape from the island (Ballard, Concrete, 83). To elicit Proctorââ¬â¢s help, Maitland tells him that his arrival has ââ¬Å"changed the whole economy of [Proctorââ¬â¢s] life (Ballard, Concrete, 149). In addition, Maitland wants Proctor to believe richness can buy Proctor the island (Ballard, Concrete, 158). However, the ineffectiveness of controlling Proctor and Jane through monetary means allows Maitland to understand his flaw in believing wealth is associated with unlimited power. Correspondingly, Jane brings attention to Maitlandââ¬â¢s egocentrism by telling him ââ¬Å"no one owes you anything, so stop all this want, want, want! â⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 101). Moreover, Maitlandââ¬â¢s direct confrontation with Jane reinforces what he thinks he knows about himself. For example, Jane also believes in the similarities that exist between Maitland and the island, telling him he was ââ¬Å"on an island long before [he] crashed hereâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 141). By the same token, Jane reinforces Maitlandââ¬â¢s idea that he does not want to leave the island by reminding him ââ¬Å"[he] could have got awayâ⬠if he really tried at the beginning (Ballard, Concrete, 116). Not only do the figurative debris ensure Maitlandââ¬â¢s survival, Jane and Proctor also give Maitland a better understanding of himself. It is only when Maitland gains a deeper view of himself through interactions with others, that he is able to use the isolation of the island to rebuild himself. The second form of debris is the literal kind, which is the island. This junk-space is indispensible for Maitland to rebuild his life as it serves two important functions: it allows an escape from obligations and acts as a blank space that he can use to finally start over. As suggested by Ballard in the introduction, many people in the modern world hope ââ¬Å"to be marooned, to escape [their] families, lovers and responsibilitiesâ⬠(2). This idea can be applied to Maitland as well. At work, Maitland faces the natural responsibilities that come with his occupation in addition to countless meetings and conferences. Outside of work, Maitland faces the challenges of being in a relationship with two different women ââ¬â Helen and Catherine. Ironically, junk-space would normally be overlooked or despised by an architect like Maitland. Yet, in this extreme situation, the island allows Maitland to escape from his countless obligations and come to terms with himself. In like manner, the analeptic view of his childhood provides insight into his desire for disconnecting from the world. For example, the narrator explains that Maitlandââ¬â¢s happiest times were spent alone, and the picture of his younger self on his desk shows his desire to return to his carefree childhood (Ballard, Concrete, 27). Over the years, Maitland constantly remythologizes his childhood by picturing a young boy playing by himself in a ââ¬Å"long suburban garden surrounded by a high fenceâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 27). This acts as a prolepsis for Maitlandââ¬â¢s reluctance to leave due to its similarities with the descriptions of the island. For example, later in the novel, Maitland mentions the existence of wires on the island much like the fence in his daydreams (Ballard, Concrete, 39). This island provides Maitland with the perfect opportunity to escape from the various constraints that prevent him from fulfilling his wish of seclusion. After gaining a better sense of self through interactions with the figurative debris in the novel, Maitland escapes his obligation using the isolation of the island. Finally, Maitland is ready to rebuild his life. The island can be seen as a blank space where Maitland can project himself onto and start over. In Colombinoââ¬â¢s paper it is argued that the island is a blank space where imprints are possible (2006). Furthermore, the importance of this is explained by the architectural theory of urban interstices, which argues deserted places can become an experience (Colombino, 2006). Therefore, the isolation Maitland experiences on the island is crucial for his discovery of self. This idea is reinforced by Ballard in the introduction where he argues being marooned on a traffic island allows people to ââ¬Å"test [their] strengths and weaknessesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"come to terms with aspect of [their] characters to which [they] have always closed [their] eyesâ⬠(2). Of equal importance is the view of London as an entrapment (Colombino, 2006). As a result of the entrapment, Maitland is only sachieve the same level of isolation as earlier literary characters such as Robinson Crusoe when he becomes isolated in a junk-space (Colombino, 2006). Specifically, similes create images of the isolated island. For instance, to describe the view from the island, the narrator compares the sky to a large wall in the sentence ââ¬Å"the white flank crosse[s] the sky like the wall of some immense aerial palaceâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 149). In like manner, simile is also used to describe the emotional isolation Maitland experiences on the island. The narrator states, ââ¬Å"[w]ith deliberate effort, he thought of his wife, his son and Helen Fairfax â⬠¦ But they had become more and more remote, receding like the distant cloudsâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Ballard, Concrete, 145). By comparing the thoughts of those close to him with receding clouds, the narrator shows Maitlandââ¬â¢s desire to let go his past life. More generally, he wants to let go of all unpleasant memories; this is supported when the narrator indicates ââ¬Å"part of [Maitlandââ¬â¢s] mind seem[s] to be detaching themselves from center of his consciousnessâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 63). The physical and emotional isolation on the island provides him with the perfect opportunity to dissociate from the past. In addition, Maitlandââ¬â¢s attachment to the island provides him with the comfort to reveal his true self and start the rebuilding process. Particularly, words associated with a sense of comfort such as ââ¬Å"warm airâ⬠and ââ¬Å"soothingâ⬠are used to describe his increased appreciation for the island (Ballard, Concrete, 156). Again, simile is used to reinforce his acceptance of the island by comparing simple structures to more pleasant forms of architecture. There is evidence that Maitland may actually enjoy the structures on the island when it is stated that ââ¬Å"[t]he concrete junction of the two motorway routes [shine] in the sunlight like an elegant sculptureâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 143). Before Maitland can rebuild himself psychologically, there must be a gesture that confirms Maitland is ready. This is achieved when the various objects representative of his old life are spread around in Proctorââ¬â¢s chamber as if to celebrate the death of the man Maitland once was (Ballard, Concrete, 160). Moreover, it is evident that the description of Maitland rebuilding his life lacks verisimilitude because the re-assembling body parts represent the psychological rebuilding. For example, it is stated ââ¬Å"bones were re-assembling themselves into a small, sharp faceâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 145). Interestingly, these images of body parts and reassembling of bones are related to Maitlandââ¬â¢s career as an architect. In particular, bones, much like ruined buildings, need to disassemble before they can be reconstructed. Finally, the rebuilding process is complete when Maitlandââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"injured thigh and hip, his mouth and right temple, had all now healed as if this magical therapy had somehow worked and he had successfully left these wounded members at their designated pointsâ⬠(Ballard, Concrete, 156). In the final analysis, J. G. Ballardââ¬â¢s Concrete Island challenges the traditional ways of thinking and pushes the limits of readersââ¬â¢ imagination by telling the story of Maitlandââ¬â¢s extreme situation. In a society that lusts for change, debris is constantly created. Through the novelââ¬â¢s examination of literal and figurative debris, awareness is raised for the people and places that have been leftover from the changes in society. In a time when countless factors can disrupt the path to a fulfilling life, Maitlandââ¬â¢s experiences show that an appreciation for the unordinary is peopleââ¬â¢s only hope in discovering themselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)