Tuesday, August 6, 2019

The Basic Characteristics of an Effective Management Essay Example for Free

The Basic Characteristics of an Effective Management Essay I.Management-oriented: The basic objective of MIS is to provide information support tothe management in the organization for decision making. So an effective MIS should startits journey from appraisal of management needs, mission and goal of the businessorganization. It may be individual or collective goals of an organization. The MIS is suchthat it serves all the levels of management in an organization i.e. top, middle and lower level. II.Management directed: When MIS is management-oriented, it should be directed by themanagement because it is the management who tells their needs and requirements moreeffectively than anybody else. Manager should guide the MIS professionals not only at the stage of planning but also ondevelopment, review and implementation stages so that effective system should be theend product of the whole exercise in making an effective MIS. III.Integrated: It means a comprehensive or complete view of all the sub systems in theorganization of a company. Development of information must be integrated so that all theoperational and functional information sub systems should be worked together as a singleentity. This integration is necessary because it leads to retrieval of more meaningful anduseful information. IV.Common data flows: The integration of different sub systems will lead to a commondata flow which will further help in avoiding duplicacy and redundancy in datacollection, storage and processing. For example, the customer orders are the basis for many activities in an organization viz. billing, sales for cashing, etc. Data is collected bya system analyst from its original source only one time. Then he utilizes the data withminimum number of processing procedures and uses the information for productionoutput documents and reports in small numbers and eliminates the undesirable data. Thiswill lead to elimination of duplication that simplify the operations and produce anefficient information system. V.Heavy planning-element: The preparation of MIS is not a one or two day exercise. Itusually takes 3 to 5 years and sometimes a much longer period. So the system expert hasto keep 2 things in mind – one is that he has to keep future objectives as well as the firm’sinformation well in advance and also he has to keep in mind that his MIS will not beobsolete before it gets into action. VI.Sub System concept: When a problem is seen in 2 sub parts, then the better solution tothe problem is possible. Although MIS is viewed as a single entity but for its effectiveuse, it should be broken down in small parts or subsystems so that more attention andinsight is paid to each sub system. Priorities will be set and phase of implementation will be made easy. While making or breaking down the whole MIS into subsystems, it should be kept in mind that the subsystems should be easily manageable. VII.Common database: This is the basic feature of MIS to achieve the objective of usingMIS in business organizations. It avoids duplication of files and storage which leads toreduction in costs. Common database means a â€Å"Super file or Master file† whichconsolidates and integrates data records formerly stored in many separate data files. Theorganization of the database allows it to be accessed by each subsystem and thus,eliminates the necessity of duplication in data storage, updating, deletion and protection. VIII.Computerized: MIS can be used without a computer. But the use of computersincreases the effectiveness and the efficiency of the system. The queries can be handledmore quickly and efficiently with the computerized MIS. The other benefits are accuracy,storage capacity and timely information. IX.User friendly/Flexibility: An MIS should be flexible i.e. there should be room for further modification because the MIS takes much time in preparation and our environment is dynamic in nature.MIS should be such that it should be usedindependently by the end user so that they do not depend on the experts. X.Information as a resource: Information is the major ingredient of any MIS. So, an MISshould be treated as a resource and managed properly

Monday, August 5, 2019

Studying The Social Problems Of Racism Philosophy Essay

Studying The Social Problems Of Racism Philosophy Essay This essay discusses about an important social problem of nowadays society, about the roots, beginnings of racism. During this essay you will found that racism is taught, not genetic, and all this beginning from childs early ages, you could find some statement which influence in a bad way youre your childs life or why white parents avoid black children adoptions and in final youll find also an important solution, for me, the most important in solving this problem. So, you could find some interesting things about Romanian racism in general and some other facts you should avoid, in order to offer youre child a better life without discrimination. Even now after all the racial disasters (like Auschwitz), race remains a big moral, social and political problem of our world used by political system, in order to make distinctions between whites and people of color. And this problem has a very bad influence in our childrens life, as Gerald Pine and Asa Hilliard stats: Racism, prejudice, and discrimination are shamefully sabotaging our nations efforts to provide a high-quality education for all children (1990:1) First, we should talk about racism in general, in order to have a good view on what we are going to talk forward. Racism is a bad combination between prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice consists of unjustifiable negative feelings and beliefs about a racial or ethnic group and its members. It is characterized by preconceived opinions, judgments or feelings that lack any foundation or substance. Discrimination consists of unjustifiable negative behavior toward a racial or ethnic group and its members. It expresses itself in distinctions and decisions made on the basis of prejudice. (Pine Asa 1990:2) Racism is a psycho-social problem which exists for centuries and people, even if they know is not good, they continue to be racist, and their biggest problem is that they deny being so. There are many definitions of racism, but here are two important ones. Laszloffy and Hardy in Uncommon Strategies for a Common Problem: Addressing Racism in Family Therapy states that Racism is an act that denies a person or humane group treatment or a fair opportunity because of racial bias. While it may occur on different levels (individual level or institutional level) and in different ways (overtly or covertly, intentionally or unintentionally), all expressions of racism are rooted in an ideology of racial superiority/inferiority that assumes some racial groups are superior to others, and therefore deserve preferential treatment. (35). Another definition would be: Racism, also called racialism, represents any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview- the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called races, that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some races are innately superior to others (Audrey 2010). So, from all this, we can realize that racism is an act of cowardly, which is adopted by people with bad intentions and who dont really have arguments for being racist. Racism has its original roots in history, and this because of wars, another example could be the New World, conquered by Europeans, when they forced black people from Africa to go to America where they became slaves, or other example, more recently, the Jewish from Auschwitz which were killed because of their religion, and the examples could go on, but we are not going to talk about this anymore. But, even knowing all that, people arent aware of the negative aspects of racism and continue being racist and denying it, with words like: Im not racist, but Chinese people are the ugliest faces Ive ever seen, or something like that. We have to admit that whatever the reason, we are racist, but things can change. We can improve our lifestyle if we have wish, and we should have in order to offer our children another vision of life. On the other hand, we must admit that racist people are those with lack of education, but this is the education we use too, in order to teach our children what is good or bad. We hear every day on television anti-racist slogans but we pretend we didnt hear it as we pretend when we hear bad accidents having place, in schools, because of racial problems. Our society has became very indifferent on taking into consideration others problems, and they weak up only when they are in trouble and blame the others for not advising them before. This is a message for everyone who wants to take it into account, and this would be: Racism in not genetic, it is learned from childhood until forever. So, parents should take into account the life they want for their children. Nowadays, childrens life is full of racism; this thing is learned by different ways and by different people from their life. We should start with the babys first steps, when he is taught the basics, and here we can found many racist things. For example, many parents use different statements in order to reflect the bad influence of gypsies in whites world. Statements like: Do not spit like gypsies!, Those moneys were touched by gypsies and you stick them into your mouth! What disgusting! or even worse If youre not good Ill sell you to gypsies are used in everyday life in order to break children of a bad habit and with or without intention, parents also promote and approve racism, by teaching those that gypsies are bad. By this, the bases of racism are well constructed by parents and since children are taught racism before getting to school, parents should be more careful on what they say and what they do and ask themselves if racism is the best solution in learning their children basi cs and behavior. If we go forward in childrens life, at the time when they go outside to play with other children, we see that they are taught another racist rule very known in everydays life of whites in Romania and this rule says something like that: Do not play with gipsy children!. This is a very popular rule of moms and also an unbreakable one. This statement was once even mentioned in a television and radio campaign named: The discrimination of gypsies is taught at home! Know them before you judge them!(Banescu 2009). The spot of the campaign is about a Romanian kid who goes outside to play with his friend (a gypsy kid) and after he comes home is asked by his white racist mother about what he has done outside, and he answers that he had played out alone. So, we should thing a little about the gypsys life, because today all children have the right to be equal, but gypsy children still have to try hard in order to find themselves a place in societyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.their hopes would be the same as the hopes of white children when Romanian moms wont threaten their sons that if they arent good, they would be thrown up at gypsies, and when gypsy moms wont tell their sons that it has no point in dreaming to follow a university because they dont have how to face Romanians. (Banescu 2009). Another imposed thing in childrens life is related this time with the teachers. After giving their sons at school, moms become hysterically on hearing that their son is placed in the same seat with a gypsy child. And because of this type of people, racism grows faster and has many other negative aspects for non-white people like the elimination of colored children from sport clubs, and other extra-school activities. And very often you find examples of children saying to gypsy children that they are not allowed to talk to him because he was a brown kid. (Wallace 2008 b) Those are only a few of the basic racism things learned by white children at home, which are rotten in childhood and are never forgotten, because they only grow faster and faster. And this happens because almost all white children are taught at home how to be racist in a conscious or unconscious way and after they go to school they put in practice everything they learned at home, and because of this children make groups and make jokes of different children, like colored children or they would even say hurtful thing about the others, in order to be funny. But what is also interesting is that even if exist one white child that was not taught to be racist at home, he will soon be learned by his other colleagues how to be so. And some of the parents would blame teachers for the racism which exists in schools, but once the children are taught to be racist, the teachers cant do anything to break them from this habit if parents do not cared about this when they taught them. Another interesting issue about children racism would be the adoptions of a colored child by white parents. This is a big problem of nowadays society, because the cases of gypsy, blacks, yellow or other racial adoption are just a few. This happens because of some ideologies or preconceptions of adoptive parents which put some conditions when they adopt a child, and those conditions would be: first the child have to be healthy and the second, the child must be white, there are few cases in which the adoptive parents ask for a gypsy child. Those type of parents which avoid the adoption of a gypsy child are afraid of the others reactions in doing it, thinking that their friends or their relatives would criticized them or would not accept their son in their group, or other reaction would be that they are afraid for little child to not inherit their parents bad character. Gypsy children deserve a chance, but they have to deal with mass-media, which is often condemning. We hope people woul d become more sensitive and tolerant in understanding that they have the same rights as the others.(Stoler, 2008 a) From all this we should remain with the fact that racism is learned and not genetic and as we can learn to be racist we can learn how not to be racist, and we should improve our behavior not just for us, but for our childrens education and for their and our future too. And all this comes because some people just abuse of their rights in an almost free world, were they start bravely discriminating someone elses human rights, and this breaking of rule has no direct or legal punishment on those who are consciously racist. Some solutions for this problem, in which before school children become racist, exist, but they stay in parents hands, by this they should understand that depends of them if they want a racist child or a good and well educated one. In what follows it will be presented only one of the solutions, the most important one. This solution would be communication, a very important issues in the relation child-parents, because of whom, other, even worse, problems appear in childs life. Communication means everything when you try to educate you child, and it must be made the distinction between good communication and order, or command, which is the worst communication, because is not the same to tell you child: Do not be racist! and when he asks you why, you respond to him: because I said so as to communicate to him and tell him which are the positive and negative aspects of racism and make him understand and also let him choose what he thinks is right or wrong. Children always have the intention and want to be brave by breaking the rule, so, if you give him orders, you wont get any results. Parents should communicate with their sons in order to improve their education, and they should tell their sons that different isnt necessarily wrong and people just need variety, but no matter how different we are outsi de or what color our skin has, our souls do not have to be bad. What is also important is that not only white children must be taught not to be racist, colored children must also be informed to not listen to others jokes or hurtful word, in order to not become a victim. They should be learned how to protect themselves and how to they turn respect the other children, which are not the same color as them. Communication about those problems we can find anywhere: in mass-media, school, social meetings, but neither one has a big influence in childrens life as communication in family. Communication about racial problems means also that parents of colored children should get involved in their child problems and lifestyle. Parents need to discuss early on with their child about race and should even be aware that their son would found out from his classmates or other strangers what is racism, and is better to prevent this before is too late. They are a lot of other solutions, but this is the most important, because you can do all the rest, but if you, as parent, do not communicate with your child, nobody would do it for you, and most important, the problem would never disappear and your children would have to face this problem alone. In defense of colored discriminations come those people which say that they do not have anything with other races, but they hate gypsies because of their attitude, behavior and because of those who beg on streets. Maybe some would even agree this statement, but we have to put a question: Do we choose our family, race or nation before we get birth? Well the answer is negative, which means that gypsy children have no fault, and we must judge them for their behavior and for what they are, not by race or religion. Racial problems are very popular in our country and this because of mass-media, which presents a lot of facts and anti-racial campaigns, in order to stop those people, which do not care about the others. In order to stop this, we all should think twice before saying something that could offend the others. So, racism in childrens life should be stopped, in order to attend for a better world, for a world and a country where all could live in peace and harmony.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf Essay -- Childrens Lite

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf Have you ever wondered what the wolf's side of The Three Little Pigs story was? Well, Jon Scieszka gives his readers the opportunity to see a different perspective dealing with this very circumstance. In many of his books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf, Scieszka has used this style of writing that varies from the norm. Every turn of the page gives rise to new wonder and suspense as to what the reader will encounter as he or she moves through the pages of this intriguing book. Many of us grew up hearing fairy tales and nursery rhymes and most of us accepted them the way that they were. However, Jon Scieszka likes to take his readers on "adventures" through the "other side." He twists well-known stories around just enough to challenge the view that we have had for so long, yet not so much that we are unable to realize what story he is "imitating" or "mocking." The story of the three little pigs traditionally makes the wolf out to be bad and ends with the third little pig triumphing over the huffing, puff... The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf Essay -- Childrens Lite The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf Have you ever wondered what the wolf's side of The Three Little Pigs story was? Well, Jon Scieszka gives his readers the opportunity to see a different perspective dealing with this very circumstance. In many of his books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf, Scieszka has used this style of writing that varies from the norm. Every turn of the page gives rise to new wonder and suspense as to what the reader will encounter as he or she moves through the pages of this intriguing book. Many of us grew up hearing fairy tales and nursery rhymes and most of us accepted them the way that they were. However, Jon Scieszka likes to take his readers on "adventures" through the "other side." He twists well-known stories around just enough to challenge the view that we have had for so long, yet not so much that we are unable to realize what story he is "imitating" or "mocking." The story of the three little pigs traditionally makes the wolf out to be bad and ends with the third little pig triumphing over the huffing, puff...

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Design Build Test Operate :: essays research papers

Design Build Test Operate Table of Contents 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teams and Leader Responsibilities 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Design Components 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introductory Project 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Project Selection Process 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analysis Report 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preliminary Design Review 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Critical Design Review 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Final Presentation 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conformity Inspection I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction The purpose of the detail design class is to provide a design-build-test-operate experience for the student. The requirements for the project that the students select begin with the requirement that the project have a minimum of three subsystems, chosen as a subset of the subsystems used in the project from preliminary design. In addition, it must have more than one sub-assembly; there must be a subset of the requirements that are test-able (with our campus facilities); it must undergo a vibrations test according to the requirements specified by the chosen launch vehicle; and the structure must be tested to failure. The design component consists of detailed drawings submitted in the context of the configuration management system defined under the Design folder in the Courses drive. More detail of the design component is given in the Design Components section. The students are required to build their design. This enables them to understand the manufacturability of their paper concept. It also gives them the opportunity to see if their predictions on the performance of their system are good. The build process provides an opportunity for the students to see clearly what the integration issues are in bringing the various subsystems together. The test component requires the students to write detailed test plans and to perform them with their design prototype. The project should have various subsystem tests as well as tests at the various phases of integration and finally, a fully integrated functionality test, which shows how the system as a whole operates. The entire design must be supported by analysis based on work done in previous courses as well as on any new material they must learn for their specific design. The analysis section describes in more detail the types of specific analyses required. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teams and Leader Responsibilities The teams utilize the entire class and are divided into subsystem teams and an integration team. The integration team is composed of the team leaders from each subsystem team and the project lead is the team leader for this team. Each team must also have a person responsible for all the CAD drawings. The responsibilities of the integration team, project lead, team leads and the CAD person are defined below. Integration Team: This team is responsible for the system coming together. They must make sure that all integration issues are addressed early and are passed on to the appropriate team for resolution.

Ban the Use of Cluster Bombs Essay -- Bombs Air Weapons Essays

Ban the Use of Cluster Bombs â€Å"It looked like the ball boys and girls toss each other during Hmong New Year festivities. Six year old Sia Ya threw it to her four year old brother, He couldn’t catch it and it landed behind him, exploding and killing him instantly. Sia Ya died after two agonizing days and nights in the provincial hospital.† (Account of Laotian cluster bomblet accident in 1996 - Laos War â€Å"Legacy†) I. INTRODUCTION Cluster bombs were first used in the American conflict in Vietnam and Laos in the sixties. They became popular because they are one of the cheapest air delivered weapons available, costing about $60 per bomblet. They can be used against a variety of targets covering significant areas, rather than, for example, pin-pointing individual armored vehicles. They were believed to be a perfectly fit weapon during the Southeastern Asian jungle battles. Today, forty years after the war, unexploded submunitions still cause about 10 thousand innocent victims each year. Despite the inhumane scars that followed its use in the above conflicts, cluster bombs were used again in the Balkans, in the Gulf War and today in Afghanistan. Now that we know their devastating long term effects, is it ethical to keep them in usage? II. WHAT ARE CLUSTER BOMBS? Cluster bombs, also called dispensers consist of two parts: the bomb shell itself and the hundreds of little bombs (called "bombies" by Laotians) that are contained inside of them. They are usually dropped from an aircraft - although they might also be launched like a missile. They "fall" away from the aircraft and are stabilized in flight by fin assemblies. I... ...press_releases/PR051799.htm http://www.landmineaction.org/assets/downloads/Cluster%20bombs%20report%20summary.pdf http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/10/29/ret.bomb.warnings/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/cluster_bomb/6.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/cluster_bomb/6.stm http://www.mcc.org/clusterbomb/laos_legacy/melting_weapons.html http://www.mcc.org/clusterbomb/laos_legacy/lucky.html http://www.icbl.org/index/text/Detailed/1456.html http://www.hrw.org/hrw/campaigns/kosovo98/flash6.htm http://www.uxolao.org/ http://www.minesactioncanada.com/home/news_detail.cfm?NEWID=12&lang=e http://www.essex.ac.uk/armedcon/themes/landmines/default.htm http://www.icbl.org/ http://www.hrw.org/arms/clusterbombs.htm Organizations working to ban Landmines: http://www.boes.org/coop/lmines/

Friday, August 2, 2019

Bad debt

Bad debt is a serious financial problem affecting the United States. When people do not pay their debts, the economy suffers because the banks, credit card companies, doctors, utility companies, and other businesses lose money. The same applies to when businesses fail to pay their financial obligations to other businesses. However, personal bad debt and corporate bad debt is viewed differently by the government (Bankruptcy FAQ for small business. ) Corporate bad debt is easier to file bankruptcy upon than when a private person loses money.This seems to be simply because allowing corporations to do business honestly without threat of losing their personal financial security is an important ideal to keep the economy going. A company getting rid of their bad debt through bankruptcy all but destroys their ability to stay in business. Personal bad debt, however, is treated stricter because there are by appearance more controllable factors. People are expected to feed their families and st ay in a home without using credit and to not borrow more than they can afford.In addition, the companies and government likely fear that if people who don’t pay their bills can repeatedly file bankruptcy and keep everything they bought, there will be no incentive for them to do the right thing and live within their means. Those who honestly cannot pay their bills will not go to jail, but in the case of a business will likely lose their company and in a person’s case lose any homes or other property owned (Bankruptcy Courts. ) Otherwise, the economy would be in even worse shape if people and businesses could just run up bills, decide not to pay them, and not have any additional financial consequences.The government’s position seems to remain that businesses have a better right and need for credit to help the economy than individual households, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. References: Bankruptcy Basics. (2006). Retrieved March 25, 2009 from U. S. C ourts: http://www. uscourts. gov/bankruptcycourts. html. Bankruptcy FAQ for small business. (2009). Retrieved March 25, 2009 from Bankruptcy in Brief: http://www. moranlaw. net/business-bankruptcy-faqs. htm.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Mrs. Aesop by Carol Ann Duffy by Andrew Banks Essay

1. The poem â€Å"† is part of Carol Ann Duffy’s collection of poems, titled â€Å"The World’s Wife†. In this collection, Duffy wishes to highlight the fact that women have long been ignored and silenced throughout history. This is why all the poems in the collection are written from a female perspective. Duffy has created a literal version of an old saying, â€Å"behind every great man there is an even greater woman†. One of the poems in the collection, ‘Mrs. Aesop’, tells the story of a wife who is tired of her sermonizing, tedious husband, known as Aesop. Aesop was a storyteller who lived around the sixth century BC, in Greece. Many historical details surrounding him are missing, but it is thought that he was first a slave on the island of Samos and his fables came to be in a collection known as â€Å"Aesopica.† â€Å"Mrs. Aesop† draws on the fables to describe Aesop’s wife’s discontent and unhappiness, the p oem emasculating her husband. The major theme of this poem is to make apparent Mrs. Aesop’s transformation from the classic recessive wife with a dominant husband, to an empowered and confident woman that was able to have the last word. This is shown by lines such as, â€Å"That shut him up. I laughed last, longest.† This appears in the poem after Mrs. Aesop has mocked her husband’s impotence, with lines like â€Å"I gave him a fable one night/ about a little cock that wouldn’t crow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  mocking his masculinity whilst clearly referring to his genitalia. 2. Allusions are some of the many literary devices Duffy includes in her works to better deliver the messages of the female protagonists in â€Å"The World’s Wife.† An allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. For example, one would be making a literary allusion when stating, â€Å"I do not approve of such a quixotic idea.† Quixotic takes on the meaning of foolish and impractical, derived from Cervantes’s â€Å"Don Quixote†, a story about the misadventures of a doltish night and his cohort Sancho Panza. Many allusions are ones we use in our daily speech, such as Achilles’ heel – A weakness a person may have. Achilles was invulnerable excepting his heel or Achilles tendon. Pygmalion – Someone who tries to fashion someone else into the person he desires, originating from a myth adapted into a play by George Bernard Shaw. Casanova – a man who is amorous to women, based on the Italian adventurer.McCarthyism – modern witch hunt, the practice of publicizing accusations without evidence, made after Joseph McCarthy. Some allusions in the literature include when the character Horatio from Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet† said â€Å"A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye. In the highest and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (I.i.111-115) Here, Horatio is making a reference to the historical figure of Julius Caesar, in addition to one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays titled â€Å"Julius Caesar.† Another time when allusions are used are in songs, such as when Nirvana made their classic, â€Å"Scentless Apprentice†: Like most babies smell like butter His smell smelled like no other. He was born scentless and senseless He was born a scentless apprentice. this allusion is to Patrick Sà ¼skind’s literary work Perfume. The scent Nirvana is alluding to is actually the blood of the protagonist’s twenty killing victims. 3. When Duffy uses allusions in Mrs. Aesop, she mainly uses them in the text to show Mrs. Aesop’s unhappiness with her husband In the first line, Mrs. Aesop says â€Å"By Christ, he could bore for Purgatory†. This is an allusion to Christianity, with purgatory being the place after death where souls go to be cleansed of their sins. The implication here is that Aesop could make this experience even worse. Later in the first stanza, Duffy alludes to one of Aesop’s fables, when Mrs. Aesop puts her own twist on the lineâ€Å"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush† changing it to â€Å"the bird in his hand that on his sleeve.† By adding to his work in such a way, Mrs. Aesop is disrespecting both her husband and his work, revealing the emotion she had kept bottled up for some time. Lines such as â€Å"a tortoise, somebody’s pet,/ creeping, slow as marriage, up the road,† are a clear allusion to the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare. Mrs. Aesop uses the tortoise and hare to describe the agony of her marriage. With her cynical view Mrs. Aesop shows to her, the fable is nothing more than the reflection of a terrible marriage. When Mrs. Aesop says â€Å"I’ll cut off your tail, all right, I said, to save my face.† this is another reference to her own suppression by her husband and many other wives. This is so because the line alludes to an incident in America in 1993 when a frustrated wife sliced off her husband’s genitals in a moment of crazed revenge. Mrs. Aesop takes on a similar path to gain the upper hand on her husband, by disrespecting and revealing her true feelings about her husband. Allusions are a key literary device used to show Mrs. Aesop’s transition from a â€Å"traditional† oppressed wife to a dominant, independent woman.