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I had struggled with finding a leader that I admire and respect. There are so many individuals in this world who have show strong leadership skills and have through their demeanor and actions have required admiration and respect. One person, who for me has been a leader I looked to, respected, and admired is General George S. Patton III. While some might question using this man as a personal model for leadership, I believe his tactics on the battlefield during World War II warrant at least respect and admiration.

The exuberance and powerful Oscar winning performance of George C. Scott acting as George Patton has misled many people in understanding Patton. While the film does portray his battlefield tactics and some of the personal elements of his life accurately, it is not well known that the General was soft spoken, but commanded with might. Read more…

As the events industry grows larger, more individuals are pressed towards two questions. What are the issues facing the event’s industry and how are they being addressed? This essay will focus on one issue, and will try to view the issue from multiple angles in order to give a well rounded discussion. The issue chosen to investigate more thoroughly is how the internet is affecting the events industry. Read more…

I thought of all the possibilities of leisure activities that I could do, but I had trouble because I have had trouble with determining an activity that I have not participated in or was unfamiliar to me. I finally settled on something that I had never gone out to do. I joined a gym. I have never joined a gym and have never worked out appropriately and extensively. Read more…

The site that I chose for the visit analysis was the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center. From what I could see from the outside, I thought this building had been built within the past 2 years. I went online and saw that the building opened in January 2006. I did more research on the facility and services it had offered. The facility is in a great location. I was able to find some statistics for the general area the expo center is centered. The expo center is located off Interstate 95 exit 130, which is approximately one hour from Washington, D.C., and one hour from Virginia’s Capitol. The expo center is located in Central Park, which is a 2.4 million square foot area that contains major retail, restaurant, and other leisure activities. Central Park is part of a tourism concept that is known as Celebrate Virginia. It is claimed that this region services over 30,000 visitors each day. Other draws to the area include Cannon Ridge Golf club, which is a championship golf club, and the historic town of Old Town Fredericksburg, which is approximately five minutes from the Expo. Read more…

I was part of a group of students that went to the Freedom Fitness Center [Manassas, Virginia]. We were split up into several groups. One group was participants, another was observers, and another was surveyors. I was part of the surveyors group.  Each person contributed toward the questions for the survey. We were to ask people certain questions and they all had to be exactly the same. The selection of respondents was completely random.  Each person went around the large facility asking the same 9 questions. I was able to survey three men and three women. I did not try to do this on purpose. I did not notice it at the time either. I was trying to get anyone to respond to the survey. Read more…

Friday Night Lights written by H. G. Bissinger is about a relatively small town and its great fascination with high school football. The book raises questions about the role of sports within education. Bissinger uses several examples within the book to show negative and positive role sports have had within the academic community. The positive impact sports have had will be seen in Brian Chavez example. The negative impact of sports will focus on the financing for education versus athletics, and actions involving apathetic athletes and the administration. Read more…

Six-Player basketball is a game that was played almost exclusively in the state of Iowa.  Six-player basketball developed in an era that considered women weaker.  The era also maintained that women should be well mannered in both dress and actions.  The sport-rivaled boy’s basketball both in popularity with fans and revenues it created.  Until its complete demise in 1993, Six-Player basketball was part of Iowa’s State identity.  Though the courts concluded that Six-player basketball stereotyped and discriminated against women, its demise was not a positive development because of the loss of the Iowan State identity, the players and revenues of the sport. Read more…

Last Thursday (3 May 2007), Queen Elizabeth II of England visited Jamestown, Virginia, as part of America’s 400th anniversary commemoration of this site, England’s first established colony in the New World (1607). The settlers found friendly indigenous people—-misnamed “Indians”—-who welcomed the new opportunities for trade. In 1619, a Dutch trading ship brought 20 persons abducted from Africa in exchange for goods, thus beginning the institution of slavery in North America. In her speech last week, Queen Elizabeth noted that, “[In] those early years in Jamestown . . . three great civilizations came together for the first time—-Western European, Native American, and African . . . .”  These three civilizations were also in the process of converging in South and Central America and the Caribbean.[1] Read more…

What is Enron?

Enron is the company that altered international finance forever. The company shook the corporate world. This company became the catalyst for many changes in federal and international law as well as other policies dealing with corporate accounting practices. Inquiries surrounding the rise and fall of Enron emerged because of the shifty techniques used to deceive investors and corporate watchdogs. How did this corporation pull the wool over so many people’s eyes? This essay will briefly describe the rise, fall, and international aftermath of the Enron Corporation.

Before delving into the gruesome details, let us go over the details of the Enron Corporation. In 1985 the Northern Natural Gas Company, became what will be known as the core of the Enron Corporation when the company purchased the smaller Houston Natural Gas Company. With the latest acquisition, Enron was formed. The new formed company originally dealt in the transmission and distribution of gas and electricity in the United States. In later years leading up to ultimate demise, the company dealt with multiple of other companies such as water sector, broadband, plastics, and steel. The company also became one of the world’s largest energy companies. Enron became the seventh largest corporation in the United States which interestingly enough also became the largest business scandal in United States’ history. At its epitome, its profits were $101 billion and employed over 20,000 individuals. The question arises, were these claims actual profits? This is where the accounting practices and techniques used by Enron come into question. Read more…

In the art film “The Way Things Go” we see the element of reaction in this world. On the surface, we see that this could be seen as a superficial physics experiment. However, in the end we should realize that the filmmakers wanted the viewer to be moved. Whether the viewer is moved to question certain ideas about his environment or just to ponder the reactions of his environment. The viewer may reach certain conclusions that the reason he is in a certain situation is because of another action. He may also be more aware of the consequences of his actions in the future because this movie moved him to think of the reactions and of the consequences of actions. Barthes’ claims, “we can through art, be intensely moved by something that does not exist, never has existed, and never could exist.” The dictionary’s definition of existence is to have actual being, to have life or animation. “The Way Things Go” is a film that without any effort brings this idea across. The Read more…