Budgetary control Essay

Nowadays management’s philosophy revolves around the idea of planning. According to McKinsey (1922), chief executives have come to the realization that today’s task can only be properly fulfilled thanks to the meticulous planning of yesterday. The budgetary control framework has been openly accepted and widespread as a tool for management and overall organisation control. Nonetheless, recent evolutions in the managerial sciences have come to jeopardise the reliability of budgeting as an effective method for the control of performance and organisation. The concern of whether budgeting is in fact an apt tool has created mixed views and debate amongst scholars. This essay will aim to evaluate whether budgetary control is concerned primarily with the control of performance, or if it has of late taken on greater importance especially as a more integrative control mechanism for the organisation. In order to do so it will firstly define the meaning of two fundamental concepts such as budget and budgetary control. Secondly it will evaluate the use of budgetary control as a tool for today’s organization. Thirdly it will follow debates and criticisms on its the effectiveness and use and Lastly it will conclude by assessing to what extent budgetary control has become a more integrative control mechanism for organisations. The work of key specialists in management such as Bhimani, Otley, Van der Stede and McWatters, will be drawn on in order to cover the key issues of the discussion. Before commencing on a discussion of budgetary control, it is immanent to clarify and define the two key terms that will be used in this essay: ‘budget’ and ‘budgetary control’. On the one hand, as defined by Bhimani et al. (2008) â€Å"a budget is a quantitative expression of a proposed plan of action by management for future time period and it is an aid to coordination and implementation of the plan†. On the same line McWatters et al. (2008) highlights the importance of budgets as a planning control system for a company, which ‘translate’ organisational objectives into financial terms. Drury (2009) exemplifies the many different purposes that budgets serve, such as: coordinating activities, conveying various arrangements to different responsibility centres, arranging and controlling operations, motivating employees to attain organisational objectives and assessing the execution of managers. According to Johnson (1996), it was in the 1960s that associations started to highly regard the utilization of budgets as tools for performance measurement and the control of managerial objectives. On the other hand, budgetary control is described by Periasamy (2010) as â€Å"a system of controlling costs which includes the preparation of budgets, coordinating the department and establishing responsibilities, comparing actual performance with the budgeted and acting upon results to achieve maximum profitability†. A similar, yet more formal, definition of budgetary control is given by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England and Wales (CIMA): â€Å"the establishment of budgets relating to the responsibilities of executives to the requirement of a policy and the continuous comparison of actual with the budgeted results, either to secure by individual actions the objectives of policy or to provide a basis for its revision†. There are two main purposes of budgets which scholars have identified: planning and controlling. The first purpose, which McWatters et al. (2008) discusses, is that budgets have a fundamental role in undertaking planning decisions. In fact, the integration of budgets into a strategic planning of long term and short-term objectives is crucial to the harmony of the project itself. This claim can be explained by Bhimani et al. (2008) who proposes that, budgets provide a more realistic view on the possible outcomes of investments, which consequently leads managers to adjust their strategic goals accordingly. To put it another way, when a company wants to match its potentials suitably with the prospects of the marketplace, it undertakes a strategic analysis to then set several long-run and short-run goals. On this basis a budget is formulated. However, as stated before, once the budget that has been formulated projects a more realistic view on the strategic objectives, these strategic objectives are then readjusted once again. The second purpose that Emmanuel et al. (1990) discusses is to do with budgets as a form of control and a tool for monitoring a company’s performance. McWatters et al. (2008) describe this function by outlining the idea that budgets are frequently used to assign responsibilities by allocating resources to different managers. A budget may be given with more or less flexibility, for example by assigning a large sum of money for ‘advertising’ to be used at the managers discretion, or by highlighting the different ways that this money should be used. The optional flexibility of budgets allows for a company to give the adequate level of responsibility to its employees and thus the organisation is able to maintain a level of control. McWatters et al. (2008) further elaborates on the function of budgeting for control by suggesting that â€Å"the numbers in a budget are also used as goals to motivate organisational members†. This motivational aspect of budgeting can be explained by Bhimani et al (2008) who states that â€Å"the manner in which a budget is administered can adversely impact on the managers’ behaviour†. A manager must believe that the budget is achievable in order to actively attempt to pursue it, Bhimani et al (2008) adds that through the constraints and goals set by budgeting targets, managers are often motivated to â€Å"effect changes in a forceful way†. The way that a budget is formulated, and the demands and pressures that it targets are key in encouraging the right degree of motivation, â€Å"an enterprise can set a difficult to attain budget in an attempt to motivate good performance. This is because, in practice, budgets that are set up to a certain degree of tightness often become stronger motivators† (Bhimani et al. , 2008). A final point to consider with the role of budgetary control is the function that it plays in enhancing communication within a company. Internal coordination between the steps of production , as well as communication among departments are key aspects for a company’s performance. Dury (2009) states that â€Å"the budget serves as a vehicle through which the actions of the different parts of an organisation can be brought together and reconciled into one common plan†. Hence, hierarchical and inter-departmental communication within the organisation is extremely facilitated thanks to the use of budgets. For instance, considering a multinational corporation that, due to its size, has difficulties in communicating between the production department and the sales department, budgets could in this circumstance be the most operational manner of communicating, as they set common goals between different departments. As it is clear form the paragraphs above, the controlling side of budgets play a stronger role than the planning aspect. An example that instead criticise this view can be found in the strategic planning of investments. Maximising performance of a company can be synonymous for maximising the shareholders value. Akintoye (2008) argues that equality in investment decisions are fairly dependent on the solidity of the budgetary control system, which in turn is key to maximise the company’s shareholders value. Therefore, it is arguable that a weak budgetary control system may be the cause of unprofitable investments and consequently may trigger the loss of shareholders value (Akintoye, 2008). There are many examples that reflect this issue, such as one reported by the European Journal of Economics Finance and Administrative Science where the Coca-Cola Company, with the purpose of differentiating production, failed miserably in their investment on food and wine in that the investment rate of return resulted to be beneath their cost of capital. The tremendous loss of money caused by this investment and other failures of this type grab the attention of scholars, raising questions on the salience of the budgetary control system, as well as whether budgets are mainly used to control or plan organisations. Other criticisms towards budgetary control as a main form of performance control, argue instead that the use of budgetary control in performance management has of late taken on greater importance especially as a more integrative control mechanism for the organisation. This stands on the basis of different points of view of the role that motivation and communication play within a company. Bhimani et al. (2008) argues that current speculation concerning budgetary control systems prescribes two inverse perspectives. From one perspective, there is the view that upholds incremental change to budgetary process in terms of interfacing such forms more closely to operational prerequisites, arranging frameworks, expanding the recurrence of plan amendment and the arrangement of rolling budgets. A second perspective supports the abandoning of the budgetary control system as a method of organisational control, and supplanting it with elective systems to empower firms on their adaptability and adjustability. The second perspective arose because of the consequences caused by the conflictual role of budgets between planning and controlling. To summarize; in planning and settling choices, budgets convey specialised information between different departments and hierarchy of the organisation, whereas for control, budgets serve as benchmarks for performance measurement (Otley, 1978). According to McWatters et al. (2008) if too many boundaries are placed into performance targets, then specialised executives will settle down and stop disclosing accurate predictions of prospected occurrences, and instead rely more on budgeted figures, which ease the achievement of the targets. A clear example of this conflict is given by the marketing sector. Salespeople according to McWatters et al. (2008) are usually very specialised and can very well forecast future sales. Their predictions are very important to settle the amount of goods to be produced. Inasmuch budgetary control of sales takes place at the end of the year, and it is used as a tool to evaluate performance. Salespeople are reasonably incentivised to under-forecast future sales in order to assure a positive evaluation of their performance. Nevertheless this behaviour induces the company to have higher production costs, creating counterproductive results. However, this behavioural theory is contrasted by Van der Stede (2000) in his study on the relationship between two consequences of budgetary control: slack creation and managerial short-term orientation. In his experiment he attempts to find the relationship between rigid budgetary control and slack creation, where he defines slack as the action by business unit managers that leads them to â€Å"†¦ exploit their position of superior knowledge about business possibilities vis-a-vis corporate management to get performance targets that are deliberately lower than their best guess forecast about the future† (lukka, 1988). Van der Stede’s (2008) statistical correlation showed in fact that rigid budget control reduced slack. To strengthen his view, Bhimani et al. (2008) states that â€Å"budgeted performance measures can overcome two keys limitations of using past performance as basis for judging actual result†, meaning that, not only budgetary control is a good â€Å"judge† of performance, but it also develops better aspects in comparison to other evaluation techniques. In conclusion, this essay has highlighted the role of budgetary control and it’s functions in terms of planning the organisational control of a company, as well as its role in performance management. Motivation and communication are both key aspects in the management of performance, and both of these functions are met through the system of budgetary control, either by setting achievable incentives, or by providing the necessary requirements to improve communications within a company. Having underlined the role of budgetary control as an enhancer of performance management, it is clear to see how it has become a key mechanism for the integrative control of an organisation. Nonetheless, this essay has outlined some of the key disputes of the reliability and effectiveness of budgetary control as an adequate method of performance management. An example of this is highlighted by the fact that when managers are given strict budgeting figures, they sometimes deem the goals to be too easily achieved, and hence give a lesser input of motivation. Despite the many critics of budgetary control as a tool for the organisation of a company, scholars such as Van der Stede (2000) and Bhimani et al. (2008) have confidently stated that when a budget is set correctly, it can significantly improve an organisations performance, including the integrative function within a company; and is in fact a more effective tool than other existing methods of control.

Cheerleading

Approximately half of the states in the United States have already recognized high school cheerleaders ender Title IX legislation (Variants, 2009, p. 41). Since the popularity of competitive cheer is increasing, many colleges and universities are looking to improve Title IX compliance with the addition of competitive cheer as a participation opportunity for its female students. These colleges and universities are faced with the dilemma that competitive cheer is not recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a sport; therefore, the researcher feels that competitive cheer should be an intercollegiate varsity sport.The purpose of this position paper is to provide respective to the problems that colleges and universities face in complying with Title IX and to provide reasons why competitive cheerleaders should be an intercollegiate varsity sport. Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, female participation in sports has increased dramatically. Girls and women are no longer relegated to the sidelines, but are suiting up and Joining men on the playing fields. The legislation of Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive Federal financial assistance.The law states: â€Å"No person in the United States, hall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance† (Carpenter and Costa, 2005, p. 3). Title IX was enacted to deal with all aspects of education, including admissions, recruitment, course offerings, financial assistance, housing, counseling, physical education, employment, insurance benefits, student health, and martial and parental status of students.During the original conception of the amendment there was no obvious accumulation that sports programs and athletic activities at the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels were covered under the regul ations of Title ‘X. Therefore, a great deal of perplexity generated on how to handle athletic sports under the Title IX Amendment. As a result, in 1974, the Cavity Amendment became a component of Title IX which acknowledges that all athletic activities and sports would be included in the legislation.In the 1996 Clarification, the Department of Education provided educational institutions and programs with an extensive range f specific factors and descriptive examples to assist institutions and programs understand the flexibility of the â€Å"three-prong test. † The â€Å"three-prong test† determines whether an educational institution's intercollegiate athletics program offers fair and equitable participation opportunities for both genders; the educational institution must show compliance with one of the following three prongs: 1.Prong One shows that male and female athletes are substantially proportionate to the institution's respective undergraduate enrollment. 2 . Prong Two shows a ex among the intercollegiate athletes. 3. Prong Three demonstrates fully and effectively accommodate the interest and abilities of the underrepresented sex of the intercollegiate athletes. The 1996 Clarification letter describes the â€Å"substantial proportionality' portion of the three-prong test as a â€Å"safe harbor† for Title IX compliance (US Department of Education Website).Moreover, this Clarification letter influenced many educational institutions to believe that ensuring strict measures of proportionality will fulfill Title IX requirements. Each one or the three prongs is evenly essential as a means for fulfillment of Title IX regulations; therefore, no one prong is more beneficial than the other. In 2005, the Additional Clarification was released in regard to the application of the indicators in the 1996 Clarification that guided Scar's (Office of Civil Rights) analysis of the â€Å"substantial proportionality' prong of the three-prong test.A lso incorporated in the Additional Clarification was a User's Guide which contained a model survey that educational institutions could utilize to measure student interest and participation in intercollegiate athletics. This clarification modified Scar's approach from dependence on the multiple prong tests to mainly utilizing the single survey instrument to demonstrate the institution's Title IX compliance.After many deliberations, in 2010, the OCCUR rescinded the 2005 Additional Clarification and User's Guide because it was inconsistent with the nondiscriminatory methods of assessment set forth in the 1979 Policy Interpretation and the 1996 Clarification (US Department of Education Website). Presently, due to the vague nature of the three-prong compliance test, most colleges and universities Ely only on the â€Å"substantial proportionality' prong to satisfy Title IX legislation requirements.Therefore, the reliance on this prong has resulted in a great number of men's non-revenue s ports to be cut from intercollegiate athletic programs in order to meet the proportionality requirement (Variants, 2009, p. 43). A major way to decrease the elimination of men's non-revenue sports is for intercollegiate athletic programs to put more emphasis on â€Å"prong three† which concentrates to fully and intercollegiate athletes. The underrepresented sex in intercollegiate athletics is the male and with the addition of competitive cheerleaders as a varsity intercollegiate sport will assist educational institutions' Title IX issues.The OCCUR sets guidelines to assist educational institutions and programs in determining whether an activity should be considered a varsity intercollegiate sport under the Title IX legislation. Unfortunately, OCCUR does not offer educational institutions with a precise definition of what is considered an athletic opportunity or a â€Å"sport† for the purposes of Title IX requirements. Instead the OCCUR provides educational institutions with a five features hat can to be counted as a varsity sport for Title IX purposes that a sport must: 1.Be administered by the athletics department in a manner consistent with established varsity sports. 2. Offer athletics scholarships and recruit participants. 3. Have practice opportunities and regular-season competitive opportunities similar to established varsity sports 4. Conduct state, conference, or national championships. 5. Exist for the purpose of athletics competition, not to support or promote other athletics activities (NCAA. Org). The Women's Sports Foundation (WAS) and the NCAA Foundation (2000), a â€Å"sport† is defined as: 1. Physical activity that involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance off mass, 2. A contest or competition against or with an opponent, 3. Is governed by rules which explicitly defined the time, space, and purpose of contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared, and 4. The acknowledged primary pur pose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants (Para. 3 and Boyce, 2008, p. 3). Under the WAS, as long as â€Å"competitive cheer squads compete against other similar squads and function underNCAA regulations then cheerleaders can be considered a sport; consequently, the foundation found that cheerleaders is not a sport because their purpose is not to compete and most competitions are not structured like school sport competitions† (Variants, 2009, p. 43). Second, the NCAA defines a sport as â€Å"an institutional activity involving physical exertion with the purpose of competition versus or teams or individuals within a collegiate competition structure† (NCAA. Org).Additionally, NCAA explains the concept of â€Å"emerging sports† that is a sport intended o provide additional athletic opportunities to female student-athletes, to have standardized rules with a scoring system ratified by a governing body, and have regularly sched uled competitions. The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for profit organization and is the national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleaders. Moreover, USA Cheer exists to serve the entire cheer community, including club cheering, traditional school based cheer programs and the new sport of â€Å"stunt. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: 1 . Help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; 2. Remote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and 3. Represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions (USA Cheer. Org). Therefore, does competitive cheer meet these requirements to be considered an intercollegiate varsity sport in eyes of the OCCUR and the NCAA?The USA Cheer and the cheerleaders community are making strides to create and launch Stunt, a new competitive team sport which provides increased athletic and educational opportunities for young women. Stunt is a by-product fro m the skills and techniques of traditional side line heralding. Moreover, USA Cheer is desperately trying to get â€Å"stunt† recognized as an NCAA emerging sport. The competitions will consist of four quarters: partner stunts, Jumps and group tumbling, tosses and pyramids, and team routine (Vesuvius, 2011, p. 457).There are 15 collegiate club teams with twenty to thirty participants. The USA Cheer suggests 12 to 16 numbers of competitions per season and requiring six to eight varsity members (p. 459). Currently, stunt provides additional opportunities for the more than 800,000 cheerleaders in the United States, including gig school age looking for an athletic opportunity at the intercollegiate athletic levels (USA Cheer. Org). Bidder v. Chinquapin University is a recent Title IX case concerning competitive cheer as a sport, roster manipulation, and female athletic participation.In March 2009, the Chinquapin University women's volleyball team and their coach Robin Sparks file d a lawsuit against Chinquapin University because officials announced that it would cut women's volleyball, men's golf, and men's outdoor track to help balance its budget, and would replace those sports with a limitation, the volleyball players and their coach partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union (UCLA) of Connecticut and filed this lawsuit charging Chinquapin University had failed to provide female students with equal opportunity to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.Their claim was the university violated the first part of the Title IX proportionality test since 62 percent of Chinquapin University's undergraduate students were women and only 50 percent participated in athletics. Pending the lawsuit, the federal Judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing Chinquapin University from dissolving the team. The ruling also prohibited the university from eliminating any other women's teams or athletic participation opportunities (The Associated Press, 2009 ).The officials at Chinquapin University were under the impression that competitive cheer was deemed as an intercollegiate sport recognized by the NCAA and Title ‘X. In July 2010, U. S. District Judge Stefan Undersell ruled that counting the competitive cheer team as varsity athletes violated Title IX standards because it did not meet the requirements for a varsity sport according to the OCCUR. Undersell highlighted not only the importance of having competition to be recognized as a sport but also that a sport must â€Å"resemble all other varsity sports at the institution in structure and operation† (Inside Higher Deed, 2010).In comparison with other varsity sports at Chinquapin, the competitive cheer team's 2009-10 season faced inconsistencies in terms of opponents competed against and an unified scoring system used. In conclusion, Judge Undersell wrote in his decision that â€Å"competitive cheer may, some- time in the future, qualify as a sport ender Title ‘X ; however, today the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students† ( Inside Higher Deed, 2010 and Thomas, 2010).Judge Undersell also noted that competitive cheer is not a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport; even though, six schools in the country compete for competitive cheer and have a governing body called National Competitive Stunt and Tumbling Association. Also, Judge Undersell extended the injunction requiring Chinquapin to keep volleyball as a varsity sport for another season, which was wrought the 2010-11 season. Judge Undersell mandated that â€Å"any decision to eliminate women's volleyball† must be â€Å"accompanied by other changes that will bring the university into compliance with Title ‘X† (Inside Higher Deed, 2010).In conclusion, Title IX is a very critical piece of legislation that has laid the fundamental framework for the advancement of gender equity. Therefore, Title IX still plays a vital role in the achievement of pure gender equity because girls and women in sports have a great deal more to accomplish. A goal of Title is to not deny any gender of participating in sport or athletic activity of their interest; therefore, it is important to give equal athletic opportunities to female athletes who are interested in competing in an up and coming sport like competitive cheerleaders.Recognizing competitive cheerleaders as a sport would give educational institutions the ability to put the focus on strengthening safety regulations of competitive cheer because the NCAA would require strict regulations for a intercollegiate varsity sport. Meanwhile, competitive cheer will not completely solve the gender equity issues for girls and omen and the crisis of the elimination of men's non-revenue programs but it would the many female athletes the opportunity to participate in a sport that has been around for many , many decades.

Call money and commercial bill market

Call money and commercial bill market Global Financial Market As all the Financial Markets in India together form the Indian Financial Markets, all the Financial Markets of Asia together form the Asian Financial Markets; likewise all the Financial Markets of all the countries of the world together form the Global Financial Markets. Financial Markets deal with trading (buying and selling) of financial securities (stocks and bonds), commodities (valuable metals or food grains), and other exchangeable and valuable items at minimum transaction costs and market efficient prices. Financial Markets can be domestic or international. The Global Financial Markets work as a significant instrument for improved liquidity. Financial Markets can be categorized into six types: Capital Markets: Stock markets and Bond markets Commodity Markets Money Markets Derivatives Markets: Futures Markets Insurance Markets Foreign Exchange Markets The Financial Markets play a major role in the Global Economy because it helps busi nesses to raise capital (in capital markets), they facilitate transferring of risk (in derivative markets), and they help international trade (in currency markets) to prosper. The International Stock Markets form a major part of the Global Financial Markets. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange, which started operating in continuous trade in the earlier part of the 17th Century. Some of the Important Stock Exchanges of the world are: The New York Stock Exchange (merged with Euro next): The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a stock exchange based in New York City, USA that was incorporated in 1817. In terms of dollar volume, it is the largest stock exchange in the world, and in terms of the number of companies listed it is the second largest stock exchange in the world. The NYSE is also known as the Big Board. The indexes used in the NYSE are the NYSE Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index. The NYSE functions under NYSE Euro next, the format ion of which was the result of NYSE’s merger with Archipelago Holdings and Euro next. Tokyo Stock Exchange: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), incorporated in 1949, is located in Tokyo, Japan. In terms of monetary volume, The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest stock exchange in the world, only next to New York Stock Exchange. The indexes used in the TSE are Nikkei 225, Topix, and J30. NASDAQ: The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, or NASDAQ, is an electronic stock market based in New York City, USA that was incorporated in 1971. The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. is the owner and regulator of NASDAQ. The main index used in NASDAQ is the NASDAQ Composite. London Stock Exchange: Established in 1801, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is one of the oldest and largest stock exchanges in the world. In terms of market capitalization, the London Stock Exchange was ranked 4th among all the other important stock exchanges in the world in March 2007. The London Stock Exchange is located in Paternoster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The stock market index of London Stock Exchange is the Footsie (FTSE). Euro next (merged with NYSE): Founded in 2000, Euro next N.V. is a pan-European Stock Exchange, which is based in Paris. In terms of market capitalization, Euro next ranks as the fifth largest stock exchange in the world. There was a merger of Euro next with the NYSE Group, which led to the formation of NYSE Euro next and it is the first global stock exchange. The main indexes used in Euro next are the Euro next 100 Index and the Next 150 Index. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE): Located in Mumbai, India and founded in 1875, the Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange of Asia. The main index of BSE is called the BSE Sensex (Sensitive Index) or the BSE 30. In terms of volume of transactions, the BSE was ranked as one of the top five stock exchanges in the world in 2005. Some terms that are used in t he Global Financial Markets are: Geek, a Quant Grim Nerd, a Quant Quant Big Swinging Dick Rocket Scientist White Knight Today equity research has become a specialized activity, although confined to a very small segment of the market. It would be a little early to consider equity research as an independent business segment, but at the same time it must be appreciated that the value of equity research is being felt by the market. This is an interesting stage in the growth and development of equity research, especially in a situation where the traditional individual investor is unwilling to pay for vital stock related information while the institutional investor is already paying for research reports. The phenomenal growth of the financial markets over the last quarter of a century has meant that the very character of investment has changed with ever larger scales of market capitalization. The emergence of the Fund Manager as a new value addition in investment r elated financial services is actually a part of the growth and development of the institutional investor. The fund manager’s sole objective is to ensure maximum returns for his clients whose money he invests working in tandem with research inputs. The fund manager and his client are a vital part of the institutional investment process sustained by an advanced and research driven approach to capital market investment. Equity research still has some time to develop as a sustainable business model, but like any other research activity it has its limitations in developing into a booming business. Institutional investors are willing to pay ever higher amounts for in-depth and precise research in accordance with their requirements. Some of the modes of equity research are:

Should the tv media (television shows and ads) be required to present Essay

Should the tv media (television shows and ads) be required to present women in a realistic and respectful way at all times - Essay Example Most people have different views, and this is what we will try to explore and come up with our point of view by the end of the day (Parker and Adrian 1-4). Different writers have featured on this topic, and this is where we will get ideas and arguments so that we can come up with a substantive opinion on the topic. First, I think television should and must present women in a respectful and a more realistic way all the time. The reason behind this is that women play important roles in our society, and most people look unto them as their role models (Richmond and Hurtman 58-59). For instance, when a child is being brought up, he or she believes that her mother is always right. However, when they grow up and understand what the world means to them, they start to change they mentality and way of view on very many issues. One of the things that greatly influence them is the role and impact of media on their lives. Televisions plays are important role in our lives as they give and update us on all the information on what is happening both locally and internationally (Berger 16-29). Almost every household can afford a television in our homes today and easily accessible to our children. Most of the advertisements that are aired on television focusing on various products use women to convey these messa ges. A good example could be women who are used to advertise toilet soaps where most of them are mostly naked. From a recent study, it showed that women are mostly used as sex objects in most television adverts. This study mostly focused on specific environment under certain conditions. The main aim of this study was to help promote gender stereotypes in response to social views and perceptions. Behavior was also an important factor was also considered. This is because this is where young children and teenagers where they learn and emulate these people as their role models. In most cases, television advertisements are normally very persuasive and suggestible.

IRC 1031 Property Exchange Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

IRC 1031 Property Exchange - Research Paper Example According to the Federal Income Tax Law, capital gains on the disposal or the realization of an asset is included in the tax base when they accrue and taxed2. However, according to the IRC Section 1031, no gain or loss will be recognized on an exchange of a property that has been held for productive use in business or trade or for investment, if that property has been exchanged solely for another property of like-kind for the purpose of holding it either for productive use in business, trade or investment3. Mrs Helen, for you to be exempted from paying tax on the capital gains, these conditions must be met: the gross acquisition price of the replacement like-kind real property should be equal to or greater than the gross net sales price of the relinquished property; and the equity received from the realization of the relinquished real estate property should be used to acquire the replacement like-kind property4. However, your case was special as it involved co-op shares. The treatment of co-op shares raises some confusion as whether it is a real property and qualifies for an exchange. In Private Letter Ruling 200631012, in 2006, the Internal Revenue Service concluded that shares in a cooperative apartment situated in New York constitute real property for the purposes of like-kind exchange rules. In making this ruling, the Internal Revenue Service argued that the New York law determined whether the interest in cooperative apartment amounted to a real property and several New York statutes were already regarding the interest in cooperative apartment in the same manner as interest in real property5. In their rulings, New York courts argue that interests in cooperatives are intangible personal property. In a case involving Danforth v. McGoldrick, the Supreme Court held that whenever an individual acquires stocks in cooperative, then that person purchases shares in a corporation giving rise to contractual rights to occupancy. In another case, of re Miller’s

Research proposal Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Proposal - Research Paper Example This research proposal aims at establishing the impact that the use of social media as a means of communication has had on human conduct and behavior. A number of issues have been presented in favour of continued use of social media as a means of communication. Some of the arguments include quick means of information delivery, promotion of business operations, aiding learning in schools among other views. Arguments against the use of social media include loss of privacy, identity theft, loss of face to face interaction among others. However there is less information that can be used to defend either stand on the impact of social media on human beings and this forms the basis for this research proposal. The methods that will be applied in data collection will be based on both secondary and primary sources. This will include the use of questionnaires with open end questions presented to students who use social media as a means of communication, personal interviews aimed at receiving direct feedback from various categories of people and online research on the topic. The statistical analysis will take into consideration the variation between the qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data will be done by computing the mean and standard deviation of all the values. Correlation coefficients between human behavior and usage of social media will be taken into consideration. Linear regression will also be undertaken when analyzing the specific cases where social media influences the behavior of human beings. Analysis of the content from in depth interviews will form part of the qualitative

Cross Curricullum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cross Curricullum - Essay Example The process of learning is as important as the content learned (Newby 2005). Professor Colin J. Marsh (2004) suggests that any definition of curriculum gives insight about its main characteristics and emphases. One of his definitions notes the significance of ‘permanent’ subjects such as grammar, mathematics, reading, logic and literature of the Western world which represent necessary knowledge. This has been known as the â€Å"knowledge-based curriculum†. This model of curriculum has been implemented in most schools. An example of this could be the National Curriculum in the UK which has specific content subjects with specific goals for student achievement. It is essential to remember that subjects and syllabi need to be adjusted to fit current culture and the society. One of the most traditional and most commonly used models is â€Å"content or syllabus-based†. Blenkin et al (1992) suggest that curriculum is delineated into subjects and delivered through a bulk of knowledge-content. Education, he states, is the route where these can be transferred to students using efficient teaching and learning methods. This type of curriculum emphasizes students attending schools to learn subject-specific facts. It also helps to use this model in assessment process where students, according to their gained qualification can be grouped in to high and low achievers. Furthermore, it dictates what route a student will be able to take. Students with high grades traditionally would be expected to progress to universities where less successful students would be advised to take a non academic route (i e. study a vocational programme or gain employment elsewhere). It is interesting to note that most of the employers are not as interested in a depth of ones’ subject knowledge but more on practical skills such as problem solving, analysing, evaluating, self-reflection and self discipline which are directly related to work (Ross, 2000). However, this does not discount the fact that subject-based curriculum will always have a place in education. The Review of the national primary curriculum of UK prioritizes the development of: A strong, coherent curriculum which has flexibility to personalise teaching and learning is crucial to driving up standards further. It is central to the ambitions we have set out in the Children’s Plan and to delivering the outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda. (Rose, 2009, p. 27). The key outcomes of Every Child Matters agenda are the following: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic well-being (HM Treasury, 2003).In addition, the Rose review likewise recommends that the curriculum must provide all pupils with a broad and balanced entitlement to learning which encourages creativity and inspires in them a commitment to learning that will last a lifetime. (Rose, 2009, p. 27) Currently, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, (ATL, 20 06) proposes that changes in the National Curriculum should start with the pupil in mind – his needs and interests and should be designed in terms of the skills and attitudes educators would want pupils to pursue and develop. Emphasis of the curriculum mu

Carbon sequestraion and climate change lab Assignment

Carbon sequestraion and climate change lab - Assignment Example Release of carbon dioxide into the water lowers water pH. Elodea photosynthesizes only when it is exposed to light but respiration is constant because the plant will always require energy. The effect of respiration, however, does not overly influence the pH since aquatic plants have a low energy requirement (Lal). 3. Amount of light penetrating the water is a limiting factor to terrestrial carbon sequestration by aquatic plants. For the aquatic plants to be able to sequester the carbon, light is needed to facilitate the process of photosynthesis. Another limiting factor is the amount of aquatic plants in the water. Aquatic plants sequester carbon when they are alive and when they die, the organic matter that is rich in carbon remains in the dead matter (Lal). As aquatic plant coverage increases, therefore, so does the terrestrial sequestration that accompanies it. The population of aquatic life feeding on the aquatic plants also determines the amount of carbon that aquatic plants can sequester. In the aquatic ecosystem, the aquatic plants are at the base of the food chain. The size of the subsequent food level will determine the population of the plants that will remain available to sequester carbon. 1. Accuracy and precision of measurements in the experiment is influenced by the process of estimation. An estimate is subjective in nature, and is prone to errors because it will depend on the person carrying out the estimate. Individual differences such as height and eyesight will affect the estimates that are made. The same tree will, therefore, have different height estimates for different individuals. Estimating wood volume of branches is also introduces errors to the experiment because branches are not perfect cylinders. The diameter of a tree branch reduces as you move from the stem to the branches; the calculations do not account for this

Argument essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Argument - Essay Example Censorship discourages economic growth by hindering business development; this has a vast negative impact. This is evident when considering the number of the movies that are being banned or scrapped off due to the sole decision of an individual that the contents of the movies are said to be unfit for public viewing. This is not in order in spite of the fact that individuals may at times be dismissive of it terming it as protection (Reichman 66). The role of film classification officers is thus put into question as it is unclear why a committee is left to determine what films are watchable and which are not despite the clear fact that it is the regulators who place the age restrictions quite higher than they should actually, creating a negative impact on the business personalities. Information is power and a population that is empowered is better off than that which is denied information. This impact was seen in Ireland for example in the year 2000 on the film called, ‘The cider house rules,’ a movie which was given an over 18 certificate proclaiming that the information that it presented on abortion and incest was wrong. In issuing such restrictions, they argue that any individual who wants to have access to such a film must first possess an idea of the film contents and the message passed (Caso 172). This may be correct but the younger population should access the message communicated by the film especially with the onset of technological growth coupled with the fact that technology is and will continue to be a major pillar of economic growth. Therefore, many businesses are adversely affected when restrictions in terms of laws and regulations are put in place in such an environment (Lederer and Richard 312). In addition, censorship denies individuals their freedom of expression and access to information, since it is beneficial for one to be able to make well-informed decisions, but it is discouraging when some sectors within the society influence, and place restrictions on individuals to shape the values of the society members in terms of what they should do or not do. It is only possible to make clear and well-informed decisions when the individuals have all the necessary information to make such decisions. This is what censorship denies the population, the chance to make their own independent and well-informed choices by influencing their decisions and choices in a direction of their preference (Lederer and Richard 72). However, the fact that people should be allowed to make their own decisions does not mean the same people will invest their efforts in acts that would go against the norms of the society. The regulations placed have resulted into situations whereby individuals are not able to make critical decisions like those that involve the choice of curriculums in schools. This inability is attributed to inappropriate information that has made it extremely difficult for the school going personalities to be in the positi on of choosing extra curriculum activities and relevant collegial groups than they were able to before. Therefore, censorship should be discouraged since it even cuts

Motivational Theories and Factors Essay Example for Free

Motivational Theories and Factors Essay Stress and conflict in the workplace can cause major emotional and physical damage to the facility and workers. In the past, there have been reports of tragedies caused by disgruntled workers who may have clocked in with a gun in hand. We are going to look into ‘three motivational theories including the relationship of stress and conflict in relation to individual motivations. ’ Many factors can motivate employees while at work. Some of the motivating factors could include the structure of the lives of the employees before they became employed. Personality is a big factor in employee performance and motivation. Someone that is an introvert may not have the same mind set as an extrovert. This will definitely dictate how that employee behaves and responds to directives at work. Turmoil has happened in recent years in workplace settings. Let us take a closer look at a tragic workplace incident. Omar Thornton was a thirty-four year old black delivery driver in Manchester Connecticut. On August 4, 2010, he signed his resignation papers in front of witnesses after he saw video footage of him stealing beer from his company. Before leaving the room he reportedly pulled a gun and started randomly shooting workers he came across. In the end, he killed eight, leaving two wounded before he killed himself. Thornton’s relatives and girlfriend said he had been harassed in a racial manner. This story is not the only one we have seen in the news. It proves that motivation can be a source of good behavior or negative. In Thornton’s case he was motivated by what he thought to be racially aimed mistreatment from his white co workers. This caused him to become stressed and it reached a deadly point of conflict, a him against them scenario. In the real world, no employee should allow their job stress to motivate them to take lives or destroy property. Stress can lead to serious consequences, whether it becomes a health issue or affects performance in a negative way. If employees are in constant conflict over management issues, pay working conditions or other concerns, this can lead to low moral among the employee congregation. It won’t matter if all employees are involved in the struggle, dissatisfaction can spread like sand into each individual’s boundaries. It will be the main topic around the water cooler each day. The job for management is to keep employees motivated in the right direction for the good of the company and its productivity. Management can help decrease the incidents of job dissatisfaction by following these steps. Positive reinforcement should always follow an employees job well done. When problems or disagreements arise the discipline should fit the crime. All persons who live up to their expected performance should be treated in a fair respectful manner. Goals should always be well pronounced so that no employee will say they didn’t know what was expected of them. Some jobs may need to be restructured to generate better productivity. All employees who perform in an acceptable capacity should be rewarded fro their compliance. Increased pay or a truck load of benefits may not always be at the top of the list when it comes to employee motivation. People want to feel needed and appreciated on the job. They want to know that their work is worth something. So, to decrease the incidents of stress, unfairness which can lead to conflict and disgruntled or dissatisfied employees, companies need to place value on employees who are doing what they are asked. When conflicts arise, there should be a procedure in place to allow every voice to be heard. When I am involved in stressful work situations, I bring it to the attention of my department manager. I do not attack an individual, I attack the cause of the problem. I follow the company’s guidelines for resolution, it has always worked for me. Since I started this class, I have learned that positive external motivation can also decrease or prevent stress in the workplace. So there should be a plan already in place to head off negative incidents.

Looking At The Effects Of Online Gaming

Looking At The Effects Of Online Gaming Introduction In order to find out a relation between online games and various aspect of players life such as learning, behaviour, social life, and others, many studies have been done. When considering, how can online gaming effect on the player, we come to the four main domains. These are learning in the game based environment, relation between violent games and aggressive behaviour, minors and inappropriate content and addictive behaviour. Aim of this essay is to focus on game addiction as it itself affects many aspects of the life. What motivates player to play and why some players become addicted whilst others do not? Further, what from psychological point of view makes the games addictive and what addiction is? Also aim is to identify differences between game genres and the amount of time they are being played and to answer question if and why online games are becoming so much more popular then games played offline. Is an interaction with other people the only reason? LITERATURE REVIEW If there is speech about addiction, there is also need to mention a motivation. As these two go hand in hand. There is no game addict, who has no motivation to play. First to mention is Bartles model (Seay, 2006) of types of players. It defines four types of players and their specific motivations. They are : achiever, explorer, killer and socializer [see appendix C for explanation]. Yee later derived five motivational facets as opposed to Bartles player types. (Seay 2006, Yee 2002) They are : relationship, immersion, achievement, grief, leadership. [see appendix C for explanation]. These were further modified and are being referred to as Facets ÃŽÂ ± (Seay, 2006) They are : Achievement players place an emphasis on feeling like and being regarded by others as accomplished players. Escapism players value gaming as an opportunity to get away from the pressures of the real world. Role playing players enjoy the fact that gaming allows them to become part of a fantasy world. Manipulation manipulation players are characterized by a desire to annoy and exploit other players. Relationship Relationship players are attracted to the social aspects of gaming. [for full description see Appendix] Challenge and skills are interrelated and the diagram below helps to understand difference between online and offline games in relation to addiction. (Hernà ¡ez, 2006) used this diagram based on the study of psychologist Csikszentmihalyi, to demonstrate relation between skills and challenge. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990) flow is the state in which people are so intensely involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. If applied on video game, it is clear that game should increase challenge equally to players skill, to keep the player within the flow. According to annual report (Nielsen 2008) 56% of light gamers and 78% of heavy gamers play online games. In most offline games the difficulty is set at the start and will remain on the same level till the end of the game. What leads to player moving from flow to control and eventually to boredom, when he losing interest. Whereas online games, particularly massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) are designed to keep player in the flow by increasing challenges accordingly to abilities. MMORPGs are most often connected to the game addiction. Yee 2002 wrote about attraction and motivation factors of MMORPG games. Motivations are mentioned above, so lets explain attraction factors. There are three main attraction factors of mmorpg that encourage time investment and personal attachment. Briefly these are : Inherent reward cycle player is always close to some reward, whether it is level, skill or quest Network of online friends that player accumulates over time. They encourage playing to remain at the same level so they can keep playing together Immersive nature of virtual environment which encourage players to become attached to their virtual characters and tries to enchant player with a fantasy, and make him feel that he is part of something grand and extraordinary Parker 2009 defines addiction as : psychological disorder that affects the way the brain functions by impacting chemical processes related to motivation, decision making, learning, inhibitory control, and pleasure seeking. Behavioural addictions like gambling and sex are forms of psychological dependence; addictions to substances like drugs and alcohol are forms of both psychological and physical dependence. [ for full description see appendix B] When it comes to particular effects as a consequences of addictive behaviour these can be divided into two categories. First is the one which contain physiological consequences, which are mostly the same as with general excessive use of computer whatever the reason (work, games, internet..) and these count back problems, dry eyes, repetitive stress injuries, negative changes in sleep patterns, irregular eating, leading to starvation or obesity, and drowsiness and depression of immune system from lack of sleep (Grabianovski, 2010). These are the same for everyone. The second category represents psychological effects. These are mainly connected to change in the social life of the player and may be various for every player, depending on what type of player it is and what are his motivations for playing. Seay 2006 assumes that players driven by achievement and escapism are most likely to get addicted. Low ability of self regulation is another factor contributing to addictive behaviour. Bandura (1999 cited in Seay 2006, p. 44-45) defines in his social cognitive theory term self-regulation as : the ability of an individual to manage his own behaviour through observation, evaluation, and consequation. Increased amount of play hours leads to loneliness, decreased social support and decreased size of social network (Seay, 2006. p. 54) and these factors contribute to development of depression. Freeman 2006 defines massively multiplayer online role-playing games as : a particular genre of online games in which players from around the world create their own characters that interact with other players in the games virtual world. Players gain points with which to buy powers and advance in the never ending game played in real time. As all players are consistently improving the challenge for others remains on high level even when playing for long time. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Data were collected for the research through questionnaire, because aim was to get a larger amount of quantitative data rather than smaller amount of qualitative data. Twenty five participants (six women) aged in range between eighteen and thirty one years participated. Questionnaire was made anonymous and self-administered in order to maximize rate of honest answers, since some people may feel embarrassed for their answers and thus prefer to answer not honestly if identity is known or when talking face to face on interview. Care was taken to avoid questions, which could cause embarrassment, anger, sadness or frustration. Idea of using observation seems to be not appropriate at all, since it is very time consuming and natural behaviour of observed participant is very questionable. The questions used are closed except of two. Because of the nature of questions, three of them contain option of multiple answers. Reason is to make it easier for participants, by listing the most expected answers and add field for other__ answer, for the case appropriate answer was not included in the list, rather than make question opened. Likely participants would instead of writing full list of their reasons just leave some out. Open question is No.5, which asks for reason why participant prefer online games as this may be more very specific reasons. Also question No.8 is open, asking participant for three favourite games. Purpose is to determine favourite games genre in relation to playing time. To confirm that online MMORPG are most popular among heavy players. To get a further information relating to motivations, it would be useful if participants filled out a online test for Bartles types. DESIGN METHODOLOGY Idea was to prove that mmorpg games are most popular among heavy and hard-core players, as they cover motivation elements of all four player types defined in Bartles model. Further to identify what are the factors, that lead player to addictive behaviour. RESERACH RESULTS Three quarters of participants stated they prefer to play online games. More than one third play video games for more than 15 hours a week. More than half of them consider main reason to be higher challenge and nearly the same number stated the reason to be socializing with people online. Other reasons occur only marginally. See appendix A for charts. EVALUATION OF RESULTS The main reason for playing online games in general is higher challenge, what matches with Csikszentmihalyis diagram and adds credit to its validity. The most popular game played online is first person shooter, but when it comes to hardcore players the mmorpg games become dominant. MMORPG offer open end gameplay in virtual world which is virtually endless, that is the reason why, heavy (more skilled) players are more engaged in online games. Half of the participants for this research, play for less than 8 hours a week, so it is hard to demonstrate relation between playing time and mmorpg online games based on data gathered. But comparison was done to demonstrate what part of these occasional or light players play MMORPG games online. Not surprisingly very small part [see chart 4, appendix A]. On question what aspects of life are most affected by playing, the mostly affected are other hobbies and sleep. This was also predictable, when taken to account that number of heavy players FINDINGS AND RECCOMMENDATIONS Increasing popularity of online games is related to Csikszentmihalyis diagram, which defines the flow (challenge/skill). This is what players look for in games and find mostly in online virtual environments (mmorpg). CONCLUSION Game addiction is very dangerous and may lead to social isolation, broken relationship, divorce, job loss, health problems and depression. Well designed MMORPG contain elements for every player type so, whoever plays it, whatever the motivation is, it is somehow included, that is why these games are most addictive.

Big Changes With Minor Oversight Essays -- Social Media

One of the significant figures in human history the scientists Charles Darwin once commented, â€Å" In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed †(qtd.12most.com). This implies that success comes with collective efforts and using imagination. Similarly in order to have beneficial effects on something it is necessary to understand its interpretation. In the case of social media, it can be said that some people misunderstand its role in today’s life. Presently users live in new era of social media. As the role of the social media expanded and changed the view about connection, people started to change their pre historical habits and daily lives. Still some people argue against it. In the article â€Å"Faux Friendship†, William Deresiewicz asserts, that today people tend to make a lot of friends, without deep understanding of virtual sense of friendship and that representation of a real friend exti nguished. Author emphasizes the negative effects of social networks in human friendship. He explains how social networks have changed the view about friendship and how image of friendship has gradually transformed into a new form. Even though the tone of the article was negative towards social media, the initial purpose of the social media was not to change the meaning of friendship. It was used to post some information for the public, to get and transmit messages and exchange software (Rosen 189). Now, social media helps people to stay connected, to be informed (about current events), and to share their ideas. Despite the people’s misuse of the social media that could contribute to negative consequences, it plays a major role in the evolution of interpersonal relations of human be... ...macy.† TED.com. Nov 2009. Web. 05 March 2012. Callaway, Janet. â€Å"13 Great Social Media Quotes.†.Janetcallaway.com. n.d. Web. 20 March 2012. Deresiewicz, William. "Faux Friendship." Utne Reader: Alternative Coverage of Politics, Culture, and New Ideas. The Chronicle of Higher Education. n.d. Web. 11 March 2012. Park, Ryan. â€Å"Top 50 Social Media Quotes and Social Networking Quotes.† Theadventurous500.com. February 2012. Web. 20 March 2012. Shirky, Clay. â€Å"How Social Media Can Make History?† TED.com. June 2009. Web. 07 March 2012. Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: The Penguin Press, 2010. Print. Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print. Thoreau, Henry. â€Å" Henry David Thoreau Quotes.† Brainyquote.com. n.d. Web. 20 March 2012. Big Changes With Minor Oversight Essays -- Social Media One of the significant figures in human history the scientists Charles Darwin once commented, â€Å" In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed †(qtd.12most.com). This implies that success comes with collective efforts and using imagination. Similarly in order to have beneficial effects on something it is necessary to understand its interpretation. In the case of social media, it can be said that some people misunderstand its role in today’s life. Presently users live in new era of social media. As the role of the social media expanded and changed the view about connection, people started to change their pre historical habits and daily lives. Still some people argue against it. In the article â€Å"Faux Friendship†, William Deresiewicz asserts, that today people tend to make a lot of friends, without deep understanding of virtual sense of friendship and that representation of a real friend exti nguished. Author emphasizes the negative effects of social networks in human friendship. He explains how social networks have changed the view about friendship and how image of friendship has gradually transformed into a new form. Even though the tone of the article was negative towards social media, the initial purpose of the social media was not to change the meaning of friendship. It was used to post some information for the public, to get and transmit messages and exchange software (Rosen 189). Now, social media helps people to stay connected, to be informed (about current events), and to share their ideas. Despite the people’s misuse of the social media that could contribute to negative consequences, it plays a major role in the evolution of interpersonal relations of human be... ...macy.† TED.com. Nov 2009. Web. 05 March 2012. Callaway, Janet. â€Å"13 Great Social Media Quotes.†.Janetcallaway.com. n.d. Web. 20 March 2012. Deresiewicz, William. "Faux Friendship." Utne Reader: Alternative Coverage of Politics, Culture, and New Ideas. The Chronicle of Higher Education. n.d. Web. 11 March 2012. Park, Ryan. â€Å"Top 50 Social Media Quotes and Social Networking Quotes.† Theadventurous500.com. February 2012. Web. 20 March 2012. Shirky, Clay. â€Å"How Social Media Can Make History?† TED.com. June 2009. Web. 07 March 2012. Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: The Penguin Press, 2010. Print. Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print. Thoreau, Henry. â€Å" Henry David Thoreau Quotes.† Brainyquote.com. n.d. Web. 20 March 2012.

Madness in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Tell-Tale Heart -- English Lit

Madness in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Tell-Tale Heart Compare the portrayal and use of madness in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Which story did you prefer and why? The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe both describe characters who in the opinion of other people are insane. The characters' hysterical behaviour due to their insanity is depicted as the stories progress. The Yellow Wallpaper was written for a reason to demonstrate how women were treated in society in the 19th Century. The Tell-Tale heart was written primarily for the purpose of entertainment. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe have both been written in the first person. This is for a number of important reasons. In both stories the main character's descent into insanity is effectively portrayed by the character's increasingly irrational behaviour and neurotic thoughts. If the books had not been written in the 1st person then the reader would not know the character's feelings and reactions to events in the books. By writing the stories in the first person, the reader is able to step inside the mind of the character and experience what they think. Both the stories rely on being written in the first person and would not work if they had not been written like this. The Yellow Wallpaper is written in a diary form with entries being added at different intervals: " We have been here two weeks, and I haven't felt like writing before, since that first day." It is an account of the character's most personal emotions during the period of time. She confides in her diary and... ...erred The Tell-Tale Heart for the following reasons. Firstly I found the woman's account in The Yellow Wallpaper, although interesting, a little too emotional and personal to feel comfortable for me to relate to. This may be a gender response. On the other hand, I found that I could relate more easily to the dramatic qualities in The Tell-Tale Heart and the progress towards the final denouement better captured my imagination. This story also felt more timeless which makes it far easier to relate to. Works Cited Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 2: 630-642.

Heavy Metal Poisoning :: essays research papers fc

Heavy Metal Poisoning Heavy metal poisoning is the toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body. Heavy metals are chemical elements that have a specific gravity at least five times that of water. The heavy metals most often implicated in human poisoning are lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Some heavy metals, such as zinc, copper, chromium, iron, and manganese, are required by the body in small amounts, but these same elements can be toxic in larger quantities. Heavy metals may enter the body in food, water, or air, or by absorption through the skin. Once in the body, they compete with and displace essential minerals such as zinc, copper, magnesium, and calcium, and interfere with organ system functions. People may come into contact with heavy metals in industrial work, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and agriculture. Its even possible that children can be poisoned as a result of playing in contaminated soil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heavy metal poisoning may be detected using blood and urine tests, hair and tissue analysis, or x rays. In childhood, blood lead levels above 80  µg/dL generally indicate lead poisoning, however, significantly lower levels (>30  µg/dL) can cause mental retardation and other cognitive and behavioral problems in affected children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a blood lead level of 10  µg/dL or higher in children a cause for concern. In adults, symptoms of lead poisoning are usually seen when blood lead levels exceed 80  µg/dL for a number of weeks. Another important factor is that blood levels containing mercury should not exceed 3.6  µg/dL, while urine levels should not exceed 15  µg/dL. Symptoms of mercury poisoning may be seen when mercury levels exceed 20  µg/dL in blood and 60  µg/dL in urine. An interesting way to test for the amount of mercury in someones system, is to test hair a follicle, and record the levels of mercury in order to gauge the severity of chronic mercury exposure. Furthermore, arsenic is rapidly cleared from the blood. Blood arsenic levels may not be very useful in diagnosis. Arsenic in the urine (measured in a 24-hour collection following 48 hours without eating seafood) may exceed 50  µg/dL in people with arsenic poisoning. If acute arsenic poisoning is suspected, an x ray may reveal ingested arsenic in the abdomen. It is visible because the arsenic appears solid on an x-ray. Arsenic may also be detected in the hair and nails for months following exposure.

Coca-Cola India Case Study Analysis

Coca – India Case study Lakeesha Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name April 11, 2013. Introduction Coca-Cola is the leading brand of the world in soft drink category. It was founded by a pharmacist in Georgia known by the name of John Pemberton. He used to sell a potion for physical as well as mental disorders. However, the potion soon turned into world’s largest selling brand after carbonated water in addition to fountain water with other constituents were added to the brand.Furthermore, soon after the addition of carbonated water, Coca-Cola brand was given the honor of 1887 and in just year of two years, the brand began to spread its sales all over the world. However, the brand got under the wave of ten billion cases in the past decades, which made its growth come to sudden plunge and with lesser improvement in the sales. During the era of 2000, the brand had per annual sale growth of 0. 2 %, which is a deep loss for the company as back in 1980s, its sales growth, had been 5-7%.Furthermore, as it began its sales in India, the Coca-Cola began to see its rise again since the brand became a favorite of the one billion population of the country, which comprised of every rural or urban part of the community. Ethical Issues Many of the most important cases were filed against the Coca-Cola Company in the last few years. They have been the result of an allegation imposed on the company by its four employees in spring 1999. According to the lawsuit, the company has used discriminatory acts on its African-American employees just simply on the basis of their being black. Such diverse types of warning were being issued on the company for its discriminatory practices on the employees. Moreover, many of the employees there have been reported to experience an unethical discriminatory culture in accordance with their race and case. Additionally, another major case was filed against the company on 8 Jun e 1999 (Kochan, 1997). This case comprised of thirty-three children enrolled in Belgium school, which fell ill and were hospitalized.Then again, after few more Belgians went into the trap of this illness. The bottles had been tinned up in a Coco- Cola plant of Dunkirk, France. Moreover, the crisis intensified later after the quantity of people who were stricken with intestinal problems increased from eight to 250, all over the country. However, on June 29, a report was issued which claimed according to research by a toxicologist that the blame was on the carbon dioxide impurities found in Antwerp while on the other hand, there was fungicide in Dunkirk.In order to fix the crisis, many resolutions were passed by the company, which started free selling campaigns in the countries sending free vouchers. There beach parties, dancers were hired for concerts and advertisements were issued on televisions thanking the public for being loyal to the company. Hence, around 5. 5 million people we re influenced by the company to get its fame back. After this, a major crisis had to be dealt with by the company.On February 4, 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment filed a case against Coca- Cola (Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Soft Drinks, 2003). The CSE was led by a group of activists that claimed about the Kinley Bottled water to contain traces of pesticides. It comprised of ingredients like DDT and Malathion, which are highly toxic and can result in the destruction of human bodies. Let humans apart, these substances can even damage aquatic animal and plant life when disposed of in water bodies.These tests were taken from a sample of seventeen bottles that had been sold lately. So after the test was being conducted by Pollution Monitoring Laboratory, the results showed that these Coca-Cola products contained more than 30- 36 times of such toxic substance which was surpassing the global standards approved all over the world. These pesticides, according to research cou ld result in cancer, birth defects, and even damage to nervous as well as immune system of the body. Hence, it was proved that it was unethical to sell products, which could result in loss of human lives.The EEC standard was 0. 005 mg/l of pesticides while in case of Coca-Cola it was 0,018 mg/l, which was thirty six times more (Pendergrast, 1993). In order to resolve issue, the company could show results of its own samples so that employment of many of its workers could be saved. Most important ethical issue that could be assumed from the above mention is Gupta’s dilemma which showed with evidence that Coca- Cola had surpassed the limits of its pesticides concentration to more than forty five times. Alternative ResolutionsSome of the resolutions that the company could make was firstly to marketplace. This was meant that to use such type of substances in its products that were approved by the standards of market. This will build up a strong foothold of the company in the world of market. Moreover, the billions of stakeholders that work in the company could lose their employment if the company continued with unethical acts. This will eventually attract more investors to contribute to the business as a result of which more Coca- Cola brands could be opened.Moreover, an ethical and proper cultural environment should be given to the employees so that more talented people could come and give their services to the company. Hence, it can benefit themselves as well as the company. In addition, Coca-Cola Company can use its resources in the development of community by contributing in environmentally sustainable practices. Hence, this will result in a better profit making and market value of the company. Best Ethical ResolutionIn my opinion, by following the given standards approved by the market, Coca-Cola can get its market value back. This will eventually result in higher employment and lives of many people would be saved if the substances used were not injurio us to health. References: † Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Soft Drinks. † Centre for Science and Environment (CSE (2003). Kochan, Nicholas,. The World’s Greatest Brands: an International Review by Interbrand. New York University Press,, 1997. Pendergrast, Mark. For God, Country and Coca-Cola. Charles Scribners, 1993.

Write About the Ways Hosseini Opens the Story in Chapter 1

Write about the ways Hosseini opens the story in chapter 1 Chapter 1 opens with a unknown first person narrative. We are not introduced to the narrator until the end of Chapter 2, Amir. The effects of this remaining unnamed makes us concentrate on what the narrator is introducing us to. He is the central character of this story is coloured by Amir's personal reactions and emotions. It opens with â€Å"I became what I am today† and ending with the same focus. The result of this referring back to the first line exposes a situation that has happened between the past and the present. It has changed him in a substantial way. Hosseini doesn't let us know what has made him his way but he alludes this with the imagery and brief information of the past of which Amir already foreshadows, building dramatic tension. Hosseini uses dates to open the story â€Å"December 2001† to locate the present as he immediately refers back to the past in flashbacks. We know this because he says â€Å"in the winter of 1975†. It's been twenty-six years since the event that he has been referring back to, so there has been time for Amir to think everything over. Hosseini uses pathetic fallacy to open the story â€Å"on a frigid overcast† which mirrors the mood of the character and the scene. The imagery of this helps us understand that something unpleasant has happened because of the weather is also unpleasant. Flashbacks mostly fill the whole story underlining that somewhere after the event, Amir already knows what has happened which he is telling us. In chapter 1, we are immediately pulled back to a more recent time â€Å"last summer† where he got a call from Rahim Khan from Pakistan. He knew it wasn't Rahim Khan but his â€Å"un-atoned sins† of his past. The call from the past makes it seems like something dead coming after him. In the first paragraph in chapter 1, the past is personified. Amir can â€Å"bury it† but it â€Å"claws it's way out† like the call, he can't hide from the past as it comes to haunt him. Hosseini uses personification to exaggerate the past of Amir that invokes imagery of something dead rising from it's grave. It also shows that Amir has been hiding from his past but on this very day, he can't really escape from it. Back into the present Amir takes a walk at the Northern edge Golden Gate park, San Francisco where he saw 2 blue kites which reminded him of Afghanistan, his past. The juxtaposition is clear here of USA and Afghanistan which are two very opposing countries. A city with a Golden Gate Bridge with miniature boats in the lake. At night, sparkling lights cover the bridge. Compared to the memories of Afghanistan now war torn, corrupt and run by the Taliban. Hosseini purposely displays this juxtaposition to reveal the massive differences between them. Hosseini introduces Hassan as â€Å"the harelipped kite runner† This identifies Hassan as the Kite Runner of the title showing the significance of this character against all the other characters been mentioned. He also mentions kites in the story reinforcing the Novel's Title; The Kite Runner. The effect of him seeing these kites is what triggers his memories of Afghanistan and Hassan. Hassan's voice is heard by Amir â€Å"For you, A thousand times over†. Hassan would do anything for Amir. Hosseini shows this to represent his kindness and how Amir feels about him, portraying comradeship. The language that Hosseini uses in chapter one is informal mimicking a real life person in the story. This is also a reflection of a biographical fictive story as the character is going through his life in flashbacks which are embedded for the stories to come. An after thought comes into Amir's mind from the phone call â€Å"There's a way to be good again† the phone call being displayed as the past that is claws it's way out and then the call saying there's a way to be good again makes us think of his sins he's left behind that needs to be atoned. It displays the narrator as guilty and sorry for his past. Also, it invokes the theme of this story of Redemption and something that revolves around his friend, Hassan. Hosseini writes chapter 1 short and brief but sets the scenes, dates and introduces characters. Also, addressing the massive themes played throughout of this story. Friendship and Redemption.

Culture and Personality

Personality: Boas and Benedict According to Franz Boas, pioneer of Psychological Anthropology or the study of the relationship between culture and personality, personality is obtained thru culture and not biology. His theory called Cultural Relativism gives a comprehensive understanding of the underlying relationship between culture and personality. Boas’ student Ruth Benedict expounded the research on the effect of culture to personality through studying cultural various patterns and themes.Although she admitted that the global cultural diffusion has made the cultural patterns of civilized societies are difficult to trace, primitive societies located at the remote areas have preserved their shared personalities through their values, beliefs and rituals. When Benedict wrote her book Patterns of Culture, she mentioned her comparison of the cultural patterns of two different northern American Indian groups as well as an Indian group located off-coast of Papua New Guinea.In her s tudy, she found out that although they are from similar genetic collection, these groups have significant differences in their respective value systems. For instance, one tribe’s idea of a â€Å"good man† differentiates to that of another. Her book, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, included a detailed description of Japanese belief and value system as well as a hypothesis on the reason behind the actions of the Japanese during World War II. PERSONALITY: MARGARET MEAD Arguably, Margaret Mead was one of the leading anthropologists of the 20th century.Being a student of Boas, Mead extended the school’s knowledge in culture and personality as she focused from the American culture to the whole Western World. She travelled to Samoa and she found out that the societies there have uniform value systems, and thus, they share common personality traits. In the culture of Samoan tribes, it was noted that until individuals reach the age of 15- 1 6, when they are to be subjected to marital rituals, they do not have significant roles in terms of social life. In fact, children are ignored by their parents and the rest of the society until after they reach puberty.Girls are taught to see boys as their enemies. The effect of this portion of the Samoan culture is that children tend to be either aggressive to gain attention, or passive due to the lack of affection and love from their significant others. SEX? DIFFERENCES AND PERSONALITY Evolution and genetics are believed to have brought about differences in personality traits as determined by the biological sex of a person. As explained by the Theory of Sexual Selection, males compete to attract females, so men are more likely to be aggressive and competitive than women.However, nowadays we may see that more and more women become aggressive in competing against other women for a man. Our culture greatly contributes to the development of our beliefs and values. For this reason, bot h cultural psychologists and social anthropologists believe that culture affects one’s personality. In addition, gender differences also influence the personality traits a person possesses. Read more: Does culture affect our personality? – Individual Traits and Culture.

My Journey to America

My journey to America is one unforgettable experience. I say this not because I was able to travel to the land of my dreams but mainly because the journey had improved my outlook in life through the many lessons and insights it had taught. My country of origin is Kenya, located in Eastern Africa. Separating these two countries is the Pacific Ocean,  Ã‚   a large body of water that seemed to signify the impossibility of my coming here (Crofton, 1994, p. 434). But fortunately, this huge obstacle was overcome, and now I am enjoying the fun and opportunities offered by a country that had only once been a dream. You just cannot imagine the excitement I had felt when I learned that I will travel to America. For the majority of Africans, America is a land of golden opportunity, a place that one can better himself. It offers a rare experience in advancement in technology, an essential factor to a person’s twentieth century learning. And above all, America had many fun, exciting and historical places to visit. Armed with such lofty thoughts in mind, going through the hassle of filing for travel papers at the US Embassy meant nothing to me. I  Ã‚   bade goodbye to Kenya last __________. My itinerary was from Nairobi, Kenya to ______, USA. It would take approximately ______ hours to reach the US.   On the plane I tried to contain my excitement although flying above the wide Pacific Ocean was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. Looking down below from the window of the plane, I can see a wide expanse of blue water, stretching miles and miles beyond as if it would never end. Although the sight was beautiful to behold, I cannot wait to see land for by then I suddenly felt an awesome fear of being in a place totally unknown, as if I was lost in the middle of nowhere. I realized then that uprooting oneself from familiar places is not that easy, after all. As the plane made its way across the earth,   my mind was filled with thoughts of what I will going to do in America, the friends that I will meet, the places I will visit and the things that I will have. The thoughts all came to me at once, both thrilling and enchanting me at the same time. Amidst   these thoughts, my mind   raced back to the place I just left behind, the loved ones that I will not see   for sometime and   the places that surprisingly I will miss, and then out of nowhere I felt nostalgic and if I was not strong   enough tears would have fallen from my eyes. It was painful to realize that for me to experience something new, I had to let go of something that I hold dear. But I am glad to think that someday I will be back. Finally, after some time I approached the place that for more than a century had drawn all kinds of races and nationalities to its shores like a magnet. I expected the view from above to be so much different from the aerial view of the country and continent I just left behind. True enough it was way, way different. Whereas the place I had just left was dominated by forest and desert that was spotted with human dwellings and buildings, the view of America from the air was just breathtaking to me. A vast array of buildings endlessly crowded themselves below, tall skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty seemed to reach out to me in welcome. I could not believe that the famous  Ã‚   America was right in front of me!   Ã‚  I felt an awesome sense of self-fulfillment then, perhaps because America had this magical way of making a person think that finally he had seen the real world. Naturally I could not wait to set my feet in the America soil.   For the first time in my life I was surrounded with people who look different from me. In the airport were white people, brown skinned people and dark ones like me. I was fascinated with the presence of different nationalities that were busy talking to one another in a language I do not understand and hurrying past me to places God knows where. I realized later that I will often come across these different types of people in just any street in America. I wonder much about them, the places that they came from and the loved ones that they left behind in a country far away. I know that most of them come to America to earn more money, and I wonder if they fulfilled that goal. Settling here for _________ (months or years) now, I can say with authority that foreigners here oftentimes experienced physical, emotional and mental suffering. Many of them are homesick.   There is no place, after all, that man will be untouched by the negative experiences of life. Such realization had developed in   me a deeper respect for people who   left their homeland to find jobs in other shores. For the many successful people who pass my way daily, I can say that indeed America is a land of golden opportunity, but only for the people who work hard. In life no matter where we are we just cannot expect a golden egg to fall on our lap. Here there are also many poor people. I do not know why they lived that way but one thing America taught me is that if you want something good to happen in your life then you must be willing to sacrifice, to let many sweats fall from your forehead.   Ã‚  A person should not wait for opportunity, he must look for it and when he found that opportunity he must grab it with both hands. The list of beautiful places to visit and exciting things to do in America is endless. There are many big parks decorated with beautiful flowers and housed different kinds of animals (many of these animals are native to my homeland like tigers and elephants).   When I look a these caged animals I cannot help but compare them to their relatives back home who roamed   freely in the African wild. America is not a place of freedom for them but on the contrary, America is a trap, a prison. I felt sad but these are the prices that need to be paid if people of America are to see a live African wildlife. Furthermore, America had many large shopping centers filled with all sorts of stuff. They are very inviting to touch, look and if I have the money, to buy. There are just many things to choose from, all of them beautiful. It is true that America has lots of things to offer especially for a Kenyan like me. Being surrounded by all these beautiful things make me look at life more positively. I do have negative experiences in America but I would cite only one that I know is experienced by most foreign people like me and it is the ugly face of racial discrimination. I know that racial discrimination is present when the people of other races I associate with treat me with distrust without reason. I know some of them did not actually wanted the feeling to come but it involuntarily sprung up somewhere. Racial discrimination is a big problem here.   This just shows that great America, like any other country in the world, had its own issues to solve. Obviously, there are many differences between America and my home country but there is one difference that I would like to share here. It seemed to me that the people who live in America are always in a hurry. It seemed that they have so many things to do but do not have the time to do it. That is why most Americans (including those who are not but lived here) are always in a perpetual state of stress. They are busy chasing â€Å"something† so that they do not have the time â€Å"to smell the flowers†. This is so much unlike Kenya. There it seemed we have plenty of time to rest, to reflect. Perhaps because our lives are less complicated, our dreams are simpler. For most Kenyan families providing daily food on the table is a big accomplishment. My journey to America is an adventure of a lifetime. I will never forget the many new   experiences that came along     and the lessons it had taught me. Indeed I can say that my journey to America had opened doors in my life that were once closed. Reference Crofton, Ian (editor). (1994). The Guinness Compact Encyclopedia. London: Guinness Publishing Limited.

The Use of Landscape as a Means of Commentary Essay

The Use of Landscape as a Means of Commentary - Essay Example 625), moral or philosophical beliefs. Two authors that achieved this within their work were Thomas Cole and Frederic Church. Understanding the way that these two artists achieved commentary through their work in the 19th century is an effective method of examining commentary in landscape painting within the 19th century as a whole. Thomas Cole was an American landscape painter who was one of a group of artists, collectively known as the Hudson River School. Artists within the school focused on national landscapes as a way of reflecting on their own spiritual values and that of the nation. Their paintings often examined the way that the United States, and its people, was attempting to forge a national culture and identity (Hoy, 2009, p. 6). Another aspect of their work was of the potential for America to become a great nation (Kornhauser et al., 2001). For the American landscape painters, the wildness and uniqueness of their landscape provided a way to express the potential that the c ountry had, as well its history. The United States lacked the long cultural history that their European counterparts had, and as such the landscape provided an effective alternative (Kornhauser et al., 2001, p. 6). Cole lived from 1801 to 1848 and was often referred to as the ‘father’ of the Hudson River School. This term was applied to him because he is considered to be the artist that had the most influence in making landscape painting into a respected and popular genre. Cole’s paintings were not accurate representations of actual views that he observed, instead they were compositions. He argued that the use of composition rather than strict reproduction of the environment did not mean his paintings, or those of his contemporaries, were not of nature. Instead, he considered them to bring together many different parts of nature, making a more complete image than could be attained from a single view (Smithson, 2000). This approach also gave Cole the ability to us e his paintings to express viewpoints, and to provide commentary on the world around him and his own particular viewpoints. In his painting The Oxbow, also known by its longer name View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm, Cole presents a landscape view of a particular area of a valley following a rainstorm. The imagery in the piece is interesting, because it consists of two opposite perspectives. The left hand side of the painting is covered in clouds and is darker. The landscape is that of a wildness, forested and untamed. The right hand side of the image is a sharp contrast, and is brighter, consisting of a civilized region, where the wildness is no longer present, and instead there are areas for farms. In the middle of the piece, small and almost unnoticeable, sits an easel. This image can be interpreted as more than a painted representation of the view that the painter saw, instead the painter makes a clear juxtaposition between how the United St ates was before colonists had made a significant impact and afterwards. The presence of the easel suggests that the artist is attempting to determine the direction that

Report to business manager on blogging benefits Assignment

Report to business manager on blogging benefits - Assignment Example See the eBook/textbook example (p. 467-468), albeit, note that the book reference source citations/URL’s are missing! The executive summary is written last. It summarizes the purpose of the report, the methods used to create your report, and highlights the salient findings of your report, including your recommendation. Blogs are next to internet since its conception in terms of the pervasiveness of its use. 11.2% of online adults posts blogs once a month and of that number, a quarter of them (24.8%) reads a blog and half of it (13.7%) reads a blog. Business are beginning to capitalize on this as Burson-Marsteller survey showed that there were already 15% among the Fortune 500 companies who are now using blogs either to communicate or market (Wallace). The current use of corporate blogs are not that effective however. Experts agree that the current use of business of blogs are rather drab, dry and boring which go directly either to selling its products or promoting themselves. Of those companies who uses blogs, only two thirds gets any comments because of poor content. If harnessed properly, blogs can be a formidable communication and marketing tool. One of its outright benefits is that it costs almost nothing to set it up and requires minimal manpower to maintain. Businesswise, it does not cost much to have a blog presence. Blogs are global in reach. Companies using blogs can easily communicate to its customers, potential or existing, new products and information across continents at a very minimal cost. It can also help develop loyalty with its customers through the communication that is facilitated by the blog. One of the most common disadvantages of having a blog is the lack of utter creativity to maintain its visitor’s attention. This is becoming common as most companies employing blogs were found to be dry, boring and unattractive.