Eth 125 Final Project

ETH/125 Final Project Diversity in America History has never been one of my favorite subjects; however this class has sparked a new interest in me in regards to my culture and how that culture came to be. This Cultural Diversity course has made me pay more attention to the people around me. I think this awareness has helped me relate to and also understand people in a way that I never have before. The one thing that totally surprised me was finding out that white privilege was something real. I thought that this was an ill feeling and belief that mostly Black people had in regards to the White race.White people, in my mind, had it all; they had certain advantages simply because they were White. The White Privilege section in Chapter 13 of Racial Ethnic Groups states a few of those advantages. I knew that being considered financially reliable, having the ability of articulation, and seeing people of the same race being represented in popular media were common advantages of the White r ace. Consequently, I thought they saw themselves as privileged and were proud about it. The information from this course that will be the most memorable is that, in general, the people from the White race do not see themselves as have any ethnicity.They feel as though they have been separated from their European roots; they are simply Caucasian. They are also victims of reverse discrimination; I almost laughed the first time I read this in the text. Now, I know that this is a laughing matter. I have seen evidence of this in my life. I asked 50 of my neighbors a yes or no question. This question was: â€Å"Do you believe that most Black people would label a random White person they see on the street as a racist? † Out of the 50 people, of evenly varied ethnicities, 41 of them replied with a yes.These results are a relevant example of how much diversity affects the person, currently and throughout history. Something New With my mother being Black and my father being Puerto Rica n, I have always been curious about my cultural roots; however, they both passed away when I was very young, so I never had the chance to inquire about my Hispanic side. One of things that I learned from this course was that there are about 4. 4 million Puerto Ricans here in the United States; I never could have imagined that number being so great in value.Another surprising fact I learned was that between the years of 1990 and 2009, the population of Puerto Ricans in New York fell by more than 100,000. U. S. Population in Year 2050 Let’s take a break on the present and think about the future of the United States. With all of the immigrants relocating here daily, along with the increasing amounts of interracial marriage, it should come to no surprise that by the year 2050 the Whites will no longer be the majority race. The Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American portion of the population is estimated to rise from 36 percent to 54 percent.This nation is comparable to a sup er-magnet; America attracts people from all over the world. The population is expected to rise 100 million by the year 2050, but this number all depends on the amount of immigration. Estimates of the United States population around the year 2050 vary from the U. N. ’s 404 million to the U. S. Census Bureau’s 422 to 458 million. U. S. + Diversity = Challenges The challenges that the United States have faced and overcome are a small reflection of the future challenges that America will have in the future.There will be challenges based around race, equality/inequality, and energy in the future. My great-grandmother said, â€Å"There is nothing new under the sun. Some days are just a shade darker or brighter in some people’s eyes. † I also believe that illegal immigration will become more of a problem in the future because of the direct relation that it has to the American population. The more people who come illegally, has a direct relation to certain increa ses in crime for most major cities.This is because they are not able to work in America legally; they have to get their money somehow, and illegal crimes is the most common choice of immigrants who come here illegally. Benefits of a Diverse Society Benefits of a diverse society help in every aspect of our individual lives and in our lives as a whole. People of different cultures offer different views in many areas. These benefits enrich our lives and the acceptance of those benefits is enriching to the immigrants’ lives. The different seasonings at your local supermarket are a very small example of this country’s diversity.People bring their cultures with them; those cultures, beliefs, and ways of living are new to us and many have been adapted and frequently used by the American people in their everyday lives. For example, acupuncture originally was used solely by the Chinese/Oriental people, but there are currently hundreds of thousands of people in America that eith er use, or practice acupuncture. Climate of Acceptance and Cultural Pluralism The question was posed, â€Å"How can we foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in the U. S. My very simple answer is by treating others the way that you would want to be treated by others. Compared to when my mother was a teenager, the level of â€Å"rudeness† is more than topped the charts. It seems like the everyday, normal â€Å"Joe† and â€Å"Jane† are always in a rut or exhibiting anger in some form. I believe this is a reaction what goes on their lives, like the people they interact with. So if the current reaction is different from past reactions, in a way it could be tied to their understanding of the people around them.Diversity is very scary for some; those people feel this way because of some personal fear or cultural fear that has been passed down to them. The way to overcome this fear, is to prove this fear wrong. If I fear white people because I think the y will look down on me, then I should be around them more to find out if that is true for every person of that race. Since that is not likely, it will prove that not every person of every race is that specific way. This is how we become more pluralistic. Meet more people of different races and ethnicities and your life will become more enriched.A Change for Pluralism Pluralism is the term used for when people of all racial and ethnic groups have equal overall standings in their social lives; furthermore, the different identity groups coexist, but they also maintain their own distinctive cultures. As of yet, the United States has not achieved social pluralism, but if we all put forth our best efforts to change some of our behaviors, we could more than possibly achieve this incredible goal. Personally, the first behavioral change that I would make would be to avoid telling, listening, and participating in ethnic-based jokes.I believe that people sometimes do not realize how hurtful th ose â€Å"LOL’s† can be. Reading books/magazines and watching plays and movies about various groups not of your own can better acquaint and prepare you for face to face interactions. The most exciting change that I will make is learning about the various cultures, along with their beliefs, and traditions. Embracing and experiencing at least some part of another group’s ways, helps to close the gap between cultures and brings our society a little closer to being pluralistic.This world is ours to make wonderful. Diversity is something that will enrich our lives, but has hindered our progress as a whole in the past. Pluralism is the next step in progression for the human race. Embrace your neighbor and all of their differences. References American Multicultural Publications, 2007-2012, Cultural diversity, www. diversity-books. com Wikipedia, September 2012, cultural pluralism, http://wikipedia. org Wendy Baldwin, November 2012, Population Reference Bureau, www. prb . org John J. Macionis, 2011-2012, Social Problems, Pearson

Education †Gymnasium Essay

Title Education is everywhere in the world. Individuals are learning here and there. Everyone would agree that education is a fundamental way of life. Education is obtained learning from multiple people such as parents, friends, teachers and even other surroundings. Every individual is educated and taught differently. Education should be built not only on the text that lies within a book, but should also be base with everyday life. Agree on McCullough and Oliphant perspectives because grades and how life is not revolved around grades. | Grades should not be based on how smart an individual is. Although Oliphant â€Å"Letter to a B Student† wrote â€Å"Your performance is generally assumed to correspond to the knowledge you have acquired and will retain (137). † They could be really intelligent or ignorant, but the letter grade they receive defines who they are. The letter grade that most individuals want to receive is an A, but others settle for the best they can receive. In McCullough speech â€Å"You’re Not Special† he says â€Å"Where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and where the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement (McCullough). † Even the ones that try their hardest on something might have a difficult time trying to comprehend the material. They worry about the grade they might receive and it stresses them out. There are individuals that just brush off or brag about the grade they received to make the others feel bad about themselves. For example, one student might have taken an exam that they studied for and failed; the other student did not study and passed. Individuals like to brag about their grades that they probably do not deserve. | How life is not revolved around grades because it is more than that to life. Oliphant said â€Å"Your grade does not represent a judgment of your basic ability or of your character (137). † People think that individuals such as students that do not make a high grade that they are not trying their best at what they are doing. There are a lot of wealthy people that are wealthy without grades defining them. Some of them could have made low grades when they were younger and people said they would not be successful it because they are failing everything. There are a handful of successful individuals that did not make it far in school, but is doing something good with their life. Individuals should not judge people because of several failing grades they could be more intelligent than everyone thinks they are. McCullough talks about â€Å"You’re not special, because everyone is (McCullough). †In conclusion, grades should not define a person on what they make on a paper. People should not judge a person by a low grade or high grade. Agreeing with McCullough and Oliphant perspectives. People are more intelligent than individuals think they are. | Works CitedMcCullough, David. â€Å"You’re Not Special. † Myfoxboston. com. Fox Television Stations, Inc. 6 June 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Oliphant, Robert. â€Å"Letter to a B Student. † Writing on the River: An Anthology. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 136-142. Print.

Every Text Has Its Use By Date Essay

I think the idea of every text having a use by date is incorrect and I will therefore argue against the topic. There are a few things which can help to keep texts from ever having their use by date and as a result proving my argument. For example, texts, such as Macbeth, can always be changed slightly and interpreted differently to make them interesting time and time again, for old and new audiences. Also, just because a text was written a long period of time ago doesn’t mean that it still won’t be interesting, as the events and themes in it can still be relevant to the current time and its happenings. One of the main reasons that proves that texts don’t have a use by date is the fact that an older text can involve events or ideas that are relevant to modern audiences’ daily lives. Some of the ideas explored in Macbeth are ambition, guilt, greed, cruelty, hostilities between good and evil, the rule of leader, the purpose of human existence and supernatural happenings. These all tie in with peoples every day life. For example, ambition was a major factor in Macbeth and plays an important role in practically everyone’s daily life. In Macbeth it was ambition that drove Macbeth to commit the acts that he did and in modern times business is becoming more and more competitive in today’s society so as a result ambition, and its destructive nature, becomes more of an issue. Also, the idea of hostilities between good and evil, order and disorder and the rule of a leader, which are major components of Macbeth, are relevant to the military action in the Iraq War which has affected a lot of the world. These and other ideas interest people from all time periods as some, if not all, of these ideas will affect them. Another main reason that shows a text doesn’t have a use by date is the fact that they can always be appropriated. Appropriation is when something old is turned into something new. In this case it would be taking an old text and changing it to suit a modern audience, usually by making a film version. For example, in one instance the Shakespearean text â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† was turned into a movie that used only the plot of the original text and used  the settings of modern life and a modern script which allowed the audience to relate to more to the film. This is a perfect example of the fact that a text which is hundreds of years old can still be entertaining. When a movie is appropriated it can appeal to a wider audience, as not everyone likes or understands the style of writing used to write the original text. If texts are appropriated in this way they will continue to entertain audiences and as a result, never end up having a use by date. A film version of an older text, especially a Shakespearean one, can be very effective in delivering the original to text to a wider audience. A film version makes the text easier for the audience to understand as it provides visual images to help them realize what’s actually going on and what the characters are saying, as a lot of people wouldn’t fully understand what was being said when the old English style of writing, that Shakespeare uses, is used. New interpretations also help to keep texts and their film versions interesting to new audiences and audiences that have seen it before. In Polanski’s version of Macbeth Polanski decided to add a scene, which wasn’t in the original text, into the movie. He also changed the way things happened in some of the scenes, for example, when Macbeth returns to the witches, instead of the apparitions appearing he sees completely different visions that give him warnings and predictions. Another reason to further show that texts don’t have a use by date is the point that just because a text is old doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining or interesting to modern readers. Texts such as Macbeth and many other of Shakespeare’s plays are still regarded as some of the best plays ever written even though they were written hundreds of years ago. In some cases, audiences may find these texts interesting and entertaining because they’re written in an old style of English which is no longer used. When this is the case it clearly shows that the idea of texts having a use by date as incorrect. In conclusion, I think that the points presented sufficiently prove that well written texts do not have a use by date. If a text is well written it will continue to be valued no matter how old it is. Especially due to the fact that, just because a text is old doesn’t mean it’s no longer interesting to modern audiences.

Budgets Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Budgets - Assignment Example The two processes provide the organization with tools to compare the estimates and actual results thus offer budgetary control techniques. Budget accounting and reporting does fulfill its initial purpose. The two processes are meant to evaluate approved budgets against actual results to guide future and current decision making. The processes assist to enhance financial control and identifying where change is quickly needed and required (World Bank, 2012). Through budgetary reporting and accounting, variances between the actual results and estimates get noted and the necessary action taken to correct the underlying causes to manage the variations. The current budget system works efficiently. The budget system provides the means to base decision on how much money to spend and on what to spend. It also provides ways on how the money to be spent will get raised. The budget system provides the estimates of the government’s proposed spending and income generation process. The deficits and variances can also get determined to help the government plan on the nation’s fiscal future. the budget system helps to set aside estimates for the different sectors the government involves itself

Free Market Vs Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Free Market Vs Regulation - Essay Example Government Role in Infrastructure: Infrastructure is a very vital cog of any country, and hence takes a supremely significant position in the government’s perception. Now, Rostow, who was a specialist in this field has made note and brought to light the fact that the inability of the governments to create infrastructure was one of the major road blocks that were faced during the process of modernization in Europe during the 19th century. In his argument, he says that the â€Å"creation of preconditions for take-off was largely a matter of building social overhead capital†. This comes in line with the generally accepted argument that the cost of infrastructure or the social overhead capital compliments the industrial production process as this facilitates the transfer of goods, which leads to the creation of mobilization of markets on a national and international level. Haber, another esteemed expert in this field, has further developed the importance of infrastructural support in his arguments based on the case study of Mexico. (Bracking, 2009) Here, he offers the opinion that Mexico was unable to solve the problem of surplus capacity which it was facing in the 1980s by exporting goods to different countries around the world. All of this, he attributes to the lack of infrastructural support that was present in the country at that point in time. He cites Avisador Comercial de Havana which attributes this problem related to the exorbitant costs of transportation: â€Å"How, then, can goods be shipped to the coastline at a beneficial value? How can they [Mexican manufacturers] compete in foreign markets†¦if within their own borders they have incredibly high freight rates?† (Geoffrey, 2002) In recent times, economic analysts have argued that the major difference between the growth differentials of different countries is infrastructure as highlighted by the case on India and China. Due to the importance infrastructure plays in the workings of a country and its non-excludable and unrivalled nature has further substantiated the claim for the need of governmental intervention to facilitate and hasten industrial growth in the country. On face value, one can see that this notion is somewhat not contestable in nature in that not many can refute the claim that has been put forward; however, some economists have also offered the notion of a private sector backed infrastructural growth. This notion certainly has immense promise in theory as this would basically remove the role of the government from this entire workup and would subsequently move the entire mechanisms onto a free market which would be highly appreciated in light of the concept at hand. However, that certainly does not appear to be a distinct possibility at the current point in time which is why infrastructural support has been ascribed to governments to this day and age. (Kiely, 2007) The rationale behind this is suggestions like the one offered are more likely to fail in the developing countries as private sector led infrastructural growth needs immensely advanced institutional or technological support in order to create and sustain excludable and rivaling properties.

Critical Evaluation and Appraisal of the P.F.I. and role of the Essay - 1

Critical Evaluation and Appraisal of the P.F.I. and role of the External Auditor in assessment of value for money - Essay Example The Private Finance Initiative grants private companies the right to design, finance, and manage the public facilities. The initiative favorably does not increase our nation’s national debt. In fact, the initiative did not form part of the total national debt calculation during 2005 and 2006 to comply with FRS 5 requirements. FRS 5 requires the Public Finance Initiatives are not shown as liabilities in the company’s financial statements (. There are advantages of the Public Finance Initiatives. The initiative contributes value for money to the government. Another advantage is the government’s not being required to borrow money or invest in the construction of public service facilities. The HM Treasury Department correctly affirms the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) was the best value for money procurement alternative, using private funds to implement government projects. One Liverpool City Council leader affirmed the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) provided the value for money source for the construction of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals. Professor Ron Hodges similarly agreed stating PFI may be the only available fund source with the government’s low budget constraints (Tyrie, 2011). There are disadvantages of the Public Finance Initiatives. One disadvantage is the increased risks. Another disadvantage is the possible mismanagement of the facilities, generating complaints from several sectors. In one situation, the NHS correctly selected two private firms’ bids for its 1999 - 2000 Public Finance Initiative projects. One of the bidders did not submit any bids. Consequently, the lone bidder increased its bid price by 33 percent. The absence of other bids persuaded the lone bidder to increase its bid price, monopolising the bid process (Corner, 2006). The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) correctly represents the government’s

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto - Essay Example However, the film by Gibson does not indicate any critical relevance to the current world as the film deals too much with violence and blood, forgetting to pay attention to other details among the Maya people, which shaped their current cultural and social dynamics, though violence is part of today’s social setting. Ardren (2006) explains that though the Maya practiced violence and brutality against their fellow community, and practiced child sacrifices in this classical period, the Maya people are also well known for achievements that range from arts, sciences deeply tooted spirituality that had connection with agricultural cycles, and the profound engineering design of the Mayan cities. However the Apocalypto shuns these achievements aside and concentrates on portraying the Maya people as grossly brutal people, with savage nature to one another until the Europeans arrived in their territory, supposedly to rescue them from these barbaric rituals and violence. The arrival of t he missionaries particularly towards the end of the film and the calm experienced in Maya directly suggests the Mayan people indeed needed rescue by the Europeans from their savage nature, towards a more enlightened community. Ardren argues that the same idea was used to subjugate the Mayan people for more than 500 years, but it has received vehement opposition from the Mayan community and intellectuals today. There is proof that such ideas of portraying the Mayan pole as Savage and brutal, and in need of salvation from their own self was used in justifying the civil war between the 1970s and 1990s, through manipulation from the Guatemalan army (Ardren, 2006). Therefore, the film is grossly one sided, and presents an offensive biased perception of the Mayan people. The rituals suggested in the film have no relevance to the society today. In the film, the priests placed their victims on pyramid tops, stretch them over a stone alter, strike on the chest with an obsidian knife, and tor e the still beating heart, lifting it up to the sun (Sweedler, 2007). Though there are evidence of past human rituals among the ancient Mayan communities, Gibson in the film is keen to approach the sacrificial practices of the pre-Columbia Mexico to their own interests, than offering a concise historical account of the past rituals in the Mayan community (Sweedler, 2007). The understanding of sacrifice in the Mayan community is far removed from the rituals portrayed in Apocalypto where the captives are treated like cattle being led to a slaughter than captor’s flesh and blood. The disregard portrayed against the captives in Apocalypto is characteristic of Goibson’s films, where he portrays both cruelty and brutality. This is portrayed through the portrayal of mean looking hunters that suggest pure evil. However, to a lesser extent Gibson’s film has some cultural and social relevance despite the gross violence that runs through the film. The long chase of Jaguar towards the end comes to terminates when he is suddenly saved by the arrival of Christopher Columbus and his fellow explorers, whose presence significantly affect the bewildered Holcane worriers (Sweedler, 2007). The Arrival of Columbus at the shores of Yucatan in 1502, in the year of his fourth expedition marked a direct contact between the indigenous people in American, the

Questions about the far East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Questions about the far East - Essay Example Daoism, also known as Taoism, is one of the dominant religions in China with many features that enhance its uniqueness. Coined from the word Dao, which simply means the path, Daoism anchors on fundamental principles that give precedence to the way of the universe. Although Taoism as a religion has seen numerous changes over the years, the basic tenets that underpin the religion have always remained the same. It mainly delves on such beliefs systems as breathing, reflection, and recital of various verses that support it. Nothing much was introduced into the religion until the early twelfth century when such belief systems and fundamentals as abstinence and verse recitations during repentance (Bretzke 191). According to Coogan and Narayanan, Taoists are vegetarians, strongly holding on the belief that the combination of breathing and meditation promotes long life in humanity. The first unique feature in Taoism is the Tao that simply means the way. This means that Tao is the only being that deserves emulation, as it is the primary overseer of all living things (213). In this scenario, Taoists shun extremities in life and instead promote interdependence. When it comes to nature, they differentiate black from white by Yin and Yang respectively, positing that the two have some element of balanced inter-existence. In simple language, this means that white can exist in black and the opposite is true hence striking a perfect balance between the two is necessary (Coogan and Narayanan 213). The next major component of this kind of religion is the De, which has close interrelationship with the Tao. It simply endeavors to enhance the principles of Tao by upholding virtues professed by Tao while maintain high integrity at the same time. While the Tao does not support the act of doing things in extremes but in moderation, the De aligns itself closely to this principle belief by insisting on the practice of morality throughout one’s lifetime. Last but most importantly i s the precept of immortality in Taoism where it is the duty of every Taoist to endeavor to reach a state of immortality through the continual practice of meditation and breathing. Since its inception, staunch Taoist priests have used mineral salts and gunpowder in their quest to find elixirs. They widely believed those whose religious efforts were impeccable could easily transform to immortal beings who eventually offer guidance to mortals (Coogan and Narayanan 216). Another major religious outfit in the Chinese and Japanese religious structures is the Shinto that fundamentally pays tribute to certain spiritual beings known as the Kami. Although the Shintoists do not believe in an almighty God or gods, they normally offer rituals to the Kami in designated shrines (Coogan and Narayanan 416). Their belief system emphasizes not in the explaining the world or how things happen on earth but the perpetual connection and communication with their spiritual being, the Kami. In Shinto, the fo llowers accord much essence to the rituals that connect them with the kami, spirits whose mission is to enhance the welfare of all human beings. Perhaps some of the most distinct beliefs include the notion that humans are not originators of sin, lack of scriptures and God, fully acknowledging the fact that not only the followers or adherents of Shinto can offer rituals but

Eutrophication Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eutrophication - Term Paper Example The Eutrophic waters favor quickly developing plants and algae's. These long living species cannot resist competition and develop into oligo or mesotrophic waters which make these waters of less interest in terms of biodiversity and ecological quality. Thus they die of indigestion. The process of eutrophication is clearly described by the following figure; The main cause of eutrophication is large input of nutrients to the water body and its effect is on imbalance of the food web which results in high levels of phytoplankton biomass in stratified water bodies. This can lead to algal blooms. The direct consequence is an excess of oxygen consumption near the bottom of the water body. Additional factors supporting this process are Along with carbon, oxygen and hydrogen which plants get from water they also need nitrogen and phosphorous which are necessary for the development of aquatic life thus during eutrophication the concentration of nutrients in the water changes, phosphorous is usually a limiting factor for phytoplankton in fresh water, large marine areas have nitrogen as limiting nutrient especially in summer. Intermediate areas such as river plumes are often phosphorous limited during spring. Once eutrophication is detected in the water body it is considered sensitive under the European Union Urban waste water treatment directives and is declared nitrate pollutant according to the Nitrate directive and is an indicator of disturbed ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is the ecosystem that functions well and is able to resist or recover from disturbance. The organization of the ecosystem refers to the food web and the biodiversity; ecosystem resistance is the non-response, up to a certain extent, of impacts such as nutrient enrichments. The ecosystem elasticity refers to the ecosystem ability to survive through the applied pressures. Although all these ecosystem characteristics contribute to the ecosystem health and integrity, they induce a non-linear response to the ecosystem which complicates the quantification of the assessment. The initial effects from eutrophication are negligible as they are below the carrying capacity: any measurable effects are less pronounced than seas onal fluctuations and therefore, any assessment seems to be uncertain. As the phenomenon of eutrophication is getting established, changes in mean nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations as well as changes in the community structure become obvious. This stage can be the early warning for the ecosystem quality. Causes Human activities are main cause of eutrophication all around the

Abnormal Psych DQ Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abnormal Psych DQ Questions - Essay Example The low functional levels due to the profound mental retardation makes it difficult to assess for the key characteristics of autism and so diagnostic instruments are likely to throw up spurious results. This makes diagnosis of autism a challenge and calls for clinical experience (Brasic, 2006). Autism was initially believed to be associated with higher social classes, but is now known to afflict all social classes in an equal manner. Motion abnormalities are a striking feature of autism and may provide the means for the identification of autism in early infancy, prior to the other manifestations. In children the motion anomalies demonstrated are also highly characteristic and can be easily identified. An example of such an abnormal motion typical to autism is the placing of the hand with fingers outstretched by the child before the eyes, with rapid back and forth movement. This action of the child is considered as self-stimulation, as it produces a visual sensation. Many of such abnormal motions typical to autism appear like attempts to provide sensory input to the self in barren environments (Brasic, 2006). The cause of autism still remains unknown, but there are several hypotheses that include exposure to toxic agents and infections, and possibly vaccinations for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella. The treatment of autism is essentially directed towards the associated behavioral problems and so includes intensive behavioral, educational, and psychological components. The use of serotonin in the treatment of autism is under investigation. The earlier the diagnosis and use of intervention strategies the more favorable the outcome and so regular screening of infants and toddlers for signs and symptoms of the disorder is useful (Brasic, 2006). The definition of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) provided by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM IV) is that it is â€Å"a recurrent

Non Conformity and Society Essay Example for Free

Non Conformity and Society Essay Even though an overwhelming number of people believe that law and its implementation is the decisive factor that determines the success of a society. But is this generalization justified? Tim Li explores whether this idea is reality or just another myth. A society is based on a system of rules and regulations which all individuals are expected to abide by. Conformity, in general, means to go in accordance with those rules that govern our society. For instance, a group is going for camping; now that group cannot function if each of their individual members do not display a reasonable extent of conformity. This e.g. implies that even though the literal meaning of conformity remains the same, the way the people embrace it changes. To a large extent on conformity is needed for the success and improvement of a society. In the following article, I will explain conformity by discussing about Copernicus, Euthanasia and the growth of science. About 600 years ago, the church was considered law. No one could defy its teachings and whosoever did so was publicly beheaded. One of the theories of the church was that the earth was the center of the universe and that other planets revolved around it. Copernicus was a genius who had a great interest in astronomy. It was he who stated that the sin was the hub around which all other planets revolved. In this case Copernicus was a non conformist i.e. he believed in something that was against the religious teachings/implications of the church, but his being non conformist was the sole cause of the development of a theory that bought about a great change in the scientific perspective of astronomy. At present a very serious issue has jumped into the consideration and thinking of the society. The government is pondering on whether to accept the growing numbers of Euthanasia or to deny them. Euthanasia is when people suffering from long term chronic .are non conformist i.e. who dont want to live are benefited more than other people suffering from the same types of diseases. Here conformity does not help, or in other words, it is better to be a non conformist. Science too, plays a decisive role on our changing society. It surrounds us completely, from a common light bulb to aero planes and space travel. In short, a society cannot function without science. A critical analysis of science suggests that new discoveries in science break laws on which our older societies and generations are built on. E.g. Until the 1900s everyone believed that man cannot fly, but now science has broken that barrier, it is therefore a non conformist in relation to that law which was dominant at that time. Revolutionary research into stem cells has prompted a heated ethical debate between the church and the scientific faction. So, if this situation is examined, the church has always seen science as a hard core criminal but that form of science is needed for the mere existence of a society. All these arguments reinforce the original statement that some degree of non conformity is needed for a successful society. Although too much conformity means the elimination of all crimes, it also implies the abrupt stop in scientific technology and I cant live in Stone age, can you?

Weekly News from the Arab World Essay Example for Free

Weekly News from the Arab World Essay The Arab World is facing various issues this week regarding the situation of the countries within it as well as important matters that also affect the whole world. Based upon the leading newspapers and news Web site the Middle Eastern region is dealing with affairs in different realms, which are mainly about politics, economics, as well as peace and order. As such, these events should be given due attention and consideration because the situations in the Arab World do not only affect the Middle Eastern region but it also has implications upon the international community. Most countries in the Middle East are rich in petroleum products. The presence of this kind of natural resources in these countries is the primary backbone of their economies. They are also responsible in exporting a huge percentage of oil and petroleum products in the international market. Being the case, the supply of oil coming from the Arab World is very important in order to sustain the needs for this product in the whole world. However, based upon the recent reports in Amman, Jordan the leading refinery in the country is having difficulties in meeting the increasing demand for oil. The Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) said that gas station orders have already quadrupled as compared to the previous days when the oil prices are still high. The CEO of JPRC Ahmad Rifai said that the decrease in the price oil has been the primary reason the refinery received 898 orders to provide gas station with 18, 392 tones of various fuel products. Unlike, the orders before that only amounted to 311. Nevertheless, Rifai added that their company is working round-the-clock to attend to all the demands of the gas stations in time. Moreover, he also assured the public that the supply of the company is sufficient enough for the needs of the consumers (Hazaimeh, 2008). The matter of peace and order in the region is still a primary concern especially in the country of Iraq. This has been become more evident when the Iraqis held an anti-US rally this week. The supporters of the Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr staged a mass demonstration wherein they marched from the eastern suburb of Dasr City towards the country’s capital, Baghdad. This was there way of showing their disagreement and disappointment in the plans of extending the U. S. mandate in the country. There were about 50,000 protesters that chanted the slogans â€Å"Get out occupier! † The opposition of these militants is based from the United Nations mandate that U. S. -led coalition forces are finish by the end of the year (BBC, 2008). On the brighter side of things, Israel’s defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed the country’s leaders in considering the plan that was proposed by Saudi Arabia, which offers comprehensive peace among Israel and the Arab world. Barak said that it is just timely to pursue an overall peace deal because there is little progress in individual negotiations. The peace plan stipulates that Israel will be recognized by its Arab neighbors in exchange for the country’s withdrawal from the lands in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Barak also said that he had a discussion with Tzipi Livni, the Kadima party’s leader wherein they are considering a response with regards to the peace plan. This is regarded as a good start in establishing a comprehensive regional peace (Aljazeera, 2008). The aforementioned events discuss the major current situations that are happening in the Arab world. These reported incidents show the challenges that the region is facing and the corresponding reasons behind it. Nevertheless, despite the problems that the Middle East is encountering there are still developments towards addressing these issues. The Arab world is not merely stagnant in its usual dilemmas because they are also moving forward towards the betterment of their respective countries and their region as a whole. References Aljazeera. (2008). Israel weighing Saudi peace deal. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from http://english. aljazeera. net/news/middleeast/2008/10/20081019234422358867. html. BBC. (2008). Iraqis stage mass anti-US rally. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/middle_east/7677551. stm. Hazaimeh, H. (2008). Refinery struggles to meet soaring demand on fuel after prices lowered. The Jordan Times. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from http://www. jordantimes. com/? news=11457.

Balance Score Card As A Performance

Balance Score Card As A Performance Leading organizations has been successfully using performance measurement to gain insight into the organization and the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs, processes, and people. However, they do not stop at collecting and analysis of data rather, these organizations use performance measurement to force improvements and successfully transform strategy into action. Therefore, they use performance measurement for managing their organizations. The balanced scorecard (BSC) is the most widely applied performance management system today. The BSC was originally developed as a performance measurement system in 1992 by Dr.Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton at the Harvard Business School. Unlike earlier performance measurement systems, the BSC measures performance across a number of different perspectives-a financial, a customer, an internal business process, and an innovation and learning perspective. BSC was introduced at a time when businesses were evaluating performance only through a financial scope and the different perspectives added a new dimension to the performance management concept. However over the years a number of alternatives have been introduced to replace BSC such as Applied Information Economics (AIE), Performance Prism, Results based management Model etc. This is mainly due to the changes in the environment which is beyond the four quadrants of BSC and basic implementation issues experienced in BSC. The Balanced Score Card has to go through a transformation in order to survive and revive itself as powerful performance management tool. Balance Score Card Introduction The field of performance management in todays day and age is vital to any organization. This importance can be defined through John E Jones quote What gets measured gets done, what gets measured and fed back gets done well, what gets rewarded gets repeated. John E. Jones. Performance Management can be of two main aspects. In one view, the performance of the company as a whole and further the effectiveness of the management of their capabilities of running the business successfully are looked at while in another view performance management system of evaluating employees to help them reach their respective goals and thereby ensure that the company meets the companys overall objectives. When the word â€Å"measurement† comes to our mind, it has always been through a financial scope. There by performance of an entity was always measured through measures such as Return on Investment (ROI), Earnings Per Share (EPS),Gearing Ratio, Net Profit After Tax (NPAT), and Sales Turnover etc. However when the environment became gradually more competitive and complex there were more stakeholders involved in a business. The customers were one of the main stakeholders interested in the activities in the organization. Their demand evolved and along with that how they perceive performance also too dramatic change. They were no more content with only financial evaluation of the organization; measures such as market share, customer satisfaction, productivity, and innovation etc were more appealing. It was during this transition, the balance score card was introduced by Dr. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton as a performance measurement framework that added strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics to give a more balanced view of organizational performance. The balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool used for translating an organizations strategic objectives into a set of performance indicators distributed among four quadrants. Some of these indicators are maintained to measure an organizations advancement towards its vision and other indicators are maintained to measure the long term drivers of success. Through the balanced scorecard, an organization monitors both its current performance and its efforts to improve processes, motivate and educate employees. Balance Score Card History The balance score card has been known to be created by Kaplan and Norton however there is a historical twist to this as for my findings on www.wikipedia.com. The first balance scorecard was created by an independent consultant called Art Schneiderman in 1987.He participated in a research study in 1990 led by by Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and was able to describe his work on balanced score card. Subsequently, Kaplan and David P. Norton included anonymous details of this use of balanced scorecard in their 1992 article on Balanced Scorecard. Kaplan and Nortons article wasnt the only paper on the topic published in early 1992 but the 1992 Kaplan and Norton paper was a popular success, and was quickly followed by a second in 1993.The balances score card was widely spoken of only through their articles and journals. Kaplan and Norton researched on BSC through a project involving 12 companies. Thereby BSC became Kaplan Norton Balance Score Card and they were identified as the creators. Balanced Scorecard has been awarded a prize by the American Accounting Association as the â€Å"best theoretical contribution in 1997†. Balance Sore Card Perspectives As explained earlier BSC is a tool which monitors organizational strategies by using a combination of financial and non financial measures. It is designed to interpret strategy in to objectives and measure it across four balanced perspectives, namely Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process and Learning and Growth. The BSC directs to develop metrics, collect data and analyze as for these for quadrants in order to have an overall perspective. The pictorial view of the perspectives is as follows: The Financial Perspective This perspective reviews if the strategies of the company contribute towards the bottom line of the company. The virtue of Balance Score Card (BSC) is that it represents both leading and lagging performance measures. Traditional lagging indicators include financial measures, such as revenue growth and profitability. As it implies financial data is mostly historical data and organizations are measured based on its past performance. This perspective clearly describes how the organization looks to the shareholders. Few of the measures that can be used are : Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) Return on Investment (ROI) Market Share Revenue Growth Profitability Economic Value Added ( EVA) The Customer Perspective This aspect reviews how customers perceive the organization. And today, the buzz word in the corporate world is customer service. The importance given to this concept is immense due to the competitiveness and the buyer bargaining power. Therefore customer focus, customer satisfaction, on time delivery etc are leading indicators. Poor Performance from this perspective is a leading indicator of downfall in future business even if the financial indicators are healthy. In developing metrics for satisfaction, customers should be analyzed in terms of kinds of customers and the kinds of processes for which we are providing a product or service to those customer groups. Metrics for the customer perspective could include: No.of Complaints On Time Deliveries Repeat Purchases Customer Acquisition Customer Retention The Internal Business Process Perspective This assesses the quality of people and processes. This perspective refers to internal business processes which the company should improve in order to achieve its objectives and give customers both satisfaction and productivity. Traditional methods only looked at improving existing systems however the balanced scorecard has the ability to identify entirely new processes that the business should succeed, in order to achieve customer satisfaction. The measures for this have to be developed very carefully as understanding the business process is crucial. The measures should focus on internal processes that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and achieving business objectives. Potential measures for the internal perspective include: Amount of reworking Increase in productivity % of defects Increase in capacity utilization The Learning Growth Perspective This perspective concentrates on the areas an organization must improve, on continuous improvement, and creating value in the future. The focus is on the intangible assets of the organization. The future of any organization today lies on how innovative and evolving it is, thereby this perspective encourages this aspect. Further the perspective includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes related to both individual and corporate self-improvement. The following metrics could be used to measure success in relation to the innovation and learning perspective: No of New Products introduced No of Trainings done per period Research Development as a % of Sales Employee suggestion which were implemented Critical Evaluation of the Balance Score Card An organization without a performance management system is like a ship in the deep blue sea without a compass, not knowing if the direction it sails is correct nor knowing how to improve its direction. Therefore the purpose of measuring performance is not only to know how the entity is performing but also to enable it to perform better. The Balanced Scorecard concept measures whether the companies are aligned with its larger-scale objectives in terms of vision and strategy. It focuses not only on financial outcomes but also on the human aspect as explained earlier under the introduction and the perspectives area. Thereby the BSC provides an overall view of the organization and the business. This is contrasting to the traditional method of being only financial oriented only. The measurements used in the separate perspectives are explained in the earlier section. The balanced scorecard is not only a measurement system but is a management system as well. It enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy to its employees and translate them in to operational goals or action plans. The evolution of BSC from its simple performance measurement framework to a strategic planning and management system is gradual. Further the BSC is also useful to communicate the expectations expected from the employees. This can be done through clearly defining the measures or KPIs to be achieved by individual or department. To elaborate this in order to achieve overall objectives of the organization of Sales growth by 10%, Employee A,B C of Production Department can contribute by keeping the lead time of goods 98% as expected or better than customer expectation. Employee D E of Sales team can target to ensure customer complaints are attended to within 24hours which is an industry norm. As explained in this, the Sales growth of 10% is expected to come through attending to customer order on time (lead time) and customer service (handling complaints). Cascading the organizational objectives to the lowest level employee will pave the way for success. As explained the balance scorecard has evolved over the years to be identified as a â€Å"strategic linkage model† or a strategy map. The strategy map enables organizations to clarify their strategy and assist organizations with creating their BSC framework and measures. A generic corporate strategy map is provided below to illustrate the â€Å"Strategy Map† concept. The balance score card has the ability to identify the key areas which can make a huge impact in an organization. The critical success factors of each perspective can be identified through the well defined measurement criteria. As for the results of the KPIs the management has the ability to identify the superior and weaker link of the organization and take action to correct the situation. A business might be performing well with increased sales, however the production team might have a ratio of increased defect rates. This might not reflect in the top line as the production team ensures the sales are not slowed down by covering up with increased production. If the internal process is not reviewed properly the production defect rates will not highlighted. This is where the BSC becomes a critical tool to identify critical success factors. The balanced scorecard approach can be used and applied at both the individual and the organizational level. It provides a balanced approach to evaluate the employees performance in a comprehensive manner. Traditionally, measuring the employee performance refers to only the comparing of their action plans and behaviors with the standards set. However the BSC actually measures the results of their actions like profits, increasing market share. It considers the progress towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organization and the effectiveness of the process. Thereby, the balanced scorecard gives the full view of the employees and the organizational performance and it helps to align the employee performance plans with the organizational goals. The Balanced Scorecard provides a stage for feedback and in turn a process for learning as well. Feedback about products, new learnings discoveries can be included in to the scorecard. Based on the measures employees can be given feedback and also training in order to improve the processes. This helps to refine the processes on a continuous basis with the use of the feedback. Thereby once a balanced scorecard system is in place, it allows for ongoing monitoring of goals and objectives. BSC benefits to maximize co-operation between teams. Employee helps one another to achieve their respective overall KPIs. This helps to build the team culture in the organization. The BSC drives a performance drive in to the business with its set objectives and continuos feedback. And if the objectives are linked to rewards, employees are very well motivated to achieve the set targets. The BSCs ability to give a wide view of the business operations makes it a formidable tool in the business world. The four perspectives of the scorecard permit a balance between short term and long term objectives, between desired outcomes and the performance drivers of the outcome, between soft measures and hard measures. However having gone through the positives of the Balanced Score Card, this tool has its negatives as well. The Balanced score card in was introduced in the early 90s and now the business environment has seen many changes. Has the Balanced Score Card got all requirements to still qualify as good performance management tool in current context? , will be discussed in detail in the following section. The organization through different elements in BSC analyzes the organizations performance and these measures are vital in creating a good balanced scorecard. Once the balance score card is implemented, you can not presume the business environment to be the same. In current context the volatility of the business environment is so rapid therefore the nature of your business can change in time, which means the BSC too has to be modified accordingly. It is a time consuming affair to maintain a scorecard but if it is not done properly the organizations ability to evaluate its employees will become an issue. The business should be able to give a considerable time to upkeep or maintain the scorecard, if not; it might not be a good solution for the business. The balance scorecard attempts to involve employees from all levels in the organization by cascading the vision and strategies. Despite inherent attempts to empower employees, the balanced scorecard is still seen to be based around a centralized, prescriptive model. Even though BSC focuses on dynamism and constant feedback it would still react slow to bottom level suggestions based on the organizational culture and background. In their book in 2007, Kaplan Norton (2007) mentioned that implementing a BSC would take a minimum time line of 26 months. Another weakness in BSC or a question which remains unanswered is how well the BSC will function in a dynamic environment. Organizations today are going through a paradigm shift. Internet and Information Technology as a whole has made the world a global market. Thereby the businesses also have to adapt to different environments, new changes in order to survive. Is BSC a model which is fast enough for this adaptation? , is a query in most peoples mind. Currently any measurement tools have to be modified taking in to account the dynamic changes in the environment in order to make it a pervasive tool. As discussed in the previous areas the BSC is designed to measure performance through four major perspectives. However questions are raised now whether these perspectives are sufficient to measure a business performance. As indicated in the BSC History this model was introduced in the early 90s, however the organizations and the environments they perform in have moved much further and there are many other concepts which are significant for an organizations long term sustainability. As an example the Green concept was only a thought in the early 90s but today its a way of life for organizations. Even customers are concerned in how respectful their brands are to the environment. Corporate Social Responsibility is another indicator that organizations have stepped out of the traditional financial performance criteria, and they are actually weighed for the contribution they make to the society. It is used as a way of marketing too. These areas have a special place in the annual report an d it is the pride of any organization to report their contribution to the society and the environment. Further ethical practices play a main role in reporting and in anything an organization does. After the Enron issue ethics have been discussed in the corporate tables and it does matter in blue chip companies to be ethical towards its stakeholders and shareholders. However these elements have not been touched upon on the balance score card. Another observation on BSC is on the weight given on the four perspectives, the standard weight given may not be applicable to all organizations. It might vary from industry to industry and even internal divisions might have varied measures, thereby based on the importance of the perspective has to be reviewed before weighs are assigned. Based on the research by Kaplan Norton (2003) it has been found that using about 20 -25 measures is the usual recommended practice. Figure 3 drawn from an article written by Dr David Norton illustrates the weights assigned for each perspective, with greater emphasis on internal business process, as it is the primary source through which the strategy of the organization is implemented. The balance score card weights should not be a pre defined and should be a management decision based on industry norms etc. At IFS which is an organization keen on research and development and learning, the emphasis on the internal process and learning and growth perspectives will be high. However if we take a bank, Financial stability, Customer service and the Internal Processes are all vital and require high weight. Thereby it is crucial on understanding the concept properly on assigning weights as it is a crucial part of BSC. The stakeholders form the main category of any organization, because they are the group of people who will be affected from the decisions made by the organization. The customers perspectives have been included in to the Balanced score card however the other main categories which I felt lacking in BSC are the suppliers and the competitors. The suppliers are key to a companys source of raw materials and supplier management can bring monetary benefits to the organization. Organization should always keep a tab of its competitors and scores should be kept to follow up on direct competitors. As adding more perspectives will complicate the BSC, I have suggested a recommended way of handling this under recommendation section. Though the balanced score card could be reward the employees it is criticized when performance evaluation and incentives are related to it. It has been found that when rewards are linked to the scorecard directly, productivity drops considerably. This is mainly due to the fear by the employee that he/she maybe made responsible for factors which is beyond their control. Thereby they may tend to keep a margin or levy when agreeing upon targets in order to achieve the targets and get the incentives in a relaxed way. However this is not critic on the BSC concept, it is an issue with the implementation. Another criticism is that the Balanced Scorecard does not provide a bottom line score. The scores are not assigned based on any proven economic or financial theory. The bottom line score does not give a unified view with clear recommendations. It acts only as a simple list of metrics and how they are interpreted will vary from organization and industry. Therefore the implementation and the management commitment and intelligence in interpreting the measures play a main role in the success of BSC. Further to elaborate on this for BSC it is not usually sufficient to use generic measures used by other organizations. Each business should strive to identify the firm specific measures that are appropriate to implement their strategies and achieve the vision of the company. This relies upon the competency of the management. Further many companies use only lagging measures which shows results of a past event. For the balance score card to be successful the business should include leading measures as well, which will indicate the future of the business. Many managers get carried away with BSC by only including non financial measures however to reap the full benefit of BSC managers have to include future indicators (leading measures) as well. A research conducted by Claude Levy, a professor at the Free University of Amsterdam reported that the failure rate of BSC implementation is 70% and this is mainly due to the many number of metrics and employees not having an understanding of the metrics. Due to its long duration in implementation many organizations use a balanced scorecard system. However this cost a lot of money in training time and additional money for any consultants that are needed during the process. Therefore the initial cost in implementing the balanced scorecard is huge. Balance Score Card Recommended Improvements Based on the evaluation above I suggest the following to improve the current balanced score card. The main stakeholders such as competitors and suppliers should also be entered in to the BSC. As including another area will complicate the score card, I suggest these stakeholders are identified under internal business process however even 2-3 measures/KPI each has to be assigned for each stakeholder under this area. Many alternative tools have been designed based on the BSC framework and the â€Å"Performance Prism† is one such customized BSC framework which takes in to account five perspectives, which includes stakeholders as well. The BSC design should be broader in order to accommodate the environmental aspect, Society and Ethics. However complicating the BSC with many perspectives will not serve the purpose either. Therefore the balanced score card should have an industry specific format with assigned measures. This standard could be used for the firm and customized if required. The measures used should be between 25-30 maximum with the newly included areas as well. Too many measures mean most of the time nothing gets measured at all. The weights assigned to the perspectives should be decided based on the firm and the importance of the processes relevant to the business. I feel that it is hard to pre-define the weights in todays context and it should be a management decision, however in order to ensure order prevail they could get audit support on assigning weightage. On implementation of the BSC it is of utmost importance that the objective of the concept is clearly communicated. Further if the measures/KPIs are discusses with line managers and staff before entering it to the scorecard the employees will feel ownership towards the KPIs. And thus can avoid any issues later arising when rewards are linked to KPIs. Linking incentives to the achievement of these KPIs is a motivator, and I feel should be an integral part of BSC. The BSC will not be successful if it does not include leading measures as well as the lagging measures. At the end of the day it is all about improving your future. Thereby there should be a specification on BSC that out of the total measures even 40% should be leading measures and that there should be even one for each quadrant. The balanced scorecard or any other performance management tool is driven by a well defined strategy of the organization. It is the understanding of the linkages between the objectives and metrics that is the foundation of the BSC. Thereby if the business is not equipped with a good strategy and competent management team, I feel the BSC is not the performance management tool for them. The balance score card with its metrics should be an automated system. In present scenario, unnecessary issues can be resolved if a balanced scorecard software is installed. The organization should also give adequate time for training the staff. Conclusion The Balanced Score Card is the pioneer tool in focusing on a range of perspectives which included financial and non-financial factors. The tool is built to focus on past and future of the business with its lagging and leading measures. However in an ever evolving business environment, the BSC has failed to evolve with time. And the balance scorecard depends heavily upon how it is used or interpreted. Therefore the management commitment towards BSC is vital for its success. The biggest critic for BSC is that its disability to be maintained in a dynamic environment. The industry specific BSC designs will be more applicable and more flexible. And these formats can include the perspectives relevant to that industry. For example for the power generation industry the environmental perspective should be mandatory. Further if the Balance Score card software is used the time factor for implementation can be reduced. The weights assigned to each perspective should also be firm specific and the KPIs should be reviewed on a constant basis in order to ensure that they are real time KPIs. The balance score card is still a popular tool among many mainly due to its simple to understand concept. All organizations are trying to gain an advantage over the other at all times, therefore if one organization takes the first step towards another performance management tool, the Balance scorecard will see a slow death.

Nitrogen fixation Essay -- essays research papers

The growth of all organisms depends on the availability of mineral nutrients, and none is more important than nitrogen, which is required in large amounts as an essential component of proteins, nucleic acids and other cellular constituents. There is an abundant supply of nitrogen in the earth's atmosphere - nearly 79% in the form of N2 gas. However, N2 is unavailable for use by most organisms because there is a triple bond between the two nitrogen atoms, making the molecule almost inert. In order for nitrogen to be used for growth it must be "fixed" (combined) in the form of ammonium (NH4) or nitrate (NO3) ions. The weathering of rocks releases these ions so slowly that it has a neglible effect on the availability of fixed nitrogen. So, nitrogen is often the limiting factor for growth and biomass production in all environments where there is suitable climate and availability of water to support life. Microorganisms have a central role in almost all aspects of nitrogen availability and thus for life support on earth: some bacteria can convert N2 into ammonia by the process termed nitrogen fixation; these bacteria are either free-living or form symbiotic associations with plants or other organisms (e.g. termites, protozoa) other bacteria bring about transformations of ammonia to nitrate, and of nitrate to N2 or other nitrogen gases many bacteria and fungi degrade organic matte...

How did the competition commission tame the supermarket giants :: Business and Management Studies

How did the competition commission tame the supermarket giants The Competition Commission is an independent public body established by the Competition Act 1998. The Competition Commission conducts in-depth inquiries into mergers, markets and the regulation of the major regulated industries, undertaken in response to a reference made to it by another authority. The Commission recently had the task of having the power to give one major supermarket chain the go ahead to merge with Safeway. The proposed acquisition of Safeway by Morrison’s, Asda, Tesco or Sainsbury’s was referred to the Competitive Commission under the Fair Trading Act by the Trade and Industry Secretary. The Commission can consider the opinions of all parties in determining whether any of the potential mergers is against the public interest. Topics for inclusion in the meeting could include both local and national issues, including the effect on consumers and suppliers of any proposed acquisition. The Competition Commission gave Morrison’s the green light over the other potential buyers such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsburys. This was due to a number of economic reasons. Although neither Safeway nor Morrison’s was struggling, both agreed the need to merge was very advantageous. Morrison’s was looking for a way to grow far more quickly, and could afford to fund an acquisition to achieve that goal as soon as possible. The successful bid for Morrison’s to take over Safeway would mean that Morrison’s would become a major and strong national player. The merge should exert a positive and competitive effect on retail in supermarkets and also benefit the customers. Some people found the Morrison’s bid to be against the public interest in particular local areas where the number of competing supermarkets would be reduced. However, subject to divestment of particular stores in these areas. Morrison’s bid for Safeway was allowed to proceed. The Competition Commission was given just over four and a half months to investigate the four merger situations. All of these needed to be assessed as to their likely impact on competition. Mainly in terms of which would be the most practical to economy. The decision was partly mad by undertaking isochrone analysis, which is mapping and positioning of stores area by area and the customers they serve. This provided detailed information on which areas would be affected as a result of reduced local competition. Morrison’s the medium-sized but very fast-growing British supermarket chain takeover of UK rival Safeway deal was worth 2.9bn.The combined firm, with 598 stores, a turnover of 12.6bn and a market share of 16%, aims to be able to compete with Asda, Sainsbury and Tesco, the giants of the UK supermarket sector. Both Morrison’s and Safeway have been

Morals and Marital Infidelity Essay -- Ethics

Writers have different motivations on why they decide on what they write about. It must be something that will grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read their works. Often writers include situations that are not considered appropriate for the era when the piece was written. Some subjects are too sexually explicit. In two such short stories, Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Storm† and Anton Chekhov’s â€Å"The Lady with the Little Dog,† both writers chose to involve adultery in their stories. Whatever motivation there is to cheat on a spouse, there is not an acceptable reason to do it. This controversial subject was not common and both authors chose to break the rules. Although equally successful in their writings, Chopin’s â€Å"The Storm†, was not published until many years after her death. â€Å"The Storm" is about two people, Calixta and Alcee, who had been in a previous relationship. Although both have moved on by getting married and starting a family, a chance encounter lead them to a lustrous affair. â€Å"Calixta and Alcee share a past romantic infatuation that is not consummated until the afternoon of the storm† (Milne 291). Chopin wrote this story in 1898, but it was not published at that time. â€Å"Chopin did not try to send ‘The Storm’ out to editors...It was first published in The Complete Works of Kate Chopin in 1969† (Kate), which was sixty-five years after her death. This controversial subject was not the norm in the 1890’s. â€Å"Female writers in 1898 did not write such detailed accounts of a sexual encounter...In the ease with which she wrote about human sexuality; Chopin was ahead of her time† (qtd. in Milne 296). The chance encounter between Calixta and Alcee happened during a tremendous storm. Calixta was home alone and ... ...). Whatever motivation there is to cheat on a spouse, there is not an acceptable reason to do it. Works Cited Akers, Tim. "The Lady with the Pet Dog." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 198-214. Print. Catherine, Dominic. â€Å"Critical Essay on ‘The Storm.’† Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale/Cengage Learning, 2008. 297-299. Print. Davis, Diana. "Review of Anton Chekhov's Short Story The Lady with the Dog." Yahoo! Contributor Network. 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. "Kate Chopin: Her Novels and Stories." Kate Chopin: The Awakening, The Storm, Stories, Biography. Ed. Bernard Koloski. n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. Milne, Ira Mark. "The Storm." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale/Cengage Learning, 2008. 288-29 Print. Mohr, Nicole. "Passion in Kate Chopin's The Storm." Yahoo! Contributor Network. 5 May 2006. Web. 05 Apr. 2012.

Cultural Self-Assessment Essay

I got 9 correct answers and 14 incorrect answers. This score is lower than I expected. I was anticipating to get more than half of the total questions right because I thought that the set of questions on cultural competency for health care providers is an easy subject to tackle. However, my assumptions have proven me wrong. I have realized that this topic required more knowledge about different cultures and its relation to providing high-quality and culturally competent medical services. Prior to taking these quiz, I thought that giving medical attention to people from different cultural backgrounds was an uncomplicated task. The reason behind this thinking is that culture is an issue that is familiar with every individual. More so, when dealing with a problem that involves the interaction of two or more dissimilar cultures, the natural instinct is to treat the difference with sensitivity and respect. It may seem that this is as simple as it sounds. But as I learned about the results of the quiz, there appears to be more than just being considerate and being polite. What we currently know does not necessarily mean that it is everything that we ought to know. People should go beyond their comfort zone and try to understand things that are foreign to us. In the field of medicine, it is very important to practice this so as to provide the best care to patients in aid of prolonging and improving their lives. 2. Which items did you answer correctly? Which items did you answer incorrectly? To what do you attribute your incorrect responses? Out if the 23 questions in the quiz, I got mostly correct answers on questions about communicating the similarities and differences of people from different backgrounds. However, there were some aspects of this subject matter that I did not do well such as asking about the patient’s personal background in a non-offensive way and soliciting g information in a non-verbal manner. Meanwhile, the 14 incorrect answers that I obtained were mostly about the beliefs and mannerisms of specific cultures. Also, I did poorly on handling language interpretation between a medical practitioner and the patient. Apparently, based on these results, I have a lot of learning to do to be able to be a competent medical practitioner in a culturally diverse environment. I think that one of the main reasons why I did so badly in this quiz is the assumption that handling cultural differences has a universal approach. More so, I thought that a certain method or attitude can be applicable to numerous race and ethnicity. But in reality, every culture demands to be treated distinctively because a Hispanic patient can have dissimilar needs with and Asian patient or a Western medical approach cannot be applied to a medical problem of a patient from an African descent. 3. How will you enhance your cultural competence in any areas in which you were deficient? How will you maintain your cultural competence in areas in which you were proficient? Since I was able to get more wrong answers than the right ones, I have realized that I have a lot of things to learn that will increase my knowledge about cultural competency and also I have to improve my skills in handling patients of diverse cultural backgrounds. One way of achieving this is by immersing myself to another cultural environment. Thought this, I can have a first-hand experience about the various traditions and beliefs that a certain culture practices. The knowledge that I will gain from this cultural encounter would aid me in becoming more sensitive and more informed on the different aspects of a specific culture which can guide me to become an efficient health care provider. On the other hand, with the culture competence areas that I am proficient, I plan to further my knowledge when it comes to communicating similarities and differences of people from different backgrounds. It is important to properly execute this in order to gain accurate information from the patient and also to provide effective measures as a medical practitioner.

Control Freak Essay

Virgos are analytical, observant, and precise. We strive to be perfectionist, so we have to be on top of everything and every detail. Whenever I do anything I do my best to make sure it’s perfect, whether it’s something I’m passionate about or something I’m forced to do. I like for things to be perceived in a certain way, I like for my efforts to be praised, and in order to get that it has to be perfect, if not near. A lot of people assume being a control freak is a bad thing, but in my opinion it’s not. I know what I want, and most times how I want it done. I’m not always lost or confused on a lot of things because I’ve probably thought about it in my head before and know what most possible outcomes are. What I’ve learned is that the only people who dislike control freaks are people who are control freaks themselves, or have control issues on some type of level. People who don’t really like responsibility, and are untamed tend to like control freaks because they keep them in line, and on point. They direct them and help them stay on track. An example of someone who could be a control freak is a Sergeant in the Army. When you’re a sergeant you have to dictate and tell people what to do. You have to make sure people follow a certain set of guidelines and rules, while following them yourself. Having that type of power over people will sometimes go to your head and make you a compulsive control freak. You want things done a certain way, at a certain time, in a certain place, with no exceptions. Another Example of someone who takes being a control freak overboard, or obsessive is  the â€Å"controller. These people obsessively try to dictate how you’re supposed to be and feel. They have an opinion about everything. They’ll control you by invalidating your emotions if those don’t fit into their rulebook. People with low  self-esteem who see themselves as â€Å"victims† attract controllers. Whether spouting unsolicited advice on how you can lose weight  or using anger  to put you in your place, their comments can range from irritating to abusive. What’s most infuriating about these people is that they usually don’t see themselves as controlling–only right. When it comes to myself and being controlling, it was never because I had a desire to control someone. When I was younger I watched over my younger brothers, I had a responsibility. I was left in charge, and having two younger kids to watch over, I had to take on the role of a father. So I was a mini dictator, I had to tell them what to do, and how. I had to make sure everything in the house was straightened, and not broken, and I sometimes had to discipline them. After years of doing this I developed a controlling personality. I don’t see myself as overly controlling, just subtly controlling. I don’t try to control every aspect of people’s lives. The only thing I’m really particular about is details in something I’m doing such as my work, art, appearance. When it comes to relationships and me being controlling, it doesn’t affect them. It doesn’t affect them because I’m not over the top controlling, I just tell them things to help improve them in some type of way. I actually like somewhat controlling people in relationships. The way I see it, it’s a challenge. They’re not easy, and submissive. I love dominance in a person; it gives me a sense of security when someone shows dominance. To me it’s like they care enough to give direction and guidance. Not all control freaks have a need to obsess and be in control of everything that is happening, some of us were put into a position of power that lead to being a control freak. And in our mind, it isn’t being controlling. We’re just particular about things, we know what we want in life. What’s so bad about that?

Fhazel Johnnesse †A Young Man’s Thoughts Before June 16th Essay

Summary: The poem communicates the thoughts and feelings of one of the students in 1976 who would lose his life during the protests of June 16th This was the protest of bantu education by thousands of black schoolchildren, many of whom were shot and killed by the police. The poem concentrates on the human aspects rather than political convictions. The student has no feelings of bitterness toward anyone and expresses an acceptance of his impending fate. Tone: nostalgia melancholy longing acceptance Enjambment: Reflects natural speech patterns and adds to the conversational mood of the poem. Structure: Lack of punctuation and free verse: Reflects flow of thoughts. Breaks from normal format – protest for change (see synopsis). Suggests inferior education. A lack of control over the situation. Interpretation: Key: Green – important connotation Yellow – alliteration Line 1 The student looks to tomorrow; the day of the protest. ‘i’ suggests the student’s insignificance in the perspective of improving education for all non-white school goers and his acceptance of the sacrifice he will make to achieve this. That the student will ‘travel on a road’ suggests the well-known metaphor of life being a journey. Line 2 The student’s journey in life is full of difficulty, as suggested by ‘winds’ and ‘hill’. It also suggests the student’s determination as persistence is needed to navigate a winding, uphill road. The student’s life is aimed at achieving a specific goal or summative achievement, in this case the improvement of non-white education. Line 3 – 4 The student takes only his memories on the winding road for comfort. The memories are clearly important to the speaker which emphasises the importance of the human aspects of the protest rather than the political (see synopsis). Line 5 The student realises the heartache and grief his death will bring to his mother. Line 6 The student longs for a time when his life was simpler, and for the social presence of his friends. This shows the student to possess strong interpersonal bonds. Line 7 The student recollects a simple instance with friends. This further emphasises that the student is merely a normal young man. Line 8 In remembrance the student asks only that he be mourned with a song. This may suggest that he wishes his friends and family not to grieve for long over his passing. Line 9 The women who is to sing for him (assumedly his mother) has downturned eyes. This could either be seen as a way to hide her grief or as a sign of submission to the oppressor (the apartheid government). Line 10 The student would also have an old man (assumedly his father) to grieve by means of the song. Line 11 The man has a ‘broken brow’. This may suggest physical scarring but may also suggest that it is furrowed from emotion. This may be from the grief of the student’s death or from the years of oppression suffered under apartheid. Line 12 The student asks others to sing for him which may suggest that he is already dead, as he cannot sing for himself. Line 13 The student describes the end of his life (‘sunset’) as red. Red has connotations of anger, passion, blood and violence, all of which detail the occurrences during the protest. ‘Drenched’ suggests his complete hopelessness of escape from the violence and bloodshed. It also adds to the image of blood and suggests a large number of death. Alliteration: ‘B’ (line 7)- Links with belching onomatopoeia. ‘S’ (line 8-9, 12)- Creates mood- hushed, mellow, sorrowful.

Psychodynamic Personality Theories Essay

Contemporary society is intrigued with the notion of human behavior as it expresses itself in our personality. Psychoanalytic model is most noted for introspective strategies such as depth interviewing and projective techniques, which have emanated from its theoretical perspective. Classical psychoanalytic conceptualization approached the study of character or personality in two very different ways, each deriving from an early theoretical model of individual development. In the era of Freud’s original drive theory, an attempt was made to understand personality on the basis of fixation. Later with the development of ego psychology, character was conceived as expressing the operation of particular styles of defense. This second way of understanding character was not in conflict with the first; it provided a different set of ideas and metaphors for comprehending what was meant by a type of personality (Magnavita, 2002). The contemporary psychodynamic model of personality is very popular, particularly with clinical practitioners, and offers much that is useful for conceptualizing personality and personal disorders. The strength of this model seems to lie in the power of many of its fundamental constructs, such as the unconscious, defense systems, and the relation among component personality structures. It is hard to imagine a psychology of personality without some reference to these and other constructs. The limitations of this model are many. Unfortunately, after years of perpetuating itself in a closed system, a crisis developed about the viability of this model. Another draw back is the tendency to eschew empirical research, which would have established wider scientific acceptance. For many, the conceptualizations and esoteric language make it difficult to immerse oneself in what seems a dogmatic intellectualized system for those who hide behind language. In conclusion knowing where to approximately place an individual on the structural continuum is as much a clinical art as a science. Reference Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Research paper, management responsibility of a small, start-up Essay

Research paper, management responsibility of a small, start-up software company - Essay Example The cut throat environment of global business demands a committed management that is focused towards collective goals and creative thinking. The management needs to accept the challenge of creating a cohesive and encouraging atmosphere so that the workers could get effective learning environment. They are also responsible for advocating and nurturing a high standard of ethics and quality work while fostering a good relationship amongst them which includes the administrators, management and entire customer base. The major objective of quality management is to promote quality assurance at various levels of business processes through measures that drastically reduce the percentage of error within the production and maintain a minimum standard. Juran asserts ‘all quality improvement occurs on a project-by-project basis and in no other way’ (Juran, 2000). This is the foundation of quality assurance techniques and application which the organizations follow in order to meet the challenges of the time. Hence, the changing dynamics of the global business has necessitated formation and incorporation of management strategies that go beyond the realm of individual company’s concern and plan for distinctive competencies to give the company market leadership. The focused approach must facilitate and identify the critical factors of change and meet the challenges with creative inputs through collective vision and shared goals. IBM believes that policy rationale for quality management promotes ‘productivity and quality across the entire service lifecycle from requirements, design, development, quality assurance, security, and compliance to deployment and operations’ (IBM). Hence, SQM must ensure that careful consideration of various inter-related modules, which are intrinsic to its successful implementation, are incorporated within the processes to

Investment Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Investment Report - Essay Example on and depreciation allows investors to limit the risks they expose their investments to provided that different industries are affected differently by economic factors. Thus, as part of the Portfolio Theory directives, I decided to purchase stocks/ETF/Mutual funds from Hyperdynamics Corp (HDY), CNET, SinoCoking & Coke Chemical Industries Inc. (SCOK), Charles Voegele Holding AG (DE:VCH), and CyberArk Software Limited. The merit for selecting these stocks is due to the nature of their trading trends. Currently, most of the stocks from the five companies have a positive appreciating trends which was originally not the case. At the time of investment, August 25, 2014. Most of the stocks did not have the potential they currently have. However, provided that different investment plans were applied such as the consideration of the potential companies worth growing one’s investment value to favorable levels. On the other hand, the stocks with minimum potential at the time of investment were considered on the basis of their potential to grow in the future. While the option of investing in stocks that have the same value as my industry, my strategy did not match this criterion as the result of investing in such stocks is like banking with a low-interest-rates’ financial institutions. According to course book, â€Å"Street Smart, Book Smart†, rule number two warns investors from investing on stocks that do not exceed or reach the 1 million volume threshold. These type of stocks are weak and indicate economic instability of the trading company at hand. As of the current purchase of Hyperdynamics Corp (HDY), CNET, SinoCoking & Coke Chemical Industries Inc. (SCOK), Charles Voegele Holding AG (DE:VCH), and CyberArk Software Limited the daily stock volumes of these companies are not above the 1 million mark and therefore this rule applies with every investment consideration made. 2. Rule one of the course textbook indicates that whenever investors are buying stocks, they

Finance 550 24hours Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finance 550 24hours - Essay Example The separate segments of financial service industry have converged as an effective way of transferring risks. Whereas banks are shedding financial and credit risks to insurance firms, insurance companies are employing banks as means of hedging some of the foreseeable market risks that are commonly associated with their portfolios of retail products (Buckle and Thompson, 2005). Off commercial banks’ balance sheets: As suggested by Lewis and Davis (1987), commercial banks have engaged is securitization of residential mortgage loans through Asset Backed Securities (ABS) since 1980s. Whole banks have expanded these markets to include a vast range of asset types such as syndicate loans and deposits. Through Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) programmes, wholesale banks have managed to warehouse assets. In the recent banks, these banks have also used collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) to transfer risks associated with syndicate loans and deposits to re-insurance and co-insurance companies. Through these programs, co-insurance provides syndicated loans to be held by commercial banks or loans that can be sold as securities. Wholesale banks and policy-makers recognize that liquidity is paramount in the dynamics of financial risks and its measurement aids in regulating systematic risks. Wholesale banking has maintained enough buffer liquid assets by transferring some assets to co-insurance or re-insurance companies. WB have traditionally provided liquid funds to its clients by issuing transactions deposits, which often act as substitute for money. Liquidity productions from deposits allow clients to take cash on demand from commercial banks. Based on knowledge and information collected by WB, commercial banks can invest float from these transactions thus creating a positive carry for them. WB knowledge on credit risks and future opportunities for economic

Ritual, Rite, Practice, Culture of Geishas in Japan Research Paper

Ritual, Rite, Practice, Culture of Geishas in Japan - Research Paper Example Diversity witnessed in societies implies that communication at the global level is complicated and various social background attributes require studies including rituals, heritage, and culture. To illustrate the importance of these attributes, the following discourse highlights the Geisha women tradition to understand certain characteristics of Japanese cross-cultural communication. Geishas are female artists and entertainers observing a conservative form of ancient Japanese civilization and culture in various aspects from attire to music. Tracing back to several centuries back in history, Geisha art was designed to entertain powerful political elites of the Japanese civilization such as emperors. According to (Cass 12), influential regional conservative politics such as the one in China’s Ming Dynasty with a traditional and conservative outlook dictated the nature of the practice of the art that was designed for such political class. Propagation of the entertainment tradition for the nobility became a prestigious art form, which in line with the conservative clients took shape of the conservative Japanese traditions that were witnessed elsewhere. Apart from specific regalia designed for the performance, the female artists undergo theatrical makeup on the face and hair that add flair and flavor to the performance. The performance of Japanese music and da nce after spells of specialized training present the Geisha as among the few undoubted custodians of Japanese cultural heritage (Brown and Iwasaki 3). The performance of the entertainment does not only present the practice as a highly organized tradition but also as an important entertainment activity with far reaching sociocultural and political implications in Japan and across the globe. In terms of the communication attributes that the cross-cultural draws from the Geishas, modernity and tradition issues emerge as strong forces of the society that need special attention. Geisha

Pablo Picasso as One of the Most Important Figures in Cubism Essay

Pablo Picasso as One of the Most Important Figures in Cubism - Essay Example The paper "Pablo Picasso as One of the Most Important Figures in Cubism" discover an important movement in art history and analyzes some examples of Picasso's painting. The main aim of Picasso was to depict an item as it is seen through several viewpoints independently. This made Picasso and Braque to become friends and later they developed the aspects of cubism together. Largely Picasso’s à ©poque negre, was largely inspired by the African art and this overlapped the first phase in cubism that is known as analytical cubism. It was through the Picasso’s artwork and styles that marked the beginning of abstract art. This made Picasso to reach a place of abstraction in painting that was radical break from the classical dominance of content over form. Therefore the most important aspect of cubism by place is the neglect of form in favor of content. Below is an analysis of one of Picasso’s paintings and comparison with other styles of artistic work during this period for understanding of the actual artistic work. Above is one of the most remarkable paintings of Picasso known as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon 1907. The painting represents a good sample of cubism that uses geometrical work to represent images that the painter wishes to express. The painting signaled a different direction and the painting clearly reflected the aspects of cubism of presenting contents in dimensional views as compared to form as had been the order of artistic work before. According to the VSAVCS the early cubism started from 1907 to 1909.... Largely cubism was based on intellectual experiment and structure as compared to the expression of emotions. This made it more practical to use geometrical shapes in this artistic work a high contrast to other artistic work in this period. In addition VSAVCS (2009) further elaborates that the later period of synthetic cubism lasted between 1912 and1914 and this represented colligated objects into their paintings. This represented the synthetic cubism that as described above portrayed colligated objects into their paintings. Picasso guitar sheet music glass of 1912 Incidentally, according to the 20th Century Art (n,d) the work of Picasso as portrayed above was not restricted to one of the artistic period. For example the above painting has aspects of both Renaissance and baroque properties, and yet does not fit to any of these artistic periods. Corot, Chemin de Sevres, 19th century is a good example of Renaissance artistic work. Bailey (4) argues that most of the artistic work that ar tists have been painting for several centuries either belonged to the renaissance or the Baroque period artistic work. Renaissance work was more elaborate in using light and depth and a well fitting frame that portrayed the aspect of form, where all the elements in the painting fit. Comparing the painting by Picasso with this typical Renaissance painting, the painting has light shades and fits to the frame correctly as required by the Renaissance artistic work. However, the painting has no depth and uses some forms of geometric shape that are not common with Renaissance artistic work. On the other hand, the baroque period was characterized by the use of flowing forms that use dark shapes and that are