Digital Literacy Essay - 1297 Words

Digital Literacy ENG122: English Composition II Angela Temple January 20, 2014 In today’s world it is a requirement to be digitally literate in order to be able to function in a capacity that enables one to be more successful whether it is at home, school, at our jobs or even looking for a job. Over the last few decades our environment has evolved into a digital environment. Being or becoming digitally literate is essential in being successful in this digital environment. Almost everything we do today requires some sort of digital knowledge or literacy. From surfing the internet to searching for a job to being able to perform our jobs, we are required to have some sort of digital†¦show more content†¦Most of the employers out there put all of their information online and to be able to apply for that job, you have to use a computer. That applies to submitting your resume as well. The days of going from business to business, filling out applications and turning in resumes are long gone. Nowadays when you go to a business to apply for a job, they tell you to go online to their website and apply there. Being digitally literate also relates to the everyday things that we do such as reading the newspaper or a magazine or even writing a letter. Most newspapers and magazines can be found online today and that can make things easier for us in our day to day lives. With that technology, we no longer have to carry around some giant newspaper or even a magazine. We have the ability to put them on our computers of even an iPad and access them from anywhere that you have internet access. Plus having this technology allows us to be able to search for certain articles without having to scan through an entire newspaper or magazine. Along with having the ability to read newspapers and magazines digitally, those companies are also adding more pictures and links that just add that much more to the stories. Even the newspaper companies such as the New York Times have evolved with this digital trend by adding more color photos, ch arts, different fonts and even colored fonts in an attempt to make their publications more attractive. While there areShow MoreRelatedThe Digital Of Digital Literacy Essay1403 Words   |  6 PagesContext Digital literacy has been an ever steady presence in today’s society. It is time to bring digital literacy into mainstream America. It is no longer acceptable to wave aside the need for computer literacy; people more than ever need the ability to access information that can benefit them in an array of ways. In order for adults to have the ability to obtain valuable resources and services that they might be able to access, engage in critical thought involving everyday issues such as shoppingRead MoreWhat Is Digital Literacy?2169 Words   |  9 PagesWhat is Digital Literacy? Digital literacy is being able to use judgement to decide what digital skills are most effective to evaluate, analyze, share, and create content.People often interchange digital skills with digital technology and while they are not wrong, digital skills is only a part of being digitally literate. Two of the same concept, both are needed to successfully use technology to our benefit. Digital skills consists of what online technologies you are using and how you are accessingRead MoreInformation Literacy And Digital Literacy1473 Words   |  6 PagesInformation and digital literacy play vital roles in our society and are necessary tools for citizens to have in this growing information age. Information literacy is â€Å"the ability to recognize the extent and nature of an information need, then to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information.† (â€Å"Information Literacy Definition†, n.d.) Digital literacy is â€Å"the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet.† (â€Å"What is Digital LiteracyRead MoreUnderstanding The Awareness Of Digital Literacy Awareness2199 Words   |  9 PagesFRAMEWORK TO EVALUATE DIGITAL LITERACY AWARENESS Tengku Adil, Tengku Izhar, Nurhidayah Abdul Jabar Faculty of Information Management, UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM) UiTM Selangor, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract The aim of this paperis to propose a framework to evaluate the awareness of digital literacy among students. This paper mention about the ways to develop the knowledge performance towards students by practicing good skills to deal with the appropriate digital tools and knowing varietyRead MoreA Study of Digital Literacy in a Marginalised Community1110 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstanding of the digital and computing skills which is beneficial for higher education. Current as well in future, most of the new jobs will require excellent digital skills and work will be based only on the digital world, improving digital literacy is an essential part of the higher education and training.Courses either full or part time will help the young learners to learn the subjects in the digital world enable students to gain the skills and confidence they need to use digital technology notRead MoreDigital Literacy: A Powerful Tool for Educational Change Essay1990 Words   |  8 PagesNational Literacy Trust (NLT) studies suggest that overall a large proportion of pupils of all ages enjoy writing. The 2009 study suggests that 45 per cent of pupils enjoy writing (Clark Dugdale, 2009), while the 2011 study shows and increase of 2 per cent. To improve standards in writing Vincent (2006), implies that given the existence noytimtext in multimodal formats. However digital literacies is un-signified in the literacy pedagogies of many schools and multimodal scaffolding is essentialRead MoreThe Digital Literacy Training Program Essay1623 Words   |  7 Pageseach student completing the course will increase their digital literacy, develop essential computer skills, improve a basic understanding of computing, and increase computer use in their daily lives. In addition, students will increase working knowledge and understanding of standard computer tools and applications all the while increasing working knowledge of basic networking and internet functionality. Outcomes The outcomes of the digital literacy training program will increase adults competitivenessRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Digital Literacy1113 Words   |  5 PagesNowadays, Digital literacy helps to understand and analyze information through digital technology. The use of technology plays an important role within the process of teaching and learning; it can be used to teach reading and writing skills by using digital devices such as laptops, iPads, Chromebooks, or desktops. However, within the context of the use of technology in the area of education, and specifically in the area of language, digital literacy would also encompass its application both in developmentRead MoreDigital Literacy And The Public Education821 Words   |  4 PagesDiscussion Post #4 How important is ‘digital literacy’ considered to be in our current public education? How important do you think digital literacy is? The American Library Association defines digital literacy as the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills. This definition is important to the discussion of the digital divide, defined by Morse (2004) as â€Å"inequitable use of computerRead MoreDigital Literacy Is A Continuous Learning Process785 Words   |  4 Pagesmore confident in my 21st Century skills, I must commit my way of learning to that of a digital native. Technology and its intricacies must become so ingrained in my daily routine that it becomes natural. Digital literacy is a continual learning process. Knowing this, I must be willing to adapt and change my way of teaching from 20th Century skills to 21st Century skills. New Definition of Literacy â€Å"Literacy has expanded from the notions of reading and writing to include the ability to learn and

Essay about Bulimia - 1430 Words

Bulimia nervosa, more commonly known simply as bulimia or binge and purge disorder, is an eating disorder that affects 1 in 4 college-aged women in America, or 1 in 10,000 Americans. The most common misconception concerning bulimia is that it is simply a physical or mental problem. Many people do not understand that bulimia is a disease that affects both the mind and the body, and in its course can destroy both aspects of the diseased individual. Bulimia affects a variety of different people, but generally the victims will fall tend to fall into certain categories. Those at highest vulnerability to this disease are young adult females, ages 12 to 18. The disease, however, can start as early as elementary school, or much later†¦show more content†¦Bulimics usually weigh themselves frequently, even several times daily. Bulimics also suffer from an emotional cycle of guilt, pain, depression, and highs. They feel pride when they succeed in starving themselves; guilt, pain, and d epression when they eat; and the high usually follows a purge. The cycle becomes an emotional outlet. Bulimics are often perfectionists, those who feel they have severe standards to live up to. Those who feel that they cannot control their lives may turn to eating disorders as a means to feel in control of some aspect of themselves. They tend to have an intense fear of becoming a failure, and letting others down. Many doctors and members of society feel that society, with its media-fed images of beauty and perfection, is responsible for the disease. Food becomes a night-and-day obsession, causing them to withdraw from their families, as well as school and social lives. Bulimics will often refuse to eat in front of other people, and will find any sort of excuse to avoid meals in groups. They may sneak food for bingeing when no one else is around. Bulimics may sometimes run to the bathroom following any form of food intake. The disease is habit-forming. Bulimia is a disease that affec ts the entire body, as well. The first marks are often seen on the fingers and hands of the diseased individual. They will usually have small cuts, calluses,Show MoreRelatedBulimia Symptoms And Treatments Of Bulimia972 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"Bulimia† Have you ever looked at the cover of a magazine and seen a beautiful woman that just looked so thin, and thought â€Å"How in the world did she get that way?† Well like me I’m sure millions of girls have wondered the same thing. Many of them becoming self-conscious, what with our society placing so much emphasis on being thin in order to be attractive. But how thin is too thin? Many girls in this country use some kind of diet or exercise plan but, others take it too far. Bulimia is exactlyRead MoreBulimia Nervosa And Non Purging Bulimia820 Words   |  4 Pages Bulimia nervosa, also called bulimia is a possible life threating eating disorder. A person that suffers from bulimia may secretly binge their food. They may eat large amount of food and then purge their food to get rid of the additional calories that they’ve digested. Bulimia is categorized in two ways, purging bulimia and non-purging bulimia. Purging bulimia is when a person regularly self-induces vo miting after eating. Non-purging bulimia is when an individual may use other methods to try toRead MoreBulimia Nervosa1676 Words   |  7 PagesBulimia Nervosa [also known as Bulimia] is a very serious and dangerous eating disorder. The disorder can be describe as bingeing and then followed by purging or a person who eats a large amount of food in short periods of time and then vomits after eating to prevent on gaining the weight cause by the food. There is different ways of going about ways to prevent the weight gain, making oneself throw up, taking pills, or laxatives which will increase how fast the food will move through your body, exercisingRead MoreEssay on Anorexia and Bulimia1661 Words   |  7 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bulimia Nervosa [also known as Bulimia] is a very serious and dangerous eating disorder. The disorder can be describe as bingeing and then followed by purging or a person who eats a large amount of food in short periods of time and then vomits after eating to prevent on gaining the weight cause by the food. There is different ways of going about ways to prevent the weight gain, making oneself throw up, taking pills, or laxatives whichRead MoreAnorexia and Bulimia Essay819 Words   |  4 PagesWomen became more concerned with their weight. Perfection and appearances became everything. When being slim became crucial, women, and even men could do everything to fit in this new trend. This includes becoming victims of eating disorders like Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa. These disorders started in people after their restricted diet. They became obsessed with the idea of perfection and beauty. They are extremely concerned with their weights and body images. These girls—and even some men—wantRead More Anorexia and Bulimia Essay1865 Words   |  8 Pages Bulimia Nervosa I sat there staring in the mirror filled with disgust at the figure on the other end. I thought â€Å" another day, another day living and thinking of nothing else but the way that I look naked, the way I look with clothes on, and the way other people look at me.† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I was 17 years old when I began to have the premature symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa. I was a cheerleader for a national competition squad, and was worried about being able to tumble to my full potentialRead More Anorexia and Bulimia Essay1569 Words   |  7 PagesThe vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other quot; purging quot; behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eatingRead More Bulimia and Depression Essay2364 Words   |  10 PagesBulimia and Depression The prevalence of eating disorders among American women has increased dramatically in the past decade. In turn, the psychological community has expanded its scope of research and study by focusing more attention on eating disorders and concentrating on other extended issues related to eating disorders. The desire to distinguish and understand a possible relationship between bulimia nervosa and depression has become a major focus within the field. The purpose of thisRead MoreBulimia Nervosa Essay3152 Words   |  13 Pages Bulimia Nervosa Within developmental lifespan psychology, eating disorders are often categorised under the heading of adolescence problems along with suicide, delinquency, substance misuse and pregnancy. They are particularly associated with females, especially during the development stage of adolescence when ones physical, cognitive and social development leaves childhood and enters adulthood (Seifert et al, 1997: 333). It appears that young women are moreRead MoreBulimia Nervosa Argument1639 Words   |  7 PagesBolanle Soyombo Cox AP Lit A2 April 18, 2012 Bulimia Nervosa: Argument Although bulimia nervosa can be treated in multiple fashions, there is a specific treatment that is proven to be the most effective in not only bulimia nervosa, but also other anxiety related disorders. This effective treatment is an specific form of short term psychotherapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is productive in both reducing the amount of times one may purge in a day and diminishing the entire disorder altogether;

Sport Journalism, a view of the world, or a view generated by the dominant male supremacy Free Essays

The media is a powerful tool, which shapes the views and ideas of society, ‘the print media is an influential socializing agent in that it informs and entertains the reader and encourages social integration and social change by values, ideas and attitudes it presents’ (Eitzen and Sage, 1995, p78). When the media has such an important effect on society, is it right that male journalists dominate the media, in a sense serving to maintain and preserve patriarchal relationships. Although there have been many changes in the treatment of females in society in the past, many females are still excluded from numerous professions. We will write a custom essay sample on Sport Journalism, a view of the world, or a view generated by the dominant male supremacy? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Certain institutions frown upon the entry of females, as advancements made by females in society decreases the amount of men in dominant positions in society. This is shown by the small number of ‘male preserves’ (Elias Dunning, 1986, p268) left in today’s modern society. However, one institution that seems unable to accommodate change, for the sake of protecting its ‘male preserve’ (Elias Dunning, 1986, p268) is the print media. The media is increasingly becoming more of a male preserve, due to ever-growing equality females strive for; many men’s clubs have vanished, as they would rather shut than accommodate females, and erase issues of equality. Therefore the print media is an important site for this male preserve, ‘our newspapers are run like old boy’s clubs’ (Stratford, 1992, p130). Even when females have broken in to the sports journalism profession, it is still under the dominant ideologies of a male supremacy. Entry is possible for women, as long as no attempt is made to alter or even question the status quo’ (Stratford, 1992, p130). The only way females can be involved in the sports journalism world, is to reject the issues that display feminine power, in addition they also have to adopt the dominant ideologies of a male society. ‘They wanted the jobs: therefore played by the rules in order to get them, the rules were not changed to facilitate the progress of other female journalists after them. Long hours, drinks with the boys and a disregard for childcare remain the norm’ (Stratford, 1992, p130). Although females do break in to the media profession, this most commonly comes in the form if a television reporter. As sports journalism portrays the journalist’s personal opinions, where television reporters are presented with scripts to shape the ideals of viewers, the only important thing on television is image, which is more often than not an attractive female. The profession of sports journalism in the print media is one of the most gender specific in modern society. ‘Sport is a male preserve and at the part it plays, relative to other sources, in the production and reproduction of masculine identity’ (Elias Dunning, 1986, p268). The print media has always been run by a dominant male supremacy producing a masculine identity, with jobs of highest priority, which shape the views of society such as journalist, more often than not given to men. This dominance of males in the media raises issues, which are constantly raised over the treatment of females in society, especially over the stereotypical coverage they receive. Therefore, sports journalism in this light can not actually be classed as sports journalism, sports journalism is all about reproducing and portraying the views of society, and giving everyone a equal voice. However, the media is so one sided it clearly cannot achieve this successfully. Although journalists, claim to be reflecting the attitudes of society rather than shaping men, recent national trends indicate that, with respect to women’s lives, they lag behind dismally’ (Stratford, 1992, p134). Affect of Bias In Sports One major area, which is affected by the dominance of a male hegemony is sports journalism. A large number of achievements are lost in the media concerning female athletes, due to the stereotypical coverage they receive. This negative coverage is the production of having a print media, which is run by men, as they will never be able to write about females from a female perspective. Their ownership by rich, white middle aged men, and their editorship usually by the same type of men, explains the difficulties they have in reflecting recent changes in society in any but the most stereotypical ways’ (Stratford, 1992, p130). The media frequently directs the reader away from the success and the strengths of female athletes, and towards the typical stereotypes of women. Journalists achieve this by the use of narratives, which is the forming of a story, ‘narratives provide drama, human interest and appeal necessary to attract and keep viewers’ (Higgs and Weiller, 1994, p234). Narratives often demonstrate traditional qualities associated with females, females successes are seen to be more challenging due to the struggles of their personal lives. ‘Women’s sport is further denigrated in importance by a heightened focus on the athlete’s personal lives’ (Duncan, 1993, p234). Furthermore, females are repeatedly represented as being weak and depending on others, more often than not this figure comes in the shape of a man. This shows how narratives often reinforce inequalities in power and gender relations. These inequalities help to construct a hegemonic masculinity, which Humberstone (1990) labels ‘the reproduction of patriarchal gender relations in society’ (Humberstone, 1990, p235). Therefore, it can be argued that the media is just a site where men are free to oppress females, and are free from criticisms. In essence, journalists can be seen as originators of patriarchy in society, as they help it develop and manifest itself on to the larger stage of society through their own accounts they present to society. People are inevitably affected by what media present them, if the writers of the media are predominately of one gender, then there is potential that another side of the story or noteworthy athletic accomplishments are being neglected’ (Urquhart and Crossman, 1999, p199). Conclusion: In conclusion, sports journalism is a flawed profession. The whole concept journalism is to illustrate and construct an equal argument, giving no one group priority over the next. However, many accounts of sports journalism demonstrate that the majority of the time, coverage is biased towards men and their male perspective. This bias is especially evident when it comes to the case of females in the media, often females voices and opinions are lost and unequal arguments are created. Research into the absence of female journalists in sport has previously demonstrated that not one single article was written by a female until 1976 concerning articles surrounding the Olympics, in two Canadian newspapers. There was also only one article written by a female in the 1992 Olympics, this is one example of a male supremacy in the media. ‘Sports journalism is obviously a male stronghold’ (Urquhart and Crossman, 1999, p199). In addition, a recent count showed that in two popular British newspapers, female journalists still suffer from oppression due to the dominant male operated media. With 100% of sport articles written by male journalists for the Independent, and 96% written by male journalists for the Times. This justifies the argument that sports journalism is essentially flawed, as the codes of sports journalism are rejected. ‘For example, the practice of sports journalism should revolve around a set of essentially ethical concepts: freedom, democracy, truth, objectivity, honesty, and privacy’ (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992, pXi), yet sports journalism does not. Thus, sports journalism cannot be seen as a democratic and truthful process, sports journalism simply is the production of a dominant male society, trying to hold on to one of its ever-fading male preserves. How to cite Sport Journalism, a view of the world, or a view generated by the dominant male supremacy?, Papers

Sociology2 Essay Example For Students

Sociology2 Essay SETTING. THUS THE TREATMENT OR DRUG SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED TO THOSE WHO ARE INFECTED BUT NOT ON AN MARIJUANA IS ILLEGAL IN FIFTY STATES BECAUSE OF ITS CLASSIFICATION AS AN ILLICIT DRUG, BUT CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT THIS ILLICIT DRUG HAS IMPROVED THE COURSE OF TREATMENT FOR SUFFERING PATIENTS. MARIJUANA HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS WHEN USED IN MEDICINAL SCENARIOS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAIN; THUS IT SHOULD BE AN ADMINISTERED DRUG FOR PATIENTS WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE USE OF THIS DRUG. MARIJUANA HAS UNDERGONE ANALYSIS FOR ITS USE AS A MEDICINE AND THE RESULTS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PATIENTS WHO WERE TREATED WITH THIS DRUG. DOCTORS HAVE EXPRESSED OPPOSITE OPINIONS, MAKING THIS ISSUE VERY CONTROVERSIAL. AS THE DEBATE ABOUT MARIJUANAS USE AS A MEDICINE CONTINUES, EXPERTS HAVE GIVEN US INFORMATION PERTAINING TO ITS POSITIVE EFFECTS WHEN USED PROPERLY. MUCH OF THE CONTROVERSY FALLS IN THE HANDS OF THE GOVERNMENT, WHICH PURPORTS THAT MARIJUANA IS NOT A SAFE MEDICINE, VERSUS THE DOCTORS WHO RESEARCH THE TOPIC FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. GRANTED, NOT ALL DOCTORS FEEL CANNABIS SHOULD BE A LEGAL PRESCRIBED MEDICINE, IT IS IN THEIR HANDS TO DECIDE SO. THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE HAS IGNITED THE CONTROVERSY WHEN IT SAID SMOKING MARIJUANA IS RISKY, BUT ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE IT UNDER CLOSELY MONITORED SETTINGS (KOCH 707). A SPECIALIST AT THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE AUTHORIZED HIS PATIENTS TO USE THE DRUG, BUT NOT OVER DO IT (KOCH 708). WITH ALL THE SPECULATION, ONE WOULD THINK THAT DOCTORS WOULDNT BE SO EAGER TO OFFER THE DRUG AS A RELIEVER. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DRUG ABUSE RENDERS APPROXIMATELY 300 FREE JOINTS EACH MONTH FOR PATIENTS WHOM ARE ENROLLED IN AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM (IVERSEN 12). THE GOVERNMENT PROCLAIMS THERE IS NO THERAPEUTIC VALUE IN THE MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA, BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE HARD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT (GRINSPOON 46). IRA GLASSER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, (AT A CONGRESSIONAL FORUM) EXPRESSED: THE GOVERNMENT HAS DEMONIZED ALL DRUG USE WITHOUT DIFFERENTIATION AND HAS SYSTEMATICALLY AND HYSTERICALLY RESISTED SCIENCE.(KOCH 714) POSSIBLY IF THE TWO SIDES WOULD WORK TOGETHER AN AGREEMENT COULD BE ESTABLISHED CONCERNING PROCEDURES FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND TREATMENT. MARIJUANA HAS EASED THE PAIN OF CHEMOTHERAPY, SEVERE MUSCLE SPASMS CAUSED BY MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, WEIGHT-LOSS DUE TO THE AIDS VIRUS, AND OTHER PROBLEMS (WWW.ABCNEWS.GO.COM/MEDMJ990317.HTML). EXPERTS FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH OR NIH HAVE CONFIRMED THAT MARIJUANA IS AN EFFECTIVE, SAFE AND INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE FOR TREATING NAUSEA CAUSED BY AIDS MEDICATIONS AND CANCER TREATMENTS OTHER SUCH AILMENTS AS GLAUCOMA, MUSCLE SPASMS, INTRACTABLE PAIN, EPILEPSY, ANOREXIA, ASTHMA, INSOMNIA, DEPRESSION AND OTHER DISORDERS (IVERSEN 23). OTHER SUCH AILMENTS IN WHICH MARIJUANA HAS BEEN SAID TO HELP ARE PARKINSONS DISEASE, HUNTINGTONS DISEASE, REPETITIVE MIGRAINES, AND ALZ HEIMERS, BUT THE NIH HAS NOT REPORTED THOSE RESULTS (ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.). THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE SHOWS US THAT THE BENEFITS FROM CANNABIS SHORT TERM USE DOESNT HINDER THE POSSIBLE HAZARDS OF ITS LONG-TERM USE (ROSENTHAL 58). MARIJUANA HAS BENEFICIAL OUTLOOK FOR SOME ILLNESSES, BUT EXPERIMENTATION IS LIMITED DUE TO ITS UNLAWFULNESS. THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THIS DRUG ARE HELPING A LIMITED NUMBER SO DOCTORS HAVE TRIED TO WORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO CREATE A RELIABLE WAY TO DISTRIBUTE THE DRUG WITHOUT SMOKING IT. THE WORK BEING DONE TO FIND A CHEMICAL FABRICATE SHOULD CLARIFY THAT MARIJUANA HAS SOME MEDICINAL VALUE. IN 1986 A THC BASED SYNTHETIC CALLED MARINOL WAS APPROVED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, UNFORTUNATELY IT DID NOT TREAT AS WELL AS CANNABIS (ROSENTHAL 61). GOVERNMENT EXPERTS HAVE INDICATED THAT MARIJUANA DOES RELIEVE PAIN, AND OTHER DISORDERS, BUT IT DOES NOT CURE THEM, THEREFORE CAN NOT BE LEGALIZED AS A PRESCRIPTION DRUG (GRINSPOON 55). IN MANY CASES MARIJUANA HAS BEEN THE BUILDING BLOCK FOR RECOVERY, AND IT HAS GIVEN SICK PEOPLE A CHANCE TO MOVE ON WITHOUT THE TENSION AND PAIN (WWW.ABCNEWS.GO.COM/MEDMJ990317.HTML). GOVERNMENT EXPERTS HAVE CONCEALED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SIMILAR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, SUCH AS: PERCOCET AND CODEINE. BOTH ARE VERY ADDICTIVE AND THEY ONLY RELIEVE THE PAIN. MEDICINAL MARIJUANA HAS SIMILAR SIDE EFFECTS AS THE OFTEN PRESCRIBED STIMULANTS, BUT IT IS NOT QUITE AS ADDICTIVE (ROSENTHAL 125). MARIJUANA IS NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FREQUENTLY PRESCRIBED .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .postImageUrl , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:hover , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:visited , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:active { border:0!important; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:active , .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udaa6da8dfc9b819366580b71e29e9a5a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Fitness And Training Essay

Once More To The Lake By E.B. White Essays - Once More To The Lake

Once More To The Lake By E.B. White Once More to the Lake by E.B. White Once More to the Lake, by E.B. White was an essay in which a father struggles to find himself. The essay is about a little boy and his father. They go to a lake where the father had been in his childhood years. The father looks back at those years and tries to relive the moments through his son's eyes. He knows he can't, and has difficulty dealing with the fact that he can't go back in time. E.B. White's way of letting the reader know that the father is in a way depressed, is through great detail and description. The story mentions how the lake has changes since the father had seen it last. How the once gravel roads have been paved over, and the sail boats are now replace with boats with outboard motors. As the reader, one can sense a feeling of how the father isn't able to adapt to these changes. The little boy in the story, the son, also doesn't seem to appreciate the lake as much as the father did when he was growing up. Like how when he was a boy, he would wake up early to fish. Now the father wishes his son would do the same. It seemed the little boy just too the trip for granted. He didn't appear to be as appreciative as the father once was. The father describes the view as pretty much being the same. How things felt the same, like the moss on his feet and such. He didn't feel that the lake had changed any, but everything around it did. This is when the idea of a duel personality comes into picture. The father can almost see himself as a child, doing the things he wished his son would do. When he was young he would get up especially early to fix his fishing pole and even help set the dinner table. Then he realizes that his son doesn't do any of these things, making the father feel as if the trip just isn't the same. As the story progresses, the father begins to point out the differences of his once peaceful get-a way. How when arriving was something to look forward to, seeing all of the other family's greet you, the madness of the train station, and the smells of the wilderness. All of those things were gone, replace by motor boats that would wake you up in the middle of a summer slumber. Lastly the father brings up the thunderstorm. To me this represents the birth of a new him. I say this because once the rain clears up and the dark skies disappear, he begins to look at his son, and the entire trip in a different light. He forgets the years of old, and realizes that he is not his son, he stops trying to live his life through his son's eyes. When at the end he feel the cold chill of death at his groin, I feel this is him letting the trip be just a trip, not pushing his son to do exactly what he once did. He lets the boy do what he wants, not do what the father had done all those years down by the lake. Book Reports

Free sample - The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud. translation missing

The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud. The Untold Story of Welfare FraudThe Untold Story of Welfare Fraud reviews the consequences of the implementation of the law concerning provision of financial aid to poor families. It reveals the imperfect character of the law which actually left no way out for people as they had to choose whether to keep to the law or to leave their families without food. According to Abramovitz (1988), women were not enough protected by the government and its laws as they could not make their own living without men. The following article presents two types of variables which are essential for understanding of the welfare fraud and the implementation of the Welfare Fraud Diversion Program. The dependent variable is the amount of people who broke the law subject to difficult life circumstances as well as those who were convicted of welfare frauds and received criminal records without breaking the law. The independent variables are the complexity of the application and compliance procedures, the sex and education level of the parents accused of welfare frauds, illegal actions of the controlling authorities. The article shows that the amount of frauds was influenced by the implementation of strict limits and measures which were in fact aimed at decreasing of the number of people enjoying state financial aid. The unit of analysis of this study is the process of law enforcement that was caused by the present law which was aimed at making an exact division according to the degree of the conducted crimes. According to Gatta (2005), the other reviewed issue is the impact of the welfare reform to the number of related crimes. According to the article, low-income women were greatly influenced by the law. Their lives and future of their families was under the risk of extinction because of low quality level of life and financial problems which occurred at those times. The article describes â€Å"the realities of the women caught in the web of welfare fraud prosecution after the 1996 changes to the welfare law†. O’Connor (2001) presents a kind of knowledge â€Å"grounded in practice, in activism, and in the experience not only of the material deprivation but on the everyday workings of the economy†. The influence of the imperfect law on the number of violations was researched through the quantitative and qualitative study of the welfare frauds' cases. The authors conducted a content analysis of the Public Defender’s welfare fraud case files for the year 2001. They also researched qualitative data of the year 2005. It was done in order to find out any differences which could have taken place since the conduction of the first research in 2001. The results of both studies were used to create the complete image of reasons leading to fraud conviction. According to the case study the people accused of welfare frauds may be divided into several groups. The first group involves people who intentionally broke the law in order to receive money. Usually, they pretended to be mistreated or mislead social workers about their actual income and, thus, cheated the government. The second group comprises of people who did everything possible to keep to the law but could not provide information about the income of their spouses or partners as they did not keep in touch with them. Applicants also often violated the rules as they could not clearly understand the procedure of income reporting. Such cases were very common taking into account that all women accused of welfare fraud did not attend colleges. In some cases the profit of the family in the subsequent month was higher than the financial aid threshold and woman was consequently accused of welfare fraud though her annual income was still far below the poverty line. Those people did not have any intension to abuse the law or to commit a crime. Nevertheless, they were assumed to be guilty and received the same status of criminals as those people who had conducted welfare frauds intentionally. The third group includes individuals who were not allowed to provide any information about incomes of their spouses or partners. Such cases were also very common and usually husbands threatened their wives for reporting additional incomes. Women did not have any choice as the only income was brought by their husbands. The study of the cases of the second and third groups shows that those people did not commit any crimes but their criminalization was caused by the wrong government's policy. The government tried to stop the wave of law violations, and enforced so strict reporting and supervision policy that non-guilty people were charged of fraud as well. The amount of criminal records was so high at that period that supervising authorities had no time to check whether crime was intentional or non-intentional. Accused people had no funds for legal assistance and could not protect themselves properly. Consequently, people saw only the increasing number of criminals without the context producing this figure. It was widely used for justification of the law reform. In addition to the proceeding costs burden that was taken by non guilty individuals their criminal record precluded them from finding sufficient jobs and made them apply for the governmental aid and again commit fraud. Besides, authorities has developed special measures that allowed convicting of welfare fraud but at the same time violated the privacy of aid receivers. The â€Å"man in the house† method is an example of such methods that were widely used for looking for law-breakers. In case a man was found in the house of a woman receiving financial aid she was incriminated under report of income for the purpose of welfare fraud. It looked like a circle of poverty. The dependent variable of crimes' quantity was clearly influenced by the independent variables mentioned above. In diachronic perspective, such enforcement of rules and laws may be compared with the actions that lead to the discrimination. The methods applied by the authors allowed revealing the possible sexism and division for gender roles. It turned out that fathers convicted of welfare frauds were subject to civil responsibility while mothers were accused of crimes. This clearly proves gender discrimination. Nevertheless, these results were not discussed in the paper though they worth further consideration. The selection of the sample in the first study of 2001 cases may evidence that the authors managed to analyze comparatively small amount of information. On the other hand, such statistic data cannot be considered to be the only possible source of information as it does not give the whole picture of the problem. As it can be seen from the actual study, the roots of the problem may be found deep in the history. Consequently, the whole period starting from the implementation of the law until the present time should be analyzed for the clear understanding of the problem. The method of comparison of two different studies makes it easier to forecast future development of the law and allows scientists finding out the ways of the program's improvement. Despite the authors were good in the choice of variables, the system of their conclusions may become unstable if other factors will be chosen as key factors. There are other potential variables which might slightly change the prospective the research got. This research is based on the data collected in San Diego, California and the results may be different in other states of the US. The level of welfare fraud would be different in different states and correlates with the criminal rate of the state. The amount of welfare frauds may also vary taking into consideration the amount of working places and the average quality of life in the state. In such case, the research described in The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud would not reflect the situation in the US. In addition, the correlation between the amount of welfare frauds and a number of poor families should be researched. Perhaps the increasing number of frauds was caused not only by strict measures but also by the increased number of poor families. Finally, the share of second and third groups was not indicated in the study that excludes the possibility of the comparative assessment of the negative effects of the governmental policy. The problem of the interconnection between the legal status of people under financial aid and suspicions regarding their income level and the rate of the actual help from the government should be taken into consideration as the problem of discrimination according to the social status. The law enforcement system does not give any possibility for poor people to get out of the trouble they got in. It becomes difficult for them to find a well-paid job and to earn enough money for living. In addition, the law providing financial aid to ordinary people should be understandable for them. As it was already mentioned the reason of numerous violations was the lack of understanding of the law. To summarize everything mentioned, it would be useful to appeal to the law system and to make the process of helping people less difficult for understanding. As a result, the law would not be broken by people on a regular basis just because of the large amount of details but instead it will bring a clear vision of the line which separates law obeying citizens from criminals. The research might be continued in the future on the basis of the data collected from all over the country but not from the only city as the welfare reform spreads across the US. According to the research, it may be said that the general picture of issues related to the past welfare reform is presented, however additional surveys showing the state of things at the present moment should be conducted. The fast development of the legislation makes even slightly out of date information irrelevant for the research. It may be made in cooperation with politics and attorneys from the whole country. Each state may create a group which would focus on collecting of the data about this issue in order to form a precise picture of the legal environment in the country. They may also make proposals to legislative bodies concerning improvement of the law in accordance with the principle of stability of the functioning and the suitability for citizens. The general attitude towards poor people also nee ds to be reestablished as the present one indirectly makes them live in poverty and does not involve any cooperation with government and the police. In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the research perfectly shows what is going on in the city but not nationwide. The implementation of the welfare reform is a next step on the way to the era of law and justice. Nevertheless, the violation of the law is caused not only by unintentional actions but also by the intentional ones. Consequently, the reduction of the welfare frauds' number may be achieved in several ways including elimination of stereotypes concerning poor women obtaining governmental aid. Labeling people is a wrong way of behavior as it leads to wrong statements about others caused by the unsupported generalization. Stigmatizing of a person belonging to certain class is in fact a discrimination which may be eliminated only by the implementation of new social behavior patterns and broadening of the outlook of the members of the society.

If a firm wants to maximize profits , it must give careful attention Essay

If a firm wants to maximize profits , it must give careful attention to its pricing decisions .under what conditions does this statement have relevance what a - Essay Example Profit is the difference between the total revenue and total costs of a business enterprise. Profits are considered to arise either as rewards for risk taking or due to the imperfections in the economy or as reward for innovations, according to economic theories (Dean 1977, pp. 5 – 9). Rewards for risk taking: Entrepreneurs are essentially people with the ability to take risks. The risk involved is, to be prepared to accept as their share of the (monetary) value of the enterprise activities, after all costs have been provided for. What is left may be losses or minimal profits or more than reasonable profits. It is this risk that entitles the entrepreneur to keep for himself whatever is left at the end of the day. This is his profit. A good example of the reward for risk taking is photocopying business. When the plain paper photocopying technique was invented, it was a risky business to invest in, as the future would be that of ‘computerized paperless offices’. Rank Xerox Corporation, on the other hand, was willing to accept the risk and acquired the technology and patent rights. The stupendous success of this decision and the great revenues that it brought to Rank Xerox, are legendary (www.xerox.com). Imperfections in economy: According to this view, profits arise due to ‘†¦the imperfections in the adjustment of economy to change’ (Dean 1977, p.8). Imperfection refers to the competitive situation. There is a time lag between the occurrence of a change and the return of the market to near-perfect competitive position or equilibrium, and it is during this time of absorbing the change that profits accrue. An example of this type of opportunity is the occasional shortage in supply of food grains due to bad weather or crop failure and the time lag before a government takes corrective actions for increasing supplies through imports etc. Reward for innovation: In this third view on how profits arise, it is postulated that profits are what the

Advanced human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advanced human resource - Essay Example In 2014, Toyota has a net capital of 397.05 billion yen and it has 338,875 employees operating for accomplishing the organisational objectives (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2015). Toyota has been operating with highest market share in the world in the present day context. The company is also identified to be one of the largest companies in terms of revenue. Human Resource Department of the company has been identified to be facing Human Resource (HR) issues, which has been adversely affecting the operations of the business to a certain extent. For a company, human resource is ascertaining to be the main asset to develop and grow, as human resource facilitates in performing operations in accordance with organisational objective (Ekshan & Othman, 2009). The three HR issues faced by the company include training, negative behaviour, and employee engagement and commitment (Austenfeld, 2006). For making the employee perfect and efficient, effective training is needed to be provided, so that the employees are able to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently for accomplishing organisational objectives. Providing better training to the employees of the company helps in building up the right skills and knowledge of the subsequent products that are to be offered for meeting the preferences of the customers. Training is an important aspect for motivating as well as developing the competency of the employees, so that the employees are able to perform their operations on the basis of organisational needs. The objective of training involves mostly acquisition of knowledge needed for the staff to perform their function in a better way (Dyer, 2008). Negative behaviour in the organisation could affect the growth of the company. In addition, it affects the productivity and profitability of the organisation. In the organisation, the employees develop negative behaviour at the time

Translation Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Translation Studies - Essay Example With the advent of television, dubbing of TV programs also became popular, so that by the late 1970s, most major European and Latin American markets were watching television and cinema productions made in Hollywood in their local languages. Today, in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey-and increasingly in the major East European nations-audiences see Hollywood productions in their local languages, rather than subtitles, as a result of concern for audience size and linguistic purity.1 As Ramez Maluf the director of the Beirut Institute for Media Arts at the Lebanese American University comments that subtitling required readers to read and gave them a feeling that they were watching a foreign production and could not attract a huge market. Dubbing was used sufficiently and persuasively in this regard. The revival period of the Disney animations resulted in production of all time hit genres like the Beauty and the Beast, The Alladin, The Simpsons and the Lion King. These animations were popular throughout the world and were translated in a number of languages to suit the needs of varying publics. The research proposal aims at studying the translations of English versions of Disney Genres into Arabic through dubbing. 'The Simpsons', the popular American animated series for more than seventeen years now, will be studied and analyzed as part of the study. 'The Simpsons' The 1990s saw the beginnings of a new wave of animated series targeted primarily to adults, after a lack of such a focus for over a decade. In 1989, The Simpsons, based on a short animated cartoon segment of The Tracey Ullman Show, became the first prime-time animated series since The Flintstones to capture a sizable viewing audience. It was the first major hit series for the fledgling Fox network, and it caused a minor sensation, entering popular culture and gaining wide acceptance. Currently, The Simpsons appears to show no signs of stopping and at this rate may surpass Gunsmoke, as the longest-running fictional program in American television history. The Simpsons success has been attributed by many to the two faced quality of its theme. It is a silly cartoon with witty socio-political commentary. Micheal Hastings of All Movie Guide describes it in following words "A tale of five-member, four-fingered, dysfunctional nuclear family" Simpsons popularity could be deemed by the fact that it is responsible for the introduction of a number of phrases and words into the American Culture like D'oh! Jebus, Kwyjibo, Meh, Okily-Dokily and Yoink! These phrases have found their way into popular use, to varying degrees and are a norm for any American adult. Simpsons attained worldwide popularity primarily in America, as it highlighted various social and historical

Low cost strategy and differentiation strategy on HR

Low cost strategy and differentiation strategy on HR Executive Summary: The report will develop key points using the Porter competitive model as a guide. It will describe low cost strategy and differentiation strategy and its impact in key HR function such as HR planning, recruitment and selection, orientation, training and development, career planning, performance management, compensation management, Health and safety and International Operations. Theory description: Michael Porter made a major contribution to the field of strategic management by grouping the different positions organizations can compete in five competitive strategies. Porters business strategy concentrates itself with the product and the market scope. The importance of gaining a competitive advantage is extreme in the economy and it grows out from the value an organization is able to for their consumer that exceeds the firms cost of creating it.  [1]   The five forces govern the profit structure of an industry by determining how the economic value it creates is apportioned. That value may be drained away through the rivalry among existing competitors, of course, but it can also be bargained away through the power of suppliers or the power of customers or be constrained by the threat of new entrants or the threat of substitutes. Strategy can be viewed as building defenses against the competitive forces or as finding a position in an industry where the forces are weaker. Changes in the strength of the forces signal changes in the competitive landscape critical to ongoing strategy formulation.  [2]   Low-cost Provider Strategy the goal of this strategy is to provide a product or service at a price lower than that of competitors while appealing to a broad range of customers. Low cost strategy is centered on the capability of the company to produce and deliver products of competitive quality at lower costs. Cost leadership strategy is much more than cost reduction initiatives that get lot of prominence in strategic planning and review session of any company as a means to improve the bottom line of a company by improving its efficiency. Some companies use their efficient cost structures to protect their markets from the competitors by responding to competitors move of making in-roads in the market space by reducing prices. Such reactive response may make a company predominantly inward focused. Positioning low cost strategy Better way to strategically position a company on the advantage of cost is to increase market share by transforming from lowest cost producer to lowest cost supplier of products. This way the company translates its cost advantage into price advantage for its customers and thereby improves the market share. The prospect of increasing the market share provides a great opportunity for the company to leverage the economies of scale coupled with the ruthless cost cutting measures it plans to execute. More the competitive space it occupies which also means that more competitors eliminated more effective are economies of scale and as a result the costs are driven still lower. When a company is able to transform the efforts of cost reduction into cost advantage for customers the company can be said to be successfully pursuing low cost leadership strategy. Wal-Mart is one company that continuously strives to reduce costs and in the market place it has got the image of supplier of products at the lowest prices. This is how Wal-Mart captures the markets and eliminates the competitors and improves revenues and market share. Economies of scale and efficiency form the core around which Wal-Mart executes its strategy. Companies pursuing cost leadership strategy compare each and every activity along their value chain with competitors and are committed to surpass them. Innovation in such companies is focused on process improvements rather than on products .Therefore, companies pursuing cost leadership strategy target mass markets with proven products.  [3]   Differentiation strategy an organization employing this strategy seeks to differentiate its products from other competitors products in ways that will appeal to a broad range of customers.  [4]  Examples of suceesful organizations are Examples of the successful use of a differentiation strategy are Hero Honda, Asian Paints, HLL, Nike athletic shoes, Perstorp BioProducts, Apple Computer, and Mercedes-Benz automobiles. HR functions and Porters strategies: Human resources Planning can be defined as a process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people, at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives or in other words HRP can be defined as planning for the future personnel needs of an organization, taking into account both internal activities and factors in the external environment. When adopting low cost strategy organizations the product must be perceived by consumers as comparable to the ones offered by the competition and have a price advantage. The objective is to gain market share or to earn higher profit margin, this options have direct impact in HR Planning. When analyzing the function we can observe that at entry level succession planning is minimal. Outside labor markets are monitored to satisfy entry level needs and resource to fringe workers.  [5]  On the other hand, Or ganizations that adopt a differentiation strategy the impact in HR planning, is the following the company recognizes that people are the key in gaining a competitive advantage in the market and their strategies reflect that concern. Succession management is vital in this environment is critical, employees need to possess certain competencies and skills to advance in the company, with this organizations invest in developing skills is part of the promotion policy. HR management focuses on career and training and job security and employee loyalty is very with these organizations.  [6]   Recruitment and Selection function incorporates the process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and employ effective measures for attracting the manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an effective working force. Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidates from those who apply for the job. It is a process of offering jobs to desired candidates. Organizations that adopt low cost strategy focus less Recruitment and selection. It is mostly done at level entry and the pool is the surrounding labor market pool and recruitment and selection budgets are lower organizations that adopt differentiation strategies. Recruitment methods are based on mouth to mouth and on-site applications, resource to local newspapers. Career paths are narrow and positions that are not entry level are filled in house.  [7]  When adopting a differentiation strategy an organization reaffirms that human capital is key in gaining your competitive advantage it centralizes the importance of Recruitment and Selection. In this picture, the strategy reflects the need for a pool of employees with a broad range of skills and competencies. The employee that they seek is one that will need less supervision and with an innovative mind and ability to work in teams. On the other hand, the selection process involves team interviews and behaviorally based evidence of innovative performance and resources to testing may occur.  [8]   Orientation Training and Development is the field concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings.  [9]  This concept is differs from company to company , low cost strategy will incorporate a training and development process focused on increasing the efficiency of the job, training is provide in a minimal delivery due to the skills to perform the job being lower. Investment in career development is few and the focus in acquiring new skills is non existence. If we analyze the food industry, this is the predominant rule. Employees are trained to perform a job and their trained on the basis in delivering a service. While in a differentiation organization, employees are viewed as the key for their success and investment in training and career development are higher. In organizations as Apple INC have developed training and development programs that will focus on skills and attitudes, decision making, ability to work i n teams, creative thinking, it is aimed to be a process that will incite innovation and creativity. Apples training and development can range from training the staff or employees on how to use a new piece of software, complete a form, give good customer service or write a professional letter. Training and development programs are an essential component of a learning environment that can improve the Apple Inc.s ability to attract and retain employees with the skills and competencies needed to achieve results for the benefit of the company. Training and developing new and current staff to fill up new roles and work in dissimilar ways will be a decisive part in the endeavors of the company to meet its transformation challenges. Ways that employees learn and achieve results will also continue to transform how Apple Inc. do business and engage or force the employees in further innovation and improvements in line with its objectives.  [10]   Career Planning includes the steps an individual undergoes in an organization during working period, which takes the person through the hierarchic ladder with expansion in duties and responsibilities with resultant increase in pay and status. It is a process which enables an organization to meet its current and future manpower requirement through provision of career opportunities for its employees. Planned and systematized progression of events in the field of work of Individuals during their employable periods of life.  [11]  Low cost organizations will invest little in career planning due to the fact their aim is to provide a low cost service and investing in career planning will increase their costs. Although, at the corporate level some techniques maybe visible. In a differentiation strategy organization career planning is a tool to improve employee motivation and loyalty. Methods as career development workshop, human resources planning and forecasting, succession planning, career development pathing programs and mentoring are set in place to guide employees.  [12]   Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed. It ends when an employee leaves your organization.  [13]  Low strategy organizations develop performance management plans that are standard are measured by standard criteria, when executing performance reviews the feedback is immediate, specific in the form a review and accountability is implemented. Appraisals are performed by the direct supervisor not utilizing the 360 appraisal method the objective here is for promotion consideration. These plans are implemented in the food and restaurant industry where positions normally are less complex in the bottom level. As in differentiation environment like Apple INC performance management is based on long term implications of behavior, the objective is geared to implement behavior that will have long term efficient behaviors. The plan tries to encourage empowerment, diversity, and team work, innovation that will reach efficient and effective outcomes. Performance reviews are 360, evaluation is done by measuring group work in terms of objectives not defragmenting the individual effort.  [14]   Compensation Management is an important task for HR; it is complex task that is performed periodically which configures each employees compensation in order to be included in the payroll process. Organizations with low cost strategies manage their compensation strategy in order to monitor the wages offered by organizations in their market; they incorporate lower wages and fringe benefits and adopt a lag strategy by utilizing outsourcing to countries or states where wages are lower. The reduction in wages can be achieved by using part time employees, because they do not receive fringe benefits. In pay performance dimension is used to reward individual effort in low cost organizations. Companies with differentiation strategies develop their compensation strategy very carefully. Wages can be slightly below the market average, but the opportunities to increase your pay through other means are plenty for example incentive pay. By placing yourself as a differentiation focused company pay p erformance is incorporate and it depends on individual, group and corporate achievements.  [15]   Health and Safety policies are extremely important in the Canadian workplace environment. Organizations will comply with the legal requirements and will ensure employees have a safe and healthy work environment. Where organizations differ is their level of complexity of HS practices. In low cost driven organizations the investment in health and safety is used as the main goal of achieving legal compliance. Manufacturing sector gear their practices to ensure the safety requirements are met. As in a differentiation organization we see the reach to a next step by implementing employee wellness programs and use health and safety to increase their competitive advantage by positioning as going beyond the limits. International Operations Conclusion:

War :: essays research papers fc

Recent photographs of Iraqi Prisoners Of War (POWs) being humiliated and abused by United States armed forces have caused uproar and disgust throughout the world. The sole purpose of any war is to win; either through destroying the enemy, or the achieving a specific goal. Why then should coalition forces be held to a higher standard in regard to treatment of POWs than the rest of the world? To fully explore this question we must understand the history of POWs, and the role that the United States plays in world affairs. During the 1991 Gulf War, pictures of American pilots beaten and bleeding were shown to the world. Civilized nations were outraged. As Major Rhonda Cornum told of being molested, Colonel Jeff Tice told of being electrocuted, and other American and British pilots read scripted statements on television (PBS), civilized nations were appalled. Throughout the years, prisoners have been interrogated and mistreated by their captors. Vietnamese soldiers housed prisoners in substandard shelter or even pits throughout their country. The most famous POW camp was known as the â€Å"Hanoi Hilton†. Here, POWs where beaten, tortured and humiliated for years. Brainwashing techniques were perfected by North Korea during The Korean Conflict. World War I POWs were forced into labor camps or systematically murdered through â€Å"death marches† where guards would force prisoners to march until they died from exhaustion in an effort to reduce the number of prisoners in the camps. World War I I POWs were killed, or used for medical experiments. The United Sates Department of Defense recognizes table below outlines the prominent type of torture administered during each of the official US Wars (DoD, 47). After the wars ended, and it was discovered just how badly the POWs were treated, civilized nations convinced themselves that torture and abuse were the acts of uncivilized nations ruled by madmen. Principal Wars in which the US Participated Official War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Torture technique Revolutionary War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Murder, destruction of property War of 1812  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rape, theft, Arson Indian Wars  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scalping, murder, rape Mexican War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Murder Civil War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hanging, destruction of property Spanish-American War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  providing only saltwater to drink-causing dehydration and hallucinations World War I  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sleep deprivation, murder World War II  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (sexual) enslavement, medical experiments, death marches Korean War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  re-education, Bataan Death March, physical torture Vietnam War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  cutting off various body parts to get other prisoners to talk, Sleep deprivation, bamboo under fingernails Gulf War-1991  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Electrocution, humiliation, beatings, Sleep deprivation Gulf War-2003  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Religious and sexual abuse, humiliation, beatings, sleep deprivation The United States has, from the onset of the Civil war, led the moral and ethical charge for proper care and treatment of prisoners of War.

Operational Management at Mcdonald Essay

One aspect of facilities layout for McDonald’s is that when customers come into the building, they line up in one of several lines and wait to be served. In contrast, customers at Wendy’s are asked to stand in one line that snakes around the front of the counter and to wait for a server to become available. a) What is the rationale for each approach? b) Which approach do you favour from (1) a customer’s perspective and (2) management’s perspective? Explain. A Rationale for McDonald approach McDonald’s success had been built on four pillars: limited menu, fresh food, fast service and affordable price. Intense competition and demands for a wider menu drive-through and sit-down meals – encouraged the fast food giant to customize product variety without hampering the efficacy of its supply chain. McDonalds use assembly line procedures in their kitchen for mass production so as to keep prices low. Speed, service and cleanliness is one of the critical success factors of the business. Lining up in one of the several lines tied into McDonald’s capability statement on speedy service, efficiency and good customer service. Each staff at McDonald is trained to change roles within shifts and this makes resource management during peak and off peak hours manageable. At all times there is enough staff on hand to take care of business and overall effectiveness is improved Drawback to this approach includes huge rental space to accommodate large operational facility. It could also become very costly on staff training. Workforce productivity are not usually related to the number of staff working on a task, and productivity variance may tilt negatively for McDonalds on this. Operating cost are very high and unless this is well managed, it may not necessarily be profitable. Rational for Wendy’s approach The rationale for Wendy’s â€Å"old fashioned† hamburgers could be traced to the history of unsuccessful attempts to outperform the competition which created the low profile structure. Wendy’s headquarters shifted to Dublin after a merger with Triac, Arby’s parent company and the very conservative style of  European business. Structure of business is very simple and easier to manage; it does not envisage much growth and cater mainly for the bottom line. It will require less space and resources to manage. Also less inventory and therefore less operating cost, however this will also impact on profitability. Drawback to this approach includes disorganized premises during peak hours, unsatisfied customers due to longer wait times for service. Wendy at some point was also suspect for cleanliness and this approach would add more to the problem. Managers Perspective The two approaches shows different business and strategic objectives. McDonald approach depicts a growth oriented organisation that wants to create market dominance in the sector. Wendy concentrates on its core traditional product, so that those who appreciate the product will be kept in the customer chain. The McDonalds style will require acquisition of new business skills and technology while Wendy traditional styles will require less technology. Looking at the management styles, McDonalds is poised to remain the leader in the food chain industry with concentration on their supply chain system and product differentiation methods. McDonalds work with farmers to ensure that produce are sized right and grow to specification, while Wendy concentrates mostly on the beef. With these different styles, McDonalds will be my preference for growth and bottom line. Wendy cannot compare to Mac in the business because more and more happy customers are trooping to Mac for what they see as 21 cent ury improvements.

The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it by Paul Collier Oxford University Press (2007)

â€Å"I have a little boy who is six. I do not want him to grow up in a world with a vast running sore- a billion people stuck in desperate conditions alongside unprecedented prosperity. † (176. Paul Collier). It is a global nightmare and â€Å"a ghetto of misery and discontent† (collier) that would affect, not only Africa, but the world in general, â€Å"unless† the G8 (a group of 8 industrialized countries) and mass of informed ordinary citizens act seriously and responsibly to help these countries overcome the poverty trap they have been stuck in for decades; enable them to converge with the rest of the world and live up to the 21st century standards. Paul Collier is a professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, and former director of Development Research at the World Bank. In 2010, he was named by Foreign Policy Magazine to its list of top global thinkers. Collier holds a distinction award from Oxford University. Among his books The Plundered Planet published in May 2010, Wars, Guns, and Votes published in March 2009, and the Bottom Billion published in 2007. In the â€Å"Bottom Billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it† Collier seeks to find out factors that are causing one billion of people to live in extreme poverty and have unproductive life. In the meanwhile he wants to shift the thinking of the industrialized countries from â€Å"alleviating [their] poverty† to â€Å"economic convergence†. Collier approaches his arguments through an empirical studies where he analyses statistically the correlation between factors he considers to be responsible to cause the sad reality which one billion of people live in – the â€Å"fourteenth century [characteristics of]: civil war, plague, ignorance. † He uses data from University of Michigan, his own resources and experiences as an Africa expert, and his colleagues’ resources. Collier gradually argues that there are four traps which are responsible to trap bottom billion countries and place them at the bottom of the global economic system. However Collier does also include solutions that are needed to be taken seriously and responsibly by both the G8 and the bottom billion government officials for any change to happen and to save the world from â€Å"sleepwalking into unnecessary catastrophe† in the future. What is the â€Å"bottom billion†? According to Collier, they are fifty-eight small countries Characterized by civil war, plague, and ignorance. Their population combined is fewer than China or India. Per capita income is very low, so the income of the typical country is negligible, less than that of most of the rich world cities. They are countries that do not form a geographic label, so Collier label them as â€Å"Africa+† as 70% of the people of the bottom billion are in Africa. The + sign refers to places such as Haiti, Bolivia, the Central Asian countries, Laos, Cambodia, Yemen, Burma, and North Korea. The average life expectancy is 50 yrs, the infant mortality is 14%, and proportion of children with symptoms of long-term mal nutrition is 36%. The misfortune one billion still is living in extreme poverty in a country affected by recurrent conflicts, resource curse, geographic isolation or bad governance. ) The conflict trap: according to Collier, 73% of people in the societies of the bottom billion have recently been in civil war or still in one. 50% of conflicts in the bottom billion are post conflict relapses. The low income, slow growth, and dependency upon primary commodity exports (oil, diamonds, or gold) are leading causes that increases the risk of civil war. Civil war destroys the economic of the society during war and post conflict war as collier calculates the average cost to be $ 64 billion. Examples of countries fail into conflicts are Cote d’Hivoir, Democratic Republic of the Congo- formerly Zaire, and Sierra Leone. The typical civil war last for a long time â€Å"something around a decade, more than 10 times as long as typical international war. † (Collier). It is very hard to stop it, when it does, possibility for another civil war, repeated civil war. Collier argues that political injustice is not what makes the society prone to a civil war, as Zimbabwe faces the injustice of political rights but there is no war, no rebellion civil war. Instead, Collier statistical analyses show that poverty, stagnation, and availability of valuable natural resources are the causes that seem to produce civil war rather than political injustice. ) Natural Resource Curse: Natural resource rich countries in Africa have ended up poor as a result of resource wealth that only the few (government officials and foreign extract agencies) to benefit from but not the majority (the citizen). The elites in these countries detach themselves from the interest and concerns of the majority of their population; they con trol and steal the revenues of primary commodities exports. All these revenues go to private pockets or foreign banks. According to Collier, it is estimated to be 38% of Africa’s wealth has fled the continent. Economists explain resource curse as a â€Å"Dutch disease†, because â€Å"the resource exports cause the country’s currency to rise in value against other currencies. This make the country’s other export activities uncompetitive. † Nigeria for example in 1970s, its oil revenues built up. Yet, the country’s other exports such as peanuts and cocoa became unprofitable. As Nigeria’s currency rise in value, the peanut and cocoa prices become higher for importers who might find another peanut and cocoa supplier cheaper from that of Nigeria. Therefore, Nigeria’s peanuts and Cocoa became unprofitable, and production rapidly collapsed. Failure to diversify the export products, the resource rich countries can’t break free from the dependency of exporting the primary commodities as they are source of big revenues. The government accountability is not transparent for its citizens as the latter are not taxed by their governments. Consequently, the citizenry are less likely to demand financial accountability. However, the natural resource is good source of wealth for the whole society when their governments have managed to use the resource wealth very well such as Canada, Norway, and Australia. ) Landlocked countries with bad neighbors: Countries that lack coastline are forced to sell to their neighboring countries’ markets. Example of Uganda and Switzerland, both are landlocked but the first one is poor and the second one is rich (respectively). Collier explains that neighbor matters for development, he continues explaining the fact that Switzerland is a rich country, despite the fact is a landlocked, bec ause it depends on its neighbors the Germany and Italian infrastructure. Whereas Uganda’s poor neighbors with their weak infrastructure make it hard for Uganda to access to the sea and integrate into global markets. Kenyan’s infrastructure is so important to Uganda’s access to the sea. Moreover, sometimes the neighbors not only are the transport corridor, they are also the markets themselves, like Germany, Italy, and France were the Switzerland market. While Uganda neighbors are Kenya, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. All of Uganda’s neighboring countries are poor, and have been through genocide like Rwanda, stagnation of nearly three decade like in Kenya, Somalia that is completely ollapsed, and Democratic Republic of the Congo that has catastrophic for it to change its name from Zaire. Therefore, Switzerland has been for a period of three decades in the better neighborhood. While Uganda’s neighbors are economically poor countries with weak infrastructure, which is absolutely don’t form good neighbor for Uganda. â€Å"Landlocked countries with poor infrastructure connections to their neighbors have limited market for their goods. † (Collier) 4- Bad Governance in a small country: bad policies adopted by bad government can destroy the economy of a country. The type of democracy practiced in these countries is dysfunctional democracy lack the check and balance system. Thus, the government officials seize each opportunity they have to build up a fortune from the natural resource revenues that are supposed to benefit the majority of the society not only the few in the government. The instability and lack of accountability especially in these small countries of the bottom billion discourage potential investors, who usually feel better when opt for better known countries such as china and India than unfamiliar countries with instability and risks. Chad is a landlocked country with aid and oil. Chad’s only option is their government to provide public services from the aid and oil revenues. However, 2004 survey tracked money released by the ministry of Finance â€Å"intended† for rural health clinics. Survey showed that â€Å"only1% of it reached the clinics and 99% failed to reach its destination. † In part 3 Chapter 6, Collier argues that globalization works for India and China but not the bottom billion that may have â€Å"missed the boat†. Globalization seem to work against the bottom billion, because of â€Å"economies of agglomeration† as Asia used labor-intensive manufacturing strategy to break into the global markets and makes competitive for â€Å"later comers† to compete with their products that seem to control the international markets. Bottom billion, in turn, become supplier of primary commodities, which just reinforce the natural resource trap. In the final section, Collier suggests in helping the poorest, there is a need to â€Å"narrow the target and broaden the instruments†. To focus only on the one billion that live below poverty line and experience no type of growth compared to the rest of the world; and to shift thinking from aid to an array of policy instruments such as aid delivery, military intervention, charter and laws, and trade policy, which are the instruments he proposes to help the bottom billion escape from the traps mentioned above. 1- Aid Policy: Aid causes intense political disagreements between the left and right. Left sees it as a part of solution they regard it to be as a reparations for colonialism, while the right sees it a part of problem when the feckless get rewarded. Collier believes that aid does â€Å"tend to speed up the growth process†. He reminds readers to the fact that United States was also that poor, and took it to get to where it is today about two hundred years. He believes in â€Å"aid for development† neither in â€Å"aid for reparations† nor â€Å"aid for the feckless†. However Collier insists to change the way the aid is provided, keeping in mind that statistical evidence generally suggests that aid is â€Å"subject to what is called â€Å"diminishing returns. † When aid reaches about 16 percent of GDP it is not anymore effective. In addition aid can be an inducement to rebellion and to coups, it is sometimes called â€Å"rents to sovereignty†. So to make it more effective, there is a need to form agencies just to supervise the aid money and to make sure it reaches its potentials for which is given. Aid money needs to be watched more closely so does not leak to military spending or be taken by coups. 2- Military intervention: it is the most controversial one in the list of instruments; however, the bottom billion countries â€Å"cannot provide their own security to an adequate fashion. That is the same strategy used 40 years ago, when North America provided supplies security to Europe after World War II. Collier mentions the tragedy of Rowanda when 800,000 died unnecessary due to rejection of military intervention. Yet the British military intervention in Sierra Leone end brutal long lasting civil war. Both the Sierra Leone government officials and its citizens welcome the military action that helped them to be in peace from the rebellion that recruit addicted teenagers and train them to hack the hands and the feet of villagers including women and children. -Laws and Charters: giving the fact these countries are very corrupt and far from the transparent to adopt laws that will benefit their citizens, Collier suggests in this case a voluntary of international standards that would put pressure within these societies to adopt them. Example of such law â€Å"the extract industry transparency† requires governments in the bottom billion to report to its own citizens what revenues are getting from natural resource extraction. Nigeria eformers adopted it and a lot other governments ha ve adopted it because of the pressure from below. It is that pressure on governments from within their own society that would lead some other governments to adopt them. 4- Trade Policies: also it is debated about especially the bottom billion countries are poor with zero tolerance; however, Collier believes that opening the west markets to bottom billion countries in much generous way, would absolute help their economy to succeed and to diversify to light manufactures and into a wide range of agricultural goods. As matter of fact, would enable them to break free from their dependency on exporting that narrow range of primary commodities. â€Å"The west countries have done it in the past- when rich countries opened its markets to each other, or when North America opens its markets to Europe so the latter could recover. The whole modern wealth of Europe, America, and Japan grew through that process of opening and sharing markets†. Trading policy that Collier proposes in the bottom billion would help the rich countries to be safer and more prosperous. Collier, I think he achieves his goals of building a mass of informed citizens as he thinks that it is a step forward for changes to happen and for better future for the bottom billion countries. About 50,000 copies of the bottom billion book were sold in just few months by different age groups. Also, the new paperback edition was being translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Norwegian. Politicians may find it hard to get away with the classic political gestures of â€Å"flying in, kissing couple of babies, announcing some sort of Aid program, and then forgetting about it. † Now the well informed citizens are just a pressure on politicians’ decisions toward this part of the world. Collier also generates an astonishing political interest that the bottom billion countries now are benefiting from and their economic growth is being recognized by leaders such as Ban-Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the Unite Nations announced â€Å"let 2008 be the Year of the Bottom Billion. Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, announced in his first Annual Meeting address that â€Å"a stronger focus on the bottom billion would now be a priority†, Douglas Alexander, British Secretary of State for Development â€Å"announced the creation of a massive international Growth Center for the poorest countries†¦etc. Bottom Billion is a must read book for whoever is interested

A Dolls House essays

A Doll's House essays Henrik Ibsens, A Doll House, is a realistic play written in the mindset of realism. Throughout the play, lines of mockery and emphasis are present, giving the audience the feeling of fakeness and showing them a particular depiction of women in the 19th century. It is apparent that Ibsen set out to give a specific character, Nora, a role to play as the stereotypical 19th century woman, continually showing her need for individuality and lack of dependency. This is the main theme in A Doll House. From the first lines of the show, it is clear how Ibsen wants the audience to portray the role of women and continues to use this theme throughout the remainder of the show. As the show progresses, we see a parallel progression in the character of Nora. She has been babied her entire life, not only by her father but now by her husband, Torvald, whom only treats her as a pet, not as a wife. Her main struggle through the play is to find her independency and freedom as an individual. This is difficult for her, however, for she has never had to strain to get anything. Shes always had things handed to her and has always lived an over-comfortable lifestyle. Even through her dialogue, its easy to sense that all of her happiness is fake because she feels like a trapped animal, just living life as its given to her, instead of her taking the initiative to do things for herself. As a result of this upbringing, Nora is materialistic and impulsive. Over the duration of the play, however, the development of Noras character shows the audience that her ways are only a cover for the emptiness she feels each day. In the play, we find out that she secretly negoti ates a loan with Nils Krogstad, in order to pay for a trip to Italy for her husbands illness and recovery. Everyone thinks that Noras father funded the trip, but the audience finds, to their surprise, that it was she who actually paid for it. This...

Tort law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tort law - Essay Example However, contact is the basic element of battery. Since contact is an essential element of battery, there must be an absence of contact for an assault. In other words loosing battery comes under the ambit of an assault2. As per the law of UK both the offenses can be booked under criminal and law of tort. Therefore, anyone who found guilty under the offenses is liable for prosecution under the criminal and civil law. Under the criminal law assault is an attempt to commit a battery one some one’s body3. Intention or motive behind an offense is necessary. The defendant or the attacker must have intention or motive to harm someone bodily. Assault and battery have two motives a) one in retaliation and b) in self defense. The intention or motive involved in assault and battery should appear on the body of the aggrieved person. If there is no intention or motive of a person to bodily harm another person, legally cannot be considered guilty of offenses as mentioned hereinabove4. Conse nt In all civilized states, consent is used in defense of civil assault and battery by the offenders. However, combating with mutual consensus does not deprive anybody of his or her legal right to sue. However, there is difference of opinion amongst the jurists whether the criminal assault or battery can be used in defense of any person. ... Self-Defense A commonly used term wherein a person can use a certain degree of force to save himself from bodily injuries inflicted upon by another person. Now it is up to jury to determine whether the degree of force used in self defense is valid and permissible under the law. If a man by his or her own will initiate fight without justified reasons against another person cannot be treated such fight in self dense. Here, the intention and motive of a person does matter6. As far as the use of force against the offender with an object to save himself or herself in retaliation of an aggressor’s attempt is justifiable under the law. In all the countries around the globe, a defender can use deadly weapon to save his or her life provided his or her life is in danger. In majority states, law provides support to a person who may stand in front of an aggressor to defend himself although the chances of safe escape from the scene are there7. The court will examine the degree of force use d by the defender against the offender under the circumstances was justified or not. The following factors should be taken into account by the jury while deciding the matter a) age b) size and c) strength of participants8. Defense of Others Helping out others in their turmoil or in case of need treated valid defense provided the defender was not at fault. In case of defending others, the defender’s right to claim self defense of a protected person cannot be undermined. In few cases the defender reasonably believes that he or she was in need of help to come out of the worst scenario9. The law of tort treats the assault and battery an attack on the security and safety of a person life hence the wrong done to the victims attracts compensation for the damages. Under the civil law, the

Financial Instruments disclosure Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12000 words

Financial Instruments disclosure - Dissertation Example Transparency allows the users to view the implication and results of judgments, estimates and decisions undertaken by the management of an organization. Full disclosure of financial instruments refers to the exposure of all the necessary information followed while taking decisions, which would provide the investors with reasonable assurance and belief on the activities performed by the organization. Financial Statements and instruments published and issued by an organization must be comparable both with the industry standards and cross-sectional among firms over a given period of time (Pownall and Schipper, 1999, pp. 259-280). Eccher and Healy (2000), Gelb and Zarowin (2002) and Lang, Ready and Yetman (2003) investigated the relationship between accounting quality and share prices. Lang, Ready and Yetman (2003) stated from the research evidence that cross-listed firms as compared to non-cross-listed firms have higher accounting quality as the accounting data of cross-listed firms are more highly associated with price (Lang, Ready and Yetman, 2003, p.375). The relationship between share price and accounting quality is also found in different market segments around different culture, since share prices are affected by the financial disclosure of an organization. Gelb and Zarowin (2002) examined the relationship between the level of corporate disclosure of financial instruments and stock prices. This study found that organizations with more financial instruments disclosure attain higher Earnings Response Coefficient [ERC’s] (i.e. greater price information) in future as compared to organizations with less disclosure (Gelb and Zarowin, 2002, p.33). A controversial issue related to financial instruments is its valuation at fair value. Although fair value accounting is considered to be the most relevant information for predicting future cash flows, yet the reliability of the fair value measures has been questioned (Hitz, 2007, pp.323-362). Barth (1994) investig ated and found how disclosed fair value estimates of investment securities of bank, and gains and losses of securities are reflected in share price on being compared with their historical cost (Hassan and Mohd-Saleh, 2010, pp. 246-247). 1.1 Disclosure of Non-Proprietary Information Proprietary information is a type of information whose disclosure affects a company’s future earnings potentially and is beneficial to the shareholders occasionally (Dye, 1985, p.123). Managers are generally reluctant to disclose non-proprietary information about financial instruments since they feel that such disclosure may affect the annual earning and the share prices of the company (Dye, 1985, p.124). As market value of a company’s shares is affected with disclosure, so the shareholders may try to implement incentive contracts which encourage managers to suppress unfavourable information and release that information which could lead to rise in the market value of the shares. In this cont ract, when the investors are

Women's studies - Gender, Culture and Technology Essay

Women's studies - Gender, Culture and Technology - Essay Example Sex stereotypes are defined as â€Å"socially shared beliefs that certain qualities can be assigned to individuals, based on their membership in the female or male half of the human race† (Lips, 1993, pp. 2). The individual tends to conform to the roles defined or constructed by the society. Individuals are so influenced by the socially specified categories that they tend to organize themselves according to these categories. A woman speaks in one way when she is speaking to another woman, and in a different way when she is speaking to a man. She may behave differently when she is working with a group of men than when she is working with a group of females. This is because the woman has learnt through modeling, practice and reinforcement, to behave differently in situations that differ only in relation to the gender of the partner or the group. Her role vis-à  -vis to the gender she is interacting with has already been prescribed and defined by society. Bohan (1993, pp.6) suggests that the differences between boys and girls and men and women can be explained by two different perspectives – Essentialism and Constructionism. Essentialism locates the origin of the gender qualities within the individual whereas Constructionism locates these gender qualities outside the individual as a component of the acts and actions of the individualism. Gender is therefore made external to the self. It is not intrinsic. It is only in what the actions of the individual. Gender qualities, from this perspective, are not intrinsic characteristics based on biological sex. Bohan argues that gender is not something that the individual possesses but something that the individual does. Essentialism on the other hand locates gender within the individual as intrinsic. The constructionist perspective actually locates gender in the social realm. It defines gender in terms of ‘doing’. West and Zimmerman (1993, pp. 380) define gender itself as â€Å"a routine, methodical and

The Simulation Project Essay Example for Free

The Simulation Project Essay Multinational corporations face many challenges in their domestic and global environments. According to Ajami, Cool, Goddard, and Khambata â€Å"a multinational firm is one in which a certain percentage of the earnings, assets, sales, or personnell of a firm come from or are deployed in foreign locations† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 6). According to this definition US Airways Group would be classified as a mulitnational firm. On Fortune 500’s Worst List, US Airways Group is identified as a least admired company on all eight attributes identified by the research and surveys performed by Hay Group (Best worst in, 2006). As the name implies US Airways Group operates in the Airline industry. This paper will discuss how government regulations, hard and soft technologies, some political-legal barriers, sociocultural factors and two economic theories that are faced by US Airways Group are affected by their domestic and global environments. It will also offer a strategy for US Airways Group to countinue its growth and success as an industry leader. As indicated from its name the domestic environment of this company is the United States and the global environment that will be used is Costa Rica. In the US the airline industry has two main agencies that write regulations that it has to obey. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). Although the airline industry was de-regulated in 1978 the DOT â€Å"retains the authority to alter or amend any airline’s certificate or to revoke such certificate for intentional failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the certificate† (10-K, 2012). The FAA is responsible for writing the regulations that relate to aircraft maintenance and operations, certification of pilots and flight crewmembers and air traffic and general operating rules (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). Another other agency that establishes guidelines that the airline industry has to abide by is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is responsible for â€Å"regulating operations, including air carrier operations, which affect the quality of air in the United States† (10-K, 2012). US Airways Group has to follow all the established regulations created by the FAA, DOT and EPA if it wants to remain in business in the United States. They have to keep up-to-date with the maintenance requirements and keep accurate records as established by the FAA and continue to have their aircraft inspected at regular intervals as prescribed by the FAA (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). They must ensure they follow EPA guidelines regarding air quality, while continuing to meet the DOT requirements for operating at efficiency or risk having their certificates revoked to do business as well. In Costa Rica, the government is based on Roman law, which is very different from the US legal system (Doing Business in Costa Rica: 2012 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies, 2012). The ways the laws are written is how they are applied and there is little to no room left for interpretation by anyone regarding the laws. Therefore the way that the government regulations that US Airways Group must follow are written are the way that they must be followed. The government has established travel guidelines that must be followed there, the most important being that: currently you are not permitted to enter Costa Rica unless you have a roundtrip ticket (Costa Rica, 2012). The easiest way for US Airways to avoid an issue regarding this regulation is to ensure that all travelers going to Costa Rica have a roundtrip ticket when they board the plane in their departure city, along with valid identification. â€Å"Hard technology includes the physical hardware, capital goods, blueprints and specifications, and knowledge necessary to use the hardware, while soft technology encompasses the management, marketing, financial organization, and administrative techniques that can be combined with the hard technology to serve the needs of the use† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 358). Based on this definition some of US Airways hard technologies would be their aircraft (planes), hubs (airport locations) and even their flight crews. The planes that are currently in the fleet are manufactured by Boeing, Airbus and Embraer (US Airways Fleet, 2013) and some are equipped  with the â€Å"ACSS’s XS-950â„ ¢ Mode S Transponder† which allows for the transmission of information regarding the planes â€Å"position, speed and intent† (Press Releases, 2012). They have hubs in the four US cities and have established a partnership with Star Alliance (US Airways A Star Alliance Member, 2013), which gives them access to a hub at London’s Heathrow Airport as well. The flight crew has the knowledge to operate the aircraft as well operate the terminals efficiently within the hubs. It is the flight crew’s responsibility to ensure that the passengers are on board the plane on time and that the plane departs the gate on time. The soft technologies currently employed by US Airways includes their Nuance interactive voice response (IVR) system, which was one of their new marketing tools to help reduce customer frustrations (Interactive Case Study: US Airways, 2013), audits of customers’ airport experiences (Sunnucks, 2010), and training on the other new systems that have been implemented to help with customer satisfaction. Just as flight crews can be classified as hard technology the management staff of US Airways can be classified as soft technology because it is their responsibility to make sure that the customers are kept happy and that they use their administrative talents to keep the employees satisfied as well. If US Airways continues to educate, value and respect it employees, while using new technology to keep up-to-date with the rest of the industry and survey its customers for satisfaction their success will continue to improve. One of the political-legal barriers that US Airways Group will face in the US and Costa Rica the differences in the legal system as identified earlier. In the US the laws are interpreted and judges look at past cases to help decide how to rule on a current case, in Costa Rica judges look at the law the way it is written and make their rulings based on the way the law is written. If US Airways is not careful and does not fully understand the laws and how they are written in Costa Rica this could be detrimental to their operations there. In the US they not only have to comply with federal laws but state laws as well that have been established. Although both governments are classified as republics, the US has what the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) refers to as a federal republic and Costa Rica has a democratic republic (The World Fact Book, 2012). In Costa Rica they promote a political environment based on inclusion. One of their political parties is Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusià ³n (PASE) which translated into English is Accessibility without Exclusion Party (Obando, 2013); however the US is not necessarily an inclusion-based society. The US does have laws regarding accessibility for individuals with disabilities and they are taken very seriously, Costa Rica is not as readily as accessible as one would think they would be based on their inclusion-based political system. For US Airways to continue to be successful in the US and Costa Rica concerning the political-legal environments within those countries they should remember the â€Å"history of close and friendly relations based on respect for democratic government, human freedoms, free trade, and other shared values† (World-Country Profiles; US Department of State Background Note, 2007), this falls in line with the concept of the classical theory of trade (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 48). Geert Hofstede developed his theory of the five dimensions of culture, based on information provided to him by IBM regarding employee values in their survey of more than 70 countries between 1967 and 1973 (National cultural dimensions, 2013). â€Å"The five dimensions of culture as theorized by Hofstede are: social orientation, power orientation, uncertainty orientation, goal orientation and time orientation† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 213). The five dimensions are broken down into simple terms as: social orientation – reflects a person’s beliefs about the importance of the individual over the group for which they belong; power orientation – deals with how one views authority and power differences in a hierarchy; uncertantiy oreintation – refers to how one feels regarding change; goal orientation – deals with how one is motivated towards achieving goals and the fifth and final dimension time oreintation – refers to the how individuals in a culture adopt an outlook of long or short term regarding life, work and other issues (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 213-214). In regards to the sociocultural aspects related to these dimensions of culture as id entified by Hofstede there are many that are different as well as some that are similar for these two countries. One of the biggest differences between the two countries is their attidudes towards time. People in the US are all about time and money whereas people in Costa Rica want to take their time and really understand what is happening. The attitudes towards work and lesiure follow suit with the attitudes towards time. Many in the US do not  take vacation time off because things need to get done, whereas Costa Ricans are more concerend with spending time with their families and socializing with friends (Provasi, 2012). The attitudes regarding change, material things, and jobs are also at opposite ends of the spectrum. These things are important to most Americans and they look at these things as a way to build themselves up. Costa Rican’s on the other hand look at these things and will be just as comfortable with keeping things just they way they are. Aspects that are similar in the two countries are literacy rate and education mix. Both coutries hold these items in high regard and try to come up with ways to encourage the young people to stay in school and continue with their education and pursue higher education as well. Another item that is similar is their â€Å"open door† policy in the work place , managers are accessible at all levels and this makes it very familiar. The two economic theories that will be compared and contrasted are Walt Whitman Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth and John Kenneth Galbraith Equilibrium of Poverty for the domestic and gloabal economic environments identified above for US Airways Group. The US has a mixed economic environment and is classified as a first world country. The reason the US does not fit into one specific economic environment is it has characteristics of capitalism in which the relationship of supply and demand dictates price and it also has elements of a free-market economy in which the government establishes laws and policies to ensure public safety and welfare (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 59). Costa Rica has a social market economy (Rojas, 2006) and is classified as a thrid world country (Rosenberger, 2012). A social market economy is similar to a free-maket economy in that â€Å"it upholds free market components such as private property and ownership of businesses and industry, free price formation, market competition and free trade, while also utilizing government regulation to create fair market competition by preventing market monopolies, ensuring ongoing economic development and poverty alleviation† (Social Market Economy, 20 13). Based on the definitions provided it can be said the both economies are similar in regards to government regulations being involved in creating a fair and safe market environment. Walt Whitman Rostow identified five economic stages of growth in which a country could fall: traditional society, transitional stage, takeoff, drive to maturity and the age of mass consumption (Ford,  2004). Each stage represents a stepping stone to for the next stage. According to Rostow the US surpassed the age of mass consumption in the late 1950’s (Ferraro, 1960), Costa Rica however is still in the takeoff stage. This stage is â€Å"marked by major transformations that stimulate the economy† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 55). For US Airways Group, in Costa Rica this is identified by their growth in the technological area (more flights operated) as well as more jobs being created due to the increase in flights. Although in the US this stage has been surpassed, US Airways contiunes to â€Å"grow† in this aspect because they are increasing flight schedules. Galbraith’s view of economics is similar to that of Rostow, in that economic growth is as much a change in social, intellectual and policatical as well as physical (material) change (Watson, 2011). According to both of their economist views the US operates as a capitalistic economy. This is tr ue of US Airways in the way that they have been able to turn-around their business since 2005. They actually took into consideration things that would make the consumers happy, not necessarily increasing their capacity (i.e. putting more seats on a plane), in doing so they were able to keep up with the consumer’s wants and still provide the service that was needed (Smith, 2012). This falls into Galbraith’s view that â€Å"the major affirmative purpose of the firm is corporate growth† (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). This view is similar to Rostow’s age of mass consumption in that both concentrate on the high standards of living (i.e. comfort in travel on the plane) that have been established as a result of the efforts set forth is their respective stages. Where the two differ dramatically is that Galbraith believes that the companies direct the consumers wants by advertising that makes the consumers desire certain products or services, and that therefore the economy is more driven by the seller and not the consumer (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). In this instance though, that concept contradicts his idea of ‘the major affaimative purpose of the firm is corporate growth’ in the example provided regarding US Airways above. In successfully industrializing a poor economy such as Costa Rica’s, Galbraith’s Equilibrium of Poverty offers the idea of the reliable infrastructure system (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 57). This idea simply means that the country would need to have a â€Å"relieable  system of roads, ports, electrical power supplies and communications† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 57). In this case US Airways already has access to these items at the airport and therefore is well on its way to helping the economy grow and prosper. While both Rostow and Galbraith believe that governement need to be invovled in the initial stages to help third world countries establish themselves and help to protect their citizens they also understand that there will be a time when the government will need to step back and let the companies in the different industries takeover and control their own destinies so to speak. Rostow does not mention how or when he thinks this should be done, however Galbraith says that he feels that governments should impose â€Å"taxes on consumer goods and services, using the proceeds to increase the availability of public sector goods and services† (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). In doing this, he is trying to show that eventually there has to be a point where control is given to the companies and they only need to answer to the governments when required or necessary. US Airways Group has made significant improvements in seven of the eight-attribute areas identified On Fortune 500’s Worst List 2006. On the 2011 list they still have a ranking on the worst product quality attribute of number 11, which is down from 10. US Airways Group needs to figure out ways to improve the quality of their service as well as their products. Although they may not have much control over the service aspect because the flight schedule cab be delayed because of an airline from another company they can control they products. They can invest in newer planes, upgrade/update their current planes and even update their hubs in the airports that they currently operate in. Other ways for the company to continue to grow and succeed in the domestic and global environments are they must continue to improve their offerings. They are off to a great start by taking surveys and asking customers what is important to them. They need to go a step further and ask the employees what is important to them, what will keep them loyal to US Airways Group. Take what they learn from the employees and the implement changes that are suggested. Continue to ask the customers what they like, do not like, what other features they would like to see in the airports, on the planes and in the air. I think one thing that the company should do is take a lesson from Southwest and stop charging baggage fees for the first checked bag. They should eliminate  change fees, and if someone needs to cancel their trip completely, implement a cancell ation fee, but refund the difference between the ticket price and the cancellation fee. By eliminating their fees they will draw more passengers to the airline and increase sales, because people will not feel as if they are being taken advantage of. In today’s economy this will go far with consumers and could lead to even bigger profits in the end, because they will feel that US Airways Group is a company that is not just looking out for themselves but for their customers as well. As demonstrated there are several different environments that a multinational corporation must take into consideration when exploring new opportunities. The government regulations, hard and soft technologies, political-legal barriers, sociocultural factors and economic theories that a company faces and how they handle each of those environments will determine if they will succeed or fail. Walt Whitman Rostow and John Kenneth Galbraith’s economic theories can be used by companies to help determine if the global environment that is being considered will be a good fit with the domestic environment of the parent company. Once the location has been setup and establishe the company must realize that the work does not stop there, they must always analyze and remember they want to continue to grow so they need to ask the question what do we do to contiune to prosper or what do we do to make it so we do prosper. Bibliography 10-K, A. H. (2012, May 19, Retreived December 16, 2012). Government Regulations and Airline Industry Taxation. 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