Management Information Systems Assignment Report

115. 107 Management Information Systems Assignment Report Contents Part 1 – ER Diagram2 Part 2 – Tables and Keys3 Part 3 – Queries4 Part 4: Spreadsheet filters and pivot tables7 List of Figures Figure 1 – ER diagram for event management system of hotel2 Figure 2 – Query 1 QBE for staff allocation4 Figure 3 – Query 1 output for staff allocation4 Figure 4 – Query 2 QBE for scheduled events beginning of October5 Figure 5 – Query 2 output for scheduled events beginning of October5 Figure 6 – Query 2 database report for scheduled events beginning of October6Figure 7 – Query 3 QBE for total number of registered participants6 Figure 8 – Query 3 output for total number of registered participants7 Figure 9 – Spreadsheet data with no filers or conditional formatting applied7 Figure 10 – Spreadsheet with the â€Å"show only events commencing after 15th October filter applied7 Figure 11 – Spreadshe et with the ‘show only events commencing after 1st November as underlined' conditional formatting applied8 Figure 12 – Pivot table8 Figure 13 – Pivot table as a bar chart8 List of TablesTable 1 – Attributes for ER diagram for event management system of hotel2 Table 2 – Attributes for ER diagram for event management system of hotel3 Part 1 – ER Diagram StaffMember Venue Event Registration Attendee Reserved for Manages Accept Makes Applies to 1.. * 1.. * 1 1 1 0.. * 0.. * 0.. * 0.. * Payment Accept 0.. * 0.. * 1 Gains entry Client System Presents 0.. * Record Details 1 0.. * Inputs 1.. * 1.. * Figure [ 1 ] – ER diagram for event management system of hotel Table [ 1 ] – Attributes for ER diagram for event management system of hotel Entity Type| Attributes| Key attribute|Venue| venueID, venueCapacity, venueDescription| venueID| Event| eventID, eventName, eventType, startDate, endDate, startTime, endTime, availableSpaces, eventFee| e ventide| StaffMember| staffID, firstName, lastName, jobTitle | staffID| Registration | registrationID, registrationDate, eventID | registrationID| Attendee| attendeeID, firstName, lastName, title, companyName, contactAddress, phoneNo | attendeeID| Payment| paymentAmount, paymentDate, paymentType, paymentCredit, creditcardID, creditcardName, creditcardExpiry| paymentID| Client| clientName, companyName, contactAddress, contactPhone, clientIndustry, clientNeeds| clientID| System| systemClient, systemAttendee, systemVenues, systemInvoice, | systemID| Part 2 – Tables and Keys Table [ 2 ] – Attributes for ER diagram for event management system of hotel Table| Column| Primary Key| Comments|VenueTbl| venueID, venueCapacity, venueDescription| venueID| | EventTbl| eventID, eventName, eventType, startDate, endDate, startTime, endTime, availableSpaces, eventFee, staffID| eventID| staffID is a foreign key into StaffMemberTbl. | StaffMemberTbl| staffID, firstName, lastName, jobTitle | staffID| | RegistrationTbl| registrationID, registrationDate ,eventID, attendeeID| registrationID| eventID is a foreign key into EventTbl while attendeeID is a foreign key into AttendeeTbl| AttendeeTbl| attendeeID, firstName, lastName, title, companyName, contactAddress, phoneNo, eventID, registrationID| attendeeID| RegistrationID is a foreign key into RegistrationTbl while event ID is a foreign key into EventTbl. ReservedforTbl| eventID, venueID, attendeeID, | reserveID| eventID is a foreign key into EventTbl while attendeeID is a foreign key into AttendeeTbl| Part 3 – Queries Query 1 -StaffAllocation Figure [ 2 ] – Query 1 QBE for staff allocation Figure [ 3 ] – Query 1 output for staff allocation Query 2 – YearEndSchedule Figure [ 4 ] – Query 2 QBE for scheduled events beginning of October Figure [ 5 ] – Query 2 output for scheduled events beginning of October **For unknown reasons, event 9, 16 & 17 is not listed in the search result e ven when the date falls within the range as set out in the criteria. I have attempted to modify the criteria selection to cover between the date range of 30/09/2011 – 01/01/2050 etc but it has still failed to come up. Query 2 – Year End ReportFigure [ 6 ] – Query 2 database report for scheduled events beginning of October Query 3 – Registration Numbers Figure [ 7 ] – Query 3 QBE for total number of registered participants Figure [ 8 ] – Query 3 output for total number of registered participants Part 4: Spreadsheet filters and pivot tables Figure [ 9 ] – Spreadsheet data with no filTers or conditional formatting applied Figure [ 10 ] – Spreadsheet with the show only events commencing after 15th October filter applied Figure [ 11 ] – Spreadsheet with the ‘show only events commencing after 1st November as underlined' conditional formatting applied Figure [ 12 ] – Pivot table Figure [ 13 ] – Pivot table a s a bar chart

Outcomes of the Crusades

The â€Å"Crusades† was a military campaign of Christians in Western Europe whose purpose is to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Roman Catholic Church stimulated most of the support for the war, showing its intolerance to both Islam and Orthodox Christianity. Although religious in nature, the Crusades had become a bloody frenzy. Six military campaigns comprised the period, starting from the First Crusade in 1096, inspired by Pope Urban II, and ending in the Sixth Crusade in 1254, led by the king of France, King Louis IX.To this day, the Crusades is still a controversial because of the military excesses during the battles. However, many outcomes came out of the movement: First, the European horizon expanded; second, the encounters with the different cultures promoted learning as well as commerce between different civilizations; third, as a result of the eastern influence, there was growth in western scholasticism and philosophy; and fourth, it sparked a dangerous con cept adapted in monarchy and politics. Among the noted significance of the first crusades was the increased contacts between the Europeans and the Byzantines and Muslims.During this time, the Byzantine was already beginning to decline and Islam was not as powerful as it once was, although still a formidable force. As regards the original intention of the Crusades, the Christians' success of having Jerusalem under their control never reached permanence. However, the first crusades effected the expansion of Europe, meaning it gained more strength than other competing civilizations did. Moreover, there became a balance of power between the Muslims and the Christians.During the First Crusade, supporters of the movement, such as those from Pisa and Genoa, sailed the Mediterranean Sea to bring help to Jerusalem. As a result, the sea was again reopened to western shipping, and, in turn, communication was reestablished between the east and west. Although at several points the Christians rul ed over the Holy Land, Muslims were able to conquer it again in the 12th century. However, the Christians continued to hold power over the sea. Thus, the ports in the countries such as Levant in the border of the sea were under their control.The number of commercial establishments grew rapidly in the ports of Syria and Egypt, and the Christians held autonomy over operations in the areas of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, which were originally controlled by the Saracens (Riley-Smith 85). The sea routes were open for trade, allowing products of Asia to come in. In short, the Crusades opened the lines of communication and exchange of knowledge between the eastern and western civilizations through the trade. This made a significant contribution to the development of Europe in terms of both knowledge and economy.Some of the practices of Muslim science, literature and philosophy, as well as medicine had found its way to Christian tradition (Riley-Smith 87). In time, the crusading movements were divided into two groups: the external Crusades and the internal Crusades. The former was directed mainly against Muslims, whereas the latter was a war against the perceived enemies of the Christian world. Unfortunately, the development of the internal Crusades enforced a violent thinking—that is, violence is sanctified in ideological pursuits.The Crusades was originally a war to retrieve the Holy Land, but the concept of sanctified violence extended to the monarchy and the political sphere. What used to be the holy cause of defending the Church became a moral duty of defending the state (Riley-Smith 90). Indeed, the Crusades was a crucial moment in history, and one that people can learn from. That is, the good things that came out of it should be emulated, and its detrimental effects should serve as a warning to modern society. Works Cited Riley-Smith, Jonathan. â€Å"The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading†. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1991. 85 -96.

Bang & Olufson Marketing Analysis

Bang Olufson Marketing Analysis The aim of this report is to critically assess the marketing strategies of â€Å"Bang & Olufsen† considering their business in United Kingdom. It comments on the B2B and B2C products in brief. The report comments on the following: The macro business environment Organisation’s Marketing Mix Organisation’s segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies. Based on the findings and observations, some recommendations are put forth at the end of the report. Company Background Bang & Olufsen manufactures a highly distinctive and exclusive range of televisions, music systems, loudspeakers, telephones, and multimedia products that combine technological excellence with emotional appeal. Founded in 1925, by â€Å"Peter Bang†Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Svend Olufsen† in Struer, Denmark, Bang & Olufsen a/s is world renowned for its distinctive range of quality audio, video and multimedia products that represent their vision: â€Å"Courage to consta ntly question the ordinary in search of surprising, long-lasting experiences†. Bang & Olufsen employs over 2,550 staff members and had a turnover of DKK 4,092 million (EUR 5486 million) in the 2007/2008 financial year. (Bang & Olufsen) The Macro Business Environment Most of the B&O products are manufactured in Denmark. Considering the business in UK, it has to understand the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environment in UK. Since Denmark and UK are the members of European Union (EU), there are some advantages for the organisation. Political The European Union (EU) allows the free movement of goods and services between almost 500 million consumers in 27 EU member states. Due to this, import duty is not payable on goods sourced from Denmark, being one of the EU member states. (Business Link UK) There could be changes in the VAT and service taxation policies with the formation of new government. Economic The economic crisis and recession had affected the bu siness of B&O as people and businesses are more likely to hold on to their cash and not to spend it on high priced consumer goods. Due to the fall in share prices and real estate markets, the consumers of the high end products, like B&O, will be less likely to spend as earlier. Another economic factor faced by the B&O is currency exchange rates. As large part of the products produced in Denmark and with the Danish Krone (DKK) pegged to Euro, devaluation of GBP to the Euro has affected sales in UK which is one of the largest markets of the company. Socio-cultural B&O has adopted the philosophy of Danish Design, which is renowned for its high class design and quality. The products of this class are considered as status symbols and products of pride. Technological Competitors like Bose, Loewe who are also known for their design, quality with the high prices are coming up with new products with the same functionalities as B&O with equal or slightly lower prices. Due to the advancements in the technology, components are getting cheaper which may help companies like Sony, Samsung etc. with range of products in various qualities, targeting customers spanning across price conscious segments to quality focused segments. Legal The company has to ensure the protection of the trademarks of the brand. The logos and other trademarks should be registered in UK.

Thompson v Oklahoma 1988 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thompson v Oklahoma 1988 - Essay Example Even advocates of death penalty can hold that executing minors is wrong and undeserved. Most juvenile offenders have a history of bad and abusive childhoods and have not had the chance to make peace with their experiences or lead normal lives. They also do not have a sufficient understanding of death as minors tend to think of themselves as invincible. Therefore, a threat of capital punishment would not really deter juveniles from committing crimes. The government should instead focus on instigating changes is the society so that neighborhoods would turn up less violent individuals instead of imposing the most extreme punishment. Then there's the concept of justice and retribution to justify execution for juveniles. Minors do not fully understand the repercussions and seriousness of their acts, so they do not deserve this. The age, level of maturity, and childhood history should be taken into consideration when deciding a person's punishment. Those who argue the opposite strike me as too unsympathetic. Proponents for using capital punishment for minors maintain that even juveniles are capable of understanding the consequences of their actions and should therefore be held accountable for it.

Healthcare Oragnization The Longstreet Clinic Compare other Research Paper

Healthcare Oragnization The Longstreet Clinic Compare other Organizations - Research Paper Example Currently, it remains one of the most-advanced multi-specialty facility in Georgia. In addition, top that, the clinics ranks among the best-top physician group practitioners, as reflected in Atlanta Business Chronicles annual books. TLC set on its operations in 1994, with the merging of a few physicians, who negotiated and reached into an agreement of coming up with a multispecialty clinic that would simply focus on the provision of quality health care to the community. The partnership also came up as a way of cost reduction while maintaining continuous contact with the clients. The first president in TLC, John Browning, puts it â€Å"the purpose was to deliver more efficient and higher quality medical care in a changing environment.† His words are correct. In the recent past, health care systems have undergone a revolution. The societal needs are changing day by day, necessitating the need to have specialized care inn variety of cadres. TLC formation came at the appropriate time and did match the needs of the society. Additionally, most clients desire an area where they can meet a team of specialized professionals who will aid and counsel them, answering every bit of their pleas to their satisfaction. TLC did adopt such a system, incorporating major specialists in their fraternity. TLC came into being after the merging of specialists in Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics. By 1995, eight other single specialty practices had made an offer to join TLC. The specialists could hence work as a team, assisting the client in diagnosis, management and health education. The patient became the central focus. The specialists did operate in different places to reach out to more people; however, the central administrative location was in Wishbone, Fried Chicken Location. With the increase in the demand of services from their clients and desire to increase the accessibility and availability, they did opt to move to Jesse

Measles and the two vaccination shots given to ensure the child will Essay

Measles and the two vaccination shots given to ensure the child will never catch Measles - Essay Example Another unique feature of AAI is that it improves upon repeated exposure (Levinson and Jawetz 353). Vaccines are preventive agents that contain viral molecules to activate the AAI, so that when the virus is encountered in the environment, large amounts of specific antibodies are already present to act against it. Both humoral and cell-mediated immunity play a role in developing AAI (Levinson and Jawetz 353). This writing tries to explain the reasons behind the timing and the number of dosages of vaccines, particularly measles and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccines. In particular, basics on immune response and immunization are provided, before a detailed discussion on vaccines is given. Although their mechanisms are different, innate immunity and AAI interact with each other for optimal response against a potential infection. The non-specific innate immunity is responsible for the engulfment of foreign molecules by macrophages or other antigen-presenting cells (APC) like dendritic cells and B cells (Levinson and Jawetz 357-359). Upon phagocytosis of foreign bodies, AAI then ensues when these APCs expose the engulfed antigens to their surfaces through class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) membrane proteins. The antigen-MHC complex then binds with an antigen-specific receptor on the surface of a helper T lymphocyte, initiating the release of interleukins (IL) that stimulates the maturation of many immune cells (Levinson and Jawetz 359). In turn, the activated helper T cells initiate the release of interleukins (IL), particularly IL-2, which initiates antigen-specific T-cell growth and activates cytotoxic T cells, IL-4, which promotes growth of B cells, and IL-5, which allows activation of B-cells. IL-4 and IL-5 also induce the transformation of IgM to IgG, IgA and IgE. In effect, it stimulates clonal expansion of both T and B cells after exposure with specific antigens. Cytotoxic T cells, in particular,

Strategic Issues Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Issues Paper - Essay Example The Aerospace and Defense Industry is also reeling under the pressure of rising fuel prices. This is evident from the fact that the Boeing Aircrafts manufacturing company’s response to the said problem, which pointed at the rise in demand for fuel efficient planes owing to the constant upsurge in global oil prices. Rising fuel consumption and an equally simultaneous rise in fuel prices are a matter of grave concern for the organizations in almost all the sectors of the economy, which are increasingly finding it difficult to cope with such external threats and have been trying to battle these external environmental forces with innovative strategies. The company is over booked with demand for such fuel efficient planes which has far exceeded the supply (Boeing Comments, 2008). Faced by the problem of growing customer concerns about the environmental hazards caused by some of the poisonous substances used in the manufacture of PCs and other similar electronic devises, Dell Computer Electronics, developed and launched its Sustainable Business Development Program, that dealt with such problems, with a promise to contribute towards the cause of greener and cleaner environment and at the same time achieving its overall organizational goals of steady economic development (Dell, 2008) . Several manufacturing companies across the globe, today, are increasingly facing problems from the high rate of penetration of low cost manufacturers from emerging countries especially from India and China. The fact that the cost of production cycle depends largely on the availability of raw materials, as well as, the availability of low cost and cheap labor. These two countries have a talented pool of human resource in abundance which they use to their advantage by producing cost effective and good quality products. The saturation in the Western markets as well as the high cost of labor, is further making things difficult for the western

Corporate Finance Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate Finance - Speech or Presentation Example g too little has its problems and costs like the cost of lost profits that would have been made because of lost sales, the problem of loss of costumer loyalty and patronage, the cost of making more orders from time to time because of limited inventory on hand. Just in time (JIT) practice reduces an inventory level which means lower investments in inventories. It also greatly improves the lead time reliability due to shorter delivery- lead time. There is reduced lead times and set-up time increases scheduling flexibility. Many companies had reported improved quality levels in using JIT. It is also believed that extensive valued analysis reduces cost of purchased materials. There will be lower investments in factory space for inventories and product. There will be also less obsolescence risk in inventories and less paper work and a reduction in scrap and rework. On the other hand, the arguments against JIT include the following: JIT presupposes a disciplined act and as such it demands a long term commitment from management to do it. It management is changing or if there is no stability, it possibly the company may lose what would have earned under the ordinary way of maintaining inventories. There is also great possibility that there would be large initial cost that would possibly not compensated by short term returns. JIT presupposed anticipated demand and supply of its products and if management commits mistake along the way, the effect could be disastrous. JIT also making a stable agreement with supplier for the timely delivery of inputs for production and this may also create problems with supplies of terms large of money to implement the plan for JIT. Related with the large cost is also a risk that will have to be considered by the companies in wanting to implement JIT1. The formula above uses D, which refers to annual demand for the product, O which stands for ordering cost per unit and C, or the carrying cost per unit. In so computing minimum

Recruitment, management, leadership, team work and individual Essay

Recruitment, management, leadership, team work and individual motivation - Essay Example Leaders and managers are assigned for the purpose of monitoring, controlling, judging and organizing the workforce using specific techniques. The most popular and effective technique to control and manage the workforce is to motivate them using motivational techniques. Motivating a team of workers and individuals in an organization would encourage them to work efficiently and enthusiastically. The overall objective of this paper is to assess the different methods of recruiting, selecting, managing, leading and motivating the workforce of any business (Sharma, 2000, pp. 76). Section 1 Recruitment of new staff members: An advertisement is given by a company to fill a vacancy for a floor supervisor in a factory of canned foods. The company will give an advertisement which would include the job description, requirements, person specifications and all the relevant information which is needed for an applicant to chose, apply and qualify for the job. The advertisement will be like the docum entation prepared below. Job Advertisement: Floor Supervisor-Production Floor Manufacturing Company Salary: $20,000 per annum, negotiable as per experience and qualifications. Date posted: 1-05-13 Closing date: 15-05-13 Contact: Steve Jones (Branch Manager) A manufacturing company is looking for a supervisor for their production floor. The supervisor will be the team leader, and will have a respectable position in the factory. The supervisor will be responsible for the work performance of the workers working under him on that floor. The workers with him will be a part of his team. The purpose of this job is to have a team leader that will guide and monitor the performance of the workers working in the production department, the supervisor will be answerable for the faults and errors seen in the production floor and will be given the authority to direct the workers in the best possible way. The person specification for this job is that the applicant must be a graduate because all the work with the machinery is technical and requires great skill. The applicant must have at least one year experience of working in a factory with machinery. The skills and attributes must be that of a good leader, must have good communication skills, and must be able to supervise effectively. The applicant must be physically active and need to be on feet during working hours. Overall the applicant must be friendly, honest, patient and responsible. Job Description: Description: Floor Supervisor Job Purpose: The purpose of this job is to have a team leader that will guide and monitor the performance of the workers working in the production department, the supervisor will be answerable for the faults and errors seen in the production floor and will be given the authority to direct the workers in the best possible way. Main duties: Monitoring the production process Responsible for labor attendants Allocation of the duties amongst the workers Job rotation of the workers Solving conflicts if any arise between workers Responsible for the individual development needs of the workers Reporting to the manager for any maintenance and repairs needed in the machinery Managing discipline on the production floor Training new workers Suitable applicants will be short listed for the interview. The candidate will be introduced to the managers and will be assessed on his confidence and body language. Impact of legal, regulatory and ethical considerations on recruitment and selection: The recruitment process

Analyze the article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Analyze the article - Assignment Example Green building is an approach used by environmentalist and engineers to come up with eco-friendly structures that are sustainable. According to GSA (2010), green building techniques and materials for construction of buildings determine the level of energy consumption and other resources in the environment. To support this argument, they carried out research that showed a decline in the cost of energy consumption being below 45 percent, and water use had dropped below 39% in the US. Green building will help come up with eco-friendly industries and residential structures that will cut down pollution and emission of gases by industries, which lead to global warming. Recycling and reuse of material such as wood, fiber and plastics ensure the environment is safe. Moreover, use of solar panels in green building cuts down the demand for hydroelectric power and diesel generated power. This consequently leads to alternative use of energy sources for applications that depend solely on fossil f uel, which is a leading pollutant. Sustainability is a responsibility we cannot neglect if we want our future generation to live in a clean place. This technology in green building holds a solution to the many problems we face today on energy consumption, pollution and global warming. I concur with the fact that green building is an eco-friendly development that industries and individuals should emulate to save the

Humanities and Postmodernism Essay Example for Free

Humanities and Postmodernism Essay In discerning a relationship between the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man, one finds a bridge that connects the past, present, and future. The lackluster color and repetitive patterns of the Green Man symbolizes antiquity or the times of yore. On the other hand, the vibrant and compound nature of the Postmodern Portal symbolizes how one, at present time, looks at the possibilities inherent in the future and prepares to face the challenges brought about by changes and transformations signaled by the shifting of time from present time to the future. The spotlight directed to the man in the Postmodern Portal seems to place the viewer within the context of the present. The walls and the arch symbolizes man’s entry to the future, while the archaic designs on the walls and the scattered stones on the ground represents how the present will soon be a past as man moves on to the future. The gesture of the man, holding a sword courageously illustrates how people in this generation are prepared to face the challenges and difficulties that come with change through the passage of time and the coming of the future. Moreover, this particular gesture seems to express how man has continually been able to conquer the present, which is significant in allowing him to face the future. Framing the relationship between the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man and developing a perceptive interpretation on the inherent symbols and illustrations embedded within these pieces of art are highly significant in understanding postmodernism, particularly reconstructive postmodernism. Reconstructive postmodernism has been described in the lecture as something that is fundamental to achieving a higher humanity. This is because this particular concept perceives that understanding human conditions, through significant interpretation of the past and the present, are highly significant in determining how the future would be like for man. Moreover, in knowing these things, man will be able to understand himself because of his knowledge of where he came from, where he is at present time, and where he is heading, leading him to achieve a sense of self that allows him to conquer the course of life and the past, present, and future of the human race. Indeed, achieving higher humanity does adhere to the principle upheld by the Northern Arizona University, that â€Å"to be educated is to become more human. † The plot perceived within the links connecting the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man places the past, the present, and the future side by side. This particular concept is inherent in the works of Robinson Jeffers. In one of Jeffers’ poem, â€Å"To the Stone-Cutters,† he sought to concede to the inescapable passage of time which would inevitably fragment the life of man into the past, the present, and the future. Moreover, in â€Å"Continent’s End,† Jeffers was able to convey the importance of remembering the past, especially how man came to be in this planet, in order for us to re-evaluate how we changed and are changing in order for us to reconstruct a much better future that is free from pride that abounds from self-righteousness and bitterness. The symbolisms of humanity in Remedios Varo’s works are more explicit, owing to how she was able to capture significant and discernible meanings through her artistry. Varo’s paintings, particularly in the â€Å"Discovery of a Mutant Geologist† and the â€Å"Creation of Birds† illustrate a fusion of the past, the present and the future. The pictorial landscape signifies the unpretentious nature of the past, the involved disposition of the present, and the avant-garde quality of the future. It may be observed how the setting chosen by Varo in the â€Å"Discovery of a Mutant Geologist† was a testing site for nuclear weapons before. The painting shows how the site looked like in the past but how we differently view at present time due to man’s perceptions of war, and how continuing human activities that are labeled as destructive reaching the level of how war is unconstructive will affect how man will change or metamorphose in the future. Varo’s paintings also link how the past, the present, and the future are interrelated, and that in seeking to understand these links or relationships, man will be able to view how he has acted to shape the course of events leading to the present and determine how he will be able to act with purpose and significance to lead a better future for the human race.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Strategies

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Strategies INTRODUCTION Live birth with healthy child is the ultimate goal of ART cycles. There is a complexity of interlinked events that decides the final outcome of ART. This event can be categorised as, Clinical (stimulation protocol, opu, embryo transfer, pregnancy rate etc), Patient related (age, diseases) and Laboratory (ART Lab- oocyte, sperm, embryo, media, etc). There cannot be any single thumb rule for success in any ART cycle due to numerous variations in each categories. However by setting up Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and interpreting the data statistically we can have a better understanding of our success combinations as well as flaws. In this topic we will restrict our discussion upto laboratory category. ART lab and equipments are designed to mimic intra-uterine/ intra- fallopian tube environment. Thus by giving minimum stress to gametes a better embryo or blastocyst can be achieved which may result in healthy pregnancy. In order to have significant pregnancy rate various studies have been performed keeping in mind variables like, co2, pH, temperature, media etc. To have an insight of entire process majority of KPI are directed towards maintaining the above controls and also the clinical aspect of patient. This KPI gives us entire picture from patient age, stimulation protocols, drugs, opu, gametes, zygotes, embryos as well as record of temperature of work stations, room temperature, humidity, incubators conditions, ph, air quality , infection control policy. Thus KPI makes us more vigilant and observes the pattern of success or failure of our lab. By using our KPI we can have customised settings of our monitors and set protocol for a cycle. This Gametes and embryos are in artificial environment mimicking natural environment a stricter control on ph, temperature, air are perhaps most crucial. It is believed and observed that a compromise in any of this parameters does cause detrimental effect on embryos. Usually laboratories have protocols of checking the incubator settings, media, temperature daily. We do observe success rate to vary routinely. Where a drop in preganacy rate is to be considered more seriously , this makes us ponder over our KPI which should reflect the cause. We have observed many instances but we discuss about three such scenarios which caused damage to our pregnancy rates and KPI helped us. First Scenario- opening incubator door frequently On one occasion we observed more number of patients than usual in a batch of ART, while other KPI parameters were within accepted range. This observation lead to the fact that increased number of patient resulted in increase in number of oocytes.. This means that the load on incubator was much higher than usual. This load can be described by frequent opening of door to make fresh plates , transfer embryos, change media, observe growth, and embryo transfer. We used a conventional front load door incubator. Our KPI did not have a count or time period of incubator door openings, though it was handled to be bare necessity. To establish this assumption few studies observed that, there is a difference in temperature throughout the incubator where front and upper shelf had temperature nearer to 37 c as compared to other locations. Temperature displayed on screen of incubator was just an average. Temperature probe recorded average temperature of inside the incubator and hence KPI recordings were quite stable . However an important study observed that incubator door opened for 5 seconds takes a temperature recovery time of around 20 minutes whereas dishes took 30 minutes to come back to 37c. This can be explained due to cooler air from room entering the incubator and also cold co2 gas being pumped in due to decrease in co2 concentrations. IVF work station also has heating mechanism adjusted to 37 c but even that is average temp. And we do see different tempertaure in different parts of table. Further work station is also cooled by laminar air flow . Studies have proven that prolonged temperature variations impacts fertilisation especially high temperature affects cytokinesis of embryos. However we did not record absolutely mass failed fertilisation or mass embryo arrest .Though the number was less but the embryos progressed to blastocyst formation and also gave pregnancies. This leads to debate of optimal temperature required for embryo culture. Researchers have proved that core body temperature of reproductive axis to be 1c less than 37c. Interestingly a study observed difference in blastocyst formation from culturing the embryos at 36c .however fertilisation rate and implantation rate at both 36 c and 37 c were similar. With the concept of mimicking natural environment it was observed that preovulatory follicle had 2.3c less temperature than 36c. This could explain why even after temperature fluctuation we could still get good blastocyst as well as implantation. Another possible theory is a temperature regulating mechanism in embryo which remains an interesting research. Temperature fluctuations have an impact on pH also . Considering the importance of temperature and as most study design are carried out at 37c and better success rate at this temperature makes us accept cell culture to be at 37c. In order to set things right measures were initiated to reduce the number of patients or oocyte in one incubator. On an average not more than 2/3 patient with 6-8 dishes were kept in an incubator. Open culture system was changed to closed culture. Procedures like Dish equilibration, sperm swim up where carried out in mini incubator rather than routine incubators. Another way of controlling this could be use of embryo scope or using single step media or bench top incubators. But we preferred the older method to be cost effective. Second scenario- pH of media, calibration of instruments. Our KPI includes routine CO2 check by CO2 analyser and they were fairly within accepted range and settings were adjusted depending upon observed value to maintain co2 at 5 % or 6% . this percentage varied according to media manufacturing company like, SAGE needs equilibration at 5 % while vitrolife needs it at 6% . As co2 is used to maintain Ph . Despite being vigilant there was drop in overall blastocyst formation and implantation rate. A study of KPI statistics revealed more or less steady co2 and temperature with no changes in protocols . A detailed study questioned co2 analyser observation and it was found that co2 analyser was not serviced or calibrated over 6 months. Investigations confirmed Co2 analyser reading to be faulty. This scenario explains a lot about calibration of our instrument which are meant to check and control our functioning instruments like incubator.Routinely a calibration tolerance of 0.1 was accepted by us. We were using colourless media( vitrolife) rather than â€Å"pink† media ( phenol) hence changes in ph of media were unnoticed. literature supports ph to be most crucial for gamates. Routinely a ph of media scaling of 7.2-7.4 is accepted for cell culture. ph of media is also very dynamic and influenced by temperature,co2, volume of media. This leads to debate of optimal ph of media. Studies have revealed variable ph,that is alkaline in oviduct and acidic in uterus. Oocytes also showed varied ph from Germinal vesical stage ( 7.04 +/- 0.07) to MII stage ( 6.98 +/- 0.010). while amphibian oocytes shows rise in pH during fertilisation but unseen in humans. This opens a theory of intracellular ph regulatory system to mai ntain optimal Ph as required . This balance of CO2 and HCO3 in media sets the extracellular ph(phe) while intracelluarly (pHi) HCO3/Cl ad Na+/H+ regulatory systems maintain stability in cell. This self regulatory system of embryos seems to maintain the balance inspite of fluctuations and hence we see blastocyst formation and even implantation rates. Oocytes maintain their pHi through combination of follicular fluid, granulose cells. Hence denuded oocyte are more vulnearble and depends only up on pHe of media. Studies observed that raising ph to 7.4 or lowering to 6.8 affected the embryo metabolism where alkalinine media caused more damage. Thus ph around 7.2 seems to be more stabilising. Studies have observed ph irregularities to affect actin, cytoskeletal elements, meiotic spindle, cell apoptosis, mitochondria position in embryo. This problem was addressed by calibrating our co2 analyser every 3 months. Media tubes should be capped off immediately after opening to prevent evaporation which can cause ph fluctuation.KPI included servicing dates of each instruments with due date notifications.† Pink media† was not used considering toxicity of phenol and above all in subsequent cycles pregnancy rates were up with above correction.

Cinema as an instrument of Nationalism

Cinema as an instrument of Nationalism Cloaks in the colours of soil: Cinema as an instrument of Nationalism The paper aims to highlight the role of cinema in constructing and reconstructing the nationalism of a state. In doing so the paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, I shall conceptualize the notions of nationalism and popular culture with the help of academic sources and then shall try to formulate a link between these two concepts and shall analyse how these are correlated. In the second chapter, I shall explain the role of cinema in constructing and reconstructing the beliefs, practices and objects associated with a popular culture and how these constructions and reconstructions are accepted into a nationalistic discourse. In the final section, to strengthen my previous debate I shall analyse two films, one from India Dil Se (1998) and one from Yugoslavia Underground (1995), to argue that cinema works as an instrument of nationalism through its devices by influencing the consciousness of audiences and results in construction of a nation. Conceptualizing the link between Nationalism and Popular Culture Andrew Vincent describes the nationalism as an ideology that ‘makes national self-consciousness, ethnic or linguistic identity into central planks of a doctrine which seeks political expression† (Vincent, 2010:227). The ethno-linguistic identities are elements of culture associated with a nation, therefore, the nation as an entity is a blend of â€Å"culture and psycho political factors† (Heywood, 2003: 134). Therefore, nationalism has a link with the culture and to be more specific with popular culture. Popular culture has its roots in ‘‘’folk’ or ‘popular’ beliefs, practices, and objects rooted in local traditions as well as mass beliefs, practices, and objects generated from political and commercial centres† (Mukerji Schudson, 1986: 48). Sanjeev Kumar explains popular culture as a â€Å"collective experience† of a society that formulates â€Å"a symmetrical feeling of common tastes† (Kumar, 2013:458). T hese common tastes further give rise to political ideas as many scholars believe that â€Å"popular culture plays a crucial role in mobilizing political action† (Mukerji Schudson, 1986: 47). This political action can be defined as a projection of nationalistic feelings or nationalism. Ernest Gellner in his modernist theory on nationalism and nation asserted the importance of shared common culture in formulating the nationalism of a particular nation by eroding the â€Å"rigid social structures† and argued that ‘nations are products of nationalism, and not vice versa† (OLeary, 1997) (Walicki, 1998). A similar argument can be found in the constructivist perspective of nation that see nations as â€Å"constructs† (Walicki, 1998). Therefore, a nation is not a substance, but the product of a historical process, and a social, political and cultural construct that represent the collects of a nation. The collective consciousness of the nation is described as nationalism. It is important to note that it is not necessary that the beliefs that make up the rhetoric of nationalism are based on historical facts. As many scholars such as Benedict Anderson, David Miller and Anthony D. Smith believes that â€Å"misrepresentation of historical facts† plays significant role in the constitution of nation building and thus â€Å"national identity is often based on false or, worse still, intentionally misleading beliefs†(Tamir, 1995). Cinema as an Instrument of Nationalism In almost every state there is a â€Å"national cinema† that makes films for the masses of that particular state (Walsh, 1996). To attract audiences these films are made by keeping in mind the popular culture of the masses. Cinema like other type of mass media carries meanings and symbols that not only represent beliefs, practices and objects of a particular popular culture associated with a nation, but also structure the process of nation building by influencing the popular culture through reconstruction of these beliefs, practices, and objects. Walsh (1996) characterizes these meanings and symbols as â€Å"national imaginary†. This process leaves an impact on the psyche of the audience and thus influence the collective consciousness of the nation- nationalism. Thus, â€Å"Internalization† of these meanings and symbols into discourse of nationalism happens through national cinema (Walsh, 1996). One way to understand this phenomenon is through focusing on the identity politics of a nation. Identity is a sense of belonging to a particular group that can lead to the possibility of a nationhood. Through this identity individuals of a nation distinguish themselves from individuals of another nation. Thus the collective identity of a group is defined by distinguishing others as foreign. This process can also be utilized against the minority groups within a state. Sanjeev Kumar conceptualizes this as the practice of â€Å"othering† (Kumar, 2013). As he further highlights with the help of a case study of Indian cinema that cinema plays a vital role in offering Muslim minority. Cinema plays a dynamic role in identity formation by reconstructing the beliefs, practices and objects associated with a national identity. Therefore, a â€Å"national imaginary† is created in which some meanings and symbols are promoted and some are subordinated to define identity Furthermore, cinema with its tools also define and reconstruct the geographical, ideological and cultural boundaries of a nation. And these reconstructions are internalized through psychological effects on the collective consciousness of the masses. As Shohat and Stam (1994) with the help of psychoanalysis argue that cinema plays an importance role in acceptance of these recreated imaginary by â€Å"efficiently mobilize[ing] desire in ways responsive to nationalized and imperialized notions of time, plot and history†. Further, they argue that cinema â€Å"homologize† the nation because of collective consumption by the masses and with the help of Benedict Anderson’s argument they declare that â€Å"The nation of course is not a desiring person but a fictive unity imposed on an aggregate of individuals, yet national histories are presented as if they displayed the continuity of the subject-writ-large† (Shohat Stam, 1994). Dil Se (1998) This film attempts to revisit the ideological underpinnings of India after 50 years of independence. The film starts with two extreme positions: Indian nationalism and the nationalism of sub national entities. The protagonist, who is the program executive for All India Radio strolls through North East and Kashmir in an attempt to understand the rationale behind insurgencies and separatist movements in those regions and finds out that insurgents blame Indian government for the poverty and human rights violations and thus justify their violent means to achieve independence. As being a patriotic Indian with a military background he is not convinced by the reasoning of the insurgents and is swayed that Pakistan is helping these movements. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a girl who is a terrorist in disguise and chases her throughout the film. The high point of the movie is the scene where the protagonist learns the real identity of his lover, who is going to attack the parade on the 50t h anniversary of Republic Day, and confronts her and questions her motives. The girl reveals that she had been a rape victim in theKunan Poshpora incidentand that her soul seeks deliverance through hersuicide attack on Republic Day. At this juncture, he replies to her â€Å"you cannot kill innocent people because of the wrongdoing of some people†. It is noteworthy that when this film was released, India was using brutal military force against pro-independence movements and was under much international criticism. The film tries to limit the whole question of pro-independence movements as an issue of governance rather than ideological, cultural or historical as the director makes the insurgents to say so in the beginning of the film. It also puts the responsibility on â€Å"some people† rather than Indian State thus the enemy is â€Å"some people† that exploit their position and force common Indian to pick the gun. This is â€Å"misrepresentation of historical facts† that I mentioned earlier. In addition, it also subordinates the notion of violence and promotes the notion of love as the suicide bomber girl chooses love over violence in the closing scene. Therefore, Indian identity is reconstructed by distinguishing individuals on this principal. This film also attempts to define geographical, ideological and cultural boundaries of Indian nation by creating â€Å"national imaginary†. To define geographical boundaries the film portrays many locations such as Ladakh, Kashmir, North East, Delhi, Kerala and Bengal etc. Ideological boundaries are defined in term of the subject of the film as throughout the movie there is no mention or visualization of the religious origins of violence. Such as the religious identities of terrorists are not indicated. Even their oath that they repeat throughout the film is secular in nature. Thus, this film emphasizes the secular nature of Indian nationalism. Cultural boundaries are defined in term of lyrics, music and choreography that range from work of Bullay Shah to Mirza Ghalib and from South Indian exotic dance to gypsy dance on a moving train. In doing so the film gives the notion that despite insurgencies and separatist movements this whole sphere and its tastes constitute India and thus tries to evoke the sense of belonging to the land in audiences’ consciousness. Underground (1995) This film was produced during Balkan crisis of 1990s during which the former republic of Yugoslavia exploded. The narrative and imaginary of the film indicates that the director Emir Kushturica is still stuck with the dream of the old republic of Yugoslavia as one film critic notes â€Å"if growing up implies the death of the past, there is no area in which Kushturica refuses to grow up. He refuses to believe that his homeland, the country formerly called Yugoslavia, no longer exists† (Yarovskaya, 1997-1998). Therefore, the whole effort of Kushturica is to project the notion of Yugoslavian nationhood on screen and tell the world what went wrong. He does so through historical and psychoanalytical devices in which he blends the history with the lives of main characters Marko and Blacky. The film goes through three eras: World War 2, post-war reconstruction during Tito’s regime and Yugoslav wars. In the first part, the film promotes the idea of â€Å"Brotherhood and Unity† that was the official ideology of Yugoslavia and shows that how with this guiding principal Yugoslavs fought against Nazi power and succeeded. At this juncture, the director introduces enemy that is human desire for power rooted in the subconscious. The film further divides desire into two parts: sexual desire and destructive desire (Yarovskaya, 1997-1998). The next chapter shows the struggle between conscious and subconscious through symbols. The main characters Marko and Blacky are symbols of the subconscious that wanted to grab power and the character of Natalija is a symbol for power. Marko is a symbol of sexual desire and Blacky is a symbol of destructive desire. During this struggle in order to get Natalija Marko makes other characters that are symbols of consciousness, and Blac ky believe that war is still going on so they must hide themselves in an underground cellar and produce guns for the resistance. The revolutionary meaning of underground is resistance and psychological meaning is â€Å"collective consciousness† (Yarovskaya, 1997-1998). On ground level the film portrays the corrupt regime of Tito that grows out of power seeking subconscious. In this regime Marko is right hand man of Tito and an arms dealer. After the death of Tito Yugoslavia starts to disintegrate and soon civil war erupts. Meanwhile, characters that are symbols of collective consciousness come out of hiding and see ruins of their dream by the hand of symbols of the subconscious. Disheartened, some characters commit suicide and others resort themselves to a parallel Yugoslavia that is shown through a sequence of underground tunnels that is inhabited by refugees, Yugoslav warriors and UN peacekeepers. The character of Blacky that is the symbol for destructive desire becomes a warlord and contribute to the Civil war. Therefore, with this film Emir Kushturica tries to promote the guiding principle of â€Å"Brotherhood and Unity† that helped Yugoslavs to win the war, but soon the human desire for power changed the whole Yugoslav society and it became unrecognizable by the time of death of Tito. After the death of Tito destructive desire was unleashed and thus resulted in the Yugoslav Wars. Conclusion Therefore, it is argued that cinema construct and restructure the notion of identity of a nation and define and reconstruct the geographical, ideological and cultural boundaries of a nation through the creation of â€Å"national imaginary† and influence masses by mobilizing desire of nationhood and thus results in homologizing a nation. As a result, cinema works as an instrument of nationalism through its devices by influencing the consciousness of audiences. The analysis of two films strengthen this argument. The first film Dil Se not only justifies military operations against insurgents through â€Å"misrepresentation of historical facts† but also portrays insurgents as murderers of innocent people. This film also attempts to reconstruct Indian identity by subordinating the notion of violence and promoting the notion of love. It also attempts to define geographical, ideological and cultural boundaries of Indian nation by creating â€Å"national imaginary† and tries to evoke sense of belonging to land in audiences’ consciousness. The other film, Underground, promotes and justifies the idea of Yugoslavian nationhood by showing Yugoslav resistance against Nazi Germany. It also attempts to explain the breakup of Yugoslavia by putting all the responsibility on power seeking desire of humans rather than on republic, thus it evokes the desire of belonging to old republic of Yugoslavia in audiences’ consciousness. Bibliography Heywood, A. (2003). Political Ideologies: An Introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Mukerji, Chandra Schudson, Michael. (1986). Popular Culture. Annual Review of Sociology, 12:47-66. OLeary, Brendan. (1997). On the Nature of Nationalism: An Appraisal of Ernest Gellners Writings on Nationalism. British Journal of Political Science, 27(2): 91-222. Ringmar, E. (1998). Nationalism: The Idiocy of Intimacy. The British Journal of Sociology, 49(4): 534-549. Shohat, Ella Stam, Robert, (1994). Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media. New York: Routledge. Tamir, Yael. (1995). The Enigma of Nationalism (Review of the Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson: Five Roads to Modernity by LIah Greenfeld; National Identity by Anthony D. Smith). World Politics, 47(3): 418-440. .Vincent, A. (2010). Modern Political Ideologies. West Sussex: Wiley. Walicki, Andrzej. (1998). Ernest Gellner and the Constructivist Theory of Nation. Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 22: 611-619 Walsh, Michael. (1996). National Cinema, National Imaginary: Film History, 8(1): 5-17. Yarovskaya, Marianna. (1997-1998). Underground by Emir Kushturica; Pierre Spengler (Review of the Underground by Emir Kushturica). Film Quarterly, 51(2): 50-54.

Comparing Female Identity in To The Lighthouse, Heat of the Day and Under the Net :: comparison compare contrast essays

Female Identity in Virginia Woolf’s, To The Lighthouse, Elizabeth Bowen’s, Heat of the Day and Iris Murdoch’s, Under the Net After reading Virginia Woolf’s, â€Å"To The Lighthouse†, readers are left with the disturbing reality of the role of a woman during this time period.   The characters of Mrs. Ramsay and Lily Briscoe portray these demeaning roles.  Ã‚   However, instead of completely giving in to the domination of men, they are starting the woman’s movement of resistance in the period of the beginning of World War I.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Likewise, in Elizabeth Bowen’s novel, â€Å"The Heat of the Day†, different female roles emerge from the characters which help present change in the identity of women and power.   The two main female characters, Stella Rodney and Louie Lewis, among others in this World War Two time-framed novel, carry working class jobs.   They are starting to change the stereotypical views of women just being housewives and serving their â€Å"husbands†.  Ã‚  Ã‚   These characters allow readers to plainly see that women are capable of and deserve equality on the same level as men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essentially paves the road to other novels of this time after World War II, such as Iris Murdoch’s, â€Å"Under the Net†.   In this novel women are starting to receive respect for their positions in the world.  Ã‚   Men are recognizing their significant value in society.   This can be seen by the relationship between the characters of Jake Donaghue and Anna Quentin. Victoria Glendinning further exemplifies the correlation between these 20th Century novels.   She is a contemporary fiction writer and biographer of Bowen, Rebecca West, and Trollope, among others.   Glendinning states that,   â€Å"She [Bowen] is a major writer†¦She is what happened after Bloomsbury†¦the link that connects Virginia Woolf with Iris Murdoch and Mrielk Spark†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These highly regarded and well-respected female authors are showing that women can and do hold power in our society.   These authors send the message to readers that women throughout time have been and still are fully capable of thinking for themselves.  Ã‚   They can hold their own ground without having to subject themselves to the dominance of the males, be it in writing novels, raising a family, working in a factory, or pursuing a singing career.   Thus, they as all women, deserve to be held in respect for their achievements and deserve equality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In reference to Virginia Woolf’s novel, â€Å"To The Lighthouse† she takes the major female characters of Mrs.

Why is There so Much Poverty? Essay examples -- Essays on Poverty

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the thought of poverty, several issues come to mind: money, crime, health and welfare. These are the top four concerns when responding to the issue of poverty in our nation as a whole. Each presents problems and solutions, but addressing them in the face of government is difficult; for every good point or action, there is a negative reaction affecting both pro and con supporters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most prevalent means of measuring poverty have been, and continue to be, bench marks related to money. Poverty lines are used to measure absolute and relative poverty in terms of incomes and affordability. Such measurements are relatively easy to make and quantify. However, lack of money is more a symptom of poverty rather than its cause. In most cases the poor are not without some income. What they lack is the ability to accumulate assets, which is a key ingredient to the creation of wealth and breaking the cycle of poverty (6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to low earnings, the prime reason for the inability to increase funds and thus increase security of income is that profits or potential savings are often pocketed by moneylenders who charge lofty interest rates, by formal and informal regulatory and enforcement agents/organizations who demand bribes or extort protection money, and by middlemen or other stronger business partners who exploit the poor because they lack market information or the ability to use the market information to increase their own incomes. Another key that prevents the poor from raising capital is that they are often forced to purchase public goods and services at a much higher cost that are readily available to other groups in society at market or below market prices(6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some effects of poverty are not easily understood, and are therefore sometimes mistakenly considered the cause of poverty. For example, studies link poverty to crime. In many cases, most crime leads to poverty and not the other way around. Crime indirectly increases poverty in many ways, even simple burglary or mugging. A high crime rate drives businesses out of neighborhoods. This eliminates both availability of products and services, as well as sources of jobs. Further, those who do stay find it necessary to charge higher prices to compensate for losses due to thievery, and hig... ...than a poverty-level income, and as a last resort, government should provide temporary jobs to unemployed workers (4, 5).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their critics say that guaranteeing jobs for all Americans or providing public sector jobs for those who cannot find employment elsewhere, would be prohibitively expensive, and that substantially raising the minimum wage would be counterproductive as many employers would be forced to lay off workers. They also fight the thought that the best way to reduce poverty hinges on something that government cannot provide: motivation and hard work. But in our free market economy, government should not be the employer of last resort. We need less government, not more of it, and we certainly do not want millions of Americans in makeshift government jobs (4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the United States alone, 45% of all Americans are considered to be living in poverty, and with that statistic come many causes and effects. We have solutions to these problems, but utilizing them may not be easy or quick. It just takes a strong government and even stronger support from the population to tailor our approach to fit the needs of our society.

I Was Mugged Essays -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

I was mugged tonight. It was about 11pm, and I was walking home from the gym, and for some reason I decided to the Other Route. I walked down Valencia to 15th instead of 14th, and headed down the block that's supposed to be one of the worst in the city, along the side of the Valencia Street Projects. It was a beautiful, warm night, and tons of people were hanging out outside. It looked like a few drug deals were being had, but usually no one hassles me. I was wearing my torn up jeans jacket that I bought 13 years ago in high school, my jogging shorts and old Nikes, and my hair was all messy. How the hell could I have looked like a person with money? I was walking down this one particular block, thinking to myself, "wow, racism is bad." And then I thought about how this block was one of the first things that people warned me about when I moved into my hood, and how mad at me my ex-boyfriend John would be if he knew I was walking down that street, and how my parents would be pissed, and how really, logically speaking, it was a pretty stupid thing to do. But I made eye contact with one dude who was pretty cute and he smiled at me and I smiled at him and I kept walking, thinking, "well, there are some cute people in the projects." I wa... ...ds them. "You pathetic losers! You got my money, but you don't have my pride." (Sure it is a clichà ©, but hell, give me some credit, I did just get mugged!) "You two are the losers for doing that!" Why bother filing a report? These skinny kids have enough problems without having the cops go in there and remind them how desperate and lacking in dignity they are. In the war between good and evil, it is not always who walks away with the goods, but the who deserved them in the first place, and how they were attained. So I trotted home to write this up. Thirty bucks for a story to tell. Not a bad deal, really.

Fashions

A particular make, a shape ,a style ,or a pattern followed by most of the people may be called a fashion . Let includes clothing ,hairstyles furniture literature, Jewelry and many other things. â€Å"Style is the man,† claims Saints-Beebe, one of Matthew Arnold's heroes. The above cited quote is one of Matthew Arnold's intellectual stances. Some people believe that life is not worth-living without fashion. Everybody wants to appear fashionable and stylish, and he spends lots of money on his hairstyle, beauty products, dress designing and shoes.Fashions go on changing. One fashion that is in today may be outdated tomorrow. Fashions have been in the world since the beginning of human civilization. Fashion industry is not a new thing in today's world. Thousands and millions of people depend upon changing passions for their livelihood. â€Å"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love. † Moan Wolfgang) Fashions usually take their origin in the west. In Pakistan also, there are parties and social gatherings in which people try to outdo one another by their fashions and styles.From the west these fashions reach the third-world countries. By the time people of the poor countries adopt these fashions, the westerns discard them and eve on to the others, and thus the fashion industry goes on flourishing. Media has also contributed a lot towards fashions and fads. There are fashion shows, beauty contests and dress designing competitions in the form of catwalk shows, TV dramas especially soap serials on different channels like Star Plus. Movies and music shows have also triggered the fashion craze among the different classes of people.Fashions and styles make us look attractive and different from other people but, according to Aloud Huxley, it is our inner-self or soul that makes us beautiful or ugly. If we are red, depressed or morally decayed, our outward appearance will do nothing but reflect our soul. It is actually the purity and beauty of our soul that makes our skin glow and our eyes shine. Fashions are then only a disguise or a cover that hides our reality and make us look attractive outwardly.Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. † (Oscar Wiled) The craze of fashions is mostly found among women and youngsters. A visit to college of today would indeed be an interesting experiment for those who wish to know something about the influence of fashion on men . Boys as well as girls spend much of their time on toilet . Female students go two steps further . Fashion they regard as their special right . Girls have a natural and inborn love of pretty dresses and in college they get a real opportunity .Girls spend a great deal of their money on powder, cream and lipstick. Scents and perfumes are used by these Toilets to excite and stir their Romeos. Evidently such boys and girls do not take their studies seriously the They may forget the formulae of mathematics but they don't forget the names of the films. It is quite natural with women to beautify themselves. They hooked, however, give more importance to the purity of their soul than to their outward appearance.Beauty products, parlors, costly costumes and dandy shoes will not add to our attractiveness as much as do our peace of mind, contentment of our soul and spiritual happiness. We should not, therefore, imitate the westerns or other people because the western culture and civilization are hollow and the people there are spiritually dead. I recall here the saying by a famous writer who says we may have a fashion of our own if we retain our naturalness, innocence, and purity of heart and soul. â€Å"Fashions fade, style is eternal. † (Saint Laurent)

Poetry Anthology on John Brereton

POETRY ASSIGNMENT ?Biography John Le Gay Brereton was born in Sydney, Australia, on the 2nd of September 1871. He was the fifth son of John Le Gay Brereton (snr), a doctor, and his wife Mary Tongue. His parents and family life impacted greatly on his view of the world, distorting it from the views of the norm of the times. John senior was also a poet, and published several volumes of poetry. John junior went to school at Sydney grammar school, and was just 15 when his father died in 1886. John moved on to study at the University of Sydney, and graduated with a bachelor of Arts in 1894.John was the editor of many newspapers, including his school paper, as well as the university paper: Hermes, and after 1890, John was a regular contributor to the Sydney quarterly magazine. Through his press ties, his poetry and literature became better known than that of most poets of the era. John produced his first poetry anthology in 1896, titled: the song of brotherhood and other verses. John produ ced another anthology in 1897 titled: sweetheart mine: lyrics of love and friendship. The year 1900 saw John marry Winifred Odd. In 1902, John returned to the university of Sydney, as the librarian’s assistant.He was known among the students and staff at the university to defy the way of the time by never wearing a top hat. In 1908, john published his 3rd volume of poetry titled: sea and sky. Another volume followed after the first world war, in 1919, titled: the Burning Marl. 2 years after releasing his fourth volume, he was appointed professor of English at the University of Sydney. John produced his final volume: Swags up! In 1928, and produced a series of autobiographical essays in 1930. In 1993 John went on holiday in Tamworth, and died there whilst still on holiday. John died friends with more widely known poets such as Henry Lawson.John’s wife and 4 children all survived him. Anthology ANZAC Within my heart I hear the cry Of loves that suffer, souls that die, An d you may have no praise from me For warfare’s vast vulgarity; Only the flag of love, unfurled For peace above a weeping world, I follow, though the fiery breath Of murder shrivel me in death. Yet here I stand and bow my head To those whom other banners led, Because within their hearts the clang Of Freedom’s summoning trumpets rang, Because they welcomed grisly pain And laughed at prudence, mocked at gain, With noble hope and courage high, And taught our manhood how to die.Praise, praise and love be theirs who came From that red hell of stench and flame, Staggering, bloody, sick, but still Strong with indomitable will, Happy because, in gloomiest night, Their own hearts drummed them to the fight. I chose the poem ANZAC because of it’s descriptive language, truth, and it’s use of the harsh reality of war, while not glorifying war in any way. The Poet uses a mixture of descriptive text, rhyming words and rhythm to display his views on World War 1. His use o f scary and uncomfortable words really reflect this message that war is a sick and gruesome place.Toby Hey, Toby, Toby, Toby! —Dead? The silence is a flood That closes, choking, overhead, And chills the living blood. The leaping friend, whose jolly bark Was greeting every night, No more to thrill the summer dark With welcome of delight? Beside his grave I bend the knee, And O, my eyes are dim. He hunted for the dog in me: I found the man in him. Swags Up! Swags up! and yet I turn upon the way. The yellow hill against a dapple sky, With tufts and clumps of thorn, the bush whereby All through the wonder-pregnant night I lay Until the silver stars were merged in greyOur fragrant camp, demand a parting sigh: New tracks, new camps, and hearts for ever high, Yet brief regret with every welcome day. Dear dreamy earth, receding flickering lamp, Dear dust wherein I found this night a home, Still for a memory’s sake I turn and cling, Then take the road for many a distant camp, A mong what hills, by what pale whispering foam, With eager faith for ever wandering. The Patriot The patriot from his walls of brass Is singing loudly as I pass; With fearless heart and open eyes, He shouts the ancient battle cries; And, where I pause to hear him sing, A silent crowd is listening.My country, God bestows by thee The glory of the world to be The glory thou alone canst give To last amid things fugitive. My country, an ideal form I see thee splendid in the storm, Directress of the power divine That makes the expectant future thine. My country, all the world shall bow Before thy peace-conceiving brow, And all the peoples humbly stand Submissive to thy blessing hand. My country, yea, the foes who raise A tyrant flag shall learn to praise Thy steadfast love that dares to fight The horde of Satan for the right. My country, loveliest, strongest, best, Thou hast a mission to the rest,And greater wealth and love shall be The guerdon of thy ministry. In every land I hear him sin g; In every land I see him fling His country’s flag against the skies And gaze aloft with dazzled eyes; And then his loud applause rings roundAnalysis of â€Å"Toby† The poem: Toby is a poem that was written about the death of John’s dog. the poem begins in the Poet’s point of view, calling out the dog’s name, and finding him and realising he is dead. The use of descriptive and cold language engages the reader, and helps us to embrace the feelings that the poet is trying to force upon us.The nature of the poem encourages readers to think back on times that we may have lost a close or loved person, and the poem is both a metaphor and true. the second paragraph of the poem is centered around the sinking in of the fact that one of his closest companions was dead, and that there was now an emptiness in his heart, and silence in the house. Toby’s bark used to fill the house of noise when ever John came home from work, but now he is greeted by an empty house, and the memory of what a great companion Toby was. John uses language and emotions to make the readers feel a touch sad, and to bring our minds into his perspective.The third paragraph of the poem takes us on an emotional roller coaster while John reminisces over what a good mate Toby was for him, his loyalty and how he was always there for John. The third paragraph ends with John coming back to reality, and remembering that Toby is no longer there to greet him after a long day’s work. The nature of the last sentence of the paragraph is almost distraught, and the readers can almost feel John’s pain through his clever use of descriptive and emotive text. The final paragraph is a sense of closure for the poem, poet and readers.John lays Toby to his final resting place, and realises that Toby was the greatest companion that he has had, and they spent their time together trying to find the similarities, even though John was a man, and Toby was a dog, and John definitely found the man in Toby, whilst Toby spent his time trying to find out how dog-like John really was. The poem ends with a sense of happiness, as the poet seems to admit to the loss of his friend, and closes with the fact that Toby really was a man, as he is caring, kind, and always there for his mates, no matter what is going on.Bibliography Poetrylibrary. edu. au Brereton, John Le Gay – Poet – Australian Poetry Library Poetrylibrary. edu. au (n. d. ) Brereton, John Le Gay – Poet – Australian Poetry Library. [online] Available at: http://www. poetrylibrary. edu. au/poets/brereton-john-le-gay [Accessed: 24 Sep 2012]. En. wikipedia. org John Le Gay Brereton – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia En. wikipedia. org (2012) John Le Gay Brereton – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/John_Le_Gay_Brereton [Accessed: 24 Sep 2012].

History of Internet Advertising Essay

The history of Advertising goes back a long time in history during the time of the Romans in which merchants had street signs advertising their wares. With the invention of printing press during the middle part of the 1400s, things changed as it heralded a new era that shaped the course of civilization. The rise of broadcast technology in the twentieth century had made further advances in the world of advertising. In the 1920s, radio advertising carried the industry into its prime and become central to the operation of the advertising world until the rise of television advertising in the 1950s which rose to its prominence ever since up to the present time in which another break through in advertising has risen, the internet. Although internet began in the late 1960s it was only during the creation of the â€Å"Unix User Network or Usenet† (Prince, p. 3) that people got connected and â€Å"ready to do business† (p. ) through the â€Å"store-and-forward† net work ,where people could post news, views, and other communications to be read by others. Prince pointed out that the Usenet was â€Å"quickly adapted as a high-tech classified circular† (wherein categories were established for listing of items for sale. However, it was only in 1995 that a more profound use of the internet for advertisement had started as advertisement becomes more informative and specific. The internet advertising has since then begun to take substantial share of the market advertisement, and the year 2000 recorded the big leap in the internet advertisement with over eight billion dollars in revenue. Since then though, the growth of the internet advertisement in terms of dollar revenues were up and down but it is indisputably that the internet advertisement has become the most sophisticated and far reaching mode of advertisement.

Unearthing the meaning behind “the matrix”

What will you do if one day you wake up plugged into a computer, and that computer gives you a reality that is far from what you know? Will it change anything? Will it give less sense of the things that you thought are real? The Matrix is a dazzling depiction of the adventure of a computer programmer as he seeks to find answers to his mind’s multitude of questions. The Matrix was first shown on March 1999. It is a futuristic film which predicted that in the near future, humans’ lives will revolve around Matrix, a simulated reality. It tells the story of a computer programmer who lives under the pseudonym â€Å"Neo†. At the same time, he’s also a hacker who’s been dying to know the real enigma that lies behind the Matrix. In his desperation to find answers, he came across Morpheus, a man who promised him that he’d know the answer if he’d swallow a red pill. Neo doubtfully obeyed Morpheus and after he took the pill, he is unconsciously taken to a strange place wherein his body is connected to a wide array of wires. He woke up to an artificial program that nurses human beings by sustaining them with manufactured and trashed realities. He is rescued by a group of escapees by removing him from the pod that he’s attached with. The group saved Neo, for they believe that he is the one destined who will save the humankind from their doom. In the latter part, Neo found out that he’s in the year 2199 wherein a current rage between humans and intelligent machines is happening. Neo came to a realization that the world that he has inhabited in 1999 is just an illusion. It was made and developed by certain intelligent machines to keep the human population peaceful. Thus, it gave birth to the name Matrix. Morpheus and his team are lucky enough for they are free. Their duty is to remove other humans from their attachment to the Matrix and in return give them inhumane abilities. They believe that Neo is â€Å"the One† who will end the war because of his infinite control over the Matrix. To completely become a member of the group, Neo is trained to possess several self-defense disciplines which primarily include martial arts. Alongside with this, he’s also informed of the dangers that entail the Matrix life.   All the injuries that he will acquire in the Matrix will manifest in his physical body in the real world. As the time progressed, Neo gradually tagged along with the team’s operations. The group entered Matrix wherein Neo met the Oracle. She told Neo that he possessed a gift for being â€Å"the One† but that he is waiting for something. After this, the group was ambushed by Agents, the fast programs whose aim is to eradicate any threats to the simulation. Unfortunately, Morpheus is the only one who was captured by the Agents. All the members of Neo’s group died except him, Tank, Trinity and Morpheus. It turned out that they were betrayed by their own member, Cypher. A lot of things still happened but one of the most gripping scenes is when Neo is captured by the Agents and he was shot dead by one of them. Neo should’ve been dead if not for Trinity who kissed him. Long before that occurrence, Trinity was already warned that she would fall in love with â€Å"the One†. It’s hard for her to accept Neo’s sudden death so she kissed Neo. To her surprise, Neo’s heart starts beating again. The Agents tried to shoot him but Neo just raised his pal and stopped their bullets in the mid-air.   And finally, Neo saw the Matrix- an infinite number of streaming green lines. Hence, he became â€Å"The One†. The Matrix is indeed one of the most compelling examples that can illustrate some of the facets of the cultural anthropology. Anthropology, as defined â€Å"is the study of humankind, both ancient and contemporary.† (www2.cedarcrest.edu) Anthropology also examines the various facets of the society without any biases. Thus, it envisages society without putting any kind of stereotypes. The Matrix contains a lot of implications that which in return are just manifestations of humankind. The film somehow portrayed that humankind is currently driven by a lot of implicit yet unnoticeable things. Some might think that The Matrix is just a great and dazzling action movie but if you’ll really scratch beneath the surface, you’ll discover that a lot of realities about humankind are hidden in the film.   Innumerable people have watched this movie, but only few really understood the superb analogy that covers the film. Cultural anthropology is indeed vast as it curtains a lot of cultures from different sides of the world. However, The Matrix was able to come up with a coherent comprehension of what is happening in the cultures right now. Cultures now including its people are living in an illusory world that’s full of deceits, slavedom, economic turmoil, fear, media stereotypes and material indulgence. What humankinds fail to realize is that a real Matrix also exists within their cultures. They are driven by the wrong things that they gradually forget to value the things that really matter. Because of their struggle to be wealthy and powerful, their task to nurture and enrich their culture is disregarded. The Matrix gives the image of an existence that’s full of superficiality and trivialities. The image shows that people do everything to block an upsetting reality by wallowing themselves with material pretensions. It is quite intoxicating for some cultures that are drenched in wealth while the other cultures are wallowing in misery. The Matrix can also be connected to cultural anthropological perspectives as it neatly depicts the demarcation that the cultures have right now. The film evidently showed the conflict that’s present between Neo’s side and the Agents. It showed that cultures, despite some of their similarities with other cultures will still remain to be poles apart. It is primarily because these cultures live up to diverse ideals and beliefs. The Matrix is undeniably a worth watching film because it’s not just an ordinary action movie full of explosions, special effects, and adrenalins.   It is a movie that truly makes sense as it will help the people to reflect and realize what’s really going on. The film might also show them how to modify their distorted principles about their cultures. A film like this is quite moving because it offers the possible things that might happen to humankind in the future if the continuous clashing of culturally-acclaimed principles will continue. Although you have to really ponder on the film to see its relation with cultural anthropology, it’s still worth-watching because of its profound illustration. The entire hidden implications of the film are completely and utterly true. The Matrix is a ground-breaking film as it changed how action and sci-fi movies are supposed to be made. It demonstrated its own unique sense as it made people change how they look at their cultures. There are lots of symbolisms that were used in the film. Nevertheless, the spirit of humankind still managed to shine in its own way. Neo's journey toward understanding his real fate teaches a lot of lesson regarding culture. The diversities of the people in the film can be clearly related to the present culture. It gives a lot of anthropological manifestations, yet it still pursued the coherence of the factors that revolved around the film. The movie has generated a lot of controversies and questions until now- questions that remain undiscovered and will still continue to raise unfathomable debates and discussions. It was a revolutionary movie filled with mind-boggling questions and intrigues. Though many films before have already demonstrated their assumptions, nothing can beat The Matrix as it presented its ideas in a more graphical way.   In the end, it just sums up the film in a single question: â€Å"Are we really living in a real world right now?† References Cedarcrest Education. (2008. April). The Anthropological Perspective. Retrieved April 26 2008, from http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/socsci/anthropology_perspective.htm ;

U.S. government policies on economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. government policies on economy - Essay Example Student loans Student loans in America are a form of financial assistance that are supposed to be refunded, converse to other forms of financial assistance, for example, grants and loans. Student loans play an extremely significant role in the higher education of America. Approximately 20 million American citizens go to college every year. In America, a large part of higher education is financed by learners and their families and is perceived to be a venture instead of a basic human liberty. Consequently, students usually graduate with augmented debt levels. Also, student loans are divided into private student loans and federal loans (Wear Simmons, 2008). The Survey of Consumer Finances, 2010, indicates that 45% of all households have significant student-loan debts. This has a negative impact on the economy and productivity. Student loans have diminished the quality of my life. If I successfully meet the debt to income ratio, I may not have the capacity to reserve sufficient funds fo r a deposit. The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that average-income households take approximately 20 years to make sufficient savings for a 10% down payment. I may also take longer to save for a down payment due to additional financial requirements. There are a number of recommendations to address this issue. One is promote extensive adoption of the college scorecard by postsecondary-education institutes. Another recommendation is to establish a properly designed refunding program for students who borrow loans. It is also imperative to incorporate private student loans under bankruptcy protection. Free Trade Free trade is a policy by which the administration does not interfere with exports or discriminate against imports by enforcing subsidies to exports or tariffs to imports or quotas. In the view of comparative advantage, free trade policy allows trading partners equal advantages from trade of services and goods. Free trade has governed prices which are as a consequence of government intervention in the economy through supply restraints or price adjustments (Pugel, 2007). Free trade has improved the quality of my life. For instance, if tariffs on imported sugar are reduced in America, the American manufacturers will receive lower prices and profits while I and other consumers will spend less for an identical amount of sugar due to the similar decreased prices. It also avails numerous items with relative ease. Recommendations include developing additional programs, for example, the trade Adjustment Assistance program which assists those who lose their manufacturing positions due to foreign imports. Nations with dissimilar advantages should be permitted to capitalize on their differences and trade. Research and Development Industry finances two-thirds of America’s research and development. Nonetheless, significant researches are performed by research universities. The federal government developed the foundation for the Nation’s land gra nt institution through the Morrill Acts 4. The federal government support for research and development has developed into a changing and complex web. This has impacted the investment patterns, the economy, and productivity of America (National Science Board, 2008). Research and development has enhanced the quality of life. The fast change has helped me monitor and understand the position of the country in research and development competitiveness. It has also helped me to discover what essential information may be lacking that would give correct examination of the country’

Team Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Team Work - Essay Example e in providing services to the organization’s clients to be able to create a good relationship between employer and employee through initiating motivational plans, which are aimed at ensuring that the employee’s commitments are rewarded to enhance their satisfaction, which will ultimately translate to high quality productivity as well as encouraging employee low turnover. It results from the commitment, inclusion, and motivation of employees. Satisfaction efforts depend on the number of employees in an organization that is, a few employees are catered for easily while it is strenuous to cater for a large number of employees. In the case of WooWoo Widget Production Company, which has fifty employees a motivation plan is necessary to provide time-to-time pay and compensation plans in terms of money for achievements. Further, the plan must create opportunities relevant to employees’ talent and skills to enable them in the long-run get assurance for their job security (Janssen & Van Yperen, 2004). It is notable that, WooWoo’s main manufacturing challenges include product imperfection, high operational costs, and delivery delays. Therefore, the company should involve its employees in appraising operational inefficiencies that result to the escalation of costs (Schermerhorn et al., 2012). Thus, the amputation of such challenges motivates empl oyers and employees hence bringing about job satisfaction. Diligence, proper recruitment, and training are incentives for the realization of high quality work. The motivational plan structure should embrace such incentives and, therefore, make employees own the company dream, which can trigger increased productivity that is important for company success. In addition, the employers must keep track of their personnel progress in terms of training and emotional catering because some of the factors causing poor quality are not necessarily within the workplace. For instance, some employees may have family problems that in some

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

Economics - Essay Example onsuming them till they are in a position of not being able to afford them or need some other external causes to prevent their usage; sometimes people might even go beyond their capacity to get hold of the commodities. In such cases, the government has to impose a very high tax on the particular item for the welfare of the society (George & Wilding, 1984). Thus, the main reason operating behind the imposition of high taxes on addiction items is the price inelasticity of demand (Baumol & Blinder, 2008). One such item of addiction is tobacco that is often considered as being one of the most harmful and hazardous elements of consumption as well and this is the reason why the government of all concerned nations have decided to impose a high tax on the same. When tax is imposed on a commodity, it results to an upward shift in the supply curve of the commodity but the demand curve remains unchanged. This is because, the tax in such cases are imposed in the form of higher prices and thus are sales tax (Aronson, Hilley & Maxwell, 1986). So these taxes are indirect in the sense that they are transferred from the seller to the buyer. In case of a sales tax, the retailers will buy lower quantity of a product from the wholesalers which subsequently lead to a fall in the supply of the commodity – this factor is reflected through an upward shift in the supply curve. For a commodity like tobacco having a very low price elasticity of demand, an upward shift in the supply curve with demand remaining constant, leads to a rise in the position of the equilibrium point and consequently, a fall in the equilibrium quantity and a rise in the equilibrium price. However, the fall in quantity is not in proportion to the rise in the final price (Lipsey & Harbury, 1992). Thus, it is found that the imposition of taxes on items like tobacco, which have a very low price elasticity of demand, is that, they serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it leads to a fall in aggregate consumption so as to

Should our ethical commitment be determined by the state boundaries Assignment

Should our ethical commitment be determined by the state boundaries - Assignment Example However, there are certain general aspects of ethics which are accepted everywhere in the world. This paper briefly analyses the question; â€Å"Should our ethical commitment be determined by the state boundaries?†. Should our ethical commitment be determined by the state boundaries? â€Å"Values are the rules by which we make decisions about right and wrong, should and shouldn't, good and bad. They also tell us which are more or less important, which is useful when we have to trade off meeting one value over another† (Values, morals and ethics, 2002). Values are different in different societies. For example, Muslims are allowed to keep more than one wife at a time whereas most of the other religions consider such things as sin or unethical behaviour. In other words, values related to sexual activities or marriage is defined differently by different religions. Under such circumstances, the question; whether a Muslim person living in a Christian country should be allowed to keep more than one wife at a time, is relevant. It should be noted that plenty of Muslims are staying in America and Britain like Christian countries. If such Muslims try to follow their customs and traits related to sexual activities while living in overseas countries, the chances of social problems are immense. Same way, same sex marriage is allowed in Canada. â€Å"All same-sex marriages declared legal and valid by Canadian justice minister Rob  Nicholson†(Post media news, 2012). If Canadians try to follow same sex marriage customs while living in another country, social problems may definitely arise. Imagine a situation in which a Canadian male living in Saudi Arabia tries to marry another male while living in Saudi Arabia. â€Å"As per utilitarianism, utility is measured in terms of pleasure and pain† (Crane &Matten, 2007, p.95).. Another argument is that â€Å"Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness† (Mill, 2004, p.6). It is a fact that same sex marriage provides pleasure to the Canadian, but it provides pain to the society in which these things are unacceptable. In short, it is better to keep ethics and morals within the state boundaries. At the same time, in certain cases, ethics and morals should be allowed to travel beyond the boundaries of states. According to Maccarelli, (2006) â€Å"what a person should do and what a person wants to do are often not compatible† (Maccarelli, 2006). For example, Middle East is a place in which people from all parts of the world are working together. These diverse people have their own beliefs in morals and ethics. Christian workers consider Sundays as sacred days and they always like to have weekly off on that day. On the other hand, Muslims like to have weekly off on Fridays. If a Christian employee asks weekly offs on Sundays, his authorities should consider that demand favorably if possible. Social contract theory says that â€Å"Majority of the humans are self-interested and they will work for preserving their interest. But the law of nature ask commands that each man be willing to pursue peace when others are willing to do the same† (Social Contract Theory, 2004). In other words, the ultimate aim or objective of ethics and morality is to promote peace and harmony across the world. In that sense, it is better to keep unacceptable ethical behaviours within the boundaries of

Influencing Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Influencing Performance - Essay Example When strategic goals are clearly communicated to the employees, they feel confident and motivated about it. Secondly, â€Å"equal pay for equal work† is an important compensation theory which works towards employee motivation (McIntosh 1998). Inequalities tend to generate between employees when they feel that some other person is getting more for the same work or he/she is not getting adequate compensation for his/her services. It is very important for the organization to observe equity theory of motivation (McShane and Von Glinow 2010) while designing the compensation packages. Also, training and development programmes for employees at different levels work wonders in enhancing performance as they give the employees a chance to increase their skills set. They become more competent to handle more responsibilities with greater enthusiasm and ability which automatically builds upon their positivity towards work. Understanding employee professional and personal needs is the key to their motivation and best performance. Sufficient promotion opportunities, clear goals, mutual working environment and celebrating each and every achievement of employees lies at the heart of bettering the employee performance. Workplace security, safety measures and constructive criticism also form an integral part of this. Describe one method effective leaders can use to improve individual and/or group performance in your organization. Include the role of theory in your discussion. Support your method with a minimum of 1 reference from the literature. Leaders are considered to be effective when they are able to direct the actions of their followers through motivation, planning and judicious implementation of plans. Leaders are considered as role models by the followers because of their charisma or the inherent qualities and values they possess. Leaders are said to be effective when they are able to transfer these to their followers (Leadership Expert webpage 2010). One popular