Women in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Name: Date: French van Errors 9 March 2014 Archimedes Teacher Training Institute, university of Utrecht Course: Institute: Highlights of English Literature Essay on the role of women in Heart of Darkness by J. Conrad Assignment: Lovers In a Male-Dominated World: the Witch and the Widow ‘The last word he pronounced – was your name. ‘ It is ironic that this utter lie to a woman concludes the story of a man's Journey into the dark African jungle. Marrow, the story protagonist, is the one who lies to the fiance ©e of the infamous Mr.. Kurt, he reason for his African adventure.In Joseph Concord's novella Heart of Darkness (1899), women are scarce. Men drive the story and the two women portrayed In the story are sketchy, nameless characters who only serve as female prototypes: the Witch and the Widow. Both have been lovers of the story's pivotal Mr.. Kurt and symbolize his transformation. The first woman that appears is the Witch – traditionally an unmarried wom an outside the normal structure of society, a priestly woman who possesses unique knowledge of medicine and the supernatural. She comes on stage when the story Is well underway. Until then, only men have played a role In the tale: sailors, company officials, soldiers, station managers, explorers, servants and other staff. The Witch belongs to the tribe where Mr.. Kurt ruthlessly ruled. When he is taken away on Marrows steamer, she stands at the river bank: Along the lighted shore moved a wild and gorgeous apparition of a woman. (†¦ ) bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at every step. She was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent. Her long shadow fell to the water's edge.Her face had a tragic and fleece aspect of wild sorrow and of dumb pain. ‘ (up. 75-76 Penguin Classics) These words suggest she was Kurt' lover, but nothing beyond her awe-inspiring presence is revealed. Apart from the powerful African Witch, there is the brittle European Widow: two opposites that symbolize the former Kurt (nurtured by European civilization) and the new Kurt (transformed by African Nature). This black-clad woman also had an amorous relationship with Kurt, but she is completely unaware of Quartz's ramification and new love.She was engaged to him, waiting for his return and hoping to get married to him one day. Little did she know of his intentions to stay in the Jungle forever, had Marrow not got him out. She is presented as the prototypical widow that only exists because of her loss: ‘She came forward, all in black, with a pale since his death, more than a year since the news came; she seemed as though she would remember and mourn forever. ‘ (p. 92) We can conclude that males reign supreme in Concord's novella.They rule the world and they conquer the dark interior of the African continent. The primps inter pares of these conquerors is Mr.. Kurt, who nearly gets a mythical status in Marrows imagina tion. The two women that love Mr.. Kurt are the only women that play a role, and they are presented as symbols: the one a strong African Witch, the other a weak European Widow, enforcing the two-sided personality of Mr.. Kurt and his personal battle between the dark powers of Africa against the ‘enlightening civilization of Europe.

Prevent Animals and Plants from Dying Out Essay

Increasing number of animals and plants are dying out, but little has been done to prevent. This problem has given rise to great public concern now. In this essay, I’ll analyse some possible causes of this phenomenon and then propose some solutions. Firstly, some people think it is waste of resource to prevent animals and plants. They suggest that the money should be better spent on human population. They want take more space and totally ignore the animals’ and the plants’. Secondly, human being is selfish and greedy, some people cannot resist the temptation of wearing the fur coat or eating the delicious food, (such as shark’s fin, wild animals etc.) though they have been aware of this problem for a long time. Based on the above analysis, I think there are some ways to deal with the problem. To start with, the sense of protection animals and plants should be enhanced. To let people know that the disappearance of animals and plants will result in serious threat to the balance of ecosystem. It is hard to imagine what our world would be like without animals and plants. Next, a healthy lifestyle should be advocated, like healthy diet, simple life, get alone well with natures. Finally the most important thing is to lay down the low to punish those who kill animals or cut plants without permission strictly. In summary, to protect animals and plants is to protect our living environment. Every individual should participate in doing something to preserve animals and plants from dying out.

Behavior That Has a Different Meaning Another Culture in

Describe a gesture or behavior that has a different meaning another culture in. Provide a complete description of the action and what it means in both cultures Gesture and behavior has a big differences In features and differences in the world. Every time we are taking a trip to another country we try to discover as much as possible information about a country where we are travel to. Every time when we are going to another country we should know that in different countries gestures are different. Many gestures are Interpreted differently than In our own country.Since I m a representative from another country, I would like to tell you about the gestures of my country, too. So, swinging your head left and right, and countries, including Russia, means no; however, In countries such as Bulgaria, India, Greece this means endorsement, yes and so on. One of the most common gestures over the world is Okay Hand Sign as we can judge as an endorsement or so thats all well and fine. In English-speaking countries gesture Okay Hand Sign, has a positive, endorsing the value okay. Also in Russia, this gesture has the same meaning as in English-speaking countries.But In France this gesture expresses conflicting emotions and opposite meaning. In Brazil, such gesture may judge as disrespect to the public or other person. Okay gesture is vulgar and obscene for educated people In Brazil. The gesture is interpreted in various countries In various ways. Another famous gesture is Thumbs up Hand Sign. Raising your hand in front of others and making Thumb up Hand Sigh it can be treated as All right, All is fine. Pulling your hand up and pointing your thumb behind someone, this is used in Russia and In many Europe countries.In Muslim countries, the sigh Is offensive and indecent. So, do not use the gesture in these countries. In Saudi Arabia, the rotational movement of the finger can Judge as a Scram out of here, Goodbye; however, meaning Goodbye will be expressed in aggressive style. Saying Goodbye to the people from America you must keep your hand horizontally and slowly lift it as if you were clapping someone on his shoulder or head. Russians waving their hands from one side to another; although, this gesture in other countries may have different concept. For example, when Hispanics see this gesture they think that It is an Invitation that has different meaning In Russians. Sign of the Horns has a variety of meanings. In Russian tales Sigh of the Horns depicts actual goat. In heavy metal subculture this gesture is view as metal sigh, to signify that the music they are listening to, mostly rock or metal genre. In some Western Europe and North America that sign (corona) Is offensive allusion to the fact that the person to whom It is shown Cuckold Very famous gesture all over the world is The V sigh. In Russia, as a rule means number two. For example, this way we order two beers in a bar. In America, The V facing your target, youre giving somebody a long-established insult in Great Britain and many English speaking countries such as Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. In many countries, one of them is Russia as well; tapping your forehead means What a fool Italian and French, tapping their foreheads, tell you that they do not like the idea and it seems silly. In Britain and Spain, it is a sign of admiration and contentment is in Germany anger and resentment, but the Dutchmen so portray [Our idea they liked. And remember, smile and kindness in any country leads to communication.

The Volcanic Island Arcs of the Pacific Term Paper

The Volcanic Island Arcs of the Pacific - Term Paper Example (Akusekijima) near Pacific. Iriomotejimi: In the north of Iriomotejimi Island, submarine volcano is present. This volcano is located 25 km north north east (NNE) at the tip of Iriomotejimi island. The estimated depth of the area where this island is located is about 200 to 300 meters. A major eruption took place at this volcanic island in 1924. The after effects of this eruption were terrible. The pumice rafts produced with this eruption had total volume about 1 cu km. This was carried away by water currents along the whole coast of Japan as far as Hokkaido situated in the north. The largest block formed by melted concrete also known as pumice blocks exceeded up to 1x2 meters in size. The volume of eruption proved to be the largest among all the historical eruption. The largest volume made this outbreak volcanic explosion as the largest in Japan’s history. Kikai Caldera Kikai Caldera is a massive volcano up to 12 miles in diameter. This volcano is located in Osumi islands in J apan. This volcano is the remain of ancient volcanic eruptions took place thousands years ago. Akahova eruption is directly connected to Kikai Caldera. This eruption is considered one among the largest volcanic eruptions took place during Holocene ten thousand years ago. The consequences of this volcanic eruption prolonged and about six thousand years ago, pyroclastic flows from that outbreak and the magma reached to the southern coast of Kyushu. This flow extended over an extensive area up to 62 miles away. The ash could be felt at distant areas. This eruption further produced round about 150 cubic kilometers of tephra. The Volcanic Explosivity Index was 7 due to this massive explosion. So, the ongoing conditions made this one of the most destructive and explosive in last 10, 000... The term paper "The Volcanic Island Arcs of the Pacific" talks about the Pacific tectonic plates all along the boundary situated in the West. These plates move under another and sink into the mantle of the Earth. As a result subduction zones establish in broad curves and island chains develop along these zones. These chains are known as island arcs. Islands are formed due to these volcanic activities but at the same time, there might be several other reasons. Flexing plates, sometimes, up to warp the floor of the sea, lifting it out and form islands. Moreover, if subducting plate has plentiful sediments then these sediments may be slipped off to overriding plates. This scrapped sediment portion builds up into a wedge which is called mà ©lange. Sometimes this wedge may put up so much that it converts into a ridge. This ridge further dominates the forearc. For arch is the region present in between the trench axis and island arc. When tectonic forces apply to these forearcs, they get uplift and the ridges are also uplifted and form islands. Examples of such types of islands include Yap, Guam, and Eua. The Kuril Islands formed volcanic arc composed of 45 volcanoes present on 20 islands. The Pacific Plate shifts with great velocity. This speed is about 90 mm per year. The Pacific plate subducts under Okhotsk Plate near Kuril trench. Here it goes deeper in a northwest direction. This area is seismically very active to a depth of about 680 km. the volcanoes present here are heated up with melted magma.

Sex trafficking in the United states and if the women involved should Research Proposal

Sex trafficking in the United states and if the women involved should be prosecuted or considered victims - Research Proposal Example any of the women that are in the sex trafficking industry are targeted by pimps or recruiters because they seem to be in desperate situations such as being homeless or addicted to drugs, most of the women are suffering from extreme poverty. Once the women are brought into sex trafficking the recruiters have various methods of forcing them to continue. These can include physical violence, threats of violence to family members, threats of exposure and restricting the women’s freedom. (Raymond, Hughes. 7-8) The women that are forced into this life style are most often victims and should not be criminally prosecuted. Some of the women that are involved in sex trafficking do so willingly, mostly in the form of prostitution. One reason that many people oppose this form of sex trafficking is because they feel that it is morally wrong and the women are harmed by doing so (Dempsey. 18) Criminal prosecution of the women that willingly become prostitutes may deter others from becoming prostitutes, it would do nothing to stop unscrupulous people from forcing women into the

The European Banking Union Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The European Banking Union Project - Term Paper Example On one hand it allowed these bubbles to grow dangerously while on the other hand it was extremely cautious in its quantitative easing policy (The European Central Bank: The Main Cause of the Debt Crisis). The European Union Banking Project: The Proposal The European Union leaders have come forward to propose a remedy for the current financial crisis. The European Council of 28th and 29th June, 2012 has agreed to deepen the economic and monetary integration. The leaders have discussed a  report titled 'Towards a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union', prepared by the President of the European Council in close collaboration with the President of the European Commission, the Chair of the Euro group and the President of the European Central Bank. The Commission has proposed to design a single banking supervision mechanism in the Euro area. In 2008 when the financial crisis spread to Europe, there were 27 different banking regulatory systems based on the separate national rules. The propo sal is not aimed at changing the rule making for the single market (with its ‘four freedoms’ namely, freedom of movement of goods, services, and the factors of production i.e. labour and capital) existing amongst the 27 countries, but the way in which the banks in the Euro area would be supervised. Although coordination pre-existed by way of the framing of the monetary policies for all these banks by the ECB, it was rather informal and was not sufficient to face the financial sector crisis of this nature. A full-fledged banking union has become necessary that would lead to pooled monetary responsibilities and better financial integration (Towards a Banking... This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the pros and cons of the creation of European Banking Union, as a form of central supervisory system. It is argued in the paper that benefits of forming such an union outweight its limitations. During the period of 2000 to 2007 there was a significant global rise in savings which was available for investment in the EU. It created an easy credit facility as well as helped the formation of a powerful real-estate bubble. When these bubbles burst, the property price fell hugely while the liabilities owed to global investors remained at their full price. The high-risk lending and borrowing practices had started taking its toll. The European Council in June, 2012 has agreed to deepen the economic and monetary integration. The leaders have discussed a report titled 'Towards a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union, prepared by the President of the European Council in close collaboration with the President of the European Commission, the Chair of the Euro group and the President of the European Central Bank. The Commission has proposed to design a single banking supervision mechanism in the Euro area. In response to the proposal of establishing a banking union, several countries have showed their concern or fear. Such a method of unifying the monetary responsibilities of all the banks in the European Union is going to have a far-reaching effect on the growth of the economies. Germany, for example, is not willing to cede control of its entire banking sector.

Strategy management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Strategy management - Essay Example In order to stay relevant in such aggressive market, these companies have been forced to initiate new strategies characteristically from time to time. However, amid the innovativeness and creativity to generate such new strategies such as distinct mobile phone features, capability, speed, memory capacity and so forth, there has been a clash between the principal firms. Ultimately, the aim of each company is not only to stay relevant but to remain dominant in the market as well. In a number of studies by prominent researchers such as Michael porter, Bowman’s, Johnson’s, McKenzie’s etc on the marketing strategies, they have made some influential marketing models to analyse the reign in competitive market spheres. For instance, in Porter’s generic strategies, he proposed three stratagems of cost leadership, focus and differentiation (Porter, 2007). Through the three strategies, Porter intends to show that the profit of the firm is basically the difference between its returns and cost. Thus, high profitability is achievable through attaining lower costs or higher prices with reference to the competition, meaning that a company can earn a price premium through differentiation (de Kluyver, 2010). In line with Porters’ and other models by other researchers, I seek to critically evaluate some of the analytical processes against three major mobile manufacturing companies. The purpose of this study paper is to not only evaluate the models, but also explore the merits and demerits associated with each of the analytical processes with regard to the telecommunication industry. The methodology of this paper will be an evaluation of the analytical process, followed by application of the firms and conclusion of each with the scepticism of demerits experienced of the processes. In addition, will be an assessment of the number of ways to mitigate the deficiencies of the models if any. A case study of this assessment paper is on three major mobile manufacturing

Physiology of Swimming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Physiology of Swimming - Essay Example Japanese people had a big swim crave. In the Pacific area, swimming was taught to children at a very young age. So young that the minute they could walk they were put in to water to swim. Swimming was and still is a big part of training to boxers for fights. The important reason why humans can swim without falling to the bottom is because of surface area. If a regular sheet of paper and a crumpled one are dropped from a height at the same time, the one which is crumpled falls faster than the one that is regular. This is because of the surface area - the surface area of the sheet of paper is larger than the crumpled one, which makes it fall slower. The same concept applies to humans and water. Humans have a large surface area to their mass. This is why humans can stay afloat and swim. The more the surface area, the more water there is directly underneath the person swimming. The water underneath tends to keep the body up. (Lupton, 1923, 68) This is the same concept why huge aircraft carriers on the sea can stay afloat, even though they are very heavy and are a lot denser than the water. These ships and aircraft carriers are also very huge, and their size gives them a lot of surface area for the water to push them up. The Front crawl is generally considered the fastest swimming style. It is also known as Freestyle. It has been observed that most amateur swimmers utilize this stroke in freestyle competitions. The preliminary pose for the front crawl style in swimming is on the breast, with both arms extended out in frontage and both legs stretched to the backside. Then while one arm is dragging/ approaching while the other arm is in the posture of recovering. The arm strokes offer most of the frontward movement, whereas the leg kicking in a quivering movement only offers some. The stroke utilizes the flutter kick and an above the water arm recovery .in this position, the hand draws down the pretending middle line of the body, seizes the water, and thrusts it back towards the feet. The most useful force is producing during the last segment of the stroke that is called the finish. The face remains in the water while the water levels at about the swimmer's hairline. The flutter kick initiates from the hip. A calm ankle and foot are essential to have a successful kick. The knees curve lightly, but curving them in extensive frequency will guide to over kicking as well as to fatigue. The swimmer is supposed to respire by gently sloping the head to the direction as the equation of arm on the breathing side becomes one-half to three- quarters of the channel through the stroke. The breathing should not disrupt the stroke. A breathe, during this exercise, should be taken every two three, or even four strokes to make certain ample oxygen delivery. The Front Crawl is one of the extensively used strokes in the United States, and is frequently the choice for fitness swimmers. Elementary Backstroke The Elementary Backstroke is supposed a quiescent stroke since it has a glide point and is a small energy stroke. The revitalization phase is completed under the water. The kick which is carried out in this respect is the Whip kick. The

Managerial Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managerial Finance - Essay Example Managerial accounting is in general used by the management team of the company for translating the trends and signals available from the financial information. Different levels of managers often use this information in a somewhat different manner in their own wisdom. The information is often used for Break even analysis, Measuring and evaluating the monthly, quarterly or annual performances or Preparing the targets for production and services.Managerial accounting is in general used by the management team for translating the trends and signals available from the financial information. Different levels of managers often use this information in a somewhat different manner in their own wisdom. The information is often used for Break even analysis, Measuring and evaluating the monthly, quarterly or annual performances or Preparing the targets for production and services.Financial This type of accounting gives an idea to people from outside the company as well as stakeholders from within the company to arrive at a decision regarding their decision to continue with the company or look for a better opportunity. Financial accounting provides information like;ï‚ § Profit and loss figures for the company over a financial year or select period of timeï‚ § Reserves and surpluses being maintained by the companyï‚ § Dividend payouts by the company in the recent pastï‚ § Nature of funding for the company e.g. debt or equityï‚ § Proportion of dependence on finances from outside the company’s own reservesï‚ § Number of stakeholders in the business.... Financial Accounting: This type of accounting gives an idea to people from outside the company as well as stakeholders from within the company to arrive at a decision regarding their decision to continue with the company or look for a better opportunity. Financial accounting provides information like; Profit and loss figures for the company over a financial year or select period of time Reserves and surpluses being maintained by the company Dividend payouts by the company in the recent past Nature of funding for the company e.g. debt or equity Proportion of dependence on finances from outside the company's own reserves Number of stakeholders in the business Operating ratios for assessing the financial health of the company Adherence to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Number and types of external reports generated Judicious plans of the company for disbursing the profits Such information helps investors in looking for long-term or short-term targets for the investments being done in the ABX Company. It is worthwhile here to mention that individual shareholders, banking and financial institutions keep watch on the figures being communicated by the company from time to time. While on the one hand for an individual investor the dividend payouts and the price of the share in the stock market holds the key, the banking and financial institutions keep a close watch on a range of figures like operating ratios, profit margins, PE ratios etc. Therefore, even the dividend payouts and higher prices of company's share on the stock exchanges may not be attractive enough for the banks and financial institutions to advance finances for expansion and diversification. The financial accountant helps in preparing all such reports for the outside to

Interpreting Financial Results Essay Example for Free

Interpreting Financial Results Essay Targets mission is for their customer to except the most out of them and to pay less for their products. They plan to achieve this by delivering outstanding values, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences. As I have research and interpret Targets Financial Results, I was able to identify some trends they have experiences within the last three years. When it comes to Targets Liquidity Ratio, the pattern shows that from 2011 to 2013 they start up went down and slowly went back up. As for their Efficiency Ratio the trend identifies that from 2011 to 2013 they were still starting high then dropping low and slowly coming back up. Now when it comes to the Leverage Ratio Targets has continuous increase for 2011 to 2013 with just a little decrease in some areas and this also goes for the Profitability Ratio, Market Value Indicator soon. I also had the opportunity to compare the financial results of Target with their benchmarking company Walmart. Once I review Walmarts financial results, I saw some of the same trends target had. I also notice that Walmart has a lot more revenue being generated then what Target does. I have attached a financial ratio sheet which will also confirm and identify the trends of both Target and Walmart.

Episodic Memory: Definition and Theories

Episodic Memory: Definition and Theories FRITZ Claudia KRENN Nora SCHALLEHN Anna Episodic memory is defined as a memory for personal unique past experience. Experimental approaches with diverse species were done in order to test for the â€Å"what where and when† of some unique recent event. These experiments provide convergent evidence that processes similar to episodic memory occur in animals, which is the main focus of this essay. The memory in general is divided into two parts – procedural and declarative memory. Declarative memory is further divided into semantic and episodic memory. Episodic memory is the latest kind of memory to develop and the first to degenerate with age. When it was first discussed by Tulving in 1972 he proposed a distinction between episodic and semantic memory, knowing versus remembering. Episodic memory was defined primarily as a memory for personal unique past experience that is what happened, where and when, also known as the WWW theory. According to Tulving â€Å"episodic memory receives and stores information about temporally dated episodes or events, and temporal-spatial relations among these events.† In contrast, semantic memory is the knowledge of general facts, a structured record of details, concepts and skills that we have acquired. It is used as an aid in placing episodic events in time. Semantic information is derived from accumulated episodic memory. Episod ic memory can be thought as a map that ties together items in semantic memory. For example, memory for the experience of dinner at Luigi’s Restaurant last Saturday night is episodic whereas knowledge about what was involved in having dinner at a restaurant in general is semantic. Furthermore supported by evidence that some people with hippocampal damage have semantic but not episodic memory, the definition of episodic memory evolved to emphasize its conscious component, a feeling of re-experiencing the remembered event which is also known as autonoetic consciousness (Tulving 2002). It enables an individual to be aware of the self in a subjective time. It is further claimed to be part of a uniquely human faculty of â€Å"mental time travel,† the ability to mentally project oneself into the future as well as into the past. How does mental time travel the reconstruction of past events work? Imagine the last presentation you gave? Do you remember the audience’s rea ction? You might have snapshots of what the scene looked like. But this imagery does not tend to unfold in an orderly fashion from start to end. Extensive research on episodic memory clearly shows that we do not simply press the rewind button – we actively reconstruct past events from the gist or from visual snapshots, but draw heavily on our general semantic knowledge. We tend to reconstruct in ways that help justify our current attitudes. Let us get back to Tulving’s proposal. Do we agree on the aspect that humans are alone in their ability to recall about the past and imagine the future? Some argue that language is the key difference between humans and animals and that episodic memory can only emerge in an organism that possesses language. However, there have been efforts to demonstrate episodic memory in animals. In one attempt pigeons were taught a language in order to respond to an unexpected question. Furthermore, a fundamental question in comparative cognition is whether animals remember unique personal past experiences. It has long been argued that memories for specific events, known as episodic memory, are unique to humans. We know that animals from dolphins to monkeys can learn from single events. But do they revisit the events that shaped their past? Innovative work by Clayton and Dickson has produced perhaps the strongest case yet for the WWW memory in animals. The animals’ memory is referred to as episodic-like because it satisfies the original definition of episodic memory for what, where and when but without any evidence of autonoetic consciousness. Clayton and Dickinson (1998) where the first ones who tried to demonstrate the discrimination of WWW in scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens). The birds got to cache perishable peanuts on one side of a storage tray and non-perishable wax worms on the other side. Two caching phases were separated by 120 hours. The birds either cached peanuts followed by worms or the other way round. After four hours they were allowed to recover the stored items. Before the actual test phase, one group of the birds learned that worms decay over time, thus after the four hours gap they directed their first inspection to the worm side. After the 124 hours gap the worms had already perished and the birds turned to the peanut side first. To validate that the preference for the peanuts on the longer trial was not because the scrub jays simply forgot where the worms were, the group was compared to a second group. This group learned that the worms never decay as they where removed immediately after caching and replaced by fresh ones. As a result all birds of this group inspected the worm side of the tray in both the short and the long trial first. In conclusion the switch from worm side to peanut side by birds in the first group can only be explained by recalling what items were cached, where they were stored and when they were cached, which is evidence for episodic-like memory. Not only scrub jays but also rats were used for experiments for testing the â€Å"WWW†-theory. This was done by Babb and Crystal (2005), using the circadian rhythm. Critics stated however, that this could not be seen as a proof for â€Å"when† since the rats’ biological rhythm is responsible for the â€Å"when†. As a consequence Babb and Crystal (2006) modified the experiment, controlling for the time of day. The rats however could still accomplish the trials. It is therefore called episodic-like memory. In an experiment by Roberts et al. (2008), rats were tested if their memory is based on when or how long ago a specific event occurred. The results clearly displayed that rats use elapsed time as a cue for when an event happened. In terms of the definition of episodic-like memory the conditions for â€Å"what-where-when† were fulfilled in these types of experiments. However in terms of the definition of episodic memory the evidence of autonoetic con sciousness is missing. Subsequently one can argue that those experiments had long training phases and the animals learned therefore rules on how to behave in certain situations. This could be declared as semantic memory. A different approach to test episodic-like memory in animals was done by Zentall et al. (2001). In this study, the aim was to avoid the possibility for the tested animals to solve the task because of a lot of experiences with the â€Å"rules† of the task and thus form semantic memory. This was done by asking them nonverbally unexpected questions. Therefore the eight tested pigeons were forced to travel back in their minds. To test the pigeons, Zentall et al. used a study design with multiple phases. At first, the pigeons had a language training where they learned to respond to the question â€Å"did you just peck?† They were shown one of two different symbols. At the symbol with vertical lines they would peck and at the one with horizontal lines they would refrain from pecking. The demonstrated symbol was followed by a red and a green light. After pecking the choice of the red light was reinforced. After refraining from pecking the choice of the green light was reinforc ed. Now the red light can be seen as the answer â€Å"yes† and the green light as the answer â€Å"no† to the question â€Å"Did you just peck?† In the next phase they learned to peck at one of a new pair of symbols without being asked about what they had just done. However in the test phase they were confronted for the first time with the red and green comparisons after the interaction with a new symbol. They were also tested with a symbol where they would spontaneously peck at and the absence of a symbol, so that they would not peck. And again they were asked whether they had just pecked. In both cases they chose the right answer in about seventy percent of the first four test trials, which is above chance. This study outcome speaks in favor of episodic-like memory in pigeons. Zentall et al. (2001) could demonstrate, that the pigeons were able to retrieve knowledge of recent experiences on unexpected request. Additionally, further research displayed, that the pigeons did not solve the task through proprioceptive cues (Singer and Zentall 2007, as cited in Crystal). However the pigeons had to remember only their actions for a few seconds, while humans are able to remember episodes for a long time or even a lifetime. So studies on what-where-when memory with integration of unexpected questions could lead to stronger evidence (Crystal 2010). Experiments testing for episodic-like memory in animals were moreover done with Dolphins. Mercado et al. (1998, as cited by Zentall et al.) demonstrated that these animals were capable to remember their actions by asking them to perform a certain behavior they had done most recently or a performance they had not recently done. Studies with pigeons as well as with dolphins indicate therefore that processes similar to episodic memory occur in animals. Since the tests were done with diverse species, it might be that this form of memory represents a general capacity in animals. All the experimental approaches discussed in our presentation involve testing for the what where and when of some unique recent event. As discussed, these experiments provide convergent evidence that processes similar to episodic memory occur in animals. This kind of memory is now known as â€Å"episodic like† memory rather than episodic memory because it satisfies the original definition of episodic memory defined by Tulving as a memory for what where and when of a unique experience but without any evidence of autonoetic consciousness. Additionally, the series of studies raised doubt about the claim, mental time travel being unique to humans. Therefore the variety of approaches that have developed might be taken as a welcome evidence of a search for convergent data but they also reflect the fact that no one approach to date has captured all aspects of human episodic memory in another species. Knowing now all the definitions and experimental approaches one could come up with t he question â€Å"why is it important to have the ability of episodic memory?† The answer is that there is no selective advantage to reconstruct the past per se, unless it matters for the present or future. It is proposed that episodic reconstruction is just an adaptive design feature of the future planning system such as building a nest. References Babb, S. J., and J. D. Crystal. 2005. Discrimination of what, when and where: Implications for episodic-like memory in rats. Learning Motivation 36: 177-189. Babb, S. J., and J. D. Crystal. 2006. Discrimination of what, when, and where is not based on time of day. Learning Behaviour 34(2): 124-130. Clayton, N. S., and A. Dickinson. 1998. Episodic-like memory during cache recovery by scrub jays. Nature 395: 272-274. Cognition, Evolution and Behavior (pp. 249-256) Crystal, J.D. (2010). Episodic-like memory in animals. Behavioural Brain Research, 215 (2), 235–243. Mercado E. et al. (1998). Memory for recent actions in the bottlenosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): Repetition of arbitrary behaviors using an abstract rule. Animal Learning Behavior, 26, 210-218. (cited in Zentall, T.R. et al. (2001). Roberts, W. A., M. C. Feeney, K. MacPherson, M. Petter, N. McMillan, and E. Musolino. 2008. Episodic-like memory in rats: Is it based on when or how long ago?. Science 320: 113-115 Suddendorf T. and Busby J. Mental time travel in animals? Early Cognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane Singer, R.A. and Zentall, T.R. (2007). Pigeons learn to answer the question ‘where did you just peck?’ and can report peck location when unexpectedly asked. Learning Behavior, 35, 184–189. (cited in Crystal, J.D. (2010) Tulving, E. 1972. Episodic and semantic memory. In Organization of memory, ed. Tulving, E., and W. Donaldson. New York: Academic Press. Zentall, T.R. et al. (2001). Episodic-like memory in pigeons. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 8 (4), 685-690.

Wallace Stevens and Emile Durkheim Essay -- God Religion Religious Ess

Wallace Stevens and Emile Durkheim To more fully understand Stevens' poem "The Idea of Order at Key West," one can look at the ideas of the poem in context of social-philosophical thought. Emile Durkheim's theories on religion closely parallel those of Stevens. Both men believe that there is no supreme greater being, or God, that gives things order and meaning. But both men also believe that humans need to read order and meaning into the world to understand it, even if the meaning humans imply is false because there is no God. Since this aspect of both men's ideas is so similar, Durkheim's outline of ideas on religion can form a model by which Stevens' poem can be analyzed. Furthermore, although there is no way to prove that Steven's poem is based on Durkheim's ideas, there are enough similarities that the two sets of ideas can be compared. Both Stevens and Durkheim believe that humans read order into the world to aid in understanding. In general, Durkheim believed that humans create religion as a way to give events meaning and explain why things happen. In "Origin of the Idea of the Totemic Principle," Durkheim elaborates on these ideas. Men know well that they are acted upon, but they do not know by whom. So they must invent by themselves the idea of these powers with which they feel themselves in connection, and from that, we are able to catch a glimpse of the way by which they are led to represent them under forms that are really foreign to their nature and to transfigure them by thought. (172) The idea that society, which is created by people, can in turn act upon people is a difficult concept for humans to grasp. Instead, it is easier for humans to realize that actions happen by forces external to themselves and... ...kheim's theories about religious thought and Wallace Stevens' poem "The Idea of Order at Key West" seem unrelated, they actually focus on similar points and come to a similar conclusion. In the end, both men realize humans create meaning and order to put abstract ideas into forms humans can comprehend. Therefore, by understanding what Durkheim's ideas about religion are, one better understands the principle that Stevens is trying to convey in his poem. Works Cited Durkheim, Emile. On Morality and Society. Ed. Robert Bellah. The University of Chicago Press, 1973. Stevens, Wallace. "Sunday Morning." The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. Editor: Jay Parini. Columbia University Press, 1995. 330-331. Stevens, Wallace. "The Idea of Order at Key West." The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. Editor: Jay Parini. Columbia University Press, 1995. 334-335.

St. Anselns Ontological Argument For The Experience Of God :: essays research papers

St. Anselm’s ontological argument for the experience of God. God’s existence may vary from philosopher to philosopher, but according to the late St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury there was absolutely no doubt that God’s presence is certain, and yet the philosopher desires the understanding of faith. As stated; if god cannot be thought to exist, then whomever which may be conceived, only a fool would believe that he God does not exist. Only a fool says from his or her heart there is no God, was the largest idea discussed in the presentation quoted by Anselm. It is one thing for an object to be in the understanding, and another to understand that objects exist, he both, has it in has understanding and he understands that it exists because he has made it. There is not a doubt that there exists a being, than which nothing greater can be conceived. And it exists both in the understanding and in reality, then, so truly than a being which nothing greater can be conceived to exist, our God? If a mind could conceive of a being better then thee, the creature would rise above the Creator; and this is absurd. God can be conceived to not exist; but in the later, not at all. For example, no one who understands what God is can conceive that God does exist; God is that than which a greater cannot be conceived. The nonexistence of that than which a greater cannot be conceived is inconceivable. Gaunilo’s argumentative criticism claims that in the dual existence, with understanding and in reality, for this reason it must exist. For if it does not exist, any lord who really exists will be more

All About Video Recording :: Video Camera Recorder

All About Video Recording Over the past 30 years the advancements in technology have been tremendous, everything from the 80’s camcorder, which was approximately the size of a cat, to the ones presently, which are approximately the size of your hand. To the creation of digital cameras ,DVD’s and CD-R’s, as well as so much more. When Purchasing a Video Recorder, there are many aspects of the piece that should be examined, in order to pick out the best quality product for the amount of money you are prepared to spend. Picking between the different types of products is the first step. In the world of digital recording , there are three basic types. The first being Hard Disc Recorders which are also known as Personal Television Recorders, these record all the action without the need for video tapes. With on screen program guides, recording in digital is a simple one-button operation. The next is DVD RAMwhich is the official DVD Recordable format backed by the DVD Forum, DVDRAM records onto a DVD recordable disc that can then be played on most modern DVD players. Lastly, there is DVD+RW which was developed by Philips and Sony, DVD+RW discs can be edited to cut out commercial breaks. They can also be played on most modern DVD players. The quality of the recording is always an important statistic tobe aware of, in video recording, there are four basic levels of quality. The first level is referred to as 2 Heads and is usually used for standard quality mono recording and playback, next there is 4 Heads , which has an improved picture and sound quality and freeze frames. Next, there is 6 Heads which has all the benefits of a 4 head video recorder plus 2 extra heads for greater sound quality. Lastly, there is Super-VHS which provides up to 400 lines of resolution, instead of the usual 240 lines, S-VHS delivers superior picture quality. The next aspect to focus on when purchasing a Video recorder would be the sound quality. In this department there are two basic options Depending on the kind of TV you have and the type of programs you record, you need to consider the type of sound playback you want. The first option would be Mono which is usually for standard recording and playback. Mono video recorders represent great value and are suitable for connection to portable TV’s. The second option would be Nicamstereowhich is a high quality stereo for improved sound reproduction.

How Does Tesco Communicate With Customers?

Tesco communicate with their customers through a variety of ways. Mobile communications is one of the ways in which Tesco communicate with their customers. This technology is brand new but it does not mean that it is not as important as other technologies that help big companies such as Tesco. Today’s mobile marketing applications such as ‘’Tesco club card app’ it helps customers keep us with their points that they’ve gained though shopping & it lets you know of the latest offers that the store has. This technology allows companies to improve communications in a focused and highly personal context to interact with their customers. Systems like this allows Tesco to package commercial messages, then make information available to a global audience easily, without irritating the customer by sending them letters via the post as the customers will get a regular update through their phone app. The system also offers an immediate response to customers that have questions that need answering. Blogging is also a new technology that Tesco uses as a way of getting personal communications because it is as an essential marketing tool. This is because the public can discuss on the Tesco website about anything they like for example Tesco have provided a place on the website where customers can have discussions about books available at the store and then decide whether they want to purchase it or not. For this particular type of communication Tesco needs an employee who likes to write via internet and put some commercial messages up. The audience should take care of the rest when that’s been completed. Tesco use streaming media by this term I mean using adverts that Tesco produce and display on platforms such as YouTube which allows Tesco to literally put ‘’any’’ message in front of a global audience. All the company needs is a script, a computer and a good quality camera to record their adverts, if Tesco does this then the message that they are trying to get across can be displayed in front of buyers, sellers and business partners anywhere in the world. Social networking is another way which Tesco communicate with their customers. For Tesco in the case of marketing, there is nothing better than having the ability to put commercial messages out in front of the public. Although there is a number of social networks that can do this, the best of these is Twitter. Since a user only gets 140 characters to make a point. For Tesco this means that a number of messages can be created and delivered very quickly. The amount of opt-in ‘’followers’’ which will be your customers who find your global messages interesting enough to continue to read them, this is also an obvious source to understand what your audience likes or doesn’t like as they can retweet of favourite your messages if they do or do not like them. We can communicate in many ways that suits the customer.

Rationale Statement

This 2 hour online workshop Is an Indication of this standard because of the freeloading and research that went Into Its creation. I Incorporated what I knew of the learners into the initial design phases of the module. Taking multiple learning styles and multiple intelligences into consideration helped me to create targeted activities, assignments, and resources to reach a broader pool of participants. After all, â€Å"to teach effectively, you've got to know how people learn and in particular you've got to know how they think. † (Ramrod, 2010) Interestingly enough, the topic of the workshop Is differentiation.As result, the module Itself models the topic by providing lessons and assessments that incorporate differentiation in its design. Images, videos, text, links, and interactive activities make up the bulk of the content, and each tab brings in different strategies to reach different learners. Standard. The Instructional materials for this website Indicate a wide variety of modalities. I have shot and embedded videos of subject matter experts, Included Interactive multiple choice quizzes, as well as developed discussion threads to allow participants o work together.Using what I know of the skills highlighted by the Partnership for 21st Century Literates, I incorporated assessments that ask learners to collaborate, to analyze readings and photos, and to synthesize their findings into writing. These skills are ones teachers need to use, sure. However, since the focus of the workshop Is to help teachers teach students, I believe It is vital for any professional development to model these skills as well and ask teachers to interact with the skills they will also expect their own students to utilize. Standard.I believe It Is very important to allow learners flexibility in this workshop's Implementation. Knowing the schedule of the target audience, the secondary teacher, I decided that the workshop should be self-paced and accomplished over a short window of time. Over a two-week period, learners have the chance to log in and work to chip away at the tabs at their convenience. Each tab focuses on different topics centered on differentiation and can be explored in any order. However, as self-paced as it is, there are still patterns and rhythms worked into the workshop. Resources, visuals, informal assessment. Resources, visuals, Informal assessment.The predictable pattern Is meant to help the comfort level of learners. â€Å"Students find that a†¦ Rhythm for an online course provides similar benefits in keeping learners on track†¦ † (Botcher & Conrad, 2010. ) By making this decision of flexible learning right off the bat, I was able to then back plan what support I needed to develop and provide in order to ensure a smooth experience for the learners each time they log in. Throughout my program, I became a greater fan of Haiku as a Learning Management System. Haiku is amazingly user-friendly, and still provides the le arners and the signers access to a wide variety of tools.They don't water down the possibilities. The resources are housed easily using this virtual classroom. The discussions are easily encouraged. Submission methods are obvious and clear. Haiku permits an easy pathway to communicate with learners. Nevertheless, the pool of learners that piloted the workshop varied in levels of tech users. To address this, I developed a series of scaffolds to help participants regardless of their tech level. For instance, despite the ease of Haiku, I still also provided a Screenplay that allowed me to introduce both savvy and tentative learners to the ALMS.It was my first time using this kind of technology, and having gone through the process, I have discovered how invaluable it is. I plan to include a Screenplay for any future project as an instructional designer as well as a classroom teacher. Standard 5: EVALUATIONS]O Regarding learner assessment and evaluation, the workshop clearly meets this s tandard because of the elements included in its virtual walls. It includes formative, informal assessments in the form of short writings based on photograph analysis ND asking learners to synthesize concepts into discussion threads.It also incorporates more formal summarize assessments in the form of an online multiple- choice survey. Regarding my own evaluative process, I ensured that the assessments aligned to the initial objectives. â€Å"The test [measures] what it's supposed to measure† (Laureate, 2012. ) A simple concept, but one that is critical in the success of creating a training module. In addition, the course evaluation survey incorporates both quantitative data and subjective opinion, the results of which I could reflect on to aid in my evasions as well as my own growth as an instructional designer.

Mentor

Instead of cursing the dark we have to light a candle; instead of looking down at the gutter at the roadside on a moonless night why not look up and appreciate the stars   in the sky? We should put passion in every undertaking. And instead saying â€Å" It’s cloudy outside but it’s a Sunday,† why not make it as an opportunity and say   â€Å"It’s a   great Sunday!† Meaning you’re optimistic that the day   would turn out right  Ã‚   because you are free from your office work—of your responsibility here–  Ã‚   despite the clouds hovering at the horizon. Right? In short we, all of you (managers, supervisors, section heads) should try to inspire others through your thoughts, words and deeds. First you should think and act as mentors and not mere managers or slave drivers of employees.   A mentor says â€Å"we have to do this way,† rather than ordering a subordinate â€Å"to do that way.† Make yourself  Ã‚   part of the solution – a member of the team. As a mentor you take every problem as a new challenge. As proactive mentor you have to be ahead of the situation or you have to put up measures to prevent potential problems   to crop up. To be an effective mentor you have to have the unlimited capacity to understand. How? Review your college psychology, about human nature or behavior, about motivation and aspirations of individuals. Make your subordinates feel that their aspirations and ambitions would be addressed by playing   their roles in the company. Make their individual ambitions and the company’s objective   one. Make them proud to belong to the company since they are being taken care of including their loved ones. To be a competent mentor every manager should have an open line of communication. You have to remove the partitions and cubicles. Let every worker approach you any time of the day – or night — and help him solve even his personal problem. As a mentor your responsibility does not end after office hours. The communications line should be open 24 hours a day. Mentoring is like coaching a football or basketball team. A coach is a mentor-leader —not a manager– because he inspires people. Your effectiveness as a coach could be measured on how the athletes play the game and not on the number of games won. The objective of the manager is to win all the games. As for the coach? His foremost consideration is the welfare of the individual players including their future and direction. Winning is secondary. Winning is not the objective. Winning a game or the championship should be the result of mentoring. No amount of shouting, cursing or suspension could make a player give a 100-percent contribution to a game if he is not inspired to play. He only gives his best because of the motivations from his coach. An example is Carter of the popular movie Coach Carter. He made men out of the spoiled and undisciplined youngsters. He transformed their lives—and their future. He considered every game lost an opportunity for each of his players to improve and do better. Carter   provided them reasons to live a beautiful and fruitful life. Another organization where you can find a mentor-leader is the Army. It is not the platoon leader but it’s usually the platoon sergeant who motivates the infantrymen during battles. One factor that inspires the soldiers could be the courage of the sergeant. And he leads in front of his platoon every skirmish. Because he has the extensive knowledge and experiences acquired from previous battles his men have confidence of his leadership. They know that what the sergeant is doing is  Ã‚   for their welfare and to reduce casualties.   In short extensive knowledge and courage play an important role in motivating people. And you can have more knowledge by attending managerial and motivational workshops on your initiative and on your own time. In short self-improvement. Another role you should play as leader is that of a facilitator. You should group your subordinates into teams not as work-related groups, like budget, accounting,   or disbursing section .Each team has an objective to accomplish—just like every squad in the army. Each team member has a defined role to play or a specialization.The men in a squad don’t carry the same type of weapon. One carries a bar or a special weapon which is effective for long range shooting. Another carries a machine gun for close combat. Others carry assault   rifles for the final push. Others carry sniper’s rifle with night vision for evening assault, and so forth. And in the absence of the point -man, the next in rank can take over to accomplish the objective of the team since every member’s role is clearly defined. So you have a logistical team rather than a dispatching section. Each team leader is empowered to make decisions. In case of misunderstanding or conflict in the implementation of an office policy, as manager or supervisor you act as collaborator but not as compromiser. As team member you consider everyone in the group as your   colleague or peer not as your immediate supervisor or your direct subordinate. Each role should be defined not by the ranking of the position but by specialization or skills. Thus, the secretary   becomes communications specialist and the telephone operator the   solutions provider—   for she gives answers to queries, Right? With these changes each can assert his role in the organization and he could measure his overall contribution. Even the janitor must have a position fitted to his contribution — as sanitation specialist. Try to imagine a single day without a janitor. You will find that the following day everything is in chaos or the office smelly. In case of conflict, as facilitator you initiate collaborative work, you initiave   comprehensive cooperation from all the members of the team. For an example in the advertising department, you yave to facilitate the production of the best creative idea for a promotional campaign. In this case you don’t have to criticize ideas presented. You have to facilitate the frution of the ideas into a useful concept. As facilitator you have to be highly assertive so it would be faster for a collegial decision to crop up from the team. Another role you should play as supervisor is that of a monitor. In short you have to record and take note of the progress of each team in your group. You don’t have to record their attendance nor whether they come on time or leave the office earlier. That’s not the point. As monitor you record as to how far they are from the goal. You have to be goal-oriented. You manage by objective. To be an effective monitor you have to be competent about   information management—the ins and outs of the system.In short you have your own system to grade your members. In the military there is such thing as demerits. For example you wear a complete uniform you would be given 100 merits. Any stain or dirt in the uniform, or improper wearing of a single insignia   the officer would give you the corresponding demerits. In this way your team members know their goal if they could make   you objective and make it   perfectly.. The military for example, has its own counterintelligence group. This way the military plays it safe by moving ahead of its enemies. This means you monitor the contribution of each member of the team and advice them from time to time as the necessary adjustments needed in their activities. Another function you should do as manager is that of a coordinator. In this situation you act not only as the coach of the team. You act at   the same time  Ã‚   the team captain or   the playing coach. You coordinate the maneuvers on the court as team captain. All the members of the team observe you from a distance as to what signals you are transmitting to them. As coordinator you know the specialized skill of each member. Like basketball, you know   how the guard or the forwards functions during set plays. You know the capacity   of your center or you know who would be the slotman or pointmaker during crucial time of the game. In short each man has a specialization—just like in your department or section. In basketball, the team captain sometimes decide  Ã‚   as to when they   need   to rest – and not necessarily the coach–   and transmit this need to the coach or the bench officials for the team to take a rest or take a time out to   change plan of  Ã‚   maneuvers . Compared to our company, as facilitator you must have the hands-on knowledge of the operation of your division or section.You cannot play as team captain if you don’t know the limit of your teammates, right? To summarize the following table show you the roles and the competencies needed: ROLES   COMPETENCIES NEEDED MENTOR       Big understanding; open-mindedness, effective verbal and oral Communications; ;extensive understanding of human Motivations; example that of a coach; can   emphatize FACILITATOR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   team-building skills; delegation of authority; assume Responsibility; will not compromise solution; example That of a college instructor;example:   basketball team captain MONITOR     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proactive and goal-orientation; ability to detect Weaknesses; extensive analytical ability; example: a high school teacher; another example is the Army’s demerit system. COORDINATOR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proactive; ability to measure capacity and limits; ex: team captain;   he gets the opinion of the members of the team to arrive at a good decision; ability to get the attention of every member of the team; ability to get respect from the team. Case 1 Shaheen Matombo, staff member The case of Shaheen is not an isolated one. It is always the problem of single mother who doubles as head of the family. Shaheen is not a hopeless case. In fact Shaheen has offered an alternative schedule of 8:30 a.m. in exchange for a 30-minute lunch break. As CEO I would suggest to Andre Tate, Shaheen’s manager, to adopt the staff member’s offer of arriving at 8:30 with 30-minute lunch break, with off at 5 p.m., just like everybody in the office. As manager   it is the foremost to maintain manpower, especially that   Shaheen is a product of a computer college. It is the goal of Shaheen’s immediate supervisor to give the newcomer—three months at work—a chance to develop herself in her workplace. In this age of computers,   and flexible time, the offer of Shaheen is laudable.   Morale of her co-workers would not be affected if the change of Shaheen’s schedule would be known by everybody in the office.And   the same flexible time schedule would be offered to anybody who have the same reasons that of Shaheen. As manager, Andre should also provide a counteroffer. Meaning, Shaheen would follow her suggested schedule religiously.And a single late or failure to follow the schedule may mean she has to revert to the 8 a.m. regular time. During contingency, Shaneen would be given the chance to work online at home, so by the time she will be at the office she would not miss any important call. A system would be installed that calls made at 8 a.m. to the office would be coursed through the home telephone or computer of Shaheen at home. Another counteroffer would be for Shaheen to observe her suggested schedule but without coffee breaks of 15 minutes in the morning and another coffee break of 15 minutes in the afternoon. In short let Shaheen eat at his work station in exchange for her coming at 8:30 p.m. Since Shaheen is a computer graduate, sooner she would learn the ropes and could be effective in her work. As manager, Andre’s work is to maintain cohesion, morale and develop through training all the employees, not only Shaheen. As manager, Andre’s responsibility is to develop human resources in the company, particularly at this time when it would be hard to hire competent employees who are readily knowledgeable with office work. One of the   four approaches to effective values (HM 2022, frame 17 of lecture 2) is emphasis on human relations where the goal of the manager is maintaining human relations. Shaheen stay in the office can be considered probationary for it   takes   from three to six months before an employee becomes regular. Assuming Shaheen is already a regular staffer, the more that she should be retained and given the chance to improve herself.   In this case, Andre may assign a veteran worker or her supervisor as her office mentor. Shaneen needs the guidance of a facilitator and coordinator who understands her first and second willing to help her until she may be six months in office. In this way, if she would not improve, Andre have the reason to look for her replacement or put her in a job that does not require her to be at 8 a.m.. Of she may be given flexible time schedule to suit her work at home. The manager should understand the situation of Shaneen from the poiont of view of a parent. The manager should try to wear the shoes of Shaheen to undertanding extensively the situation Shaheen is in. As mentor, Andre should inspire Shaheen to work better and improve in her work. Andre should have the capacity and the patience to work with a worker like Shaneen For sooner, Shaheen may improve for she has the potential to be an effective worker.               

Brasil & Europeans

In the colonial period of 1600, the Portuguese were the first amongst the Europeans to settle in Brazil. At that time, only native Indians and nomadic tribes were living in the area. The Portuguese came not to control, conquer or develop the country instead they wanted profitable trade and agriculture. However, three centuries later the land was exploited mostly for wood, sugarcane, coffee beans and gold mining. Man power was provided by both African and Indian slaves. Many Italians settled in Brazil after the boom in coffee production.Intermarriages between different ethnicities and cultures made Brazil one of the most multi- cultured country in the world. Most Brazilians have European, African, Amerindian, Asian and Middle Eastern ancestors. Brazil gained its independence from the Portuguese colonizers on September 7, 1822. In 1889, a military coup backed by the coffee industrialists forced the emperor to leave the country. Coffee planters had great influence in Brazil and practica lly ran the government for the next 30 years. Brazil struggled with military coups and economic instability in those years.After three decades Fernando Coller de Mello was elected in the first democratic elections. He was removed from office for his corruption. The capital of the country is Brasilia and its current President is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The country is federal presidential representative democratic republic in which the President serves as the head of state and head of government. The currency of Brazil is the â€Å"real† (BRL). Brazil follows the Roman legal system. It is a presidential democracy since 1985. The voters of the country had decided not to restore the constititutional monarchy.Brazil is slightly smaller than the United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and located in the East of South America. It is the largest country in South America. It has boundaries meeting with all the South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. The low-lying Am azon Rainforest is to the North of Brazil and the south is home to farmers and the agricultural base. The highest peak of Brazil is Pico da Neblina. The largest river in the world, the Amazon also flows through Brazil. The climate varies in different regions from tropical to temperate.The territory of Brazil is said to cover 8,514,876. 599 km2. This wide territory is split into twenty-six states and one federal district. All states are completely independent in terms of their law-making, public security, government and taxation. Brazil has highly structured agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors and its economy prevails over the economies of the other South American countries. In 1998, Brazil received a $41. 5 billion IMF-led international support program due to its large account deficits.In 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank declared that the currency real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation slowed down the recession and the country witnesse d slight economic growth. The growth of the economy was less than 2% in 2001 due to the high interest rates. At the end of 2001 the country gained much investor confidence. The economy in Brazil is said to be the â€Å"ninth largest economy in the world and tenth largest at market exchange rates†. (Wikipedia). The biggest barriers to economic development are widespread bureaucracy, corruption, poverty and illiteracy within the Brazilian Government.. The government intervenes and plays the most important role in all of the country’s economic activities. Brazil is still a newly industrializing country (NIC) and most development has taken place in southeastern states such as Parana, Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. The industries are producing automobiles and parts, machinery, equipment, steel, textiles, shoes, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, petrochemicals, computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. Brazil has been leading in the alternative energy sector. Electricity is be ing generated through hydropower.It is exporting oil despite its little amount of oil reserves. Within the service sector, the tourist industry is one of the biggest in Brazil. The Brazilian justice system is painfully slow and unjust. Laws are altered for the rich. The legal system has many defecicies. Many crimes commited by Brazialians are tried for only a limited time span. By the time the authorities get their act together, it is almost too late. Sentences are often reduced by 50% for the crimes commited at the age of 70. Brazil is also an important partner for the European Union.It is a charter member of the UN and contributes troops for peacekeeping efforts in Angola, East Timor, Middle East, Mozambique, Belgian Congo and Haiti. It is the leading member of the G-20 group of nations. The 170 million population of Brazil consist of a majority of 53. 7% whites and 38. 5% multiracial people. Blacks, Asians, Amerindians are in insignifiant propotions. Portuguese is the most widely spoken and understood language in Brazil. Brazil follows mostly Portuguese culture and traditions brought by the colonizers.The African Slaves inspired most of Brazil's music, dance, cuisine, religion and language. Brazil has the largest population of Roman Catholics in the world. Almost half of the output of fiction, poetry, and drama of South America comes from Brazilians. Carnaval is a popular yearly celebration and tourist attraction which is held for forty days to mark the start of Lent. The music in Brazil is richly flavored with a variety of music styles including samba, bossa nova, forro, frevo and many others. Cinema culture started in Brazil in the late 19th century.Many Brazilian films such as Cidade de Deus and Carandiru have received international critical acclaim. Sports specially football are very popular in Brazil. The Brazilain national footbal team has a huge local and interntional following. The team has won the FIFA world cup five times. Brazil’s most not able players are Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Other popular sports are capoeira and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Food is a reflection of the racial mix of Brazil. The most popular dishes of Brazil are Feijoada, Caipirinha and Pao de Queijo and rice and beans are basic to every menu.Most Brazilians are in their mid-twenties while 34% are under the age of fourteen. Brazil has rapidly urbanized and almost 75% of the population live in the urban areas. They are not enough jobs in Brazil to support such a large population which is why there is widespread unemployment. Unemployement was said to have reached 9. 8% in 2005 and 8 out of 10 are living in the highly populated urban centers. The largest population of almost 11. 016. 703 people are found in the city of Sao Paulo. A huge majority of people are often forced to resort to street vending, drug peddling and prostitution.The population in the rural areas receive fewer water and sanitation services as compared to urban areas. Many contagious d iseases like cholera, diarrheas have emerged as a result of lack of basic sanitation services. WORKS CITED: †¢ Brazil. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Apr 2007, 11:43 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Apr 2007 . †¢ Brazil. CIA_The World Factbook. 2002. http://www. umsl. edu/services/govdocs/wofact2002/geos/br. html Brazil

Carl Jung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Carl Jung - Essay Example When these processes are considered irrelevant, that is when mental sickness is believe to happen. Carl is the pioneer of modern psychology, along with Alfred Adler and Freud. He is a master of several disciplines from art to theology to modern physics. Jung’s work on Collective Unconsciousness forms the basis of word association tests as well as Meyers-Briggs personality tests. He was an inexhaustible writer; his famous works include The Psychology of the Unconscious (1912) and Psychological Types (1921). (NNDB, 2012) As Jung approached his adolescence, he focused his attention on zoology, religion, paleontology, medicine and psychology. On getting into the Basel University, in 1895, his primary focus became medicine. Throughout his university life, he also became thrilled by the growing science of psychiatry. He became an assistant physician at the Mental Hospital of Burgholzli in Zurich in 1990. He worked under the course of renowned Eugen Bleuler, whose leading work in the meadow of schizophrenia predicted that psychological imbalances arose not only from the occurrence of conflicting desires and beliefs inside the psyche, along with the physical weakening of the brain. Pierre Janet was a source of influence for Carl as he studied under Janet’s supervision in a seminar in Paris. The detailed report that Janet produced with the assistance from Carl gave the idea that distressing incidents produce influential emotionally charged beliefs which, even though pushed out of conscious evoke or totally forgotten, often persistent to apply a commanding pressure on the individual’s behaviors and emotions for quite a few years. (Cherry) Combining the work of Janet and Bleuler, Jung started to derive a novel theory of the unconscious mind processes that were the reason for establishing significantly parallel to that being concurrently equal to work of Sigmund Freud. Jung’s theories were exclusively his own and were a part of a novel psycholog y, in which this psyche was seen as a lively growth-oriented body balanced between two complementary and powerful drives: the uniformly significant drive towards making a harmonious, coherent incorporation of all the inside aspects of self (integration), and the desire to learn and implement new viewpoints (differentiation). The basic concept that became the basis of Jung’s later work and theory was the conversion of mandala-type view of body and soul. But, on a temporary basis the persona in the outside world is self predicted complicated, complex and opponent. (Boeree, 2006) Edifying on Janet and Blueler, and later comprise Freud, Jung had the premise that good expression and amalgamation of the complicated, co-dependent constituents within the bigger self was frequently short-circuited by familial or social conditioning and distressing events, suppressing the natural drives of an individual. The outcome was different degrees of mental illness in the outline of deep patholo gical psychosis or immobilizing neurosis. When Jung discovered the complicated cases as internal schism during his time at Burgholzli , he was better able to develop his theory in this time period. Subsequently, as a chief physician, he broadened his horizon and developed partnerships with word association researchers to better comprehend and revive the experience of

How has Lean Manufacturing Influenced the Service Industries Essay - 1

How has Lean Manufacturing Influenced the Service Industries - Essay Example In the paper, the benefits and challenges of lean manufacturing are analyzed with a goal of demonstrating how corporations within the service industry have employed lean manufacturing to provide consumer value for their services. The analysis also provides recommendations on how companies within the service industry would effectively employ lean manufacturing to enhance their competitiveness and performance within the market. The argument within the paper supports lean manufacturing as the prerequisite for effective and high-quality services and consumer value within the service industry. The implementation of lean manufacturing within the service industry has significantly influenced the quality of services that companies offer to their customers. It is through lean manufacturing that the quality of services is effectively improved. The quality of services is defined by the ability of a company to meet or exceed the expectations of a customer. Lean manufacturing has allowed service providers to offer services that are aligned with the unique needs, tastes and preferences of consumers. This is made possible through the role of lean manufacturing in ensuring that consumers get exactly what they want. The design of services within the lean manufacturing paradigm is based on the specifications of consumers. In this sense, companies are able to provide diverse services, which are aligned with the attributes of various market segments. More importantly, lean manufacturing has allowed companies to deliver services at the right time. It is through lean manufacturing that companies are able to deliver services and goods when buyers need them.

The Economic Rationale for Road Pricing is Compelling Essay

The Economic Rationale for Road Pricing is Compelling - Essay Example The European Union is studying the marginal cost of pricing in the arena of transportation for about a decade now. The Union funded many ongoing projects in this field. The RAC Foundation handed over the responsibility of determining the mechanisms of motoring taxes to the independent institute of fiscal studies. They were asked to investigate whether the taxes are equitable and justifiable. The report from the institution mentioned the issue of cabotage and stated that the hauliers belonging to the other countries have the potential to deliver goods into the market of UK by paying lower taxes on diesel or ignoring the duty rates of the country (Gillen, 2007, p. 1-2). Road Transport and economics A key role is played by transportation in the economic scenario of today. A term, transport economics is used now to identify the role of transport in economy. The supply is determined by the capacity carriers offer to the travelers while the demand is determined by the number of trips the t ravelers takes within a particular time frame. In order to witness a booming economy it is necessary to maintain a steady system of transport that allows fluent access of goods and services across the country. If the goods get delay because of lacks in transport facilities the profits will fall which will take its toll on the level of efficiency. An efficient transport system will create employment opportunities (Croner, 2012). A vast majority of labor is necessary to carry out the responsibilities of transporting goods to the various places quickly. When the economy is not on its course people are less willing to travel and the economy suffers while in the booming situation frequent traveling not only creates more job opportunities but also contributes in strengthening the transport system. The road transportation is more popular where people tend to find the less costly method of transportation. The road transportation facilities are characterized by monopolistic competition which revolves around the conditions of supply and demand. The products or the services offered in the monopolistic competitive market are same but cannot be substituted. The differentiation in the offered products provides choices for the consumers and the consumers can take the decision on which product they want to avail. This factor acts as the catalysts to drive in more competition into the market as well as new innovations which are less costly and more effective (Seely, 2012, p. 2) The report The report of the IFS recommended a move to a more diverged system of road pricing. The revenues raised as a resultant can be used to reduce the taxes on motor transport. Such a measure is thought to generate sufficient economic gains from reduction in congestion. The measure is also thought to reduce the levied taxes on the majority of driven miles, and leave a certain portion of the motorists in a better off situation as well as provide a stable footing for the taxes on motoring without tak ing any additional measures to raise the net additional benefits from the drivers. The use of roads generates costs that are borne not only by the motorists but also by the wider society. Therefore externalities are accrued to the system of road taxes or the system of road pricing. These externalities suggest that in the absence of effective pricing or taxation policies there is inefficient high level of road use. The taxes have the

Teaching Project Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teaching Project Paper - Essay Example Engaging in violent behaviors increases the risk of death among drug addicts. Another cause of death is deterioration of the users’ health. Continued usage of the substances leads to addiction, which is one of the causes of morbidity among the substance abusing people. Morbidity caused by substance abuse can be categorized into social, psychological and physical. Long-term usage of substances leads to poor social health such as isolation. It makes it difficult for the users to interact with other people in the society by making it difficult for them to create relationships with others. This may result into other health complications such as depression (Nora 1). In addition, it may lead to poor psychological health. Substance abuse has also been associated with other chronic illnesses. For instance, long-term usage of tobacco may cause serious illnesses such as lung cancers. Other illnesses associated with drug addiction are diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses. The poor healt h among the people addicted to substances includes poor eating habits. Since substance addiction changes priority, food become less important compared to the substance. The situation may cause other illnesses associated with poor eating habits. The multiple disorders caused by substance abuse are referred to as co-morbidity (Nora 1). The risk factors associated with substance abuse include availability of the substance and peer influence. Many people start using alcohol because it is readily available. Young adults are also likely to start abusing drugs in order fit in their peer groups. Economic problems also increase the chances of abusing alcohol. Other risk factors include poor management of problems in families. Studies also show that ADHD also increases the risks using drugs among children and adults. It is important to note that mental health disparities are also recorded among the substance users. Individuals who lack

Employment law paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employment law paper - Essay Example st does not in any way burden the business or the operations, and d) Or simply retaliating against an employee who has filled out the EEO charge or acts as a witness for someone else’s EEO matter. Any form of opposition to the religious discrimination or where the employee is faced with an issue due to the religion they follow is to be avoided by all companies. There are a few exceptions to this law and these companies do not need to deal with the religious discrimination. These include a) Religious organizations, and b) ministerial exceptions. A company does not have to reasonably accommodate to an individual’s requests if it has an impact on the working of the company or the business operations. Also, if the company has a bona fide doubt on the basis of the accommodation request, then the employer may refuse to accommodate. For instance, if an employee denies being able to conduct one of the duties based on some religious constraint, and the employer has a doubt regarding the same, then the employer has a right to not accommodate the request and to ignore the request. Similarly in a case where the employee is required to work on a particular timing and is unable to do so due to religious constraints, then the employer can check for the factual details of the accommodation, and can also refuse to accommodate as it will have a direc t impact on the business and the business operations. Gender discrimination is more commonly referred to as sexual discrimination. Here people are discriminated based on their gender and the gender becomes a factor in deciding who get a job, promotion, or even other employment benefits. Most commonly found to be against women who feel that men are treated with a bias and that women are unfairly discriminated against men. This however does also see a number of cases where a reverse discrimination has occurred, for instance, women are treated more favorable than men. In simple terms, gender discrimination is when one gender is

Db3 team and leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Db3 team and leadership - Research Paper Example In business, changes are a natural part of its lifecycle. Organizational changes bear anxiety across all levels of the corporate hierarchy even in the best of times. What leaders should be ready to, is the resistance to change that comes from the employees’ fear of the unknown or an expectation of loss.  As a leader, the employer should discuss all possible changes with the employees and reduce such resistance or to lead it to a manageable level. An employer may encourage its employees by demonstrating innovative thinking, it means proving that changes within the organization are for good. This may include series of meetings, discussion sessions about the potential pros and cons of the changes. A good leader will always show one’s respect for other’s perspectives and ideas. Delegating is another way for the leader to prepare its employees for changes. Rather than thinking on the possible problem that may occur during the new period, it is useful to ask employee s how they plan to deal with possible issues. When the organization starts it work, there are no procedures or special rules. With time, they appear, confusing employees, making them scare of the possible changes of their stable and scheduled work, which they had performed for a certain time. However, as practice shows, the proper discussion and the explanation of those necessary changes (whether it is the implementation of the procedure or other organizational changes) lead to mutual understanding between leaders and employees. Why Were So Afraid of Change -- And Why That Holds Businesses  Back, (2013). The Forbes, Available from

Asses the Claim that the Countries Using thr Euro Constitute an Essay

Asses the Claim that the Countries Using thr Euro Constitute an Optimal Currency Area - Essay Example This paper approves that Euro was considered as a stable currency before the late 2000s when economic crisis started to happen. The current sovereign crisis wherein many European countries are finding it relatively difficult to pay off their obligations on time therefore has created strong doubts over the sovereign debt crisis. Greece specially faced critical challenges in terms of paying off its debts and resultantly this has created strong pressure on Euro to decline against US Dollar in international market. This has also suggested that the Euro may not be an optimal currency region if it continues to perform in its current form. This suggests the absence of physical restrictions to travel and facilitate the free movement of the labor across the borders. It also requires the low cultural barriers as well as the institutional arrangements make it relatively easier for the labor to move freely. Labor mobility therefore is considered as a hedge against the adverse shocks when exchange rates are fixed or cannot be adjusted easily. It has been observed that the labor mobility within Euro area is relatively low as compared to the countries like US and Japan. This report makes a conclusion that Euro has to fulfill four important criteria before it can form into one of the cohesive and efficient single currency areas in the world. Apart from free capital mobility all other criteria suggest that the countries in the region may not be ready and hence countries comprising of the region where Euro is the single currency may not be constituted as an optimal currency area.... two models are based upon the concepts of stationary expectations as well as the International Risk Sharing.( Kenen, 1969) One of the key attribute of an optimal currency region therefore is based on the fact that it is often larger than a single country. The creation of Euro has been considered as an engineered attempt to provide a case study to test the theory of how to create an optimal currency region as individual countries in the region may not have been sufficient enough to form an optimal currency area. History of Euro Euro is the single currency in Eurozone comprising of the 17 of the 27 countries in the European Union area. Officially launched in late 1990s, over the period of time, Euro has become one of the most dominating currencies in the world. At the start of Euro as a currency, it was widely expected that the Euro will replace US Dollar as the most traded currency in the world. Backed up by the economic powers of the European economic powers in order to ensure that r egion is served by a single currency.( Richard; & Wyplosz, 2004.) Euro is officially administrated by the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem whereas the ECB has the sole responsibility to set the setting up the monetary policy for the region whereas the Eurosystem has the mandate of printing and minting currency notes as well as coins. Euro and Optimal Currency Area As discussed above, Euro was considered as a stable currency before the late 2000s when economic crisis started to happen. The current sovereign crisis wherein many European countries are finding it relatively difficult to pay off their obligations on time therefore has created strong doubts over the sovereign debt crisis. Greece specially faced critical challenges in terms of paying off its debts and resultantly this has

Pay Structures, Pay & Merit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pay Structures, Pay & Merit - Assignment Example Executive compensation differs from sales or human resource personnel on the ground that executive compensation involves negotiation between the executive and the employer (Peter, 2002). Thus, it is negotiated and agreed on unlike other employees whose compensations are spelt out in advance. Executive offer letter is more detailed comprising a variety of options such as housing agreements, bonuses, incentives, guaranteed service pack in case of termination of employment, and income protection guarantees in the event of sale or other liquidity event resulting to change in the company administration. All these benefits and variety of options are not available to other employees. Offering of more lucrative salary to executives is made in a bid to attract, motivate, and retain executive officers who have the capability of leading and managing business successfully, link an organization cash incentives with measurable performance align their interests with the company’s’ interests to achieve long-term goals. This has contradicting effects on low paid employees. In some instances, it motivates them to work hard and acquire the executives in order to receive such compensation in future. In other situations, low paid employees are demotivated, arguing that they are the ones who do most of the work, but executives ends up receiving more compensation than them (Worldatwork, 2007). During survival mode, reduction of staff compensation strategy may be preventing layoffs, but an organization may end up losing its top talent. As a human resource manager, I would adopt a pay-for-performance strategy. In implementing this strategy, I would let them be aware that each of them will be compensated with the same amount of monetary value he or she will create for the company, with little basic salary as benchmark. For top management, I will make them realize that their success is counted on how the organization successfully attains its goals (Peter, 2002).

Filipino Values Essay Example for Free

Filipino Values Essay †¢Close Kinship a Filipino considers family as an important social structure that they must love and care. Close family ties results to the family still being intact regardless that the children are old and with families of their own. †¢Respect for Elders the use of â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† in conversing or addressing older people is a sign of a Filipino’s respect for the elders. Filipinos do not send their elders to nursing homes because they still value the worth and presence of the elders at home. †¢Hospitality – the Filipino community are very warm and hospitable. They even give â€Å"PASALUBONG† (WELCOME GIFTS) AND â€Å"PABAON† (FAREWELL GIFTS) TO GUESTS. AT TIMES, THEY SACRIFICE THEIR OWN COMFORT TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR GUESTS VERY WELL. †¢Strong Faith in God their faith in God keeps them united to overcome all the problems and challenges of life. †¢Flexibility / Adaptability / Resiliency the Filipinos have the trait to laugh at themselves and THEIR MISFORTUNES OR FAILURES. THIS IS A COPING MECHANISM TO BALANCE EMOTIONAL STRESS AND TO BOOST THE CAPACITY TO SURVIVE. THEY CAN SMILE IN MIDST OF PROBLEMS AND HARDSHIPS. THEY CAN STILL CRACK JOKES DESPITE THE STRESSES OF THEIR DAILY LIVES AND DURING CALAMITIES. THEY ARE STRONG AND CHEERFUL PEOPLE. †¢Ingenuity and Creativity they are good inventors. They often improvise and make productive use of available resources. †¢Patience and Self-sacrifice a remarkable quality of a Filipino is his capacity to endure difficulties and hardships. Maybe related to the long suffering they endured during the many colonization in Philippine history. They are patient enough to wait for their turn to be blessed with greener pastures as long as they do what is right and good. †¢Hard work and Industry Filipinos are globally recognized for their excellent performance in any physical and technical tasks. Maybe visible due to the desire for economic security and advancement for one’s self and family. †¢Readiness to Share and Help – they’ re always ready to lend a hand, not only in times of need (CALAMITIES OR DISASTERS) BUT ALSO IN FESTIVE OCCASIONS (â€Å"FIESTAS†, BAPTISMS AND WEDDINGS). THE â€Å"BAYANIHAN† SPIRIT, OR GIVING HELP WITHOUT EXPECTING SOMETHING IN RETURN, OF A FILIPINO IS WIDELY ADMIRED. NEGATIVE VALUES †¢ Fairness and Justice – they always show concern for the well-being of others. They uphold the humanity of all people and regard everyone with respect and empathy. They are keen on interpersonal relationships, their primary source of security and happiness. Fairness Justice – Equality – Social Justice – Development Progress. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ningas Kugon† – â€Å"kugon† is a kind of grass that burns easily when dry but extinguished easily as well. Like the cogon grass, Filipinos start things with great enthusiasm but at the first sign of difficulty, the enthusiasm is consumed as fast as it has ignited. †¢Colonial Mentality – Filipinos prefer foreign-made products instead of patronizing Philippine-made ones. This result to higher gains for foreign businessmen than local businessmen. Thus, it motivates Filipino businessmen to improve the quality of their products to make it more competitive against foreign ones. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mamaya Na† or â€Å"Bukas Na Lang† Habit a poor habit, a sign of laziness, of leaving for a later time what can be done at the moment or today. Thus resulting to stacked workload to be done and then complain about it. †¢Crab Mentality a troublesome trait evident in a Filipino where when one sees the progress of a comrade, the other becomes resentful rather than happy for the achievement. Rather than to praise, he would highlight everything negative about that person in an effort to bring him down or destroy his reputation. They would focus on other’s own faults rather their own inadequacies. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Patigasan† most Filipinos find it hard to say â€Å"I’m sorry† or â€Å"pasensya na†. Their precious pride always gets the best of them. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Kanya kanya† a trait which shows self-centeredness and lack of regard for others. There are Filipinos who give priority to what they and their families could have, rather than what they can do to share their wealth and serve others better. This trait shows poor signs of patriotism, loyalty to community, and concern for the needs of others.

The Zero Based Budgeting Accounting Essay

The Zero Based Budgeting Accounting Essay Zero-based budgeting avails a better approach to dealing with the drawbacks associated with incremental budgeting. Unlike in incremental budgeting, zero-based approach does not necessarily start from the previous years budget level; instead, the existing operations are evaluated and continuance of the operation or activity ought to be justified on the basis of its utility and its need to the company. Zero-based budgeting pursues to justify resource allocation within individual budget scheme, irrespective of prior period budgets. The budget in this case is initially allocated as zero unless the manager responsible makes the case for resource allocation. Every plan in this case is justified as per the total cost and the total benefits and past performance is not in any way referred as a building block. The goal of zero-based budgeting is to re-evaluate and re-examine all programs and expenditures for each budgeting cycle by computing workload and effectiveness appraisals so as to verif y substitute levels of financing for each program or expenditure. Zero-based budgeting approach avails some distinctive advantages compared to traditional incremental budgeting such as: it allocates financial resources based on planning requirements and results; and, in order to attain efficiency, zero-based approach encourages managers to search for alternative operation plans. However, despite the outlined advantages, zero-based approach also manifest some disadvantages; first, since the budgeting process is sophisticated, the process can consume a lot of managerial time and may appear to be too drastic a solution for the task at hand; second, short-term benefits may take precedence and obscure long-term planning as the latter is less dominant within the planning process; and, third, since the new budget is launched every year, there may be annual conflicts over budget allocation. In order to circumvent these drawbacks, especially concerning the managerial time required, one alternative may be to conduct a rolling budget every year and carry out zero-based budgeting perhaps three to five years, or in cases where a considerable modification that occurs within operations. This compromise may aid to weed out waste and inefficiency, especially within a period of intense competition and reengineering that is characteristic of the mobile phone industry. Indeed, zero-based budgeting is an effective means of controlling for unnecessary costs since the departments and divisions in Pear Ltd do not automatically receive a distinctive sum every year, each amount of money apportioned to each unit bear a purpose, which keeps waste and discretionary spending to a minimum. Zero-based budgeting minimizes the entitlement mentality with respect to cost increases, and bears the potential to render budget discussions to be more meaningful. Activity Based Budgeting Activity-based budgeting awards financial resources to activities that see the highest return in the form of enhanced revenues for the company. Thus, the organization can be able to translate its vision into a strategy with definable objectives so as to create value. The benefit of adoption of activity-based budgeting is that Pear Ltd can be to accurately link revenues to strategic objectives, which, in turn, may enhance revenue moving forward. Nevertheless, the implementation of an activity-based model demands investment of substantial time and resources, which may not be immediately feasible for Pear Ltd. The most effective performance budgets manifest how the invested resources fund day-to-day tasks and activities, and how the activities are anticipated to generate certain outputs and the outcomes that should be the result. If Pear Ltd adopts a performance-based budget, the company will have a good idea of how money is anticipated to translate into results. One of the drawbacks to this approach is that the budget process must incorporate the review of performance measures and time for discussions of performance against expectations. Performance-based budgeting Performance-based budgeting (PBB) process is a continuum that incorporates the accessibility and utilization of performance grounded in information at each of the varied phases of the budget process. Performance budgets mainly seek to contain information of a number of elements, namely: inputs, outputs, efficiency, and effectiveness. PBB mainly start at begin policy level in which the organization develop goals and explicit policy objectives. Decisions are mainly taken to link budget allocations to the set goals, objectives, and measures. Priority-based budgeting This approach represents an adjustment of zero-based budgeting method whose focal point centers on highlighting corporate priorities and apportioning growth accordingly. This demands a thorough ongoing review of departmental services. Based on the analysis for every unit the elements of spending could be classified as highly desirable or beneficial. Such decisions are supplied to the decision makers. Priority-driven-budgeting is a powerful tool that aids entities to: better manage the expectations of constituents; address present or anticipated fiscal constraints; highlight on the revenues at hand and utilize them in the most productive ways possible; spend within the entities means; and, attain the best results for the invested resources. Flexible budgeting can be employed by Pear Ltd management in planning by indicating what costs will be at diverse levels of activity. In so doing, flexible budgeting can be employed to solve the problem that emanate from employing static budgets for performance evaluation. Whereas the traditional incremental budgeting may not be necessarily flawed, the adoption of flexible budgets can award managers some feel for the impact of both fixed and variable costs. Pear Ltds management could shift from traditional incremental budgeting to zero-based budgeting. The adoption of zero-based budgeting suits the Pear Ltd, especially since in the mobile phone industry competition is rife. This is informed by the fact that it allows every managerial activity to be properly identified and then assessed by analyzing alternative levels of operation for a particular activity. The highlighted alternatives may be ranked and relative priorities laid for attaining effectiveness and efficiency. Alternatives to traditional incremental budgeting offer Pear Ltds management the most ideal characteristics of a budgeting system such as flexibility, responsiveness, and coordination. A move towards a decentralized structure can be critical to easing the drawbacks associated with traditional budgeting process. Critically evaluate alternative methods of product costing and the role of such methods in supporting such areas as the evaluation of strategy and cost control. Costing systems differ along three dimensions, namely: the components being measured; what is included in product cost; and, the manner in which the cost are accumulated. The differences in costs emanate from the urge to incorporate or exclude certain forms of information in product costs. The differentials manifested between the approaches stem from the timing of the cost recognition whereby the core issue centres on when the fixed production costs become expenses. Eventually, both methods produce the same merged appraisal of total profit; nevertheless, there may be differences in short-term phase profit measures and stock valuations. Basic approach to product costing normally incorporates assigning direct costs to products and allocating manufacturing overhead costs to products. The core product costing methods in this category include job costing and process costing. Job costing encompasses the transfer of outlays to a certain manufacturing job and may include contract costing and batch costing. Overhead is allocated to jobs and the approach is utilized when individual lots of products are distinctive, especially when the entities are billed directly to customers. Process costing infers the accumulation of labor, material, and overheads outlays across whole divisions or entities whereby the entire production cost being allocated to individual units. Process costing incorporates aspects such as operation costing, unit costing/output costing, service costing, and multiple/composite costing. Alternative Product Costing There is an overall concurrence as to the accounting treatment of key aspects such as product costs and of period costs; however, there is constantly a debate centering on what item costs should be billed as product costs. This is largely a case of designation of absorption costing (AC) and variable costing (VC)/ marginal costing) that embodies diverse approaches to product cost description and dimension, and consequently profit measurement. Absorption costing embodies the traditional approach that deems all production costs to be product costs. The accounting treatment of fixed production costs varies as per each approach. Hence, all the approaches deliver varied periodic stock valuation whereby in absorption costing, stocks remain valued at full cost of production while under VC; the stocks remain valued at variable production cost. Similarly, the methods may also yield to diverse periodic profit measurements. Variable costing system incorporate direct material, direct labour, and the variable constituent of overhead within product cost. Fixed overhead, in this case, is treated as a period cost. Absorption costing system incorporates direct material, direct labour, and both the inconsistent and rigid elements of overhead in product cost. Factory overhead, in this case, is absorbed into the product cost. Job order costing Job order costing explores and establishes the outlay of individual jobs/batches. The direct material employed and the direct labour hours are accumulated for each job whereby manufacturing overhead is mainly applied as per the direct labour hours. One of the advantages of employing this approach is that the outlays of every job can be independently analyzed. If the actual cost was extremely high, the manager is at liberty of reviewing the actual material and labour costs to establish the reason for the surge. While job order costing can be an effective tool for some companies, it can create additional work tracking costs that may not necessarily add value. Activity-based costing Activity-based costing represents a managerial accounting method that approximates the outlay of products and services by apportioning overhead costs to direct costs. Activity based costing system represents a modified absorption costing system whereby the indirect outlays are outlined to their cost pools to reflect resource exploitation of indirect reserves by the cost object. Activity-based costing (ABC) represents a two-stage product costing method that first allocates costs to activities and then allots them to products based on the products consumption of activities. Activity-based costing mainly incorporates four steps: first, identifying the activities that consume resources and assign cost to them; second, outlining the cost drivers connected with every action; third, computing a cost rate per cost driver unit/transaction (each activity should possess multiple cost drivers); fourth, establishment of output metrics and conveying outlays to products in multiplying the outlay dr iver fee by the quantity of outlay driver units registered in the manufacturing of the product. Since product mix has grown more diverse, activity based costing has evolved to become a useful tool. Activity-based costing allows managers to arrive at decisions by employing product outlay constituent that only covers those actions that add to the manufacturing of the product. Nevertheless, ABC demands more detailed analysis of the activities within the plant that require additional resources from the company. The key benefit of this approach is the potential to approximate the outlay of entity products and services precisely. ABC helps to underline wasteful or non-profitable ventures that impact on the productivity of the production processes. Marginal costing Marginal costing is an approach that employs variable costs. Variable costs, in this case, embody those outlays that stay the identical per unit, but vary in sum as per the overall quantity of units manufactured. Fixed costs essentially remain the same in total irrespective of the number of units produced. Since variable costs are mainly controlled costs, marginal costing enables mangers to make decisions devoid of being swayed by uninhibited statistics such as fixed outlays. Marginal costing also embodies a valuable device to utilize when the entity business environment is extremely competitive. The product pricing can be engineered to recover the changeable outlays of the products. However, disregarding fixed outlays may modify the proceeds to recover overall outlays of the business. The Role of Alternative Methods of Product Costing in Supporting Evaluation of Strategy and Cost Control Alternative methods of product costing are critical to the evaluation of company strategy and overall cost control. In the contemporary competitive business environment accurate product costing is essential to a business survival. Such methods are critical in supporting such areas as the evaluation of strategy and cost control. The approaches are critical in shaping precise divisional and product outlays as a foundation for estimating the cost effectiveness of divisions and the productivity of diverse products. Cost allocation plays a strategic role in shaping competitiveness, especially in informing the effectiveness of the decision-making. Alternative methods of transfer pricing The rapid advances in technology, communication, and transportation have yielded to a large number of multinational enterprises that bear the flexibility to place their enterprises and activities anywhere in the world. The main rationale of transfer pricing is to render most favourable decision making within a decentralized organization so as to maximize the profit of the organization. A transfer price integrates the cost one sub-entity of a corporation charges for a given product or service supplied to the next sub-entity within the same corporation. The sub-entities may be profit centres, cost centres, or investment centres. Pear Ltd central managements adoption of alternative transfer prices may possess significant impact on aspects such as motivation, performance indication and autonomy across the range of Pear Ltds responsibility centres. Motivation in this case combines goal congruence and effort and includes the aspiration to achieve a given goal outlined by the management merged with the search of those goals. Ideally, alternative transfer prices should possess properties such as promoting goal congruence, motivating management effort, useful in evaluating subunit performance, and preserving an enhanced level of subunit autonomy in decision making. The advantages of transfer pricing across Pear Ltds range of responsibility centres include better, timely decisions owing to the managers proximity to local conditions; the managers are not diverted by regular, restricted decision difficulties; managers motivation increases since they have better control over results; and enhanced decision making that avails better training for mangers for enhanced level positions within the future. Some of the disadvantages that can be cited include lack of goal congruence among mangers within diverse parts of the organization; inadequate information available to top management; and, lack of coordination among managers in diverse parts of the organization. Alternative methods of transfer pricing Market-based transfer pricing Market-based transfer pricing details when the outside market for the product is well-defined, competitive, and stable, organizations frequently tend to institute the market price as a benchmark for the transfer price. This approach, however, attracts some concerns, especially when the outside company is neither competitive nor stable. This may distort internal decision making for relying on market-based transfer prices that mirror distress prices or a variety of special pricing strategies. Market-based pricing overall leads to finest decisions, especially when: a) the marketplace is perfectly competitive; b) there is low interdependencies of sub-divisions; and, c) there is lack of extra costs or gains to the association in its entirety from buying or selling within the external market rather than transacting internally. Using market prices for transfers in certain conditions leads to goal congruence. Division managers will be acting in their own best interests to arrive at decisions that may be within the best interests of the organization as a whole. Nevertheless, one can argue that computing transfer prices grounded in cost will most probably make Pear Ltd to pay little attention to mitigating outlays since all expenditures incurred amid production will be recovered. Negotiated transfer pricing This approach features a firm identifying regulations for the computation of transfer prices. Divisional managers, in this case, are persuaded to settle or jointly agreeable transfer prices. The exact transfer price in this case hinges on the negotiating powers of the divisions. The bargained transfer price manifests a number of properties: attainment of goal congruence; critical for evaluating division performance since the transfer derives from express bargaining between the set divisions; motivating administration endeavour given that once bargained, the transfer price is autonomous of real costs of the subunit (the subunits in this case manifest every reason to direct the organization resourcefully to increase profits; and, safeguarding subunit independence since the transfer pricing flows from express negotiations between the two subunits. Cost-based transfer pricing In the lack of perfectly developed market-price, majority of the companies base their pricing on the manufacturing cost of the supplying sub-entity. The most prominent methods employed include: full cost, cost-plus, variable cost plus lump sum charge, dual transfer prices, variable cost plus opportunity cost. One possible restraint of full-cost-based transfer prices derives from the fact that they can yield to suboptimal conclusions for the organization as a whole. Transferring products internally at incremental cost possess the following properties: attains goal congruence; not useful for evaluating subunit performance since transfer price fails to exceed full costs. Transferring products internally at incremental cost fails to preserve subunit autonomy since it is rule-based and some divisions have no say in and, thus, no capability to set the transfer price. However, transferring products internally at incremental cost will motivate management effort if based on budgeted costs (actual costs are comparable to budgeted costs). If, however, the transfers are grounded are based on actual costs, Pear Ltd possess little incentive to control costs. Although, neither approach can be cited to be perfect, negotiated transfer pricing possesses more favourable properties compared to the cost-based transfer pricing. Both transfer-pricing approaches attain goal congruence; however, bargained transfer pricing assists in the estimation of subunit performance, stimulates management action, and conserves subunit autonomy, while the transfer price remain based on incremental costs fails to attain these objectives. The benefits of utilization of alternative methods of transfer pricing between responsibility centres is that the operating managers possess the incentives to closely weigh and conduct cost-benefit analysis prior to requesting groups services or products. Similarly, the operating managers possess an inducement to pursue the job and the development undertaken by the responsibility centres. Decentralization would encourage plant managers to enhance output so as to achieve the highest profitability, and inspire plant managers to track cost cutting measures that would increase margins. Manufacturing managers would be equally motivated to design their operations as per the criteria that satisfy the marketing managers approval, hence enhancing cooperation between the responsibility centres. The problem that emanate from adoption of alternative transfer pricing by Pear Ltds central management is that the contract may necessitate extensive internal negotiations with regard to cost, time, and technical specification. Similarly, Pear Ltds divisions need to consistently sell their services or products to the operating division and this could possibly result in loss of morale. To the degree that the focal point of the responsibility centres is on short-term schemes stipulated by the operating divisions, the current arrangement would lead to goal congruence and motivation. Goal congruence is attained since both the central management (operating divisions) and the responsibility centres are motivated to work the organizational goals such as enhancing the environment. The operating divisions would be highly motivated to utilize the services of the responsibility centres so as to attain the objectives outlined for them by the administration.