Thursday, December 26, 2019

School Bullying An Analysis and Recommendations - 1765 Words

School Bullying As we become more educated as a society, we become more aware and willing to admit that the incidents of bullying are indeed damaging; the explanation that kids will be kids and that torment between children is just another aspect of growing up simply does not suffice any more as an acceptable answer for bad behavior. Furthermore, there is much evidence to suggest that bullying is on the rise. Peer abuse has always existed at school, but the kinds of kids who are harassing others have changed. The stereotype of yesteryear a physically intimidating, low-achieving, socially maladjusted loner no longer applies. Instead, bullies these days are, often as not, popular kids and academic achievers ¦ Girls are slightly more likely than boys to act out against others not physically, but by using tactics like alienation, ostracism and deliberate rumors calculated to inflict maximum psychological damage (Tyre, 2010). The numbers of reported bullying incidents have gone up signi ficantly and more and more experts on children, schools and education are speaking out on how bullying completely destroys a supportive school environment (Green, 2011). Children who are on the receiving end of bullying start to internalize truly detrimental thoughts and feelings about themselves which can prevent them from adequately adjusting to school and from developing in a safe and healthy manner (Green, 2011). For instance, in Baltimores school system, the city received 231 reportsShow MoreRelatedThe Psychological Impact Of Bullying1366 Words   |  6 PagesIn order to solve a problem in a school or elsewhere you need a plan, additionally, you need to find out the cause or causes of the problem before constructing your plan and this is where research comes in. Research conducted to solve issues or problems in schools or educational systems are termed Action Research. After sitting and discussing issues and problems in our education system we decided to tackle the issue of th e psychological impact of bullying. The purpose of our action research was toRead MoreSba Sample on Bullying1333 Words   |  6 PagesStatement Of Problem Topic: Bullying Focus Question: What effect does Bullying have on its victims and how are their emotional selves impacted? Guiding Questions: What are the signs of a person being bullied? At what age does the effect of bullying impact an individual the most? What causes someone to be bullied? Reason For Selecting Area of Research I chose the topic of bullying because I believe that it is a problem thatRead MoreSba Sample on Bullying1341 Words   |  6 PagesStatement Of Problem Topic: Bullying Focus Question: What effect does Bullying have on its victims and how are their emotional selves impacted? Guiding Questions: What are the signs of a person being bullied? At what age does the effect of bullying impact an individual the most? What causes someone to be bullied? Reason For Selecting Area of Research I chose the topic of bullying because I believe that it is a problem that is makingRead MoreThe Independent Variables ( Iv ) Are The Students Gender And Grade Level1330 Words   |  6 PagesThe number of bullying incidence experienced by students, how often incidents occur based upon grade level and gender, and the frequency in which participants were the victim or aggressor when bullying behavior occurred were the dependent variables (DV). Methodology and Research Design A quantitative design was utilized for this study. This design used descriptive and correlation statistics which compared and analyzed data within groups when describing the number of bullying incidents asRead MoreA Brief Note On Cyberbullying And Its Effects On Society1085 Words   |  5 Pagesinclude more people each taking one side of the argument and hurling insults to people on the other side. Another form is harassment, where a bully humiliates the victim by sending hurtful images, text messages, or emails about the victim. This form of bullying has grown with the recent trend of making memes. Memes are images containing a message meant to ridicule the victim. Myers (2006) adds that defamation and denigration is another form of Cyberbullying; the bully attacks and tarnishes the victims throughRead MoreConcept Paper: Bullying1640 Words   |  7 PagesDoctors’ Medical School Foundation Inc., ------------------------------------------------- Bulaong, General Santos City ------------------------------------------------- THESIS CONCEPT PAPER Group Members: Cherry Mae S. Bercero Date: June 24, 2013 Kenneth Jay M. Erasmo Florean Joyce J. Ramillano Keziah Keila C. Vallente Course: BS PSYCHOLOGY Part I. Research Topic / Area: The Level of Awareness on Bullying among Students of General Santos Doctors’ Medical School Foundation IncorporatedRead MoreHistorical Context. Recently, Society Is Showing Concern1591 Words   |  7 Pagespharmaceutical companies (Psychiatric Times, 2009, para. 1). When a diagnosis is added or removed from a diagnostic manual that creates demand for services, medicines, and funded research there needs to be federal government involvement. Policy Recommendations Analysis of the literature suggests that DSM-5’s removal of Asperger’s disorder has negative implications for children and adults on their identity and accessing services and supports. There is confusion in the many ways an Asperger person is referredRead MoreThe Impact Of Truant Behaviors In Schools1132 Words   |  5 Pagesstakeholders such as, schools, juvenile justice system and law enforcement. SB 1317, states that the families of truant youth are now being held responsible when a child is chronically truant (California Legislative Information , 2009). Furthermore, to help reduce youth delinquency, drug use and other criminal activities which involve the juvenile justice system, schools are required to maintain efficient records of attendance ( U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Schools In the state of CalifornianRead MoreCase Profile For The Council For Human Rights725 Words   |  3 PagesRUNNING HEAD: Case Profile Case Profile for The Council for Human Rights Chris Surfus, MBA, MPA Western Michigan University School of Public Affairs and Administration PADM-6400 Nonprofit Governance Professor Kelly Trusty, Ph.D. August 17, 2015 Case Profile for The Council for Human Rights Introduction Organization History The Council for Human Rights, formerly known as The Tolerance, Equality, and Awareness Movement or â€Å"TEAM,† is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt humanRead MoreBullying Prevention2457 Words   |  10 PagesProblem of bullying in schools Problem-solution essay Final draft Academic Reading and writing I Nurman Assima (ID: 20110635) November 25, 2011 Outline I. Introduction Thesis statement: Due to the fact that problem of bullying negatively affects students learning ability, their health and the entire school climate society should take definite and urgent measures to solve it. II. Background * School bullying is a kind of aggressive and angry behaviour. *

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Essay on Al Capone - 697 Words

Al Capone is one of Americas most feared, greatest-known gangsters and the utmost symbol of the fail of law and order in the United States during the 1920’s Prohibition era. Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Naples, Italy. He and his family later immigrated to the United States. They settled in Brooklyn, New York (â€Å"Capone, Alphonse†). Al Capone was a ruthless, violent, horrifying gangster. He was very organized and set on his high income. In 1920’s and 1930’s, Capone was the most important leader of organized crime (Mayo). After settling in Brooklyn, New York in fourth grade he became a part of the Five Point Gang. Johnny Torrio was also a member of this gang. In the late 1920’s, Torrio moved to Chicago while Capone†¦show more content†¦This is when Capone got four of his men to set up in a garage at 2122 N. Clark Street, which was the main liquor position for George Moran’s North Side gang. Capone had two of his men to dress as police, as though it was a police raid. The gang members then dropped their guns, turned around, and put their hands on the wall. Capone’s men used two shotguns and two machine guns and fired more than 150 bullets into the victims. Six of the seven victims were members of Moran’s gang. This confrontation was known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (â€Å"Gangsters†). In 1931, Capone was charged with income tax evasion from the years 1925-1929. He also failed to file his taxes the years of 1928 and 1929, which resulted in a misdemeanor charge. Capone owed $215,080.48 to the government for his gambling income. He was also charged with conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws from 1922-1931. Capone pleads guilty to all three charges. Judge James H. Wilkerson was not giving Capone any deals. He was found guilty on eighteen of the twenty-three charges. Capone was sentenced to ten years in federal prison and one year in a county jail. While in the Atlanta federal prisons, Capone took over. He had obtained special privileges such as, furnishing his cell with typewriter, mirror, rugs, and encyclopedias. He was later sent to Alcatraz, which meant no more controlling people or getting special privileges (â€Å"Gangsters†). While in prison, Capone showed symptoms of syphiliticShow MoreRelatedProhibition and Al Capone858 Words   |  3 Pagesthe collapse of law and order in the 1920’s, perhaps the most recognized figure to emerge from the time is Al Capone. â€Å"The New York Times said of Al Capone that he was the symbol of a shameful era, the monstrous symptom of a disease which was eating into the conscience of America. Looking back on it now, this period of Prohibition in full, ugly flower seems fantastically incredible. Capone himself was incredible, the creation of an ugly dream.† (www.umich.edu) He impacted society through his ruthlessRead More Al Capone Essay1654 Words   |  7 Pages Al Capone, probably the most notorious and well known gangster in history, was born in 1887 in Naples, Italy. His father, Gabriel Caponi, immigrated to Brooklyn from the slums of Naples in 1910. After he came here he changed his last name too Capone too blend in more. Al Capone’s gang activit ies started out when he was young. He was in the Five Points Gang, who were known for their violence. The gang’s tradition was to scar their victims with a knife cut from the outside corners of their eyes toRead MoreEssay On Al Capone1271 Words   |  6 PagesAl Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in his way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his selfRead MoreEssay on Al Capone1286 Words   |  6 Pages Alphonse quot;Scar Facequot; Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899, to an immigrant family. He was born with type O blood. People supposedly born with O type blo od tend to have the drive to succeed in leadership quality. They are strong, certain, and powerful, as will be seen later. However Al Capones leadership was taken to the extreme. (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets Eat Right 4 Your Type) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Certainly many Italian immigrants like immigrants of all nationalities, frequentlyRead More Al Capone Essay1518 Words   |  7 Pages Al Capone still remains one of the most notable residents of quot;the Rock.quot; In a memoir written by Warden James Johnston, he reminisced about the intensity of public interest around Capones imprisonment, stating that he was continually barraged with questions about quot;Big Al.quot; Each day newspapers and press flooded his office with phone calls, wanting to know everything from how Capone liked the weather on quot;the Rock,quot; to what job assignment he was currently holding. BeforeRead MoreEssay on Al Capone1697 Words   |  7 PagesAl Capone In 1920, the United States entered a new stage in its life, the Era of Prohibition. However, flaws in the planning, execution, and administration caused this noble idea to vacillate unquestionably. However, men who were willing to break the law were the ones that were able to build a lucrative life for themselves; one such man was Alphonse Capone. However, honest men such as Elliot Ness fought adamantly to defend their morals, beliefs, and the law of the land. Nevertheless, Capone wasRead More Al Capone Essay2647 Words   |  11 PagesAl Capone Prohibition led to the bootlegging of liquor and the gang wars of the 1920’s. The most notorious gangster of all time, known as Al Capone, was the most powerful mob leader of his era. He dominated organized crime in the Chicago area from 1925 until 1931. Capone grew up during the roaring 20s in Chicago. He joined the James Street gang, lead by Johnny Torrio. In 1920, Torrio asked Capone to move to Chicago and work with his uncle who controlled the city’s largest prostitution and gamblingRead MoreAl Capone Essay1485 Words   |  6 PagesSCARFACE Capone Born in New York City, in 1899, by parents Gabriel and Teresa Capone, Alphonse Capone was blessed with a historical blend of ruthless gangster in his blood. Al Capones parents immigrated to the United States in 1893, from Naples, Italy. Al Capone came from a huge family. He was the fourth oldest of nine children. At birth, Capones parents never would have believed that their son, Alphonse Capone, would grow up to be a murderous thug without remorse. As a child, Al Capone wasRead More Al Capone Essay688 Words   |  3 PagesAl Capone Throughout Americas history there have been many famous criminals, John Dillinger, John Gotti, Lucky Luciano, just to name a few. However, due to his extreme wealth and Godfather like status, the most notorious and famous one might have been Al Capone. Alphonse Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 17, 1899 to immigrants from Naples, Italy. At a very young age, he became involved in organized crime by quitting school after sixth grade and joining a local neighborhoodRead More Al Capone Essay2672 Words   |  11 Pages Al Capone is one of the most recognized names in American history. Capone ran the City of Chicago with illegal activities. He appeared many times on newspapers all over the country. Every one of us has heard of Al Capone, but most of us don’t k now the story behind him. What made him to be the most feared gangster in the city of Chicago? How did this kid from a rough neighborhood and no money grow up to have $60,000,000? I’ve always been fascinated with organized crime but had never been taught

Monday, December 9, 2019

Corporate Governance And Regulation Ethic - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Governance And Regulation Ethic. Answer: Introduction: Corporate governance is the structure of policies and method of business which a company follows. It demonstrates the process of power and responsibility that moves between board of directors, managers, CEO and all the shareholders of a company (Tricker Tricker, 2015). The basic structure of the system comprises of shareholders vote and authorizes a team of board of directors, who are given financial responsibilities for the interest of the shareholders. The team then employs a CEO, who employs management team and further progress takes place. A chain is created according to the distribution of power and responsibilities. The internal rules are created about the whole process, and they are needed to be maintained to run a company efficiently. It is a set of ethics that needs to be maintained. The ethics are maintained for financial growth of the company and for maintaining healthy relationship among all the staffs within company. Violating these ethics has resulted in collapsing and financial losses for many companies. Sometimes, proper ethics are not maintained within a company. This report highlights on the basic rules or ethics of corporate governance and how the system works. There will be analysis on why these ethics need to be followed and how the methods are implemented in a company. There will be discussions on benefits and ethical issues of corporate governance. There will be evaluation about two companies violating ethics and about how they collapsed due to this. Lastly, there will be discussion on how the ethics can be improved and the future aspects of the ethics which can benefit the companies further. Discussions: Corporate governance and ethics both run with each other for maintaining a standard for running a company. The difference between them is that the ethics are more logical and properly appropriate standards that a corporation maintains for functioning wisely, where corporate governance methods are the ways by which a corporation makes the efforts to be as ethical as possible while maintaining a financial growth. The corporate governance and ethics varies according to different types of business. There are difference in governance and ethics of private companies and public companies. Ethics for corporate governance: In 2004, the ethics for the government pension fund was formed. They comprise of three documents they are as follows: The UN Global compact: It as introduced in 2000 and comprises of ten basic theories for human rights, anti corruption, the labors and working environment (Voegtlin Pless, 2014). The theories or principles are as follows: The human rights should be respected and they should not be violated. Child labors, forced labor and injustice to employers should be eased totally. Corruption, fraud in work place and bribery should be eliminated. The environmental challenges should be faced properly and environmental responsibilities should be promoted with great effort. The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance: It was formed in 2004 and consists of document that covers efficient framework for corporate governance, the interests of all the shareholders and owners, impartial methods for all the shareholders, acknowledgement and transparency within the staffs and obligations of the board of directors (Siems Alvarez-Macotela, 2014). The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: It was formed in 2000. This document consists of proposals in operations like transparency, relation within employers and employees, and the working environment, fighting against bribery and corruptions, interests of the consumers, departments of science and technology and competition in the markets (Tergeist, 2016). Principles for Corporate Governance and the Protection of Financial Assets: It was formed in 2004 and consists of promoting rights of the owners and built excellent corporate governance, making proper strategies and communications within the company, preparing structure of the company boards and long term continuity of functioning of the company (Gitman, Juchau Flanagan, 2015). The ethics for the management of funds: For better management of companys financial department, ethical guidelines for some issues have been addressed. They are as follows: For promoting financial returns for a long terms basis, the corporate governance that comprises of the UN global compact, the OECD guidelines for multinational companies and the OECD principles for corporate governance are implemented. Production of weapons by the companies from their funds either by themselves or through other individuals results in breaching of main human principles. Prohibition of companies from investment areas where risk of violating human rights and individual rights in rivalry situations are found along with corruption, environmental deteriorations. The finance ministry is responsible to take care of the funds to be managed in genuine ethical manner. The theories of corporate governance: There are several theories related to corporate governance which describes the operating methods of the boards and the process by which decisions are made by the directors of a company. There are six theories of corporate governance stated by Stiles and Taylor, out of which three theories have standard characters. The theories are as follows: Agency theory: Agency theory was found from the work of Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means. It was found to trace on the problems of individual greed. Call agency cost is all about assigning managers to maintain financial departments which are not in their planning. In case of business where the owner is the manager, this cost does not arrive (Bosse Philips, 2016). That is the reason the governance problem in private and public companies are different from each other. These problems cannot be totally avoided but if some active measures are taken they can be limited. To control these issues, the public companies have introduced incentives in salaries for the managers. Growing implementation of stock options and impartiality based payment methods help in controlling the agency costs. These opportunities to earn more money help the managers to focus on their individual incomes through the benefits provided by the company. In case of, large sector public organizations, the shareholders recr uit the directors to look after the working of the managers which increases the agency costs. Stakeholder theory: This theory is mainly practiced in Japan and continental European countries like Germany. In this theory, about half membership seats for the board of directors are allotted for the representatives of the employees (Pige, 2017). This theory mentions that bankers of the company and other shareholders should have seats in board of directors. This theory objects to the expectation that only directors and managers have duty towards the owner of the company. Stewardship theory: This theory proposes that in board practice, instructions are inspired more than personal finance. According to the psychology of a company, the suggestion is that self belief and fulfillment emerge in the decision making. In this theory, the directors should look on the interests of the employees bigger than their self interest (Cho, Huang Padmanabhan, 2014). But in most of the outcome, the theory is mute and the director finds other ways for guiding principles. When a seat is secured by a shareholder among the board of directors, the director needs to follow the aims of the shareholder as set on the company law. Ethical frameworks for governance: The theories discussed corporate governance are encircled in ethics as significant and idealized. The right action can be decided on assessing the benefits derived from the theories and by following more accurate rules what may be result of the actions taken. But there is meaningful thinking that which have important roles in maintaining corporate governance which is known as ethical egoism (Dahlbeck, 2016). In this system, an individual carries on the work which is suitable for him without thinking the outcomes for others (Too Weaver, 2014). The CEO attempts to find maximum personal profits. The role that corporate governance maintains is curbing the actions of the CEOs without spoiling their working interests. In the agency theory, the board negotiates with the CEO and policies are paid to the other members of the management team to create a way for common results. Benefits of corporate governance and ethics: The benefits of corporate governance and ethics are as follows: Improved reputation of a company: Implementing corporate governance helps in boosting the reputation of a company. Adding corporate governance results in joining of more stakeholders who will be interested to work with that company. Strong controls in the company among board of directors, managers and employees can attract many stakeholders to invest in the company (Saeidi et al., 2015). Through sharing of internal information with the stakeholder increases transparency within the company, which in turn makes the people or customers more confident about the company. Less fine and penalties: The benefit of corporate governance includes following policies which requires the company to implement strategies to stay flexible with all the local and national rules and laws to run a company. In corporate governance, the board of directors or managers needs to handle the companys rule in employing or recruitment policies before hiring any staffs (Arlen Kahan, 2016). It might require the companys accounting department to go through an audit by an independent auditor once or twice in a year. Decrease in conflicts and fraud within a company: Implementation of corporate governance helps in restricting the possibility for bad behavior or by employees by applying some rules to decrease frauds and bribes (DeZoort Harrison, 2016). In corporate governance, a company might set a rule which the company management needs to sign to avoid any conflicts in which the members have their own personal interests. For example, the company might not allow loans for the family members of the management team or recruiting any family member of the team. Some external audits are made and signed by the management team members to prevent any frauds within the company. Reducing or preventing cyber attacks: Having a proper plan of cyber security within a company can prevent any threats of cyber attacks. Corporate governance for maintaining cyber security of a company needs to be followed for preventing any types of threats. Example of two companies violating corporate governance and ethics: Violating corporate governance and ethics can lead to collapsing and financial losses for many companies. WorldCom and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities are two companies that faced terrible consequence for violating the ethics. These two incidents shook the whole nation and resulted in huge financial losses. In 2005, WorldCom a telecommunication company failed terribly and felt into bankruptcy and became one of the biggest financial frauds in the history. Bernard Ebbers, the former CEO of the company was accused for the financial fraud and was put into prison for 25 years (Leighton, 2015). In the 15 years of operations, the company made a high financial growth. The company had business over 65 countries (Bhasin, 2016). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission took information about financial procedures and loan provided to the officers of the WorldCom (Gottschalk, 2018). The company then cut down 3700 jobs of their employees. This affected the credit ratings of WorldCom (Trautman, 2016). An investigation team was set up by US government to find out the truth about the scandal. Bernard Ebbers stepped down from the role of CEO. It was later revealed that the company has provided him $ 339.7 million to clear the debt of the loan that he took for buying his shares. The company la ter announced that a huge loss occurred for wrong accounting of about $ 3.8 billion (Chorafas, 2015). Then, they cut down more 17,000 jobs which was greater than 20 % of total workforce. The share price of the company dropped down more than 80 %. Several suits were filed against the company which further made the company collapse. The chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan and the controller David Myers were also arrested and were put into 65 years of imprisonment (Wisner Brown, 2015). These consequences could have been avoided if the company maintained ethical corporate governance. Breaching corporate governance by CEO Bernard resulted in the financial loss. At the early stage of operations, Bernards decisions were widely appreciated as it resulted in substantial financial growth of the company. But at later stages, he produced fake images of himself to the companys board of directors, employees and also to the market. He made unrealistic promises and focused on building his pers onal financial growth without paying attention on the possible consequences that the company could face. When his personal finance started suffering he made efforts to increase the stock price of WorldCom. Still, he could not avoid financial losses of the company. It was later found out that the chief financial officer was the main culprit behind this fraud. It was clear that Bernard was aware of the full fraud and the way it was implemented. A proper corporate governance and ethics should have been followed to prevent any losses. Another big financial fraud was conducted in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, which shook the entire world (Stolowy et al., 2014). The company implemented different techniques for duping people with their money which is known as Ponzi schemes (Baucus Mitteness, 2016). The CEO of the company Bernard L. Madoff monitored the whole scheme for more than 15 years. He was arrested for the fraud and begged guilty for duping billions of US dollars. The company was founded as an investment firm in 1960 (Lewis, 2016). After implementing some latest computer technologies, it became on the largest companies in the US. In this company, the investors could keep their money in a savings fund in return they used to receive an amount of above ten percent interest. This made the company run one of the biggest Ponzi scheme in the world. For running a Ponzi scheme, the companies mainly return the money of the old investors by receiving money from new investors. This process was also applied by B ernard L. Madoff investment securities. A variety of techniques were applied to ensure that the scam could not be disclosed by any means. Madoff used to sell all the financial instruments of the company at each months end which ensured that the fund only report the cash of the investors. The investors could not access their online transaction of money rather a mail was sent to them every month about their information of the account and balances. Despite of so much prevention, the scam was finally revealed in 2008 which completely destroyed the existence of the company. Andrew Bernard and Mark Bernard, the two sons of Bernard Maddoff finally revealed the scam and Madoff was arrested on December 2008. In 2009 he was charged with all the charges and sent to 150 years of imprisonment (Azim Azam, 2016). Being a moral agent of the company, he needed to ensure the correct way for the growth of the company rather he took the wrong way and breached the ethics to run a company efficiently. T he progress of a company depends on the behavior of the moral agents and how they find the honest way for maintaining company ethics. Ethical issues in corporate governance and the future prospects: To maintain proper corporate governance in a company, some ethics needs to be maintained. Violating these ethics can result in big losses and frauds as stated by two examples discussed above. The conflict of interest within a company needs to be avoided to prevent staffs taking personal advantages which can result in the disadvantages of the company. The board members can be answerable to conflicts of interest in different ways. Another ethical issue for a company is to maintain transparency among all the staffs and shareholders. Maintaining transparency helps the stakeholders to have full and accurate information of the company, its way of conducting business and all the negative and positive aspects of the company. Transparency is extremely important to recognize all the shareholders so that proper communications occurs between them and full rights are provided to each shareholder (Levit Malenko, 2016). Breaching this ethics can result in conflict among the board members and share holder and can result in downfall of the company. Another ethics which is extremely important is accountability (Christensen et al., 2015). This is the way the board members answers to the stakeholders about the financial performance of the company and the different processes by which they are achieved. Accountability includes a process which is of two ways. Many organizations such as trade unions demands on better accountability. The main focus in this ethics is for better relationship between the board of a company and its shareholders. All these ethics need to be maintained for better corporate governance of a company. The future of all the organizations could be better if these ethics are improved further according to the market demands. The government of all the countries should keep an eye on all the private and public companies so that the corporate governance and ethics are not violated and big frauds like that of WorldCom and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities are not repeated. With the advancement of technologies and increasing cyber crimes, it is necessary to implement laws that are as strong as the technologies. Conclusions: Corporate governance and ethics are the most important rules that all the organizations need to follow for improving their business and preventing any shorts of financial and non financial frauds. These ethics need to be followed to maintain better relationships between shareholders, board of directors and employees of a company. The benefits associated with these ethics are extremely useful for improving financial and non-financial aspects of a company. Violation of company ethics has resulted in fallout and financial losses of many companies around the world. Proper transparency and accountability needs to be maintained for avoiding any short of conflicts among the members of a company. Conflicts of interest need to be avoided to have smooth operations within a company. Applying more advanced, planned and secured corporate governance and ethics will lead to better business process of a company and prevent any further frauds. This report focused on the use of corporate governance an d ethics for better functioning of a company. There are discussions on the benefits of implementation of the ethics. The ethics and the theories related to corporate governance have been evaluated further. The ethics for management of funds has been discussed. The ethical frameworks have been evaluated further. Examples of two companies which violated corporate governance and how these resulted in collapsing of these companies have been discussed. Lastly, the ethical issues of corporate governance and the future aspects have been discussed. References: Arlen, J., Kahan, M. (2016). Corporate Governance Regulation Through Non-Prosecution. Azim, M., Azam, M. (2016). Bernard Madoff's' Ponzi scheme': Fraudulent behaviour and the role of auditors.Accountancy Business and the Public Interest,15(122-137). Baucus, M. S., Mitteness, C. R. (2016). Crowdfrauding: Avoiding Ponzi entrepreneurs when investing in new ventures.Business horizons,59(1), 37-50. Bhasin, M. L. (2016). The Untimely Demise of Satyam Computers Limited: A Revisit to the Indias Enron.International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research,5(5), 6-24. Bosse, D. A., Phillips, R. A. (2016). Agency theory and bounded self-interest.Academy of Management Review,41(2), 276-297. Cho, K. R., Huang, C. H., Padmanabhan, P. (2014). Foreign ownership mode, executive compensation structure, and corporate governance: Has the literature missed an important link? Evidence from Taiwanese firms.International Business Review,23(2), 371-380. Chorafas, D. N. (2015). Parmalat: The Hedge Fund with Dairy Products on the Side. InBusiness Efficiency and Ethics(pp. 203-224). Palgrave Macmillan US. Christensen, J., Kent, P., Routledge, J., Stewart, J. (2015). Do corporate governance recommendations improve the performance and accountability of small listed companies?.Accounting Finance,55(1), 133-164. Dahlbeck, J. (2016). Character education and ethical egoism: Spinoza on self-preservation as the foundation of virtue. DeZoort, F. T., Harrison, P. D. (2016). Understanding auditors sense of responsibility for detecting fraud within organizations.Journal of Business Ethics, 1-18. Gitman, L. J., Juchau, R., Flanagan, J. (2015).Principles of managerial finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Gottschalk, P. (2018). Sample of US Investigation Reports. InInvestigating White-Collar Crime(pp. 95-119). Springer, Cham. Leighton, P. (2015). Ebbers25 year sentence for WorldCom fraud upheld. good.Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: A Reader, 96. Levit, D., Malenko, N. (2016). The labor market for directors and externalities in corporate governance.The Journal of Finance,71(2), 775-808. Lewis, L. S. (2016).Bernard Madoff and His Accomplices: Anatomy of a Con: Anatomy of a Con. ABC-CLIO. Pig, B. (2017). Stakeholder theory and corporate governance: the nature of the board information.Management: journal of contemporary management issues,7(1), 1-17. Saeidi, S. P., Sofian, S., Saeidi, P., Saeidi, S. P., Saaeidi, S. A. (2015). How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction.Journal of Business Research,68(2), 341-350. Siems, M. M., Alvarez-Macotela, O. (2014). The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets: a successful example of networked governance?. InNetworked Governance, Transnational Business and the Law(pp. 257-284). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Stolowy, H., Messner, M., Jeanjean, T., Richard Baker, C. (2014). The construction of a trustworthy investment opportunity: Insights from the Madoff fraud.Contemporary Accounting Research,31(2), 354-397. Tergeist, P. (2016).The OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises. Kluwer Law International. Too, E. G., Weaver, P. (2014). The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance.International Journal of Project Management,32(8), 1382-1394. Trautman, L. J. (2016). Who Sits on Texas Corporate Boards: Texas Corporate Directors: Who They Are What They Do.Hous. Bus. Tax LJ,16, 44. Tricker, R. B., Tricker, R. I. (2015).Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA. Voegtlin, C., Pless, N. M. (2014). Global governance: CSR and the role of the UN Global Compact.Journal of Business Ethics,122(2), 179-191. Wisner, D. L., Brown, B. A. (2015). Corporate Toxicity: The WorldCom/MCI Scandal.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Plato Vs Shelley Essays - Ancient Greek Philosophers, Platonism

Plato Vs Shelley Many works of literature provide responses to much debated topics. Opinions are brought forth by means of rhetorical devices and supported by some type of accepted truth. In two such pieces, The Republic by Plato and A Defense of Poetry by Shelley, Plato expresses a belief about poetry that Shelley disagrees with and responds to. Through rhetorical devices such as metaphors and symbolism and the use of deductive logic and Socratic writing, Plato provides a strong, very supported argument while Shelleys long sentence structure, analogies and metaphors are weak in comparison. The way in which Plato uses deductive logic to express his opinion allows him to fully develop his ideas without making assertions that are incredible. Plato begins with the idea of the ultimate maker of the bed, which he refers to as G-d which is easily accepted by the majority of an audience. Plato believed that there is only one who makes the essence of the bed, (44) the single idea and therefore that is the truth. From there he goes to the carpenter. There is another (bed) which is the work of the carpenter. (44) And finally Plato defines his thesis through metaphor. He uses a metaphor that compares the work of a poet to a mirror. Turning a mirror round and round you would soon enough make the sun and the heavens, and the earth and yourself, and other animals and plants, and all other things of which we were just speaking, in the mirrorbut they would be appearances only. (44) The way in which the writing is interactive with two people creates contradictions, which challenge Plat os beliefs, yet they are still proven throughout. Why not? For the duller eye may often see a thing sooner than the keener. Very true, but in your presence, even if I had any further notion, I could not muster courage to utter it. (43) While this Socratic writing helps Plato to make his argument even more concrete, Shelley uses essay form to portray his ideas somewhat in response to beliefs like those of Plato. Shelleys writing differs in form from Platos in that Shelleys is more straight forward and seems almost as if it were meant to be preached. Reason is to the imagination as the instrument to the agent, as the body to the spirit, as the shadow to the substance. (429) The analogy that Shelley uses portrays that reason is the basis of the imagination, implying that poetry holds truth, yet it is an idealized truth, which is determined by Plato in The Republic to be essentially false. Shelley uses a similar metaphor of a mirror, as did Plato. Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted. (431) While Shelley is trying to defend poetry, he is still representing is as an image, just as Plato had. Plato uses this mirror symbol more successfully in that he makes the assertion that that in which is imitated, as is a mirror image, is far from the truth. Shelley only states that the image (poetry) is more beautiful than the truth, which is distorted. Plato and Shelley both portray their ideas of poetry through rhetorical devices but Platos argument is much more solid. Because of his Socratic writing form and effective use of metaphors, Platos devices persuasively outweigh Shelleys form, analogies and metaphors. Philosophy

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Cheating in Education Today

Cheating in Education Today On the last day of the term, I needed to grade a set of papers while my class was taking the same test in order to distribute exam waivers by the end of the day. Suspecting that students coming to my desk might accidentally see answers on the key for the one multiple choice page, I coded the answers on my answer key the multiple choice responses so that I AB, BC and so on and proceeded to grade papers. My suspicions were correct: Of the fifteen or so students in the room, six came to my desk once or twice, returning to his seat with a smug smile. I felt a twinge of guilt as I watched them quickly scribbling answers, considering the situation had a flavor of entrapment, but decided these students might learn an unexpected lesson. The slickness of their moves was dismaying, but I felt worse seeing which students were cheating only those I had held in highest regard. When all papers finally were in, I said I had bad news for all those people who had cheated. Innocent cries of Who cheated, ensued, loudest from those who had. But they ceased when I said the cheaters had reproduced a perfect pattern of wrong answers. I had believed cheating in my classes was tightly controlled. I rarely gave credit for rechecked answers, I kept assignments until students can no longer get credit for turning in copied work, and I rarely gave multiple choice tests. Nevertheless, during final exam week I found a little crib sheet stuck on a shelf and another lying on the floor. Perhaps more telling, a few students who rarely complete their work left the room once they realized cheating on the essay exam would be impossible. Apparently, their experience had given them confidence that they can get away with cheating. I wondered if this confidence made studying seem a waste of time. A Nationwide Problem Survey results about the prevalence of cheating in high school taken by Whos Who Among American High School Students in 1993 revealed that an alarming 89% of high school students thought cheating was common and 78% had cheated.It seems logical to assume that successful cheating in high school inspires cheating at the college level, for surveys taken in 1990 indicate as many as 45% college students cheated in one or two courses and 33%, in eight or more courses. The problem, however, is not just with the students themselves, in a recent U.S. News Poll 20% of adults felt there was nothing wrong with parents completing their childs homework. Resources That Help Detect Cheating and Plagiarism While, discouragingly, there are many internet sites that give examples of slick cheating techniques and sell pre-written term papers, there are many other online resources to help teachers catch cheaters. One of the best is Grammerly, which has a plagiarism checker as well as providing strong grammar checking tools.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Make Your Essay Flow Using Transitions

Make Your Essay Flow Using Transitions Your written report, whether it is a creative, three-paragraph essay, or an extensive research paper, must be organized in a way that presents a satisfying experience for the reader. Sometimes it just seems impossible to make a paper flow- but that generally happens because your paragraphs aren’t arranged in the best possible order. Two essential ingredients for a great-reading paper are logical order and smart transitions. Create Flow With Better Paragraph Order The first step toward creating flow is making sure your paragraphs are put together in a logical order. Many times, the first draft of a report or essay is a little choppy and out of sequence. The good news about writing an essay of any length is that you can use cut and paste to rearrange your paragraphs. At first, this might sound terrifying: when you finish a draft of an essay it feels much like you have given birth- and cutting and pasting sounds scary. Don’t worry. You can simply  use a practice version of your paper to experiment with. Once you have finished a draft of your paper, save it and name it. Then make a second version by copying the entire first draft and pasting it into a new document. Now that you have a draft to experiment with, print it out and read it over. Do the paragraphs and topics flow in a logical order? If not, assign each paragraph a number and write the number in the margin. Don’t be at all surprised if you find that a paragraph on page three looks like it could work better on page one.Once you’ve numbered all the paragraphs, start cutting and pasting them in your document until they match your numbering system.Now, re-read your essay. If the order works better, you can go back and insert transition sentences between paragraphs.Finally, re-read both versions of your paper and confirm that your new version sounds better than the original. Create Flow With Transition Words Transition sentences (and words) are necessary for making connections between the claims, views, and statements you make in your writing. Transitions can involve a few words or a few sentences. If you can imagine your report as a quilt made up of many squares, you could think of your transition statements as the stitches that connect the squares. Red stitches might make your quilt ugly, while white stitching would give it flow. For some types of writing, transitions can contain just a few simple words. Words like also, furthermore, and yet, can be used to connect one idea to another. I had to walk two miles each morning to get to school. Yet, the distance was not something I considered a burden.I enjoyed walking to school when my friend Rhonda walked with me and talked about her travels.   For more sophisticated essays, you’ll need a few sentences to make your paragraphs flow. While the research was conducted at a university in Colorado, there is no evidence that altitude was considered to be a factor  ...A similar exercise was carried out in the mountain state of West Virginia, where similar extremes of altitude exist. You will find that its easy to come up with effective transitions once your paragraphs are arranged in the most logical order.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Case Synopses - KAPAI NEW ZEALAND Essay

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Case Synopses - KAPAI NEW ZEALAND - Essay Example And the products should not be similar to those that are available in the other restaurants. The interior of the restaurants also was clearly describing that how much the founders are in touch with an eco-friendly environment. In case of the interiors also, James and Justin had a different opinion. And their prices were such that even a single item will not cost more than that of the present minimum wages. The menu choices were like DIY (Do It Yourself). That means the restaurant will provide the different items to the customer and they themselves have to mix the items and fill it to eat. Through this the customers can understand the items used in the salad and can also have a choice in the ingredients. A wide variety of foods are available such as soup, honey, hot cakes, juice etc. The staffs got a shift of 2 to 4 hours per day. So the university students were also working as staff on part time basis. The growth of Kapai is resulted from the local support; this is because they depen ded mostly on the local suppliers. The extraordinary performance leads them to a high profit and thus, James started drawing a salary as an office staff. Since, the demand for the fast food was very high and a number of competitors such as Mc Donald’s, Domino’s, and Pizza Hut already existed, Kapai had to boost up their business. The more usage of fast food led to an over-weighted society and people started behaving very health conscious. All the restaurants tried to balance the fast food and salad items. But the health parts were ignored. The main competitor is a salad store called Reload. The urge to open the franchise increased in their minds. But the competition was very stiff. So the decision was taken to reduce the overhead costs and other expenses. And they planned to start the franchise at their preferred location. Kapai always had the first mover advantage and they wanted the people to accept it as their own. ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHALLENGES Every entrepreneur had to face some sort of challenge during their business life. This is because risk is inherent in each business. From the very stage, where the idea was generated for the venture to be closed down the challenge had to be faced. The possible challenge is â€Å"Finance, management† (Richter Meyer, 2003) for the firm i.e., naming of the firm, staff selection etc. In this case, the challenge is more like when they were running the business rather than in the start-up stage. A number of players were existing in the fast food industry in New Zealand and all of them were having a number of outlets and they were very successful entrepreneurs such as KFC, Mc Donald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut etc. Even though there were a lot of competitors who existed, Kapai could succeed only because they have studied the eating habit of the people and accordingly started their business and earned relatively a good profit. The next thing is that about the location for the next two stores . Their prices for each food were lower than the minimum wage rate of the country and thus the revenue-expense part was a challenge. This is because they had to pay the rent for the building, employee’s salary, purchasing of vegetables etc. Moreover, they were mostly depended on the local suppliers and tried to serve bio-degradable packaged salads and the availability

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Creative Writing - Appetites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Creative Writing - Appetites - Essay Example This list of rules was in a black, handcrafted frame that really accentuated the font, causing the rules to pop off the page when anyone looked at it. Kate and Sebastian thought it would be appropriate to hang this list of rules in the dining room, since that was what the rules were in reference to and it was also the most sacred room in the house. When looking around Sebastian and Kate’s house, one might not see this document as having great importance, but that is far from the truth. These rules were the cornerstone of their relationship. If one were to break such a rule, for someone else it might be equivalent to cheating on your spouse by having sex with someone other than your spouse. Every week they have a theme, a country, that dictates all of the food they eat for that week. The themes start on Sunday and end that following Saturday night. Saturday night is always the biggest meal of the week. They always save the most exotic dish from that specific country for that Sa turday meal. The Saturday meal always took huge preparations. They would switch off every other week putting on the Saturday meal. The person responsible for putting on the Saturday meal would be responsible for selecting the table covers, silverware, and preparing the food. Separately they would both pick out their outfits, which were supposed to mimic formal attire that would be worn in that country. This week’s theme was going to be South Korea. Sebastian was responsible for putting on the big meal that Saturday. This was a going to be a huge week for both of them, and they both were extremely anxious. It took weeks to fully prepare the menu for this week. Once they did that, they had to order all of the food and make sure they stored it properly. It was crucial that whoever was responsible for preparing the food knew how to properly prepare it or else the consequences could be fatal. Since a lot of the meals that they would eat on Saturday evenings had the potential of be ing dangerous, allowing one spouse to prepare the food demonstrated the ultimate trust within this relationship. Sebastian really wanted to make this meal a special one, since it was a country that they had both been anticipating for months. He thought that Sannakji, wriggling octopus, would be a good choice given its unique texture and its lethality. Sannakji is a mild-tasting, lightly seasoned delicacy that is known for choking individuals. It is prepared in a manner that the octopus’s legs are removed while the octopus is still alive. This causes the legs to wriggle around on the plate like a pile of worms. The tentacles’ suction cups can stick to your inside your throat or to your cheeks. The lights were dimmed, giving a very romantic ambience to the meal. There was a small two-person table in the middle of their dining room. There was a candle in the middle of the table that gave off a lavender aroma throughout the room. The candle was in a very nice, sterling sil ver candleholder. The tablecloth had a very strange texture; it was leather with animal fur on top of it. The very coarse hair was cream with a yellow tint to it. The chairs, which were made of mahogany wood, had seat covers on top of it that matched the same material of the tablecloth. There were two table settings; the napkins and placemats both matched the tablecloth and chair seats. There were two beautiful, ornate yellow plates with

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Dantes Inferno Essay Example for Free

Dantes Inferno Essay On the evening of Good Friday in the year 1300, Dante is travelling through a forest, when he gets lost. In the morning, he finds a mountain and tries to climb it, but is stopped by a lion, a wolf, and a leopard. The spirit of the poet Virgil appears and offers to take him to the top of the mountain to Heaven when his love, Beatrice, is, but the way first leads through Hell. Virgil and Dante enter through the gates of Hell and see a crowd of people along the banks of the river. Virgil tells Dante these are the souls who neither sinned nor worshipped God, and are therefore rejected by both Heaven and Hell. Charon takes them across the river. The Second Circle is guarded by Minos and is the first of four rings in which souls are punished. In the Second Circle, the souls of the lustful are blown about by never-ending winds. In the Third Circle, the souls of the gluttons are soaked by heavy rain and clawed by the three-headed dog, Cerberus. Continuing downwards, they meet the entrance to the Fourth Circle, which holds the greedy. These souls must charge at each other with boulders repeatedly. Virgil and Dante next proceed to f the city of Dis. Dis is a city within the larger region of Hell, however the demon guards refuse to open the gates. A messenger arrives from Heaven to force the gates open for Dante and Virgil. The Sixth Circle of Hell holds the Heretics, and in this circle that Dante encounters Farinata, a rival political leader. A deep valley leads into the First Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell, where there are three inner rings. The first is where those who were violent toward others spend eternity in a river of boiling blood. The second ring is for those who were violent toward themselves, and the third ring is for those who were violent toward God. The monster Geryon transports Virgil and Dante across a great abyss to the Eighth Circle of Hell, known as Malebolge, Here, there are also many layers. The first is for the panderers and seducers, who receive lashings from whips. The second is where the flatterers must lie in a river of human feces. The simoniacs in the third layer hang upside down in baptismal fonts while their feet burn with fire. The fourth layer is for the astrologists and diviners, who are forced to walk with their heads on backward. In the fifth layer, those who have accepted bribes are torn apart by demons. In the sixth layer, the hypocrites must walk in circles for eternity while wearing robes of lead. In the seventh layer, thieves sit in a pit of vipers and turn to vipers when bitten, and then regain their human form when they bite  another thief. In the eighth layer, Dante speaks to Ulysses who will spend forever with those guilty of Spiritual Theft. In the ninth layer, those of scandal walk in a circle with wounds that open and close repeatedly. In the tenth and final layer, falsifiers suffer from plagues and diseases of all kinds. Through the Giants’ Well, Virgil and Dante proceed to the Ninth Circle of Hell, which leads to a great frozen lake named Cocytus. Virgil and Dante are picked up and placed in the lowest region of Hell by the giant Antaeus. Like the previous Circles, the Ninth Circle of Hell also contains numerous different inner Rings. In the First Ring, those who betrayed their kin stand frozen to their necks in the lake. In the Second Ring, those who betrayed their country stand frozen to their heads. However, those who betrayed their guest are destined to spend eternity lying on their back in the frozen lake in the Third Ring. In the Fourth and final ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell, an eternity in complete icy submersion is given to those who betrayed their friends. In the center of this circle is the three-headed Lucifer. His body comes from the center of the Earth where he fell when God sent him down from Heaven. In each of Lucifer’s mouths are Judas, Cassius, and Brutus. Virgil instructs Dante to climb down Lucifer, and travel out of Hell and back onto Earth. They return to Earth on Easter morning. Analysis In the first canto, Dante uses the dark forest to express the flaws he saw in the world around him at the time Inferno was written. Also, when Dante encounters the leopard, the lion, and the she-wolf. The leopard represents fraud, the lion represents pride, and the she-wolf represents incontinence. Dante is most affected by the presence of the she-wolf because, while incontinence is the least severe category of sin, it is the one to which he is most susceptible. Christian symbolism is extremely prevalent throughout Inferno, and it is first introduced in the second canto. Hell is not just described as the underworld, but a place where sinners are punished for eternity. In the inscription on the gates into Hell, each part of the Trinity is represented. The â€Å"potency divine† represents God the Father, the â€Å"wisdom supreme† is Christ, and the â€Å"primal love† is the Holy Spirit. Along these same lines, the use of the Trinity is also used in the last canto, when we are  introduced to the three-headed Lucifer. The three heads could represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as well. In the fourth canto, Dante explains that Limbo is for those who have not been baptized, thus addressing one of the great moral problems of Christianity. Baptism is considered necessary to go to Heaven, but it does not seem fair that people who do not know of Christianity should suffer for something they have no control over. Dante takes care of this problem by keeping those who are not Christian in Hell, but giving them a much less painful fate by giving them eternity in Limbo. The timeframe of Dante’s Inferno is extremely relevant in terms of Christianity. Dante begins his journey through Hell on Good Friday and emerges and returns to Earth on Easter day. This means that he was â€Å"dead† for the time period following the crucifixion of Christ, and he has risen with him. To look further into the other religions represented in Inferno, the tower in the city of Dis that Dante refers to is a mosque, to further emphasize that anyone who does not believe in Christianity is a nonbeliever and should be in Hell. It is also interesting to look at the role Dante plays throughout Inferno. Throughout, it is clear that Beatrice has kept a careful eye on Dante’s progress and is prepared to intervene when necessary to ensure that he gets to her. In the first canto, when Dante is lost, Beatrice sends Virgil to guide him, and when Virgil and Dante are not admitted into Dis, Beatrice sent a messenger to let them in. Without Beatrice, Dante would be lost. She is the only reason he has a chance at making it to Heaven. Dante faints and weeps numerous times, further indicating his weakness and his reliance on Beatrice and Virgil. He expresses fear of the wild beasts in the first canto and of many of the other demons in the other circles. These weaknesses emphasize how little he does for himself. He follows the path that is laid out for him by Beatrice and Virgil, and does nothing more than that. In many contexts, Dante is held as a hero, but he is really just relying on others.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Reflexivity :: Enthnography Anthropology Essays

Reflexivity Anthropologists research and write. They participate and observe in order to produce ethnographies. While some anthropologists venture to â€Å"exotic† lands to study the â€Å"natives,† others conduct ethnographic research within their own culture. Despite the diverse cultures they examine and the use of a tape recorder instead of a pen and a notebook, the ethnographic process is virtually the same. Or is it? Although similarities between ethnographies exist, when it comes down to it, ethnographies differ from one anthropologist to the next and one culture to the next based on the writing techniques applied by the ethnographer, the position of the anthropologist (age, gender, class, culture), and his or her life experiences. Some ethnographers use reflexivity, a writing tool that personalizes ethnography as the anthropologist writes about his/herself in the work. In a reflexive ethnography, the anthropologist positions his/herself in relation to the examined c ulture and writes about his/her ethnographic experience, an experience which hopefully bridged the gap between the anthropologist’s culture and studied culture, converting the â€Å"outsider† status of the anthropologist to an â€Å"insider† position. Reflexivity allows the ethnographer to show how and why it is that he/she empathizes with a culture and to allow the audience an opportunity to identify with a culture that is not his/her own. Ultimately, reflexivity conveys the importance to acknowledge the similarities and differences that exist between cultures. In a reflexive ethnography, anthropologists locate their position in another culture and outline their experiences inside and outside of the examined culture. George E. Marcus describes reflexivity as â€Å"the practice of positioning† (Marcus 198). Reflexivity â€Å"locates the ethnographer . . . his or her literal position in relation to subjects† (Marcus 197-198). In other words, reflexivity conveys to the audience that the ethnographer â€Å"was there.† In most cases the ethnographer uses phrases such as, â€Å"I realized,† or, â€Å"I examined,† or simply â€Å"I.† This declaration of first-hand cultural knowledge grants the ethnographer authority to write about and understand a culture because he/she participated and observed the culture in action. Renato Rosaldo writes about positioning and the authority it gives him to write about the Ilongot tribe. In â€Å"Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage,† he writes, â€Å"The ethnographer, as a positioned subject, grasps certain human phenomena better than others. He or she occupies a position or structural location and observes with a particular angle of vision .

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Curleys Wife

Mediums by which she is presented to the reader by Steinbeck is by how she is described by both the characters and Steinbeck, what she is wearing and her body language when she is with the workers, her actions with the characters and what she says (the hidden meaning of what she says). One of the ways the reader can learn about a Character is through the other Characters description and their opinion of that character, in the case of Curlers' Wife the first we hear of her is from Crooks, the old swamped, when he is talking to George during a game of cards.He states, â€Å"she got the eye† which shows that she is a flirtatious and an immoral woman because she has only been married for two weeks. Candy also describes her as a â€Å"tart† (a tart is a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that is considered tasteless and sexually provocative). The fact that Curlers' Wife is introduced through rumors means that the reader has a biased impression of her. Already the reader h as been introduced to the idea that Curlers' Wife is a ‘tart† and an immoral flirtatious woman. This idea is the further strengthened by 1st appearance.Her first appearance of the story is made in the doorway of the bunkhouse, asking the whereabouts of her husband which is revealed to be a weak excuse to make interaction with the workers. She is wearing â€Å"red cotton house dress and red mules, on the instep of which were little bouquets of red strict feathers. † Emphasizing her sexual presence with the color red, but the emphasis of the color red also shows danger because the color red is sometimes associated with danger, which shows she is a dangerous character.Additionally, the bouquets of ostrich feathers, also described as red, on the insteps of her shoes would have been extremely expensive in the time which â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was set; and that Curlers' Wife not only wears them on her feet but in the middle of the ‘Dust Bowl' expresses her desperate need for attention and she is willing to ruin her best pair of shows in order to main he attention of the workers, despite the fact she has a husband. Our image of Curlers wife being immoral women in then further reinforced when she Starts talking to George,† ‘Oh! She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. † Not only is Cur less' Wife described as a floozy but also a dangerous woman. Upon entering Crooks' room it is clear that Candy and Crooks are afraid of her when they both â€Å"scowled down from her eyes† this deliberate prevention of eye contact suggest that they are scared of her or they don't feel as if they need to dignify her with eye contact. The word â€Å"scowling' means that the presence of her displeases Candy and Crooks.In the story we know that both Crooks and Curlers' Wife are similar in more the one way both are obviously intelligent and perceptive of themselves as wel l as others, and both contain a deep bitterness stemming from their mistreatment. Both contain a bleak and accurate insight of the fundamental nastiness of people and they are discriminated (When she threatens to get him hung â€Å"l could get so strung so quickly it ant even funny' and isolated (In the novella there are many quotes to show that Candy's' Wife is a lonely Oman â€Å"l never get to talk to nobody. Et awful lonely. † â€Å"What's the matter with me? Anti I got a right to talk to nobody? † â€Å"Seems like they anti none Of them cares how goat live†. ) In the novella she is also linked to The American Dream (Dictionary Definition: is the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. Because she is talking to Leonie about what happened to her before she get married (this shows that even though she is married and has a husband to talk to SE still rise to talk to the wor kers, but it also shows a vulnerable side of her it tells us that maybe she doesn't get to talk much at her house that she has bad relationship). She reveals that her mother denied her the opportunity to join a traveling show († I always thought my 01†² lady stole it†) when she was fifteen and then, years later, a talent SCOUt spotted her and promised to take her to Hollywood to become a movie star.When nothing came of it, she decided to marry Curler, whom she dislikes. â€Å"Well, I wasn't goanna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where they stole your teeters† This tells she left home because she believed and her mother was denying her of her dream and she only married Curler to get away from her mother which leads to question Does she have a good relationship with her husband?Curly is arrogant We know he is arrogant because in the novella he picks with the biggest worker there (Leonie) believing that he has enough s trength to take down the biggest worker â€Å"Come on, yea big bastard Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitchy is goanna laugh at me† Curler is deliberately shouting at Leonie because he thinks he can win because of his arrogance. His wife is a flirt and definitely lacks the attention (the right kind of attention) she should receive from her husband. She's a trophy, and he treats her as such.They had a short engagement (they married the night they met), and Curlers' wife, from the little we really know about her married Curly for little more than to get away from her mother. Curly and his wife have a very unstable marriage, lacking in communication, love and respect. Curly believes that manipulation, intimidation, and insensitivity provide him with power over a wife who is fact just a lonely, young woman who needs to be loved. Not to et the wife off the hook here; Curlers' wife is far from stupid.She likes the money and the nice house; she never tries to leave him. But sh e also holds some power in their relationship. Curly wife possessed his mind, and as I've already stated he's very jealous. Being the only woman on the ranch, Curly is even more worried about her behavior with the men who work there†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ If he didn't know where she was for even a minute, he was off looking for her. Example;† You seen a girl around here? † he demanded angrily. † She made him crazy and enjoyed it. So ultimately, neither one of them are very happy it's a pretty unhealthy relationship. Curleys Wife Mediums by which she is presented to the reader by Steinbeck is by how she is described by both the characters and Steinbeck, what she is wearing and her body language when she is with the workers, her actions with the characters and what she says (the hidden meaning of what she says). One of the ways the reader can learn about a Character is through the other Characters description and their opinion of that character, in the case of Curlers' Wife the first we hear of her is from Crooks, the old swamped, when he is talking to George during a game of cards.He states, â€Å"she got the eye† which shows that she is a flirtatious and an immoral woman because she has only been married for two weeks. Candy also describes her as a â€Å"tart† (a tart is a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that is considered tasteless and sexually provocative). The fact that Curlers' Wife is introduced through rumors means that the reader has a biased impression of her. Already the reader h as been introduced to the idea that Curlers' Wife is a ‘tart† and an immoral flirtatious woman. This idea is the further strengthened by 1st appearance.Her first appearance of the story is made in the doorway of the bunkhouse, asking the whereabouts of her husband which is revealed to be a weak excuse to make interaction with the workers. She is wearing â€Å"red cotton house dress and red mules, on the instep of which were little bouquets of red strict feathers. † Emphasizing her sexual presence with the color red, but the emphasis of the color red also shows danger because the color red is sometimes associated with danger, which shows she is a dangerous character.Additionally, the bouquets of ostrich feathers, also described as red, on the insteps of her shoes would have been extremely expensive in the time which â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was set; and that Curlers' Wife not only wears them on her feet but in the middle of the ‘Dust Bowl' expresses her desperate need for attention and she is willing to ruin her best pair of shows in order to main he attention of the workers, despite the fact she has a husband. Our image of Curlers wife being immoral women in then further reinforced when she Starts talking to George,† ‘Oh! She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. † Not only is Cur less' Wife described as a floozy but also a dangerous woman. Upon entering Crooks' room it is clear that Candy and Crooks are afraid of her when they both â€Å"scowled down from her eyes† this deliberate prevention of eye contact suggest that they are scared of her or they don't feel as if they need to dignify her with eye contact. The word â€Å"scowling' means that the presence of her displeases Candy and Crooks.In the story we know that both Crooks and Curlers' Wife are similar in more the one way both are obviously intelligent and perceptive of themselves as wel l as others, and both contain a deep bitterness stemming from their mistreatment. Both contain a bleak and accurate insight of the fundamental nastiness of people and they are discriminated (When she threatens to get him hung â€Å"l could get so strung so quickly it ant even funny' and isolated (In the novella there are many quotes to show that Candy's' Wife is a lonely Oman â€Å"l never get to talk to nobody. Et awful lonely. † â€Å"What's the matter with me? Anti I got a right to talk to nobody? † â€Å"Seems like they anti none Of them cares how goat live†. ) In the novella she is also linked to The American Dream (Dictionary Definition: is the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. Because she is talking to Leonie about what happened to her before she get married (this shows that even though she is married and has a husband to talk to SE still rise to talk to the wor kers, but it also shows a vulnerable side of her it tells us that maybe she doesn't get to talk much at her house that she has bad relationship). She reveals that her mother denied her the opportunity to join a traveling show († I always thought my 01†² lady stole it†) when she was fifteen and then, years later, a talent SCOUt spotted her and promised to take her to Hollywood to become a movie star.When nothing came of it, she decided to marry Curler, whom she dislikes. â€Å"Well, I wasn't goanna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where they stole your teeters† This tells she left home because she believed and her mother was denying her of her dream and she only married Curler to get away from her mother which leads to question Does she have a good relationship with her husband?Curly is arrogant We know he is arrogant because in the novella he picks with the biggest worker there (Leonie) believing that he has enough s trength to take down the biggest worker â€Å"Come on, yea big bastard Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitchy is goanna laugh at me† Curler is deliberately shouting at Leonie because he thinks he can win because of his arrogance. His wife is a flirt and definitely lacks the attention (the right kind of attention) she should receive from her husband. She's a trophy, and he treats her as such.They had a short engagement (they married the night they met), and Curlers' wife, from the little we really know about her married Curly for little more than to get away from her mother. Curly and his wife have a very unstable marriage, lacking in communication, love and respect. Curly believes that manipulation, intimidation, and insensitivity provide him with power over a wife who is fact just a lonely, young woman who needs to be loved. Not to et the wife off the hook here; Curlers' wife is far from stupid.She likes the money and the nice house; she never tries to leave him. But sh e also holds some power in their relationship. Curly wife possessed his mind, and as I've already stated he's very jealous. Being the only woman on the ranch, Curly is even more worried about her behavior with the men who work there†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ If he didn't know where she was for even a minute, he was off looking for her. Example;† You seen a girl around here? † he demanded angrily. † She made him crazy and enjoyed it. So ultimately, neither one of them are very happy it's a pretty unhealthy relationship.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Scarlet Letter Study Guide

Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century that was dedicated to the belief that divinity manifests itself everywhere, particularly in the natural world. It also advocated a personalized, direct relationship with the divine in place of formalized, structured religion. This second transcendental idea is privileged in The Scarlet Letter. After marrying fellow transcendentalist Sophia Peabody in 1842, Hawthorne left Brook Farm and moved into the Old Manse, a home in Concord where Emerson had once lived.In 1846 he published Mosses from an Old Manse, a collection of essays and stories, many of which are about early America. Mosses from an Old Manse earned Hawthorne the attention of the literary establishment because America was trying to establish a cultural independence to complement its political independence, and Hawthorn's collection of stories displayed both a stylistic freshness and an interest in American subject matter. Herman Melv ille, among others, hailed Hawthorne as the â€Å"American Shakespeare. † In 1845 Hawthorne again went to work as a customs surveyor, this time, like the orator of The Scarlet Letter, at a post in Salem.In 1850, after having lost the Job, he published The Scarlet Letter to enthusiastic, if not widespread, acclaim. His other major novels include The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithered Romance (1852), and The Marble Faun (1860). In 1853 Hawthorn's college friend Franklin Pierce, for whom he had written a campaign biography and who had since become president, appointed Hawthorne a United States consul. The writer spent the next six years in Europe. He died in 1864, a few years after returning to America.The majority of Hawthorn's work takes America's Puritan past as its subject, but The Scarlet Letter uses the material to greatest effect. The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massachusetts in the sass under the leadership of John Winthrop (w hose death is recounted in the novel). The religious sect was known for its intolerance of dissenting ideas and lifestyles. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the repressive, authoritarian Puritan society as an analogue for humankind in general. The Puritan setting also enables him to portray the human OLL under extreme pressures.Hester, Timescale, and Chlorinating, while unquestionably part of the Puritan society in which they live, also reflect universal experiences. Hawthorne speaks specifically to American issues, but he circumvents the aesthetic and thematic limitations that might accompany such a focus. His universality and his dramatic flair have ensured his place in the literary canon. MORE HELP Read No Fear The Scarlet Letter Buy the print The Scarlet Letter Soapstone on BAN. Com Buy the eBook of this Soapstone on BAN. Com Download the PDF of this Soapstone on BAN. Com

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Medical Billing and Coding(Certified Nursing Assistant) Essay Example

Medical Billing and Coding(Certified Nursing Assistant) Essay Example Medical Billing and Coding(Certified Nursing Assistant) Essay Medical Billing and Coding(Certified Nursing Assistant) Essay When I first entered into the medical field, I became a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). I love doing my job because I was able to help others in need. My career that I am taking is about medical billing and coding. you can also work from the comfort of your home. Since I have a disability that prevents me from working my previous career that I was in ,after not working for quite a few years I knew I needed to find a career that I could do and work from my home. This is why I chose medical billing and coding after talking to some of my cousin who was in this field. there are several category within medical billig and coding that I will describe * The definition for Medical code is the transformation descriptions that doctors and health care facility uses to describe healthcare procedures into a numeric or alphanumeric designations. This is a code number that is use to detail the accurately description of a diagnoses (what is wrong with the patient) and the procedures that was preformed to test or to correct these diagnoses. Because medicine is not always an exact science, these codes were developed to indentify all reason a person was seeking healthcare. Coding health related data permits access to health records according to the diagnoses and procedures for use in clinical care, research, and education. Some common use of medical codes in healthcare includes:Indentifying systems that must be evaluated. It also alert other health care professionals about a life threatening allergies. * Reporting services performed for reimbursement * Helping with administrative functions such as staffing, scheduling, and adding or decreasing healthcare services * Comparing facilities and planning for new services in underserved areasMedical Coding Profession  Delivering quality healthcare depends on capturing accurate and timely medical data. Medical coding professionals fulfill this need as key players in the healthcare workplace. The medical coding professional (or coder) is esponsible for translating healthcare pro viders’ diagnostic and procedural phrases into coded form. Coding professionals do this by reviewing and analyzing health records to identify relevant diagnoses and procedures for distinct patient encounters. This translation process requires interaction with the healthcare provider to ensure terms are translated correctly. Coding professionals must possess a thorough understanding of the health record’s content in order to find information to support or provide specificity for coding. Certified medical coders are trained in the anatomy and physiology of the human body and disease processes in order to understand the etiology, pathology, symptoms, signs, diagnostic studies, treatment modalities, and prognosis of diseases and procedures to be coded. The job entails much more than simply locating diagnostic and procedural phrases in the coding manuals or with encoder software. It requires knowledge of disease processes and procedural techniques to consistently apply the correct codes. A medical coding professional works as part of a team to achieve the best quality patient careMedical coding professionals work in a variety of healthcare settings, including inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings and non-provider settings such as third-party payers and healthcare software vendorsTypical medical coding professional job descriptions include * , Hospital outpatient coder   * Hospital inpatient coder * Hospital coding manager * Professional fee coderRelated jobs, employing similar record analysis and coding skills, include: * ,p orhterHIM compliance specialistNationwide, there is a shortage of certified medical coders in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities. According to the United States Bureau of Labor, employment of medical record and health information technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average field. Coding Classification Standards  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) named certain types of organizations as covered entities, including health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain healthcare providers. It also set the standards for the classification systems covered entities must use. Under HIPAA, covered entities must use certain codes to identify specific diagnosis and clinical procedures on claims, encounter forms, and other electronic transactions. : * International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification ICD-9-CM Volumes 1 2 (diagnosis codes) is maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics cdc. gov/nchs/icd. tm (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). * International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification ICD-9-CM Volume 3 (procedure codes) is maintained by CMS * Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) (outpatient pr ocedure codes) is maintained by the American Medical Association. * Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)- This code set, established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), primarily represents items and supplies and non-physician services not covered by the American Medical Association CPT-4 codes. More information is available on the CMS Web site. International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) is the new diagnosis coding system developed as a replacement for ICD-9-CM, Volume 1 2. International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) is the new procedure coding system developed as a replacement for ICD-9-CM, volume 3. The compliance date for ICD-10-CM for diagnoses and ICD-10-PCS for inpatient hospital procedures is October 1, 2013. More information on ICD-10-CM/PCS. * National Drug Code (NDC)- The NDC is a code that identifies the vendor (manufacturer), product, and package size of all medications recognized by the FDA. HIPAA also names specific standards for electronic transactions. For example, submitting medical claims Transactions are electronics exchanges involving the transfer of healthcare information between two parties for specific purposes- such as a healthcare provider submitting medical claims to a health plan for payment. HIPAA adopted certain standard transactions for electronic data interchange (EDI) for the transmission of healthcare data. These transactions are: * Claims and encounter information * Payment and remittance advice * Claims status, eligibility, enrollment, and disenrollment * Referrals and authorizations * Premium paymentLearn more about how clinical classifications and clinical terminology systems work together to form the foundation of information content in the electronic health record (EHR). Clinical Terminologies and Vocabularies  Medicine’s complex language is represented in clinical terminology and vocabulary systems. Clinical terminologies represent terms related to the medical field while vocabularies are collections of terms. Both clinical terminologies and vocabularies provide a way to capture detailed data in an electronic health record (EHR). They support the transformation of paper-based to electronic records by providing a machine-readable data structure. Clinical terminologies are considered the input format while classification systems are the output format.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Learn About Causative Verbs

Learn About Causative Verbs In English grammar, a causative verb  is a verb  used to indicate that some person or thing makes s of causative verbs  include make, cause, allow, help, have, enable, keep, hold, let, force, and require, which can also be referred to as causal verbs or simply causatives. A causative verb, which can be in any tense, is generally followed by an object and another verb form- often an infinitive or a  participle  - and are used to describe something that happens because of a person, place, or thing whose actions bring about change in another entity. Interestingly enough, the word cause isnt the prototypical causative verb in English because cause has a much more specific and less frequently used definition than make, which is used most frequently to indicate someone making something happen. Allows vs. Lets English grammar is full of small rules that help speakers understand the vast  subtleties of correct usage and style. Such is the case with the rules pertaining to the causative verbs allows and lets, wherein both convey the same meaning - a person permits another to do something - but require different noun-verb form pairings to follow them. The word allows is almost always followed by an object, which in turn is followed by the infinitive form of the verb allows is modifying. Such is the case in the sentence Corey allows his friends to chat with him, wherein allows is the causative verb, his friends the object of the phrase, and to chat the infinitive form of what Corey is allowing his friends to do. On the other hand, the causative verbs lets is almost always followed by an object then the base form of the verb thats being modified. Such is the case in the sentence Corey lets his friends chat with him, wherein lets is the causative verb, his friends the object of the phrase, and chat the base form of the verb Corey lets his friends do. The Most Popular Causative Verb One would think that cause would be the most frequently used and typical example of causative verbs, but thats simply not the case. Francis Katamba explains in Morphology that the word cause is a causative verb but it has a more specialized meaning (implying direct causation) than make and it is much less common.   Instead, make is the most common causative verb, which also differs from other causative verbs in that it omits the word to from complementary verb clauses that follow while in the active form (make), but do require the word to while in the passive form of made. For example, Jill makes me run daily and I was made to run daily by Jill. In both senses, the causative verb make still implies that someone causes the subject to run, but English grammar dictates that the accompanying verb phrase for make differs for that of made. Rules like these abound in usage and style, and its important for English as an Alternative Language (EAL) students to commit these types of guidelines to memory - as they dont often appear in other forms.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Case Study Analysis Campus Response to a Student Gunman Essay

Case Study Analysis Campus Response to a Student Gunman - Essay Example The research approach used in the study under examination has similarities with the traditional paradigm, as a tool for identifying the causes and consequences of a particular problem – as in the study of Asmussen and Creswell. However, the traditional paradigm is not appropriate for the case under discussion, since it involves in the following problems: it cannot be used when the sample available in the research is quite small; moreover, it cannot be used when the variables of the research are not stable – another problem of the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. The interpretivist paradigm used in the case under examination can face the above two problems, using the above rules: the assumption that is most reasonable is set as a priority – referring to the case that the testimonies on the events examined are contradictory, as in the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. Moreover, the interpretivist paradigm is differentiated from the traditiona l paradigm at the following point: the findings of the research are likely to be descriptive – and not quantitative, as in the case of traditional paradigm.... The interpretivist paradigm used in the case under examination can face the above two problems, using the above rules: the assumption that is most reasonable is set as a priority – referring to the case that the testimonies on the events examined are contradictory, as in the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. Moreover, the interpretivist paradigm is differentiated from the traditional paradigm at the following point: the findings of the research are likely to be descriptive – and not quantitative, as in the case of traditional paradigm. What is its ontological assumption? Phenomenography – as part of the interpretivist paradigm – on which the research developed by Asmussen and Creswell is based – refers to the following ontological assumptions: a subjectivist one and a non-dualistic one; the former implies that the status of the world is pre-defined, cannot be changed, everything is placed in accordance with a particular order; the second implies that there are no two different worlds – the one of the researcher and the one described by participants; the world is one and this fact needs to be reflected to the discussion on the findings retrieved through phenomenography. What is its epistemological essence? The epistemological essence of phenomenography is reflected in the following principle: the assumptions produced in regard to the findings of the research need to be extensively justified – in the context that each fact is followed by its interpretation. However, at this point the following issue needs to be taken into consideration: the description of the events under examination may be different – across the participants; for this reason, it is necessary

Friday, November 1, 2019

An experience that helped you discover a principle to live by Essay

An experience that helped you discover a principle to live by - Essay Example My parents could not give me all the caring and pampering that the children of well to do families used to get. The privileges of the rich children always irritated me as I was deprived of all such amenities. Actually, I was not finding fault with my parents through my resentment rather than cursing my fate. Despite having such hatred in my mind for being born in a lower middle class family, I was never ready to share my thoughts even with my best friends. It was at this stage Rose and I became friends. Rose was a cheering girl who never complained about anything. Everybody liked her character as she was very enthusiastic and happy always. I was proud of being her best friend. However, there was something strange with Rose, for she was repeatedly absent from school. One day, I happened to visit her home with my class teacher as Rose had been absent for several days. We were surprised to see Rose working in a nearby house for lower bucks. Rose’s father died when she was a little child. Thereafter it was her mother who lately fell sick brought her up. Rose and her mother lived in a little hut that was partly dilapidated and demolished. Rose had no alternative other than seeking a job to take up the responsibilities. We both were taken aback hearing the touching story of little Rose. I could not comprehend how Rose remained cheerful even at the adverse condition. I realized one thing that I was fairly wealthy when compared to Rose; however, it was pity that I always complained about my deprivation. Rose gave me a new outlook and taught me that happiness of life depends on how we perceive life experiences. One can either turn disheartened or find out new dimensions of true happiness by initiating responsibilities. Majority of people tend to assume the first option in times of unforeseen events. Rose dared accepting the latter one even at the younger ages. I realized that I had been competing with myself

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The concepts of constructivism and speech communities beyond language Essay

The concepts of constructivism and speech communities beyond language - Essay Example tilize socially loaded linguistic resources to construct the interactions that they are engaged in, as well as their own identities, or social objects. The paper explores how non-linguistic aspect of the social world should be understood about socially inscribed meanings, and also outlines how a group’s system of meanings can be imposed on another group. Non-linguistic elements encompass features such as gestures and written symbols that do not constitute language, unless when they manifest within the language framework. Non-linguistic features of the social worlds manifest in the form of action, identification, and representation. Non-linguistic features of the social world may be a way of interacting within social events. Spoken words often employ non-linguistic cues such as gestures, gaze, and facial expressions. Non-linguistic form of meaning can be derived instances in which a set sign is linked to another event naturally devoid of requirement for a conventional association between the two such as a natural association between clouds and rain. In some cases, the meaning of an expression is considered to lie within its consequences. Some of the non-linguistic meanings derive from natural history such as the connection between predator and prey, which manifest powerful intrinsic (life and death) meaning for people (GonzaÃŒ lez & Bovone, 2012). Meaning can be applied to describe the internal workings of the mind, separately from any linguistic activity. Such a meaning is highly psychological, whereby some communication by body language may emanate from bodily signals, which draw form human instinct as highlighted by examples such as tears, blushing, erections, and startle reaction. Language has been shown to interface with non-linguistic aspects of mental representation (Eller, 2009). Language can impact on non-linguistic cognition, which draws from the understanding that language does not only mirror conceptual representation, but rather can impacts and

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Challenges for Construction Project Planning

Challenges for Construction Project Planning 2.1 Introduction This chapter will review the literature which has been used for this dissertation. A number of important aspects will be covered , including an overview of Construction Planning as well as determining what challenges are faced on a daily basis by construction planners. This chapter will also review research relating to Planning techniques used and software packages available within the Construction industry. 2.2 Construction Project Planning Project Management can be seen as the application of tools and techniques utilised to guide the use of resources towards achieving a n intricate task within the const raint s of time, cost and quality. From conception to completion, a mixture of these tools techniques is necessary to fit the task environment and project life cycle. The British Standard for project management (BS6079 1996) defined project management as, â€Å"The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance.† The UK association of Project Management (APM) have produced a UK body of knowledge UK (BoK) which also provides a definition for project management as â€Å"The planning, organisation, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all involved to achieve the project objectives safely and within agreed time, cost and performance criteria. The project manager is the single point of responsibility for achieving this.† Project Management as we know today has evolved in order to plan, coordinate and control the complex and diverse activities of modern industrial, commercial and management change projects. (Lock 2007) To allow for effective planning and control of projects, a requirement for systematic and logical methods should be applied along with proven techniques, thus ensuring a successful project outcome for all concerned parties, particularly the client. Without planning it is difficult to envisage the successful conclusion of any project or the effective control of time, money or resources. Planning is also essential in order to deal with construction risks and devise safe working methods. (Cooke 2008) Project Planning is defined as the establishment of a set of directions in sufficient detail to tell the project team exactly what must be done, when it must be done and what resources to use in order to produce the deliverables of the project successfully. (Zwikael 2008). Construction planning is an essential and challenging activity in the management and implementation of construction projects. It occupies the choice of technology, the description of work tasks, the estimation of the necessary resources and durations for individual tasks, and the identification of any interactions among the different work tasks. Hendrickson (1998) believes a good construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work. It is therefore common to adopt a conspicuous importance on either cost control or on schedule control as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Walker (2007) considers that by having a project schedule to work to and sticking to it, you will well be on your way to delivering successful projects. This would be dependant on effective communic ation and efficiency at all stages of the project and with an aim to reducing risk, time and cost. 2.3 The Construction Planner Construction project planning is receiving growing attention as the limitations of formal deterministic planning are becoming more widely recognised. (Winch, Kelsey 2004). There is growing concern over the failure of construction planning to achieve its goals in spite of the considerable resources allocated to it. Deficient planning techniques are commonly blamed for this state. (Laufer, Tucker, 1987) There has been considerable debate over the last decade or so on the effectiveness of construction project planning. However, there is remarkably little research into what construction project planners actually do. Laufer and Tucker provide a critique of construction planning. They protest that:- the planning and evaluation of planning processes are non-existent there is over-emphasis on critical path methods planners lack construction experience planners have poor information gathering methods planning is control-oriented instead of action-oriented Plans are been poorly presented with overly-complex information. In a subsequent paper (1994) Laufer and his colleagues look at the definition and allocation of planning work. They found that there was no clear system at work and planning was done in a multiplicity of ways. They call for the process to be properly co-ordinated by a single individual who will own the planning process and improve communication. Winch and Kelsey (2005) believe the specialist planner has the time to do the work but incomplete practical knowledge. The line manager has the practical knowledge but does not have the quality time to carry out the task. The specialist planner has better strategic decision-making skills than the short-term decision-making focus of the line manager. They then go on to say â€Å"Line managers see the delegation of key decision-making to another as a threat to their position†. These problems are confirmed in Laufer (1992) wider project management study and can result in: The planner preparing a plan which has incomplete information and in-adequate decision making authority. The line manager treating such plans as merely an irrelevant forecast prepared by another. Allen Smallwood (2008) believe Construction planners and the role they perform are little understood both within the construction industry and the wider environment where construction has a daily impact. Planning occupies a central position in the functions of the manager. His responsibilities may vary with organisational philosophy and contingency but planning invariably remains an essential ingredient of his duties. (Steiner, 1979). Much Research and Development effort has been made during the last three decades but progress with techniques has not removed the dissatisfaction with the application and results of construction planning (Choudhury 1981, Mason 1984, Morton 1983). Effective construction planning demands that it is carried out by competent and experienced personnel. While the estimator must remain in charge or pricing the work, most contracts, today, are too complex for the estimator to handle the technical content of pre-tender appraisal. It is here that the construction planner has a major function. 2.4 Planning Techniques Most planning techniques aim to express the work to be done, to a time-scale; some also include resources, and perhaps cost and value. In simple terms, they intend to help control time and cost. The other major factor in project control, quality, is controlled by its own family of control techniques; and quality is related to time and cost through the skill and judgement of the project management team. Neale (1989) believes the major components of planning techniques are: Activities: literally, being busy, expending energy, consuming resources, taking time; in construction planning, this means a job to be done; for example preparing a drawing, an order to be places, a hole to be dug, bricks to be laid in a wall, a flow of water to be diverted. Activity durations: the time required for the completion of each activity Project time-scale: the time structure of the project; it is usual to give each week in the project a number (this makes calculation easier), and these then have to be related to calendar dates, holidays, etc. Event: an occurrence at a specific point in time; for example, the granting of planning consent, of the start or end of a traffic diversion. Work method: the plan must be expressed in some logical way, indicating the sequence of operations, and which activities and events are interrelated; this may be implicit (as with bar charts) or exlicit (in network analysis, where work method is usually called logic.) Resources: often called the four Ms (men, machines, materials and money) but can include overheads (for example, site accommodation), and even such essentials as managerial skill. Costs: what the work has or will cost, often derived directly from the unit costs of the individual resources. Value: what has or can be earned by payment for work done derived from the bill of quantities, the estimate or an internal budget. The calculation of value-to-date can be used as an overall measure of project progress. 2.5 Four techniques are often used in construction planning Bar charts, Network analysis, Line-of-balance Linear programmes. 2.5.1 The bar chart/ Gantt Chart Drafting of a bar chart is popular because it produces results which are easy to understand and not too searching of the planner. Its use is limited to planning straightforward work with simple relationships between the activities. This graphical technique still forms the foundation for most resource scheduling. Its major drawback is that even minor deviations from it require extensive redrafting as a result making it more difficult to having to hand a contemporaneous bar chart that is a reliable indicator of future events. The main features of the bar chart are as follows: The activities are listed on the vertical axis Time is shown on the horizontal axis. This may be an appropriate time unit, such as months or days. Each bar is divided horizontally into two, with the top half representing when the activity is planned to take place, and the bottom shared in, as proportions of the activity are completed. A vertical movable marker line indicates the current time, thus enabling the observer to note if any activities are behind programme, and to what extent. Refer to Figure 2.2 for additional information. The format of the bar chart presumes that the end user (client) can involve the same judgment that was in the mind of the planner when he was compiling it. In highly repetitive or simple work it can be implied that the users will better understand the thought process of the planner. However as project complexity increases the user’s ability to monitor the project in relation to the programme is reduced unless it is understood: What work is important to progress? Of the activities currently behind programme what, if any, effect do they have on overall progress? On the contrary, if most of the actual work is ahead of programme, does this mean that the current prediction is that the project will be complete in advance of the targeted completion date? The answer is definitely not an automatic yes. To provide an informed response, an understanding of the relationships between programme activities is crucial. Neale (1989) consider these deceivingly simple questions contradict issues which are at the heart of many construction disputes, namely considerations for extension of time. 2.5.2 Network Analysis Unlike a bar chart, activities are not shown on an axis of time. What the network portrays is the logical relationship between activities. Network analysis is a powerful, logical and analytical technique. It is most effective when used for complicated projects, especially those with external constraints and complex interrelationships. The technique is based on drawing the logical relationships between construction operations, and from an analysis of the relative durations, establishing which operations have the most crucial effect on the project duration. It can be drawn in a number of ways, the most well-known in the UK being the arrow diagram. The technique is sometimes known as the critical path method (CPM), and critical path analysis (CPA). A version which incorporates a statistical method for calculating the probability that a project will be completed on a specific date is called the programme evaluation and review technique. (PERT) The identification of a â€Å"critical path† focuses the attention of the individuals managing the project and highlights to clients and their advisors the tasks that require to be particularly well managed with regard to time. The duration of critical path represents the shortest duration in which the project can be completed. Delays to activities on the critical path transmit directly through to extend the project completion date. This provides advanced warning of the pending delay to completion and enables the contractor (or employer) to invoke recovery action at a useful point in time rather than waiting until it is manifestly obvious that the completion date is threatened. If the employer or his Architect/Engineer (A/E) instructs additional work which affects the activities on the critical path then the contractor has grounds for a claim for an extension of time. The term critical path is widely used in the construction industry; what is not fully appreciated is how easily the critical path can change. Network analysis has a good and inclusive logical basis, lends itself easily to computer processing, and can be used as an effective control tool. These exceptional characteristics are also known to be its principal weakness as it is easier for the planner to be drawn into a level of planning and analysis that is much to detailed and advanced for most construction projects. 2.5.3 Line of Balance Line of balance is a specialised technique used for repetitive work. It derived from the manufacturing industry and has been found to be effective in planning work truly repetitive. Examples of success applications include planning the construction of identical floors in high rise construction, and large housing developments. Line of balance has been found to be difficult to use on projects which have a high demand for trades or operations to construct each identical unit. The problems arise not from the technique itself, but from the difficult of showing all the information on one chart, particularly when using the technique to monitor progress. When used to plan, it can be an excellent means of relating resources, activity durations and the general pace of work on site. Neale (1989). Illingworth (1993) considers the line of balance approach has largely fallen out of use in today’s industry due to the fact it was designed primarily for housing and did not readily provide clear visual appreciation of the situation at a glance. 2.5.4 Linear Programme (or time-chainage chart) Linear programming is a specialised technique for linear work. This is a basic tool of UK road contractors. Other successful applications include the construction of a large canal in a developing country, and it is especially useful in tunnelling. Illingworth (1993). Similar to line of balance, this is a simple two- dimensional graphical technique and can show clearly only a limited amount of information and limited degree of complexity. Figure 2.6 – Linear Programme (Neale 1989) Linear Programme Activities (Neale 1989) 2.6 Which technique? The experienced planner in construction needs to be aware of the techniques available, together with the value of each, both in the planning analysis role and how then can be applied to give effective control and communication to management on site. Illingworth (1993). Like any other professional, the planner has to select the right tool for the job. To make the correct decision, it is therefore a requirement to examine what is wanted in a particular situation programme. Illingworth (1993) believes the main points of this choice are as follows: Does the method aid initial analysis of the situation and especially in establishing the best sequence of events? Are deficiencies in progress shown up as the work proceeds? Can visiting management obtain and immediate view of the contract situation on arrival on site? With the preponderance of subcontractors on site today, does the programme method give assistance in cash flow control? According to Illingworth, from these questions it is unlikely to be the answer to all desires. Therefore it is said to be better to consider the situation in two stages – tender planning on the one hand and the operational planning after the contract has been won, on the other. 2.7 Planning Practice In order to explore further the reality of construction project planning semi-structured interviews were conducted between July and December 2000 with 18 experienced planners from five leading UK construction firms. Most of the planners interviewed were currently involved in planning at the tender stage including assembly and presentation of the tender documentation. About half of those were also involved at the tender/ pre-construction stage. Only a few were further involved during the site works. (Refer to figure 2.7). Generally, although a number of the interviewed planners had on-site experience the typical pattern is that a planner works either at the pre-tender, pre-execution stages or on site but not simultaneously. The exceptions tend to be where planners work for some time on a single large project. In such cases it may make sense (from the employer’s point of view) for their work to carry on to the execution stage. 2.8 Programming Considerations at the Tender Stage Upon receipt of tender documentation, the contractor will appoint human resources tasked with compiling a tender submission based upon the tender enquiry. One of the main individual in this team is the person accountable for producing the tender programme, the construction planner. Whether or not the contractual terms require a programme to be produced or not should be irrelevant at this stage. The tender programme is an important document produced by the contractor which is used for measuring many risk and cost related issues. In particular, the assessment of cost of the contractor’s time related preliminary items as drawn off the content of the tender programme. For example, the anticipated on site durations for different members of staff, periods of scaffold hire and duration for site accommodation are items that cannot be priced by the estimator without reference to the tender programme. When compiling the tender programme, the construction planner must incorporate the information supplied with the enquiry noting any specified constraints contained in either the contract bills, specification or drawings. Conflict between documents often exists and a view had to be taken on how to proceed. Clarification may be sought from the employer or his agents, assumptions made and stated along with the submission or the conflict may be ignored and the information that best suits the contractor is assumed without qualification or statement. It is accepted in the industry that many bids are won or lost on the programme duration alone. This happens frequently where a bill of quantities is being priced and the experienced contractors tend towards similar prime cost for similar items. On completion of reviewing tender documents, drawings, specification and bills, which may be typically done over a period of one or two weeks, the construction planner will establish the work scope which will be addressed in the creation of a tender programme. The main objective is to be aware of the specified period for construction. Additional to the completed programme should be a schedule of resources which corresponds with the programme and a series of method statements signifying construction techniques and equipment to be employed in carrying out the work. 2.9 Programming on Site When the contract is won, the site planning is equally important. It is usually at this point that the site manager will have his first chance to examine the methods on which the job was priced. What is important to recognise, at this point, is that planning must be seen as an addition to management. Thus the site manager must have the right to question the planning methods on which the contract was priced. To do so, site manager’s require the technical expertise to assess what has been put forward. In so doing, the manager concerned must, for his part, accept that if he wants to change the method from that in the priced tender, he must demonstrate that his alternative is obviously cheaper, or at least as cheap, as that priced in the tender submission. When final agreement has been reached, the planning function can be established on site and develop the final method to be adopted. This, in turn, will lead to the contract master programme and such subsidiary programmes as may be necessary. On completion of all methods being confirmed the construction planner continues to have a significant role on site. First, in developing control and short-term programmes for all organisations contributing to the contract under the main or managing contractor. Second, the construction planner’s cherished knowledge of how the work was originally planned makes him uniquely placed to examine the potential consequences of alterations to what has to be built. In this area he is a valuable source of information to the site quantity surveyor when assessing where possible contractural claims may arise. Today, with the ever increasing use of trade sub-contractors as well as specialist service contractors, the experienced construction planner has the option of either seeing the role as satisfying its own right, or as an essential ingredient of experience for becoming a successful site manager. Illingworth (1993). 2.10 Purpose of a Programme The values applicable to the mechanics of construction planning are similar whether you are a main contractor submitting a quotation to an employer, a sub-contractor quoting to the main contractor, or even a construction manager providing programme assist to an employer. Common principles apply when compiling a construction programme, that of methodical analysis. The contractor’s construction programme is an important common reference. It shows how the planner they have interpreted the contract documents and other information from which the statement of intent for construction is issued. As the key programme for the construction work, its content is of the utmost significance to all parties charged with handing over to the employer a building fit for purpose within the contract time stated. A well prepared programme is vital to every construction project. Many activities have to be cautiously defined and given a time scale, and it necessary not only to assemble and list the information but also to display it visually in terms of the contract’s objectives and the calendar. The working sequences and the relationships between individual activities must be clearly conveyed in this visual presentation.† The Chartered Institute of Building (2001). They consider the construction programme to be a statement of intended actions, which when properly used provides management with its plan of campaign. It should communicate with ease, providing the common reference for the timing of all activities related to the project. 2.11 Construction Planning Software An expert planner faced with the task of producing and analysing a network for a project containing only few activities will undoubtedly produce the fastest results by drawing a freehand arrow diagram and analysing it mentally. Lock (2007). He believes it is likely to take longer when using a computer because of the formalities needed to set up the new project files in the system and enter the data. David Arditi and Ann Rackas compiled a short report in May of 1986 with an aim in ascertaining the need for computer software to assist is construction planning and scheduling. This report concluded, the individual needs of a given construction company are the primary reasons for choosing a particular software package. For example, one of the participating general contractor’s basic requirements was to have a 40-character activity description field: â€Å"a particularly individual need†. They continued to suggest if a program is to survive the inevitable shakeout that occurs after the initial development and interest have peaked; it must offer the features and capacities that are required by the user. In addition, every effort should be made to make computers less mysterious and confusing as they will be dealing with the construction market. Today there are many planning software packages available to the construction industry. Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project, Primavera, PERT Master to name a few. Each package is commonly suited to the individual needs of the planner. Some programs present a blank Gantt chart on the screen as soon as they are booted up, and it is apparent to the user that task data can be typed in immediately. Most programs allow the user/ planner to establish project durations, critical path network, allocate resources, assign costs to tasks and monitor progress throughout the project. As a result, most construction planning professionals use such packages daily. 2.12 Construction Planning Challenges Lock (2007) considers anyone planning a project of significant size will soon find out that there are a number of factors, both inside and outside the project organisation that can have an effect on the planner’s intentions. These are as follows: 2.12.1 External Factors All projects are subject to risk, many of which can have an enormous impact on plans. Lock (2007) deems the following are just four from the long catalogue of happenings that can be categorised as Acts of God: An earthquake devastates a project organisations headquarters. A hurricane and flood put a project site under a metre of water and delay the start or ruin the work in progress. An influenza epidemic puts half the project workforce out of action. (Swine flu outbreak 2008 recorded thousands of people off work for over 5 days.) The project manager (a keen golfer) is struck by lightning. The national government can play an important part on the smooth running of a project. E.g. the project could be government-funded and is cancelled or abandoned through a political decision. Lock (2007) also considers less immediate concerns which are the wider and longer-term economic consequences of government policy leading to downscaling of projects, delays and cancellations in all sectors of industry. Decisions made outside the project team can also have an affect on many characteristics of planning. E.g. a decision is made at directorate level to carry out a project in a different company within the group from that initially anticipated or a strategic decision is made to cut short all new staff recruitment resulting in a lower number of available resources formerly expected to be available for projects. 2.12.2 Working Factors Lock (2007) These are items which are likely to affect the project team on a daily basis. Examples include availability of resources, materials etc. People are believed to be a construction organisations greatest resource. â€Å"Construction operations depend on the knowledge and skills of people planning and executing the work†. Muir (2005.) Research has been carried out to reveal that the construction industry is typically viewed as being one of the least attractive industries in which to work. Safety plays an important part in the running of a project. Construction by nature is unsurprisingly dangerous with a high degree of hazard and risk. The Health Safety Executive believe each year: Over 1 million injuries and 2.3 million cases of ill-health are experienced by workers; Around 40 million working days are to lost; and Over 25000 individuals are forced to give up work because of injury or ill health. These cost British employers on average  £3.3 to  £6.5 billion each year. Most organisations are oblivious of these figures and are often astonished to find out what the actual costs are. Recent HSE Examples (2009) An injury to a worker using an unguarded drill cost a small engineering company  £45,000. And that was not all. The managing director was prosecuted from which two employees had to be made redundant to  keep the company afloat. At the other end of the scale the Piper Alpha explosion killed 167  people and incurred estimated costs of over  £2 billion. Accidents in construction can account for 3 6 % of total project costs. 2.12.3 Contribution of effective Planning Effective Planning and scheduling influences the results of a project as is promotes well-organised working. Personnel who are not trying continually to overcome crises caused by bad planning can dedicate more time to achieving high quality standards. A well-planned project stands more chance of being completed on time and on budget. 2.13 Chapter Summary Description Author Source To allow for effective planning and control of projects, a requirement for systematic and logical methods should be applied along with proven techniques. Cooke 2008 Improving Construction planning through 4d Planning Project Planning is defined as the establishment of a set of directions Zwikael 2008 Critical Planning Processes in Construction Projects A good Construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work Henrickson 1998 Construction Planning Techniques Having a project schedule to work to and sticking to it, you will be well on your way to delivering successful projects Walker 2007 Project Management in Construction, (5th edition) Construction Planners and the olr they perform are little understood both within the Construction industry and the wider environment Allan Smallwood 2008 Improving Construction planning through 4d Planning Major Components of planning techniques are: Activities, Activity durations, Project time-scale, Event, Work method, Resources, Costs Value Neale 1989 Engineering Management. Construction Planning Four techniques often used; Bar chart, Network analysis, Line-of-balance, Linear programmes Neale 1989 Engineering Management. Construction Planning Experienced planner in construction needs to be aware of the techniques available Illingworth 1993 Construction Methods and Planning Likely to take longer when using construction planning software Lock 2007 Project Management, 9th edition, Planning a project of significant size will soon find that there a number