Psychology Phobias Coursework Essay

The area studied for this study is phobias, by adapting the work of Bennett Levy and Marteau.  The alternative hypothesis was whether the participant disliked a particular thing about the animal; in particular it being likely to bite, being ugly, or having a strange texture, they will also give a high fear rating.  A survey was completed by 30 participants aged over sixteen years old, using an opportunity sample, to find their opinions about how likely the variables are likely to occur. The principle finding was all the variable results gave a positive significant correlation.  The main implications of the findings were it supported the research by Bennett Levy and Marteau that there is a strong correlation between an appearance of an animal and fear.  Introduction:  The definition of a phobia is a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the conscious awareness that it is not dangerous. Explanations to how a phobia develops differ between schools of psychology. The behaviourist theory argues that phobias are learnt by classical conditioning and reinforced by operant conditioning. An experiment on phobias supporting the behaviourist theory was executed by Watson and Rayner in 1920. The aim of the experiment was to show how classical conditioning could be applied to condition fear of a white rat into â€Å"Little Albert†, an 11 month old boy. The psychodynamic theory sees phobias resulting from the displacement of repressed impulses to an object or situation which becomes a focus for a phobia. Sigmund Freud speaks of an Oedipus complex which is where children of both sexes regard their father as an adversary and competitor for the exclusive love of their mother. This is related to phobias in the study of Little Hans. Little Hans phobia of horses is due to the fact that he took pleasure in his father getting hurt by a horse, as it meant Little Hans could have his mother all to himself. The cognitive theory states that people with phobias tend to focus on negative aspects of situations. The way people typically think, such as catastrophising, affects the likelihood of a fearful response. Tomarken et al (1989) supported this theory by finding the participants with phobias greatly overestimated the number of times fear related slides were followed by a shock. The biological theory states phobias tend to run in families which suggest a genetic component. Phobias related to survival, such as snakes, spiders, and heights, are much more common and much easier to induce in the laboratory than other kinds of fears. Seligman proposed the Preparedness theory that states humans are genetically disposed to respond rapidly to hazards in order to survive dangerous environments, therefore a result of evolutionary history. Consequently, the innate predisposition to fear these objects became an adaptive human trait. Ohman et al also said that many common phobias, such as heights and snakes, are based on things which may have threatened human survival in the past. While researching the biological theory, a decision was made to focus on this theory due to it having many areas that one could explore. These included the study Bennett-Levy Marteau and Sharma.  Bennett-Levy and Marteau (1984) showed there is a strong correlation between fear of small harmless animals and an animals’ appearance. Specifically it is seen that the amount of fear expressed is related to the extent of the difference from the human form. They did this by conducting surveys, and correlating two variables. A number of surveys correlating fears and phobias have also been done by Agras, Sylvester & Oliveau, 1969; Costello, 1982; Kirkpatrick, 1984.  Sharma wrote a paper suggesting disgust and fear are closely related. Sharma observed many patients postpone or avoid a simple blood test, and was unsure whether this was due to the test being painful or whether it just felt â€Å"icky†. Sharma wrote that fear and disgust are both one of the five basic universal emotions, found in all cultures and societies as it is essential for survival, fear tells us to run and disgust tells us to avoid contact. However, Sharma says that some people with the phobias of spiders or insects have greater disgust sensitivity. Disgust sensitivity is a term used to describe a person who finds things disgusting easier and quicker than the majority of other people.  From the research by Bennett-Levy and Marteau, a questionnaire was made in order to be able to see the correlation between fear/deadliness and how disgusting the animal is.

Outline for Speech on Sex Education

The question we want to answer today is should sex education be offered in school? In my opinion, yes it should. If we offer it, less pregnancys would happen. Less sexually transmitted diseases would be passed in. Less emotional/physical pain would occur. This type of education can leave a footprint on your brain. According to seventeen magazine 750,000 girls get pregnant each year. This number could be cut in half and divided by three if we enforce that it's not right until marriage.In the 7th and 8th grade when the hope center came to the middle school and taught us about all these diseases, infatuation, love, gave us situations and talked about how to prevent it. If we had this prgram 3-4 times a year we would not see 5 prgnant girls walking down the hall way ashamed of themselves. Nobody knows what its like to be in ther shoes, so why even label them. I bet your doing the same except your doing it more carefully. It only takes one moment to ruin your life, but if we have sex educ ation, those moments could happen alot less. People don't know how much of an eye opener sex-ed is until they someone enforcing everything.No one wants your future to be ruined by something that could have been prevented by one class. Now you might think this has to be taught at home well that's true, parents have more say than teachers. Some parents dont give a crap though. They turn their kid loose like there is no tomorrow. Now if we have this at school maybe they will have a new view on sex and what the after causes will/might be. Everyone needs to pause before they play. Sex-ed would teach us all that. I like sex-ed, it's actually a good course from all the people that taught me.You also might say not everyone is mature enough for the topic. Well lets see how mature you are wgen you have a baby on the way, no money, no diploma, no nothing. I'm pretty sure high schoolers sexually active should not take this class lightly becaus it could happen to any of them. Sex-ed would change their ways. Show that sex isn't everything; its just something that should only be done while bein married or when you are at the right age to handle the responsibility. So yes Sex education should be offered. You shouldn't live your life risking everything in your future.

Accreditation and Private Prisons Essay

According to the American Correctional Association website, accreditation can be define as â€Å"a system of verification that correctional agencies/facilities comply with national standards promulgated by the American Correctional Association† (â€Å"Standards & Accreditation†, n.d.). In order to achieve accreditation, it must go through reviews, appraisals, analysis, and hearings first. For a correctional agency to be accepted for accreditation, they at least must have one of the following: â€Å"pretrial or presented adult or juveniles; convicted adults or juveniles adjudicated delinquent; and/or adult or juvenile offenders sentenced to community supervision† (â€Å"Standards & Accreditation†, n.d.). There are many advantages and benefits of accreditation. The benefits have shown assessments of facilities’ strength and weaknesses, shown goals obtained, implantation of policies and procedures, established specific guidelines for everyday procedure, â€Å"aid in the defense of frivolous lawsuits, and increase of community support and a higher level of staff professionalism and morale† (â€Å"Standards & Accreditation†, n.d.). See more: Strategic Management Process Essay At ACA, they believe accreditation can enhance staff and development training. While though accreditation, there will be transcribe policies and agendas to help designate a training and staff development. The program will be for all levels of personnel. Employees’ experiences will automatically grow throughout all the training related to their job-related positions. They will receive current job-related training in relation to position requirements, new theories, current correctional issues, techniques and technologies. With the professional trainings, correctional officers will work toward compliance with standards which represent a professional practice. After all their hard work through the training, they will take pride in their professionalism. Through the ACA and the accreditation process, corrections has become more respected as a profession. They apply evidence-based practices which provide safe, secure, and humane conditions of confinement for over the millions of prisoners confined in this country. There are many valuable insights the Association provides about criminal justice and correctional policies to legislatures and government officials (Hamden, 2006-2013). Privatization are private sector prison used to hold prisoners. It is one of the solution used to solve the overcrowding of prisoners. With private prisons, it can help reduce the cost of incarcerating prisoners in an overcrowding prison (Joel, 2013). During the past couple of decades, prison population has increase. To solve this problem, it would require higher taxes on the people to build more prisons. The people responded by refusing to pay higher taxes to the government to build more prisons. Unable to solve the overcrowding of prison, a solution occurred to build private prisons to decrease overcrowding prisons. During the mid-1980s, private business interests saw the overcrowding prison as a profit and a way to expand their businesses. Corrections Corporation of America, the first modern private business was the first to emerge and established itself in 1984. The contract for the facility in Hamilton County, Tennessee was awarded to Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). It was the first time any government in the country to ever contract the entire jail operation to a private operator (Smith, 1996-2013). Privatization of prisons is thought to be more cost-effective and more efficient than public prisons (Smith, 1996-2013). Through some research to doubt on these claims, evidence show private prisons did not live up to its expectations. Research showed private prisons were no different from public prisons. In private prisons, lower staff and training may likely increase incidents of violence and escapes. With a nationwide study conducted, assaults on prison guards by inmates occur more frequently than in government-run prisons (Smith, 1996-2013). The study also show inmates assaulting other inmates occurred more often in private prisons. Concerning private vs. public prisons, there is no comparison between the two. Private prisons does not exactly help reduce the cost in public prisons. With few staffing and increase of proper training, it is likely to have more problems in private prisons than public prisons.

Life Coaching for Adolescents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Life Coaching for Adolescents - Essay Example On the other hand, life coaching empowers them to be strong enough to lay a solid foundation for their future races at this crucial period. Today's adolescents face a vast array of problems and difficulties in the areas of education, career, income, relationships, and personality etc. Teenagers tend to change the focus of their attention from education to many other temporal attractions and preoccupations for a number of reasons, which are complex and interrelated. A trained, professional practitioner of life coaching could help an adolescent to regain his/her focus on education through the guided coordination between educators, parents and other well-wishers. Once they become successful attaining good educational status, achieving a great career would not at all be an issue. Importantly, life coaching takes special care of adolescents' social relations for making him/her both a successful person and a good human being. Therefore, adolescents would be physically and mentally fit to avoid the temptations of substance use, gangster life and other related social evils. Even the adolescents with strong tendencies to deviate from the socially acceptable patterns of behavior could be directed to the right track through proper life coaching. To conclude, life coaching is not only individually empowering a person by identifying and developing his/her particular skills but also making him/her to become role model with fascinating social skills for the entire society. Life coaching is to enable an adolescent to synthesize between the virtues of both personal and social life. The one-sided, one-dimensional emphasis on either personal or social life would not help one to achieve his/her goals. In brief, one finds strength to go where s/he wants to be from where s/he is in as s/he undergoes life coaching from a trained professional. Life Coaching for Adolescents; Adolescents for Greater Success The statistics on teenagers tells that they face problems on problems in all the spheres of life. They are under pressure from around the corners. A good number of high school leaving children are unhappy or dissatisfied in their lives. Many a students have suicide tendencies or actual history of attempting suicide. Too many of them are not balanced in their attitudes and behaviors. Too many problems such as alcohol abuse, substance use, depression, bipolar disorder, stress, humiliation from social life, chaotic personal life, and lost dreams haunt the adolescents at their crucial but difficult stage of life. Many of them are in a dilemma; what is to be prioritized- personal life or social life. Certainly, adolescents need help and assistance that is professional and genuine from an authentic source. A professional life coaching trainer is one who could be relied to find a way out when no way out is apparent. Primarily, life coaching helps an adolescent with difficulties for self-exploration. Self-exploration enables one to bring out what is content in him/her. Based on this self-realization, one could pace for what s/he wants to attain in life and gain what deemed as unachievable in both personal and social life. The coach would support the youth to identify their strengths and weaknesses and help them to identify various opportunities while nullifying the possible threats. A life coach could work as a catalyst

Investigate the arguement for restricting trade and provide argunmats Essay

Investigate the arguement for restricting trade and provide argunmats for not restricting trade. Also list and explain some coun - Essay Example In time, trade has gone through revolutionizing changes with the advent of a legal tender system. This saw trade become widespread and global in perspective because of the new terms of valuation. These new terms of valuation made it easier to conduct trade because, unlike barter trade, it was easier to carry money for long distances than the actual goods. This paper aims at investigating the arguments for restricting trade and those for not restricting trade. Restrictive trade originated in the late 1800s where rich merchants involved in trade of high value products and services sought to create monopolies in the market so that they could control the market (GILLIES, 2004: 862). This amounted to restricting trade through the formation of international organisations for traders and manufacturers of a few select items that were of high value and demand in the market. An organisation like this is allied, by agreement, to control the natural elements of supply and demand, in the market. They achieve this by fixing prices and quotas for sales, divide markets and limit supply (GILLIES, 2004: 867). These restrictive trade practices end up eliminating competition in the market, which creates a precedent for consumer exploitation. Competition, in the market, keeps all the players, in check, by ensuring that they all strive to satisfy the consumers’ needs, or risk losing out to those who fulfil their customers’ needs. Without competition in the market place, the consumers would be faced, with the aspect exploitation from unscrupulous traders out, to make a profit at the expense of consumers. When a system of trade restricts trade practices among its players, it predisposes consumers to exorbitant and unaffordable prices. Consumers are supplied with substandard goods and services because there is no alternative source of the products they seek. Elimination of competition by restricting trade robs consumers of the freedom and right of choice regarding the qua lity and supply of commodities they desire and need (BRUCE, 2001: 56). Limitation of supply creates high demand for goods and services, which exposes consumers to abuse through over pricing. Restricting trade has seen a decline in trade volume because it reduces consumers’ purchasing power and decreases the number of traders allowed to participate, in a given trade. Restriction on trade has also contributed to protection of inefficient and unqualified traders in the market who add no value to consumers or the economy of the country. Restriction on trade has seen to the development of domestic and international organisations that operate like cartels because of their characteristic monopolising of markets of their interest (FRANK & BERNANKE, 2003: 419). Beneficiaries of these organisations advocate and support these cartels by arguing that they help protect participating firms that are weak thus shielding them from unfair competition. According to most studies, business entiti es that benefit from restricted trade systems postulate that this structure of trade helps these firms deal with limitations caused by high business operating tariffs (BRUCE, 2001: 78). Cartels created because of restrictive trade systems are able to distribute risks and profits equally amongst themselves which acts as a cushion against uncertainty in the market. This uncertainty can be

Review of a Sociology Research Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Review of a Sociology Research - Term Paper Example The sample includes urban and suburban high schools in which at least five students from the original NELS: 88 samples were enrolled. The sample of NELS: 88 students in each high school were augmented to create a representative sample of students for each school in HSES. The study presented is based on the conceptual framework established in the literature that suggests that school resource structures and norms for facilitating college transitions are an important mechanism through which schools influence college enrollment. Moreover, this mechanism reflects distinctive school strategies that have implication for stratification. Using a large sample of high schools and multiple analytic methods, the analysis specifies a typology of college linking strategies and models their effects on college enrollment, with particular attention to how these effects may differ for disadvantaged students. In this way, the analysis offers an empirical extension of the literature that seeks to shed new light on the nature of stratification among high schools and its implications for students and its implications for students from different racial/ ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) groups. The questions that author address are significant from a sociological persp ective because they reveal a type of organizational stratification among schools that has not been thoroughly explored in the literature and can broaden our insights into the ways in which schools influence stratification in postsecondary education. The analysis is also significant from a policy perspective in that it reveals school structures and practices that are linked to group disparities in college enrollment and may be responsive to intervention. Those Schools foster significant racial / ethnic variation in students’ outcomes that operate primarily as a resource clearinghouse, in which organizational norms limit their role as agents in the college-linking process. The dependant variables for hierarchal

The Age of Global Communications Technology and a Cause for Worry for Essay

The Age of Global Communications Technology and a Cause for Worry for the Subsequent Spread of Westernization - Essay Example It is a factor that assists in determining the speed with which human beings are able to grow and develop on a personal as well as societal basis. The internet is one such form of global communication technology in the world today. Over the last few decades it has spread all over the world massively, wiring almost every corner of the world and helping in spreading information and resources to every nook and cranny. This paper is a reflection of how this same global communication technology, in the form of the internet, has helped to spread westernization all over the world within the span of a very short period, how this spreading of the western culture has been affecting various parts of people’s lives, namely, culture, politics, business, science and technology; and whether or not this very spread of westernization, affecting all these portions of a person’s life, is a cause for worry for the rest of the world or not. The world has become almost like a small village, with almost each and every person connected to the other. All kinds of information can be found online with the help of the internet. In the last few decades, the internet has also become a very common and affordable phenomenon taking over every person’s household; most people look for the feature of having internet on their cell phones, smart phones, personal computers, laptops, and any other aspect of their life that may have the option of being connected to the World Wide Web consortium. Information from various kinds of libraries, government agencies, NGOs, offices etc, from all around the world can be available easily on a person’s private laptop with the click of the mouse; such resources help in researching, writing as well as gaining more and more knowledge on vast topics. Sitting in one’s bedroom, a person can conduct meetings worldwide through video conferencing, play multi player games with people from around the world, social network with friends and family and do so much more. (Huntington, Samuel) The internet is thus that part of the global communication technology which does not restrict a person from knowing more about anything. The internet is also mostly free to anyone wanting to make use of it, and thus its appeal grows even more. However, the question remains, has the widespread use of this part of technology led to the spreading of western culture, and if it has, then is this westernization a cause for worry for the rest of humanity? Westernization is the adoption of western thoughts, ideas and beliefs, in terms of science, technology, industry, politics and culture. It also includes aspects like religion, philosophy and anything else that includes the adoption and usage of foreign thoughts coming from the West. It is thus the process of inculcating values and ideologies from the west into an indigenous thought process. Westernization basically comes from the acceptance and implementation of ideals from Europe and Amer ica. Since these regions have been known to dominate the world for a good period of time since the modern world took its course, they have been said to have left behind their values and way of living life in the countries and colonies they had captured back then. Most countries around the world have been under the rule of Europe for a very long time in the past. Others have been a part of American cultures and ideals before they broke free and started forming their own governments and democracies. However, despite breaking away from these parent overriding rules, they still retain a vast amount of culture from them. For example, India was ruled

Contextual Analysis Essay about The Vietnam in Me

Contextual Analysis about The Vietnam in Me - Essay Example Throughout the narrative, readers are introduced to O’Brien’s lingering feelings of intense despair and sorrow over the fact that the most horrid experience of his life was due to his own personal need to find and secure love. This contextual analysis will analyze how O’Brien used his trip back to Vietnam to discover what imprint his war experience truly left on his heart and if he could ever learn to trust love again. In order to establish the connection between love and Vietnam, this analysis will center on O’Brien’s views on his war experience and their impact on his personal life, his driving need to seek out love and how the guilt over his desire for love led to his contributions as a soldier in Vietnam and continually destroy the author’s chances for true happiness. In beginning this contextual analysis, the first area to analyze is how O’Brien viewed his time as a soldier in Vietnam and how this experience impacted his life. As he began his narrative, O’Brien sets an immediate tone for how he felt about his time in Vietnam. â€Å"On Gator, we used to say, the wind doesn’t blow, it sucks. Maybe that’s what happened - the wind sucked it all away. My life, my virtue† (1). Although O’Brien has obvious despair over the events that unfolded during his time in Vietnam, he was not alone in these feelings. Despite the over two million men who were forcibly deployed to Vietnam through the draft, as well as those who voluntarily enlisted, American society forgot their efforts to further democracy as these men were essentially treated as outcasts upon their return. According to Harvard Sitikoff in â€Å"The Postwar Impact of Vietnam,† the after effects of fighting in Vietnam were more dangerous than being i n the war itself. â€Å"Although most veterans did succeed in making the transition to ordinary civilian life, many did not. More Vietnam veterans committed suicide after the war than had died in it. Even more - perhaps three-quarters

Air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Air pollution - Essay Example The world today is facing many disasters that include various forms of pollution. The most dangerous pollution that is accelerating at a very fast pace is air pollution. The pollution of the air is important as it effects the environment and provides for long lasting effects. The main cause of air pollution that is most evident is the lack of concern and measures for controlling air pollution. The motor vehicles provide for the most important cause of air pollution and the lack of installation of emission control devices adds noxious gases into the atmosphere. The industries are also major contributors to harmful gases into the environment. The installation of devices which filter these harmful gases is expensive. It is for this purpose that these devices are not used and the environment is polluted (Turk et al 1974). The ignorance and lack of attention for tackling air pollution can provide to affect the present and the future of Earth. People living in urban areas are highly affected by air pollution but still fail to understand the complexity of the situation. Elderly people and those with pulmonary diseases are advised to stay indoors to avoid the harmful substances in the air as these pollutants would worsen their health condition. Other people who are exposed to these obnoxious substances in the air may complain of stinging eyes, irritated sinuses and scratchy throats. The air pollution is spreading at a fast pace and the rural areas which were considered to be clean and pure from harmful substances are not safe anymore either  (Williamson 1973). Air pollution not only effects human beings but it also tends to affect other forms of life. The trees, flowers and crops are also affected. Trees can be of assistance in keeping the air clean but the life of trees has also been reduced. The animals are also exposed to the hazardous substances in the

Miscarriages of Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Miscarriages of Justice - Essay Example This happens because of inefficient procedures . Second, the laws that are applied to them. Third, for there is no information that justifies the applied treatment or punishment. Fourth, if suspects, defendants or convicts are handled unfavorably by the state to an unequal extent compared with the necessity to protect the rights of others; or, fifth, if the rights of other persons are not effectively or equally protected or defended by State action against law violators or, sixth, by State law itself(Greer, 1986). For, the six groups above revolve around themes of breach of rights of suspects and defendants, the disproportionate treatment of suspects/defendants or the non-vindication of the rights of victims, might be termed direct miscarriages. In addition, it may be possible to derive from their infliction a seventh, indirect miscarriage which affects the community as a whole. A belief coming out of deceit or illegalities will corrode the state's claims to legitimacy. For, this is founded on the community criminal justice system's values which includes as respect for individual rights. In this way, as well as the unwanted faith of the individual, the "moral integrity of the criminal process" suffers harm(McConville, 1994). Also, there could be a common detriment by way of diminished confidence in the vanguards of law and order leading to lesser active citizens aiding the police and a decrease in the number of jurors willing to convict even the glaringly "guilty".Definitely, it has been deba ted that this indirect form of miscarriage can exist independently as well as contingently in two respects. One is that a breach of "the principle of judicial legitimacy" should be of concern even if there is an accurate and fair determination of guilt or innocence. Secondly, it still produces great moral harm even if, so far as the individual is concerned, there is an error but no real harm is inflicted (say, when a person imprisoned for life is wrongfully convicted soon afterwards of a minor motoring offence). It is therefore argued that the State itself should avoid actions or processes which might damage the integrity of the system. Consistent with this concern, lawyers, whether acting for prosecution or defence, are reminded that they are not the ciphers of their clients but owe duties of integrity to the criminal justice system(Poole, 1998). Critical examination why gender related crime is important to understanding relevant policies of the criminal justice policyIn the article stated that the gender equality duty and the criminal justice system April 2007: The Gender Equality Duty comes in to force, the gender equality duty has been the biggest radical metamorphosis to sex to sex discrimination law for the past thirty years. It is also similar to the introduction in 2001 of a similar public sector race equality duty after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and the introduction of a disability equality duty in December 2006. Furthermore, Fawcett publications of the Fawcett Society had published two reports to support the implementation of the Gender Equality Duty in the criminal justice system: The responsibility to understanding the "understand your duty" section details how the law should affect the criminal just

Financial Proposal Essay Example for Free

Financial Proposal Essay Looking at the need in place, the year 2010 and the future compels the cardiac specialists to step up their capabilities to meet the rising challenge of the cardiac problems. This is as Wenger (1999) says, â€Å"as a result, the current challenge for cardiac rehabilitation specialist is to assure that their practice meets established expectations and that their programs emerge into a new era recognized for the quality and value of the services they provide† (Wenger, 1999 pp 315). At the same time, we also organize for the rising challenges in cardiac field through focusing on developing a work force that is concerned, creating public awareness on cardiac issues research programs that will open up opportunities for new ways of solving the heart problems. Service description What distinguish cardiac rehabilitation are the services that go on over time, that entail assessment, prescribing appropriate exercise for the patients and giving them appropriate education. In addition to these long-term services, we also have counseling and interventions on patients’ behavior. From the above principles, specialists subdivide Cardiac rehabilitation into parts that engross exercises, guidance on nutritional, supporting patients emotionally, supporting and educating them about way of life that will help reduce the risks of heart issues. This will help patients regain strength, prevent the conditions from getting worse and finally reduce the dangers of heart troubles in future. The infrastructure and technology We plan to have infrastructure, which is at par with the modern and efficient technology. Our focus is to have suits for consultations. This will be for out patients. We also plan to have quality services for the inpatients. Cardio-thoracic theaters will support these. In addition to this, we will have units for giving intensive care to patients with serious cardiac problems and therapy units for them too. The infrastructure we want to put up will mirror the goal that we have for the new cardiac rehabilitation center. Within five years of its establishment, we plan to have a center that offers quality service, albeit many inpatients and outpatients that we anticipate to have started flocking in by that time. We plan to have theaters for cardio thoracic therapies that are set with technology that performs highly complex surgical actions. For those patients in serious conditions we will have â€Å"ICCU’s or intensive cardiac care units† (Srmc. edu,  ¶ 11), which will give an entire care for them. Not forgetting that we need the units to have a pool of experts, we plan to have cardiologist who will take care of the heart problems, nutritionists who will give best guidance on nutrition and help patients to learn safe eating habits. We also need physiotherapists with psychologists who will counsel patients and help them to have a positive attitude towards life. We also value time, and one other reason that drives us to establish a modern rehabilitation center is that patients should always recover quickly and get back to their daily routine in shortest period possible. The infrastructure will include different laboratories that will help in different diagnostic and treatment processes. Electrocardiography, which will mainly use electrical instruments, Echocardiography, which will involve echo technology and nuclear imaging which will use nuclear technology for cases that will require that. We will also have â€Å"The Cardiac Catheterization Electrophysiology Laboratories, Cardio Thoracic theatres, the Intensive Cardiac Care Units, Inpatient Facilities and Cardiac Rehabilitation Units (Srmc. edu,  ¶ 11). The people to serve As earlier mentioned, the need for cardiac rehabilitation centers are ever raising. It is for this reason that we want to establish this center in Atlanta Georgia to serve the people of this state and other neighboring states. We have seen that the heart related problems are still on the top of the list of all the diseases that are claiming America’s people (Lloyd-Jones et al, 2010). It is therefore of a thing of prime importance to come up with Cardiac Rehab and Care Center of Atlanta (CRCCA) to help reduce the deaths that are caused by heart problems in America. From the statistics collected by the American Heart association, we find that the cardiovascular problems are also on the top of the list of the American spending on health. Our goal is to provide a sustainable solution to the people who are suffering from heart problems. The opportunity we have is to serve them all who are suffering from heart problems. Industry This is completely a service industry that has the aim of providing the best to people suffering from cardiovascular problems. Other goals are to build and provide a sustainable service through equipping of a ream of human resource with the necessary know how. This is to be able to serve the future generations, and to protect them from heart related issues.

The Purpose and Historical Academic Use of Formatting Styles Essay Example for Free

The Purpose and Historical Academic Use of Formatting Styles Essay It is critical to acknowledge sources to further prove an honest academic work. There are three major citation styles namely Chicago or Turabian, MLA, and APA. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, and commonly known as Turabian style is a style of formatting developed specifically for papers written in class and not for publication or for writing and formatting research paper. It enables the use of footnotes and or end note in combination with parenthetical referencing. Turabian style is named after the book’s original author, Kate Turabian with her study guide, â€Å"A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations†, and developed it for the University of Chicago. American Psychological Association or APA styling is necessary to prevent plagiarism and to maintain consistency among the different leagues of writing communities. APA is used in social sciences, education, engineering, and business adapted to present written material in the field. The editorial style is more like a formatting tool to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. The origin of APA dates back to February of 1929. The APA style was published in â€Å"Psychological Bulletin† as a result of 1928 meeting of representatives from anthropological and psychological journals to discuss the form of journal manuscripts and to write instructions for their preparation. The use of Modern Language Association of America (MLA) can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism or accidental and purposeful uncredited use of source material by other writers. It is addressed primarily to academic scholars, professors, graduate students, and other advanced-level writers of scholarly books and articles in humanities disciplines such as English and other modern languages and literatures. MLA style found its roots back in 1883 at The Johns Hopkins University, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and modern languages. MLA at present is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature.

How Ge Teaches Teams To Lead Change Management Essay

How Ge Teaches Teams To Lead Change Management Essay The purpose of the program was to support CEO Jeffery R. Immelts priority of growing GE by focusing more on expanding businesses and creating new ones than on making acquisitions. This program was effective for the company for many reasons and brought many advantages to it. For example, the business has accelerated its push into emerging markets, launched initiatives to revamp product development, and stepped up efforts to create new businesses. The reasons for why this program was so effective were because: the managers were given an opportunity to reach consensus on the barriers to change; both the hard and the soft ones. Furthermore, the challenge of balancing the short term and the long term was also addressed. The course also created a common vocabulary of change that became part of daily communications inside and across GEs businesses. This program was structured so that a team would emerge with the first draft of an action plan for instituting change in its business and would feel obligated to deliver on it. In September 2001, Jeff Immelt had launched an all-out effort to make GE as renowned for innovation and organic growth as it was for operational excellence. The main force behind GEs successes was its headquarters. Immelt understood that to speed progress, he needed to pass the baton to teams leading GEs businesses-which is where LIG came in. They reorganized functions such as sales and engineering and gave local teams more authority so that the leadership could extract itself from the problems of the present and spend more time on opportunities that would create the future. The purpose of LIG was to make innovation and growth as much of a religion at GE as Six Sigma had been under Jack Welch. Before a team went to Crotonville, it had done three things: It had updated its three-year strategy, the growth playbook. All its members had undergone a 360 review, and the teams scores on the growth values had been tabulated and analyzed in granular detail. Finally, its success in creating an innovative climate had been assessed. At the end of the course each team had about 20 minutes to deliver a presentation to Immelt. The presentation had to include a simplified vision of growth for the business and the organizational, cultural, and capability changes that the team members had decided should be made in order to optimize growth. LIGs team-based approach addresses shortcomings inherent in the individual-focused approach used by traditional management education programs. The LIG was a radical departure for GE, because it removed intact leadership teams from the exigencies of their business and allowed them to discuss the white space in a candid, introspective fashion for four whole days. In order to achieve the business goals in the organization, leaders should know in advance which things to do and how to do them. For example, taking a place in new markets or an expansion into different markets. After that they should decide which leadership style they want to use in order to fit in the new markets, all this by designing effective plans to manage themselves, subordinates and organization. Introduction/Paper discussion Titles and positions have always been important in our life and especially within organizational environment. People tend to get blinded by the titles that they have, and this influences the peoples behavior. The topic that we have chosen to analyze is about the type of power that leaders possess and how this could influence the effectiveness of being a leader. We have also chosen to talk about how powerful leaders with and without formal titles are. This is also because titles have always been present in our lives and they influence the image that we have of a person. We wanted to relate this to leaders. Theories have always discussed the importance of leadership and formal power, while based on our own experience, there are less researches done about informal power and its influence on leadership. Most people take formal positions and titles for granted. They always associate the amount of power a certain person has with the titles that they possess. We decided to take a deeper look at the influence of leaders with informal power on their workers and how this is different from the influence of leaders with formal positions. The main question of this analysis is: How would leaders with informal power influence their workers? The purpose of this study is to find out how leaders with informal positions motivate their workers to follow them and what the differences are between leaders with formal and informal power. Theoretical Perspectives We will start this analysis by looking at different article to get an insight on earlier discussions and researches about the topic. We will also research other articles that will support the case and help us answer the main question. In order to support our case, first we wanted to know the difference between formal and informal leaders. This is important because informal leaders dont have any formal authorized positions. This part will give us an insight on how informal leaders would influence others. The traits and skills of the informal leaders will also be mentioned here. After that, the difference between formal and informal power will be discussed. The reason of why we have chosen to discuss this is because it will give us an understanding of power and the link between power and leadership. Titles and leaders will also be discusses so that we would get clear insight about the link between titles and leaders. Furthermore, the influence of titles will also be mentioned in order to see how titles influence leaders and then eventually their ability to influence followers. After doing this analysis based on the earlier discussions and different arguments from varied studies and articles, we will use the book of Leadership in Organizations, written by Gray Yukl. The topic will be analyzed based on the concepts in this book. Theoretical Discussion Formal and Informal Leaders We will start our analysis by talking about formal and informal leaders and the differences between them. The article that is used here is a study done by the Ohio State University. Informal leaders are related to people who dont have any formal titles in the organization. They are seen as worthy of paying attention to, or following. People think that informal leaders have a certain trait that make the others in the organization pay attention to them and also follow them. While formal leaders hold a certain position and a formal authority in the organization, informal leaders dont. People choose to follow informal leaders because they want to, but with formal leaders they are obligated to follow them otherwise they would have to face the consequences of not complying. Informal leaders are able to make others follow them through their ability to gain followers respect, trust and confidence. The personal traits and skills that informal leaders have, can replace the formal power or position that they dont have. Informal leaders appear to treat everyone with dignity and respect. They exhibit honesty and dignity and emphasise service above self and they are more likely to build trust. Formal and Informal Power In order to get an understanding of power and the link between power and leadership we chose to analyze the formal and informal power. The article from University of Valencia, Spain is used to support our analysis. Formal power is based on the availability or capability to control the exchange of socially valued restricted goods whose distribution is related to the position in the organisation of hierarchy. Formal power is exercised in a top-down manner. The superiors exert formal power on the subordinates while the opposite is not the case. Therefore, it can be expected that a power agent holding a higher hierarchical position than that of the target will hold more formal power over the target than peers or subordinates. Informal power is based on positive interpersonal relations, involving the exchange of social support, referent relationships, or knowledge, or socially valued unrestricted goods. Informal power, not being necessarily associated with formal structure, can flow in all directions. However, positions in the hierarchies affect the development of personal relationships. Dyadic cohesion develops through an emotional/affective process characteristic of equal-power relations that can be obstructed by the unequal relationships that characterize formal power relationships. Taking this into account, it can be expected that members in a similar hierarchical position to the target will hold higher informal power over the target person than superiors and subordinates. Based on what is mentioned above, we can say that formal and informal power is really important in organisational life. They have influence on how leaders exercise their power. For example, leaders with formal positions exercise their power in a top-down manner, while those with informal power can influence others who are on the same level without any formal position. There is no formal structure but the relation between the individuals in the organization could go to any direction. Looking at this topic from a different perspective, power can be grouped in two categories, the social condition and the personal ability. These categories aim to distinguish positional power and personal power. Position power steams from a persons formal position and implies the legitimate authority to use positive and negative sanctions such as reward and coercion; while on the other hand personal power refers to expertise, referent power and charisma of a person. Summarising this, position power mostly refers to the existing organisational hierarchy that renders management the ability to control the behaviour of others and to change the organisational structure and processes. On the other hand, personal power refers to power sources connected to particular abilities, skills and experience of an actor. As we can see, position power could be related to the formal power that people have. It is the authorised and legitimate power that they possess. They have the title and formal posit ion to exercise their formal power to make others in the organisation follow them. Personal power can be related to the informal power, this is where people dont have authorised power, position or title to make people follow them, but they do it through their personal trait and skills. We can use volunteer work as an example of the distinction between leaders with formal and informal power. When we think about non-profit organizations we think about organizations where people dont have any formal power or positions. The idea of such organizations is to let people work without using any formal authority and to achieve the organizational goals. These people don ´t have a formal title and their followers are not obligated to follow them. This makes it challenging to these organizations to survive and serve their main goals. Nowadays, almost all kind of organizations rapidly adapt the formal business culture to face the challenges and survive in the marketplace. The workers in these organizations get formal positions to make sure that the work gets done properly. A good example of a leader who combined the formal and informal power in his leadership is Nelson Mandela. He conveyed his beliefs about racism and discrimination to the world and he was the formal leader of anti-discrimination organizations. While when Nelson Mandela was in prison, he didnt have any formal power but he still influenced a lot of people in the world. Position and Personal Power Power is usually used to describe the absolute capacity of the individual agent to influence the behaviour or attitudes of one or more designated target persons at a given point in time. Power is divided into two major groups; position power and personal power (Bass, 1960; Etzioni, 1961). Position power includes potential influence derived from legitimate authority, control over resources and rewards, control over punishments, control over information, and control over the physical work environment. Personal power includes potential influence derived from task expertise, and potential influence based on friendship and loyalty. Based on this study, the position power is more related to formal leaders because the people in organizations who have legitimate power give direct orders and requests in organizations. They have the authority to reward the followers, punish them if they dont comply with the orders, they have the control over information which is available and they also have control over the situation. While on the other side, leaders with informal positions have more of the personal power. Informal leaders exercise referent power through role modelling, because a person who is well liked and admired can have considerable influence over others by setting example of proper and desired behaviour for them to imitate. When identification is strong, imitation is likely to accrue even without any conscious intention by the agent. Informal leaders are charismatic and they are very much admired by the others, this is why others follow them even without having any legitimate power. Informal leaders are also known for being friendly, attractive, charming and trustworthy, they also show concern for the needs and feelings of the others, demonstrating trust and respect, and treating people fairly. Referent power depends greatly on these characteristics and personal traits and therefore any person in the organization who possesses these kind of skills can influence the other workers without doing any effort. Position power is important, not only as a source of influence but also because it can be used to enhance a leaders personal power. Besides that, most of power studies have found that effective leaders rely more on expert and referent power to influence subordinates, this is because they are positively correlated with subordinate satisfaction and performance. On the other hand, the same study has also found that legitimate power is an important reason for behavioural compliance. (Hinkin Schriesheim, 1989; Rahim, 1989; Schriesheim, Hinkin Podsakoff, 1991). So in the end, both position and personal power are essential for a leader to be effective in the workplace. Titles and Leaders The article Titles dont make leaders from the Harvard Business school is used here to support out hypothesis. Stever Robbins argues that leadership often ignores the fact that leadership is powerful at any and all levels-and that you do not need to be heading up an organization to be an effective leader. He believes that it doesnt matter what title or position you have, in order to do your job effectively. Some of the most effective business people could influence others without having any superior role or title. He also argues that a leaders job is to insure the success of the organization no matter who reports to whom in any given group. This means that anyone in the group can be the leader as long as he/she is willing to achieve the goals of the organization. Furthermore, the true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less. The capacity to influence others to participate is what defines a leader. As we have said before, people can get confused about titles and their connection to leadership. In most cases they think that just because a person has a certain title then that makes them leaders. But the reality says that leadership is about influence, influencing people to perform and do what they are supposed to do. This article also argues that the most a title can do is buy some time to increase or decrease the ability to influence the person who holds it. So titles can give individuals only temporary power to influence people and make them follow. So even if titles can be important in some situations like in the military where they have the power to control their subordinates, this does not make them leaders. It just gives them the power to use their power to give orders and make others follow them. A person will be perceived as a leader, regardless to his/her titles. Being seen as a leader doesnt have to do with the titles that you possess but its more about how you contribute to the success of the goals. This gives us the underlying base of our analysis. As we see here, Stever doesnt see any link between titles and the power to influence people but he believes that the actions of a person has more effect on influencing others and making them follow you or your orders. Charismatic Leaders Professor Martin Kilduff from University of Cambridge argues that charisma is considered to be an inherent quality that involves not just strong convictions and the ability to engage followers emotions, but also vision the articulation of lofty goals and the determined pursuit of those goals through the encouragement of others efforts. Also a numerous studies have concluded that charismatic leadership has positive effects on followers motivation, their satisfaction with leaders, as well as boosting leader effectiveness. With this being said, we see that charisma helps leaders to achieve the goals of the organization and makes people follow them. Leaders with charisma are seen to be more successful than others. Charismatic leaders are able to make others follow them easily without making much of an effort. But charisma is different from other personality attributes in that it is attributed to leaders by others their team mates, subordinates, and other people with whom they come into contact in the workplace and beyond. So informal or formal leaders need to interact with their followers and show their personality in order for them to be seen as charismatic. A research which was done by Martin Kilduff co-authored with Prasad Balkundi and David Harrison, forthcoming in Journal of Applied Psychology concluded that leaders who were active in their teams in terms of being at the centre of giving advice to subordinates and also soliciting opinions from subordinates tended to emerge as charismatic leaders in the eyes of those subordinates. Thus, in order for leaders to be seen as charismatic, whether they are formal or informal, they need to be active with followers, listen to their opinions and also provide them with guidelines or advices about work-related matters. Informal leaders are more likely to be seen more charismatic than formal leaders because they are more available and easier to be reached. They have better relations with their followers and they also solicit their opinions about important problems and issues. So formal leaders need to establish themselves as informal leaders in order to make their subordinates turn to them when they are faced with problems and issues. Leadership and Followers Several interrelated factors determine whether workers will follow their leader and how they asses leaders effectiveness. A leader will be seen as competent based on this improving performance, so if his/her performance is declining then followers will not comply. Followers will not only judge a leaders competence or performance but they will also judge leaders intentions. A leader who appears to be more concerned about followers and the missions than about the personal benefit or career advancement will gain more follower approval. Also a leaders who make visible self-sacrifices in the service of the organization will be viewed as more sincere and committed. Followers also consider the extent to which the leader appears to be similar to them in terms of values, beliefs, and other qualities they consider important. Followers who identify strongly with the group of the organizations are likely to have more trust in the leader who appears to be one of them and will make more favourable attributions about the leader. Because informal leaders dont have any authorized positions they are more likely to be seen as a member of the group. Therefore they are considered to share the same values and beliefs. They are trusted and seen as if they care more about the others and the organization goals than themselves. This is one of the reasons why the other workers consciously or unconsciously decide to follow the informal leaders. Informal leaders mostly have two roles, one is following the formal leaders and complying with their legitimate orders and the other one is informally leading their groups of colleagues. In order for these informal leaders to be effective they need to balance between these both roles, otherwise they would lose their identity and the trust or respect of the others. The challenge of informal leaders is harder because they are supposed to guide and support their followers plus satisfying their formal leaders. In order to further support this part of the study, a closer look will be taken on which factors influence the decision of followers to follow a leader. This will be supported by a study done by Thach, Thompson, and Morris 2006. One of the factors that influence followers to follow is motivation. In order for a leader to motivate his/her followers, he/she needs to show trust and respect and make them realize that their participation and achievements are important and essential for achieving the organizational goals and make it successful. This results to confident followers who believe that they can do the requested task. Mutual trust is the basis of an effective follower-leader relationship. This means that in order for followers to follow their leader, followers need to believe that the leader has their best interest. What also motivates followers is how similar their values and beliefs are with the leaders. Follower values determine their preferences for different types of leaders, they always look for leaders whose values match their own. When followers are comfortable with their leaders then they would follow them easily. Conclusion After having used several studies, articles and concepts, we got a clear insight about how leaders function, and influence followers. This study helped us answering the main questions this analysis which is: How would leaders with informal power influence their workers? Leaders with informal power influence followers by having personal characteristics, traits and skills. Being charismatic, showing trusts and respect to their co-workers, and believing in their ability to achieve the organizational goals and participating in its success are examples of these characteristics. Followers prefer leaders with whom they share values and beliefs. They are more comfortable in dealing with those leaders and other ones. Informal leaders usually fall in this category rather than formal leaders, this is because informal leaders are in the same hierarchical level and they are also considers as members of the same group. Informal leaders possess more of the personal power than positional power and from the used studies we came to know that personal power has more positive effect of followers than positional power has. Influencing followers is done by using the referent power and specially being role models to their followers. Titles and leaders are not directly connected. Leaders dont have to have any formal titles or power to be able to influence their followers and make them achieve the organizations goals. They can be leaders through their achievements, behaviour and the way they do their work. In this case, they can still be a role model for the followers and motivate them to do the work without having to use their titles. In the end we see that informal leaders influence followers not through titles or positions but through their charismatic personality, traits and skills. They are the people who followers look up to and want to follow.

Cultural Assessment of the U.S. Navy Essay -- essays research papers

Mission Statement The US Navy has founded its self with being an organization that will train and activate skilled combat naval personnel. The official mission statement taken off their web site states, â€Å"The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.† (http://www.navy.com) The Navy also prides itself on the adventurous spirit it takes to embark on a career in the navy. The slogan used in getting new recruits is â€Å"Accelerate your lifeâ€Å". These statements suggest that the Navy is not only clear in its purpose and design, but also dedicated to its end. The clarity of its mission is seen in the extensive training that recruits receive in boot camp and the mental focus directed by their superiors to focus on the mission statement. In recruitment, the Navy seeks young men and women, often bogged down with school and jobs that to an eighteen or nineteen year old see ms to be boring and slow paced. Work Environment The navy workspace is most commonly out on the sea, on a ship, or in a submarine. Part of the Navy’s mission is to maintain freedom of the seas, thus the sea is their workplace. The design of many of these vessels does not allow for tremendous amounts of space or access to the outside world. A ship in the middle of the ocean is constricting of a person’s mobility. Thus the ideal is to function as a crew and to work as a unit in order to accomplish the goal. The tight quarters emphasize connecting with your fellow shipmates. Use of Slogans "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of All Who Threaten It" is currently the slogan for the United States Navy. The slogan was meant to express the Navy's core mission of projecting power globally to protect and defend America. In addition, it has become a focus of purpose, pride and loyalty about standing up for your country and what it represents. Past slogans intended to capture the real meaning and spirit of the Navy were "Sailors Have More Fun," "Go Navy," "Fly Navy," "Join the Navy and see the World," "You and the Navy, Full Speed Ahead,† â€Å"It’s Not just a job. It's an Adventure!" and "Accelerate Your Life." (â€Å"Life, Liberty,† 2004). Techniques and ... ...p; Retrieved September 11, 2004 from http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,080204_Navy,00.html?ESRC=vy Navy (n.d.). Secure Your Future: Family Security Retrieved September 9, 2004, from http://www.navy.com/secureyourfuture/familysecurity Official blue angels site. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2004 from http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/flashindex.html Phillpot, T. (2004) Military Update. Star and Stripes Retrieved September 9, 2004, from http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=24305 Shalikashvili, J.M. (n.d.). Shape, Respond, Prepare Now -- A Military Strategy for a New Era. National Military Strategy. Retrieved September 14, 2004, from http://www.dtic.mil/jcs/nms/index.html#Top Status of the Navy. (2004, September). The US Navy: Around the World, Around the Clock. Retrieved September 10, 2004 from http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ news/.www/status.html Stevens, P. (2001). Give them a sense of pride, and they'll stay. Proceedings. United States Naval Institute, 127(7), 112.

Husain Haddawy’s The Arabian Nights and Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and

Husain Haddawy’s The Arabian Nights and Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men - Revealing the Conflicts, Desires and Dreams of the Collector "For the translator, who stands astride two cultures, possesses two different sensibilities, and assumes a double identity" —Husain Haddawy Magic, love, sex, war, gods, spells. These are all common ingredients in the folktales of almost every culture. Many people say that folktales are windows to cultures. That might be so. Often readers do not realize, though, that folktales also reflect aspects of the collectors. Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men and Husain Haddawy’s The Arabian Nights, in addition to offering insight into southern African-American culture and Arabic culture, reveal the collectors to the audience; the collectors’ desire to reconcile with their past, to be accepted by their reader as legitimate representatives of that culture whether by being an insider or both insider and outsider to the culture, and to be heroic cultural interpreters with the goal of educating and informing the reader. There are many reasons and motivations behind Hurston’s compilation of African-American folktales, but one that is often overlooked is her personal need to reconcile her intellectual, White, Barnard-educated life with her traditional roots in Eatonville, Florida. In her introduction Hurston writes: From the earliest rocking of my cradle, I had known about the capers Brer Rabbit is apt to cut and what the Squinch Owl says from the house top. But it was fitting me like a tight chemise. I couldn’t see it for wearing it. It was only when I was off in college, away from my native surroundings, that I could see myself like somebody else and stand off and look at my garment. Then ... ...nd the present culture of the audience, which they intended to reach. Haddawy and Hurston sought acceptance from the reader and thus emphasized the legitimacy of their works whether by establishing themselves as an insider or as both an insider and outsider to their respective cultures. Moreover, by proving the ‘superior’ authenticity of their works in comparison to previous works, they offer themselves as ‘heroes,’bringing forth insights of the culture of their youth to the reader. Indeed, The Arabian Nights and Mules and Men are not only collections of magical folktales: They reveal the inner conflicts, desires and dreams of the translator and collector themselves. Works Cited 1) Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and Men (New York: Harper Perennial, 1990). 2) Husain Haddawy, The Arabian Nights, trans. Husain Haddawy, ed. Muhsin Mahdi (New York: Norton, 1990).

The Road to Happiness - Original Writing :: Happiness Essays

My name is Bob Thomas. My life has been one hell of a roller coaster, with enough ups and downs to make anyone nauseas. I guess I shouldn’t complain, because that is a common lifestyle for most people. It all started when I was a teenager and it is a familiar fact that every teenager has their fair amount of rows, with there parents. However, one argument was just one to many for me. It was actually quite pathetic; I look back and laugh at what I was arguing about. This sounds silly but I was quarrelling, with my mum, on whether I could wear my suede boots to school. It all ended up with me storming out of the door saying that I was deprived of my freedom and opinion. I could remember hearing my dad in the background, shouting at the top of his lungs, that I shouldn’t dare step foot out of the house. But I did. I was confused and angry, so I just wanted to be as far away from home as possible. Using the money I had on me, I took a train to London without even realizing or noticing how dim-witted I was being. At that point all I wanted to see was that lousy excuse for a mother, dead. The area I picked in London was an awful mistake. I was living on the streets with no money, no job, nothing. And to add to that, these unpleasant people would come up to me and stare. And then there were the occasional perverts hanging around, but I kept myself hidden when I saw them lurking about. I tried to make life work, by scavenging for anything I could get my hands on. I couldn’t think of asking my parents for help, it was just out of the question. I had been gone to long, I could imagine the angry looks on their faces, describing the pain I had put them through. What if they didn’t even want me back? They seemed quite content with my sister. They had probably forgotten

Meaning of life essay Essay

?â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus). If you spend your whole life searching for one thing you will waste your life and it will only take a few moments for time to pass you by. The meaning of life is nonexistent and imponderable. ?â€Å"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation† (Jackson). The meaning of life is simply the way you view it. Like religion everyone has different philosophies and opinions and only those who give life a meaning have the true understanding of the meaning of life. My Opinion on the Meaning of Life I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning, because there truly is no meaning otherwise. I believe everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal, never complex. I believe the meaning of life should be simple and potentially whatever we want it to be. I do what I do because I want to. It’s that simple for me; I do it because it means something to me. â€Å"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can† (Kaye). I believe this quote is saying that you should give life your all and do whatever it takes to make your life the way you want it. This is saying someone should do what you believe the philosophy of your life is. Many people go about their lives searching for the meaning of life and how it applies to them but in reality they will waste their lives away looking for something that does not exist. â€Å"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person† (Nin). â€Å"Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer† (Campbell). This is saying how we bring the meaning to life and our thoughts and ideas on what we believe life is and should be. I do not believe in the idea of there being one specific meaning but millions for each and every soul around the earth. Various populations will all agree to disagree about their views but in retrospect you realize that everyone is right. Everyone gives their own meaning to the idea. Purposes and meanings will change, but the overall meaning to life, that there is no true meaning, will always stay the same. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Works Cited ?†Albert Camus Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Anais Nin Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. ?†Danny Kaye Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Michael Jackson Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. .

Behind Closed Doors at WorldCom Essay

1.Two General Accounting employees—Dan Renfroe and Angela Walter—made journal entries in the amount of $150 million and $171 million, respectively, without detailed support. It was noted that this was not out of the ordinary at WorldCom. In your opinion, was this a proper accounting practice? Explain. Though this may not be out of the ordinary for WorldCom, this is not a correct accounting practice. The way the entries were made does not comply with the proper account practice according to GAAP. Detailed support is an important part of providing support to a journal entry and it explains the reason or purpose as to why the journal entry was created. 2.Based on GAPP, describe the propriety or impropriety of releasing of $150 million in line cost accruals in the Wireless division over Deloris DiCicco’s objections. Support your position using the authoritative accounting literature. When instructed to reduce the Wireless Division’s line cost by $150 million due to savings from the prior period, DiCicco refused because there was no support for the entry.   WorldCom would prepare an adjusting entry each month to recognize the estimated cost of the period as period expense, by capitalizing the expense as an accrued interest. According to GAAP, a line item cost must be reported as an expense on a company’s income statement. WorldCom capitalized the line expense, instead of expensing it and placed it on the balance sheet as an accrued liability rather than on the income statement as an operating expense. 3.On the topic of capitalizing line costs, critique the rationale included in CEO Scott Sullivan’s White Paper. Based on your own analysis of GAAP, explain the propriety or impropriety of capitalizing line costs in the telecom industry. In the White Paper presented to the Board of Directors, the CEO Scott Sullivan supported the decision to capitalize line costs. Sullivan provided that the White Paper was in line with the company’s goal of maintaining strong growth rate through increasing its capital investment. Management noted that the treatment of the E/R cots as an asset was in no way in any contradiction of the definition of an asset as per FASB Concept Statement No. 6 which states, â€Å"Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by a particular entity as a result of past transactions or events†. However, as per GAAP, line costs must be reported as an expense in the company’s income statement as these are fundamentally,  ope rating expenses. It was put in the Balance Sheet as an accrued liability rather than in the income statement as an accrued expense. This resulted in falsely projecting income and profits; and concealing huge losses by wrongly capitalizing the line costs. 4.Consider journal entry that recognized $35 million of revenue in 2001 from the EDS contract based on WorlCom’s expectation that the five-year required cumulative minimum payment would not be met. Based on your own analysis of GAAP, explain the propriety to impropriety of this journal entry. This is not in compliance with the provisions of GAAP or SAB 101. Revenue should not be recognized until it is realized or becomes realizable and earned. If we followed this statement the company did not have realized revenue Furthermore, the penalty payments if enforced could not be paid till the year 2005 as stated in the contract. Also, the journal entry resulted in recognizing revenue when it was not earned or realized and thus, overstated the profits. 5.Why do you think the professionals in this case, most of whom are CPA’s, would agree to record a material journal entry contrary to their best professional judgment? I think that in many situations employees were able to twist statements which follow GAAP guidelines. May employees were convinced they were doing the right thing and those that were unwilling to participate were overlooked. Most of the material journal entries which were made contrary to best judgment were so done with a view to mask the declining profits and to show increasing profits, which in turn would increase stock prices. 6.In general, how does the role of Internal Auditing differ from the role of Independent (or External) Auditing? What is the role of Internal Auditing in a well-run corporation? When performed by internal auditors, what is a financial audit versus an operating audit? Do you think WorldCom’s Internal Audit Department was functioning as it should have been? Explain. Internal auditors work within an organization and report to its audit committee and/or directors. They help to design the company’s organizing systems and help develop specific risk management policies. External auditors are independent of the organization they are auditing. They report to the company’s shareholders. They provide their experienced opinion on the truthfulness of the company’s financial statements and perform work on a test basis to monitor systems in place. Internal Auditing  is designed to look at the key risks facing the business and how the business is managing those risks ef fectively. It usually results in recommendations for improvement across departments. Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. A financial audit is an audit or examination of the financial reporting process, determining the reliability and integrity of the financial statements and preparation of such statements. It also involves an appraisal of the internal controls related to the finance function of the enterprise. An operational audit, on the other hand, is a systematic review and evaluation of an operational unit in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency of operations, accomplishment of its laid down objectives and goals, and determining its appropriateness in the use of various resources. It is clear that the WorldCom’s Internal Audit department was not functioning as it should have been. It was concentrating only on operational audits and totally avoiding financial audits. On the cause of cost-saving, it clearly avoided any and every function which could overlap with the role of the external auditors.

Volkswagen of America: Managing It

Case 7  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Volkswagen of America: Managing IT 1. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? The new system of prioritizing IT projects to determine funding is a very efficient way of ensuring those projects that are critical to business strategy meet their financial requirements. However, the method of dropping entire goal portfolios simply because they ranked lowest in the list could be deemed a flaw in the system, and one that could be detrimental to business unit integration slowly over time.This understandably frustrates those whose proposals are receiving no funding, and if this prioritization system has any hope of future success, the business units being consistently funded will need to work better at recognizing other priorities, or the system will need to be restructured to allow for smaller projects to be phased in at the very least to mainta in integration. 2. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? The parent company of VWoA – VWAG – caps the IT budget at $60 million.However, the control of this budget includes the involvement of several cross-functional teams (AKA – â€Å"several organizational entities†, p. 5) that review project proposals before final approval – for instance, during Phase I the DBC (Digital Business Council) reduced the initial $210 million project proposals to $170 million (p. 6). Ultimately the PMO (Project Management Office) subsection of the BPTO (Business Process, Technology and Organization), which Matulovic established as a new internal IT department upon his arrival, approves projects prioritized by the IT steering committee (ITSC).Who should control these budgets? Should the IT department have its own budget? 3. How should Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatmen t outside the new priority management system? Matulovic should tell the fellow executives the new priority management system was developed and implemented by ELT members and senior management group. The process is now complete and not reversible. It would be unfair for any ELT member to get a special treatment. . What should Matulovic do about the unfunded Supply Flow project? The unfunded project was critically important to the company. Lack funding would delay globalization initiatives. Since the project needed full funding to continue on track and the cost was a significant part of the IT budget, funding should come from alternative sources. Matulovic should argue that the project will have a large impact on the global integration and save costs for the company as whole, rather than just VWoA. 5.On page 8 we see that $16 million of the $60 budget is for SIB projects, under the spending direction of Matulovic; on page 1 we see that some people consider this unfair – is it? Should budget be â€Å"set aside† for IT projects? Why? The budget allocated for SIB projects, under the direction of Matulovic, is fair. Many individuals across the organization were involved in project proposals and creating the process for managing the priorities and selection. The head of each business unit was a member of Executive Leadership Team that helped develop and rank the proposals for the projects.Senior business and IT members in the IT steering committee guided and approved project selection and prioritization process. After the process is implemented and executed, it is too late to voice an objection. 6. In general, what characteristics should a process for deciding about funding of IT projects have? The process of how to fund IT projects has to include the means to categorizing the projects and relating them to company’s strategy. There has to be adequate guidance for developing proposals.Since buy-in and trust by unit leaders is critical, they have b e involved in developing the process. The process has to be fair and transparent. It has to be based on what is best for the company as whole. Summary The Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities case study describes the efforts of the US subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (VWAG) – Volkswagen of America (VWoA) – to arrive at a new process for setting IT funding priorities and deciding on what projects to fund. Dr. Uwe Matulovic, the new ChiefInformation Officer (CIO) of VWoA, has a dilemma in that peers from the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) have been openly hostile and critical of the new prioritization process, particularly in regards to the lack of funding for high priorities for their areas of the company, and have pressurized him â€Å"to insert an unfunded project (or two) into the IT department’s work plans† (p. 1). Dr. Matulovic position is particularly challenging as more than 40 projects have been proposed for IT, with funding requirements total ing $240m, when a budget of only $60m has been approved by VWAG.The new prioritization process that was implemented is complex. It includes the involvement of several cross-functional teams or â€Å"several organizational entities† (p. 5) that review project proposals during three separate Phases before final approval. For instance, during Phase I the DBC (Digital Business Council) reduced the initial $210 million project proposals to $170 million (p. 6) by way of identifying dependencies among projects. That is, removing those projects from the budget that required other projects to be completed before they could start.Ultimately the PMO (Project Management Office) subsection of the BPTO (Business Process, Technology and Organization), which Matulovic established as a new internal IT department upon his arrival, approves projects prioritized by the IT Steering Committee (ITSC). In conclusion, it became apparent to Dr. Matulovic that the Supply Flow Project, which is viewed a s critical to the company’s global supply chain management objectives, was poorly served by the new prioritization process in that it was left only partially funded.The process overlooked this project primarily because much of its value was felt at the global level, and not at the VWoA importer level. Dr. Matulovic found himself in a quandary and struggled with related decision-making as he understood that the loss of funding for this project would constitute a major setback for globalization initiatives based in Germany. 1. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? The budgets for IT projects were controlled through a process that involves several organizational entities that establish priorities.There were four specific teams that were involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council. ) The ELT was responsible for executing the NRG (Next Round of Growth) strategy in which the IT governance is a part. The ITSC consisted of business and IT managers and was responsible for guiding and approving the process of IT project selection and prioritization. The PMO administered the project proposal and approval process.The DBC was responsible for the project filtering process which decided which projects were most in line with the companies business strategy. 2. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? The new IT priority management process was driven by the new IT budget constraint given to VWoA by the parent company VWAG. If the new budgetary constraint was not initiated, it is likely that elements of the former less organized and less centralized method would be maintained.In the end, this may benefit the individual business units, but be detrimental to the business as a wh ole. In creating the new process, Matulovic enabled the business unit managers to work together to make the decisions that would effect their departments using the overall company strategy as the driving element. In doing this, he succeeded in involving all of the managers that would be affected by the prioritization system while maintaining the executive leadership team’s strategic goals. This new system was a substantial improvement over the former system. . On page 8 we see that $16 million of the $60 budget is for SIB projects, under the spending direction of Matulovic; on page 1 we see that some people consider this unfair – is it? Should budget be â€Å"set aside† for IT projects? Why? The budget allocated for the SIB (Stay in Business) projects (business continuity and legal) should receive the highest priority. As denoted by the name, if any of these projects are incomplete or fail, the risk to the business is substantial compared to business unit priori ties.However, the amount budgeted may be a point that could be questioned. Instead of predetermining the amount required, he should have submitted the SIB to the same process as all of the other projects which would have reduced or eliminated the business unit manager’s perception that Matulovic was trying to control company strategy. 4. How should Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatment outside the new priority management system?What should Matulovic do about the unfunded Supply Flow project? Matulovic created a well organized system that focused on company goals. His fellow executives were involved in the IT priority decision making and the company expectation is that business unit managers also support company goals. If they think that these goals in relation to their requests does not make sense, then they had the opportunity in this process to voice their concerns to the one of the process teams (the ELT,ITSC,PMO, and/o r the DBC), not to Matulovic himself.Because the Supply Flow project is tied into global strategy, Matulovic should propose that the funding for this project come from VWAG. 5. In general, what characteristics should a process for deciding about funding of IT projects have? General characteristics that an IT funding process should have: –  Involve all of those who will be affected by the funding decisions in the process. –  Align IT funding priorities with company strategy. –  Enable communication between business units depending on the funding and between those units and executive management.

Negroponte’s decision to partner with Microsoft Essay

2. Do you agree with Negroponte’s decision to partner with Microsoft? Yes I agree with this decision Negroponte partnerships with companies such as Microsoft, which is very trustworthy, and reliable name in the computer sector for the operating system and software. Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of the MIT Media Lab, introduced the idea for the $ 100 laptop in 2005. The laptop will be directed towards the child in â€Å"developing countries.† The intent is to help education in those countries. The purpose of this project, to be specific, is â€Å"To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.† Technical achievement of the laptop project fast-low power requirements, the physical design of all closed to prevent water or sand or dirt damage, open source software [originally, this has since changed], a unique interface, and the possibility for solar and hand-crank powering, and designers who are doing well to achieve their costs disappear. Despite its considerable innovation, or perhaps because of it, the OLPC project has been unable to achieve its $100 targeted cost. The current cost of each unit is listed on the OLPC Website as $199 (www.laptop.org/en/participate/ways-to-give.shtml). However, this does not include upfront deployment costs, which are said to add an additional 5%–10% to the cost of each machine (wiki.laptop.org/go/Larger_OLPC), and subsequent IT-management costs. Nor does it include the cost of teacher training, additional software, and ongoing maintenance and support. OLPC initially required governments to purchase a million units, and then reduced the number to 250,000 in April 2007. Such large purchases are difficult to justify for governments in developing countries, and the requirement was ultimately eliminated. Some countries eventually lost interest due to the higher costs of the XO. For example, Nigeria failed to honor a pledge by its former president to purchase a million units, partly because they no longer cost $100 apiece.21 Meanwhile, other countries, including Libya, have opted for the Intel  Classmate, which is priced at approximately $250 for the PC alone. Officials in Libya, which had planned to buy up to 1.2 million XO laptops, became concerned that the machines lacked Windows, and that service, teacher training, and future upgrades would not be provided directlyby OLPC. Subsidies from Intel, including donated laptops and teacher training, also helped persuade the Libyan government to choose the Classmate. The goal of OLPC is to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. To this end, we have designed the hardware, software and content for collaborative, fun, and self-empowered learning. One Laptop per Child is not about machines, it’s about movement. to get computers into the hands of children that will help them learn, then â€Å"this is a price worth paying.† Use technology to transform education by bringing connectivity and constructionist learning for poor children around the world, â€Å"said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC.

Beowulf & King Lear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Beowulf & King Lear - Essay Example Nowhere is this more evident than in his blatant disregard of Cordelia’s affection and the subsequent decision to hand over control of his kingdom to his two unworthy daughters, Regan and Goneril. His two wicked daughters who praise and flatter Lear, tripping over themselves to demonstrate with words to convince them of their great love for him as their father, are the same two women who spend the remainder of the play seeking to destroy him. It is Cordelia who attempts to save him and the rest of Britain by bringing in an army to try and save them from the evil represented by her sisters. King Lear quickly disowned Cordelia, previously his favorite of his three daughters, for not showing him the same flattery and praise that her sisters faked in his presence. He placed her in a terrible position, leaving for France and her wedding without the benefit of a dowry or the blessings of her family. Dependant solely on her virtuous nature, she leaves Britain to be married to the King of France who, unlike her father, treasures that nature above any flattery that she would bestow upon him. He gifts her with an army to return to her father’s kingdom in the hopes of saving it from destruction at the hands of her sisters. Cordelia displays an inner strength that is enviable. She faces harsh punishment at the hands of her beloved father for simply refusing to stroke his ego without breaking down. She also sails off to her husband without so much as her father’s blessing to encourage the marriage. Cordelia displays a kind of courage not shown in either her father or her siblings. While she could have saved herself the torment that her father put her through by pleasing him with pretty, empty words as her sisters did, the play would have lost much of its tragic element and the catalyst for future events. If Cordelia had sided with her sisters, she would have been given an equal

Drama Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Drama - Research Paper Example The theatrical form requires that even the audience in the last row catch the emotion expressed by the actor without it being rendered awkward due to the element of exaggeration involved. This is the context where physical acting can save the occasion. Also, physical action involves movement that can be weaved into the movement of the plot of the play itself to bring about a kind of doubled impact. Simon McBurney categorized human behavior into seven levels of tension, namely, coma, relaxed, neutral, alert, suspense, passionate and explosion so that there can be a level of standardisation on how the actor can express emotions in the form of physical actions on stage. Stanislavski on the other hand had much earlier developed the method of physical actions by which an actor supplements his/her emotional acting with corresponding physical actions. Both these approaches to physical acting have been lauded as systems that immensely help methodical acting yet criticized as well as constrictive to the real spirit of the total emotional experience involved. This has been a criticism raised against all kinds of physical theater. Yet, even the critics will agree that relying on facial expressions and internal feelings alone will render theater motionless and boring. While Stanislavski has more or less tried to provide just a physical actions-based loose framework corresponding to emotio nal states, the McBurney method prescribes specific physical actions for different emotions and thereby faces the risk of reductionism. Hence, Stanislavskys method of physical actions can be said to be imparting more freedom to an actor than McBurneys method. Method of physical actions was not merely a directive of physical training for Stanislavsky but the the psychological aspects of any physical action was also accounted for in this method (Chushkin, 1998, p.16). It was acknowledged by this theater maestro that the actor necessarily needed to have an â€Å"inner

Future of humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Future of humanity - Essay Example (United States Conference of Catholic Bishop) As a result of the environmental crisis the entire human race is suffering today and the failure to act by the present generation will have an effect on the future generation as well. The poor and the powerless are that sections of the society who bears the most dreadful consequence of the current environmental carelessness. The land and neighborhood of these people are most polluted and host to the toxic dumps, the water they get are not safe to drink implying a health hazard for them. Trapped in the spiral of poverty the small farmers, the industrial workers, the lumberjacks, the watermen, the rubber tappers, bears most of the burden of the economic adjustments camouflaged in the form of environmental remedies taken up by the society. They undergo the worst consequence from the loss of fertility of soils, pollution of rivers, city streets and the deforestation and at the same time they are forced to overdo the soil, clear the forest or migrate to marginal lands due to the overcrowding and unequal distributions of land. Their labor to eke out a bare subsistence adds to the problem of environmental degradation. The diversity of life marks God’s glory. The divine beauty is being shared by every creature as the divine integrity cannot be represented by one being alone. So the human being should show respect and reverence for the Creator by preserving and protecting the natural environment and the endangered species. Human being should make an effort to be compatible with the local ecology by ensuring the just use of technology and by cautiously evaluating the technological innovations as they are being adopted. (United States Conference of Catholic Bishop; Hanks, 454) Change is the only constant thing in today’s world. In the age of globalization, the Internet is the phenomenon that is changing the lives of everyone today. Everything is moving in a breakneck speed now and its impact is not limited to the economic sphere but also in the social spheres of our life. It has brought in fear with itself as the school children are offered drugs at their playgrounds and they are growing up sexually at a great speed. The parents today are stressed and fighting day after day grind to earn a living, which will raise the family’s standard of living. It’s more of a rat race now where the ethics and values of the society are disappearing. In the present era the bonding and ties of family, locality and the country are under continuous pressure and threat. â€Å"The change is fast and fierce, replete with opportunities and dangers.† (Blair) But enduring this change humanity will flourish provided man can minimize the harmful effect of globalization and use it instead for the benefits of him. The emergence of internet has narrowed down the gaps between the countries implying an economic change which proves to be beneficial for the world economy. The internet has concised the wo rld in one‘s bedroom and the exchange of information and knowledge has led to the emergence of a knowledge hub. The interaction and communication with the rest of the world has encouraged intermarriage which will definitely blur the racial and ethnic distinction resulting in fewer wars and who knows that can really stop the world from witnessing another world war. (Intermarriage ) In this era of globalization the world’s growing interdependence cannot be denied. Hence the