Common stock Essay

A1a. During the 12% bonds review the earnings per share common stock out totaled .103. The total was not enough to maximize the shareholders return. It was observed that the interest on the bonds would put them at $72,000. The interest on bonds was very high and could have contributed to the lower total figure. The common stock shares outstanding were at $975,000; which was a very low number. Compared to all the totals the 12% option had the lowest shares issued. During the 20% bonds review they totaled the earnings per common stock share at .197. This stock option was the second highest to the chosen 50% stock option. It looks like the 20% bond option was lower due to using $120,000 in bonds and $480,000 in common stock. The 40% bond option had earnings per common stock share of .181. The ending total wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t enough to maximize the shareholders return. The company acquiring $240,00 in bonds and $360,00 in common stock played a role why the figures went good enough to increase shareholders return. The 60% bond option had earnings per common stock share at .160. The $43,200 interest on bonds could have affected the earnings total. The income before tax and the tax income was a contributing factor to lower figures and results in the net income category. A2. Competition Bikes needs to analyze their capital budgeting. Businesses should acquire investments that are going to bring in more revenue but they have to make sure for the long term the investment is worth taking on. The cash inflows and outflows have to be looked at to determine what is best for the company. The company needs to see potential during the capital budget stage. In the story line management  decided that the most reliable data for a capital budgeting analysis is to estimate the number of product sales using the U.S. pricing and cost data. It is anticipated †¨that costs will be consistent in the new Canadian location. Net present value is capital budgeting used to examine the success with of a investment or project by using the present value of cash flowing in and the present value of the cash flowing out. It is used to determine profitability. It is a tool for management to see if the investment will bring value to their company. Projects and investments should only be taken on if the total number is positive or at 0. The company had a low net present value of -26,740 and the moderate net present value of 2,243. The sales forecasting indicates a range of outcomes as indicated by a low forecast and a moderate forecast of results. The recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to not take on the Canadian investment. Based of the low and moderate numbers if they are split in half they would still be in the negative. It is suggested if the net present value is not a positive number a company should not take on the investment or project. Internal rate of return is the rate of growth projected for t he investment or project. The story line advises Competition Bikes, Inc. requires a 10% return on capital (hurdle rate) to pursue a capital investment. The internal rate of return for the low demand was 8.7% and the moderate demand cash flow was 10.1%. The higher rate of IRR the more likely the company will generate a greater return. The recommendation for internal rate of return is for the company to take on the Canadian investment. A3. Working capital consists of current assets minus the current liabilities, it is the money left over to pay for the day-to day activities to run a company. It is an indicator of how many short assets they have to be able to pay off their short-term debt. If the working capital ratio is less than 1 the company has a negative working capital. A company should always want to be in above 1 for positive results. The current assets can be monitored daily or weekly to keep a close eye on the incoming cash flow to the account. Obtaining Working Capital Competition Bikes needs to obtain working capital quickly. The storyline suggests the cost to build the manufacturing facility is expected to be $400,000. (All figures are in US$) Working capital of $200,000 will also be necessary to support the operation. These two items have been considered as  the total investment in the capital structure analysis. They need to come up with $200,000 for the expansion operation. Competition Bikes can get a line of credit from a bank to obtain working capital quickly. They will need to negotiate the terms and amount of time they will be doing with the bank for the loan. Once they receive the payments in their accounts receivables they then need to turn around and the pay the loan down. They can consider getting a business cash advance to obtain working capital. Business advance loans have a quicker turn around time to receive the funds than a traditional bank loan. Most of the time the payment options are flexible depending on the companies specific needs. Competitions Bikes can go with a business advance loan normally receive a lower rate with fixed payments. Managing Working Capital They need to re-evaluate their account receivables procedures. They are taking almost 44 days to receive payment, they need to decrease their days to right around 30 for collecting payment. They may need to consider discounting to the customers that are paying the money on time. The company needs to consider charging penalty fees for accounts they are outstanding. Managing account payables is another way to manage working capital. They need to keep a good relationship with their suppliers. When picking suppliers payment and the terms of the contract need to be the number one priority. Paying the supplier on time and keeping an open line of communication is the key to managing the accounts payable. They also need to re-evaluate how inventory is handled to properly manage their working capital. The inventory and purchasing has to be reviewed to make sure they are bringing in the correct and defect free products and keeping track of them. They need to develop the first in first out method. They need to use the inventory longer that they had the longest. They need a security plan in place to make sure the inventory is accounted for and locked in a safe facility. Lease vs. Buy Competition Bikes has to make the decision whether they will lease a facility or whether they will buy in the Canadian expansion. For the leasing option the storyline advises 5 year lease financing has been offered at 6%. No down payment is required with this option but the $200,000 working capital must  still be internally funded. The leasing company would buy the building outright and then accept five $90,000 lease payments over 5 years. A $50,000 buyout option would be included so Competition Bikes, Inc. could choose to keep the location at the end of the five-year lease. To the lease the facility it will cost $283,752 after call calculations are done. They also have the option of buying an existing facility. The storyline advised Competition Bikes, Inc. found a suitable existing facility it could buy outright for $400,000 using one of the options from the capital structure analysis. The lenders require a $50,000 down payment. The working capital requirements and down payment must be internally funded. The purchasing option totaled the company out at $399,774. If the facility is purchased they had to factor in an $18,000 operational cost. In the story is stated the depreciation on the new asset will be based on a 10-year life. The building is expected †¨to have $200,000 value at the end of the ten years. The after cash flows of 80,439 at year 9, 81,743 at year 10, 83,125 at year 11, 84,590 at year 12, and 86,143 at year 13 all factored into the after cash flow. The tax rate of 35% goal is to preserve working capital. The leasing option is going to be less money and a better option for having a positive working capital. Merger vs. Acquisition A merger is when two companies mutually agree to become one company. They will them form one completely new company. If the merger they can offer a better robust product line. With the merger they also can bring in and appeal to a wider customer base than being just one company. The potential for increased revenue is an advantage to merging two companies. A merger can bring a better research and development element to the new company. The cons of a company merger can be increased prices. If there is less competition in the market and one company having monopoly power they can make consumers pay higher prices. A company merger can also lead to job losses for staff at both companies depending on the new business needs. The storyline suggests in a merged company the Canadian Bikes, Inc. shares will be exchanged for Competition Bikes, Inc. shares on a 3:1 basis. During the merger in year 8 for available common stock for Competition Bikes will have 31,286 while Canadian Bikes will have 24 ,200. After the merger Competition Bikes will 975,000 of the shares plus 1/3 of Canadian Bikes 200,000 shares outstanding. The earnings per share before the merger was .032 and after the merger the earnings would be .053; which is a .21 increase. The merger will increase shareholder value. An acquisition is when one company buys another company by taking over most or all of it. During an acquisition one company will consume total control over the other. The parent company will acquire or absorb a second company to further their businesses goal of market domination. An acquisition will give the parent company more market power and financial increase. During an acquisition they can also run into some challenges. A company can run into difficulties integrating two different companies and having them on the same page. Acquiring another can sometime be pricy. A lot of capital has to be raised before company negotiations can begin. The story advises Competition Bikes, Inc. has the option to acquire Canadian Bikes, Inc. at an offer price 30% above the Year 8 ending share price. If Canadian Bikes is acquired Competition bikes will have to pay $286,000 to acquire Canadian Bikes. The net present value of the acquisition would be -73,862, that number came from taking 212,138 of the present value and subtracting 286,000 of the offer price Competition Bikes would have to pay Canadian Bikes in the acquisition. Based off the statistical figures the final recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to merge with Canadian Bikes rather than acquiring them. The merger had a .021 increase in earnings per share while the acquisition would have Competition Bikes at a -73,862 in net present value. Net present value needs to be a positive number for a company to consider taking on a new investment.

Homeland Security Essay

Outline I. Topic: The United States Homeland Security and The War on Terrorism II. Thesis Statement: Homeland Security plays a major role in the war on terror. Topic Sentences 1. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 reduces the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism. 2. The Department of Homeland Security was created for the war on terror. 3. The role of the Homeland Security Committee. 4. The history of the United States on foreign policy. 5. How terrorists communicate what they want to accomplish. 6. The study of Foreign Intelligence. 7. The Increasing Need for Domestic Intelligence. 8. How security benefits from intelligence. 9. The United States is strengthening our Nuclear Security. 10. How the U.S. is fighting the war on terror. 11. Conclusion The Homeland Security Act Created by President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks the United States Department of Homeland Security is the largest federal government reorganization since the Department of Defense was created via the National Security Act of 1947. The new department assumed a large number of services, offices and other organizations previously conducted in other departments, such as the Customs Service, Coast Guard, and U.S. Secret Service. The Department of Homeland Security was created for the war on terror The primary mission of the Department is to prevent terrorist attacks within the  United States. Homeland Security reduces the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism. It also minimizes the damage, and assists in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States. The role of the Homeland Security Committee Homeland Security Committee States that The Committee on Homeland Security was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The Committee was first formed as a select, non-permanent Committee, to provide Congressional oversight over the development of the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee was made permanent when it was designated as a Standing Committee of the House on January 4, 2005, the first day of the 109th Congress. The Committee will be made up of 21 Democratic Members of Congress there is currently one vacancy, led by Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and 13 Republican Members of Congress, led by Ranking Member Peter T. King (R-NY). Frances Townsend currently heads the committee. Trudeau states that â€Å"President George W. Bush said We’re under attack because we love freedom, is why we’re under attack. And our enemy hates freedom. They hate and we love. We differ from our enemy because we love. We not only love our freedoms and love our values, we love life itself. Our enemy hates innocent life.† (2002) The history of the United States on Foreign Policy Because of its role as a major world superpower, the United States must carefully consider its national foreign policy goals. Although they may be carried out very differently from administration to administration, the primary goals of American foreign policy are most effective when they remain constant over time. Historically, the United States has pursued a number of foreign policy goals, but one goal has been and continues to be a primary goal of every generation is national security. The Realists point to several factors that demonstrate the importance of national security. They begin by declaring that humans are naturally aggressive and instinctively fight one another. This human tendency reveals the inevitable nature of war. The Cold War which was a period of strong change starting in 1945 led  America into a geopolitical mindset for the first time in American history. This period made national security and military affairs the center of focus for America. This gave way to the idea of national security being a strong focal point of the American agenda. It made it equally as important as anything else did on the agenda. Also the United States was now a state of mobilization. The armed forces would now and always be at a striking force. All of the changes were something new to the people of America but it was an idea that was not only accepted it was expected. The same rings true with 9/11 in relation to the role of America. Our sole focus is national security and to put our military at a point of being called upon any second. The United States has embraced the idea that things have changed and are willing to do whatever possible to prevent future events of this magnitude. Another characteristic that the Cold War Period and 9/11 hold in common is that both were a pervasive political and military competition that dominated international politics. On September 11, 2001 terrorism became a reality! There is no way for the United States to prevent future attacks on Americans without working as a coalition force with the other nations to identify, track, and eliminate terrorist networks around the world. One of the main problems with fighting a war on terrorism is that the nations of the world have become accustomed to working alone as individuals vice working together. The United States will need to change its approach in order to conquer the worldwide threat of terrorism. The way to defeat terrorism at home and around the world is to form an international counter-terrorist task force. In order to prevent future acts of terrorism on the United States and around the globe, the free-nations of the world will have to come together and form a large task force to counter against the terrorist threat. The main problem with forming a world wide counter-terrorist headquarters is that there is no one single definition of terrorism. Each country has a definition of the word â€Å"terrorism† based on the political stance that the country takes on use of force. The United Nations must first come up with a clear definition of terrorism in order to facilitate the creation of an international counter-terrorist organization. How Terrorists communicate what they want to accomplish Terrorists kill for a reason. The reason is to communicate a message that will instill fear in the enemy government and demoralize it. The strategy of terrorists is to provoke the government into repressive measures in the hope that this will cause a revolt. The Study of Foreign Intelligence The study of foreign intelligence has demonstrated that the purpose of intelligence is to acquire information necessary to apply governmental power with greater precision and that as the need for application of government power increases, so does the need for intelligence. Domestically, terrorist threats to homeland security will be countered by government power used by various domestic security agencies, and the newly created domestic intelligence programs will enable them to apply their powers with greater force and precision. As technological capabilities inevitably grow threats to homeland security will increase in the future, and the need for domestic intelligence will increase. The Increasing Need for Domestic Intelligence Homeland security will require greater levels of domestic intelligence in the future. Foreign intelligence has indicated that the purpose of intelligence both foreign and domestic is to facilitate precise application of governmental power. Countering terrorism has increased the need to collect domestic intelligence, but threats to domestic security will increase even more in the future due to growth in technological capacities. As the use of power increases to counter these threats, domestic intelligence capabilities must also increase so that the power is applied effectively. American officials created a permanent intelligence community to warn policymakers of threats to national security. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had such a detrimental effect on American perceptions of security that after World War II ended, policymakers decided to create for the first time in the nation’s history a permanent bureaucracy intended to prevent any future surprise attacks or other strategic surprises. Historically, intelligence capabilities had been organized to provide targeted military information to commanders because losing wars held such disastrous consequences. The United States was the last major power to get into the intelligence analysis business. It was thought that it wasn’t  necessary because two great oceans protected America from foreign dangers. Marrin states that The attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent American involvement in World War II changed the United States’ need for and use of intelligence. During World War II, the United States increased its overseas presence, and this necessitated the creation of a global intelligence capability commensurate with the United States’ expanded global role. After World War II ended, American political leaders decided that the United States needed an intelligence agency capable of integrating disparate pieces of information distributed throughout the military and other government agencies to prevent another Pearl Harbor. As a result, in 1947 the Central Intelligence Agency was created to prevent future surprise attacks by focusing on threats to national security. (2003) How security benefits from Intelligence The primary security benefit of intelligence is that it enables power to be applied with greater precision and with less collateral damage. The role of intelligence is the collection and analysis of information to find out who the terrorists are and what they are up to. Knowledge can make the application of power more effective, but knowledge alone is powerless. The benefit of foreign intelligence is easiest to illustrate in the application of military power. Foreign intelligence can also assist in the application of economic and political power. The United States is strengthening our Nuclear Security In the 1990’s we were warn of potential terrorists obtaining and using of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) whether chemical, biological, and nuclear. Chemicals weapons are available to terrorist through homebrew or rogue states. Nuclear terrorism is our biggest worry. Nuclear weapons are more difficult for terrorists to handle. Henderson (2004) states that With so many nuclear warheads being stored under conditions of uncertain security in the former Soviet Union, it is possible terrorists might be able to buy or steal a ready made nuclear weapon. But nuclear  warheads have safety interlocks, and it has been proposed that the weapons be fitted with devices that would allow them to be remotely destroyed or disabled if terrorists obtain them. U.S. agencies since the 1900s have sought closer coordination between U.S. and former Soviet Scientists and engineers in order to secure the nuclear stockpiles. How the U.S. is fighting the war on terror We have worked with a number of states around the world to expose plotting Al Qaeda cells. The United States has implemented broad-sweeping, even controversial, steps such as the Patriot Act in an attempt to improve our domestic security. There are three tools that can be used on terrorists. The criminal law and legal system is used to prosecute terrorist suspects. The military can be used to destroy terrorist’s infrastructures. Diplomatic efforts can be used in the hopes that nations can work together to prevent the movement of terrorists around the world. Conclusion After 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security was organized. The primary mission of the Department is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States. Homeland Security reduces the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism. It also minimizes the damage, and assists in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States. Intelligence has been used to collect and analysis information to find out who the terrorists are and what they are up to. It is best to see that the United States is taking the proper steps to fight terrorism. Reference: Henderson, H. (2004) Global terrorism, New York, NY: Facts on file, Inc. Homeland Security Retrieved November 25, 2009 http://homeland.house.gov/about/index.asp Marrin, S. (2003) Homeland Security Intelligence Retrieved November 25, 2009 http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Articles/marrin.html Homeland Security Retrieved November 24, 2009 http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security/ Trudeau, G. (2008) The war in quotes p.20 Retrieved November 27, 2009 http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/George_W__Bush_Homeland_Security.htm

Being a Good Manager

Scott Gallo Management 220 5 Commandments of Being a Good Manager It is clear that in today’s world there are no very successful businesses that do not have a solid management. A manager is a position that has high importance and they help their respective companies run as smoothly as possible. Without this position it would take longer for things to get done because they are the executive position in the company, which means that they take care of the entire system and they do not worry about individual tasks in the workplace.Instead of doing all the work themselves they create the efficient way for a group of people to do it the fastest way possible. There is a countless number of characteristics that would help make the ideal manager but it is nearly impossible for a manager to cover all of them. The best managers use all the resources to make sure they have a plan and they have the fastest way of achieving it. After learning all of the characteristics, techniques and theor ies, I now know what I could do best to become a good manager.One thing that I found very important was to have cultural intelligence. Almost every business has a good amount of diversity and there has to be a way of dealing with that. Cultural intelligence basically means that a manager has to be able to come up with a response after dealing with a situation where the manager has to interpret unfamiliar gestures. It can be hard to understand someone because of a cultural difference but a manager has to see past that and be able to deal with the situation at hand.Adaption to other cultures becomes necessary if a job was acquired and happened to be in another country. Managers should be able to understand the local customs, norms and beliefs of the location they work in. Cultural intelligence includes the fact that you have to pick out clues from a situation or misunderstanding and be able to respond in an appropriate way. Another important thing that a manager has to have is a good code of ethics. This is something that should be initiated as soon as a new manager enters a business.A manager has to have good basic ground rules in the workplace before they can adapt into such a new environment. This concept sometimes has to do with the cultural diversity because a good code of ethics basically shows what is acceptable and what is not in the workplace. Planning could be the single most important thing a manager has to be aware of. Planning is the key to any success in a business. It is necessary for a manager to know the proper steps in planning. They include, developing a plan, then translating the plan, plan operations, execute the plan and monitor and learn.This is a strategic method to achieve goals effectively. Planning can be short term or long term depending on what best suits the future goals. Good planning will direct employees and help them perform efficiently. The planning along with being able to adapt to unforeseen problems, an operation should run very smoothly. Also, to exemplify a good manager, one would want to use strategic management. This means that means decisions are made to find out the best possible environment and plan to achieve the organizational goals.Top manager also look at rival companies to make sure they are up to par with everyone. Strategy always will change over time so a good manager has to be able to determine when the best time for change would be. As long as there is still competitiveness in the field then the manager is most likely happy. Lastly, decision making is an important asset in becoming a good manager. There are countless numbers of decisions everyday for a manager so it is important that the skill is performed at a high level.It is defined as a process of finding problems and opportunities and resolving them. Decision making is not very easy but it has to be done in all environments. It has to be done under changing factors and unknown information but good managers will succeed. Essentiall y, there are a countless number of characteristics that a manger should have but without main concepts nothing will ever get done. A manager should give direction to the organization, provide leadership, and decide how to use organizational resources to accomplish goals.

Reconstruction after civil war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reconstruction after civil war - Essay Example Had I known of the treacherous journey that laid in wait for me, maybe I would have reconsidered my decision to move south? However, I thank God since I arrived here in one piece. The period of the reconstruction was a nightmare to many slaves like me. Working on the large cotton and corn farms was as horrific as the death itself. The mere mentioning of dawn in the life of a slave during these times was itself treacherous as the southern journey. The sucking mincing whip of the master frightened even the sickest worker; mild fevers miraculously disappeared, and we immediately got meticulous in our work. The messengers from the south came in the good news, news of mild freedom, a brighter future and a promising life. None of us wanted to remain and so the civil wars presented just the best moment for our repatriation. We made almost the entire journey on foot save for a few instances when we used the train or climbed on donkeys backs, wait! It was in turns. None of us had a donkey to himself. The younger ones were given the first consideration. The sick, the old and weaklings got the second opportunity to ride with the donkeys and then women. What was to unfold for men like me? For sure the thorns of the desert, the scorching sun of the desert, the cold of Mississippi were just but a few woes to recount. At one instance, I was privileged to ride on one of the few donkeys we had, and this marked the last time I ever removed my feet from the ground. Even though much of the journey could have been made by train, the opportunity presented itself just for a few miles and the old train stalled on the rails, never to move again. We waited eagerly at the train station for a week not to catch a glimpse of any help. All this time we hid ourselves in the bushes. Like animals, our bodies gave rise of hairs a nd our beards grew long to cover our faces. A month passed by as we gathered enough food to cater for the remaining part of the

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Employment Law - Essay Example Those terms include the payment of 40,000 pounds annually and a discretionary bonus of 6,000 pounds provided he meets company deadlines. Although the bonus appears to be a flexible term in the sense that the company may at its discretion decline the payment of the bonus, the annual salary is a fixed term, agreed between the parties. A contract of employment is in many ways no different from a commercial contract in that it contains an exchange of agreements by which the parties are bound to observe.1 Like a commercial contract, an employment contract cannot be waived unilaterally unless the contract itself makes specific provision for variations of the type undertaken, although the contract may be varied by operation of statue without either parties’ consent.2 On the facts of the case for discussion there are no statutory provisions applicable to David’s salary under the contract with C Plus. It therefore follows that the variation could not be effected by the employer without David’s consent. It would appear that C Plus may be erroneously relying on a Section 4 Statement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 which permits variation of a Section 1 Statement.3 A Section 1 Statement is typically issued following the initial stage of employment and sets out the terms of employment. A Section 4 Statement will reflect changes to a Section 1 Statement. However, since a Section 1 Statement is not a contract in and of itself, but evidence of the existence of a contract,4 an employer can only logically rely on the validity of a Section 4 Statement if the employee to whom it relates agrees or does not voice an objection to it.5 Even if the employer fails to voice his or her objection to the Section 4 Statement the court may still deem it ineffective.6 David did however, voice his objection to the variation of his salary under the initial contract and by doing so makes the Section 4 Statement/variation of the contract invalid.

Social Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Capital - Essay Example Technological advancements enable instant flow of information to audiences. Some of this information may be seditious and inciting. This profound freedom of information flow attracts an equal measure of responsibility of good citizenship. Technology is a powerful tool that motivates social institutions to be more efficient, but it does not imply substitution of social capital for technology. Modern entertainment isolates societies by privatizing leisure and interaction moments. This negatively affects the social tenets that bind a society. Active social collaborations foster tranquility and successful governance as opposed to weak and un-civic minded society, which cultivate corruption and poverty. Social networks ensure trust and tolerance among people in the circles of employment. The non-participant and the larger society share the benefits of social capital. Indeed, this is because of the diversity in the benefits of networking, ranging from decreased tribal conflicts, a feeling of patriotism, citizen satisfaction and lower costs of transactions. Social capital is the foundation of a thriving society. When the society disintegrates, it is the social capital that gets lost. Collaboration is only sensible in the existence of mutual

Political Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Political Violence - Essay Example The concept of â€Å"internal enemy† was significantly applied during the cold war period. The concept was applied in countries such as Guatemala, Chile, and El Salvador. In Guatemala, the concept was applied to overturn the regime that was seen as leaning towards communism. The concept was successful in the removal of Col. Jacobo Arbenz from power (Byrne 6). Moreover, the idea led to training of people that could topple the regime. On the other hand, the concept was well applied in Chile. In Chile, the concept led to destabilization of Allende government that was successful elected. The concept also led to the elimination of those people that were seen as being leftist. Most of the people were killed and detained in the country (Byrne 8). Additionally, in El Salvador, the concept provided a way in which to train police and military force inn the country to play a role in countering of insurgency. The forces played a significant role in killing of a large number of people in t he 70s and the 1980s (Byrne 10). The political repression in these three countries targeted those that were seen as leftist or supporting communism. In addition, repression led to the elimination of those opposed to democratic ideas. In conclusion, it is clear that United States contributed significantly to destabilization Latin America during cold war period. The destabilization continues to be experienced in the region until

Privacy Philosophy Related to ID Theft Assignment

Privacy Philosophy Related to ID Theft - Assignment Example First of all, it must be noted that the above mentioned cyber crime has a considerable devastating impact on the victim. In spite of the fact that a person in not harmed physically, the cyber criminals might steal financial funds and make the social security number used for bad purposes which ultimately distorts the system of social security and does not allow the government to care after its citizens effectively. As for the companies that are involved in the ID theft directly or indirectly, one should point out that they experience negative influence as well. For example, it is beyond any doubt that a person would not be willing to use the services of a company that issued the debit card after the cyber criminals were able to steal the money from it. What is more important is that if the theft happened in the virtual environment, the companies which provided the software are likely to lose their reputation as well. There are several ways that a person might make sure that his or her ID is not stoles. One of the best ways is to change passwords frequently and contact the support team of different services from time to time. In this case, the criminals will see that a person actively protects one’s privacy and are not likely to try to steal the data. However, the easiest way to prevent ID theft is to be careful while interacting with the virtual environment and use the services of the reliable companies.

Donner party film research Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Donner party film research - Movie Review Example PatrickBreen left for US to live the life of his chosen religion which was catholic. Lansford Hastings saw US as a still undeveloped country which could be made very useful and profitable. Conversely, amajority of the people went to the US as an obvious destiny which was referred to as manifest destiny(The Donner Party). This destiny was a belief that American pilgrims were destined to develop the whole continent thus saw it as their justifiable land. This plus the idea of riches that awaited them with the discovery of gold them fuelled the desire to travel to California. George Donner and Jacob Donner were brothers who were already successful before they left for California. In fact the Donners are the mastermind of this journey and their opulence is portrayed in the type of wagons they hires for the family. They have three wagons each for their families.George Donner was motivated to travel by the gold discovery and free land in California. 2.Who was Alexis De Tocqueville? What was his reason for coming to America? Was De Tocqueville’s opening commentary in the film about the American people accurate at that time? Explain in some detail. Is De Tocqueville’s critique still relevant in American society today? Alexis De Tocqueville was a sociologist and political theorist of French origins. His reason for coming to America was to study the prisons of America. The study which led him to write his most acclaimed work ‘democracy in America’. Alexis opening commentary in the film was ‘American’s chase prosperity with great intensity until death eventually halts them in their tracks’(The Tragic Story of the Donner Party). Alexis opening commentary in the film was very accurate at the time this is because the Donner party scrambled to get to California in order to get more free lands, riches and other wealth they had heard of before. Some people even were already successful like the Donner family but their greed led them to travel and most of

Frank Capra, Meet John Doe Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frank Capra, Meet John Doe - Movie Review Example Keeping in mind public reaction, power players got involved in realization of John Doe project, picking out a man ready to play the role for money and disappear at the right moment. However, the â€Å"actor† eventually realizes the scale of social manipulations and sets himself against his puppeteers. The movie vibrantly reflects the topic of social manipulation and power play, vesting it in the settings of contemporary New York and then the entire America. Here, I would like to mention Harry Cooper’s brilliant acting – to my thinking, Capra chose a perfect man to embody the image of John Doe, the symbol of protests against rotten social order. The topic that was most vividly illustrated in the Meet John Doe movie is definitely the role of mass media in public conscience and its ambiguous nature. No invention can be exclusively positive or negative by its nature – it only has potential. Mass media is an example of such invention depicted in the movie. On one hand, newspapers and radio plat and grow the idea in minds of thousands of people – good idea celebrating unity and mutual respect among â€Å"average† citizens. On the other hand, it is mass media that distort this idea, convert it to the use of political campaigns and make the adherents abandon John Doe’s ideas. Here, on the example of Ann Mitchel and others, a narrower topic of journalist ethics is raised. At the same time, the ideas professed by John Doe are rather close to biblical ones, reminding average people of general human morality – Mitchell encourages them via Willoughby’s voice on the radio to help and unite with their neighbors, implying that such average people are the nation, not the politicians. The movie is an absolute masterpiece despite the fact that it wasn’t fully appreciated after release in 1941. Classical work of the world’s cinema,

Political Equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Equality - Essay Example Hence, it is a citizen right irrespective of his or her origin, gender, race, political persuasion or opinion to exercise what according to the constitution is a mandatory. This implies a person based on what he or she feels towards a certain issue should express oneself freely but within the guidelines set by his or her states’ constitution (Neyer, 2012). In addition, political equality implies every person bears â€Å"equality under the law† (Bond & Smith, 2010, p. 8). This means any regime ought to demand adherence to all set laws from its respective citizens without any impartiality based on either status or identity (Bond & Smith, 2010). This also applies in arbitrating justice where any wrongdoer should face fair judgment without any bigotry. Case study Contemporary evidence of political equality is evident in Guatemala where the regime not only ensures effective mechanisms meant to promote ethnic mobilization but also women to participate in politics (Vogt, 2011) . Ethnic mobilization in this case refers to the† ethnicization† of the former marginalized groups in Latin America, which did not have any say in influencing any political process or action there earlier but lived in passivity of what other mainstream groups already implemented. However, this norm by inferior ethnic groups continuously experiencing political marginalization has ceased to exist where many of them since 1970s up to date have explicitly emerged to the limelight of political arena to claim equal treatment (Vogt, 2011). Equal treatment or say in this case implies enjoying same land rights, bilingual education/culture and even self-determination in their respective territories without any form of coercion from the state or influential people (Vogt, 2011). Latin America and especially Guatemala to have this attainment has taken persistent civil disobedience by varied movements in the region, which up to date they are still active prompting the female gender to take part in politics (â€Å"UN Women†). This is due to the elimination of numerous barriers in form of segregation and low opinion of the female gender especially while showing interests of venturing in politics. The evidence of political equality in Guatemala in terms of political participation was evident in 2011 whereby 51% of all voters comprised the female gender besides recording high number of women candidates vying for varied posts contrary to other past years (â€Å"UN Women†). Consequently, prompting UN Women claim the time for the female gender to determine the shape of Guatemala’s politics has already come. However, this overwhelming emergency of women in politics during then up to date was through UN Women’s efforts by training candidates especially from small ethnic groups, which due to their earlier inferiority experienced marginalization (â€Å"UN Women†). Training initiatives mainly provided by UN Women focuses creating awareness concerning the essence of voting by indigenous women and increasing their political presence. This is because they will not only claim their fundamental rights but also develop others by imparting them with the right political

Tribal Women in Chipko Movement Essay Example for Free

Tribal Women in Chipko Movement Essay The women who participated in the Chipko meetings, processions and other programmes have become aware of their potentialities and are now demanding a share in the decision-making process at the community level. Apart from Reni, the events at Dongri Paintoli village indicated a new development in the movement. On 9th February, 1980 the women of Dongri Paintoli turned out in large numbers, held a Chipko demonstration and prevented any tree-felling. Nine days later, the Government ordered the forest-felling in that area stopped, and within a month a ban on any further cutting was effected. Subsequently, women leaders in the village were defamed and asked not to attend further meetings. The women in Reni took action only because there were no men in the village around to do so. Their â€Å"action† was to ask the tree-fellers to wait until their men returned so that some discussions could take place between the two sides (of men) as equals. Women took charge of the scene only in the absence of men, but once they did take charge, they succeeded. In Dongri Paintoli, by contrast, rather than merely taking a decision in the absence of men, the women stood up against decisions made by their own men. Although they faced opposition from men, they held to their conviction. This certainly marked a major step forward in terms of women’s role in the Chipko movement. In Gopeshwar, women have now formed a cooperative of their own, the Mahila Mangal, to ensure protection of the forest around the town. Its work is carried out regularly by watchwomen, who receive regular wages. Under this supervision, the extraction of forest produce for daily necessities is accomplished in a regular manner, so as not to harm the trees. Women or men violating these rules are fined, and these fines are deposited in a common fund. Those who do not obey the rules face the punishment of having their tools confiscated. It can only be said that the cases of Reni and Dongri Paintoli and the organization of women into the Mahila Mangal at Gopeshwar are indicative of the latent potentialities in the organization and mobilization of resources by women whose consciousness has been raised. Women’s participation in Chipko movement, however limited in numbers or in its impact on the general way of life, has implications for possible changes in gender relationships in the Garhwali tribal society. Since tribal women are the gatherers of fuel, fodder and water, it is they who feel the first impact of soil erosion. Women had repeatedly challenged administrators and politicians with their slogans: â€Å"Planning without fodder, fuel and water is one-eyed planning. † Their struggle against injustice brought them into direct confrontation with the men. Gaura Devi, the famous leader, had to tolerate continuous harassment. First the contractor tried to bribe her into letting his men enter the forest. When she refused this offer, the forest department personnel threatened to call the police and arrest her. The contractor in league with some villagers composed folk songs describing the arrest of Gaura Devi and her torture in jail. Chipko women activists are being accused of getting the villagers blacklisted. The men said that since the villages were blacklisted due to the behavior of women, the young men, most of whom were in the army, would not be given employment anywhere, and the villages would not be supplied with essential commodities like salt and kerosene. Also the villages would be deprived of a motor road, electricity, hospital. The women activists are being made the villains of the piece and rumor is being used as a weapon to isolate them. Everyday the men returned home and flinged accusations at the women. This constant harassment within the family caused the women immense mental agony. According to Gayatri Devi, the success of the Chipko movement demonstrates the intellectual superiority of the women over the men in the village. In 1980s, the Chipko movement subsided, with only a small section associated with Bahuguna continuing to protest against the construction of the Tehri dam. However, part of Chipko critique thinks that government policy in the Uttar Pradesh hills was insensitive to the region’s ecological and social specificity and was driven by the concern to maximize revenues which were appropriated by a bureaucracy based in the plains, formed the core of a movement for regional autonomy. 4 This movement for a separate state raged throughout the 1980s and 1990s and was marked by a series of public protest rallies and demonstrations, some of which were violently suppressed by the state (most notably the brutal assault on women protestors at Muzaffarnagar in 1994). The state of Uttaranchal was finally carved out of the hill districts of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. The Chipko movement inspired Vandana Shiva for the development of a new theory called as ‘Ecofeminism’ which specifically explains the link between the ‘women and ecology’ which were in great demand in the market. To be clearer, Vandana Shiva’s Ecofeminist Movement brought imperialism inscribed in the colonial practices, into the centre of the Environmentalist debate. Vandana Shiva’s narratives of Chipko centre on women. She draws the village women of Garhwal into her narratives by binding them to Himalayan forests and nature, not because they are their birthright but through the ‘feminine principle’ which exists in both Women and Nature. She has presented the village women of Garhwal as exploited by colonialism and threatened by modernization and economic development. Chipko is, for Shiva, a women’s ecology movement, a resurgence of women’s power. Chipko women were in against of exploiting forest for timber because they valued forests for providing their simple subsistence; they did not care for economic gain. Forests, for them, provide soil, water and pure air. In 1977, she states, the two paradigms of forestry, one life-destroying (commerce-oriented and masculine) and the other life-enhancing (subsistence-oriented and embodying the feminine principle), clashed, following which Chipko became â€Å"explicitly an ecological and feminist movement†. Shiva asserts that Chipko women are against development, modernization, and economic rationality. According to her, they expect nothing from so called ‘development’ or from the money economy. They only wanted to preserve their autonomous control over their subsistence base, their common property resources: the land, water, forests, and hills. Chipko movement is thus very much a feminist movement. It not only has brought forth in a dramatic manner greatly increased understanding of the divergent interests of local communities and state bureaucracies in the management of local resources; it is now finding that the interests of men and women within the same community can differ greatly. As long as the Chipko movement remains sensitive to this learning process, it is bound to grow in strength. Ramchandra Guha is widely regarded as one of India’s leading environmental historians. In his well known book5 he argues that while Chipko may have involved women, adopted Gandhian non-violent strategies, and raised popular awareness towards environmental problems in the Himalayas, it is neither an environmental, nor Gandhian, nor feminist movement. He holds that, in Uttarakhand the participation of women in popular movements dates from the anti alcohol agitations led by Sarvodaya workers in the 1960s. However, despite the important role played by women, it would be simplistic to characterize Chipko as a feminist movement. In several instances, especially the early mobilizations at Mandal and at Phata, it was men who took the initiative in protecting forests. Women came to the fore in Reni, when in the contrived absence of men folk they unexpectedly came forward to thwart forest felling. In other agitations, such as Badyargarh men, women, children have all participated equally. Dongri-Paintoli is the only instance of an overt conflict between men and women over the management and control of forest resources. As such, even at level of participation Chipko can hardly be said to constitute a women’s movement. Undoubtedly, the hill women have traditionally borne an extraordinarily high share of family labour –and their participation in Chipko may be read as an outcome of the increasing difficulty with which these tasks have been accomplished in the deteriorating environment. Interestingly, Chandi Prasad Bhatt does believe that women are capable of playing a more dynamic role than the men who, in the face of growing commercialization, are apt to lose sight of the long-term interests of the village economy. On the other hand, it has been suggested that which they are the beasts of burden as viewed through the prism of an outside observer, hill women are in fact aware that they are the repository of local tradition. In the orbit of the household women often take decisions which are rarely challenged by the men. In the act of embracing the trees, therefore, they are acting not merely as women but as bearers of continuity with the past in a community threatened with fragmentation. Chipko movement as a constructive resistance to ecological struggle is played out in Nina Sibal’s Yatra: The Journey. The protagonist, Krishna Kaur, embarks on a pilgrimage for environmental justice that takes her through the area where the Chipko movement is active; there she received the secret of angwaltha from the Chipko women, their spirit of love reaching her as she walked through the Deva Bhumi of Uttarakhand and her padyatra. The novel begins with Krishna’s return to India from an activist-business trip to London: her short visit had been useful in terms of the contact she had made in the Forestry Commission and an international environmental foundation has committed funds for an important river project in the Garhwal hills. But environmental concerns are rarely mentioned by the author. The novel foregrounds gender issues in the Chipko movement. It says –â€Å"After all, at its heart, the Chipko Movement is very feminist. It consists essentially of a string of spontaneous confrontations triggered and managed by women of the region, in which none of the so-called leaders were present. In some cases they were struggling against their own men who saw their immediate economic interests tied up with the decisions of the district administration†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..

Employee performance appraisal theories and techniques

Employee performance appraisal theories and techniques Performance appraisal is to assess and evaluate the performance of employees towards the objectives of the organisation. Performance appraisal has now become a very important part of human resource management. Performance appraisal is the basis for other personnel programs in many of the organisations like counselling, salary administration, or personnel planning. With the decline of careers in organisation, HRM techniques such as performance appraisal has become more important in motivating and controlling the workforce. Appraisal is now seen by some commentators as being much more significant in maintaining employee loyalty and commitment than in directly managing performance (Bowles and Coates, 1993). Use of performance appraisal gives the manager opportunity to change corporate values which are important instrument in control process. Thus we find a growing use of appraisal systems for non-managerial employees that are based on social, attitudinal and trait attributes (Townley, 1 989). Employees are now being appraised not only on objective measures such as attendance, productivity and quality but also on subjective measures such as flexibility, loyalty etc. performance appraisal helps in increasing the efficiency of workforce which in turn helps in achieving the objectives set by an organisation. Performance appraisal is one of the most important components in the systematic approach of Human Resource Management. Performance appraisal is the process of assessing and evaluating the performance of employees according to the objectives of the organisation. Performance appraisal is defined as a procedure which involves the regular use of recorded assessment of an individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance and potential (Phil Long (1986). Performance Appraisal Revisited. 2nd ed. London: IPM Information and Advisory Services. 5.). A primary aim of the performance appraisal is to measure the performance of an individual against the given objectives. Performance appraisal includes the employees, management, supervisors and the units those are most responsible in the organisation. Manual staffs such as skilled employees and employees with technical duties are also subject to appraisal. Many organisations use performance appraisal even for other personnel programs, like counselling, sal ary administration, promotions or personnel planning etc. It acts as a means of communication between the boss and the sub ordinates required by the company or organisation. There are many possible uses of performance appraisal, but a wise user of the technique will choose among the possibilities and confine performance appraisal to those activities that will meet limited, specific goals (Patricia King (1984). Performance Planning and Appraisal. New York: McGraw-Hill. 7.). Performance appraisal system helps in measuring the performance of individuals against the set objectives of the organisation and the tasks provided to an individual, and rewarding them accordingly. It is also the basis for recruiting the new people, provide feed back, increase motivation, identify potential, study the skills of the employees, training to be provided according to the objectives and the work given and let people know that what is expected from them against the organisation and solve the job problem s. A change in payment systems has also helped in growth and development of performance appraisal. Reward systems and increased use of merit and performance have been associated with the development of performance appraisal. It would be clear that performance appraisal practices those are operating from past ten years or so may be effective in many organisations today. New developments has reduced the role of performance appraisal, they now are being used as a measure to achieve organisational objectives, considerable experimentation and innovation. In fact performance appraisal has become more wide spread. New forms of appraisals have also been developed. Development of performance appraisal: Informal system of performance appraisal exists as long as people work together; evaluation of employees at work is the universal tendency. The history of formal system of performance appraisal is short. With the new developments performance appraisal has become an important element of human resource management. Wide ranges of methods are used to conduct the performance appraisals such as from ranking schemes and competency based systems to complex behaviourally anchored rating schemes. Performance appraisalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nature is mostly based on the objectives of management and the available resources for commitment. Simpler ranking and rating schemes are adopted by the small organisations with limited HR expertise, where as schemes such as competency based and 360o appraisal are adopted by the larger organisations. Most of the managements use only one type of appraisal system. Some organisations provide the choice for employees about methods in how they should be appraised. F ew organisations adopt multiple systems to separate reward and non reward aspects of appraisal and different systems to different occupational groups and different parts of the organisation. Appraisal Systems: Appraisal system formulates the review part of the performance cycle. Appraisal systems are designed on a central basis by personnel function, each manager evaluate the performance of their staff on an annual, six-monthly or even quarterly basis. Traditionally appraisal system has been applicable to the staff those are in higher management and supervisory positions, but with new developments it has also applicable even to the clerical staff and secretarial staff. Appraisal systems are been applicable in all the parts of the organisation for the better performance of the employees. It tends to assess the performance of the employees and reward them accordingly. Appraisal system can be used to identify the problems and improve current performance, provide feedback. It also can be used to set the organisation objectives, provide information to the HR personnel, selection process and as a reward or punishments. Appraisal can be divided into three categories, reward reviews, potential reviews, and performance reviews, and the appraisal system should satisfy at least one of those. Manager should be very careful in reviewing the primary purpose of the appraisal system. Source: www.rose.edu/faculty/bperryman/f6.pdf Performance Appraisal Methods and Techniques: The techniques to evaluate the performance appraisal can be grouped into three categories: Comparative, Absolute and Outcome or Result-oriented. Comparative Methods: These techniques help in evaluation the performance of the employees in a work group. Three main procedures which are used in performance judgements are paired comparisons, raking and forced distribution. Paired comparisons: In this method appraiser compares the pair of individuals, rating which employee is better. This could be based on the overall performance of the job or one specific trait. A rank order is obtained from the number of times each individual is selected as the better of a pair (Phil Long (1986). Performance Appraisal Revisited. 2nd ed. London: IPM Information and Advisory Services). Ranking: Rater requires listing the group of individuals and ranking them according to the merit from best to worst. In this procedure a single performance trait is used to evaluate the overall performance of employees towards the objectives. Forced distribution: This procedure combines both paired comparisons and ranking methods. Individuals receive a rating and also assigned to categories according to predetermined distribution. Absolute Methods: This method evaluates the performance of an individual by reference to standards of performance. Techniques include narrative approach, graphic or trait rating scales, critical incidents and behavioural anchored rating scales. Narrative Approach: This method describes the individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work performance and behaviour in the words of appraiser. The appraiser describes the strengths, weaknesses and potential of an individual and also suggest for improvements that are required. Appraiser can explain in the form of essay or written report. Narrative procedures have the benefit that they can explain and provide information regarding the individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance. Trait Rating Scales: This is highly structured scale which consists of a list of personality traits. The appraiser should indicate the performance of an individual on a numerical scale for which individual is being appraised have these traits. A variation of this is the graphic rating scale which requires the rater to evaluate the individual on each of several defined qualities along a line containing a variety of objectives from very high to very low (Phil Long (1986). Performance Appraisal Revisited. 2nd ed. London: IPM Information and Advisory Services). Critical incident techniques: In this method rater explains the positive and negative behavioural events which have been observed within a review period. It is more suitable for performance feedback discussions. Behavioural Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): BARS is one of the prominent behaviour scaling techniques which determine the behaviour ratings and actually constitute job performance. This methodology is carried out using typical BARS instruments which constitute of series of vertical scales. Each scale determines performance dimension based on job requirements and past observations. The behaviour anchors observed determines the work performance of the individual. Results-oriented Methods: These methods are mostly based on specific accomplishments and outcomes of job performance rather than behaviours. Assessment is based on how the objectives have been achieved. Objectives being jointly agreed between the superior and subordinate and standards are set by discussion and negotiation. As the standards are known the procedure can be corrected as they develop. To study the role of performance appraisal, different appraisal systems, models and how are these helpful in evaluation of employee performance in order to achieve the organisational objectives. To study about performance appraisal systems, methods and techniques. How the appraisal systems are developed and implemented in the real context to achieve the objectives. To study the advantages and disadvantages of different performance appraisal methods. This data has already been published and while using this data the researcher should be very careful about the validity and reliability. Researcher should get the data which has been recently published as it will be more applicable to the present scenario. The data used by researcher in this report is mostly from books, electronic journals, and websites and research journals. Secondary includes both quantitative and qualitative data, and they can be used in both descriptive and explanatory research. Types of secondary data: Documentary data, Survey-based data, and those compiled from multiple sources. Documentary secondary data includes written documents and non written documents. Written documents include books, journals, magazine articles, newspaper and internet. Non-written documents such as pictures, drawings, television programme. Multiple-source secondary data can be based entirely on documentary or any survey data, or can combination of the two. Data collected will be analysed with the help of diagrams, graphs, pie charts and etc. Qualitative data collected from all the possible sources will help in achieving the objectives of dissertation. Saunders et al (2003) claims that there is no standard approach to analyzing qualitative data but discuss one technique where the data are disaggregated into meaningful categories that are subsequently rearranged and analyzed for related data and key themes. The dissertation will be presented in written form meeting the requirements laid down in the Individual Research Dissertation Handbook. And soft copies will be provided in the desirable standard format. Dissertation Time Plan (what are the key times) Meet the appointed lecturer and start with dissertation Finish the introduction and literature review Analyze Data and Interpret data using different data analysis tools and techniques Update Literature Review Complete dissertation by drawing conclusion Submit Dissertation Phil Long (1986). Performance Appraisal Revisited. 2nd ed. London: IPM Information and Advisory Services Patricia King (1984). Performance Planning and Appraisal. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tom Redman, Adrian Wilkinson (2001). Contemporary Human Resource Management. London: Prentice Hall. 57-95. Derek Torrington and Laura Hall (1995). Personal Management. 3rd ed. London: Prentice Hall. 316-331. Stephen Pilbeam and Marjorie Corbridge (2002). People Resourcing HRM in Practice. 2nd ed. London: FT Prentice Hall. 258-283. John P Wilson (1999). Human Resource Development. London: Kogan Page. 153-162. http://www.businessballs.com/performanceappraisals.htm www.rose.edu/faculty/bperryman/f6.pdf

Beauty In The Media Media Essay

Beauty In The Media Media Essay Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women-and their body parts-sell everything from food to cars. Sex has become the selling point of a product, rather than the value of the product or service itself. Everywhere a person turns womens bodies are being graphically used to sell products. Popular film and television actresses are younger, taller and thinner all the time. Quite often they have to starve themselves, and will faint from hunger simply to maintain the body image that seems to be required for a standard of beauty that was set by media. These are the women that young girls are taught to idolize and emulate. Magazines published specifically for women are bursting with articles advising that if a woman can lose those twenty pounds and buy the right makeup and clothing, theyll have everything-a perfect marriage, great sex, loving children, and of course a rewarding career; all it takes is fitting into a mold. Beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder, it is a set standard that can only be achieved by living up to impossible standards. Women attempt to change their attitudes and appearances to conform to a standard that through years of seeing images in magazines and on television have become normalized to the point where, often unconsciously, they are accepted ideas, values, and standards; for women far more than for men looks are crucial and more defining and it is hard to achieve and maintain the image that media has defined as beautiful. These values of attractiveness are being imposed on women, most of whom are larger and more mature than the actress and models shown, because women allow it to be so. Women allow themselves to try to fit a mold, to live up to that impossible standard. They allow themselves to believe that to be beautiful they have to act raunchy, dress slutty, and be thin, tall, and wear makeup; anything else is not attractive. Men on the other hand do not believe this to be true; as David, a young man in Ariel Levys book Female Chauvinist pigs, points out What girls dont understand is guys always want girls. If every girl dressed casually, youd still like girls(Levy Page 151). Women exhaust themselves living up to a standard they feel must be met in order to be liked, to be loved, or even to be wanted when the simple truth is they would be anyway. If this is the truth, why is it women do exhaust themselves? Some psychologists say the reasons are rooted in economics. Industries that present ideals that are difficult to achieve and maintain, are assured of growth and profits. Meaning, it is not a coincidence that youth and a slim figure are promoted in ads and media. By viewing these images repeatedly there begins to be hegemony, and therefore mentally women believe they actually do need the products that will help them achieve their goals of living up to the ever raising standard. This makes the stakes huge. By showing images of young, thin women made up with beauty products it makes the average women insecure about their own body, and how the male counterpart views the body of an average woman. Women that are insecure concerning their bodies are far more likely to purchase beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. Research also indicates that constant exposure to images of young, thin, and often air-brushed female bodies is associated to loss of self-esteem, depression, and can lead to the development of unhealthy eating habits in young girls and women. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders, Inc. reports that one out of every four college-aged women uses detrimental methods to control weight; including skipping meals, fasting, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, and laxative abuse. The demands to be thin are also influencing young girls: statistics show that these extreme weight control measures are even being used by girls as young as five and six.   Many studies, such as one conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, indicate that almost half of all preadolescent girls desire to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in some form of unhealthy weight lose. Overall; research suggests that 90% of women are dissatisfied with their body image in some way. Media activist Jean Kilbourne comes to the concl usion that, Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight. Americans live in a media culture and when that media shows women who they ought to be and it is fed to women in a constant loop of ads, television, and billboards it is increasingly hard to escape. Conceivably the most disturbing factor is the fact that these media images of female attractiveness are unattainable to all but an extremely small percentage of women. When we look at popular icons of beauty it is clear just how unrealistic the standard is. For example, researchers generated a computer reproduction of a woman with the proportions of a Barbie-doll discovered that her back would be too frail to bear the weight of her upper body, additionally her body would be much too narrow to have any more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A  real woman with those proportions would experience chronic diarrhea and ultimately die from malnutrition. Yet the number of real life women and young girls who seek a similarly underweight body has become an epidemic, and unfortunately they can suffer equally devastating consequences to their health. Sadly, even womens magazines have ten and one-half  times more advertisments and articles promoting weight loss, and showing super thin and gorgeous women than mens magazines do. Furthermore, over three-quarters of the covers of womens magazines incorporate at least one message about how to change a womans appearance to please a man-by diet, cosmetic surgery, beauty products, or exercise. These magazines which ideally would promote better self image, and encourage all body types actually help promote the insecurities that lead to women continuing a self destructive cycle. This image of beauty is seen everywhere. Television and movies also reinforce the significance of a skinny body as the measure of a womans worth. Most of the female characters in TV comedies are underweight, the characters that are above average in size, or even what the average woman would be, tend to be given negative comments from male characters as well as other female characters about their bodies; and often these negative comments are followed by audience laughter. Although women have come a long way and now have a greater knowledge of the body image that media force feeds the effect of the media still has a strong hold on mentality and the lengths women go to achieve the unattainable. Everywhere women look there are images of slim women wearing hardly anything at all with their hair and makeup completely done. One only has to go outside and look at the billboards, turn on a television, or open a newspaper or magazine to experience these types of images. In a recent Macys ad the cover shows the image of Santa Clause; the typical older gentleman dressed from head to toe, while a young, fiery redheaded Mrs. Clause (or perhaps Mistress Clause?) leans in to kiss dear old saint nick; who has a finger up to his lips to whisper silence. Ads like these promote that older men should be with younger women, that secret affairs are sexy, and that young pretty girls are objects of clandestine desires. Other ads do not even try to disguise the sexuality and blatantly flaunt it to the audience. In a recent Volvo ad the manufacture displays the interior of a car, highlighting the parking brake in full upright position; the caption reading We Are Just As Excited As You Are leading a woman viewer to think that she should be excited, and thankfully it is nothing to be ashamed of because the masculine image is also excited. Many advertisements go even further, an Italian coffee ad shows a couple nude, and heavily sexualized in a sea of coffee beans. Ariel Levy says women are not just accepting this supersexualised culture they are fuelling it (Levy), which seems to be the case when a simple look around produces women and young girls wearing next to nothing and women in ads wearing absolutely nothing at all by their own choice. This barrage of main stream media about tin bodies, dieting and a beauty standard tells ordinary women that they are forever in need of modification-and that the female body is merely an object to be perfected. Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real womens bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industrys standards. Women learn to compare themselves to other women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate. Sex and beauty are tools to sell more products; the poor body image and low self esteem only help to further sell items to enhance appearances; and slowly this has become an acceptable practice. The way we talk and think about appearances could use a radical makeover.

Mohandas Gandhi`s life and Accomplishments :: essays research papers

Mohandas Gandhi Leo Peters Section 567-01 Mid-Term Paper This Essay will be about the life and accomplishments of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. And will also discuss Civil Disobedience. Throughout history most national heroes have been warriors, but Gandhi ended British rule over his native India without striking a single blow. A frail man, he devoted his life to peace and brotherhood in order to achieve social and political progress. Yet less than six months after his nonviolent resistance to British rule won independence for India, he was assassinated by a religious fanatic. Gandhi was one of the gentlest of men, a devout and almost mystical Hindu, but he had an iron core of determination. Nothing could change his convictions. This combination of traits made him the leader of India's nationalist movement. Some observers called him a master politician. Others believed him a saint. To millions of Hindus he was their beloved Mahatma, meaning "great soul." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869, in Porbandar, near Bombay. His family belonged to the Hindu merchant caste Vaisya. His father had been prime minister of several small native states. Gandhi was married when he was only 13 years old. When he was 19 he defied custom by going abroad to study. He studied law at University College in London. Fellow students snubbed him because he was an Indian. In his lonely hours he studied philosophy. In his reading he discovered the principle of nonviolence as enunciated in Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and he was persuaded by John Ruskin's plea to give up industrialism for farm life and traditional handicrafts--ideals similar to many Hindu religious ideas. In 1891 Gandhi returned to India. Unsuccessful in Bombay, he went to South Africa in 1893. At Natal he was the first so-called "colored" lawyer admitted to the supreme court. He then built a large practice. His interest soon turned to the problem of fellow Indians who had come to South Africa as laborers. He had seen how they were treated as inferiors in India, in England, and then in South Africa. In 1894 he founded the Natal Indian Congress to agitate for Indian rights. Yet he remained loyal to the British Empire. In 1899, during the Boer War, he raised an ambulance corps and served the South African government. In 1906 he gave aid against the Zulu revolt. Later in 1906, however, Gandhi began his peaceful revolution. He declared he would go to jail or even die before obeying an anti-Asian law. Thousands of Indians joined him in this civil disobedience campaign. He was imprisoned twice. Yet in World War I he again organized an ambulance corps for

Economy and Society in Europe During 1848 Essay -- European History Ec

Economy and Society in Europe During 1848 The revolutionary year of 1848 was an extraordinary period in which popular disturbances brought down the government of many countries. The revolts were very widespread, seriously affecting about fifty countries in Europe.1 It ranged from an enormous area, ranging from the Atlantic to the Ukraine, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. Factors that contributed to these revolts included: the potato crop had been destroyed, food riots broke out, and financial crises sprung about due to the high rate of unemployment.2 The development of major cities, such as Prague, Berlin, Liepzig, etc. contributed to the creation of the revolution. Also, anger arose over political issues because the middle class was taking control, and the peasants were starving due to this. Another point that caused rage was tax collection. People threatened to beat tax collectors and burn down revenue offices. Europe, at this time, was fighting a battle that would last many years and change many different aspects of European countries. For the most part, the revolts were due to the bourgeoisie (upper class citizens) and how they controlled everything, including factories, machines, and people. The proletariat (working class that consisted of the factory laborers) were dominated by the bourgeoisie and began to look for a social change.3 The different changes in Europe in 1848 resulted in economic revolts, the Industrial Revolution, and how Karl Marx had an impact on society. The economic revolts took place right before 1848. This economic crisis resulted from the agricultural failures, which set off a serious industrial and commercial crisis, as high food prices would not let people buy anything else. Due to thes... ...ompany Inc, 1970), 198-206. 6. Breunig, 226. 7. Jones, 24. 8. Hugh McLeod, Secularisation in Western Europe, 1848-1914 (London: MacMillian Press Ltd., 2000), 31. 9. Jones, 15. 10. Priscilla Robertson, Revolutions of 1848: A Social History (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1952), 6. Bibliography Breunig, Charles. The Age of Revolution and Reaction, 1789-1850. New York: Norton and Company Inc., 1970. Goldstein, Robert Justin. "The European Revolutoin of 1848 and 1989." 24 February 1999. http://cscwww.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/dh/eurorev.htm (22 October 2001). Jones, Peter. The 1848 Revolutions. New York: Longman Inc., 1991. McLeod, Hugh. Secularisation In Western Europe, 1848-1914. London: MacMillian Press Ltd., 2000. Robertson, Priscilla. Revolutions of 1848: A Social History. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1952.

Child Play

Play and early childhood education is not just a way to fill time for children who are too young to go to school. Some people think of play as the â€Å"work† of children (Berger, 2000). Through play and early childhood education, children build the foundation for later learning as they solve problems and increase their understanding of themselves, other people, and the world around them. Being in a stimulating environment, such as an early childhood center, provides a child with the much needed support to develop skills for dealing with emotions, expanding language and vocabulary, and an array of other skills.Putting children in environments where they are not stimulated can be harmful to their development during the play years. For young children, â€Å"play† includes a variety of activities that are fun and interesting. These activities include quiet play, creative play, active play, dramatic play, games, and manipulative play. Play may be structured or unstructured. Structured play has rules or a specific way of doing things. Games such as active games, card games, and board games are examples of structured play. Unstructured play includes activities such as dress-up play, doll play, building blocks, running and climbing, and riding tricycles.These activities are sociodramatic and rough-and-tumble play (Berger, 2000). A child may play alone or engage in social play by including other children or adults. Social play has a critical role in helping children learn to interact with others. Some research has identified stages of social play. Children pass through these stages as they grow, becoming capable of more interactive play as they develop. According to Berger, Onlooker play occurs when a child seems to be playing alone while watching others’ play activities.Solitary play occurs when a child plays alone or near another child with no interaction between them. Berger states that Parallel play refers to children’s play when they ar e near each other and using similar materials but with little or no social interaction. Associative play is similar to parallel play but involves some social interaction. Cooperative play includes common goals and collaboration, and may involve complex negotiation, collaborative decision making, and rule setting (Berger, 2000). While we were at the VCU child development center, I witnessed children playing outdoors.I saw some cooperative play in games such as hide-n-seek and duck-duck-goose, where the children played the games by rules that were taught to them. Most of the play witnessed was unstructured play in which the children decided what the wanted to do and how they wanted to do it. One little boy sat in solitary play building mini castles out of sand, while another large group of children just ran in circles around the playground screaming. Many kids just sat back and watched as others played games, while they sat in the sand box occasionally scooping sand which demonstrated onlooker play.Lastly, a group of children sat in a corner observing flowers or bushes having conversation about them, which demonstrated associative play Children’s play sometimes has less to do with other people than with finding out about the world. Young children naturally explore their environments in playful ways that help them understand the physical environment and their own bodies. This type of play is sometimes called sensorimotor play. As they vary their actions and interact with toys and other objects, children discover what their own muscles can do, and they gain practice of the movements that they need for everyday life.They also have affordances to learn about gravity and other principles of the physical world. What children learn through play is also very much affected by the quality of the early education care program that they are in. When searching for child care, every parent wants to leave their child knowing that they are handled by a warm, nurturing adu lt, who has knowledge of how children grow and develop. The adult should also have an understanding of the needs and interests of individual children because this is essential for a child’s growth.Children should be valued for themselves and not for what they do or how they look. Good caregivers tend to view children positively and help them learn what to do rather than focusing on what not to do. They help children learn to take responsibility for their own actions and eventually develop self-discipline. Rules should be reasonable, consistent, and well explained. Children are treated with respect. When caregivers view themselves positively and feel good about their work, they model a good self-image for the children. It is essential for caregivers and teachers to help parents feel a part of the program.The parents and school teachers should share information in order to understand more fully a child's needs and provide the best coordinated twenty-four-hour schedules for the child. Parents can share important family values, goals for their child, methods of discipline, and changes in the child's home environment while teachers can share the program goals, special activities for the child, weekly plans, and how they believe children learn (Azria-Evans). Teachers also can utilize appropriate community resources for the school and help parents find needed resources. Good relationships among staff members are important.If the children see adults working together cooperatively and solving problems successfully, they will learn to use some of these skills. All staff members must maintain professional ethics, which includes protecting the privacy of the children and families in their program. Centers also are required to go through a process to make sure they are meeting state standards. Licensing of child-care centers and family child-care homes gives parents some protection. States vary in their requirements for the facilities and the staff, criminal clearan ce of caregivers, health and safely regulations, and child-adult ratios (Azria-Evans).The adult-to-child ratio affects the individual attention given to each child and the group size affects the interactions of children. Ages of children are followed by adult-to-child ratio and group size (Azria-Evans). Multi-age grouping is permissible and often encouraged. The adult-to-child ratio and group size requirements are based on the age of the majority of children, but when infants are included, ratios and group size for the infants must be maintained. Child care center may also choose to attain an additional certification through The National Association for Education of Young Children (Azria-Evans).By getting this certification a child care center shows that they have gone above and beyond state standards to provide the best care and learning environment for children. Along with that the center should be a good fit for the parent and child (Azria-Evans). It is essential that parents vis it a center and talk with the director, teachers, and children before enrolling their child there. The child should also visit the program before being enrolled. The school should welcome unannounced visits. The parents must check for safety in the total environment.Is the equipment appropriate and in good condition? Are gates latched so children cannot get out? Are activities well supervised? There should be a variety of developmentally and culturally appropriate activities as well as equipment and materials so that each child can develop in all areas such as: physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and creative. Physical development includes large and small motor skills and health issues. Particular attention should be paid to routines such as eating, toileting, and resting. Intellectual development involves the cquisition of language skills as well as general knowledge about one's â€Å"world† and how to function in daily tasks. Children need opportunities to play and w ork with other children as well as to play and work alone. Activities should be balanced between active and quiet play both indoors and outdoors. Some activities should be teacher-directed while others should be selected by the child. The transition times between activities should be relaxed and provide pleasant learning experiences. Learning centers should reflect children's families, cultures, and interests.Learning centers should include table-top activities with manipulative materials, activities with housekeeping props, dramatic play, books and quiet corner, music and movement, art and creative activities, cooking and science areas, and a block area. Look for outdoor climbing equipment, space to run, wheel toys, sensory motor activities such as obstacle courses, balls, beanbags, and hoops. Children need carpentry, gardening, and ample sand, water, and mud play. There should be nature walks and trips away from the center.At the VCU child development center the children had built a replica of New York City, with demonstrated a table-top activity. Outdoors the play area had two wooden playhouses, and the entire play area had little garden throughout. There was also a sand pit in the middle of the playground. The arrangements families make for their children can vary dramatically, including care by relatives; center-based care, including preschool early education programs; family child care provided in the caregiver’s home; and care provided in the child’s home by nannies or babysitters.How a family chooses this care is influenced by family values, affordability, and availability. For many families, high-quality child care is not affordable, which results in compromises. The benefits of high quality care are that when care is consistent, developmentally sound, and emotionally supportive, there is a positive effect on the child and the family. The children that are in a poor quality environment are less likely to be prepared for school demands an d more likely to have some development problems, which sometimes can not be fixed.These include reading and language problems, because the children have not been in a nurturing environment to develop these skills. These students are more likely to fall behind in school. All in all, the play years are essential to a child’s development. The type of play that they do and the child care center that they attend is very important in determining how a child develops. A lot of thought should go into choosing a child care center, because we all want our children to get the proper amount of play for their age group to make sure the develop the skills needed later on in life.

Classroom Problems Essay

1.Classroom Shortage Teachers have to shout so loud because 70 – 100 students were jam packed sharing one classroom. Many classrooms have been divided into two by partitions. Stairwells and corridors have been converted into miniature classrooms. There were morning and afternoon sessions (2 shifts) to accommodate all students. 2.Bullying inside the classroom Disunity and bullying greatly affects a student behavior and performance inside the classroom. Bullying is very damaging to a student. It might affect his/her self-confidence and might induce the student to go into a shell and thus makes his world gloomier. 3.Classroom Behavior One of the biggest problems that are usually encountered by the teachers are their student’s behavior. It can cause disrupt for other students in the class. Other issues are students who don’t want to participate for various reasons. Also students being unprepared for school, not having the resources, or having homework done, because of various reasons (home life, parent problems, etc). 4.Lack of parental cooperation Many parents lack guidance to their kids. It is a great help to a student success if parents were able to guide their siblings well. There were times that parents start attacking their student’s teacher when they hear complain from their kid against teacher. Parents like to defend their child without knowing their child’s behavior and problems. 5.Lack of technology inside the classroom (in schools) Computers as part of technology are now essential to classroom learning. Many schools are still not able to introduce even the basics of computer literacy to their students because they are still behind civilization.

Guided Reading Essay

Abstract This paper will describe the leveling process and how leveled books fit into the reading classroom. It will also describe how to use tools yourself, to locate lists of leveled books, how the listed levels of a title compare between one you leveled, what the publisher class the level and the guided is reading classroom as a function. The last part of this paper will describe the instructional level of a student previously interview in Module 1. Guided Reading How to use leveling tools yourself Guided reading is an instructional approach that teacher uses when students are reading at the same level of instruction. The teacher selects books from certain reading levels to guide students to make connections from print to the text. The books are easily read with the support of the teacher. Challenges and opportunities for problem solving are offered in the text. Choice selection of the books from the teacher will expand their strategies. The purpose of guided reading is for the teacher to select books that students can read with 90% accuracy. When the story is introduced to the student by the teacher, the students, through their own strategies understand and enjoy the story because it is available to them. Pinnell, (2007) states that guided reading gives students the chance to apply the strategies they already know to new text. The teacher supplies support, but the ultimate goal is independent reading. Readers that have developed some since of print have already gained important understanding of it. If they have encountered a problem in reading they will monitor their own reading and check on themselves while searching for possibilities or alternatives How to locate list of leveled books. In order for the teacher to locate leveled books for their students, the teacher should select the students with similar reading habits and behaviors. These students should experience reading habits and behaviors in the same time frame. The guide lines of the choice of books should be not too easy, yet not too hard, and offers a variety of challenges to help readers become flexible problem solvers (Pinnell, 2007). When choosing a guided reading program or leveled books, the teacher should look for books that are similar to their knowledge, are interesting to them, support them to move to the next step in reading, and give just the right amount of challenge to ensure that problem solving is taking place while supporting fluency and understanding. Leveled book collection is a large set of books organized in levels of difficulty from easy books that an emergent reader might read, to the longer, complex books that advanced readers will select. The leveled books collections may be housed in an area where it is easily accessible. A key component in a guided reading program is the leveled books. The scholastic Guided Reading Program is a varied collection of books that are categorized by the kind and level of challenge they offer children as they are learning to read. The Guided Reading Program consists of 260 books organized into 26 levels of difficulty –Levels A-Z. Many different characteristics of the texts are considered in determining the level of challenge and support a particular book or short story presents (Pinnell, 2007) Some leveled books may consist of the teachers’ working collaborately together to construct leveled books from large collections of books. When teachers have been teaching a long time, they began to acquire the knowledge necessary to know what is easy and what is difficult for their students. When using the books frequently, the teachers will notice that categories of their collections will become more established (Scholastic. com) How the listed levels of a title compare between one you leveled. There are factors and criteria’s for leveling books. There is no distinct characteristic that can be used to evaluate text or reading materials. Some of the factors that are considered when evaluating text are length, layout, structure and organization, illustrations, words, phrases and sentences, literacy features, and content and theme (Scholastics. com). When compared the book that was leveled with the books in Scholastics, it was very close. The formation was based on the factors and criteria’s’ for leveling books. Guided reading classroom, how it functions, its advantages, and its disadvantages. The guided reading classrooms should have an independent reading practice location. This independent practice space should welcome students to a rich environment for reading. Teachers with a good sense of what a rich reading environment consist of will include in the reading practice location pillows or a couch for a feeling of an invitation to read. Students need to feel very comfortable when reading. The library in a guided classroom needs to be complete with rich and exciting literature. Some of the literature that should be included in the library is fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, magazines, current events, and sports and whatever you feel as a teacher that the students will be interested in. Technology is a major component of a guided reading classroom. It services as an independent and small group practice while the teacher is working with students in a small guided reading group. The guided reading groups should consist of four to six students at a time. The sessions for guided reading groups vary depending upon what level of readers you are dealing with. It is often 10-15 minutes for emergent readers, and 15-30 minutes for more advanced readers. Also in a guided reading classroom there should be cross curriculum centers for writing, art, and science which can be done at their desk with very little instruction. This would take very explicit planning on the teacher part. This will allow for the teacher to continue guided reading groups. A teacher-led small-group assessment area should be located in a place where the teacher has total vision of her classroom, but yet in an area where the students that are in the guided reading area can be together so that the skill can be implemented as one. Finally, there should be a designated area where the teacher can teach in a whole group setting. The advantages of a guided reading classroom when the teachers are working with a particular group, is that they can control what is going on in the classroom and ensure that the students are actively engaged at all times. By setting guided reading classrooms up this way, the teacher can take an informal assessment of behaviors whether or not the students are working in centers, at their desk or with the teacher in a guided reading group. The teacher should be taking running records, jotting anecdotal notes, or even conducting oral interviews if time permits. The disadvantages of this guided reading classroom is that it will take a lot of planning time to ensure that the centers all have meaningful activities that will help them read or increase their ability to interact with each other. Most of the time teachers do not have centers that are effective because of the necessary time needed for preparation to ensure an effective guided reading classroom. These guided reading groups should constantly change from week to week to ensure that all students are actively engaged in a differentiated atmosphere. Student from Module 1 This student could fall between emergent literacy and beginning reader because in module 1 the student started finger pointing and looking at the picture to determine the words. Also the student had trouble with the recognition of sight words. The student experienced difficulty with decoding unfamiliar words. This was a 3rd grade student that seemed very happy at home. The student does understand the concepts of print and words. Even thought she had trouble with decoding unfamiliar words, she seems to have phonological awareness. Knowledge of alphabets was noted. Her Independent level was grade 1, Instructional grade 1-2, and Frustration Level is Grade 3. Can this student benefit from a pull-out intervention program that focus on sight words and decoding? Conclusion This paper described the leveling process and how leveled books fit into the reading classroom. It will also described how to use tools yourself, to locate lists of leveled books, how the listed levels of a title compare between one you leveled, what the publisher class the level and the guided is reading classroom as a function. The last part of this paper described the instructional level of a student previously interview in Module 1. References Pinnell, G. S. (2007, Guided Reading Program, Scholastic, Scholastic, Red, New York, NY Scholastic. Com Retrieved September 14, 2009 from http://www2. scholastic. com/browse/article. jsp? id+4177.