Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Role of exercise in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee Term Paper

Role of exercise in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip and the oral care practices that ICU nurses conduct. Roddy and Ganz Assessments - Term Paper Example The research under consideration aims at assessment of the use of Delphi technique to arrive at the 10 recommendations for the role that the administration of exercise therapy plays in the management and treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and the hip, completing the Roddy Analysis Worksheet and assessment of the oral care practices that ICU nurses conduct; to compare these practices with the present evidence-based practice; and to determine whether using evidence-based practice (EBP) was associated with professional and demographic characteristics completing the Ganz Analysis Worksheet. After each of the two worksheets the author Analyzes and Supports whether the changes recommended are statistically valid. Introduction: Question1: Completing the Roddy Analysis Worksheet The research question: How to develop a new method for the purpose of determining the SOR and incorporating the research evidence and expert opinion. Using a multidisciplinary panel to produce 10 recommendations that relate to the role of exercise in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip. Independent and dependent variables: Dependent variable: management of OA of the knee and hip Independent variables: exercise therapy The sample size. The choosing of the sample size : The sample size is 95. The research has used panel sampling ... chers’ conclusion Roddy and his group conclude that when comparing existing traditional methodology the newer systems of grading SOR will be less constrained and will offer an advantage of enabling the SOR to be appraised according to expert opinions which are consistent with the fundamentals of evidence-based medicine. Controlling the error Roddy and his group control the error by assigning significant differences between the research group and a significant linearity of p= 0.001 (in both cases) Concerns with the study The research study is very thorough and binding in establishing whether existing methodology allows SOR to be appraised for recommendations with randomized controlled trials which have been rendered unethical or impractical, or not. Analyzing and Supporting Whether the Changes Recommended Are Statistically Valid It is clear that the changes recommended by Roddy et al (2006) are statistically valid and sound enough to make practice changes in a hospital. The chi ef reason for this observation is that the recommendation considers the category of the evidence (which ranges from 1 to 4) and the mean strengths of the recommendations, in order to determine the strength of recommendation (ranging from A to D). Only the ninth of the ten recommendations is not recommendable. The recommendations show logical relations of correlation and causality between aerobic exercises and health status among patients with hip and knee OA. The rationale of the research that Roddy et al (2006) conducted also confirms the validity of the research recommendations. This is because, generally, and according to Roddy et al (2006), clinical guidelines gauge the validity of the recommendations, according to the compelling nature of supporting evidence which has been adduced in the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Hedda Gabler Manipulation

Hedda Gabler Manipulation August Strindbergs Miss Julie and Henrik Ibsens Hedda Gabler, bring out the same themes but with completely different motives. The dominating theme of manipulation is brought out by the characterization and the speech and dialogue of the important characters. Along with the underlying motive of power, in the former its observed for class revenge while in the latter for perverse pleasure out of sheer boredom. The speech, dialogue and stage directions perceived through the course of these plays reiterate this theme of manipulation. Ambition, power, and the thirst to avenge his fate, leads Jean to tamper with Miss Julie. But a mere valet, he dreams of luxuries beyond his reach. With dreams of climb up, climb up to the top, and look around over the bright landscape where the sun is shining  [1]  , he fulfils his ambition by making Julie his first branch  [2]  . He ensnares Julie in the trap of flattery, lust, guilt, dominance, hatred and obedience by his actions, therefore taking advantage of her confused state of mind especially at a time where she dreamed of climbing down the pillar. Miss Julie, influenced by her childhood, her personality, and her broken engagement makes her an easy prey to Jeans scheming. Her vulnerability becomes greater by the absence of her father, the fact that she in that time of the month, the aphrodisiacs present in the form of dancing, flowers and supported by the festive atmosphere of Midsummers night. Jean takes advantage of her by his carefully planned flattery, exaggerated politeness and hesitation, manners and charm which makes her lower her defences to an inferior person. Her submission to his tactics is suggested by [MISS JULIE exists rapidly stage right. JEAN quickly after her]  [3]   Hedda Gabler on the other hand opens on a note of decline, not only as portrayed by the autumn foliage  [4]  but also by her matrimony with Jorgen Tesman. She faces disaster by becoming Hedda Tesman, as her spare time leads her into a state of constant boredom that transforms everyone present around her into her puppets for her sadistic pleasure derived from demeaning them. This can be observed when she says something happened with Miss Tesman this morning. She put her hat down there on the chair And I pretended I thought it was the servants.  [5]   Heddas sense of manipulation is also expressed by her desire for power. Like Jean, she desires control of the people around her by faking friendship and lending a sympathetic ear to them. Her motives are observed with Thea Elvsted where Mrs. Elvsted confesses in her my husband had no idea I was coming. when she is lured into it by Heddas persuasion and charm. This is further reiterated by Lovborgs confession in Act 2 when he says I used to make [confessions] telling you things about myself that no one else knew.  [6]  These confessions bring her closer to her desire and make her even more wretched. She also portrays the ability to hide her emotions rather well, thus strengthening her facade. Jean continues to lure Julie with a heart rendering tale of his childhood, when he used to secretly admire her and had also decided to die when he couldnt have her but his cruel fate saved him. He goes to the extent of kissing her feet on her demand though his bold advances are halted by her despite her leading him on. In this sado-masochistic relationship of lust, a constant swing of power is seen and the differentiation between the master and servant becomes very vague and is only observed by the reference to money. Jean here changes colours like chameleon and becomes harsh and dominating from when he tells her Fall down to me, and Ill lift you up again.  [7]   Ejlert Lovborg always has had to make a choice between courage and cowardice, drinking and not drinking, scholarly fame and disrespect. He even compares Hedda and Thea by their effect on him Hedda persuaded him away while Thea motivated and inspired him. This distinction can be supported by their outward appearances too. Hedda looked well bred with an even complexion and steel gray eyes with thin light brown hair, while contrasting to her stood Thea with a slight slender figure, large light blue eyes and fair hair, exceptionally thick. Despite Heddas manipulative nature, her fear of scandals prevents her from doing what she wished. She however fulfils her ambition of controlling someone by manipulating Lovborg, leading him back to alcohol and making him break Theas trust. Jeans character portrays it all: from humbleness and obedience to domination and wrath and back to his position as the valet, when it dawns upon him that she is penniless. Despite his wrath, when he says Have you ever seen a girl of my class offer herself like that? Ive only seen the like among animals and prostitutes  [8]  , Julie holds her ground and spills out her intimate secrets. She puts light on her childhood, on her mother and her ideas of the role reversals on the basis of gender and the tragedy faced by the family by the case of arson, thus indirectly characterising herself. Jean continues to dominate her and exhibits his wrath by the cold blooded annexation of her siskin and becomes a valet again at the arrival of the count. Gone is his domination and arrogance, leaving behind a suppressed and punctured servant obeying his masters command. Hedda, married to Tesman and interested in Lovborg, she dominates them both for personal pleasure. Like a faithful companion, Tesman feels I think its so jolly waiting on you, Hedda.  [9]  In contrast to this, Lovborg defies Hedda on her offer of punch. This appeals to Hedda more than being waited upon. Lovborgs drunk and outcast nature makes Hedda feel connected to a world denied to her because of her class and gender. She thus takes a perverse pleasure in luring him back to the path he walked on before becoming reformed. She subtly starts taking charge of his life by doubting his intention of living a clean life. She does so from the point of view of Judge Brack when she says, The contemptuous smile of his when you were afraid to go in there with them  [10]  . She then unravels Theas doubt in his character to remain free of the dirty path, breaking his confidence as a reformed man and thus taking him back to his old life. Hedda uses her control over Lovborgs life and lures towards his death. She sees Lovborg as her romantic hero who shall face a death with an element of beauty in this.  [11]  She lays out the path for him by manipulating him. She initially brings out Theas distrust, leading him to the bottle again and then gaining a grip on him by getting hold of his manuscript. She then leads him into callously treating Thea by persuading the topic of the lost manuscript despite his wishes. Swayed by this, his lie to Thea about the manuscript and confession in Hedda puts her at an upper hand. Having burnt his manuscript, she subtly leads him to her dream of a beautiful death by handing him a pistol, she was sure would be used. Tesman on the other hand adores Hedda so much that he rejoices at the loss of the manuscript mistaking her intentions for it. Hes presented as a puppet in her hands, present there to hold up her name in society without any passion or desire. In contrast to this, the constant role reversal which takes places between the two main characters in Miss Julie bring out their personalities by the way they communicate. This brings out the differing shades of their characters. Miss Julies aspiration of descend is complemented by Jeans ascend. The distinction between the master and the servant is seen by a very fine line here which is constantly put under pressure. This distinction can only be made on the basis of their class. Their actions reveal their class differences. For instance Julie prefers beer while Jean the finest wine, and Julie leads Jean out. This ambiguity of the power remains till the end, as on one hand Jean does obey the counts orders but on the other hand Julie obeys him and leaves with a blade. In Hedda Gabler, Theas courage to stand up to what she believed in, her deep passion and love for Lovborg and her control over him, is seen as a source of constant irritation to Hedda and is brought out her jealousy and is reinforced by her statement: That girl with the tiresome hair, that she was always showing off.  [12]  Theas feminity along with the fact that she had taken away the one thing that Hedda loved the most Lovborg, causes Hedda to manipulate them both. Underlying motives of power, through perverse pleasure and out of ambition leads to the decline of the characters portrayed in both these books as has been observed by their speech and dialogue and stage directions.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Self-Determination: Right or Privilege? :: essays research papers

In 1968, the Soviet Union along with several Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia with the intention of re-establishing a full communist government. The reason for the invasion was mainly due to â€Å"Prague Spring† – the period of great hope for the Czech people led by the reform movement against the hard-line policies of the Czech and Soviet governments. The main justification given by Soviet Premier Brezhnev regarding the attack was that the USSR, a communist nation itself, had an obligation to stop anything that poses a threat to established communism in any country. This came to be known as the â€Å"Brezhnev Doctrine†, and was seen as a clear warning to other eastern European countries. This example is one of many in history that has raised the issue of whether or not great nations are justified in exerting influence over the affairs of lesser states. The issue of whether or not great nations are justified in exerting influence over the affairs of lesser states is extremely complex. Some people believe that powerful nations are not only justified but obligated to play an important role in the affairs of states that do not measure up in status or power. The main reason being that these states do not have the capabilities to handle their domestic and foreign policies without external influence of some kind. Others believe that every nation has the sovereign right to formulate domestic and foreign policies without external influence. Both groups of people are right to an extent. I do not think that the power of a nation justifies their interference in the affairs of other countries unless they influence the country for the better. Basically, great nations should never attempt to influence the affairs of lesser states if they are only looking out for their own self-interests. In the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union was not truly threatened by the reform movement. The USSR was just not prepared to take risks with a country bordering on the West. Their main concerns were their sphere of influence as well as Czechoslovakia being one of their satellite states that provided them with a buffer zone against an attack from NATO. Therefore, Czechoslovakia played an important role for political, economic, and strategic military reasons. It was imperative that it remained under Soviet influence because if not, the balance of power would be in favour of the U.S.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter Fourteen

Elena felt her flesh creep at the words. â€Å"You don't mean that,† she said shakily. She remembered what she had seen on the roof, the blood smeared on Stefan's lips, and she forced herself not to recoil from him. â€Å"Stefan, I know you. You couldn't have done that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He ignored her protestations, just went on staring with eyes that burned like the green ice at the bottom of a glacier. He was looking through her, into some incomprehensible distance. â€Å"As I lay in bed that night, I hoped against hope that she would come. Already I was noticing some of the changes in myself. I could see better in the dark; it seemed I could hear better. I felt stronger than ever before, full of some elemental energy. And I was hungry. â€Å"It was a hunger I had never imagined. At dinner I found that ordinary food and drink did nothing to satisfy it. I couldn't understand that. And then I saw the white neck of one of the serving girls, and I knew why.† He drew a long breath, his eyes dark and tortured. â€Å"That night, I resisted the need, though it took all my will. I was thinking of Katherine, and praying she would come to me. Praying!† He gave a short laugh. â€Å"If a creature like me can pray.† Elena's fingers were numb within his grasp, but she tried to tighten them, to send him reassurance. â€Å"Go on, Stefan.† He had no trouble speaking now. He seemed almost to have forgotten her presence, as if he were telling this story to himself. â€Å"The next morning the need was stronger. It was as if my own veins were dry and cracked, desperate for moisture. I knew that I couldn't stand it for long. â€Å"I went to Katherine's chambers. I meant to ask her, to plead with her-† His voice cracked. He paused and then went on. â€Å"But Damon was there already, waiting outside her rooms. I could see thathe hadn't resisted the need. The glow of his skin, the spring in his step, told me that. He looked as smug as the cat who's had the cream. â€Å"But he hadn't had Katherine. ‘Knock all you like,' he said to me, ‘but the female dragon inside won't let you past. I've tried already. Shall we overpower her, you and I?' â€Å"I wouldn't answer him. The look on his face, that sly, self-satisfied look, repelled me. I pounded on that door to wake†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He faltered, and then gave another humorless laugh. â€Å"I was going to say, ‘to wake the dead.' But the dead aren't so hard to wake after all, are they?† After a moment, he went on. â€Å"The maid, Gudren, opened the door. She had a face like a flat white plate, and eyes like black glass. I asked her if I could see her mistress. I expected to be told that Katherine was asleep, but instead Gudren just looked at me, then at Damon over my shoulder. † ‘I would not tellhim ,' she said at last, ‘but I will tell you. My lady Katerina is not within. She went out early this morning, to walk in the gardens. She said she had much need of thought.' â€Å"I was surprised. ‘Early this morning?' I said. † ‘Yes,' she replied. She looked at both Damon and me without liking. ‘My mistress was very unhappy last night,' she said meaningfully. ‘All night long, she wept.' â€Å"When she said that, a strange feeling came over me. It wasn't just shame and grief that Katherine should be so unhappy. It was fear. I forgot my hunger and weakness. I even forgot my enmity for Damon. I was filled with haste and a great driving urgency. I turned to Damon and told him that we had to find Katherine, and to my surprise he just nodded. â€Å"We began to search the gardens, calling Katherine's name. I remember just what everything looked like that day. The sun was shining on the high cypress trees and the pines in the garden. Damon and I hurried between them, moving more and more quickly, and calling. We kept calling her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena could feel the tremors in Stefan's body, communicated to her through his tightly gripping fingers. He was breathing rapidly but shallowly. â€Å"We had almost reached the end of the gardens when I remembered a place that Katherine had loved. It was a little way out onto the grounds, a low wall beside a lemon tree. I started there, shouting for her. But as I got closer, I stopped shouting. I felt†¦ a fear-a terrible premonition. And I knew I mustn't-mustn't go-† â€Å"Stefan!† said Elena. He was hurting her, his fingers biting into her own, crushing them. The tremors racing through his body were growing, becoming shudders. â€Å"Stefan, please!† But he gave no sign that he heard her. â€Å"It was like-a nightmare-everything happening so slowly. I couldn't move-and yet I had to. I had to keep walking. With each step, the fear grew stronger. I could smell it. A smell like burned fat. I mustn't go there-I don't want to see it-† His voice had become high and urgent, his breath coming in gasps. His eyes were wide and dilated, like a terrified child's. Elena gripped his viselike fingers with her other hand, enfolding them completely. â€Å"Stefan, it's all right. You're not there. You're here with me.† â€Å"I don't want to see it-but I can't help it. There's something white. Something white under the tree. Don't make me look at it!† â€Å"Stefan, Stefan, look at me!† He was beyond hearing. His words came in heaving spasms, as if he could not control them, could not get them out fast enough. â€Å"I can't go any closer-but I do. I see the tree, the wall. And that white. Behind the tree. White with gold underneath. And then I know, I know, and I'm moving toward it because it's her dress. Katherine's white dress. And I get around the tree and I see it on the ground and it's true. It's Katherine's dress,†-his voice rose and broke in unimaginable horror-â€Å"but Katherine isn't in it.† Elena felt a chill, as if her body had been plunged into ice water. Her skin rose in goose-flesh, and she tried to speak to him but couldn't. He was rattling on as if he could keep the terror away if he kept on talking. â€Å"Katherine isn't there, so maybe it's all a joke, but her dress is on the ground and it's full of ashes. Like the ashes in the hearth, just like that, only these smell of burned flesh. They stink. The smell is making me sick and faint. Beside the sleeve of the dress is a piece of parchment. And on a rock, on a rock a little way away is a ring. A ring with a blue stone, Katherine's ring. Katherine's ring†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Suddenly, he called out in a terrible voice, â€Å"Katherine, what have youdone ?† Then he fell to his knees, releasing Elena's fingers at last, to bury his face in his hands. Elena held him as he was gripped by wracking sobs. She held his shoulders, pulling him to her lap. â€Å"Katherine took the ring off,† she whispered. It was not a question. â€Å"She exposed herself to the sun.† His harsh sobs went on and on, as she held him to the full skirts of the blue gown, stroking his quivering shoulders. She murmured nonsense meant to soothe him, pushing away her own horror. And, presently, he quieted and lifted his head. He spoke thickly, but he seemed to have returned to the present, to have come back. â€Å"The parchment was a note, for me and for Damon. It said she had been selfish, wanting to have both of us. It said-she couldn't bear to be the cause of strife between us. She hoped that once she was gone we would no longer hate each other. She did it to bring us together.† â€Å"Oh, Stefan,† whispered Elena. She felt burning tears fill her own eyes in sympathy. â€Å"Oh, Stefan, I'm so sorry. But don't you see, after all this time, that what Katherine did was wrong? It was selfish, even, and it washer choice. In a way, it had nothing to do with you, or with Damon.† Stefan shook his head as if to shake off the truth of the words. â€Å"She gave her life†¦ for that. We killed her.† He was sitting up now. But his eyes were still dilated, great disks of black, and he had the look of a small bewildered boy. â€Å"Damon came up behind me. He took the note and read it. And then-I think he went mad. We were both mad. I had picked up Katherine's ring, and he tried to take it. He shouldn't have. We struggled. We said terrible things to each other. We each blamed the other for what had happened. I don't remember how we got back to the house, but suddenly I had my sword. We were fighting. I wanted to destroy that arrogant face forever, to kill him. I remember my father shouting from the house. We fought harder, to finish it before he reached us. â€Å"And we were well matched. But Damon had always been stronger, and that day he seemed faster, too, as if he had changed more than I had. And so while my father was still shouting from the window I felt Damon's blade get past my guard. Then I felt it enter my heart.† Elena stared, aghast, but he went on without pause. â€Å"I felt the pain of the steel, I felt it stab through me, deep, deep inside. All the way through, a hard thrust. And then the strength poured out of me and I fell. I lay there on the paved ground.† He looked up at Elena and finished simply, â€Å"And that is how†¦ I died.† Elena sat frozen, as if the ice she'd felt in her chest earlier tonight had flooded out and trapped her. â€Å"Damon came and stood over me and bent down. I could hear my father's cries from far away, and screams from the household, but all I could see was Damon's face. Those black eyes that were like a moonless night. I wanted to hurt him for what he had done to me. For everything he had done to me, and to Katherine.† Stefan was quiet a moment, and then he said, almost dreamily, â€Å"And so I lifted my sword and I killed him. With the last of my strength, I stabbed my brother through the heart.† The storm had moved on, and through the broken window Elena could hear soft night noises, the chirp of crickets, the wind sifting through trees. In Stefan's room, it was very still. â€Å"I knew nothing more until I woke up in my tomb,† said Stefan. He leaned back, away from her, and shut his eyes. His face was pinched and weary, but that awful childlike dreaminess was gone. â€Å"Both Damon and I had had just enough of Katherine's blood to keep us from truly dying. Instead we changed. We woke together in our tomb, dressed in our best clothing, laid on slabs side by side. We were too weak to hurt each other anymore; the blood had been just barely enough. And we were confused. I called to Damon, but he ran outside into the night. â€Å"Fortunately, we had been buried with the rings Katherine had given us. And I found her ring in my pocket.† As if unconsciously, Stefan reached up to stroke the golden circlet. â€Å"I suppose they thought she had given it to me. â€Å"I tried to go home. That was stupid. The servants screamed at the sight of me and ran to fetch a priest. I ran, too. Into the only place where I was safe, into the dark. â€Å"And that is where I've stayed ever since. It's where I belong, Elena. I killed Katherine with my pride and my jealousy, and I killed Damon with my hatred. But I did worse than kill my brother. I damned him. â€Å"If he hadn't died then, with Katherine's blood so strong in his veins, he would have had a chance. In time the blood would have grown weaker, and then passed away. He would have become a normal human again. By killing him then, I condemned him to live in the night. I took away his only chance of salvation.† Stefan laughed bitterly. â€Å"Do you know what the name Salvatore means in Italian, Elena? It means salvation, savior. I'm named that, and for St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. And I damned my brother to hell.† â€Å"No,† said Elena. And then, in a stronger voice, she said, â€Å"No, Stefan. He damned himself. He killedyou . But what happened to him after that?† â€Å"For a while he joined one of the Free Companies, ruthless mercenaries whose business was to rob and plunder. He wandered across the country with them, fighting and drinking the blood of his victims. â€Å"I was living beyond the city gates by then, half starved, preying on animals, an animal myself. For a long time, I heard nothing about Damon. Then one day I heard his voice in my mind. â€Å"He was stronger than I, because he was drinking human blood. And killing. Humans have the strongest life essence, and their blood gives power. And when they're killed, somehow the life essence they give is strongest of all. It's as if in those last moments of terror and struggle the soul is the most vibrant. Because Damon killed humans, he was able to draw on the Powers more than I was.† â€Å"What†¦ powers?† said Elena. A thought was growing in her mind. â€Å"Strength, as you said, and quickness. A sharpening of all the senses, especially at night. Those are the basics. We can also†¦ feel minds. We can sense their presence, and sometimes the nature of their thoughts. We can cast confusion about weaker minds, either to overwhelm them or to bend them to our will. There are others. With enough human blood we can change our shapes, become animals. And the more you kill, the stronger all the Powers become.† â€Å"Damon's voice in my mind was very strong. He said he was now the condottieri of his own ‘ company and he was coming back to Florence. He said that if I was there when he arrived he would kill me. I believed him, and I left. I've seen him once or twice since then. The threat is always the same, and he's always more powerful. Damon's made the most of his nature, and he seems to glory in its darkest side.† â€Å"But it's my nature, too. The same darkness is inside me. I thought that I could conquer it, but I was wrong. That's why I came here, to Fell's Church. I thought if I settled in some small town, far away from the old memories, I might escape the darkness. And instead, tonight, I killed a man.† † No,† said Elena forcefully. â€Å"I don't believe that, Stefan.† His story had filled her with horror and pity†¦ and fear, too. She admitted that. But her disgust had vanished, and there was one thing she was sure about. Stefan wasn't a murderer. â€Å"What happened tonight, Stefan? Did you argue with Tanner?† â€Å"I†¦ don't remember,† he said bleakly. â€Å"I used the Power to persuade him to do what you wanted. Then I left. But later I felt the dizziness and the weakness come over me. Asit has before.† He looked up at her directly. â€Å"The last time it happened was in the cemetery, right by the church, the night Vickie Bennett was attacked.† â€Å"But you didn't do that. Youcouldn't have done that†¦ Stefan?† â€Å"I don't know,† he said harshly. â€Å"What other explanation is there? And I did take blood from the old man under the bridge, that night you girls ran away from the graveyard. I would have sworn I didn't take enough to harm him, but he almost died. And I was there when both Vickie and Tanner were attacked.† â€Å"But you don't remember attacking them,† said Elena, relieved. The idea that had been growing in her mind was now almost a certainty. â€Å"What difference does it make? Who else could have done it, if not me?† â€Å"Damon,† said Elena. He flinched, and she saw his shoulders tighten again. â€Å"It's a nice thought. I hoped at first that there might be some explanation like that. That it might be someone else, someone like my brother. But I've searched with my mind and found nothing, no other presence. The simplest explanation is that I'm the killer.† â€Å"No,† said Elena, â€Å"you don't understand. I don't just mean that someone like Damon might do the things we've seen. I mean Damon is here, in Fell's Church. I've seen him.† Stefan just stared at her. â€Å"It must be him,† Elena said, taking a deep breath. â€Å"I've seen him twice now, maybe three times. Stefan, you just told me a long story, and now I've got one to tell you.† As quickly and simply as she could, she told him about what had happened in the gym, and at Bonnie's house. His lips tightened into a white line as she told him how Damon had tried to kiss her. Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered her own response, how she had almost given in to him. But she told Stefan everything. About the crow, too, and all the other strange things that had happened since she had come home from France. â€Å"And, Stefan, I think Damon was at the Haunted House tonight,† she finished. â€Å"Just after you felt dizzy in the front room, someone passed me. He was dressed up like-like Death, in black robes and a hood, and I couldn't see his face. But something about the way he moved was familiar. It was him, Stefan. Damon was there.† â€Å"But that still wouldn't explain the other times. Vickie and the old man. Idid take blood from the old man.† Stefan's face was taut, as if he were almost afraid to hope. â€Å"But you said yourself you didn't take enough to harm him. Stefan, who knows what happened to that man after you left? Wouldn't it be the easiest thing in the world for Damon to attack him then? Especially if Damon's been spying on you all along, maybe in some other form†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Like a crow,† murmured Stefan. â€Å"Like a crow. And as for Vickie†¦ Stefan, you said that you can cast confusion over weaker minds, overpower them. Couldn't that be what Damon was doing to you? Overpowering your mind as you can overpower a human's?† â€Å"Yes, and shielding his presence from me.† There was mounting excitement in Stefan's voice. â€Å"That's why he hasn't answered my calls. He wanted-† â€Å"He wanted just what's happened to happen. He wanted you to doubt yourself, to think you were a killer.But it isn't true, Stefan . Oh, Stefan, you know that now, and you don't have to be afraid anymore.† She stood up, feeling joy and relief course through her. Out of this hideous night, something wonderful had come. â€Å"That's why you've been so distant with me, isn't it?† she said, holding out her hands to him. â€Å"Because you're afraid of what you might do. But there's no need for that any longer.† â€Å"Isn't there ?† He was breathing quickly again, and he eyed her outstretched hands as if they were two snakes. â€Å"You think there's no reason to be afraid? Damon may have attacked those people, but he doesn't control my thoughts. And you don't know what I've thought about you.† Elena kept her voice level. â€Å"You don't want to hurt me,† she said positively. â€Å"No? There have been times, watching you in public, when I could scarcely bear not to touch you. When I was so tempted by your white throat, your little white throat with the faint blue veins beneath the skin†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His eyes were fixed on her neck in a way that reminded her of Damon's eyes, and she felt her heartbeat step up. â€Å"Times when I thought I would grab you and force you right there in the school.† â€Å"There's no need to force me,† said Elena. She could feel her pulse everywhere now; in her wrists and the inside of her elbows-and in her throat. â€Å"I've made my decision, Stefan,† she said softly, holding his eyes. â€Å"I want to.† He swallowed thickly. â€Å"You don't know what you're asking for.† â€Å"I think Ido . You told me how it was with Katherine, Stefan. I want it to be like that with us. I don't mean I want you to change me. But we can share a little without that happening, can't we? I know,† she added, even more softly, â€Å"how much you loved Katherine. But she's gone now, and I'm here. And I love you, Stefan. I want to be with you.† â€Å"You don't know what you're talking about!† He was standing rigid, his face furious, his eyes anguished. â€Å"If I once let go, what's tokeep me from changing you, or killing you? The passion is stronger than you can imagine. Don't you understand yet what I am, what I can do?† She stood there and looked at him quietly, her chin raised slightly. It seemed to enrage him. â€Å"Haven't you seen enough yet? Or do I have to show you more? Can't you picture what I might do to you?† He strode over to the cold fireplace and snatched out a long piece of wood, thicker than both Elena's wrists together. With one motion, he snapped it in two like a match stick. â€Å"Yourfragile bones,† he said. Across the room was a pillow from the bed; he caught it up and with a slash of his nails left the silk cover in ribbons. â€Å"Yoursoft skin.† Then he moved toward Elena with preternatural quickness; he was there and had hold of her shoulders before she knew what was happening. He scared into her face a moment, then, with a savage hiss that raised the hairs at the nape of her neck, drew his lips back. It was the same snarl she'd seen on the roof, those white teeth bared, the canines grown to unbelievable length and sharpness. They were the fangs of a predator, a hunter. â€Å"Your white neck,† he said in a distorted voice. Elena stood paralyzed another instant, gazing as if compelled into that chilling visage, and then something deep in her unconscious took over. She reached up within the restraining circle of his arms and caught his face between her two hands. His cheeks were cool against her palms. She held him that way, softly, so softly, as if to reprove his hard grip on her bare shoulders. And she saw the confusion slowly come to his face, as he realized she was not doing it to fight him or to shove him away. Elena waited until that confusion reached his eyes, shattering his gaze, becoming almost a look of pleading. She knew that her own face was fearless, soft yet intense, her lips slightly parted. They were both breathing quickly now, together, in rhythm. Elena could feel it when he started to shake, trembling as he had when the memories of Katherine had become too much to bear. Then, very gently and deliberately, she drew that snarling mouth down to her own. He tried to oppose her. But her gentleness was stronger than all his inhuman strength. She shut her eyes and thought only of Stefan, not of the dreadful things she had learned tonight but of Stefan, who had stroked her hair as lightly as if she might break in his hands. She thought of that, and she kissed the predatory mouth that had threatened her a few minutes ago. She felt the change, the transformation in his mouth as he yielded, responding helplessly to her, meeting her soft kisses with equal softness. She felt the shudder go through Stefan's body as the hard grip on her shoulders softened, too, becoming an embrace. And she knew she'd won. â€Å"You will never hurt me,† she whispered. It was as if they were kissing away all the fear and desolation and loneliness inside them. Elena felt passion surge through her like summer lightning, and she could sense the answering passion in Stefan. But infusing everything else was a gentleness almost frightening in its intensity. There was no need for haste or roughness, Elena thought as Stefan gently guided her to sit down. Gradually, the kisses grew more urgent, and Elena felt the summer lightning flicker all through her body, charging it, making her heart pound and her breath catch. It made her feel strangely soft and dizzy, made her shut her eyes and let her head fall back in abandon. It's time, Stefan, she thought. And, very gently, she drew his mouth down again, this time to her throat. She felt his lips graze her skin, felt his breath warm and cool at once. Then she felt the sharp sting. But the pain faded almost instantly. It was replaced by a feeling of pleasure that made her tremble. A great rushing sweetness filled her, flowing through her to Stefan. At last she found herself gazing into his face, into a face that at last had no barriers against her, no walls. And the look she saw there made her feel weak. â€Å"Do you trust me?† he whispered. And when she simply nodded, he held her eyes and reached for something beside the bed. It was the dagger. She regarded it without fear, and then fixed her eyes again on his face. He never looked away from her as he unsheathed it and made a small cut at the base of his throat. Elena looked at it wide-eyed, at the blood as bright as holly berries, but when he urged her forward she did not try to resist him. Afterward he just held her a long time, while the crickets outside made their music. Finally, he stirred. â€Å"I wish you could stay here,† he whispered. â€Å"I wish you could stay forever. But you can't.† â€Å"I know,† she said, equally quiet. Their eyes met again in silent communion. There was so much to say, so many reasons to be together. â€Å"Tomorrow,† she said. Then, leaning against his shoulder, she whispered, â€Å"Whatever happens, Stefan, I'll be with you. Tell me you believe that.† His voice was hushed, muffled in her hair. â€Å"Oh, Elena, I believe it. Whatever happens, we'll be together.†

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Anne: Reaction Paper on Basketball Diaries Movie Essay

On this story, upon reading the title, I thought it will focus on basketball game and competitions but I think I am wrong because it was really about a young man who had bad experiences and struggled to survive. Early in the film, it shows a good friendship of Jim and his friends and where they studied in a Catholic School and a scholar through playing basketball together. It also shows how intelligent Jim is on writing which is great. Unfortunately, young Jim fell into the cruel world of life on the street and heavy drug abuse, smoking, and even stealing others things and money which many students and youth do the same thing in present as we see on televisions and in our society that many young people engage their selves to drugs. I have also witness on how they talk was really disrespectful and awful to hear for a reason that they are using some bad or negative words like motherfucker, fuck you etc. Furthermore, the movie also shows some immoral or wrong doings like the coach who is a gay that like to have sex with his student and also Jim who uses his body to be able to get money to buy drugs. The young characters in the film do lack moral compasses resulting from their poor decision-making. He even leave home because they are already addicted to drugs and doesn’t hear his mother’s advise which is not good to a young students like us. On this film, I have remember the verse in the bible that, ‘’you should honour your mother and father and you will have a long life’’ because of the wrong behaviour of Jim towards his mother that he doesn’t listen to. On the last part of the story, it shows the effects of the drugs like hallucinating and even out of control of their selves. But because of Reggie and his mother, Jim was saved. Overall, it was a mature movie and every young individuals should watch it because it shows how bad drugs, smoking that all of us should not try or let go. Lastly, I think the filmmaker wants us to recognize that this is not all Jim’s fault but it focuses on the various effects of the drugs because in the first place it was really fine, his life and even his career.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The 3 Sources of SAT Anxiety (and how to manage them)

The 3 Sources of SAT Anxiety (and how to manage them) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Standardized testing is always stressful, but there are few tests more nerve-wracking than the SAT. See the main reasons why the test freaks students out and what to do about it. ACT and SAT anxiety and worry can be conquered, and we show you how. Problem #1: High Stakes This one’s obvious: the SAT makes people nervous because it counts for so much. High school seniors face some of the most stressful transitions in lifethe last chance to do so many high school things (go to prom, help take the tennis team to regionals), plus all the scariness of applying to schools, keeping GPAs up, facing life without parents. It’s a lot to handle, so it’s crazy to throw all your SAT prep on there as well, especially if you are prone to anxiety. Solution #1: Take it early, and more than once. For maximum anxiety-reducing results, take the SAT for the first time a year before you have toin 11th gradeor even in 10th. Think of it as a test run, but do some prep beforehand. Then take it again in 12th grade if you need to, and by that point, it’ll seem like no big deal. (Or, at least, like less of a big deal.) If you’re taking Trigonometry, Calculus, or even Algebra II, you’re not learning anything in school that will help with the SAT Math section; that stuff happened in 7th-9th grades. As for Reading and Writing, the SAT tests specific enough skills that it probably won’t overlap much with what you’re doing in English class. But most importantly, when you take it a year early, you’re far away from the urgency of college applications; thus, your anxiety will be minimized, and you also learn how the process works so you can be more relaxed if and when you take it again later in the year. Problem #2: Secrecy The ETS runs the test like an NSA operationyou can’t even use mechanical pencils for fear you’ll sneak cheat sheets in. The requirements of photo IDs and not touching any belongings during the test can make some students feel like they’re under suspicion of something. But it’s really just a result of Problem #1: because the stakes are so high, people will go to any lengths to cheat on the test; the photo ID requirement, for example, is in response to people sending others in their place to take the test for them. Solution #2: Understand the ETS and the context of the test. The SAT has been around for almost 100 years, and for most of that time it was a very imperfect indicator of college readiness that was overused. Its imperfection, and its role in American higher education, are the reasons for the prison-lockdown style security around the test today. Tests make some people desperate, and to keep it fair, the ETS feels they need to respond to cheaters’ new methods. But you’re not a cheater, and you’re going to be ready, so you can ignore all the weird secrecy stuff and just pretend you’re fulfilling a requirement for school. Problem #3: Fear of the Unknown The SAT was designed to test aptitude (although it no longer claims to do so) without students knowing what they were being tested on. This means that the question types and answer choices can be totally baffling if you’re unfamiliar with them. That’s why even the College Board offers free practice materials. Solution #3: Prepare! Of course we at PrepScholar feel strongly about the benefits of SAT prep, but there are certain benefits of it, and of PrepScholar’s program specifically, that are undeniable. The main one is that, even if you just take one Practice Test, you’re more familiar with the format and material than you would be otherwise. Taking it a notch further, PrepScholar breaks the test down into specific skills that the SAT is testing, which removes much of the mystery from the test itself. And no two students are alikeone might have trouble with circles problems, while another may be great at circles but baffled by long passages in the Reading section. Our program only gives you lessons in the areas you need to improveautomatically. For other ideas for reducing test anxiety, see our post Mindfulness and the SAT, and if all this advice is too late for you because you’re taking the test in 2 weeks, check out our SAT Prep Tips for Last Minute Studying and Cramming. If you found this article useful, please consider joining our email list at right. Your information will never be shared or sold.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Olympics Boycott essay

Olympics Boycott essay Olympics Boycott essay Olympics Boycott essayThe Olympics boycott of 1980 was one of the major sports event of the 20th century that revealed the full extent to which politics influenced the world sports and Olympic movement. At the same time, being driven by morally just reasons, the Olympics boycott of 1980 became the failure of the US because the US made the move that put under a threat the survival of the Olympic Games as one of the few international events that united sportspersons and nations globally, regardless of their political background. In addition, the boycott had failed to become a truly global decision. Instead, the boycott was virtually forced on close allies of the US but it had never been fully supported in the world, while its effects were negative not only for the USSR but also and mainly for American sportspersons, who were deprived of an opportunity to participate in the main sports event of their life which they fairly deserved, because of political concerns of Jim Carter’s a dministration.The Olympics boycott was triggered by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the USSR deployed its military to support the pro-Soviet, communist regime in Afghanistan (Mertin 235). In response to the military intervention of the USSR in Afghanistan, the US and its allies introduced sanctions, among which the boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow was a part of sanctions. The military intervention of the USSR into Afghanistan was apparently the unfair and challenging decision but this political and military move was not new in international politics, taking into consideration the Soviet troops deployment in 1968 in Czechoslovakia, Hungary in 1956 and threatened to deploy its troops in Poland in 1980, while even the US deployed its troops to reach their geopolitical ends, as was the case of Korea in 1953 or Vietnam in 1956-1975. However, neither of the aforementioned conflicts did result in sanctions affecting sportspersons and major sport events like the Olympics.At the same time, the expansion of sanctions on the Olympics evoked controversial responses not only in the world community but also among allies of the US. In fact, many countries were unwilling to support the Olympics boycott initiated by the US. Therefore, even allies of the US were not willing to support the Olympics boycott, while countries that took the position close to neutral were even more unwilling to join the boycotting cohort. As for social states, they were neither willing nor capable to boycott the Olympics in Moscow, especially in light of the extensive deployment of the Soviet army in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Obviously, socialist states were not willing to trigger the outrage of Moscow which threatened the deployment of troops against states that manifest their disloyalty.Nevertheless, the US conducted the large scale campaign aiming at the support of the boycott. The US attempted to use celebrities to persuade the public and political leaders along with national commit tees of other countries to support the US Olympics boycott. For instance, Muhammad Ali’s voyage to Africa before the 1980 Olympics aimed at persuading leaders of some African countries and their national Olympic committees to support the boycott.The alternative Olympics Boycott Games were conducted in the US. In fact, this was the weak attempt to save the Olympics for those, who supported the boycott because the alternative Olympics were not recognized by the International Olympic committee or by the international community as the Olympic Games. As a result, there were just regional games, a sport event that involves some popular sportspersons but could never be viewed as a large scale, major event of four years period as the Olympics normally are.Many countries refused to support the Olympics boycott, while many US allies, such as West Germany, had to apply a considerable pressure to persuade their national Olympic committees to support the boycott. At the same time, some co untries, which officially refused to participate in the Olympics, still sent their sportspersons, although they participated under the Olympic flag and did not use their national flags and anthems. For instance, French, British and other sportspersons participated in the Olympics in such a way.Remarkably, the Soviet television did not show the sportspersons under the Olympics flag to maintain the general impression of the worldwide participation and involvement into the Olympic Games. In such a way, the Olympics boycott had failed to defeat the Soviet propaganda since the population of the USSR was just fed up with the Soviet propaganda and the average spectators watching the Olympics in the USSR on TV did not even notice that something went wrong but the absence of the American sportspersons, whom they perceived as enemies and did not really care about their absence.The Olympic boycott was generally perceived as the failure because even the allies of the US participated in the 1980 Olympics, although their participation was informal. Other countries just refused to support the boycott (Corthorn 51). Even though sixty-five countries did not participate in the Olympics at all, the boycott did not reach its main goal, which it was launched for. The USSR did not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The public image of the USSR did not suffer much because its response to the boycott was predictable as well as the boycott itself. In addition, the USSR had the powerful propaganda machine that shaped the public opinion in the USSR as the ruling regime wished. Hence, the boycott could not have any significant effects on the public opinion and the population of the USSR and Jim Carter’s administration expected.On the other hand, sportspersons of those countries, which supported the boycott, suffered the most, whereas the boycott did not affect the USSR much (Cousineau 76). Therefore, the boycott has not reach its main goal to raise the public opinion in the USS R as well as internationally since the USSR public remain basically ignorant or indifferent to the boycott, while the world community was rather willing to participate in the Olympics than support the boycott initiated by the US out of political reasons and concerns.The aftermath of the Olympics boycott was the deterioration of international relations between the US and the USSR and their allies. In response to the Olympics boycott in 1980 in Moscow, the USSR responded with the boycott of the Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles (Sarantakes 121). The USSR was supported by thirteen socialist states, which were allies of the USSR. At the same time, there were only two states that supported both boycotts and did not participate in neither Olympics, these states were Albania and Iran.In fact, the Olympics boycott of 1980 was rather a failure than success. The US failed to make the boycott global. In this regard, undemocratic, socialist states naturally ignored the boycott and participated in the Olympics in Moscow. Moreover, even close allies of the US did not really support the boycott because, in spite of the formal support, sportspersons of the US allies still participated in the Olympics. At the same time, the boycott had a negative impact on the development of sports in the US because the entire generation of sportsperson was deprived of the possibility to participate in the Olympics, which they prepared for during four years. As a result, the refusal of the US Olympic Committee to participate in the Olympics in 1980s in Moscow deprived American sportsperson to participate in the Olympics which was the only lifetime chance for many sportspersons to participate in the Olympics.Thus, the Olympics boycott of 1980 was rather a failure than success. The politically driven sanctions did not have desirable effects on the USSR and its allies, while the extrapolation of the political struggle between the two superpowers on the Olympic movement contradicted to fundamental p rinciples of the Olympics which always stood on the ground of the peaceful competition between all sportspersons from all over the world.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Definition and Examples of Headlinese

Definition and Examples of Headlinese Headlinese is an informal term for the abbreviated style of newspaper headlines - a register characterized by short words, abbreviations, cliches, noun stacking,  word play,  present-tense verbs,  and ellipsis.   Headlinese combinations are not in themselves sentences, said linguist  Otto Jespersen, and often cannot be directly supplemented so as to form articulate sentences: they move, as it were, on the fringe of ordinary grammar (A Modern English Grammar, Vol. 7, 1949). Nonetheless, says British journalist Andy Bodle, [m]ost of the time the meaning of headlines is quite clear (to native English speakers, anyway). They generally achieve their aim of provoking interest without misrepresenting the facts too grievously (The Guardian [UK], December 4, 2014). Examples and Observations Perhaps a copy editors best test for headlinese is the question: How often do I hear this word used in ordinary conversation with its headline meaning? If hardly ever, the word is headlinese.(John Bremner, Words on Words. Columbia University  Press, 1980)In their quest for concision, writers of newspaper headlines are . . . inveterate sweepers away of little words, and the dust they kick up can lead to some amusing ambiguities. Legendary headlines from years past (some of which verge on the mythical) include Giant Waves Down Queen Mary’s Funnel, MacArthur Flies Back to Front and Eighth Army Push Bottles Up Germans. The Columbia Journalism Review even published two anthologies of ambiguous headlinese in the 1980s, with the classic titles Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim and Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge.(Ben Zimmer, Crash Blossoms. The New York Times, January 10, 2010)[W]hen the folks at Variety toss around insider lingo and cryptic headlinese like B.O. Sweet for Chocolat and Helmi ng Double for Soderbergh its hard to tell what the heck theyre talking about.(Scott Veale, Word for Word/Variety Slanguage. The New York Times, Feb. 25, 2001) Plane Too Low to the Ground, Crash Probe Told(Headline quoted by John Russial in Strategic Copy Editing. Guilford, 2004)Police: Middletown Man Hides Crack In His Buttocks(Headline in the Hartford Courant, March 8, 2013)Man Shoots Pictures of Wolf Chasing Him on Motorcycle in CanadaBANF, Alberta – A Canadian man says he was chased by a gray wolf while he was riding a motorcycle in British Columbia. . . .(Headline and lead at FoxNews.com, June 21, 2013)Short Words in Headlinese: Thinnernyms- Headlinese  might be defined as words that no human being would utter in context but that headline writers use because they fit into tight spaces.(John Russial,  Strategic Copy Editing. Guilford Press, 2004)- The grandest, oldest and arguably finest headline tradition of all, of course, is the use of short words. Instead of disagreeing, people clash. Rather than competing, they vie. Instead of divisions, we have rifts. And instead of a Mexico president promising reforms of the policing s ystem in an effort to mollify people’s anger over the murder of 43 students, we get Mexico president vows police reform in bid to quell massacre rage. I was inordinately pleased with myself for coining the word thinnernym to describe these short words, although I’ve since been informed that I’m not the first to do so.(Andy Bodle, Sub Ire as Hacks Slash Word Length: Getting the Skinny on Thinnernyms. The Guardian [UK], December 4, 2014)- [B]revity is a whip-bearing  dominatrix in the discipline of headline writing.(William Safire, Hotting Up. The New York Times Magazine, June 10, 2007) Life on Mars- War of the WordsThis is a headline from The Friday Review Section of The Independent of 21 August 1998. It introduces an article reviewing a fierce scientific debate about the possibility of life on Mars. Headline writers use a wide range of devices to create a very specific style, which is sometimes called headlinese. Their one-liners must put in a nutshell the main point of the news story they relate to and at the same time capture the readers attention. . . . [I]f we pad out the above headline, we might get something like The life on Mars debate remains a war of words. It will be noticed that the headline as it stands contains no verbs: this is replaced by the dash (- ). The structure has the effect of all the focus being on the balanced phrases, Life on Mars and War of the Words.(Peter Verdonk, Stylistics. Oxford University  Press, 2002)Telegraphic EllipsisA form of written language which typically uses telegraphic ellipsis is the newspaper headline. . . .Grammati cal clues present in  the headlines themselves . . . interact with contextual information from the setting to encode retrievable meaning; This process is essentially cataphoric in that headlines refer forward to the main body of the text, a fact exploited by editors and sub-editors on a daily basis to encourage headline-spotters to read on.(Peter Wilson, Mind The Gap: Ellipsis and Stylistic Variation in Spoken and Written English., 2000. Rpt. Routledge, 2014) Noun Stacking in HeadlinesA string of unleavened nouns will form a whole headline. Three nouns stuck cheek by jowl was once the limit, but now four is standard. Some months ago two tabloids gave their front pages to SCHOOL COACH CRASH DRAMA and SCHOOL OUTING COACH HORROR and a week or two later one of them achieved five with SCHOOL BUS BELTS SAFETY VICTORY. There is some loss of seriousness here, as if anyone cared.(Kingsley Amis, The Kings English: A Guide to Modern Usage. HarperCollins, 1997)A colleague points out: It sometimes seems that any time anyone writes a piece about Africa (or, in fact, dark-skinned people), the first (and usually last) headline everyone comes up with is Heart of Darkness. Its unimaginative, and boring, but more importantly perpetuates lazy colonial attitudes, ideas of ignorance and benightedness, etc.(David Marsh, Mind Your Language. The Guardian, February  14, 2010) See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Block LanguageCopyeditingCrash BlossomJargonJournaleseTelegraphic Speech

Saturday, October 19, 2019

UKCCA Event Project assessment brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

UKCCA Event Project assessment brief - Essay Example Therefore, I project there will be a total of 500 fans. This is a good number which will enable the organizers to get adequate returns and make profits at the end of the event. Given that this is expected to be a spectacular event, it will have to be advertised to enable all the target audience to have adequate information about it. Because this event will be targeting the college students, adverts will be placed in the broadcast (TV) and online media. By using popular web sites and social media platforms, the organizers of this event will have to access the students who are so popular with these sites. Thus, they will acquire all the necessary information about it. In order to appeal to the target audience, all the necessary steps should be taken to ensure that event is made colorful and enjoyable. The target age group is made up of young excited and curious individuals who need to get a high level of satisfaction from such events (Carr, 2009). A part from inviting a renowned band of Jazz musicians to thrill them, the event organizers should extend their services to invite a DJ and offer a variety of dishes in the normal list of UKCCA menu. This will include the following meals: As a matter of fact, the organizers of this event are expected to incur lots of expenses. These will be used to cater for advertisement, hiring the artists, venue, staff and purchasing of food and drinks which will be consumed during the event. These expenses can be summarized in the table below: In order for this party to succeed as planned, there needs to be adequate preparation. Meaning, the organizers have to allocate enough time and resources. However, since it will not be a free event, each and every participant will have to be charged. No service will be granted free of charge. Therefore, the expected income is stated in the table below: Actually, one of the major objectives for

Friday, October 18, 2019

Global Convergence and Divergence Research Paper

Global Convergence and Divergence - Research Paper Example The phenomenon of globalization is the inter-connectedness among the various nations of the world on the basis of economic ties, and this has produced convergence or unity and integration of different world systems. According to Thomas Friedman, globalization is the â€Å"inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies†¦..the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world.† McMichael sees the process of global integration taking place on the basis of â€Å"market rule on a global scale†. This process of integration may be producing a global convergence of different organizational systems. Ugeux defines convergence as the manner in which a series of actions are driven towards a central point of reference – a process resulting in a move towards a common set of principles and objectives. Uguex notes that there appears to be a conceptual convergence in the following aspects: (a) the use of a non-ruling approach, wherein recommendations have been made for Companies to follow, which have been mandatorily imposed, yet are in practice being followed by many countries (b) the majority of the Board of public companies must be independent and executives of the Company are not deemed to be independent (c) Members of the audit committee must be independent directors and must not receive fees or compensation from the Companies (d) the audit committee makes the decision on the hiring of external auditors and this is subject to the approval of the directors and shareholders.

Critical Analysis of Globalisation Implications on HRM and Future Essay

Critical Analysis of Globalisation Implications on HRM and Future Challenges for People Management within Organisational Setting - Essay Example , this has resulted into unprecedented results such as increased competitiveness among private and public sectors in numerous countries around the world. There are significant measures that are taken by human resource managers to gather information regarding development strategies that are vital in human resource management. Therefore, in different organizations around, human resource departments are focusing on implementing strategies that facilitate transformation of business in order to cope with modern challenges and exploit opportunities in the business environment (Belcourt & McBey, 2010 6). Globalisation has facilitated significant transformation of human resource; in this case, businesses can connect to new places around the world, and managers can make decisions that are supported by information gathered from different parts of the world. In addition, globalisation is widening talents through development of pools comprising of marginal, permanent or fluid employees. Globalis ation has also promoted processes of establishing a market oriented development strategy, thereby creating more opportunities to world’s economy. In this case, the world has been converted in to a single interdependent global market place, which is attributed to increasing competition and economic change; in fact, these changes have a significant degree of unpredictability (Ozbilgin, 2005, 45). Competitiveness has been established on a state or enterprises level, where value is added to global economic products, services and process that involve human resources. Therefore, this competition calls for knowledge and skills, which are offered by human resources in organizations. Furthermore, knowledge and skills are crucial elements of a workforce, and they have become sources of competitive... This essay stresses that organizations are expected to comply with all rule and regulations formulated by the government. In this way, theses organizations can avoid facing challenges resulting from changes in legal and political environment. Different organizations around the world are competing with an aim of attaining good public image that can result high profitability. Therefore, considering challenges that have been identified, HR managers are expected to take responsibility of training workers on ways to offer quality products and services to customers. Through this way, organizations can generate sufficient profits that can support them during economic recessions. The paper has conducted a critical analysis of globalisation implications on human resource management, and it has identified and discussed future challenges that are likely to be faced by HR managers within organization setting. The paper began with introduction section that gave an overview of globalisation and future challenges of human resource management. The other section covered a critical analysis of impact of globalisation on the HR management. In this section, the paper outlined and discussed in great lengths, factors that has promoted globalisation in human resource field. Finally, the last section explored future challenges that are likely to be faced by human resource managers, thereby identifying remedies to solve these challenges.

International politics- alignments and alliances Research Paper

International politics- alignments and alliances - Research Paper Example The president despite making the emancipation proclamation fears that certain forces who did not want to see the end of slave trade may inculcate it back to the society. In this regard, the president makes an effort to ensure that the amendment is passed within the end of the month so that slaves who had been freed are taken back to captivity. It is clear that the political class has their own issues and fighting slave trade is not such a bid deal to them; this is more evident from politicians who had just lost their seats. Other political intrigues were evident. Politicians are willing to take advantage of the fight against slavery for their own personal gain. For example President Lincoln seeks the help of Preston Blair who had influence over Republicans. In return, for his support, Blair expected the president to give a political favor. The favor meant more problems because it would upset another faction. The president was however forced to comply with those demands. 12 years a slave shows the predicament of African Americans through the story of Northup and his family. It is clear that slavery was propagated because of the economic gains they made to the masters. Northup ends up in the hand s of Freeman who eventually sells him to Ford who later sold him to Epps. Epps was a sadist who treated slaves with contempt because, like many other masters he believed that they have no dignity and deserve to be treated as such. Through the life of Northup it is clear that slaves were used for economic purposes. Those who worked as slaves were required to work hard because as such they fetched their masters more money. This explains why Northup was able to work for many masters. There is an instance when Ford engaged Northup and told him that he had, â€Å"a debt to pay† and as such would not consider Northup as a free man. To Ford and other like him slaves were purposely for economic gain to the masters. Slaves such as Northup

Thursday, October 17, 2019

PACKED DISTILLATION COLUMN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PACKED DISTILLATION COLUMN - Essay Example In order to achieve the initial heat loss rate of the system, there was fixing of the output voltage to its maximum value and setting the reflux divider to total reflux. Once the measurement is achieved, there was changing of the reflux values to 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 with the help of reflux divider situate on the control panel and the rate of feed flow altered to a maximum value of 70 cc/min. Waiting period of 20 minutes was recommended upon the change of reflux ratios and system reaching its steady state. It was then possible to identify the time at which the system reached its steady state by checking at the temperature indicators with the help of a thermocouple selectors. To obtain the heat loss rate of the initial experiment for every reflux ratio specific values, it was recommended to obtain the feed samples and to identify the top products with respect to the namesake valves. These parameters were obtained in the cylinders used for measuring and cooling in the refrigerator finally followed to temperatures of 15-16oC. Once the required temperature was achieved, the solutions specific gravity was measured by use of a hydrometer. Matching the reading obtained followed to a closer figure of the charts specific gravity giving approximate alcohol percentage in the solution. In addition, the amount of fluid passing through a given time interval was measured to obtain top product flow rates. A constant feed rate supply is maintained by channelling the supply from a head tank and backing it up with the help of feed tank as indicated in the start-up procedure. The other pipes are used to supply the liquid from top product tank to bottom product tank and finally to feed tank. To constitute the feed, return the products collected from the top, the bottom, and any sample that had been taken for measurements back to the feed tank (McKeown and Chalfant, 2000).   The interlock of the system are used to protect condenser coils of the glass from thermal shock when water

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business management - Essay Example While, the list of functional areas that exist within a business is extensive and also reliant upon the nature of an organization, its scale and the industry in which it operates, the primary functional areas of a business can be classified as: human resources, administration, production, finance and marketing and sales (Carysforth and Neild 2000). Consequently, organizations that operate in the information technology industry may have a dedicated IT department while, manufacturing industries may finance the establishment of a research and development department in addition with the primary functional areas that have been identified in the paper. Accordingly, the focus of the paper is dedicated towards an examination of the functions of human resources and administration which are two distinct functional areas of business that interest me the most as a student of business management. According to Sims (2007) the business landscape of the twenty-first century is marked by the growing importance of human resources as a pivotal component of organizations. ... These aspects include the procedures of recruitment, selection, training and development, learning, motivation, complying by labor laws and ensuring that health and safety regulations are met. Therefore, my role as a human resources manager would be designed to successfully meet the stated purposes of the human resources function. This would involve the management of the entire HR system which constitutes of the recruitment process and employee dismissal, examination of employee performance to design appropriate benefits and compensation packages and the initiation of comprehensive employee engagement, training and development measures to enhance individual potential (Chuang and Liao 2010). An interesting observation with regards to the assessment of the functional areas of business is that each and every department is provided with a distinct purpose and direction which is much unique and different from that of the other. However, the administration function is the only area of an o rganization which serves a wider purpose by assisting the operations of human resources, finance, marketing and production departments amongst others. With the introduction of diversified concepts such as organizational innovation and knowledge management with respect to business operations, the significance of establishing a comprehensive administrative system under the administration function has been augmented. Liao and Wu (2010) classify the development of an administrative system as a part of an organization’s process of innovation which is pivotal to the success of today’s business. The fact that the administration department is

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

PACKED DISTILLATION COLUMN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PACKED DISTILLATION COLUMN - Essay Example In order to achieve the initial heat loss rate of the system, there was fixing of the output voltage to its maximum value and setting the reflux divider to total reflux. Once the measurement is achieved, there was changing of the reflux values to 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 with the help of reflux divider situate on the control panel and the rate of feed flow altered to a maximum value of 70 cc/min. Waiting period of 20 minutes was recommended upon the change of reflux ratios and system reaching its steady state. It was then possible to identify the time at which the system reached its steady state by checking at the temperature indicators with the help of a thermocouple selectors. To obtain the heat loss rate of the initial experiment for every reflux ratio specific values, it was recommended to obtain the feed samples and to identify the top products with respect to the namesake valves. These parameters were obtained in the cylinders used for measuring and cooling in the refrigerator finally followed to temperatures of 15-16oC. Once the required temperature was achieved, the solutions specific gravity was measured by use of a hydrometer. Matching the reading obtained followed to a closer figure of the charts specific gravity giving approximate alcohol percentage in the solution. In addition, the amount of fluid passing through a given time interval was measured to obtain top product flow rates. A constant feed rate supply is maintained by channelling the supply from a head tank and backing it up with the help of feed tank as indicated in the start-up procedure. The other pipes are used to supply the liquid from top product tank to bottom product tank and finally to feed tank. To constitute the feed, return the products collected from the top, the bottom, and any sample that had been taken for measurements back to the feed tank (McKeown and Chalfant, 2000).   The interlock of the system are used to protect condenser coils of the glass from thermal shock when water

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Stanley Kubrick- A Life of Contributions to Film Essay

Stanley Kubrick- A Life of Contributions to Film - Essay Example â€Å"An awareness of contingency arises whenever there is a loss of faith in teleological explanations, in the received or discovered validity of meaning, in the rational structures of nature or the signifying power of mind and language† (Nelson, 1982.p. 13). Kubrick was not like those filmmakers who hold a mirror to nature, but rather he was one who creates his own experience. Kubrick himself said that he put forth substantial control over the final filmic product. His several films are considered major addition to generic canons like 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction; The Shining is a horror film while Full Metal Jacket is on war. It seems that Kubrick texts surprisingly come and at once come to pass as part of the genre tradition, but no one can predict about his forthcoming films. Influential thematic and technical undercurrents are constantly running through each filmic text. A deep study of Kuberick’s work show that he was so absorbed with his selected s tories and themes that he constantly tried new experiments with forms and used technique that take on his audience as well as deliver meaning. (Nelson, 1982) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)   The film was popular not only for depicting future technological developments successfully, but also for engaging a generation. This film was based on a short story, Arthur C.Clarke’s â€Å"The Sentinel,†. In this film, the director presented four parts of the â€Å"epic† connected with a central idea: the development of human intelligence. 2001: A Space Odyssey is considered different, extraordinary, and exceptional science fiction films. A Space Odyssey has enjoyed an immense popular following since it was released in theaters in 1968. Kurbrick’s notion of detail performed via the renowned edit of the gloriously thrown bone metamorphosizing into the space vehicle both sums up and projects time (Phillip, 2006) A Clockwork Orange A Clockwork Orange (1971)  left a po werful and positive impact on its audience because of the visual splendor of its special effect. The credit goes to the directors’ creative energy. A Clockwork Orange was adapted from a novel by Anthony Burgess (1962). A Clockwork Orange is a film, in which Kubrick put his artistic insights; he wrote the screenplay, controlled the shooting and did the editing (Kagan, 1972). The story of the film is in line with the novel and no significant modifications have been made. A Clockwork Orange is highly controlling film that engages the audience not only just to amuse them. To achieve this engagement of the audience, Kubrick goes through a complicated pattern of character development attracting the audience in and after that moving away from relaxed land to a new dimension. The character ‘Alex’ is a driving force for the viewer; his appearance, his voice and linking identification. The scenic cuts happen in hastily; beating an old drunk in a drain; an incredibly viciou s gang fight; playing â€Å"Hog of the Road† in the stolen Durango 95, finishing with a visit to â€Å"Home† for the rape†¦Ã¢â‚¬  surprise visit.† In addition to all this, still the ‘

Monday, October 14, 2019

Approaches to Economic Development

Approaches to Economic Development THE ECONOMICS OF DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES Meaning of the term ‘Economic Development’ Actually, there are broadly two main approaches to the concept of economic development : The Traditional Approach or ‘The Stages of Economic Growth’ Theories of the 1950s and the early 1960s. The New Welfare Oriented Approach or ‘The Structural-Internationalist’ Models of the late 1960s and the 1970s. 1.  The Traditional Approach : The thinking of the 1950s and early 1960s focused mainly on the concept of the stages of economic growth. Here the process of development was viewed as a series of successive stages through which all countries had to pass. The propounders of this approach advocated the necessity of the right quantity and mixture of saving, investment and foreign aid to enable the LDCs to proceed along an economic growth path. They based their conclusions on the fact that this economic path historically had been followed by most of the more developed countries. Thus, in this period development had become synonymous with rapid, aggregate economic growth. This approach defined development strictly in economic terms and it implied : A sustained annual increase in the GNP at rates varying from 5 to 7 pcpa or more; Such changes in the structure of production and employment that the share of agriculture declines in both, while the share of manufacturing and the tertiary sectors increase. The policy measures that were suggested in this period were the ones which induced industrialization at the expense of agricultural development. The objectives of poverty elimination, economic inequalities reduction and employment generation were mentioned but only as a passing reference. In most cases it was assumed that the rapid gains in overall growth in the GNP would ‘trickle-down to the masses’ in one form or the other. 2.  The New Welfare Oriented Approach: Jacob Viner was probably the first economist (1950’s) to argue that an economy could not boast of having achieved economic progress if the incidence of poverty in that economy had not diminished. But it was in the early 1970’s that economists began to realize that Jacob Viner’s stance was relevant, as nearly 40 % of the developing world’s population had not benefited at all from the rise in the GNP and from the structural changes that had taken place in their respective economies during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Hence, in the 1970s it became necessary to redefine the concept of economic development. This modern approach views underdevelopment in terms of : international and domestic power relationships; institutional and structural economic rigidities; and, the proliferation of dual economies and dual societies both within and among the nations of the world. This approach places emphasis on policies that would lead to the eradication of poverty, provide more diversified employment opportunities, and reduce income inequalities. This approach insists that these and the other egalitarian objectives have to be achieved only within the socio-economic context of the respective growing economy. Thus today, economic development is a process whereby the general economic well-being (especially of the masses) of an economy is affected for the better. Meier defines economic development very concisely as: ‘Development is the process whereby the real per capita income of a country increases over a long period of time subject to the stipulation that the number below an absolute poverty line does not increase and that the distribution of income does not become more unequal’. This definition thus highlights the following aspects of the term economic development : 1.  Development is a PROCESS : Today, development implies the operation of certain socio-economic forces in an interconnected and causal fashion. This interpretation is more meaningful than merely to identify development with a set of conditions or a catalogue of characteristics. 2.  Development is a RISE IN THE REAL PER CAPITA INCOME : Since today the development of a poor country arises from a desire to remove its mass poverty, the primary goal should be a rise in the real PCI rather than simply an increase in the economy’s real national income, uncorrected for changes in the population. Simply increasing the real national income does not guarantee that there would be an improvement in the general living standards of the masses. If the population growth rate surpasses the growth of national output or even runs parallel with it, the result would be a falling or at best a constant PCI and as this would not be beneficial to the masses, it cannot be considered as development. 3.  Development can take place only over a LONG PERIOD OF TIME : This time period is significant from the stand-point of development being a sustained increase in the real income and not simply as a short-period temporary rise, such as occurs during the upswing of the business cycle. The underlying continuous upward trend in the growth of the real PCI over at least two or three decades is a strong indication that the process of development is on the right track. 4.  Development must lead to a DECREASE IN SIZE OF THE ABSOLUTELY POOR : Given the new orientation of the development thought, it is necessary that the quality of life of the masses must improve in fact improve to the extent of actually showing a fall in the amount of people living below the poverty line. This would automatically require, as suggested in the definition, a reduction in the economic inequalities in the economy. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that the policies implemented should actually divert economic power towards the economically vulnerable groups in the economy. The policies should aim at raising the real PCI, causing a diminution in economic inequality (ie., an alleviation if not an eradication of poverty), ensuring a minimum level of consumption, guaranteeing a certain socially relevant composition of the national income, reducing unemployment to a tolerable low level and removing regional development disparities. The framework of development as given by Charles P. Kindleberger and Bruce Herrick reiterates the improvement-of-the-masses emphasis of Meier’s definition. Kindleberger and Herrick maintain that economic development is generally taken to include : Improvement in material welfare, especially for persons with the lowest incomes, the eradication of mass poverty along with its correlates of illiteracy, disease, and early death; Changes in the composition of inputs and outputs that generally include shifts in the underlying structure of production away from agricultural and towards industrial activities; Organizing the economy in such a way that productive employment is general among the working age population and that employment is not a privilege of only a minority; and, Increasing the degree of participation of the masses in making decisions about the directions, economic and otherwise, in which the economy should move to improve their own welfare. The Economic Growth V/s Economic Development dEBATE The stress on the improvement in the quality of life of the masses has made it imperative to distinguish between the growth-oriented approach of the 1950s 1960s and the modern development-oriented approach of the late 1960s 1970s ie., the distinctions between Economic Growth and Economic Development must be highlighted. 1.  Definitional differences : Economic growth is a pure economic process whereby there is an increase in the economy’s GNP due to the increase in the productive capacity of the economy. Economic development, on the other hand, is a multi-dimensional process involving major changes in the social structures, popular attitudes and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of absolute poverty. 2.  Differences in the objectives : Economic growth aims at: Increasing the size of the GNP, without actually considering the social relevance of the composition of the national income. Removing all the obstacles that could come in the way of increasing the economy’s productive capacity, eg., removing the market imperfections that exist in the economy. Supplying the ‘missing components’ like capital, foreign exchange, technology, skills and management, which are needed for improving the economy’s productive capacity. Hoping that the benefits of the increased capacity of the economy would some how reach the masses. Economic development, on the other hand, aims at : Increasing the availability and widening the distribution of basic life-sustaining goods such as food, shelter, health and protection. Raising the level of living including, in addition to higher incomes, the provision of more jobs, better education and greater attention to cultural and humanistic values, all of which serve not only to enhance material well-being but also to generate greater individual and national self-esteem. Expanding the range of economic and social choice to individuals and nations by freeing them from servitude and dependence, not only in relation to other people and nations, but also from the forces of ignorance and human misery. Thus, we see that the goals of economic growth are rather narrow in scope, while those of economic development are more broad-based in nature and in scope. 3.  Differences in the overall approach : a.  Quantitative versus Qualitative Approaches : According to Kindleberger, economic growth means more output, while economic development implies not only more output but also changes in the technical and institutional arrangements by which it is produced and distributed. Growth involves more output derived from greater amounts of inputs and with greater efficiency; but, development implies changes in the composition of the output and in the allocation of the inputs to the different sectors. Thus, growth is related to a quantitative sustained increase in the PCI accompanied by the expansion in its labour force, consumption, capital and volume of trade, while economic development is related to qualitative changes in economic wants, goods, incentives and institutions. b.  Revolutionary Speed versus Evolutionary Speed Approaches : Economic growth implies a certain degree of rapidity in the change process. Changes are introduced at a brisk rate and without a sufficient preparation of the socio-eco-politico foundations of the economy. Projects are literally imposed on the economy to create a global impression of progress. The masses are either not taken into confidence or are not considered vis-à  -vis the new projects. The rapid changes caused by the ‘Revolutionary Approach’ of economic growth ensure the failure of the system within a short time. Economic Development, on the other hand, adopts a more ‘Evolutionary Approach’ ie., it first ensures that the socio-eco-politico foundations are readied for the change. Hence, when the change actually takes place, it is readily and popularly accepted and supported. Thus, development involves creating a sense of awareness and a feeling of participation among the masses in the economy. This makes the development process painstakingly slow, long and drawn-out but it is this gradualness in approach that actually strengthens the economy in the long run. c.  Only Immediate Gains versus Also Futuristic Gains Approaches : The gains that accrue from economic development are far more sustaining than those made from growth, simply because of the differences in the way the future of the to-be-introduced projects are anticipated, analyzed and appreciated. Economic growth means increasing the economic activities, irrespective of whether the economy can continue supporting the newly introduced economic activity in the long run or not. For instance, along the lines of economic growth, an LDC would increase its current steel producing capacity, but it would not be able to keep up this new capacity for more than a few years. Hence, within a few years, the increased capacity would lay wasting leading to a wastage of scarce resources. Economic development, on the other hand, would consider the future sustaining capacity of the economy before actually increasing the steel capacity. If and only if the economy can continue supporting this higher rate in the future, the capacity would actually increase. Thus, economi c development guarantees that the scarce resources are currently used fruitfully and appropriately. d.  Only Economic versus Also Environmental concern Approaches : Economic growth, due to its rapid approach, more often than not, causes harm to the environment natural and/or social. Projects are undertaken without considering the cascading effects that could follow in the form of natural environment degradation, pollution, overcrowding, increase in crime rate, bottlenecks in infrastructural facilities, etc. For instance, an economy, for growth’s sake, could undertake an irrigational project without either making a thorough study of or without caring about its ramifications on the natural and social environment. Economic development, on the other hand, insists on the conservation and the protection of the natural and social environment. If a certain project could cause any sort of significant damage to the environment, that project would be either abandoned or altered. If the above mentioned irrigational project was approached from the development point of view, its site would be either changed, or its dimensions altered to prevent natural environmental harm; and if there is any sort of social environmental damage, like displacement of the inhabitants, then, rehabilitation projects would be undertaken, in consultation with the affected people. e.  The Trickle-Down versus The Direct-Attack Approaches : Economic growths, primary goal is to increase the productive capacity of the economy massively, irrespective of whether or not the poorer sections would benefit from this higher capacity. In fact, growth works on the assumption that the benefits that accrue from the increase in capacity would some how or the other trickle-down to the masses. Thus, growth makes no deliberate attempt ensure that the benefits do reach the poorer sections of the economy. The objectives of poverty eradication, economic inequalities reduction and employment generation are mentioned but only as a passing reference, as secondary gains that may or may not occur. Growth has a sort of an in-built tendency to bypass those very people in the economy who deserve to be supported the most by it. Economic development, on the other hand, by directly attacking economic misery, ensures that the benefits of the increase in the productive capacity actually reach the masses. The policies aim at diverting economic power towards the economically weaker sections of the economy. The policies directly aim at raising the real PCI, causing a diminution in economic inequality, ensuring a minimum level of consumption, guaranteeing a certain socially relevant composition of the national income, reducing unemployment to a tolerable low level and removing regional development disparities. 4.  Interrelationship between Economic Growth Economic Development : Although economic growth and economic development are indeed very different in their approaches, there exists an inter-relationship between them. It is difficult to conceive of development without growth. In low income countries, for instance, a substantial increase in the GNP is needed before they can hope to overcome their problems of poverty, unemployment and occupational distribution. However, it is possible to have growth without development, as growth is not concerned with the social aspects of an economy. In short, since development is a broader concept it encompasses growth and therefore can be said to be directly related to growth. Thus, development is growth with a human face. References: Todaro, M.Economic Development in the Third World. Chs 1 and 3 Meier, G.Leading issues in Economic Development. Ch 1 (1-A) Misra PuriEconomics of Growth and Development (4th Ed) Ch 1 Jhingan, M. L.The Economics of Development and Planning. (28th Ed) Ch 1 Mukherji, SampatModern Economic Theory Ch 50

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Consumer Behavior Essay -- Business, Supermarket

This essay is based on an analysis of our observation on consumer behaviour which took place at a supermarket. As a means of interpreting the data, the following theories and concepts would be used which are social construction, pester power and independent and interdependent self views...... Social construction PESTER POWER DEFINITION Pester power can be defined ‘as a child’s attempts to exert influence over parental purchase in a repetitive and sometimes confrontational manner’ Nicholls and Cullen (2004:77). Procter and Richards (2002:3) suggest that pester power is ‘the repeated delivery of unwanted requests’. Parents are bombarded with requests, gestures and pleas from their children to buy items like foods, toys and clothes and most often children who carry out this act get what they want (Nicholls and Cullens, 2004). Children might be influenced by either their peers at school (Smithers, 2010) or by advertisements seen on the television (Chandler and Heinzerling, 1998, Smithers, 2010). DEFINITION OF FREUDIAN PERSONALITY THEORY Freudian personality theory is otherwise known as the psychoanalytic theory and it is often used by marketers to influence the purchase decisions of customers unconsciously (Bettany, 2011 and Solomon, 2011). The Freudian personality theory is composed of three categories namely the id, the superego and the ego. The id according to Freud is part of our unconscious being as it functions with regards to the pleasure principle; the pleasure is applicable to the id as it seeks immediate gratification of needs (Bettany, 2011 and Solomon, 2011). Hoch and Loewestein (1991:498) suggest the id is the ‘primary process of thinking’ that is impulsive, stingy and illogical whose aim is to seek pleasure only,... ...essed by Lee and Karen (2000) which reports a strong correlation between ones interdependent self concept and group relationship motives for purchasing goods. Which reiterates’ beliefs that spending so much money on status signifying clothes will be detrimental to groups goals and objectives which may include feeding and other general welfare necessary in a family setting. Strong evidence found by Millan and Renolds (2011) suggests that consumers possessing a high independent disposition were more inclined to shopping activities via regular visits to clothing shops, keeping up with latest trends and information obtainable in at shops thereby spending more money on clothing than interdependent consumers, reason being that consumers with a strong independent self concept tend to satisfy wide variety of symbolic and hedonic needs through this means of consumption.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Speech Recognition Software :: Essays Papers

Speech Recognition Software Wouldn't it be nice to talk normally to our computers, just as we've seen the characters in "Star Trek" do? Of course, the computers in "Star Trek" understand what you're saying, and that's still a long way off. Tecnology has been advancing at astonishing rates, developing new software for a better interaction computer – human. For example Dragon Systems' NaturallySpeaking is the first continuous-speech voice-recognition program designed for general dictation Until now, most voice-recognition programs supported discrete speech. Examples include Dragon Dictate, Kurzweil Voice, and IBM's Simply Speaking and VoiceType. These work well in special circumstances. But. You. Have. To. Speak. Like. This. Good enough IBM's soon-to-be-released Via Voice different is that they offer large-vocabulary, continuous-speech recognition. Their promise is that you can speak normally and the program will understand what you say. These programs are designed to replace dictation machines and give you hands-free typing. Seeing this In NaturallySpeaking, the app writes the words you speak, and you can save what you've spoken as an .RTF file or copy the material to the Clipboard and an application. You can even edit your text within that application by speaking specific phrases. Saying phrases like "select word" or "spell that" is cumbersome and more time-consuming than editing by hand, but it does allow hands-free use of the program. Ideally, it could be combined with a speech-synthesis program that would verbally prompt you for information. But the real breakthroughs are farther off, when the programs can better differentiate the context of what you are saying. Even then, that doesn't mean the computer will understand what you mean. That's just science fiction. But having it recognize words as you speak them is a big step forward. Dragon has added some new dictation and editing capabilities not found in its previous product, DragonDictate. You can spell words by saying the letters instead of using the alpha-bravo alphabet. Voice macros enable you to add long phrases to documents by speaking shorter ones. To aid postdictation editing, its new select-and-say feature highlights a word or phrase anywhere in the document if you say, "Select [word or phrase]." Typically, you'll have to edit your document after you dictate it; if you wish to edit your file orally, you have to learn the appropriate voice commands. Once you have installed the software it is important that you go through the speech training consisting on two parts. The first part, an informative dictation trainer, stepped me through both a basic and dictation training session.