Meditation, attention and well-being of college students

Ask any college student today and they would probably say that being in college is one of the most difficult and consuming endeavor that they have had in their lifetime. College life is not only about going to classes, meeting deadlines, writing papers and completing courses. College life is also about developing analytical and critical minds, learning life-skills, building knowledge and applying it to real-life situations.College students need all the help they could get to make their academic lives a little lighter or more manageable. Many self-help books have advocated changing one’s attitude, thinking positively, time-management, building relationships and other methods that one gets a feeling that they do not really provide solutions but just state the obvious. One that has received less attention is in the area of meditation.Literature has found that meditation has positive effects in reducing stress as a relaxation technique. However, meditation has been associated with new age thinking and referred to as spooky stuff that the present generation of college students may not be aware of. Meditation have existed since man first begun creative thinking, it is often referred in religious and spiritual practices. In the early years of psychological investigation, meditation became a popular subject in terms of the experiences that people have when they meditated as well as how it can be an effective relaxation technique.Meditation is being able to become more attuned with one’s inner self and this takes a great deal of directed attention. Attention refers to the ability of the mind or consciousness to attend to a specific area, event, information or thing. Studies on attention have highlighted the detrimental effects of not being able to hold one’s attention, and of how fleeting and short a person’s attention span can be especially in a very complex and stimulus overloaded  environment we have. Directing attention to a single obje ct or thought can be relaxing since it allows the person to be present in the here and now, it was also espoused that training oneself to become more attentive can develop cognitive functioning and thus help in academic performance.College students can benefit in learning and being able to use meditation techniques to cope with the many stresses and anxiety of college life and developing attention skills to further enhance academic performance. It is therefore hypothesized that college students who practice meditation will have a longer attention span and will have higher grades and a more positive mental health and hence increased feelings of well-being.This study will determine if college students who practice meditation techniques on a regular basis have higher attention skills as measured by a behavioral experiment and whether they have more positive feelings of well-being as determined by a well-being inventory.A discussion of meditation and its application into the enhancement of attention, creativity and consciousness is presented to demonstrate the far reaching effects of meditation as a means of aiding college student’s performance in school and their mental health.MeditationMeditation has been defined as process wherein the person achieves an altered sate of consciousness by performing certain rituals and exercises. These exercises include controlling and regulating breathing, sharply restricting one’s field of attention, eliminating external stimuli,  assuming yogic body positions and forming mental images of an event or symbol. The result is a pleasant, mildly altered subjective state in which the individual feels mentally and physically relaxed.Some individuals after extensive meditation practice may have mystical experiences in which they lose self-awareness and gain a sense of being involved in a wider consciousness, however defined. That such meditative techniques may cause a change in consciousness goes back to the ancient time s and is represented in every major world religion. Buddhists, Hindus, Sufis, Jews and Christians all have literature describing rituals that induce meditative states (Arambula, Kawakami, Gibney, 2001).Traditional forms of meditation follow the practices of yoga, a system of thought based on the Hindu religion, or Zen which is derived from Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The two common techniques of meditation are an opening up meditation and concentrative meditation.  Ã‚   In opening-up meditation the subject clears his/her mind for receiving new experiences while in concentrative meditation the benefits are obtained through actively attending to some object, word, or idea.Experimental studies of meditation provide only limited insight into the alterations of consciousness that a person can achieve when meditative practice and training extend over many years. In his study of the Matramudra, a centuries old Tibetan Buddhist text, Brown (1977) has described the complex training requ ired to master the technique. He has shown that cognitive changes can be expected at different meditative levels. A somewhat commercialized and popular form of meditation has been promoted as transcendental meditation or TM ( Hanley & Spates, 1978) ).The technique is easily learned from a qualified teacher who gives the novice mediator a mantra and instructions on how to repeat it over and over to produce the deep rest and awareness  characteristic of TM. In TM a person develops a reduced state of physiological arousal; feelings such as peace of mind, a feeling of being at peace with the world and a sense of well-being are reported after engaging in TM. In a now classic study on the effect of TM to college students by Hanley & Spates (1978), it was reported that those who were practicing meditation had more positive personalities.In this study, meditation in the form of transcendental meditation (TM) will be used as the meditative process which will be given to college students wh o will participate in this study. The TM is much easier to learn and practice than the traditional forms of mediation and since it produces feelings of peace and well-being that it suits the purpose of this study. Meditation is categorized under altered states of consciousness and since consciousness is the most basic cognitive function that is closely related to attention, the second part of this study is to determine if meditation enhances attention span and accuracy and in effect would lead to greater academic performance.Meditation and AttentionMeditation and attention is unquestionably linked together, meditation is the process by which attention is narrowed and focused on one object or event, and without engaging one’s attention fully to the immediate task, and then nothing will come out of it. Attention must be acutely directed towards the mantra, the breathing of the individual and the experiences one will have during the meditative state. Meditation in effect enhance s the ability of the person to direct attention and when attention is more keen and developed, a person can have better concentration  and can better attend to the critical thinking skills needed in college education (Shear & Jevning, 1999).Attention has been the earliest subject of the study of psychology, cognitive science have provided evidence that attention is physiological, that it is limited but can be expanded to become more acute and enable the person to become more aware of his/her environment, more appreciative of nature and life and it causes a general feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.Several studies have tried to find evidence that meditation and attention has a relationship. In a study of the effects of opening-up and concentrative mediation to attention in terms of ignoring distractions and focusing attention (Chan, 2003) found that meditation was positively correlated with the ability to direct attention but it was shown that meditation minutes per day was p ositively correlated with decreased distractions and mistakes, the form of mediation used or how may years a person has been meditating did not have any significant relationship with the owner. In a similar study, concentrative and mindfulness motivation was measured in terms of how effective it contributed to the task of sustained attention.The study compared the sustained attention of students who had meditation training to those who did not (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). The study found that those who had meditation techniques scored better in the sustained attention task wherein those who practiced mindfulness meditation had better scores than the concentrative mediators. The practical applications of an enhanced attention that is not affected by distractions and sustained attention can be directed towards improved academic performance of students.Meditation, Attention and Well-being 7Meditation and CreativityA new concept put forward by Sarath (2006) advocated the use of meditation techniques to mainstream classroom instruction as it enriches the learning process and enhances the creative process and consciousness of students. Creativity is highly related to the issue of meditation because the experience associated with meditation is similar to the second person approach wherein the student actually creates and produces an output that would enable him/her to have a deeper understanding of the concepts raised in class (Sarath, 2006).The author had argued that education and learning should be focused on providing actual experience of the lesson, not just learning something in books and not being able to work with it. Creative expression of one’s talent and interests should be the main thrust of the school. At the same time, a more sustained attention and inability to be distracted by external stimuli are necessary steps in the practice of creative thinking.ConclusionMeditation is not just for the spiritual and magical but it is also a positive process to develop attention and induce students to relax and communicate with their bodies and their surroundings. College students have to deal with pressures and expectations that they sometimes feel cranky, anxious and fed up. Meditation as evidenced by the studies conducted showed that it could positively affect attitudes, attention span and resistance to distractions. Meditation also has been found to be a medium that could enhance the learning process and encourage creativity. As such, this study has found evidence to support the hypothesis mentioned in the first part.Meditation, Attention and Well-being 8ReferencesArambula, P., Kawakami, M., & Gibney, K.   (2001). The physiological correlates of KundaliniYoga meditation: A study of a yoga master. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 26; 2, pp. 47-53.Brown, D.P. (1977). A model for the levels of concentrative meditation. InternationalJournal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25; 4: 236-273.Chan, D.P. (2003). Effects of medi tation to attention, Unpublished dissertation. University ofCalifornia.Hanley, C. & Spates, J. (1978). Transcendental meditation and social psychological   attitudes.The Journal of Psychology, 99, p121-1127.Sarath, Ed. (2006). Meditation, Creativity and Consciousness: Charting Future Terrain withHigher Education. Teachers College Record, 108; 9, pp 1816-1841.Valentine, E. & Sweet, P. (1989). Meditation and Attention: A comparison of the effects ofconcentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 2; 1, pp 59 to 70.Shear, J. & Jevning, R. (1999). Pure consciousness: Scientific exploration of meditationtechniques. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6; 2, p. 3)

Is Our Country Too Small to Sustain so Many Professional Sports Teams Essay

Is our country too small to sustain so many professional sports teams? This question is being asked and written about a lot lately. New Zealand sport is fairly strong in places but there are a lot of negatives. But many great sporting triumphs have come out our tiny sports crazy country. But it is debatable wether or not provincial sport is going well at the moment. Teams are dropping out of competitions and are running out of money. On the other hand our country has had some great sporting milestones and our provincial sport is a stepping-stone for some of our world-class athletes to make their mark on the world. Firstly many provincial teams are losing money or are in debt. This either forces teams to drop out of an upcoming season or completely fold. For example the Otago Nuggets had to drop out of the NBL (National Basketball League) in 2009 because of financial reasons. But thanks to their major sponsor Oceania Gold they are back in the League. The Otago Rugby Football Union who over four years lost nearly $4 million and have just announced they may go into liquidation and miss the 2012 ITM Cup. This all starts because unions are spending more money to buy players, coaches, staff, flights and accommodation than what they can afford. With teams going into debt they cannot afford to buy their star players, buying star players maybe good for the team in the short run but can end badly in the long run. This is bad because with a team pulling out does not give locals the chance to get recognised on the big stage where their career could start. This is also bad for big sports fans in a region, as they do not have a team to support. With all the negative points there are positives like there is so many sporting milestones being reached. For such a small country we compete very well against the rest of the world, in some cases we are even world champions. This makes me proud to be a New Zealander. E. g. The All Blacks finally won the rugby world cup after a 24-year drought, 3 times loosing to France. Or the New Zealand Breakers winning the Australian National Basketball League and becoming the first New Zealand team to win an Australian competition beating the Warriors in the NRL for rugby league and the Phoenix in the A-league for soccer. Or The Silver Ferns Beating the world champions in the final of the netball in the commonwealth games and finally the Kiwis who won the last Rugby League World Cup showing that national sport in New Zealand is very strong. It is important having strong national teams as it is a good reputation to have as a country, and for such a sports crazy nation it is good to see New Zealand win. Lastly, for great sportsmen and women provincial level is where is all begins on their journey to greatness. Many great sportsmen have been recognised from sports in New Zealand. E. g. Brendon McCullum who plays cricket for Otago and New Zealand got a contract for US$900,000 by an Indian cricket club, the Kolkata Night Riders. McCullum is now one of the best Twenty/Twenty players in the world. Another example is Kirk Penny. Penny had a great season for the New Zealand Breakers basketball team. A European club, Madrid Fuenlabrada signed him and he is now making his mark in Spain. This is important as it helps world-class athletes from New Zealand be known to the rest of the world. In conclusion we see that professional sport in New Zealand has its downsides being that teams are going broke or defunct but many positives like our national teams doing well and New Zealand players being recognised worldwide. We can see there are many positives and negatives but most professional sports in New Zealand are strong and I believe New Zealand sport is great.

Canada And Humanitarianism During The 20th Century History Essay

Canada And Humanitarianism During The 20th Century History Essay At present day, Canada is a country widely affiliated with peacekeeping, third world aid, and humanitarianism, to people internationally. Canada being one of the most culturally diverse nations, Canada has been known to accept many people regardless of controversial individual characteristics, such as gender, religious views, sexual orientation, or place of birth. Though, it is human nature internationally to distinguish and isolate fellow beings based on these criteria, yet to be humanitarian one must have an ideology of kindness, consideration and compassion towards all people, regardless of their status. However, during the past century, Canada had not stuck to its philanthropic nature as one would have believed. Primarily, the various discriminatory and restrictive laws which were instituted by the Canadian government. Secondly, Canadian treatment of certain groups of people was poor and unfair. Lastly, Canada had unethically weakened the rights of particular citizens. Although Canada may be considered a nation that does not discriminate any person, Canada went through a very rough and arguable past, during the last century, and humanitarianism is and has not been a part of Canada’s national identity. Firstly, humanitarianism is not part of Canada’s national identity, since Canada had implemented many laws that were restrictive and discriminatory against people residing in Canada. Japanese Canadians first started immigrating to Canada, particularly British Columbia in large numbers during the late 1800’s through to the early 1900’s. Due to the majority of white skinned people living in Canada at the time, the Japanese community was unfortunately subject to indirect discrimination and harsh treatment due to descent. In B.C., many political leaders passed various laws including the denial of voting rights aimed at the Japanese population, for the sole purpose of encouraging them to leave the country (â€Å"Japanese Canadians†). Among other things, Japanese immigrants were not able to work like other Canadian citizens, they were given poor wages and laws were passed to prevent them from working in professions they might have had in their country of origin (â€Å"Japanese Canadians†). Twelve weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbour the Canadian passed the War Measures Act which had allowed the Canadian government to legally remove Japanese people living in Canada within a 160km of the pacific coast (â€Å"Japanese Canadians†). Japanese Canadians had to undergo many situations similar to these due to government policies, though most policies were solely created or instituted due to Japanese discrimination. On another note, there was also many laws and policies passed by the government to further discourage and prevent the immigration of Japanese or any other racial distinction other than the preferred, from entering Canada. An example of this was the Komagata Maru incident, where 376 Punjab is from Eastern India had boarded the Japanese-owned ship to sail to Canada in hopes of boarding and living in Canada (â€Å"Komagata Maru†). Due to the views of Canada on immigration, Canada had put into effect an order-in-council that required immigrants travelling by boat to travel in a non-stop continuous passage to Canada (â€Å"Komagata Maru†). This made it extremely difficult for immigrants to successfully enter Canada. Upon arrival, majority of the people on board were detained, they had then lost their case to get into Canada, and were planning on a how to depart. They had departed back to Kolkata, India in a Canadian provided cruiser, upon arrival they were under suspicion by police which then resulted in 20 of the passengers being killed (â€Å"Komagata Maru†). This is a clear historical event that could have been prevented by the government of Canada, as there was no reasons for the harsh treatment of the innocent passengers of this particular ship u pon arrival on Canada. Canada’s ignorance for others particularly Asian immigrants further show why humanitarianism has not been part of Canada’s national identity.

Philosophies of Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophies of Nursing - Research Paper Example There exists a unique interplay between the patients’ beliefs and the effectiveness of the medication. The workability of any form of medication depends grossly on the patient’s state of mind and on the conviction that a particular medication is effective to alleviate the disease (Sobia 2014). The dilemma for life and death necessitates interventions to rehabilitate the psychological inclinations of the patients as a primary move to ensure the effectiveness of medication. Achievement of psychological peace is a prerequisite for the effectiveness of medical drugs. It is the responsibility of the nurses to foster a conducive psychological peace o the before the administration of medication. The Nightingale philosophy of nursing is 1880 nursing philosophy of Florence Nightingale. Nightingale philosophy touches closely on the nurse-patient relationships and the distinctive roles of nurses in the health of the patients. This philosophy delimits the roles of nurses from that of the physicians (Sobia, 2014). The propositions of the Nightingales nursing philosophy formed the basis of ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to’ for nursing professionalism. The philosophy fostered comprehensive exposition of the roles of nurses in keeping a continuous check on the progress of patients as a guide to inform necessary changes for the checks and balances in the performance of medication. The stance taken by the Nightingale philosophy draws a relationship between the effectiveness of medication and the patients’ environment. It posits that the cleanliness of the patients’ environment ranging from the cloths to the bedding is pre-determinants of the successful response to medications (Sobia, 2014). Furthermore, it asserts the protective role of nurses on the lives patients’ .the proponents of the nightingale philosophy advocate for a change in the patient environment as a means of achieving the optimal effect of medication .it forms an integral aspect of

Focusing on camera techniques and the mis en scene, argue whether or Essay

Focusing on camera techniques and the mis en scene, argue whether or not you feel the character of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pir - Essay Example Various camera techniques are also employed to capture the various scenes of the film. The Pirates of the Caribbean series, the curse of the Black pearl is one of the famous films in the industry. It employs various camera techniques and mis en scenes so as to paint the characters of its actors, their lifestyle as well as their social status. The main character of this film is Jack sparrow, a pirate. The film revolves around him, as he dominates all the scenes of this action. This essay evaluates the various camera techniques and mis en scenes used in this film, and whether they portray Jack Sparrow as a pirate. This film begins with the camera focused on the dark grey waters. As the sequence continues, the camera focuses on ship that slowly emerges from the sea. From the camera mid-shot, the viewer is able to tell the design and make of the ship. It is the type of ship associated with a wealthy category of people. It does not paint the picture of ordinary pirate. As the ship approac hes, a close distance shot view paints the image of the ship clearer. At this moment, the only audible sound is the sound of rippling water and cricking of the boat. There is no background music. This creates a more serene atmosphere that defines rather a sinister movie than it really is (Shaviro, 65). Another clear feature is the creepy colors that sum up with the sound to establish the theme more colorfully. This introduction provides mixed feelings to the audience. The film introduces a young girl, Elizabeth, as the first character. The girl chants a traditional song â€Å"Pirates life for me†, which is common with the pirates. Already, this first character introduces the theme of piracy. The voice of the lady is very clear to the audience. These two effects allow the audience to capture the main theme of the film. Close up shots brings focus on this first character and the audience can tell that she is sad. Therefore, they are able to anticipate a sad event within the sco pe of the film. This close view also portrays the naivety of this young girl. The film introduces the second character differently from the first one. The camera glides in quickly and focuses on this character. The second character has clothes that portray that he is a class below the first characters. His speech also brings out this issue even more clear; he speaks in a cockney accent as opposed to Elizabeth who uses ‘posh’ English accent. This tells the audience that the two have different backgrounds (Prokow, 20). Secondly, the characters in this film wear clothes that can be referred to those of early ages in the 19th century. Close up shots capture the traditional attires of these characters. The age of this film is another feature that contributes to the main theme of the movie. Of more significance is the main character, Jack Sparrow. He appears in old and dirty clothes that are associated with pirates. The camera closes in to capture the character so that his at tires become an element of interest to the audience. As a result, the viewer prepares to watch a film dominated by pirates as the main characters (Inga, 1). After introduction of the main antagonist and the protagonist, there is an eye line match between the main protagonist and the sinking ship in the distance. This portrays a rather disturbing or unpleasant mood. There is also an eye line match between the young girl and a small boy floating on the sea. The low angle shot aims at relieving the

The Gaming and Console Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Gaming and Console Industry - Essay Example Among the notable improvements in the computer world that attribute their success to the gaming industry, including sound cards, graphics cards, and 3D graphics accelerators. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives also base their invention in the gaming industry (Hooper 1991). Sony has been in the industry for a considerable number of years and has been the key provider of the video games with its PlayStation devices. Regardless of the increased competition, the industry’s future is still very promising as more people buy and use games. Sony has been in the industry for a long time, but its sales and revenue from the business has been declining considerably with time. This is due to various reasons, some of which the company has control over, while others it cannot control. As more people use games, more players come to the market, increasing competition. Changing customer tastes, substitution by other forms of games and environmental factors could be a reason for the decline in the perfor mance. However, despite this, the company is likely to remain in the business for a long time. Q 1 Porter’s five competitive forces Competitive rivalry Sony is operating in a very competitive industry, with many firms coming up with different forms of gaming. With the increase and technological revolution, many companies have started providing games via digital devices, for example, smartphones. Other companies have gone a step further to provide online streaming of games for their customers where people can play games online from the internet. Regardless of the stiff competition, the company is currently facing, Sony’s consoles are not about to be edged out of the market anytime soon due to increased innovation and inclusion of a variety of features if the recent launch of PlayStation 4 is anything to go by. Although prospects are high in the gaming business, expectations are that in future, the profits will keep on dwindling and the next generation of games will neve r rake even half of what the current is making. Stakes are high, risks have increased to the point that currently, Sony is struggling to command superiority in the same market that it had previously dominated. With increased uptake of technology, research, and experiments in the industry, more and more developments are coming to place.

Autism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Autism - Assignment Example for changing the term and using the umbrella in diagnosing autism in children is because it has been observed that different clinicians can diagnose same individual with different disorder and some may even change the diagnosis of the same symptom differently from one year to the other. In addition, the condition autism is, usually, defined by a common set of behaviors that are evident in the person and hence should be characterised by one term that should only vary according to the severity of the condition (Tanguay. p. 1142). Because DSM-v criteria combines all the sub diagnoses that were used previously under one condition, Autism spectrum disorder, inconsistencies may be noted to exist between DSM-v diagnoses and databases used for billing. Specific sub diagnoses including Asperger’s contain ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM specific codes. The major change is in the removal of the formal Asperger’s disorder and PDD-NOS diagnoses removal. When re-evaluated, individuals who initially were with these conditions are likely to receive different diagnoses when they visit hospitals for re-evaluation. This may be confusing for the parents who currently know the diagnoses of their children as well as adults and children who strongly identify with their conditions. The new criteria of DSM-v used for Autism is more thorough and appears strict compared to the initial criteria used for diagnoses. In this new criterion, it requires more symptoms to meet the criteria used within the fixated area of interest and the behaviour that are repeated. Other changes noted in the new criteria for diagnoses include reorganization. Currently, communication impairment, social interaction deficits, restricted interests and repetition of behaviors are main domains used in diagnosing autism. In the new criteria, there is a combination of social interactions and communication deficit to a single title of social/communication deficits. In addition to this, it is no longer necessary to have

DQ 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ 10 - Essay Example The woman was jealously, controlling and cruel. The stepmother treated her stepdaughter in a cruel manner when compared to her own daughter. This can be seen from the paper clothing that she gave to the stepdaughter compared to the wool clothing that she gave to her own daughter when they went to harvest strawberries. In society, numerous issues and cases have been reported on the misunderstanding and attitudes between stepdaughters and stepmothers towards other members of the family. Even though the attributed is limited, it actual occurs with the society. The three dwarfs are the main male characters. The male characters read and understood the personality of the two daughters resulting in rewarding the good one while punishing the evil one. The male characters illustrate the importance of differentiating, understanding what is wrong from what is good, and proposing the appropriate strategy to acknowledged the virtues. From the story, it is evident good deeds are rewarded while the evil deeds are punished. The stepdaughter was rewarded since she had positive attributes while the stepmother was punished because she had negative attributes. Through life, the interpretation has not changed since it is a common approach that is employed in appreciating and punishing

Compare a Middle School Science Curriculum In a State of Your Choice Essay

Compare a Middle School Science Curriculum In a State of Your Choice to New York City - Essay Example This essay declares that the strengths of the curriculum of Benjamin N. Cardozo in New York State is the focus on students being able to describe variations within a category, and so encourages an outlook that goes beyond a dichotic black and white perspective, and students learn that a category can have wide variation within it, sometime to a greater degree than when compared with another category. Also, the emphasis on the stages of development within the human body, as well as within other biological systems, reinforces the concept of processes within systems, that first one thing must occur for another to occur, and the importance of time in the process. Cleveland incorporates factors that influence the health and development of humans as well as other creatures, which makes the material more relevant and applicable to the students’ everyday lives. This article makes a conclusion that the weaknesses of each curriculum are quite similar. Firstly, there is a distinct lack of cross-cultural frames of reference, as students are not exposed to other approaches to experiencing and questioning the world besides that of empirical science, for example Native American frames of reference. This could encourage students to not accept and respect differences of interpretation, as well as inhibit understanding that different systems of thought are more applicable to particular circumstances.

You can choose what ever you think Research Paper

You can choose what ever you think - Research Paper Example De Nittis (2008) observes that Oates places special significance on the issue of subordination of women and the feminist perspective of our male-dominated society. She finds that the story displays the theme of violence, especially on females and "male characters are the perpetrators of violence, often physical violence, upon females" (De Nittis 7). Apart from the fact that the story describes issues of violence against women, there is also the integration of fantasy over reality among young girls and how the society responds to it. It can be noted that Connie constantly displays narcissistic acts by always looking at herself at the mirror, fixing her hair time and again, and would act as if she is a matured woman and experienced with men. The repudiation comes directly from her mother who often scolds her for being so immature and contrary to her sister, June. This is where the issue of fantasy versus reality comes into play: because women toil so much in order to be recognized at a certain level by certain male categories, particularly matured men, the society reacts the against it by considering girls as sexual fantasies rather than respectable women. Oates finds a surface realism wherein she deems Arnold friend as a "symbolic Satan" (Christle 1). The roots of Connie, and females in general, being a recipient of sexual violence is because female sexuality has always been perceived based on the masculine parameters (2). For instance, it is as if that being beautiful is all that really matters for Connie - when she sees herself nicely in the mirror, she would think that she would get the kind of recognition she wants from boys. This is always ironic in a sense that the more females define their sexuality in terms of beauty and attractiveness, the more male are going to treat them indecently; and that is the sad

Factors Affecting Female Achievement Essay Example for Free

Factors Affecting Female Achievement Essay The definition of education guiding mainstream schools today is that education is the delivery of knowledge, skills, and information from teachers to students. While the above metaphor—education as a delivery system—sounds reasonable, it misses what is most important about education. This mistaken idea of what true education is and how it can be achieved is the root problem in mainstream education today. This conception of education contributes to harming students and teachers by driving policy makers to insist on accounting for the units of information that students demonstrate knowledge of on tests. The perceived need for mass scale standardized outcomes leads to a kind of instructional bookkeeping that drives administrators to control teachers behavior, which in turn is directed to controlling students behavior in ways that increases symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other forms of diminished psychological well-being. Student outcomes as measured by tests bear little relationship to true education, and so the instructional bookkeeping scheme is a failure even before the harm it causes is taken into consideration. [[SIDEBAR: Check out my video about Waiting For Superman to see how the delivery metaphor was presented in that movie as an utterly obvious truth for mainstream audiences, much to my chagrin.

Croygas Sports club Essay Example for Free

Croygas Sports club Essay Croygas Sports club has many roles and responsibilities that people have to fill. Here is a list of these roles and responsibilities of the personnel involved in the club:  President  A president is the title given to a person who is head of an organisation or company. The president at Croygas Sports Club is a figure head for the club, and shows up at different functions to represent the club.  Chairman  The chairman takes a more hands on role in the sport clubs day to day management. The chairman is the presiding officer of meetings, organisations and committee. Secretary  The secretary of this club performs routine and personal task tasks for a superior. The secretary performs duties such as typing, making tea, sending letters etc. The secretary will have to be very organised making sure that all the files and paperwork are kept neat and tidy.  Social Secretary  The social secretary organises and handles the personal details of clients; they are very similar to a personal assistant. This person will require strong communication skills because they will be communicating with people a lot and basic computer literacy because all there work is based on the computer. Treasurer  The treasurer is responsible for running the treasury. They are employed by organisations to look after the funds. The treasurer would oversee how the money is spent, making sure that they dont over or under spend.  Publicity Officer  The publicity officer is the key person in charge of publicising events and activities run by Croygas. This person is also responsible for the clubs policies and procedures e.g. the clubs policy on the welfare of children. The most important member of the club is the president. He is the founder of the club and has the biggest responsibility of looking after Croygas and making sure that everyone is doing their jobs properly. He also chooses to hire and fire staff, it is his decision how to use the money that the club raises and what to spend it on. He has a big impact on the club, because he has helped it to develop the club into a family orientated club that is currently highly successful in the football and cricket leagues. The chairman of Croygas has a more hands on role at the club. He has a big influence on the club and is always ever present in meetings and committees. He will be informed and up-to-date on all the information that is happening at the club and it his job to keep the president informed with this information. He will work with the president, deciding on future plans together and ways of improving the club. The secretary is just as important to the club as the president or the chairman. She has to sort out all the paper wok into files making sure that it is all organised and easy to access. A lot of the work the secretary does doesnt get seen, they do things like answering the phones, writing and sending out letters, organise things such as quiz nights and fixtures etc. The secretary is the main organiser at the club and plays a vital role in making the club successful, without the secretary, there would be nobody to organise paper work and keep files etc. The treasurer deals with the financial side of the business. They have a lot of control over the money and how the money is pumped into the club. The treasurer has a lot of work to do with things like organising fund raising activities, sponsorship, match and sub fees etc. There is a lot of organising to do and the president relies on the treasurers advice to decide what to spend the clubs money on.  The social secretary and the publicity officer both play similar roles as the secretary; they deal more with organising events to help raise money, and not so much paper work as the secretary. There are a number of problems that a club faces, and they would have to devise an action plan to improve the operation of the club. These problems include relegation. If a team is relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, then they will lose money in a number of different ways. Firstly the stadium wont have as many fans coming to watch the games because they are of lower standard and they want to see the best teams play, therefore they will lose money because they arent getting the same gate receipts as the previous season. Some of the best players in the relegated team might attract interest from bigger teams, and the chances are that these players will want a move away from the relegated team because they want to play at the highest standard possible. Also teams will find it hard to reject a respectable offer for their best player, because they need the money to help with the finances, and because of the loss of money due to relegation, the club might not be able to afford the wages that these players are earning, so they might be forced to leave the club that can pay the wages of the players. Relegation can give clubs a problem regarding money from television companies such as Sky Sports and the BBC, the teams wont be shown on the television and will lose money because of this. Teams that are in the Premier League receive a lot of money from these companies so that they can go television.

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Liberal World Politics Politics Essay

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Liberal World Politics Politics Essay Liberalism is a principle in Global politics theory that that is based on the hope of diligence, reason and universal ethics and that with the application of this the world will become a more orderly, ethical and cooperative. By achieving this it is hoped that international war can monitored by Non-governmental organisations. Liberalism is a philosophy championed by western nations such as the United Kingdom and the USA and some Non- Governmental organisations such as the United Nations. Liberals advocate the use of military force in order to help people for example Tony Blair invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein inflicted pain and violence on his population. Infringing peoples rights is typically against Liberal thinking because they believe in the sanctity of human rights and an end to human suffering. Another Liberal philosophy is to export their own domestic policies into the foreign arena, for example in Britain the current government wants to eradicate poverty, it exports this d omestic policy to third world countries to try and eliminate poverty. But as with every international paradigm there are strengths and weaknesses. Collective security is a strength of the liberal perspective on world politics. Collective security replaces the realist idea of self help. For example in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait. The international community responded to expel Iraq from Kuwait. The Liberal countries did this to preserve liberty and resolve security in the Middle East. John Baylis and Steve Smith argue that Liberalism is primarily a theory of government, one that seeks to reconcile order (security) and justice (equality) within a particular community. (Baylis and Smith, 2001, pg 163.) Liberals argue the need for collective security as to prevent the world falling into international anarchism and up hold human rights, democracy and a free market where people are free to trade. Liberals believe in international cooperation as a way to great global harmony this can be seen to be coupled with collective security as a way to achieve this. Liberal ideas and trends often over take local ideas which can be viewed as totalitarian, a view taken by Booth and Smith, the assumption that universal norms and values will triumph over those based on particular local contexts is a feature which contemporary liberalism, (Booth and Smith, 1995, pg 92). The harmonising of greater international cooperation can be seen through the creation of the United Nations which tries to peacefully sort out countries disputes; it also tries to promote liberalism. A strong case for Liberalism is that it can be viewed as peaceful due to the history of liberalism, never have two liberal democracies gone to war which shows the level of cooperation between them and that the balance of power within the world has been upset by authoritarian regimes and outdated ideas and polices, the strand in li beral thinking which holds that the natural order has been corrupted by undemocratic state leaders and outdate polices, (Baylis and Smith, 2001, pg 178). Liberal politics has shown to protect the harmony of interests, through commerce and travel. For example the European Union can be seen as the official regulator of interests in Europe because they try to harmonise trade and travel to prevent any disputes. Liberal perspective on world politics is that they believe in minimal state intervention in peoples lifes they believe that this is the fundamental as it does not pose the risk of infringing on people human rights or interfere with the free market. Liberals argue about the preservation of individual liberty such as the freedom of free speech and freedom to trade. These are some fundamental guidelines which Liberal democracies adhere to. F. A. Hayek argues that Liberals try not to repress or discriminate their populace, every individual should be protected against all attempts to enforce them by violence or aimed discrimination. (Hayek, 1975, page 75). The preservation of liberties is seen to liberals as the basis of society and that they want to export it as it is way in which in reducing world anarchism and prevent war. Liberal trade markets are also a way of keeping state intervention to a minimum. This is so to create international harmony and cooperation as countries are allowed to trade with each other. F.A. Hayek takes into account liberalism has to have some sort of minimal state intervention as to ensure there is perfect competition and no barriers to entry within the economy, it also tries to prevent the monopolisation of areas within the economy, economic theory calls perfect competition but that there are no obstacles to entry into each trade and that the market functions adequately in spreading information about opportunities, (Hayek, 1975, page 71). Liberals always argue that for minimal state intervention in peoples lives but increasingly state centralisation is taking root within society as a result of the state trying to eliminate poverty and providing health care for the masses. J. S. Mill argues that the more the state increases its intervention in peoples lives the more they seem to look to the state for direction which eliminates independent thought, if government offices were universally filled by ablest men to whom the rest of the community would look for all things: the multitude of direction and dictation in all they had to do. (Mill, 1989, pg 111) A weakness of Liberalism is that western democracies try exporting it to other countries that are sometimes unwilling to adopt. Liberalism only takes into account western values for example democracy, free speech and equality, amongst others. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ universalising mission of liberal values such as democracyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ undermine the traditions and practices of non-western cultures, (Baylis and Smith, 2001, pg 179). This shows that Liberal and typically western foreign policy has the ability to alienate other cultures. An example of the west trying to export democratic values in an ever internationally politicised world is on Iraq and Afghanistan, through the military intervention in Iraq 2003 and the attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. A critique of the liberal perspective is that it wants to achieve world peace through international cooperation and the upholding of civil liberties, it operates with the goal of achieving world peace through cooperation and respect for human rights, (Larry Wilde, 2009, pg 4). Some countries see this as weakness and are prepared to exploit this to try and achieve concessions through taking advantage of Liberalism for example North Korea trying to get concessions for giving up nuclear weapons. A weakness of the liberal perspective on the world is that of the Liberal institutionalism. This is the liberalisation of world institutions such as the European Union. Many countries see the benefits of joining the European Union such as the freedom to access European trade markets and expand their economies that they are willing to risk and give up national sovereignty to join, The development of the European Union the benefits of membership have proved so great that states have been prepared to pool sovereignty and adjust their legal systems (Larry Wilde, 2009, pg 2). Realists view this much scepticism as they dont see why a country would want give up their own national sovereignty. A liberal perspective on the world has its strengths and weakness. Its strengths out way the weaknesses because Liberalism has influenced countries across the globe to operate free market economies which have adapted to globalisation and are now integrated into the global economy. The freedom of the economy has in some cases led to countries allowing freedom of speech and other basic human rights but it has also helped to alleviate poverty in certain areas of the world. Liberalism has also produced a network of greater collective security that helps protect nation states from attacks by aggressors such as in the 1990s when states stepped in to stop the bloodshed of the Balkan civil war. International cooperation has also helped harmonised trade and security agreements amongst states; an example of this is the development of the European Union in Europe and led to greater bonds and peace between nations. The belief of Liberals to give aid to those in third world countries has greatly helped and improved the lives of so many. Word count- 1389

The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Essay example -- essays research pap

The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson assumed office following Lincoln’s assassination. Johnson had his own ideas of Reconstruction and tried to take his own course of action in putting the Union back together following the Civil War. A series of bitter political quarrels between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction Policy in the South eventually led to his impeachment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Radical Republicans wanted to enact a far-reaching transformation of Southern social and economic life, permanently ending the old planter class system, and favored granting freed slaves citizenship and voting rights. After the war, they came to believe whites in the South were seeking to somehow preserve the old slavery system under a new appearance, (Divine 389). In April of 1866, Congress enacted a Civil Rights Act in response to southern Black Codes. The act granted new rights to native-born blacks, including the right to testify in court, to sue, and to buy property. President Johnson vetoed the act, claiming it was an invasion of states' rights and would cause conflict between the races. Congress overrode the veto by a single vote. This marked the beginning of the escalating power struggle between the President and Congress, (Divine 395).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In June of 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing civil liberties for both native-born and naturalized ... The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Essay example -- essays research pap The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson assumed office following Lincoln’s assassination. Johnson had his own ideas of Reconstruction and tried to take his own course of action in putting the Union back together following the Civil War. A series of bitter political quarrels between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction Policy in the South eventually led to his impeachment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Radical Republicans wanted to enact a far-reaching transformation of Southern social and economic life, permanently ending the old planter class system, and favored granting freed slaves citizenship and voting rights. After the war, they came to believe whites in the South were seeking to somehow preserve the old slavery system under a new appearance, (Divine 389). In April of 1866, Congress enacted a Civil Rights Act in response to southern Black Codes. The act granted new rights to native-born blacks, including the right to testify in court, to sue, and to buy property. President Johnson vetoed the act, claiming it was an invasion of states' rights and would cause conflict between the races. Congress overrode the veto by a single vote. This marked the beginning of the escalating power struggle between the President and Congress, (Divine 395).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In June of 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing civil liberties for both native-born and naturalized ...

Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel: The Relationship between Society and

Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel: The Relationship between Society and the Individual Each of the four classical theorists Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel had different theories of the relationship between society and the individual. It is the objective of this paper to critically evaluate the sociological approaches of each theory to come to a better understanding of how each theorist perceived such a relationship and what it means for the nature of social reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx noted that society was highly stratified in that most of the individuals in society, those who worked the hardest, were also the ones who received the least from the benefits of their labor. In reaction to this observation, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto where he described a new society, a more perfect society, a communist society. Marx envisioned a society, in which all property is held in common, that is a society in which one individual did not receive more than another, but in which all individuals shared in the benefits of collective labor (Marx #11, p. 262). In order to accomplish such a task Marx needed to find a relationship between the individual and society that accounted for social change. For Marx such relationship was from the historical mode of production, through the exploits of wage labor, and thus the individual’s relationship to the mode of production (Marx #11, p. 256).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Communist Manifesto it is very clear that Marx is concerned with the organization of society. He sees that the majority individuals in society, the proletariat, live in sub-standard living conditions while the minority of society, the bourgeoisie, have all that life has to offer. However, his most acute observation was that the bourgeoisie control the means of production that separate the two classes (Marx #11 p. 250). Marx notes that this is not just a recent development rather a historical process between the two classes and the individuals that compose it. â€Å"It [the bourgeois] has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, and new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourge oisie ... ...lay in societal change. However it was only until the works of Durkheim and Simmel that the role of individual interaction and society is brought to the forefront. Durkheim largely viewed the individual as needing society as a mechanism of constraint to the aspirations of an eternal goal. Finally, Simmel was able to expand on Durkheim’s dualism by noting that society could be viewed as more than a mechanism of constraint rather as an accumulation of individual interaction. Either through a combination or as individuals each theorist distinct view of the relationship between the individual and society demonstrates a new understanding towards the nature of social reality. Works Cited   Bender, Frederic L. Karl Marx:  The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ed. 1988. Durkheim, E. Suicide: a Study in Sociology. Translated by J.A. Spaulding and G. Gibson (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952). Simmel, Georg. "The Stranger." from Kurt Wolff (Trans.) The Sociology of Georg Simmel. New York: Free Press, 1950. Weber M. (1971) 'The social  causes of the decline of ancient  civilization', translated in J. E. T. Eldridge,  Max Weber, London. Weber, M. (1976)  

Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

In society today, all people determine their lifestyle, personality and overall character by both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was a drunken lawyer who had an extremely low self- esteem. He possesed many negative characteristics which he used in a positive way. Carton drastically changed his life around and became a new man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sydney is not the man he first appeared to be. He is first described at Darnay’s trial as slouching and not paying attention. He is seen as a drunk who had many personal issues. Carton feels that there is no hope for him, and that his life will never improve. He has much more potential and could be so much more in life, yet he chooses to remain in the shadow of others. Sydney has a dramatic life and is an alchoholic who sees nothing positive in himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carton demonstrates a sensitivity which helps others in the long run. His partner, Mr. Stryver relaxes while Sydney works long hard hours to prepare the defense materials for the following days. Carton does most of Stryvers work, he is a man of great talent but lacks the character traits that would make those talents work to his own advantage instead of others that he helps. He always use to be satisfied with faling into his rank and never did anything to attempt to change his life. He further destroys himself with drinking and although he is not satisfied with his life now, he feels that he cannot do anything to change it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sydney’s love for Lucie Manette changed him greatly in a positive way. One day when Sydney visited the Manette residence he called on Lucie and pledged his love to her. After hearing this, Lucie feels nothing but compassion for Carton. He asked nothing more of Lucie than to always remember how deeply he cared for her, and that he would make any sacrifice to her or anyone dear to her. Lucie was the main reason for bringing out the new , more positve Sydney Carton. He now looked at things with a more positive attitude and a new personal strength was seen in his later actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carton’s final act in this novel shows what a brave man he was and he acts upon his true love for Lucie. After the second arrest of Charles Darnay, Carton urges Dr. Manette to attempt to use his influence to free Charles. When Carton is speaking with little Lucie, Charles and Lucie’s daughter, she begs him to do something to save her

Lago in Act 1 Scenes

Thus, by carrying out the role as a villain, he highlights the animalistic traits evident within people of the Venetian society. Although Iago is a white man who holds a fairly high status within Venetian society, he is crude and uncouth, often swearing and making references to the devil.By using he imagery of being â€Å"plague[ed] with flies†, he makes reference to the devil, which is extremely inappropriate for a man held win such high regard. Furthermore, through this example, he associates himself with darkness and evil despite being a white man-who are supposedly considered pure and heathen. Also, by using the symbolism of â€Å"an old black ram†, he again associates himself with darkness and the devil. The â€Å"old black ram† symbolises the devil, which has the connotations of being evil, dark, and terrible.Hence, making the distinction between light and darkness nclear and confusing, bringing to light the idea that darkness might be evident in light, and vice versa. Because Othello has defied his position in society as a black man by proving himself through his talents and his honourable actions, he is still discriminated by Iago, who voices out his disdain for him openly. He uses the symbolism of a â€Å"Barbary horse† to represent Othello.This is extremely demeaning to Othello, a man of royal lineage who has carried himself off with only the utmost integrity and honour. This shows hat although he has many merits and is regal in his actions and demeanour, he is still associated with the stereotype that all blacks are barbarians. Furthermore, the sibilance within â€Å"the gross clasps ofa lascivious Moor† highlights the sinister and libidinous traits that Blacks are stereotypically known to possess.This forms a disgusting impression of Othello, by simply Judging him according to his skin colour. Thus, through lagds characterisation of Othello through his ethnicity, he forms a racist impression of Othello and thus, is able to highlight the significance of one's thnicity and how difficult, if not impossible, this boundary is to surpass. By agitating Brabantio, Iago makes a fool of the high ranking senator, and this brings forth the idea that people in position of power might not be worthy of it.The run-on lines evident between â€Å"Sir, sir, sir-† and â€Å"But thou must need to be sure† shows how little Brabantio thinks of using his â€Å"spirit† and his â€Å"place† to punish Iago and Roderigo. This emphasizes the fact that people of power can carelessly make use of it to their own benefit. In Brabantio's case, he threatens to punish them as they have disturbed his rest.The triviality of their offence is mismatched with the threat that Brabantio has faced them with, showing that he has taken advantage of his power and thus, might not be worthy of it. Also, the run-on lines evident between â€Å"For thus does not think before acting. This is not appropriate for some one holding such a high position as he is expected to give thought before carrying out his actions, or the resultant effect of his carelessness might have great impact on society.Hence, Iago shows the inadequacy of Brabantio and through this, questions the significance of people's merits when being placed in power. Thus, through his mischief, Iago incites people to display their raw, animalistic traits, and displays his own as well. This results in the surfacing of problems within Venetian society that eventually accumulates to result in various tragedies. Hence, Iago is significant in masterminding the eventual tragedy, and the beginnings of this are evident in act 1 scene 1 and 2.

Takem’s Appliances and Electronics

LLCAuthor: Ashraf Bani Domi February 16, 2018 ACCT 511 – Advanced Business Law for Accountants Professor: Dean Poirier Liberty University Abstract I would like to start my research paper and point out the legality and the validity of the contract that Takem's Appliances and Electronics LLC. used to sell their electronics as he had this new idea of selling them door-to-door which was a success and that lead to take advantage of this success by increasing his prices to 30% more if he delivers them to the customer's house. Also, I will explain the ethical consequences that the procedure Takem used in the region he lived in. Also, explaining the meaning of breach of the contract and what constitutes the lowest requirements in search of remedies in these kinds of circumstances. And for the sales to be permissible, they must encounter every sector of the legal criteria. Also, Takem must have ethical accountability that takes place under the social responsibility to the small community he lives in. The legal case of Sally Walker vs. Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC will be analyzed and investigated regarding weather if the conclusion of this case is it legal, is it moral/ethical? IntroductionThe world of commerce and most business relationships are initiated on a contract. Understanding of contract law is crucial for all businesspeople, owners, and managers. Since most commercial arrangements are constructed on contractual relationships. A decent preliminary point would be an empirical definition of a contract. Contracts include more than an arrangement or an agreement between two or more parties. â€Å"A contract is a promise or a set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty† (Restatement (Second) of contract chapter 1 meaning of the term).The contract can be simply described as a voluntary exchange of promises, creating obligations that, if defaulted on or failed to pay, can be enforced and remedied by the courts. It is imperative that we understand as when agreeing to terms of a contract, entities are created and defining their particular rules and obligations. This differs from other areas of the law, such as torts, where rules and obligations are imposed on them.Furthermore, a valid contract can create a situation in which parties to the contract can predict, with some certainty, their upcoming relationship because each party knows that the courts will hold them to their agreement. Despite the fact courts will enforce a valid contract after it has been created, what the parties agree to in the first place in commonly unrestricted. Mr. Takem's Business Model is it Legal?When we study contract law, the focus is usually on the problems that can arise. It may therefore appear that most contractual relationship experiences complications. In fact, most contracts are privileged or resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, and the courts become elaborate in a slight amount of contractual agreements, when an unfeasible dispute arises. Hence, addressing our case study in this project we need to outline some basic terminology that we discussed above and trying to apply it to our client, named Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC. Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC owned and operated by Tommy Takem. Tommy Takem owns Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC that participates in what might give the impression to some to be a very profitable business. However, we need to read through the surrounding circumstances and the case scenario to see and advise our client what are the best business practice he could proceed with his business, and whether we agree with his business practices or not, our constrain her in this case is to provide a legal guiding in this section and then will see how to evaluate, and explain to him the legal consequences as well as his potentials, nevertheless from the first glance and the studying we can see that most of our client Mr. Takem and his business activities obeying to law, but still need to be examined, and also we to talk about some ethics practice that could prime unexpected results. Which is something we will cover in more detail later, in our case study. Takem's business (Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC) is located in a rural area of Southwest Virginia, and the majority of its customers are poorer residents of the Appalachian regions of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. According to our case, Sally Walker vs. Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC, our client, Tommy Takem. interested in concentrate his business around these rural areas because due to different reasons, there isn't much competition for his business which was an opportunity for his business. But the disadvantage was, most of the people who lived in these areas were relatively uneducated enough to understand, poor credit, unsophisticated, and other reasons. Moreover, there was a demand for appliances and electronics. And because there weren't many appliances stores around those areas, people needed to buy them. Tommy took advantage of that and increased his prices between 10-20%. This process adapted by our client is widening the precise meaning of the contractual law. Tommy's business has been doing so well after the increase in the prices. Tommy newly came up with an idea for expanding his business. He decided to begin selling his appliances and electronics door-to-door in the above-described regions. Until recently, it had been working great. He hired some great salespeople who really know how to â€Å"apply the pressure and turn up the heat.† Further, since he is providing a service to these societies by transporting the goods to their homes, he charges about 30% more than he would if the customers came to the store. Apparently, the salespeople do not mention this fact to the customers. Lately, Tommy received a letter from a disgruntled customer named Sally Walker (an elderly widow lady who lives alone in the hills of Southwest Virginia—her children and grandchildren have all moved out of the area.) She has fallen behind on her payments on her new laptop computer, and Tommy had started collection efforts. He had not yet referred it to a lawyer. The letter is very well written (which would be unexpected since Sally is not very well educated.) It indicates that her granddaughter, who recently graduated with an MS in Accounting from Liberty University Online helped her with it. It argues that the entire deal is unconscionable and therefore unenforceable.Moreover, the letter emphasizes that Sally has paid enough for the computer that she purchased and will not pay any more. Finally, the letter indicates that if Tommy pushes the matter more, Sally threatens to sue for punitive damages and write letters to the editors of various local papers throughout the region to ruin his reputation. As we can see from the above surrounding circumstances and from the definition of the contract, our client has been operating with the compliance in accordance with the law and legality in most of his business transaction, as general roles, â€Å"The foundations of Corporate Governance demand that organizational practice follows the legal requirements. In current times, news reviews of industry wrongdoings have forged uncertainty on the bottom line that submission is definitely the widespread procedure. â€Å"(Realistic Hypothetical Legal Scenarios Business Law for Accountants†, 2013) despite the allegation letter from Ms. Walker, and despite the ethical conduct regarding the transparency in the new adapted policy and increase of 30% on the delivered items in this section, but there is however still an exception to the legality of the later mentioned of the 30% this should be communicated to the other partiers of the contract. Whether the Argument in the Letter has any Merit?In response to a letter recently received which was written by Sally Walker's granddaughter of one of his customer, from lawyer standpoint of view, the indication of Sally's letter concerning and arguing the unconscionable act of our client (Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC) by excessively charging their customers. In analyzing the precedent there could thee potential legal obligations: first one, if Ms. Walker is serious enough about bringing this case to the court, the court may look upon the contract from the unconscionability part of it, while court applies this point very scarcely, but still feasible defense to the plaintiff side due to Ms. Walker conditions. The second one is that Ms. Walker could recall for the punitive damage claim, as explained below.The third one is regarding the undisclosed charges for the delivery services.Typically, court will enforce a valid contract after it has been formed, â€Å"In deciding the validity of consideration, courts will not look to the amount or type of considerations or the relative bargaining power of the parties (except in the rare case of a contract so burdensome on one party as to indicate unconscionability)† (ABLA, 2017). My concern here is to provide my client with a reasonable and accurate sound legal standpoint and preventing him from a further and a future legal consequence. On the other hand, when Ms. Walker's proclaimed that the installment and the amount she has paid for the computer so far, is enough, I see this all was agreed upon before forming the agreement with her. Obviously, I would advise that each one of us should read and go through any kind of contract in a way that can clear and remove any ambiguous completely, read through your paper one two or whatsoever, moreover, always seek for an expertise advise in most of your relationship areas, and save yourself of being an unexpected position. Should he Take the Threats Seriously?As react with caution in determining whether my client should take Ms. Walker's letter in a serious manner because we are afraid that the court might rule to her advantage. â€Å"When it is claimed or appears to the court that the contract or any clause thereof may be unconscionable the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its commercial setting, purpose and effect to aid the court in making the determination. (106). The Restatement also has a similar rule which tracks the UCC provision. (107) The purpose of the unconscionability doctrine is to expressly allow courts to police contracts for terms they deem unconscionable. (108) Though â€Å"unconscionable† is not defined by the UCC, some definitions give a feel for what the originators of the doctrine may have intended. One court has defined it as â€Å"that which ‘affronts the sense of decency.'† (109) One dictionary definition is â€Å"lying outside the limits of what is reasonable or acceptable: shockingly unfair, harsh, or unjust.† (110)† (Bar-Gill, O., Ben-Shahar, O., ; Marotta-Wurgler, F. 2017).Another word from the law that needs to be added here is that the procedure in which my client (Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC) following by charges 30% more to delivering the appliances and electronics to the customer's door-to-door and the fact that his salespeople intended or might have been instructed by Mr. Takem not to mention it to the customers. Despite the fact that my client, Mr. Takem, intentionally instructed them to mention the 30% increase or not, while he is the owner of the business and all of his employees should follow his instructions. The court might obtain this conclusion from his business conduct and count this against him as a form of misleading, uncommunicated as one of the criteria to validate a contract, misrepresentation, misrepresentation fraudulent or other entrance to breach this contract or similar contract since the court will incline for the advantage of the plaintiff (Ms. Walker) party of this contract against my client (Mr. Takem). As we go more through Ms. Walker's letter while she emphasizes that she is going to sue for punitive damages, whereas, punitive damages cannot normally be granted in contract disputes, here I wouldn't worry about this phrase either my client (Mr. Takem), as this is merely a threaten word in Ms. Walker's letter. However, this part in some case could be unpredictable, and because they are usually compensated in addition of the plaintiff's demonstrable injuries, and are awarded only in distinct cases, but to act as a prudent defends of my client (Mr. Takem) we need to supply him with the sound of law regarding this point, as a part of a lawyer due diligence where â€Å"Jurors award punitive damages too often. The amounts they award are erratic and unpredictable, even though they start from shared moral intuitions about the reprehensibility of defendants' conduct. And when they deliberate and decide as juries, both the size and variability of the awards increase.† Feigenson, N. R. 2003). It's ambiguities which need to be corrected proximately before any serious consequences superficial. Furthermore, the major ambiguity in the business operated in this case is the lack of transparency in its transactions with their customers; this absence of transparency is most deceptive in the prices and the percentages of charge that they put on their products and their services. This lack of transparency, when visible, could cause serious issues to any business, and, an educated customer could very easily take them to court for misconduct and misleading if they don't change their method and honestly advise their customers of their business perfect. Should he Proceed with the Collection? To give my legal advice, I would recommend that my client (Takem's Appliances and Electronics, LLC) not to proceed with any further steps in collecting the remaining payments from Ms. Walker. However, this might result in having other customers doing the same as Ms. Walker. Which is refusing to pay and threatening Mr. Takem again by suing his business and sending letters to media to ruin his business reputation. We would advise that Mr. Takem take longer period of time than usual before making any efforts for future collection in general, I would propose that Mr. Takem take an initial step by offering a payment discount for certain customers with some certain conditions with that he can plan ahead of time for his future project of establishing his own financing company, in main time this will participate in reshape his reputation in the area and encourage his customers to pay one time. â€Å"Keeping the aforementioned trends, Takem needs to go beyond the literal meaning of the law and let go of unfair and /or fraudulent corporate conduct; this includes false advertising and/or ambiguous sales deals† â€Å"(Realistic Hypothetical Legal Scenarios Business Law for Accountants†, 2013) Would Mr. Takem Set up a Financing Company? And what Should he do to Protect himself?I would strongly recommend that Mr. Takem should go ahead in adopting this step, in order to prevent and protect his business from any future consequences. But the best would be if he can collaborate with an outside financing company to take over this portion of his business, in a separate entity form, to avoid and mitigate future obligations and losing his customers. Alternatively, seeking for an external collection agency to handle in arrears or uncollected payments. â€Å"Seeking a collection agency-or evaluating the one you have-can improve bottom-line results while maintaining your professional image. Overall, be sure to find a company that delivers results and matches the image you want to project. Use this list as a guide of what to expect† (Anonymous, 2015). With this step-in mind Mr. Takem should put more consideration to the law that regulates and the requirement to establish this kind of business from the participation of the comprehensive openness, full disclosure and the complete condition associated with any arrangement. Finally, he wants to Know What do you Think About his Business Model- Regardless of whether you Conclude that it is Legal, is it Moral/Ethical?I believe the majority of us will agree in response to Mr. Takem's ethics, and the way he is conducting his business is unethical, according to the given case events. Unethical behavior that is not illegal frequently falls in a grey area between right and wrong that makes it difficult to decide what to do when it is encountered. Furthermore, different people have different perspectives regarding what is ethical and what is unethical. Though, there is sometimes a difference between behaviors that are unethical and activities that are actually illegal. â€Å"The definition of business ethics and the answer to the question of â€Å"What is Business Ethics in Sales?† is the principles, morals and standards that guide the behavior in the world of business and in sales relationships too (Spro, 2013). Ethics in sales is receiving a lot of attention over recent years even more so, as it is the correct way to conduct business in the long term and produce long-term sales results for the company and for the sales team. Moreover, â€Å"Business ethics in sales can either come from the company itself, this means that the companies ethics guidelines are written into their policies and therefore can be reflected or reproduced through their sales team management and then the sales team too† (Ivan, C. D. 2014). Therefore, â€Å"Doubt regarding corporate commitment to ethical obligations has always existed, particularly when maximization of profits might be at risk. However, despite such doubt two views have singled hope. First, a view has persisted that corporations at least feel compelled to comply with the law. At times violations of law might occur. However, this was not thought to be the pattern of behavior for corporations generally. Conscious violation of law was not the behavior expected. Second, a view has begun to be echoed that business corporations are increasingly cognizant of ethical obligations beyond literal compliance with law, and increasingly feel compelled to act accordingly† (Di Lorenzo, V. J Bus Ethics, 2007).

Omnivore

After having read part I of Michael Pollen's book these chapters give us a view of the beginning of the step by step process of food from the farmlands to the dinner table. Instead of the question â€Å"What's for dinner? â€Å", it would seem more like â€Å"What's in the dinner? â€Å". Pollen takes us on a Journey through the fields in Iowa and concludes with a trip to analyze meal he shared with his family at a local McDonald's.He allows us to take a look inside of the process by which corn is used in a numbers of ways corn is used other that as a food source. By the end of part l, there is a better understanding of how corn can be used as not only a food source, but as fuel, sweetener, alcohol, as well as a chemical for explosive devices. Pollen visits a farm in Iowa and gives a very detailed view on the process by which corn is farm through the fields, processed through the grain elevator plant not far from the corn fields.He also explains the introduction to the topic of i ndustrial corn and its origins some hundreds of thousands of years ago. Pollen goes on to explain how farmers must increase the amount of corn that is planted in order survive money loss in the process, guaranteeing a harvest for the following year. In addition to his view of the process by which corn is harvested and processed for use other that food, Pollen pays a visit to Pokey Feeders cattle farm in Kansas where the cows are feed processed corn to help them become larger.The fiestas of these animals is cut short because they are now being feed a food that naturally is not a part of their nature (grass). To prevent them from getting sick, the cows are being given antibiotics that are eventually passed onto the meat that is consumed by the buyer. The increased demand for the meats of these animals has led farmers to mass breed cows at an alarming rate, placing consumers at risk for the threat of disease ( E. Coli 01 57:HE). Pollen's description of fast food was definitely a shocke r.He talks about all the synthetic food additives that put into fast food the give hem their color, texture and taste. It is scary to imagine that so many chemicals (Ex. TPTB) can be used to make something that so many people find tasty. When a McDonald meal is broken down, it seems almost unheard of that anyone would eat this separate on its own. Pollen voices his concern on how so much energy is wasted on creating these meals, the tens of thousands of corn calories being consumed that could have been used for other food purposes to feed so many hungry people. The first part of this book was definitely an eye-opener.Pollen's book allows us to take a second look at the way a lot of people get their food. We are given a better idea on how food is grown in its natural state, the industrial process by which food is treated with chemicals, how these chemicals may become a part of the product itself to stimulate growth, and how this chemicals may eventually find their way to our dinner p lates. After reading this first part, this book can make anyone want to diversify their diet by eating more game meat, growing their own food and living off of the land. Wouldn't that be great?

National Junior Honor Society Essay

To be SCHA Queen would be a great accomplishment. I would be able to demonstrate my leadership skills and express my love for show and horses. As SCHA Queen, I would take great pride in being a spokesperson and representative for SCHA and be able to increase membership in SCHA. SCHA means a number of things to me. This was my first year, but I always looked forward to waking up and going out to ride. Another reason why SCHA means so much to me is it keeps me and my horse in shape for other things involving our riding career. Its always fun to see how much my horse changes and develops during the season, and even how I change throughout the season There’s no where to go but up, and that means improvement. SCHA has changed me by changing my attitude about competition. I’ve now learned that winning is not always everything. , it may sound cliche , but, everyone is a winner when you improve on anything. I also have become more confident horseman and I am able to push my hor se to do his best. I have only been riding for about 3 years and SCHA has truly brought out my inner horseman. Now that I am more confident in my riding skills I try to teach my horse new things as well as teach myself. In addition to new skills and confidence I also made new friends. I met new people and learned some facts about riding I hadn’t known before. In general I am very shy and usually keep to myself, but this season has really taught me how to come out of my shell and talk to everyone. I now know that I can talk to anyone in the club and they will be more than glad to help me with anything I may need. A key part of being Queen would be helping others in SCHA. This would include encouraging others during their events and being a good sportsman. I can also give positive feedback about what a person is doing while riding, to help them in a way that they can ride better and be a better sportsman. To help others in SCHA I can share the knowledge I have learned in SCHA and my experience with horses. Just as other people have shared their knowledge with me, I can do the same for other people so the horse community can grow. My friends are always curious about what I do with horses and what SCHA is. I’m lways more than happy to share that information with them in hopes that they will be bit by the horse bug too. Â  As SCHA quee n I will bring a good values, leadership skills and a positive attitude to SCHA. It would mean a great deal to me to be able to represent SCHA at this level level.

Economic Geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Geography - Essay Example The recent innovations would not change the world of work substantially. Higher literacy rate and increased research intensity majorly caused the growth of income in the later half of the 20th century. Finiteness of growth of these elements is a cause of halt in income growth. The rate of progress today is very slow compared to what it was from the start to the mid 20th century. Computer age is omnipresent but has failed to increase productivity like the innovations of the late 19th century did until the quarter of the 20th century. Innovation and technology are used interchangeably but the two terms are different. A hindrance in future innovation is poorly crafted regulations. The role of government as well as energy has changed in the transition from the late 20th to the 21st century. Globalization is one of the factors that caused the productivity slowdown since 1970s, though it also serves as an opportunity since any idea generated spreads world over. The real risk for advanced e conomies is the rigidity of institutions toward accommodation of changes that are truly revolutionary rather than the slow pace of innovation. Reflection I think that the pace of innovation has not slowed down. In fact, the speed with which the research and development is taking place today far exceeds any achieved in the past centuries. This article has more discussed the effect of innovation and new technologies on business, commerce, and everyday life rather than innovation itself. Considering the innovation aspect, the fact that every year brings along with it new models and upgraded specifications of almost every gadget that we have ranging from the cars to mobile phones provides evidence of the speed of innovation. So saying that innovation is not happening any more would be far from reality. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly true that human life has never been impacted as much by innovation and new technology as it has been impacted from the start till the first quarter of the 20th century. The reason behind the decline in the impact of innovation on human life in the present age compared to the past is not just limited to the rigid attitude of the organizations and institutions toward sustaining the traditional ways of working. While it is an important factor, the reasons for the decline in innovation’s impact on human life extend beyond it to include the fact that the merits of adjusting the systems according to new technologies today are not as enormous as they were in the past. This is because of the fact that the general lifestyle of people a century ago or before that and the systems of trade and commerce were far less advanced than what they are today and had a lot of room for adjustment and improvement. Therefore, the decline has basically not happened in the speed of innovation. Instead, the decline has happened in the tendency of the systems to be improved probably because the existing systems address the fundamental needs of the society in many ways. Although there is growing concern about the safety of environment, yet this fact cannot be denied that the practices that have led to deterioration of the environmental health and safety are addressing the economic and various other needs of the society. One point that has been made in the article and which I disagree with is that the omnipresence of computer age has not increased the productivity the way the 19th century’s innovations did. Saying this is unfair because it undermines all the improvement in

Work Place Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Work Place Analysis - Essay Example Work Place Analysis Business organizations have been established to serve varied purposes. Financial enterprises, of which one belongs and works for, served the needs of diverse clientele and stakeholders. Since more organizations have opted to become global, competition becomes fiercer and stiffer. Clients are able to differentiate on various financial institutions that apparently offer similar services in terms of three relevant factors: organizational culture, management and leadership style, and ethical considerations. In this regard, the current paper aims to present a more in-depth analysis of one’s work place in terms of these three factors and how the presence or absence of these crucial ingredients affect the attainment of organizational goals. An organization’s culture was learned to comprise of a set of symbols and components which include the company’s observable atmosphere, shared values, common assumptions, stories-rites-rituals-symbols, and cultural roles. As a financial organization, one’s work place defined in mission and vision statements as follows: ‘to become a consistently excellent leader in providing varied financial services to a wide array of clients and that which caters to their distinct and specific needs’. Given this statement, the financial organization had developed a recognizable behavior that exudes focusing on providing customer satisfaction through the training and development of its human resources. Thus, the organization has been noted by customers to provide excellent customer service through the exemplary behavior and conduct of all personnel they get to interact with. The behavior that exhibited conformity to ideals of providing excellent customer service incl udes sharing the following corporate philosophy: Values for Customer Service: Being attentive to customers’ needs and demands; Exuding a happy and optimistic disposition while attending to customers’ needs; Offering personalized service; Finding out other products and services which could be extended beyond what is being asked for; and Surpassing the customers’ expectations for services rendered. Likewise, the organization has also recognized that a fully motivated staff and personnel would be able to deliver the expected values for customer service if and when they are duly trained and develop to respond to the customers’ varied needs and demands. As such, the values for employees are hereby part of the corporate philosophy: Values for Employees The organization recognizes the crucial role and importance of human resources towards delighting the customers and achieving organizational goals; Regular training and development programs that focus on customer service, performance of responsibilities; and preparing for advancement are frequently scheduled and conducted; and Employees are to be provided with incentives and benefits with include promotions, bonuses, as well as acknowledgements to reward exemplary performance in providing excellent customer service, as well as in contributing to the achievement of organizational goals. Given the shares values, it is therefore part of the organization’s culture that the following common assumptions are adhered to: integrity, honesty, commitment in one’s performance of duties and responsibilities, professionalism, respect for authority, and conformity to the code of discipline and work ethics as stipulated in the organization’s policies and procedures. It is therefore a familiar practice to encourage customer feedback through brief customer survey forms that are provided by the bank tellers and front desk personnel to encourage solicitation of information from the

Project finance and risk management Research Proposal

Project finance and risk management - Research Proposal Example In this case, the payment of the loans comes from the organization, backed by the organization’s entire balance sheet, as opposed from the revenues of the projects. Similarly, the lenders consider the strength of the balance sheet of the organization financing the project as a prerequisite for lending. The nature of financing projects is quite dynamic considering the fact that projects can be large or small and can be public or private projects. Despite the enormous benefits that come with project finance, it is vital to note that these projects do carry with themselves many risks, some of which may have far-reaching implications. In essence, special project vehicle (SPV) undertakes projects in project finance because the projects are off-balance sheet transactions. However, project managers have discovered the best way to counter the challenge through effective allocation of risks hence improving the performance of project financed by different companies. In fact, this projec t financing and risk management go hand in hand, as the former needs the latter in order to ensure efficient project financing and achievement of the project objectives. ... In this case, a number of risks ranging from political risks to feasibility risk and therefore this paper will take a close look at how to manage project related risks in the course of financing challenging projects. This will be especially significant because for every project being finance, there is a risk associated with the implementation of the project although the risks could be managed through proper mechanisms and expertise. Keywords: Risk allocation; project finance; Risk Management 2.0 Justification of the proposed research Undoubtedly, many of the successful projects receive their fiances from the dedicated corporates and non-governmental organizations depending on the nature and complexity of such projects. In this case, project financing may encompass the creation of a project that is independent and receives its due equity from one or more of the sponsoring entities with a view of making maximum investment in capital assets (Esty 2004, pp. 2013-224). More often than not , project financing involves large projects that cut across nations although some of the companies involved may finance projects on a small-scale basis. Indeed, project financing is the development model for the 21st century given that during the year 2001 alone, capital investments worth $ 200 billion were financed by various project companies across the globe. With an annual growth rate of 20 %, such projects have seen nations achieve unprecedented economic development rates amid domestic challenges (Kleimeier and Versteeg 2010. pp. 49-59). Although project finance works well in areas that are less prone to risks, it is obvious that the presence of risks in any project accentuates the significance of such projects. This means that project fiance

As instruction Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

As instruction - Case Study Example SirsiDynix has worked on almost all types of library systems which include government, public and academic (Vista Equity Partners, 2013). As mentioned above the library pays a fee to make use of the services provided by the software. Moreover the library is also charged for any maintenance work that is carried out on the system. Sirsi is used to perform a number of functions for the library which include circulations, online cataloging, keeping records of subscriptions and acquisitions of various books from different sources (Vista Equity Partners, 2013). The transaction processing system is broken down into a number of modules. Some of these modules collaborate with each other to accomplish various tasks. For example the circulation module and the cataloging module are connected to each other to help locate books when needed. To access the journal articles the library makes use of software known as link resolver that allows students and professors to access various journal articles. The link resolver module tries to determine if an institution owns a resource that the user is trying to access. If the institution does not own that resource the link resolver tries to determine if the institution has the rights to access that particular resource. Once verification is completed the link resolver redirects the user to the resource using a particular URL link (ExLibris SFX, 2012). The URL link resolver provides a scholar portal that connects the all the libraries of the regional universities and provides information on the journals available at a particular university library. Universities are allowed to borrow journals from each other without any additional charges. The headquarters of the portal are situated in University of Toronto. Orders at the library are recorded manually by the library staff. The faculty records all their academic requirements with the staff of the library these requirements include books, journals and any other resources that may be needed by the faculty. These requests are put in by the faculty using a form. Once all requests are made by the faculty the library draws up a budget for purchasing these resources. Each book is purchased from the vendor one at a time. Recently the library has started purchasing books online mainly from Amazon.com. Business process model for a library: Opportunities / Threats Opportunity/threat chart: Threat identified Issue Recommendations Dependency on the software Siri The system largely depends upon the software Siri. An error in any of the modules could halt operations Availability can be a problem Implement a Transaction Processing system as back up to handle all the processing that takes place at the library’s desk IMS by IBM can be implemented within the library system IMS provides high availability and can work with large volume of data Lapse in security Library systems are easy targets for hackers. Unauthorized access could extensively cause damage the data It could even t ake the library offline Install windows