Belbin s Team Role Model Applications Essay

University of the Basque Country; University of Hull; Highfield House Consultancy abstract This paper brings together research into and using the team role model developed by Belbin (1981, 1993a) in an attempt to provide an exhaustive assessment of construct validity in light of the conflicting evidence so far produced. Role theory is used to contextualize the origins of the model. The psychometric properties of the Team Role Self-Perception Inventory used to assess a person’s likely behaviour in a team are examined along with 43 empirical studies that have tested theoretical associations between team roles and other cognitive or behavioural traits. While the evidence is mixed, we conclude that, on balance, the model and its accompanying Inventory have adequate convergent validity. However, strong associations between some team roles are observed, indicating weak discriminant validity among some scales in the Inventory. Through its coverage of important areas of teamworking, the paper contributes to the practitioner and research communities by providing fresh insights into aspects of teamworking and by suggesting new research agendas. INTRODUCTION Effective teamworking has become a basic concern for most organizations. While many factors influence a team’s performance, considerable attention has been given to the influence of team member diversity in terms of roles played in a team. The team role model made popular by Meredith Belbin in relation to management teams (Belbin, 1981, 1993a) and available commercially through Belbin Associates (1988) is widely used in practice and has featured extensively in research on teams at work. The model is used by many organizations including FTSE-100 companies, multinational agencies, government bodies and consultants and has been translated into 16 languages. This paper therefore reviews the published research and assesses to what extent the model is supported by the available evidence. Through its coverage of important areas of teamworking (conflict management, personality traits, team performance, control and power) the paper contributes to the practitioner and research communities by providing fresh insights into aspects of teamworking and by suggesting new research agendas. We first consider the theoretical context for the team role model. Second, all substantive studies that provide psychometric evidence, relationships to personality factors and evidence for predictive validity are summarized, evaluated and contrasted. Finally, we discuss the validity of the model and consider the wider implications of our findings. ROLE THEORIES Prior to the development of Belbin’s team role model (1981, 1993a) other role  theories had been put forward (Benne and Sheats, 1948; Graen, 1976; Graen and Scandura, 1987; Holland, 1985) although the model’s links to these and other role classifications (e.g. Davis et al., 1992; Margerison and McCann, 1990; Parker, 1990; Spencer and Pruss, 1992; Woodcock, 1989) are unclear. While a comprehensive theoretical examination of the many alternative role theories and models is beyond the scope of this paper, it is important to establish a theoretical context for the team role model. The role concept can be viewed from two different perspectives. From an anthropological-sociological perspective it can be defined as a combination of values, attitudes and behaviour assigned to an individual who occupies a social position (a location in a social network) associated with a specific social status (the functions assigned to that person). From this perspective, a role can be defined as the behaviour that a person displays in relation to his/her social position and social status (Linton, 1945). Secondly, from a psychosocial perspective, a role can be defined as the behaviour expected from an individual occupying a specific position (Biddle, 1979) such that the cognition and expected behaviour associated with the position are fundamentally important to success in the role (Katz and Kahn, 1978). This psychosocial perspective is adopted for the purposes of this review. Since Lewin created the Research Centre for Group Dynamics in 1944, two types of groups have been studied: groups created to solve problems and groups preoccupied with individual development. This duality has brought about a distinction between so-called ‘task roles’ and ‘socio-emotional roles’. In this light, Bales and Slater (1955) studied laboratory groups and concluded that there were significant differences between individuals concerned with solving tasks and individuals concerned with the social and emotional needs of group members. People concerned with solving tasks were called ‘task leaders’ whereas those concerned with emotional needs were called ‘maintenance or socio-emotional leaders’. Similarly, Benne and Sheats (1948) proposed a role behaviour classification describing 12 task roles and seven maintenance roles. Task-centred roles were concerned with the coordination of group problem solving activities, whereas   maintenance roles were concerned with promoting group-centred behaviour. Both role types were thought necessary for a team to perform well. These theoretical antecedents formed the pillars of the development of the team role model (Belbin, 1981) as its general framework and the names of some team roles connect to these and other theories (Fisher et al., 2001a). Among theoretical models explaining how roles are acquired, a two-part classification can be made (Ilgen and Hollenbeck, 1991). First, there are ‘role taking’ models that consider individuals as passive acceptors of the roles assigned to them by others (Graen, 1976). An example is the ‘role episode model’ (Katz and Kahn, 1978) where the role is defined by an interaction process between two people; the person performing the role (the focal person) and another who holds a set of beliefs that constitute the role (the role sender). The role sender communicates a set of beliefs and the focal person assumes them. The second classification of role models sees subjects actively participating in the definition and development of their role. These models assume that individuals are much more active and motivated to possess roles that they can perform successfully. They are called ‘role making’ models because the focal person actively attempts to influence the role sender as they try to build a role that will be acceptable to both of them. Graen and Scandura (1987) proposed the ‘theory of dyadic organizing’ which integrated and extended Graen’s first proposal (1976). This theory describes how members of a team coordinate their activities to accomplish tasks that are not prescribed in their positions but fundamental for the effective functioning of the team. When a job role involves very predictable tasks, assigning individuals to roles is relatively easy. However, as work becomes more complex then so do the abilities required by individuals. The question is no longer about the abilities and knowledge a person should have for a specific job but is about predicting how a person will behave in the work unit where the work will be  performed. In this sense, Holland (1985) proposed one of the first models that accounted for this individual context adjustment, suggesting that individuals and job environments can be classified into six different types: ‘realistic’, ‘conventional’, ‘entrepreneur’, ‘social’, ‘artistic’ and ‘intellectual’. Each type is associated with specific activities and abilities possessed by individuals. A set of adjectives characterizes each type. For example, the intellectual type is described as analytical, cautious, critical, inquisitive, independent, pessimistic and reserved. For individuals to be successful and satisfied in a job, their personal abilities, interests and personality traits should adjust with the requirements, rewards and interpersonal relations offered by the job consistent with individual job adjustment theory. Holland (1985) proposed that an individual may display attributes of more than one type and also that there are compatible and incompatible types; for example, ‘intellectual’ and ‘artistic’ types are more compatible than ‘artistic’ and ‘conventional’ types. Belbin’s team role model can be linked to these role theories and role classifications. We now turn to review the literature on the team role model, drawing upon studies using the Team Role Self Perception Inventory (TRSPI) through which it is operationalized. We also review team role assessment using personality questionnaires and empirical studies that have explored the theoretical network of team role constructs in an attempt to better understand how individual team role preference is related to the behavioural definition of team roles as well as to other areas of teamwork behaviour. As with most role theories, Belbin’s model is not preoccupied with the roles (behavioural patterns) per se but with the ways in which the roles develop, change and interact with other patterns of behaviour over time. The model  was proposed after a nine-year study of team building and team effectiveness with management teams taking part in an executive management exercise (Lawrence, 1974). Prior to participating in the exercise, individuals completed Cattell’s 16PF personality questionnaire and Watson Glaser’s Critical Thinking Appraisal. For each management team an observer recorded group processes based upon Bales’ (1950) interactive process analysis and reported their observations. Successful and less successful teams were analysed in terms of their members’ personalities and in terms of their critical thinking abilities. Analyses were then crossreferenced with observers’ reports and, as a result, eight team roles were proposed. The initial categorization of team roles was therefore based on assessments of team members’ personalities, critical thinking abilities and a behavioural checklist. The only empirical evidence of the early analysis showed a positive correlation between performance predictions based on team role composition and actual performance across 22 teams (Belbin et al., 1976, p. 26). The eight role model was introduced (Belbin, 1981) and a team role was defined as a pattern of behaviour characteristic of the way in which one team member interacts with another in order to facilitate the progress of the team as a whole. Names and descriptive adjectives for each of the eight team roles were also included. In 1993 some team roles were renamed and a ninth role added. Descriptions of each role are given in Appendix 1. In this model a role is defined by six factors: personality, mental ability, current values and motivation, field constraints, experience, and role learning. However, Belbin did not show how much of the variance in a team role is explained by each factor. In keeping with others (Benne and Sheats, 1948; Torrington et al., 1985), Belbin defends the idea that high performing teams need to have a balanced representation of all team roles. The team role balance hypothesis assumes that if all team roles are present in a team then it will perform better than other teams without the balance. Belbin also considers that the team role concept (a preference to behave in a particular way with other team members while performing tasks) should be distinguished from the concept of functional role which refers to the technical skills and operational knowledge relevant to the job. Consequently, several people may  have the same functional role but vary greatly in their natural team role(s). Belbin also stresses the link between the stages of a team’s development and the need for different team roles to dominate at different stages. Six different stages of development are proposed: (1) identifying needs; (2) finding ideas; (3) formulating plans; (4) making ideas; (5) establishing team organization; and (6) following through. In the early stages team roles like Shaper and Co-ordinator will be most needed, whereas in the later stages Completer-Finishers and Implementers make higher contributions. Operationalizing the Model The team role model is ideally operationalized through a self-perception inventory and through observers’ assessments to give a rounded assessment of a person’s team role. The   original Team Role Self Perception Inventory (TRSPI-8R) was hand-scored such that respondents computed their own profile. This version was later modified to embody the nine role model (TRSPI-9R) and for this version respondents’ profiles are generated by the Interplace computer package. Since it was never intended that the TRSPI should be the only input to exploring a person’s team role, an Observer Assessment Sheet (OAS) was also designed to be used by work colleagues who could make an informed judgement based on their knowledge of the person. The OAS should be used alongside the TRSPI although in many situations only the inventory is used. Details of the scoring procedures for these instruments are given in Appendix 2. The second way of assessing team roles is derived from personality questionnaires; equations to derive team roles have been developed in conjunction with personality questionnaire publishers. In particular, Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF; Cattell et al., 1970) and the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ; Saville et al.,  1992) have been used (see Dulewicz, 1995). Reviewing the Evidence This review draws upon 43 substantive studies of the team role model using the TRSPI, OAS and personality inventories. A table showing the purpose of each study, its aims, instruments and sample used along with the key findings is available from the first author. Psychometric evidence. Eight studies have analysed the psychometric properties of the TRSPI and two have reported results from the OAS. Initial evaluations were critical (Furnham et al., 1993a, 1993b; Broucek and Randell, 1996) and one study arrived at mixed conclusions (Beck et al., 1999). Recent studies have been more supportive of the TRSPI’s reliability and structure (Swailes and McIntyre-Bhatty, 2002, 2003). Since the first criticism of the TRSPI (Furnham et al., 1993a), other researchers have raised concerns about the statistical properties of the original inventories as well as their theoretical basis (Broucek and Randell, 1996). An important issue affecting psychometric evaluation of the TRSPI stems from its i psative nature which is outlined in Appendix 2. Evidence for the TRSPI. Furnham et al. (1993a) reported low reliability values for three different versions of the TRSPI. Correlations between team roles were different for a normatively scored (Likert scale) version (M = 0.36) and the original ipsative version (M = -0.29). Factor structures were also different for normative values (two well-defined task and socioemotional factors) and for ipsative scoring (four bipolar factors). Both Senior (1998) and Beck et al. (1999), in their respective exploratory factor analyses, also reported an underlying four factor structure for the ipsative version of the TRSPI. However, the ipsative design of the TRSPI was deliberate and any comparison of forms should recognize that transforming the ipsative structure of the instrument may alter its nature. (See Belbin (1993b) for a rebuke of the normative version.) In the ipsative form the average interscale correlation will be negative (Meade, 2004) whereas in a normative form scales are allowed to correlate freely. In this context, Furnham et al. (1993a) raised concerns about the theoretical basis of the inventory and a lack of evidence for its psychometric properties, noting that the test was ‘neither theoretically nor empirically derived as Belbin developed his team role typology based on observatory and inductive,   rather than theoretically deductive means’ (p. 247) with a limited sample of 78 managers. Similarly, Broucek and Randell (1996) raised concerns about the internal consistency and discriminant validity of the TRSPI and the OAS. They also noted that both tests could not be considered as parallel forms of the same construct. The average correlation between team roles was 0.27 for ipsative scoring and 0.42 for normative scoring; higher correlations were expected from the self-reported data collected by both tests. Similarly, Senior and Swailes (1998) also reported that both TRSPI and OAS did not show high convergent validity as only five team roles showed significant correlations with an average of 0.27. Broucek and Randell (1996) also reported that different correlations were found between the normative and ipsative versions of the TRSPI and the NEO-PI-(R) personality scale although 8 out of 19 predictions for the ipsative version and 14 out of 19 for the normative version were correctly hypothesized. Different correlation values were taken as ‘dramatic evidence of the type of distortion which use of an ipsative instrument produces’ (p. 401). Similarly, Fisher et al. (1996) looked at the correspondence between the TRSPI and 16PF and found low correlation values on the validity diagonal. Broucek and Randell also tested the discriminant validity of the OAS against the NEO-PI (R) Big Five personality factors, although Fisher et al. (2001a, pp. 125–6) noted that such analysis was dependent on the orthogonality of the personality factors and, as far as the factors have been found to be oblique (Costa and McCrae, 1992), any conclusion regarding the discriminant validity of the OAS should be taken cautiously.

A Guide to Critical and Creative

Similar illness in one community suggests that there must be a connection between the environment and the illnesses. Acting on that hunch, I would conduct interviews with the families and people that are affected. All ideas and procedures in this easy can be found in chapter 10. (Ruggiero, 2012). I would ask them when did the symptoms start and what their official diagnosis, if any, has their doctor gave them. The assumptions that the land itself has to be the source of the contamination could hinder the investigation. To critically think about the issue I will have to brainstorm some questions to be answered.What company or companies built the houses? Who was in charge of overseeing the building codes? What companies were the building materials bought from? Is this company following all rules of the EPA? What industries are close by? What do they produce and what is their environmental impact? At this time, I cannot assume that everyone will be open for interviews or share my passio n for investigating the issue. I will keep in mind that some of the information will be hear-say or secondhand information that may not be accurate.This type of information may lead to more interviews to check the source of the information. I would do research at the library to check maps of the area before it was developed. The court house would have information about the land to look into also. Close by communities that have been developed years earlier may hold clues. I would ask around in those communities for a few leads on whom I may interview there. The symptoms and diagnosis of the people involved was the first clue as to what is the common denominator of this issue. Investigating the land before it was developed may lead to answers.This was the first assumption or hunch. The answers received from this part of the investigation may not match up to the symptoms that could arise from the state of the land before it was developed. The next investigation would involve the materi als that the homes are built out of. Even if the same contractor did not build all the houses, I must find out if the contractors may have used a common supplier. All through the investigation, the symptoms and illness must match the possible causes. To critically think about the issue, all possibilities must be considered.It could be that two materials that by themselves are harmless, were used together to create a harmful environment. It is possible that the contractors may not want to speak about their practices concerning the development of this community. This would be the time to look for ex-employees to interview. I may face criticism for my efforts to find the cause of the illnesses. The criticism may be very helpful to my investigation. No matter how much I think I am correct or perfect, there is always room for more information and improvement.I must take into consideration how my ideas match up with the information collected with both positive and negative feedback. Tryin g to save face and convincing people that my ideas are correct are not important. My curiosity will lead me to ask questions that lead to answers that lead to more questions. I will fight the erg to become trapped by my previous miscalculations. The facts in the case and the process of elimination will help lead the way. I must stay open to the possibilities that a previous eliminated cause or idea may still have a role to play in solving the problem.Similar illness in one community suggests that there must be a connection between the environment and the illnesses. Acting on that hunch, I would conduct interviews with the families and people that are affected. All ideas and procedures in this easy can be found in chapter 10. (Ruggiero, 2012). I would ask them when did the symptoms start and what their official diagnosis, if any, has their doctor gave them. The assumptions that the land itself has to be the source of the contamination could hinder the investigation. To critically thi nk about the issue I will have to brainstorm some questions to be answered.What company or companies built the houses? Who was in charge of overseeing the building codes? What companies were the building materials bought from? Is this company following all rules of the EPA? What industries are close by? What do they produce and what is their environmental impact? At this time, I cannot assume that everyone will be open for interviews or share my passion for investigating the issue. I will keep in mind that some of the information will be hear-say or secondhand information that may not be accurate.This type of information may lead to more interviews to check the source of the information. I would do research at the library to check maps of the area before it was developed. The court house would have information about the land to look into also. Close by communities that have been developed years earlier may hold clues. I would ask around in those communities for a few leads on whom I may interview there. The symptoms and diagnosis of the people involved was the first clue as to what is the common denominator of this issue. Investigating the land before it was developed may lead to answers.This was the first assumption or hunch. The answers received from this part of the investigation may not match up to the symptoms that could arise from the state of the land before it was developed. The next investigation would involve the materials that the homes are built out of. Even if the same contractor did not build all the houses, I must find out if the contractors may have used a common supplier. All through the investigation, the symptoms and illness must match the possible causes. To critically think about the issue, all possibilities must be considered.It could be that two materials that by themselves are harmless, were used together to create a harmful environment. It is possible that the contractors may not want to speak about their practices concerning the devel opment of this community. This would be the time to look for ex-employees to interview. I may face criticism for my efforts to find the cause of the illnesses. The criticism may be very helpful to my investigation. No matter how much I think I am correct or perfect, there is always room for more information and improvement.I must take into consideration how my ideas match up with the information collected with both positive and negative feedback. Trying to save face and convincing people that my ideas are correct are not important. My curiosity will lead me to ask questions that lead to answers that lead to more questions. I will fight the erg to become trapped by my previous miscalculations. The facts in the case and the process of elimination will help lead the way. I must stay open to the possibilities that a previous eliminated cause or idea may still have a role to play in solving the problem.

Answering questions

2-A. Recently, a comedian on a television show remarked that he thought it was funny that people turn the car radio off when they are looking for a house number in a strange neighborhood. What theory of attention is this comedian adhering to? The comedian based his remarks on the theory of divided attention. This theory states that attention can be divided into two separate states, wherein one can attend to two things or stimuli at the same time, without sacrificing the quality of attention given to either of the two stimuli (Reisberg, 2001). Thus to the comedian, one can continue listening to the radio and at the same time look for the house number, and it perfectly makes sense to him that a person can do both of it since it does not really require an intense concentration. However, a case in point is that looking for a house number in a long row of houses may be quite a challenging task, one that requires concentration and selective attention. Yes, it can be said that keeping the radio on would not make any difference but to those who prefer to look closely and to be able to do so safely would naturally turn their radios off. Just imagine yourself driving slowly in a street you are unfamiliar with and keeping the radio on would mask the noise of incoming traffic or even pedestrians. Besides, when a person is involved in one task, like looking for a house, then one instinctively attends to it and disregards the other sounds, sights and disturbances in the immediate environment. Divided attention is very real, we engage it once in a while especially if we multi-task but we could do so in a limited period, for example think of how you can possibly manage to entertain questions from an officemate at your table and at the same time talk to someone on the phone, you could do both for a maximum of 2 minutes, but eventually one stimuli takes greater attention and we must give our full attention to it. On the other hand, with training, anybody can make use of divided attention, but its contributions and benefits in engaging in it remains to be seen since much research has to be done in this area. 2-B. Based on what you have learned about perception and attention, do you think it’s safe for people to talk on cellular phones while they are driving? Learning about how we perceive the world around us gives us a better way of understanding how intricate the human mind is and how even a faculty that we often take for granted can have a profound impact in our daily lives. Perception refers to a complex process of how we receive a stimuli, how our brain process the stimuli, and how our mind tells us what to do and how to react to the stimuli (Reisberg, 2001). It can be said that a disruption of any of the lines of our perception may have adverse consequences; sometimes it can be bizarre, like when a person cannot recognize the face of love one but instead are able to say that they look like a family member. Taking our study of perception into our daily activities, a debated issue like â€Å"is it safe to talk on the cell phone while driving† is better explained. I still believe that it is not safe to talk on the cellular phones while driving. Driving already entails a number of processes and is quite demanding of our attention, like when you are in the freeway, one has to be conscious of incoming traffic, cars at you back, the speed limit of the highway, and even looking out for possible mishaps in the road, on top of which, the driver must be conscious of the cars fuel level, brake fluid and tire conditions. So how could anybody be able to talk on the phone while driving? Talking on the phone also demands attention; we have to perceive and process what the other person is saying, and to even think of the appropriate response to what they are saying. Theories on perception have stated that our mind works overtime just to process and be able to respond to external stimuli, and that each part of the brain is involve in different ways just to come up with the correct processing of information (Reisberg, 2001), like being able to recognize faces of family members. Perceptual illusions demonstrate that what we see may not be true or real, hence while driving we may not be able to accurately tell how far we are from the car ahead of us or how near we are to the railings without our full concentration. Reports have shown that many people die on the road or in car accidents than any disease. Perceptual overload occurs when we drive and talk on the phone, based on previous researches (Reisberg, 2001), perceptual overload makes us incorrectly perceive our surroundings and hence we may see what is not there, or we may not see what is really there. When we overload our senses it would mean that one part of the brain or our faculties might be sacrificed to compensate for the attention we give to another stimulus. And in an activity like driving which in itself is a high-risk behavior, we need complete control of our faculties, thus talking on the cell phone is not advisable. 2-C. Write a 200 word summary and critical analysis on Rayner’s article. Discuss what the article is basically about, its strong and weak points, how convincing (or unconvincing) you find its arguments, and how it might be followed up (e.g., if you think the article suggests any promising, new ideas for future research, describe what they are and how they might best be pursued.) The article â€Å"Eye Movements in Reading: Recent Developments† by Keith Rayner (1993) presents the latest development in the study of eye movement in the reading process. The strength of the article is that it gives a background of what has been discovered so far in the field of study, the article argues that studying eye movement is important for it help build theory and also used to infer perceptual and cognitive processes during reading thus the objective of the article. It also presents a number of theories that have used new methods in studying eye movement. What was weak about the article was that it was not able to connect how the new methods of studying would contrite to a better understanding of the cognitive processes that occur during reading. The article basically was not convincing when the author says that much remains to be seen when researchers realize how interesting a research data eye movement can be. The article does not arouse this interest and simply goes on to say that eye movement is a natural consequence of reading, which contradicts his claims earlier in the introduction part. The article was also too technical for the average reader even if the reader is interested in eye movement. References Rayner, K. (1993). Eye movements in reading: Recent developments. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2 (3): 81-85 Reisberg, D. (2001). Cognition: Exploring the science of the Mind, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.                  

College essay, telling why I am motivated to enroll North Carolina Essay

College , telling why I am motivated to enroll North Carolina University (Chapel Hill) - Essay Example I consider education as a means of personal development as well as professional enhancement. Learning, to me, is a planned process not only for gaining knowledge but also for improving myself as a person. Besides, I uphold the values of creativity, innovation, self respect and flexibility in my approach to the process of learning. Similarly, when it comes to instrumental values, I believe dependability and trust play a crucial role in determining the success of an individual. I place high value on the objectives I set for myself in terms of my career aspirations and personal growth. I believe that these are the value structures which people should adopt, in order to become a successful professional in the field of my choice. I consider personal development as the key for improving self-knowledge, identity and talent as well as to enhance the quality of life. Without a well directed approach to personal development, one cannot expect to achieve one’s goals. Therefore, I continually strive to attain personal development by deriving inspiration from the experiences in life. Accepting the things that are positive and appreciating the qualities a person has are critical for personal growth. I also believe that a person has to do the things that he or she loves in order to achieve success in life. Also, if one does not have the passion for doing things, he or she may not be able to achieve any objectives. I always believe in myself and invest my whole energy when I am engaged in a particular work. I have several motivations for seeking enrolment in North Carolina University (Chapel Hill). Primarily, it is a premier institute in this field of education and I firmly believe that such an environment and the facilities I will be able to avail there, including faculty and infrastructure, will enable me to pursue my studies in an organized manner. I also feel confident that receiving education from such a

Environmental Accounting in United Arab Emirates Assignment

Environmental Accounting in United Arab Emirates - Assignment Example This is of significance especially when the company intends to attract new investors and retain shareholders by confirming confidence in its stability and transparent management practice. Globally several federal regulations exist targeting to improve the practice of environmental accounting and disclosure of vital information among the business community. These include i. The comprehensive environmental response, compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 1980 which requires corporate dealing with potentially harmful substances to incur the cost of remediation. ii. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act(RCRA) 1976 which establishes responsibility for monitoring, transportations, treatment, storage and disposal of potentially hazardous substances iii. The clean air Act 1990 which seeks to reduce the amount of harmful gaseous emissions disposed of by corporations (Farouk, Cherian &Jacob 2012, p.1-8) Besides these several other environmental regulations have been developed especially with emerging concern of environmental cost of manufacturing. While in some regions, these are the compulsory requirement the AUE region lags behind in implementation. Being a developing market the region is at the initial stage of implementing good corporate governance practice among stakeholders with voluntary disclosure being embraced by companies that seek to impress investors and shareholders. This report focus on the environmental accounting issues and legal framework for environmental protection provided for in the UAE. The paper will also discuss on the implementation of the disclosure practices in the emerging markets in UAE. The information applied has been collected from secondary sources limited to current practice level and improvement as suggested by regulations. Environmental accounting Effective accounting ensures a reliable flow of transparent, comparable and consistent information about the environmental cost. Within the AUE compliance to financial disclosure is regard ed as a requirement hence a majority of organization provide financial accounting report. Lack of regulation demanding nonfinancial reporting allows management and boards to release information at their discretion. Environmental accounting refers to the process of identifying and creating awareness regarding cost related to maintaining a sustainable ecosystem which in turn helps in identifying techniques to reduce such cost. (Farouk, Cherian &Jacob 2012, p.1-8) Green accounting tools are used to determine environmental cost due to organization operations such as emission of greenhouse gases, depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation. It is the collective social responsibility of the government and business entities to adopt responsible behavior through monitoring eco-system degradation and controlling the occurrence of possible disasters associated with their activities. Corporate environmental reporting through the lens of semiotics This is the first paper obtain ed from ProQuest. The main objective of this study was to analyze the structuring of environmental accounting information by corporate organizations in order to gain the implied report meaning. A report reflects a qualitative survey conducted for selected companies in Malaysia and Australia.  

King arthur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

King arthur - Essay Example According to legend, he was the son of Uther Pendragon, king of Britain, and Ygraine of Cornwall. During his childhood, Arthur's identity was kept anonymous. Upon his maturity, he was abruptly presented to the people as their king and became a prudent and brave ruler ("Microsoft Encarta"). On the other hand, in the early Latin chronicles, Arthur is characterized as a "dux bellorum," i.e. a military leader rather than a king or emperor ("Camelot Project"). Despite the varying depiction, Arthur consistently appears as the epitome of ideal kingship ("Wikipedia"). Based on the Arthurian romances that gained popularity in the 12th century, Arthur gained the throne as he was the only one who had successfully withdrawn the Excalibur, a magical sword, from a stone. Many others attempted but failed since this act could not be accomplished apart from the "true king." This implied that Arthur was indeed the divinely appointed king and the true heir of Uther Pendragon ("Wikipedia"). He then established a court at Camelot, which is believed to be the modern Caerleon on the southern border of Wales or the great hill fort at South Cadbury in Somerset ("The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy"). At Camelot, Arthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table, which were comprised of Sir Aglova... ne; Sir Ector de Maris, son of King Ban of Benwick; Sir Florence, son of Sir Gawain; Sir Gaheris; Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot's son and the hero of the quest for the Holy Grail; Sir Gareth; Sir Gawain, Arthur's nephew, who at some points appeared as the embodiment of knightly courtesy and bitter opponent of Lancelot; Sir Geraint; Sir Kay, Arthur's villainous foster brother; Sir Lamorak; Sir Lancelot; Sir Lucan; Sir Palamedes the Saracen; Sir Percival; Sir Tristan; and Sir Yvain, son of King Uriens of Gore (Lacy). These knights were awarded the highest order of chivalry at the court of King Arthur as narrated in the literary cycle, the Matter of Britain. According to Sir Thomas Malory, the knights abided by a set of rules called the Code of Chivalry. Provisions of this code include not committing outrage or murder; fleeing treason; not succumbing to cruelty but instead giving mercy to those who ask; helping and never forcing ladies, gentlewomen or widows; and not taking up wicked battles for love or worldly goods. Aside from Arthur and his knights, the Arthurian legend also featured notable characters such as Merlin, a powerful wizard possessing the gifts of prophesy and metamorphosis who partook in the court at Camelot and revealed the existence of the Holy Grail to Arthur, and Queen Guinevere, the wife of Arthur. Moreover, it gives an account of the knights' numerous quests, perhaps the most famous of which is the search for the Holy Grail ("Wikipedia"), and Arthur's wars and victories, which extended to the European continent where he triumphantly fought the Roman Empire forces ("Microsoft Encarta"). One of the main themes in the Arthurian legend is the downfall of Arthur's kingdom, which is primarily attributed to two reasons. In the chronicle tradition, the

Potential grows for food crisis as prices surge Essay

Potential grows for food crisis as prices surge - Essay Example Point where this demand and supply meets determines the equilibrium price level at given point in time (Leamer, 2009). (Arnold, 2008) Agricultural goods demand and supply and its respective equilibrium price are largely intervened by government due to many factors such as maintaining farmers’ income stream etc. It is done by restricting supply by restricting the overall production per acreage, restricting export to certain countries, increasing tariffs, restricting price over and above equilibrium( floor price) etc. Figure below explains demand supply scenario that increases price due to supplier responding to international demand. Initially with given demand D and supply S in a country, the price is determined at equilibrium P. In case of issues in other countries such as drought etc and the country in discussion starts exporting agricultural goods to them, the supply curve shifts in the local market from S to S’. At the current point where local demand in the country is D and the supply squeezes from S to S’, the price in the local market increases from P to P1. Demand from other countries increases and the curve shifts from D to D’ towards right. The supply curve also sifting from S to S’ with supply distributed between local and international market, the new price determined will be P2. This new price is high above then price determined based on local market demand. The supplier to get benefit of this increased demand responds to the international demand, hence neglecting local demand (Mankiw, 2009). To mention as evident from the above figure, it is visible that demand curve had a greater shift towards right as it is incorporating the increased demand from the other countries in trouble, hence causing greater shift in price. The supply curve on the other hand had smaller shift due to inelastic in nature causing comparatively less shift in price (O'Sullivan and Sheffrin, 2003). The scenario can also be reverse as in case t he surplus supplies overall worlds is enough to meet the demand. These cause huge variations in the income of farmers, increased supplies causes decline in prices that negatively affects farmers’ situation whereas shortage cause inflated prices and disadvantage to buyer. To control this variation in pricing, government of different countries intervenes in the market and control the supply with restrictions exports and increased tariffs on exports or even bans that maintain the price level in local market (Brickley and Zimmerman, 2009). Whereas to control the declining prices of the agricultural products government fixes floor prices (that is over and above equilibrium prices) and buys from farmer surplus products (Wessels, 2000). When excess is bought by government the level of supply available for customer is less and hence the floor price is adjusted as equilibrium price. (Rittenberg and Tregarthen) The surplus bought from farmer is then used for other purposes. For instanc e, US government uses this surplus for sending in aid programs. Also to maintain this excess supply, government pays farmer certain amount to reduce the per acreage production. These measures to maintain price from access price are however, harmful as they appear not aimed to maintain the income level of farmer but to maintain the international price level. As evident from the history, the supply has never in excess as compare to increase in demand of entire world keeping in consideration the factor of rising population level around the

Discuss the overall trend in postwar aggregate productivity in the US Essay

Discuss the overall trend in postwar aggregate productivity in the US - Essay Example labor has been averaging around slightly above one percent faster than MFP: from 1953-2012, labor productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent per year, and MFP grew at an annual average rate of 1.1 percent per year ().this projects a volatile economic growth rate annually. The volatility could be attributed to measurement error in estimation arising from both series. Getting an accurate measurement of these rates is a daunting task given the fluctuations in the rates market. Another reason stems from the fact that series have certain gas between then that cyclical. To illustrate this, consider when the MFP growth fell—in fact, took on negative values—during the recessions that started in 1969, 1980-81, 1990, and 2007 ().the negative values are an indication of how less optimal the inputs have become in yielding the expected returns. Besides, a negative MFP growth can also arise from variation in the utilization rates of capital and labor over the business cycle (). In the last 60 years the long-term mean growth rates of labor productivity and MFP have varied substantially in three episodes. In the initial episode, the 1950s through early 1970s, there was a high growth of MFP.MFP growth averaged at 1.7 percent per year from 1953 through 1972. In the next episode, from the late 1970s through early 1990s, there were lower MFP growth with an average of 0.5% annually. In the last episode, from the mid-1990s up to now, experiencing an intermediate level of MFP growth of 1.0%

Final project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Final project - Essay Example Food products have a natural taste because they are manufactured from natural plants. The products will be made available in two major hotels including Tiran Island Hotel and Sharm el Sheikh. They will also be made available in shopping malls like City Stars Mall located in Cairo City. Hotel services include accommodation and dishes for the ordinary family. AS noted earlier on, the two hotels include Tiran Island Hotel and Sharm el Sheikh. A family has an option of selecting hotel services of their choice especially families that are on a holiday. Hotel charges are based on the duration and packages selected by a family. For instance, a family may select to spend a night or have a meal only. The tour service component in the perfect package will aim at taking families on a visit to tourist attraction sites like the Nile River in Cairo, Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara and Tiran Island. Families will enjoy services such as dinner cruises and private visits to the mentioned places in Egypt. In most cases, the tours will involve the use of cars in the cars of land tours and boats in the case of marine tours. The perfect package also includes video games where children will be involved in playing their favorite computer games. Children are allowed to rent video games at a charge and are also allowed to carry their own games but on a restricted basis. Below are their pricing levels for the different services and products: Some components of the perfect package such as food products are available in retail stores. Customers can also place their orders online for products and book services such as hotel and transport services. The family market segment is one of the most attractive segments in the global market for products. Research studies indicate that most of the businesses ranging from retail to wholesale at least consider the family as one of their target markets. This is because such a market segment entails different

Simulation technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Simulation technology - Essay Example Practically, simulation technology also lets corporations to foresee the unseen. It also lets organization to identify and prioritize corrective action that will create a real imperative to a development in conjunction with actual results that reveals worth of the business (Durlach & Anne 1995). Organizations - in both public and private sectors - have long used such tools for good management science to trim down stupidities and put cost outside of business practices. But regardless of that - and regardless of the huge investment in technology sector that has been made over the past fifty years or so - there is undoubtedly constrictions persist to be present in companies (Moorthy & D. Sly 2000). Simulationoffersaveryrealopeningtotakebusinessmakeoverstoanew height in general.Aswiththe majority ofmultifacetednewwavesit'sapromising assurance that it will get no less than another 5 to 10 years to wholly shape, but the opening subsists nowadays for those companies that are ready to initiate the mission (Moorthy & D. Sly 2000). ... A sound management structure provides companies immediate access to current scholarly material goods that can assist them with their existing work (Cadotte 1995). Providing abilities for decision support is about guaranteeing a product will meet up its serviceable prerequisites; possess most favorable outlay, credence and robustness; and be planned, produced and iterated in the smallest possible amount of time (Cadotte 1995). To prop up these ends, simulation management answers must offer management devices for striking planned goals - that is to say, confirming designs function as intended - and expecting pre-production operations (Cadotte 1995). Those means allow managers and engineers to stare into the future, expect troubles, and make proper decisions early on in the planning process to keep further evils at bay. Integration of a varied set of simulation appliances and successive process mechanization produces a cohesive simulation setting that assists toggling between varieties of schemes to finish a job (Cadotte 1995). Important, most excellent in sort of simulation abilities from appropriate external resources have to be incorporated with simulation developments. Once the entire of the required wherewithal subsist in the same setting, simulation specialist can connect them jointly in mechanized flows of work. Making key developments routinely appends precision and repeatability to simulation, which in sequence perks up excellence and diminishes time to promote (Cadotte 1995). It also lets the simulation society to develop to intend engineers relaxing the time of simulation professionals to build up the next cohort of tough simulation techniques (Cadotte 1995). Product lines model, using simulation technology exactly down to the stages of

Web 2.0 Applications Essay Example for Free

Web 2.0 Applications Essay O’Reilly (2006) in his Commencement Speech at UC Berkley , explained that the genuine Web 2. 0 application is the one where there is a proportionality between the number of users and the development of the application. Because of this, it is argued that the core value of Web 2. 0 is being able to effectively harness the innovativeness of everyone in the group. This kind of development is a step forward as compared to the previous state of the internet where the Web as a platform remained a baffling mess of buzzwords with no real clarity. Spolsky(2005) agreed with this stating that Web 2.0 is â€Å"a big, vague, nebulous cloud of pure architectural nothingness† and that â€Å"when people use the term Web 2. 0, I always feel a little bit stupider for the rest of the day. † Although this is obviously true, in this specific sense, the concept of the Web 2. 0 application is nothing new at all to the World Wide Web. The term Web 2. 0 is used when a read-write aspect of the Web is used in a participatory way that actually creates greater shared knowledge for all. It was the widespread adoption of blogs, wikis, MySpace and other read-write techniques that ushered in a common I-write-and-everyone-reads-it usage pattern (Hinchcliffe 2006). The concept of Weblog or Blogging has been defined by Drezner and Farrell (2004) as â€Å"A web page with minimal to no external editing, providing on-line commentary, periodically updated and presented in reverse chronological order, with hyperlinks to other online sources. † Yet even though this definition exists, other researchers such as Nardi et al (2004) express that weblogs currently accessible in the internet have a great diversity that is there is not a single dominant style of activity in the net. Others (Dyrud , Worley Quible, 2005) agree with this but on the hand, they expressed that there is something common to all blogs and that is they are primarily a venue in order to share information (regardless of the amount and manner) between people, groups, and organizations. According to Blood (2000) there are essentially two types of weblog: those that emphasize the diary and comment aspect, and those that emphasize hyperlinks. The former may seek to influence wider public opinion, or merely to raise the profile of the blogger; the latter act as a filter system, looking at what exists on the Web and recommending content that might be of interest to visitors. If bloggers make mistakes in the information they publish, they rely on their peers to point out any errors (Johnson and Kaye 2004) – this sentence is very ‘stand alone’ you may wish to introduce the idea of authority of authority of Web 2. 0 technologies (which will presumably covered again in Wikis etc) . Thus, Blogs have unique features that traditional web media does not have. About 2. 7 million bloggers update their blogs at least weekly. According to Technorati, new blog creation continues to grow Figure X shows the number of new blogs created each day, from January 2004 to January 2006: As was mentioned above, there are various types of blogs and each variation provides the information to the user as different as possible. Factors to be considered are the type of the media to be used in order to transfer the information, the device that is used, the genre, the legal status of the publishers, blog search engines, and blogging communities and directories. One varying consideration to blogs is the kind of media that is used in order to share the message from the person/organization that would want to give the message to the recipient of the message. Take for example; a video blog is called a vlog, a blog that is comprised of links to other sites or networks is called a linklog. Another kind of blog that contains a series of sets of sketches is called a sketchblog and another type similar to a sketchblog is called a photoblog – one that comprises of photos being shared, uploaded and downloaded.

Assessment Of mice and men Essay Example for Free

Assessment Of mice and men Essay Of mice and men is a novel by john Steinbeck about two migrant agricultural labourers George Milton and Lennie Small. At the outstart they are working at a ranch in northern California. The ranch is a microcosm of the macrocosm that was in America at that time in 1939. During this period of failed businesses, harsh poverty, and long-term unemployment, we see how people attempted to survive on the ranch. In this essay I am going to clarify how Steinbeck presents the theme of discrimination in chapter 3. Discrimination seems particularly unpleasant on the ranch because there are lonely, isolated characters, who looking are for friends and an escape from solitariness. In chapter 3 we see discrimination in the form of racism, ageism and sexism. The victims of discrimination in this novel are: Crooks, a black stable buck; Curleys Wife, the farm owners neglected daughter-in-law; and Candy, an old, disabled housekeeper. Crooks, is terribly discriminated against because of his natural skin colour, which he has no choice to change it. Spose you couldnt go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black this illustrates that the migrants on the ranch discriminate against him by having him left out of the gang. Furthermore he lives in a little shack on his own. They dont treat him equally; in fact it almost feels like as if they dont see him as human being. They dont care about his feelings and emotions; nevertheless this isolation has consequently affected his mental and physical well being. Crooks is not allowed to enter the Bunk house, whereas Candys dog can. Therefore clearly this shows that they treat animals better than him. Although the dog has someone that looks out for him, crooks has no one except his books. Despite him believing that Books aint no good. Crooks had a bright childhood where he could play with white children and socialise with them, but this discrimination against him has affected him deeply. He never accepted this way of life unlike other slaves of his time, I got a right to have a light this shows that he is aware of his rights, even when he is having a simple conversation with mentally ill Lennie, who has no idea about rights not even his. Evidently this discrimination made crooks desperate for a companionship, A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody this demonstrates that crooks has gone to the point where he is dying for a shoulder to cry on, even Lennie with a childlike brain. Dont make no difference who the guy is, longs hes with you, This implies that he doesnt care if the friend is white or black, furthermore it shows that crooks is not racist. He plays horseshoes all day as an attempt to be liked and be accepted for what he is. Similarly Candy is discriminated against because of his age. As they know that he hasnt got the physical strength to defend himself or his dog, they take advantage of him and forced him to allow his only friend to be killed. Steinbeck used this to clarify that within the society the powerful ones rule the helpless and no matter what we do there will always be evil around us. Whynt you get candy to shoot his dog. This makes candy think that this could be the prospect for him when he gets useless. It drove him to the desperation point of putting his life saving into the hands of complete strangers wanting to escape from the same ending as his beloved dog. The men on the ranch describe the dog as a stinking hound and an old bastard. Candy feels dejected as he says I wish somebody would shoot me when I become useless. He feels left out and not respected because of his age as they killed his only friend, he feels that he doesnt wish to live without his precious dog anymore. Candy, a lost old man, hes missing a hand and his most reliable and trust worthy companion. i lost my hand my hand right here on this ranch, thats why they gave me a job swampin' this worries candy that he will get fired soon because if he can no longer work he will be dispensable. Steinbeck used this character because the older generation would relate to him. Curleys wife is the only women on the ranch. Everybody makes fun of her; they dont talk to her as a friend because shes a woman. Aint I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am anyways?.This quotation shows that she is quarantined from the other migrants just like crooks and candy they are all isolated characters. The men on the ranch dont give a chance to get to know her personally, they just labelled her a trouble maker, and being Curleys wife doesnt do her any favour. As we never hear her real name in the book it shows how belittled she is, she is seen as a property of Curleys. Steinbeck did this because back in those days men were dominant and women were just seen as house wives. The men on the ranch act on their prejudice calling her nasty names such as a rattrap, jailbait, and tart. Due to this she feels alone and discriminated against, because she is only seeking for attention to make friends, shes is not what they describe to be. Curleys wife is desperate for a companion just like candy and Crooks; she wants someone to listen to her because Curley is never around, he never gives her the attention she needs, I dont like Curley, he aint a nice fella, clearly shows that she isnt happy, she feels trapped and lonely. Due to this she wonders around the ranch looking something to do, someone to talk to. Overall in conclusion Steinbeck carefully used these types of characters, because they each represent different society at that time of the book. Racism was very high and discrimination against women and the elderly were very common. I think the novel has relevance in our culture; it portrays the issues of discrimination and racism. I think Steinbeck wrote this book to show the world that within our society we have a disgusting habit of making other feel down.

The three generations of currency crises models

The three generations of currency crises models Explain the three generations of currency crises models. What are the implications of the escape clause model? According to a classification system of International monetary fund we can divide economic crisis to currency crisis, banking crisis, systemic financial crisis, debt crisis. From among these, in words of Jeffrey Frankel, we define a currency crash as a depreciation of the nominal exchange rate of at least 25 per cent that is also at least a 10 per cent increase in the rate of nominal depreciation [1] This crisis is big problem itself because it makes trade condition worse and bring many negative effects to economy of the inside and outside of the country. Not only that but also currency crisis can occasion financial crisis. East Asias crisis in 1997 is the case of financial crises which is caused by currency crisis. So for the sake of prevent financial crisis we should know about currency crisis model. Before 70s there were also explain model about currency crisis. But krugmans model realized the theorical condition of when fixed exchange rate system is collapsed and offered basic paradigm of currency crisis model. So we can define it as a first generation model. In first generation models, it thought economy fundamentals worse is the origin of currency crisis. Fundamentals worse example is low growth, insufficiency of foreign currency, budget deficit. More exactly, unsustainable money financed fiscal deficits lead to a persistent loss of international reserves and ultimately ignites a currency crash [2], because people try to sell domestic currency to buy foreign currency. So far as, financial obligations that caused by national bonds issuing is the speculative attacks root. On the other hand, first generation models meaning is government policy need consistency to control risk of currency crisis possibility. It means fixed exchange rate system cant stainable because that policy t ry to keep exchange rate (domestic currencys value) with induce inflation (domestic currency values fall) by issuing national dept and it is not consistency policy. And it will be controlled by invisible hand. This model has significance that it can explain middle-south Americas currency crisis repetition at beginning of 1980. But as obstfeld said, we should argue that one cannot adequately understand recent European currency experience in terms of krugmans model [3]. From 1992 to 1993, European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) countries suffered fatal currency crisis. Even they had compact and stable fundamental condition. To put it more concretely, in spite of they could obtain funds easily from global finance market and even these countries maintain stability of inflation level crisis happened. So obstfeld produced self-fulfilling crisis model which can call second generation model for explain European Monetary System Crisis, which could not explained by First Generation Model. At first generation model, speculation was just accelerator for crisis which will happen sometime or another. But at second generation model suggested a potential for crises that need not have occurred, but that do occur because market participants expect them to. [4] In other words, expectation about governments policy that government will devaluate domestic currency induce crisis because they sale currency first. We can imagine this is big sized case of bank run. So this model indicated speculation can make collapse of currency market and this is the reason why this model is self-fulfilling crisis model. In addition, second generation model indicates the situation of multiple equilibrium which means foreign exchange markets equilibrium point when occurs collapse of market is not only one and it can have many point and situation that can cause collapse and it determined by strength of market expectation. However it doesnt mean the second generation model ignores fundamental base. Because new second model changed theres theory to give weight to fundamental base. This is Escape clause model. More exactly, it will means currency crisiss reason will be various collate of fundamental fluent and market expectations strength. But despite of development of first generation model, second generation model and new second generation model, we can encounter with currency crisis that cant explain by these old models. Mexico and Asias crisis is one of these cases. They didnt have clearness weakness fundamental base as like dept or inflation. So it cannot explain by first generation model. Moreover, in this case governments devaluation led recession, not an expansion. So it has problem to explain by second generation model. So currency crisis model which is focused on reason of recession, especially foreign currency debt is third generation model. With third generation in Asias crisis, to help private companys foreign loan, governments issued national bonds to prepare subsidy. But it made unexpected happening, value falling of domestic currency and exchange ratio rise. So even same amount in foreign currency, debt became huge value in domestic currency. So government should issue more bonds to solve loan. And it made vicious circle. Finally, governments foreign currency reserve be gone while try to keep monetary exchange rate even it is going down. And Mexicos case is almost same except someone who is in debt was government. But interesting point is, some economist suggest that we can explain Mexico and Asias currency crisis by first generation model or second generation model. It will have same meaning with what escape clause model implies; All currency crisis will have at least fundamental basic element and self-fulfilling fact .surely and so on. And not only these three model which explained at this essay there are also many kinds of model for explain various types of currency crisis. For example, there are moral hazard model, financial panic model, boom-bust cycle model etc. I think existence of various types of explain model means there are lots of source for currency crisis. It can be mixed reason also. Also there will be currency crisis that cannot explain by existing model, because it caused by reason that we could not think or the reason is totally new one. But on the other hand, we should think about fundamental fact and market expectation which is basic fact of currency crisis. With this process, currency crisis model will develop continue.

Random Essays :: essays research papers

31) After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the feelings of animosity in America against Japan increased. By late 1945, the Allied leaders met in Germany with news of a secret new weapon, called the atomic bomb, created by American scientists, that was powerful enough to destroy an entire city. However, there were some feelings that the bomb was too powerful, and the leaders chose instead to send the Potsdam Declaration to Japan warning them to surrender. The Japanese military did not know about the atomic bomb and ignored the warning, so on August 6th 1945, an American bomber called the Enola Gay was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. This blast killed an approximated 70,000 people and destroyed more than eighty percent of the city, but the Japanese still did not surrender. The US dropped a second atomic bomb, and after a furious debate in the Japanese cabinet, the emperor of Japan announced a surrender. This day on the 14th of August became known as V-J Day, for Victory over Japan. 32) a & b) The approach to bring discrimination cases before the courts that I would have disagreed with most would have been using violence to gain attention. This approach only caused an uproar that required law enforcement and resulted in injuries of many people. Although it did bring attention, it brought the wrong sort of attention that they were seeking. The courts possibly would have been less eager to see their cases after acts of violence, since it only demonstrated rebellion. 33) a & b) President Lyndon Johnson proposed the development of a plan called the Great Society, which was a plan with an ambitious goal to improve the standard of living of every American. One of these important Great Society programs was Medicare. This plan helped to pay the hospital bills of citizens over the age of 65. Similar to this program, Medicaid gave states money to help poor people of all ages with medical bills. Along with this, he fought to help Americans who lived below the poverty line. The Economic Opportunity Act was passed in 1964 to set up job-training programs for the poor. It also gave loans to businesses poor sections of the cities and offered loans to poor farmers. 34) Among the recent advances in science and technology, the development of computers has become a part of everyday life in American culture. Random Essays :: essays research papers 31) After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the feelings of animosity in America against Japan increased. By late 1945, the Allied leaders met in Germany with news of a secret new weapon, called the atomic bomb, created by American scientists, that was powerful enough to destroy an entire city. However, there were some feelings that the bomb was too powerful, and the leaders chose instead to send the Potsdam Declaration to Japan warning them to surrender. The Japanese military did not know about the atomic bomb and ignored the warning, so on August 6th 1945, an American bomber called the Enola Gay was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. This blast killed an approximated 70,000 people and destroyed more than eighty percent of the city, but the Japanese still did not surrender. The US dropped a second atomic bomb, and after a furious debate in the Japanese cabinet, the emperor of Japan announced a surrender. This day on the 14th of August became known as V-J Day, for Victory over Japan. 32) a & b) The approach to bring discrimination cases before the courts that I would have disagreed with most would have been using violence to gain attention. This approach only caused an uproar that required law enforcement and resulted in injuries of many people. Although it did bring attention, it brought the wrong sort of attention that they were seeking. The courts possibly would have been less eager to see their cases after acts of violence, since it only demonstrated rebellion. 33) a & b) President Lyndon Johnson proposed the development of a plan called the Great Society, which was a plan with an ambitious goal to improve the standard of living of every American. One of these important Great Society programs was Medicare. This plan helped to pay the hospital bills of citizens over the age of 65. Similar to this program, Medicaid gave states money to help poor people of all ages with medical bills. Along with this, he fought to help Americans who lived below the poverty line. The Economic Opportunity Act was passed in 1964 to set up job-training programs for the poor. It also gave loans to businesses poor sections of the cities and offered loans to poor farmers. 34) Among the recent advances in science and technology, the development of computers has become a part of everyday life in American culture.

Muckrakers Essay -- essays research papers fc

Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said The man with the muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muckrake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake himself the filth of the floor. Some, like Roosevelt viewed methods of muckrakers such as Ida Tarbell, Ray S. Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair as these types of people. Others saw these muckraking methods as perfectly acceptable for fighting against the industrial powerhouses. Either way, these muckrakers worked hard to arouse sentiment in the hearts of the public (Reiger 1). Muckraking actually began long before the years of 1900-1902, when the muckraking movement is credited to have begun. Jesus was probably the first muckraker. Years later, Martin Luther exposed the corruptness of the Catholic Church. Also, early Abolitionist works--Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Helper's The Impending Crisis used muckraking to get a point across. However, events during the 1890s most directly paved the way for the critiques and exposures of existing conditions. This period was able to reach a limited upper class and the muckrakers were able to expand appeal to the average middle class citizen (Reiger 49-50). One reason for the outspread of muckraking was the explosion of journalism. From 1870-1909 the number of daily newspapers circulated boomed from 574 to 2,600 and the number of subscribers from 2,800,000 to 24,800,000. With this increase, newspaper owners and editors needed new bait to reel in its subscribers. The newspaper editors wanted to replace ordinary town gossip with gossip about the latest events of the city. Therefore, in newspapers they placed the most shocking events and kept the rural mind drooling for more. As newspaper circulation grew, the large newspaper depended much less on political parties and could now even challenge them. Newspapers played on the new human interest, the concern of the wealthy with the affairs of those below them, status-wise. This "story of the poor" became the basic outline for muckraking (Ho... ...direct success. However, indirectly, it was one of the most powerful journalistic movements of our history. The total circulation of the ten muckraking magazines reached over three million. Also, Upton Siclair's novels The Brass Check and The Jungle went over the hundred thousand mark by 1932. A new political movement of reformed capitalism was undergone as the muckraking era pounded out its grievances. Most importantly though, people, partly because of the information which muckrakers revealed, partly because of the visions of better things which reformers brought forth, and partly because of horrid personal experiences, began to regard big business as an enemy rather than a friend (Reiger 194-196). Works Cited Hofstadter, Richard. The Age of Reform. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. Josephson, Matthew. The Robber Barons. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1962. Reiger, C. C. The Era of the Muckrakers. Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1957. Sinclair, Upton. "The Consequences of Land Speculation are Tenantry and Debt on the Farms, and Slums and Luxury in the Cities." Upton Sinclair. 1924. <http://home.vicnet.net.au/~earthshr/upton.html> (17 Dec. 1999)

The Mandala Archetype in Intertidal Life by Audrey Thomas :: Audrey Thomas Intertidal Life

The Significance of the Mandala Archetype in Intertidal Life      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Audrey Thomas' novel Intertidal Life, is an account of a woman's struggle for Emmersonian self-reliance and identity. The main character, Alice Hoyle, is forced by her husband to undertake a perilous, painful, and chaotic journey into her subconscious, in order to find her "self". This struggle to obtain a new "self" identity and self-reliance is symbolized throughout the novel by the Jungian archetype of the Mandala; a circular image with a center that represents the: "wholeness of personality, [and] the center of the whole... It is the archetype of inner order; and it is always used in that sense, either to make arrangements of the many, many aspects of the universe-a world scheme-or to arrange the complicated aspects of our psyche into a scheme " (Psych,86). Therefore, in Intertidal Life, the Mandala is an archetype arising "when there is a great disorder and chaos in a [woman's] mind... It appears to bring order, showing the possibility of order and centeredn ess" (Psych,86) Alice Hoyle first experiences chaos and despair when Peter admits to Alice that he no longer loves Alice, and he wants to seek out and find himself. She interprets that the move to the island was simply a tact to get Alice easily out of Peter's life. As Alice says,"It's so strange. I've felt so close to you these last few months. I saw the new room, the move over here as something wonderful, a new beginning to our marriage. I guess what I saw as a sunrise, you saw as a sunset" (20). Moreover, as Alice realizes that her husband, Peter is having an affair with Anne-Marie, and her worldly values and ambitions are tossed upside down, she encounters her first Mandala type dream: one night, Alice had a dream of apples. She was holding Flora in her arms and people were pelting at them both with fruit... She was calling and calling for help (24).    In this dream, Alice is the focus of the center of attention, surrounded by people pelting her with apples. A schematic image is presented which is in the form of a Mandala. Out of this dream, she comes to the realization for the first time, that "the other woman" in Peter's life is Anne-Marie (24). Thus, this Mandala represents, that she is unwanted by Peter, must find away to protect herself from her emotions, and she must seek help, in redefining her life. The Mandala Archetype in Intertidal Life by Audrey Thomas :: Audrey Thomas Intertidal Life The Significance of the Mandala Archetype in Intertidal Life      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Audrey Thomas' novel Intertidal Life, is an account of a woman's struggle for Emmersonian self-reliance and identity. The main character, Alice Hoyle, is forced by her husband to undertake a perilous, painful, and chaotic journey into her subconscious, in order to find her "self". This struggle to obtain a new "self" identity and self-reliance is symbolized throughout the novel by the Jungian archetype of the Mandala; a circular image with a center that represents the: "wholeness of personality, [and] the center of the whole... It is the archetype of inner order; and it is always used in that sense, either to make arrangements of the many, many aspects of the universe-a world scheme-or to arrange the complicated aspects of our psyche into a scheme " (Psych,86). Therefore, in Intertidal Life, the Mandala is an archetype arising "when there is a great disorder and chaos in a [woman's] mind... It appears to bring order, showing the possibility of order and centeredn ess" (Psych,86) Alice Hoyle first experiences chaos and despair when Peter admits to Alice that he no longer loves Alice, and he wants to seek out and find himself. She interprets that the move to the island was simply a tact to get Alice easily out of Peter's life. As Alice says,"It's so strange. I've felt so close to you these last few months. I saw the new room, the move over here as something wonderful, a new beginning to our marriage. I guess what I saw as a sunrise, you saw as a sunset" (20). Moreover, as Alice realizes that her husband, Peter is having an affair with Anne-Marie, and her worldly values and ambitions are tossed upside down, she encounters her first Mandala type dream: one night, Alice had a dream of apples. She was holding Flora in her arms and people were pelting at them both with fruit... She was calling and calling for help (24).    In this dream, Alice is the focus of the center of attention, surrounded by people pelting her with apples. A schematic image is presented which is in the form of a Mandala. Out of this dream, she comes to the realization for the first time, that "the other woman" in Peter's life is Anne-Marie (24). Thus, this Mandala represents, that she is unwanted by Peter, must find away to protect herself from her emotions, and she must seek help, in redefining her life.

Business and Internet

What is the internet? The Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks, cooperating with each other to exchange data using a common software standard. Through telephone wires and satellite links, Internet users can share information in a variety of forms. How does it work?Internet allows users to: connect easily through ordinary personal computers and local phone numbers, exchange electronic mail (E-mail) with friends and colleagues with accounts on the Internet, post information for others to access, and update it frequently, access multimedia information that includes sound, photographic images and even video, and access diverse perspectives from around the world. How does it provide business value? People search the Internet with some questions or concern in mind. That is the importance behind all the keywords being placed on your website through traditional Search Engine Optimization.However, once the person has found one of your pages on the search engine, what unique value does your website offer to prospective clients / customers? Websites allow for easy access anytime to your companies information. Explain how the domain name and IP addressing system work. If you've ever used the Internet, it's a good bet that you've used the domain even without realizing it. DNS is a protocol within the set of standards for how computers exchange data on the Internet and on many private networks. Its basic job is to turn a user-friendly domain name that computers use to identify each other on the network.It's like your computer's GPS for the Internet. Computers and other network devices on the Internet use an IP address to route your request to the site you're trying to reach. This is similar to dialing a phone number to connect to the person you're trying to call. List and describe the principal internet services. Internet services consist of communication, news, weather conditions, shopping and entertainment. You can do faxing, calling, surfing, browsing a nd marketing in internet and even crimes, etc. List and describe alternative ways of locating information on the web.Search engines- The search engines are the first place everyone heads to and they have become household names. Subject Directories If you have a specific piece of information you are looking for and it fits neatly into a particular category this is a good place to start. These sites include libraries, academic institutions, research facilities and usually include the ‘best of the best' as well as peer-reviewed publications for business and academics. Directories have even been created by both Google and Yahoo. Social NetworkingSocial Networking is the latest craze on the Internet and includes online communities of people who share certain interests, activities, etc. While many of them are just about connecting to other people, some can be used to glean new information from the web. Services such as StumbleUpon will give you recommendations on websites that might be of interest to you based on a set of interests and keywords. Other services like LinkedIn focus on connecting people in business but also give you a resource where you can ask for the opinions of others or to be pointed in the right direction. Social BookmarkingSocial Bookmarking sites like Reddit, Delicious and Digg all allow users to bookmark or share links of interest. They all contain categories and notifications so you needn't go searching, the information can even be brought to you to save time. All three have ways for users to increase (and possibly decrease) the popularity or relevant importance of some links that are dropped into the services. Not all links bookmarked at these sites will be useful but many could be interesting, informative or something you might use later. The peer-review means that others find the links useful and help them float to the top so to be more easily found.

ASEAN Integration by cultural and Literal Development Essay

â€Å"PASUC socio cultural and literary development towards ASEAN Integration† How does PASUC socio cultural and literary development can be a way towards ASEAN Integration? (Not yet done) Progress. A very immense word, hard to achieve and a very high goal for 3rd class countries. Seven thousand and a hundred seven islands called Philippines are bounded with a gift from God in the form of knowledge and wisdom. It has been achieved through the pains, sweat and blood of our forefathers. At times like this where economic discrepancy is being a crisis in all the parts of the globe, our knowledge needs improvement. This leads to new disputes that have given our generation an endeavour to strive more to achieve socio cultural and literary development; making progress towards ASEAN Integration. Literary and socio cultural development offers a great opportunity not only to oneself but also to the country in different terms to make Philippines globally competitive. Achieving such development requires a lot of effort since community should be first educated on what the integration entails so entrepreneurs can maximize the benefits of free trade. The Integration is expected to boost investments, job creation, and incomes in the region. While the ASEAN Integration is expected to level the playing field among industries in the region, it is also expected that Philippine firms should brace for an intense competition with their ASEAN counterparts. An intense competition will therefore raise the bar for innovation, quality and productivity, which will enable businesses to compete head on with other players. To be able to compete to neighbouring countries in Asia, Philippines in terms of economic factor, we should be literate and socio cultural aware. Starting from our University can create such big change. Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges indeed hones students to be more knowledgeable by introducing programs that develops literacy. For example, conducting contests and trainings that levels up wisdom of students. Literacy and socio cultural awareness gives Filipinos confidence in facing not only local employers but also abroad. This is evidenced by Filipinos all over the globe standing out in their chosen career. Since ASEAN or Association of South East Asian Nation is one of the highest organizations here in Asia, it is an honour and a great privilege to be the part of the said integration. Again, the young and the  middle class are the drivers of growth. However, we cannot capitalize on these opportunities if we do not do the right things. In the case of the Philippines, we need to invest in educating our young people. That is the challenge for the PASUC – to become a catalyst for integration itself. It will be a more daunting challenge for smaller sections like Universities but this is where the=government can step in to facilitate the sharing of information. It is at this point in time that the vital role of PASUC as well as the students must come to the fore by being the instrument in influencing people in embracing and promoting socio cultural and literary development through University honing for achieving positive results that constructs a bridge to ASEAN integration. Particularly, the school must engage in enforcing the application of higher quality of education and trainings. Not only PASUC must tighten the grip to the goals but also the Filipinos themselves. Cooperation and teamwork can make this happen, for one voice might be a whisper but a thousand whispers make a big ROAR.

Cold War Literature – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot, and Red Alert

The period of Cold War literature dating from the second half of the twentieth century is distinctly seen as a time of enduring relevance; marked with a deep moral questioning of morality and the institution, a heightened sense of paranoia, as well as with a firm shattering of religious persuasion. Significant texts arise from particular ways of thinking to reflect both a societal loss of innocence and social naivety, presenting a widely pessimistic picture of a civilisation awaiting imminent annihilation. A strong reaction to the context of After the Bomb, which created a sense of fragmentation and social alienation, the Cold War texts of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, and Peter Georges’ Red Alert all arise from particular ways of thinking evident in the philosophical, religious, economic and technological paradigms of the period and thus they possess an enduring relevance.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? The questions surrounding both the reasoning and necessity of the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki arguably surround the most significant moral debate of the twentieth century and it is in this context, that George’s Red Alert and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by Le Carre, explore the philosophical reasonings of morality. The Spy who came in From the Cold raises such concerns as it shatters illusions of the previously perceived ‘noble cause'. This is evidenced as Control briefs Leamus when he rationalises that â€Å"the ethic of our work†¦ we do disagreeable things†¦ we are defensive†. This not only causes the reader to question the â€Å"ethic† of intelligence operations but also to compare the actions of both the East and the West throughout the novel. Additionally the emphasis of the italicised â€Å"defensive† highlights the belief that such operations cause concern, as the manipulation and deception of others by the Circus causes the readers to weigh up the â€Å"ethics†. This is highlighted especially as it becomes apparent that the British are instigating the protection of a former Nazi, another scenario raising concerns of morality. Control then says that â€Å"intelligence work has one moral law – it is justified by results†. Control, as suggested by his title, hold considerable power which The use of â€Å"law† suggests a concrete framework of standards and expectations, which is not only unrealistic within an intelligence setting, but also a complete untruth, Control having just said that they are â€Å"defensive†. Additionally the issue of amorality surfaces within the conversation between Control and Leamus as the reader questions whether the â€Å"results† justify the means. Likewise, when Fielder interrogates Leamus there is a discussion about philosophical and ideological beliefs of British and East German intelligence agents. Fielder believes in that â€Å"the whole is more important than the individual†. This statement, explicit and direct, emphasises options of morality for both. Similarly, perhaps as a justification, it is also said that â€Å"it is expedient that one man should die for the benefit of many†. Apart from a criticising intelligence work, Le Carre also questions both the direction and morality/amorality of humanity itself. Through the use of â€Å"benefit†, the reader is forced to ask if any death is a â€Å"benefit† to society, allowing contextual components to come into play. Similarly, George’s Red Alert as a text is characterised by intensified questioning of humanity and human values. The sustained metaphor likening General Quinten to the mongoose who kills the snake from Rudyard Kipling’s Rikki Tikki Tavi spans most of the novel. The juxtaposition of Rikki Tikki Tavi with General Quinten highlights the debate surrounding â€Å"aggression for self-defence†, which juxtaposes both scenarios in irony. Another philosophical facet of Red Alert is the validity and morality of the institution. This is a particularly potent issue shown through the rare satirical undercurrent of the Pentagon War Room. Satire is used by George throughout the meetings of â€Å"big bomb diplomacy† as leaders from East and West throw around moral questions of whether there is a difference in killing â€Å"thirty millions or sixty millions†. This, in addition to the granting of permission to destroy an un-evacuated Atlantic city so that â€Å"few would have to suffer for the sake of many† highlights contempt for political institutions making decisions for the world, who through the use of alliteration are â€Å"powerless to prevent†. This also relates to Fiedler’s belief in that it is â€Å"expedient that one man should die for the benefit of many†. Thus through the questioning of morality in Cold War society, both Le Carre and George, present texts which both depict highly differing perspectives of their surrounding world and which are, to a large extent shaped by the particular ways of thinking present at the time. Thus both texts possess an enduring relevance through the challenging of ideas such as morality and the presence of seeming amorality. The Cold War era was one of permeating anxiety, vulnerability and fear especially pertaining to the fatal flaws of science, as well as to those attributed to the human condition as conveyed in Peter George’s Red Alert and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Winston Churchill’s 1946 Sinews of Peace alleged that â€Å"with cooperation†¦in science†¦there will be an overwhelming sense of security†[1]. Red Alert is a text, seemingly devoted to the disproving of this affirmation. The novel invalidates the â€Å"safety† of the machine, particularly through the ironic repetition of the acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD. Similarly, the religious imagery of explosives â€Å"crossed and recrossed in a lethal pattern† is both symbolic of the danger and fatality of nuclear technology, and foreboding of the â€Å"self-immolation [of] their destined end† – a reference to the perceived martyrdom of the appropriately named Alabama Angel bombers. In 1961, John F Kennedy stated â€Å"the world is living under a nuclear sword of Damocles which can be cut by accident, miscalculation, or madness. †[2] It seems the fatal flaw of technology, as conveyed in Red Alert, is human nature. This is particularly evident as â€Å"no system yet devised is proof against any and all human failings†¦the human element has failed us† which again plays on the threat of technology as well as alludes to the existing atmosphere of paranoia prevalent throughout both the novel, and the Cold War period. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot â€Å"Beckett is concerned with†¦demythification, with exposing myths such as†¦science†[3]. Through absurdism, Beckett conveys the â€Å"dark summation† of the human condition with compassion and humour. The seeming nothingness of the existence and experience of all characters in the play can be distressing for the audience, who are presented with a disillusioned, harsh depiction of their world. This is somewhat symbolic of the realities of the human condition in relation to despair, fear and loneliness in an alien and hostile universe. Additionally, the relentless cycle experienced as Vladimir says â€Å"we’ll be back tomorrow†¦ then the day after†¦and so on† creates both pity but also fear for the audience especiallyu as Estragon asks â€Å"why don’t you help me? , thus appealing to Vladimir but also the audience who are both powerless to offer help and protection. It is thus evidenced in both Waiting for Godot and Red Alert, that the fear and paranoia depicted in both texts is to a large extent a reflection of the ways of thinking of the time. The impact of the political context of the Cold War in clearly evident in Le Carre’s The Spy Who Cam e in from the Cold, however, in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, although still existent, the political influence and ways of thinking is somewhat more subtle. The Cold War era is often characterised by deceit, manipulation and betrayal, thus challenging values of honour and loyalty as society learnt of defections and double agents. The idea of manipulation, perhaps an illusion to political manipulation, is conveyed strongly in The Spy who came in from the Cold particularly through the use of repeating images of children, which appear throughout the text as symbols of innocence, easily swayed by others. The manipulation of Liz in the courtroom â€Å"like a blind child† conveys the potential control over interpretation through the suppression of context. The simile not only likens Liz to the ideas of innocence and naivety but also raises the question of whether there can be truth without context. Similarly, the novel sustains repetition of an image haunting Leamus; that of a â€Å"small car smashed between great lorries and the children waving cheerfully through the window†. The obvious conclusion drawn by readers is of the lorries as a metaphor for the ideological conflict between East and West, communism and democracy. The small car on the other hand has numerous connotations potentially being Leamus, society in general as a helpless unit, or even the opposing nations caught in between the ideological forces. The â€Å"children waving cheerfully† presents an image of innocence, and lack of awareness, a stark contrast to the looming lorries. Thus, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold reflects, to a very large extent the political atmosphere of the Cold War, and thus possesses enduring relevance as a depiction of reality for many throughout the era. Thus, the particular ways of thinking present throughout the Cold War period largely influenced the composition of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot, and Red Alert. The permeating philosophical, scientific, political and religious paradigms give all three texts an enduring relevance in the modern, twenty-first century context.

English language communication Essay

By learning English, we can develop four important skills like listening, speaking, reading and writing. Advantages of learning English language communication is an endless list, creating possibilities each day to connect with people worldwide. With command over English language you can get jobs easily and can participate in interviews and discuss with people in a group about any particular important topic or aspect. English communication gains us wisdom and we can also gain lots of knowledge by reading online magazines, newspapers, story books, essays, websites and journals and any of the greatest and famous writing written in English by poets, authors or leaders. Apart from being most important, widely used and useful, English is considered to be one of the easiest languages to learn and speak. With daily practice, you can communicate-well with others and improve your skills, show-off or expose your skills before others to impress and motivate them to come up with their English language communications skills. Hence, English even-though being a foreign language to many is now most commonly used language worldwide. Advantages of learning English language communication is an endless list, creating possibilities each day to connect with people worldwide. With command over English language you can get jobs easily and can participate in interviews and discuss with people in a group about any particular important topic or aspect. English communication gains us wisdom and we can also gain lots & lots of knowledge by reading online magazines, newspapers, story books, essays, websites and journals and any of the greatest and famous writing written in English by poets, authors or leaders. Apart from being most important, widely used and useful, English is considered to be one of the easiest languages to learn and speak. With daily practice, you can communicate-well with others and improve your skills, show-off or expose your skills before others to impress and motivate them to come up with their English language communications skills. Hence, English even-though being a foreign language to many is now most commonly used language worldwide especially in British dominion later became Independent republican countries like India and Pakistan. Proud to be an Indian, speaking foreign language, so people around you can’t understand. Knowledge of English is important as we can get to know how to frame sentences, how to use words in dialogues while speaking to others. As every word has a particular context where it fits right, using words in such a manner in English is an art that can only be mastered by practice. And with such command, we can easily communicate with others on any level. Mostly, listening and speaking improves our command on English language. Daily listening to English speakers and trying speaking in English, helps you to know how to use the language, where to use each word and when to use it in a correct manner.