Team Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Team Building - Essay Example But a basic disadvantage in this type of functioning is that the employee doesn't feel the belonging to the organization and therefore may not go for value addition and creativity to the task. An individual is least bothered about the final product, once he/ she has done his/ her share of task. A team on the other hand helps in networking of the individuals, with exchange of ideas and suggestions. This not only helps in regular updation of the knowledge level of the team members but also enriches the final product and service. When the customer feels the advantage of value addition, he'll naturally be attracted towards the product/ service. The figure below depicts the difference between these two types of systems. Teams in general are committed for common goals as they are accountable for them. Teams can pool there resources, synergize their acts and the team members can complement and supplement each other's efforts to come out with the final product. Contribution from the concerned team members helps in widening the thoughts, assigning responsibilities, helps in implementing and constantly monitoring the results and feedback helps in devising a still better strategy. Structure and composition of a team forms the basis of its working. ... But the core characteristic is the commitment to a common goal. The team structure determines how to maximize the common efforts. If any one members of the team works in a manner adversely affecting the final outcome, then it acts as a de-motivating factor for other members in the team, which in turn affects the quality of the final product. Therefore an efficient team structure also takes care of such eventualities. A well designed team structures helps in polishing the abilities of the individual team members. A person's strengths may not always be visible; it might be overshadowed by something that he has done in the past. Sometimes it requires a personal trigger from the team leader. When the team members find that the team is behind them and the leader has enough confidence in them they come out of their shell with readiness to take initiatives. The trigger has to be the right one, because squeezing the wrong one might lead to further detachment. Strategies must be in place to s upport such initiates and experiments. Answer-2 Part-I: Contribution of leadership towards strategy implementation Howard Good (2006), the former president of Highland Central School Board in Highland, N.Y., says, "Being board president brings power and prestige, but you must inspire and help others to be successful". A team leader therefore plays the central role in making or breaking the team. It is the team leader who can synergize the efforts or just wither away the advantage, with his actions. A team leader is supposed to delegate the powers and responsibilities amongst his/ her team mates, inspire the team members by being an example and motivate his team with appropriate motivating factors. A leader

Over Representation of African American Students in the Special Education System. Essay Example for Free

Over Representation of African American Students in the Special Education System. Essay Introduction My current school has special education roster of 32 students in self contain with over 90% of the students being African-American. This paper will address the large number African-American students in the special education system. Attention will be focus on the social economic roles that play a part in placement. When done properly and in appropriate perspective, special education is beneficial for students with a real disability, but special education services are inappropriate when a student receives it when it is not needed. African-American students are being placed in the special education system at an alarming rate. They are being labeled with disabilities at ages as early as five years old, because they progress slower than the rest of the class, bias in assessment instrument, discrimination in society reflected in the school or they may present some behavior issue. Special education is appropriate placement for students with real disabilities, but minority blacks are being disproportionately place in special education. This unjust placement at early ages are causing these children to be stereotyped as slow learners causing low self esteem and low achievement rate during and after school. This is a major problem when addressing special education for African Americans. Many attempts have been made to solve the issues but there have been no satisfactory results. Theoretical Framework The disproportionate representation of African-Americans students in the special education system is well documented. This misrepresentation has been problematic since the inception of the special education program. This paper will probe the reasons many of these students have been categorized with various type of learning disabilities or emotional disturbances. These labels given to students have proven to be life altering to students given incorrect placement. Lawsuits have been filed charging that placements of high numbers of African American, especially male, in special education classes has been a tool for resisting court ordered desegregation (Harry and Anderson, 1992). In many instances there is a lack of or unwillingness to properly place African American students because of educators in some systems being culturally diverse. Secondly there is a lot of mistrust between educators and parents. Many parents don’t seek appropriate services or disagree with educational placement because they feel they will be see as ignorant or â€Å"talked down† to by teachers and administrators placing their children in special education. This paper will also discuss the long term effects that hinder students educational progress as well as there adult life. Once placed in many special education programs student may not be in line to receive a high school diploma. Many students have difficulties in the community getting jobs because employers feel they will be slower then there counterparts that received a regular education. This then snowballs into the child being placed in a lower social economic bracket because of the type of employment they will have to settle for in adulthood. African-American students are disproportionally placed in the special education system around the country. This misrepresentation is may be due to teacher ineffectiveness. Improving teachers’ capacity to provide culturally responsive instruction to African American students is like to improve student learning ability (Darling-Hammond, 2004). New teachers must meet a vigorous undergraduate program to become certified they continue to graduate enable to effectively teach African American students. Many exit program with a misconception of black students. They think that the African American students are not as smart as other races. The purpose of this study is to prove there is a misrepresentation of African American students in special education. I also plan to illustrate the problem of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education is not just a special education problem issue or concern but, instead, must be viewed in the context as it refers to racism in the whole educational system. I will discuss how racism contributes to and maintains disproportionality in special education by (a) insufficiently funding schools attended primarily by African American and poor children: (b) employing culturally inappropriate and unresponsive curriculum; (c) inadequately preparing educators to effectively teach African American learners and other students of color. I will show that to effectively address the problem of disproportionality, researchers, practitioners and  policymakers must place inequitable educational resource allocation, inappropriate curriculum and pedagogy and inadequate teacher preparation at the center of education research, policy, and practice. Significance of the Study There is much significance for this study. Being a special education teacher I have seen many students come to me because they were a behavioral problem during their elementary years. I believe it is our responsibility to find a solution to this growing problem. First, we as educators, we need to find out if this race of students are get misplaced in the educational system. These students not getting a proper education are causing a negative effect on their entire life. This causes this particular group to have to depend on state aid and weakens the workforce. Secondly, we need to find out if there is a problem with teacher preparedness. If this is a problem we need to figure out what can be done in state colleges and universities to solve these problems. Would adding a more ethically diverse curriculum better prepare teachers to educate African American students? The majority of the teachers coming out of college will be spending there first few years teaching intercity kids, with the majority being African Americans. Finally we need to educate or children to be reliable productive citizens. I feel that these children are not being given an equal shot at being productive if they are being thrown in the special education class in the back of the building. We already know there is a problem, now we need to work together to find a solution that will best benefit the students. Definition of Terms Disproportionate numbers: Having greater representation within a subgroup  compared to the number of students in the population as a whole. Some researchers use plus or minus 10% to determine proportionality (Harry Anderson, 1994). Discrimination The ability to make or perceive distinction; discernment. Partiality, or bias, in the treatment of a person or group, which is unfair, illegal, etc(Loren Orfield, 2002). It is my opinion that African American children are being placed in special Education because of biases unfair grouping. High Achieving: School-wide trajectory of API (if in California) and Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) growth over three years of all subgroups. There must also be a minimum movement of two deciles within 3-5 years. ] Special Education: Services and supports designed to minimize the impact of disability and maximize opportunity to grow and learn (Hehir, 2007). Limitation, Delimitation and Assumptions Limitations of Study The limitations of this study would be to find willing participates, because of the reasons I have discussed earlier parents will be willing to admit that their child was placed in special education because of a lack of knowledge on their part. Another limitation that will affect them outcome of this research is because I am directly employed in the parish that I have chosen to do research. This position will limit the effectiveness of my research because of student privacy and my position in the parish. It is also my opinion that school districts will not want to release information that could possible be used against them. As stated before I think students of color or being illegal classified as students with special needs and placed in special education. These are a few factors that could limit my study. Delimitations of the Study  External validity may be effected based on the number of student/parents being interviewed. Validate may be effected due to other minority races not being included in the study. Also the size and school locations may limit my ability to get adequate data to fully prove my hypothesis. The small sample population was feasible for my research rather then venturing out into larger areas. This is significant in that the findings may not be applicable to other schools. Assumptions of the Study References Artiles, A. J. (2003). Special education’s changing identity: Paradoxes and dilemmas in views of culture and space. Harvard Educational Review, 73, 164-202. Artiles, A. J. , Rueda, R. , Salazar, J. J. , Higareda, I. (2005). Within-group diversity in minority disproportionate representation: English language learners in urban school districts. Exceptional Children, 71, 283-300. Billingsley, B. (2004). Special education teachers’ retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. Remedial and Special Education, 25, 22-39. Blair, C. , Scott, K. G. (2002). Proportion of LD placements associated with low socio-economic status: Evidence for gradient. Journal of Special Education, 36, 14-22. Blanchett, W. J. , Mumford, V. , Beachum, F. (2005). Urban school failure and disproportionality in a post-Brown era. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 70-81. Chamberlain, S. P. (2005). Issues of overrepresentation and educational equity for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41, 110-113. Countinho, M. J. , Oswald, D. P. , Best, A. M. (2002). The influence of sociodemographics and gender on the disproportionate identification of minority students as having learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 49-59. Coutinho, M. J. , Oswald, D. P. , Best, A. M. , Forness, S. R. (2002). Gender and sociodemographic factors and the disproportionate identification of culturally and linguistically diverse students with emotional disturbance. Behavioral Disorders, 27, 109-125. Eitle, T. M. (2002). Special education or racial segregation: Understanding variation in the representation of Black students in educable mentally handicapped programs. The Sociological Quarterly, 43(4), 575-605. Elhoweris, H. , Mutua, K. , Alsheikh, N. , Holloway, P.(2005). Effect of children’s ethnicity on teachers’ referral and recommendation decisions in gifted and talented programs. Remedial and Special Education, 26(1), 25-31. Ferri, B. A. , Connor, D. J. (2005). In the shadow of Brown: Special education and overrepresentation of students of color. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 93-100. Hosp, J. L. , Hosp, M. K. (2002). Behavior differences between African American and Caucasian students: Issues for assessment and intervention. Education and Treatment of Children, 24, 336-350. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2002). Predictors of restrictiveness of placement of African American and Caucasian students. Exceptional Children, 14, 20-34. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2003). Referral rates for intervention and assessment: A meta-analysis of racial differences. Journal of Special Education, 37, 67-81. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2004). Disproportionate representation of minority students in special education: Academic, demographic and economic predictors. Exceptional Children, 70, 185-199. Kurlaender, M. , Yun, J. T. (2007). Measuring school racial composition and student outcomes in a multiracial society. American Journal of Education, 113, 213-235. Neal, L. V. , McCray, A. D. , Webb-Johnson, G. , Bridgest, S. T. (2003). The effects of African American movement styles on teachers’ perceptions and reactions. Journal of Special Education, 37, 49-57. O’Connor, C. (2002). Black women beating the odds from one generation to the next: How the changing dynamics of constraint and opportunity affect the process of educational resilience. American Educational Research Journal, 39, 855-903. Park, J. , Turnball, A. P. , Turnball, H. R. , III (2002). Impacts of poverty on quality of life in families of children with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 68, 151-170. Shealey, M. W. , Lue, M. S. , Brooks, M. , McCray, E. (2005). Examining the legacy of Brown: The impact on special education and teacher practice. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 113-121. Skiba, R. J. , Michael, R. S. , Nardo, A. C. , Peterson, R. L. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. Urban Review, 34, 317-342. Skiba, R. J. , Poloni-Staudinger, L. , Gallini, S. , Simmons, A.B. , Feggins-Azziz, R. (2006). Disparate access: The disproportionality of African American students with disabilities across educational environments. Exceptional Children, 72, 411-424. Skiba, R. J. , Poloni-Staudinger, L. , Simmons, A. B. , Feggins-Azziz, L. R. , Chung, C. G. (2005). Unproven links: Can poverty explain ethnic disproportionality in special education? Journal of Special Education, 39, 130-144. Zhang, D. , Katsiyannis, A. (2002). Minority representation in special education: A persistent challenge. Remedial and Special Education, 21, 180-187.

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay This assignment will critically reflect upon the learning that I have gained through group participation. It will also look at what knowledge I have learnt in relation to how I look at putting theory into practice. It will also explore how these theories interconnect and how I used elements of psychology and sociology to explain how I might work with individuals in future practice. As a group we chose to analyse scenario two, the case of Fiona and mainly focused on her mental health issues, her lack of support as a result of family breakdown and her social isolation. To begin with we identified that Fiona seemed to have a lack of control in her life and as a group we felt that this was a huge area that needed to be addressed. To begin to support Fiona she needed to be given meaningful choice and valuable options (Clark, 2000, p.57) in order for her to gain greater control over her life and her circumstances. As a social worker we promote social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment of liberation of people to enhance well-being. (IFSW, 2000, cited in Banks, p.3).This was an important aspect to remember when applying theory to Fiona. Theory in social work is an attempt to explain situations and social relationships. So to be begin with as a group we began to look at theories that may help Fiona holistically such as Marxist theory and in particular conflict theory which seeks to examine structural inequality within society. This theory argues that society is structured along lines of inequality such as wealth, health and income thus providing people with different life chances which in turn can result in different life experiences. So whilst this theory could be linked to Fiona with her structural issues of deprivation and relative poverty and the issue of crime and deviancy in her neighbourhood, this was not the main focus that our group were concerned with and we wanted to concentrate more on her social isolation and her lack of a support network. Systems theory was looked at by the group and I came to understand that this theory would fit perfectly with what we were focusing on. Although I did not do much research into this theory for the group work I did get a greater understanding of how this theory would link to Fiona. Systems theory is a functionalist perspective that takes into account how individuals relate to one another and society as a whole. It would seem that this theory is popular with social work texts and in practice as it has been suggested that it can be attributed to the consistency with social works long-standing mission to understand and respond to people in their environment (Bartlett, 1970, cited in Healy, 2005, p.89). This theory seeks to provide ways to understand problems and issues and after perusing through some of the literature, I had to agree that this theory links closely to an empowerment approach which aims to seek social change at both an individual and a social level for a service user and as I already know, empowerment is a core component of social work practice. From the start as a group we always knew that we were going to apply cognitive theory to Fiona. As part of my individual research I focused on cognitive theory and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as this was the perspective that we felt as a group would be most beneficial to Fiona. While researching this theory my understanding of it was that Fiona needed to address the distorted picture she had of herself as she was blaming herself for experiences not of her making. She had low self-esteem and low self-efficacy and as such she had developed faulty cognitions about herself. Wessler (1986, cited in Gross, 2005, p.286) suggests that CBT is the attempt to change cognition and is always a means to an end, that end being lasting changes in target emotions and behaviour. This I felt is exactly what Fiona needed to do. She needed to change the ways she thinks (her cognition) so she can change what she does (her behaviour) and as such this is the theory that we are a group used in our pres entation. It became evident the more I researched CBT that this is a theory that could be applied to many service users as the struggles of daily life can be stressful and CBT could help them cope better in the future as it can be completed in a relatively short time. I gained a vast amount of knowledge about why social workers use theory as we prepared for the group presentation. I understand now that theory helps to explain a situation and perhaps how that situation came about. I recognise that theory can be seen as helping to describe (what is happening), explain (why it is happening) and predict (what is likely to happen next). In practice, if I understand all the above I can help to control a situation and bring about change for the service user. I began to recognise that there is no one single theory that can explain everything. Theories have limitations too and will not work for everyone. I learnt that much of the theory that is used in social work is drawn from outside the profession and has its roots in psychology and sociology and that we should always apply the value base to theory. Theory can help to avoid discrimination and as social workers we are orientated towards anti-oppressive and empowerment practices which seek social change. Dominelli (2002 p.4) suggests that social workers can help individuals to understand their situation, make connections between their personal plight and that of others, examine power relations and their impact on the specifics of their daily routines and acquire the knowledge and skills for taking control of their lives. When theory is used in practice it can undo jumbled information and give the social worker more direction in their work with the service user. Using theory in practice can give an explanation about why an action resulted in a particular consequence and as such can help the social worker to review and possible change in an attempt to make the consequences more effective. It became clear to me as I researched that theory is important in practice both for the service user and for the social worker to be more valued in society.

Principle of Convergence and the Theme of Disempowerment Essay

The Principle of Convergence and the Theme of Disempowerment In this paper, I propose to present interpretations of six works by French artists, three painters (Watteau, Delacroix, and Manet) and three novelists (Zola, Proust, and Camus), and to report on the unexpected discovery (if it deserves to be called such) that these disparate works have certain principles of structuring in common. Let us eliminate from the outset a possible source of distraction : these studies are interdisciplinary in character, but that seems to have nothing to do with the discoveries made. One way to throw light on the meaning of a novel or a painting is to view it in the light of a concept drawn from another discipline. Thus the various modes of structuralism borrowed from structural linguistics, either directly (e.g. via certain seminal works of Roman Jakobson, such as his famous essay on metaphor and metonymy) or indirectly (e.g. as mediated by the structural anthropology of Claude LÃ ©vi-Strauss). Such is the nature of interdisciplinary research. It is especially appropriate and valuable when a key element or a central aspect of a text has manifestly not given up its secrets to any of the traditional or conventional modes of analysis. In analyzing these works, I have had recourse to psychology, psychoanalysis, transactional analysis, group behaviour theory, feminism and control theory. However, the discovery I am presenting does not appear to depend in any way on the interdisciplinary character of the perspectives used. Rather, it depends on the plausibility of the interpretation and the central character of the aspects of the work being interpreted. Complexity in L’Embarquement pour Cythere. — The rococo is generally though... ...often without any obvious link between these two features having been noticed previously, is unexpected, both for the art critic and the literary critic. Equally intriguing is the discovery that each of the works we have examined here leads the viewer/reader through a two-part drama of disempowerment and re-empowerment that takes very different forms but in its essence recurs over and over again. As far as I know, this has never even been suspected by any critic or historian. It would be very interesting to know just how many great works of art and literature can be better understood in the light of such concepts or clusters of concepts as those used here. When we have noted that all these works appear to represent variations on one and the same drama, we are left with an intriguing question that remains to be answered : do they all have the same function?

Titanic History

As the Titanic sped across the North Atlantic on Sunday 14th April, 1912, it picked up a series of messages from other ships in the area warning about ice. Captain Smith was firm in hid belief that his ship was in no danger, and was urged on by Bruce Ismay the ship's owner, to prove the vessel's speed and reliability by setting to New York earlier than expected. â€Å"Full speed ahead,† remained the instruction, and although the captain steered the ship 25.7 km (16 miles) to the south before turning towards New York, no other notice was taken of the increasingly detailed reports about ice ahead. Where did these reports of icebergs ahead come from? From other ships by the use of wireless radio. The use of wireless on board a ship was still a novelty at the time of the Titanic's maiden voyage. Two radio operators were employed by Marconi rather then White Star Liner. Their names were Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. Radio operators spent their time dealing with personal messages and did not need to be on 24 hour duty. As the Titanic steamed westwards towards the ice it received nine messages – by telegraph and signal lamp – warning of danger ahead. Although not all of these messages reached the bridge the message from the German steamer Amerika sent about 4 hours before the Titanic hit the ice berg, was passed to Captain Smith in person. The night of 14th April was clear and bitterly cold. As a routine precaution, the lookout men up in the crow's-nest were warned to watch out for icebergs. Because it was such a clear night everyone thought there would be plenty of time to avoid any obstacle in the sea. But large ships at full speed do not turn quickly or easily, and when lookout Fredrick Fleet spotted an iceberg, at about 11:40 pm, it was too late to avoid a collision. As the ship approached Fredrick realised that the iceberg was considerably bigger than what he first saw. The titanic struck the iceberg at a glancing blow on the starboard side (right) of its hull and damaged appeared only slight. The iceberg was supposedly 30 meters over the deck but did little damage to the upper decks. However, below the waterline, and out of sight of the crew on the bridge, the iceberg punched a series of gashes and holes along 76 meters of the hull. The ship had 42 watertight bulkheads, but only 12 at the very bottom of the ship, could be closed electrically from the bridge. The rest had to be closed by hand. Some were left open, and others reopened to make it easier for the water pumps. Should a collision occur, the theory was that the ship would still float with two compartment flooded, or even with all four of the smaller bow compartments flooded. However, the bulkheads only reached three meters above the waterline allowing water to slop over from one compartment to another, thereby defeating the purpose of the bulkheads. At 12:05 am, 25 minutes after the collision, Captain Smith realised the extent of the damage to the Titanic and gave the order to abandon ship. For the next two hours total confusion reigned. There had been no lifeboat drill since leaving Southampton, and neither passengers nor crew knew where to go or what to do in the circumstances. Many felt it was safer to remain on deck than to be lowered into the freezing Atlantic aboard a lifeboat. Tragically, not one officer realized the lifeboats could be lowered fully laden. Had they done so a total of 1,178 people could have been saved rather than 706. As the lifeboats slid down the side of the Titanic, a flurry of activity took place on deck. The radio operators sent out distress signals. Officers on the bridge flashed messages by Morse signal lamps and fired rockets high into the sky to attract the attention of any passing ships. Yet despite all these actions, it was hard for many people to believe that this vast liner was capable of sinking. In order to attract any nearby ships, Fourth Officer Boxhall fired the fired of about eight powerful rocket signals at 12:45 am. Each signal sent up at five minute intervals was launched from the bridge and soared 240 meters into the air before exploding into a shower of light. As the Titanic slipped lower and lower into the water those left on board when the last of the lifeboats had departed were either gripped by a sense of panic or resign to their fate. As the ship plunged deeper into the sea, the stern rose up into the air, causing a tidal wave of passengers to fall of deck, some into the wreckage, others into the icy sea. The Titanic met it's horrific ending. It was Captain Smith's fault It was the shipbuilder's fault It was Bruce Ismay's fault It was Thomas Andrew's fault Why did the Titanic Sink? â€Å"We have struck iceberg †¦ sinking fast †¦ come to our assistance.† The ship was doomed and it was slowly sliding into its watery grave. But why did the largest, most advanced ship of the century sink? Recommendations on how a disaster could be avoided in the future. * That the provision of lifeboat and raft accommodation on board such ships should be based on the number of persons intended to be carried in the ship and not upon tonnage. * That all boats should be fitted with a protective, continuous fender, to lessen the risk of damage when being lowered in a seaway. * That in cases where the deck hands are not sufficient to man the boats enough other members of the crew should be men trained in boat work to make up the deficiency. These men should be required to pass a test in boat work. * That the men who are to man the boats should have more frequent drills. That in all ships a boat drill, a fire drill and a watertight door drill should be held as soon as possible after leaving the original port of departure and at convenient intervals of not less than once a week during the voyage. Such drills to be recorded in the official log. * That every man taking a look-out in such ships should undergo a site test at reasonable intervals. * That all such ships there should be an installation of wireless telegraphy, and that such installation should be worked with a sufficient number of trained operators to secure a continuous service by night and day

Women in the 1900s essays

Women in the 1900s essays Looking back and comparing life during the 1900s in Canada to todays life, I can see how much the past 100 years have left us in a completely different world. I can not even begin to describe how much things have changed since then. My life would have been entirely different. First off, I would probably be going to school only a couple times a week! There would be a lack in my school attendance since I would be spending my days helping my parents on the farm, cooking, keeping the house tidy, sewing, and looking after my baby sister which is not all fun and games. I would have very little time for myself. Meanwhile, my brother would be out fishing for the nights dinner and my mother would stay at home with me and my little sister. Only would my father go to work, being that back then, they had distinct gender roles where as today, there is equality. My father would come back very late at night after working those long hours to support my family. In addition, if I would be l iving in the 1900s, the housing would be very different. I would be living in a sod hut made out of mud, where there would be very cold nights and leaking water left from the rain. But looking at todays life, we live in brick homes with heaters to keep us warm. Moreover, traveling would require more time and would be very uncomfortable. Only the rich would have the luxurious accommodations for those long journeys. Today we have become very dependant on automobiles and subways to transport us to places for we are a car culture. But if I would be living in the 1900s, horses and carriages would play a significant role in my everyday life. I would be taking the horse to school instead of the TTC, which is what I use now. Also, religious values seemed to have had such an important role so I would have been attending church and reading the bible more often. Furthermore, if I would be living in the 1900s and wanted to communicate with a re...

The eNotes Blog Ten Worst Novel Cover Art of AllTime

Ten Worst Novel Cover Art of AllTime Authors rarely have any say in what cover art is chosen to adorn their works. The interpretations can often be down-right ridiculous. Here, for your viewing pleasure/horror are the worst-of-the-worst, the baddest-of-the-bad, and the silliest-of-the-silliest. Here we have Jane Eyre, apparently channeling Jane Russell.   Janes supposed to be homely   Thatll never sell. And perhaps her oddly formed hand is a result of the tragic, and little known, farming accident so frequently passed over by students. Want to trick teens into reading classic literature? How about making the cover of Wuthering Heights look like Twilight ? Of the few gullible teens who fell for the ruse, 100% returned the novel when,  after about fifty pages,   Heathcliff failed to sparkle. And here we have Melvilles classic Billy Budd, re-invisioned as a 70s adult-movie star. My innocence has been shattered by this blatant tourist trap. I want my money back. ~ Max, Tobacco Road Whats that sound I hear? Is itwhy, yes, it is! Its Faulkner turning over in his grave! Behold the young, be-haired Yul Brenner as he lovingly strangles Joanne Woodward. This image comes from great site Pop Sensation, whose author comments: I love the hand-drawn font on the title. Makes the book look like an adaptation of a wacky Disney movie. And heres the back cover! Best things about this back cover? DECAY Why would I read any farther after that? That is perhaps the best single-word tagline Ive ever seen on a book. And the bright, whimsical font! Inspired. By the picture, I would surmise that this is the story of an aging pirate with a bad hairpiece and massive pit stains who wants nothing more than for Maria from Sound of Music to admire his chest hair. The creepiest rendering of Richard Wrights classic, Black Boy, you will ever see. Guaranteed. Although it is kinda cool the way his open collar is shaped like Africa. Again, kudos to Pop Sensation, who aptly notes: Love the way Abridged is used as a major selling point - Finally, our most important Founding Father, in a dose you can manage! Floating Head of Thomas Jefferson backed by the Floating Declaration of Independence. My Most Powerful, Floatingest cover ever. This planting season, why not outfit your team with Dr. E. J. Samuelsons newly patented Invisible Oxen Rigging! Amaze your friends as your oxen appear to pull your plow by sheer force of mind alone Next to music, beer was best, Carson McCullers wrote in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Beer, or alcohol of some sort, seems to have been involved here. If that old codger William Shakespeare just didnt deliver enough debauchery and sensuous women in his version of Julius Caesar, then youll surely want to read the much more exciting The Private Life of Julius Caesar. And come to think of it, that yawner Hamlet leaves a lot to be desired as well.

Chemical Reaction - Chemistry Definition

Chemical Reaction - Chemistry Definition A chemical reaction is a chemical change which forms new substances. A chemical reaction may be represented by a chemical equation, which indicates the number and type of each atom, as well as their organization into molecules or ions. A chemical equation uses the element symbols as shorthand notation for the elements, with arrows to indicate the direction of the reaction. A conventional reaction is written with reactants on the left side of the equation and products on the right side. The state of matter of the substances may be indicated in parenthesis (s for solid, l for liquid, g for gas, aq for aqueous solution). The reaction arrow may go from left to right or there may be a double arrow, indicating reactants turn to products and some product undergoes the reverse reaction to reform reactants. While chemical reactions involves atoms, typically only the electrons are involved in the breaking and formation of chemical bonds. Processes involving the atomic nucleus are called nuclear reactions. The substances that participate in a chemical reaction are called reactants. The substances that are formed are called products. The products have different properties from the reactants. Also Known As: reaction, chemical change Chemical Reaction Examples The chemical reaction H2(g)  ½ O2(g) → H2O(l) describes the formation of water from its elements. The reaction between iron and sulfur to form iron(II) sulfide is another chemical reaction, represented by the chemical equation: 8 Fe S8 → 8 FeS Types of Chemical Reactions There are countless reactions, but they can be grouped into four basic categories: Synthesis Reaction In a synthesis or combination reaction, two or more reactants combine to form a more complex product. The general form of the reaction is: A B → AB Decomposition Reaction A decomposition reaction is the reverse of a synthesis reaction. In a decomposition, a complex reactant breaks into simpler products. The general form of a decomposition reaction is: AB → A B Single Replacement Reaction In a single replacement or single displacement reaction, one uncombined element replaces another in a compound or trades places with it. The general form of a single replacement reaction is: A BC  Ã¢â€ â€™ AC B Double Replacement Reaction In a double replacement or double displacement reaction, the anions and cations of the reactants trade places with each other two form new compounds. The general form of a double replacement reaction is: AB CD  Ã¢â€ â€™ AD CB Because there are so many reactions, there are additional ways to categorize them, but these other classes will still fall into one of the four main groups. Examples of other classes of reactions include oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, acid-base reactions, complexation reactions, and precipitation reactions. Factors That Affect Reaction Rate The rate or speed at which a chemical reaction occurs is affected by several factors, including: reactant concentrationsurface areatemperaturepressurepresence or absence of catalystspresence of light, especially ultraviolet lightactivation energy

Racism in the Air Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Racism in the Air - Essay Example To bring change on a large scale, we not only require leaders who portray and possess quality of good, but also individuals from different cultures and races for a prejudice free society. Minimizing the racial issues government has been playing its role and has worked hard to eliminate the causes of discrimination. But it’s high time for individuals to realize of their responsibility, especially the people from media who have huge impact on the audience by their thoughtless words. Our approach has to learn the right direction to deal with such intriguing matters. Author has tried to show us how people of different cultures and sects can leave significant mark on others due to their reactive and proactive approach.In this article there are two personalities with biracial identities. Barack Obama and Hella Berry, though they have been pronounced black but they both have traces of two races. There’s an urgent need to understand the multiracial background they are coming fr om and personal experiences. In the intergroup relationship with other social categories and the class becomes evident. Though interracial marriages are common since 1967 they are commonly accepted and frequently occurred. Multiracial backgrounds represent minority group in USA.   People who have biracial identities understand the racial discrimination with better understanding.The author points out in the article that how people of the same culture outcast the   biracial personalities thus keeping a low regard for other races and culture.

Body Politics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Body Politics - Coursework Example The mothers influence their daughters to begin thinking about how they could shape their bodies. According to the article, a section of mother complains about their body appearance in front of the children (Heidi). Notably, weight tops the list of the complaints. Heidi asserts that a huge percentage of women intend to lose. The women associate heavy weights to poor body shape. The article raises an interesting question whether the contemporary culture places emphasis on only women’s physical attributes and disregards the body shapes of men. The complaints about the body shape are prevalent in the society. Women seem to focus more on their appearance. Edlin and Eric contend that some women skip meals in order to attain the perceived right image (50). It appears that the world tends to promise girls and women that the societal judgment is based on their looks. The girls have learned to be self-critical, and will do everything to keep their image presentable (Heidi). The article connects well with the lecture for this week. Notably, the article shows that body image is a concern of one gender. The contemporary body fashion seems to be small-breasted, slimness, and narrow-hipped. Flabbiness is associated with poor body shape. The media have affected the women’s perception of their body configuration. In essence, the article has extended on what was covered in the lectures about the women’s preoccupation with their image. Heidi , Stevens. â€Å"When moms dis their own looks, their daughters are listening-too well†. Chicago Tribune 21 May 2014. Web. 6th Nov 2014

International Organizations of Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Organizations of Africa - Essay Example (Draper, 2003) Much analysis of African socio-economic issues was done by UNCTAD. It aims at increasing global understanding of the development problems of Africa so that action at national, regional and international levels can be accelerated and promoted to ensure integration of African countries in the world economy. (Draper, 2003) Towards that effect, UNCTAD works with various international organizations. It also contributes to the New Partnership for Africa's development (NEPAD). The year 2005 will undoubtedly a most favourable year for the region. Apart from the G8 summit in Scotland (where Africa dominated the agenda); the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December highlighted the continent too. While the importance of aid and debt relief for the poorest countries on the continent is acknowledged, favourable terms of trade are increasingly regarded as the key to sustainable economic development and self-sufficiency. The matrix of carve-outs from GATT disciplines included exemptions for developing countries from tariff liberalization. Tariff reduction negotiations therefore covered industrial goods and were dominated by developed countries who exchanged concessions among themselves. Apart from exclusions from some obligations, another aspect of SDT was the granting of preferential market access to developing countries by developed countries as an allowable departure from the non-discrimination principle underpinning GATT. For this and other reasons relating to the overall power distribution in the system, developing countries and African countries were not seen as equal partners in the negotiations. In addition, reliance on preferences locked many African economies into long-term dependency on low value added production for developed country markets. approach' to SDT gave way to one of limiting policy flexibilities and exemptions from obligations, except for least developed countries (LDCs), whilst allowing for 'asymmetry' in developing country commitments. To pacify developing countries, a range of SDT provisions was built into the various WTO agreements. (Draper, 2003) Like many developing countries, African countries were not happy with the results of the Uruguay Round. They adopted a defensive stance towards developed countries, which contributed to failure in two WTO Ministerial Conferences in Seattle and Cancun. They further highlighted their disillusionment by opposing the initiation of the current round of negotiations calling for past 'injustices' to be addressed first. Only after a much diplomatic compromises, particularly with promises of a new round to address their developmental issues they finally relented. With specific reference to the Doha Development Agenda and in generally, a fairer WTO for Africa, some issues to be considered: "agricultural reform, non-agricultural market access challenges; SDT and the implementation agenda; interpretation of WTO rules, as well as adjustment assistance for those countries that stand to lose from liberalization." (Draper, 2005) Africa could benefit from reductions in subsidies in developed country, which promotes price

Public Utilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public Utilities - Essay Example Regulatory commissions must them establish the measure of value for each of these items; these value determinations are made, not found, rendering the overall value relatively unknown. In a competitive market, value is determined by normal market processes such as supply and demand. However, in the case of regulated industries, earnings are dependant upon the rates established by the regulatory commissions-if rates are set low, the value is consequently low, and the same results from rates that are set high. Time variant rates might occur when the public being served fluctuates in their demands of the public utility. For example, residents living in the northern states will go through periods within the year where they will need more heat, creating a demand for electricity and gas power and services. These times, referred to as "peak times," can cause temporary fluctuations in the rates to ensure proper distribution of the appropriate services. Similarly, phone and Internet companies can see the same fluctuating demands at various times in the day as changes in shifts occur at work or school for the public. As people are relieved from their jobs, they might see the need to begin using the phone to contact family members, set appointments, or call other places of business for problems or clarification of services and bills. These time variant rates can often lead to drastic increases or decreases in rates for a short period, and can also add to the public's opinion of how necessary the s ervices might be. For example, several phone companies across the United States offer a standing rate for service; however, the rates on Sundays for long distance service might decrease drastically to provide consumers with an opportunity to contact family members that live out of state. The development of cell phone technology has further dropped the rates for long distance phone service. However, to continually regulate the rates at which the public utility companies are charging the public, regulatory commissions at the public, state, and federal levels are necessary for several reasons. The first step to successfully regulating industries categorized as public utilities is making sure the public within the communities realize the economic advantages of holding regulated monopolies rather than competitive businesses. After the need for regulations have been expressed, the agencies provided these responsibilities must ensure that they are regulating the industries to the best of their abilities; doing so will not only provide necessary services to the public, but will also offer large economic growth to the community. (Phillips 9). To regulate effectively, state and federal regulation commissions must pay close attention to the methods with which they are regulating their respective areas of industry. They must carefully watch the overall expenditures of the industry to ensure that they are within acceptable limits. Performance evaluations should be used to ensure the overall effectiveness of employees working in the public utility industry. Regulating price control by maintaining knowledge over the current markets being served and the overall cost of

In What Ways Does the Choice of an Epistemological Perspective or Essay

In What Ways Does the Choice of an Epistemological Perspective or Stance Influence the Formulation of a Management Research - Essay Example The paper additionally examines issues like empiricism, constructivism, idealism, rationalism, and their influences on the formulation of a research in the field of management. Epistemology is a branch of the philosophical field that is mainly concerned with the nature and limitations of knowledge. The field addresses such issues as what knowledge is, how it can be acquired, and the extent to which it applies to certain entities (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2012). Epistemological perspectives are the different ways in which different people view knowledge, its nature and scope. There are different epistemological perspectives that can be used in the formulation of a management research; they range from empiricism, idealism, and rationalism to constructivism (Fumerton, 2006). In order to overcome the difficulties that may be encountered in formulating the management research the concepts of infinitism, foundationalism, and coherentism may be utilized (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar a nd Mathirajan, 2009). Empiricism is a concept that emphasizes the role that experience plays when one formulates a management research. It is basically a conjecture of knowledge that emphasizes the use of the perceptual observations that we make through our senses (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2012). ... On the other hand, rationalism emphasizes the epistemologically privileged statuses of data that we have collected through our senses. It additionally emphasizes the dominance of reasoning and consists of abstracts, theory, and borrowings from empirical studies (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2012). When formulating a management research using epistemology, an individual has to collect data before he or she can utilize the knowledge acquired. Doing this, an individual will be able to make appropriate decisions (Audi, 2010). Many challenges may be encountered in the collection of data that may eventually lead to misinterpretation. Data may be incorrectly interpreted due to the fact that different people possess different forms of knowledge along with levels of understanding (Fumerton, 2006). A lot of time is additionally lost when references are made to previous empirical studies that have been carried out, though they are important in ensuring the best decisions in regard to dif ferent aspects in management that are to be resolved. After researching the studies of previous researchers, an individual will have the empirical material that can help avoid the obstacles encountered by others (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar and Mathirajan, 2009). According to Fumerton (2006), a lot of consultations have to be made before an appropriate decision can be implemented for the purpose of solving the problems facing a business venture. Rationalism enables to epistemologically reason out a problem before one can come to a decision as to the best solution. It additionally helps researchers overcome any errors they may have made when formulating

Cast study Case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cast - Case Study Example Exports of agricultural produce constitute Brazil’s major revenue earner. Brazil’s manufacturing industry lacks competitiveness because there is no comparative advantage in the industrial sector. The cost of energy, raw materials and wages is high and the consequence is the escalation of the manufacturing costs. Brazil has failed in the quest to keep the industrial operating costs below those incurred in other countries. Therefore, the countries with lower operating costs are more competitive in manufacturing compared to Brazil. Brazil’s governments in the 20th and 21st centuries have been eagerly developing a world class manufacturing strategy. The government’s course of action is aimed at switching from the agricultural based economy to one that is industrial based. The government wanted to protect the local industries from international competition by imposing taxes on imports through the practice of protectionism. For Brazil to move its resources from the uncompetitive industrial sector to competitive industries, comparative advantage should be given prior consideration. The country should stick to developing agriculture and diversifying the use of agricultural products. For instance, sugar cane can be used to produce more ethanol whose demand is high. Sugar cane is primarily used to produce sugar but diversification will provide a platform for the production of ethanol. The global ethanol trade is lucrative and Brazil would have an upper hand in the international market as a result of its comparative advantage with regard to agriculture. For effective competitive advantage, the agricultural resources should be developed and harnessed into different industries to diversify products coupled with the expansion of the global market (Chaddad, 2014). President Rousseff’s policies limit Brazil’s dependence on foreign goods but they disregard the aspect of comparative advantage. The

Public Utilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public Utilities - Essay Example Regulatory commissions must them establish the measure of value for each of these items; these value determinations are made, not found, rendering the overall value relatively unknown. In a competitive market, value is determined by normal market processes such as supply and demand. However, in the case of regulated industries, earnings are dependant upon the rates established by the regulatory commissions-if rates are set low, the value is consequently low, and the same results from rates that are set high. Time variant rates might occur when the public being served fluctuates in their demands of the public utility. For example, residents living in the northern states will go through periods within the year where they will need more heat, creating a demand for electricity and gas power and services. These times, referred to as "peak times," can cause temporary fluctuations in the rates to ensure proper distribution of the appropriate services. Similarly, phone and Internet companies can see the same fluctuating demands at various times in the day as changes in shifts occur at work or school for the public. As people are relieved from their jobs, they might see the need to begin using the phone to contact family members, set appointments, or call other places of business for problems or clarification of services and bills. These time variant rates can often lead to drastic increases or decreases in rates for a short period, and can also add to the public's opinion of how necessary the s ervices might be. For example, several phone companies across the United States offer a standing rate for service; however, the rates on Sundays for long distance service might decrease drastically to provide consumers with an opportunity to contact family members that live out of state. The development of cell phone technology has further dropped the rates for long distance phone service. However, to continually regulate the rates at which the public utility companies are charging the public, regulatory commissions at the public, state, and federal levels are necessary for several reasons. The first step to successfully regulating industries categorized as public utilities is making sure the public within the communities realize the economic advantages of holding regulated monopolies rather than competitive businesses. After the need for regulations have been expressed, the agencies provided these responsibilities must ensure that they are regulating the industries to the best of their abilities; doing so will not only provide necessary services to the public, but will also offer large economic growth to the community. (Phillips 9). To regulate effectively, state and federal regulation commissions must pay close attention to the methods with which they are regulating their respective areas of industry. They must carefully watch the overall expenditures of the industry to ensure that they are within acceptable limits. Performance evaluations should be used to ensure the overall effectiveness of employees working in the public utility industry. Regulating price control by maintaining knowledge over the current markets being served and the overall cost of

Cast study Case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cast - Case Study Example Exports of agricultural produce constitute Brazil’s major revenue earner. Brazil’s manufacturing industry lacks competitiveness because there is no comparative advantage in the industrial sector. The cost of energy, raw materials and wages is high and the consequence is the escalation of the manufacturing costs. Brazil has failed in the quest to keep the industrial operating costs below those incurred in other countries. Therefore, the countries with lower operating costs are more competitive in manufacturing compared to Brazil. Brazil’s governments in the 20th and 21st centuries have been eagerly developing a world class manufacturing strategy. The government’s course of action is aimed at switching from the agricultural based economy to one that is industrial based. The government wanted to protect the local industries from international competition by imposing taxes on imports through the practice of protectionism. For Brazil to move its resources from the uncompetitive industrial sector to competitive industries, comparative advantage should be given prior consideration. The country should stick to developing agriculture and diversifying the use of agricultural products. For instance, sugar cane can be used to produce more ethanol whose demand is high. Sugar cane is primarily used to produce sugar but diversification will provide a platform for the production of ethanol. The global ethanol trade is lucrative and Brazil would have an upper hand in the international market as a result of its comparative advantage with regard to agriculture. For effective competitive advantage, the agricultural resources should be developed and harnessed into different industries to diversify products coupled with the expansion of the global market (Chaddad, 2014). President Rousseff’s policies limit Brazil’s dependence on foreign goods but they disregard the aspect of comparative advantage. The

Beyond the arabin poetry Essay Example for Free

Beyond the arabin poetry Essay Beyond the Arabian Poetry In the light of Arabic literature in Muslim Spain, It was one of the greatest lands at that time. Most of people were educated in too many studies, due to the Abd al-Rahman III one of the Umayyad Rulers. Abd al-Rahman III was interested greatly in books and education, which made him to collect a lot of books around the world. Arabic literature’ books were also interested by Abd al-Rahman III, which made a lot of Muslim Spain’s people interested on in and study it as well. Muslims and Jews were inherited in the Arabic literature which made them write stories and poetry. All that had a deep effect on literature scholars and especially Jewish scholars. When they were studying Islamic, Arabic literature they were also studying Islamic literature and the influence of the relationship of Arabic language and Islam. In that vein, many of the Jews converted to Islam by their own, But not all about Jews. And this raises the mind a question that what are the sources and the power of the Arabic literature which make these Jews converting to Islam by their own? And it appears that the larger spiritual vision of Islamic religious traditions and the Ideology of Islamic Arabic poems are involved with that. Therefore the Islamic traditions and the Islamic, Arabic poetry are the source of converting some of the Jews to Islam by their own in Muslim Spain. According to the book the Jews of Islam says â€Å"Islam had its sway over Jewish cultural life too. In literature, and the arts, the Muslim influence on the Jews is enormous.† (Lewis 81) It appears from that Islam affected on Jews through literature and the arts which means by traditions and poetry. In the same note of converting the Jews to Islam, the Islamic literature was very strong, because it was getting through the soul and shapes it. And writing famous poems on the walls of Madden T Al-Zahra, helped Jewish to read poems in the in that time, so one line of any Islamic poem has that huge effect for the reader. But that script was in Arabic, how did the spoken Hebrew, Jewish did read that? What kind of influence that the script has if it has translated to Hebrew? Would it be strong as it is in Arabic?  There were people in Muslim Spain who were in interested in reading Arabic poem translated to Hebrew. And according to book The Dream of the Poem for Peter Cole that it says there is a scholar who was translating poems to Hebrew by comparing meters to their Arabic models. (Cole 333). So this shows that yes by an effort of scholars the influence of Arabic poetry kept as itself, therefore spoken Hebrew Jews got a chance to read the Arabic poems with its influence which helped to make some of them convert to Islam. According to book of Daily life of Jews in the Middle Ages for Norman Roth he says â€Å"While some Jews, indeed, converted to Islam of their own free will in the early medieval period.†(Roth 202) and also Roth said that there are some of Jewish scholars in Muslim Spain Wrote in Arabic poems for them and one of them converted to Islam as Ibrahim Ibn Sahl, as he believe(Roth 165). By reading this book or some quotes of it we will see how the poetry affected these Jews to convert, even if it is not the big motive of converting, but Poetry was the media of the motive of converting these Jews to Islam. In that time Art was greatly considered as poems, due to the Islamic religion and the many of poets in that time, the poems were spread a lot in Muslim Spain, so it was easy for all to read them, and this shows that how the poems were the media of converting the Jews to Islam by their own. Furthermore the Jews were very interested with the Arabic poetry, and most of the Arabic poetry is describing Islam and how it is good for life. According to book of Arabic and Hebrew Love Poems in Al-Andalusia By Shari Lowin which says â€Å"Brann similarly maintains that Jews had primary knowledge of the sacred texts of Islam† (Lowin 40) and this shows that Jews were affected very deeply from the poems to know about Islam which made them to go and read holy texts from the Islamic religion. Moreover the connection of the poetry with science by proving that holy Quran proved a lot of science statements, and that was really convincing to the Jewish to convert to Islam, because the Jewish people believe in the concrete and the logic (Gwynne 160), and when they found that Islam is logical with the earth and it’s science so they will be more attracted to convert to Islam. All that is just from a link from Arabic poetry that talks about science and how Islam in the holy Quran proved it. In the line with that, it proves that  Jews converted to Islam by their own, because they read these sacred texts by their own and without any force from anyone, and this shows how strong was the Islamic literature, it affected the mind and the soul of Jews in Muslim Spain thus makes them convert to Islam. So the source of that is the literature of Islamic poetry and traditions. The poetry in Islam was very nice, great and wonderful and Muslim’s prophet Muhammad said to have enjoyed the poetry (Scheindlin 7), which made Muslims do great efforts to add in the Islamic poetry, which makes a lot of kind of attractive ways to Islam, which made the Jews be Muslims and be satisfied of converting, and this proves that the converting Jews in Muslim Spain to Islam by their own by the poetry. Even though the Jews reacted to most creative way of the brilliant Arab culture as I will show here â€Å"according to Bargebuhr, Hispanic Jews reacted in a most creative way to the influences of the brilliant Arab culture (though without converting to Islam, as the Persians did). (Jayyusi and Marin 515) † So it appears that Jews did not convert to Islam by reading that smart Arabic poems. But in the beginning I said some of Jews converted to Islam. And the same book said that some of Jews did not use the Hebrew language as well in reading the Islamic poems. Moreover they have reacted the Arabic poems not the Islamic one, but when it appears that the Hispanic Jews reacted to the smart Arabic poems it appears not the all Jews converted to Islam, but Some of them, who reacted to the Islamic Arabic Poems. The holy Quran is in Arabic and it has its language, and most of the Arabic in Muslim Spain were influenced in the holy Quran, and how it has the secret way to attract non-Muslim people to it, that are the Holy Quran ways, But the Arabs poets as I said they influenced of that and they started to work with it to attract people to Islam. And how about some of Jews Scholars had been influenced and attracted to the Quran language, and converted to Islam, they will have the power of attracting their previous people the Jews. Therefore the possibilities of converting Jews to Islam were so high because of the many of the Converted Jews scholars to Islam, and the knowing of the Hebrew language, they will be able to know how to attract people to Islam by making good Hebrew poets, that has the attraction ways of Holy Quran. Adding knowledge to the pomes in the Muslim Spain was so great, some of the Poets added a lot of knowledge in his poems, and by clever way the poets were adding attracting language to make the Jews convert to Islam when they were reading knowledge. All that made the Jews convert to Islam by reading the Arabic poetry in Muslim Spain. But did these converted Jews really converted to Islam just by reading the poems? Why if they were converting to Islam just not to pay the (Jyzia) which is a tax that Muslims take it from non-Muslims people? It could be, and this would happen, but not all of Jews who converted to Islam just because of the Jyzia, because the one who converted should not be so poor to not pay a small amount of money as a tax. Moreover a lot of poor Jews in Muslim Spain were able to pay the Jyzia, unless if that Jew is cheap or greedy, he would do that. But another question is in the mind now, which is what kind of poems affected the Jews that range to convert to Islam? We said before that the poets were Arabs from Muslim Spain and Jews scholars too who wrote poems in both languages as well, Moreover the Holy Quran’s Influence which attracted all those to convert to Islam. But the kind of poems are the one which were describing Islam and how it is, and the one which described other religions, and making Islam the best of them. Moreover the poems which describes the Islamic architecture, and the science as well especially the one which discovered by Muslims scientists. However these poems are showing in its form, it talks about architecture or science, how would that help or motive or being a media to convert the Jews to Islam? The questions here is logic and it appears that it has no answer. But the answer is simple, the poets really care to make the readers being pleased reading the poems they wrote, that would not happen they appeared they are trying to let non-Muslims readers to get bored fast, or to leave the poems by thinking it is trying to make them Muslims, so the poets used a hidden way to let the readers not feeling that they added the thing that make them convert, so they added in a hidden way, for example when they want to describe the architecture, they will describe the Mosque in purpose to let the readers to be attracted to the Mosque (Ruggles 171-8) , and also if they want to write about science they write about the Muslims scientists or how Islam explained science in perfect way, all that just by great poems that did not seemed to be like that. As Ibrahim Ibn Sahl did after he converted (Roth 165-9). In the end of this it was a clever idea to make the Islamic poetry strong to be capable to convert people by their own, and also the traditions of Muslims i n Muslim Spain were much educated to make a lot of ways to add the Islamic  sense at the poetry to make the Jews to convert. Moreover the secret way of attracting Non-Muslims to Islam was really strong because it was within the language which is the most playable media to attract people to Islam. Especially the Jews, but how about the Christians did they also converted to Islam by poems in Muslim Spain? If they did so, what was attracting them, to be converted? But are not they were jealous of Muslims who were able to convert Jews by their own, so they did the inquisition and forced people to convert to their religion by force. Or they were scare to be attracted by Muslims and then convert to Islam. And this raises the concept of Muslims verses Christian’s tactics of conversion. And the Muslim’s cultural influence verses Christian’s state violence. Work Cited Cole, Peter. The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print. D, F R. Arabic Poetry and Architectural Memory in Al-Andalus. Ars Orientalis. 23 (1993): 171-178. Print. Gwynne, Rosalind W. Logic, Rhetoric and Legal Reasoning in the Quran: Gods Arguments. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2014. Internet resource. Lewis, Bernard. The Jews of Islam. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1984. Print. Lowin, Shari L. Arabic and Hebrew Love Poems in Al-Andalus. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print. Roth, Norman. Daily Life of Jews in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Scheindlin, Raymond P. The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew Poems on God, Israel, and the Soul. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991. Print. Jayyusi, Salma K, and Manuela MariÃŒ n. The Legacy of Muslim Spain. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992. Print.

Contemporary Business Environment

Contemporary Business Environment 1. Introduction The contemporary business environment is extremely competitive and hence coping with such pressures calls for modern marketing which can go beyond developing a good product, pricing it attractively and making it accessible. Communicating with the present and potential stakeholders and the general public is no longer a matter of luxury but competitive necessity. Marketing gurus like Kotler and Keller (2006) believe that every company is inevitably cast into a role of a communicator and promoter. However, the main concern in the age of technology is not how to communicate but rather what to say, to whom and how often (Kotler and Keller, 2006). This is where marketing communications strategy comes into picture. This report will attempt to comparative analysis of Marketing Communications strategies and mix for the Cola drinks in the UK. Prior to diving into the crux of the report it is essential to have a understanding of the modes of communication which are generally included in the communication mix to form a communication strategy. Most of the experts entail five major modes of communication vis-à  -vis Advertising, Sales promotion, Public relations and publicity, personal selling, Direct and interactive marketing (Fill, 2006). Advertising: Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Sales Promotion: Activities included under sales promotion can be described as a variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Public Relations and Publicity: These are a set of communication programs designed to promote and protect the companys image or its individual product (Kotler and Keller, 2006).. Personal selling: These include all face-to-face interactions with one or more prospective purchases with an aim of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders (Kotler and Keller, 2006).. Direct and interactive marketing: This is a product of the technology revolution and includes the use of e-mail, post, telephone, fax or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospect (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Keeping the above descriptions in mind an analysis of the communications strategy employed by the lead players in the soft-drink market can be attempted. However, any comprehensive analysis would need to follow a specific blue-print to lend credibility to the conclusions drawn as a result of the analysis. The next section would provide a brief overview of the methodology employed by the author. 2. Research Methods The methodology is a plan for collecting, organising and integrating collected data so that an end result can be reached (White, 2002). In order to prepare this report the author employed both primary and secondary data. To begin with the report analysed the current market situation to aid a better analysis of the communications strategy employed by the companies. The data collected for this review was primarily collected from industry reports like the Keynote reports. Search string of ‘soft drink industry was entered in following database: Business source elite, Emerald and Ingenta Connect. Followed by a thorough industry analysis current communications strategy for Coca-cola, Pepsi and the Supermarket brands were analysed. The company websites and current adverts were the predominant source for this information. However, Datamonitor company profiles were employed to provide reasoning for the companys choice of the strategy. Textbooks like marketing management by Kotler and Ke ller and the others mentioned in the reference section at the end of the paper were employed to give a sound theoretical background to all the discussions made about the communications strategies. 3. Market Overview Traditionally the soft drink market has been dominated by two giants fighting it out at the top vis-à  -vis Coca-cola and Pepsi Cola. Coke has however been the market leader for a long time now. However, the proverbial ‘Cola war as it has definitely not died out. According to the Keynote Drinks market review, the UK soft drinks market was worth more than  £7.3bn in 2005 (Fenn, 2005). Moreover, soft drinks accounted for 30% of total commercial beverages consumption (Fenn, 2005). However, the carbonated soft drink category has experience overall softness the last several years (Phillips, 2006). The communications strategy adopted by the players in the industry would be affected substantially by the changes in the industry dynamics and the best way to take a look at the relevant changes would be to employ a PEST analysis. 2.1 PEST analysis 2.1.1 Political Government pressures led the US and the UK soft drink industry to ban fizzy sodas from Elementary schools. Political, guided by high profile figures line Californias governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and public forces alike are pushing hard to extend the ban into High schools (Mercer, 2005). The Cola companies thus need a strategy to communicate a healthy image. Public health advocates and health researchers in the US and the UK have proposed a consumer paid Obesity Tax on carbonated drinks in a bid to reduce consumption and fight the global epidemic that is obesity. (Datamonitor, 2006b). This would require a even more forceful pursuit to produce an image make over into s drink that does not contribute to obesity in both the male and the female target audience. 2.1.2 Economic The 2000 US census indicated that the upper-income consumers were growing and the lower income declining rapidly, yet consistently (Ferrell and Hartline, 2005). This, in turn, lead to a trend in consumer spending and association with more luxurious things like music. 2.1.3 Social. Most of the lifestyle changes are closely related to the corresponding economic shifts. As mentioned above, on the one hand lifestyle awakenings towards healthier food and drink customs in developed countries possibly will fetter profitability, on the other hand heightened consumer spending power in developing countries like India and China have paved the way for a double digit increase in international sales of soft drinks (Fenn, 2005). 2.1.4 Technological Technology, today, is the single most imperative weapon for a firm to procure, enabling it to combat most threatening situations, ranging from reducing the cost of production to coming up with new-fangled healthier alternatives and novel strategies for communication. In a era where communication is a two way process, internet has helped the soft-drink industry in creating more awareness than ever before. 4. Analysis and Discussion On the basis of the industry situation entailed above the next few sections would analyse the current communications strategy employed by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and the Supermarket brands like Tesco Cola. 4.1 Coca cola The Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) manufactures markets and distributes non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups (Datamonitor, 2006a). The syrups, concentrates and beverage bases for Coca-Cola and nearly 400 other soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by the Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world. More than 60% of its products are sold outside of the US (Datamonitor, 2006a). It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company recorded revenues of $23,104 million during the fiscal year ended December 2005, an increase of 6.3% over 2004. The companys net profit was $4,872 million in fiscal year 2005, an increase of 0.5% over 2004 (Coca-Cola annual report, 2006). The company is a clear leader in the soft-drink market, especially in the UK. The European Union segment is the largest revenue segment of the company. Moreover, Coca-Cola is the worlds leading brand. Business-Week and Inter-brand, a branding consultancy, reckoned Coca-Cola as the leading brand in their top 100 global brands ranking in 2005 (Datamonitor, 2006a). All the above has been achieved with the aid of a very carefully planned marketing communication strategy consistently over the years. To attract younger consumers to its flagship cola, Coca-Cola launched new marketing and ad campaigns in 2003. It also changed graphics on Coke bottles and adopted a traditional look for its cans. On observing Coca-colas latest adverts and promotional activities it is clear the organisations target audience continues to be the young generation. The company has a tie up with Apple computers and provides free iTunes song on every bottle cover as a promotional activity. Given the popularity of Apples iPod among the young audience a promotional collaboration with the computer giant sends a very strong message to the consumers. The new colourful campaign labelled by the company as ‘the coke side of life reinforces the youthful image of the brand. There has always been an attempt to create a fun image for the drink, which till now the company has managed to communicate extremely effectively. Besides this the company has launched the new range of Coke Zero, which is an attempt to meet the industry requirements of health conscious drinks. Although diet Coke was already present, it was predominantly communicated as a female drink. Hence to expand its target audience to include the males, Coke had to launch a new drink communicating a fresh unisex message. Another trade-mark Coca-Cola way of promoting its products has been the use of high-profile sports events to promote its brands. The company was been chosen as one of the official sponsors for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, as well as the Olympics Games 2008 in Beijing, China (Datamonitor, 2006a). The company has the opportunity to use these two high-profile events to strengthen its brands even further. Hence it is quite clear the target audience for the communication strategy is the younger generation. To provide a better a break down of the communication strategy employed by Coca-cola in terms of the communication mix is provided below. Advertising: The maximum amount of investment made by the company is in this area by employing leading personalities from sports, movies and other arenas. The advertisement costs for the company have been astronomically high and it has been highly criticised for it in the past (Datamonitor, 2006a). Sales Promotion: There are constant offers that come with a bottle or can of coke, be it free song on iTunes or a buy one get one free offer, there is always an incentive to buy. Publicity and Public relations: As mentioned earlier, Coke as a brand has been the first one to set a trend of sponsoring big occasions and creating strong opportunities for publicity. Personal selling and direct marketing: The only means of direct consumer interaction seems to be the internet which has a highly interactive and colourful website. Moreover, it has a barrage of competitions and opportunities to win a prize for its visitors thus providing another form of incentive. 4.2 Pepsi Cola PepsiCo is a leading global snack and beverage company. The company manufactures markets and sells a range of salty, convenient, sweet and grain-based snacks, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages and foods (Datamonitor, 2006b). The company operates in 200 countries besides the US and Canada (Datamonitor, 2006b). It is headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company recorded revenues of $32,562 million during the fiscal year ended December 2005, an increase of 11.3% over 2004. The net profit was $4,078 million in fiscal year 2005, a decrease of 3.2% from 2004 (Datamonitor, 2006b). It is however the second-largest manufacturer of carbonated soft-drinks in the world, second only to Coca-cola. There is not much to differentiate between Pepsi and Cokes current campaign elements. The reason and timing of the launches might be different and are discussed later on in the report. Pepsi has similar to Coke made music a part of its communication strategy by joining hands with yahoo music. Although not as attractive was the Coke campaign, the message is still louder, clearer and younger than ever before. Pepsi is sponsoring and flaunting a lot of sports personalities in its adverts as well ranging from rugby to cricket. Pepsis new message says ‘its the cola which is in synchrony with Pepsis tradition of structuring its messages to induce and assert choice over Coke. The communication mix is pretty much the same as that of Coca-cola. 4.3 The Supermarket Cola Supermarket colas include the likes of Tesco, Somerfield, Lidl etc. The primary aim of these colas is to give value for the customers money, in coherence with its main business objective. All supermarket brands have designed their communications strategy to achieve this main objective. For instance, the Tesco Cola would have price written on it in big font. Moreover, the label design and the content colour is similar to that of Pepsi and Coke to ensure that the customers are aware that they are getting the same product for a much more cheaper price. However, since this is not a very big segment of revenues for these supermarkets, specific communications based on promoting these drinks are not found. 4.4 Discussion Based on the above analysis a few crucial issues need be discussed to provide a deeper insight into the choice of the communications strategy chosen by each of the organisations. 4.4.1 Target Audience It is apparent from the above analysis that the communications strategy of all the three organisations is primarily based on identifying the target audience i.e. market segmentation. This could be a broad category based like the younger generation in case of Coke and Pepsi or a people shopping at the supermarkets in case of Tesco cola or other supermarket brands. The fundamental idea is to perform an image analysis and choose a communication strategy which would define a desired image (could be different from the present one). Moreover, this would also differ from product to product i.e. a diet coke is targeted more at the health conscious women. The current communication strategies in all three instances above seem to be hitting their target, however Coke as usual seems to be pulling out the best suited tricks with Pepsi just following suit i.e. taking music on board the communication strategy with iTunes seems to have boosted Cokes position much more while Pepsis association with yahoo music came only as an after thought. 4.4.2 Communication objective In cokes case the objective seems to be to maintain its strong brand identity and constantly renew it to keep the youthful feeling going. Since Coke is the market leader the communication objective does not have to attempt to change either the cognitive, affective or behavioural responses from its consumers. Pepsi on the other hand seems to be attempting to generate a liking among its target audience and capture Cokes share of the market. However, this does not seems to be working evident in Pepsis decreasing sales in the UK and the US (Datamonitor, 2006b). As far as the Supermarket brands are concerned Tesco colas communication objective is quite straight forward i.e. inducing preference among its customers to buy its product over the bigger brands by keeping the prices low and providing more value for money to its customers. 4.4.3 Message design The message design needs to reflect the communication object and appeal to the target audience. Cokes latest message says ‘the coke side of life, while Pepsi has been trying to woo its customers by ‘its the cola and the supermarket colas attempt to design the bottles similar to that of the bigger brands and add the word ‘value to the label. The messages from each of the three players seem to be in synchrony with their objectives, Cokes message design seems to have the right emotional selling proposition (ESP). 4.4.4 Message source The message for Pepsi and Coke are delivered by attractive and fit people predominantly from the sporting arena. This again reinforces the ‘health conscious image of the new drinks like Coke Zero. Moreover these are both male as well as female promoting zero calorie drink to expand the target audience from women to include men. However, how much the consumers trust the credibility of the people who communicate these messages to them remains to be seen. The supermarket Colas dont have to use these as their primary aim is to communicate to the consumer that it is a cheaper alternative and it is cheap because of meagre expenses in advertising. 4.4.5 Communication Channels Considering the size of the target audience the mode of communication chosen by Pepsi and Coke are justified i.e. the main channel of communication is television and internet. Adverts in papers, magazines and streets are commonly employed as well. However, the most cost intensive means is the television with each advert requiring a gargantuan amount of money. As mentioned earlier the supermarket brands cannot afford a high communication budget on solely marketing the colas especially at the price they need to sell it for. 5 Conclusion and Recommendations Taking into consideration all the points discussed above it can be concluded that the current communication strategy and mix employed by the organisations under scrutiny are a result of the changes in their external environment and are in synchrony with their apparent communication objectives. However, overall degree of influence exerted by the Pepsi communication message seems to be lower than its arch rival. While a consumer survey would be required to add credibility to the above statement the analysis and discussion do provide a useful insight into the communication strategy formulation process and the choice of the communication mix based on which few recommendations can be made. Identifying the target audience is the most crucial step towards developing an effective communication strategy. Moreover, while identifying the target audience and developing communication objectives the marketer needs to ensure that any gap between the current public perception and the image sought are covered. When deciding the marketing communication mix a cost benefit analysis of each tool needs to be done to ensure that the most effective strategy is produced within optimum budget. It is imperative to measure the marketing communication effectiveness by asking the target audience to recall the message, frequency etc in order to make any effective changes to an existing strategy.

My Dream Meal :: essays research papers

High on a mountaintop overlooking the shoreline of Cruz Bay in St. John of the U.S.V.I., there sits a small restaurant called â€Å"Chateau Bordeaux.† A mid-sized deck protrudes out the back of the restaurant. Nine tables are randomly placed on this patio, each with its own single white candle in the center. It is night, and bright wicker torches line the veranda, consecutively spaced about six feet apart. Looking down at the bay, colorful lights from the inner Caribbean city reflect onto the glistening water of the shore. The tables are set with solid white China and beautifully shined silverware. Tall crystal wineglasses are placed at each setting, each filled with ice cold pià ±a coladas. In the background, you are able to make out the melodious tune of â€Å"Unchained Melody† being played softly on a piano. Sitting at a table closest to the cliff sits my boyfriend and I, gazing at the radiant view of the sea. Jack is wearing a jet-black tuxedo with a blood red dress shirt underneath the jacket, and I am wearing a long, flowing black, fitted, strappy velvet gown with black satin slippers and a small silver diamond necklace. My hair is gently stirred by the constant trade winds of the Caribbean, adding an almost eerie effect to the mood. As the two of us sit down to eat, we are befuddled with the exquisitely prepared meal set before us. The main course sits near the center of our table, just inches away from the candle. It is a large, wooden bowl filled with salad from The Olive Garden and mixed with their own, homemade dressing. At each of the two place settings that we sit, there is a large plate of angel-hair pasta topped with just the right amount of delicious marinara sauce, and sprinkled with only the best parmesan cheese. Next to the wooden salad bowl in the center of the table on the opposite side of the candle, there is a small wicker basket filled with Olive Garden breadsticks, covered by a thin flowered napkin. This fine meal is just begging to be consumed.

Ethnography :: Anthropology Culture Reflexivity Papers

Ethnography Personal experience and reflexivity should be used within anthropology as a tool to reflect on the culture that is being studied and not a refocusing of attention on the self. Works such as Dorinne Kondo’s â€Å"Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self,† use the idea of reflexivity as a mirror in which to view the culture being studied in a different manner. This use of reflexivity allows for the focus to stay on the culture being studied. A move away from this is the new branch of humanistic anthropology represented in this essay by Renato Rosaldo’s â€Å"Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage† and Ruth Behar’s â€Å"Anthropology that Breaks Your Heart† allows anthropologists to use reflexivity as a way to explore universal human feelings. For me, this is not the study of anthropology as much as self-reflexive psychology. The focus shifts from culture to self. The anthropologists completely understands the feelings of the people he/she is studying. I think that it is rather ambitious to state that emotion is univeral, and I do not think that it is the job of anthropologists to do so. The reflexive voice is a necessary aspect of ethnographic writing, but the anthropologist must be careful not to shift focus from concentrating on culture to concentrating on herself. Dorinne Kondo does an excellent job in her essay â€Å"Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self†in using the reflexive voice as a way in which to describe culture and break down the observer/Other dichotomy by giving agency and power to her informants. Not only does the anthropologist interpret the people, but the people give their interpretation of the anthropologist. She states: I emphasize here the collusion between all parties involved, for it is important to recognize the ways in which informmants are also actors and agents, and that the negotiation of reality that takes place in the doing of ethnography involves complex and shifting relations of power in which the ethnographrapher acts and is also acted upon. (Kondo 75) Kondo acknowledges the affect that the Japanese have on her character and by so doing she acknowledges their power. Instead of standing in the place of supreme authority, the anthropologist, by using reflexivity, can give the authority to her informants. Not only was she reflexively examining her positioning and the affect it would have on her informants, but she also looks at the affect that her informants have on her while still centering her discussion on the culture being studied.

Demographics and Audience Analysis

Chapter 12 Activity #5 Page 382 Abstract Here is my response to the activity #12 question. ACTIVITY #5 5. Why is audience analysis important? How can it help the speaker in a business presentation? What are its limitations? Audience analysis is important because it is part of your preparation process in order to ensure that you have completed the appropriate research and homework on who you will be presenting to. The research can include anything from age, gender, audience’s size, social class, educational level, cultural background, and occupational status. When preparing a business presentation it is important to know your audience in order to help send a specific message to sell a specific product, or gain a certain business clientele to expand a merger or can range from just about anything. The most important thing is knowing who you are talking to, because in most cases the audience has already done their research on the speaker and are already prepared with questions and assumptions before the presentation starts. The limitation is only based upon how much you are prepared and have a specific presentation tailored to your specific audience. For example it wouldn’t make sense to prepare a speech for a group of electrical engineers and then present it to a group of third graders and expect them to understand the material. Here is the text from the ebook over audience analysis. O'Hair, Dan (2012). In presentational speaking, the process of finding out about those to whom you will be speaking is termed audience analysis, and it corresponds to the second component of strategic communication: gathering situational knowledge. When preparing for a presentation, you can research individual members of the audience, organizational factors that affect the audience, and even location, time, or other physical influences. Audience analysis helps you to understand the speaking situation as it unfolds as well as how best to prepare for the audience’s needs and likely responses to your message. In other words, effective speakers continue to gather information and monitor the situation throughout the presentation Demographic information—the audience’s size, age, social class, educational level, gender, cultural background, and occupational status—is fundamental to any audience analysis. Demography (the collection and study of such information) is a necessary first step toward establishing more specific and complex analyses of a target audience. The target audience—the key decision makers who are members of the general audience—is an important focus for your analysis. You are more likely to succeed by tailoring your ideas, information, and appeals to these audience members. 5 Audience attitudes toward many social and economic issues can be predicted through careful demographic analysis. For example, if you learn that your audience will be composed of employees in the manufacturing division of your company—mostly blue-collar males ages 40 to 60 who are union members—you can conclude that a presentation on why the company should deunionize to encourage new hiring policies will have to be approached with careful preparation and an understanding of possible negative audience response. This is not to say that audience analysis encourages stereotyping or can be ignored if you think you already know, for example, what a typical clerical worker is like. It is vital to approach audience analysis with an open mind because you are likely to discover unexpected characteristics of audience members that may provide the key to connecting with them. By analyzing and understanding the implications of the audience analysis, you will have a good sense of how to aim your presentation and what language and imagery to employ. Remember also that it is important to know whether you are speaking to accountants, engineers, marketers, janitors, or a combination of various employee groups. They may all work for your company, but each group has a different perspective on the organization, and it is also likely to differ from your own. Be sure to modify your presentation to accommodate each group because the most successful presentations are those that address every member of the audience and make each person feel involved and important. Three categories of audience analysis can be considered when doing a profile. Each of the three categories provides a different starting point for thinking about your audience’s needs. †¢ Audience type—Why have these people decided to attend your presentation? Audience characteristics—What are the religions, education levels, ages, ethnicities, and genders of typical audience members? Environmental characteristics—How will the setting and surroundings affect the speaking situation? † Bibliography O'Hair, Dan (2012). Strategic Communication in the Business and Professions [7] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://online. vitalsource. com/books/9781256085492/id/pg359