Friday, November 29, 2019

She Remembered free essay sample

â€Å"We will be getting a new student next week, and we would like you to help her around the school,† my fourth grade teacher said. And I agree happily. Excited about being asked, I imagine a fourth grade friendship. Painting nails. Sharing secrets. Being best friends. Next week came quickly, and I raced from the bus to my classroom window. Peering through, I noticed something different—her crooked smile, her arched back and her buckled knees. I went inside to introduce myself, but I felt confused. â€Å"Maddie, this is Tiffany.† My teacher noticed my curious discomfort, so she brought me in the hallway. She explained that Tiffany had autism. Autism? What is that? She said Tiffany is no different than the rest of my classmates. I agreed, unknowing how I was going to cope, connect, or communicate with her. The following week, I learned Tiffany’s likes, dislikes, and triggers. My class didn’t understand her differences. We will write a custom essay sample on She Remembered or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But I did. I felt responsible for her. She drove me to do well in school and she helped me understand the way people interact with each other. After helping Tiffany for over three years, she moved in with a foster family, and transferred schools. Then, from eighth grade through sophomore year, I babysat Matthew. He is a boy with Cerebral Palsy, which meant he was dependent on my help. I asked my mom what Cerebral Palsy was when I found out I was going to be babysitting him. She compared Matthew to Tiffany. My sister babysat previously for Matthew and informed me how to feed, wash, and change him. I then grasped on what my night would entail, and I became nervous—but a good nervous. But babysitting Matthew was different from helping Tiffany. I now had to give my attention and assistance to him. I never knew someone could be so dependent, yet so happy. In that moment, I understood. Matthew and Tiffany are different, yet they are similar. But they both were happy. Tiffany and Matthew taught me to understand people: how they feel, how they communicate, and how they react. Matthew and Tiffany taught me how to hold a conversation with anyone, while making them feel special—and happy. At seventeen, I thought I would never see Tiffany again. But then, I volunteered with Special Olympics. And I saw Tiffany at one of the events. During the awards, I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and heard my name. As I turned, I saw sixteen-year-old Tiffany with her same glowing smile. She remembered me.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel

Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel Introduction Various companies present diverse working terms and conditions based on the business environment and other factors such as such business profitability. Globalization issues have been shown to impact performance outcomes of business establishments across the world. Increased adoption technology and expansion of businesses continuously make firms enter into emerging markets to increase their sales.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The entry into new markets often disrupts long running standards. This paper considers two options of working in international companies. One options involves making a decision about working for a MNE, such as IBM moving into a developing country, for example, India. The second option involves deciding to work for a company from an emerging economy, such as Bharti Airtel, moving into a Western market, such as Fr ance. The first option (working for a Western MNE) It is crucial to consider important aspects with regard to many MNEs in the developed world that focus on moving into developing markets in order to make a decision whether to work for them. The most recent global meltdown caused many MNEs in the US to rethink abut their operations and focus on entering developing markets such as India. Based on the growth of about 70% that is expected from the emerging markets, I would choose to work for an MNE moving into a growing market. In fact, it has been projected that India and China would contribute to 40% growth of developing markets. This could imply that working for a firm establishing itself in such markets would provide an excellent opportunity for growth and expansion. It would be essential to consider the following external influences that would either negatively or positively impact the performance of a MNE in a foreign developing world: Cultural diversification Competitive models Technology trends Political issues Legal matters Environmental issues Industry structure and drivers of the economy Customer expectations I would play an important role in offering the management advice with regard to setting operations in a global market characterized by a relatively high level of market growth. A comparison between the expected gains and challenges would be made. Ultimately, a decision would be made on the grounds that there will be more benefits than challenges. On the contrary, it would also be important to make a decision to work for a MNE in a developing market on the premises that the management plans to execute strategies that would aim at preventing negative impacts of external factors in a new international market.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An analysis of internal factors of a company would also be helpful when making a decision about working for a MNE. First, an analysis of the management vision would help. The vision should be structured in such a way that it supports the operations of the company in international markets. Second, the strategy of the firm being considered would help an individual to realize whether or not it is destined to realize excellent growth trends in the future. For example, it would be important to consider if the firm has adopted strategic marketing and management models for short-term and long-term goals. Third, it would be essential to analyze the extent to which the management creates value of the investments made by shareholders. If there would be a high level of value creation, then it would greatly determine the decision to work for a MNE. On the other hand, a firm that does not have excellent value creation trends would not present an important avenue in which to work. The fourth internal factor to be considered is the past performance trends of a MNE. It would be practica l to think that a firm with a good history of performance trends would also perform excellently in new international market. On the contrary, it would be quite difficult for a firm that has not been successful in local markets to perform well in an international market. The option has the following advantages: High chances of exploitation of local economies Achievement of economies of scale Cost leadership However, the option would be characterized by the following disadvantages: High competition from established companies Pressure from global integration Product customization issues Second option (working for a company from an emerging country into a developed market in the west) It is apparent that emerging and developed markets have different opportunities and market characteristics. For example, a developed market in the US would be characterized by a much higher level of competition from business rivals than an emerging one. In addition, a developed market would require a h igh degree of product standardization and customization than it would be expected in an emerging market, such as India and China. In order to make a decision to work for a firm such as Bharti Airtel in a foreign market, it would important to consider essential factors that would help in the short-term or long-term realization of goals.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organizational structure would be analyzed because it would determine the extent to which a firm would operate in a new market. If a firm’s organizational structure would allow efficient flow of management information, then it would result in excellent performance outcomes. Pricing strategy adopted by MNEs in emerging market would probably be utilized in establishing operations in the developed world. For example, Kenya’s Safaricom and India’s Bharti Airtel have p rovided excellent low pricing models that have generated the best revenues for the two firms. Therefore, the adoption of low pricing strategies in the developed market would also help firms to record very good performance outcomes. The achievement of globalization goals would be based on ideal chain value models that focus on prices and customer satisfaction. In the past, many firms from emerging economies have proved to be successful in developed countries, including Ranbaxy, MISC, Embraer, Teneris, and Sasol, among others. Before making a decision about working with a MNE from an emerging market, it would also be critical to take into account the drivers of internal integration. Pressures for global integration and pressures for local responsiveness would influence the drivers. Thus, the catalysts for internationalization would be utilized to maximize efficiency and facilitate the processes of assembling differentiated portions of a product into a standardized whole. I would go fo r the choice of working for a MNE originating from a developing market on the premises of its level of IT integration in its operations. In the contemporary world, the use of IT is essential for all operations of a business, including product design, production, marketing, and distribution. The advantages of this choice would be the following:Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consumer divergence High chances of a firm’s leverage Low pressure for global integration Increased avenues of sources of global expansion operations However, the option would be faced by the following disadvantages: High competition from multinational firms Threat of substitute products Adverse government policies

Friday, November 22, 2019

None Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

None - Case Study Example Races were fighting against one another, and African Americans seemed to be struggling for their rights everywhere they turned. It was a different time in America than today, and King’s speech reflected that. Similarly, Obama speech in Cairo was given with the same hopes and dreams that are still topical in our time. Even today, the world is divided by religious strife and tension. Obama’s hope when delivering this speech in Egypt was to express his sincere desire to eliminate this ugly period from the world’s history and to have all religions and people live in peace with one another. So, we have two speeches but one vision and dream. Three quotes that stand out in King’s speech begin with the statement â€Å"One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free†. This sets the tone for his remarks and gives the reason for the necessity of the speech. Furthermore, he mentions that â€Å"now is the time to make real the promises of democracy† (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream†). He is imploring Americans to not sit idly by and wait for change to happen. He says, rightfully so, that it must happen now. So, finally, the quote that is most memorable to this student is â€Å"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: All men are created equal† (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream†). This is a call to action and one that was heeded by millions across the country. Obama’s speech had a similar tone to King’s. He stated the problem directly with his quote, â€Å"We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world† (â€Å"Remarks by the President on a New Beginning†). He was genuine in his desire to set the record straight and to work on ways that the two parts of the world could begin to live more peacefully together. Another significant quote in this speech is when Obama

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Edgar Allen Poe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Edgar Allen Poe - Essay Example This relationship between the brother and sister is further examined in terms of the dominant sibling holding sway over the weaker brother. The night of the storm, Roderick is seen in the narrator’s room. â€Å"His head had dropped upon his breast †¦ he rocked from side to side with a gentle yet constant and uniform sway† while he seems aware that Madeline, buried alive in the crypt below, has been struggling for many days to escape her tomb. â€Å"Long – long – long – many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it – yet I dared not – oh, pity me, miserable wretch, that I am! – I dared not – I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb!†. While Roderick is incapable of facing his ghastly mistake in order to rectify it, Madeline appears in the doorway with â€Å"blood upon her white robes and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame†. The terror of her appearance is made all the more ghastly as one considers how the two men struggled over the casements that had enclosed her body, the heavy iron door that had blocked her tomb and the completely sealed quality of the dungeon in which she was placed. More than requiring superhuman strength to overcome the several days’ worth of airlessness that she had endured since being buried, Madeline required additional superhuman strength to throw off the heavy, bolted lid of her coffin and tear open the locked door of her cell in order to appear in the narrator’s room that evening. â€Å"Mistakenly we ask these creatures, ‘What do you want?’

Monday, November 18, 2019

Rephrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Rephrase - Essay Example The world is changing is changing more rapidly than ever before, to be able to succeed, managers and employees need to perform at a higher level. Most organizations have discovered that to be able to reach and remain in the top of the competitive environment, they need to build a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is the ability of organizations to perform better than other organizations because they are producing desired goods and services more effectively and efficiently than its competitors. The main items that help in building a competitive advantage is quality, innovation, efficiency, and responsiveness to customers’ changing needs. In the today’s competitive environment, organizations look for new ways to improve themselves (BECERRA-FERNANDEZ, 2008). This shows that knowledge is crucial to the success of an organization. This paper looks at how organizations in the UAE can succeed if they develop proper knowledge management, organizational trust, creativ ity, and innovation and how these elements are related. Knowledge management is a crucial aspect in gaining insights over the competitive edge in the framework of the EAU economy. Knowledge has proved to be beneficial in helping organizations gain an advantage over other competitors in the market. The concept of efficiency and effective management of knowledge is a crucial aspect in all organizations. When knowledge is managed, organizations get ways to take advantage of opportunities and are able to reduce the chances of errors. Knowledge management goes through some steps which include; identification of need, knowledge acquisition, and sharing. Knowledge acquisition is the process that a company tries to obtain information from internal and external sources. External knowledge sources include customers, suppliers, partners, competitors, and external experts. This is the process of extracting knowledge

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Agency Theory Accounting practices

Agency Theory Accounting practices Agency theory the contribution of agency theory to the development of current accounting practices Introduction The aim of this report is to develop a relationship between agency theory and the existing practices of accountancy. In the report, the problem of agent-principal will be described with the main consequences for business-related relationship. After identifying the problem, the accountancy practices will be linked to the issues addressed in model that will be explained. The report will look at a case study related to agency theories and its affects within accounting practices. Finally it will show the ways the accountancy practices meet the problems raised by the agent-principal relationships. The agency theory is a mixture of the relationships between principals and agents, it occurs when principal and the agents create a delegation (Donaldson, L. Davis, J.H., June 1991). Berle and Means 1932 stated that the Agency theory argues that in modern corporation, where share ownership is widely held, managerial actions depart from those required to maximise the shareholders return, this was also backed up by Pratt and Zeckhauser in 1985. According to Jensen and Meckling, 1976, In Agency theory terms, the owners are principals and the managers are agents and there is an Agency loss which is the extent to which returns to the residual claimants, the owners, fall below what they would be if the principals, and the owners, exercised direct control of the corporation (Donaldson, L. Davis, J.H., June 1991). The long term strategies for agency theory include the principle of company, business, franchise, etc providing incentives such as increasing commission, continuing to provide advertising, training and motivation to increase outlet operations. To argue this Carney and Gedajlovic stated that regarding of the exogenous factor, outlet managers have an incentive to shirk and misrepresent their abilities because the firm is hard to differentiate the managers performance behavior (Mathieu, 1997), While the short-term strategies include balancing supply with demand at the shortest turn around time. Agency theory tends to impact business decisions by focusing on establishing incentives as mentioned in the long-term strategies above. However, it may be very costly and may create moral hazards if top management tries to over maximise profits for themselves instead of for the employees. The cost to manage and monitor transactions can affect both the domestic and global financial managers due to the strategy becoming very expensive; nevertheless this strategy can have the negative impact upon the organisations survival. Conflicts of agency theory There is a conflict between principals and agents (shareholders and managers) that can potentially have a devastating business consequence. The cost of monitoring efforts, measuring results and opportunities lost can be substantial. Incentives and disincentives may not result in wanted outcome, when businesses should scan their environment constantly to seek opportunities to meet the interest of their own stakeholders. Agency theory is a small entity of financial economics that looks at conflicts of interest between people that have different interests for the same assets, this means that their will always be constant conflicts between: shareholders managers and shareholders bond holders. These are the reason why organisations make constant acquisitions that tend to be bad for the shareholder, why convertible bonds are preferably used while normal bonds are often sold with warrants and finally shows the importance of capital structures. According to Eisenhardt (1989a), agency theory is devoted to the solution of two problems that can arise from agency relationships. The first problem is goal related and arises when: i) there is a conflict between the goals of the principal and the agent; and ii) the verification of the agents behaviour is difficult or expensive to be verified by the principal. The second problem is risk-related. If the agent and the principal have different attitudes towards risk, it is likely that both will behave differently and in accordance to their risk preferences. Identifying conflicting positions between any two agents and explaining the governance mechanisms underlying these relationships (that limit the agents behaviour) is known as the Positivist agency theory (Eisenhardt, 1989a). A different position is found in the principal-agent research (as opposed to the positivistic agency theory) and relies on a more mathematical and abstract approach to the problem. Although in different perspectives, these two approaches can be complementary as it can be seen in the quotation below (Eisenhardt, 1998a: 60): â€Å"Rather, the important point is that the two streams are complementary: Positivistic theory identifies various contract alternatives, and the principal-agent theory indicates which contract is the most efficient under varying levels of outcome uncertainty, risk aversion, information, and other variables†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Problems of agency theory The major popularity of the application of the agency theory to the relationship between shareholders and the board if directors produced a vast amount of research devoted to this issue. In fact, this phenomenon relates to those cases in which ownership and management are represented by different individuals. Being each individual maximising its utility leads to the existence conflicting positions between the agent and the principal. This became the main focus of research, and justifies the need of such an agency theory. This problematic is in the basis of the role of agent theory in the accountancy practices. According to Bricker and Chandar (1998: 488-489): â€Å"Contracts between shareholders and managers are written in order to reduce agency cost, and thereby, the dead weight loss in firm value as a result of the separation of ownership from control. Accounting is considered to play an important role as an integral part of the contracts that define a firm. For example, lending arrangements between a firm and its creditors often contain several accounting based covenants. Accounting-based bonus plans are frequently a component of executive compensation plans. Accounting measures are commonly used in the performance evaluation of a firms cost and profit centers. Watts and Zimmerman argue [1986, p. 196]: if accounting is an important part of the firms contracting process and agency costs (and hence, firm value and/or managers compensation) vary with different contracts, accounting procedures have the potential to affect firm value and/or the managers compensation. This rationale has given rise to several hypotheses regarding the role of accounting information in market valuation of firms and managers use of accounting discretion.† The table presented below summarises some of the key issues associated with agency theory and relates them to several assumptions of different nature: Key idea Principal agent relationship should reflect efficient organisation of information and risk-bearing costs Unit of analysis Contract between principal and agent Human assumptions Self interest Bounded rationality Risk aversion Organisational assumptions Partial goal conflict among participants Efficiency as the effectiveness criterion Information asymmetry between principal and agent Information assumptions Information as purchasable commodity Contracting problems Agency (moral hazard and adverse selection) Risk sharing Problem domain Relationships in which the principal and agent have partially differing goals and risk preferences (e.g. compensation, regulation. Leadership, impression management, whistle-blowing, vertical integration, transfer pricing) Table 1: Agency theory overview Source: Eisenhardt (1989a) Development of agency theory Agency cost is a major problem with organisation and with constant fraud cases that are growing around the world their needed to be major development of the theory in accounting practices. A way of developing the theory is to minimise agency costs that can be accomplished through communications, sharing risks and benefits and seeking to balance the scorecards. The theory has developed by establishing performance standards, using cost effective processes, cost management tools and incentives have all helped the problem of managing agency problems. Accountancy provides information to base future decisions on historical performances. Providing accurate information about costs it is possible to predict the result of future production. This perspective is particularly important in the case of, for example, government contracts, in which an agent- principal relationship is also established. For example, Reichelstein (1992) draws upon the agency models to explain government contracts, showing how agency theory can be used to design incentive contracts, and demonstrating that the agency models have actually influenced managerial economics. A different perspective is that accounting provides an opportunity of control from the agent over the principal. In this respect, the insights about the relationship between the shareholders and management were particularly important in demonstrating the role of accountancy as key information provider. To that extent, it was suggested that accountancy reporting is a result of the separation of ownership from management phenomena. Hence, it can be argued that the reporting practice is a result of the agent problem and serves the control needed to verify the agents performance. Another perspective was the budget development based on historical accounts. Contracts usually include a price for production which has not taken place yet. The pricing of these contracts has to be based on historical costs that can only be provided by accountancy. To that extent, accountancy practice is not a result of the agent-principal problem but is originated to avoid uncertainty in principal-agent relationships. case realted study to agency theory Taking a prime example of Enron and its relationship with accounting practices clearly show the affects of agency theory within an accounting practice can affect organisations. The collapse of Enron was entirely related to the accounting practices adopted by the company. It has a number of these questionable, and in some cases straight out fraudulent, accounting practices that pertained to the most dramatic collapse of a major company in years. An analysis of some of these accounting practices brings to light the problems with the use of concepts such as mark-to-market accounting and the use of special purpose entitys (SPEs), the interrelation of agency theory suggests that the basic ideals surrounding agency theory applied to the Enron Case at some point in time, however the continuation of this principal deteriorated as time went on. The agency theory was clearly an issue in Enrons case because the managers of the firm were transferring wealth from the shareholders to themselves in the form of stock performance. Not only were there the Shareholders to Management agency problem there was also an employer to employee agency problem. With regard to the shareholder to management problem, the shareholders had placed a large amount of decision-making capability onto the management team and had not successfully monitored the agents behaviour. Given that the managers had all come to Enron with a strong reputation, it was expected that they â€Å"would act in the interest of the shareholders. [As such the shareholders] had monitored the managers performance very little† (Godfrey et al, 2008). As a shareholder, it would have been in the best interests to implement monitoring costs to â€Å"measure, observe and control† Schillings behaviour. Unfortunately this would not have been enough. The introduction of Fa stow, described as â€Å"a genius† in a number of sources, allowed for the performance of Enron to appear strong even in dire times. The use of SPEs and mark-to-market accounting allowed for the â€Å"reduction of monitoring costs by incurring bonding costs [in the form of quarterly statements]† that allowed Enron to perform better than it appeared. Another point that links is that the agency theory is the â€Å"the principal will remunerate the agent according to the principals expectations of how much the agents behaviour is likely to be contrary to the principals interests† (Godfrey et al, 2008). Given that managers of Enron were all major shareholders of the company the focus was on driving the share price up which was done by a process called â€Å"pump and dump; this process involved buying up the share price and then selling out† (Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room) this allowed the directors to maintain high remuneration because they were achieving high share prices for the principals and also allowed them to gain from share price rises before selling out at the top. Finally, the principal-agent relationship that occurs between Skilling and Fastow (CEO of Enron) is that of an employee to employer. This relationship is important because it â€Å"emphasises the importance of the ability to monitor employees work efforts† (Akdere, Azvedo, 2004). Skilling and Ken Lay claim that they were unaware of what Fastow was doing with regards to the financial statements, however, Skilling and Lay were acting as the agents for the shareholders as well as acting as the principals for Fastow. Their involvement in such transactions as the one with LJM were â€Å"not only disclosed to the board at a meeting which took place in 1999, but the board approved of [Fastows] participation, following a recommendation to this effect from the then CEO and Chairman, Ken Lay† (Deakin, Konzelmann, 2004). From this we can clearly see that Lay, Skilling and Fastow were all part of the agency problem that occurred. conclusion This report has shown that several areas of accounting have been affected by the agency theory model. This theory has defiantly had implications in the financial accounting, management accounting and in corporate finance. Nevertheless, the strongest argument that relates to agency theory with accountancy mainly relies in the nature of both, the accounting and agency theory rely on the existence of contracts, these contracts rely at the core of the relationship between agents and the principal. Furthermore agency theorys core role is the risk associated with the relationship whereas accountancy reduces risk by providing information about the agents in action. Additionally reporting previous behaviours of the agent showing that the historical agent has kept the conditions of contract, may provide indications for the principal about the future behaviour of agents; increasing trust levels in the relationship and reducing the risk associated with relations. In conclusion, the current features (and practices) of accountancy meet the agency model problems proving the information to avoid opportunistic behaviours and ensuring that relational contracts are met. Referances Journals Davis, J.H., Schoorman, F.D., Donaldson, L. (1997), Toward a stewardship theory of management, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 22 No.1, pp.20-47. Berle, A. and G. Means, 1932, The Modern Corporation and private property (New York, Maacmillan) Jones, D. R. Butler, J.E, 1992, Managing internal corporation entrepreneurship: an agency theory perspective (Journal of Management) Bricker, R. and Chandar, N. (1998). On Applying Agency Theory in Historical Accounting Research. Business and Economic History 27(2): 486-99 Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989a). Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review, Academy of Management Review, 14 (1): 57-74. Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989b). Agency- and Institutional Theory Explanations: The Case of Retail Sales Compensation. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (3): 488-511. Kaplan, R.S. (1984). The Evolution of Management Accounting. The Accounting Review, LIX(3): 390-402. Reichelstein, S. (1992). Constructing Incentive Schemes for Government Contracts: An Application of Agency Theory. The Accounting Review, 67 (4): 712-731. References for Enron case study: Serwer, Andy. 2002, ‘Dirty Rotten Numbers: Enron has made us shine a light on the books of Americas public companies. Now, if your company carries even a hint of bad accounting, the stock will be savaged, Fortune. Vol 145, i4, p74+. Shleifer, Andrei. 2000, ‘Are Financial Markets Efficient Oxford Scholarship Online Economics and Finance. Pp 1- 5. Akdere, Mesut and Azevedo, Ross. 2004, ‘Organisational Development, Agency Theory, and efficient Contracts: A Research Agenda. Pp2-8. Deakin, Simon and Konzelmann, Suzanne. 2004, ‘Learning From Enron Corporate Governance. Vol 12, pp134-142. Haldeman, Robert G. 2006, ‘Fact, Fiction, and Fair Value Accounting at Enron The CPA Journal. Pp1-10. Thompson, Robert B. 2004, ‘Corporate Governance after Enron. HeinOnline. Pp99-117. Godfrey, Jayne. Hodgson, Allan. Holmes, Scott. Tarca, Ann. 2006. ‘Accounting Theory: Sixth edition. Wiley, Australia. ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys in The room 2005, DVD, Dendy Films. USA. ‘Encarta: Online. Copyright MSN Encarta, 2008, Accessed 15/05/08 from http://encarta.msn.com/media_701610605/the_fall_of_enron_stock.html

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Genderless Society, an Illusion or Reality Essay -- essays research pa

According to dictionary.com, gender is defined as â€Å"the condition of being female or male.† Gender and Sexuality conjure up images of the male and female and the roles that each sex is supposed to fulfill. Of the two forces (Biology and Environment) influencing human development, especially gender, environment is more influential. Environment is basically the surrounding conditions or forces capable of influencing a person or any entity, for example, family, culture, peers, society, etc. In view of this, let us now think about these thought provoking questions. Do you believe there will ever come a day when boys will play with dolls and girls will play with trucks and no one will notice? Suppose parents could successfully forget about the gender of their child. What would be the advantages and the disadvantages of this? These are the questions that would be examined and answered in this article. Reasonably, I opine that a day might come when boys will play with dolls and girls play with trucks, but people will take note of this, depending on their sense of perception and cultural backgrounds, and since neither this situation had ever occurred nor has it ever been that way from time being. Also, since the environment people live in could either positively or negatively contribute to their physical, spiritual, and social well being, so, gender should be seen more of a social structure that forms the basis for individuals’ norms which are anchored into the major societal organizations of our world today (Lorber 5). This might make one to ask again - Is a Genderless Society Attainable? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Apparently, parents, as a factor, have the power and the responsibilities to shape the gender identity of their wards from childhood. The socialization theory, in terms of gender, suggests that â€Å"children are taught to behave in a certain way according to their sex. Boys are taught to be masculine and girls to be feminine. For example, parents will often buy trucks or army toys for boys while girls will have dolls and playhouse sort-of toys† (Cohen and Ian, 78). So why would a genderless society be unattainable since the primary factor of childhood gender-shaping is the parents? In fact, from the socialization theory, it could be deduced that genderless society might be achieved if parents would act in other way round- allow boys to play w... ...A day might come when boys might play with dolls and girls might play with trucks, but people would surely notice this. Since our mode of life- morals, physical, social, gender, etc are being modeled, nurtured, and influenced by many factors of our immediate environment such as our family, culture, peers, society, education, community. If on the other hand, the environment nurtures or influences us the way the â€Å"fabulous baby X† was nurtured, there might be a success of a genderless society, but this will sound too strongly unattainable and an illusion of reality! WORK CITED PAGE Cohen, Jack and Ian, Stewart. â€Å"Our Genes Aren’t Us.† Discover Apr. 94, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p78, 7p, 6c Gould, Lois. â€Å"X: A Fabulous Child’s Story.† Mirror on America: Short Essays and Images from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Popular Culture. 2nd Ed. Mims, J.T and Nollen, E.M. NY: Bedford/ST. Martin’s, 2003:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  63-76. Lexico Publishing Group. â€Å"Gender.† Dictionary.com. (2003) 23 Jan. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Lober, Judith. Paradoxes of Gender: sex role, gender identity, social theory, and feminist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  institutions. Yale UP: New Haven, 1994.

Monday, November 11, 2019

A Comparison of Nursing Education Essay

A career in nursing has many possibilities and depending on where one is employed there may be different educational requirements. There are many nurses in the workforce with only their associate’s degree in nursing, but as time passes it seems that the baccalaureate degree is becoming more of an expectation. This brings up the question- is there a difference in the competency of the associate-level nurse from the baccalaureate-level nurse? Studies are showing that there is a difference and patient outcomes are affected by this difference. Differences between the Associate Degree in Nursing and the Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing In order to compare the competencies between nurses prepared at the associate-degree level versus the baccalaureate-degree level, one must first compare the requirements to obtain these degrees. The Associate’s Degree in Nursing, abbreviated ADN, is a two-year degree usually earned through a community college. It requires 60 credit hours to complete and upon completion the graduate can apply for licensure through the state in which they will practice. The Bachelors of Science in Nursing, also called BSN, is a four-year degree obtained at a university. It includes the same areas of study and has the same license upon completion of the NCLEX as the ADN nurse, but delves further into nursing theory as well as pathophysiology and technical skills. Many employers require the bachelor’s degree for higher positions in nursing such as clinical managers and nurse specialists. Differences in competencies between nurses prepared at the associate-degree level versus the baccalaureate-degree level As explained above the bachelor’s degree in nursing requires two more years of education and a much deeper study of nursing theory and pathophysiology than the associate’s degree. The question is does this extra education and focus on nursing theory make a BSN nurse more competent than an ADN nurse. Research suggests there is a significant effect of nurse experience and a significant effect of the percentage of BSN nurses in each hospital (Kendall-Gallagher, Aiken, Sloane &Cimiotti, 2011) in regards to better patient outcomes. To understand the difference one must look at the basic nursing process and how knowledge of nursing theory and pathophysiology affects it. The basic process taught in nursing school in providing patient care is assessment, plan, intervention and evaluation. Assessment is one the first things a nursing student learns. The associate-level and bachelor-level nurse will both have learned this skill in the very first days of nursing school. Both nurses will also be competent with the last step, evaluation of the interventions. The advantage a BSN nurse will have lies in the middle two steps- plan and intervention. The plan and interventions a nurse provides is affected by their decision-making skills and this is based on their education. Plan and Intervention To determine a patient’s plan of care, one looks at the abnormal assessments and then uses their knowledge of pathophysiology to determine the plan of care. While the BSN nurse will not necessarily have more clinical hours in assessing the patient, they will have taken more classes in pathophysiology than the ADN nurse and therefore may notice a disease process more readily than the ADN nurse. This is where the interventions will occur. Interventions are determined by the nurse based on their decision-making skills. Decision-Making Skills Nursing is a field in which one is given a great amount of autonomy. Therefore much of a patient’s care is affected by a nurse’s decision-making skills. One’s ability to make decisions is affected by many things including past experiences, environment and education. The focus here is education and how the additional study for the BSN affects nurses’ decision-making skills. The BSN nurse will have studied pathophysiology and nursing theory in greater depth than the ADN nurse. This extra knowledge is then applied to the decisions a nurse makes for their patient. These decisions have a great impact on patient outcomes and recent studies have indicated that there is decreased morbidity, mortality, and failure-to-rescue rates in hospitals that employ larger percentages of baccalaureate prepared nurses (Altman, 2011). Effect of baccalaureate-degree level nurses on patient outcomes In the acute situation the BSN nurse can use their knowledge of pathophysiology in addition to their decision-making skills to decrease morbidity and mortality. Taking into account the greater picture, a more holistic approach based on the BSN nurse’s familiarity with nursing theory, will improve patient outcomes. For example let’s look at a hospital admission for a congestive heart failure exacerbation. Both the ADN and BSN nurse will assess the patient and notice classic signs like shortness of breath and edema. Both nurses will plan on diuresis and paying close attention to respiratory status. The difference will come with the holistic approach that a BSN nurse is more likely to take. The emphasis on the nursing theories that a BSN nurse has studied will allow them to look at the patient as a whole, rather than dealing with only stabilization of symptoms. The knowledge of nursing theory the BSN nurse has will allow them to delve further into why this patient admitted and what they can do to prevent a readmission. The BSN nurse asks questions as to what caused the exacerbation. It may be that the patient needs more teaching on diet and medication compliance. They will ask the patient about their home situation. It’s possible the patient is having financial burdens that have kept them from filling their prescriptions. The BSN nurse is more likely to look at the home situation. The patient may have depression with the diagnosis and need some resources for social support. In regards to King’s theory, nursing’s central goal is to help individuals maintain their health so that they can function in their roles (Creasia, 180). By helping the patient function in their role, the nurse empowers the patient to lead a healthier life. The patient is sent home educated with the resources needed to lead a healthy life and therefore reduces unnecessary hospital admissions. This in turn allows the space available for hospital admissions that are necessary and leads to a healthier community . REFERENCES Altmann, Tanya K. (2011). Registered nurses returning to school for a bachelors degree in nursing: Issues emerging from a meta-analysis of the research. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 39, (2): 256-72. Creasia, J; Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice. (5th Edition). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. Kendall-Gallagher, Deborah; Aiken, Linda H.; Sloane, Douglas M.; Cimiotti, Jeannie P. (2011). Nurse Specialty Certification, Inpatient Mortality, and Failure to Rescue. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43, 188-94.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Oedipus the Everything but King

No Name World Literature 1 Character Analysis â€Å"Oedipus the King†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Hunter, Plowman, and Sailor-Helmsman Throughout the play â€Å"Oedipus Rex†, the main character Oedipus has a number of different character traits throughout the play. His out-look on the stories situation evolves as he begins to learn the truth about who he really is. Oedipus takes on the characteristics of a hunter as well as becoming the hunted; he is a sower yet also the seed, and a sailor-helmsman of the city. Each of these images has their own significance.Oedipus first starts out as the hunter once he marries the queen of Thebes. Once betrothed, Oedipus is told that, Laius, the late king of Thebes was murdered by a robber. Oedipus says that he will exile or execute Laius’ killer once he is found. The irony to his statement is that he will have to catch and exile himself because in actuality he is the man who killed Laius. Oedipus then goes from being the hunter to the hunted, not knowing the man he is looking for is actually him himself.He proceeds to tell his men to â€Å"Hunt him down with all your strength† but in essence he’s telling his men to hunt him which makes him the hunted. Oedipus asks Tiresias to speak on behalf of what he knows and when he does not this upsets him. Oedipus begins to mock Tiresias about the fact that he cannot â€Å"see† and in return Tiresias says the same thing to Oedipus. Tiresias is blind but he is the one who sees Oedipus’ future clearly and Oedipus is not and can’t see what his future holds at all.In mocking Tiresias, Oedipus reaps the consequences of his actions because he later takes his own sight. Oedipus is also considered a sower because he married and had children; however he is his mother’s seed and ironically he married and reproduced with his mother. By definition plowman prepare the fields with seeds and expect plants to be produced. Oedipus and widowed Queen Jocasta marr y, are intimate and reproduce children.The imagery is the same for Jocasta and her first husband King Laius as that for her second husband, Oedipus: like father, like son as it turns out. The Sailor-helmsman is in essence is the person who guides a ship. Oedipus being king of Thebes is supposed to steer the people out of harm’s way. Oedipus thought that he was doing the right thing by leaving the place he thought was home when he was told he would kill his father and marry his mother; only the thing was the parents he knew of in Corinth were not his actual parents.After Oedipus leaves Corinth, because of all that he has done he has brought a plague amongst his city, the city of Thebes. â€Å"The citizens are passengers of the ship watching as their captain and his vessel fall to pieces†. All of these images were ironically tied into showing the positives and negatives that contributed to Oedipus’ demise. However, this was not all Oedipus’ fault because so mewhere down the family line Oedipus’ family was cursed and he had nothing to do with it, he was just the one who would complete the curse which leads to his undoing.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The National Museum of Colombia

The National Museum of Colombia The National Museum of Colombia: Colombias National Museum (Museo Nacional) is located in the heart of Bogota. Its a sprawling, three-story structure dedicated to Columbias art and history. Although there are some very interesting exhibits, all in all its a little dry. Visiting the National Museum: Colombia’s National Museum is about 10 blocks away from Plaza Bolivar (the heart of old Bogota) on Carrera 7 between calle 28 and calle 29. It’s possible to walk from one to the other, or there are buses on a regular basis. The museum is a massive yellowish brick building that was once a prison: night watchmen swear it’s haunted. It’s open daily except Mondays. Hours are 10-6, 10-5 on Sundays. Adult admission is less than $2 US and is free on Sundays. Whats in the Museum?: Colombia’s National Museum is dedicated to history and art and covers everything from the earliest inhabitants of Colombia to the present. On the lowest floor are rooms filled with ancient pottery and golden ornaments and figurines from long-gone cultures. The museum has sections on the conquest, the colonial era, independence and the republican era. The top floor is dedicated to the modern era, but it’s mostly art and very little history. There is a small gift shop and coffee shop on the first floor. Highlights of the National Museum: The museum is divided into different sections, some of which are more interesting than others. On the first floor is a vault-like room with golden ornaments and figurines from Colombias ancient cultures: its interesting if you havent already gone to the much more impressive gold museum a few blocks away. The archaeology sections are kind of cool, and the independence section is worth a stop, particularly to see the many faces of Simà ³n Bolà ­var exhibit. The colonial era part is best if youre a fan of art from that time. On the top floor are some paintings by Botero and other well-known modern Colombian artists. Lowlights of the National Museum: Parts of the museum are a little stale. The republican era (1830-1900 or so) section is an endless series of stony-faced portraits of former presidents. Surprisingly, some of the most interesting parts of Colombias history, such as the 1000 Days War or the 1928 Banana Massacre, are barely mentioned (and dont rate their own exhibit). There is a room on the 1948 Bogotazo riot, but somehow they have made a day of mayhem and destruction seem boring. There is nothing on the tragic period known as La Violencia, nothing on Pablo Escobar and nothing about the FARC and other modern troubles. Who would like Colombias National Museum?: The museum is best for history or art buffs. Colombias National Museum is a traditional one, in that very few of the displays or exhibits are in any way interactive. Kids may be bored stiff. History fans can skip the third floor entirely, and art fans can go directly from the pottery of the ancient era to see the angels and saints in the colonial section before heading to the top floor to see the Boteros. There are better museums in Bogota: Art lovers should first go to the Botero Museum, and history buffs should check out the July 20 Independence Museum. Non-Spanish speakers will struggle, as few of the exhibits have English translation (and nothing in German, French, etc). Supposedly, English-speaking guides are available on Wednesdays.

Monday, November 4, 2019

State and Society in 20th Century China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

State and Society in 20th Century China - Essay Example Globalization of business can be define as multi-directional because globalization is at the same time leading to greater emphasis on nation identity and leading to greater cooperation between nations. Globalization is creating a situation where manager must able to work with people from different cultures, nations, regions and continents. As China's economy has attracted attention from all over the world, lots of international companies can be found in China (Rodriguez, 2007). Due to globalization, most of the firms are workforce diversity. To be deal smoothly in China, foreigner should have ability to perform to a great extent when dealing with the Chinese. Globalization became a buzz word in the 1990s because of its influence in creating a world in which geographic location became increasingly irrelevant. In essence globalization refers to the unrestricted flow of goods, capital, information, technology and people across national borders (Chow, 5). Globalization is, however, by no means a new phenomenon and China has been subjected to its effects for many centuries (Alford, 1999). In fact, the effects of globalization in China go "as far back as the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) when trade took place between the Han Chinese and neighboring people in the North-west through the Silk Route" (Chow, 3). Despite this, in the Qing Dynasty and the early stages of the Chinese Communist Party's rule, right up until Deng Xiaoping's open door policy, China tried to close its doors and restrict the influence of globalization (Street, 2000 and Chow, 11). This was not the first time that China was forced to confront and implement a national strategy to either embrace or combat the effects of globalization. In fact, as recently as the 1990s, China was confronted by this conundrum, namely: whether to continue its global economic expansion in the face of the Asian financial crisis or to once again close it doors and retreat inwards to protect itself from the economic fallout of a struggling region (Fishman, 25 and Nolan, 31). However, by carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages of economic openness the Chinese government decided to open up the Chinese economy even more, and eventually joined the World Trade Organization by implementing large economic reforms (Bijian, 2). There is no doubting that these economic reforms and China's embracement of globalization has brought stunning results. Since starting to open up and reform its economy in 1978, China "has averaged 9.4 percent annual GDP growth, one of the highest growth rates in the world" (Bijian, 3). One of the reasons for the huge leaps in growth has come from direct foreign investment that has been facilitated by China's admission to the WTO. For example, in the space of a few days in 2004, a North Korean Steel Company launched a $500 million steel project in the Dalian development zone; France's St Gobain invested $70 million in one of its presented glass production lines in China; Germany's Siemens inaugurated its 14th office in China for development of software; and Finland's Stora Enso invested $1.6 billion in a paper pulp project in Guandong Province (Hall et al, Press). Such results have seen China become the third largest trading country in the world and the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Discuss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discuss - Essay Example Daguerre believed that photography was an art that needed to embrace as it showed life and nature as it really was. In his early years, Morse like Louis was interested in understanding the workings of the nature and whether a naturalistic image could be captured on paper. He was able to successfully produce negative images, but did not understand that negative films could be used in the making positive photographic prints. Morse improved the Daguerreotype by attaching a mirror in the camera lens, and this rectified the error. Morse like Louis believed that photography â€Å"was a teaching tool that could visually educate the public† (Morse 221). Charles Baudelaire on the other hand, disagreed with Louis view that photography was an art he was in fact appalled by the definition if fine art as an accurate representation of some external reality. He considered men fools to believe photographs as â€Å"mirrors of physical facts† (Baudelaire, 83). He believed that photography was meant for record keeping and should not defined as art because it just represented what existed in