Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Police Officers And The Police Force - 1310 Words

â€Å"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you.† Most of us know exactly who says this and what it means. The only problem is that this quote is the extent of our knowledge as an outsider to the Greensboro Police force. I was able to get an inside look at what really happens in a day in the life of an everyday police officer. I spent two days at the department observing the officers and riding alongside one in the police car. Throughout my experience I learned that most of the stereotypes I had about police officers were completely wrong. One of the first officers I talked to was Corporal Donaldson, who is also my father. I asked him about his experiences with the general public. He told me that†¦show more content†¦However despite this there are many more problems that police officers have to deal with like disrespect from the public. I asked the officers what one word is that really stands out to them as blatant disrespe ct, 90 percent of them told me that word was pig. A â€Å"pig† is a slang term which is used to disrespect a police officer. Most officers say they will just ignore this but according to state law â€Å"it is illegal to make or use any utterance, gesture, display or abusive language that is intended to and likely to provoke violent retaliation.† About 5 of the 20 officers I interviewed told me they have arrested people for repeatedly calling them a pig. Not only is this a normal reply, but most people, including me, do not know that officers can do this. While I was riding around in the patrol car with Officer Hank I saw firsthand that many people do not respect police officers. One person who he pulled over cursed, yelled, and all together disrespected Officer Hank due to their taillight being out after already being warned. Officer Hank told me he was not going to give them a citation before they disrespected him. I also found that when officers where cameras people are less likely to be disrespectful to them. My dad always wears a camera when he is patrolling and besides people pulling the â€Å"race card† disrespect is something he rarely has to deal with. Another key factor is the gender of the officer in

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The Movie Departures From The Historical Record

Davis claims that her work is more historical than the movie because the film-maker’s â€Å"departures from the historical record.† (Benson 57). That is, Vigne’s work lacks from historical understanding because he divires from the right direction due to several reasons including but not restricted to ignoring the Basque region, neglecting religious issues, and disregarding complicity of Bertrande except in the last invented scene when she gave water to judge, and she confessed to him. More importantly, the trial would have been confidential not open to public. In addition, the movie characterized with the complicity and vagueness, which made it hard to interpret. As reported by Davis, the film’s main problem lies in its failure to capture the†¦show more content†¦Basically, the film is there to make money, so the producers have to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Undoubtedly, the film producers make their finishing touch in order to make it appeal to the audiences. They added some changes, such as using wrong color robes for the judges of the Parlement of Toulouse as well as omitting vital information, which affects the original story by intention or chance in make it an artistic touch rather than historical touch. It seems to me that Davis’s book is more historical than the movie because she provides a detailed description of the life of rural families during that time, and the journey of Martin’s family from the Basque region to the Artigat because of political and economic reasons. She goes more and demonstrates the social circumstances of the French peasantry in the sixteenth century. At any rate, Davis s account of both the trial and village life in Artigat is more historically accurate than the movie. Davis brings the story to life as a historical achievement. That is why Davis writes her book specifically to address the shortage in the film and to â€Å"follow the historical evidence closely.† It is unquestionable that historians tend to be skeptical about their sources; it is the nature of any historical work, when they address basic facts that happened in the past. Obviously enough, in the most cases,

Monday, December 9, 2019

Great Gatsby Research Essay free essay sample

The majority of what Fitzgerald writes in his stories are about the love for rich girls. In real life he has personally experienced falling for a wealthy girl, Zelda. In the book, The Great Gatsby, he writes about a boy who isn’t rich that is in love with a girl named daisy, who is rich like Zelda. Gatsby later lost his love, Daisy, when he went to war, for Fitzgerald, he was rejected by Ginevra King’s father who said â€Å"poor boys don’t marry wealthy girls,† which was said by Daisy in the book. He was asking for her hand in marriage. Then Fitzgerald got denied by Zelda Sayre. Daisy, the women jay Gatsby has been basing on his whole life on, is similar to Zelda Sayre who would not marry him at first since he was unsuccessful Fitzgerald lived in Great Neck, Long Island, in which his first child was born. We will write a custom essay sample on Great Gatsby Research Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To Zelda, Fitzgerald was seen poor but he was really upper middle class, but Zelda’s Standards were too high, like Daisy. Gatsby and Fitzgerald both met vital women to their lives at dances and both while they were stationed at army camps They both had highly society connections and down falls such as Gatsby getting murdered in the pool by George Wilson, for love. Fitzgerald died of alcohol use when he was trying to become rich again. Gatsby made money by bootlegging while Fitzgerald made money by writing. Fitzgerald Scott was self-destructive because he would drink to much, due to being an alcoholic. He was very social but then later on in his life he became very rude and started to offend people, due to his alcoholism. Gatsby was always trying to make himself better, improving him self. He was very self-disciplined and an outsider. They were both faithful and dedicated to the ladies the fell in love with. F. Scott’s wife, Zelda, was sent to a refuge in the last few years of her life. He made sure to never allow him or their daughter that they had together for get about her. Being the dedicated man he was, he would go see her to visit at the asylum. In the book, many of the characters represents the people that Fitzgerald met in his life, including his own character that represents him. To add on to that, F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in Great Neck, Long Island after his first child was born. At the time, the Great Neck was home to many of the wealthiest people on Long Island. A scholar has proven that there are many similarities between the Great Neck and the West Egg. In the movie version, Daisy tells Gatsby that Rich girls dont marry poor boys. This line was taken straight out of Fitzgeralds life. The father of his first love, a young woman by the name of Ginevra King, supposedly told him that after Fitzgerald asked for Ginevras hand in marriage. There are many other similarities between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jay Gatz (Gatsby)- keep your eyes out for them! F. Scott and Gatsby were born in a middle class family. Both of their fathers started out very wealthy until they both failed with their business when the crashed. They both came from an underprivileged family, in many cases, inclined a lot on both of their behaviors and goals. For school, both Gatsby and F. Scott were drop-outs from Universities and joined the army in 1917. There are a bunch of similarities between the two. The Author of the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald Scott, based this story one his own life in almost every scene in the book.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Stereotypical Rap and Hip-hop free essay sample

Today rap and hip-hop music has been controversial in the question—is rap and hip-hop music perpetuating negative stereotypes or just trying to discover the voice in young black culture? Most people seem to get the idea that all rap and hip-hop music is â€Å"trash,† but they never take the time to truly listen to this music. Yes, maybe most of this music uses the â€Å"N-word,† â€Å"pictures blacks as gangsters, thugs and amoral criminals† and â€Å" uses young half-naked women as sex toys† (Williams); yet, are those the only things they say? These artists, not just black, but white as well, place an impact on the lives of some children to do the right things and encourage them not mess up like they did. Rap and Hip-hop appeal to be mostly violent; however, aren’t these artist just sharing their experiences with us? A picture of 50 Cent’s album cover â€Å"Get Rich or Die Tryin’† shows a young African American with a d iamond necklace, no shirt and pants hanging low. We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotypical Rap and Hip-hop or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page How does this appeal to people who have never heard his music? Most people would look away from this, but they seem to miss the true story behind it all. Did you know that 50 cent got shot eight times and survived? He puts a hope and a desire in children who live in the â€Å"hood.† Take it from the eyes of someone who has learned from hip-hop—â€Å"Hip-hop taught me more about real life than anything I learned that year in class† (Walker). As young children engage themselves in rap and hip-hop culture, these children begin to be more susceptible to this â€Å"overly violent† and â€Å"overly sexual† (Williams) culture being created; however, these children may just be trying to find their true inner voice.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Night by Elie V.S. Dawn

Night by Elie V.S. Dawn Elie or Elisha?"Seeing myself with the eyes of the past I imagined that I was in the dark gray uniform of an SS officer" (D. 27). The SS officer's control Elie while Elisha now sees himself acting like the SS officers. Night and Dawn tells the story of how Jews survived the Holocaust and are both written by Elie Wiesel. Elisha is more independent than Elie.Elie stays by his father's side while Elisha depends on himself to survive. "I decided to give my father lessons myself, to teach him how to change step and to keep to the rhythm" (N. 53). This quote shows that Elie is close to his father and wants to help him. Elisha lives by himself in Paris. It proves that he's independent and makes a living on his own. "No, I'd rather be alone with him" (D. 81). Elisha wanted to go by himself to get to know John Dawson better before he killed him.Elie Wiesel writer and spokesman on Holocaust issu...Elisha is more independent by wanting to do this himself while Elie needs his father to help him survive.Elie is being seen as the victim, but Elisha is being referred to as an executioner, or murderer. '"Poor devils, you're going to the crematory'" (N. 30). Elie is the victim because he didn't do anything wrong to be sent to the concentration camps. "He who has killed one man alone is a killer for life" (D. 69). No matter how many people he kills he will be considered a killer even if he only kills one. Elie will be known forever as a victim in the concentration camps.In a way Elie and Elisha are both afraid of death. '"I don't want to wait here. I'm going to run to the electric wire. That would...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Archaeology Is a Great Research Paper Option

Archaeology Is a Great Research Paper Option Lets face itone of the toughest jobs of the student is to find a research paper topic, especially if your professor has assigned you a term paper with an open-ended subject. May I recommend archaeology as a starting point? People generally think of archaeology as simply a set of methods: Have trowel, will travel is the theme song for many an archaeological field worker. But in fact, the results of two hundred years of fieldwork and laboratory research means that archaeology is the study of a million years of human behavior, and as such it intersects evolution, anthropology, history, geology, geography, politics, and sociology. And thats just a start. In fact, archaeologys breadth is why I was drawn to the study in the first place. You can just about study anythingeven molecular physics or computer scienceand still be a working archaeologist. After more than fifteen years running this website, Ive built a number of places which you can use as a jumping off point to a fascinating paper, whether you are studying in the field of archaeology or outside of it. And with any luck, you can have fun doing it. I have organized the resources for this website using a broad areal coverage of world history, and in the meantime Ive developed a handful of encyclopedic directories that will help you in your search for the perfect paper topic. In each pocket youll find tidbits about ancient cultures and their archaeological sites compiled from provided references and other suggestions for further research. Somebody should benefit from my particular brand of lunacy! The History of Humans on Planet Earth The History of Humanity includes information on archaeological studies beginning with the very first stone tools of our human ancestors in the Stone Age of 2.5 million years ago, ends with medieval societies about 1500 AD and includes everything in between. Here youll find information on our human ancestors (2.5 million-20,000 years ago), as well as hunter-gatherers (20,000-12,000 years ago), first farming societies (12,000-5,000 years ago), early civilizations (3000-1500 BC), ancient empires (1500-0 BC), developing states (AD 0-1000) and the medieval period (1000-1500 AD). Ancient Civilizations Dont miss my collection of Ancient Civilizations, which brings together resources and ideas on Egypt, Greece, Persia, the Near East, the Incan and Aztec Empires, the Khmer, Indus and Islamic Civilizations, the Roman Empire, the Vikings and the Moche and the Minoans and others too many to mention. Domestication Histories Food naturally fascinates all of us: and more to the point, archaeology is the main source of information about how the domestication of the animals and plants that make up our meals came about. Over the last couple of decades, with the addition of genetic studies, what weve understood about the timing and process of animal and plant domestication has changed greatly. I recommend that you can get a taste of what science has learned about when and how we domesticated cattle, cats and camels, or chickpeas, chiles and chenopodium, can be found linked from the Tables of Animal Domestication and Plant Domestication, and the scientific literature I used to write those articles can serve as starting points for a possible paper. The World Atlas of Archaeology Want to study a particular continent or region? The World Atlas of Archaeology is a great place to kick off your investigations: it is an atlas of archaeological sites and cultures in the world sorted by modern geographic continent and political country boundaries.   The Ancient Daily Life pages includes links to archaeological investigations of roads and writing, battle sites and ancient houses, prehistoric tools and climate change. Scientist Biographies Interested in writing a biography of a famous archaeologist? Then the Biographies in Archaeology should be the starting place for you. There are nearly 500 biographical sketches listed in the Biographies pocket so far. In there youll also find a Women in Archaeology section. I segregated the women out for my own nefarious purposes, and you might as well take advantage of it. A Vast Glossary of Ideas Another resource for piquing your interest is the Archaeology Dictionary, which includes over 1,600 entries of cultures, archaeological sites, theories and other tidbits of archaeological information. I recommend that you simply pick a letter at random and scroll down through the entries. Some of the entries are full-fledged articles; others are short definitions, covering nearly twenty years of my exploration in archaeology, and I bet anything that something will pique your interest. Once youve chosen your topic, you can begin searching for information on which to write your essay. Good luck! More Tips for Writing Research Papers How to Conduct Background Research for a PaperTop Steps to Writing a Research Paper

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Choose any topic. i dont have specific one Essay

Choose any topic. i dont have specific one - Essay Example Some people, for example state that the blacks did not resist slavery. On the contrary, blacks resisted slavery in every society. Another misconception relates to the assumption that no African influence exist on the currently culture of African Americans. Alexander and Rucker refute the misconception by stating that â€Å"many dance forms in the United States were influenced by West-Central Africans† (129) and the Charleston dance give a perfect example. Another misconception related to the lynching of black men. Most lynches were associated with accusations of sexual incidents with a white woman. However, most lynches were as a result of a black person attempting to vote, demanding their rights, or operating a successful business (Ruffins 1) The holocaust destroyed the lives of the people involved in the enslavement. It forced them to leave the comfort of their homeland for a foreign country. Consequently, it affected negatively on the social lives of those enslaved. It, for example, separated family members, leading to disintegration of the social unit. More to this, family providers who were taken into slavery left their families struggling to survive, thus causing them economic problems. Africans suffered emotional instability, given the long periods of separation from their loved ones. Young children grew up without their parents, hence forcing them to take up parental responsibilities at an early age that led to psychological imbalance. Those enslaved were succumbed to hard labor. They worked hard, leading to the prosperity of the Europe, and America at the expense of Africa. The whites amassed a lot of wealth from Africa, which they centralized, and locked up in their continent, thus boosting their prosperity. On the other hand, the enslavement denied Africans an opportunity to build their economy for many years, resulting in the under development of the African continent (Merretazon 1). Being enslaved restricts one from

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Soccer Injures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Soccer Injures - Essay Example analysis and assessment of the development of frameworks to address the incidence of sports-related injuries cannot be conducted successfully unless consensus on this issue is established (483). Overuse injuries in soccer or other athletic sports are classified by two elements – given the injury is characterized by a steady and measured onset and the occurrence of recurring microtrauma (Roos and Marshall 405). Evidence-based medicine comprises of the assessment of therapies which are supported by extensive research regarding their efficacy, usefulness and effectiveness with regards to rehabilitating individuals who have sustained an injury while playing soccer. References to high school athletes and college athletes have been conducted to distinguish between players who are representing their team on each level of academia. This distinction is important to distinguish between variability in statistics for each level of soccer participation. Professional athletes are individuals participating in any professional and recognized soccer league across Americas and Europe including Major League Soccer (MLS), Barclays Premier League and La Liga. The causes of soccer injuries such as concussions are defined as a direct collision or impact either on the head or any other part of the body as a consequence of which the resultant force is transported towards the brain whereby, the brain attracts the transmittal of the force towards it (Edwards and Bodle 128). These outcomes include negative impact on neurological activity, cognitive functioning, headaches, sleep-related issues, decline in level of concentration, reduction in attention span, changes in personality caused by irritability and psychological disorders including major depressive disorders (Edwards and Bodle 129-130). Soccer injuries negatively and adversely impact an individual’s physical and psychological wellbeing depending upon the nature of the injury or whether its sustained impacts are

Sunday, November 17, 2019

John Berger Ways of Seeing Essay Example for Free

John Berger Ways of Seeing Essay In John Berger’s article, ’Ways of Seeing’, it explains European eighteenth century art and how it relates to many of todays cultural transitions. Before Berger begins explaining the art itself, he tells us about the cultural constructions that exist today. These cultural constructions are enforced and were highlighted through European eighteenth century art. He began by explaining the difference between a man and a woman’s presence. Men’s presence depends how much power he is able to successfully portray. This power can be social, economical, sexual, etc. A woman’s presence expresses her attitude toward herself and in turn how she will allow other to treat her. This explains why women are so critical of them and critique their actions no matter what the situation may be. Berger begins to explain how the art ties into this when he says, â€Å"men act, women appear.† He further explains how men look at women, while women watch themselves being looked at. Thus, a woman is turned into an object. He even provides an interesting example of how women supposedly became subservient to men. In the book of Genesis Eve gave Adam an apple they weren’t supposed to eat. After they ate the apple they became aware and self-conscious of the fact they were naked, so they made clothes for themselves. Eve was punished for eating the apple and giving one to Adam by being made subservient to the man. This relates to art because, in Berger’s words, â€Å"women in paintings are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own.† He also explains the nude women in paintings appeal to the men’s sexuality. In European oil paintings the painter is never painted, yet is always assumed to be male. The women in these paintings were treated and/or portrayed as objects, and this view still exists today. It is an unequal relationship that in Berger’s words, â€Å"still structures the consciousness of many women.† The insecurities women feel in a large part comes from the way they have been viewed as object, always needing to be perfect. This is proven through the European eighteenth century art as the way the women are portrayed in the paintings. These views still exist in the media today. Commercials show seductive women gazing into a camera with an equally attractive man staring at them.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The New Way to Book Your Travels :: essays research papers

The New Way to Book Your Travels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In December’s e-issue of 4 Hoteliers.com, the article â€Å"Give the People what they want – Airfare and Car Rentals from your Hotels website,† by Richard Getz, elaborates on the new selling techniques in which major hotel corporations are incorporating into their websites. The customer will be able to book his/her hotel room, airline ticket as well as their rental car all at the same time and on the same website as a package. Though you might think you are booking your package with that company, you are really booking it through a â€Å"middle man† company called AirDepartment.com. Really the hotels website is linked directly with AirDepartment.com, who is the real one booking the flight, your rental car and your lodging accommodations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This incentive for the customer of having to book all of their travel arrangements at the same time has proved to be quite enticing because of the steady increase in internet sales for booking travel arrangements all at once. The â€Å"Big Dogs† of the hotel world such as Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, and Holiday Inn to name a few, have this new service on their websites and the sales have been increasing steadily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The company AirDepartment.com is also establishing itself in the travel world to be a partner, not a competitor for hotel corporations. As being a partner for hotels, the company hopes to seek the future contracts with other large dominating hotel chains such as Hilton, Best Western and Intrastate Hotels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article relates much to what we talk about in class because it is another strategy in which sales companies are enticing travelers. How they entice these travelers? They entice them because of the pure convenience of booking all travel arrangements at once on the same website.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Contemporary Canadian Business Law Essay

A minor named Alice entered into a contract with Silver Flatware Ltd. for purchasing silverware on a long-term credit contract. The goods was delivered but the payment was not yet been fully made by Alice. Before she attain the age of majority, Alice repudiated the contract and refused to return the silverware. The company demanded a return of the silverware and refused to refund. The company sued Alice for the balance of purchase price. The legal issues in this case are whether Alice has the legal capacity to the contract and whether Alice has the right to repudiate the contract. If the second question is answered affirmative, what the effect of repudiation will occur in this case? Should Alice return the silverware and should she be liable to the lost of teaspoons? Finally, should the Silver Flatware Ltd. Refund the money had been paid by Alice? The plaintiff’s argument would be that the defendant must return the goods if she wants to repudiate the contract. The lost of teaspoons should be counted as damage to the goods and the plaintiff is entitled to recover the loss by charging compensation from the defendant. The defendant’s argument would be that she has the right to repudiate the contract since she was a minor while entering into the contract and she repudiated the contract before her attaining of the age of majority. The defendant has the option to repudiate the contract because the contract has not been fully performed and it was signed for purchasing non-necessary goods. The defendant was entitled to a return of the payment as she was a minor at the time she entered into the contract. The defendant was not liable to the lost of teaspoons since it was not a direct result of the minor’s deliberate act and it was not recoverable by the merchant. In my opinion, the probable decision of the court would be that the defendant must return the goods and the plaintiff must refund all the monies paid by the defendant. The defendant must return the goods before the plaintiff is obliged to return the monies paid. The defendant is not liable to the lost parts of the goods. The reasons for the probable decisions are as follows. Firstly, public policy dictates that minors should not be bound by their promises. The defendant did not have the legal capacity to a contract since she entered into the contract and repudiated the contract before her attaining of the age of majority. Secondly, the contract has not been fully performed as the defendant has not made full payment of the goods, so the contract is voidable at the defendant’s option. Thirdly, the goods purchased was a non-necessary goods since the silverwork is commonly considered as luxury but not necessary. Therefore, the plaintiff is not liable on such contract. According to the reasons stated above, the defendant who is a minor has the right to repudiate the contract at any time and at her option, for the reason of the contract has not been fully performed and it was for purchasing non-necessary goods. Additionally, once the contract has been repudiated, the minor is entitled to a return of any deposit paid to the adult contractor. Since the minor has purchased the goods on credit and taken delivery, the minor must return the goods before the merchant is obliged to return any monies paid. Finally, the loss of loosing teaspoons is not recoverable by the merchant because there is no evidence provided to proof that the loss is a direct result of the minor’s deliberate act.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Punctuation error in your writing. Essay

Making mistakes in subject-verb agreement has always been my weakness when it comes to the grammar of my writing. I keep on doing the same grammatical lapses again and again. There are several rules regarding subject-verb agreement, of course, and being ignorant of one or two of them is forgivable, but what is unforgivable if you know the rule and yet continue to make the same mistake. The simple rule which I keep slipping n is the agreement of subject and verb in terms of number, especially in a present tense sentence. The rule states that when the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular. Inversely, when the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural. The difference between a singular and a plural verb is one letter â€Å"s† and oftentimes I would omit, usually unknowingly or by carelessness, putting that one letter. I have tried to correct the bad habit by being more conscious about my writing, during and after writing. While writing and every time I am to write an action word, I would constantly remind myself to look back to the subject of the verb. During revision of what I wrote, I would run through the entire piece with the one purpose of looking for subject-verb agreement mistakes. I would check for errors in punctuation, spelling, and style during the first revision, but focus on subject-verb agreement on the second run-through.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

THE MARINER AS A MUSE (FOR FRE essays

THE MARINER AS A MUSE (FOR FRE essays Through this complex poem it is no easy task to contrive one concise explanation that will sum up the poem. The Rhyme Of the Ancient Mariner has strong undertones of God the creator, the animals in his kingdom, and the basic emotional circumstances that make up human existence. While these are broad topics, they can be broken down into cause and effect situations using some of Freud's methodology in Ego Psychology. Freud explained the way the human mind uses defense mechanisms, and there are some examples of these mechanisms in "The Rhyme Of the Ancient Mariner." Freud's ideas on displacement, rationalization, and projection can be used to understand some of the actions seen in the poem. The poem starts out in the present day when the Mariner, uninvited, attends a wedding reception where he takes aside one of the guests and begins to spin his tale of a see adventure which appears to be part fact, hallucination, and religion. The mariner and his fellow seamen are stranded in the middle of the ocean with no wind. There boat has not moved in weeks, the ocean is calm and they are at natures (Gods) mercy. When suddenly out of the blue comes a glorious albatross. In an almost magical way the sails flood with wind and the sea changes from a calm portrait of water into a lively swell of waves and white caps. Almost all the crew begins to rejoice in the albatross and the whether which they believe it brought. Only the Ancient Mariner is anything but happy over the bird's presence and he shoots the bird with a harpoon, killing it. The reason the Mariner killed the bird is not emphasized but a mask of a reason is that he thought the bird was responsible for the bad whe ther. The other sailors turn on the Mariner blaming him for the return of the bad whether by shooting the albatross. They hang the carcass of the Albatross around his neck as a reminder of his crime and are plagued with another calm of the whether. As time goes o...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

So Long As

Describing Actions Using While, As, As/So Long As While and as are used to describe actions that occur at the same moment that something is in progress. While and as are sometimes confused with the preposition during. Both express the same idea, but the structures are different. While and as are time expressions and take a subject and verb. During is a preposition and is used with a noun or noun phrase. Take a look at the following examples to note the difference. Notice how the meaning remains the same in both structures: During We discussed the situation during lunch. (noun) They are going to visit the Empire State Building during their visit to New York (noun phrase). When / As We discussed the situation while we were eating lunch. (full adverb time clause with subject and verb) They are going to visit the Empire State Building as they visit New York. (full adverb time clause with subject and verb) Future: Use while or as to state something that occurs at the same moment that something else - the main focus of the sentence - important will occur. Time clause: present simple Main clause: future form Examples: Were going to speak about the modifications as you eat lunch.Shell work out the order details while we discuss what to do next. Present: Use while or as to express what always happens when something else important takes place. This use of while and as is not as common as the time expression when. Notice that the preposition during is often used in place of while or as to express the same idea. Time clause: present simple Main clause: present simple Examples: He usually has lunch while he takes a walk around the campus.Angela often takes notes as the meeting progresses. Past: While and as are used in the past to express an action that was occurring at the moment when something important happened. While and as are also used to express two actions that were happening at the same moment in the past. Time clause: past simple OR past continuous Main clause: past simple OR past continuous Examples: Doug was drying the dishes while we were watching TV.Peter took notes as we discussed the merger. During an Entire Period of Time As long as and so long as are similar in use to while and as. However, as / so long as is used for longer period of times, while when and as are used for more specific, shorter periods of time. As / so long as are also used to stress that something will happen, happens or happened over the entire period of time in an emphatic manner. Although examples are provided for ​the past, present and future, as long as and so long as are generally used with future forms. Notice the use of tenses: Future: Use so / as long as that something will not happen for the entire period of time expressed by the time clause with as / so long as. Time clause: present simple Main clause: future form Examples: I will never play golf as long as I live.She will never return so long as she breathes. Present: Use as / so long as to express that something happens or doesnt happen over the entire period of time that another event occurs. Time clause: present simple Main clause: present simple Examples: As long as he plays piano, I go for a walk.She visits with her month, so long as her husband has to take care of business in town. Past: Use as / so long as to describe an action that did or didnt occur over a longer period of time in the past. Time clause: past simple ï » ¿Main clause: past simple OR past continuous Examples: She didnt get any exercise as long as she was working 60 hours a week.Peter didnt enjoy his company so long as he was in the house.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sources of Communication Inputs and Their Influences in Daily Life Essay

Sources of Communication Inputs and Their Influences in Daily Life - Essay Example The only thing in this world that is constant is change. This is a pretty well known saying which existed as long as I can remember. Looking back 50 years and more from today, I can recall how we used to tackle in class about how people have lived centuries ago. Today, the upsurge of developments in technology has an undeniable effect on how organizations function within and with other institutions. For an organization, its success and failure greatly depends on how the organization was structured to work. The drive to improve peoples living pattern is still the same drive or factor which triggers international firms to globalize their operations and with that, today's latest technology makes the company's and consumers life easier It enable companies to reduce cost by using powerful equipment and machineries while consumers can have easier access to the newest products in the market. One of the first innovations of technology was the mainframe system and it was during the 1960's that computers and such started to impart in organizations and firms. The classic ways of hierarchal management systems started to disintegrate during these times. Through technological change, globalizing the operations of an international company could put up a plantation where they can reduce their labor cost. Not denying the fact that different people from different countries have different tastes, international companies could also personalize their products according to the consumers or markets preferences without eliminating their standards and trademark. Before, information control was basically handled by those in managerial positions in a linear manner according to rank. With these systems of technology, information was handled as such that company transparency is relatively existent for those who can get hold of certain information. The onslaught of developments in technology has triggered organizational structure alterations. These changes can be illustrated by considering two key variables: the location of information and the location of decision rights in the organization (Brynjolfsson E. and H. Mendelsson). With the innovative technological systems today, important information can now possibly be available to all employees or workers in an organization at all level. Before, information handling and privilege was limited to the persons that directly handle them. Now, the responsibility of handling information is left to information technologists or technicians. The technicians then put data or information into databases which are accessible to all components of the organization For example, an organization can have a website, regularly maintained and updated by professional information technologists. Here, employees, managers and customers alike, can log on to the website and access whatever information they needed. Furthermore, having websites is also a great advantage since helpful feedbacks are easier to get from both customers and employees. The growing need for technology innovations paves way to strengthening certain industries in a corporate world; like data management services, computer engineers, information technologists, software designers or engineers and so on and so forth. Although there are still organizations or companies that are hesitant to use information techn

Friday, November 1, 2019

Introduce the two companies and explain the difference between a b2b Essay

Introduce the two companies and explain the difference between a b2b company and a b2c company - Essay Example is a B2B company since it provides manufactures and supplies microprocessors necessary for computer manufacturing companies such as Dell, HP, Samsung, Sony etc. On the other hand Dell is a B2C company since the products manufactured by this company is sold directly to the consumers. B2B and B2C companies differ in terms of marketing mix, product ranges, marketing communication, pricing and distribution Product, Price, Place and Promotion are considered as the four major elements of marketing mix (Ritcher, 2012). Intel is one of the major semiconductor chip manufacturers in the world. It supplies many types of semiconductor chips including microprocessors to prominent computer manufacturers as well as electronic devices manufacturers. Therefore, the company is targeting only the major manufacturers of electronic devices such as Dell, Sony, HP, Lenovo etc. Unlike B2C companies, B2B companies or Intel is operating through channel partners in different market. For example, LG, Lenovo, Dell and Zenith are some of the channel partners of Intel in different markets (Mody, 2007). Intel has a variable pricing strategy across the world. Since the company enjoys monopoly in some markets, it has the ability to fix the prices of its products in such markets. As in the case of B2C companies, Intel also use various promotion strategies to get more market share. â€Å"In 2006 Intel launched a fi ve-year campaign known as the ‘World Ahead Program’. This initiative is geared toward an increase in digital literacy, research, and development†(Flores, 2008). Dell on the other hand has a wide range of products such as workstations, desktops, desktops, tablets, etc. The company is marketing its products directly to the consumers with the help of advertising and promotion strategies. Promotion plays a big part in Dell’s marketing mix even though it plays less significant role in Intel’s marketing mix. Variable pricing mechanisms were implemented by dell in different markets based

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Measuring Public Sector Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Measuring Public Sector Performance - Essay Example Then, common models of performance measurement and how they were developed are investigated. Third, the public and private sectors are compared and contrasted to highlight similarities and differences in their functions, goals, and outputs. Fourth, key developments in private and public sector performance measures are reviewed and discussed to highlight the convergence in the efforts of each sector to address stakeholder expectations. The paper concludes with a set of observations that disprove the hypothesis by showing that performance measurement as a basis for financial accountability and management in both the private and public sectors has become more complex and difficult and provide challenges for everyone. Any discussion of organisational performance begins with an understanding of the nature of human organisations and why they exist. Like the human beings who establish them, every organisation exists for a purpose, a set of goals or objectives that has to be achieved. By custom and for analytical convenience, organisations are classified based on their main purpose; thus, there are private-sector, public-sector, not-for-profit, institutional, voluntary, and mixed organisations. Table 1 summarises each of these organisational types, their specific purposes, and some basic examples of each. Regardless of the type, an organisation can be ... Like the human beings who establish them, every organisation exists for a purpose, a set of goals or objectives that has to be achieved. By custom and for analytical convenience, organisations are classified based on their main purpose; thus, there are private-sector, public-sector, not-for-profit, institutional, voluntary, and mixed organisations. Table 1 summarises each of these organisational types, their specific purposes, and some basic examples of each. Regardless of the type, an organisation can be said to be successful if it meets the purpose(s) for which it is established, and with success comes its continued growth and existence. Otherwise, it would be better for an organisation that does not meet its purpose for existing to close down. This is where accounting as a management tool proves its usefulness because it helps provide public sector organisations with the means to measure performance (Jones et al., 2002). It helps any organisation determine whether it is meeting its purpose, and it is for this reason that management accountants have developed a growing body of organisational science around the notion of performance measurement. This was not, however, the case until in the previous century when increased globalisation and competition for limited resources pushed organisations to measure performance against their purpose for existence and in comparison with their competitors (Lothian, 1987; Fitzgerald et al, 1991). The term "performance" captures the notion of how an organisation operates in comparison to its purpose. Thus, performance measurement has been described (Neely, 1998; Kunz et al., 2002; Moullin, 2003) as an assessment of how an organisation performs and includes measures

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Psoriasis Case Study

Psoriasis Case Study Case Study P.D. a twenty-three-year-old female presents with symptoms of psoriasis. She has several thick scaly, well defined, erythematous plaques, which are silvery in color. The patient reports that she has just returned from a twelve-day trip to southern Louisiana to work the ecosystem as part of her education as an environmental engineer. During the trip, she had significant solar exposure, although she wore sunscreen. The expanded and prominent plaques cover her elbows and thighs, and there is a patch on her scalp. Her lesions cover about fifteen percent of her body. She occasionally applies moisturizing lotion or witch hazel if it becomes too irritating. All other body systems are normal. Patient states â€Å"I have always had some rashes, although usually not this bad.† Past Medical History â€Å"Some rashes, otherwise non-contributory Social History Recent trip to southern Louisiana for ecosystem work related to studies as an environmental engineer. Physical Examination Several thick scaly, well define, erythematous plagues, silver in color. Expanded plague and prominent plagues cover elbows and thighs, with an area on the scalp. Plague coverage is fifteen percent of the body. Significant sun exposure All other body systems are within normal limits. Reviewing the symptoms, the primary diagnosis is plague psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin in which the production of epidermal cells occurs at a rate that is faster than normal. The cells in the basal layer of the skin divide too quickly, and the newly formed cells move rapidly to the skin surface and become evident as profuse scales or plagues of epidermal tissue. The psoriatic epidermal cell may travel from the basal cell layer to the stratum corneum and be cast off in three to four days, which is in sharp contrast to the normal twenty-six to twenty-eight days. As a result of the increased number of basal cells and rapid cell passage, the normal events of cell maturation and growth cannot take place. This abnormal process does not allow the formation of the protective layers of the skin (PubMed Health, 2012). Psoriasis, one of the most common skin diseases, affects approximately two percent of the population. There appears to be a hereditary defect that causes overpopulation of keratin. The primary defect is unknown. A combination of specific genetic makeup and environmental stimuli may trigger the onset of the disease. There is evidence that the cell proliferation is mediated by the immune system. Periods of emotional stress and anxiety aggravate the condition, and trauma, infections, and seasonal and hormonal changes are trigger factors. The onset may occur at any age, but is most common between the ages of ten and thirty-five years. Psoriasis has a tendency to improve and then recur throughout life (PubMed Health, 2012). The clinical manifestation The lesions appear as red, raised patches of skin covered with silvery scales. The scaly patches are formed by the buildup of living and dead skin that results from the vast increase in the rate of skin-cell growth and turnover. If the scales are scraped away, the dark red base of the lesion is exposed, producing multiple bleeding points. These patches are not moist and may or may not itch. The lesions may remain small, giving rise to the term â€Å"guttate psoriasis. Usually, the lesions enlarge slowly, but after many months they coalesce, forming extensive irregular shaped patches (PubMed Health, 2012). Psoriasis may range from a cosmetic source of annoyance to a physically disabling and disfiguring affliction. Particular sites of the body tend to be affected by this ailment; they include the scalp, the area over the elbows and knees, the lower part of the back, and the genitalia. Psoriasis also appears on the extensor surfaces of the arms and legs, on the scalp and ears, and over the sacrum and intergluteal fold. Bilateral symmetry is a feature of Psoriasis (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). The disease may be associated with arthritis of multiple joints, causing crippling disability. The relationship between arthritis and psoriasis is not understood. Another complication is an exfoliative psoritic state in which the disease progresses to involve the total body surface (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). Management The goals of management are to reduce the rapid turnover of the epidermis and to promote resolution of the psoriatic lesions. Thus, the goal is limited to control of the problem, because there is no cure (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). The therapeutic approach should be one that the patient understands; it should be cosmetically acceptable and not too disruptive of life-style. It will involve a commitment of time and effort by the patient. First, any precipitating or aggravating factors are removed. Then as assessment is made of life-style, since psoriasis is significantly affected by stress. The patient must also be advised that treatment of severe psoriasis can be time-consuming, expensive, and esthetically unappealing at times. Treatment will begin with Vectical ointment (calcitriol) 3mcg/g, topical use only. Apply twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, the maximum weekly dose should not exceed 200 gram (National Institute of Health, 2012). Treatment will extend to eight weeks, with follow up in office at that time. Each gram contains 3 micrograms of calcitriol. Vectical should not be applied to the face, eyes, or lips. It should be used with caution in patients receiving medications known to increase calcium serum levels, such as calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, and thiazide diuretics. Vectical may cause sunburn more easily, avoid the sun, sunlamps, or tanning beds while using Vectical ointment. Use a sunscreen or wear protective clothing when having to be outside for more than a short time (National Institute of Health, 2012). Vectical ointment is indicated for the topical treatment of mild to moderate plague psoriasis in adults eighteen years and older. Calcitriol (Vectical) contains 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, the hormone active form of vitamin D3. Calcitriol 3-mcg/g ointment is similar in efficacy to calcipotriene 0.005-% ointment for the treatment of plague type psoriasis on the body and is better tolerated in intertriginous and sensitive areas of the skin (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2012). Vectical contains calcitriol, which studies have shown to be fetotoxic, and should be used in pregnancy only if the potential benefits justify the potential risk to the fetus. It is not known if calcitriol is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Vectical ointment is used by nursing women. If the patient thinks she may be pregnant, they will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Vectical ointment while pregnant (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2 012). Patient Education Use only as directed, for external use only. Vectical is to be applied only to areas of skin affected by psoriasis. Vectical should be gently rubbed into the skin so that no medication remains visible. As you may sunburn more easily, avoid the sun, sunlamps, or suntan beds/booths while using Vectical ointment. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater; wear protective clothing when you must be outside for more than a short time (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). All medications may cause side effects, but many have no, or minor, side effects. Minor skin discomfort at the application site is the most common side effect of Vectical ointment. Notify the medical provider if these side effects occur; rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, swelling of the face, mouth or lips, new or worsening skin irritation ( blistering, flushing, burning, severe discomfort, or redness), symptoms of hypercalcemia (weakness, nausea, confusion, constipation, excessive thirst, fast, slow or irregular heartbeat) (National Institute of Health, 2012). Treatment Plan Vectical (calcitriol) 3mcg/g, 100 G tube; twice daily. Follow up appointment in eight weeks. Laboratory testing to include calcium serum levels and hCG testing now and at followup visit. Additional laboratory testing to include skin biopsy for fungal infection. Patient education on use and precautions of medications, and supplements. Referral to psoriasis support group for emotional support and education. Differential Diagnosis Review of symptoms and history of working in the environment leads to questioning if the patient presentation is a case of Tine Corporis and Tina Capitis. As the patient was in an environmental area that is subject to large fungal growth and exposure to a wet climate increases the risks for fungal infestation, this is the differential diagnosis (Brunton, Chabner, Knollman, 2011). Tina capitis is a contagious fungal infection of the hair shafts. Microsporum and Trichophyton species are dermatophytes that infect hair. Clinically, one or several round patches of redness and scaling are present. Tinea Corporis or Tina circinata begins as an erythematous macule advancing to rings of vesicles with central clearing. The lesions appear in clusters, usually on exposed areas of the body. These may extend to the scalp, hair, or nails. As a rule, there is an elevated border consisting of small papules or vesicles. Coalescence of individual rings may result in large patches with bizarre scalloped borders. Use of a woods lamp will help in the diagnosis. The fungal infection will glow under the light. Skin biopsy will confirm the presence of fungal infestation (Katzung, Mastes, Trevor, 2012). References Brunton, L., Chabner, B., Knollman, B. (2011). Goodman Gilmans: The pharmacological basis of therapeutics (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. Katzung, B., Mastes, S., Trevor, A. (2012). Basic Clinical Pharmacology (12 ed.). McGraw-Hill. National Institute of Health. (2012, January). Vectical ointment. Retrieved from U.S. National Library of Medicine: http://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/druginfo.cfm PubMed Health. (2012, November). Psoriasis. Retrieved from PubMed Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001470

Friday, October 25, 2019

Federal Reserve Open Market Operations Essay -- Economics Fed Market

Federal Reserve Open Market Operations SUMMARY The Federal Reserve's operating strategy for implementing monetary policy involves interest rate targeting through open market operations. The Federal Reserve does not utilize reserve requirements or the discount rate as part of this strategy. Open market operations involves the buying and selling of securities in the open market, in order to influence reserve balances. By manipulating reserve balances, the Federal Reserve can control the price of reserves in the market. The price of reserves is known as the Federal Funds rate. The Federal Funds rate is the interest rate banks charge each other for lending and/or borrowing reserve balances. This paper will discuss how the Federal Reserve implements a strategy of interest rate targeting through open market operations. Part I Introduction The Federal Reserve Bank is the central bank of the United States. In 1913, Congress created the Federal Reserve System to provide stability to the financial and monetary system. The Federal Reserve Bank (from here on, referred to as the "FED") has four main functions. They conduct monetary policy by influencing money supply in the economy, in order to maintain full employment, price stability, and promote economic growth. They regulate and supervise banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the U.S. financial and banking system. The FED also provides financial and banking services to the U.S. Government, the public, and to financial institutions. And lastly, the FED maintains stability in the financial system by reducing systemic risks that may arise in the markets. The Federal Reserve System is made up of the Board of Governors and twelve regional Federal Reserve banks. The Board of Governors consists of seven members who are appointed by the President of The United States, and must be confirmed by the Senate. All seven governors are members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and each vote on the conduct of open market operations. The network of twelve regional banks performs various functions, including; operating a nationwide payments system, distribution of currency and coin, supervising and regulating member banks, and serving as banker for the United States Treasury. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a major part of the Federal Reserve... ... Trends - The Funds Rate Target and Interest Rates - September 1999. http://www.stls.frb.org/docs/publications/mt/1999/cover9.pdf - 12-13-99 Â · The Dwindling Power of Rate Cuts. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/03/opinion/03wed1.html October 3, 2001. Â · Another Rate Cut From the Fed. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/12/opinion/12wed2.html December 12, 2001. Â · Hess, Diane. 2001. Fed Paints Real Rates a Deeper Shade of Red. http://www.thestreet.com/markets/taleofthetape/10005186.html December 11, 2001. Â · Task, Aaron L., 2001. Cutting Spree May Dull Fed's Blade. http://www.thestreet.com/markets/aarontaskfree/10003583.html November 06, 2001. Speeches: Â · Meyer, Laurence H., 2001. Remarks by Governor Laurence H. Meyer. Before the National Association of Business Economics. The Federal Reserve Board. November 27, 2001. Â · Greenspan, Alan. 2001. Testimony of Chairman Alan Greenspan. Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress. The Federal Reserve Board. October 17, 2001. Â · Greenspan, Alan; 2001. Testimony of Chairman Alan Greenspan. Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives. The Federal Reserve Board. July 18, 2001.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Cross Cultural Communication- Royal Dutch Shell’s Approach Essay

Shell has over 100 different nationalities in its employee population. In a global organization like Shell, people need to constantly work with people from other nationalities as part of expatriate assignments. We had a candid interaction with company’s global learning head Manojit Sen. We are elucidating few interesting points from the discussion. Global organisations like Royal Dutch Shell face the constant challenge of cross cultural communication both when dealing with external customer as well as in dealing with colleagues internally. Some of these are: Failure to Bond: Experience over years shows that customers like doing business who are like them. Equally Sales staff unconsciously look to do business with people they like and stay away from those they don’t like and bond with. The more pronounced the differences between two people, the slower the bonding process may be, especially if nothing is done to bridge the gap such as teaching people to communicate like à ¢â‚¬Ëœone of them’. Hence the fate of multi billion dollar deals in oil majors such as Shell may often be tested on the strength of the ‘liking’ factor. Stereotyping: Even with the best education, almost everyone consciously or unconsciously holds onto some unfair generalizations about a given group. Recognizing and overcoming negative beliefs that we may have had since childhood can be challenging. These generalizations come in the way of truly listening to views and building on the best of ideas which have the potential to take the organization forward. Assuming the same values: We all assume everyone shares the same values we do. This leads to judgments of what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. When the values are not actually the same, actions one party takes does not meet the expectations of the other leading to frustration, attribution of intent and breakdown of trust. â€Å"Token† syndrome: In big multinationals where consciously the numbers of different minority groups have been increased over the years, people from underrepresented groups may sometimes feel that they are in the spotlight due to their low numbers. Since their difference tends to make them stand out, they may believe that they receive unfair scrutiny. As a result, they may fear making mistakes or being perceived as receiving special treatment. â€Å"Protective Hesitation†: The cultural differences between a staff and his customer or colleagues from another  culture may lead both parties to view their relationship as less solid than other relationships with people from the same culture. To overcome this, people may tend to overcompensate and then fear that the response may appear to be ‘too cosy’ and subject to criticism. Making mistakes: Whether or not staff have had a lot of experience working with people from the customer’s or colleague demographic if it from a different culture, he may inadvertently say or do something that the customer or colleague finds offensive. It’s a lot easier to get past mistakes if both parties believe that the two have the same values and mindset. Cases where these type of issues have resulted in problems and ways in which these were handled include: 1. A Dutch project manager used to straight talking posted in UK’s North Sea Joint Venture upstream project upset the staff by telling them off on a few occasions to the point that the JV agreement was getting close to being called off. The Dutch manager had to be replaced despite his strong technical credentials and subsequent appointees were put through cultural awareness training before being sent off to this and similar JVs. 2. An Australian posted in India’s new retail operations to set up the Health, Safety, Security and Environment department was so frustrated by vendors promising to do everything and not meeting quality and timeline issues that he started to call them ‘liars’ on the face, alienating himself from the few vendors who were able to meet the quality specs of Shell. This disrespectful behavior and loss of face resulted in vendors refusing to work for Shell and consequent delays in commissioning of retail stations by over a couple of months, a stalemate that had to be broken by skillful negotiations by local managers. 3. In a virtual cross country project team working on implementation of a Retail network project months in China that had to deliver its implementation plan within 3 months, would have its team meeting every week. From the start the Chinese staff on the team were quiet. The Americans spoke the most. They believed they were contributing and the Chinese were not. It emerged after 8 weeks when a milestone was missed that the Chinese could not understand a lot of what the Americans were saying, let alone their jokes. The team lead was prompt to realize this  was a sign of impending disaster and promptly made official rules on talking time at each meeting so that everyone had his time, including time to ask clarifications and to recap what each understood. 4. A Danish IT staff was on a global SAP implementation project. Since she was reporting to a Singaporean manager, she would have to take calls early her morning. Sometimes she would have to join calls with US colleagues working on implementation issues. With work life balance being a very important aspect of the Nordic culture, she was direct about how she felt on a number of occasions. The manager had given her the flexibility to take time off during the day to make up for this but somehow this did not help and the Danish lady started missing calls and issues did not get addressed in time. She also did not check emails or even phone messages during the weekends. Issues started to get escalated and reached the point where the vendors implementing the ERP charged Shell for delayed decisions leading to having to rework project plans and consequent costs and delays. This became a performance issue that required the staff to be replaced by someone who was much more flexible – something that was needed during this critical stretch period. 5. The Shell team negotiating a significant gas deal in Middle East included only Europeans. The local Middle East team felt more comfortable with the American- Saudi Aramco team as it had more Middle Easteners. This was recognized in time and Shell’s team was revamped to include a few ‘local’ faces who could help break the ice and guage the local sentiments. With issues such as these multinational organisations need to work on many cross cultural issues which impact communication internally and externally. The are typically managed via the Diversity and Inclusion agenda. In Shell, the D&I agenda includes:   D&I education offerings.   Communication processes in the profiling of success stories and the sharing of good practices. Recruitment and retention efforts that focus on tapping into the top talent across diverse constituency groups. Development and mentoring of diverse staff from across the world. Building supportive/inclusive work environments. D&I  education: Shell has over 100 different nationalities in its employee population. In a global organization like Shell, people need to constantly work with people from other nationalities as part of expatriate assignments, or as part of x-country projects or as part of one’s role which may be global or regional in scope. Hence educating staff on nationality related cross cultural issues is an ongoing activity in Shell. Staff who get posted as expatriates to a foreign country are taken through cultural awareness sessions on the new country culture. They are also sponsored to learn the local language to help assimilate better. Staff put on x-country assignments are also helped with cultural awareness sessions so that they can understand what colleagues from other countries mean by what they say and by what they don’t. Supervisors who have from different countries are also encouraged to understand the cultural differences of countries of these staff. The Crossing Cultures course in Shell is designed to help people value differences and improve team working skills. The course aims to enable business and function staff to develop their cross cultural skills and to work more effectively, with virtual and multi cultural teams. Participants are expected to: Improve their sensitivity to others’ different needs and behaviours and adjusts own behaviours and communication style accordingly. Invites, respects and incorporates others’ different perspectives. Demonstrates a non-judgemental acceptance of different perspectives, behaviours and ways of working. Utilises cultural differences to improve outcomes. Actively supports efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive organisation. This course consists of a structured program of face-to-face and virtual learning, combined with workplace assignments and activities, knowledge sharing and networking. The course totals 16 hours; 8 hours virtual over 4 weeks and with a 1 day face to face in week 6 of the program.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Choice and the Characters of Sula

Toni Morrison’s Sula explores the power of choice and its importance in the course of human existence. Regardless of the fact that the African-American characters of Sula are of an oppressed nature, they forever maintain the freedom of choice. This theme of choice provides insight into the acquirement and personification of identity. Sula and Nel, the primary characters of the novel, are utilized by Morrison to highlight how personal identity is established at our own accord.For example, early on in the novel when Morrison is describing the childhood of Sula and Nel, both characters make the conscious decision to act according to their own ideas about the world: â€Å"In the safe harbor of each other’s company they could afford to abandon the ways of other people and concentrate on their own perceptions of things† (55). Nel eventually abandons this concept and assumes a role similar to her mother’s (that of respectable housewife,) but Sula remains this way throughout her life.Because of Sula’s disregard of others’ opinions, she is eventually looked down upon by the townspeople of the Bottom. The actions of these two characters present the question of whether unabashed decision-making is liberating or condemning in terms of social acceptance. Another question Morrison presents is whether we can choose to acknowledge our past or not. At the beginning of the novel, Nel is traveling to her great-grandmother’s funeral with her mother, Helene. Once they arrive, they come into contact with Nel’s grandmother, Rochelle.Rochelle is of Creole descent and makes a living by being an escort. Helene is quick to dismiss Rochelle: â€Å"’I don’t know,’ her mother said. ‘I don’t speak Creole. ’ She gazed at her daughter’s wet buttocks. ‘And neither do you’† (27). It is evident that Helene thinks that by refusing to speak the Creole language that she is also refusing to acknowledge Rochelle and, therefore, erasing her from her and her daughter’s past. With Helene and her behavior towards Rochelle, Morrison presents this question of whether or not we can choose which parts of our past are relevant to our current existence.Following the meeting between Nel and Rochelle, Morrison showcases that characters can choose not only to disregard their past, but also forces in the present that attempt to dictate an individual’s identity: â€Å"’I’m me. I’m not their daughter. I’m not Nel. I’m me. Me’†¦ ‘Me,’ she murmured. And then, sinking deeper into the quilts, ‘I want†¦ I want to be†¦ wonderful†¦ Oh, Jesus, make me wonderful’† (28). Nel realizes that she can make the choice about who she wants to be and about her own identity. She denies her identity being determined by her parents or her heritage.Morrison also highlights how characters utilize the freedom of choice to deter their fears of the unknown future. For example, Shadrack makes the choice to control the uncontrollable after he experiences a mental breakdown during his time in the war: â€Å"It was not death or dying that frightened him, but the unexpectedness of both. In sorting it all out, he hit on the notion that if one day a year were devoted to it, everybody could get it out of the way and the rest of the year would be safe and free. In this manner he instituted National Suicide Day† (14).Instead of letting his life be dictated by outside forces, he chooses the path his life will take by seeking power over what terrifies him the most. While every character in Sula makes a choice of some kind, there is one character who was seemingly denied the luxury of choice and that was Eva Peace: â€Å"The children needed her; she needed money, and needed to get on with her life. But the demands of feeding her children were so acute she had to postpone her anger for two years until she had both the time and energy for it† (32).Eva’s choice was made by the circumstances of her life and the lives of her children. Later on in the novel, Eva denies Plum Peace, her son, the choice to redeem his wayward ways. She sets him on fire after she discovers he has a heroin addiction following the war. In contrast to Eva and her lack of choice in providing for her family by any means necessary, Nel’s husband Jude did possess the power of choice and chose to abandon his family following an affair with Sula: â€Å"’Every man I ever knew left his children. ’ ‘Some were taken. ’ ‘Wrong, Nellie.The word is left’† (143). Morrison uses this conversation to highlight the stark contrast between Nel and Sula and their diverging beliefs in the freedom of choice. Sula maintains that Jude chose to leave his family while Nel argues that he had no choice in being taken away following his shame abo ut the affair. Morrison also portrays how characters make choices based on personal perceptions: â€Å"But thinking Sula had an odd way of looking at things and that her wide smile took some of the sting away from that rattlesnake over her eye† (68).Jude articulates the notion that we can choose how we see things and this can impact the way others see us. Many of the townsfolk of the Bottom perceive Sula as evil based on the appearance of her scar. Morrison’s detailed description of the various images people imagine the scar to be showcases how each individual has the personal power to choose how to view others. While one person may perceive the scar to be a treacherous snake, another perceived it to be a smudge of dirt or a butterfly wing.It is in Sula that readers are presented with various notions regarding the power of freedom of choice. Sula poses the question of what earthly forces influence choice and it also showcases how the power of personal decisions dictate our lives and identities. With Nel and Sula, readers are provided apt character studies in the ramifications of choice. Morrison also presents the rationale behind what actions classify as â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† when choosing our moral paths in life. Sula is portrayed as â€Å"evil† simply because she chooses her own path, regardless of social norms.In contrast, Nel is considered â€Å"good† because of her ability to assume the role society casts her in, whether it be faithful wife or doting mother. In the end, we come to realize that Sula’s â€Å"careless choices† dictated the prosperity of the town and the behavior of the townsfolk. In her absence, the Bottom and the townspeople suffer from their careless choices that were previously held at bay because of Sula’s presence. Morrison presents the notion that we always possess the power of choice, but whether our choices will be viewed as good or evil is in the hands of others.