The unfair portrayal of Islam in the West Essay

The unfair portrayal of Islam in the West - Essay Example Muslims all over the world are now seen with contempt and hatred by the western community. This is more like a generalization about the whole western world but to some extent it is true. Some important questions arise as to who is responsible for this drastic transformation? Why has such a change taken place? Why does West feel threatened by Islam? For how long this war between West and Islam will continue? What can be done to change the image of Islam in the minds of the western community? For decades there has been a social war between the west and Islam. Their concepts and culture differ from the very beginning. There has always been a very well defined boundary between both the worlds. One cannot ignore the fact that power of the whole world lies in the hands of the West. The West sees Islam as a conservative religion and considers the followers of this religion as narrow-minded beings. Muslims all over the world are being discriminated and in some places it is even seen that they are humiliated. But this is more like digging into the past and gaining evidence on the basis of social sciences. The present scenario of the world is more important to answer the above mentioned questions (Shadid & Koningsveld 2002). It all started when the world was shaken by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. According to the investigation reports it was found that the people responsible for these attacks were Muslims. This was the first time when the whole world came to know about Taliban and Al-Qaeda. These are Muslim groups that are believed to be the backbone of all terrorist activities going on in the present world. In the last decade this world has faced the most ominous terrorism events. A list of examples can be quoted where the West has linked Muslims to terrorism in the present day. London Bombings and Mumbai Bombings are a great example of such events. After the 9/11 attacks, London also fell as a victim to the terrorist activity. On July7, 2005 London’s transportation system was hit by deadly explosions. Three bombs exploded in the underground tubes and one explosion took place in a double Decker bus. Together these four suicide bombings took away the lives of fifty-six innocent peo ple and left more than seven hundred and fifty injured. When the investigation report was issued, it stated that the attacks were conducted by group of Muslim people. And the reason stated for the motivation of these attacks was that this group of people wanted justice because they perceived that West was unjust to the Muslims. But the authorities failed to report how these attacks took place and even the involvement of Al-Qaeda remained unclear in the report. Now this is where the role of media came in (BBC News 2005; Amin 2003). Media has been the main factor after the terrorist activity that has led to the deterioration of the image of Islam in the minds of the Western community. Media exaggerates all such activities by showing sick videos of the event and its victims. The vocabulary that the media uses to narrate such events is enough to cause disgust against the Muslims. This all sounds more like a game. It all seems like the West is trying to plot against Muslims. Western medi a is the strongest and the most impactful media. They show what they want to and create the exact impact that they aim to (Amin 2003). Everything is in bits and pieces but when joined together it all gives the same conclusion that Muslims have been cornered out by the West. Now the situation is that whenever a terrorist activity takes place, even before the investigation starts, Muslims are believed to be behind that. And somehow or the other, evidence is created in such a way that the end result is that Muslims are behind the whole terrorist

Effects of Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Effects of Capital Punishment - Essay Example The crimes, which result in a death penalty, include. This study reveals that, around 58 countries across the globe practice capital punishment while the majority has abolished its application (McClellan, 231). Capital punishment is a controversial matter in many countries. For instance, states in the European Union prohibit the exercise of capital punishment. Although many countries have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's population lives in countries that allow executions like china, USA and Indonesia. Application of capital punishment Violent crime according to police information and injured party surveys refers to any offense in which the wrongdoer has some corporal contact with the injured party. These crimes include robbery with violence, carjacking, ambush, rape, physical attack and murder (McClellan, 231). Offenders of such crimes face tough action from the criminal justice system. Proponents of capital punishment argue that the death sentence is a fair and ethically acceptable punishment for offenders who commit intentional murder (McClellan, 231). Whereas opponents of death sentence often, assert that executions deny the fundamental significance of human life; their case reveals a misinterpretation of the intention of criminal justice, which is to discipline a criminal in proportion to the damage caused by his crime (McClellan, 231). Other proponents of capital punishment claim that homicide is evil by executing victims who consciously murder. It is imperative to note that, rehabilitation and correction remain common in states, which rarely practice capital punishment. Capital punishment is not barbaric because the executor makes sure that a convicted offender undergoes minimal pain possible during execution. The state has a judicial a right to perform capital punishment on offenders of violent criminals (McClellan, 231). This is in quest for justice to the victims and the society. Further opposition to the death penalty is based on precise personality of the defendant, for instance there is opposition in sentencing to death delinquent victim at the time of the offence, those with psychological impairment and illness, pregnant women, or the old age (Goldman and Ann, 321). This paper intends to examine effects that result from capital punishment. This may be expounded to the families, victims, society and the justice system. Effects of capital punishment This section aims to examine the effects of the death penalty on the culture of life and a society, and the criminal justice system change of mind towards human life and dignity. In the face of a rising number of deaths, efforts should be made to promote a culture of life (Draper, 119). The response to situations, which require the death penalty, should be attained through endorsement of the needed reform of the criminal justice structure in order to protect the society in an efficient manner. Effects on Families Family values dictate that the affected members should be taken care off and the quest for social justice and compensation enhanced (Draper, 119). They require sympathy, togetherness and assistance of any nature (McClellan, 234). Whereas, supporting family’s victims does not oblige society to use capital punishment because family members left cannot be settled with an illusion of closure and acquittal. Capital punishment cannot bring back the life of a loved one nor erase the wounds by instilling another death. An option to the death

Social Classes Elizabethan Era

Social Classes Elizabethan Era Abeni Figueroa When first this order was ordaind, my lords, Knights of the garter were of noble birth, Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage, Such as were grown to credit by the wars; Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, But always resolute in most extremes. He then that is not furnishd in this sort Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight, Profaning this most honourable order, And should, if I were worthy to be judge, Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. (Henry VI, Pt.I, 4.1). The Elizabethan Era occurred (1588-1603) marked by reign of queen Elizabeth. Some people call it the golden age of English history. It was the start of poetry, music, and literature. This era was also known for theatre including William Shakespeares plays and poems that are still read and shown today. It also was the beginning of exploration and setting up colonies under english rule to further Englands empire. The social classes were monarch, nobility, gentry, merchant, yeomanry, and laborers. The monarch was the ruler of England, during that time the ruler was queen Elizabeth 1, the sixth and last ruler of Tudor. The nobility was at the top of the social ladder and very rich and powerful. Gentry were knights, squires, gentlemen and gentlewomen. They became the most important social class in England. Merchants emerged from the ashes of the War of Roses. Yeomanry was named the middle class and were not very wealthy and only saved enough money to live comfortably. The laborers, the bo ttom of the social class in the Elizabethan Era, were very poor and only made enough to live comfortably. Social classes were very important and very strict. It was very difficult for one person to move from one class to another. There were very few opportunities to change your social status and for some it was impossible. These rules were not taken lightly and people were pushed harshly if the rules were broken. These rules were very strictly enforced and everyone had to follow. These rules were in the form of laws that maintained the social structure. For example, one law stated the color and type of clothes a person could wear This made it easy for others to know which social class they were in. These classes determined a persons status in society, but also determined what kind of job they had, what rights as a human they had, and sometimes it even determined what they could wear, even their jewelry and furniture. The Monarchy In the days of queen Elizabeth the people thought the queen or the king were Gods representative on Earth and the king or queen were thought to be greater than angels, all the animals, and all the living things on earth. Naturally they were better than any other humans. A person obtained this status usually by birth, they spent their entire life in this status. From birth on they were told how to act, what to say, and how the rest of the kingdom should treat them. They knew how all others should behave around them and punish those who did not behave properly. The highest social class was the monarchy in the Elizabethan era, also known as Queen Elizabeth 1 was the leader, she was the last leader of the era and she ruled for forty five years. The Nobility The second highest rank was Nobility. They were very rich and had hugh houses. Most owned large amounts of land that they inherited. There was distinction between old and new families. The old families were Catholic and the new families were Protestant. These people were members of the court and Parliament. A Noble could only be a Noble if he was born into it or was made a Noble by the king or Queen. They had special rights. They could not be put in jail for debt. They could not be tortured. They could not be punished for a capital crime by hanging or other abuses. If put to death they had to be beheaded. They could only be tried by other Nobles. The most rich people were usually Nobles. The Gentry The Gentry is the third highest order of society in the Elizabethan Era. They were sometimes called the Aristocrats. This order was made up of Lords, that owned a lot of land, Gentlemen freeholders who took care of the land owned by the Lords. They did not have to work hard and did not do manual labor. They supported themselves off the rent paid by their tenants. They were thought of as the true rulers of the countryside. The Gentry often held the local offices, such as sheriff and surveyor of the roads. Some were the Justice of the Peace. This gave them much power. Of interest, they held these offices without pay. The Knights came from the Gentry. Being a Knight did not mean you made more money or had more power. The Knighthood could not be inherited. Below the knights were the esquires. They too could hold offices and be in Parliament. What made them special was their right to have a Coat of Arms. Most of them designed their Coat of Arms themselves. The Merchants The fourth order of society were the merchants. Unlike the first three classes, they had a very quiet lifestyle. Most of them lived in London. Most had a goal in life to become Lord Mayor of London. This would give them a lot of power. So much power that they could take on the King or Queen. These men were shopkeepers, traders, innkeepers and citizens of London. The merchants were responsible for producing goods for others to use. The Yeomanry And you, good yeoman, Whose limbs were made in England, show us here The mettle of your pasture; let us swear That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not; For there is none of you so mean and base, That hath not noble lustre in your eyes. (Henry V, 3.1) Yeomanry was the fifth order of society. These were the people who had large amounts of property and had a Noble title if they could buy one. They did not work much since they usually had enough money to live.. Those that did work were farmers, tradesman or craftsman. It seems they were happy not to be part of the lowest part of society. The Peasantry Sir, I am a true labourer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no mans happiness, glad of other mens good, content with my harm, and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck. (As you like it, 3.2) The Peasantry is the lowest order of Society. These people worked very hard to keep what little they had. At best, they owned a very small cottage (which gave them the name of cotters) and perhaps one to two acres of land. They could help themselves if they had a skill (carpentry or weaving) that allowed them to make some money. They most often worked for other large landowners. But they did not get paid well. The tenant farmers were just a little better off than the cotters. They were able to get jobs working the land they had rented. They rented the land from the Yeomanry, Gentry or the aristocracy. There was a system in which a tenant farmer could get a lease for the land he worked. These leases could be good for many generations and support a family for a long time. Summary For the most part, living well in the Elizabethan Era seems to have been a matter of luck. If you were fortunate enough to be born into a rich family or a family with some nobility, you had it made. You didnt have to work hard and others gave you a lot of respect. There were laws to make sure you kept your status, and others laws to make sure no one moved up into your position. I like the system we have here in America. You can be born dirt poor, work hard and wind up in White House or Trump Towers or maybe even both. Works Cited Find the information for each website that you are using. 1. Authors last name and first name (If you cannot find the authors name, begin your entry with the title of the article.) 2. The Title of the Article that you are using 3. The Name of the Webpage or the Publisher (If you cannot find the publisher, write n.p.) 4. Last updated date for the page or copyright date (If you cannot find the date, write n.d.) 5. URL (address) 6. The date you accessed the information. Pickard, Liz. The Social Structure in Elizabethan England. The British Library. n.d. https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/the-social-structure-in-elizabethan-england. Accessed March 1, 2017. Social Classes in Elizabethan Era Nobility and Gentry. Elizabethan Era England Life. 2017. ww.elizabethanenglandlife.com/social-classes-in-elizabethan-era-nobility-and-gentry.ht ml. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://www.google.com/urlthe-social-structure-in-elizabethan-england https://www.google.com/elizabethan-era-social-hierarchy https://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com%2Felizabethan-era-hierarchy-classes-ranks-in-society. https://www.google.com elizabethan-era-class-system.htm

The Colour Purple - Spirituality & Religion :: essays research papers

Alice Walker states that ‘The Colour Purple’ remains for her the â€Å"theological work examining the journey from the religious back to the spiritual†. How successful is she in revealing her purpose to the reader? In the preface to ‘the Colour Purple’ Walker identifies her religious development as the inspiration for her novel and labels religion and spirituality as the principle themes in the book. There are a number of principle characters who complete this journey however in many instances the religious element of the novel is overshadowed by other prominent themes such as personal development, female relationships and racial issues. These must be taken into consideration when assessing Walker’s success in delivering her theological message to her readers. Religion is an extremely broad term, in the context of ‘The Colour Purple, Walker’s idea of religion is church based Christianity in which God is presented through the bible as a white man. Although the church is placed in a black community, the teachings of the church are derived from the teachings of white people. Celie discovers throughout the novel that she, like Shug, can not find God in this kind of church that is based on patriarchal religion but searches for him elsewhere. Walker’s personal concept of spirituality is pantheism, the idea that God is in all living things within nature including people. Celie learns from Shug and through her own development that God is within her and she benefits far more from her own spirituality than from the structured religion within the community. Celie is not the only character to undergo a change in her religious outlook and complete the journey â€Å"from the religious to the spiritual†. Nettie also is brought up as a devout believer in the Christian church however throughout her time in Africa and with the help of the Olinka people she discovers a new more â€Å"internal† form of religion similar to Celie’s new found spirituality. The journey from the religious back to the spiritual is reflected in the distance between the white missionaries in Britain and America and the African tribes. The missionaries represent the formal ‘white’ church and the Olinka fulfilling the idea of pantheist spirituality. This is a journey Nettie makes physically and spiritually. Shug and Mr.’s views on religion also change during the novel, and as Walker intends, all make this ‘journey’ with â€Å"courage and the help of others†. At the beginning of the book Celie announces her dependence on God by recognising that she can â€Å"tell nobody but God† about the abuse she is receiving from her stepfather.

Marketing research 3

MR. Walton started Wal-Mart in 1962. The company started as a cheap price alternative store because Mr. Walton adopted the price-cutting or cost cutting by keeping costs down. It was a man who liked to minimize costs. He liked local investments and this was done by giving most of his staff stock options and he encouraged them to invest in the company. Walmart grew technologically ahead of its competitors because they were in fact one of the first stores to use computer to keep track of their products and stocks. They also used computer to link stores, warehouses and this is done up to date. In fact, Walmart has a variety of stores, warehouses that have standard merchandise that is sold at lower prices with lower margin and higher volumes. This includes discount retailing in most of their stores which is mostly used in specially stores like their discounting goods stores. Wal-Mart has placed its stores around major cities and managed its marketing channels well. They have used strategic planning and advanced information system to link their departmental stores and warehouses around major towns and this is boosted by the use of sophisticated marketing tools. Walmart majorly is a low price strategy firm and it has priced its products lower that most of its competitors but however, a research done in 2004 indicated that most people in the US were alarmed by an article that articulated the high cost of low price. This led to negative publicity of Walmart as most of its customers began to be cautious about its low prices but on the other end, Walmart is actually trying to reach to the tougher market of lower income earners. It also uses strategies of efficiency due to good distribution network. The Walmart stores feature a broad line but have low value added and focus on keeping prices low and are perceived to be having a good deal especially to low income earners and they depend majorly on in purchase of goods in large volumes. To attract customers Walmart use various promotional tools to generate traffic and purchases. Most of us have seen adverts both on TV and online placed by Walmart, they run special sales and issue coupons. Most of the frequent shoppers at Walmart are also rewarded to encourage frequent purchases. Walmart also runs special page adverts and magazines to remind customers on their existence. They are also careful to choose locations because customers who like money saving deals will look for stores that are nearest. They plan carefully before choosing on the sites to open outlets. Walmart also has gone a step further to provide one stop shopping where they combine grocery items with huge selection of non-food merchandise. When we compare it with Nordshoms that was started in 1901 as a shoe store by John v. Nordshoms. In Washington, the latter is a rather different type of store as it is a departmental store where we have several products lines i.e. in the case of Walmart we have clothing products, shoes, handbags, gift hampers and in which case each product line is separated and operated as a separate department and managed by specialized buyers or merchandisers. Nordshoms unlike Walmart has its goods priced highly but they insist on quality, value, trust and selection unlike Walmart that depend on volume purchase and search for good deals. It also uses the product expansion strategy because it started as a shoe company but later it has expanded to include clothes and other products managed separately like cars and car parts accessories for women. It has also differentiated its products into segments as we have children clothes, women and men. This is a part of individual marketing where they do not look at customers as a group but deal with them individually. They hold customers by offering convenient locations, special or unique assortment of goods, great services, better quality goods and better services than competitors. They also have included other brands i.e. they purchased best apparels a clothes company and ventured to clothes market. Because most customers complain that their prices are high, they have embarked on serious expansion and have opened many stores in major cities. This is to areas where incomes are high. Nordshoms use direct mails as promotion tools and telemarketing where they use telephone calls to attract new customers. They also contact existing customers to ascertain satisfaction levels. They also run adverts on the levels where clients can log on to and ‘try clothes online’. Apart from visiting the stores clients also would like to see how the clothes look like, online marketing is also very important. They also adopt catalogue marketing where they mail one or more product catalogues to selected addresses to lure more customers, all this will stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products. They have adopted psychological prices where they use price as an indicator of quality. High priced goods are preferred to have high quality especially where alternative information about true quality is not available. REFERENCES Armstrong G. & Kotler P. (2007). Consumer Markets: Influences on consumer behavior, Principles of Marketing. Kotler, P. (2005) Principles of Marketing. New York.Melbourne Press Schaik J.L., (2002); The Task of Marketing Management; J.L. van Schaik (Pity) ltd Winer, R.S. (2007). Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Â  

Controversy Paper on United States Involvement in Global Affairs

Involvement of the United States in Global Affairs A major debate that is being discussed both domestically and internationally is the involvement of the United States of America in international affairs. This debate includes the practicality of where the United States has intervened in foreign affairs, its right to intervene in the first place considering past mistakes and questionable leadership, and whether or not that foreign involvement is in the general public’s best interest.Obviously, the two sides of the debate refer to the ‘yes’ position, explained by Ivan Eland (as in yes, the United States should limit it’s global involvement) and also the ‘no’ position, backed by President Barack Obama (as in no, the United States should not limit it’s foreign involvement). Eland’s basis for his argument is that the United States has habitually overspent it’s treasure and overextended it’s military power to a point where we cannot keep pace economically and which could bring upon the demise of the American government as we know it.He also points out that continued foreign endeavors increases the risk of the United States being a target for terrorist attack. Obama’s vision is that The United States of America needs to re-establish its place as a world leader by maintaining an active foreign policy. Obama admits that mistakes have been made where international affairs are concerned, but that is a reason to fix those mistakes and step up as a suitable leader once more. Discussed later in the paper is my own point of view, which supports President Barack Obama and his plan for active engagement in foreign affairs, in a conservative and confidant manner.In his position, Eland points out that both republican and democratic actors, as of now, support the use of military force and United State intervention in foreign affairs. This begs the question, who is on Eland’s side? His half of the deb ate offers advice to both the conservatives and the liberals who are currently apart of US involvement decision-making. While he upholds fair and good points, his arguments hold less sway due to his non-direct involvement.Eland’s first argument has a basis in the research of Christopher Coyne, a professor at West Virginia University. The bottom line of this research is that the Unites States attempts of bringing about democracy in countries where we have tried to intervene militarily has yielded low percent success rates. So it may be that it is time for America to change its tactics from a military to a more democratic approach. Another notion brought up by Eland is that it is in America’s best interest to unextend it’s military power.He points out that is unlikely for another hegemonic power to arise very quickly in the absence of our lessened military power, and also compares the overextending of the United States assets to when the Soviet Union overextended itself and it’s socialistic government collapsed. However, Eland also points out that economically, European countries and China are achieving much more than the US. Therefore, if America does not keep up its involvement globally, it is likely that one of those countries could succeed us as the new superpower, thus contradicting his earlier statement that there is unlikely to be a new hegemon anytime soon.It is also unfair to liken the demise of Russia to that of the United States, when the governmental systems are very different. President Barack Obama is in favor of upholding US involvement globally, and maintaining a leadership role. He plans to do this with 5 steps. First, by bringing troops home from Iraq but also leaving some to keep Al Queda and other terrorists at bay. However, the president doesn’t explain exactly how this will be accomplished more effectively since we are already supposedly fighting â€Å"The War on Terrorism† with all our best resourc es.The main point in Barack Obama’s debate is that the United States needs to stay active in the world to remain on top. To do that, new alliances must be built within NATO, but also keep up with the times and constantly revise our alliances and position within the global community. It is also clear that The United States of America has made mistakes in it’s leadership and economically, but overall, Obama’s plan is fairly clearly outlined in his debate, that mostly makes logistical sense. The first step outlined in order to regain influential leadership is changing the troops and approach in the war in Iraq.Second, to employ a 21st military that is powerful, bright and able. Third, to reinforce allies and stand by other in countries in attempt to keep the world’s deadliest weapons out of the worst hands. Fourth, to reduce carbon emissions, and lastly, to provide more foreign aid to countries who are lacking in basic needs and fair governments. As stated a bove, I believe that President Barack Obama’s side of the debate, supporting United States involvement globally, is the right path for America. I choose this because it isn’t just about the yes or no side of this debate.Obama successfully explains that continued involvement doesn’t mean America stomping on poorer countries and participating in unsuccessful expeditions in helping third world countries. US involvement in global affairs means leading the by way of example and will result in putting the interests and safety of American citizens first. Obama’s reasoning of this debate will hold the backing of American citizens. It gives a probable solution to our countries problems at hand. This policy is the best because the public can understand it and they can feel a stake in its success.Countering pro involvement is Eland’s isolationism position. I don’t believe it measures up because it ignores America’s ability to do well unto others , and it diminishes our ability to lead. America is one of the only countries able to use a quantifiable amount of money and military power for use of foreign aid. And unfortunately, a lot of counties need that. If America were to withdraw, many states would be worse for wear (Lieber). I also believe that America’s defining attribute is its leadership position.Withdrawing from international affairs would be to sacrifice that privilege. It is because that no other regional power has the economic power, political will, or military strength to match the United States that we have a great international influence. However, the European Union or China are certainly striving for that same international influence and will not hesitate to rise to it if the opportunity presents itself (Guest). Part of Obama’s outline to maintain world leadership is to build and maintain a 21st century military.He clarifies that recruiting the best and the brightest and rewarding the veterans who serve because they deserve it will be the foremost way to build a military power that is confident and skilled. A force likened to this will not only allow America’s staying power in the prime leadership spot, but also allow us to provision foreign aid. Eland does bring up an excellent point though, when he brings up that the US spends a great deal on it’s military compared to other countries. He points out that other countries are able to do better economically because they do not have such large ilitaries weighing their economies down. Nonetheless, sacrificing America’s military power is an unacceptable notion. All things considered, the United States should not limit its global involvement. It needs to maintain its leadership position in the world, not only for our own benefit but for other actors also. The procedures used by the United States to determine how it will become involved need to be always evolving and reconsidered to ensure the best possible out comes for our United States citizens, and also other citizens around the globe.The United States is very capable of accomplishing this if we lead by example and are always mindful of fellow countries and the repercussions, positive or negative, that our actions are able to preform. Citations Database Used: Academic Search Premier Lieber, Robert. â€Å"Examining America's Role in Global Affairs. † VOA. Voice of America, 31 Oct. 2009. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. Guest, Robert. â€Å"Examining America's Role in Global Affairs. † VOA. Voice of America, 31 Oct. 2009. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Heres What Youre Missing on IndiesUnimited.com

Heres What Youre Missing on IndiesUnimited.com Indies Unlimited is a site full of amazing resources, and a space providing interaction for writers and readers. First, lets talk about exactly what Indies Unlimited is if you are unfamiliar with the site. In short, their focus is on promoting indie authors and the writing community as a whole. An indie author is an author who is not represented by a major publishing house- this means that they will be self-published, published with a small or regional press, or sometimes traditionally published on a smaller scale.First and foremost, Indies Unlimited is a blog. They are not a self-publisher, but rather, they help authors grow their audience, gain knowledge about the industry, connect with readers, and of course, forge a writing community between multitudes of authors. This is something that most authors find invaluable- a group of people striving for the same goals who understand how difficult and confusing the industry is, while also being there for support and brainstorming.Authors benefit from a writing community to learn more about the writing process and industry. Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash.Sifting through the overwhelmAll the resources for independent authors on the web can feel overwhelming. There are a lot of conflicting ideas, and even simply too many resources on the web, that its difficult to know which ones to trust. Indies Unlimited has had a lot of success and rave reviews, and they provide tons of resources all in one place. Even if you dont browse around other sites, you will be able to find pretty much everything you could need on Indies Unlimited.Promotions for writersSome favorite aspects of Indies Unlimited are free promotional tools. They have set up numerous promotions to assist in engagement between authors and readers, and these promotions also form a semblance of consistency. One of the promotions they offer is Thrifty Thursday, where authors can list their free or 99 cent e-books and where readers will be directed to find them a ll in one place. As readers, we know that were always looking for a bargain or good deal, so with readers aware that Thrifty Thursday takes place each week, it is an opportunity for authors to get their books in front of a whole new audience. This is something that readers can stay tuned into and look forward to each week as they set out to find new authors.The next promotion Indies Unlimited offers is Print Book Party, which takes place on the first Sunday of each month. This is where authors can promote their print books listed at $15 or less, allowing readers to find a large selection of bargain paperbacks in one place. This is another deal that readers definitely wont want to miss out on when it comes to saving on books. Once again, this is a day of the week that readers can anticipate, ready to find their next great read in the comments section of the blog. They also offer, on the third Friday of each month, Kindle Unlimited Friday, where authors can post their books that are f ree within the Kindle Unlimited program.However, the Guest Post Feature may be the most effective of all the promotions offered on IU. This is where authors have the opportunity to write a guest post for the Indies Unlimited blog. Since they have such a vast following, your blog could have the potential to be featured for a whole new audience of writers, readers, reviewers, and publishers alike. The guest feature does not actually showcase any books, but rather lends to more exposure, which is ultimately beneficial to growing ones audience in the long run. You can reach out to Indies Unlimited with the topic youd like to write a blog about to be considered for a guest spot. We are always told that networking and creating more exposure to multiple audiences is the most effective way to market. Well, this guest opportunity does just that.Author advertisingIn addition to the many free promotion options given by Indies Unlimited, they also offer advertising options. There are several pa ckages available to choose from for marketing a product, service, or event. This is another great tool to give authors, or anyone related to the writing field, more exposure given Indies Unlimiteds high-traffic site. You will have the opportunity to advertise as an author or a vendor with the different package options to choose from.According to the site, We do not actually accept paid advertising from authors because its our mantra to never take money from authors. Everything available to authors is free. We occasionally accept paid advertising from service providers, but only after theyve gone through a stringent vetting process to make sure they are on the up-and-up and will not take advantage of authors. Accepting paid advertising is rare, and maybe happens twice a year. Otherwise, the expenses to run the site fall solely on our admin/executive director K. S. Brooks (Kat).Author researchAside from promotion, marketing, and networking, Indies Unlimited is invested in helping auth ors obtain as much knowledge as possible in this field. They have so many resources and articles available, covering any topic imaginable related to books, writing, and publishing. The best part is that they have all these resources in one place, so theres no need to search around the web aimlessly.The KnowledgeBase tab is definitely worth checking out for anyone, whether youre a novice or have years of experience. They cover topics within publishing like book covers, book trailers, reviews, beta readers, and the publishing process as a whole. If youre looking to improve your craft before reaching the publication stage, then they have resources for you, as well, like grammar, punctuation, characters and story building, and resources on the all-important editing process. They also talk about other tools for authors like social media, newsletters, press releases, giveaways, and so much more.No matter which stage of your writing career youre at, Indies Unlimited has resources for you t hat you will not want to pass by. As writers, we have to be our own teachers, editors, critics, and businesspeople- even if we have others in place for these positions already. So, there is no amount of knowledge within the field that could be too much. As mentioned in the beginning of this article, there are so many competing ideas out there, its tricky to know which methods, rules, and approaches are best for you as a writer. So, even if you dont look at any other databases of knowledge- the KnowledgeBase will have you well on your way to sorting out that confusion.Book promotionsA more specific tab when it comes to resources on the Indies Unlimited site is the Book Promo tab. This lists any and all sites that authors who are published or getting ready to publish will want to research and familiarize themselves with. Some of the sites listed are free and some must be paid for, but they all deserve attention in deciphering if they are right for you and your publication goals. With so many sites about book promotion out there, it is easy to get lost and confused, and especially frustrated. So, the fact that Indies Unlimited has compiled these sites in one place with descriptions about each can save an author a lot of time and headache.With so much information available on book publishing and promotion, its easy for authors to get overwhelmed and frustrated. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash.Flash fictionNow, lets say you havent written a book, or arent ready to publish your book, and dont think any of these amazing resources are right for you. This is highly unlikely, but even so, you can still engage with Indies Unlimited. How? They host a flash fiction contest every Saturday. Thats right, not only do they offer free promotions, paid advertisements, links with a wealth of knowledge on every writing topic imaginable, and book promo resources, they even have a fun contest open to everyone, with no commitment.The flash fiction rules are simple: Write 250 words or less that incorporate the provided image and prompt. Its quick and fun! And the most fun part of this contest? The winners are chosen using polls that readers personally participate in, with a readers choice and editors choice poll. The polls and contest are open for a few days, so even if you cant get to the computer right at that moment, you have time to make sure you dont miss out. Indies Unlimited has ways for subscribers (and anyone) to interact with their site every day of the week. There are very few sites that can accomplish this.A final noteFinally, Indies Unlimited has gear and titles for purchase, as well as a full staff of very qualified individuals. They are definitely in the market of helping authors navigate this confusing business, as well as giving them outlets to engage with one another and have fun.If you think Indies Unlimited could be beneficial to you (which we assume you would after reading about all their amazing services and engagement) then we highly sugges t subscribing to their newsletter. If you are an author, reader, or have any sort of interest in the publishing world, then this is a letter you wont want to miss. They will send you a weekly email full of valuable resources and articles that they provide. Plus, the fact that its only a weekly newsletter means you wont get aggravated with countless spam emails- it will be an email you actually look forward to. It will assist you through your craft and writing goals each week- and dont forget, theyre always available for questions at Indies Unlimited.So, head to the site, sign up, start reading about and planning your promotion, and working on your flash fiction contest entry. Most importantly, keep on writing and sharing your work with the world. Indies Unlimited will support you at any stage and offer you the outlet to focus on your writing every day of the week, or as often as you need.

ABA 1 final Essays

ABA 1 final Essays ABA 1 final Paper ABA 1 final Paper Three levels of understanding in science 1) Description 2) Prediction 3)Control Description collection of facts about observed events that be quantified, classified and examined or possible relation with other known facts (hypothesis) Control Highest level of scientific understanidng from which funtional relations can be derived (change in dependent variable predicts independent variable without confouding variables determinism events do not just occur, but happen in a systematic way, all phenomena occur as result of other events empiricism scientific objective observation of phenomena of interest replication repetition of experiments to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings parsimony the simplest explanations must be ruled out before more complex explanations are considered philosophic doubt the continuous questioning of the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge experimental analysis vs. applied behavior analysis of behavior basic research vs. development of technology for improving behavior 7 characteristics of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf Risley) 1) generality 2) effective 3)technological 4) applied 5) conceptual systems 6) analytic 7) behavioral Stimulus an energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells Operant Conditioning conditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement or punishment contingent upon the occurrence of the operant response Four Fold Contingency Table [image][image] positive reinforcement targeted response increases when stimulus is added to environment negative reinforcement behavior increases because stimulus is contigently removed from environment positive punishment behavior decreases when stimulus is contingently added to environment negative punishment behavior decreases because stimulus contingently removed from environment 3-term contingency basic unit of analysis in the analysis of operant behavior, antecedent- behavior- consequence habilitation degree to which a persons behavior repertoire maximizes short and long term reinforcers and minimizes short and long term punishers, asesses meaningfulness of behavior change behavioral cusp beahaviors that open a persons world to new opportunities, socially valid, generativeness Target Behavior Definitions accurate, complete, concise, inclusions, exclusions objective, clear, complete measurement the process of applying quantitative labels to observed properties of events using a standard set of rules measurable dimensions of behavior 1) Repeatability (countability) 2) temporal extent (every instance the behavior occurs in some amount of time) 3) temporal locus (every instance of behavior occurs at a certain point in time with respect to other events rate/frequency measurement ratio of (number of responses per unit of time) count per observation period, more meaningful than count alond celeration measure of how rates of responses change over time (accelaration/decelaration) duration measurement the amount of time in which a behavior occurs response latency measurement measure of the elapsed time between the onset of a stimulus and the initiation of a subsequent response interresponse time measurement the amount of time that elapses between two consecutive instances of a response class (temporal locus) per-opportunity measurement response magnitude the force or intensity with which a response is emitted whole interval recording measurement the observation period is divided into a series of brief time intervals. At the end of each interval the observer records whether the behavior occured for the WHOLE interval partial interval recording the observer records if the behavior occured at any time during the interval momentary time sampling records whether the target behavior is occuring at the moment that each time interval ends permanent product measurement measuring a behavior after it has occured by measuring the effects it had on the environment measurement validity when the data produced are directly relevant to the phenomenon measured and to the reasons for meauring it (Was a relevant dimension of the behavior that is the focus of the investigation measured directly and legitimately?) measurement accuracy the extent to which the quantitative label produced by measuring an event matches the true value of the thing measured measurement reliability the extent to which a measurement procedure yields the same value when brought into repeated contact with the same state of nature (consistancy) direct measurement the phenomenon that is the focus of the experiement is exactly the same as the phenomenon being measured (actually seeing target behavior) indirect measurement when phenomena measured is in some way different from target behavior of interest (using questionairre about behavior) interobserver agreement the degree to which two or ore independent observers report the same observed values after measuring the same events IOA for rate/frequency Higher number/lower number x 100 IOA for duration data (shorter duration/longer duration) x 100 IOA for time sampling level (in a data series) value on vertical axis around which a series of data points converge trend (in a data series) overall direction taken by data path (increasing, decreasing, zero trend) variablity (in a data series) frequency to which mulitiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes (if variability is high ther is little or no control over factors influencing behavior) construct a split-middle line of progress A line drawn through a series of graphed data points that shows the overall trend in the data; drawn through the intersections of the vertical and horizontal middles of each half of the charted data and then adjusted up or down so that half of all data points fall on or above and half fall on or below the line. (pg153 in book) construct an equal interval graph Identify behavior change in graphed data functional relationships in graphed data indepdendent variable the variable systematically manipulated by the researcher (in ABA sometimes called intervantion or treatment variable) dependent variable the variable measured in an experiment to see if it changes depending on the independent variable (in ABA measure of socially significant behavior) three elements of baseline logic 1) Prediction 2) Verification 3) Replication Reversal designs (repeated measures, at least A-B-A) should be used when: alternating treatments experimental design the rapid alternation of two or more distinct treatments while their effects on the target behavior are measured Alternating treatment designs are appropriate when: multiple baseline experiemental design an experimental design that begins with the concurrent measurement of two or more behaviors in a baseline condition, followed by the application of the treatment variable to one fot he behaviors while baseline contidions remain in effect for the other behaviors. After maximum change has been noted for the first behavior, the treatment variable is applied in sequential fashion to each of the other behaviors in the design. changing criterion experimental design an experimental design in which an initial baseline phase is followed by a series of treatment phases consisting of successive and gradually changing criteria for reinforcement or puishment. internal validity the extent to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables. confounding variable an uncontrolled factor known or suspected to exert influence on the dependent variable treatment integrity (procedural validity) the extent to which the independent variable is applied exactly as planned and described and no other unplanned variables are administered inadvertantly along with the planned treatment Three ways of assessing social validity 1) social significance of target behavior 2) appropraiteness of procedures 3) social importance of results external validitiy the degree to which a studys findings have generality to other subjects, settings and/or behaviors positive reinforcement establishing operation a motivating operation that establishes the effectiveness of some stimulus, object or event as a reinfocer (food when hungry) unconditioned reinforcer a stimulus change that increases the frequency of any behavior that immediately precedes it irrespective of the organisms learning history with the stimulus (product of evolutionary development, primary or unlearned reinfocers) conditioned reinforcer a stimulus change that functions as a reinforcer because of prior pairing with one or more other reinfocers (learned reinforcer) stimulus preference assessment a variety of procedures used to determine the stimuli that a person prefers, the relative preference of those stimuli and their presumed value as reinforcers avoidance contingency (escape contingency) a contingency in which a response prevents or postpones the presentation of a stimulus continuous reinfocement reinforcement for each occurance of the target behavior intermitant reinfocement some, but not all, occurances of a behavior produce reinforcement fixed ratio schedule a fixed number of responses must occur before reinforcement produces break and run step pattern variable ratio schedule varying number of responses required for reinforcement no post reinforcement pause, consistant steady rate of responding fixed interval schedule reinforcement delivered for the first response emitted following the passage of a fixed duration of time since the last response was reinforced produces scalloped data (post reinforcement pause, increase in response rate as interval increases) variable interval schedule reinforcement provided for the first correct response following the elapse of variable surations of time occuring in random order produces slow to moderate consistant responding limited hold reinforcement is only available during a finite time following the elapse of an FI or VI interval, if there is no response reinforcement is withheld and a new interval begins DRL schedules differnetial reinforcement of low rates of responding- responses reinforced only when they are lower than criterion compound schedules combined elements of of continous reinforcement, the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement, differential reinforcement of various rates of responding and extinction matching law rate of responding typically is proportional to the rate of reinforcement received from each choice alternative punisher a stimulus change that immediately follows the occurance of a behavior and reduces the future frequency of that type of behavior conditions when punishment is more effective immediacy, intensity, schedule, reinforcement for the target behavior, reinforcement for alternative behaviors guidelines for using punishment effectively select effective and appropriate punishers use the least intensity of punishment that is effective experience the punishment personally deliver the punishment immediately deliver the punishment at the beginning of the response chain deliver the punishment unemotionally punish each instance of the behavior watch for possible side effects of punishment record, graph and evaluate daily data examples of positive punishment contingent excersize, overcorrection (resitutional, positive practice), contingent electric stimulation time-out a form of negative punishment- the contingent withdrawel of the opportunity to earn positive reinforcement or the loss of access to positive reinforcers for a specified time guidelines for using time-out effectively reinforcing and enriching time-in environment defining behaviors leading to time-out defining procedures for the duration of time-out defining exit criteria deciding on non-exclusion or exlusion time-out explaining time-out rules obtaining permission applying time-out consistantly evaluating effectiveness -considering other options legal and ethical time-out issues response cost loss of specific amount of reinforcement contingent upon inappropriate behavior and results in decreased future probability of that behavior guidelines for using response cost effectively determine immediacy of the fine, decide whether bonus respose cost is preferred option, ensure reinforcer reserve, recognize the potential for unplanned or unexpected outcomes, avoid overusing, keep good record on effects side-effects of negative punishment may increase aggression, avoidance responses, affect collateral reductions of desired behaviors, call attention to punished behavior, effects can be unpredictable

Work Ethic Essay Sample

Work Ethic Essay Sample Essay on Work Ethic Work ethics is believed to be an idea that work, hard work and diligence, has a positive outcome. They also believe that a person should prioritize work and work only in order to live a successful life. Some may disagree on this but there are people who really make their lives revolve around working. Being a workaholic is not bad but on some point, this trait can become a problem because too much work can lead to sickness. It is okay to work as long as you take good care of yourself. A strong work ethic is needed in order to survive a life that is centered in doing your job. The following are the top ten work ethics. When you enter a job the first impressive move you will take is being always on time and never be absent. Attendance is one of the most important factors when an employer looks for an employee. When a person is late many things are wasted and it is not good for the business. You will never find a boss who wants his or her employee to be always late. This will impress and inspire your co-workers and your boss. Every company believes in the saying that the early bird catches the worm so an early employee will be the most productive. The second one is the character of an employee. The character of a person is important in the workplace because it will determine his or her connection with his colleagues. It is so important that a person has a good attitude so that he can get along with his co-workers and the job will be done easily. The third one is team work; this is applicable to an individual or a group of people. Team work is definitely needed because some job requires coordination b etween more people. It will also show how a person will communicate to the other to finish a certain task. The fourth quality is the appearance; sometimes looks really matters. If you will notice, some job posts include pleasing personality as a requirement. People in the business world needs people who are presentable looking in order to persuade the clients and convince them that their company has real business because their employees look presentable enough to be believed. It does not necessarily mean that the person should pass the standard of beautiful; he or she just needs to be presentable. Next one is an attitude, just like character it shows how a person acts towards the others. Tough times will also test someone’s attitude on how he or she will react in a problem. The sixth quality is productivity; it is something that makes an employer keeps his or her employee. A productive person always gets the job done even before the deadline. The kinds of people who are productive are good for the company because the salary given to them are all worth it. The other qualities include organizational skills, communication, cooperation, and respect. Organizational skills are needed because it will make a person do his or her job in the easiest way possible. Communication is needed in any field of the workplace because this is what makes people understand each other. If an employee does not know how to communicate, he or she will not be able to impart his or her ideas and that may cause the company a big loss. Cooperation is important because when an employee is not cooperat ing the job will not be done. Last but not the least is a respect for each other. Without respect, the job will not be done successfully. Everybody should respect each other regardless of their race, age, gender, and religion. Respect should be given and not demanded because it is something that is offered to a person without anything in return. All of the mentioned qualities should be exhibited by a person who wants to work with strong ethics. If a person has all of those qualities, he or she will surely stay in the job he or she loves. The drive of a person to make something successful will make him or her goals come true. The strong work ethics is nothing without hard work and patience in doing the job.

Free Will and Personal Responsibility Case Study

Free Will and Personal Responsibility - Case Study Example To prove the superman theory, they murdered a fourteen year-old boy named Bobby Franks. Also, they committed the murder of Franks to prove that they were intelligent enough to outsmart the police and create the perfect crime. However, because of the negligence of leaving behind Leopold's glasses near the dead body, the police was able to prove that they were the perpetrator of the crime. Ultimately, they had been convicted for the crime that they committed. The defense counsel of Leopold and Loeb presented a closing argument justifying the murder committed against Franks. The main argument of the closing speech is that Leopold and Loeb's act of murdering Franks was a necessary consequence of their background, their upbringing and the principles of Nietzsche. According to the defense counsel, all these factors drove them to killing another person. The combinations of said factors afforded no other result other than the horrific crime committed. As such, Leopold and Loeb could not be held responsible for their actions. Therefore, they should not be punished for killing Franks. To support this argument the lawyer presented the three points. First, Loeb's and Leopold's upbringing served as a breeding ground for a twisted sense of morality. Loeb was raised by a governess who pushed him too hard on his studies. It was because of the strictness of the governess that Loeb was swayed into rebellion. And the form of rebellion that he took is to read detective stories that were forbidden to him. Loeb's fascination lead to him to observe that in all these stories, the detective always wins. The detective always figures out the puzzle to the crime. Because of this, he became challenged. He became captivated and obsessed to formulating the perfect crime - one that may not be solved by the brightest detective. Leopold on the other hand was an intellectual. Because of this, he was accelerated in school. On the downside, he failed to develop this emotional part of his being. He was so smart that he took a liking to Philosophy, particularly the teachings of Nietzsche. And Nietzsche believed that an intelligent man is above the law and morality. The second thing that the lawyer pointed out is that with the fascination in detective stories, it is but understandable that a highly intellectual person would be challenged to formulate an undetectable crime. They would prove that the detectives do not always win. From the lawyer's point of view, because of this challenge, it was natural that they create the perfect crime. Hence, Loeb cannot be faulted for his creation. The strictness of his governess and the challenge brought by detective stories was to be blamed for his action. The third point that the lawyer raised for Loeb and Leopold's defense is the teaching of Nietzsche. Nietzsche was strong in his teachings that the intelligent man is not bound by the ordinary rules in morality. Than in fact, the superman is the law by himself. Leopold firmly believe this. And because of which, what else can be the result but a series of acts defying the law and morals The last defense that the lawyer raised was that of insanity. He claimed that who in their right mind would exchange

Mobile web Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mobile web - Essay Example Fortunately, the ease of accessing resources to facilitate this process of developing mobile web presence is increasing with time. This will soon allow small business owners to be able to create a mobile presence. Unhelkar (2006) explains that mobile web presence is of critical importance in the world’s economy today. Developing organizations easily deploy many resources to ensure mobile web presence. The fastest growing businesses have become media savvy and attributed their fast growth to adopting the latest online platforms and the marketing tools available. This arises as an effect of competition in the economy. It, therefore, calls for the improvement of the market awareness strategies and the development of new and more efficient methods that would confer ultimate web presence. Incorporation of web presence is the ultimate tool to maintain information exchange by the business entities. Mobile Platform Mobile platforms allow businesses to access information. Further, it s erves the sole reason of gaining access to the largest market. Companies aim at taking advantage of this knowledge to give them an edge. Companies have also learnt that the mobile platform helps them advance their goals. Further, it allows them to widen or expand their reach to the most remote markets available. For most companies that have incorporated the mobile platform as a marketing strategy, it is evident that the mobile platform trumps the location-sensitivity created by most markets. This is particularly crucial for an organization as it aims at promoting its products and services. Most companies are embracing mobile platform to achieve the ultimate interaction with consumers. Zuckerberg Statement The so-called â€Å"Zuckerberg Statement† brings into perspective the use of web presence. This is evident in the massive acceptance of Facebook as social media. It is evident that the use of facebook as social media received quite a boost since the establishment of mobile w eb presence. This allowed most of the population to access the social media from their mobile phones. This statement, therefore, manifests the importance of a mobile platform. This is extremely essential for companies that aim at accessing the vast market that the mobile platform brings. Theories Underlying the Mobile Web Presence Mobile web presence confers quite an edge to any company or organization that utilizes it as a marketing strategy (Unhelkar, 2006). However, for the mobile platform to be effective in achieving its intended purpose, certain key aspects do apply. This renders every attempt to achieve mobile web presence subject to a given set of rules. Device Integration The mobile platform has to allow one to utilize all the device capabilities. This is mainly because most of the available devices include network communications. Further, they also confer the user certain interactive capabilities that the mobile web presence developers take advantage. This is evident in the most recent mobile applications. These utilize the current mobile device capabilities. Nevertheless, the developers are always free to take control of the mobile phone devices to manipulate them in such a way that the serve those who use it efficiently. Data collection is a priority, and the mobile web presence should allow one full access to such data when it hits the web. Consequently, the developer should ensure that the developed mobile web presen

Attitude Towards Credit Card And Financial Awareness Dissertation

Attitude Towards Credit Card And Financial Awareness - Dissertation Example ................................ 4.3 Attitude...................................................................................................................... 5.1 Discussion of findings............................................................................................... 6.1 Conclusions and recommendations......................................................................... REFERENCES APPENDICES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Research has indicated that there are three potential influences that will impact the credit card behavioural patterns of Chinese university students: financial awareness, attitude and social demographics. Chinese society is borne of long-standing cultural values related to the Confucian era, in which hedonistic self-gratification is present, where collectivist values are nurtured and respected, and where social in-group affiliation and reputation protection are considered important constructs of the Chinese lifestyle. Hence, there is ample evidence using t he theory of conspicuous consumption that Chinese university students might be adopting or increasing their frequency of credit card utilisation to gain important social opinion. Because the market is not in a stage of growth, but has become stagnated, business leaders need to know how to best target consumer segments and gain more profitability opportunities. The findings from the study provided a foundation for recommendations on how to improve business strategy develop for more effective strategic plans to gain university student interest and engagement with credit cards. Further implications from the study include how to build more effective marketing by credit card providers and how to potentially enhance education at the university to provide more financial responsibility and... By focusing on what actually drives existing sentiment about credit cards and the specific socio-psychological factors impact behaviors, utilizing qualitative research methodology, it will give a more concrete lesson about what factors influence and motivate credit card adoption and utilization patterns. This research project fulfilled all of its objectives, identifying the potential relevance of financial awareness, attitude and social demographics on the credit card behavior of university students. Though not all assertions and contentions provided in the literature review were supported, there were many factors related to university student credit card behaviors that create opportunities for new business model development that can better improve the competitive and revenue positions of credit card companies and banking institutions that offer credit card services.This project provided a new series of understandings about the relevance of social demographics, the tangible irrelevan ce of financial awareness and the strong relevance of attitude that could serve as a standard for marketing research practice and credit card policy development that could be better geared for exploiting market opportunities with male and female university students. Businesses that offer credit services should be aware of the identified predictors of certain credit card behaviors in the university student market segment in China in order to provide more relevant offerings and insulate the business from potential risks.

Gasland by Josh Fox Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gasland by Josh Fox - Movie Review Example The thesis of the documentary seeks to inform the audience about the environmental effects and human effects from natural gas drilling. Indeed, the documentary uses dark humor to discuss a detailed analysis of the broader effects of the controversial extraction method, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking that is rampant across the globe. The documentary seeks to negate the assertion that natural gas is a clean and safe alternative to oil. In addition, the documentary confirms that the fracked wells leak more often thus polluting the environment through water and air pollution, which endangers the environment and disturbs families (Fox Film). Rhetorical (persuasive) Strategies in the Documentary Notably, the documentary uses the three persuasive strategies, which include logos, pathos, and ethos. Moreover, the documentary uses rhetorical devices to apply the persuasive strategies to support the argument. In this context, I will focus on sound, speech, and visual images in discussing the rhetorical (persuasive) strategies in the documentary... The speaker further says that â€Å"a great deal of faith in people that we wouldn’t succumb to frenzy, or rage, or greed; that we’d figure out a solution without destroying the things that we love (Fox Film).† This comes in a convincing tone that asserts respect for the environment. More so, Josh Fox says that the proposal from the natural gas company to lease Fox’s family land for purposes of drilling natural gas generated a debate in the family. Indeed, Fox’s father initially had the thought of leasing the land for the $100,000 offer (Fox Film). On the other hand, Fox tells his father, ‘I think I have to look into this, so give me some time to go ahead and get the facts.† Indeed, even though, Fox said this in a commanding voice, Fox’s father allowed him to seek for facts and evidence regarding the effects of hydraulic fracturing on the community neighboring the drilling site. In fact, Josh Fox is the dominant narrator in the do cumentary where he gives a personal story. He engaged in interviews, discussions, and debates seeking to unearth the possible environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing. As a result, the film offers facts and evidence in spoken form through the interviews. We can actually experience Josh Fox talking with residents suffering from chronic health ailments that relate to air pollution and water contamination from the drilling of the natural gas using the hydraulic fracturing (Fox Film). This offers facts and evidence in spoken form through the discussions. More so, the residents report on their quest for justice where they visited the court to get an injunction seeking damages from the natural gas companies.  Ã‚  

Advanced corporate reporting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced corporate reporting - Case Study Example In this report, we will discuss the differences between rules-based and principles-based of revenue recognition standard. Then, we will discuss the recognition criteria for revenue in both the old and new standards. The consistency of the new standard with conceptual framework will also be discussed. This will be followed by discussing the implications of new standard implemented and consequences of the significant changes. Rules-based standards as the name implies, provide sets of detailed rules that must be followed when preparing financial statements. Non-compliance of rules could cause a fine punishment or possible of lawsuits. With rules-based accounting standards, it will help to reduce the risk of misstatement of financial reports and increase the accuracy of financial information, given the explicit instructions for every situation as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) of the US may anticipate (DePamphilis 2012, 327). However, rules-based standards can be very complex too when preparing financial statements. Some people might look for loophole of rules and regulations to manipulate organisations’ financial figures. Principles-based standards are general guidelines that accountants must use as basis to prepare the financial statements. It is a simple way to apply and provide guidance for accountants to ensure good reporting. Under rules-based, there is less disclosure as what is required is to follow the rules required under a given standard. An example is different old standard on revenues where there is need to follow the requirement for a company is a specific industry to follow the industry specific requirement to recognize revenue. The principles-based accounting standard will have less rules but much will depend on the professional judgement of the accountant who will prepare the financial statement as properly guided the principles of preparing the accounts. In other words, under the

If Overestimation of Performance is Common, Management Attempts to Assignment - 1

If Overestimation of Performance is Common, Management Attempts to Introduce Benchmarking Procedures are Likely to Meet with Employee Resistance - Assignment Example Perceived weakness in performance would, therefore, be an important motivator for staff to support activities, such as benchmarking, that is geared towards improving their performance. Furthermore, when we analyze the statement, management attempt to introduce benchmarking procedures what comes to mind is that the organization in its current state lacks these procedures. This essentially implies that management will be engaging in a change effort. Change efforts are done under many banners. The basic goal of introducing benchmarking procedures is to make fundamental changes in how the business is conducted in order to help it cope with new, more challenging market environments. Kotter’s statement confirms this to be a change effort. For this reason, we find the need to discuss this question from two viewpoints: firstly as a Lake Wobegon effect challenge and secondly as a change effort challenge. As the Lake Wobegon effect challenge, this problem is a double whammy. For starters, management is faced with the challenge of transforming employee perception on the organization and secondly, the tool that they think is most appropriate for bringing a solution faces the resistance of adoption because of the very perception that they seek to reign in. This is the dilemma. Let us try to break down the problem into more comprehensible parts. First, employees perceive that their performance is better than it is in reality. This means that they will not see the reason to implement any new performance enhancing procedure such as benchmarking. Second, management has identified that there is indeed a problem that has to begin with changing employee perception. Management believes benchmarking is the way to go and would like to implement it. Third, employees – in our deduced scenario – resist managements push to implement benchmarking since they are convinced that what they ar e currently doing is already better than their peers.

Advanced corporate reporting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced corporate reporting - Case Study Example In this report, we will discuss the differences between rules-based and principles-based of revenue recognition standard. Then, we will discuss the recognition criteria for revenue in both the old and new standards. The consistency of the new standard with conceptual framework will also be discussed. This will be followed by discussing the implications of new standard implemented and consequences of the significant changes. Rules-based standards as the name implies, provide sets of detailed rules that must be followed when preparing financial statements. Non-compliance of rules could cause a fine punishment or possible of lawsuits. With rules-based accounting standards, it will help to reduce the risk of misstatement of financial reports and increase the accuracy of financial information, given the explicit instructions for every situation as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) of the US may anticipate (DePamphilis 2012, 327). However, rules-based standards can be very complex too when preparing financial statements. Some people might look for loophole of rules and regulations to manipulate organisations’ financial figures. Principles-based standards are general guidelines that accountants must use as basis to prepare the financial statements. It is a simple way to apply and provide guidance for accountants to ensure good reporting. Under rules-based, there is less disclosure as what is required is to follow the rules required under a given standard. An example is different old standard on revenues where there is need to follow the requirement for a company is a specific industry to follow the industry specific requirement to recognize revenue. The principles-based accounting standard will have less rules but much will depend on the professional judgement of the accountant who will prepare the financial statement as properly guided the principles of preparing the accounts. In other words, under the

Principles of communication in adult care setting Essay Example for Free

Principles of communication in adult care setting Essay Outcome 1 There are many different reasons that people communicate this maybe to let someone know that they are hungry or to say that they are unwell, it maybe that someone would just like to have a talk, people often communicate to voice their opinions and sometime to influence and motivate others. Communication is a major part of our active lives and is a social activity. It maybe verbal though speech, reading and writing or nonverbal though body language. Good communication throughout adult social care can only have a positive outcome. It creates a good working environment for both staff and the individuals we support, it can help all involved to relay messages to one another and other professionals to help the individuals we support, giving confidence and trust. Read more: Reasons to communicate  essay Outcome 2 Every Individual is an individual and should be treated so. However in some circumstances this may be difficult to overcome immediately. You need to establish if an individual is deaf/mute, or suffers from other disabilities which may impair there language and or communication skills. These can be overcome when you make an effort to establish the needs of an individual. Speaking slowly and clearly and whilst looking at the individual, will allow the individual to respond according to their needs/preferences. A range of communication methods are: Body language, eye contact, facial expressions, non verbal and verbal communication. Tone of voice, pitch of voice, gestures, hand and body, and British sign language. It is important to respond to an individual’s reactions when communicating because of the individual’s needs. So you can provide an accurate response, to promote empathy and a shared understanding to avoid the individual becoming more distressed, frustrated or con fused. Outcome 3 Individuals from different backgrounds will use communication in different ways by interpreting things in different ways, what may be accepted to one  culture may be completely different to another. It is important to refer to care plans to ensure that individual cultural beliefs are respected. Some barriers can be difficult to overcome, in many communications, the message may not be received the way that the sender originally intended. It is vital that the communicator seeks feedback to check that their message was clearly understood. Barriers may occur at any stage in the communication process, messages may become distorted or misunderstood, this can cause confusion, the use of jargon, over complicated or unfamiliar words. Lack of attention, interest or distractions. Physical disabilities, such as hearing or speech difficulties. Non-verbal communication. Unfamiliar accents/ language. Overcoming barriers in communications can be done by ensuring that individual’s needs and/or disabilities are known thoroughly and time and care is taken to ensure the correct message or instructions are heard and/or understood. Misunderstandings can be avoided or clarified, by ensuring you are communicating to the Individuals needs. Talking slowly and clearly. Using the correct terminology, and the correct facial expressions. There are many ways for individuals to access extra support to enable individuals to communicate more effectively, this can be through colleagues, individual’s family, friends, social worker, their GP, specialist nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, psychologist, psychiatrist. There are support groups available including translation services, interpreting services, speech and language and advocate services. Outcome 4 Confidentiality is a set of rules or a promise that limits access or puts restrictions on certain types of information. In day to day communication, confidentiality is a must. Things that you are told confidentially should be kept that way unless you are discussing the matter with an agreed other. Like a nurse, colleague or social worker. You do not talk about work related topics or individuals as idle gossip. There could be possible tension if you were ask to not say anything but due to duty of care, you have to let the agreed others know of the situation. I would seek advice from my manager  or supervisor during a supervision or confidential meeting if I felt that a service users information was being used in a incorrect way I would report this to my senior as soon as possible.

Problem of Environmental Pollution

Problem of Environmental Pollution Environmental pollution â€Å"The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.† (Havelock Ellis) We have stepped into the twenty first century, in this century; one of biggest problem faced so far is environmental pollution. Environmental pollution is the contamination caused by man made waste of air, water and land, which effect s or causes discomfort in the ecosystem of earth. Air pollution and water pollution are the most dangerous environmental pollution in earth. According to Havelock If humans could reach the sun, moon and stars they would have even polluted them. This essay will discuss the consequences of man made pollution to environment and its solution. The essential oxygen for our body is supplied by air. Human activities release substance into the air, which can cause many problems to human, animals and plants. Some of the effects of air pollution are reducing lung faction, Irritation of eyes, nose, mouth and throat, Asthma attacks, Respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, reduced energy levels, Headaches and dizziness, Disruption of reproductive and immune systems, Cardio problems, Cancer, Premature death.(Tropical rain forest animals.com). According to many doctors these are some of the diseases that are spread by breathing polluted air. One of the major causes of air pollution is â€Å"Global Warming†. Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of earths surface. â€Å"The temperature of the earth is controlled by the balance between the input from the sun and the loss of this back into space†.(Maslin, p 4). Human activities have sent harmful gases to the space, which has resulted in to a whole in the ozone layer of the earth which protects the suns heat form reaching earth. â€Å"The gas carbon dioxide has been emitted into the atmosphere in increasing amounts over the past two hundred years and more substantially over the past fifty years. Every year these emissions currently add to the carbon already present in the atmosphere a further eight hundred thousand million tones.†(Houghton, p 13) One of the biggest global warming effects is polar ice cap melting. â€Å"According to national snow and ice data centre there are 5,773,000 cubic tones of water is available in the earth in the form of ice and snow. If all these ice and snow starts to meltdown in once, the sea level will rise up to two hundred and fifty feet higher† (Simmon 2007), which might cause natural disasters like tsunami, hurricane Katrina and etc. One of the other effects of air pollution is disease and premature deaths. As every one knows oxygen is an essential for a human or an animal to live. The factories, other building in the industrialized places and motor vehicles release harmful gas as waste; this gas gets mixed up with the natural air. When humans and animals breathe this unhealthy air they fall ill. If a pregnant mother breaths this air in can even cause death to her baby. These are some of the effects of air pollution. In this world one third is covered with water in the form of ocean, lakes, rivers and etc. â€Å"Water Pollution means, the contaminated water which cannot be used for any purpose† (Mc Kinney, p 408). The causes of water pollution are industrial waste, oil, radio active waste and marine dumping. When water is polluted in cannot be used for drinking, cannot be used for the crops by farmers and for other essential purposes. The effects of air pollution are diseases caused by drinking water, human and animal deaths and affecting the gene. Water is one of the basic needs of human and others lives. Human activity like dumping waste in oceans has polluted the water. All the forms of water are inter connected, when people dump plastic, papers, card board and other items which takes time to degrade, pollutes the whole water. One of the other water pollution effects is human and animal deaths. As every one knows human body and animal body is some of the greatest creations of god. We humans pollute dump all the waste in sea which will take time to dissolve. Due to the waste, chemical and toxic it poisons the water. When human and wild animals drink this water they fall sick then die mainly in developing countries. The other main effect of water pollution is effect on the genes. In many industrialized area all the factory waste and toxic are dumped in sea. The poor people who live around that area consume water from that sea which will be connected to rivers. When pregnant woman consume that water it directly affects the babys gene. When this baby is born there are many chances of this baby being born disabled or paralyzed. These are some of the effects of water pollution. Prevention is all ways better than cure. There is all ways prevention available for every possible disaster man had made to this earth. Firstly here are some of the prevention methods for air pollution. In our world one of the biggest industries that are growing is automobile industry. Do you know how much smoke is released in an average auto mobile? The answer is a lot. Because auto mobile has been an essential human need. To avoid the air pollution by auto mobile people should be advised to use public transport and government should encourage companies to produce electric car and other auto mobile which will not effect the environment. The other air pollution problem is the harmful gas released by factories. Best way to prevent this is to bring out laws to reduce factories that are releasing harmful gas or encourage them to use green methods for their factory activities which can bring out greener product to the society. â€Å"Legislation, such as the clean air act, helps to make sure that the main culprits of air pollution are properly regulated and mandatory laws are in place to ensure that air pollution prevention is taken seriously.†(www.controllingpollution.com) One of the other ways to prevent air pollution is to bring out and implement laws that will help to reduce the usage products that will release harmful gas and pollute the air. Laws like maximum gas products a house hold can use, maximum auto mobile a family can have, and rewards for people who use green products that will help the environment should be brought to encourage the society to become green user. And finally a prevention method for air pollution is creating awareness among the people. You always remember to share you thoughts about air pollution with all the other people in your society, which might help to educate them about the air pollution and its effects to environment. These are some of the prevention methods of air pollution. Other set of prevention methods that can prevent environmental pollution is for the water pollution. The first method of preventing water pollution is using purified water. Consuming purified and healthy water is a very important activity for human and other living organism. In previous paragraphs the effects of using unhealthy or polluted water was explained. When you consume purified water you can avoid many of the diseases caused consuming by polluted water. Water is one of the best medicines naturally available on earth. We should all ways remember to use boiled and germs free water to drinking purpose. And one of the other problems of water pollution is the factories that releases waste into river or lake. In many factories their waste pipe is led to a river or lake which is located next to their factory. The government should fine these kinds of factories who are not following the safety rules that are set to protect public. These factories should all so be dislocated from the area In order to clean the waste dumped in to rivers. â€Å"One of the main reasons why water pollution is still such a threat to our planets health is because the governments of the world either choose to ignore the pollution that business is responsible for or because they want to give businesses ten years to change their industry.†(www.scipeeps.com) According to this article if government decided to shut down a factory they should give them ten years change their industry of the business which might lead to lose of a income to government. These are some the prevention methods for water pollution. In conclusion, there are two main environmental pollution available. One is air pollution and other one is water pollution. Mainly all this pollution is caused by man. As the result of mans activity now the human and other living organism are facing many difficulties. The earth is a beautiful place but he humans with out appreciating we are causing many discomfort to it, forgetting that what ever you do to earth we are the ones who is going to struggle out of it.â€Å"When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.†(David). If we decide to clean the mess that we have made in the earth, the earth will be a better place. If Humans decided to continue these activities, in future none of us will be left to alive in the world. We could even change this world in to a dessert, which many of us wont like it. So we should act fast because after us there are many generations to come in to this world. Bibliography David Orr http://www.quotegarden.com/environment.html (Retrieved 20/11/09) Different Ideas for Prevention of Air Pollution http://www.controllingpollution.com/prevention/prevention-of-air-pollution/ (Retrieved 29/11/09) Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923 http://www.quotegarden.com/environment.html (retrieved 20/11/09) John Houghton (2009), what is global warming. Global warming-the complete briefing (Page 13), New York, Cambridge university press. Mark Maslin (2004), the earths natural green house. Global Warming- a very short introduction,(page 4),New York, oxford university press. Micheal L.Mckinney,Robert M.Schoch, Logan Yonavjak, (2007) Water pollution. Environmental Science: Systems and solution, fourth edition (page 408), Sudbury, Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Pollution effects on human, animals, plants and the environment, 2008: http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/pollution-effects.html (Retrieved 15/11/09) Simmon 2007, 5 deadliest effects of global warming: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5-deadliest-effects-of-global-warming/276 (Retrieved 14/11/09) Water pollution prevention, May 28, 2009 http://scipeeps.com/water-pollution-prevention/ (Retrieved 29/11/09) Sakthivel Senthooran (SASED93)

1031 Exchanges Essay -- essays research papers

Final Paper â€Å"1031 Exchanges – Insight for the real estate investor† This paper is written to provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of Section 1031 of the IRC as it pertains to real estate transactions, and to offer some thoughts on the wealth-creation advantages that 1031 Exchanges offer. For the greater part of the last decade, we in the United States have been witness to a consistently appreciating real estate market. Sometimes it seems that almost anyone who has purchased a house, piece of property, or other real estate type investment has done very well. I personally can point to a few examples where friends of mine have made several hundred times their first home equity investment. In sales of primary homes there is a tax advantage that the IRS permits, as long as the proceeds are invested into another home, the capital gains on your existing home sale are exempt from taxation. However, if the property in question is an investment, a capital gain tax is assessed every time there is a sale that includes a gain. A tax strategy that investors can employ in such situations is to transfer their investment property for another investment of â€Å"like-kind†, this is a Section 1031 Exchange. Under Section 1031, if all its guidelines are met, the exchange is not a taxable event. Also, similar to tax rules regarding reorganizations - in a 1031 Exchange there is no taxable event and therefore no step-up in basis. The wealth-creation advantage of a 1031 Exchange can be viewed in the chart below. The example depicts two sales of real estate, the initial assumption is that the property has been completely depreciated and the entire $100K of initial equity is a capital gain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Event 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Event 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typical Sale  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1031 Exchange  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Investment experiences 20% appreciation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typical Sale  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1031 Exchange Equity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  100,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  100,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  160,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  200,000 Tax  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0... ...y within the United States and personal property used predominantly outside the United States are not property of a like kind. (B) Predominant use Except as provided in subparagraph [1] (C) and (D), the predominant use of any property shall be determined based on— (i) in the case of the property relinquished in the exchange, the 2-year period ending on the date of such relinquishment, and (ii) in the case of the property acquired in the exchange, the 2-year period beginning on the date of such acquisition. (C) Property held for less than 2 years Except in the case of an exchange which is part of a transaction (or series of transactions) structured to avoid the purposes of this subsection— (i) only the periods the property was held by the person relinquishing the property (or any related person) shall be taken into account under subparagraph (B)(i), and (ii) only the periods the property was held by the person acquiring the property (or any related person) shall be taken into account under subparagraph (B)(ii). (D) Special rule for certain property Property described in any subparagraph of section 168 (g)(4) shall be treated as used predominantly in the United States.