Valhalla Partners Due Diligence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Valhalla Partners Due Diligence - Case Study Example Deciding to go ahead and invest in Telco Exchange would create a nice future for Valhalla if everything went well. Art Marks is educated and has plenty of real-world experience that will assist with making a fair and important decision. This opportunity, if Art Marks decided to vote yes, would allow Valhalla to test out their new due diligence process and decided whether or not the process was a good idea. The Due diligence process consisted of a twelve step process that followed a certain order. This certain order was important for Valhalla to become the most profitable and aid companies that it may be investing in. The steps began with a one-pager, and then deep diligence would begin. Next would be an investment memo followed by an investment decision. The decision would lead to a present term sheet, negotiating terms, a 100-day plan, and a close. Following the close are an active board stewardship, finance and research assistance, critical moves and an exit. This due diligence pro cess would play a huge role in the decision by Marks. After learning about the company and what it has to offer, Art Marks should vote yes on investing in Telco Exchange. Telco Exchange is already in business with popular companies like IKON and Marriot. If these already established companies were able to seek services from Telco Exchange it was likely that with the right marketing, Telco Exchange can become more popular and become more successful. Becoming more successful would make Telco Exchange a better investment. The Due Diligence process would help ensure that Telco Exchange is where Valhalla wants it to be. An appropriate valuation for Valhalla and Telco Exchange is to work with one another. Working with one another and coming to an agreement that is beneficial to both businesses will create better relations between the two and open up more opportunities in the future. Valhalla partners need to think about how the future of a successful Telco Exchange can benefit Valhalla. L ike any company, Telco Exchange faces risks. Risks can be changeable and benefit investors or they can be unchangeable and make investing seem like a waste of money. The top three risks facing Telco Exchange are easy to move past. One of the main risks is marketing. Marketing is important for companies to get there name out there and move forward. The memo doesn’t really state the marketing that Telco Exchange has in place. A good marketing strategy will help improve Telco Exchange and make Telco look more appealing to investors. The second risk associated with Telco Exchange is the issues it faces with software. The software can never be perfect and will always require upgrading and repairs. What does Telco have in store for upgrading and improving software? Companies are always going to want the best and the easiest.

The Examination of a Teen Killer Essay Example for Free

The Examination of a Teen Killer Essay Every Year there is a reported deathly school shooting around the world. Every year it is the same story about how a frustrated teen takes out his anger on the fellow students at school. In the next upcoming paragraphs I will digress on The Killer at Thurston High’s actions through Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology. Kip Kinkel had psychological problems at a young age. His family went to live in Spain for a year; this is where the problems began. Kip was only in the first grade and he was just learning English and since he was able to speak just in English, he would have difficulties understanding his Spanish teacher. Kip’s frustration came from his past language experiences, and also the never-ending weight on him of living up to the Kinkel name. It was way too much for a preteen like Kip to be involved with. He had the all-American: â€Å"perfect family†, if you will, but in his mind he did not feel welcomed. Kip thought of himself as the imperfect son, his sister on the other hand was athletic, smart, and well known by almost everyone in their community. The Kinkel parents were highly respected because of their field of a teaching career. This all left Kip down and depressed during most periods of his life. On May 21, Kinkel had been suspended for bringing a firearm to school the previous day, the suspension day came and Kip reacted by driving his father’s car to school. The 15 year old was covered by a trench coat with a 9-mm Glock and a 22-calibur pistol hidden underneath. Kip Kinkel opened fire in the cafeteria of Thurston High School in Springfield Oregon, killing two students and injuring as many as 20 others. The explanations of his actions are indescribable. From a sociologist stand point, how Kip reacted towards weapons would be a major factor to keep in mind. In this case Kip resolved many of his solutions by either firing guns that he’d gotten from his father, or by detonating home-made explosives. This shows how Kip Kinkel deals with his emotions on the inside. After the crisis at Thurston High school, the sheriffs deputies went to the Kinkel residence. There they found loud music playing in the main living room and the rotten smell of decaying bodies. During the confession tape of Kip Kinkel, he said that he loved his parents dearly, and that he â€Å"had to do it†. The deputies found the body of William P. Kinkel, 59 covered by a sheet in the first floor bathroom. Kip’s mother Faith M. Kinkel, 57 was found later in the garage  also covered by a white sheet. An anthropologist could only describe the purpose of the blaring music being played. Kip grew up listening to a lot of violent music, watching many death related movies, and also just becoming inflicted by the social media around him. Kip Kinkel felt that he had to do what he did in order to achieve bliss. These anthropological factors had a big influence on all of the actions that Kip pursued. In my opinion, this entire turn of deathly events could only be controlled through Kip Kinkel’s personal and psychological mind. As it was stated before, Kip grew up feeling that he was unwelcome and always alone in his life. This made him very frustrated and upset with himself, thus resulting in his aggressive solutions, (firearms and explosives). So if Kip grew up believing that he was a good kid, and that he could actually achieve other things that other people could do, he wouldn’t have been the Killer at Thurston High. In conclusion, the fact that Kipland Kinkel was raised in a different country and held back a grade made him a frustrated child right from the start. He was also an all American kid, who was raised around heavy firearms and this impacted his decisions to express his emotions violently. The final point that describes Kip’s actions is how he always listened to aggressive and shallow music, which resulted in him being more deep and dark, and also made him feel like he needed to do the things he did in order to move on. So the story of Kipland Kinkel is an older one, but keep in mind that something like this could happen anywhere!

Abortion is a Choice Essays -- Papers Argumentative Pro-choice Life Es

Abortion is a Choice Abortion is a very controversial issue that has been continually argued over the past few years and will continue for years to come. Before I get into the sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus, or unborn child while the child is still in the mother's womb. There are two sides to this abortion topic. The Pro-life which is those who are against abortion altogether and the Pro-choice those who believe it is the women's right to choose if she wants to have an abortion. Personally, I am Pro-choice and I believe there are many clear-cut reasons to why I take this stand. In my paper I will support my position with facts about abortion, and areas where Pro-life imply that those in support of a woman's right to choose abortion are killers--meaning "anti-life," which is altogether untrue. First off I want to state that for a quarter of a century millions of women have grown up under the protection of "Roe vs. Wade," secure in the knowledge that freedom to choose is a fundamental American value, and a constitutionally protected right. Although some oppose abortion, it may be due to either lack of knowledge, or that opponents of abortion rights claim that over 90% of all abortions are used as a substitute for a contraceptive (Quick Facts). Abortionists exclude from this definition that only some of those performed are because of a woman's life in danger, there is severe fatal deformity, or because the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. Implying women in general are irresponsible and those who would choose abortion do so, with out carefully considering the impact of their decisions upon themselves and their families. A reason to why I am Pro-choice... ...he bible. Well what about other religions? What if a person doesn't even know of GOD, or believe in them? Does this mean that they are going to go to heaven and hell, when they don't even know what heaven and hell are? I feel that the decision of abortion must remain within the individual, and should be made on the basis of values and personal religious principles, whether they choose to include religion or not, and should remain free from political interference. In conclusion, the issue of abortion continues to be discussed, debated, and even unfortunately, blow out of proportion. In hopes of settling this controversial issue, I've given my knowledge and beliefs on the matter. Getting across my main points, that it is the women's right to choose if she wants to have an abortion, and that Pro-life imply a lot of misimpressions to society which are untrue.

Online Innovation :: essays research papers

Project overview: There is a great need for a full service and price competitive on-line meat shop. At this point, we may explain our company nature before and after go online like from â€Å"Blick and Mortar† to â€Å"Click and Mortar†? If we combine this need being met with the feel of shopping at a real â€Å"home town† meat shop our competitive advantage will be far greater than that of our competitors. There are very few alternatives for on-line meat shops. There are notch stores such as Bisonmeat.com that ships bison meat at a premium and targets only a small demographic. Also, there are full product providers like Iowameats.com. However there prices are wildly out of line compared to a â€Å"home town meat shop.† Should we emphasize our low cost of operation and production, which cause our low price offered? It is clear the on-line community is underserved in this area and it is evident that there is much room for growth and profitability in the on-line meat market industry. Value proposition: What we propose is a partnership with local meat shops in the US to achieve maximum shipping savings and product quality. Is this partnership including Delivery Service Company? Since we’ll offer free shipping to customers, we may need to mention about long term relationship or contract with Delivery Company. Practically, we won’t survive if we need to pay high for each shipment, isn’t it? We believe that we can offer the same meats at the same price as walking into the store and picking it off the shelf by offering subscriptions to our customers and creating a commission based service fee to the vendors. The subscriptions and commissions from the vendor (individual customer?) would be our revenue. The vendor would profit by name recognition on the site, increased sales from on-line purchases, and only pays in return for sales. Since we will be working with a â€Å"home town meat shop† we will have a competitive bundle of satisfactions.

Rhetorical Analysis of “I Have a Dream” Essay

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln oversaw the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. Although all black slaves were freed by this proclamation, unfortunately, the oppression towards African Americans was far from over. It wasn’t until the mid 1900’s that African Americans took a stand against this ongoing segregation and racism. Amongst all the civil rights leaders that arose during this time, MLK was arguably the most influential figure. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), thousands of African Americans, as well as many of other individuals, marched to Washington D.C. to witness the speech that many people today regard as one of the greatest speeches in history. MLK goes in depth outlining the problems with racism as he simultaneously invokes feeling of sympathy in the audience. Furthermore, through his use of various other rhetorical devices, he generates strong feelings of unity amongst audience members to bring them together as one equal group of people under God. In persuasion, emotional appeal is one of the most powerful devices a speaker can use. If a speaker can effectively force audience members to sympathize with him, they will essentially be on his side of the argument. MLK does a phenomenal job of this in his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. â€Å"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation†¦.One hundred years later, the colored American is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition†. The â€Å"great American† MLK was alluding to was Abraham Lincoln; who, as I stated earlier, was the main driver behind the Emancipation Proclamation. The syntax of this quote really emphasizes the oppression that African Americans are exposed to. Words like exile, languishing, and shameful were chosen to evoke sympathy in the audience for the victimized African Americans. Now that he effectively gained sympathy from the audience, he has their attention. His next move is to drill into their heads that the need for change is imminent. The heavy use of anaphoras in MLK’s speech was his best weapon in regards to making his ideas stick in the heads of audience members. As seen in the portion of the speech, â€Å"Now is the time to†¦make real the promise of democracy†¦.rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation†¦lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice†¦make justice a reality to all of God’s children†, his repetition of â€Å"now is the time to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  stirs up the audience and makes them realize that there is need for immediate actions to be taken to fight this oppression. It was no coincidence that MLK decided to refer to us as â€Å"all of God’s children†. Although the people in the crowd may have differed in skin color, the majority of people were apart of some sort of religion. By putting everyone in the same category (i.e. being children of god) he furthered his point that all men are created equal. When MLK came to speak at Washington D.C., he didn’t come to propose a compromise, he came to preach that African Americans will not settle for anything less than equality. Again, MLK used anaphoras to emphasize and reiterate how relentless â€Å"we† (the African American population) will be in the civil rights movement when he said â€Å"We can never be satisfied as long as†¦our bodies cannot gain lodging in the motels†¦.the colored persons basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one†¦our children are stripped of their selfhood†¦we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream†. Along with the repetition of â€Å"we can never be satisfied†, he uses a simile for â€Å"justice† and â€Å"righteousness† to relay the power of the freedom he dreams to achieve for the African American people. Again, through the use of anaphoras, MLK describes this dream he hopes to achieve. In this portion of the speech, he shows the audience a glimpse of the harmonious future that will come with his dream of equality amongst all people. He repeats the phrase â€Å"I have a dream† eight times. His voice progressively got louder and more dramatic as he repeated the phrase. Each time, becoming more powerful than the last. The result of this was a sharp increase in excitement and emotional arousal in the audience. His inclusion of equality and brotherhood in â€Å"we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal†¦.we will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood’ were used to invoke feelings of unity in the audience. Unity amongst the American people was not only the dream of MLK, but, along with freedom, was the basis on which America was founded upon. MLK’s repetition of the phrase â€Å"let freedom ring† served to show the audience that, although America was founded on freedom, it hasn’t yet been truly achieved. When true freedom is achieved, he said â€Å"we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’†. He successively appeals to the diversity of the audience by referring to the every major social group and recognizing them all as equal. †. The usage of the diacope â€Å"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last† brings his speech full circle. It presented the end result of the dream he proposed, and successfully expressed the feeling of relief African Americans will have when they get their freedom. In his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech, MLK went in depth identifying the problems with racism as he simultaneously invoked feeling of sympathy in the audience. His use of various other rhetorical devices generated strong feelings of unity amongst audience members to bring them together as one equal group of people. Although his rhetorical devices were the main reason behind the success of the speech, the way he structured of the speech is what pushed it above and beyond greatness, and made it ones of the greatest speeches in history. MLK was without a doubt, the most influential leader in the civil rights movement. Without his influence, segregation may have still existed even today. However, thanks to his phenomenal rhetorical speaking, his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech gave the civil rights movement the immense push it needed to end segregation for good.

Ancient Stele essays

Ancient Stele essays Just as we use tombstones to mark graves and commemorate our dead, so too did ancient civilizations. One way to do so in the ancient world was through the use of steles. A stele is a stone slab, usually decorated in relief and inscribed, that honored the death of a person. Three of the ancient cultures that had implemented the use of the stele were the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. In comparing an example from each civilization, it is possible to see the evolution of the stele from one period to another and the different influences each civilization had on a single element. The Egyptians had many ways to honor their dead, including the stele. Wealthy Egyptians, especially officials and priest, often had stele placed near their tombs. These steles usually told of the name, position/rank, and the epithets of the deceased along with a funerary prayer. (Gee 224) One such example is the Funerary Stele from Dendereh from the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2150 BCE). (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) This stele belongs to a man named Tjaunty, an official during the First Intermediate Period. The stele depicts Tjaunty on the far left of the rectangular slab. The other two-thirds of the stele are reserved for inscriptions of hieroglyphs. The depiction of Tjaunty is characteristic of the Egyptian style. The purpose of the Egyptian style was to represent the human form in the clearest and most complete way. The head is shown in profile but with the eye in a frontal position. The reason for this is that the head is more distinct from the profile position; the eyes, on the other hand, are more representative from the frontal view. The shoulders are presented frontally with the waist, hips, legs, and feet in profile. (Gee 18) In Tjaunty's funerary stele, Tjaunty is presented in this very distinct way. He is also shown with the symbols of his position as an official. This is known because Tj...

Anselm

As a philosopher, Anselm is most often remembered for his attempts to prove the existence of God. Anselm presented the popular Ontological Argument. In this argument Anselm declares that God is that than which no greater can be thought. Anselm feels that that God exists as the source of all perfection. Anselm begins by stating that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. When Anselm says this, it means that it is not possible to think of a being greater than God is. Anselm also says that if God is the greatest being he is referring to the fact that it would be impossible to imagine someone or something being greater than God is. Thus it would be impractical to say that God only exists in the mind because it is highly greater to exist in reality than it is to only exist in a persons mind. He believes that a perfect God must exist in reality. Otherwise God would not be completely perfect. Anselm feels that existence is perfect. He feels that part of Gods perfection is that he is one. Anselm also says that God has many characteristics that describe him. Among these being: self existing, divine, and eternal. This means that God depends on nothing else for his existence. Thus, his existence is forever. God can not stop existing. Anselm uses Gods definition to argue that God can not be thought not to exist. Not only is his existence a fact, but his non existence is impossible. The non-existence for all other being is possible, but when it comes to the non-existence of God, it is not possible. The argument for Gods existence is very much like the argument that it is impossible for one to believe that God does not exist. Anselms theory states that God is everything to everyone. I find this hard to believe because every individual has a different view of how he or she perceives God. Many different people have many different views o

Definition and Examples of the English-only Movement

Definition and Examples of the English-only Movement The English-only movement is a political movement that seeks to establish English as the sole official language of the United States or of any particular city or state within the U.S. The expression English-only is primarily used by opponents of the movement. Advocates prefer other terms, such as Official-English Movement. U.S.ENGLISH, Inc. states that it is the nations oldest, largest citizens action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Senator S.I. Hayakawa, an immigrant himself, U.S. English now has 1.8 million members nationwide.​ Commentary President Theodore Roosevelt We have room for but one language in this country, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house. –Works, 1926 Peter Elbow Its touching when speakers of English argue for purity in the language since English is probably the most impure bastardized language theres ever been. Its slept with every language it ever encountered, even casually. The strength of English comes from how many babies its had with how many partners. –Vernacular Eloquence: What Speech Can Bring to Writing, 2012 Geoffrey Nunberg Given the minor role that language has played in our historical self-conception, it isnt surprising that the current English-only movement began in the political margins, the brainchild of slightly flaky figures like Senator S.I. Hayakawa and John Tanton, a Michigan ophthalmologist who co-founded the U.S. English organization as an outgrowth of his involvement in zero population growth and immigration restriction. (The term English-only was originally introduced by supporters of a 1984 California initiative opposing bilingual ballots, a stalking horse for other official-language measures. Leaders of the movement have since rejected the label, pointing out that they have no objection to the use of foreign languages in the home. But the phrase is a fair characterization of the goals of the movement so far as public life is concerned.)... Considered strictly in the light of the actualities, then, English-only is an irrelevant provocation. It is a bad cure for an imaginary disease, and moreover, one that encourages an unseemly hypochondria about the health of the dominant language and culture. But it is probably a mistake to try to engage the issue primarily at this level, as opponents of these measures have tried to do with little success. Despite the insistence of English-only advocates that they have launched their campaign for the immigrants own good, its hard to avoid the conclusion that the needs of non-English speakers are a pretext, not a rationale, for the movement. At every stage, the success of the movement has depended on its capacity to provoke widespread indignation over allegations that government bilingual programs are promoting a dangerous drift toward a multilingual society. –Speaking of America: Why English-Only Is a Bad Idea. The Workings of Language: From Prescriptions to Perspectives, ed. b y Rebecca S. Wheeler. Greenwood, 1999 Paul Allatson Many commentators regard English-Only as a symptom of a nativist backlash against immigration from Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, the ostensible focus on language by proponents often masking deeper fears about the nation under threat from Spanish-speaking peoples (Crawford 1992). At a federal level, English is not the official language of the USA, and any attempt to give English that function would require a Constitutional amendment. However, this is not the case at city, county, and state level across the country, and much of the recent legislative success to enshrine English as the official state, county, or city language is attributable to English-Only. –Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural And Literary Studies, 2007 James Crawford [F]actual support has generally proved unnecessary for English-only proponents to advance their cause. The facts are that, except in isolated locales, immigrants to the United States have typically lost their native languages by the third generation. Historically they have shown an almost gravitational attraction toward English, and there are no signs that this proclivity has changed. To the contrary, recent demographic data analyzed by Veltman (1983, 1988) indicate that rates of anglicization- shift to English as the usual language- are steadily increasing. They now approach or surpass a two-generation pattern among all immigrant groups, including Spanish-speakers, who are most often stigmatized as resistant to English. –At War with Diversity: US Language Policy in an Age of Anxiety, 2000 Kevin Drum I may not have any big objections to making English our official language, but why bother? Far from being unique, Hispanics are just like every other wave of immigrants in American history: they start off speaking Spanish, but the second and third generations end up speaking English. And they do it for obvious reasons: they live among English speakers, they watch English-language television, and its hellishly inconvenient not to speak it. All we have to do is sit back and do nothing, and Hispanic immigrants will eventually all become English speakers. –The Best Way to Promote the English Language Is to Do Nothing, 2016 Opponents Anita K. Barry In 1988, the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) of the NCTE passed a National Language Policy (Smitherman, 116) that lists as the goals of CCCC: 1. to provide resources to enable native and non-native speakers to achieve oral and literate competence in English, the language of wider communication;2. to support programs that assert the legitimacy of native languages and dialects and ensure that proficiency in ones mother tongue will not be lost; and3. to foster the teaching of languages other than English so that native speakers of English can rediscover the language of their heritage or learn a second language. Some opponents of English-only, including the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Education Association, united in 1987 into a coalition called English Plus, which supports the concept of bilingualism for everyone... –Linguistic Perspectives on Language and Education, 2002 Henry Fountain Fewer than half of the nations in the world have an official languageand sometimes they have more than one. The interesting thing, though, said James Crawford, a writer on language policy, is that a large percentage of them are enacted to protect the rights of language minority groups, not to establish a dominant language. In Canada, for example, French is an official language along with English. Such a policy is intended to protect the francophone population, which has remained distinct for hundreds of years. In the United States we dont have that kind of stable bilingualism, Mr. Crawford said. We have a pattern of very rapid assimilation. A more apt comparison might be to Australia, which like the United States has had high levels of immigration. Australia doesnt have an English-only movement, Mr. Crawford said. While English is the official language, Australia also has a policy that encourages immigrants to preserve their language and English-speakers to learn new ones, all to benefit trade and security. They dont use language as a lightning rod for expressing your views on immigration, Mr. Crawford said. Language has not become a major symbolic dividing line. –In Language Bill, the Language Counts, 2006

Employee Hit and Injured by Overhead Travelling Crane Case Study

Employee Hit and Injured by Overhead Travelling Crane - Case Study Example The crane operator did not activate the alarm when he found the injured employee in the non-designated area. On inspection, he reported that alarm signal was out of order and he did not inform about it to anyone. He also did not care to warn the injured employee in time. The injured employee was under stress- The employee was new and facing some disciplinary action in the company. Perhaps he was stressed when the accident happened because as per the information provided by a senior employee, when the employee got hit, the overhead crane was traveling at a very slow speed. He may have avoided being hit, had he been alert. Lack of cordiality and concern between the new and old employees- No appropriate action was taken by the other employees deployed in the area where the accident occurred. There existed a clear-cut lack of cordiality and amity between the senior and new employees. Lack of mentoring roles- Commitment to workplace safety is something that the new employees imbibe from the senior mentors. There existed a lack of mentoring provisions in the work area, which could have prevented the accident. Promulgation of Company’s Safety Regulations amongst the New Employees- All the new employees are urgently called to a meeting where a senior foreman promulgates and explains in detail the Company’s Safety Regulations to them. Crane Operator- The crane operator, operating the crane during the accident is sent on leave for the time and it is assured that all the operators henceforth operating the crane are suitably trained and experienced in handling all aspects of the crane operations. An inquiry is ordered as to why the crane operator did not warn the injured employee in time. Fixing of accountability- The senior foremen deployed on the shop floors will be conveyed that it is they who will have to assure that all the employees abide by the Company’s Safety Regulations while being on the shop floor. Senior foremen will be extended the requisite authority on an immediate basis. Qualification and Experience- Strict qualification and experience associated norms will be adhered to while recruiting the new employees.  

This i believe essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

This i believe - Essay Example Friendship is a form of love that people share and comes along through common interests where friends enjoy what they do and share and interact regularly. Moreover, having gone through the same experiences in life ties people together and sharing values makes friendship to be stronger. Furthermore, true friendship is the will to put happiness before friendship and telling of something that one does not want to hear. A true friend inspires, motivates, and encourages an individual to live up to their best potential. They always have the best interests of their friends in their hearts and are always available when one is down. In addition, they laugh with their friends in times of happiness and in times of sorrow they comfort and cry with them. For the longest time I relied on friends for company and affection. Truth be told, I was happy about that and regarded myself as the luckiest person in the world. Somehow, I often felt that I was not giving my best to one of my good friends. This kept me thinking since my friendship experiences were different from the way it is portrayed culturally. One of my true friends was a drug addict and it was so scary since she could not survive without drugs. This is something that people, especially the parents and close relatives did not know. It was difficult to pass such kind of information to the parents and relatives, as it is not acceptable in the society to abuse drugs. As a friend, I knew I had a big challenge of helping my friend and keeping her on the right track. One day, we had a chat and I knew it was my responsibility to help her get out of the huge problem she was in. She was hesitant at first and asked that I should not tell. I told her I was not going to, but I was going t o help. I advised that she should see a counselor who would guide on how to stop using the drugs. I supported her financially and emotionally and even helped her look for a counselor. It was not easy, but after all, I was happy since I knew she

Business and or the economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business and or the economy - Essay Example In addition, small businesses face the need to downsize. However, the impact of a slowing economy on a small business depends upon the type of small business. In a slowing economy, small businesses involved in vehicle and property repossessions thrive. Likewise, small business owners with a strong financial base find the slowing economy as the right time to buy out their competitors. Small businesses show better adjustment and adaptation to a changing economy. This can primarily be attributed to the fact that decision making is easier and faster in small businesses as compared to the decision making in large businesses. Hence, small businesses can easily make the required changes as per the need of the hour. This is a very informative article about the effects of economy on businesses in general and on small businesses in particular. It not only explains the risks of changing economy on small businesses, but also touches upon ways in which those risks can be turned into

Ethnography interviewing Parents who encourage their children to play Research Paper

Ethnography interviewing Parents who encourage their children to play aggressive sports - Research Paper Example Several parents are in favor of having their children play aggressive sports. One mother that was interviewed gave her side of the story. According to parent Sandra Hemingway (personal communication, August 8, 2011), she allows her 12-year-old daughter to participate in kickboxing because she believes it not only allows her to â€Å"learn valuable self-defense techniques,† but also because she thinks it is wonderful exercise for a young, growing girl. Another parent felt that having his child play an aggressive sport was a rite of passage, and part of his cultural heritage. According to parent Mark Garcia (personal communication, August 8, 2011), he allows his 14-year-old son to participate in soccer because it is a team-oriented sport which has cultural ties to his native homeland of Mexico. It seems that parents are definitely models for how aggressively participants of certain sports can act. According to Dunlap (2005), â€Å"Parents, coaches, teammates, and sport heroes often model support for aggressive styles of play†¦Ideally, childrens participation in sports should be fun, contribute to physical development, teach skills, [and] help develop social skills†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 38). Social skills are important for younger children. Research seems to suggest that, the more aggressive a contact sport is, the weaker the moral fibers of the child participating in the sport. This also suggests that the parents of these children are also going to have scored lower on moral reasoning tests. According to Hughes (2009), â€Å"People who have the greatest interest in highly aggressive contact sports or have participated in them for the longest amounts of time tend to score lower on tests of moral reasoning†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 49). Parents have actually been proven to be more prone to ‘sports rage,’ especially because of their children being involved in aggressive sports events. According to â€Å"New Law Upgrades ‘Sports Rage’ Penalty† (2002), â€Å"[L]awmakers cited

Case 1 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

1 - Case Study Example Delinquent orders have been accumulating while the company was not able to fulfill these increasing orders. Some of the Solar Feeder parts were even contracted to other suppliers with SDI only having the responsibility of assembling the parts. The company could, however, not maintain full and successful control on its sub-contractors (Brown and Abercrombie). Quality problem in the parts received from the suppliers was poor, which also facilitated the slow delivery. This factor is further attributed to the fact that it would always take SDI a lot of time to adjust the poor quality parts to the desired quality before the delivery is done. Consequently, the production process had to slow down significantly. Further much down time as well as production reject was experienced. Addressing the issue would require the management to look at the best ways to gain control over suppliers in order to quicken the parts quality and delivery. This will further boost production quality and quantity a nd hence revenue generation. Break even volume refers to the number of a product units that SDI has to sell in order for its sales revenues to equal to its total costs. In this regard, considerations of both unit costs and start-up costs are done. As for now, SDI Inc. has not achieved a breakeven of sales. The company’s costs and sales revenues need to balance in order to achieve a breakeven volume of sales (Hofstrand). From a look at the SDI financial ratios, it can easily be noticed that the company has a long way to go before achieving a breakeven volume of sales. The company is still facing losses, but not profits. The gross profit margin of the company is 59% (Brown and Abercrombie). This is based on the difference between the sales and cost of goods sold all divided by the sales. Considering that there are still other expenses/costs, which have to be deducted in the gross profits, the total costs are fur much above the sales revenue (Hofstrand). With a net

Ethnography interviewing Parents who encourage their children to play Research Paper

Ethnography interviewing Parents who encourage their children to play aggressive sports - Research Paper Example Several parents are in favor of having their children play aggressive sports. One mother that was interviewed gave her side of the story. According to parent Sandra Hemingway (personal communication, August 8, 2011), she allows her 12-year-old daughter to participate in kickboxing because she believes it not only allows her to â€Å"learn valuable self-defense techniques,† but also because she thinks it is wonderful exercise for a young, growing girl. Another parent felt that having his child play an aggressive sport was a rite of passage, and part of his cultural heritage. According to parent Mark Garcia (personal communication, August 8, 2011), he allows his 14-year-old son to participate in soccer because it is a team-oriented sport which has cultural ties to his native homeland of Mexico. It seems that parents are definitely models for how aggressively participants of certain sports can act. According to Dunlap (2005), â€Å"Parents, coaches, teammates, and sport heroes often model support for aggressive styles of play†¦Ideally, childrens participation in sports should be fun, contribute to physical development, teach skills, [and] help develop social skills†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 38). Social skills are important for younger children. Research seems to suggest that, the more aggressive a contact sport is, the weaker the moral fibers of the child participating in the sport. This also suggests that the parents of these children are also going to have scored lower on moral reasoning tests. According to Hughes (2009), â€Å"People who have the greatest interest in highly aggressive contact sports or have participated in them for the longest amounts of time tend to score lower on tests of moral reasoning†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 49). Parents have actually been proven to be more prone to ‘sports rage,’ especially because of their children being involved in aggressive sports events. According to â€Å"New Law Upgrades ‘Sports Rage’ Penalty† (2002), â€Å"[L]awmakers cited

The Political Economy of the European Union Essay

The Political Economy of the European Union - Essay Example Japan in particular has created worrisome situation for European economy and trade, this Asian country "has influenced in monetary and technology domains" (Wayne, 1992). It is essential for the European government and market to realise that it has to re-structure its political and economic policies, the union has to "construct a coherent political presence on the global stage in order to achieve the most attractive accommodation to the new order" (Wayne, 1992). The union shall realise that American economy has been partially able to sustain the implications caused by Chinese and Japanese market, however the political influence of the country supported by its stakes in policy making institutions kept the vital interests of the country protected and intact. The European Union has to take serious efforts to improve its political authority, and has to take political influence driven trajectory to reach a point of influence and dominance, to reign supreme in this world of competition and challenges (Ben, 2000). The major decisions in the history of the union have been influenced by liberal inter-governmentalist, who developed two-stage approach. The initial approach focused upon determination of primary preferences based upon "constraints and opportunities imposed by economic interdependence" (Andrew, 1993). The last approach is based upon the results achieved through intergovernmental negotiations, such achievements "were determined by the relative bargaining power of governments and the function incentives for institutionalization created by high transaction costs and the desire to control domestic agendas" (Andrew, 1993). The agricultural policy of the union is based upon the collective financial interests of the producers, the trade policy is also determined based upon such interests. The sets of such desires and preferences describe the societal limits on the governments, the limits of compromise is also determined through such act. The union has adopted the economic policies similar to the policies practiced by other international groups; the union has decided to improve the efficiency of bargaining through implementation of cost reducing rules. The only difference between the union and remaining international associations is that the union has "delegate and pool sovereignty" (Andrew, 1993), such that the crucial decisions "about linkage out of the hands of national governments" (Andrew, 1993) are taken swiftly. The union has decided to focus upon potential benefits from co-operation, and ignore the domestic political risk. The union has developed "two-level game", such structure is responsible for the rise in the "initiatives and influence of national government by providing legitimacy and domestic agenda-setting power for the initiatives" (Andrew, 1993). The notion of liberal inter-governmentalism has transformed the union into model of politics, which leads to the specification with reference to process integration (Desmod, 2006). The European Union works on joint-decision mode, all the major economic decisions undertaken by the union needs necessary consent of major parties, if not all. The mode of operation, where decisions are taken after joint approval which is integration of intergovernmental

Changes in Gender Inequality in Canada in Sports Essay Example for Free

Changes in Gender Inequality in Canada in Sports Essay Society expects males and females to fulfill specific gender roles – â€Å"attitudes and activities that society links to each sex†. Males are expected to be ambitious, strong, independent and competitive, which â€Å"encourages males to seek out positions of leadership and play team sports†. And females are expected to be deferential, emotional, attractive, quiet and obedient, â€Å"supportive helpers and quick to show their feelings† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:300). These traditional stereotypes have been challenged and confronted by many women and feminists, and in this paper we are going to look specifically in sports and physical activities. My thesis statement will be that gender inequality has been decreasing over the last 100 years. Women were slowly starting to participate in all sports which were considered to be masculine, and were only available for men to enjoy. One of the first factors which could be linked to the emancipation of women in sport in late 1800 – early 1900s is the safety bicycle. It not only caused a revolution in women’s fashions: women’s sportswear was finally being designed to accommodate more vigorous activity, but â€Å"was also a â€Å"vehicle† through which women broke with traditions and asserted their independence† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 32-33). Slowly more organizations, sports clubs and tournaments were opening up for women. In the early 1900s, women started to participate in most forms of sport, but were still prohibited from activities there body contact was possible. Period after the World War I and throughout the 1920s was really exciting for sportswomen in Canada and their fans. â€Å"This often called the â€Å"golden age† of women’s sports, it was time when popular team sports like basketball, ice hockey, and softball became sufficiently organized to hold provincial and Dominion championships; when the best athletes, especially in track in field, began to complete internationally and eventually at the Olympic Games; and when women leaders and administrators took control of women’s sports, claiming they knew what was the best for girls and women, although the advice of the man was still needed† (Hall, 2002: 42). In the 1928 Canadian women have joined Olympics in Amsterdam for the first time for the track and field competition. In the mid 1930s â€Å"depression tightened its grip on Canada and the were signs that the Golden Age was over. Reactionary attitudes towards athletic competition for females was taking hold; commercialized professional sport for men was on the rise, meaning that men’s sports were given priority of access to public facilities. Spectators were drawn away from the women’s games to the exclusively male professional sports like ice hockey, football, baseball; it became increasingly difficult to find sponsors for women’s amateur sport† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 36). World War II took its toll on both men’s and women’s sports. Although many of leagues continued to exist, nobody took athletics seriously. Olympic Games did not start again till 1948. † Post war conservatism has been described by Betty Friedan: women should desire â€Å"no great destiny than to glory in their own femininity†. Careers or commitments outside of their home were unnecessary for their personal fulfillment and undesirable for the satisfactory performance of the housewife role† (Lenskyj, 1986: 83) For the duration of war women were occupying men’s jobs and were laid off as soon as men returned home to resume the rightful place. It was still alright for women to participate in â€Å"beauty producing† sports like figure skating, synchronized swimming, or gymnastics and as long as they looked pretty and feminine on the tennis, badminton courts, golf courses, and ski hills, they were not criticized. But women athletes which were â€Å"sweating on the basketball courts, softball pitches, ice hockey rinks, and the cinder tracks were suspect, their femininity continually questioned† (Hall, 2002: 109). Participation in school, university and community sporting programs however, was hardly likely to pose a threat to femininity. Basketball continued for the most part to be played by girl’s rules. Softball, an already simplified version of baseball, was in some cases was modified further for girls and women. In the 1960s not only women’s femininity was being questions but also their sexuality. In the 1966 the first official â€Å"sex tests† were introduced, with three gynecologists visual examination to confirm that athletes genital sex was, in fact female. â€Å"The introduction of sex tests coincided with significant advances for women in terms of their participation at the Olympic Games, with number of them increasing dramatically throughout the 1960s and 1970s.† For example at the summer Olympics, the 800 meter running was reintroduced in the 1960s. Women’s volleyball, the first team event for women was introduced in1964, along with pentathlon and 400 meter individual medley, swimming event. The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City six more swimming events were introduced and in the 1972 at Munich, the 1500 – meter run, 4400 meter track relay, and kayak slalom were introduced. So the number of women on Canada’s Olympic team has increased from 11.30 to 22.6 per cent for the Summer Olympic between 1960 and 1972, and from 21.4 to 38.3 per cent for the Winter Olympic Games during the same period. Sex testing at the Olympics originally was called â€Å"femininity control† and was trying to determine who was genetically female, because prior to that where has been a lot of men who were trying to pose as women, which was only found out after the fact and also women athletes were becoming more â€Å"masculine†, therefore it had to be proved that they were actually females (Hall, 2002: 153 -159).The sex testing did not stop until the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano. By the mid-1970 all across Canada parents started noticing that their daughters were not being treated the same way as their sons when it came to recreational and sporting opportunities by the late 1970s there has been a lot of sports related complaints of sex discrimination. The majority of these cases were involving young girls who wished to play on all male sports teams. The main value of these human rights cases was to bring public interest, concern and â€Å"pressure to bear on eliminating unequal, sex discriminatory sport and recreation programs† (Hall, 2002: 163) In March 1981 Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport(CAAWS) was established. It started providing women athletes with funding and support. And finally â€Å"in 1982 women were granted equal protection and equal benefit of the law in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011: 305). Beginning of the 1990s in the most areas of organizational life including sports, has been a subtle shift from â€Å"equality† to â€Å"equity†. â€Å"Gender equity is the principle and practice of fair and equitable allocation of resources and opportunities for both females and males. This eliminates discriminatory practices that prevent the full participation of either gender† (Larkin and Baxter, 1993: 4) In the past decade Canadian women are participating almost in all sports on competitive levels. â€Å" In 1998, in Nagano, Japan, women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time, and world of Canadian women’s hockey changed forever. The game that originated in Canada had become part of our collective identity, continues to be our most popular sport and it is now played by women – legitimately!† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:320) Canadian women Hockey team has won Olympic gold medal 3 times in a row: 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, 2006 Olympics in Turin, and 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Their achievements have been absolutely amazing. They have showed that they force to be reckoned with. They actually have done better than Canadian male Olympic team. In this 2012 Olympics Games in London, England for the first time women’s boxing is going to be introduced. And there has been controversy of women should wear shorts or skirts. The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) requested that female boxers wear skirts so that would make them more elegant – on the trial basis – at the European Championships and for permanent use in the Olympics. One of Canadian boxers Elizabeth Plank, told Teddy Katz of CBC radio sports news this January: â€Å"Forcing women to wear skirts, I think, it’s sexism†. Eventually AIBA have decided to have optional for female athletes to decide if they want to wear skirts or shorts. (CBC Sports) As we are able to see gender stereotypes and discrimination in sports still exists. Women still do not get as much Media coverage as men do. They are still making smaller salaries than their male counterparts. Women athletes still have to look beautiful and attractive or they might be stereotyped as being lesbian, butch or masculine, if there are not. What about the future? It seems that future for Canadian women athletes seems bright. There are much more opportunities that are coming up for women in sports, for example in the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, Russia the addition of women’s ski jumping has been approved. Women are going to keep fighting for the equal rights to participate in sports events without being criticized to be unfeminine. Daniels (2009) argues that femininity –masculinity divide still prevents women athletes to be taken seriously in their sports. And the best would be to embrace the polygendered way of being, which emphasizes the similarities between women and men, and that way female athletes will be given the chance to achieve their full sporting potential and be judged for performance, rather than their appearance. References 1. Baxter, Betty and Larkin, Jackie.1993. Towards Gender Equity for Women in Sport. ON: CAAWS. 2. CBC Sports, Feb 19, 2002 (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2012/02/19/sp-aiba-boxing-skirts.html) 3. Daniels, Dayna B. 2009. Polygendered and Ponytailed. Toronto: Women’s Press. 4. Hall, Ann M. 2002. The Girl and the Game†. ON: Broadview Press Ltd. 5. Hall, Ann M and Richardson, Dorothy A. 1982. Fair Ball. Ottawa: The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. 6. Lenskyj, Helen.1986. Women, Sport and Sexuality. Toronto: Women’s Press. 7. Macionis, John J and Gerber, Linda, M. 2011. Sociology.7th ed. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.

School Building Planning And Construction Physical Education Essay

School Building Planning And Construction Physical Education Essay School buildings are an integral part in the formal education of the student. They are to be designed and constructed in such a way that will enhance the potential of each student and boost the learning process. There are many considerations when designing and building a school. Some of these include: Accessibility Schools buildings must be designed in such a way that will provide equal access to all. It must also be designed to be flexible to increase the probability of being able to provide equal access throughout the life-cycle of the facilities. Aesthetics Focusing on the physical appearance of the school must not be neglected. The school building must be attractive and pleasing to the eye, with a similar context of the neighborhood, in order to develop a sense of ownership and pride among the members of the community, most especially to the teachers/staff and students of the school. In addition, there should be a clear balance between the exterior features of the school and the neighborhood, reflecting the values of the community, while the interior features should develop the learning process. Cost-effectiveness Being cost-effective does not mean that the quality of the school building will be compromised, rather, being cost-effective means that the school should use facilities that can save money over time by balancing the design and constructions costs with the costs of maintaining and operating the facility. Functionality The school must be able to give a high quality formal education to its students as it has promised by creating a learning environment that will enhance and speedup the learning process. Productivity A productive school must be able to provide the students and teachers a comfortable, safe and healthy environment in order to achieve maximum potential. Security A safe and secure school building has always been and is still the most important goal of project managers, engineers and architects. A safe and secure school building must have a fire protection system, must consider the safety and health of its occupants and visitors, must be able to resist natural hazards, and must be able to effectively secure the assets of the school (material assets and human assets occupants and visitors). Sustainability With all the talk on global warming and climate change, the concern for the environment has grown tremendously. Considering that every activity has a direct and indirect impact on the environment, school building construction and operations are not exempt from impacting the environment as it uses raw materials and water and energy resources, and in turn, produces solid and liquid waste and gas emissions. A sustainable school must optimize site potential, energy use and operational and maintenance practices, use environment-friendly products and materials, conserve water and enhance environmental quality within the school building. Community-Centered As a community-centered school, it must be able to serve the community as a whole. Considering all the elements of a school building stated above, this paper will provide a comprehensive planning and design of a school. The school designed and planned in this paper will cater secondary students, which will generally include grades 9 to 12. The total number of students will be approximately 250 to 300 students. Essential Spaces Needed The following are the different spaces that will constitute the school building. Each of it will be discussed in the following section. The Administration Unit The administration unit is particularly important in any type of school as it provides a specific hub for its staff, as well as an area for interaction between the staff, students and parents. The schools administration unit will be located at the main entrance of the school, which is directly accessible to the public and may be accessed after school hours and on weekends. The administration unit will include private offices for the schools principal and assistant principal and open offices for its clerks, a lobby with a visitors waiting area, a small conference room for meetings and small conferences and a faculty room for teachers. The lobby will have writing and seating surfaces used for completing forms and notes. The faculty room will have enough space for administrative activities such as photocopying, assembling and fastening documents needed for their classes. The administration unit will also have spaces for storage of their office supplies, equipments (i.e. computers, print ers, scanners, copiers, telephones, etc.), LAN central location, and mail boxes. This unit will also provide adult restrooms for the employees and its visitors. Lounge for Faculty and Staff This space will be especially designed for the teachers and staff of the school for relaxation, small informal meetings with other teachers and staff, and dining. The lounge will be located near the administration unit. Health Services Unit Located next to the administration unit, the health services unit will provide health services to the students and employees of the school. It should be noted that information taken from the health services unit are private and confidential, and so, the students health records and information will be properly stored and will only be disclosed to appropriate people such as the schools administrators, their teachers and counselors and healthcare aides. The health services unit will include a cot room, an examination area for visiting doctors and other healthcare professionals, a nurses desk, a ten-foot long eye examination lane, a first aid space, patients waiting area and a private storage for medical supplies, equipments and medications. Counseling and Attendance Unit The counseling and attendance unit will serve as an area for guidance and counseling programs and a service center for students arranging their enrolment and transfers, as well as an area for the maintenance of students attendance records and files. Sometimes joined together with the administration unit and located next to the main entrance, the counseling area where counselors administer psychological examinations, discuss exam results and problems with the students and their parents, and keep records and files of each student. This unit will include private offices for the counselors with a working space, guest seating and computer workstation, interview and testing areas, and a waiting area for guests. General Classrooms Probably the central element of any school, the classrooms will be designed for approximately 25 to 30 students per class. There will be a total of ten classrooms in this school with approximately 960 square feet each. The classrooms will be laid out in linear form accessed by internal corridors. They will be situated somewhere that is easily accessible to other essential areas critical for their studies such as the library or media center, PE facilities, administration and health services unit, cafeteria and restrooms. Science Classrooms Science classrooms, which are critical for learning practical applications of scientific theories, will be designed with approximately 1,300 square feet. Situated away from the other rooms, the science classrooms will have ample working spaces for fixed learning stations to perform their laboratory experiments and for lectures. The classroom will have a separate preparation room, which may be directly accessed from the science classroom. This separate preparation room will serve as a space for preparing and storing of supplies and equipments Physical Education Facilities/Gymnasium Physical education, intended to develop the physical and social skills of the students, need a gymnasium for its activities (i.e. individual/team sports, body mechanics, rhythmic lessons, health, safety and first aid sessions). The gymnasium will be approximately 7,500 square feet and will include sports areas, team rooms, showers and lockers. Other essential spaces will be for the lobby, ticket booth, press area, snack bar and laundry areas. The gymnasium will also have private offices for P.E. teachers and team coaches, usually in parallel sight to locker rooms, and public toilets, separate from the shower and locker areas. Situated adjacent to play fields, the gymnasium may be directly accessed by the public for community usage and after school hours. It will have a distinct entrance/exit gates for absolute control of events and will be fully secured from other areas of the school to avoid intrusion of other school spaces during weekend and evening events. Library and Media Center The school library and media center, designed to cater the augmentation of the instructional needs of the students, will be located at the heart of the academic spaces of the school, easily accessed by the students from their classrooms and by the public for community use and after school hours. Similar to the gymnasium, the library and media center will be properly secured from other areas of the school to avoid intrusion of other school spaces during weekend and evening events. This area will be designed to be visually appealing and pleasing to the students to encourage the development of positive attitudes towards researching, reading, studying and learning. This area will include computer stations for student usage (i.e. research/report writing), spaces for multimedia presentations, private office space for librarian and open workrooms for its staff. The library and media center will be fully equipped with technological equipments such as electrical outlets, data network connecti ons, open and closed circuit televisions, and phone extensions. Because the library and media center contains state-of-the-art media facilities and technology, as well as special collections of books and journals, the library and media center will be properly secured with visual supervision from the circulation desk to student work areas, stack space and study spaces and book-theft detection system located at exit points. Special book collections and media and technological equipments will also have a proper secure storage space, wherein students must ask for assistance from staff when they intend to use such books and equipments. Food Services Unit The food services unit will include the kitchen, cafeteria, lunch center and outdoor eating spaces. The kitchen is situated wherein it is directly accessible to the cafeteria and service and delivery vehicles, but is separated from the academic areas of the school. The kitchen will have a food preparation area, a serving area, an office, a changing area, locker rooms and restrooms for the staff, janitor/custodian room (for food services unit only) and storage rooms (walk-in freezer/refrigerator). The kitchen will have serving windows, stainless steel sinks and work surfaces, stainless steel counter tops for its serving areas, a dish shelf, an exhaust air system and a wet chemical fire extinguishing system. The cafeteria will be located where it is directly accessible from the kitchen and to the lunch shelter and restrooms. There will be sufficient space for the waiting line in the cafeteria, with specific orientations in providing a smooth traffic flow. There will be covered sun and rain protection at the waiting line, food serving area and to the lunch shelter. Expecting to have plenty of trash from the cafeteria, there will be sufficient trash and recycling containers throughout the cafeteria and with an adjacent storage room for cleaning supplies. The lunch shelter, while easily accessible to the cafeteria, will also be easily accessible to outdoor eating spaces. It will be designed in such a way that it can provide shelter from sun and rain, but with an open and airy atmosphere. The lunch shelter will have at least two drinking fountains within the vicinity. Lastly, the outdoor eating spaces, which will supplement the schools cafeteria and lunch shelter, will have tables and chairs and some benches. It will be designed in such a way that there is minimal heat reflection and glare, perhaps offering some shade to protect the students from the sun. Restrooms There will be separate restrooms for students and employees of the school. Restrooms for students will be located within 200 feet of all classrooms, while restrooms for the employees will be located near their workstations, also within 200 feet or less. Aside from this, restrooms will also be found in the different areas of the school to cater the occupants of the schools different units mentioned such as the administrative unit, health services unit, library and media center, gymnasium, cafeteria, eating spaces, etc. Drinking Fountains Similar to restrooms, drinking fountains will also be located in the different areas of the school to cater the occupants of the schools different units and other public areas where students will gather together. They may be placed next to the student restroom entries and eating spaces and inside and outside the gymnasium and other P.E. facilities. The drinking fountains will not be made of stainless steel, especially those that are subjected to direct sunlight, to avoid heat upsurge inside the unit. Lockers There will be two types of lockers: books lockers and P.E. lockers. Each student will have one book locker, located in locker recesses in covered walks or in corridors. P.E. lockers will be separately provided for male and female students and P.E. teachers. The lockers will be extremely visible for easy supervision. They will have built-in combination locks, with a master-key for emergency purposes. Public Payphones There will be public payphones located within the schools vicinity in an accessible route in compliance with the accessibility requirements. Other Considerations Aside from the essential spaces provided, there are other considerations in the planning of the school building that will be discussed in this section in order to achieve maximum learning processes. Comfort (Acoustic/Thermal and Visual Comfort) To enhance the learning processes of the students, their comfort will be given priority. The noise levels of the school will be kept at minimum. These include noises from outside the school (i.e. noise from vehicles, aircrafts, etc.), corridors (i.e. conversations and foot traffic), other classrooms, mechanical equipments, and even noise from inside the classrooms. The school will also take note on the thermal comfort of the students and the teachers as it significantly affects their performances. The school will have independent controls in all classrooms to oversee and easily manage the temperature to facilitate the changes in activities, occupancy levels and personal preferences. Visual comfort will also be given consideration in designing the school. With students occupied with a lot of visual tasks in school (i.e. reading and writing), the school will provide a balance combination of natural and artificial lighting systems. The school will also use pastel colors for the walls. Daylighting Modern schools use as much natural daylight as possible, since it provides the best quality source of light for visual tasks. Daylight enhances the appearance and color of the objects, while at the same time research has shown that the proper use of daylight also enhances the performance of the students. Furthermore, the use of daylight as a light source in the school also gives the school much cost-savings from electrical lighting. The school will optimize the use of daylighting, by using daylight in the classrooms and some offices within building, while at the same time, avoiding heat gain, heat loss and glare from the sun. Safety and Security The school will be safe and secured at all times by having a controlled access to the school premises. A secure fence will be built to control access to school grounds. Entrance and exit points will be limited and provided with security guards, with visual surveillance. High-risk spaces will be protected by high security locks. The design of the school will be in such a way that is easily surveyed minimizing spaces hidden from sight, proper lighting outside the school to assist easy surveillance during nighttime and key public areas such as parking areas, drop-off points and entrance/exit points are easily visible from inside the building. Building Materials As part of the sustainability aim of the school, the materials used for construction will be significantly considered. The school will use materials that are durable, but at the same time non-toxic, highly recyclable and made more on recycled materials. HVAC System The HVAC system, which includes the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system of the school, is very important in providing a comfortable and healthy environment for the students, teachers, administrators and visitors. The schools HVAC system will utilize a highly efficient equipment, appropriately sized for the demands of the school and comprise controls that will enhance the performance of the HVAC system. Building Envelope The building envelope, which includes the roofs, windows, floors and walls of the school building, is critical in improve energy efficiency. The school will use an energy efficient building envelope that will put together and optimize the levels of insulation, shading, thermal mass, glazing and air leakage control through the use of shading devices, light colored surfaces and high performance glazing. Flexibility and Adaptability Accepting that nothing is constant except change, the school will be designed in order to cater flexibility and adaptability. The school will use flexible stations for equipment, easily movable and transferred to another area in case of modifications of the area. The different units within the school will be designed to give way to changes in furniture layouts and functions. Resources Used: LA Unified School District. (2010, January). School Design Guide. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.laschools.org/employee/design/fs-design-guide/download/2010/LAUSD_School_Design_Guide_2010_Version.pdf?version_id=84218872 National Institute of Building Sciences. (2010). Retrieved March 25, 2010, from Whole Building Design Guide: http://www.wbdg.org/ New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation. (2007, May 15). 21st Century Schools Design Manual. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.njsda.gov/Business/Doc_Form/PDFsForms/DM.pdf

Religious Revelation in Carver’s Cathedral Essay -- Carver Cathedral E

  Ã‚   At first glance, one might assume Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" illustrates the awakening of an insensitive and insulated husband to the world of a blind man. However, this literal awakening does not account for the fact that the husband awakens also to a world of religious insight, of which he has also been blind. The title and story structure are the first indicators of the importance of the religious thesis. It is also revealed when one examines the language and actions of the characters in the story. Finally, Carver’s previous and subsequent writings give an overall background for the argument that "Cathedral" has a significant religious import. The structural and technical features of the story point towards a religious epiphany. The title of the story, as well as its eventual subject, that of cathedrals, points inevitably towards divinity. Upon first approaching the story, without reading the first word of the first paragraph, one is already forced into thinking about a religious image. In addition, four of the story’s eleven pages (that amounts to one third of the tale) surround the subject of cathedrals. Adding to the obvious structural references to cathedrals and religion, the language and character actions present further evidence of an epiphany of divine proportions. The television program which the characters watch together deals entirely with cathedrals. This spurs the first real conversation between the narrator and the blind man. This presents religion as some form of common ground, on which one could stand, even without sight. When first asked by Robert, the blind man, if he was "in any way religious," the narrator asserts that he is not, and goes on to explain how cathedrals and religion "don’t mean any... ... the eyes of a blind man, but also to appreciate the world through the eyes of a man of God. Works Cited/Consulted Bethea, Arthur F. "Carver’s ‘Wes Hardin: From a Photograph’ and ‘A Small Good Thing.’" The Explicator. Spring 1999. 176-178. Bethea, Arthur F. "Carver’s ‘Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?’" The Explicator. Spring 1998: 132-134. Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1062. Nesset, Kirk. "Insularity and Self-Enlargement in Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral.’" Essays in Literature. March 22, 1994: 116. Stull Williams. "Beyond Hopelessville: Another Side of Raymond Carver." Philological Quarterly. 1985: 1-15. Verley, Claudine. "Narration and Interiority in Raymond Carver’s ‘Where I’m Calling From.’" Journal of the Short Story in English 13. 1989: 91-102.   

Achieving True Happiness :: Happiness Essays

Happiness is an encouraging feeling, which is influenced by many factors. When Layard states ‘from outside’ he means social identities, roles, cultures and groups people belong to. When Layard states ‘from within’ he is referring to a person’s thinking and feelings. Richard Layard (2005) in an attempt to find out what made people happy identified a list of factors that contributed towards happiness, this included family, close relationships, satisfying work, good health and personal freedom. ‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’ (Shakespeare, Hamlet). This quote suggests that it’s the way people think that makes a situation seem good or bad. For example people who have a glass half full or a glass half empty. They may well both be in the same situation, but the way they think about the circumstances means that one of them will have a positive/ optimistic outlook while the other will have a negative/ pessimistic outlook. Optimists are healthier than pessimists, as they generally worry less, recover quicker and are likely to live longer. This is highlighted by a study carried out by Toshihiko Maruta and colleagues (2002) in which they selected 839 patients who forty years previously had referred themselves for medical care. They submitted themselves for tests which included measuring their optimistic thinking. By the year 2000, 200 of these patients had a 19% greater life span than the pessimists. There are many reasons why people develop a pessimistic or optimistic outlook on life; one of the most apparent reasons being past experiences teaching people to expect very little or a lot from life. Martin Seligman (2005) is known as the psychologist who initiated positive psychology. He got a group of 577 people to write about a time when they were at their best and then told them to reflect on the personal strengths they displayed at the time. The group then had to review this once every day for a week, reflecting on their strengths. He found that the happiness levels of the group increased significantly and stayed increased even after six months. Thus he shows making an attempt to look at the good things in life have a major impact on a person’s happiness. In today’s society the increased level of choice is surprisingly also a source of stress and unhappiness. For example people think they must always make the best decision every time they have a choice to make.

A Parallel Between Isabella and Hamlet

Isabella is a woman with a seemingly over pious regard to herself and her virginity, placing the same over an individual’s life and liberty. This is made evident in her statement â€Å"Then, Isabel, live chaste, and, brother, die: More than our brother is our chastity (Measure for measure 2.4.197-198).†She thus relates how she finds her chastity to be worth more than her relations and certainly worth more than life itself. In the following words she further expresses what torment it would be to continue life with chastity and purity taken from her: â€Å"And 'twere the cheaper way:  Better it were a brother died at once, than that a sister, by redeeming him, should die for ever (Measure for measure 2.4.114-117).†She thus likens such life to dying each day that she woke up. However, she fails to take into account that this was the crime that her own brother was jailed for. Should she then beg for his freedom thinking he was not liable for his wrong when she woul d thus consider the act if committed to her to odorous to live with? Certainly, if her brother is to be justified on account of his love then she too would in the same way be absolved of any fault in acceding to Angelo’s request on account of her love for her own brother, her own flesh and blood.Isabella’s decision is quite contrary to that of Hamlet’s. Hamlet having seen and heard of the unjust manner in which his father was slain puts aside his own self in order to take up the latter’s revenge. This is marked quite true in his words:I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there; And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain. (Hamlet 1.5.104-108)With a focus on the heinous crime that has been committed against his murdered father, Hamlet commits himself to right the same wrong at whatever cost it might bring upon himself. He throws aside the purity of a nephew bound to his uncle by kinship ties. He even discards the purity that is required of him as a prince and son, subservient to his King and Queen mother.In both the cases of Isabella and Hamlet they are handed the power to decide the fate of persons they confess to love. Isabella and Hamlet both are left to release their brother and father respectively from chains that constrain them from freedom.In Isabella's case her brother was bound in jail and threatened with death while in Hamlet’s his father’s spirit was bound to earth given to unrest for the spell of eternity. With Angelo’s confession of lust he relinquished all wisdom in deciding the conviction of Isabella’s brother, â€Å"redeem thy brother by yielding up thy body to my will; or else he must not only die the death, but thy unkindness shall his death draw out to lingering sufferance (Measure for measure 2.4.177-180).†Hamlet is given the same sole power to achieve his f ather’s freedom given that he was the only one to whom the ghost spoke regarding his murder.Both were required to commit acts wrong in themselves in order to accomplish the freedoms spoken of – Isabella was required to submit to Angelo’s lust while Hamlet was required to commit murder. Whereas Hamlet readily acceded the fault that would be borne by his own hands, Isabella resolutely refused to do the same. Once again the conclusion that the loss of a woman’s chastity was more heinous an offense than the taking of a person’s life was communicated in Shakespeare’s words.ReferencesShakespeare, W. (1997). Hamlet. In Greenblatt, S., Cohen, W., Howard, J. E., and Maus, K. E. (Ed.). The Norton Shakespeare Based On The Oxford Edition. New York: W. W. Norton.Shakespeare, W. (1997). Measure for Measure. In Greenblatt, S., Cohen, W., Howard, J. E., and Maus, K. E. (Ed.). The Norton Shakespeare Based On The Oxford Edition. New York: W. W. Norton.   

Political Culture of Mexico

Mexican Political Culture As once put by Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz, Mexico is a land of â€Å"super-imposed pasts† (McCormick, p. 326). It continues to be and is seen as a melding pot of its European and Native American ideas about society, law and government. Its history has had a major influence on the political culture of Mexico, seen through years of revolution, violence and corruption. Mexico is a considered a new democracy, but there is a tension still seen between democracy and authoritarianism. The country we see today has impressive growth yet is still enduring poverty. It’s a geographically diverse country, with a population of approximately 106million people. Latin American political culture is seen as â€Å"elitist, hierarchical, authoritarian, corporatist and patrimonial. † Various economic pressures and calculated changes being made to the system of government are now challenging these traditions in Mexico, hopefully to ultimately restore the relationship between the government and people. (McCormick, pg. 33) Today, many of the politics we see in Mexico do still reflect the centralized and hierarchical system of the Aztecs, but we see much change in the country after the arrival of Europeans. Until the 15th century, native peoples inhabited the current Mexico. The Mayans and Azteks built a surprisingly sophisticated empire with their own local governments, centralized taxes and court system and beyond. The Spanish arrived in 1519 and by the mid-sixteenth century all of what the native peoples had built had been conquered. The Spaniards left Mexico with a huge influence; they brought religious heritage in Catholicism, which has gone beyond just a religion in Mexico and is embedded in their political culture. â€Å"Spanish Catholicism was based on the idea that political authority emanated from God, and all lower levels of society had progressively less power and status. † (McCormick, p. 334). We see this hierarchical influence still in Mexican political culture today, along with the elitism of the Native American society. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a strong symbol within the Mexican society and their Roman Catholic beliefs. It is said that in December 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared on three occasions to a Christian Indian, Juan Diego, six kilometers north of Mexico City, and identified herself as Guadalupe. It is said that the Guadalupe symbol â€Å"links family, politics and religion; the colonial past and the independent present; and the Indian and the Mexican. It reflects the salient social relationships of Mexican life and embodies the emotions they generate. † (Merrill & Miro, Religion) Devotion to the Virgin Guadalupe remains strong even as Mexican society changes. For example, in a national opinion poll found, nine out of ten Mexicans still continued to ask intercessions from the Virgin or another saint. (Merrill & Miro, Religion) Another huge aspect of Mexican political culture is the Constitution of 1917. Many Mexicans attribute the origins of the political system in Mexico to the Revolution of 1910-1920 and it’s Constitution of 1917. Unlike their American neighbors, the people of Mexico focus and look to the past, not the future, to there missed dreams and hopes. Many people of Mexico support and have faith and pride in the Constitution of 1917, agree with the goals of the Revolution and support their political institutions. (McCormick p. 333) The Constitution is seen more as an outline of the goals Mexico has aspired for. Their believe in the Constitution but recognize it as a work in progress as it still contains many goals that have not achieved, such as the goal of greater equality. The more Mexico strives towards democracy, the more we can begin to pin down and see the final handicaps that stand in between Mexico and democracy. As Mexico has become wealthier, we see now that their middle class is further expanding and there are greater chances and hopes for political modernization, hoping to permanently stray from the corruption seen in the past. Mexico is a federal republic, but power has been traditionally centralized within the ruling political party. Political power in Mexican politics revolves commonly around camarillas, which is a network of people with common political interests, who have specific ties to a particular leader. Each group of camarillas has a single leader and through this, you find that everyone relies on one another for political advancement. In a system like this, unfortunately personalities become more important than ideologies and policies in political matters and behavior. We see through this centralization how corruption in Mexican political history has been so common. Throughout the years of revolution and war, Mexican political culture has been hugely tarnished by seemingly credible evidence of corruption. There is a value of order over freedom. This is especially seen through the years of the PRI party regime, which held power for 71 years in Mexico. Corruption was rampant, and it has created an intense distrust of government within Mexico, to the point that it is now extremely hard to introduce and collect taxes. 50% of all Mexican people still feel that they have little political impact. Another big aspect of Mexican political culture is the idea of machismo. In short, it is assertive masculinity, seen most obviously in the political marginalization of women. (McCormick p. 336). Women in Mexico only won the right to vote in 1953 and still rarely move into positions of authority, especially within the government. The inequality of women is seen predominantly throughout Mexico, with about 70% of all women in the mid-1990’s employed in the tertiary sector of the Mexican economy, commonly with lower wages than those of men. The growing presence of women in the workforce contributed to changes in social attitudes, yet machismo is still a prevalent, traditional social attitude with most women in households subjected to control, domination and violence by men. The violence towards women is extremely apparent, seen in its boldest form in the city of Ciudad Juarez. Over a period of 12 years, murders of over 300 women all went unsolved. We do still see machismo more broadly in Mexico, through political violence such as riots, kidnappings and conflicts related to the drug trade, which are already complex issues on their own. As previously mentioned the political culture in Mexico is still residing within a tension between democracy and authoritarian rule. It seems that as Mexico continues its expansion into democracy, we will eventually see changes to the traditions on what is political culture in Mexico today. Bibliography McCormick, John. Comparative Politics in Transition. Sixth ed. Wadsworth Cengage Learning Paras, Pablo. â€Å"The Political Culture of Democracy in Mexico: 2006. † The Political Culture of Democracy in Mexico: 2006 (2006): 1-198. Sitemason. vanderbilt. edu. Dec. 2006. Web. Jan. 2010. Morris, Stephen D. â€Å"Corruption and Mexican Political Culture. † Corruption and Mexican Political Culture: 1-37. _Www. southalabama. edu/†¦ /crptn%20and%20political%20culture. pdf_. Web. Jan. 2010. Tim L. Merrill and Ramon Miro, editors. Mexico: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1996.

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the Assignment

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the topic) - Assignment Example A very close American friend of mine was getting married that bright sunny day. However, I discovered to my dismay upon reaching the venue that I was the only Chinese guest invited to the event. This marriage got organized not long after I first landed in the US which meant that my experience in fluent English conversation was quite raw then. To worsen the issue, my naivety began to get the best of me as I could not decide on the best approach to handle cultural differences scattered all around me. Being a hardcore Chinese raised with good old traditional values, bowing to everyone I came across was just second nature to me. This proved to a problem in the American culture because I felt that instead of accepting my way of paying respect, other guests ridiculed it behind my back. This made for an uncomfortable experience because it made me feel lonelier. Fortunately, a very kind guy came to rescue me soon after and attempted to teach me the ropes in Chinese. He told me how some years ago he went to China to study Mandarin and how he witnessed their cultural differences which made him just as much uncomfortable in the start as I was feeling then. He told me how one good approach to cultural differences is assimilating with foreign people and conforming to their customs. This is called the foreign country approach (Martin and Chaney 6). It made me realize that my gesture of bowing spoke volumes about me not conforming to the local customs. It is true that intercultural communication depends on learning a new language to be able to converse easily (Cai 6). But, it is also about respecting other people’s way of communication, their customs, and to research on them to avoid misunderstandings. This essay is quite enlightening because it attaches undue importance to the matter of gaining acquaintance with social norms of a country before going there. It stresses that travellers going to foreign

History of group therapy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of group therapy - Research Paper Example Individuals in the group therapy have the advantage of using both the therapist as well as the other member of the group to share the problems that one has and attempts to find a solution to them. This is particularly because the members in each group are at different levels of coping with the situational difficulties and are doing so at different rates as well. When an individual observes how the others in the group cope with sufferings that they undergo, they gain hope and inspiration of enduring and overcoming the hardships. The use of group therapy emerged because of a feeling by several psychologists that many problems that individual faced in their daily undertakings were social in nature. Patients suffering from a similar disease were encouraged to group together to provide each other with mutual support. Such groups developed into social work groups at different social centers. These would later develop into the present support group by different development agencies. Managin g post-traumatic stress disorders Human beings have a unique nature when it comes to handling personal issues. One common scenario that is witnessed in any emerging therapy group is that every new member feels isolated and completely different from the others in the group. These beginners have a problem in developing good relations with the others in the group and that spirit of love is completely withdrawn from them. However, if the group therapy is effectively carried out, such emotions can be completely drained from the minds of these individuals. An effective group therapy will enable these individuals to understand that they are not very different from the others and that they are not actually desperate and lonely, as they believe. The abuses to which females are subjected during their childhood and at adult age do have along-term impact on their psychosocial development. Those who have had childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault often exhibit different kinds of psychia tric problems that are believed to be associated to these assaults. Posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) refer to the overall effect of both childhood and adult sexual distress that are believed to cause the psychiatric problems seen in such females. The situation results in poor regulation, attention, relations with others, as well as how one understands oneself. The condition is hard to manage owing to its complexity and the long period before a treatment is provided after the sexual abuse. It is because of the complexity in the kind of healthcare that these individuals need that use of group therapy ha been adopted. However, some clinicians propose that the group therapy be conducted only after an individual therapy. Armstrong and Rose (1997) carried out an investigation on how group psychotherapy could be effective in managing the posttraumatic disorders that affect members of a family (p1). They observed that therapy enables women to perceive their roles in the societal contex t. It was also observed that the females that were adopting the so-called feminist principles carried on well with their marital partners. It enabled them to remove the traditional perception on their roles in the society thereby promoting an unrestricted relationship (Armstrong & Rose 1997, p5). Group therapy involves the provision of

Global enterprise and innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Global enterprise and innovation - Essay Example Because of the extensive trade in goods and services, and because of the flow of capital and technology, the markets have become interdependent. This new structure, as a consequence of globalization is the result of the control measures and dominance adopted by the MNCs. Globalization has brought about tremendous changes in the ways that MNCs operate. Through innovation in various fields they have been able to generate new opportunities and challenges for the developing world. Globalization and Internationalization While globalization and internationalization are interchangeably used, they are distinctly different. Globalization is a worldwide process which implies that tastes, needs and wants become standardized across cultures. This occurs as technology, migration, and education become globally dispersed (McCabe, 2001). This suggests that globalization is the process of uniting the nations as members of one world, as the world shrinks. Internationalization, on the other hand, invol ves information of particular countries which in turn impacts the development of relationships in several sectors. These sectors include business, education, and social and cultural relationships. The concept of One World or globalization has driven innovation as companies like McDonald's have been accused of Macdonaldization of societies. While they export products and services, they are actually exporting American cultural identities. Economies are rapidly evolving and the effects of globalization are clearly visible; globalization is inevitable. Malaysia’s economic policy Among all the developing economies, Malaysia’s economic policy is considered worth emulating (Ritchie, 2005). The economic policies of Malaysia were liberal as it served to attract FDI. This drove a technological change, facilitated specialization and gave the nation comparative advantage. As the Malaysian policies liberalized, it helped in the reallocation and restructuring of resources in differe nt forms of labor, capital and technology which also facilitated FDI-led growth. FDI is a special form of capital flow which is expected to generate tangible assets and brings with it technology to the developing countries (Michi, Cagatay & Koska, 2004). Intangible assets like managerial skills also come with FDI which is a necessity for the developing nations. FDI is also the transfer of organizational knowledge from one country to another (Zhang, Zhang & Liu, 2007). FDI motivation and risks The motivation for the MNCs to invest in a developing economy would include the local and the global factors (Albuquerque, Loayza & Serven, 2005). The local factors include the benefits from location and the cost factors while the global factors explain the dynamics of the cross-section of the FDI. By investing in developing countries, MNCs can take advantage of their marketing and technical know-how, and managerial expertise (Athukorala, 2009). FDI is based on long-term profit considerations a nd carries with it the advantage of influence and control. Nations must be able to offer comparative advantage when they attract FDI. The MNCs would like to achieve economies of scale when they decide on the location for FDI. However, FDI in developing economies is beset with risks and the MNCs must have the capabilities to mitigate these risks. MNCs can face significant adjustment costs but prior experience helps to overcome this (Goerzen, 2005). Economic uncertainties can pose