Basic Lesson in Finance

The article â€Å"A Basic Lesson in Finance† discusses the consequences of stock market falling. The article contributes significantly financial and economic fields as it offers well-structured and logical study of the problem. The author describes the Black Monday stressing that it was really unexpected and financial sphere appeared not to be prepared for such situation. Actually, the US stock market has dramatically dropped, and it has been the largest crash since 1929.Nevertheless, equities benefited from such situation as inflation had fallen. The author underlines that the Black Monday passed harmlessly in contrast to credit crunch occurred in the country. I think the article is very analytic and informative as it offers detailed analysis of stock market falling stressing the causes, flowing and consequences. It is known that stocks are very attractive for investors and for common people who are willing to earn money. So, fluctuations at stock market cause worries among p eople.Nevertheless, economists argue that recession is inevitable and investors should pull back on consumption. In such a way the author cites economists and financial analytics to show the current situation at the stock market. For example, he cites John Kenneth Galbraith who argues that depression caused more serious damages than stock market falling. Further, the author suggests that stock market recovered from the crisis only since nine months, though he didn’t provide evidence to support his position.Moreover, he writes that stock market falling didn’t affect country’s economy, though I don’t agree with his point. I think that even the slightest fluctuations at the market do affect economic stability as small problems in not managed properly may become disastrous. The credit crunch is said to become easier, though the borrowers don’t see expected returns. Finally, it was interesting to find information about securitization because this proble m is relatively new and there is little available information how to manage the problem.

Popular, Fine, Folk: Making Do and Thinking Out of the Box Essay

Once upon a time, at the turn of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp brought a urinal into the museum. As expected, it was banned from being shown in a major exhibition at that time. Today, the urinal is called a ‘found object,† a fine arts category that has become standard practice for contemporary artists, especially those who are working on media and techniques spawned by Duchamp’s rebellion: conceptual art, installations, and the readymade. One of the most famous latter day versions is that of Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup and Brillo boxes – those mass consumer items that found their way into the domain of the fine arts, and in their turn spawned another academic art historical category: Pop Art. Once upon a time, at the turn of the 19th century, the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, who has not sold a single painting during his lifetime (with the possible exception of one work bought by his brother Theo), died a pauper. In the 1980s, his Sunflower fetched millions of dollars at an auction. Today, he is not only a bestseller; he is also considered one of the best artists of all times. Once upon a time, Madonna was just any other upstart, who with her limited vocal range was singing seemingly superficial songs like â€Å"Like a Virgin† and â€Å"Material Girl. † Today, she and her ‘bad girl’ image, as well as her numerous personas, is the subject of numerous academic papers on popular culture. This and examples from Charlie Parker, as well – Shakespeare, the Shaker furniture, the quilt, Amazing Grace, photography – tell us not only that values change through time, some for the better, others for the worse, depending on one’s point of view. The more important point is that, while terms like popular, fine and folk arts are valuable as terms of convenience, they are unreliable – perhaps even superfluous or unnecessary – as terms of judgment or standards, as in say, low and high art, good and bad art, truthful and false art, among many other boundaries. On one hand, these boundaries are important because they guard against extreme relativism, an intellectual indolence that results in people thinking that anything can be art, and that art is anything and everything that you can get away with. On the other hand, boundaries prevent us from looking at art forms more productively, or think out of the box. As Parker’s essay suggests, it is more productive to suspend our received judgments or templates – if only for a while – and analyze each art form on their own terms: as part of certain domains (popular, fine, folk and their combinations) with their own specific dynamics, gatekeepers, institutions, forms and contexts of production, reception, creativity and artistry and their own specific systems of producing and making meanings. These elements – domain (popular, fine, folk), field (gatekeepers and institutions), artistry (form, content, context) – clash and intersect with each other in an uneven world, characterized by unequal power relations. In this context, extreme relativism – that anything and everything can be art – is problematic. While it is true that anything – say, the urinal – can be art, its transformation required a movement from one domain to another: from the everyday to the museum, where it was lit and put on a pedestal, was signed and given a title (The Fountain) and in the process, became a candidate for appreciation, contemplation, and later, legitimation by the gatekeepers – the people (art historians, critics) and institutions (media, museums, schools) who had the power to rethink its meaning, and bestow on the urinal the term â€Å"art,† under the rubric â€Å"found object,† â€Å"readymade,† â€Å"conceptual art. Such legitimation was later confirmed by artistic, critical and curatorial practice: today, the Fountain, which started out as a rebellion against art and its definitions, is now ironically an academic, art historical and critical orthodoxy. Boundaries between domains are therefore simultaneously porous and self-contained. Everyday objects enter the fine arts, and vice versa. What used to be â€Å"folk† and popular, as in Shakespeare and Bob Dylan are now classics. When the urinal became The Fountain, it ceased to become a mundane object and entered the domain of the museum and the academe, subject to their terms and conditions. When elements of popular culture – the Brillo box, Campbell soup – crossed the boundaries, it became an art-historical category: Pop Art. And when Madonna crossed over from the Billboard charts to academe, her feminist radical potential was recognized, but at the same time, again quite ironically, tamed because her pop rebellion is now academic. Parker mapped the domains according to class – fine arts is a product of the elite, folk, of common folk and popular, of the masses. In real life of course, soap operas (popular) are viewed by different classes and sub-classes; jazz and hip hop, which started out in the ghettos were co-opted by American Top 40s; the Mona Lisa, the epitome of the Classic Masterpiece, found and continue to find its way into t-shirts and tabletops. Thus, instead of bemoaning that standards of excellence are being eroded, it may be more productive to chart these movements of objects and images, not only in terms of content, expression or truths that they contain, as question No. 3 leads us to suspect, but also in terms of how these truths are expressed (form), and the circumstances within which these truths are produced (context). Put another way, instead of persuading the â€Å"masses† that Hamlet is as entertaining as My Fair Lady, it would probably be better to find out why and how My Fair Lady ticks today and why and how Hamlet, which caught the imagination of royalties and subjects alike, clicked during the Elizabethan period and no longer does so today. I suspect this is not because standards of excellence have waned; it is just that each epoch, age, society and culture has its own way of defining, producing, valuing, consuming and receiving art. To be an intellectual therefore does not mean, being the kind of intellectual espoused by Arendt, one who imposes a top-down approach – imposing Hamlet on the masses, for instance. Instead, we need the kind of intellectual who will sit in front of the TV set, watch almost everything – from the seemingly most idiotic sitcoms to the most enlightening art film – and analyze and read the pictures, images and mediums, according to an oppositional and critical frame that works from and within, not from without and from the top. In other words, this is the kind of intellectual that challenges what is and sets out to suggest what is possible, not by imposing so-called alternatives (Hamlet instead of My Fair Lady), but by a process called bricolage – a process of thinking out of the box by making do with, pilfering, borrowing, and reconfiguring what is available, after a sensitive, critical and thorough analysis based on the parameters of form, content, context and domain, field and artist.

Functional Areas of Business Essay

Analyzing the functional areas of Management In all types of businesses (big or small), managers play a key role in the efficiency, profitability, and functionality of how the business meets its goals and successes. The purpose of managers are to oversee and coordinate the work of others. As managers, it is important that ensure that the business’ greatest resource, which are its employees, are used effectively. There are several functional areas within business that managers play a role in one way or another. These functional areas are business law, human resource management, leadership, accounting, finance, economics, research and statistics, marketing, operations management, and strategic management. Each of these functional areas are like a piece of the pie, in where when they are assembled, represent the business as a whole cohesive unit. In business law, the manager ensures that the operations of a business are legally sound and that the business is compliant with any state, federal, or international codes and regulations. Many businesses use the services or products of other businesses, which requires the use of contracts. Managers must have an understanding of contracts to ensure they are current, fair, and meet the needs of the company. Managers also use business law to ensure all intellectual property is safeguarded such as patents. Human resources management is a key function in all businesses because it directly involves the development of personnel within a business. All managers play a role in the life cycle of their employees to include hiring, training, promotion, and disciplinary actions. The role of human resources managers is constantly evolving and many organizat ions have added the responsibilities of retirement benefits, and payroll accounting to their scope of practices. The leadership of managers involves the way in which managers influence employees to meet the company’s goals. Managers use leadership to motivate and inspire their employees to get the job done, and done well. Managers who are good leaders can to use their leadership skills to handle and  resolve conflict that may arise, and solicit cooperation through organizational change. Management and leadership are skills that go hand in hand. As a manager, one must organize the work of personnel not just to maximize efficiency, but lead them by nurturing skills to develop talent and inspire results (Murray, 2009). Accounting is a critical function in management. Whether a for profit business or nonprofit business, both need and use money to survive and succeed. It is important that managers understand the fiscal competencies within their area of responsibility to be good stewards of the funds or profits they are accountable for. There are two components to accounting financial and managerial. Managers in financial accounting create financial documents, such as balance sheets and income statements through the tracking of expenses and profits within a business. Managers in managerial accounting use these statements created by financial managers to in their decision-making processes to make efficient use of funds and control costs. Finance is a function of business that concentrates on the fiscal properties of a business, such as revenue, loans, grants, and subsidies. Like accounting, finance is critical to any business if it wants to succeed in a competitive business word. Managers must be able to identify how and when financing is needed to maintain current business operations as well as obtaining new capital or ventures. The function of economics in business provides an avenue of how well a business is doing in the business market locally or globally. Managers use economics to increase profits within their market conditions by studying the consumption, production, and distribution of their service or product. Economics can also provide valuable information to managers when economies become unstable or are experiencing a recession, or when seeking to venture into a new market. Research and statistics are valuable resources for a business. To stay competitive and profitable, businesses continually must conduct research to meet consumer demand. Research is also vital for a business who wants to expand its services or products. The raw data gathered from the research can be interpreted using a variety of statistical methods. The information extracted from the research and statistical data assist managers in deciding what business processes are useful and maintaining goals, and what processes may need to be modified or dismissed. The manager’s role in operations management is to ensure that the goods or  service are getting to the customer efficiently and cost effectively. It is important the supply chain runs effortlessly to meet the customer demand changes. Managers must also be able to anticipate and forecast demand changes in profits to determine when new equipment or facilities are necessary to maintain or increase profits and customer satisfaction. All businesses use some type of marketing tool to grow their business. It can be a million dollar television add or word of mouth from recent customers. In marketing, managers must understand customers who would use their product or service and what would make them happy enough to come back or tell someone else. Through research and statistics, managers can gain insight into how to advertise to their consumer bases and discover what their consumer’s needs are. Marketing can also assist managers of new businesses to develop a brand and image th at is eye catching but relevant to the goods or service it provides. Strategic planning is a manager’s planning tool to help implement plans and changes that will help the business achieve its organizational goals. Strategic planning provides a roadmap for managers throughout the organization so that all functional areas though specific in responsibilities, can achieve success to obtaining the strategic goals of the organization. The link between planning and performance is widely connected because of the ever-changing business climate in globalization, technology advancement, deregulation, and emerging new markets (Meers & Robertson, 2007). Each functional area of business is considered a building block with a specific purpose or specialty that it is accountable for. When those building blocks are formed together, they provide the foundation and structure upon which the business operates as an entity. Managers are the â€Å"glue† that bind each of these functional areas into an integrated seamless structure. References Meers, K. A., & Robertson, C. (2007). Strategic planning practices in profitable small firms in the United States. The Business Review, Cambridge, 7(1), 302-307. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197300272?accountid=458 Murray, A. (2009, April 7). What is the difference between management and leadership. Retrieved from

One Shot Society Essay

As the great Colin Powell said, â€Å"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work learning from failure. † People’s success in life is determined by their sacrifice and hard work while young. We can go back in time and arrange every error we commit, meaning that we only have one opportunity in life. My essay will talk about the differences between Hondurans and South Koreans in terms of effort, opportunities, demands and expectations. Countries such as South Korea take very seriously the academic part of life in order to succeed in every aspect of it. Since early people grow with this way of life in which giving every inch of effort counts. Parents lead their children with strict habits of studying instead of doing other activities. Society demands youth to get well prepared for life and they have to respond by demonstrating it in their academic life. The results of studying and being dedicated shows when preparing for college. For example, admissions test for college is a day where society paralyzes, because this is crucial, this is the only shot they got to start with the right foot and have a decent life for probably the next 60 years. If people are not enough dedicated, they will have more difficulties in life. Koreans are usually hard working by nature; they don’t need to be told what to do, they work for it and at the end everything pays. On the other hand we have Honduras, a poor country where society has low demands on individuals; A country where goods are not fairly distributed. Not everyone in the country has opportunities to succeed, if people do not have money, even if they have the desire of giving everything in academics, opportunities do not present. Public education is very poor. Only the social class that can pay has a fair higher education. Academics is not something primary and society’s demand are not so harsh on young people. Even if youth doesn’t have a fine education after high school they can probably find a way out and earn money and because of this reasons not every student gives all their effort. Opportunities present to the ones who know wealthy people and government figures. The majority of Hondurans are not hard working people and society doesn’t give that much opportunities. These two countries are very different in almost every aspect but have similarities on a few. South Korea is a rich powerful country where every kid has to be very dedicated to their studies in order to succeed, young people usually study until 4 and then go with tutors, and meanwhile few Honduran kids are dedicated because of the poor society demands. Schools end about 2 or 3, then do a couple of homework and that’s it. 00% of South Korean parents want their children to get to college, while not every Honduran parent sees college as a mandatory thing to do. The level of work in South Korea surpasses Honduran one and the results show in the evolution as a society and as a country. The little similarity between these two countries is that not so much work opportunities are presented for people who study, making it hard for some people to succeed. In conclusion people should take advantage of that one shot life gives us even if we are in different countries.  To make a difference and overcome difficulties people have to be hard workers to demonstrate society our capacities and accomplish our life goal, which I think for the most is having a wealthy life. Rich countries such as South Korea evolve because of their work, even if this means doing sacrifices and passing through lots of stress. At the end results will show and society will grow. â€Å"Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today†.

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-Five

ONCE MARCUS FINALLY ACCEPTED that I wasn't going, he wished me well, though he still wore that stunned expression. He'd planned on abandoning the car at the station but handed the keys over to me as a parting gift. I watched him walk away and wondered if I'd made a mistake. Then I thought of green, green eyes and all the work Adrian and I had to do together. This was the right choice . . . I just hoped I wasn't too late. He still wasn't answering my calls. Did he hate me? Or was he holed up somewhere, depressed and drinking away his sorrows? I fished his note out of my purse, wondering what I'd find. Knowing Adrian, I'd expected some long, flowery expression of love. Instead, all I found was a long series of numbers. The numbers meant nothing to me. I studied them for a while in the car, applying a few common codes I knew. No answer appeared, though I wasn't entirely surprised. Codes and complex mathematics weren't exactly Adrian's style. But then, why had he left the note? Obviously, he assumed I could decipher it. I held the note far away from me, hoping something visual would reveal itself. It did. As I looked at the numbers again, I saw a natural break in the middle of them, in a format that looked familiar. I entered the two sets of numbers into the latitude and longitude screen of my GPS. A moment later, it turned up an address in Malibu. Southern California. Was that a coincidence? Without even thinking twice, I pulled out of the train station's parking lot and headed toward the coast. It was entirely possible I was about to waste two and a half hours (five, if you counted the round trip), but I didn't think so. There are no coincidences. It felt like the longest drive of my life. My hands tightly clenched the wheel the entire time. I was eager yet terrified. When I was only a few miles from the address, I began to see signs for the Getty Villa. For a few seconds, I was confused. The Getty Center was a very famous museum, but it was closer to Los Angeles. I didn't understand the connection or why I had ended up in Malibu. Nonetheless, I dutifully followed the directions and ended up in the Villa's guest parking lot. When I reached the entrance, I received my answers. The Villa was a sister museum to the Getty Center, one that specialized in ancient Greek and Roman art. In fact, a good part of the Getty Villa was set up like some ancient temple, complete with pillars surrounding courtyards filled with gardens, fountains, and statues. Admission was free but required a reservation. Things were slow today, and I quickly rectified the problem by making an online reservation on my phone. When I stepped inside, I nearly forgot why I was there – but only for a heartbeat. The museum was a dream come true for a lover of classics like me. Room after room focusing on the ancient world. Jewelry statues, clothes . . . it was as if I'd entered a time machine. The scholar in me longed to study and read about each exhibit in detail. The rest of me, with a racing heart and barely contained excitement, only briefly stopped in each room, just long enough to search and move on. After looking in almost all the interior areas, I stepped into the outer peristyle. My breath caught. It was a huge outdoor garden built around a pool that had to be at least two hundred feet long. Statues and fountains dotted the pool's surface, and the whole space was surrounded in gorgeously manicured trees and other plants. The sun, warm despite the December day, shone down on everything, and the air hummed with birdsong, splashing water, and soft conversation. Tourists milled around, stopping to admire the sights or take pictures. None of them mattered, though – not when I finally found the person I was looking for. He sat at the opposite end of the garden from where I'd entered, on the pool's far edge. His back was to me, but I would have known him anywhere. I approached with trepidation, still churning with that odd mix of fear and eagerness. The closer I got, the more detailed his features became. The tall, lean body. The chestnut glints that the sun brought out in his dark hair. When I finally reached the pool's end, I came to a stop just behind him, not daring to go farther. â€Å"Sage,† he said, without looking up. â€Å"Figured you'd be south of the border by now.† â€Å"No, you didn't,† I said. â€Å"You never would've given me the note or come all the way out here. You knew I wouldn't leave.† He looked up at me at last, squinting in the bright sun. â€Å"I was pretty sure you wouldn't leave. I hoped you wouldn't leave. Jill and I debated it forever. What'd you think of my sweet use of latitude and longitude? Pretty brilliant, huh?† â€Å"Genius,† I said, trying to hold back my smile. Some of my fear faded. We were back in familiar, easy territory again. Just Adrian and me. â€Å"You took a risk I'd know what those numbers meant. You could've been sitting out here all day.† â€Å"Nah.† Adrian stood up and took a step toward me. â€Å"You're a smart girl. I knew you'd figure it out.† â€Å"Not that smart.† The closer he came, the more my heart began to race again. â€Å"It took me a long time to figure some things out.† I gestured around us. â€Å"And how is it possible that you knew this place existed, but I didn't?† His fingertips traced the edge of my cheek, and suddenly, the warmth of the sunshine felt like nothing compared to the heat of that touch. â€Å"It was easy,† he said, holding me in his gaze. â€Å"I had to start my search somewhere, so I typed ‘ancient Rome' and ‘California' into my phone. This was like the first hit.† â€Å"What search?† I asked. He smiled. â€Å"The search for some place more romantic than Pies and Stuff.† Adrian tipped my face up toward his and kissed me. Like always, the world around me stopped moving. No, the world became Adrian, only Adrian. Kissing him was as mind-blowing as ever, full of that same passion and need I had never believed I'd feel. But today, there was even more to it. I no longer had any doubt about whether this was wrong or right. It was a culmination of a long journey . . . or maybe the beginning of one. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I didn't care that we were out in public. I didn't care that he was Moroi. All that mattered was that he was Adrian, my Adrian. My match. My partner in crime, in the long battle I'd just signed on for to right the wrongs in the Alchemist and Moroi worlds. Maybe Marcus was right that I'd also signed myself up for disaster, but I didn't care. In that moment, it seemed that as long as Adrian and I were together, there was no challenge too great for us. I don't know how long we stood there kissing. Like I said, the world around me was gone. Time had stopped. I was awash in the feel of Adrian's body against mine, in his scent, and in the taste of his lips. That was all that mattered right now, and I found myself thinking of our unfinished business in the dream. When we finally broke the kiss – much too soon, as far as I was concerned – we still stayed locked in an embrace. The sound of giggling caused me to glance to the side, where two small children were laughing and pointing at us. Seeing me watching them, they scurried away. I turned back to Adrian, wanting to melt away with happiness as I looked up into his eyes. â€Å"This is a lot better than loving from afar,† I told him. He brushed some hair from my face and gazed into my eyes. â€Å"What changed your mind? I mean, I knew you'd never be able to stay away from me, but I won't lie . . . you had me scared there for a little while.† I leaned against his chest. â€Å"It was a combination of things, really. Some surprisingly good advice from Jill. One of Wolfe's charming anecdotes – I have to tell you about his kitchen, by the way. Plus, I kept thinking about when we were on the table.† Adrian shifted just enough so that we could look at each other again. It was one of those rare moments where he was completely floored. â€Å"Let me get this straight. The future of our relationship hinged on advice from a fifteen-year-old girl, a probably untrue story from a one-eyed Chihuahua trainer, and me unromantically – yet skillfully – kissing you on top of silverware and china?† â€Å"Yup,† I said after a few moments of thought. â€Å"That's all it took, huh? And here I thought winning you over was going to be hard.† He grew serious again and pressed a light kiss to my forehead. â€Å"What happens now?† â€Å"Now we check out this awesome museum you've lured me to. You're going to love Etruscan art.† That roguish smile I adored returned. â€Å"I'm sure I will. But what about the future? What are we going to do about us – about this?† I caught hold of his hands, still keeping him close. â€Å"Since when are you worried about consequences or the future?† â€Å"Me? Never.† He considered. â€Å"Well, that is, as long as you're with me, I'm not worried. But I know you like to worry about those kinds of things.† â€Å"I wouldn't say I like' to,† I corrected. A soft breeze ruffled his hair, and I resisted the urge to brush it back into place. If I did, I was pretty sure we'd start kissing again, and I supposed I should first be responsible and answer his questions. â€Å"Are we going to run off to the Keepers?† he suggested. â€Å"Of course not,† I scoffed. â€Å"That'd be cowardly and immature. And you'd never survive without hair gel – though you might like their moonshine.† â€Å"Then what are we going to do?† â€Å"We're going to keep all of this secret.† He chuckled. â€Å"That's not cowardly?† â€Å"It's exciting and daring,† I said. â€Å"Manly and brave, even. I figured you'd be into that.† â€Å"Sage.† He laughed. â€Å"I'm into anything, so long as you're with me. But is it going to be enough? I'm not completely oblivious to consequences, you know. I get how dangerous this is for you, especially if you keep questioning the Alchemists. And I also know you're still worried about Jill watching us.† Right. Jill. Jill, who was probably witnessing all of this right now, whether she wanted to or not. Was she happy for his happiness? Was she filled with the joy of our love? Or was this excruciatingly uncomfortable for her? â€Å"The three of us will find a way to cope,† I said at last. I couldn't think much more about it right now or I probably would start freaking out. â€Å"And as for the Alchemists . . . we'll just have to be careful. They don't follow me everywhere, and like you said, I'm with you half the time anyway.† I just hoped that was enough. It had to be. And then the kissing started again. There was no avoiding it, not when we were together like this, far away from the real world of our normal lives. The setting was too perfect. He was too perfect, despite being one of the most imperfect people I knew. And honestly, we'd wasted far too much time with doubts and games. The one thing you learn from constantly having your life in danger is that you'd better not waste it. Even Marcus had admitted that in the arcade. Adrian and I spent the rest of the day at the Villa, most of it kissing in the gardens, though I did convince him to check out some of the artifacts inside. Maybe I was in love, but I was still me, after all. When things finally closed down for the evening, we had dinner at a beachside fondue restaurant and lingered there for a long time afterward, keeping close to each other and watching the waxing moon shine on the ocean. I was caught up in watching the crashing waves when I felt Adrian's lips brush my cheek. â€Å"Whatever happened to the dragon?† I mustered my primmest tone. â€Å"He has a name, you know.† Adrian pulled back and gave me a curious look. â€Å"I didn't know, actually. What'd you decide on?† â€Å"Hopper.† When Adrian laughed, I added, â€Å"Best rabbit ever. He'd be proud to know his name is being passed on.† â€Å"Yes, I'm sure he would. Did you name the Mustang too?† â€Å"I think you mean the Ivashkinator.† He stared at me in wonder. â€Å"I told you I loved you, right?† â€Å"Yes,† I assured him. â€Å"Many times.† â€Å"Good.† Adrian pulled me closer. â€Å"Just making sure, Miss ‘I'm a Quick Study'† I groaned. â€Å"I'm never going to live that down, am I?† â€Å"Live it down? Hell, I'm going to hold you to it.† I suspected Marcus's car was stolen, so we left it in Malibu. Adrian drove me back to the dorm and kissed me goodbye, promising to call me first thing in the morning. It was hard to let him go, even though I knew I was being silly to think I couldn't go without him for twelve hours. I walked into my dorm like I was dancing on air, my lips still burning from his kisses. It was crazy, I knew, attempting to have a relationship with him. Scratch that. It was going to be perilous – enough so that some of my euphoria dimmed as that realization hit me. I'd talked a good game with him, trying to ease his fears, but I knew the truth. Trying to figure out secrets within the Alchemists was going to be difficult enough, and my tattoo still wasn't secure. What I had going on with Adrian had raised the stakes exponentially, but that was one of those risks I gladly accepted. â€Å"Miss Melrose.† Mrs. Weathers's cool voice snapped me back to reality with a jolt. I came to a halt in the middle of the dorm's lobby and looked over at her. She stood up from her desk and strolled over. â€Å"Yes, ma'am?† â€Å"It's midnight.† I looked at a clock, surprised to see she was right. â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† â€Å"Even though winter break is here, you're still registered in the dorm until tomorrow, which means you're still subject to the rules. It's after curfew.† The only thing I could manage was stating the obvious. â€Å"Yes, it is, ma'am.† Mrs. Weathers waited, as though she were hoping I'd say more. â€Å"Were you . . . doing another assignment for Ms. Terwilliger?† There was an almost comically desperate look on her face. â€Å"I didn't receive notification, but surely she can retroactively fix things.† I realized then that Mrs. Weathers didn't want me to be in trouble. She was hoping I had some reason for breaking the rules, some reason that I could avoid punishment. I knew I could've lied and said I'd been helping Ms. Terwilliger. I knew Ms. Terwilliger would even back me up. But I couldn't do it. It seemed wrong to taint my day with Adrian with a lie. And really, I had broken the rules. â€Å"No,† I told Mrs. Weathers. â€Å"I wasn't with her. I was just . . . out.† Mrs. Weathers waited a few moments more and then bit her lip with resignation. â€Å"Very well then. You know the rules. You'll have to serve a detention – once classes start again.† I nodded solemnly. â€Å"Yes, ma'am. I understand.† She looked as though she was still hoping I'd correct the situation. I had nothing to offer her and turned to walk away. â€Å"Oh, I nearly forgot!† she called. â€Å"I was too astonished by this . . . transgression.† She turned back into the efficient dorm matron I knew. â€Å"Please let me know if your cousin will be staying with you in your room or if she needs her own.† I blinked in confusion. â€Å"Why would Angeline be staying with me?† â€Å"Not her. Your other cousin.† I started to say I didn't have another cousin, but some warning voice inside me told me to neither deny nor confirm her words. I had no idea what was going on, but all my alarms were saying that something was definitely about to happen. Whatever it was, I needed to keep my options open. â€Å"She had all the appropriate paperwork,† explained Mrs. Weathers. â€Å"So I just let her into your room since it's only for the night.† I swallowed. â€Å"I see. Can I, um, let you know after break?† â€Å"Certainly.† After a moment's hesitation, she added, â€Å"And we'll discuss your detention then too.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am,† I said. I went upstairs, a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Who was waiting in my room? Who in the world was part of my imaginary family now? As it turned out, it was someone from my real family. When I unlocked the door, I found Zoe sitting on my bed. Her face lit up when she saw me, and she sprang forward to grab me in a fierce embrace. â€Å"Sydney!† she exclaimed. â€Å"I was so worried you weren't coming back tonight.† â€Å"Of course I was,† I said stiffly. I was so shocked that I could barely return her hug. â€Å"What are you doing here?† She pulled back and looked up at me with a big grin. There was no anger in her, not even the wariness she'd had in St. Louis. She was full of joy, truly happy to see me. I didn't know why she was here, but hope began to blossom within me that we'd finally get our reconciliation. Until she spoke. â€Å"They gave me a field position! I'm assigned here.† She turned her face, showing me a golden lily tattoo on her cheek. My heart nearly stopped. â€Å"I'm officially an Alchemist now. Well, a junior one. I've got a lot to learn, so they thought it'd be best if I was with you.† â€Å"I see,† I said. The room was spinning. Zoe. Zoe was here – and she was an Alchemist, one who would be staying with me. Her exuberant expression became a little perplexed. â€Å"And I guess you were telling Stanton something about needing Alchemist backup? That it was really hard being around so many Moroi by yourself?† I tried to smile but couldn't. â€Å"Something like that.† I'd urged Stanton to take action, and she had. It just wasn't the kind I'd expected. Zoe's enthusiasm returned. â€Å"Well, you aren't alone now. I'm here for you, not that you probably even need me. You don't ever get into any trouble.† No, I just had a romance going on with a vampire, was on the verge of joining a coven, and was investigating secrets no one wanted me to know about. No trouble at all. How in the world was I going to hide all that from her? Zoe hugged me again. â€Å"Oh, Sydney! This is going to be great,† she exclaimed. â€Å"We're going to be together all the time!†

Should violent images and language be censored or banned from national Essay

Should violent images and language be censored or banned from national media - Essay Example adays, parents have to sneak into the room every now and then to make sure that their innocent child is protected from the impacts of evil forces trying to reach their child through video games. This may also have a negative impact on the parent-child relationship in which the parent has to spy on the child. This may, for the least, inculcate curiosity in the child’s mind regarding the spying parent. In extreme circumstances, the child may become violent and abuse the parent and force him/her out of the room. Even if all the deleterious effects of incorporating sexuality and violence in the video games are overlooked, the fact that these factors are incorporated into the video games on the cost of their quality can not be ignored. Video game makers that do not have a nice strategy in mind for the plot or theme of the game may still have their product do good business in the market by making the audience attracted towards the violence or sexuality incorporated therein. In this sense, makers of such video games are essentially committing the crime of tarnishing the image of video games in the public’s eye. A vast majority of the proponents of violence and sexuality in video games suggest that access to such games should be allowed after a certain age limit. They emphasize that this is a useful way to prevent the minds of innocent children to go wild before they physically mature up. But this argument is totally flawed. Although it apparently seems an easy way to end the debate, yet anyone with the desire to curtail sexuality and violence in the video games can easily challenge this argument for several reasons. This is because of the fact that age restrictions when placed upon something play a fundamental role in making that thing a social taboo, and taboos often happen to be the biggest adventures for juveniles and adolescents to explore. The idea of placing age restrictions on the violent video games makes them all the more exciting and appealing for the

Postevent Nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Postevent Nutrition - Essay Example A post-event meal should help to restore fluid and electrolyte losses, replenish glycogen stores and prevent low blood sugar (SMCA n.pag 2nd edition). Inappropriate food intake during post event can have serious implications on recovery. Post event meals are very important particularly for glycogen restoration. As it is a known factor that muscle glycogen is severely depleted for athletes, adequate recovery means that the muscles are rested, re-fueled, and ready to go again (Davis 2005). During an event the athlete encounters free radical attack and to overcome the free radical effects, it is important to take adequate antioxidants. Post event must also be the right time for replacing all those vitamins and minerals. These acts as co-factors in the body's enzyme complexes involved in the production of energy and vitamins which protect against free radical damage (SIS n. pag). The most critical factors that determine sports performance is the energy and hydration supply to the body. Similarly, after an event it is important to replace the lost energy and hydration. Athletes replace fluid and fuel by consuming both liquid and solid carbohydrate feeds.

Causes of Tropical Deforestation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Causes of Tropical Deforestation - Essay Example From the  Ã‚   factors  Ã‚   above, small-holder agriculture comprises 35 – 40%, thus, holding the biggest share. Cattle pasture comes  Ã‚   next while large-scale agriculture cops the fourth spot. It is obvious   that   agricultural activities vastly contribute to deforestation.  Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon (   2000 – 2005)   Cattle  Ã‚   ranching  Ã‚   is  Ã‚   the top cause of deforestation. Small-scale agriculture is followed by large-scale agriculture. Logging along  Ã‚   with other causes round up the list with 1 – 3%.   Although logging results in degradation rather than deforestation, it is often followed by clearing for agriculture.   The 1980s saw 80% of deforested land ultimately converted for extensive agriculture which was lessened by 20% by the 90s. The decrease in the figures could account for less space that can be used for agricultural purposes since companies could have taken over the operations of large-sca le agriculture. It is also a probability that when world price of beef increased, the demand   lessened; thus, volume of cattle grazing on lands decreased that resulted to slower deforestation .Tropical Deforestation by Region, 1990 – 2000, & 2000 – 2005   South America lost the most number of hectares to deforestation. From   1990 – 2000, the region has lost more than 3,500 hectares per year. Deforestation  Ã‚   slowed down between  Ã‚   2000 – 2005. This meant that population has grown and urbanization has sped the deforestation. Africa suffers the second worst with 3,600 hectares of land lost to deforestation per year in the period 1990 – 2000.

Individual Project Drugs and Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual Project Drugs and Crime - Essay Example Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system. Other effects included slowed and slurred speech, slow gait, constricted pupils, droopy eyelids, impaired night vision, vomiting, and constipation. surge of pleasure that rapidly follows administration of some drugs. Long term effects: Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulites, and liver disease .Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not really dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. (www.drugsfree.com) Two cases of crimes due to consumption of LSD can be focused. First, the case of Stephen Kessler stands out because of the style and magnitude of the headlines in April 1967, which declared him a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer" because he reportedly said to the police as he was being arrested: "Man, I've been flying for three days on LSD." Although it was later reported that Kessler had last taken LSD more than a month before the killings and had actually been on "three quarts of lab alcohol" and "one-and-a-half grains of pentobarbital", this data was trumpeted with somewhat less fanfare. The second major LSD-related crime that splashed across televisions, newspapers, and magazines was that of the murderous cult of personality around Charles Manson. When several members of the group were... Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulites, and liver disease .Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not really dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. Two cases of crimes due to consumption of LSD can be focused. First, the case of Stephen Kessler stands out because of the style and magnitude of the headlines in April 1967, which declared him a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer" because he reportedly said to the police as he was being arrested: "Man, I've been flying for three days on LSD." Although it was later reported that Kessler had last taken LSD more than a month before the killings and had actually been on "three quarts of lab alcohol" and "one-and-a-half grains of pentobarbital", this data was trumpeted with somewhat less fanfare. The second major LSD-related crime that splashed across televisions, newspapers, and magazines was that of the murderous cult of personality around Charles Manson. When several members of the group were indicted for high profile murders in 1969, it was big national news. The media carried extensive mentions of the use of LSD, Datura, and other drugs by the members of the â€Å"Manson Family†. Kasabian spent eighteen days on the witness stand during which Manson’s attorney repeatedly returned to questions about her LSD use, trying to depict her as a person who could not tell fact from fantasy.

Harvard Style References Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Harvard Style References - Essay Example Its provisions are centred on the basic requirements of a particular component in the building rather than the whole building requirements. Building construction in Qatar can be generally classified into Type II (Non-combustible) if not Type I (Fire Resistive) constructions. Due to the climatic condition in the country in which a temperature of more than 50 ËšC is reached during peak summertime, buildings of Type III (Limited Combustible) and Type IV (Heavy Timber) constructions whose conditions to easily catch fire can be aggravated by the dry summer season are rarely built in Qatar. Application of the NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code, and the Qatar Construction Standard are implemented strictly in Qatar. GDCD implements in full the provisions of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, to establish specific requirements for means of egress. While all concepts incorporated in the code are important, means of egress could be singled out as the most important of them all as this is the last recourse where all of the fire safety strategies (prevention, communication, containment and extinguishment) fail. The ability of the occupants to quickly and efficiently exit the building is often the difference between life and death. NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler System, is the main standard used by QDCD to establish specific requirements for automatic sprinkler system design and installation in buildings. The local fire safety standard establishes the criteria when automatic sprinkler system is required. NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems, is used by GDCD to establish minimum requirements for the design and installation of Standpipes or Rising Mains, the term used in the local Fire Safety Standard. The local fire safety standards prescribe the criteria when standpipe is required and the type of standpipe is required for a particular building. The location or placement

International Management Master Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Management Master - Assignment Example Morgan Chase, Allstate, Prudential, Dell, Cisco, Microsoft and Motorola have all adopted it in some form as they shift their managerial frames of reference toward the requirements of the global-network era. Companies would do well, the Oddou (1999) advises, to think rationally - not emotionally - about off shoring's relevant issues: What are their core competencies What form of governance is optimal How will work will be distributed and integrated to the new staff and how well they can get settles with the new environment Since outsourcing contracts often last for five or more years, corporate officers responsible for selecting the manager with whom they wind up going down the legal path often compare the pact to that of a marriage. The reason is that trust is as important to an outsourcing manager as it is to a spouse. But before an outsourcing relationship reaches that point, many outsourcing managers note that they wind up going through a systematic process of gathering intelligence about their possible partners, and often about themselves. Manager or staff selection first involves self-assessment. Before even undertaking the manager's selection, a corporation should determine whether it needs to outsource in the first place. A company must assess the raw economics of a project, says Howard Rubin, executive vice president with the Meta Group Inc., which advises corporations on outsourcing. It also must weigh the fixed costs of moving production or a task to an outsourcing vendor, as well as the variable ones, he notes. Once that's done, a strategic accounting must be completed. "If your business is building bridges, you don't want to worry about maintaining and painting the ones you've already built," Rubin says. Those are things you outsource if it takes away from your core business focus. It's not unusual for a company to decide not to outsource. One outsourcing officer of a major industrial company based in the Midwest says half the time his company examines an outsourcing request from a business unit, no outsourcing assignment winds up being made. There are numerous reasons for that, including fear about intellectual assets losing their protection once outside the corporate cocoon. "With IP (intellectual property), once you move outside, you're at risk of losing it," says one outsourcing manager in the Midwest. That's why trust becomes so important when selecting a Manager. It must be someone who can respect proprietary information. Trust, of course, must be earned. It's somewhat intangible, and generally doesn't emerge until hard fact-finding is completed. The Midwestern outsourcing manager says when an entire assignment is considered, and staffs needs to be selected, as many as 25 people can be working on a prospective mandate at his company. In hiring managers from another country or culture there are three aspects to be considered, what codifiability, standardizability and modularizability. Codifiability refers to the extent to which the activities in an occupation can be described completely in a set of

Alzheimer's disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alzheimer's disease - Research Paper Example As of 2006, there were 26.6 million Alzheimer’s sufferers in the world; it is predicted that roughly one in every eighty-five people will suffer from Alzheimer’s by the year 2050 (â€Å"Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet†). There is no definite cause of Alzheimer’s. Many scientists believe that the disease can be caused by genetics, environment, and lifestyle, though even these have not been definitely pinpointed. It is believed that whatever it is that does cause Alzheimer’s gradually happens over a long period of time, especially if the aforementioned factors are part of the cause of the disease. However, the effect that the disease has on the brain tissue, the starting point of the catalyst for the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, is very clear. The disease damages and kills brain cells and the brain tissue deteriorates. Since doctors and scientists have been unable to determine the exact cause of the disease, they instead focus on what happens before and after a person has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. There are two types of neuron damage that have been seen most in people with Alzheimer’s: plaques and tangles. Plaques are masses of a normally harmless protein known as beta-amyloid that has the ability to interfere with communication between brain cells (Feng et al). The abnormal processing of this protein has shown to effect functions of the brain. Tangles involve the protein known as tau. This protein is important for the brain to function properly, but when they undergo alterations they become twisted. During the twisting, the neurons become damaged, causing them to die. When these two proteins react the way they do, they slow down or completely destroy vital components of the brain, thus negatively effecting the functioning of the brain and the memory. Another possible cause of Alzheimer’s is a breakdown of myelin in the brain, an event that usually takes place as a person gets older. When myelin breaks down, there

Does the community need better schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Does the community need better schools - Essay Example In addition, another aspect that made the few available schools in the community less fortunate hence contributing to the problem of the urge to better schools is the actual environment of the rural school which had continued to be unfavorable for learning. This a times makes it hard for the focused students to succeed. Poverty still continues to take advantage of the rural schools. They actually depend much on the urban and national economies. This brings up the issue of dependency which has a lot of impact on underdevelopment of individuals, societies among other parties. This makes the community-based school culturally and geographically isolated as a result of their locations hence limiting their abilities to acquire materials for their student and teachers. (Berliner, 2004) As long as the above factors contribute to the problem hence the need for better schools, we must as well never forget the fact that a school is like a system composed of the subsystems which the various parts are making it. It, therefore, make us prepared to argue the fact that failure of effective co-operation between these various componential parts in the community as well, has contributed to the problem of lack of better schools. Imagine a ship whose various components are built with an experienced engineer, skilled carpenter, and competitive electrician as well, but all these individual lacking a sight of the master plan, I believe you won’t like the outcome since all these will not stop the ship from sinking (Yang, 2013).

Select an article from a magazine or newspaper that has something in Essay

Select an article from a magazine or newspaper that has something in it that pertains to biology - Essay Example Participants were later showed the same pictures as well as more new ones on a new day. The subjects who had taken the dose managed to identify the pictures that were similar. Other than this test, others were conducted and it was concluded that a certain dose of caffeine, say 200mg, needed to be observed in order to enhance the effect that caffeine had on consolidating the memory. Biology is mainly composed of natural science that is concerned mostly with the study of living things and life as well as their structures, functioning and their growth. Basically, biology is what surrounds us as human beings and the various activities we take part into. In biology, one learns about how the human body works and functions in order to keep one alive. It also introduces one to the most important body organs such as the brain, heart and the liver and how they function. The article on caffeine and long term memory boost relates to this course in that it provides some explanations based on researched work on how one’s memory can be enhanced. The brain is a core topic studied under biology, how it functions and coordinates all the activities in the human body. Biology also introduces students to important concepts in life. One, for example, learns about various hazards that may come as a result of substance abuse such as the hazards that may be brought about by abu sing drugs. The article also to some extent covers on the effects of caffeine related to biological concepts. A book by Harrison, Principles of Internal Medicine, provides relevant information on how the memory is essential in allowing humans not only to store, but also to retrieve information. It also provides information on how the human brain works and the various processes involved (Isselbacher & Harrison 98). This information enables one to understand the article on caffeine especially on the part

The Role of a father. A Rogerian Argument. Is a father's participation Essay

The Role of a father. A Rogerian Argument. Is a father's participation in a child's growing up more significant in a son's or in - Essay Example It is the relationship with the father that decides daughter’s confidence in her womanhood, her identity, her relationships and her self-esteem level. It won’t be wrong to say that it is the father who builds the path of success, contentment and happiness in daughter’s life as it is he, who gives her the confidence to survive strongly and with dignity in the male dominated human society. Father’s role in child development It is a typical assumption that children become well adjusted adults if they live with same sex parent as same sex parent becomes an appropriate role model for them (Newman and Grauerholz 465). This assumption is strengthened with a research by Hosley and Montemayor (1997), who found that fathers have less contact with their daughters and engage more in activities of their sons (Lamb and Lewis 290). Larsen and Richards (1994) found that due to the communication gap with fathers, daughters remain uninfluenced by them while sons are influen ced a lot (Lamb and Lewis 290). However, a review of literature on child psychopathology by Phares (1997) revealed that even though fathers do not interact with their children as much as mothers, they still have a powerful indirect and direct impact on the social and emotional adjustments of children (Lamb and Lewis 290). This shows that fathers play an important role in the development of both, the male and the female child. ... of 2433 teenagers living with single parent, sociologists Brian Powell and Douglas Downey (1997) revealed that there is no base to the assumption that same sex parent are better as they are better suited to become appropriate role models (Newman and Grauerholz 465). In fact, they found that the chances of teenage girls becoming pregnant are more when they live with their mothers (Newman and Grauerholz 465). This proves that the assumption that same sex parents prove to be better role models for adolescents is wrong. According to Freud, daughters have an unconscious desire for their fathers and in order to resolve the conflict of the internal desire, they identify with mother’s feminine qualities and model her (Sigelman and Rider 353). This shows that daughter’s modeling of mother is not ‘natural’ but is an attempt to impress her father and to win his appreciation. In this way, it is the father who reinforces the feminine behavior in his daughter (Sigelman a nd Rider 353). According to Parke (1996), Freud’s notion that father makes an important contribution in the development of the gender based role in daughters, is confirmed (Sigelman and Rider 353). Also, acceptance and encouragement by father plays a crucial role in healthy development of daughters. Sons do not depend on fathers to develop their masculine identity. They find the masculine identity through competitive achievement and acceptance by male group (male friends, peers etc.) (Kohlberg 163). However, daughters gain confidence and strength in their feminine identity only when they are accepted and approved by male (Kohlberg 163). As father is the first male in daughter’s life, the foundation of her future male-female relationship is based on her relationship with her father (Shearin Karres 165).

Business and Society - Leadership and Motivation Coursework

Business and Society - Leadership and Motivation - Coursework Example The steps taken in managing failure include managing cash flow, avoiding debt and developing an effective business plan. Leadership and motivation are important determinants of success in a business entity. Effective leadership guides employees towards the achievement of the entity’s goals and objectives (Caroll and Buchholtz 35). Additionally, employee motivation helps improve employees’ productivity resulting in an overall improvement of the firm. Leaders are different from managers in various ways. Leaders focus on people while managers focus on structure. Leaders innovate while managers administer (Caroll and Buchholtz 42). Leaders inspire trust while managers control. Retired General Colin Powell defines leadership as followership. His definition of leadership is accurate since leaders act in a way that inspires those that follow them. I agree with his definition of leadership is all about inspiring one’s followers. There are various leadership styles including bureaucratic, charismatic, servant and transactional (Caroll and Buchholtz 45). The style I prefer most is servant leadership since the leader leads since it considers employees’ participation. The style I prefer least is bureaucratic leadership since it inhibits innovation, creativity and flexibility. Dr Phil’s and Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs can be used to motivate and manage employees. Employee motivation increases their productivity (Caroll and Buchholtz 47). It is clear that money is not the sole motivating factor, other aspects including the working conditions impact employee management and motivation. An organization is a social unit of individuals that is designed and managed to pursue collective objectives (Caroll and Buchholtz 7). The specific characteristics of an organization include an organizational culture and the ability to work towards collective goals and objectives. Corporate culture refers to behaviours, beliefs and values that establish how a company’s management interacts with its employees and how it handles any external transactions.  Ã‚  

Does Global warming exist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Does Global warming exist - Essay Example Global warming usually occurs when greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide is trapped in the atmosphere thus causing a thickening blanket that traps the heat from the sun, making the planet earth to warm up continuously over a period of time (National Research Council (U.S.), 2010). There is clear evidence that there has been a marked change in the composition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that currently stands at 390 ppm and even higher levels have been recorded at 400ppm at Mauna Loa, Hawaii in May 2013. It can now be proven that the average global temperature has undergone a change of about 1.4 °F in the last one hundred years (National Research Council (U.S), 2010). While the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that, the period between years 2000 and 2010 was the warmest on record with 2005 and 2010 being the warmest (Giese, 20113). Scientists also project that Earth's average temperatures will raise between 2 and 12 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 which will be disastrous to human life and all the animal life on the planet earth (National Research Council (U.S.), 2011).The rise in the global temperature has been shown through the changes in weather and ultimately the climate of regions such as changes in rainfall pattern and intensity. The oceans, seas and glaciers have equally undergone changes while the oceans have become more acidic, the glaciers and ice caps on mountains and the Polar Regions have melted while the sea levels have risen (United States. (2010). These changes can be attributed to climate change have been due to human activities and natural variations in the weather and climate of a place. It is important to observe that the earth goes through a natural cycle of cooling, warming that may be attributed to factors such as changes in solar system, and acts such as volcanic activity and these cannot be the only explanation for the rise in temperatures (U.S. Global Change Research Program and Karl, 2009).   According to the National Research Council (U.S) (2010), the biggest cause of the increase in the global temperature of the earth is the trapped greenhouse gases in the air that trap the warmth leading to heating. This has been proven using satellite technology to measure the fluctuations in the energy from the sun; scientists have proven that the sun’s contribution is minimal as compared to human activities. The upshot of this is that the increase in temperatures currently experienced globally is due to the warming properties from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that trap heat in the atmosphere. The increased concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere that also aids in the trapping and retention of the excess greenhouse gas emissions. Because water vapor is a greenhouse gas, it leads t o further warming through a

Brands and branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Brands and branding - Essay Example According to Burberry, the founder of the company he said that the company was established to help the young people realize their dreams through innovation and engage in creativity thus making life bearable to them. Marketing strategies used by Burberry The marketing strategies of the company are focused at providing provide value to the customers through the products and the type of information concerning the products that are in the market. Retail marketing Retail marketing has been commonly used by the company. As one of marketing strategies, it has the capability to make the company to be more competitive in the market. The core importance of using retail marketing plan is to make sure that the sales ratio of the company increases on the international front making the company to invest a lot in other marketing strategies (Clancy and Kriegafsd, 2000). When using retail marketing, the brand is recognized and established to the market thus having a trademark that the brands are wide ly known for. Due to use of retailing marketing, the company is also able to venture in foreign countries like China where the company has retail shops thus making great venture to the fashion brands that are in the industry. The only challenge that face the company when using the retail marketing are cheaper brands that are offered by the competitors. Customer awareness Burberry enjoys strong customer awareness, since the company brands in the past were favorite brands to Queen Elizabeth two and the Prince of Wales. Additionally, through the use of extensive advertisement, Burberry brands are used by many people and are given respect worldwide due to royal families’ involvement with the products. Objective as a marketing strategy in Burberry The primary aim of the company is to make sure that the brands are represented visually to target the customers hence making sure that the customers are satisfied and their ideas are listened to and again implemented, according to their wish (Philip, 2006). The customers are encouraged to be creative and if any one of them has an idea to come up with a brand that is unique in the market he or she is given the attention. This is based on the fact that the company was founded to make use of innovation and use of modern technology (Philip and Kevin, 2006). Social media The company uses Facebook and Twitter and the management post their new brand and others to social media as a method of advertising to make sure that it effectively competes with rivals. The company introduced the use of YouTube and launched films to promote the brands (Joshi 2005). The company still opens discussion forum which are used by the customers to make sure that their views and ideas are listened to and later implemented. Market segments in Burberry Market segmentation for Burberry is divided according to characteristic and personality aspects. For example, for the consumers who are 18-30 years old they have a certain brand of Burberry which t hey use as their product of choice. The second market segment is secondary age group that includes 30-40 years old. This category has certain brands of their choice that have unique characteristics that make them to be accepted by the secondary age group (Lenskold 2003). The third market segmentation is the families with high income and this gives them opportunity to buy expensive brands. The last market segment is for student and working individuals

Business ethic and CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business ethic and CSR - Essay Example The paper also maintains that positive correlation between CSR expenditure and future performance of the firm is different from what it is usually taken for because such studies usually don’t take the factor of management’s private information in consideration. And in essence these disclosures are signals by which firms communicate their private information of bright future prospects to the outside world. They maintain that charity hypothesis for CSR expenditure is not linked with the future performance of the firm though it may be linked with current period performance. Investment hypothesis and Signal hypothesis (i.e. either CSR expenditure are investments or communications of bright future prospects) are both positively linked with the future performance of the firm. But their positive relation is of mutually different nature. Their methodological innovation to test and differentiate between investment and their cherished signaling hypothesis lies in their splitting the CSR expenditure further down in investment related and non investment related components. If CSR spending is good investment then there should be positive relation between its investment component (optimal CSR expenditure) and its future performance. And if it’s not some investment endure but a signaling of better future prospects then there will be positive association between firm’s deviation from the optimum and its future performance. Although authors recognize that effects of optimal expenditure and deviation from it are not mutually exclusive as both can have positive association with the future performance. Through this methodology authors come up with their first result that CSR expenditures has a positive association with the future performance of the firm measured mainly through the change in the operating cash flow and ROA. When this relation is established authors then refute the Charity hypothesis regarding CSR expenditures. For if CSR spending are cha rity then these should not affect the future performance of the firm. Next, authors undertake the differential impact of optimal and deviational components of CSR on the future performance of the firm. Their striking conclusion entails that improved future performance of the firm, on average, is linked with the deviational CSR expenditure rather than optimal CSR. Further by their size adjusted returns tests they conclude that, on average, optimal CSR results in the decline of share holder value and the overall positive impact on the firm value is the result of signaling value of CSR expenditure. And with result authors refute the investment hypothesis of CSR while maintaining that for this hypothesis to hold firm it was required that optimal CSR should result in the increased performance of the firm. With their findings authors of the paper point to a new horizon in corporate literature regarding the true purpose of CSR expenditures and disclosures. Most important breakthrough that their work offers is the signaling value of CSR expenditure. This avenue of signaling worth of CSR disclosures has been usually neglected. Thus their discovery will add new angle to the relation of CSR expenditure and future performance of the firm. Their finding also highlights the phenomena that CSR expenditures are taken by the firms when they feel that their future prospects are bright and in coming

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

Louisiana Purchase - Essay Example With the power of France and Napoleon Bonaparte continually rising, Spain signed with France into the Treaty of San Ildefonso which included ceding Louisiana back to France. President Thomas Jefferson grew wary of protecting the interests in New Orleans and the Mississippi as the previous treaty with Spain is in the brink of being revoked. He actively sought to obtain New Orleans and authorized $10 million for its purchase. Luckily, Napoleon’s interest in the Americas was thwarted and he settled his eyes on Europe. Bonaparte sent Talleyrand and Barbe-Marbois who negotiated with Robert Livingston and James Monroe in 1803 for the purchase of the entire Louisiana for $15 million (The Museum Gazette). This was an important milestone in United States history and highlighted the presidency of Jefferson. â€Å"Louisiana doubled the size of the United States literally overnight, without a war or the loss of a single American life, and set a precedent for the purchase of territory† (The Museum Gazette). This became a precedent for the possibility of acquiring territories not only within the continent but including the Pacific. The purchase had oppositions, mainly coming from New England Federalists who felt they were losing grips of their influence because of the expansion. Nevertheless, it was considered as one of the greatest bargains in real estate considering the vastness and size of Louisiana in proportion to its purchase value (Sage

Human resource management, human resource development, training system Essay

Human resource management, human resource development, training system - Essay Example They are not designed for skills that cannot be systematically understood. â€Å"Soft† skills like customer service could be improved by training cycles because, while it is not a technical skill, certainly repetition can benefit it, measurement can occur over time by looking at customer service responses, etc. Even some interpersonal skills might be training cycle-appropriate. But a skill like being able to select stocks based on an economic intuition or advanced theory is not likely to be a training cycle approach, since the approach cannot be systematically understood, broken down, conveyed or put into a cycle. The training cycle design, at its basis, is a four-step process: 1. The training needs of the organisation are analysed and identified. A training gap is thus examined and enumerated: The gap between the organisation's means and goals. 2. The design of the training programme itself. 3. Implementation of the training. 4. Evaluation of that training. Evaluation of the training determines more weaknesses in the organisation as well as discovers new inefficiencies in the process which then leads back to analysing and identifying need training needs, ad infinitum. Many design techniques are helpful in creating a working training cycle program. Pre-defined inventories of tools and skills, either defined by the organisation or defined by industry standards writ large, can guide design. â€Å"One organization wanted to develop a competency for all its information technology employees that would serve as the foundation for employee development, performance management, and career pathing. When examining the options for developing the model, the usual methods were thought of first: surveys, focus groups, subject matter expert interviews, and organization records. However, it was suggested that IT competencyneeds are not really that different across different organisations. Ninety percent of IT skills required in one company will be required in anotherâ⠂¬  (Arnold et al, 2000). In fact, most industries have well-understood pre-established job sets. It is true that, if the company were to recreate theirs from the ground up, it would likely be highly optimized for their company's needs. But unless HR has the money and time to reinvent the wheel, adopting a pre-existing inventory then eliminating skills that obviously are not relevant and adding those that are is likely to be far more efficient. Further, the design process itself can be made more efficient: While some training elements might heavily impinge upon the workers' needs and require a lot of their feedback, some are just technical changes or improvements that workers not only desire but in any respect are not onerous impositions (Arnold et al, 2000, 24-25). The SME pool can be limited to only a few experts. The Internet itself is a wonderful tool to reduce training cycle time (Bigdoli, 2004). Implementation It is well known that training cycle approaches don't take into ac count the full, rich complexity of an organisation (Koster, 2002). For one thing, training gaps are not always negative. There may be untapped strengths (Christie, 2011). Training cycles can be

Alternative economic models Essay Example for Free

Alternative economic models Essay 1. If two alternative economic models are offered, other things equal, we would 2. Time-series forecasting models: 3. Consumer expenditure plans is an example of a forecasting method. Which of the general categories best described this example? 4. An example of a time series data set is one for which the: 5. For studying demand relationships for a proposed new product that no one has ever used before, what would be the best method to use? 6. Which of the following barometric indicators would be the most helpful for forecasting future sales for an industry? 7. If Ben Bernanke, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, begins to tighten monetary policy by raising US interest rates next year, what is the likely impact on the value of the dollar? 8. An appreciation of the U.S. dollar has what impact on Harley-Davidson (HD), a U.S. manufacturer of motorcycles? 9. The purchasing power parity hypothesis implies that an increase in inflation in one country relative to another will over a long period of time 10. In an open economy with few capital restrictions and substantial import-export trade, a rise in interest rates and a decline in the producer price index of inflation will 11. An increase in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar relative to a trading partner can result from 12. The optimal currency area involves a trade-off of reducing transaction costs but the inability to use changes in exchange rates to help ailing regions. If the US, Canada, and Mexico had one single currency (the Peso-Dollar) we would tend to see all of the following EXCEPT: 13. Using demand and supply curves for the Japanese yen based on the $/ ¥ price for yen, an increase in US INFLATION RATES would 14. The isoquants for inputs that are perfect complements for one another consist of a series of: 15. The combinations of inputs costing a constant C dollars is called: 16. In a production process, an excessive amount of the variable input relative to the fixed input is being used to produce the desired output. This statement is true for: 17. If the marginal product of labor is 100 and the price of labor is 10, while the marginal product of capital is 200 and the price of capital is $30, then what should the firm? 18. The isoquants for inputs that are perfect  substitutes for one another consist of a series of: 19. Marginal factor cost is defined as the amount that an additional unit of the variable input adds to ____. 20. What method of inventory valuation should be used for economic decision-making problems? 21. The existence of diseconomies of scale (size) for the firm is hypothesized to result from: 22. ____ are defined as costs which are incurred regardless of the alternative action chosen in a decision-making problem. 23. The cost function is: 24. For a short-run cost function which of the following statements is (are) not true? 25. According to the theory of cost, specialization in the use of variable resources in the short-run results initially in:

Case Study About Trust Report Essay Example for Free

Case Study About Trust Report Essay Trust is the ability to rely confidently, either on an individual or in this scenario the company’s product. It is judged on three dimensions; namely, the ability to be technically competent, its benevolence, that is, the interests and motives, and, finally, the integrity. Positive judgment is a good reflect on the customers’ will to take part in the organization’s dealings. This act may involve buying the company’s products, investing in its stocks, or being an employee. In case any of the attributes become questionable, it may make the customers wary and reluctant in risk taking (Kourdi Bibb, 2007). Distrust in the organization may increase inefficiencies of innovation and damage relationships. Causes leading to the loss of trust Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japan based motor manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Aichi, Japan. This corporation was founded in 1937 and had been since among the best performing motor manufacturers and dealers in the world. With more than 3 billion yen as profit in a fiscal year, as per the financial report of 2013, Toyota could be said to be among what Forbes magazine would name the top 100 best corporations (Kourdi Bibb, 2007). Since the year 2004 to 2010, there had been several complains on Toyota Motors concerning engines and accelerators. On 28 August 2009, a tragic accident occurred in San Diego involving a family travelling in a Toyota Lexus. The car lost control and all the passengers died. Toyota, known for its impeccable repute for reliability and quality products suddenly had to deal with trust crisis. A deficiency in attributes that lead to trust of the company’s products and services in form of a scandal can lead to instant lack of trust (Blackshaw, 2008). An effective response to a trust scandal or failure needs interventions that are aimed at curbing distrust and  rebuilding trustworthiness. Distrust regulation can be done through enforcing controls, conditions, and constraints to employees in order to rectify the failure. Intervening may require the removal of guilty parties, the change of the cultural norms of the organization, and introduction of new or the revision of incentives (Blackshaw, 2008). This is not sufficient. Statements and actions too are needed to demonstrate trustworthiness. Statements that show the company’s compelling ability, integrity, and benevolence are required. Apologies, transparency, and ethical practice are required as well. How effective do you consider the taken mitigation actions? Effective repair of trust should undergo simple steps. The first is immediate response to Toyota Corporation belated communications; belated recalls and public apologies damaged its reputation more than the original accident (Liker, 2004). The company ended up losing its sales, investors, and market share. They also lost customer confidence. Toyota Company expressed concern by realizing a statement where they apologized to the family of the victims. It also pledged to carry out investigations. However, the company, regrettably, did not point out the possible causes. This seems like an effective immediate response but it is required for a company to point out to possible causes. Later, the floor mats were suspected to be the likely cause of two accidents that had occurred earlier, but this did not prompt the company into issuing a customer warning (Liker, 2004). They acted upon the suspicions five days after the analysis of the cause was confirmed. This was nineteen days after the fatal accidents. In order to rebuild customer, employee, and investor trust, Toyota Motors released a statement assuring their customers that the floor mats were in good conditions and safe. They praised them as being among the safest mats. This statement was later challenged by NHTSA who accused the company of releasing misleading and inaccurate reports. In a bid to save itself from further downfall, Toyota Motors reacted by giving a remedy to the sticky floor mats. This action caused discretion among investors who thought of the company to have had unclear motives when they released the first statement (Liker, Hoseus, Center for Quality People and Organizations, 2008). This further dented the trust of the shareholders. The mitigation process of the Toyota Company took  a long time, hence more damage to be controlled. It was ineffective at the beginning, which was a blow to the shareholders. Although the company founder Akio Toyoda later sent out apologies and through the wall street journal expressed his commitment to reforming the company towards better and safe products with the aim of repairing the damage that had been done (Liker, Hoseus, Center for Quality People and Organizations, 2008). The company through the court compensated the family that had lost their relatives through the accident. This was a step to convey the company’s acceptance of the guilt. Consequences of not addressing trust issues Failure to respond to issues and address the remedies publicly can lead to severe disciplinary actions on a company. These actions may include its termination and payment of fine; Toyota Company due to its sluggish manner of responding to the claims against its products was fined $16.4million (Pelletier, 2005). This is because the company failed to warn its customers thereafter. Toyota accepted its penance. Do you believe that the company’s reputation can be re-build, or will they suffer the consequences also in the years to come? Despite the tarnishing of Toyota Corporation’s reputation, the customers’ and investors’ trust will be rebuilt. The actions that the company undertook such as restricting the company’s management team and procuring a new safety system have seen the company rise to becoming once again among the most profitable companies in the world (Pelletier, 2005). The company is rebuilding itself since the 2009 failure. It has had numerous innovations and recently announced mass hiring of employees. References Bibb, S., Kourdi, J., Bibb, S. (2007). A question of trust: The crucial nature of trust and how to build it in your work and life. London: Cyan. Blackshaw, P. (2008). Satisfied customers tell three friends, angry customers tell 3,000: Running a business in todays consumer driven world. New York: Doubleday. Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the worlds greatest manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill.Top of Form Top of FormLiker, J. K., Hoseus, M., Center for Quality People and Organizations. (2008). Toyota culture: The heart and soul of the Toyota way. New York: McGraw-Hill. Pelletier, R. (2005). Its all about service: How to lead your people to care for your customers. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley Sons Bottom of Form Bottom of Form

Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Example for Free

Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Magneti Marelli Holding S. p. A. , a division of Fiat, is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and is an international manufacturer that designs, produces, and supplies high-tech automotive components. The primary product range is engine control systems for gasoline and diesel engines. Magneti Marelli is currently present in five continents and 18 countries (Fiat, 2010). To create a more consistent environment in the global process, World Class Manufacturing (WCM) has been implemented in all Fiat manufacturing companies. World Class Manufacturing is an international methodology for the organization of the manufacturing cycle to manage plants in accordance with the best standards. The application of WCM principles and methods resulted in logistics and quality and significant cost reductions. Fiat’s manufacturing structure has become increasingly efficient and flexible and has enabled the company to gain a competitive edge. Strategy Description For several years, the Fiat Group has been working to develop into a global manufacturing entity with the highest standards. The implementation of World Class Manufacturing addresses all aspects of the organization including environmental, health and safety, quality, maintenance, cost and logistic issues from the standpoint of continuous improvement. The entire process revolves around the methodical identification and decrease or elimination of waste through application of standardized techniques and tools and involves everyone in the company. WCM recognizes that employee involvement and empowerment are critical to attaining continuous improvement in all fundamentals of the manufacturing system. Organizational development occurs predominantly through employee involvement. World Class companies invest relatively more in their worker relationships and offer appreciably more training. For program achievement, Human Resources needs to be a business strategic partner and a key member of the management team overseeing and providing operational leadership (Entrepreneur, 1996). Strategy Application The key to developing and maintaining a workforce capable of supporting World Class Manufacturing is to cultivate an atmosphere of employee engagement and team building. Developing a skilled and flexible workforce creates value for external customers. To sustain a talented labor force, Human Resources initiatives involve recruitment and hiring; performance management; employee development and training; leadership development and training; team building; and safety and health programs (Scondanibbio, 2010). By recruiting and retaining top talent by identifying skill gaps and focus training as characterized by WCM, turnover and absenteeism rates are lowered and productivity and efficiency from workers increases. Training employees provides the chance to take ownership of their daily activities. Working in teams and cross-functional training increases efficiency and eliminates clutter and confusion on the plant floor. One section of World Class Manufacturing is People Development (Scondanibbio, 2010). HR provides team facilitation, leadership, and direction guidance in meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating a vision that depicts the core values and purpose that guide the organization. It provides a worthwhile direction for designing, implementing, and assessing needed organizational changes. HR Professionals must sustain the change momentum through to completion by providing resources for change, developing new competencies and skills, and reinforcing new behaviors. Strategy Implications Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown which can impact worker competencies and coping abilities. Human Resources must prepare the workforce by meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. This requires HR to be both the constant and supporter in the middle of the turmoil of change. The organization looks to HR to provide needed structures, processes and approaches to support change management and to ensure the efforts deliver results (Belilos, 1997). World Class Manufacturing has defined key principles that define the organization and inspires doing things better and improving quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction. It is important to understand exactly what waste is and where it exists. For each identified waste, a strategy is prepared so performance and quality are improved. The identical process is also applied to human errors and gap analysis. Specific training models are designed applicable to the need. As the phrase indicates, World Class Manufacturing enhances an organization to be a global leader in performance and quality. Human Resources should have a clear understanding of the value of metrics and continuous measurement as the key to achieving sustainable efficiency and effectiveness. Using these outcomes, HR will have a thorough focus on talent and performance management to establish an integrated workforce management system that is closely aligned to the business needs and brand.

Altruism

Altruism Altruism occurs when one individual, while helping others, selflessly incurs a danger to themselves decreasing their chances of survival Sherman (1977). Two theories develop from altruism, kin selection theory and the theory of reciprocal altruism. Kin selection theory of altruism argues that altruism was developed to increase the survival of relatives Hamilton (1964) and that acts of altruism should be directed towards family rather than non-relatives. (Trivers, 1971; Cosmides Tooby 1992) argued that the theory of reciprocal altruism is infact long-term cooperation and the assistance that is given at the time will be reciprocated another time in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to remember who has helped them before and not offer any assistance to those who have failed to reciprocate. For this theory to be successful it also requires a somewhat stable group as short term, migrating members may not be able to upkeep the promise to perform the required act at a later date. The theories of kin selection and reciprocity, although seemingly different are not incompatible. Sadly, altruism does not always happen. Environmental factors play a very large part in whether an individual will engage in acts of altruism. Socialization, modelling and reinforcement play a key role in promoting pro-social behaviour and attitudes Eisenberg Mussen (1989); Janoski et al. (1998). When children are exposed to models of kindness and helping, be it from television or from others around them, they are more likely to put the welfare of humans and other animals above their own Sprafkin et al (1975). Television programmes that show these acts influence a strong positive effect on the viewers pro-social behaviour Hearold (1986). The norm of reciprocity and the norm of social responsibility are especially relevant to helping behaviour (De Creamer van Lange, 2001; Miller at al., 1990). The norm of reciprocity that we should return the favour when someone treats you kindly and the norm of social responsibility expects that we should help others and contribute to societys welfare. When we live by these norms we are reinforced with praise and when we do not we feel guilt and receive disapproval. In society we also notice when others receive praise for adhering to these norms. As humans get older, pro social norms, morals and values are internalized and form strong self reinforcements like pride and satisfaction to maintain pro-social behaviour even when positive reinforcement is not available. Studies by Eisenberg Valiente (2002) confirm that socialization matters as children are more likely to act pro-socially when raised by parents who have high moral standard and are warm and supportive encouraging their chi ldren to feel empathy and to â€Å"put themselves in other peoples shoes† (Janssens Dekovic, 1997; Krevans Gibbs, 1996). Beliefs about why and when to help have cross cultural differences such as the study done by Miller (1990) who found that Hindu children and adults in India have the belief that one has a moral obligation to help friends or strangers no matter if the situation is mild or serious. When compared to the Indias Hindus way of thinking, American children and adults differ in their view and feel less obligated to help and regard as more of a choice Eckensberger Zimba (1997). Most pro social acts are done with the expectation of a reward of self reinforcement or a form of reciprocity but humans are capable of committing a selfless act of aiding someone without concern for ones wellbeing, an act of altruism. C. Daniel Batsons empathy altruism hypothesis suggests that altruism does exist and is caused by empathy which is the ability to put oneself in the place of another and to share the emotions being felt by that person (Batson, 1991; Batson et al., 2002). In an experiment conducted by Batson et al (1981) female students empathy for another female who was an accomplice to the experiment was increased and decreased by leading them to identify and believe that her values were similar and dissimilar to their own. The experiment is consistent with the empathy altruism hypothesis showing that high empathy participants were most likely to voluntarily change places but is it people reacting out of pure virtue of empathy or is it to avoid the guilt that may plag ue them for not interfering. The negative state relief model suggests that high empathy cause us to feel distress when we learn of others suffering and by helping them relieve their own stress it reduces their personal stress making their actions non altruistic (Cialdini et al., 1997). The term â€Å"safety in numbers† doesnt translate well in emergencies and help the victim as the more people present encourages each person not to help because of social comparison or diffusion of responsibility and is more likely to occur when the bystanders are strangers and not kin or friends of the victim Latanà © Rodin (1969). Factors that explain why people may be helpful in some situations but not others. We are more likely to help when we are in a good mood (Salovey et al., 1991). Pre-exisiting guilt when were feeling guilty about something weve recently done increases helping Regan et al (1972). Even though feeling guilt and being helpful are two different actions guilt helps increase our likelihood of assisting others. Also when there is a model to follow such as someone helping a motorist or giving blood, this act increases social behaviour (Sarason et al., 1991). When we are not under pressure, have extra time and not in a hurry we help more. Factors that show why some people may receive help more than others: Similarity A person is more likely to help and identify with the victims situation when the victim things similar to them such as dress, attitudes and nationality (Dovidio, 1984). Gender Women and men are equally likely to be helped by female bystanders but women are more likely to receive help more than men when aid is from a male bystander (Eagly Crowley, 1986). Perceived Responsibility When someone is in need of help and their situation is viewed as something caused by factors beyond their control, they are more likely to receive help such as people who have been affected by a natural disaster versus homeless people who are perceived to be unwilling to work (Blader Tyler, 2002; Weiner, 1996). Lerner (1980)s just world hypothesis suggests that people believe that the world is a just place and the rule of karma prevails. They perceive that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. These beliefs have the effect on some to conclude that persons who have misfortunes such as being raped or contracting AIDS deserve their fate (Ford et al., 1998; Wyer et al., 1985) thereby justifying why they shouldnt help the individual as there is no responsibility to help. A way to increase Pro-social Behaviour is through â€Å"mandatory volunteerism† which is used in the academic and corporate world. Participants increased volunteerism in later life from these acts are not consistent as seen in research done by (Janoski et al., 1998;Stukas, 1999). Their research show that the outcome depends on personal rewards that the volunteers will receive and the awareness of human needs. A second approach which is consistent to the social learning theory is the exposure of pro social models to people. This is used to promote blood drives and increase donations (Sarason et al., 1991). When feelings of empathy are established and people are properly socialized will increase the chances of those people helping others Eisenberg (2000) as well as those who feel a close connection to their communities will feel socially responsible to help others Clark, M (1978). If society is educated and exposed to helping models and information, bystander intervention may be decreased and the tendency to help others in an emergency, increased Beaman, A.L. et al (1978).