Leadership Case Study Essay

Case Problem A: Frank Won’t Accept â€Å"We can’t† for an answer Key issues/summary: Frank is a business development manager in a firm charged with the mandate of providing the government with business improvement solutions. The company is currently faced with the challenge of acquiring more contracts from the government considering the expiry of the existing contracts. Frank refuses to accept the loss of contract and the inability of the company to acquire more contacts. Problem statement: The system of leadership style that Franks uses is ineffective in realizing the objectives of the company and he needs to develop a better strategy for the profitability of the firm. Root cause: Frank believes that the laxity of the project managers is the main contributor to loss of contacts in the company. Solutions: It is important for Frank to recognize the problem that the organization faces and develop an all inclusive approach on the best possible strategies that could help the company gain in terms of contracts and profit levels. Advantages: If Frank incorporates other managers in the decision making process, it is possible to realize effective solution to company problems Disadvantage: Failure to recognize the professional input of other managers may lead to the collapse of the company. Questions 1. What Based on limited evidence how would characterize Franks leadership style? Frank is autocratic in his style of leadership since he expects results by stating the course or action that his subordinated must embrace. 2. What leadership behavior and attitudes is Frank displaying? Frank is inconsiderate and controlling in terms of behavior and attitude. He expects his employees to generate results despite the difficulties that the company is experiencing. 3. How else can Frank  approach his project managers about developing a new business? Frank can introduce an all-inclusive approach that emphasizes on brainstorming on the best possible alternatives of acquiring contracts from other entities other than the government. Case Problem B: Time to Rebound at Willow Pond Key issues/Summary: Heather Osaka has been offered the position of director at Willow Pond; a medium-size assisted living home. The home experiences challenges related to effective management and the well-being of its clients. Problem statement: Heather Osaka needs to find techniques of leadership that will enable her solve the problems at Willow Pond. Root causes: Poor leadership and limited concern on employee wellbeing contributed to negligence and the provision of poser services at Willow Pond. Solutions: There is need for Heather to realize the relationship between her personal attributes and the best leadership style that can be used based on her previous experiences while working at two hospitals. These will help in determining the existing needs and the available facilities to provide lasting solutions. Answers to questions on Case Study B 1. This case is included in the chapter about charismatic and transformational leadership because the type of leader needed to revive Willow Pond should demonstrate to his subordinated his ability and belief in making positive changes despite the complications that may have characterized the an organization. 2. The transformational leadership techniques that Heather can apply while reforming Willow Pond include the introduction of motivational approaches for enhance the efficacy of employees. In addition, Heather can employee the use of better communication strategies and the involvement of the management in the decision making process. 3. Charismatic aspects of Heather’s personality may be instrumental in making changes within the organization considering that this approach to leadership generate the belief that a leader has the capacity to make meaningful changes. In addition, it is a way of convincing the management and the employees of her potential. 4. The job at Willow Pond is a wonderful career for Heather since it will enable her demonstrate her level of expertise from experience in ensuring the development of the organization. It will also be an opportunity of advancing her career  portfolio.

Importance Of The Perception Of Customer Service Quality

The impression customers receive when they are paying for a service is very important. Rather than judging the quality of the goods, or the cost of the item, the customer can only base their opinion of a service on the way the service makes them feel and the effectiveness of the service. There are potentially 7 gaps where customer service quality can be affected within a service organization. It is therefore highly important that management of service industry employees are aware of these potential pitfalls and manage their employees to mitigate these problems.There is a Knowledge Gap where management must understand the level of knowledge the customer has, and define this properly. Once management has this understanding, they must develop standards for employees to ensure a high level of service quality. The gap between management understanding and the translation to standards is called the Standards Gap. However, the creation of standards by management does not necessarily translat e into the customer service reps communicating with the customer properly. This is called the Delivery Gap.These gaps can all be linked together under a framework of Internal Communications gaps. At the end of these internal processes, the customer receives the service product. At this point in time, the perception of the customer can be different than the perception of the customer service representative. The representative may think they are offering high quality service, but the customer perceives it negatively. This is called the Perception Gap. Additionally, the customer will be presented with promotional materials and communications from the company.The perception of these materials may not match what the company believes it is communicating. This is called the Interpretation Gap. These two culminating gaps ultimately link together to create the overall Service Gap. This gap is a culmination of potential differences throughout the process. If a company is experiencing low leve ls of customer satisfaction, it is imperative to work back through the gaps to find where the problem may be occurring. A good example is the car insurance service industry.In the area of insurance, the typical consumer will not understand the finer details of insurance – what premiums are, what deductibles are, and the varying types of additional coverage that can be purchased. Management might assume that the customer knows more than they do, or less than they do. This would be part of the knowledge gap. The processes they develop for service representative would not meet customers' needs very well. This would result in an overall service gap.However, if management can understand the knowledge needs of the customer, they can potentially increase sales, as the customer may come to realize that they need more in an insurance package than just the basics they were first considering. If the customer service quality is excellent from the beginning, the insurance company is able to attract a new customer, as well as increasing profits for the company from that one customer. Additionally, the company may think that since they are following internal procedures, their customer service quality is excellent.However, the company must watch its customer retention rates. If it finds that it is loosing customers, it must find out why. It is probably due to an interpretation or perception gap. Perhaps the printed material does not appeal to the target audience. Or perhaps the language the service representatives are using does not meet the customers' expectations. In either case, the overall service quality will decrease. It is therefore very important that the company constantly evaluates its level of customer satisfaction and revises its internal processes to meet customers' needs.

Margin Questions Essay

1. Assume that an investor buys 100shares of stock at RM 50.00, putting up a 60% margin. a. What is the debit balance in this transaction? b. How much equity capital must the investor ‘s new margin position 2. Assume that an investor buys 100 shares of stock at RM 50.00 per share, putting up a 70% margin. a. What is the debit balance in this transaction? b. How much equity funds must the investor provide to make this margin transaction? c. If the stock rises to RM 80.00 per share, what is the investor margin position? 3. Miguel Torres purchased 100 shares of Can’t Win.com for RM50 per share, using as little of his own money as he could. His broker has a 50% initial margin requirement. The price of the stock falls to RM30 per share. What does Miguel need to do? 4. An investor buys 200 shares of stock selling at $ 80 per share using a margin of 60%. The stock pays annual dividends $ 1 per share. A margin loan can be obtained at an annual interest cost of 8%. Determine what return on invested capital the investor will realize if the price of the stock increases to $ 104 within six months. What is the annualized rate of return on this transaction? 5. Ah Beng purchased 3000 shares of Digi Communications Bhd. stock at RM 4.60 per share using the prevailing minimum initial margin of 65%. He held the stock for exactly 4 month and sold it without any brokerage cost at the end of the period. During the four month holding period, the stock paid RM 0.40 per share in cash dividends. Ah Beng was charged 6% annually interest on margin loan. The minimum maintenance margin was 40%. a. Calculate the initial value of the transaction, the debit balance, and the equity position on Ah Beng’s transaction. b. For each share prices stated below, calculate the actual margin percentage and indicate whether Ah Beng account would have excess equity, or would be subject to margin call? I. RM 4.00 II. RM 5.50 III. RM 6.50 IV. RM 3.30 V. RM 4.55 c. Calculate the I. Amount of dividend received during the 4 months holding period II. Amount of interest received during the 4 months holding period d. Use each of the following sale price at the end of 4 month holding period to calculate Ah Beng HPR return on Digi Communication Bhd. share transaction. I. RM 5.00 II. RM 7.00 III. RM 4.80

The Need for Market Research in Contemporary Business Environment Essay

The Need for Market Research in Contemporary Business Environment - Essay Example Today the customers demand the best worth out of each penny that they spend and this is because of the growing globalization and the increasing competition. Today customers have as many alternatives for a single product as they never have had in the past. This phenomenon has empowered the customers to a great extent and has given rise to the need for research. Companies spend major chunks of their budgets on research today. Research does not only reveal facts about customer psyche but also guide the researchers and the sponsors to the gaps and unidentified niches in the market, thus opening new horizons of opportunities and profitability to be taken advantage of (Stearns, 2006). Research outcomes serve as guidelines to the researchers in order to lay down a road map for future decision making of the business/organization. In today’s’ world businesses cannot afford to base their decisions on gut feeling and guesses. It’s time to be precise and accurate. The cause and effect relationship needs to be studied while making even the smallest of decisions. Research provides the decision makers to base their decision making on solid basis and rational grounds. The outcomes of researches help businesses build strategies and also monitor the anticipated performance by comparing it with the actual and studying the lapses incurred and the probable corrective measures that can be adopted before it’s too late (Sekaran, 2010). Dependable and solid outcomes do not come voluntarily in fact research is a whole world of technical analysis and execution and thus it is required to be conducted in great depth with a predetermined plan and objective in mind. Research is a delicate and sensitive art, because the outcomes of research are used for future... This essay discusses that with the advancement of technology and emergence of the concept of consumerism to the surface, customers have become ever more dominant and powerful in the marketplace. Nowadays all the companies shed off myopic ideas and try to incorporate consumer’s will in the decision making process. This is particularly important because customer satisfaction is the ultimate objective that leads to profitability and endurance in organizations. To attain stability, organizations spend millions of dollars today on their Research and Development departments to get the best and most accurate knowledge regarding consumer behaviour and expectations. This knowledge and information is utilized by organizations in improving their processes to meet the demands and requirements of the customers and thus deliver a â€Å"wow experience† every time the customer interacts with the offering. In other words, this shall not be exaggeration to state that, research is one of the key pillars to success of an organization, in the contemporary market dimensions. Any idea or tactic backed up by research findinngs is more durable and dependable then something that is implemented out of the blue. Research does not only assist organizations in deciding which route to success shall be adopted, in fact contingency measures and sporadic adjustments to deviations and evaluation of the implementation are some of the broad areas that are addressed at length by researches

Sampling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sampling - Essay Example This is true in for example agricultural research organizations that test on the pesticides, herbicides and plants the farmers and consumers need. Since they cannot go round asking each and every stakeholder, the manager sends the team to sample a few of those for the market research (Hillger 2006). The other importance is that sampling cuts costs of organization especially that spend on market research. The cost reduction is in terms of sampling researchers and also sampling the participants. This is cost effective compared to employing the whole team of researchers which is expensive and time consuming. This is used by motor vehicle manufacturing companies in many parts of the world like Germany, America and Japan. This sampling decision is approved by middle-level and top-level managers of such companies (Danford 2009). Managers are tasked with staffing. This entails short listing candidates for interviews and hiring a few of those shortlisted. This process requires employment of sampling procedures. This is because when a job position is advertised, many qualified and some unqualified individuals apply and it is the work of human resource managers in collaboration with other managers to short list them based on the qualifications and this is mostly done through systematic or even random sampling (Caruth et al. 2009). One of the skills of the manager is to build power bases (Evans et al. 2007). This means that the manager will have to decentralize power and activities in the organization for effectiveness and achievement of organization’s goals and objectives. This power distribution can be done through cluster or stratified sampling. This means that the manager will divide the organization into different departments and have supervisors or line managers control it. This is common in banks which have decentralized the power of

Global pharmaceutical industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global pharmaceutical industry - Essay Example As mentioned in the company's annual report (2003, p21), "In the fourth quarter of 2003, the Company reviewed its overall business cost structure, which resulted in a reduction in force at each of its segments. The Company expects this work force reduction to generate annual cost savings of approximately $10.0 million in 2004 and $13.0 million in subsequent years. The Company is evaluating other actions to reduce its cost base in 2004 and beyond". This program was designed to improve the company's ability to retain the profit gained through sales turnover by minimising the cost incurred by the company in maintaining the large number of employees. The company even raised an expense of $8.7 million in introducing and implementing this program in the organisation as mentioned in the company's annual report (2003, 8) as, "incurred an $8.7 million pre-tax charge, in connection with an employee reduction program". Alpharma Inc, as stated above, is said to be one of the giants in the international pharmaceutical industry. The company's business can be segmented into four dimensions of activities i.e., International Generics, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, US Human Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health etc (Annual report 2003, p7). The International Generics are basically the dosage pharmaceuticals that are provided to several countries around the world including the UK, the Middle East, China, and Indonesia etc. The Active Pharmaceutical ingredients consist of antibiotic medicines that are sold to other pharmaceutical industries in the United States, serving as the raw material for certain medicines in such industries. Human Pharmaceutical provides liquid and solid based medicine to other middle businesses in the country. Animal Health business segment provides a range of product line dealing in animal health medicine (Annual report 2003, p7). The company is engaged in doing business activities in around 60 countries around the globe. According to the company's annual report (2003, p7), "the Company conducts business in more than 60 countries and has approximately 4,700 employees at 40 sites, in 27 countries". The company reduced a considerable number of employees in the year 2003, on the rationale to combat the increasing costs and expenses affecting the company's profit margin. The company had been incurring severe losses for the past few years due to the increasing costs and expenses either incurred during the production and distribution, or during the operating activities of the business. However, the company's results for the year 2003 seem to be improving the financial position of the company as the company's management introduced a workforce reduction program, curtailing the number of employees in the company in order to minimise costs. This paper discusses the impact of workforce reduction program in Alpharma on the financial statements of the company for the year 2003. In the pursuit of discussion, financial ratios have been analysed in order to provide a better insight on every aspect of the company's financial position and performance. KEY RATIO ANALYSIS A company's financial statements are the representatives of the company's financial worth i.e., the financial position and performance in terms of facts and figures. In order to get a better picture of the key impact of the employee layoff program initiated by the Alpharma's management on the financial

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Case Study Example The separation of the Lakeberg twins put forward a number of ethical issues related to saving lives at the slimmest chance of survival. When Reitha was observed to be carrying Siamese twins, doctors recommended an abortion due to the limited chances of survival for the babies. This recommendation poses an ethical issue relative to the doctors’ choice that seemed to highly influence the parents. This situation was worsened by the underlying financial challenges that the couple was going through at the time the doctors made the recommendation. The doctors failed to assess the couple’s family situation, given that their consent to abortion may have been forced by their financial situation. On the abortion issue, a critical dilemma emerges. Both Ken and Reitha had a difficult decision to make. This decision would consequently measure their ethics and respect for human life. Although Reitha never undertook the abortion, her ordeal was not set to end at that point. Seven weeks after she delivered, the couple took its chance to have the Siamese twins separated. With slim chances of one baby surviving, if not both, the move to separate the twins puts medical ethics on the spot. A combination of high medical costs and slimmest survival chances in cases of medical practice might present doctors as money-oriented and patients as medically irrational (Snyder, 2005). However, doctors have a duty to save lives, attend to patient needs, and satisfy patients’ will. The dilemma in this case lies in deciding the point at which such provisions fail to hold. Given that the Siamese twins had a fused liver and a shared heart, it was medically obvious that one of the babies would be sacrificed to save the other. In this case, Amy would be saved subject to the doctors’ medical decision. The parents were provided with an already made decision, an aspect that questions whether it was ethical to make that decision on behalf of the couple. Notably,

Teambuilding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teambuilding - Essay Example The discourse would contain an introductory paragraph prior to delving into the team-building exercise chosen for conflict resolution. Finally, a concluding portion would summarize and highlight details that were discussed in the paper. Teambuilding Groups have been identified to form a crucial and instrumental part contributory to the success of an organization. However, since groups are composed of a collection of people with diverse interests and goals, organizations need to devise strategies that would enable groups to move towards a common goal through frequent interface among them. The term teambuilding actually evolved as â€Å"a technique on human resources departments to promote relations between the executives of a corporation† (Crossover Worlds, n.d.). Its applicability eventually necessitated to be extended to other departments with the aim of improving productivity in work groups and in the resolution of conflicts. In this regard, the aim of the paper is to descri be a team-building exercise for conflict resolution that one would present in an organizational atmosphere; and expound on how it would be conducted. To achieve this objective, the teambuilding exercise chosen was the ‘House of Cards’ developed by Jill Hickman.... 1). The game chosen to assist a team in improving conflict resolution is the House of Cards activity developed by Jill Hickman (Team Building Bonanza, 2011). The concise details of how the activity is to be conducted are hereby quoted below: â€Å"Description: Each team works together to build a 'house of cards' within 15 minutes, using only the resources available in the room and/or provided by the facilitator. A competitive event, each team races against the other teams to be 'first' to finish successfully. All team projects are judged by the facilitator (whose ruling is final and cannot be contested). Project criteria include: Efficient use of resources Esthetic appeal Height Structural integrity Presentation Supplies (resources), one set per team: 32 Index cards 1 stack of Post-it notes (square) 1 Box Paper clips Tape Colored markers Instructions: Provide each team with their supplies. Each team has 15 minutes to build a house with the resources available within the room. Identi fy criteria for judging successful projects. As teams finish, chart their finish times on a flipchart. Once all teams have finished, have teams walk around with the judge (facilitator) to view the work of other teams. (No sabotage!!) At their own tables, have teams discuss the factors contributing/limiting to their success. Have them chart these factors on a flipchart. Each team must elect a spokesperson to present their findings to the rest of the class. Facilitator must award a rating for each project (use a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, for each criterion). Highest possible score: 25 Discussion questions: How was team leadership determined – appointed or assumed? What unique contributions did each member offer? How did those

Thermal Energy Storage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Thermal Energy Storage - Essay Example Appreciation for the advantages and benefits of the thermal energy systems has encouraged many people to use the technology to cut power costs and lessen the negative impact of non-renewable sources of energy on the environment. The low-cost and readily available materials that can serve as thermal energy storage media also inspired people more to develop and install it. Nevertheless, much has yet to be done in educating people, especially heavy consumers of electrical power, about the science and technology behind thermal energy storage. With this and their knowledge about its advantages, the optimization of the use of thermal energy through its effective storage will further persuade them to shift to renewable energy as the alternative to the diminishing and environmentally harmful energy sources, such as petroleum. Thermal energy, thermal energy storage, renewable sources of energy, solar energy, fossil fuels, law of thermodynamics, heaters, solar heating, kinetic energy, internal energy, thermal storage, thermal mass, storage media For a great number of years, mankind has been largely dependent on fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources of energy to power basic utilities. Since the 1800’s, the industries and the economies, in general, of many countries have been run by relying on petroleum. Consequently, the demand for this particular fossil fuel had increased tremendously in the following decades. Even by the latter years of the 20th century, however, problems have arisen due to the heavy reliance on petroleum. Although there were other means of producing energy introduced, these were very minimal compared to those powered by oil. Today, several countries have used nuclear power, coal-powered energy generation, and other non-renewable sources of energy such gas power as alternatives to petroleum. There are also countries that have developed renewable sources such as hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and wind energies. However, these

International Affairs College Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Affairs College - Article Example But they require some limitation for serving period after the completion of program. An extensively details form is required to be filled in by the applicant with supporting original documents. These things are sent to the committee that examines the form look for the merit of the candidate and offer him or her scholarship if they find it appropriate (Full Bright, 2005). "To establish an institute for international public policy. This institute shall conduct a program to significantly increase the numbers of African Americans and other under represented minorities in the international service (Higher Education Act, 2003)". But this grant is not directed towards the students rather they are given to the institutes and then students can contact those institutes for the scholar ships programs. So with an extensive search for the grants available to International relations program students, it is seen that the scholarships are more offered to the institutions than to the individuals perhaps due to the reason that International Relations has not been accepted as a field of study that can help develop nation and take it to higher places in literal meanings. The bush School aims ate delivering the students with the... "The end of the Cold War, the acceleration of globalization, and aggressive worldwide terrorism all indicate the momentous changes that have expanded and transformed national and international public service opportunities (Bush School, 2005)". The description of program at Bush School is as follows: The program is spread on a span of 21 months. It comprises of a total of 48 credit hours. Six courses that are required to be taken up by all students are offered with electives courses as per their will of specialization. They also require each student to go through concentration modules which are temporary associations with International economic development, defense policy and military affairs, regional studies and many others. The fee to follow this program is about 13800 dollars per year (two semester's fee + other expenses). So it makes a total of 26000 dollars for two years of program. The program nicely includes subjects which gives student the insight of world as political nations as well as economies. Subjects such as fundamentals of global economy and Quantitative Methods in Public Management are help for students to see the world in economic terms while courses like international politics and theories helps student to see the political game theory that is being played by nations of the world. b) City College of City University of New York They expect students to begin their program with theories of international relations. This prepares student to know the basic know how of the technical jargon which has to be used in the later semester of the program. A very unique requirement by the university is that students are required to take up and complete all the Core courses before they

Educational Tour Essay Example for Free

Educational Tour Essay Educational Tour gives us ideas likewise opportunities to visit prestigious agencies that may help us visualize what we are learning at school. This activity helps us develop our personality since social graces and etiquette are learned too by experience. Moreover, important to every student since it is a part of our learning process to acquire more knowledge through actual exposure to the different agencies. Narrative Report: On July 4,2013 ,the faculty of World Citi Colleges held an educational tour for the Bachelor of Science and Tourism Management students. The locations are the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Resort World Manila and Island Cove. July 4, 2013, the day when I have to wake up early because it should be a big No for rush and the call time is 6:00 to 6:30. I have to commute to go to our school. It is around 5:00 in the morning when I left my house and started to wait a jeep in waiting area going to Cubao. Sadly, I wait for 15 minutes just to ride in a jeep. When I rode a jeep, I paid going to Anonas and dropped to our school. When I got there, I saw my classmates and we went to Bus no. 3. While waiting for others, I and my classmates sit in the vacant sit . We started to travel around 7:00 but of course we pray first for a safe trip. After the pray, here it goes! We already started talking, laughing, picture taking and of course we cooperate in our tour guide to answer some questions and he gives some rules. We arrived at Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Our tour guide in CCP gives us knowledge about the history of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and about some Arts that in the place who made it and why he/she made it. I recognized some of my classmates didn’t listening to our tour guide while some of us listening. He showed us the theater. He said, â€Å"I didn’t showed this to some groups but because you’re listening I will show you the theater. † We were in at a dark place and I saw the theater. It’s so big! It’s my first time to see a big theater. After that, we continued the tour again and of course we take pictures. After the CCP, we went again to our bus. We arrived at the Resort World but before we go out on a bus, a tour guide in Resort World showed and gave us some of the rules. We gave our member information to get a member card. He said that only 29 students will get the member card on a day of our tour. Luckily, I got it. After that, we toured in the resort world. Actually, that’s my first time to go to a luxury mall. We entered to a theater and then they showed us the rooms in hotel. We played games in Game zoo. They gave us a Game zoo Card for free play. After we played, we bought our lunch in Mc Donald. Then, we went back to our bus and ate the lunch while moving the bus going to Island Cove. We arrived at Island Cove which was our last destination. We walked in a bridge. There, we have a seminar with other branch of World Citi Colleges Caloocan, Antipolo and Cubao. The seminar started. I learned many things about Tourism and of course being a tourist guide. After the seminar, we toured around the island cove. We saw a swimming pool and some slides. Too bad, we didn’t know that we can bring some clothes so we can swim. Because of that, we just took some pictures and toured the place. When we got tired, we went back to our bus. I and my classmates were talking, laughing, and taking pictures. Then all my classmates were got in the bus so we were going back to school. We left the Island Cove around 5:00 pm and arrived at the school at 8:00 pm because of the traffic. I got home safely around 9:00. The tour for me is great! I learn many things that I will I hope we have a tour again in a great place and an educational.

Close Reading Essay Example for Free

Close Reading Essay The answers to these questions emerge more from the doing than the talking. Briefly, close reading is a basic tool for understanding, taking pleasure in, and communicating one’s interpretation of a literary work. The skills employed in close reading lend themselves to all kinds of cultural interpretation and investigation. Close reading takes language as its subject because language can operate in different ways to convey meaning. Reading sensitively allows one to remain open to the many ways language works on the mind and heart. When an assignment calls for close reading, it’s best to start by choosing a brief but promising passage and checking your assumptions about its content at the door. Close reading often reveals the fissures between what the speaker or narrator says and how she or he says it. You know from your own experience that life involves constant, often unconscious sifting of these nuances. Here are some useful steps. 1. Choose a short passage that allows you to investigate the details closely. Here, for example, is the first paragraph of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, Chapter 2. In addition to what has already been said of Catherine Morland’s personal and mental endowments, when about to be launched into all the difficulties and dangers of a six weeks’ residence in Bath, it may be stated, for the reader’s more certain information, lest the following pages should otherwise fail of giving any idea of what her character is meant to be; that her heart was affectionate, her disposition cheerful and open, without conceit or affectation of any kind—her manners just removed from the awkwardness and shyness of a girl; her person pleasing, and when in good looks, pretty—and her mind about as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is. This single sentence will give us plenty to work with. 2. Look at diction. What kinds of words does Austen use? Does she aim for lofty diction (used for special occasions) or common diction? Are the words long or short, Latinate or Anglo-Saxon, specialized (i.e. legalistic, medical, jargon, elite) or ordinary? Remember that the rules for diction are different at different times in history. 3. Next, look at sentence structure. Can you map the sentence (find the subject and verb, locate phrases and clauses)? Is it a simple, compound, or complex sentence? How does the structure of the sentence relate to its content? Does the author use active or passive verbs? What rhythms does the sentence structure create—long flowing ones, short choppy ones—and how do these relate to the meaning? 4. After you have looked at language (and there are other technical issues one might pay attention to), you can begin to analyze tone. Is the narrator being straightforward, factual, open? Or is she taking a less direct route toward her meaning? Does the voice carry any emotion? Or is it detached from its subject? Do you hear irony? Where? If so, what complications does the irony produce? 5. At this point, you may discover some difference between what the author appears to be doing (giving you a complete, unbiased picture of her character) and what she also accomplishes (raising doubts about whether these qualities are worth having, whether her character is a heroine after all, whether women have minds at all, therefore whether this narrator can be trusted at all, etc.). You can now begin to talk about the ways Austen’s language, which seems to invite our confidence, is also complicating its message by raising these doubts. 6. At this point, you can propose a generic hypothesis, something like, â€Å"In this passage, Austen raises doubts about Catherine Morland’s character through her use of deliberately banal diction, her strained sentence structure, and her ironic use of the terms of character description for heroines.† 7. You can proceed to fill in the outlines of this point by explaining what you mean, using details and quotations from the passage to support your point. 8. You still, however, need an argument and will need to go back to your opening to sharpen the thesis. The question is Why? Or to what effect? Your thesis might build on what you’ve already written by suggesting: Austen creates this irony early in the novel to alert the reader to the ways she’s subverting narrative conventions. Or: The effect of this description of Catherine is to undermine any notion of her powers as a heroine and to introduce Austen’s theme that true character emerges from weakness rather than strength. Or: Austen’s cavalier treatment of her heroine suggests that she has little respect for the typical education of young women. 9. Even with these more developed statements, you will need to explain and support your point further. But you will have achieved some very important things, namely: 1) you have chosen a specific piece of the text to work with, hence avoiding huge generalizations and abstractions that tend to turn a reader off; 2) you have moved from exposition (explaining what’s there—and really, shouldn’t a reader be able to figure these things out for him or herself?) to arguing a point, which will involve your reader in a more interactive and risky encounter; 3) you have carved out your own reading of the text rather than taking the more well-worn path; 4) you have identified something about Austen’s method that may well open up other areas of the text for study and debate. Bravo! 10. With your more refined thesis in place, you can go back and make sure your supporting argument explains the questions you’ve raised, follows through on your argument, and comes to a provocative conclusion. By the end, you may be able to expand from your initial passage to a larger point, but use your organization to keep the reader focused all the way. The most exciting thing for a reader, and the most useful for an essayist, is that close reading generally offers surprises. Your project is not so much about telling readers what they probably can see for themselves but what they might have missed that could delight them. It’s helpful, then, to go into the paper with an open mind and be ready to adjust your thesis to the evidence you find in the text. Have a blast!

The Pathology Of Crime Criminology Essay

The Pathology Of Crime Criminology Essay Pathology is the study of a particular subject- a disease. It is the diagnosis of an abnormality through careful examination of the constituents of the diseased body. When crime is considered to be a disease, an abnormality among humans, then, Pathology of crime can be called the study of crime; the psychological and general aspects of it, by careful examination of the various constituents and factors of crime such as- disruption of existing social norms and values, mental illness, stress, disorganization in society, anti social psychopathological mindsets, physical disorders etc. Through my paper on this subject, I hope to cover exhaustively all the social factors that affect society , crime in society and also understand and outline the lacunae between existing laws against crime, those geared towards the upliftment of society in general and the reality faced by us, the common man. I also aim to unearth some potentially comprehensive, pragmatic and useful ways to reduce crime rate on a whole and evaluate the effectiveness of traditional punishment. What is Crime? A purist legal view of crime is defined as a violation of a criminal law. Irrespective of the moral or social outrage or ethical wrongness of an act, it cannot be termed a crime unless it directly or indirectly is infringing upon a certain act passed. In this sense, crime becomes a sociopolitical event, rather than a clinical condition, a clinical or medical condition- which cannot be treated or diagnosed. In the words of Mr. Vernon Fox,1985. In this traditional outlook on crime, an Actus Reus a criminal act and a guilty intention- Mens Rea ; are the essential elements of a crime. But crime cannot be restricted in such a way solely to the acts defined. Criminologists must study the deviants-the criminals, as well as the socio cultural contexts that define them. A lot of learned people and scholars in the fields of Sociology, psychology, neurology as well as eminent jurists and law makers opine that every criminal act is the result of abnormal behavior of the individual concerned . This is where it becomes imperative for us to understand the pathology of crime. Hence the question, what exactly is pathology? Pathology and its relationship with crime Pathology can be defined as the scientific study and characterization of an anomaly/ disease/ abnormality in a certain field of interest. criminal pathologists, more commonly known as criminologists; deal with the study, structure, changes and functioning of a society on the basis of crimes and the interdependent relationship between crime and society. As in, how society at large is affected by various criminal deviant behavior, how values, mores, laws, folkways in turn keep changing or adjusting to the general consensus of society at large and how this in turn affects impressionable young minds towards deviant tendencies. An interesting trend to note would be the generality towards the acceptance of crime as an abnormality in society. This acceptance shows us that in a utopian environment, the concept of crime ceases to exist. This pathology shows us that we believe crime is essentially a perversion of human character, something that must be remedied or rectified ; Removed from the minds of those who practice it. We can relate the rationality behind that of a pathological criminal to that of a pathological/ compulsive liar. A pathological liar doesnt always know when he/she is lying. The lie becomes a part of his/her reality. This is due to certain mental problems. It has also been found that there are some anomalies in the structure of the brain of a pathological liar. It is wired differently compared to regular healthy brains. This throws light on the psychological aspects of crime. It could perhaps be curable one day.   These ideas led to the study of phrenology, in which brain size and shape were used to determine criminality.  There is an immediate and overwhelming need for more medical research on the subject. Contradicting views Durkheim actually states that crime should be seen as something functional and necessary for society rather than something pathological, and a symptom of a diseased society. He bases his argument on that fact that crime has been omnipresent ever since society came into existence. He says all societies, bar none, have experienced crime. Thus, according to him, crime seems to represent a condition of normality. He says a crime is a crime because it offends values, not because it is fundamentally wrong. He thinks crime strengthens a societies ideals and values because they are reaffirmed every time someone is prosecuted for a wrong doing. Of course, his views are not widely accepted and are opposed by many, due to the obvious gaping loop holes in his explanation. Crime is never a good thing and it doesnt strengthen a society. It reflects on the ethics and morals of the community, true; and it might be historically ingrained in our culture but that doesnt make it right. It is still something that can, and should be curbed. Thus, on the basis of lack of strong arguments stating otherwise, we can assume crime is inherently a pathological condition. Factors responsible for crime. The most basic question that comes to mind when discussing the criminology or pathological aspects of crime would be the one that points to the grass root level of it all. Why does crime exist? What leads people to participate in such ethically and morally wrong deeds, and go about abusing the very values they grew up with? Psychological conditions. Environment Social disorganization Lack of education Lack of a strong support system social change/ Evolution- Regression. Negative liberalization Economic Fluctuations Dissolution of religious, marriage and family institutions No conformity towards social norms, morals. Changing status of certain sects of society Dissociative social processes and conflicts Lack of empathy and personal ethics. Effect of mass media The aforementioned reasons are some of the main factors for the reason crime exists. Tackling the growing phenomenon of crime can only be done by first taking care of the economic, social and psychological issues related to cause spikes in crime. We have to understand that the majority of socialization processes are completed by the family, in the primary stage. If the process of sociality is done right, with the family stressing on the inculcation of the right values, norms, culture and liberal thinking, the base for a healthy society can be accomplished. For this, it is essential for families to be tight knit and functional. The environment given to the children has to project safety. When there is an absence of a healthy environment and a family system, it has been statistically proven that there is an increase in the risk for delinquency. Most crimes can be averted when the simple differentiation between rights and wrongs, and human empathy are clarified and made extremely clear. When there is a fear of a higher authority which projects absolute morals and strict punishment for those who break this code of morality, there is a reduction in the occurrence of crime. Thus, religion, though borderline irrational, plays an important role in curbing crime; when interpreted the right way. Trends In Crime Age and crime Crime rate generally declines with progress in age. Most offenders caught come under the age bracket of 16-25. Experts say the age-crime curve probably reflects decreasing parental controls, a peaking of peer influence in the teenage years, and then increasing family and community controls with age. Sex and crime Of all the demographic variables present, gender seems to be the most muddled. Most offenses are predominantly done by males, save those of flesh trade. More than 83% of todays heinous crimes are committed by males. But the fairer sex seems to be proclaiming equality in this field, too. A lot of petty crimes, traffic violations and other minor crimes are slowly becoming the female domain of crime. Attached next is a graph, to illustrate both. arrests_by_age_sex.jpg Social class and crime A vast majority of those arrested or labeled as a criminal belong to the lower strata of society. Though some scholars say that the official data shows this only because those belonging to the higher classes can usually get away with crime by bribing or gaining favors from the authority figures, there has been a rise in white collar crimes and the like, which may soon even out the curve. Minority groups/ Race / Regionality and crime. People belonging to the minority groups and less dominant races or those who belong to other regions (those who migrate in search of better living conditions, work etc) usually belong to the poorer sections of society. This, coupled with the fact that the adults in the family are too busy eking out a living to take care of the education and moral well being of their wards ,could have a direct effect on the fact that a lot of miscreants and criminal offenders belong these backgrounds. Also, there is an underlying contempt towards the privileged lot because racial profiling and discrimination is rampant. This in turn creates conflict between the two groups and might provoke the poorer sections to target the privileged lot. These various trends in crime help us understand the societal approach to it and the group consensus. Targeted treatment can be done. Typology of Crime Criminal typologies are ways to try and classify types of crime and criminals. It can be based on various criteria like : Type of offence committed. Reaction of society towards said crime. What the law and legislatures state. Criminal career of the offender etc. There have been many attempts made to classify criminals under one binding system but no such efforts have paid off till date. For example, Schafers LIFE TREND typology of criminals (1982) is as follows- Occasional criminals Professional criminals Abnormal criminals Habitual criminals Convictional criminals Though seemingly comprehensive enough, this typology was rejected, just like many before because it did not completely classify every criminal type. The very science of typology has been under heavy criticism because Specific offenses vary with time and place. some offenders participate in more than one type of crime Most offenses are usually inter linked and cannot be over simplified by trying to make them seem more distinct than they are. No single typology is useful to group all offenders. But the typology of Criminal behavior systems is still widely taken into consideration. It is as follows- Violent personal crime occasional property crime occupational crime corporate crime political crime public order crime conventional crime organized crime Professional crime This kind of typology is done on the basis of behavior and type of crime committed, for making the legislative and judiciary process easier, by simplifying the classification. Figure3.1 Use of Typologies in CJS-Final.jpg Some of the most jarring and convoluted crimes ever recorded in History occurred sometime over the past century. Gruesome murders, violent rape and assault charges, extortion, art crimes and media copy cat crimes have been the rage. THE TATE-LABIANCA MURDERS, 1969 ; THE LANA TURNER AFFAIR, 1958 ;   THE BRINKS JOB, 1950 ; THE BLACK DAHLIA, 1947 ; THE MONA LISA, 1911; THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING; THE  Lufthansa heist etc are all globally famous crimes that literally shocked people. To know that fellow humans were capable of such monstrosities wasnt a comforting thought. The recent jimmy saville case is also terrifying, in many ways. But there has been a steady decline in violent crime, globally. Though experts are baffled for the reason behind this, a lot of criminologists think it has something to do with growing awareness and simple precautionary methods being cultivated in day to day life. There is actually research to support this claim. Apparently more than 40% of crimes in a society are the product of easy opportunity. In india, a sizeable number of crime results from the easy opportunity and due to lack of effective thinking on crime prevention. LEGISLATURES AND ACTS IN INDIA , RELATING TO CRIME. THE CHILD MARRIAGE RESTRAINT ACT, 1929 By this act, people above 21 who wish to marry a person below 18 or those who aid and solemnize this marriage are liable for punishment . (Imprisonment for more than 3 months and fine). The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 Under this act, juvenile offenders (those under 18 years of age) are rehabilitated and protected. Reformation in the main criteria. Prevention Of Terrorism Act 2002 Though there are a myriad of such laws, legislations, acts being passed frequently, there is still a gaping bridge between them being recognized and being implemented efficiently. Laws made for the welfare of the people or certain sections of the society are highly misused or taken advantage of by people with dishonest intentions, thus making it unapproachable for those in real need of it. A GLARING EXAMPLE. Upliftment and protection of women has always been on the agenda for our law makers. There have been copious changes in existing legislations and acts being passed in various sections for the same. Art 15(A) (e) To renounce practices derogatory to women or their dignity. 304 B IPC Dowry harassment and death. 312-318 IPC Causing miscarriage and abortion; without consent. 359-374 IPC Kidnapping ad abduction 375-376 (D) IPC Sexual offences 497 IPC Adultery 494 IPC Bigamy 453 IPC Cohabitation by manipulation /deceit The prevention of sati act 1829 Hindu widow remarriage act 1856 Immoral traffic prevention act 1956 These are very few of the exhaustive list available. But we do not see most of these laws reaching their desired objective. Preventive Measures, Punishments. The problem of crime is a socially constructed problem. Its about socio economic status and criminal victimization, in most cases. Richer households are more likely to be victims of some crimes , such as crimes against property, trespass etc. Poorer households are more likely to be victims of serious intrusive crime such as burglary, mugging and domestic violence. Statistics also confirm that minority ethnic groups are also victimized more than regular people. Same goes for young people, whose chances of being physically molested, mobbed, assaulted etc decrease with increase in age. By understanding these demographics and applying the theory of crime of opportunity, there is a concept of Situational Crime prevention. What is situational crime prevention? Making changes to buildings and streets to make them safer Asking the police for help Using common sense to stop criminals Using neighbors to look out for crime Working with people from different agencies By being practical, smart, resourceful and keeping a vigilant eye on our surroundings, this theory claims to be able to reduce upto 50% of the crimes. (http://crimeprevention.rutgers.edu/topics/SCP%20theory/theory.htm) Youth and crime Four million people use illicit drugs each year, of which about 56% are aged 16-24. Most offenders who use drugs commit crimes to finance their drug use. Police crackdowns on dealers and users have had no impact on drug availability or levels of crime. Hence, appropriate drug treatment, psychological help and efficient rehabilitation programs must be made available. PUNISHMENT- History. The concept of crime and penalties and jurisdiction evolved as society civilized over centuries. They were originally considered to be private affairs. The offended party had to seek compensation or private revenge. Later, offenses were only against the king and later yet, the subjects. When compensation developed, fines were levied on behalf of the king (state), thus making the state the wronged party, much like what it is today. The intentions behind imposing penalties to compensate the wronged parties, though honorable, does not serve its purpose. People cannot restore lost dignity, respect or honor by providing monetary compensation to the victims. Though it may help some of them start over in life. what about the wretched families of the wrong doer, who have to bequeath their possessions and requirements in life to pay for a mistake they didnt even make. And the very concept of imprisonment also does not really make much sense to a forward rational thinker. Paraphrasing one of them, There is a logical contradiction at the heart of the idea (imprisonment) which is that, you are taking people away from society, away from the law-abiding world, and away from all the influences of people who keep the norm, and putting them in a place where they will only be mixing with people who have broken the norm and then expecting that some good will come out of it. I think, the evidence accumulated over many years is that, what you create is a lawless society.   Criminals /Delinquents should not be treated as evil. Psychoanalytic Theory :  The psychoanalytic theory, rather than seeking the causes in biological processes or anomalies, attempts to look into the mind of the individual. According to Friedlander, classical Freudian psychoanalytic explanations of delinquency focus on abnormalities or disturbances in the individuals emotional development from early childhood. The id is the unconscious seat of all irrational, antisocial and instinctual impulses, which must be controlled and shaped for successful adaptation to life within a society. This is done through the development of the ego, or the conscious and the rational part of the mind and through the superego, or the conscience, which serves as the moralizing part of the mind. The basic premise of his approach to crime is that, delinquent or criminal behaviour is, by itself, unimportant. It is only a symptom of the psychic conflict between the id, ego and the superego arising from abnormal maturation or control of instincts.   The treatment and policy implications of psychoanalytic theory are direct and obvious. Criminals and delinquent offenders should be treated, not as evil but as sick persons, who can basically, not be held responsible for their actions in any rational or controllable sense. Therefore, punishment of offenders will remain largely ineffective and will only provoke more guilt and unhealthy psychological reactions.  # # Kate Friedlander, 1947.   Emile Durkheim.   CONCLUSION

Internet Chat Rooms :: Essays Papers

Internet Chat Rooms This is a summary of the annual report for Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (EIN 39-1767281) and the Air Wis Savings Plan for January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000. The annual report has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by a Trust fund. Plan expenses were $1,195,590. These expenses included $15,409 in administrative expenses and $1,180,181 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 521 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $14,356,781 as of December 31, 2000, compared to $15,365,975 as of January 1, 2000. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $1,009,194. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets, that is, the difference between the value of the plan's assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $187,424 including employer contributions of $883,743 , employee contributions of $891,413, and earnings from investments of $18,556. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, who is the plan sponsor/plan administrator. You can direct your request to Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, Employee Relations, W6390 Challenger Drive, Suite 203, Appleton, WI 54915-9120, (920) 739-5123. The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.00 for the full annual report, or $.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report.

A Bruised Way of Life :: essays research papers

A Bruised Way of Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"BONG!† is the one and only word that anyone in my family has to say to bring back the memories of an incident that happened at the age of eight. Oh, but this horrifying happening couldn’t have happened in my home, it had to have happened in the middle of my favorite place in the world. None other than the original Downtown Disney, on the most beautiful day there has ever been at the beginning of December. The day was sunny, cloudless, and warm. Or at least warm to me after my accident.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, let me take you back in time. To the day that changed the way my family would make fun of me for the rest of my natural life. On the second day of our vacation to Walt Disney World, my parents, brother, and I decided that we all wanted to get some early shopping into our schedule before actually â€Å"hitting† all of the major parks that Disney World is known for. The usual routine for this area of vacationing was usually left up to the women in our family since it is the shopping area. Everything was going fine, going through the shops and looking at all of the merchandise we wished we were able to afford, when my brother, Brandon, spotted the water fountains that came up from the ground to play in. Before long, Brandon was begging and pleading my parents to go play in the water with the other kids. Even though they were strangers. My parents, of course, said yes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the first few minutes of Brandon’s fun in the water, I just had to join in. There was no way that I was going to let my brother have all of the fun, then decide to shove it in my face. No way was I going to let that happen to me. By the time a couple of minutes had passed, both my brother and I, were completely soaked from head to toe. That didn’t stop the fun though! The two of us were having such a great time that it had become a chore for our parents to get us to stop. Although, it seemed like a game for Brandon and me! Brandon was the first to finally give in to my parents and stop playing so we could do some more shopping. But getting me out was a totally different story.

Mad Cow Disease Journal Entry :: Pesonal Narrative Diary disease Essays

Mad Cow Disease Journal Entry January 6th, 2004 Garden Grove, California Dear Journal, Mother has just gotten back from the grocery store. She's loading up the refrigerator with chicken, fish, and eggs--no red meat once again. Oblivious to the complaints about father saying the risk to human health from Mad Cow Disease is low and that he has got to have his meat. What can I say? A man has got to have his red, red meat. It has only been less than a year since the World Reference Laboratory has confirmed that a cow killed in Alberta, Canada was tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) also known as Mad Cow Disease among the public. But that was not the news that got mother going through red-meat paranoia. This past Christmas, it was found that a cow in Washington of the US of A, was positive for mad cow. If my word dissection is correct, the disease can be broken down to enceph meaning the brain and pathy meaning disease.* Overall, it is a disease that turns the brain into a sponge-like chunk of meat. At first, the only time I have heard of the Mad Cow Disease was in my European History class and it was only a brief sentence that was spoken about it, but boy, what a sentence it was. It seems as though during the 1980s, to save money, Great Britain's ranchers began to feed grounded up dead animals (who have died from disease) to their cattle. Now isn't that disgusting? Not only was it disgusting, but cows are herbivores and basically altering their diet like that caused the Mad Cow Disease to develop. When symptoms of the disease started to show, well, the government banned the use of dead animals as fodder and killed off the cows that were predicted to have Mad Cow. Now, I was thinking to myself, that's not so bad, right? What harm can this disease do? But being one of my bad characteristics, I spoke too soon. This disease has a human form called Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). One of the main forms of getting it is by eating BSE-infected meat from cattle. Are you ready for some bad news? Well, symptoms of the disease include muscle spasms, distorted walking ability, memory problems, having a hard time controlling muscles, etc.

Fighting, Ruben Wolfe

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak Fighting Ruben Wolfe is just a novel about teenage boys fighting. Discuss. Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak is not just about teenage boys fighting. It is also about two teenagers growing up with their family facing financial issues and about family relationships. Family in Fighting Ruben Wolfe is shown by the family being brought closer together, but they struggle because the father is currently unemployed and the mother is working two jobs, so it feels like the parents aren’t for their children as much as they were before Mr Wolfe’s accident.Mr and Mrs Wolfe are stressed because they can’t pay all the bills and as a result they can’t look after their children as well as they used to. At the beginning of the book, Sarah comes home drunk and Cameron and Ruben are at the dog track a lot. Once the boys started fighting, Mr and Mrs Wolfe don’t notice the bruises on the boys. These problems for the Wolfe family c learly show that Fighting Ruben Wolfe is just as much about family as fighting. It also shows that the family are facing financial issues. Financial issues in Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak are shown by family having very little money.They have hardly any money because Mr Wolfe is unemployed. In Chapter 6 of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, the first paragraph proves that they have very little money â€Å"The phone has been cut of because we don’t have the money to pay the bill. Or really Mum and Dad don’t have the money to pay it. Steve or Sarah could pay but there’s no way. It’s not allowed. It’s not even considered. † The main two characters, Cameron and Ruben have started to fight illegally so they could earn money to help pay for their bit. So there is fighting in the novel, but it is not just about fighting.These examples demonstrate that there are also financial issues in the novel. Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak is not just a novel about teenage boys fighting, it’s also about two teenagers growing up, showing there struggles in life, and also shows what two normal teenagers will do for their family. But the brother’s soon find out that there not just fighting for money, but also for identity, for dignity, and for each other. When Mr. Wolfe finally accepts that their broke, he goes down to Centrelink to get the doll. But as proud as Cameron and Ruben are, they go and try to stop him.Finally the parents find out that they fight. They don’t act kindly to this at the start, but then they realize how important this is to them and then they let them still compete. They keep on fighting and end up fighting each other in the end, but because both brothers are very series about their fighting, the fight series and Ruben defeats Cameron, But Cameron is very proud and didn’t give up till the very wnd. This book has taught me to be grateful for what I have and to always respect my family, this book was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. By Liam Truscott 9a

Jekyll And Hyde Letter Essay

At last I can now relate to you regarding that quite awful episode at our friend Dr. Jekyll’s window a while back. I feel I must bring you up to date on the shocking events that have occurred since our last departure. I have just read the letter of our lost friend Henry on his demeanor before he disappeared. Little was I to know what was held within these few pages that would rock and distress my very soul. It appears that there was once more to Henry Jekyll, the simple and righteous doctor, than we once knew. In his letter he pays particular attention to a sort of â€Å"dual nature† which has been troubling him all his later life. His study has been directed by the ideas of man being not one but in fact two. This seems most unusual and out of the ordinary, he became obsessive about his work by experimenting with his very self, it appears that he purchased some chemicals for his personal consumption that he knew would â€Å"shake the very fortress of identity†. There was indeed more to come, and I still must, even now, reassure myself as to its truth or its couple with human sanity. It appears that the murderous intent from within Mr. Hyde is, in fact, from within the centre of Henry Jekyll, Henry Jekyll is Mr. Hyde. For when Henry should take this particular concoction it distorts his body and brings out the very worst of what we thought of as an ordinary man. It is hard to understand that such a fiend is locked up within all but some choose to let it out more than others with varying effects. Our poor friend had the choice between these two characters. When Hyde was true Jekyll was non-existent, enslaved to evil as the antidote wore off. And with this in mind he continued to use this unusual life changing ability, which would grow more troublesome. Only now do I come to realize that Henry Jekyll is no longer, forced to take his life because of man’s curiosity to know more and evil heart. I feel saddened to know that he could not feel happy enough to communicate his troubles to us decided to keep his troubles to his self. Now I now the answer behind his curious will which seemed so mysterious at the time. Though I feel sorry for him I also know an unsensing feeling that Henry Jekyll began to like Hyde despite his murderous character, for this I feel Jekyll had himself to blame. What could possess a man to do such an awful thing to himself as that. Yours Sincerely, P.S I have enclosed a copy of the letter from Henry Following for your own reading.

Web Analytics

The explosive growth in the amount of smartness and tablets marked we have fully entered the RA of mobile computing. There are more and more people prefer to buy the products or services they desired online. The company who can success overnight must be the one who can better understand the demands of customers. For those who have no Idea of the power of Internet marketing, Axiom Technology can be a good example. It has been established since August 2010 and there are no any offline franchised stores ever opened. The only channel for customers to get their products is ordering from their online store.This is totally an Internet marketing model and no one knows what will happen to this company in the future. Now only four years have passed Axiom Technology has overtaken Samsung to become the biggest seller of smartness in China and the company valuations has approaching 40 billions dollars (BBC, http://www. BBC. Com/news/business-28684581). The success of Axiom is not accidental but u sing tons of techniques to analyses customers and trying to understand their needs. Behind this web analytics is the most important tool to achieve this in Internet marketing.What web analytics does Is the study of visitor, navigation, and traffic patterns to determine the success of a given web site then through the objective tracking, collection, measurement, porting, and analysis of quantitative Internet data to optimism websites and Internet marketing initiatives (Web Analytics Association, http:. ‘/ indicators could tell us the operation performance of a website. Such as the sources of the visitors (where our visitors come from), the conversion rates of the visitors (includes the registration rates, opportunities to sale and other conversion rates we setup to monitor).Knowing these indicators is the basis of Internet marketing initiatives. In short, web analytics is a tool to help us optimism our website and align our resources to fit the Internet marketing strategies. Th is could be divided into several aspects. I will explain them one by one in this article. Monitoring the Operation Status of the Website This is the most basic function of web analytics. Web analytics tool like Google Analytics can collect the data which provided by the website such as slipstream data, user experience data and operational data then generate different kinds of statements through analyses the collected data.These statements can give a overview of the website and tell us whether it is healthy or not. The variation trend of clicks, umber of visits, number of users and other data like this can help marketers maintain the website from different aspects. However, for those non-technical specialist stakeholders web analytics tool can be an important tool to translate the professional terms such as page views, average time per visit and conversion rates to readable information. Monthly summary is one of the most common reports that web analytics tool can generate for a compa ny to monitor its website.The information contained in the summary is of a relatively basic level. The monthly summary shows page views, visits ND visitors, as well as average time per visit and average page views per visit. The main purpose of the monthly summary is to inform key stakeholders about the level of activity on the website throughout each month (A. Phone, et al. , 2004). Figure 1 is a typical monthly summary. There are also other reports such as monthly dashboard which allow users to compare the activity on the website over a year, because of the limited words it is not possible to detail here.Figure 1. A Typical Monthly Summary The operators of the website will be panic without the support of different kinds of data. Because it means they have lost the perception to the status of the website. They have no idea how many visits today, thousands or none, will be a mystery. Without the direction of data, the operators will lost their target and path for Internet marketing. Evaluate the Efficiency of the Promotion Campaigns Like offline business processes, Internet marketing also needs promotion campaigns to acquire customers, improve brand image and customer perception.However, without web analytics we can not measure the help that the promotions bring to our websites Kips and we even can not know whether the growing Kips are profit from With web analytics we can track the sources of our visits then identify whether they are visiting through our promotions such as pay-per-click ads or banner ads. Moreover, we can further analyses the conversion rates relate to registration and order placing then find out the efficiency of our promotions and to what extent they can improve our Kips.Finally, according to the analysis we can adjust the Internet marketing strategies about the promotions. For example, to measure the efficiency of a banner ads we can easily calculate cost per acquisition to find out that: Cost per acquisition = Advertising and promotional cost/Number of click-troughs. Promote the Website Effectively Search Engine Optimization (SEE) and Search Engine Marketing (SEEM) SEE and SEEM are two vital parts in web analytics because they are the most important way for a website to fetch visits. Search engines are a key part of any company's acquisition portfolio.For good reason, citizens of the Internet use search to find everything they are looking for. The business impact of this customer behavior is that we all pour a lot of resources into optimizing our websites to show up optimally in search engines for relevant queries (Vanish Sushi, 2010). There are several indexes for us to analyses SEE such as related keywords ranking, the click through rate (CTR) of the search terms and the number of invalid pages of the website in the search results. The traffic level is the foundation of a website.So it is necessary for us to know how good our website performing on SEE and SEEM clearly (Eric Eng, et al. , 2012). Precision Marketing SEE and SEEM can improve the web exposure of the website so the users can find our website more easily. But sometimes it is also necessary to push our website to some specific users directly so called online promotions. Online promotion included customer segmentation, source segmentation and target market segmentation. Customer segmentation which based on customer behaviors can reveal the customer types our website attracts.The search terms based on source and affiliated websites analysis can let us know which parts on our website were cared about by our users and how our users found us. This analysis could direct us for our online promotion. We will know which groups of users we should send them e-mails. Moreover, web analytics can also help us find suitable places to do the online promotions. For example, the most related website we should put the advertisements on if we want to issue a product or organize an activity or the frequently searched keywords to do the sponsored links and SEE.So it can help us avoid the inefficiency promotions which will waste our operating costs. Through eliminating low efficiency costs and increase the ratio of high efficiency costs we could keep the budgets constant but have a better publicity. In the meantime, we can also find out which websites have more relevance with us then we can improve our how to organize the contents we want to promote. Optimizing the Customer Experience of the Website Simple and Effective Interactive Process The simple and easy-to-use interactive process will help the users achieve their targets and operations better.And the users are tend to visit the website which have more friendly interface that can let them surf on it without any troubles. Help the Users to Find What They Interested Recommend the contents which the users may interested are far more better than let themselves find what they want. Many websites like Amazon, eBay now have recommendation function based on the analysis of users behav iors, this function will elf on keep customers and let them browse more contents or use the services provided by the websites.Listen to the Users Web analytics is more than tons of daily statements of the websites. Actually, survey, lab usability testing and site visits are all belong to web analytics. Vanish Sushi were sorted them as the qualitative analysis in web analytics. These methods can let us listen to our users' heart. With the results of these surveys we can do better on our website includes the design of function, interactive and navigation. All of these are aimed at enhancing the user experience of the website.In a word, the websites are living for traffic level, all what we do above can be concluded as three stages: monitoring the traffic, attract the traffic and keep the traffic. The traffic level can be easily translated to users, and the users are the only core for the websites. Part 2: http://www. Activation. Co. UK/ is a local company. You are required to: Identif y its main line of business and its online marketing strategy, Critically evaluate its website designing and its online marketing strategy, and Make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of its website and online marketing strategy.Main Line of Business Active Alton is a local company operating a variety of sports and leisure facilities in Alton and it claimed itself as a non-profit organization. It currently operates 7 leisure and activity centers including Dell Farm, Inspire: Alton Sports Village, Lessee Sports Park, Highpoint Community Sports & Arts Centre, Lea Manor Recreation Centre, Stockroom Park Golf Centre and Stockroom Park Athletics Centre & Health Club.The main business that Active Alton run are the fitness and leisure events. Rely on the activity centers Active Alton provides its own brands covered a wide range of ports and services such as Profiles Health & Fitness, Hydra Swim, Active Golf, Kid Around, Active Education, Active Communities, Active Training & D evelopment and people will enjoy a discount price to access the facilities through Join the membership and this is also the main sources of income to the organization.Online Marketing Strategy As a local organization who have held so many sports centers and leisure facilities, Active Alton seems has no intention to invest vast amount of time and money in online marketing because people are ultimately prefer to choose a fitness centre by sitting it not by Just browsing it online. The website of Active Alton are more like a exhibition not an online franchise store. I have drawn a structure chart of the website below and will analyses the online market strategy by using it. Through the structure chart we can have a general understanding of the whole website of Active Alton.As I state before, the website is consist by the introduction of the sports centers and leisure facilities. The only entrance for customers to checkout is in the membership page and will be shown after click ‘s ign up online'. And there is o any online customer service but only two forms in the feedback and contact us pages. Because the organization possesses venues and stadiums and only provide very limited online transactions channel and customer service (the digital channels complementary is relatively low), the e-commerce business mode could be defined as between ‘Bricks and mortar' and ‘Bricks and clicks' refer to Figure 2.Figure 2. Three Business Modes in E-commerce In conclusion, the online marketing strategy should have objectives for online contribution in percent which means sales, service, profitability should drive the strategy. From the structure of the website I did not see much of elements which can bring extra incomes for the organization. Because of the products the organization provides is fitness and leisure services it is not possible to exploit new geographic markets. So the website has communicate benefits of existing products to existing penetration strat egy (H.Igor Anions, 2007). Figure 3. Nations Product-Market Growth Matrix Website Designing There are eight most important factors in successful e-commerce site design (Lauded and Travel, 2009), in this part I will use this figure to evaluate the designing of the Bessie. Figure 4. The Eight Most Important Factors in Successful E-commerce Site Design All functions of the website are working normally during my test but it has no obvious funnel which can guide visitors to the checkout system and finally become customers.In general, there must be a button or link to purchase the product when we click into the introduction page of a product but for this website there is not. What instead of is a sign up online button which is in membership page so we can not see it directly. This will largely reduce the conversion rates and lower the functionality of the website. The information provided by the website are quite rich, from the introduction of the organization to the details of every venu es and brands. And they have been placed in landing page so they are full accessible.But the customer service is a short slab of the website. There are only two forms provided in the contact us and feedback pages. According to Lauded and Tracer's research it will annoy 75. 1% visitors if a website has no contact information available. Figure 5. E-commerce Website Features that Annoy Customers For other aspects in the figure 4, the layout and design of Active Lotto's website are happily integrated style, both aesthetically and functionally. It has a dominant hue which is blue and the color is not been abused everywhere.The text are legible enough and the graphics are simple therefore the visitors will not be distracted. To sum up, the website is easy to use but lack of functionality and it need to be improved. Recommendations For the Web Designing To improve the effectiveness of the website can be translate to improve the user experience of it. First and the most important thing is t o add a purchase button with the corresponding price table in every introduction page of the stadiums, this will increase the conversion rates and lead to a higher incomes which is the fundamental goals of e-commerce.And for the customer service, add at least one contact information (landlines, e-mail or both) to contact us page that visitors can use it to contact the organization actively. If the visitors are confused about some descriptions the conversion rates indirectly because people will not purchase anything if they are confusing about it. For the Online Marketing Strategy According to the organization's conditions I did a SOOT analysis for it. Active Alton Strengths – S 1. Well-known brand 2.Abundant Resources 3. Extensive Services Weaknesses – W 1. Internet channel using 2. Web technologies 3. Online customer service Opportunities – O 1 . New customer segment 2. Co-branding promotion 3. Cross-selling SO strategies Integrate the services and trying to at tract new customers through cross-selling and co-branding promotion WOW strategies Improve the user experience of the website and introduce new services to attract new customers Threats – T 1 . Other competitors who have advanced technologies 2.Customer choice 3. New entrants SST strategies Attract competitor's customers by provide better services and hardware WET strategies Improve the user experience of the website and build a thorough customer relationship management system Figure 6. A Internet-specific SOOT Analysis for Active Alton Active Alton is an organization who has possessed a lot of resources including stadiums and parks. So the products and services it can provide can be varied if introduce cross-selling method.The growth point of the business is to attract new customers through new products and services and better user experience of the website. In this circumstance I would like to recommend WOW strategies for the organization. This kind of online marketing stra tegy is focused on improving the effectiveness of the website and develop new products that fit the e- commerce business such as special offers which people can only get from the online store.

Hamlets Madness Essay

I do not believe that Hamlet is going mad nor insane. I think that he was just putting on an act of madness to convince people he was going insane in order to carry out his revenge on Claudius. If it wasn’t for Hamlet’s feigned madness the Claudius would have obviously known that something was up and would have possibly had Hamlet killed. Hamlet only acted mad or insane around certain people. In his private conversations with Horatio there was no signs of insanity with the way he was talking to him. Hamlet tells Horatio â€Å"How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet To put on an antic disposition on, – That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, With arms encumber’d thus. Or this headshake, Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase. â€Å"(Ham. 2. 5. 170-175). In this phrase He is telling Horatio that he is going to feign madness, and that if he notices any strange behavior that he is putting on an act. This is proof that he is neither mad nor insane. He basically has stated he is going to act mad. As soon as someone appears, whom he wants to convince he is mad, he changes his behavior to put in his or her minds different explanations of his irrational behavior. He changes from rational speech to irrational conversations with those he wishes to convince he is mad. With Rosencrantz and Guildenstern he makes them believe that the reason for his behavior is frustrated ambition. In act 2 scene 2 Rosencrantz says â€Å"Why, then, your ambition makes it one; ’tis too narrow for your mind. â€Å"(Ham. 2. 2. 241-242). Then Hamlet says â€Å"O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. â€Å"(Ham 2. 2. 243-244) Then Guildenstern states â€Å"Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; fro the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. â€Å"(Ham. 2. 2. 245-246). Hamlet wants to make the King and Queen believe that the death of his father and their marriage is the reason for his madness. The Queen states â€Å"I doubt it is no other but the main, – His father’s death and our o’ hasty marriage. (Ham. 2. 2. 56-57). Hamlet want s to make Polonius and Ophelia believe that it is his love for Ophelia that has driven him mad. This is revealed when Ophelia speaks with Polonius about Hamlet’s encounter with her (Ham. 2. 2 75-108). In the phrase â€Å"I am but mad north by northwest, when the wind is southernly I know a hawk from a handsaw†(Ham. 2. 2. 347-348) Hamlet is stating that North is normal and that â€Å"North by Northwest† means that he is only slightly insane. Once Claudius thought he was insane he was safe to carry out the rest of his plan. In the Soliloquy, â€Å"To be or not to be† (Ham. 3. 1. 56-90) Hamlet knew that he was being watched by the King while talking to Ophelia. This was his chance to convince the King that he was insane. I believe that Hamlet may have crossed the line into true madness a few times. For example when Hamlet slays Polonius he has no feelings of remorse. This is evidenced by Hamlet’s words â€Å"Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thy fortune thou findst to be too busy in some danger†(Ham. 3. 4. 32-34). After Hamlet kills Polonius he will not tell anyone where the body is. Instead he says â€Å"not where he eats, but where he is eaten, a certain convocation of political worms a e’en at him†(Ham 4. 3. 20-21). Hamlet also is aware of his dissolving insanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius â€Å"in a fit of madness†(Ham. 5. 2. 236-250). In the scene where he is with his mother he also has a violent out burst. He is very cruel towards he and clenches her throat in anger. He sees his father’s ghost while with his mother. His mother does not see him. All of the other times someone has seen the ghost when it has appeared. This may be a sign that Hamlet experiencing true madness. â€Å"On him, on him: Look O you how pale he glares! His form and cause conjoured, preaching to stones would make them capable (Ham. 3. 4. 126-128. In conclusion I believe that Hamlet’s madness or insanity throughout the play is being acted. However I do believe that in the end Hamlet drives himself over the edge when he kills Polonius and his true anger shows. Hamlet crossed that line into true madness a few times in this play. I believe that this was not a good way to go about getting revenge on Claudius. There was too much of a delay and in the end Hamlet lost by losing his life too.

Best friends in our lives

Best friends in our lives Best friends are needed in life, and we all have them at some point in our lives. Some of us have had best friends that are imaginary, for some of us is mom, dad, or a family member, and for the rest a best friend is some stranger person that they meet along the way. For me, my best friend growing up was one of my younger cousins. He was 9 months younger but always acted like the oldest, toughest, and meanest one. We had a plan on what to do when we were old, we both dreamed on having a taco/Mexican restaurant. We both loved tacos and every Thursday after school we would go around the corner from his house and buy tacos from â€Å"Don Michael,† a super affordable place to eat where you would get way more than what you actually paid for. We were very closed and almost every weekend we wanted to sleep at each other’s house. After a few times staying at my house, he only wanted me to stay at his house, but he would not stay in my house for any reason. I thought it was a bit weird at first but I would always agree with him, and we would stay over at his house. One time, after several months of me constantly asking, he finally decided to stay in my house. Everything was going well and we were having a great time: eating a lot of food, candies, played video games, table games, playing soccer in the middle of the street, and watching movies. When it was time to sleep, we turned the lights off and the silent night began only to be torn apart with the noise of someone crying. At first I thought it was out side in the street, but as I listen closely and carefully I noticed the noise was coming form inside the house, inside my room. I quickly turned my light on and realized it was my cousin crying. â€Å"I havenâ€℠¢t done anything wrong, I haven’t said anything mean† I thought to myself. After a few seconds of crying with the light on he said he wanted to go home and see his mom. I was 8 years old and I had watched a lot of movies so I was thinking, â€Å"he must be sensing something, and we have to go see what’s going on with my aunt.† After having my parents drive for 45 minutes, we arrived at my aunt’s house and found out there was nothing wrong with my aunt and I started to wonder why my cousin was crying. A few years later, he agreed to stay over at my house again. The same thing happened over and over again so I knew that there had to be something wrong. It wasn’t until 6 years later when my cousin went to see a doctor and he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. At the age of 17, I didn’t understand what that really meant and I wanted to help my cousin any way possible. Helping him was not very easy since my family and I had moved to a different country when I was 12. Living with schizophrenia doesn’t just take a toll on the person that has the disease but it also affects the family members. Managing it is not impossible and living a joyful long life could be very possible. Before covering the treatments and how to manage schizophrenia we will first discus what exactly is schizophrenia. Then, we will move on to the causes of the disease. Last, we will talk about the treatments and management of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that involves severely distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes. During a schizophrenic episode, people lose their grip on reality. They become engulfed in an entirely different inner world, one that is often characterized by mental chaos, disorientation, and frustration (CITE). According to Psychologytoday.com, there are at least 21 million people in the world that have Schizophrenia.

Counterterrorism-Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Counterterrorism-Final - Essay Example w World Order’ in which there is United States of America as the lone super power, although several countries around the world are vying for dominance such as China, Russia, Great Britain and France. The purpose of the existence of these countries is to oppose any threat against the peace and harmony in the world hence there is an importance to look for the balance between security and order. This is something which could only be achieved if the defenders know how to get proper intelligence from their enemies (Addicott and McCaul n.d.). Whenever the nation faces problems, it is a must for the rule of law to prevail. This is the guiding principle for almost all democratic states around the world which aim to oppose the continuing growth of both states and non-state groups that endanger the people; and because terrorist groups also have the blessings of technological advancement, it is necessary for all the nations around the world especially United States of America to improve. Not all threats around the world right now are common knowledge. Terrorist groups hide in the darkness whenever they perform their operations making it harder for operatives to arrest them (Addicott and McCaul n.d.). Intelligence is one of the most crucial aspects of counter terrorism in all ages. For most crises situations, it shapes the success or the failure of an operation against militant groups that aim to destabilize the governments around the world. Terrorists have an array of intelligence gathering operations too and it is the duty of the states to always be one step ahead of the terrorists’ activities. The lives of the people and the sustenance of nations are all contingent to countries’ capability to win the war against terrorism. Intelligence lets a country understand the situation of every conflict; thus, policy makers would know the best action to do. Not all problems could be solved by tanks and stealth bombers; there are certain conflicts that need a high level of

Syndicated Loans And Bonds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Syndicated Loans And Bonds - Essay Example To gain a clear perspective of what a syndicated loan facility, let us first understand the nature thereof. Syndication can be loosely translated in terms of pooling of resources and capital. Banks are syndicated when they come together to carry out a single or multiple business transactions to a single or multiple individuals. One of the most popular transactions which these syndicated banks undertake is the syndicated loan facility. A syndicated loan facility is the term, which refers to a long-term loan, issued by a number of banks collectively to a single client or borrower. A lead institution or bank will serve as the secretariat and manage the syndicate. Typically, not all banks that will respond to the call for syndication have the same financial capacity and standing, they may not be on equal footing at all. Thus, the need for a system that will allow the participating banks to limit their participation according to their capacity in order to mitigate any incidents that may potentially lead to overexposure1. In other words, participating banks maintain their own independent operati ons and the participating banks only maintain â€Å"an arm’s length relationship†2 with each other. By contrast, bonds are securities issued by companies to the public as evidence of indebtedness. Bonds are promises to pay the principal as well as interest to its holder at a certain specified time indicated in the instrument. Government and business corporations for a number of purposes, which are generally indicated on the face of the certificates, may issue it. Generally, issuance of bonds is another form of borrowing money. Thus, the relationship formed between the issuer of the bond and that of the holder thereof is that of a debtor and creditor. Bonds are highly saleable commodities3 as they are considered a safe form of investment and can be used as collateral to support loan4.

Explain the evolutionary mechanisms that can change the composition of Essay

Explain the evolutionary mechanisms that can change the composition of the gene pool - Essay Example In addition, certain evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift cause a decrease in these genetic variations (Colby; Lerner). Mutation is a phenomenon by which chemical changes occur within the DNA which in turn alters the sequence of the gene resulting in a mutant gene. The extent to which the DNA is altered depends on the type of mutation which could be a point mutation in which on letter of the genetic code is changed, insertion or deletion of a stretch of DNA within a gene or inversion, translocation or duplication of a segment of the DNA. Such mutations can produce truncated proteins, abnormal proteins or a silent mutation that does not introduce any change in the resulting protein. Hence a mutation can have both a deleterious as well as a beneficial effect on the organism (Colby; Lerner). In addition to mutation, gene expression within an organism also depends on the built-in natural variation that occurs within a gene pool. Not all genes within an organ ism are expressed as only those which are activated produce their respective proteins and are hence expressed in the phenotype. Such selective expression of genes is also responsible for the variations observed between each individual (Veith).