Environment Scanning Report for Etihad Assignment - 1

Environment Scanning Report for Etihad - Assignment Example In order to tackle this possible issue, the government, the air industry and other teams that are related to the regulation of the air industry must take actions in advance. It will not be an easy task for the UAE air industry to handle such a large number of movements of airplane and therefore the government should take some action in advance either by dividing the industry into further branches to meet the challenges or putting new institution for the regulation. UAE’s aviation sector is one of the booming air carrier fleets. It has taken a great part in expanding UAE’s economy by generating huge revenues as well as creating lots of opportunities in the sector. These endeavors are very important in when UAE is making strenuous effort to free itself from dependence on diminishing oil reserves (broadening Economic base). Etihad also has to face severe competition with rival regional competitors of neighboring countries and also with the global competitors. In a case of inability in meeting the expected demands, UAE’s aviation agency will not be able to sustain its growth and market share. The huge contribution to the country’s economy every year will be put into halt resulting bad impact on the overall growth of the country. Other competing aviation agencies in the region which include Qatar Airways and others are also expanding their business, which will result in loss in regional and global market share. In order to meet the goal of the industry-government, industrial stakeholders, and regulators to work together to ensure that Etihad meet the expected growth rate. Similarly, air traffic problem is a growing concern in the Middle East. For this reason, Etihad and UAE should work in close collaboration with neighboring partner countries to make air traffic more harmonious and smooth in the region by upgrading the air traffic system. (Gulfnews.com,

Theoretical Positions of Jung Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Positions of Jung Essay While science worked diligently to quantify and validate early structuralist perspectives in psychology, early functionalists were hard at work developing theories that were more qualitative in nature. Although not directly associated with the functionalism movement, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and William James were clearly most concerned with how psychology could improve the lives of the individual and less inclined to laboratory research. Through each psychologist’s theory, the underlying tone is how one can identify and develop treatment for the vast array of psychological obstacles an individual may encounter. Additionally, each places significant emphasis on the human consciousness as the foundation of all behaviors. Variations in theory focus on the inception of human behaviors and how best to analyze and treat those early behavior motivators. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud, the father of Psychoanalysis, was a phenomenal man. Freud was a physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist, and one of the best influential thinkers of the early twentieth century. In this theory of psychoanalysis, Freud believed that the best way to view the human mind was through a sexual perspective. The main tenet of his theory was that the human mind consisted of three basic components: the Id, the ego, and the superego. Individually, Freud believed that when these components conflict, shaping personality, only therapeutic treatment would prevent neurosis (Putnam, 1917). Carl Jung Carl Jung is a famous Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology. His interests in philosophy led many to see him as a spiritualist; however, Carl Jung preferred to be viewed as a man of science. He is celebrated for his consideration and developments in individuation, which joined the opposites of conscious and unconscious while maintaining normal functioning autonomy. Furthermore, individuation is the main and central development of analytical psychology. Jung is known today as the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as religious by nature, making it the focal point of his exploration. Carl Jung is also one of the best known researchers to practice in the fields of dream analysis and symbolization. He spent a great deal of his life as a practicing clinician, and explored divergent areas like Eastern and Western philosophy, sociology, astrology, alchemy, literature, and arts. Additionally, many popular psychological concepts were anticipated by Carl Jung, these concepts include the collective unconscious, the archetype, the complex, and synchronicity. Alfred Adler Alfred Adler is best known as the founder of Individual Psychology and for his concept of the inferiority complex. As Adler’s interest in examining personality arose, he turned his focus to psychiatry and began working with Sigmund Freud. Adler’s work with Freud led him to contribute greatly to the development of psychoanalysis. Still, rooting his focus on the real life experience of individuals, Adler eventually came to reject Freud’s accentuation on sex, breaking away from Freud to form his own theory. Through this theory, known as Individual Psychology, Adler put forth the idea that personality difficulties are the result of inferiority feelings that derive from restrictions on an individual’s needs for self-assertion (Fisher, 2001). Adler held the belief that each individual acquires an ideal self-image that serves as the motivator behind his or her behavior. His studies led Adler to discover what he came to call the inferiority complex, which is the notion that a person’s feelings of inadequacy are what drive a person to try to overcome what he or she believes is a lack of worth by striving for superiority (Fisher, 2001). According to Adler, this initial state of inadequacy people obtain is the result of factors, such as neglect in their childhood, that significantly influence and shape how a child perceives him or herself as well as the choices he or she makes. Therefore, only through assisting people in identifying the factors that led them to the distorted view of themselves can change, healing, growth, and the development of a new, healthy self-image occur. Playing a major role in child development, among numerous other areas, Adler’s beliefs and theories became widely accepted within the world of psychology therefore significantly influencing modern day psychology. William James William James was an American philosopher whose work in psychology in the nineteenth century recognized science as a crucial element in the improvement of social and philosophical doctrines (Allen, 1967). His blend of psychology and philosophy refined his concept of pragmatism. This pragmatic approach grasped the meaning of the ideas and truth of his beliefs in an approach that influenced the lives of individuals as opposed to the abstract sense of ideas (Hothersall, 1995). His research also outlined â€Å"the understanding of consciousness and the self, a proactive position and perception of truth, and a number of other beneficial studies of social concerns helped create an outstanding philosophical system† (Hothersall, 1995). He referred to consciousness as a stream of thoughts instead of a static or reducible mechanism and felt prickled with the notion of any approach to consciousness in which the mind was reduced into its smaller elements. James believed consciousness to be continuingly changing and a selective and active agent in and of its self. He could not consider conscious to be outside the realm of self consciousness. Nonetheless, he also believed the functionalist understanding of consciousness as an active agent of mental action was more consistent with reality than what he called the meaningless, artificial exercise of identifying the elements of consciousness, which conforms more to the structuralize perspective (Goodwin, 2008). Comparison and Contrast of Theories Freud sought to explain human personality and the underlying issues in a person’s life. He theorized that the human mind consisted of three major components (Goodwin, 2008). Despite Alders’ theory that all of one’s activities center on a basic life plan, Freud and Alfred Adler both agreed that personal characteristic begin in childhood. Jung based his theory on individuality, He theorized that individuation was a necessary process leading to individuality by integration of the conscious with the unconscious (Putnam, 1917). William James had a distinctive religious perspective. James viewed religion entirely different from Freud, Adler, and Jung. James believed that everyone should have a religious experience. Freud believed that each person interprets religion differently; Adler believed that people used their religious views to understand the world, and Jung believed that not all people understood religion. Differences among their Perspectives There were disagreements with Freud’s theory of the conscious and unconscious as well his theory of sexual motivation. The main disagreement in perspectives was between Freud and James. Freud believed that behaviors are controlled by the unconscious mind described as dreams and free association. While James believed that self-reflection and introspection was the only way to understand mental life (Goodwin, 2008). Jung and Adler disagreed with Freud’s theory of sexual motivation and psychosexual development. They thought he placed too much emphasis on sexual motivation which made it seem like the fundaments of human behavior relied solely on one motivation. Adler believed that his own notion of the inferiority complex should replace Freud’s beliefs of sexual motivation. Freud focused on internal forces including conflicts, biological disposition, and sexual motivation (Goodwin, 2008). The focus in Adler’s theory was on social factors. Conclusion Freud, Jung, Adler, and James all shared a deep desire to help improve people’s lives through a psychological medium. Each explained psychology using their own theories, and they often differed on the basis of human functioning and its causes. Freud analyzed the world through his idea of psychosexual development, and thought that sexual motivations are the origin of all human behaviors. William James believed that consciousness was a more fluid and distinct entity, which could not be broken up into parts. Adler and Jung thought Freud put too much emphasis on sex as motivation; Adler believed inferiority complexes govern human behavior, while Jung put much more emphasis on religion and its influences. These philosophers and psychologists of the 19th century influenced people’s outlook on the world, even to this day. Each of their theories have influenced and furthered our current understanding of the human psyche and how to treat various psychological disorders. References Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A history of modern psychology (3rd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Fisher, M (2001, May). Alfred Adler. Retrieved January 26, 2012 from http:// www. muskingum. edu/~psych/psycweb/history/adler. htm Allen, Gay Wilson. (1967). William James: A Biography. New York: Viking Press. Hothersall, D. (1995). History of Psychology (3rd ed. ). NY: Mcgraw-Hill Putnam,J. (1917). The theories of Freud, Jung and Adler: I. The work of Sigmund Freud. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 12(3), 146-160

Cal Ripken :: essays research papers

The relationship that this book has with psychology is a very familiar one. One would not expect to look at this book with a psychological view, unless you look into the deeper meanings of Ripken and what his thought process is. The book allows you to see what a boy’s point of view of a family that grew up in a modest fashion, with baseball being prevalent throughout his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the book and asking myself what Mr. Ripken was thinking during his life and the content of the book I find myself relating it to Psychology. You can see how Ripken developed into a player from his point of view and how he handled himself mentally. You can see how he his family, mostly his dad has influenced him throughout his younger days and all the way through his professional career. By reading of what his mind interpreted and the sights and sounds of the way he perceived things made this a highly psychological book. You can almost analyze Ripken by reading through the book and seeing first hand what he was thinking and personal details to what he thought was important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The thesis of the book lies directly in the title. I remember reading through the whole book, wondering what the whole purpose in writing, or what was the motivation for the book other that to better understand the consecutive game streak that Ripken now holds. Doing the only thing that I know how to do. This simple statement is the thesis of the book. At first this is hard to believe, but the whole book describes it perfectly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While growing up Ripken only two things: baseball and traveling. Hard work and games were part of his life. Ripken learns at an early age that he is not rich, not specifically talented, but a hard worker. He takes this attitude and applies it to baseball, following the example of his father. The simple for reason, which is also the thesis, is because this is the only way that he knew how.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The treatment that Ripken gets is a very familiar one. He is the oldest of four children, so this automatically put him in leadership role. This derives from his father being gone so often playing in the extensive list of minor leagues that Cal Ripken Sr. played up and down the East Coast. Since his father was away many times, this put Jr.

Daniel Orozco’s “Orientation”

The new employee is unimportant in Daniel Orozco’s â€Å"Orientation† The short story â€Å"Orientation† by Daniel Orozco is a unique story. Orozco never introduces the narrator or the audience. The story appears to be, just as the title specifies, an orientation for a person entering a new job. The story, however, delves deep into the lives of several employees throughout the story. The lives of these employees and their interactions become the most important part of Orozco’s work and the main character that is being spoken to becomes an unimportant observer in an intricate atmosphere. The story is told in the first person voice.The narrator is talking to one particular person; He refers to this character in the second person voice. â€Å"This is your phone. † The narrator is talking directly to the new employee, the main character. The main character never speaks. It is implied that dialogue exists. â€Å"That was a good question. Feel free to as k questions. † The narrator has acknowledged that the listener has asked a question. The reader never actually sees the question that the listener asks, though. Instead, the narrator rephrases the listener’s question and repeats it back to him. By having the narrator do this, Orozco makes the listener less important.His/her dialogue is not even important enough to include in the text and must be repeated by the narrator in order to be included in the story. However, contradictory to the listener’s seemed unimportance, the narrator urges the listener to ask more questions. The specific job that the listener is being oriented to is not important to the story, either. The setting is a generic office atmosphere. â€Å"These are the offices and these are the cubicles. † By using this stereotypical and conventional setting, Orozco makes the things that happen to individual employees even more outrageous.The outrageous events create a contrasting tone. The typica l office orientation situation is invaded by shocking situations such as Amanda Pierce’s. Pierce’s husband â€Å"subjects her to an escalating array of painful and humiliating sex games. † Describing very personal aspects of an employee’s life creates a very uncomfortable feeling in this situation. This type of information is not supposed to be talked about in an office setting. Adding to the inappropriateness of the information, this could very well be the first meeting between the narrator and the listener.It is highly unusual to speak of sexual escapades in a business setting alone, and it could be very embarrassing to either party. Because it is possible that this is the first meeting between the narrator and the listener, the narrator does not know how comfortable the listener will be with the information, and is risking embarrassing the listener by divulging it. The narrator keeps a professional air about him, which makes the information that he is giving seem very important. The narrator makes no sexual comments about Pierce’s situation; he merely states what her husband does to her.The narrator also speaks frankly of what the listener can and cannot do â€Å"There are no personal phone calls allowed. † The narrator goes on to tell the consequences of doing something that is prohibited. â€Å"If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go. † This straightforward method of speaking also creates a professional feeling, which adds to the contrast in the story between the professional feeling and the uncomfortable, mysterious feeling. The blunt detail used by the narrator adds to the uncomfortable, painful sense of the work environment. â€Å"Anika Bloom’s left palm began to bleed.She fell into a trance, stared into her hand, and told Barry Hacker when and how his wife would die. † The details make the employees’ lives seem surreal. The reader is told that Anika Blo om’s palm begins to bleed, but the reason for the blood is not given. The blood is the only important detail because it signifies pain and suffering. Other words such as â€Å"fell† and â€Å"stare† create a distanced, unstable feeling. Even more disturbing is the line that signifies when someone will die. Orozco painfully jolts the reader back to reality, the office setting, no matter how disturbing the described experiences of an employee have been.This is evident in the passage about Kevin Howard, the serial killer. The carnage inflicted is precise: the angle and direction of the incisions; the layering of skin and muscle tissue; the rearrangement of the visceral organs; and so on. Kevin Howard does not let any of this interfere with his work. He is, in fact, our fastest typist. The disturbing description of the serial killer is recited without any waver whatsoever away from the intent only to divulge information. The narrator makes no personal comment and ex presses no opinion about Howard.After the narrator has given the information to the listener, the narrator leads the train of thought right back to the work environment. The idea of a horrible mass murderer is interrupted by his typing ability. This continued contrast now goes past unstable and borders on psychotic. The far-fetched is made believable only because of the narrator’s complete professional facade. By itself, speaking of a mass murderer’s typing ability does seem psychotic, but the narrator has so completely described every aspect of the listener’s new surroundings that any individual part of the surrounding does not seem overly important.The characters are merely present and described as they are. This description does not affect any character, so there is no real action to be deemed unusual, unstable, or psychotic. The description is the only important part of the story. Orozco uses both a professional tone and a dark, uncomfortable-feeling descrip tion to create a highly contrasting reality between the work setting and each character’s personal life.

Human Resource Outsourcing in India Essay

This article attempts to discuss HRO in Indian context and the possible future of HRO in the Indian business scenario. Certain preparatory actions are also prescribed to effectively used HRO as a strategic business tool. HRO – HRM Architecture: Today, as we have moved into service – economy, dealing with knowledge and knowledge workers is very important as human capital has become a critical success factor for organizations. HRM is seen as a distinct identity, separate from Administration and Facilities section of the establishment. This can be clearly seen from the importance being given to HRM Architecture. In addition to the traditional roles for HR, over the years, in the IT and ITes sectors, distinct roles have emerged such as corporate HR, business HR, generalist HR, techno – functional HR, etc. The job holders in these roles are expected to give different â€Å"deliverables† as related to their functional aspects. It is pertinent to note that a 1998 survey by center for effective organization at university of southern California’s Marshal School of business shown that 79% of HRM managers describe themselves as â€Å"business partners† and 53% of line managers agreed that HR managers are now performing the roles of business partners. Thus, today HRM is getting well embodied into business functions such as marketing, finance or operations. This can be, in a way, considered as a starting point of HRO, because, from this, emerges the need for HR function to work smart for business results – whether by doing functions and activities all on their own, or by getting some of them done through outsourcing. Additionally, it also puts pressure on HR function to find â€Å"partners† who can â€Å"take over† specific transactions and processes at a lower cost. In this way, HR will get focused on â€Å"tangible† results (which was one of the complains against HR in the past). Thus, to some extent, it will help free up time for core-HR activities that result in improvements which positively influence the bottom line. A word of caution though that it may not â€Å"free up† time, and should not free up too much time. After all, HR is essentially a personal touch button of the organization and too much outsourcing might result in lack of personal touch and decreased human interaction which may frustrate the employees. HRO Evolution: HRO is always an evolutionary exercise for the organization. Initially, companies are reluctant to outsource, they prefer to do every act in the own backyard. As the organization grows in terms of its life cycle, slowly, â€Å"experimentation† phase will begin when they start outsourcing certain simple transactions or processes. Sometimes, they may even take a parallel run with the vendor. When the experience is positive and as they make progress, companies may make decisions to penetrate further into the HRO space. According to Everest Research institute’s annual HRO study, the most commonly outsourced HR functions include: †¢Pay roll †¢Benefits †¢Employee data management †¢Info systems †¢Contact centers. As the companies find that there are substantial benefits from outsourcing, they feel attracted to go in for deeper penetration. Thus, it is possible to categorize companies adopting different levels of HRO in their organization. (See Table 1) Table 1 LevelActivities OutsourcedType of HROBenefits 1Admin services, pay – roll, pension, PF mgt. , etc, temporary staffingTransactionCost efficiency 2L1 + training, new employee induction and executive searchProcess†¢Standardization †¢Cost †¢Replication of good practices 3L1 + L2 + campus hiring, online assessments, HR audits, employee surveys etc. Function†¢Quality †¢Cost, benchmarking etc. HRO in Indian Business The debate on HRO in India still hovers around the following questions: ‘Has HRO really arrived in India? ’ ‘Are we missing the HR outsourcing bus? ’ ‘Should companies outsource their HR functions? ’ We also seem to be aware that â€Å"The New Mantra is HR Outsourcing† In this maze of debates and arguments, some facts need to be cleared. â€Å"HR outsourcing in India has not seen the required momentum and is limited to trickle effect, with companies outsourcing a few selected, low end HR processes† – Says Anil Mahajan in an interview for an article on HRM. In India, most common outsource processes are related to training, pay – roll processing, benchmarks studies and legal compliance. Some HR consultants feel that in Indian HRO scene, quality is an issue. It is reported that some MNC’s wanted to outsource end to end HR solutions, but could find a suitable vendor and hence decided to set up its own outsourcing centre. While many experts in the field believe that there is a good scope for HRO in India, it is a fact that our present share in the global market of US $ 80 bn. is only a minuscule. Estimates show that size of HR outsourcing in India is about US $ 2. 5 – 3. 5 bn. But another study shows flat markets in HRO world wide between 2005 – 2007 but 2008 promises to be different! In the flat world of today, as India becomes more and more global in business and economy it will be a compelling need for companies to resort to outsourcing in the interest of survival and growth. Thus, even though, as of now, HRO in India has not caught up sufficiently time is right for making rapid strides to catch up and make best use of the opportunities presented by the wave of HR outsourcing. HRO as Double – edged Weapon: In India, we are fortunate to have the double advantage of HRO as we all know, HRO operates in an environment where there are abundant takers and abundant givers. HRO activities have two edges – one as the service provider and another as a client who is outsourcing the process / transaction. At present many Indian companies are acting as service providers as a natural step, India with its vast millions of English speaking, trainable youth who are willing to learn and serve clients as and idle platform to take on the HRO wave. Thus, India may finally become the outsourcing centre for HR services. The growth in the HRO itself may trigger further developments. Any HRO companies may, in turn, begin to outsource some of their process to another service provider. Thus, a virtuous HRO business cycle may get activated. After all, â€Å"We Are All in Services Now† (Prof. James Teboul). According to him, the process, people and credibility are 3 key elements in the making of value proposition. People interaction may place a sort of limitation on HRO spreading without a human face! The basic tenet of HR philosophy should be that HRO must be implemented with utmost regard to â€Å"Human face† of activities being outsourced. This is because of the uniqueness of the HR issues. There cannot be a straightjacket solution for all human issues hence human interaction element needs to be always kept in mind and given a priority. We need to get over certain drawbacks as a community of employers in order to benefit from the HRO wave. If we have to shape up, good future we need to know aht we should to and what we should not so that our progress is never stalled. Hence, it is necessary to appreciate the barriers identified for the spread of HRO in our country. The following are some of the barriers identified in literature on the subject: †¢Cultural shift and top management thinking †¢Confidentiality and cost factors †¢Lack of awareness on cost-to-benefit equation of HRO †¢Quality of end results. A word or two about each of these barriers will clear the aspect. Cultural shift requires us to trust and be trusted. The two parties’ involved, namely service provider and client, need to trust each other not only about confidentiality but also about the capability to delay it. Many employers and top management feel that it is better to have own HR persons dealing with all the issues instead of outsourcing. Reasons may be many for such outlook, but there is a need to change in order to think professionally and ethically. If we can trust an advocate or a doctor or the tax consultant, why not HR service provider? Confidentiality and cost factors relate to the ability of HR service provider to handle information professionally and confidentially. Ethics both personal and corporate – play a great role. If we think proper work ethics can be created through good leadership, we need to develop and nurture such leaders appropriately. Lack of awareness among persons about cost / benefit equation needs to be overcome by education right from the top level to look at HRO as a hard core business option and to quantify the benefits correctly. Lastly, quality issues need to be addressed again through building a quality culture by following the total quality management (TQM) practices. Internal and external customer orientation among all and education and training for all on TQ practices and bring about improvement in quality. The Indian experience of TQM is quite satisfactory in this regard and there is a bright chance of success for improving the quality aspects of HRO. Preparatory Activities: While is it necessary to be clear about changes that we need to make on an individual or a company basis, it is equally important to focus on the preparations needed by us a community of service economy. For any service economy to grow, especially in the network era of today, there is a need for adequate preparation so that ultimately, the environment of business responds favorably to the needs of the market. In this regard, certain preparatory activities have to be undertaken immediately. The various activities for this purpose can be broadly classified as: †¢Infrastructural †¢Educational †¢Business/ operational †¢Social Under each of these, there are various elements that have to be taken under consideration. The following matrix will show these points clearly. As most of these items are self explanatory in nature, a detailed description of individual items is not done in this article. However, it has to be emphasized that these sub elements are very important contributions to the climate of HRO in a microeconomic sense. The elements given in the matrix are only illustrative and are not exhaustive. Preparatory activities needed for HRO Infrastructural / Technical †¢Telecommunications and network accessibility †¢Roads †¢TransportEducational – Training Related †¢Curriculum in colleges †¢HRO training centers †¢E – Learning transactions / process Counseling centers Business Related †¢Performance parameters †¢Quality measures †¢Feedback †¢Relationships / Cultural sensitivitySocial †¢Quality of the work – Life balance †¢Stress management †¢Time management †¢Security at workplace Conclusion: In conclusion, it may be said that HRO is going to slowly but stead ily become a part of business strategy. HR professionals will drive the initiatives of HRO, of course with support from top management. The time is now ripe for HRO to succeed in view of HRM being seen and treated as an important element of business resources in the service economy of today. Certain new roles have emerged which confirm this position. Though the Indian share of the revenue pie today is very small, there is a very good possibility of our riding high on the HRO wave that is round the corner. As a community, it is necessary to identify barriers and identify the changes or adjustments we need to make as individuals and companies. As HRO operates as a subset of BPO and overall business environment, certain preparatory steps need to be taken as a community in general. With all this, it is possible to ride high on HRO wave in the next few years.

Land form Pattern and Processes essays

Land form Pattern and Processes essays Chapter 1 Land form Patterns and Processes 2. List the zones of the earth. For each zone state the thickness, and two features of each. (A) Inner Core: 2700 km, solid and made mostly of iron with lesser amounts of nickle. (B) Outer Core: 2300 km, molten and made mostly of iron and nickle (C) Mantle: 2900 km, divided into lower and upper levels, the asthenosphere is in plastic state, sometimes acting like a liquid (D) Mohorovicic Discontinuity: -, Boundary between mantle and lithosphere, at which earthquake waves abruptly change speeds. (E) Lithosphere 1-100 km, lowest density, solid and rigid, and can be divided into layers one under the ocean basins and one making up continents. 3. (A) What are the two main materials that make up the lithosphere? The two main materials that make up the earths lithosphere are aluminum and magnesium. Minerals are the combination of elements. 3. (C) What are the two most common elements in minerals? The two most common elements in minerals are oxygen and silicon. 4. What is the difference between igneous and sedimentary rock? Igneous: rock forms when molten substance underneath the surface, called magma or lava cools down and crystallizes. Sedimentary: Forms when groups of rock pieces merge and cement together. Metamorphic: referring to the change in a rock from its original from by heat or by pressure beneath the earths surface. Metamorphic rock is a rock thus changed. Topography: the natural and human features of the earths surface. 7. (A) What are the two types of flat regions? The two types of flat regions are plains and plateaus. Plains: is frequently found along the coastal areas or at lower elevations. Plateaus: are another type of flat region unlike plains, they have been raised upward into higher elevations by movement of earths crust. 8. What is the difference between a hill and a mountain? The difference between a hill a...

About That Mysterious Astronomical Clock in Prague

About That Mysterious Astronomical Clock in Prague Tick tock, whats the oldest clock? The idea of decorating buildings with a timepiece goes back a long way, says Dr. Jià ¸Ãƒ ­ (Jiri) Podolskà ½, from Charles University in Prague. The square, lion-flanked tower in Padua, Italy was built in 1344. The original Strasbourg clock, with angels, hour glasses, and crowing roosters, was built in 1354. But, if youre looking for a highly ornamental, astronomical clock with its original workings intact, Dr. Podolskà ½ says this: Go to Prague. Prague: Home to the Astronomical Clock Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, is a crazy quilt of architectural styles. Gothic cathedrals soar over Romanesque churches. Art Nouveau facades nestle alongside Cubist buildings. And, in every part of the city are clock towers. The oldest and most celebrated clock is on the side wall of the Old Town Hall in Old Town Square. With glittering hands and a complex series of filigreed wheels, this ornamental timepiece doesnt merely mark the hours of a 24-hour day. Symbols of the zodiac tell the course of the heavens. When the bell tolls, windows fly open and mechanical apostles, skeletons, and sinners begin a ritualistic dance of destiny. The irony of the Prague Astronomical Clock is that for all its mastery at keeping time, it is nearly impossible to place in time. Chronology of the Prague Clock Dr. Podolskà ½ believes the original clock tower in Prague was built in about 1410. The original tower was no doubt modeled after  ecclesiastical bell towers that were sweeping the continents architecture. The complexity of gears would have been very high-technology back in the early 15th century.   It was a simple, unadorned structure back then, and the clock showed only astronomical data. Later, in 1490, the tower facade was decorated with flamboyant Gothic sculptures and a golden astronomical dial. Then, in the 1600s, came the mechanical figure of Death, leering and tolling the great bell. The mid-1800s brought still more additions- wooden carvings of the twelve apostles and a calendar disk with astrological signs. Todays clock is thought to be the only one on earth to keep sidereal time in addition to our regular time- thats the difference between a sidereal and lunar month. Stories About Pragues Clock Everything in Prague has a story, and so it is with the Old Town clock. Natives claim that when the mechanical figures were created, town officials had the clockmaker blinded so that he would never duplicate his masterpiece. In vengeance, the blind man climbed the tower and stopped his creation. The clock remained silent for more than fifty years. Centuries later, during dreary decades of communist domination, the legend of the blinded clockmaker became a metaphor for thwarted creativity. At least thats the way the story goes. When Clocks Become Architecture Why do we turn timepieces into architectural monuments? Perhaps, as Dr. Podolskà ½ suggests, builders of early clock towers wanted to show their respect for the heavenly order. Or, perhaps the idea runs even deeper. Was there ever an era when humans didnt build great structures to mark the passage of time? Just look at the ancient Stonehenge in Great Britain. Now thats an old clock! Source: Prague Astronomical Clock  © J.Podolsky, 30 Dec 1997, at http://utf.mff.cuni.cz/mac/Relativity/orloj.htm [accessed November 23, 2003]

LEFEBVRE Surname Meaning and Family History

LEFEBVRE Surname Meaning and Family History A derivation of the French occupational name Fevre, which described an iron-worker or smith, Lefebvre derives from the Old French fevre, meaning craftsman. Similar French surnames include Fabre, Faivre, Faure, and Lefà ¨vre. Lefebvre  is the French equivalent of the English surname SMITH. Surname Origin: French Alternate Surname Spellings:  LEFEBVRES, LEFEVRES, FAVRES, FEBVRE, FEBVRES, FAVRE, LEFABRE, LEFABRES, LEFEVRE, LEFEUVRE, LEFEUBRE, FABER, LEFEBURE   Famous People with the LEFEBVRESurname Henri Lefebvre  - French Marxist philosopher and sociologistMarcel Franà §ois Marie Joseph  Lefebvre -  French Roman Catholic archbishopJames Kenneth Jim Lefebvre  - former MLB baseball player, manager and coach; television actorArthur Henry Lefebvre - British scientist and engineerRenà © Lefebvre - French factory owner; active in the French resistanceFranà §ois Joseph Lefebvre  - French marshal during the Napoleonic wars Where is the LEFEBVRESurname Most Common? According to surname distribution from Forebears, Lefebvre is one of the most common surnames in France, ranking as the 17th most frequently used surname in the country. It is also fairly common in other countries with at least a partial French-speaking population, including Canada, New Caledonia and Belgium. WorldNames PublicProfiler  tells us that Lefebvre is found  most commonly throughout northern France, especially in the departments of Eure, Seine-Maritime, Somme, Pas-de-Calais and Nord.   Genealogy Resources for the Surname LEFEBVRE Meanings of Common French SurnamesUncover the meaning of your French last name with this free guide to the meanings and origins of common French surnames. How to Research French AncestryIf you are one of those people who have avoided delving into your French ancestry due to fears that the research would be too difficult, then wait no more! France is a country with excellent genealogical records, and it is very likely that you will be able to trace your French roots back several generations once you understand how and where the records are kept. Lefebvre  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Lefebvre  family crest or coat of arms for the Lefebvre surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. LEFEBVRE  Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Lefebvre  ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - LEFEBVRE  GenealogyExplore over 500,000 results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Lefebvre  surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LEFEBVRE  Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Lefebvre  surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - LEFEBVRE  Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Lefebvre. GeneaNet - Lefebvre  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Lefebvre  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Lefebvre  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Lefebvre  surname from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back toGlossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Energizing Red Bull Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Energizing Red Bull - Essay Example This essay discusses that the â€Å"Red Bull – The Anti-Brand Brand† case showcases the strategic and global growth of energy drink, Red Bull. Discovered in Asia by Dietrich Mateschitz as a drink to boost factory productivity in 1982, the drink became a household name by 2003 with sales in more than 100 markets and a market share of 70%. Being a pioneer in energy drinks segment, Red Bull is an innovative product that tactically filled a gap in the market that only had coffee or natural juices as alternative options for energy. Red Bull, a compund mixture of taurine, caffeine and glucuronolactone, claimed to boost metabolism, improve performance, increase concentration and reaction speed, and increased endurance. Red Bull attained operational excellence by having decentralized sales and distribution channels, making sure that the product was accessible and available at all times. The brand created high barriers to entry by making sure there were â€Å"exclusive† p artnerships with strong distributors. The sales teams helped generate an aura of â€Å"exclusivity† by handpicking initial distributors and deliberate limiting of the supply. As expected in any industry, a growing market always attracts competition. In 2004, Red Bull faced intense competition from giant brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi who were developing their â€Å"health drinks† business and from private lables across the market. Currently, the top competition for Red Bull is from Monster, Pepsi and Suntory. It is seen from recent reports that the market share of Red Bull slipped to 40% in 2010. (Privo, 2010). The following write-up describes the marketing & communication strategies that Red Bull shouls adapt in order to rebrand its image and increase its sales to fight competition. Media Strategy Adopted by Red Bull in the case Key Customers & Customer segments The key customers for Red Bull were Generation Y-ers (18-29 year olds) who were the main consumers of à ¢â‚¬Å"extra energy† projects. Previously, these customers looked out for products (sometimes illegal) such as alchohol to provide them the extra thrill in their lives. Within the young adults customer group, Red Bull segmented them further to customize their promotional activities with respect to their needs. These segments are: Club-goers: All party-loving people who love a vibrant nightlife, like to dance and drink. These customers were the major consumers of thrilling vodka-red bull mix. Outdoors enthusiasts (Skiers, Skate-boarders): Outdoors enthusiasts such as skiers, snowboarders wanted Red bull to keep their energy levels high during their expeditions. Extreme Sports & Action games lovers: Lovers of extreme sports and action games such as racecar, bike racing and skydiving etc. also consumed Red Bull with zest. Hardcire Music fans: Music fans that regularly attend music festivals, rock concerts and other music gatherings were also users of energy drinks as Red Bull. Stu dents: Students who needed extra energy during their exams and university classes were another segment of Red Bull consumers. Product Positioning The manufacturers of Red Bull created an innovative niche for itself by positioning the product as a different, cool and rebellious product, which is available at a premium. Dietrich Mateschitz deliberately separated Red Bull from carbonated drinks (soda), juices or coffee. (Joyner, 2011). Key Messages & Brand Positioning The brand positioning and key messagers were derived from out of the product benefits and after-effects: Red Bull vitalizes body and mind. This key message became the nucleus of all promotional activities surrounding Red Bull with brand attributes as innovative, rebelling, self ironic, intelligent, nonconformist, self-confidence, mysterious, witty, charming, polarising and unpredictable. Red Bull’

Writing assingnment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing assingnment - Research Paper Example Utility maximization is a process or goal of obtaining the maximum utility from the consumption of goods and services on the basis of rational behaviour of human beings. The utility maximization is associated with the theory of decision making. Utility is an economic term which is defined as satisfaction received by individuals from the consumption of goods and services. â€Å"In 1957, Simon proposed the notion of Bounded Rationality as that property of an agent that behaves in a manner that is nearly optimal with respect to its goals as its resources will allow† (Bounded Rationality: A Response to Rational Analysis, n.d). A search refers to a psychological process related to instinct of a person which helps him to find solution for a problem. The searches can be of different types like search for job, search for home, and search for other aspects of professional and personal life of human. The decision outcome of an individual is affected by his search as the decision made depends on the search process. Decision making is considered as a major activity in any organization. Decision making is important in any activity of an organization as it helps to choose the best course of action in carrying out any task, helps to find solution to any problem or to solve conflict within an organization. If a needle to sew a jean is of 4 inch and is along with other 1000 needles of different size in a haystack, then it will take more time in seeking the needle. So a satisficer would stop looking as soon as a needle is found which can sew the jeans. Every individual satisfice in their life during those situations when time is limited. â€Å"Congressional budget decision-making in the U.S., where the usual questions considered about a given (existing) agency might typically range from whether to cut 4 or 5 percent from its budget to whether to tack on a 5 or 10% increase. Congress very seldom stops to think seriously

What Drives Chinese Into Buying Luxury Goods in the 21st Century Essay

What Drives Chinese Into Buying Luxury Goods in the 21st Century - Essay Example Chinese consumers buy the products within China and also from other countries as tourists. A rapidly growing upper and middle class are seen as bent on enhancing their individuality by buying luxury goods, according to a report from McKinsey&Co (2011). China has been reported to have already overtaken the United States and Japan in terms of luxury items purchases (Vickers & Renand, 2003). China has worked hard to achieve economic prosperity, producing current generations of millionaires. Accordingly, this generation has been spending a large amount in the luxury market day by day and Chinese are becoming more dynamic and active buyers in the market (Lu, 2012). China has emerged as the biggest purchaser of luxury goods in the world market. Chinese consumers are showing considerable interest in buying luxury goods these days, and this has not been left unnoticed by the global luxury market (Frank, 2013). The United States, Japan, and Europe, who have been the top consumers of luxury goods, are indeed quite surprised with the growing appetite of Chinese for luxury items. Nearly all Chinese visiting Paris have bought expensive bags without looking at its price tags. They are also buying other luxury items like goggles, cars, shoes, and many others. Luxury goods refer to all those branded products unreachable by ordinary people. The rich and senior citizens comprise the bulk of overseas luxury buyers and item collectors. To them, luxury items are products of cultural essence, and obtaining them means owning a piece of culture. There are three groups in China buying luxury goods: those who are considered as spectacularly rich, the young urban professionals and people who want to gain some sense of satisfaction, and some shady characters composed of blackmailers or illegal groups who have smuggled luxurious goods into the country. China’s growing

Microeconomic Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microeconomic Principles - Essay Example Private property exists in the free market economy, while there is no existence of private property in the command economy. Free markets promote important virtues and they, however are treated with less attention. Free markets promote integrity and cooperative values. A free market system has its reliance on property rights and provides the best possible opportunities for repeat exchange. The social market economy is a type of free market based economy, which is based on a free price system and private property. This also includes government regulation, which promotes competitive markets. But social inequalities or inequalities with respect to income are results of free market economies or free market price systems. Private property is completely different from personal property, because private property is considered as a means of production unlike personal property. â€Å"In addition, the free market performs a constant process of selection with respect to the ownership of capital † (Reisman 8). Another virtue of the free market price system is that this type of price system penalizes people for making irrational choices, especially with respect to financial loss. 2) President Barrack Obama has provided a number of speeches with respect to international trade.... Obama in his various speeches on international trade also said about various policies relating to various countries like, US should tighten its trade sanctions with Zimbabwe and how it should develop measures to increase trade with India. To shorten, Obama has released a number of speeches with respect to international trade. 3) Economists are critical of price floors and price ceilings. A price ceiling is the upper limit of the price of a commodity above which no seller can raise a price. Price ceilings are usually set below the market price of a product. Price floors are completely opposite to price ceiling. Price floor is the minimum price for a product and this is done to benefit the sellers. Both these measures are done in order to have a control over the price of products. Economist are critical of both price floors and price ceilings because somehow they viewpoint that these prices should be established through market equilibrium only. 4) A wage is compensation, typically fina ncial, received by employees in exchange for their work. Compensation in conditions of wages is specified to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees. Compensation is an economic benefit given to workers in return for the services given by them. The labor supply largely resolved by population development and migration; i.e. as labor supply increases, population development increases. Labor demand mostly determined by the growth and size of the financial system, in terms of more economic development, more business actions, more jobs formed. The wages are mainly of two types, they are Market-determined or equilibrium wage and Government-mandated minimum wage. Market-determined wage means the level of

Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication Essay

Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication - Essay Example Based on the movie presented, there were two identified sources of conflict. One of these conflicts is the people-focused conflicts and the other one is the informational deficiencies. People-focused conflicts were based on emotions and feelings and present an argument by means of personal attack (Hammond, 2011, n.p.). People-focused conflict was demonstrated on the film when Sarah attacked the personal integrity of Hitch as a date doctor, seeing Hitch’s job as a scam. People-focused conflict does not only center on the main characters since it is a movie dealing with emotions. In fact, people-focused conflicts were also observed on Albert’s confrontation with Hitch telling him that love was not Hitch’s life but his job; on Sarah’s best friend attacking the integrity of the unknown date doctor; on a newspaper vendor judging Albert as Allegra’s boyfriend; and on people in the story who judged Hitch’s personality. Actually, the movie projected a predominantly people-focused conflict against the main actor, making him the person to blame for all of the related conflicts.  On the other hand, informational deficiencies such as misinterpretation from different conclusions were observed. This was demonstrated on judging Hitch unfairly as a date doctor. His viewpoints about his work have been different from the understanding of society and interpersonal conflict arises because of misunderstanding.Effective Handling of Conflict  

Organisational Behaviour and Its Practical Relevance Essay

Organisational Behaviour and Its Practical Relevance - Essay Example Globalization, liberalization and privatization have caused immense changes in the business sector and organizations forced to change their behaviour and strategies in accordance with the demands of the modern world. Outsourcing and offshoring like business strategies were established in the current business world even though such strategies were not there even in the distant dreams of the business Gurus, a couple of decades before. Motivational theories and human resource management principles also undergone drastic changes because of the huge diversification and internationalization of business happened in the present century. This paper discusses the current organizational behaviour in general and the topics such as motivation, diversity and psychological contract etc in particular to learn more about the current trends in organizational behaviour. It is crucial for the development of an organization to develop and maintain a motivated team of professionals. The psychological and sociological theories of human life have undergone drastic changes because of the rapid changes in life philosophies and life styles. Most of the traditional theories with respect to motivation has been changed a lot in order to accommodate new things suitable for the needs of the modern generation. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational theories were developed as part of the modification process of the organizational behaviour.

Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication Essay

Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication - Essay Example Based on the movie presented, there were two identified sources of conflict. One of these conflicts is the people-focused conflicts and the other one is the informational deficiencies. People-focused conflicts were based on emotions and feelings and present an argument by means of personal attack (Hammond, 2011, n.p.). People-focused conflict was demonstrated on the film when Sarah attacked the personal integrity of Hitch as a date doctor, seeing Hitch’s job as a scam. People-focused conflict does not only center on the main characters since it is a movie dealing with emotions. In fact, people-focused conflicts were also observed on Albert’s confrontation with Hitch telling him that love was not Hitch’s life but his job; on Sarah’s best friend attacking the integrity of the unknown date doctor; on a newspaper vendor judging Albert as Allegra’s boyfriend; and on people in the story who judged Hitch’s personality. Actually, the movie projected a predominantly people-focused conflict against the main actor, making him the person to blame for all of the related conflicts.  On the other hand, informational deficiencies such as misinterpretation from different conclusions were observed. This was demonstrated on judging Hitch unfairly as a date doctor. His viewpoints about his work have been different from the understanding of society and interpersonal conflict arises because of misunderstanding.Effective Handling of Conflict  

Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Assessment - Essay Example The reliability of a subjective test is determined by the degree of its correctness and consistency in providing information regarding the examinee. A reliable test should yield identical results when run multiple times or when used with the same group of students because it is constant in its procedures and criteria. Reliable test results are stable and consistent (McMillan, 2008; Atherton, 2011). Validity is the ability of a test to measure the intended objective. The three types of validity are content, criterion and construct validity. Content validity is achieved if the content of the test matches the intended objectives. Criterion validity is determined by the capability of the test to relate to other external factors. Construct validity considers educational variables while predicting the test results (McMillan, 2008).An example of an objective test is: The reliability of a subjective test can be measured by giving the same test more than once or giving creating two forms of the same test with slight variations. The reliability of such test is measured by calculating the correlation of the consistency. Internal consistency is determined by correlating a half of the assessment with the remaining half. Reliability consistence ranges from 0 to 1.0 with 0 representing absence of reliability while 1 depicts perfect reliability. Test with a reliability coefficient of above 0.8 are considered to be standard while those with a coefficient below 0.5 are considered to be less reliable. Validity is measured by establishing if the test meets or measures the intended objective (McMillan, 2008; Atherton, 2011). Determining the reliability and validity of a test is important since it help in establishing accuracy of the grade obtained using such a test, if a test is valid and reliable the results obtained are considered a true depiction of the students’ level of understanding Formative assessment is used by the teachers or lecturers to obtain

Buying My First Car Essay Example for Free

Buying My First Car Essay A Bit of Memoir We rounded the corner and there it was, the stout, perfect looking black Jeep Cherokee that my dad and I had just driven and hour to look at. It looked like every other one that I had seen in pictures, but there was the feeling that this one could possibly be mine. The week before, I had been furiously searching Craigslist and Jeep Forum classifieds looking for a Jeep, particularly a Cherokee with low miles, little to no rust, and the right price, between the years 1997 and 1999. With the tight guidelines that I had for the car, it made it hard to find one. However, acquiring a Cherokee was only the first part; I had many plans once I had one of my own, plans to lift it and put some big mud tires on it, along with some other jeep essentials. My friend had his lifted Cherokee for a few months, and I had wanted one just like it for quite a while. After calling up multiple private sellers and used car dealerships, I had found one not far from me. A used car dealership had three Cherokees, all with low miles, and relatively fair prices. My dad and I decided to go check them out, with the hopes of being able to talk the salesman down a few hundred dollars. After driving a half hour or so, we arrive at the dealership, and there, parked in the front three spots were the jeeps. We made our way over and I was instantly checking them all out, making sure that I kept my cool. The salesman comes out, a big guy who looks like he could be on steroids, and he and my dad started talking. Instantly, like any used car salesman, he goes right into telling us about how awesome these Jeeps are, that they’re in perfect condition. We had narrowed down the three jeeps to one, and naturally we wanted to take it to a local mechanic. Most people would have no problem with this, but this guy did. After he refused to let us take it to our mechanic, we were turned off. In addition, he had given us a price on the phone, and then he told us a higher price when we were there talk ing face to face. At that point we were out of there. I was truly upset; I had mgotten my hopes up that I would be driving one of those Jeeps home. My dad told me not to be upset, and that we would find another one that same day. Still at the dealership, we were still sitting in our parked car; both of us on our iPhones looking up classifieds near our area. I find one that looks good, and it’s only a ferry ride away. This one was from a private seller and she had just listed it up that morning, so my dad called her up immediately. We told her we could come to see it that day, and she agreed. We raced to catch the next ferry, which we barely made. Driving off the ferry ramp, we headed to the address the lady gave us. We ended up in a somewhat rough neighborhood, but we decided we came too far to turn around because of some Mexicans with baggy shorts down to their ankles and flat brim hats. We finally got there, and there it is, sitting on the side of the road outside a small conventional house. The lady walked out her front door, and I was already looking under the jeep and checking it out. Everything is checking out, the miles were low, there were very little signs of rust, and I was getting excited. Eventually I was behind the wheel and out for a test drive. The engine ran a little rough, but it was nothing I couldn’t fix on my own. So my dad and I are sitting in the car on the other side of the block, and he asks me if I want it. I, of course, said yes, and we went back and worked a price out. Even though the lady only came down from her price a mere 50 dollars, we still ended up making the deal. Finally, my own car, and the exact one I wanted. I drove it all the way home with no plates, riding on the hopes that the police weren’t out that night. It was exciting to finally be driving the car that I would call mine. I was already imagining the I remember parking it on the ferry and looking at it from the upper deck of the parking garage. I got it home and everyone came out the front door of my house as I pulled down the driveway. It seemed as if my family was more excited about it then I was, which puzzled me. I felt proud of myself for finding the Jeep and being able to bring it home the exact same day. All the weeks of searching for a car had amounted to this one day, where it all happened in a matter of hours.

Teaching Philosophy Essay -- Education Essays Papers

Teaching Philosophy I take a completely humanistic view when it comes to educating children. I believe that Maslow was correct in his belief that people genuinely strive to reach the highest level of their capabilities. I also believe that everyone can reach his/her "self-actualization" if their lower hierarchy of needs are met first. I want to focus on three things: Maslow's levels, how they affect children and educators, and what I feel is the best tool we can give our students before they head out into the world of independence. The first level of Maslow's pyramid is basic physiological needs. I know that not every child will walk into my classroom having these needs fulfilled, and for me to expect them to gain much if anything from a lesson would be foolish. I am also very aware of the fact that I, myself, have never been truly hungry. I have never gone a day without food. It is very hard to understand the hunger someone else feels when you have never experienced that all consuming thought of food firsthand. These are needs that are often believed to be the parent's responsibility and maybe they are, but I am going to try my best to be a compassionate enough person to not waste my time judging my student's parents and simply help that child fulfill his/her basic needs. The second level is the need to feel safe. This is something I truly feel I can control. A student may not feel safe at home, in his/her neighborhood, in the hallways of the school, or even on the playground, but I will do everything in my power to instill a sense of community in my classroom so that my students understand that we have to work together to make our classroom a safe haven. This isn't just for the children's sake either. I... ...r own. In essence, we help put the individuality in small individuals. Lastly, the greatest tool we can give to our children and students is the ability to be a good decision maker. The ability to make good decisions does not happen overnight. Children have to be given choices. Starting with deciding between one piece of candy and another, and then working up from there. Some people may seem to have been born with this unique gift, but in truth, people have to be taught to weigh the pros and cons of a situation before taking action. They have to practice this process routinely. Controlling one's impulsive-decision behavior and patiently working a problem through to a sound conclusion takes years of conditioning one's minds. We, as teachers and parents, have thirteen years of school to aid children in learning this important lesson. I say, "Let's get to work".

Casinos Essay -- essays research papers

Casinos Casinos have become a form of entertainment for millions of Americans. In fact, Las Vegas, considered to be the home of casino gambling, is third only to Disneyworld and New York for tourism with 260 million visitors yearly. While it is true that casinos generate billions of dollars in revenues hardly any of that makes it back to the local economy as promised by the lobbyists to have casinos built in a city. Effects on local economies include construction jobs are created as well as hospitality jobs within the casino. While it is true jobs are created though usually they go to people outside the communities. The lobbyists for these huge casino companies state that it will also revive a dying economy if they allow casino gambling in their cities. Contrary to this claim though, Atlantic City has the highest unemployment rate in New Jersey. They claim restaurants, movie theaters, and other local businesses will benefit when exactly the opposite is true. Who is going to eat a local resta urant when the casino is offering free meals and drinks to gamblers. By 1996, Atlantic City casinos were devoting 318 million dollars to promotional food and drinks. Also in Atlantic City, over 900 of the 2100 small businesses there closed and the number of local restaurants was reduced from 243 to 146. Richard Byron, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, describes gambling expenditures as Money Extracted From Other Consumer Spending. When casinos come into a small community such as Atlantic City or Biloxi the people living in that community start to go there for entertainment instead of movie theaters, restaurants and other places they used to go to before. In 1994, more people went to the casinos than went to major league baseball parks and more money was spent on casinos than books, albums, and theme parks. It also affects real estate values, in Atlantic city the average cost of a house dropped 24,000.00 after the casinos were built and 11,000.00 for cities close to At lantic City. The reason for this may be because of increasing crime rates. The casinos would have everyone believe there is no change in crime statistics after they come in but this is not true. The American Insurance Institute estimates that 40% of all white collar crimes have their roots in gambling. Compulsive gamblers will bet until they have nothing left: savings, family assets, person... ...age wage and exceed average wages of several other industries. Furthermore the casino gaming industry creates additional jobs in the number of domestic supplier businesses. But at what price? The state and local governments lose on this deal. Compulsive gamblers cost the state an enormous amount of money each year, and with the number of problem gamblers growing with the casinos this is a problem that will not go away. The illegal gaming market is so enormous that its profits each year, surpass that of the top 100 American corporations combining. This includes IBM, all the automotive industries, and many more. The gambling industry makes a lot of promises it knows will not be fulfilled. But, once the revenues are tasted by the local governments they can never turn back. The casinos have lobbyists in Washington as well as local levels. It’s not like the old days of bookies and craps houses, now it’s huge business. The owners of the casinos are the same owners of movi e companies as well as amusement parks, they are all just forms of entertainment to them. If people could learn to play responsibly then there really wouldn’t be much harm but when you NEED to win you have already lost.

Peer Pressure Essay

Peer pressure persuades one to do something that one does not want to do. But maybe you want to do it, and you just don’t have the courage to do it and your friends talk you into it. Peer Pressure can be good peer pressure or bad peer pressure. Bad peer pressure makes one do something that one does not want to do. One of the major problems with peer pressure is that one is forced into doing something one does not want to do. Usually, people get backed into a situation to try illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and these behaviors can become habit forming . If and when someone comes up and offers you one of these substances, it is your decision whether you want to try or continue to use these substances.. Good peer pressure, on the other hand, is being pushed into something that you didn’t have the courage to do or just didn’t cross your mind to do. It seems to me like a good thing to do. Good peer pressure can also be a situation when our friends convince us not to do something we were going to do because it wasn’t in our best interest. Some people say that good peer pressure is when you get pushed into something that you don’t want to do , but it turns out well. When we have to make these big decisions, it is important to think before deciding. We must think about whether we want to do it, think about whether you should, and finally think about the consequences. These are the important things we must do before taking any big decision. If the person advises us is not our friend, we must really consider what he wants us to do. When we think of peer pressure we always think of it in terms of â€Å"bad†. We think of peer pressure in terms of pressure to; smoke, do illicit drugs, drink alcohol, engage in criminal and quasi-criminal behaviour, do violence, join gangs, etc†¦ We rarely think of the many â€Å"good† ways that peer pressure can influence us – and neither do the parents of teens! In fact it is essential to proper social development that we do learn to â€Å"follow the crowd†. This is how we learn acceptable social norms; that is, how we are expected to act in the world in order to be good people. The difference between good peer pressure and bad peer pressure can be summed up in a simple comparison – when it is good, you are a member of the crowd; when it is bad, you are part of a mob. If peer pressure is telling you to do something without questioning why, to do something you know is wrong, or to do something you feel uncomfortable doing it is safe to say this is bad. This is the kind of behaviour that leads to a â€Å"mob mentality†, that is when the group is acting as one and no one seems to be thinking about consequences or outcome. If peer pressure is telling you to act in a generally appropriate way, to do the right thing when you may not otherwise, or to do more good than harm it is safe to say this is good. Peer pressure help you analyze yourself and contemplate on your ways of life. If you are fortunate to get a good peer group, your peers can play a vital role in the shaping of your personality. Their way of looking at life may influence you to change for betterment. Some of your peers are your close friends, who do not pressurize you to do things but rather inspire you to change yourself. Your peer group may actually persuade you to bring about a constructive change in your personality. Peer pressure can lead you to make the right choices in life. Thus peer pressure is more beneficial than harmful.

Functional Skills

Functional Skills Functional skills are qualifications in English, maths and ICT that  equip learners with the basic practical skills required in everyday life, education and the workplace. To ensure that Functional skills are assessable to all learners they are available at Entry Level 1 through to Level 2. Employers are crying out for workers with sound Functional Skills – they are essential skills that are genuinely in demand. With good Functional Skills your students will have the ability to draw on a bank of transferable skills to help them succeed in all areas of life.Functional skills where introduced due to the Wolf Report to replace the old key skills as a result of a gap in skills whichThe Secretary of State for Education commissioned Professor Alison Wolf of King’s College London to carry out an independent review of vocational education. She was asked to consider how vocational education for 14- to 19-year-olds can be improved  in order to  promote suc cessful progression into the labour market and into higher level education and training routes.She was also asked to provide practical recommendations to help inform future policy direction, taking into account current financial constraints. The review has been informed by over 400 pieces of evidence from the public, a number of visits to colleges, academies and training providers, and interviews and discussion sessions with key partners in the sector. Alison Wolf comments in FAQ’s in edexel. com that , â€Å"Functional Skills pass rates are lower than Key Skills pass rates.This is still true post-pilot, and on one level may be due to this being a new qualification. However, rather than having negative connotations, this proves that standards are higher and a more legitimate marker of quality (cross-reference Key Skills where the pass rate is almost 100%). Functional Skills are challenging, worthwhile qualifications, denoting a marker of student excellence FAQs – Func tional Skills and the Wolf Report – Edexcelwww. edexcel. comFunctional skills ran as a three year pilot scheme from Sept 2007 and was officially rolled out nationally in Sept 2010 We use basic skills on a daily basis – while driving a car, cooking, making purchases, supporting our children in schoolwork. These daily tasks may present challenges for adult literacy learners, because they incorporate skills from a variety of academic areas – when driving you must read street signs very quickly; when cooking you use measuring tools or calculate with fractions.Yet some learners may state, â€Å"I don’t read much,† or â€Å"I never use math. † Teachers can help learners make connections between what they are learning in class and every-day functional skills by the contextualization of instruction. The 3 functional skills are MATHS Functional maths is what we use every day e. g counting money, calculating shopping bills basic money management addin g these childrens dinner money ? 2. 00 per day x 5 Days a week = ? 10, measuring area etc for carpets , wallpaper, cooking we weigh and measure ingredients.ICT Functional ict is everyday uses including online banking , paying household bills , renewing car insurance , online shopping and searching for best deals , reading e mails, texting friends ENGLISH Functional English is everyday tasks such as writing a shopping list , reading the mail reading the newspaper, reading the road signs when driving, checking shopping purchases on receipts, using e mail reading and replying. holding an everyday conversation requires speaking and listening skills. The delivery of Functional Skills should be embedded into all curriculum areas by using contextualized teaching materials, In my area of Art I can incorporate and plan functional skills in sessions by †¢ Maths , in art learners regularly use ratio to mix art materials , e. g paint and water 2-1, mixing plaster of paris 3-1 measuring dim ensions for drawing patterns e. g dividing a canvas in half or into four requires an overall measurement and then divided by 2 for half or 4 for quarters and so on. English, in art learners have to read to understand e. g study of an artist , YP read a biography of the artist and pick out relevant key points and write them down, so using sentence formation , punctuation . listening is a skill , to follow instructions in art either verbally or from a list which is used in making a clay pot , or plaster mould. †¢ ICT in art , learners use ict to find images , so using a google search , also knowing their way around a website to find relevant images or information.Usually images are printed and formatted to their specifications for tasks , so printing knowledge is used also saving work to relevant files are all everyday ict skills we use in day to day life and work How functional skills are implemented and supported in my organisation We are a small education setting with up to 30 YP at any time so I think we have a thorough pathway for YP Learners are assessed when they arrive at Aycliffe before entering education by the online goal assessment which gives a clear score on maths and English ability they are broken down into separate curriculum areas e. spelling , punctuation , number sequencing, adding , subtracting so can clearly give a good assessment for extra support regarding functional skills across the curriculum The senco then highlights areas for concern and distributes Strategy sheets to teaching staff and relevant support staff these give an indication of hints and tips useful in teaching a particular identified need in a student.Provision mapping and planning sheets are used to track continual level of need and progress, In Aycliffe secure centre we also use for identified pupils a computer programme called Successmaker which is has numeracy and literacy programmes aimed at all levels this is an excellent tool to boost the attainment in functiona l skills as learners are supervised on a 1-1 basis by teaching and support staff, and Successmaker shows a clear improvement and highlights areas for extra need.In our establishment the most level of need is in reading and we use SRA reading scheme which has 4 levels and the learners are assessed and placed in appropriate groups , we also have journal reading groups which are for competent readers which concentrate on reading own material and reviewing and understanding text. We also run an individualised Life Skills Programme , through assessment YP work through a life skills programme which offers a cross curricular array of Functional / Life skills from making a bed , budgeting and shopping for a healthy meal, booking a train ticket to accessing further education in their communities.

Corporations Law

Corporations Law 1. 0 Areas of law Corporate social responsibility has long been a touchy issue for governments not Just in Australia, but around the world as well. Companies in Australia are governed by the corporation's act, which outlines the legal capacity and power of a company. The Corporations Act 2001 (Act) s AAA, defines a corporation as a separate legal entity, that includes any corporate body and unincorporated bodies that may sue, be sued or hold property in the name of an office holder appointed for that purpose.In context of corporate governance, the main issue is with the current escalation is in regards to director's duties. Under the Corporations Act 2001 (Act) asses, directors have a civil obligation to act with due care and diligence, with best interest of the corporation in mind. This civil obligation however, does not extend to certain classes of stakeholders other then shareholders. Modern day companies often have a great impact on society at large, through the various activities they conduct.Given the broad economic, environmental and social impacts they have, it is understandable that a push has been made for director's duties to extend beyond warehouses, and include stakeholders at large. The Corporations Act 2001 (Act) sass, also outlines the legal capacity and powers of a company. S 124(1) states, † a company has the legal capacity and power of an individual both in and outside this jurisdiction†. A company can also be held primarily or secondarily accountable for torts and crimes.To think of a corporation as solely an instrument of business, fails to account for social changes, which has taken place over the past century. 5 It is therefore vital that amendments be made to the Corporations Act 2001 (Act), so as to ring accountability and responsibility of corporations and directors up to date with societal change that has occurred over the past decade. 2. 0 Problems associated with the law The current law governing compani es and directors outlined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Act), only allow for calculated corporate social responsibility.According to the Corporations Act 2001 (Act) asses, directors are required to act in good faith and in the best interest of a company, and in appropriate circumstances may choose to take into consideration a range factors external to shareholders, only if they benefit the warehouses collectively. As a result, companies may be obliged to consider CARS, only when it is likely to result in positive publicity, public approval, endorsements and goodwill; investor confidence and demand; and promote a positive impact on company share prices.It is evident that the current Corporations Act 2001 (Act) limits company director's ability to adhere to CARS practices, as shareholders must receive some benefit from engaging in CARS. This can be seen through statements made by The Australian Shareholder Association pertaining to corporate donations in relation to tsunami relief eff orts, here it stated directors have no approval for philanthropy, donations should only be made in situations where they are likely to benefit the company or shareholders through greater exposure.Directors who seek to engage in CARS activities that do not directly benefit their companies or stakeholders would therefore be in breach of their director's duties outlined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Act) assess, and this is where the the Corporations Act 2001 (Act) falls short. 3. 0 Recommendations & suggestions Although there are absences of specific law regarding how companies should be socially responsible, new suggestions and recommendations may be implemented as a guideline for companies to be socially responsible.One of the suggestions is for companies to introduce triple bottom line reporting, principles of conduct and charitable contributions in their environmental record as to evaluate its responsibility performance. However, according to the s 181 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Act) directors of the company should prioritize needs of the company for proper purposes by exercising their powers and duties in good faith. Also, theAustralian government may introduce a rule that requires registered companies to participate in a policy in which each company need to design a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee that will observe every activity conducted and how will it impact those other than the shareholders, specifically the employees, suppliers, customers and also the environment. The company would then have to participate in a policy in which it is required to be publicized on its own website.Although it may be contradicting to the directors' best interest for the company, by spending an mount on volunteering programs, such as the hunger project to help extinguish famine in poor countries, it also helps the company to build a better image that in turn, could be advantageous to the directors. 4. 0 Issues of importance The push for company reporting to in clude CARS related information in annual reports is of utmost importance, given the prominence of corporate influence in today's society.The recommendation to implement triple bottom line reporting would increase the extent to which companies are taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions, in relation to corporate activities that touch on environmental or other issues of community concerned The implementation of the policy requiring companies to establish a corporate Social Responsibility Committee are also essential in the push for more CARS friendly law reforms governing Australian companies.Greater transparency in relation to social and environmental impacts of companies has been called for by community groups, given the success of corporations as vehicles for productive enterprise. The degree of accountability displayed by companies in their course of business pertaining to social and environment issues are understandably a matter of public interest, due to mode rn day companies having a large environmental and social impact on external stakeholders in the course of their activities. . 0 Foreign solutions for CARS A similar issue has been addressed in the United Kingdom in regards to the degree that the directors may take into consideration on its responsibility to other individuals besides its shareholders. As it was being evaluated by the country's Department of Trade and Industry, the issue had resulted in the establishment of the Companies Act 2006 (I-J) (companies Act') that constitutes the first codification of directors' duties.Based on the Companies Acts 172, it has been maintained that the directors are obliged to take considerations of the interests held by individuals other than the shareholders, employees, customers and also the environments 5. Nevertheless, the provision claimed that the directors are required to function in a way that the success of company can be improved, which will then prompt the directors on its duties in protecting the interest of the shareholders.Also, in India, he government has come up with the introduction to the policy of a two-percent Corporate Social Responsibility law that promotes company to be charitable by having two percent from profit earned each financial year to be spent on government-approved projects that may consist of environmental sustainability and education that are leaning towards development of the nation as a whole. Companies are liable in designing its own committee of corporate social responsibility to aid in observing, reporting and preventing any activities that may harm the society and environment.Each report is then to be disclosed in the company's website as required by the policy. 6. 0 Views on suggested reform policies In relation to the proposed reporting reforms pertaining to CARS, we are in agreement that the implementation of the suggested changes would be in the best interest of companies, their directors and wider stakeholders at large. The C orporations and Markets Advisory Committee has stated in their report that it does not support the revision of The Corporations Act 2001 (Act), in relation to the inclusion of CARS under director's duties.The proposed amendments have been seen to fail in providing directors with meaningful clarification, whilst risk obscuring the accountability of directors. It is their belief that that the most effective response to concerns arising from time to time pertaining to the environment and social impact of business behavior, is through the setting of specific legislation directed to the problem real 8. However the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee have identified a number of issues in relation to the implementation of environmental and social reporting elicits.Issues relating to discrepancies that may arise in relation to comparability, market advantage and cost have been identified. In regards to the comparability of company reports, it has been argued that additional mandator y reporting is necessary to ensure comparability of non-financial reports. Further more, it has been identified that enhanced mandatory reporting would reduce selective positive-only reporting, thereby only benefiting responsible companies by improving their standing among risk analysts.Lastly, concerns have been raised by companies in geared to costs that will have to be incurred due to additional mandatory reporting. There has been a general consensus among companies that additional mandatory reporting will be too costly, however others have argues that such additional reporting could in fact reduce costs, through the standardization of reporting requirements. Having considered these statements, we still belief that the best approach in relation to company CARS reporting, is through the introduction of separate policies which are to run concurrently with the Corporations Act 2001 (Act)

Not a license to murder Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Not a license to murder - Assignment Example serious injury in an individual’s house; in such a case, the victim is justified to use lethal force in defense without any attempt of running to safety. This volume intends to discuss whether such laws have any moral justification. The formal defense of a person uses deadly force against another and goes unpunished is a great crack in the walls of morality in the nation. Although needs deems it necessary for people to have a ground to defend their interests, misinterpretation of the defense law is very dangerous as it consequently interferes with other people’s rights to life. It is a violation of the human right to life to allow use of lethal force even in situations with means of retreat and require minimum force. For instance, if an aggressor comes to and individual home, the law justifies the victim to use deadly force in defense even when they have a chance of escape. The failure of the Florida’s state police was a sign of moral absence and served to show a great weakness in the implementation of the stand your ground legislations. The stand your ground laws are certainly permits of murder as the police failed to arrest the violator despite the aggressor failing to seek the defense of the Stand your ground law. The arrest was not initially make because of the misinformed interpretation of the self-defense law and through that made the laws a defendant of criminal

Analysing organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysing organisation - Essay Example The key insights from Meyerson & Martin (1987) indicate that organisation is a culture imbued with the collective beliefs, meanings and values of the people and not a discrete variable. The three paradigms seem to diverge and converge on certain aspects and reveal the real status of large organisations. Consider Integration paradigm that aims to bring together disparate groups of employees by creating a single encompassing structure that glues together all. However, paradigm 2 differentiation does not agree with paradigm 1 and it indicates that culture is made up of a number of conciliatory and opposing views. The third paradigm of ambiguity is aligned with paradigm 2 since it proposes that people have contradictory views in an organisation. The three insights are best represented in the following figure. The key insight from Meyerson & Martin (1987) is that out of these paradigms, one would be dominant while others serve as sub cultures. The three paradigms have diverging implications and they would tend to produce mixed results when a cultural change is needed. One factor that emerges is the quality of leadership that guides and ushers in organisational change. Meyerson & Martin (1987) conclude that the best method is to use paradigm 1, integration, since it can be used to bring various cultures under the dominant organisational culture. Yet at the same time, integration allows individuals to maintain their unique characteristics so that they agree and differ on certain view while maintaining the organisational goals and objectives. The key insights can be applied in practice by using the principles mentioned by Meyerson & Martin (1987) who used these paradigms to analyse the operations of Peace Corps in Africa. In this case, volunteers from different African nations with different and often opposing ideology came together.

Cyber Crime as opposed to Cyber warfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cyber Crime as opposed to Cyber warfare - Essay Example Nevertheless, new business and investment opportunities are created because of developments in infrastructure and modes of transportation that has enabled businesses to ensure utility of form, place and time. The use of intranet, extranets, internet and information systems across organisations have contributed significantly in growth and prosperity because it facilitates timely communication with business parties. However, the emergence of hackers and criminals that develop viruses and malwares have jeopardised the security of public and private business information and records in an organisation. The author, therefore, has decided to conduct extensive research over growing menace of cyber crimes and cyber warfare because the present 21st century is known as ‘information era’. Nonetheless, the organisations now consider greater focus on information and knowledge, which is viewed as most precious asset in today’s business environment. 1.2 – Cyber Crime and C yber Warfare: Cyber crimes refer to online frauds and internet-based crimes such as hacking email address, user accounts, stealing personal information (credit, visa and debit card pins, bio data, etc) from information systems of firms and from computers of end users, attacking computers through viruses in spam emails etc. Cyber Warfare is different from cyber crimes in a way it refers to online information war between two rival countries. Indeed, the hackers from Country A may attack government websites, information databases and networks of Country B through use of hacking tools in order to obtain clandestine information regarding foreign policy and agenda, military spending and power, diplomatic relationships and back channel diplomacy etc, economic and trade agreements etc. For instance, the main aim is to access implicit information and to destroy existing data warehouses and governmental networks to bring economic, technical and social losses to rival nation. 1.3 - Problem Sta tement Although systems and software developing IT organisations (such as Microsoft, Apple, IBM) have been striving to deal with the rising menace of cyber crime, there is dire need to develop strong anti-virus softwares to ensure information security. Nevertheless, cyber crimes (specifically viruses) do not only threaten security of software components, but also they may sabotage hardware resources, especially computer hard disks. In addition, the cyber warfare may disrupt a nation’s strategic functioning as it could damage mainframe and super computer systems used for keeping military and government records. 1.4 - Significance of Problem The issue of cyber crimes is not concerted to boundaries rather it could affect any end-user residing in any geographical region. The hackers do not target users in any specific area (or from any ethnicity, religion, cast, colour or language) but they may batter (virtually) any person for unidentified reasons. Still, the world has been seek ing appropriate solutions that could help improve their security in cyberspace. The researcher would like to argue that the probability that many nations worldwide may have Cyber Wars in future will increase, as more countries will enter cyberspace and send satellites in the orbit. 1.5 - Aims and Objectives The major aim of this research paper is to analyse the growing menace of cyber crimes from cyber terrorists and identify the weaknesses that should be overcome to avert cyber crimes. The objectives are as under: 1) To identify the

International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

International Finance - Essay Example In recent years, there has been a voluminous expansion of ‘’asset-market’’ view of exchange rates (Adolfson, 2014, p. 35). Its popularity lies in the realism of its distinguishing theoretical assumption and its distinguishing empirical implication. The exchange rate must adjust instantly to equilibrate the international demand for stocks of national assets instead of adjusting to equilibrate the international demand for flows of national goods as if it was in the traditional view. That is the theoretical assumption. The empirical implication is that floating exchange rates will display high variability. The paper tries to scrutinize the flexible price monetary model as a model of determining exchange rates and the results of empirical tests and studies done on it. The flexible price monetary model of exchange rate determination has been developed by Frenkel, Mussa, Girton and Roper(1977), Hodrick(1978) and Bilson (1980).Since it is an example of a monetary approach, the assumption is that there no barriers (such as transaction costs or capital controls) that might segment international capital markets. The domestic and foreign bonds are also perfect substitutes in investor demand functions (Gertler, 2014, p. 25). Thus, there is only one bond in the world. In the flexible price monetary model sub-branch of the monetary approach, there is also an assumption of goods markets. That is, apart from there being no barriers that segment international goods markets, domestic and foreign goods are also perfect substitutes in consumer demand functions. In essence, only one good exists in the world. This specific assumption implies Purchasing power parity (PPP) that is the domestic price level is equal to the foreign price level multiplies by the exchang e rates. According to this exchange rate, the relative price of the currency is determined by the supply and demand for

The effect of an outsider telling the story of Oscar Wao Essay

The effect of an outsider telling the story of Oscar Wao - Essay Example The book will also discuss why the author revealed the name of the narrator much later in the book instead of doing it at the very beginning of retelling the book. Oscar’s story starts with the description of Oscar’s childhood years. It shows readers how folks were proud of Oscar as a child for his unique ability to draw attention of the girls all time round. Right from the start, the story has a pinch of Spanish. Spanish was introduced into the story to give it a Dominican rusty style. In fact, while reading the story reader can come across lines such as Ese muchacho esta bueno! (That boy is good) or Gordo asqueroso (Disgusting Fat). Diaz incorporates these few words of Spanish with one single objective - to light up the bullied Dominican emotions of Oscar. Diaz does not reveal the identity of the narrator (Yunior) till we read half of the book. Only after half of the book is over reader has a chance to see the narrator. While some would refer to this technique of hidi ng a real narrator as stupid I would say that the author had reasons use such technique. This technique is brilliant for two reasons. Reason number one – such tactics enabled author to focus the attention of readers on the emotions and experience of Oscar and his close friends rather than on personality of narrator. Second reason – Diaz had a choice not to include Yunior into the story. However, if the story had been narrated by someone from Oscar’s family, readers would have only one choice - to concentrate their attention on the narrator rather than on the story itself. In this case Oscar will have no other choice than to include Yunior in the list of his friends. Desire to arise the feeling of curiosity is the main reason why Diaz chooses to have an outsider as the main narrator of the book. This measure helps the author to keep the main focus on Oscar as well as on his family and friends. The book reveals reader a lot of important information about Oscarâ₠¬â„¢s identity. When you’re about halfway through the book, you have a chance to reveal additional information about narrator’s identity. This identity is best expressed through Oscar’s words. Once narrator’s identity is revealed, the author adds Yunior to the story. Yunior is represented as Lola’s (Oscar’s sister) boyfriend. This kind of representation helps Oscar to bring Yunior closer to the family. This measure is taken in order to give reader a chance to get an insight into what is going between these two people. The book has a mesmerizing impact on the readers due to a number of reasons. The main reason is that this book keeps readers engrossed in the book all the time. The story is portrayed in such a manner that it grips attention of the audience from the very start. This grip lasts till the very end of the book. Oscar meets Yunior at the point of life when he has reached a certain level of identity development. At this level of iden tity development Oscar no longer worries about people who make fun of him or calling him name. This is so largely because Oscar he has made peace with all these things. After a period of communication with Oscar, Yunior starts to change his attitude to Oscar. Yunior even catches himself at the point when he starts to like Oscar for his inner character. The story takes a dramatic turn when Yunior starts