Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Our Privacy essays

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Our Privacy essays In George Orwells 1984, government controls an entire population by using rhetoric and language. Totalitarian societies in which people are controlled in every possible way; the thought of rebellion is always on their mind. Big Brother uses rhetoric and language to maintain his power and keep the masses controlled. Society must heed Orwells warnings to protect their well-being. In Adam Liptak s article, Justices Reject GPS Tracking In A Drug Case, in claims police violated the constitution when placing a GPS tracking device on a suspects vehicle. According to Mr. Dellinger almost any use of GPS electronic surveillance of a citizens movement will be legally questionable unless a warrant in obtained in advance. Authorities cannot place a tracking device on any vehicle as previously mentioned, taking away part of our freedom. This disproves 1984 by George Orwell on the account of several reasons. The Party can do whatever they please to in Oceana. Orwell warns society and for somebody to tell them Big Brother broke the law is foolish. Evidently, no one wants to go against the government, who is going to say you violated rights or freedom. Society is easily manipulated and just a victim in the big picture. If we pretend Big Brother exist in our every day life, and the government wanted to place a device on a particular entity; no civilian will to question the wrong doing. Big Brother Rules all, and it is not up to justices to decide a certain ruling in a case. However in Politics and the English Language, Orwell provides a solution to this crisis. Specifically to do what Big Brother says and there will be no problems. The thought of any potential rebellion is absurd. To live in a society were one is constantly watched is exactly what Big Brother wants; a bad nightmare is reality for people in 1984. Both articles have to do with a tracking device in one way or anot...

Life Essays

Life Essays Life Essay Life Essay Due Date: You will choose a time period from the 1 asss to the SASS: Research what was going socially, politically, economically during that time period You are then going to write a paper analyzing the time period and whatever topic you have chosen trying to express the connection between time, place and societal happenings and an aspect of the Humanities. Ex. Talk about an art movement etc, that occurred during the time period you choose. You might want to go the route of picking out songs that were popular during the time and analyze how the lyrics reflect the sentiment of the time. You might want to pick a film like Easy Rider and tell why you think it represents the mindset of freedom of the open road and restlessness of the sixties. Another Idea you might try Is research a type of music and how It reflected the time period. An example of this Is to look at the Jazz music In the sasss and tell about It represented a frenetic energy of time. You could look at how teens dressed In the fifties In comparison to how they began to dress In the slates and explain what was going on in the different decades to cause the difference. There are many different angles to go with on this assignment. The main thing you want to get out of this is how music, fashion, art, literature etc. Reflect what is going on in society at a given time period. You might want to even look at when a certain type of art began and see if there was anything going during that time in the art realm that made print making a much needed art form. You could look at a style of art such as graffiti or performance art and see when and where it began and analyze what was going on at the location or time period that facilitated the art form growing. You might want to look at Beat Poetry and see how the poets voiced the happening of the offs and sasss. You might want to analyze hip hop music and compare It to something like slave narratives and see how each may or may not reflect the different voices and mindsets of the African American cultures. As one of the examples that will be posted a detent wrote on the Star Wars phenomenon and how it affected American pop culture over past several decades Write a paper on a specific art or literature movement. Or you may choose an artist, or singer whose music or art may be a representation of a specific time period. Singer. You might want to focus on a specific religion or philosophy of a specific time period. You could also look at modern movies such as Super-Size Me and analyze why the fast food culture has harmed Americans and their health. Using a film to convey a state of societal concern or mindset has become very popular with films such as Bowling for Columbine and Super-Size Me to add social commentary about timely topics such as obesity and opinions on gun control. For Instance The Columbine Shootings re-awakened the right to bear arms debate that has been going on for decades and centuries, the question Is winy 010 It so napped Tanat tons tragedy re-awakened teen Tate to a null fever pitch. Was it the power of film? Was it Americans saying enough we have to protect ourselves within our own borders and against our neighbors? Whatever the opinion or answer it reflects societal mindset and perhaps a change in that mindset. Another idea might be to look at the representation of the human body in art at efferent time periods, in B.

Societal effects on women and gambling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Societal effects on women and gambling - Essay Example mble to an extreme were considered as insignificant by percentage thus their unique problems associated with this growing phenomenon were largely ignored. Gambling venues are much more widespread than they were just 20 years ago and thus more accessible to everyone, including women. By some estimates, women who gamble have at least caught up numerically with their male counterparts. Other research has shown women are quickly exceeding the number of men as casino patrons. It is no surprise that women constitute more than their share of the growing number of people who have become problem gamblers. According to Barbara Proto of the Connecticut State Lottery, â€Å"Women are by far the fastest at-risk group of problem gamblers, and it’s eye-opening to me to see it’s you, it’s me, and it’s your neighbor† (â€Å"Gambling Addiction†, 2006). Problem gamblers of either gender experience many societal issues which negatively affect their lives as well as their family, friends and employer. The compulsion to bet is a drop in a pond whose influence expands out far beyond the individual. However, the societal issues that women face are more complex and perhaps more damaging than for men. The term ‘problem gambling’ refers to a continuing pattern of gambling which factors in the disruption of an individual’s social, personal or family life or their employment. Health experts regard this harmful activity as a compulsion or addiction when gambling begins to become more important to a person than the above mentioned aspects of their lives (Boughton, 2002). Problem gambling does not discriminate because it affects both women and men of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. Monetary and other dilemmas a gambler experiences can negatively affect the individual and others whose lives are inter-related. The family of the problem gambler suffers because well-intended promises aren’t kept and financial issues are a constant concern. Inter-personal relationships

Argentina Business Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argentina Business - Term Paper Example Most of the city’s population comprises of youth between the ages of 17 to 40 who form the majority of our target market in any environment because their high income levels produce high purchasing power (Brown, 1999). We note that the nation’s economy has a high nominal GDP per capita which provides for a high purchasing power of its citizens, which is suitable for our entrance into the market. Moreover, the nation boasts of the latest technology in infrastructure, in the world. The land, air and water transportation systems are well developed, even in the rural areas. This will enable safe and effective transportation of our exported vehicles to and within this nation. In addition, the country’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean presents an added advantage in transporting the exports to our customer(s). Argentina has some of the biggest and busiest ports and harbors in the world, these include Port of Mar del Plata, Port Belgrano and Port of San Antonio Oeste. All of these ports are located on the Atlantic Ocean, making shipping exports to the country our most effective option. Moreover, Buenos Aires serves as a key distribution hub for the South American continent thereby expanding our company’s market potential (Brown, 1999). Customs requirements in Argentina are different among different groups, such as citizens, diplomats and visitors. Seeing that our potential buyer is a resident of Argentina not only owns a national car dealership business, but Diplomatic Franchise as well; he is also involved in importing cars for his diplomatic clients. We should, therefore, meet the requirements of exporting diplomatic and conventional vehicles. Argentinian customs requirements for exportation of diplomatic vehicle maintain that any person importing diplomatic cars must be licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I have confirmed our potential client’s registration with the ministry, so this will not be a hindrance in doing busines s with him. The ministry is also mandated with ensuring that all imported diplomatic vehicles are brand new or less than 5 years old. Argentinian laws also require that the vehicles and all its documentation should be under the importer’s name; therefore, we must ensure that all the documentation pertaining the vehicle's registration is done under our client’s name. The requirements further stipulate that the vehicles should be shipped into the country six months after the arrival of the importer; thus, we cannot export vehicles to the nation if our client is out of the country. Moreover, the Argentinean government requires that the importer owns an original passport and at least two original bills of lading; he should also possess the original vehicle(s) purchase invoice and have the property title registered in his name. Vehicle taxation in Argentina is based on the Cost Insurance and freight (CIF) values of the vehicles. The rates are 80% of the CIF for conventional vehicles, 100% for diesel cars and 65% for motorcycles. Importation of vehicles that do not have local equivalents in Argentina attracts quotas to limit importation and encourage purchasing of locally manufactured vehicles (Rock, 2001). On the other hand, the UK customs requireme

How an organisation communicates Essay Example for Free

How an organisation communicates Essay Introduction The aim of this assignment is to relate how an organisation communicates its core values and mission to the public, shareholders and employees. This is an objective that can easily get overlooked in the rush to master environmental analysis, strategic choice and outsourcing decisions. However it is important in practice and it is a challenge that many organisations take very seriously. Setting of organisational objectives is the starting point of managerial actions. An organisation’s end results for which an organisation strives is termed as mission, purpose, objective, goal, target etc. Many times, these terms are used interchangeably as all these denote end results. This unit is about providing direction to people in the organisation and enabling, inspiring, motivating and supporting them to achieve what the organisation has set out to do. It is expected to apply different styles of leadership appropriate to different people and situations. For the purposes of this unit, an organisation can mean a self-contained entity such as a private sector company, a charity or a local authority, or a significant operating unit, with a relative degree of autonomy, within a larger organisation. Task 1 Relate the organisation’s purpose, values and vision to people across the organisation (1.1, 1.2, and 1.3) An organisation’s mission is its basic purpose: e.g., what is it for? Why does it exist? A mission statement formalises the organization’s mission by writing it down. Johnson Scholes and Whittington define a mission statement as ‘a statement of overriding direction and purpose of an organisation’. Some companies refer to ‘vision statements’ instead of mission statements. Below is an example of Tesco’s mission statements; Tesco (a UK supermarket chain) their vision is to be the most highly valued by its customers. Their core purpose is to create value for customers to  earn their life time loyalty. This objective sits right at the heart of their business as one part of their values – ‘No one tries harder for customers.’ For Tesco to be considered a force for good, they must be a good neighbour and a responsible member of society. They know that if they look after their staff, they will look after their customers. Work can be a large part of their lives so people deserve an employer who cares. That’s why one of their values is ‘Treat people how we like to be treated’. They are committed to providing opportunities for their people to get on and turn their jobs into careers and across all of their markets they offer a wide range of competitive benefits. According to Michael Hyatt, the author of the New York Times bestseller, Platform; Get noticed in a Noisy World, it is crucial to translate the core values into behaviours that are easy to understand by your employees. He has identified 6 ways to communicate the core values to every member of the organisation. Living the values; leading by example is the best communication tool any leader possesses. A survey conducted by Deloitte has found that 70% of the employees who agree that their companies had performed well financially said their executive management team speaks to them often about the core values associated with the culture of the company.  Hiring new people based on values; recruiting people who already have values that are in alignment with the company’s core values. You can always easily train a person on how to do the job, but it becomes much harder to train a person to have the same values as your organisation.  Reviewing people based on values; incorporating core values as part of performance management process. Reviewing people based on values is interrelated with rewarding people for demonstrating the values.  Business objectives are the ends that an organisation sets out to achieve. A business creates business plans to enable it to achieve these ends – thus plans are the means to the ends. The objectives and plans that an organisation creates are determined by balancing the requirements of the various stakeholders in the organisation. The stakeholders are those individuals and groups that are affected by and have interest in how the business is run and it achieves. Every business has a range of stakeholders including: The  objectives that a company establishes are based on blending the various interests of these stakeholder groupings.  For example; an objective to be the market leader, will benefit all stakeholders because customers will receive high quality products, shareholders will receive high dividends, and employees will receive good wages and so on. Organisations create a hierarchy of objectives. At the top level, an organisation will often create a ‘mission’ setting out the purpose of the organisation. This will be followed by a set of objectives relating to such aspects as: Objectives about employee satisfaction Objectives about cutting pollution Objectives about customer satisfaction Objectives about market share Objectives about return to shareholders.  A business plan will then enable an organisation to achieve its objectives. The business plan must be set within a time frame and set out how the organisation and the various components of the organisation will work towards meeting required objectives. Responsibilities for delivering various parts of the plan will be allocated to key individuals and performance targets will be established which enabled the plan to be delivered. The business will create a series of polices, programmes and budgets to enable it to achieve planned targets. It is also essential from the outset to clarify how the plan will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. (businesscasestudies.co.uk) Motivation in Virgin Media, the word motivation could be defined as the driving force behind actions and behaviour. It leads individuals to take action to achieve a goal or to fulfil a need or expectation. Understanding what motivates employees at work ensures that a business not only has employees that have the knowledge, skill and ability to do the job, but who are also committed to achieve a high standard of work. There are much positive behaviour that indicates employees are motivated including taking responsibilities, helping colleagues, a commitment to achieving company targets and goals as well as interest and concern of the business. Virgin Media recognises that reward is one of the many motivating factors for a lot of its people and offers competitive salaries. It also offers bonus schemes such as it’sASPIRE field  pay and reward scheme. The scheme rewards every Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 9 or 10 with  £10. However, as a forward thinking business, it understands the importance of different motivational factors. It offers additional benefits including private health care, life assurance, company pension scheme and staff saving scheme. The opportunity to progress within the organisation is also an important factor. All virgin media technicians are managed through the ‘Your Story Framework’ for career progression. This includes regular meetings to discuss performance, review progress against set objectives to enable progression within the company. (businesscasestudies.co.uk) One theorist whose studies became influential is Elton Mayo. Mayo’s research concluded that motivating factors include recognition, a sense of belonging and involvement as well as social aspects of the workplace. In 1943, Abraham Maslow published his theory of a hierarchy of needs. Maslow identified that as individuals, we have five set of needs. At the first level, basic needs are those of food, water, warmth and shelter with wages that meet those needs. Safety needs include protection from danger, for example; health and safety at work as well as job security. Social needs include a sense of belonging in work teams. He identified esteem needs as those of self-confidence, feeling useful and needed by other people. Maslow proposed that having satisfied all the lower needs an individual would then be able to realise their own potential for self-actualisation. (businesscasestudies.co.uk) Task 2 Explain the skills necessary to provide support and advice to people during periods of setbacks and change. (2.1 and 2.2) Change is something that happens in businesses all of the time. Change can occur in an organisation’s internal or external environment. As a result, this process of change is constant. Effective managers are proactive in creating solutions to improve the organisations performance. They must then manage employees through the change process. Managers have to plan and drive change initiatives. This involves managing the change process and making it part of an organisations strategy. Strategies a business achieve its aims and objectives. This helps businesses to develop in a more focused way to the environment in which it operates, whilst facing new challenges with more certainty.  Organisations  require skilled and well qualified managers and leaders to drive change initiatives and effectively manage employees through the process. (businesscasestudies.co.uk) When business is booming, employee morale usually soars. It seems like everyone’s getting bonuses, hiring assistants and basking in the company’s success. But when bad news rolls in, the collective mood of employees can plummet. This can happen when the firm looses a big account, suffers a severe downturn or experiences regulatory of legal setbacks. Employees will then look to managers for guidance and reassurance. During trying times, the manager becomes more than the business owner. They must lead employees by setting an inspiring example. When managers’exhibit strength in the face of adversity, they assure the troops that they are able to steer the company through a rough patch and prevent it from sustaining lasting image. Managers must delegate freely to manage a fast-growth business. But boosting employees’ morale during tough times is one job no one can pass off. (Democratic Leadership style) Managers should make themselves visible when setback occurs. They should start attending staff meetings they normally skipped. Help clerks do filing, answer the phone alongside customer service representatives or relieve exhausted workers on the assembly line or loading dock. By pitching in with a positive attitude, they will lift everyone’s sprit. There is no single best way to build morale in the midst of organisational setbacks. While some employees will shoulder crisis without much complaint, many others will react negatively. Managers can customise behaviour to address those employees’ personality. Here’s one morale booster that will work for all employees; see out their advice and act on it. By soliciting their suggestions and implementing as many of them as possible you make them feel like problem solvers who can exert at least some control over an unpredictable situation. This in other word will be identified as the democratic leadership style which is also known as participative leadership. It is a type of leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process. (psychology.about.com) Example; if a country zoning board imposes a steep fine on your business, ask employees for ideas on how to cut costs. Approve even modest proposals  to save office supplies; this will help employees take ownership of the crisis and work together to outlast it.(edwardlowe.org) There are different types of support and advice people may need and this could be provided in many ways.(www.invo.org.uk) Personal/Professional Development; to review people’s progress and performance and provide positive feedback and encouragement and/or to see if they need any additional pointers to further develop their skills. For example, members of the public who take on research roles such as peer interviewing, may need feedback and guidance when they first put their skills into practice. Practical Support; to help people to familiarise themselves with a new research environment, for example, all research team members might need help with finding their way around a new location or building. Members of the public may need support with meeting their practical needs, such as payment of fees and expenses, making travel arrangements, parking, and assessing childcare. Emotional/Psychological Support; to help people to cope with any distress that arises as a direct consequence of being involved in research, for example, if they become upset after discussing a sensitive or emotional topic, or from hearing about other people’s bad experiences, or from returning to an environment that has been traumatic in the past. Some people may also be challenged by others about the benefit of public involvement in research and may be helped by being prepared to cope with professional or criticism. Emotional/Psychological Support is often as relevant to researches as it is to involve members of the public. On-the-job-Support; to allow people to let off steam or raise any concerns after a difficult meeting or frustrating experience. Some of these types of support can be provided through informal mechanism that develops organically as colleagues start to work together and form a team. Others may be better provided through a more formal approach that will need to be properly resourced. Communicate with Customers and Employees; do not be reluctant to confront bad news. Develop a strategy to disseminate information. It may not be customers you need to talk to, but suppliers and vendors. Managers also have to engage their employees. Listen to staff and address any specific challenges they face. ‘Keep them up to par with what is going on; even you don’t have all of the answers’. Conduct overall cost Analysis; as a manager, look at where you can reduce overhead. Negotiate with suppliers for a better price, find ways to save money. If the company has a bunch of products that doesn’t sell, cut back on inventory. ‘Companies think that because headcount is the biggest line, item on their budget then that is where they should cut costs. Getting rid of employees is the easiest strategy but it might not be the right one’. ‘Layoffs are generally a reaction versus a well thought out strategy. As a manager, you don’t want to cut so deep it hurts the company’. Empower Employees; find ways to increase moral and empower employees to be the best that they can be, their inputs and opinions should be valued. ‘Happy employees, take care of customers’. Employees are an important asset because they are in direct communication with customers. Motivated employees attract more satisfied customers which in turn, lead to increased profits’. Embrace Change; ‘Most people are not good at taking risks when they are threatened, we have a tendency to react by fright or flight’ says James.By becoming too defensive, it could reduce chances which could lead out a set of crisis situations. When face with a company setback, it is necessary to stay positive; look at what is working, be proactive, find new growth opportunities, preserve-hang in there and ride out the storm. (www.inc.com) Task 3 Analyse the need for integrity, fairness and consistency in managerial  decision making. (3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and3.4) Decision-making is a crucial part of good business. It is good information and experience in interpreting information. Decision-making increasingly happens at all levels of a business. The board of directors may make the grand strategic decisions about investment and direction of future growth (www.tutor2u.net) Often, association leaders must make decisions that members do not agree with but maybe greatly affected by. Members may feel they have little to say over the actions implemented by their leaders. Association staff members are often charged with implementing decisions made by leadership, including communicating the decisions to members and helping members understand that the decision will ultimately result in good. Recently, the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) leadership increased annual membership dues. This change alone would help to fund the association better and also provide new opportunities and means for future development. This single alteration has expanded the parameters of this organisation dramatically. They are now considering additional functions, retreats, scholarships programs and resources etc.  It is no secret that economic times are difficult, we find ourselves suddenly in a world of hopeful get-rich-quick strategies, and ‘’extreme couponing’’ champions. Asking people to give more when they have less is not a decision that is considered to be popular. Although the actions and decisions of our leaders are sometimes confusing to others, we must have confidence in the leadership in place, and in the decisions that they make more times than not, members voted them into the position of leadership. (www.raybourn.com, 2012) I think that for unpopular decisions, the more personal the communications method, the better. The scale and geographic spread of an organisation will have a big influence, but the nearer one get to a face to face communication, the better. So, phone is better than email. Video conference is better than phone, in person is better than video conference.  It is useful to think about unpopular decisions from the point of view of the decision itself (unpopular outcome) the process of coming up with the decision (fair process), and the opportunity to deal with the consequences of the decision (work grounds).(www.changingorganisations.com) Different types of communication styles could be used to communicate difficult and unpopular decisions. In business world, communication is necessary for conducting business in an  efficient manner. Any business involves two types of communication; external communication that is directed to the actors in the business environment, and internal communication or organisational communication that is directed to employees. In addition, it is not possible to imagine organisational communication without conflicts. Conflicts are normal in any organisation, because people have different opinions. People communicate their thoughts, idea, knowledge and fears differently in conflicts situations. Managers and team members should know and understand these different styles of communications to avert conflicts. Oral communication is one common form of internal communication for example, in a group or one to one meeting. Nowadays, electronic communication is growing in importance. This can involve written communication, such as an email, text or tweet or oral communication via video conferencing. Intranet; enterprise has recently developed a new intranet system called ‘the hub’ this replaced a purely information based system. It enables input from employees at enterprise’s locations across Western Europe and North America. This channel of communication supports enterprise’s core values. When the outcome of a decision is not known with certainty, a manager faces a decision-making problem under either conditions of risks or conditions of uncertainty. A decision is made under risk when a manager can make a list of all possible outcomes associated with a decision and assign a probability of occurrence to each one of the outcomes. The process of assigning probabilities to outcomes sometimes involves rather sophisticated analysis base on the manager’s extensive experience in similar situations or on other data. An example of a decision made under risk might be the following; a manager decides to spend  £1000 on a magazine ad believing there are three possible outcomes for the ad, 20 percent chance the ad will have only a small effect on sales, a 60 percent chance of a moderate effect and a 20 percent chance of a very large effect. This decision is made under risk because the manager can list each potential outcome and determine the probability of each outcome occurring. Accommodation Style; people prefer to keep their emotions in control and to speak indirectly, using metaphors or other techniques to prevent a conflict from escalating and damaging the relationship. Discussion Style; most managers’ keep their emotions controlled but try to speak clearly and accurately about their disagreements  to the other person. Engagement Style; people in this group are more comfortable with feelings and express them openly. They try to be direct about what their concerns are and are often passionate in their conversations.(psychosocial.actalliance.org) There is no normal style of communication. It simply varies between people and cultures. Communication styles can vary between people in an organisation. As we work with people from different communities and countries, it can be expected we will meet people whose communication styles may differ from our own. It is therefore, important to clear up misunderstandings and misinterpretations early on and to be open to different styles of communications. In contrast to risk, uncertainty exists when a decision maker cannot list all possible outcomes and cannot assign probabilities to the various outcomes. When faced with uncertainty, a manager would know only the different decision option available and the different possible states of nature. The states of nature are the events or conditions that can influence the final outcome or payoff of a decision but cannot be controlled or affected by the manager.  My suggestion is to use the following as a starting point; Summarise the issues relating to the decision Outline the process you went through to arrive at the decision Say what the problem is   Provide opportunity for people to tell you the implications of the decisions from their perspective Ask them to identify possible action or solutions in response to the implications they raise.  Conclusion It is more powerful if top senior managers and directors in every work place get to their people (employees) before the decision is finalised, they need to tell workers what they are contemplating and ask them what the implications are from their own perspective. (Don’t assume you know what their perspective is, even if you know them well and used to do their job yourself). You can then problem solve with them about how to alleviate the negative implications they have identified. And you never know, they might identify some positive implications or opportunities the organisation has not thought of. Bibliography (n.d.). Retrieved March 4th, 2014, from businesscasestudies.co.uk: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/strategy/business-objectives-planning-and-stakeholders.html#axzz2v2QsaooB (n.d.). Retrieved March 4th, 2014, from businesscasestudies.co.uk: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/teacher-resources/#axzz2v2QsaooB (n.d.). (K. Cherry, Producer) Retrieved March 5th, 2014, from psychology.about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htm (n.d.). Retrieved March 5th, 2014, from edwardlowe.org: http://edwardlowe.org/digital-library/maintaining-employee-morale-during-setbacks/ (n.d.). Retrieved March 6th, 2014, from www.invo.org.uk: http://www.invo.org.uk/different-types-of-support/ (n.d.). (R. Bowett, Producer) Retrieved March 7th, 2014, from www.tutor2u.net: http://tutor2u.net/business/organisation/decisionmaking.htm (n.d.). (C. M. Brown, Producer) Retrieved March 8th, 2014, from www.inc.com: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/10/7-tips-for-dealing-with-a-company-setback.html (Ducham)

Cultural Adjustment :: essays papers

Cultural Adjustment "An analysis of cultural shocks" Coming to America was one of my dreams, so I started working on it and after completing collage, I received the visa for the States and bought the ticket to come to America. I was a little bit confused because I had been hearing about America since my childhood. There is a huge cultural difference between my society and the modern society of the States, and because of these differences, my friends and I faced some problems after coming here. These problems are commonly called cultural shocks. By analyzing the differences between America and my own country of Pakistan, in the areas of gender roles, family, marriage and celebrations, one can see how cultural shocks occur. Since my birth, I have been living in a society where the men and women are not all to interact with each other as over here. It is one of the biggest differences in my culture and the culture here. There are usually separate classes for girls and boys in my society, but over here, there is no concept of this. In addition, I know you will surprise to earn that having a boyfriend for a girl or a girlfriend for a boy is a difficult achievement. In my society there is a joint family system, the children live together with their parents whether they are under 18 or not. Over here, there is a concept of "individualism". Every one has an individual life, making their own decisions for every thing. Here, a person over 18 living with his parents is considered an immature person. In my culture, a person not living with his parents doesn't have a respectable place in the society, because it is our social and religious custom to take care of our parents. Divorce is common here, but in my society it's not good to even think about it. People are divorced, but not as commonly as over here. For example, among every 100 married people, perhaps just one is divorced, but over here out of hundred, about fifty are divorced or separated. Also, some couples live together without a legal marriage. One day, I went to a wedding ceremony with my uncle .It was one of his friends' weddings. I just sat there, wondering when the people would sing songs and when the lunch would start, but after kissing each other, my uncle's friend and his wife went on a long drive in their car with a poster on the back saying, "Just got married". It was really surprising for me to attend a wedding like this, because in my culture,

Review of Kala Ghoda Essay

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has begun from 2nd February and will run till 10th February 2013. The Festival enters into 14th year in 2013; its popularity is growing from over the years. It is a great festival held in the city of Mumbai every year with great vibrancy, excitement, drama and colors of cultures are experienced. This festival welcomes people from all over the country and from abroad. The festival includes street stalls, theatre, heritage walks, dance, music, films, literature, workshops for adults and children, visual arts, and much more. It is a nine day festival which refreshes everyone’s minds and inspires them for future. . Kala Ghoda used waste material keeping in their mind environmental issues. The music and dance events at the annual Kala Ghoda Arts festival was shifted from Kala Ghoda to Cross Maidan, after organisers agreed to not use loudspeakers in the silence zone. Silence zones are areas that are within 100 metres of courts, educational institutions, reli gious places and hospitals. The first thing you notice when you enter is the huge camera with few posters of Bollywood celebrities; a tribute to 100 years of Hindi Cinema. There is also an ode to Bollywood with an installation called ‘Cinemachi’. â€Å" Kapala’s Totems â€Å" exists to evoke awarenessof the danger of electronic waste – discarded electronic ,lech lead and other heavy metals. Where the â€Å"Plastic Rain â€Å" the pitter patter of rain gives way to the thump of falling plactic bottle. This installation is a reminder of how serious an effects plactic can have on our planet. While ‘Cycle Chalao City Bachao’ sends out a message of the urgent need of going eco-friendly while travelling, another installations points out the the hazards of noise pollution y Sumeet Sanjay Patil, which has vibrant cut outs of popular past and present film stars . Another installations has a car covered with coins. ‘Time To Change’ by 11-year-old Dev Mehta showcases a car, painted in vibrant hues as a symbol of the city that never sleeps constantly moving, changing and racing ahead. And an installation of of Mumbai’s ever-dependable dabbawallas towers over the crowd. While ‘Cycle Chalao City Bachao’ sends out a message of the urgent need of going eco-friendly while travelling, another installations points out the the hazards of noise pollution Among the many transport-themed pieces on display, this work is a call to more eco-friendly (and pimped out) modes of transport. Dhanda’ by Baaya Design this sculptural skyline of the city is meant to be a â€Å"visual pun† of sorts (the word â€Å"dhanda† means business or livelihood in Hindi). We’re seeing it as an accurate depiction of present-day Mumbai, with among other things the Bombay Stock Exchange (see the second â€Å"d†) looking down on a sea of slums. The horrific Delhi gang-rape case also found creative expression in the form of a broken doll house with newspaper reports of crimes against women. â€Å"Homogeneity in diversity â€Å"Brands have inducted homogeneity among people. And how can money not make it’s presence felt in the financial capital of the country. A popular installation, which evokes smiles and giggles from the thronging crowd, is ‘Corrupt Us’ by VikramArora. Showcasing government officials saluting a hundred rupee note fluttering above them. While on the other side there were food stalls , handmade painting stall and also a Mehendi stall. This year, like the rest of India, the Kala Ghoda Art Festival is also screaming ‘change’ and everything has been fashioned for children.

Eating Disorders (the Black Swan)

The main character Nina Sayers has a sever eating disorder. In her attempts to be the perfect ballerina, she is both anorexic and bulimic. She does not eat anything and if she does she later throws it up. For example, for breakfast she was forced to eat a grapefruit but is later shown in the bathroom throwing it up. When she gets the part in the play she worked so hard for, her mother buys a cake in celebration – only to be put to waste since Nina refuses to eat it. In the movie, she provides an example of what can happen when an eating disorder completely takes over.She becomes so pleased with the positive feelings she feels when she looks at herself in the mirror, that she only tries to love her image more. This habit begins a downward spiral into eating less and less. In The Black Swan, Nina is portrayed as the best dancer of her company. Until some competition, Lily arrives and Nina views her as a huge threat. This causes Nina extreme stress and she develops the idea that Lily is out to get her and take her position as best dancer. Since extreme starvation of the body leads to cognitive distortions, threats are commonly amplified.Nina feels extremely threated and like her spot as best dancer is at risk. She then feels even more of a need to have the perfect body and to be a perfect dancer. Since she does not eat enough, her brain and body do not receive appropriate amounts of nutrients. The lack of nutrients puts her in a state of high stress and her brain does not think clearly or logically. It distorts her surroundings giving her a warped image of herself when looking in the mirror. She sees herself as much larger than she actually is. She compares herself to everything and everyone around her.Not only does her eating disorder hurt her mentally but also it physically affects other parts of her body. When feeling the urge to eat, she claws at her skin on her back where it can be covered by clothes. Nina’s fingers are also covered with bandage s to conceal her skin she carelessly peals away. The thought of becoming a perfect ballerina literally begins to kill her. Although Nina never sought help, there are plenty of ways she could have. Cognitive-behavioral therapy or group therapy would both have been very helpful for her situation.Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on current behavior rather than childhood or past experiences. The therapists typically address ways their patients should change the way they think and behave, assign homework, and offer strategies of how to change them for the better. Group therapy also would have been an effective way to treat Nina’s eating disorder. If she went to group therapy and saw that other people were going through the same thing as her and got better, it would have encouraged her that she could do the same.

The lifestyles of the Chesapeake and New England colonist essays

The lifestyles of the Chesapeake and New England colonist essays The lifestyles of the Chesapeake and New England colonists had few similarities. Both left from Europe destined for the New World, they sought religious freedom. Once here the colonies setup farms and cultivated the land. This is were there similarities ended. The Chesapeake settled in what is now Virginia and Maryland. They quickly established tobacco as their staple crop, thus becoming their main source of income. Rather then creating towns, the farmers spread out along the riverbanks. A good idea, the river was deep and rather wide. It provided dependable water transportation, since there were few roads. The farmers would build their own wharfs to allow ocean going vessels to pick up or drop off cargo. In the cases where farms were close by one another, farmers would share the wharfs. The cultivation of tobacco fields is back breaking work. And clearing lands requires heavy labor. The nearby Native American population was low from war and disease, and few African slaves available. What were the farmers to do? Indentured servants from England! Most had been farmers there. So the farmers would use profits from the harvest to gain young men from England ages 18 to 24 to come work the lands. As more men came over the farms increased in size, creating a need for more workers. The colonist didnt see their impending future. As farmers acquired more male indentured servants, it threw the population out of balance. For every six males in the colony, there was but one female. Life was hard. Hindered by diseases from the more tropic like climate, many servants died. Most families consisted of no more then 2 or 3 healthy children, and few parents ever got to see their children grow to adulthood, or marry. And even fewer still ever lived to be grandparents New England colonist on the other hand, had provisions and workers on hand. New Englanders built tow ...

Argument Structure in English Grammar

Argument Structure in English Grammar The word argument in  linguistics  does not have the same meaning as that word in common usage. When used in relation to grammar and writing, an argument is any expression or syntactic element in a sentence that serves to complete the meaning of the verb. In other words, it expands on whats being expressed by the verb and is not a term that implies controversy, as common usage does. Read about the more traditional sense of argument as a rhetorical term  here. In English, a verb typically requires from one to three arguments. The number of arguments required by a verb is the valency of that verb. In addition to the predicate and its arguments, a sentence may contain optional elements called adjuncts. According to Kenneth L. Hale and Samuel Jay Keyser in 2002s Prolegomenon to a Theory of Argument Structure,  argument structure is determined by properties of lexical items, in particular, by the syntactic configurations in which they must appear.   Examples and Observations on Argument Structure Verbs are the glue that holds clauses together. As elements that encode events, verbs are associated with a core set of ​semantic participants that take part in the event. Some of a verbs semantic participants, although not necessarily all, are mapped to roles that are syntactically relevant in the clause, such as subject or direct object; these are the arguments of the verb. For example, in John kicked the ball, John and the ball are semantic participants of the verb kick, and they are also its core syntactic arguments - the subject and the direct object, respectively. Another semantic participant, foot, is also understood, but it is not an argument; rather, it is incorporated directly into the meaning of the verb. The array of participants associated with verbs and other predicates, and how these participants are mapped to syntax, are the focus of the study of argument structure. -   Melissa Bowerman and Penelope Brown, Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Argument Structure: Implications for Learnability (2008) Arguments in Construction GrammarEach part of a complex construction has a relation to some other part of the construction in construction grammar. The relations between parts of a construction are all cast in terms of predicate-argument relations. For example, in Heather sings, Heather is the argument and sings is the predicate. The predicate-argument relation is symbolic, that is, both syntactic and semantic. Semantically a predicate is relational, that is, inherently relates to one or more additional concepts. In Heather sings, singing inherently involves a singer. The semantic arguments of a predicate are the concepts to which the predicate relates, in this case, Heather. Syntactically, a predicate requires a certain number of arguments in specific grammatical functions to it: sing requires an argument in the subject grammatical function. And syntactically, arguments are related to the predicate by a grammatical function: in this case, Heather is the subject of sings. -   Willi am Croft and D. Alan Cruse, Cognitive Linguistics  (2004) ExceptionsNote the unusual behavior of the verb rain, which neither requires nor permits any arguments at all, except for the dummy subject it,  as in Its raining. This verb arguably has a valency of zero. -   R.K. Trask, Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts  Ã‚  (2007)Conflicts Between Constructional Meaning and Lexical MeaningIn cognitive linguistics, it is generally assumed that grammatical constructions are carriers of meaning independent of the lexical items they contain. The lexical items used in a construction, especially the meanings of the verb and its argument structure, have to be fitted into the construction frame, but there are cases where a conflict between constructional meaning and lexical meaning arises. Two interpretive strategies emerge in such cases: Either the utterance is rejected as uninterpretable (semantically anomalous) or the semantic and/or syntactic conflict is resolved by a meaning shift or coercion. In general, the construction imposes its m eaning on the verb meaning. For example, the ditransitive construction in English exemplified in Mary gave Bill the ball is in semantic and syntactic conflict with the syntax and meaning of the ditransitive construction. The resolution of this conflict consists in a semantic shift: the basically transitive verb kick is construed ditransitively and coerced into the interpretation cause to receive by means of hitting with the foot. This meaning shift is possible because there are an independently motivated conceptual metonymy  means of action for action that makes the intended interpretation available to the hearer even if he or she has never before encountered the use of kick in the ditransitive construction.  Klaus-Uwe Panther and Linda L. Thornburg, The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics (2007)

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

Skull - Essay Example The prosthion is the lowermost point on the maxilla, between the two front incisors. The inion is the place on the back of the skull that is the grates t distance away from the front of the skull. Indices calculated are the index of supraorbital height, index of nuchal area height and the index of condylar conditions. The index of supraorbital height is the relationship between the distance of the Frankfort plane to the highest point of the skull and the distance of the top of the eye orbit to the top of the skull; a high number indicates a high forehead or a tall head while a low number indicates a slanted skull. The index of nuchal area is the relationship between the distance of the Frankfort plane to where the inion lies on the back of the skull and the distance of the Frankfort to the highest point on the skull; a high number indicates a short nuchal area while a low number indicates a tall nuchal area. The index of the condylar position is the relationship between the porion and the back of the skull and porion and the front of the skull; a high number indicates the foramen magnum is at the center of the skull while a low number indicates the foramen is closer to the back of the skull. The marked locations were then connected with fine lines using a sharp pencil. A line was drawn to intersect the porion and the lowest point on the lower margin of the eye orbit. A line was also drawn to from the inion, perpendicular to the line drawn above (Frankfort Plane) and the point of intersection labeled as Y. Another line was drawn from the occipital condyles perpendicular to the Frankfurt Plane and the point of intersection labeled X. Another line was drawn from the prosthion perpendicular to the Frankfort plane and the point of intersection labeled Z. Another line was drawn from the Frankfort plane to the highest point of the upper margin of the eye and the point labeled V and U. The lengths of the line were then measured,

Stream Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stream - Lab Report Example Functional characteristics on the other hand measures the services or functions provided by the water ecosystem and are measured by the rate of primary productivity and organic matter decomposition. Structural characteristics of a stream are mainly used in the day to day monitoring of stream health. The biotic factors used mainly include macroinvertebrate diversity. Analyses of macro invertebrates in water is important because they are a link to the aquatic food chain, have diverse sensitivity to pollution and is a relatively cheap method for analysis of the stream quality. Additionally, the macroinvertebrate diversity provides useful information on the long term quality of the stream unlike water analysis which provides information for the sampling time only. These invertebrates have differences in their susceptibility to pollutants in water with some being highly susceptible to pollution while others are moderately susceptible with others being tolerant to different levels of pollu tion. Those organisms which are highly susceptible will not live in polluted waters while the most tolerant can survive. Therefore they measure the levels of pollution in the water and thus by extension the health state of the river. Functional characteristics of an ecosystem when integrated with the structural characteristics help in giving a complete picture of the health state of an ecosystem. This is due to the fact that the ecosystem can respond to human stressors differently including changes to the structure of the ecosystem without changes in functional parameters or changes in the ecosystem function without change in the structure while in some cases there could be both structural and functional changes. The functional characteristics of a water ecosystem can be measured by a number of indicators including the rate of uptake of nutrients, benthic microbial respiration, nitrification, organic matter, invertebrate production and fish production. Abiotic factors are also impor tant in the assessment of the functional characteristics of the water. The concentrations of dissolved oxygen, air and water temperature, conductivity, and the velocity of the water have been shown to affect the health status of a stream or river. This is because the interaction of these abiotic factors with the biotic factors in the water determines the survival and existence of the latter and also the rate of breakdown of organic substances such as leaves in water. The concentration of dissolved oxygen for example is used as a measure of the rate of metabolism in the water ecosystem with water temperature increasing the rate of decomposition. Additionally the increased demands for water for human use have also led to increased abstraction rates of water. This reduction in the water flow due to abstraction has possible impacts on the stream ecosystems (Deswon et al. 2007). 1.2 Main Objective To determine the health states of Molly Ann Brook, Ramapo River and Bear swamp Brook 1.2.1 Specific objectives 1. To determine the structural and functional characteristics of Molly Ann Brook, Ramapo River and Bear Swamp Brook. 2. To determine and compare the health states the Ramapo River upstream and downstream 3. To compare the health state of the Bear Swamp Brook relative to Ramapo River 2.0 STUDY AREA 2.1 Molly Ann Brook The Molly Ann Brook is a tributary of the Passaic River.