MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP - Research Paper Example Immelt had big shoes to fill but he has carved a niche for himself through his leadership skills and today is one most influential business leaders in the world. Immelt before becoming the CEO of GE had held numerous leadership positions in the company. He had served as Vice President and General Manager for different business division of the company. This paper is aimed at understanding and analyzing the leadership, management and motivational skills of Immelt and how he has used it to take GE to new heights. In the process, the different businesses of the company will be described along with the three major challenges Immelt has overcome in running the company since he has became the CEO. His various leadership skills and strategies can be understood while analysing the challenges. Also the impact that Immelt has had on the world through his vision, business and through other areas will be discussed. When Immelt took over as the CEO he wanted to bring about a cultural revolution in the company. In a company that was process-oriented and hard-driving, he wanted to infuse creativity, bold thinking and hunger for growth into its culture. Also it is to be noted that Immelt took over just a few days before the 9/11 attack, which means that the economic situation in which Immelt started his stint was not an ideal one. It was a great challenge to Immelt to sustain and continue the growth of the company in an era of slow-growth domestic economy, greater global competition and lesser tolerance among investors. In order to achieve his vision of reinventing GE Immelt overcame the following challenges: In order to change the organizational culture that would focus on innovation and creativity, there needed to be a change in thinking. There was very little that Immelt could do single handed to completely change the company and transform his workforce. Majority of the workforce in the company

Analogy of Poetry Essay Example for Free

Analogy of Poetry Essay The poem There Is Another Sky by Emily Dickinson was a poem written for her brother Austin. Emily uses nature to explain the message she is trying to provide for him. The poem provides a hopeful and positive feeling. The poem is full of optimism and inspiration. The pint of the poem is to provide encouragement and offer guidance. The lines â€Å"Here is a brighter garden† and â€Å"And there is another sunshine† demonstrate the optimism she is trying to portray. There are no stanzas or major events in the poem. The order that the aspects of nature are presented in provides. The last few lines of the poem further enhance the message. The poem ends with an open invitation for Austin to leave his gloomy state. Dickinson shows a sincere concern while providing inspiration for both the readers and her brother. She describes a utopia throughout the poem and uses words to describe a better place such as serene, fair, brighter, and unfading. The title there is another sky provides the since that there is an alternative option instead of a consistent negative outlook on life. There is a change in tone after the dash. Before the dash Dickinson states that there is a negative place and recognizes that everything in life doesn’t always work in your favor. She also uses â€Å"there is† creating distance. After the dash Dickinson implies that there in fact is another sky. She uses â€Å"here is† which implies that she can provide a better situation. Knowing that the poem is for her brother almost obligates you to feel sympathy for him and makes her message even stronger. Overall, Emily is trying to say that entering a new mind set and believing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel can provide you with a new attitude.

A Rose for Emily Setting Analysis Essay -- essays papers

A Rose for Emily Setting Analysis In "A Rose for Emily", a woman (for whom the story is named) confines herself in her somewhat large house in a small town during the early half of the twentieth century. For the most part, in order to understand the entirety of the story, it is vital to understand the setting and how each character develops it, and,or, interacts with it. As far as the town is concerned, it is very isolated and the people seem to value this quality, as well as the lack of progression in social change, most. There is also a great deal of gossip that regularly circulates about the town's people with great interest. All this was best implied in the comment, "At first we were glad that Miss Emily would have an interest, because the ladies all said 'Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer.' But there were still others, older people, who said that even grief could not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige -- without calling it noblesse oblige"(719). This is a comment on Emily's relationship with construction work...

Suicides in Foxconn

FOXCONN Abstract: Principles of  Organizational Behavior  from the point of view, combined with Foxconn employees work attitude,  job satisfaction  and work pressure, etc. , on a world-renowned company Foxconn consecutive suicides occurred in a comparative analysis to explain the business In the era of the  development  process need to strengthen the management measures. Keywords: Foxconn, suicide, cognitive dissonance, job satisfaction,  work pressure From January 2010 to November 2010, just 11 months time, the industry's leading OEM companies Foxconn employees took place more than a dozen suicides.Shocked the whole community, Foxconn is also pushed to the cusp of public opinion, resulting in the suicide for many reasons, this paper will follow the principles of organizational behavior, from the attitude of staff,  job satisfaction  and  work pressure  angle analyze, and to make business in the context of the times need to be strengthened management measures. F irst, the background events Foxconn managementJanuary 23, 2010, 19-year-old horse to move in staff training at the southern quarters Foxconn death in 2010, the evening of March 11, 0930, Fuji Kang Longhua base, surnamed Li, a 20-year-old male C2 in the living quarters, 5th Floor, fall dead †¦ †¦ November 5, 2010, a 23-year-old park in Shenzhen Foxconn male workers committed suicide, which occurred since the beginning of the fourteenth consecutive suicides. Second, the Foxconn management event analysis Foxconn management event, the staff of suicide can be divided into two separate aspects of the occurrence and collective place. A separate suicide When a suicide occurs, Foxconn, Foxconn recruitment at the entrance is still full of people, when asked whether the candidates know that Foxconn suicide, the answer is known. When asked why to candidates, the answer is to open here on time wages, never in arrears. Foxconn released from the treatment of employees to see their three meals a day can guarantee accommodation hardware, transportation, laundry and other basic living conditions can be guaranteed, which is also a number of job seekers in the know Foxconn suicide after the incident still choose to work Foxconn reasons.Why these basic conditions are met, the staff, the staff or the successive suicides happen? The reasons are manifold. Data show the continuous Foxconn suicides have occurred in the younger generation of employees. Therefore, these new generation of employees to its own characteristics and has a lot of suicide, such as the current business environment caused by excessive pressure on the employees, and these pressure generation, from the perspective of  Organizational Behavior  is the cognitive dissonance caused by the employees.Cognitive dissonance refers to any form of attitudes and behavior are inconsistent will people feel uncomfortable, so the individual will try to reduce this mismatch, uncomfortable, if not improve cognitive diss onance, then the pressure will increase staff, accumulated to a certain extent when the pressure can not resolve, there may lead to suicide.Cognitive dissonance caused by Foxconn employees is mainly due to low  job satisfaction  a long time, Foxconn did not lower employee  job satisfaction  to improve this problem and take effective measures, low  job satisfaction  is the work of various factors caused, mainly due to the following four points:   1. Interest in  working  with low input pressure is huge. Foxconn, front-line staff here is equivalent to a large machine parts, every day repeating the same work, and is refined into a product of a step, spend months and years do the accumulated pressure is very great, because such work is not only monotonous, but also hard to put into it.Relative to the new generation of employees, their fathers on the job satisfaction can  make money  mainly depends on the simple duplication of work brought about by the pressure and can deliver the economic income compared to income is dominant, even if than the current pressures facing the new generation of larger,  make money  to achieve this goal will significantly reduce the cognitive dissonance caused by pressure, while the new generation of employees no onger earn money as migrant workers for the sole purpose, more more to lifestyle changes and seek better opportunities, when they face such a person is equivalent to the production machine as pArt  of boring work, it can not compensate for low wages brought about by the work of cognitive dissonance. 2. Respect for the low social groups, lack the necessary communication. Foxconn, work to calculate the precision to use seconds, no time to stop  working  together, not to mention the exchange between each other. orking  time, work at Foxconn The staff are aware, no overtime is not making money, so their normal  working  time is 12 hours to two shifts, that in addition to work, the remaining tim e is extremely limited. to work together tired after work activities of employees is best returned to the bedroom to rest, and live in a bedroom with its employees do not work nearly the same time, it will appear in the management of the incident, Foxconn to be able to call all their own bedroom of names of staff reward thing. pace, Foxconn Although a large number of employees, but basically no staff their own organization, the villagers will be, students will be able to enhance employee communications and other organizations is essential not. this environment also makes the job satisfaction greatly reduced. Links to free download http://eng. hi138. com   3. Difficult to achieve self-worth, aspirations and reality together far.Foxconn, even if it is determined in accordance with the system 12 hours of overtime to work two shifts, the hand is 1000 yuan. And these new generation of employees  working  at Foxconn Although subjected to a certain degree of education, but its still somewhat lacking in life skills. and some small and medium enterprises are often overdue wages compared to wages is at work here on time, and the living conditions of the hardware is relatively good, so in Fuji  health  work is an inevitable choice. nowingly choose to pay the difficulties is difficult to achieve their ideals, it is difficult to change the status quo. and now a new generation of employees is far less than the income of the purchasing power of their parents, hard work hard to get self- realization, leading to low job satisfaction. 4. The pressure did not retreat. In addition to this little way, and staff ompared to the older generation, a new generation of people growing up is different this generation growing up with their fathers to be superior compared to many, their lives frame of reference is age of the city, their requirements of life is urbanization, the rural peace of mind so that they can go back to farming is unrealistic, while due to its own conditions, you want to really integrate into urban society, there is a certain distance, But a new generation of employees or to strive with, Foxconn is  working  towards his dream of an important step forward, but as conditions, skills and other limitations, further  developmentis difficult, even if left Foxconn, a company may be next Another â€Å"Foxconn†, or difficult to achieve genuine integration into the city this goal. Home go back, work hard in the city into which a new generation of employees to enhance dilemma pressure. (Two consecutive suicide 1. Continuous coverage of suicide affect employee attitudes, suicide is contagious in the study of suicide, suicide is a certain contagious. Many studies have described for television, radio and other media reported that a number of detailed suicide, and the community of suicide or attempted suicide on the increase in incidents. 2.Suicide after the incident, the measures taken by Foxconn is not effective in the Foxconn suicides occurred during a continuous, its management of the event there is no effective intervention and management of change. Spate of jumping incident, Foxconn's management brought in Wutai Mountain is one of the most famous monk, to pray for the dead zone. This will not only ease the suicide is not contagious, but also increased the mysterious suicide of employees psychological spirits causing mischief that is psychological implications, so that employees feel that they commit suicide are from God. This is not fundamentally solve the suicide contagious impact on staff. Third, the  enterprise management  measures to reduce employee suicide   1 play to the functions of trade unions.Foxconn great personal strength in the face of a small capital, and only effectively play the role of trade unions, employees and businesses in order to make equal dialogue becomes possible, in order to be binding on the company, the employees protection of the rights of the working pressure to get some re lief. (2) relying on the country to encourage policies that seek to achieve business transformation as a foundry, low labor costs in order to build and expand in the market. This has resulted in low staff salaries,  development  of small issues. Want to change this a situation, only to high value-added industries, so companies do not rely on cheap labor to profit, so that employees have the opportunity to realize their value to the enterprise, reduce work pressure. focus on enhancing employee job satisfaction and make the appropriate adjustment (1 to improve the work, increase employee interest can learn the advanced management concept, in the same or different production lines adjacent to implement regular exchange of staff for a long time do not let the same work, to reduce pressure on staff to reduce long repeated mechanical action of fatigue, increase employee interest (2 to enhance communication between employees can be set up work space communication among workers, who exc hanges the same bedroom ways to improve the communication environment (3 vocational training to increase staff can be set up some useful talent  developmenttraining programs, making the lack of employment skills and relatively low quality of the staff have the opportunity to learn, have the opportunity to move into management, but also to more good localdevelopment  of the capital. 4 when a crisis occurs, urgent and effective response when an enterprise such extreme issues early, companies should try to coordinate with the media and other relevant departments, to seek the opinion of the continuous occurrence to minimize the impact of suicide. Fourth, the prospectOEM companies such as Foxconn, China's economic prosperity and has a huge role in the development of its glorious past, but today the face of new situation, they face not only the extreme behavior of employees, but also There are a range of issues such as labor shortage. how in the rapid development of social background, to manage a new generation of employees, how to increase their job satisfaction, how to make them run better with the business, how to make them realize their ideals , healthy life, etc. These efforts not only businesses, but also the whole community should think about problems and believe in the company, society, joint efforts of a new generation of employees, the problem can be resolved and hope that Fuji extreme events such as  health  management problems do not happen again. Links to free download http://eng. hi138. com

Second Foundation 19. End of War

QUORISTON, BATTLE OF Fought on 9, 17, 377 F.E. between the forces of the Foundation and those of Lord Stettin of Kalgan, it was the last battle of consequence during the Interregnum†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica Jole Turbor, in his new role of war correspondent, found his bulk incased in a naval uniform, and rather liked it. He enjoyed being back on the air, and some of the fierce helplessness of the futile fight against the Second Foundation left him in the excitement of another sort of fight with substantial ships and ordinary men. To be sure, the Foundation's fight had not been remarkable for victories, but it was still possible to be philosophic about the matter. After six months, the hard core of the Foundation was untouched, and the hard core of the Fleet was still in being. With the new additions since the start of the war, it was almost as strong numerically, and stronger technically, than before the defeat at Ifni. And meanwhile, planetary defenses were being strengthened; the armed forces better trained; administrative efficiency was having some of the water squeezed out of it – and much of the Kalganian's conquering fleet was being wallowed down through the necessity of occupying the â€Å"conquered† territory. At the moment, Turbor was with the Third Fleet in the outer reaches of the Anacreonian sector. In line with his policy of making this a â€Å"little man's war,† he was interviewing Fennel Leemor, Engineer Third Class, volunteer. â€Å"Tell us a little about yourself, sailor,† said Turbor. â€Å"Ain't much to tell,† Leemor shuffled his feet and allowed a faint, bashful smile to cover his face, as though he could see all the millions that undoubtedly could see him at the moment. I'm a Locrian. Got a job in an air-car factory; section head and good pay. I'm married; got two kids, both girls. Say, I couldn't say hello to them, could I – in case they're listening.† â€Å"Go ahead, sailor. The video is all yours.† â€Å"Gosh, thanks.† He burbled, â€Å"Hello, Milla, in case you're listening, I'm fine. Is Sunni all right? And Tomma? I think of you all the time and maybe I'll be back on furlough after we get back to port. I got your food parcel but I'm sending it back. We get our regular mess, but they say the civilians are a little tight. I guess that's all.† â€Å"I'll look her up next time I'm on Locris, sailor, and make sure she's not short of food. O.K.?† The young man smiled broadly and nodded his head. â€Å"Thank you, Mr. Turbor. I'd appreciate that.† â€Å"All right. Suppose you tell us, then – You're a volunteer, aren't you?† â€Å"Sure am. If anyone picks a fight with me, I don't have to wait for anyone to drag me in. I joined up the day I heard about the Hober Mallow.† â€Å"That's a fine spirit. Have you seen much action? I notice â€Å"You're wearing two battle stars.† â€Å"Ptah.† The sailor spat. â€Å"Those weren't battles, they were chases. The Kalganians don't fight, unless they have odds of five to one or better in their favor. Even then they just edge in and try to cut us up ship by ship. Cousin of mine was at Ifni and he was on a ship that got away, the old Ebling Mis. He says it was the same there. They had their Main Fleet against just a wing division of ours, and down to where we only had five ships left, they kept stalking instead of fighting. We got twice as many of their ships at that fight.† â€Å"Then you think we're going to win the war?† â€Å"Sure bet; now that we aren't retreating. Even if things got too bad, that's when I'd expect the Second Foundation to step in. We still got the Seldon Plan – and they know it, too.† Turbor's lips curled a bit. â€Å"You're counting on the Second Foundation, then?† The answer came with honest surprise. â€Å"Well, doesn't everyone?† Junior Officer Tippellum stepped into Turbor's room after the visicast. He shoved a cigarette at the correspondent and knocked his cap back to a perilous balance on the occiput. â€Å"We picked up a prisoner,† he said. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Little crazy fellow. Claims to be a neutral – diplomatic immunity, no less. I don't think they know what to do with him. His name's Palvro, Palver, something like that, and he says he's from Trantor. Don't know what in space he's doing in a war zone.† But Turbor had swung to a sitting position on his bunk and the nap he had been about to take was forgotten. He remembered quite well his last interview with Darell, the day after war had been declared and he was shoving off. â€Å"Preem Palver,† he said. It was a statement. Tippellum paused and let the smoke trickle out the sides of his mouth. â€Å"Yeah,† he said, â€Å"how in space did you know?† â€Å"Never mind. Can I see him?† â€Å"Space, I can't say. The old man has him in his own room for questioning. Everyone figures he's a spy.† â€Å"You tell the old man that I know him, if he's who he claims he is. I'II take the responsibility.† Captain Dixyl on the flagship of the Third Fleet watched unremittingly at the Grand Detector. No ship could avoid being a source of subatomic radiation – not even if it were lying an inert mass – and each focal point of such radiation was a little sparkle in the three-dimensional field. Each one of the Foundation's ships were accounted for and no sparkle was left over, now that the little spy who claimed to be a neutral had been picked up. For a while, that outside ship had created a stir in the captain's quarters. The tactics might have needed changing on short notice. As it was- â€Å"Are you sure you have it?† he asked. Commander Cenn nodded. â€Å"I will take my squadron through hyperspace: radius, 10.00 parsecs; theta, 268.52 degrees; phi, 84.15 degrees. Return to origin at 1330. Total absence 11.83 hours.† â€Å"Right. Now we are going to count on pin-point return as regards both space and time. Understand?† â€Å"Yes, captain.† He looked at his wrist watch, â€Å"My ships will be ready by 0140.† â€Å"Good,† said Captain Dixyl. The Kalganian squadron was not within detector range now, but they would be soon. There was independent information to that effect. Without Cenn's squadron the Foundation forces would be badly outnumbered, but the captain was quite confident. Quite confident. Preem Palver looked sadly about him. First at the tall, skinny admiral; then at the others, everyone in uniform; and now at this last one, big and stout, with his collar open and no tie – not like the rest – who said he wanted to speak to him. Jole Turbor was saying: â€Å"I am perfectly aware, admiral, of the serious possibilities involved here, but I tell you that if I can be allowed to speak to him for a few minutes, I may be able to settle the current uncertainty.† â€Å"Is there any reason why you can't question him before me?† Turbor pursed his lips and looked stubborn. â€Å"Admiral,† he said, â€Å"while I have been attached to your ships, the Third Fleet has received an excellent press. You may station men outside the door, if you like, and you may return in five minutes. But, meanwhile, humor me a bit, and your public relations will not suffer. Do you understand me?† He did. Then Turbor in the isolation that followed, turned to Palver, and said, â€Å"Quickly – what is the name of the girl you abducted.† And Palver could simply stare round-eyed, and shake his head. â€Å"No nonsense,† said Turbor. â€Å"If you do not answer, you will be a spy and spies are blasted without trial in war time.† â€Å"Arcadia Darell!† gasped Palver. â€Å"Well! All right, then. Is she safe?† Palver nodded. â€Å"You had better be sure of that, or it won't be well for you.† â€Å"She is in good health, perfectly safe,† said Palver, palely. The admiral returned, â€Å"Well?† â€Å"The man, sir, is not a spy. You may believe what he tells you. I vouch for him.† â€Å"That so?† The admiral frowned. â€Å"Then he represents an agricultural co-operative on Trantor that wants to make a trade treaty with Terminus for the delivery of grains and potatoes. Well, all right, but he can't leave now.† â€Å"Why not?† asked Palver, quickly. â€Å"Because we're in the middle of a battle. After it is over – assuming we're still alive – we'll take you to Terminus.† The Kalganian fleet that spanned through space detected the Foundation ships from an incredible distance and were themselves detected. Like little fireflies in each other's Grand Detectors, they closed in across the emptiness. And the Foundation's admiral frowned and said, â€Å"This must be their main push. Look at the numbers.† Then, â€Å"They won't stand up before us, though; not if Cenn's detachment can be counted on.† Commander Cenn had left hours before – at the first detection of the coming enemy. There was no way of altering the plan now. It worked or it didn't, but the admiral felt quite comfortable. As did the officers. As did the men. Again watch the fireflies. Like a deadly ballet dance, in precise formations, they sparked. The Foundation fleet edged slowly backwards. Hours passed and the fleet veered slowly off, teasing the advancing enemy slightly off course, then more so. In the minds of the dictators of the battle plan, there was a certain volume of space that must be occupied by the Kalganian ships. Out from that volume crept the Foundationers; into it slipped the Kalganians. Those that passed out again were attacked, suddenly and fiercely. Those that stayed within were not touched. It all depended on the reluctance of the ships of Lord Stettin to take the initiative themselves – on their willingness to remain where none attacked. Captain Dixyl stared frigidly at his wrist watch. It was 1310, â€Å"We've got twenty minutes,† he said. The lieutenant at his side nodded tensely, â€Å"It looks all right so far, captain. We've got more than ninety percent of them boxed. If we can keep them that way-â€Å" â€Å"Yes! If-â€Å" The Foundation ships were drifting forward again – very slowly. Not quick enough to urge a Kalganian retreat and just quickly enough to discourage a Kalganian advance. They preferred to wait. And the minutes passed. At 1325, the admiral's buzzer sounded in seventy-five ships of the Foundation's line, and they built up to a maximum acceleration towards the front-plane of the Kalganian fleet, itself three hundred strong. Kalganian shields flared into action, and the vast energy beams flicked out. Every one of the three hundred concentrated in the same direction, towards their mad attackers who bore down relentlessly, uncaringly and- At 1330, fifty ships under Commander Cenn appeared from nowhere, in one single bound through hyperspace to a calculated spot at a calculated time – and were spaced in tearing fury at the unprepared Kalganian rear. The trap worked perfectly. The Kalganians still had numbers on their side, but they were in no mood to count. Their first effort was to escape and the formation once broken was only the more vulnerable, as the enemy ships bumbled into one another's path. After a while, it took on the proportions of a rat hunt. Of three hundred Kalganian ships, the core and pride of their fleet, some sixty or less, many in a state of near-hopeless disrepair, reached Kalgan once more. The Foundation loss was eight ships out of a total of one hundred twenty-five. Preem Palver landed on Terminus at the height of the celebration. He found the furore distracting, but before he left the planet, he had accomplished two things, and received one request. The two things accomplished were: 1) the conclusion of an agreement whereby Palver's co-operative was to deliver twenty shiploads of certain foodstuffs per month for the next year at a war price, without, thanks to the recent battle, a corresponding war risk, and 2) the transfer to Dr. Darell of Arcadia's five short words. For a startled moment, Darell had stared wide-eyed at him, and then he had made his request. It was to carry an answer back to Arcadia. Palver liked it; it was a simple answer and made sense. It was: â€Å"Come back now. There won't be any danger.† Lord Stettin was in raging frustration. To watch his every weapon break in his hands; to feel the firm fabric of his military might part like the rotten thread it suddenly turned out to be – would have turned phlegmaticism itself into flowing lava. And yet he was helpless, and knew it. He hadn't really slept well in weeks. He hadn't shaved in three days. He had canceled all audiences. His admirals were left to themselves and none knew better than the Lord of Kalgan that very little time and no further defeats need elapse before he would have to contend with internal rebellion. Lev Meirus, First Minister, was no help. He stood there, calm and indecently old, with his thin, nervous finger stroking, as always, the wrinkled line from nose to chin. â€Å"Well,† shouted Stettin at him, â€Å"contribute something. We stand here defeated, do you understand? Defeated! And why? I don't know why. There you have it. I don't know why. Do you know why?† â€Å"I think so,† said Meirus, calmly. â€Å"Treason!† The word came out softly, and other words followed as softly. â€Å"You've known of treason, and you've kept quiet. You served the fool I ejected from the First Citizenship and you think you can serve whatever foul rat replaces me. If you have acted so, I will extract your entrails for it and burn them before your living eyes.† Meirus was unmoved. â€Å"I have tried to fill you with my own doubts, not once, but many times. I have dinned it in your ears and you have preferred the advice of others because it stuffed your ego better. Matters have turned out not as I feared, but even worse. If you do not care to listen now, say so, sir, and I shall leave, and, in due course, deal with your successor, whose first act, no doubt, will be to sign a treaty of peace.† Stettin stared at him red-eyed, enormous fists slowly clenching and unclenching. â€Å"Speak, you gray slug. Speak!† â€Å"I have told you often, sir, that you are not the Mule. You may control ships and guns but you cannot control the minds of your subjects. Are you aware, sir, of who it is you are fighting? You fight the Foundation, which is never defeated – the Foundation, which is protected by the Seldon Plan – the Foundation, which is destined to form a new Empire.† â€Å"There is no Plan. No longer. Munn has said so.† â€Å"Then Munn is wrong. And if he were right, what then? You and I, sir, are not the people. The men and women of Kalgan and its subject worlds believe utterly and deeply in the Seldon Plan as do all the inhabitants of this end of the Galaxy. Nearly four hundred years of history teach the fact that the Foundation cannot be beaten. Neither the kingdoms nor the warlords nor the old Galactic Empire itself could do it.† â€Å"The Mule did it.† â€Å"Exactly, and he was beyond calculation – and you are not. What is worse, the people know that you are not. So your ships go into battle fearing defeat in some unknown way. The insubstantial fabric of the Plan hangs over them so that they are cautious and look before they attack and wonder a little too much. While on the other side, that same insubstantial fabric fills the enemy with confidence, removes fear, maintains morale in the face of early defeats. Why not? The Foundation has always been defeated at first and has always won in the end. â€Å"And your own morale, sir? You stand everywhere on enemy territory. Your own dominions have not been invaded; are still not in danger of invasion – yet you are defeated. You don't believe in the possibility, even, of victory, because you know there is none. â€Å"Stoop, then, or you will be beaten to your knees. Stoop voluntarily, and you may save a remnant. You have depended on metal and power and they have sustained you as far as they could. You have ignored mind and morale and they have failed you. Now, take my advice. You have the Foundation man, Homir Munn. Release him. Send him back to Terminus and he will carry your peace offers.† Stettin's teeth ground behind his pale, set lips. But what choice had he? On the first day of the new year, Homir Munn left Kalgan again. More than six months had passed since he had left Terminus and in the interim, a war had raged and faded. He had come alone, but he left escorted. He had come a simple man of private life; he left the unappointed but nevertheless, actual, ambassador of peace. And what had most changed was his early concern over the Second Foundation. He laughed at the thought of that: and pictured in luxuriant detail the final revelation to Dr. Darell, to that energetic, young competent, Anthor, to all of them- He knew. He, Homir Munn, finally knew the truth.

To compare the growth of yeast between two yeast suspensions Essay Example

To compare the growth of yeast between two yeast suspensions Essay Example To compare the growth of yeast between two yeast suspensions Essay To compare the growth of yeast between two yeast suspensions Essay Method: 25mL of grape juice, and half a teaspoon of sugar was added to Flask A, then heated to boiling point for one minute. A thermometer was then placed in the flask and plugged with cottonwool. Flask A was then left to cool down to 30?C. Once the flask reached 30?C the cottonwool was quickly taken out and a quarter of a packet of yeast was added, as quickly as possible the cottonwool plug was replaced. The rest of the grape juice and sugar was then placed in Flask B and then heated at boiling for one minute. The yeast leftover was then added to the boiling mixture, plugged with cottonwool then allowed to cool. Both Flask A and B were then left at 25?C overnight. The cottonwool was then removed from Flask A and a sterilised dropping pipette was used to place a drop of the suspension onto a slide. A cover slip was then placed on top and the slide was then observed under the microscope. Cells were then observed under the low power lens and yeast was observed under the higher power setting. This process was repeated for flask B and the results were then recorded for both. Diagram: Results: When the flasks contents were observed after the 12 hours there was a clear difference in colour between flask A and flask B. Flask A was very white, cloudy colour whilst flask B was the same as when boiled. Flask A smelt very sweet (like wine) and flask B still smelt like grape juice. The cells and yeast in flask A were much more tightly packed yet they were very spread out in flask B. Discussion: The differences in yeast action can be explained through the difference in procedure. Flask A was cooled to the optimum yeast growth temperature before the yeast was added, this provided better conditions compared to flask B where the yeast was added at 100?C and therefore sterilised or killed. The purpose of boiling the grape juice and sugar is to fully dissolve the sugar so that it provides food for the yeast to live off. It is important to start with sterile flasks because otherwise there is a risk of contamination and possibly brewing pathogens. It is important to replace the cotton wool immediately after the addition of yeast because otherwise airborne contaminants may enter the flask and ruin the experiment. While adding the yeast it was important not to put the cotton wool on the bench because the cottonwool may get contaminated. The yeast was activated by providing the right environment for example the necessary nutrients and temperature.

Free Essays on 2nd Amendment Rights

Gun Control Versus Your 2nd Amendment Rights: The Truth. A Review of the Literature Since the beginning of America built on this country’s foundation the people have found it necessary to be able to keep and bear arms. This freedom, this guaranteed right in our Constitution became an amendment to our freedoms. The second amendment was one in pack of the first 10 amendments known as The Bill of Rights, passed by congress in September 25, 1789. The second amendment states that â€Å"For their protection and for purposes of having a well trained militia the people of the states may keep and bear (own) arms (weapons), but the federal government or the state governments may pass laws against owning certain weapons and the way others may be used†. (Cullop, 1999, p.64) This research will use the following questions to determine answers from various sources. 1.Do Guns cause more crime? 2.Does the media tell all of the truth about guns or only what makes news, and how much influence does the media have on Americans’ perception of guns? 3.What is the ultimate goal of Anti-Gun supporters’, working through courts, lies, and international treaties? 4.If banning guns is the answer to the problem, why have Britain, Australia, and Canada’s ban failed so horrendously to reduce crime. 5.Is the Second Amendment outdated, or is it America’s and it’s people’s best defense? This review of literature on Second Amendment rights versus Gun control will focus on these five questions. Do More Guns Cause More Crime or Less? In a very influential and well-researched book, Lott (1998) pointed out the con... Free Essays on 2nd Amendment Rights Free Essays on 2nd Amendment Rights Gun Control Versus Your 2nd Amendment Rights: The Truth. A Review of the Literature Since the beginning of America built on this country’s foundation the people have found it necessary to be able to keep and bear arms. This freedom, this guaranteed right in our Constitution became an amendment to our freedoms. The second amendment was one in pack of the first 10 amendments known as The Bill of Rights, passed by congress in September 25, 1789. The second amendment states that â€Å"For their protection and for purposes of having a well trained militia the people of the states may keep and bear (own) arms (weapons), but the federal government or the state governments may pass laws against owning certain weapons and the way others may be used†. (Cullop, 1999, p.64) This research will use the following questions to determine answers from various sources. 1. Do Guns cause more crime? 2. Does the media tell all of the truth about guns or only what makes news, and how much influence does the media have on Americans’ perception of guns? 3. What is the ultimate goal of Anti-Gun supporters’, working through courts, lies, and international treaties? 4. If banning guns is the answer to the problem, why have Britain, Australia, and Canada’s ban failed so horrendously to reduce crime. 5. Is the Second Amendment outdated, or is it America’s and it’s people’s best defense? This review of literature on Second Amendment rights versus Gun control will focus on these five questions. Do More Guns Cause More Crime or Less? In a very influential and well-researched book, Lott (1998) pointed out the con...

Montar Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples

Montar Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples The Spanish verb montar is a regular -ar  verb like cenar, ayudar, or bajar.  It has several different meanings, but the most common is to mount. This article includes the conjugations of  montar  in the indicative mood (present, preterite, imperfect, future and conditional), the subjunctive mood (present and past), imperative mood, and other verb forms such as the gerund and past participle. Meanings and Examples of the Verb Montar The verb montar  is a cognate of the English verb to mount, so it can mean to mount or to put on. For example, Voy a montar el televisor en la pared is translated as I am going to mount the television on the wall, and  Ellos van a montar una obra de teatro  means They are going to put on a play.   Another meaning of  montar is to ride a horse or a bicycle. For example, A ella le gusta montar a caballo  (She likes to ride horses) or  A à ©l le gusta montar en bicicleta  (He likes to ride bicycles).   Yet another meaning of the verb  montar  is to put together or to assemble. For example,  Tengo que montar los muebles que comprà © en Ikea  (I have to assemble the furniture I bought at Ikea.) This meaning can even be used for putting together or starting a business. For example,  Vamos a montar un negocio de vender frutas  (We are going to start a business selling fruit.) The verb  montar  can also be used as a reflexive verb,  montarse,  in which case it means to get on something or to climb into something. For example, you can talk about  montarse en el bus  (get on the bus),  montarse en el carro  (get in the car),  montarse en el avià ³n  (get on the plane),  montarse en el caballo  (get on the horse), etc. Montar Present Indicative Yo monto I mount Yo monto mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. T montas You mount T montas a caballo en la finca. Usted/l/ella monta You/he/she mounts Ella monta el cuadro en la pared. Nosotros montamos We mount Nosotros montamos una obra de teatro. Vosotros montis You mount Vosotros montis los muebles rpidamente. Ustedes/ellos/ellas montan You/they mount Ellos montan una tienda de zapatos. Montar Preterite  Indicative The preterite tense can be translated as the English simple past. It is used when talking about actions in the past that have been completed. Yo mont I mounted Yo mont mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. T montaste You mounted T montaste a caballo en la finca. Usted/l/ella mont You/he/she mounted Ella mont el cuadro en la pared. Nosotros montamos We mounted Nosotros montamos una obra de teatro. Vosotros montasteis You mounted Vosotros montasteis los muebles rpidamente. Ustedes/ellos/ellas montaron You/they mounted Ellos montaron una tienda de zapatos. Montar Imperfect  Indicative The  imperfect  tense can be translated to English as was mounting or used to mount.  It is used to talk about ongoing or repeated actions in the past. Yo montaba I used to mount Yo montaba mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. T montabas You used to mount T montabas a caballo en la finca. Usted/l/ella montaba You/he/she used to mount Ella montaba el cuadro en la pared. Nosotros montbamos We used to mount Nosotros montbamos una obra de teatro. Vosotros montabais You used to mount Vosotros montabais los muebles rpidamente. Ustedes/ellos/ellas montaban You/they used to mount Ellos montaban una tienda de zapatos. Montar Future  Indicative Yo montar I will mount Yo montar mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. T montars You will mount T montars a caballo en la finca. Usted/l/ella montar You/he/she will mount Ella montar el cuadro en la pared. Nosotros montaremos We will mount Nosotros montaremos una obra de teatro. Vosotros montaris You will mount Vosotros montaris los muebles rpidamente. Ustedes/ellos/ellas montarn You/they will mount Ellos montarn una tienda de zapatos. Montar Periphrastic Future  Indicative Yo voy a montar I am going to mount Yo voy a montar mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. T vas a montar You are going to mount T vas a montar a caballo en la finca. Usted/l/ella va a montar You/he/she is going to mount Ella va a montar el cuadro en la pared. Nosotros vamos a montar We are going to mount Nosotros vamos a montar una obra de teatro. Vosotros vais a montar You are going to mount Vosotros vais a montar los muebles rpidamente. Ustedes/ellos/ellas van a montar You/they are going to mount Ellos van a montar una tienda de zapatos. Montar Conditional  Indicative The conditional  tense can be translated to English as would mount.  It is used to talk about possibilities. Yo montara I would mount Yo montara mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo si viviera ms cerca. T montaras You would mount T montaras a caballo en la finca si estuvieras ms saludable. Usted/l/ella montara You/he/she would mount Ella montara el cuadro en la pared si tuviera las herramientas necesarias. Nosotros montaramos We would mount Nosotros montaramos una obra de teatro, pero no tenemos tiempo para ensayar. Vosotros montarais You would mount Vosotros montarais los muebles rpidamente, pero son muy grandes. Ustedes/ellos/ellas montaran You/they would mount Ellos montaran una tienda de zapatos si tuvieran el dinero para empezar. Montar Present Progressive/Gerund Form The present participle or gerund  for -ar  verbs is formed with the ending  -ando. The present participle is used in  progressive tenses  like the present progressive. Present Progressive of Montar est montando Is mounting Ella est montando el cuadro en la pared. Montar Past Participle The past participle for -ar  verbs is formed with the ending  -ado. The past participle is used in  compound tenses  like the present perfect.   Present Perfect of Montar ha montado  Has mounted Ella ha montado el cuadro en la pared.   Montar Present Subjunctive Que yo monte That I mount El mdico sugiere que yo monte mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. Que t montes That you mount El jefe quiere que t montes a caballo en la finca. Que usted/l/ella monte That you/he/she mount Mam quiere que ella monte el cuadro en la pared. Que nosotros montemos That we mount El director quiere que nosotros montemos una obra de teatro. Que vosotros montis That you mount El cliente quiere que vosotros montis los muebles rpidamente. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas monten That you/they mount Pedro sugiere que ellos monten una tienda de zapatos. Montar Imperfect  Subjunctive There are two different ways of conjugating the  imperfect subjunctive. The tables below show both options, which are equally correct. Option 1 Que yo montara That I mounted El mdico sugiri que yo montara mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. Que t montaras That you mounted El jefe quera que t montaras a caballo en la finca. Que usted/l/ella montara That you/he/she mounted Mam quera que ella montara el cuadro en la pared. Que nosotros montramos That we mounted El director quera que nosotros montramos una obra de teatro. Que vosotros montarais That you mounted El cliente quera que vosotros montarais los muebles rpidamente. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas montaran That you/they mounted Pedro sugiri que ellos montaran una tienda de zapatos. Option 2 Que yo montase That I mounted El mdico sugiri que yo montase mi bicicleta para ir al trabajo. Que t montases That you mounted El jefe quera que t montases a caballo en la finca. Que usted/l/ella montase That you/he/she mounted La mam quera que ella montase el cuadro en la pared. Que nosotros montsemos That we mounted El director quera que nosotros montsemos una obra de teatro. Que vosotros montaseis That you mounted El cliente quera que vosotros montaseis los muebles rpidamente. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas montasen That you/they mounted Pedro sugiri que ellos montasen una tienda de zapatos. Montar Imperative   The imperative mood is used to give direct orders. The tables below show the positive and negative commands for  montar. Positive Commands T monta Mount! Monta a caballo en la finca! Usted monte Mount! Monte el cuadro en la pared! Nosotros montemos Lets mount! Montemos una obra de teatro! Vosotros montad Mount! Montad los muebles rpidamente! Ustedes monten Mount! Monten una tienda de zapatos! Negative Commands T no montes Dont mount! No montes a caballo en la finca! Usted no monte Dont mount No monte el cuadro en la pared! Nosotros no montemos Lets not mount No montemos una obra de teatro! Vosotros no montis Dont mount! No montis los muebles rpidamente! Ustedes no monten Dont mount! No monten una tienda de zapatos!

Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Buddhism - Essay Example From the holy book, chapters 16–20 are devoted to nirvana and the path to enlightenment (Buddharakkhita 6–23). According to the teachings, the events that a person is subjected to are an outcome of the thoughts he or she has formed. Hatred should not lead to hatred, for it never causes hatred to cease but only by love. It is important to control one’s senses, and not only seek controlled pleasures or be immoderate in one’s food since such behavior will only cause Mara the Tempter to overthrow such person. Whether one is a monk or a householder, it is important to remove evil and sinful thoughts. Ethics seems to be a strong point in the teachings and drive home the benefits of good and sinless living, as compared to sinful living where one only has evil thoughts. The evil doer always thinks of the evil he has done, and these thoughts continue to haunt him even in his sleep, and deprive him of the simple pleasures in life since he is always thinking about ev il, retribution, and the acts that others would take on him. A person who is free from such thoughts would be free from evil intentions and subsequently be free from hatred, desire, and evil (Buddharakkhita 30–63). According to Lord Buddha, a wise man does not pass arbitrary judgements but reaches them after deep thought. To be called an elder and not just a vain old man, one must show truthfulness, restraint, self-mastery, virtue, and inoffensive behaviour, and should be free from defilements (Buddharakkhita 64–65). Lord Buddha also says that a person must be watchful in using his speech, control his mind and not commit evil. Lust, affection, and desire are bondages that tie a man to sin and wrongdoing, so they must be cut off. The evil embodiments are defined by craving, or the mother, self-conceit that is the father of evil desire, eternalism and nihilism that are the two warrior kings, and sense organs and objects that are the country. Once these evils are destroye d, the person is ready to be on the road to salvation. Disciples of Gotama are those who happy and non-violent, who practice mindfulness of the body, who have the qualities of the sangha, dhamma and Buddha, and those who constantly meditate (Buddharakkhita 66–75). A wise man must come to realize that by renouncing a lesser happiness, one can achieve a greater happiness. One should avoid being entangled by bonds of hate since cancers of the mind only increase for people who are arrogant and heedless. It is important that one always be on guard since opportunity can slip by, and it is better to walk alone if the company that one finds is not made of virtuous people. The current of craving flows everywhere and includes sensual pleasure, annihilation, and continued existence. It is essential that one free himself from these cravings (Buddharakkhita 78–87). How Do Moral Expectations of a Buddhist Monk Differ from the Morality of a Lay Buddhist? The Buddhist monk is one who has given up all worldly pleasures and seeks nirvana, or the path of salvation. The laity, or the lay Buddhist, is one who still has a family and looks after his household. While the rules for the monk are strict and need stringent self-restraint, those for the laity are more of behavioral nature. Differences are given as below. A monk must practice restraint and show extreme control in his actions and attitude. Accordingly, the monk should restrain oneself in the eye,

Evaluation the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Research Paper

Evaluation the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - Research Paper Example It was extremely important for the international community to step in and secure justice for the citizens of Yugoslavia since order and justice were failing. The enforcement of human rights and establishing the foundation for effective conflict resolution and post-conflict development has been one of the guiding principles of the ICTY. The establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia by the United Nations was one of the precedents which paved the way for multilateral action by the international community and nation-states concerned about the declining administrative conditions of former Yugoslavia. However, there are a few shortcomings with the ICTY. One of the major shortcomings is that it is an organization which is ad hoc in nature, which in turn makes it a very problematic institution having a number of limitations. It might have some shortcomings; however, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. And the major advantage of having ICTY is that it lays the groundwork for international law and politics and helps in the establishment of the International Criminal Court or the ICC. The ICC serves as a permanent mechanism which enforces justice. Peter Radan(2002, p.201) states ‘With the exception of Bosnia- Hercegovina, for all the secessions of and within Yugoslavia’s republics, it was explicitly claimed that they were justified on the basis of the right of peoples to self-determination. This is apparent from the various declarations of independence and constitutions adopted by the seceding entities. Bosnia-Hercegovina was a special case due to the absence from that republic of a dominant national group. However, self-determination was still a significant factor.  

Questions Week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Questions Week 5 - Essay Example (Bardwell, 2007) It is possible that the differences in the educational teachings each of these generations have received from school due to the rapid changes in the information technology affects the differences in their professional satisfaction, motivation, leadership issues and styles, as well as the different strategy when it comes to increasing the employee’s morale among others. As a human resource manager, the art of being able to motivate and increase the morale of each worker despite the differences in their work expectations and satisfaction remains a challenge. What is the best way to resolve the conflicting issues among the baby boomers, the generation ‘X’ and ‘Y’ workers? Is the motivational strategy applicable to baby boomer workers equally effective in terms of motivating the generation ‘Y’ workers? What are the factors that the human resource manager should consider when it comes to dealing with each type of worker? Is pay-for-performance the best way to increase the workers’ productivity and motivation? Di Gregorio (2000) stated that despite all the available qualitative software packages used in analyzing literature, the best method is the use of NVivo. Launched back in May 1999, the NVivo version 1.2 software is considered as the updated and improved version of NUD*IST. NVivo’s newer version is 2.0. These softwares are downloadable from the website http://www.qsr.com.au, NVivo software is easy to use. The researcher could easily import necessary documents from the microsoft word processing package and eventually use coding strips to code these documents on screen. According to Lyn Richards (1999), NVivo software is designed exclusively for â€Å"researchers who desire to display as well as develop a rich data in dynamic documents.† The capability of this software to assist the researchers when going through a long process of qualtitative data

Strategic Assessment of Wal-Mart for an ITM class Essay

Strategic Assessment of Wal-Mart for an ITM class - Essay Example Many others are of the view that the current problems were because of Wal-Mart’s failure to incorporate state-of-the-art IS/IT technologies in its operations. Being a business technology consultant hired by Wal-Mart, I do believe that Wal-Mart is in trouble mainly because of its failure to incorporate suitable IS/IT technologies in its activities. Offline businesses are currently giving way for online businesses or e-commerce. It is important for Wal-Mart to give more attention to online businesses. â€Å"Wal-Mart has assembled a team of 70 developers, computer engineers and researchers — dubbed @WalmartLabs — in an aggressive attempt to position itself at the forefront of social and mobile commerce† (Wal-Mart: The Next Tech Giant?). However, its e-commerce platform still needs more fine tuning to attract more visitors. Just like Amazon and Google, it is better for Wal-Mart to enter into the search engine business so that it can expand its business portfolios as well as enhance its retail business. Shopperception is a new IT related technology evolved out in recent times to check the consumer behaviours and buying habits. â€Å"Shopperception recognizes the customers when they check-in and it remembers previous buying habits and can predict what the customer is likely to want on this visit† (Israel). Wal-Mart should use this technology extensively in its retail outlets to help the consumers. â€Å"The Wal-Mart network, connecting more than 2,400 stores and 100 distribution centers worldwide. At Wal-Mart, we dont implement technology for its own sake," says David Flanagin, Director of Network Engineering† (The Wal-Mart Story, p.1). From the words of David, it is evident that Wal-Mart is not much keen in using technologies to improve the efficiency of its global activities. It should be noted that efficient working of a supply chain is necessary for Wal-Mart to

Investment Advice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Investment Advice - Essay Example The share prices of the stocks which are being traded in the market, are decided by incorporating and reflecting all associated information (Quiry, Dallochio, & Vernimmen, 2011). The supporters of the Efficient Market Hypothesis are of the idea that the stocks or shares are always traded at their fair value, which in turn makes it almost impossible for the investors to manipulate the overall stock market by either indulging in the purchase of low priced stocks or selling the high priced stocks. According to this theory, it is not possible for the investors to manipulate or outperform the stock market as the market is efficient in terms of incorporating all relevant information.Efficient market hypothesis is believed to be applicable in the real stock markets by some of the analysts. Many of the financial analysts and economists are of the view that the stock markets are always efficient in terms of reflecting the complete information associated with the different stocks and the overa ll stock market. This school of thought is of the view that it is possible for the stock market to be efficient, as any new information in the market is passed on very rapidly and hence this information is incorporated in the prices of the stocks. This makes it impossible for the investors and financial analysts to take advantage through the techniques of technical analysis or fundamental analysis. This concept of efficient market hypothesis is directly related with the concept behind the ‘random walk’.... EFFICIENT MARKET HYPOTHESIS Efficient market hypothesis is one of the famous financial or investment theories, which tries to explain the general behaviour and trend in the stock market. According to this theory, it is not possible for any investor, either big or large, to beat the market because the stock market is efficient. The share prices of the stocks which are being traded in the market, are decided by incorporating and reflecting all associated information (Quiry, Dallochio, & Vernimmen, 2011). The supporters of the Efficient Market Hypothesis are of the idea that the stocks or shares are always traded at their fair value, which in turn makes it almost impossible for the investors to manipulate the overall stock market by either indulging in the purchase of low priced stocks or selling the high priced stocks. According to this theory, it is not possible for the investors to manipulate or outperform the stock market as the market is efficient in terms of incorporating all rele vant information. Efficient market hypothesis is believed to be applicable in the real stock markets by some of the analysts. Many of the financial analysts and economists are of the view that the stock markets are always efficient in terms of reflecting the complete information associated with the different stocks and the overall stock market. This school of thought is of the view that it is possible for the stock market to be efficient, as any new information in the market is passed on very rapidly and hence this information is incorporated in the prices of the stocks. This makes it impossible for the investors and financial analysts to take advantage through the techniques of technical analysis or fundamental analysis. This concept

Strategic Assessment of Wal-Mart for an ITM class Essay

Strategic Assessment of Wal-Mart for an ITM class - Essay Example Many others are of the view that the current problems were because of Wal-Mart’s failure to incorporate state-of-the-art IS/IT technologies in its operations. Being a business technology consultant hired by Wal-Mart, I do believe that Wal-Mart is in trouble mainly because of its failure to incorporate suitable IS/IT technologies in its activities. Offline businesses are currently giving way for online businesses or e-commerce. It is important for Wal-Mart to give more attention to online businesses. â€Å"Wal-Mart has assembled a team of 70 developers, computer engineers and researchers — dubbed @WalmartLabs — in an aggressive attempt to position itself at the forefront of social and mobile commerce† (Wal-Mart: The Next Tech Giant?). However, its e-commerce platform still needs more fine tuning to attract more visitors. Just like Amazon and Google, it is better for Wal-Mart to enter into the search engine business so that it can expand its business portfolios as well as enhance its retail business. Shopperception is a new IT related technology evolved out in recent times to check the consumer behaviours and buying habits. â€Å"Shopperception recognizes the customers when they check-in and it remembers previous buying habits and can predict what the customer is likely to want on this visit† (Israel). Wal-Mart should use this technology extensively in its retail outlets to help the consumers. â€Å"The Wal-Mart network, connecting more than 2,400 stores and 100 distribution centers worldwide. At Wal-Mart, we dont implement technology for its own sake," says David Flanagin, Director of Network Engineering† (The Wal-Mart Story, p.1). From the words of David, it is evident that Wal-Mart is not much keen in using technologies to improve the efficiency of its global activities. It should be noted that efficient working of a supply chain is necessary for Wal-Mart to

The preaching of Augustine Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The preaching of Augustine - Research Proposal Example This paper will discuss some of the styles that Augustine used to deliver his message and why it was important for him to preach using the Bible. Augustine used Bible stories to pull a mass of people to listen to him. This is because he engaged the crowd through using examples that correlate well with their lives.2 In addition, he made connections with the congregation by using simple linguistic languages so that the message could be understood by all.3 This made him likable in that no one was discriminated against his style of preaching in that he built a sense of connection with them In addition, Augustine used theological themes such as grace, love and judgment to preach to the people.4 Through these themes in the Bible, he could use them to explain certain issues in the society. This contributed on the fact that he had many followers in that they began to learn about God. Augustine also preached regularly such that he interpreted almost every book in the Bible.5 This served him well in that the people understood why Augustine was religious in that the understood the compassionate love that God had for His people.6 This illustrates that Augustine was an important figure in not only the community but also the History of Christianity in that he helped the people understand the coherent significance of believing in God.7 In conclusion, it is clear that Augustine used the Bible explicitly to communicate to the people in the community. Through the Bible, Augustine emphasized on the importance of faith in God through sharing scriptural texts. In addition, he used simple language and biblical stories to reach to the congregation and the people as a whole. Augustine preached to the people by using theological themes such as judgment and Grace to assert the significance of believing in God. This shows that Augustine was an important figure in the History of Christianity

Security Requirements & Possible Risks Essay Example for Free

Security Requirements Possible Risks Essay Huffman Trucking, an established trucking company since 1936, has recently requested the implementation of a new Benefits Elections System to assist management in tracking and reporting the benefits of both union and non-union employees. A database system will be utilized to store critical data such as employee information, along with the benefit package of their choosing. Storing such information requires necessary security measures to be in place to ensure the total protection of the data within. The risks associated with storing critical information must also be thoroughly addressed so Huffman Trucking can develop effective action plans to prevent potential threats from harming the organization. Regardless of the storage method when handling critical information, security measures must be implemented to effectively protect the data, as well as the company assets from potential threats such as theft or litigation. Security Requirements When it comes to effectively protecting company data, any organization has the great responsibility to identify as well as implement security policies, values, strategies, processes, procedures, and best practices to fully ensure data protection, as well as ensure that organizational goals and objectives are continually being met (Reiner, 2008). The information that will be stored within the Huffman Trucking database will include: employee names, social security numbers, birthdates, etc. The loss of such data can ultimately not only harm the employee, but the organization as a whole. In an effort to reduce and/or eliminate such risks, security requirements for the Benefits Elections System should include: firewall security, encryption, and password protection and renewal. Firewall security is an absolute necessary security requirement to effectively protect the database from malicious attacks such as hackers. Firewall security refers to a network device that will block certain types of network traffic, forming a barricade between a trusted and an untrusted network (â€Å"Dell†, 2013). The purpose of this security measure is to prevent the spread of computer attacks by blocking access to information from unauthorized sources. Due to the amount of sensitive data that will be stored within the system, it is recommended that the firewalls should be configured to support the default-deny policy, in which the allowed network services are listed, and everything else is denied (â€Å"Dell†, 2013). The use of encryption will also enhance the security of the information that will be stored within the Benefits Elections System. Encryption is a simple security measure that will distort the information contained within an employee file so that it can be viewed only by the authorized users who have the proper encryption key to decipher it. Much like firewall security, it will block unauthorized users from accessing confidential information by making the data impossible to view. Password protection and renewal are crucial security measures that must be enforced by Huffman Trucking to ensure the protection of data stored within the Benefits Elections System. Authorized users should protect their passwords at all costs; unprotected passwords leave critical data vulnerable to access by unauthorized users. Recommendations to ensure a password is protected include: * Password length: A password should always be at least eight characters long. * Complexity: Make a password as complex as possible by using a variety of letters, numbers, symbols and punctuations. The more complex the password, the better protected it is. * Variation: Change a password at least every three months, if not more. * Variety: Use different passwords for different accounts. Never use the same password for everything. * Confidentiality: Never share or write down a password. Writing down or sharing a password leaves critical data vulnerable in ways that most people can never imagine. The ability of an organization to renew passwords frequently is a significant step towards enhanced data protection (Brown, 2010). To enhance the effectiveness of password renewal, system users should not have the ability to use previous passwords when renewing the current ones. Implementing password renewal on the Benefits Elections System will ensure security measures are continually enforced, especially in the event that if an unauthorized user were to gain access to the system, the password would only be good for a specific length of time before it will be changed. Possible Risks â€Å"Risk† is a term that most people, as well as organizations, are familiar with. Risk can be defined as the probability of any possible threat turning into a disaster, which is why significant measures are often taken to reduce and/or eliminate such possibilities. By utilizing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), Huffman Trucking can effectively determine the vulnerabilities associated with implementing a Benefits Elections System, and develop action plans to correct the vulnerabilities to prevent the risks from becoming reality. Several risks are often associated with the implementation of a new system, however, the main risks that must be considered by Huffman Trucking include: database corruption, human error, and hacking and other malicious attacks. Database corruption is likely the most common cause of data loss within an information system (Mulvey, 2006). Database corruption damages the database and impairs functionality. Memory errors, network errors, power glitches, PC crashing when the database is open are all examples of incidences that can lead to database corruption. Data corruption is unfortunately inevitable; however, there are several practices that can be done to avoid such a threat. These practices include, but are not limited to: * Ensuring the network is set up properly. * Running Scandisk and Defrag often to ensure hard disk functionality. * Refraining from using databases during thunderstorms to avoid power glitches. * Ensuring the database is implemented correctly, and is ready to be utilized by all system users. Human error is perhaps one of the biggest threats that can lead to data corruption. It is important to keep in mind that the greater the number of system users of the Benefits Elections System, the more chances there are for crucial information to be leaked or mishandled. Taking the proper precautions to safeguard the data (this should include a thorough training after system implementation) to ensure the information is appropriately handled at all times is vital to the well-being of both the employees, as well as the organization. Given the amount of sensitive information that will be stored within the Benefits Elections System, it is obvious that Huffman Trucking must be aware that cyber-criminals will try to gain access to such data should it be left unprotected. Breaking into information systems for malicious intent is something that has made security what it is today: thorough and inflexible. Hackers are smart nowadays; they can make use of a number of tools and techniques to grant them access to information, which can have damaging effects on the victim(s). The possibilities of what a cyber-criminal will do once he or she has access to sensitive information are endless; however, one thing is for sure: the victim(s) could virtually lose everything. Without the proper security measures that were previously mentioned in place, the Benefits Elections System will be vulnerable to hackers and other malicious attacks. Thoroughly examining the potential risks with the implementation of any information system will allow an organization to effectively develop action plans and enforce the necessary security measures required to reduce and/or eliminate such risks. A thorough and effective risk analysis will demonstrate how firewall security, encryption, and password protection can reduce the risks of database corruption and malicious attacks. Like any information system, the Benefits Elections System will prove to be vulnerable to potential threats if not protected at all costs. References Brown, T. (2010). Protecting Organizations’ Most Critical Data with Privileged Password Management. New York, NY: Auerbach Publications . Dell. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.secureworks.com/resources/articles/other_articles/firewall-security/ Mulvey, A. (2006). QA Database Corruption. Retrieved from

Causes of the Development of Pakistans Banking Sector

Causes of the Development of Pakistans Banking Sector ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants of development of banking sector from the perspective of Real GDP, Discount rate, Trade openness and Financial Liberalization by using annual data from 1970 to 2007. In this study, Liquid Liabilities, Private sector credit and Domestic credit are used as indicator of banking sector development. The finding of this research shows negative relationship between Trade openness and development of banking sector development. Discount rate is having a significant impact on banking sector development when Private sector credit and Domestic credit is used as the indicator while Real GDP is found significant when Liquid Liabilities and Domestic credit is used as indicator of Banking sector Development. Generalized form of data has been used in this study. Keywords: Banking Sector development, Real GDP, Trade openness, Discount Rate, Financial Liberalization INTRODUCTION The financial sector of Pakistan has shown a substantial growth in past few years, however there is still need for continuous development. The financial sector of Pakistan consists of a variety of specialized financial institutions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" commercial banks, DFIs, NBFCs, micro finance banks, Islamic banks, Modarbas, Stock Exchange and Insurance companies. Thus the whole financial sector of Pakistan offers a wide range of products and services to its customers. (Zaidi, 2005) states that growth of financial sector is significantly related with economic growth therefore, country needs well developed financial sector in order to fully utilize the financial resources. Banking system has a significant importance in financial market. Banking Sector of Pakistan is an important financial intermediary and responsible for the economic growth in the country. In 1990, Denationalization of Government owned banks have changed the overall scenario of the banking sector of Pakistan. After the amendments in banking companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ ordinance, Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and Allied bank Limited (ABL) were denationalized in 1991 and 1993 respectively. The process of denationalization remains suspended for numbers of years and was restarted in early 2000s, when United Bank Limited (UBL) was privatized. In 2004, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) was also denationalized and due to which, the asset share of public sector banks was reduced to 25% at that time. In the last decade, state bank of Pakistan has made several efforts in promoting the Islamic modes of financing. In 2002, the first Islamic bank was established under the name of Meezan bank. Since then, the number of Islamic banks has been opened. Various traditional ban ks are now opening Islamic specialized branches. At the end of 2009, total assets of the Islamic banking have reached to 366.3 billions and the deposits in Islamic banks have reached to 282.6 billions  [1]  . At the end of calendar year 2009, there are 9522 total branches of banks in Pakistan which shows an increase of 376 branches in banking sector from the 3rd quarter of 2009. Moreover, the asset base of banking sector has shown a growth of 7 percent over the last quarter. (Yasmin, Jehan, Chaudhary, 2006) explains that after independence in 1947, Pakistan avoided trade openness because of weak industrial structure. In 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, industrial base was laid and manufacturing industry expanded widely in Pakistan. However, industrial expansion face setback in 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s due to nationalization of industries. In 1980à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, IMF and World Bank provided facilities to the Pakistan in order to initiate the financial restructuring in country. A loan of $150 million and $200 Million was provided for this purpose under à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Financial sector adjustment loanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in 1989 and 1997 respectively. Another project named as financial sector deepening and Intermediation project was initiated in 1995. The estimated worth of that project was $216 million. (Hanif, 2002) Despite of the remarkable performance since last two decades, the banking sector of Pakistan is less developed and remains small in relation to the economy, when it is compared to the other banking sectors of the world. This shows that a number of financial and banking needs are still ignored and that much of the economic potential of Pakistan is not achieved yet. LITERATURE REVIEW (Christopoulos Tsionas, 2004) states there is no one opinion of economist on the issue of financial development and growth of economy. (Pagano, 1993) describes that savings are mobilized towards the productive investment due to financial deepening which helps in improving corporate governance. (Khan Qayyum, 2007) says there are three major channels through which financial development can affect economic growth (i) marginal productivity of capital can be increased (ii) savings are directed towards the investment (iii) level of private saving rate can be increased. The relationship of economic growth and financial development was first discussed by (Goldsmith, 1969), (McKinnon, 1973) and (Shaw, 1973). Their study shows that there is a positive relationship between financial development and the level of output i.e. when the financial market will increase the credit level, the investment will increase thus, showing that real income and real interest rate is a positive function of financial development. (Yu Gan, 2010) study shows that due to positive real interest rate, the mobilization of savings of banks increases and it also increases the growth with the increase in volume and productivity of capital. (Yanikkaya, 2003) argues that trade openness has a significant impact on the GDP share. In developing countries, trade openness creates new opportunities to increase the growth process and hence the unemployment level decrease. (Jin, 2000) states that trade openness facilitates in establishing the development process. Moreover, local technology and production process can be improved through trade liberalization. One school of thoughts is of view that the financial liberalization is also a major contributor towards the financial development in developing countries. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Financial liberalization means the deregulation of domestic financial markets and liberalization of the capital account.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Attaullah, Cockerill, Le, 2004) empirically shows that the effectiveness of banking sector is improved following the financial liberalization. (Bekaert, Harvey, Lundblad, 2005) Suggests that there is a significant relationship between financial liberalization and economic growth. However, (Stiglitz, 2000) argues that increase in financial liberalization enhances the macro economic vulnerability of nations and chances of crises becomes significant. The study of (Gong, Lee, Chen, 2004) supported the fact that increase in financial liberalization can cause crisis. (Wyplosz, 2001) suggested that financial liberalization is effective if the objective is to increase the competition and d ecrease the monopoly powers. However, financial liberalization is quite risky for developing countries. Many developing countries in Asia and Europe have grown faster even with strong financial restraints. MODEL SPECIFICATION Based on the above literature, we can propose that in Pakistan, banking sector development is a function of real Gross Domestic Products (RGDP), Discount date (DR) and Trade openness (TO) and Financial Liberalization (FL). This can also be shown as BSD Pak = f (RGDP, RI, TO, FL) Where, BSD Pak = Banking Sector Development of Pakistan In this study, we have used following models which are estimated by using least square techniques. In model 1, we will use Liquid liabilities as the indicator of banking sector development. In model 2, Private Sector Credit will be used as the indicator of banking sector development where as in model 3, domestic credit will be used as the indicator of banking sector development. (Yu Gan, 2010) ln LL= ÃŽÂ ²o+ÃŽÂ ²1ln RGDP+ ÃŽÂ ²2 DR + ÃŽÂ ²3TO+ ÃŽÂ ²4FL + e ln PRI= ÃŽÂ ²o+ ÃŽÂ ²1ln RGDP+ ÃŽÂ ²2 DR + ÃŽÂ ²3 TO+ ÃŽÂ ²4FL+ e ln DC= ÃŽÂ ²o+ÃŽÂ ²1ln RGDP+ ÃŽÂ ²2 DR + ÃŽÂ ²3 TO+ ÃŽÂ ²4FL+ e where, ln LL= Natural logarithm of liquid liabilities ln PRI= Natural logarithm of Private sector Credit ln DC= Natural logarithm of Domestic Credit Data source: We have used annual data from 1970 to 2007 in this study. The data is obtained from the World Bank database and international financial statistics. However, Financial Liberalization Index of Pakistan, constructed by (Waliullah, 2010) is used in this study. Real GDP (RGDP) is calculated by using following formula EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGY In this study, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique has been used. In order to run the OLS model, order of integration of every variable is determined. There are two methods to examine the order of integration i.e. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and Phillps-Perron test. In this study, we will use ADF test for examining weather the data is stationary or non-stationary. We will run co-integration test when all variables becomes stationary at same level. The generalized form of data has been used in this study. In model 1, liquid liabilities have been used as an indicator of banking sector development. Table 1 show that Real GDP, Financial Liberalization and Trade openness are statistically significant and Discount rate is not statistically significant to the development of banking sector in Pakistan. However, Trade openness is inversely related with liquid liabilities which means that increase in trade openness will eventually affects the development of banking sector. While, Real GDP and Financial liberalization have a significant impact on the banking sector development i.e. higher Real GDP and Financial Liberalization in Pakistan will leads towards development of banking sector. R square is (.99) which shows substantial explanation of independent variables in dependent variables. Table 2. OLS Results of Model 2 (Private Sector Credit) Dependent Variable: PRI Method: Least Squares Date: 01/24/11 Time: 16:16 Sample: 1970 2007 Included observations: 38 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. RGDP -7.684614 5.715274 -1.344575 0.1879 TO -7.525119 3.603842 -2.088082 0.0446 DR 25.87713 9.222809 2.805775 0.0084 FL -0.204028 1.108112 -0.184122 0.8550 C 0.033118 0.090551 0.365739 0.7169 R-squared 0.343149 Mean dependent var 0.041883 Adjusted R-squared 0.263531 S.D. dependent var 0.648747 S.E. of regression 0.556741 Akaike info criterion 1.788644 Sum squared resid 10.22868 Schwarz criterion 2.004116 Log likelihood -28.98424 F-statistic 4.309923 Durbin-Watson stat 1.880175 Prob(F-statistic) 0.006483 In model 2, we have used Private sector credit as an indicator of development of banking sector in Pakistan. Results of table 2 indicate that discount rate and trade openness have significant impact on the development of banking sector. However, Trade openness is inversely related to the banking sector development. Financial liberalization and Real GDP are not found statistically significant. R square of model 2 is (.34) which shows that independent variables are explaining 34 % of the dependent variable. OLS Results of Model 3 (Domestic Credit) Dependent Variable: DC Method: Least Squares Date: 01/24/11 Time: 16:20 Sample: 1970 2007 Included observations: 38 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. RGDP 0.289400 0.002316 124.9755 0.0000 TO -0.007190 0.001983 -3.626526 0.0010 DR 0.014020 0.005240 2.675496 0.0115 FL 0.001211 0.000307 3.938439 0.0004 C -6.23E-06 4.61E-06 -1.351692 0.1857 R-squared 0.999939 Mean dependent var -1.15E-05 Adjusted R-squared 0.999931 S.D. dependent var 0.003380 S.E. of regression 2.80E-05 Akaike info criterion -18.00387 Sum squared resid 2.59E-08 Schwarz criterion -17.78840 Log likelihood 347.0735 F-statistic 134392.7 Durbin-Watson stat 1.559156 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000 In model 3, we have used domestic credit as an indicator of banking sector development. Results of table 3 indicate that all variables are statistically significant to the development of banking sector of Pakistan. R square of model 3 is (.99) which shows that independent variables have a significant impact on the dependent variable. (Goldsmith, 1969) As mentioned above, generalized form of data has been used in this study and numbers of tests have been applied on these three models and there is no serial correlation, heteroscedasticity. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION The results of this study shows that Trade openness is inversely related to the development of banking sector in Pakistan in all three models which validates the findings of (Siddiqui Iqbal, 2005) that Trade openness negatively affects the economic growth of a country. However these results are not according to the findings of (Miller Upadhyay, 2000) which states that trade openness leads to the development of financial sector. Moreover this study also does not support the findings of (Yu Gan, 2010) which states that trade openness have no impact on the development of banking sector. In case of Liquid liabilities as indicator of banking sector development, it is clear that Real GDP and Financial liberalization have the significant impact on the development of banking sector of Pakistan. This result is according to the findings of (Yu Gan, 2010) and (Attaullah et al, 2004) which show that Real GDP and Financial Liberalization significantly impact the banking sector development. It means that increase in Real GDP and Financial Liberalization will lead the banking sector of Pakistan towards prosperity. In case of Private sector credit as the indicator of banking sector development, it is found that discount rate is statistically significant to the banking sector development. It means that increase in discount rate will lead towards increase in private sector credit which will eventually results in financial sector development. However, financial liberalization was found inversely related to the banking sector development and Real GDP was not found significant which is against the findings of (Yu Gan, 2010) which identifies that Real GDP has a significant impact on the development of financial sector of Pakistan when Private sector credit is taken as indicator of banking sector development. In case of Domestic credit as indicator of development of banking sector, results shows that all four variables are statistically significant to the financial sector development which are according to the findings of (Rajan Zingales, 1998), (Cetorelli Gambera, 2001) which states that Financial Liberalization and Real GDP significantly impact the development of financial sector. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR BANKING SECTOR On the basis of the findings of this study, we can conclude that trade openness is having inverse relationship with the banking sector development. As a result of Trade openness, the less developed banking sector of Pakistan faces tough competition from the developed financial sector of other countries. Moreover, increase in trade openness increases the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exposure to international shocks i.e. if any economy faces will suffer a crisis, there will be more chance of transferring crisis in Pakistan. Discount rate is also found significant in this study when Private sector credit and Domestic credit was used as an indicator of banking sector development. When the discount rate will be high, financial institutions will be encouraged to get loan from state bank of Pakistan. Banks usually uses discount rate as benchmark interest rate when they further lend the money to borrowers. So increasing the discount rate will eventually lead the banking sector to development.

Robert Hooke :: biographies bio

Robert Hooke , the son of John Hooke was bonr at Freshwater, a part of the Isle of Wight. Robert's father was a curator for The All Saint's Church in thier town. Robert Hooke was born on July 18, 1635. The majority of young Hooke's education was provided by his father John, but he also became an aprentice to an artist. Robert moved to London and enrolled into the Westminister School when he was thirteen after his father committed suicide. The head master, Dr. Busby, took him in and encouraged is learning. Hooke apears to have been an avid learner. According to Hooke's biography at roberthooke.org, Young Robert Hooke has been reported to have learned many ancient languages, mastered the first six books of Euclid's Elements in week, and learned to play the organ. A quote from one of Hooke's conteporaries, Christiaan Huyghens: 'As to his person he was but despicable, being very crooked, tho' I have heard from himself, and others, that he was strait till about 16 Years of Age when he first grew awry, by frequent practicing, with a Turn-Lath . . . He was always very pale and lean, and laterly nothing but Skin and Bone, with a meagre aspect, his eyes grey and full, with a sharp ingenious Look whilst younger; his nose but thin, of a moderate height and length; his mouth meanly wise, and upper lip thin; his chin sharp, and Forehead large; his Head of a middle size. He wore his own hair of a dark Brown colour, very long and hanging neglected over his Face uncut and lank....† (roberthooke.org) Robert Hooke became Robert Boyle's assistant in 1658 due to his aptitude for making experimental equipment and designing experiments. In 1662 Hooke became the curator of experiments for the Royal Scociety of London. Besides being an accomplished scientist, Robert Hooke was also an architect and helped rebuild London after the great fire. In 1665 Hooke became a professor at Gresham College in London. He was a professor of geometry, but he performed many astronomical observations as well. Hooke spent the rest of his life working at the college. He became a secretary for the Royal Scociety in 1677. This brilliant figure died on the third of March 1703 in London. Robert Hooke's most famous scientific work was his book Micrographia, which he published in 1665. This book is a collection of observations from his homemade compound microscope and illumination system.

All Grown Up and No Place to Go Teenagers in Crisis

Child and adolescent development specialist David Elkind contends that today's teenager’s are struggling as the result of a shift in society to a â€Å"postmodern† period. In this period, â€Å"the needs of children and youth are often weighted less heavily than are the needs of parents and the rest of adult society† ( xiii ). Elkind believes that, as a result, â€Å"we as a society have abrogated our responsibility to young people† (xiv).Elkind explains how, in this postmodern period, adults mistakenly treat teenagers as though they were already competent and sophisticated, and therefore do not guide them from childhood into adulthood, as youth were guided in previous generations. His words sound a clear warning to teachers and other adults who tend to confuse teenager’s' physical maturity with emotional, psychological, social, intellectual, and spiritual maturity. A useful feature is his discussion of how the â€Å"growth markers† that were formerly available to guide children into adolescence and teens into adulthood are now absent.Examples include girls of all ages now being encouraged to wear makeup and sophisticated clothes, and boys of all ages being encouraged to participate in high-stakes competitive sports teams. Teen’s perception of stereotypes varies from person to person. It is interesting to know that how teens identify groups and how they decide to associate themselves with particular ones, at a time in their lives when age-mates take on a greater significance and the influence of adults diminishes.Teachers should not ignore or underestimate the power of peer influence; although we commonly think of this influence in negative terms, this article helps us recognize that peer influence can be a positive contributor to teenager’s' classroom behavior, too. The role of environment in determining behavior is considered, much greater by the intellectual descendants of Locke. More than adherents of other schools, they see humans as substantially malleable; they are convinced that children's behavior responds to the expectations expressed for it.Thus, if we believe that teenagers will be moody and rude, our children are likely to comply; if we relegate them to a social holding pattern, they will adopt the general characteristics of powerlessness. The discipline of child psychology, as well as the children it studies, is influenced by cultural assumptions seems beyond doubt. But then, what is to be made of these conflicting views about the plasticity of development? It would hardly be feasible to attempt a grand synthesis of these positions. David Elkind, a longtime observer and scholar of child development and family life, sees in the modern family a â€Å"permeable† family.He discerns in the seeming imbalances and morbidities of postmodern families the stresses hammering at children and youth in the contemporary society and a new family form emerging, a form that is bas ed on values and sentiments that prepare its members to cope with this stunning array of pressures. Three sentiments and their resulting practices are particularly heartening from his point of view. To be sure, by the teenage years, parents must exercise most of their authority by stating acceptable alternatives and sticking to them, even if that means throwing a child out of the house.In a sense, then, we are no longer talking about the kind of parental control liberationists object to, but more subtle pressures generally compatible with their stand except insofar as they think teens have a right to financial support no matter what their behavior. Teens might also insist that drinking or doing drugs should be their own choice, just as it is for adults. But the reverberations both for themselves and for those about them suggest the desirability of pressing them to limit such activities in a way that might not be appropriate for adults.David Elkind has warned against pushing children too fast in an age-inappropriate manner. Latency-age children bear much of the burden of a faster-paced society. Adults are spending more time at work than ever before; children are shuffled between activities in part due to their parents' schedules. Children's time outside of school has become more structured; they participate in extracurricular pursuits at earlier ages. Doing nothing, as in â€Å"those lazy, hazy days of summer,† previously part of the culture of a child, is no longer promoted or valued. Some children no longer just go out to play, they have â€Å"play dates.† They are infrequently left free to explore what they would do if there were nothing to do. There is no time for daydreaming. Television and computers have replaced quieter moments. Rarely do you hear a child say, â€Å"Turn off the television. I want to read now. † In this speeded-up society, adults are resigned to Elkind's concerns; there is no turning back for today's children. Parent s may rationalize and say it is a good learning experience for an eight-year-old to be home alone. Elkind's recommendation is that given the stress imposed on them, children should be taught skills to help them cope effectively with what is expected of them.For example, the â€Å"latchkey† child should be offered assistance such as phone numbers for reaching a parent, the police, and a neighbor, and instructions on what to do in case of fire. Rituals and routines are important components in the structure of the middle childhood years. As children begin to organize and classify their knowledge, they come to depend on routines to help them consciously and unconsciously deal with new issues and experiences. Birthdays, secular and religious rituals, and common developmental milestones all help them to find their place in the world.They are seeking to be connected to the larger society through attachments in school, with their peers, with their teachers, in social activities, and in their families. Ironically, because teenager’s are continually redefining their thinking about self and their own value systems, they are highly vulnerable to believing in media myths. As such, outside-in problems manufactured by the media through the power of suggestion and constant repetition become teenager’s' inside-out personal problems In short, adolescence is the stage in life when children begin to question their own thinking in light of what others think of them as well as for them.In this regard, teenager’s' sense of thinking is not wholly independent of their social sense of self. Although as parents, researchers, and teachers, we may be aware of the variable nature of the teenager’s' thinking self, we may not realize that adolescence is a relatively new stage in human development. In colonial America, teenager’s served as a source of cheap labor. With the advent of modern industrialization, longer periods of schooling have been requi red to prepare children for the workplace. This, in turn, has extended the time that children are economically dependent on their parents.As children enter the teenage culture, they are drawn away from their parents and into peer groups. In the process, teenager’s' developing social sense of self is placed into a tug of war between the norms and pressures of parents and friends. Adolescence in America is the psychological equivalent of toddlerhood. Just as toddlers move away from their parents physically, so teenager’s move away from their parents emotionally There are continuous negotiations between parents and children about distance. Children want to explore and parents want to keep them safe.And both toddlers and teenagers are outraged when their parents don't agree with them about the ideal balance of freedom and security. As teenager’s turn to their peers for validation and support, they often engage in intense experimentation, exploring a wide range of po ssibilities that often contradict parents' cherished beliefs in behavioral norms. In the process, teenagers may become the biggest enforcers and proselytizers for their own peer culture: Teenagers may punish other teenagers for failing to achieve the same impossible goals that they themselves are unable to obtain.Moreover, they may rush to set standards to ward off the imposition of others' standards on them. All the while, the content of the standards may remain variable often depending on what standards the media is marketing at a given time, from baggy pants and body piercing to tattoos and the latest neon hair styles. Teenager’s' social sense of self invariably leads to contradictions, as does their thinking sense of self. Social self-contradictions arise from teenager’s' membership in multiple groups that maintain different expectations and norms.More importantly, contradictions continually arise as teenager’s switch their loyalties from one peer group to t he next, giving rise to competing allegiances. In sum, teenager’s experience contradictions inside-out in terms of their thinking sense of self as well as outside in terms of their social sense of self. In many instances, the frustrations of these contradictions are further exacerbated by the academic sense of self that schools promote. One of the most visibly striking transformations during adolescence occurs as a girl's body changes in size and shape.Girls tend to appear rounder as their hips widen, and fat develops in the breasts, thighs, and buttocks. As these changes occur, culture tells girls that thinness is beautiful, even imperative. Not surprisingly, it is also during this period that girls become increasingly concerned with their bodies. Girls' changing bodies provide powerful stimuli to the self and others. A pertinent issue during early adolescence is that bodily changes bring about a sense of fragmentation in body image. Thus, the body is frequently depicted as a collection of individual parts, such as breasts and hips.So, for example, many girls this age worry about the size of their breasts. In the United States, bigger is generally considered better, yet not from girls' perspectives. Rather others are believed to hold that value. Because the body is often times viewed as a reflection of the self, the eroticization processes through which the body is transformed into a sexual object become a major source of conflict for many teenager girls. Teenager girls continue to suffer in multiple ways as a result of these complex social processes.Meanwhile the psychologists and psychiatrists who have historically led the study of what is known as â€Å"body image† have done so in ways that limit knowledge and understanding of girls, further contributing to the structures supporting domination and oppression of females. That is, these researchers have almost exclusively studied â€Å"body image† through quantitative measures that assum e objectivity. In the process, they have conveniently and openly ignored and dismissed contributions from social scientists and feminists who have studied the body from alternative and more hopeful perspectivesNevertheless, body image work has become influential, creating at least three problems. First, the historical study of â€Å"body image† has contributed to the objectification of the body. Second, â€Å"body image† researchers have created a logic of pathology to explain girls' problems Result of irresponsible sexual activity is substantial teenage motherhood. Yet the consequences of early childbearing are extremely damaging. Pregnancy doubles the risk that a girl will drop out of school; most such girls never return, regardless of their financial situation or ethnic background.Once the child is born, the girl is unlikely to be in a position to earn more than welfare would offer her and she has the responsibility of a child to boot. But if she chooses to go on we lfare, her sense of agency and independence is seriously damaged. If she marries instead, she is not only unlikely to finish her schooling but also faces a significantly higher probability of divorce than a woman who waits until her twenties to marry. Thus girls who engage in unprotected sex and who elect to keep their babies are at serious risk of a worse life than they could otherwise have expected.â€Å"But the damage does not stop there. The plight of their children is painful. Neither parent may take responsibility: they may be ignored by their fathers and handed to some female relative by their mothers. For the child, this may be a blessing in disguise, as the most irresponsible teens are those least likely to possess the qualities required for good childrearing. As these babies get older, however, they show the effects of their unfavorable environment. Children of teen mothers score worse on ability tests, get worse grades, and expect less in the way of education than childr en of older women.They also get less education, marry earlier, and divorce more often†. (p. 133) David Elkind questions the popular conception of parental authority Exerting parental authority doesn't mean that we can't play ball with our children or joke with them or have fun with them. Being a parent doesn't mean being an ogre or a relentless disciplinarian. Rather it means asserting ourselves as adults who have more experience, knowledge, and skill than our offspring. Children and teenagers are young and inexperienced. They very much need and want guidance and instruction from us. (205)At least three areas of concern arise from the literature about violence on television. The obvious ones are the relationship between television violence and aggression, even if the aggression is not directed against society, and the desensitization of children to pain and suffering. The less obvious one is the potential for children who are sensitive and vulnerable to become more fearful and insecure upon exposure to violence on television. â€Å"Television has brought murder into the home, where it belongs† (Elkind, p. 103). Murders and crime occur about ten times more frequently on television than in the real world.A third of all characters in television shows are committing crime or fighting it, most with guns. It becomes, therefore, a chicken-and-egg question. When one examines violence in films the trend towards increased gore and explicit horror is easily documented. Rather than reflecting the content and meaning associated with myths and fairy tales, horror films today are pure sensation with little serious content. If violence on television is controlled, children and adults will still be able to experience violence vicariously through other media such as films, books, and recordings.The contemporary challenges that have created this increase in stress among today's teenager’s, in Elkind's terms — the â€Å"perils of puberty,†  "peer shock,† and â€Å"family permutations†. Authentic parenting is an outgrowth of shared parenting but integrates unilateral and mutual authority depending on the concern at hand and the developmental stage of the child. But it is also leavened by a realization that each parent can perform their roles in ways that are true to their own temperaments, personalities, and experience. Finally, there is an emergent relationship between community and family.How well a family does is seen as partly dependent upon the ties it has with the community and the resources and assets available in the community. Community service has become a part of the required curriculum in many schools. Other neighborhoods are reaching out to isolated families or individuals and families in trouble. Some schools have become â€Å"lighted schoolsâ€Å"—twenty-four-hour family resource centers providing programs, services, and opportunities for connections to others. According to Elkind, i nterdependence is a central value and sentiment that underlies this emerging family form.â€Å"Interdependence is founded upon a sense of being both one and many, of being different from everyone else and like them at the same time† (p. 220). Traces of his longing for the modern family aside, Elkind's thesis about the new family embodies some of what we know about family resilience to this point. And it can apply in spirit to all families and caretaking relationships. It is important, as a starting point, to realize that every family, even those in the midst of gripping disorganization and bewildering turmoil, has strengths and capacities.Every angry, demanding parent has moments of caring; every confused teenagers has moments of hope and clarity; every abusive father has a twinge of doubt or regret. At some time in every family's life there have been periods of relative calm and stability. Every family has overcome hurdles, some more successfully than others. All of these ar e resources to be drawn upon, by the family members themselves or by someone who would deign to be of help to them. Works Cited Elkind David. ( 1998). All Grown Up and No Place to Go: Teenagers in Crisis. Rev. ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley