Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Application of Information Technology in the Workplace Essay

The Application of Information Technology in the Workplace - Essay Example Also made possible with the availability of computer technology specifically with the development of IBM AS/400 computer and Microsoft's Windows NT which allowed software packages to become more and more user-friendly, ERP has developed to the point that it has become industry specific making it possible for ERP package to be designed to address one's specific industry idiosyncrasies. (Brown and Vessey, 2003) ERP is actually an improved version of Business Resource Planning (BRP) which came from Material Resource Planning II (MRPII) which is in turn a descendant of the Material Resource Planning (MRP). All of these are essentially computer-based approaches to scheduling and planning of material requirements and inventory. ERP has been regarded as the "answer" to the productivity and economic troubles of service and manufacturing enterprises. Due to its effectiveness, the use of ERP system as an enterprise management software tool has become widespread in spite of the presence and ava ilability of other products in the marketplace. There is but one daily practical problem that manufacturing organizations face in their operations whatever their products maybe and that is customers would always want products to be manufactured and delivered faster than one can actually make them. There will always be nearly impossible time frames and one is forced to comply if one is interested in surviving the competition. Plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.

Monday, October 28, 2019

The effects of Zionism on American Jewish Novels Essay Example for Free

The effects of Zionism on American Jewish Novels Essay Zionism can be defined as the political movement aimed at the return of all the Jewish people to their native soil. Its primary role was to establish a state exclusively for the Jews in Palestine, controlled purely by the Jews. The term Zionism was coined by Nathan Birbaum, who also founded the first organization of Jewish nationalist students in the West. The Zionist belief is that the Jews are a nation and hence must remain in one place. Zionism derives its name from the Hebrew word ‘Zion’, which is a hill in Jerusalem, upon which, it is believed, King David’s palace was built. Zionism attained its goal in 1948 when the state of Israel was created for the Jews. The Zionist principles, though, evolved over time with the influence from socialism, colonialism, and the like in Europe. There were two primary factors for the Zionist movement. One was the fact that the Jews were dispersed throughout the world, and in each country, they represented a minority and were deprived of their rights and were subject to great atrocities. America’s economic growth resulted in millions of Europeans including a large number of Jews settling in the United States. Many such Jewish immigrants began to write their experiences in other countries like the United States. This, in time, led to the rise of some great Jewish novels and novelists, Saul Bellow, Henry Roth, and Philip Roth being only a few among them, writing about their trials and tribulations in a country which even after years seemed alien to them. The American Jewish novels of the 1960s helped in establishing the definition of American Jewish fiction. Slowly, American Jewish writing concentrated more on the expression of individual creativity rather than ethnicity. This could be seen in the works of many successful Jewish American writers, who focused more on the realities of life giving lesser importance to all the social and national movements held for the religion. Many of the American Jewish novels following World War II no longer centered on traditional ethnic themes of identity. There often was the element of Zionism and Judaism, but it was just like any other event in a novel. No prejudice could be traced in many such novels. All such aspects of religion, of course, were projected from many angles and it showed the characters’ perspective towards a particular faith, but there was no judging if they were right or wrong. The American Jewish novels concentrated more on the human and humane aspects of the protagonists’ characters rather than on particular faiths. And overall, if we see the reviews of the novels of Chaim Potok or Henry Roth, they are mostly positive reviews. The book Call It Sleep (Roth 2005) established Henry Roth’s reputation as a writer. Zionism appeared in the novels as just another aspect or event with the characters maintaining their own viewpoints. These novels could be read just like any other novels, and it is indeed worth mentioning that in spite of the Great Depression, this book did as best as it could. This set up a trend, and after decades of such successful American Jewish novels, the current generation of Jewish writers pursues a more diverse course, with some writers choosing to ignore their Jewish legacy while others remain totally unaffected by it. There, of course, is the other group of writers who have created a new Jewish literature which voices directly the concerns of Jews throughout the world. Though American Jewish novels are written primarily by Jewish, there are many novels written with Jewish themes by people who belong to other faiths and nationalities. Even such novels are not biased in any way. On the whole, if we were to analyze the effects of Zionism on American Jewish novels, a neutral stance of Zionism is what is portrayed in almost all the plots. These authors are primarily Jewish who have first-hand experience of Jewish discrimination. But their attempt to portray it in their novels is genuine without any trace of exaggeration.. They concentrate more on the plots and characters. The concept of identity is only secondary. Saul Bellow, for that matter preferred to be treated as an American writer. He did not like the designation of a Jewish writer. He does not at any time deny his Jewish identity, and one can clearly see the influence of Jewish history in his novels though it is difficult to specify it. A review of one or two such novels and their authors will give us a better idea about this.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Historical Understandings of Madness in Nigeria

Historical Understandings of Madness in Nigeria Madness in culture: is mental disorder universal? This paper will look at the issue of madness in culture, looking at the issue of whether mental disorders are a universal concept, with particular reference to the Nigerian culture. As Sadowsky (2003) argues, the crude maxim â€Å"what is mad in one culture might be considered sane in another† described the approach to ‘cultural psychiatry’ research regarding mental illness for many years; that psychiatric disorders were viewed relatively suggested that these disorders were no more than cultural constructions and thus not ‘real’ diseases (see Sadowsky, 2003; p. 210). In his book, Imperial Bedlam: Institutions of Madness in Colonial Southwest Nigeria, Sadowsky focuses on madness, insanity, as a social process. Whilst not denying the reality of madness as an illness, Sadowksy (1999) argues that madness and normalcy must be viewed at all times, and especially in the context of a Nigerian colonial setting, as part of a continuum: as Sadowsky states, †Å"the insane occupy a position on the spectrum containing the normal and the pathological† (1999; p. 51), and are products of specific social and political circumstances, which must be fully understood in order to understand the label ‘insane’ within a colonial Nigerian setting. Thus, this essay looks at how madness in Nigeria evolved in the colonial period, and beyond, and how madness was understood within a colonial framework. The essay then moves on to look at cultural treatments of madness in Nigeria, and genetic and physiological accounts vs. cultural and historical differences in understanding madness within a colonial context, using examples from Nigeria. Finally, syndromes that come and go, such as hysteria and delusions, will be discussed, using the example of persecution delusions from studies of two mental asylums in Nigeria, as discussed in the work of Sadowsky (1999). The history of madness in Nigeria Focusing on two mental asylums in Nigeria, the Yaba ‘lunatic asylum’ and the Aro Mental Hospital in Abeokuta, Sadowsky (1999) provides a review of madness in Nigeria, from colonial times to independence. Sadowsky’s argument in his 1999 book, Imperial Bedlam: Institutions of Madness in Colonial Southwest Nigeria, is that through developing an understanding of these institutions, it is possible to come to understand â€Å"the struggles within the colonial state over the use of asylums, negotiations in colonial society about the definitions of insanity, the processes which led to confinement and release and the formation of specific psychiatric discourse (p. 9). The book provides an examination of how, when and, most importantly, why Africans were defined as insane and the ways in which definitions of insanity were related to the political context pf colonialism (Stilwell, 2000). Sadowsky (1999) does not argue that colonialism caused insanity but, rather, argues tha t the content and expression of madness reflected the pressures, stressed and strains brought on by colonial rule, thus providing a social history of insanity in a colonial setting. As Sadowsky (1999) argues, the debate surrounding psychiatric labeling theory must be centered on the ways in which mental illness is a construct of â€Å"the particular historical formations† (p. 112); colonial asylums could be placed on a spectrum from ‘custodial and coercive’ to ‘supportive and therapeutic’, although the vast majority of mental asylums in colonial Nigeria were crudely coercive, due to the cross-cultural barriers and the different perceptions of social relations as held by African patients and colonial medical staff and authorities. It was only well in to post-colonial times that subtler forms of social control and therapeutic practice evolved. Cultural treatments of madness in Nigeria As has been seen, Sadowksy (1999) argues that madness and normalcy must be viewed at all times, and especially in the context of a Nigerian colonial setting, as part of a continuum: as Sadowsky states, â€Å"the insane occupy a position on the spectrum containing the normal and the pathological† (1999; p. 51), and are products of specific social and political circumstances, which must be fully understood in order to understand the label ‘insane’ within a colonial Nigerian setting. Thus, the cultural context of madness, in terms of understanding madness from a culturally relativistic viewpoint, and from the viewpoint of colonialism, is fundamental in understanding the cultural treatments of madness in Nigeria. Accounts of madness and understanding the responses to madness in a colonial Nigerian setting cannot be understood, interpreted, without also fully understanding the historical, social and political setting at that time. In general, however, it can be seen, from Sadowsky’s work, that madness was treated, in a blanket manner, as a response to colonialism, as a manifestation that the ‘primitive’ Nigerians could not cope with modernization and that, as such, delusions, deliria and hysteria were almost to be expected, as a reaction against colonialism. Responding to these outbreaks of madness with force, by opening asylums and confining ‘the mad’ to these asylums, with little actual medical care, was a way in which to ‘silence’ the ‘mad’ and to be able to continue on with the aims and practices of colonialism. The genetic and physiological accounts vs. cultural/historical difference Mental illness is currently well understood, and treated, as that: an illness. However, as has been shown by Sadowsky (1997; 1999; 2003), within a colonial context in Nigeria, mental illness was often only understood in the context of colonialism i.e., mental illness was understood as a reaction to the modernization brought about by the colonizers, which, it was hypothesized, the ‘primitive’ Nigerians could not cope with, leading them to madness. However, as Sadowsky (2003) points out, â€Å"even within colonial governments, there were some who believed, in some degree, in cultural relativism†¦.I discovered many administrators who believed that building asylums was a bad idea because Europeans could not know what madness was to Africans, and that, therefore Europeans should not be imposing alien cultural forms† (p. 211). Thus, at least within the context of colonial Nigeria, madness was not understood, or treated, as an illness, rather as a response to coloni alism, and the debate surrounding madness and its genetic and physiological bases, and the different cultural or historical manifestations of madness were not entered in to during colonial rule. Syndromes that come and go hysteria Focusing on two mental asylums in Nigeria, the Yaba ‘lunatic asylum’ and the Aro Mental Hospital in Abeokuta, Sadowsky argues in his book, Imperial Bedlam: Institutions of Madness in Colonial Southwest Nigeria, which uses first hand accounts of delusions of the mentally ill, as gathered from actual case histories of these two mental asylums, the ‘ravings’ of patients are important historical documents in that they can be used for social analyses, showing that the social context of colonization fostered the development of certain kinds of delusions, especially delusions of persecution. Such madness, Sadowsky argues, threatened the colonial worldview, and, to some extent, colonial power, drawing attention, as they did, to the structures and inherent contradictions of colonial power, and, as such, the psychiatric environment tended to class any actions that threatened colonial ideology as ‘madness’, such that, as Sadowsky argues, the ideologies of colonial medical staff reflected the anxieties and insecurities of the colonizers themselves (Sadowsky, 1999). As Sadowsky states, â€Å"the content [of delusions] repeatedly referred to specifics of Nigerian colonial history: religious conversion, foreign domination, the changing justice system†¦and the struggle for independence† (1999; p.115). Conclusion According to Sadowsky (1997; 1999; 2003), historically, madness in Nigeria seems to have been understood entirely in terms of colonial power, in terms of madness being understood as a reaction against colonial rule, not as an illness per se, and, as such, madness was not treated objectively, but as one more manifestation of dissatisfaction against colonial rule. The ‘mad’ were thus treated almost as dissenters rather than being treated correctly, as ‘ill’ individuals. No more is this highlighted than when accounts of treatments for delusions are given in Sadowsky (1999) as taken from individual case histories. As shown in these histories, medical staff often played a purely custodial role, not a medical role, with only modest therapeutic programs being offered, if any at all (Sadowsky, 2003; p. 211). It was with some trepidation, and opposition, that mental asylums were set up at all, in a colonial Nigerian context, with little medical help being offered, an d these asylums quickly becoming overcrowded, with squalid living conditions (Sadowsky, 2003). Thus, as has been seen throughout this essay, based on the work of Sadowsky (1997; 1999; 2003), which looks at madness in colonial times in Nigeria, the understanding of madness in culture is an extremely relative matter, perfectly illustrated through the study of this time period and in this place, which explained madness as a product of colonial rule. Madness, as we understand it now, is obviously not culturally relative and is a universal concept: it is an illness, which needs correct treatment in order to overcome the illness. If this had been understood during the period of colonial rule in Nigeria, the many years of suffering for many thousands of insane individuals would not have had to have been endured: they would have received correct, timely, treatment and would not have whiled away their lives being little more than captives in colonial asylums. References Sadowsky Jonathan, Psychiatry and colonial ideology in Nigeria, Bulletin of the History of Medicine,71 (1997):94-111. Sadowsky, Jonathan, Imperial Bedlam: Institutions of Madness in Colonial Southwest Nigeria, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Sadowsky Jonathan, The social world and the reality of mental illness: lessons from colonial psychiatry, Harvard Review of Psychiatry 2003, 11(4):210-4. Stilwell, S., ‘Imperial Bedlam: Institutions of Madness in Colonial Southwest Nigeria by Jonathan Sadowsky’, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 31(2) (2000): 322-323.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Winter Essay -- Creative Writing Essays

I pressed my face up against the glass window, my moist breath causing it to fog up. I watched the boy's dark silhouette shift positions slightly, as he leaned back against the deteriorating stonewall, and buried his head in his hands. Tendrils of dark bronze hair assisted in the covering of his face, making it even more impossible to see what he might look like. He didn't know I was here, quietly watching him. Hell, he didn't even know I existed. I squinted, straining my vision, hoping I could maybe see his face in order to have a visual picture of him. But I couldn't. The nighttime environment only helped him remain anonymous. Yet, even without being able to clearly see him, I was slowly being overwhelmed by a very strange feeling - that I had to leave. Now. And as if he'd planned it, the boy's head snapped up, and his eyes immediately met mine. They were a shockingly bright turquoise, and in them was an unknown emotion so overpowering that I actually gasped and stumbled backwards. My heart was pounding so loudly that all other noise seemed to fade away. - "What is that, Winter?" Tyler inquired, pointing to the new diamond stud in the side of my nose. "A nose piercing," I replied irritably. I was in a dark mood, and even my best guy friend was bothering me at the moment. I just didn't want to talk to anyone. All I wanted to do was go back to that house - with that boy. His face had been burned in my mind, those aqua eyes haunting my thoughts. The corners of Ty's lips turned down, his eyes showing that he was upset. His angelic face didn't hide his emotions either, he was hurt. "I know. I just want to talk to you." "Sorry," I muttered halfheartedly. "I didn't mean to be so snappish. I'm in a bad m... ...'s your name?" he requested, a small laugh following the statement, and causing my heart to throb uncontrollably. "Because I can't keep calling you 'pretty', as true as it is." I felt lightheaded at his compliment, and reminded myself to breathe. "Winter," I said, my voice sounding stifled and forced. "Winter, eh? The name suits you quite well. Pale skin, gorgeous blue eyes†¦ the beauty and colors of the season." He winked at me, suddenly seeming a bit more human, not to mention all the more seductive. "Thank you," I said nervously. God, I must be so awkward to talk to right now. "I†¦ I almost feel like I have to come," I admitted quietly. "There's something that keeps drawing me back." A small smile formed on his lips, and there was a glint in his eyes that was bordering sinister. "Oh†¦ is there now? Finding the long way home, aren't you?" Winter Essay -- Creative Writing Essays I pressed my face up against the glass window, my moist breath causing it to fog up. I watched the boy's dark silhouette shift positions slightly, as he leaned back against the deteriorating stonewall, and buried his head in his hands. Tendrils of dark bronze hair assisted in the covering of his face, making it even more impossible to see what he might look like. He didn't know I was here, quietly watching him. Hell, he didn't even know I existed. I squinted, straining my vision, hoping I could maybe see his face in order to have a visual picture of him. But I couldn't. The nighttime environment only helped him remain anonymous. Yet, even without being able to clearly see him, I was slowly being overwhelmed by a very strange feeling - that I had to leave. Now. And as if he'd planned it, the boy's head snapped up, and his eyes immediately met mine. They were a shockingly bright turquoise, and in them was an unknown emotion so overpowering that I actually gasped and stumbled backwards. My heart was pounding so loudly that all other noise seemed to fade away. - "What is that, Winter?" Tyler inquired, pointing to the new diamond stud in the side of my nose. "A nose piercing," I replied irritably. I was in a dark mood, and even my best guy friend was bothering me at the moment. I just didn't want to talk to anyone. All I wanted to do was go back to that house - with that boy. His face had been burned in my mind, those aqua eyes haunting my thoughts. The corners of Ty's lips turned down, his eyes showing that he was upset. His angelic face didn't hide his emotions either, he was hurt. "I know. I just want to talk to you." "Sorry," I muttered halfheartedly. "I didn't mean to be so snappish. I'm in a bad m... ...'s your name?" he requested, a small laugh following the statement, and causing my heart to throb uncontrollably. "Because I can't keep calling you 'pretty', as true as it is." I felt lightheaded at his compliment, and reminded myself to breathe. "Winter," I said, my voice sounding stifled and forced. "Winter, eh? The name suits you quite well. Pale skin, gorgeous blue eyes†¦ the beauty and colors of the season." He winked at me, suddenly seeming a bit more human, not to mention all the more seductive. "Thank you," I said nervously. God, I must be so awkward to talk to right now. "I†¦ I almost feel like I have to come," I admitted quietly. "There's something that keeps drawing me back." A small smile formed on his lips, and there was a glint in his eyes that was bordering sinister. "Oh†¦ is there now? Finding the long way home, aren't you?"

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Coca Cola Essay

Organizations need to change and adopt dynamic survival strategies to stay alive in uncertain political, social and economic environment (Hiatt and Creasy, 2003). All environmental factors present in the nature experience change on continuous basis. Human nature resists change, so managing that resistance requires well planned change management strategies. A structured approach to transfer organization, its people and processes from current state to a desired future state is called change management. This process gives employees the ability to accept changes in the existing environment of the business. Change can be of different type for example, change in technology, operations or strategies etc. company needs to implement individual strategies to cope with each type of change. Coca Cola Corporation is among one of the oldest corporations of the world. It has gone through many internal and external changes since it has been in existence. The company has used techniques of change management in order to survive from the consequences of those events. Coca Cola is a type of company that requires making changes in its products and business strategies according to the consumer expectations and external environment. Here in this study we would quote different examples from coca cola corporation’s history and will examine that what were the triggering events for opting the change and what strategies the company developed and implemented in order to successfully going through the transitioning process. Coca Cola is a type of company that requires making changes in its products and business strategies according to the consumer expectations and external environment. Here in this study we would quote different examples from coca cola corporation’s history and will examine that what were the triggering events for opting the change and what strategies the company developed and implemented in order to successfully going through the transitioning process. It is a well known fact that Coca Cola Corporation is an entrepreneurial venture started by one person who bought the formula from another firm and laid foundations of that beverages manufacturing firm. Current structure of the coca cola company is simple with minimal labor and management division. New system that can be adopted by the company may be the â€Å"machine bureaucracy† which has been defined as an organization with clearly defined hierarchy, well defined area of operations, standard operating procedures, proper rules and regulations, well division of labor, formal relationships among the member of organization, centralized decision making, technical competence and standardization of work. The company has faced a lot of external changes, for example in world war II, the company was able to manage its existing position at that time and also entered in many new markets and discovered new niches. The company established 64 plants across the world to supply drinks to the troops (Coca Cola Company, 2006-2011). The company also provided free drinks to soldiers which were the part of its strategy to become a patriotic symbol for the people of the country. Also it boosted the sales, so the company achieved two objectives by carefully planning to respond to that external environmental change. The plants developed by the company in war era helped its expansion after the war. The recent change management at coca cola is directed towards the intrinsic values and motivations of the employees and can be referred to as ‘employee engagement’. The change management process, together with internal branding programs is expected to bring about ideal behaviors in employees, which would align the operations of coca cola worldwide, and bring about efficiency throughout coca cola across all its business segments. Coca Cola Company can use two change management tools to make sure that all people who are required to be the part of change management process. These tools are Force Field analysis and AKADAR model. Force field analysis is a technique developed by Kurt Lewin to scrutinize the forces that are causing an opposition to change process (Bass, 2009). By doing Force Field Analysis, Coca Cola Company will be able to induct people who are in need of appropriate training. Another useful tool is AKADAR model which stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. Through AKDAR model, firm creates awareness about the need of change, generate desire in the people to help in transitioning process, give knowledge to the people that how they can help the change process, develop an ability in the people to go through the change and provide them with continuous reinforcement to withstand the change (CMLR, 2011). Coca cola hopes to bring about a thoroughly integrated system of communications, and focus on creating brand relationships with their employees. This would enhance the operations of Coca cola, as an integrated approach would mean all employees believe in engaging fully in the values, and this would become an inherent part of the employees at a personal level. For this purpose, employee engagement surveys are conducted twice every year for all the coca cola associates, which serve to highlight the areas where action is required, and further actions and implementations can henceforth be executed. Employee engagement is very significant to all segments of operations at coca-cola and has translated into performance in areas where employee engagement is higher. For coca-cola, an engaged workforce means: A more committed workforce Employee performance aligned with organizational objectives Employees have a clear idea of what is expected of them and what are the deliverables Customer experience focuses an inherent part of employees’ values, who strives to provide a better experience to the customers. Customer focus was identified as a central tenant of the multi-year engagement strategy to be implemented in 2011(Gee, 2011) Change in inevitable. Therefore, the focus should not be on avoiding change, rather bringing about a smooth transition towards the new change by communication about the change, and ensuring all parties of the change that it is for the best of all those involved. To successfully implement organizational change of any nature, a specific regards to organizational structure, design, culture, management and leadership is required to see whether the change would make a best fit with the organizational goals and objectives. To conclude, it may be said that communication can be a key element to successful change management. Communicate the changes to the employees, tell them why the change was inevitable and how they will benefit from the change. The management should itself adopt a positive attitude towards the change so that employees can follow their lead and welcome the change. Coca-cola as a company has a heritage of embracing change rather than resist it and it should translate into their future endeavors towards change management to ensure that the organization is best poised to market and environmental conditions.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Visa J-1 para estudiar la especialidad médica en USA

Visa J-1 para estudiar la especialidad mà ©dica en USA La visa J-1 permite a los mà ©dicos extranjeros graduados en facultades de medicina fuera de Canad y de Estados Unidos estudiar sus residencias o especializaciones en este à ºltimo paà ­s.   Asimismo, esta visa permite a los mà ©dicos de otros paà ­ses ingresar a Estados Unidos para realizar investigacià ³n avanzada en el mbito de la medicina. Es decir, permite adquirir conocimientos clà ­nicos y no clà ­nicos y esta diferenciacià ³n es muy importante como se ver ms adelante en relacià ³n a la regla de los dos aà ±os. Este artà ­culo explica los requisitos fundamentales para participar en este programa de visa J-1 para alien physician. Por ejemplo, quià ©n puede ser patrocinador,   requisitos de certificacià ³n y para solicitar la visa, cambios de especializacià ³n, cà ³mo llevar a la familia y, por à ºltimo, la famosa regla de los dos aà ±os y cundo no aplica o es posible pedir una excepcià ³n. Finalmente, no confundir con el programa distinto de trainee o prcticas  con visa J-1, en el que tambià ©n pueden participar mà ©dicos, ya que las reglas son distintas. Patrocinador de mà ©dicos para la visa J-1 para especialidad o residencia La Comisià ³n Educativa para Graduados Mà ©dicos Extranjeros (ECFMG, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) es el à ºnico patrocinador reconocido por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Y es que de entre todas las visas no inmigrante con las que es posible viajar a Estados Unidos, las J-1 de intercambio tienen, entre sus requisitos, la necesidad de contar con un patrocinador, tambià ©n conocido como esponsorizador, que tiene que estar reconocido oficialmente.   Certificacià ³n de los estudios realizados por los mà ©dicos extranjeros Antes de solicitar la visa, la ECFMG tiene que certificar que el mà ©dico extranjero interesado en una visa J-1 est preparado para participar en un programa de especializacià ³n o investigacià ³n en Estados Unidos. El proceso de certificacià ³n es largo y complejo. Entre los requisitos, ser necesario demostrar los conocimientos mà ©dicos y tambià ©n un alto nivel de inglà ©s, tanto oral como escrito, que se mide mediante los resultados obtenidos en un examen conocido como TOEFL. Tambià ©n es imprescindible aprobar una de las siguientes pruebas: Partes I y II del National Board of Medical Examiners Examinationel Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, Step I y Step IIo el Visa Qualifying Examination (VQE) Todas esas pruebas son gestionadas por ECFMG. Requisitos para solicitar la visa J-1 para mà ©dicos subcategorà ­a alien physician Una vez obtenidos el certificado de la ECFMG y otros requisitos, esta organizacià ³n emite un documento conocido como DS-2919.   Tambià ©n es necesario una declaracià ³n por escrito del gobierno del paà ­s en el que reside el mà ©dico extranjero en el que se afirma que hay una necesidad en dicho paà ­s de doctores especializados en la rama que la que se va a buscar la especializacià ³n. Asimismo, se necesita un contrato u oferta de la institucià ³n en la que se ha sido admitido para realizar la especializacià ³n. Los candidatos extranjeros y los ciudadanos estadounidenses que estudiaron Medicina fuera de EEUU son considerados IMGs. Sus oportunidades durante el proceso que se conoce como Match para ligar candidato con institucià ³n acadà ©mica/hospital son generalmente no tan buenas como las de los graduados en facultades de Estados Unidos, por lo que se recomienda venderse agresivamente con los directores de los programas que interesan para levantar cualquier sospecha que pueda recaer sobre la calidad de sus estudios previos. Una vez que se tienen todos los pasos previos completados, ya se puede solicitar la visa J-1, lo cual se hace en là ­nea completando el formulario DS-160. El tiempo de tramitacià ³n depende del consulado o embajada y tambià ©n de las circunstancias personales del solicitante. Como parte de la tramitacià ³n es necesario pagar la cuota, que no se recupera si la visa no es aprobada. Tambià ©n se pasa por una entrevista en el consulado o embajada y en algà ºn momento del proceso, que varà ­a segà ºn la ubicacià ³n, se tomarn las huellas digitales del solicitante y una foto. Como en todo tipo de visas no inmigrante, las razones por las que puede haber un rechazo de la negacià ³n son muchas, distinguià ©ndose causas que convierten a una persona en inelegible y aquellas que lo convierten en inadmisible.   Si bien en la mayorà ­a de los casos el problema puede surgir porque el candidato no demuestra suficientemente que su intencià ³n no es quedarse en Estados Unidos. Es muy importante poder probar que se va a regresar al paà ­s de origen. Aunque no hay reglas expresas sobre quà © documentos utilizar, es de gran ayuda seguir las reglas generales que se utilizan para este fin cuando se solicita una visa de turista. Visas para familiares para mà ©dicos realizando la residencia en Estados Unidos El cà ³nyuge del solicitante de la visa J-1 y sus hijos solteros que son menores de 21 aà ±os pueden acompaà ±ar al mà ©dico a Estados Unidos. Su visa es una J-2, de dependiente. Para poder solicitarla es necesario solicitar a ECFMG que extienda el patrocinio a estos familiares. Trabajar en Estados Unidos   La finalidad del mà ©dico es especializarse. Para ello obviamente debe realizar prcticas en su campo, por las que ser compensado econà ³micamente. Sin embargo, lo que no puede hacer y est estrictamente prohibido es trabajar fuera del programa. Hacer tal cosa es una violacià ³n migratoria que puede provocar la cancelacià ³n de la visa. Cambios de especialidad mà ©dica Si el mà ©dico con una visa J-1 inicia una especializacià ³n y cambia de parecer y decide que prefiera otra, puede tramitar un cambio de la misma siempre y cuando todavà ­a no tenga completado el segundo aà ±o de la especializacià ³n.   Una vez iniciado el tercer aà ±o ya no es posible ese tipo de cambios. La regla de los dos aà ±os de permanencia fuera de EEUU En principio, los mà ©dicos que participan en un programa J-1 dentro de la categorà ­a de alien physician deben salir de Estados Unidos por dos aà ±os y residir en otro paà ­s durante ese tiempo. Esto NO quiere decir que no puedan viajar a USA   como turistas, quiere decir que no pueden obtener una visa de trabajo de la familia H o de la L o una green card. Esto afecta incluso a las personas casadas de buena fe con un ciudadano americano. En principio, les aplica esa regla. Pero hay excepciones. Por ejemplo, no aplica a los mà ©dicos cuya labor en los Estados Unidos fuera de investigacià ³n, observacià ³n o enseà ±anza y no tuvieran un contacto directo con pacientes. Adems, es posible pedir un permiso conocido como waiver para que no aplica esa regla. Requisitos para la waiver de los dos aà ±os Son 4 las posibilidades para pedir la waiver a la regla de residir dos aà ±os fuera de Estados Unidos al finalizar este programa: Que el Departamento de Salud de uno de los estados solicite una waiver a nombre de un mà ©dico determinado. Hay un mximo de 30 por estado por aà ±o fiscal. Es lo que se conoce como el programa Conrad 30 waiver.Que una agencia del gobierno solicite la waiver.Que se dà © la circunstancia de que si el mà ©dico retornase a su paà ­s de origen que pudiera ser perseguido por razà ³n de su raza, religià ³n u opiniones polà ­ticas.Que estuviera casado con una persona ciudadana americana o residente permanente legal o que tuviera hijos con esos estatus y si el mà ©dico o la doctora tuviera que salir de Estados Unidos se producirà ­a una situacià ³n de extrema dureza para el familiar ciudadano o residente. Opciones para trabajar en USA como mà ©dico al finalizar la especializacià ³n   Tras finalizar el programa y cumplir la regla de los dos aà ±os, si se est obligado a cumplirla, -recordar que los mà ©dicos no clà ­nicos no estn sujetos a ella-, se puede obtener una visa de inmigrante (green card) o una de trabajo. Los mà ©dicos pueden visas L-1 de transfer o H-1B para profesionales. En cuanto a las green card, existen varios caminos para obtenerlos, incluidas las de por razà ³n de trabajo incluyendo la categorà ­a de extranjero de habilidad extraordinaria y la de residencia con waiver por razà ³n de interà ©s nacional. Tener en cuenta que en estos momentos est paralizada la opcià ³n que permità ­a a los doctores interesados en prestar servicio en el Ejà ©rcito a travà ©s del programa  Mavni, que abrà ­a las puertas a la adquisicià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a de un modo inmediato. Finalmente, los mà ©dicos se encuentran entre los profesionales mejor pagados de Estados Unidos, si bien hay notable diferencia segà ºn la especialidad, aà ±os de prctica e, incluso, ubicacià ³n. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Scarlet Letter - Scaffol Scenes Essays - English-language Films

The Scarlet Letter - Scaffol Scenes Essays - English-language Films The Scarlet Letter - Scaffol Scenes The scaffold scenes are by far the most popular means of pointing out the perfect balance and structure of Hawthornes masterpiece. The first time we meet all the principal characters of the novel is in the first scaffold scene. The second of three crucial scaffold scenes appears exactly in the middle of the novel. Again, Hawthorne gathers all of his major characters in one place. Hawthorne brings all the principal characters together one more time in the third and final scaffold scene. This scene begins with the triumph of Dimmesdales sermon and ends with his death. These scenes unite the plot, themes, and symbols of the novel in a perfect balance. The basic structure for the novel is provided by the scaffold scenes because everything else revolves around what happens during these scenes. The first scaffold scene focuses on Hester and the scarlet letter. Hester stands alone with Pearl in her arms, a mere infant and sign of her sin. Meanwhile, a crowd of townspeople has gathered to watch her humiliation and to hear a sermon. Two important people in the crowd our Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth, Hesters husband just returned from his long journey to America. Her lover, Dimmesdale, shares her platform as a sinner but not her public humiliation. Dimmesdale is present throughout the whole scene but he is very hesitant to admit that his is the secret lover, although Mr. Wilson is pestering him to find out who it is. He doesnt admit because he is afraid if he does confess it will ruin his reputation as a person and as a minister. Chillingworth demands Hester to give him the name of her partner in sin but she will not do so. In this scene, we have Hesters public repentance, Dimmesdales reluctance to admit his own guilt, and the beginning of Chillingworths devilish plot to find and punish the father of Pearl. The second scaffold scene again provides a view of all the principal characters, a dramatic vision of the scarlet A, and one of the most memorable representations in American literature. In the covering of darkness, Dimmesdale made his way to the scaffold to perform a silent vigil of his own. Dimmesdale is having a difficult time dealing with his own guilt, the reasoning for his late night stand on the scaffold. In his torture he suddenly cries out a shriek of agony that is heard by Hester and Pearl on their journey home from the dying bed of Governor Winthrop. After hearing this shriek both Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold. Pearl then asks Dimmesdale if he will be joining her and Hester there at noontime on the next day. Dimmesdale responds that their meeting will be on the great judgement day, rather than here in the daylight. Hawthorne describes the situation as such, And there stood the minister, with his hand over his heart; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself a symbol, and the connecting link between the two of them. (Hawthorne 144). The cry of Dimmesdale was also heard by two other people, they were Mr. Wilson and Chillingworth. Mr. Wilson thought that Dimmesdale was upset about Governor Winthrops death so he thought nothing of the incident. Chillingworth was spotted by Pearl when a large meteor burns through the dark sky. Although Chillingworth said nothing to the three, his reasoning for standing there staring at them is very mysterious. This is when Hester and Dimmesdale start to wonder if he knows the truth about them. The people of the town thought that the meteor symbolized the scarlet A. This scene flourishes with symbols. They include: the scaffold itself; Dimmesdales silent vigil; the three observers that represent Church (Mr.Wilson), State (Governor Winthrop), and the World of Evil (Chillingworth); the connection between Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale; and the meteor. The final scaffold scene occurs after the procession on Election Day. In this powerful scene, Dimmesdale regains his soul, Pearl gains her humanity, Chillingworth loses his victim, and Hester loses her dreams. Here again, the main characters come together, and Dimmesdale reveals his scarlet letter. After Dimmesdale delivered his Election Day sermon, he stood on the scaffold with his lover and his child and confessed his sin to everyone. Suddenly the minister sinks down on the scaffold and dies. Right before Dimmesdale died Pearl leaned down and kissed the minister, then she started to

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Theodor Seuss Geisel Essays - Dr. Seuss, Free Essays, Term Papers

Theodor Seuss Geisel Essays - Dr. Seuss, Free Essays, Term Papers Theodor Seuss Geisel "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities." Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield Massachusetts in 1904. He went to Dartmouth College and Oxford University as an English Literature student. He started writing for the "Jack'o Lantern" the Dartmouth College humor magazine, and gain much notoriety by writing with "Judge" magazine after that (www.cyber-seuss.com). He worked as a cartoonist for almost a decade and then, in 1937, he wrote and illustrated his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. The following is from a page I found on the Internet: Long before the Obsks would make a casual appearance in "If I Ran the Zoo" their own story would be told. This story comes from Ted's life around the time he left Standard Oil in the 30's while the depression still held America in its grips. It was a 4 page illustrated novelette that was never published, and the text went like this. A flock of Obsks From down in Nobsks Hiked up to Bobsks To look for Jobsks Then back to Nobsks With sighs and Sobsks... There were, in Bobsks, No jobs for Obsks. Dr. Seuss was a genius, who did not only write his books for children. Many of his books have morals that he was trying to get through to the adult who was reading the book, and at the same time instill them in the child as they grow. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is an example of this type of book with morals for both adult and child. It is the story of a boy whose imagination is too strong for his father's liking. The boy is afraid to go home and tell his father what he thinks he saw on Mulberry Street, in fear of what his father will say about the outrageous things that happened. Seuss was trying to show how adults can stifle and kill a child's imagination without even knowing they are doing it. (afn.org/`afn15301/drseuss.html) Dr. Seuss's first book was an instant success and soon after came the books The King's Stilts (1939) and Horton Hatches the Egg (1940). During World War II, Geisel wrote films for the war effort. One of these films, entitled Design for Death, a documentary about the Japanese people, won him an Academy Award in 1947. For several decades following Ted Geisel wrote many more children's books, 40 books in all. They include favorites as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the first grade reader The Cat in the Hat, and Green Eggs and Ham. The Lorax, written in 1971, focused on environmental concerns such as air and water pollution, and land waste. In 1984, he wrote The Butter Battle which revolved around nuclear war. It seems that Ted Geisel was asked by a Dartmouth college classmate to come to Chicago for a visit, and being promised a third honorary degree as a filip, Ted and his wife Helen went, only to find out that he was scheduled to be the speaker at the commencement ceremonies. He only had a short time to put together a speech, which lasted only 75 seconds, and was titled "My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers". My uncle ordered popovers from the restaurant's bill of fare. And when there were served, he regarded them with a penetrating stare... Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom as he sat there in that chair! "To eat these things," Said my uncle, "You must exercise great care. You may swallow down what solid... BUT... You must spit out the air!" And... As you partake of the world's bill of fare, That's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air And be careful what you swallow.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Accounting Standards at Bank of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Accounting Standards at Bank of China - Essay Example The PROC (hereafter China) has been undergoing a transformation when the Communist Party decided to open up the country’s economy to the world in 1978. Since then, China has become a socio-economic miracle: a communist-socialist country of over a billion people transforming its economy into the 2nd largest in the world after that of the United States, and an economic superpower that accounts for significant economic developments in the world such as the recent increases in the price of oil, metals, and other commodities to the lowering of production costs for global products such as clothes, appliances, and machineries, amongst many other things (World Bank, 1993; Stiglitz, 2002). The Bank of China Ltd. (hereafter BOC) was founded in 1912, and until the 1949 communist takeover has performed various functions: as China’s central bank, a foreign exchange bank, and a commercial bank specializing in trade finance with branches all over China and in the major financial capitals of the world. After 1949, BOC was turned into a specialized foreign exchange bank. In 1994, it evolved into a state-owned commercial bank; in 2002, its holding company that was majority-owned by the Chinese government was listed on the Hongkong Stock Exchange; and in 2004, it was again transformed into a joint stock commercial bank in preparation for its initial public offering sometime after 2008 (BOC, 2006, p. 2-5). China has a communist form of government and a socialist market economic system with capitalist features: the factors of economic production such as enterprises, land, and capital are owned by the proletariat but managed by the government that allows the people their use and usufruct.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Organizational Culture Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Culture Questions - Essay Example This leadership empowerment committee allows the employees to be a part of the organizational culture and thus represent their truest form through inner leadership values. I take this as the basis of documenting the organizational culture because it gives me a chance to comprehend the real meaning of my organization and how I understand the related philosophy. As far as I am concerned, this leadership empowerment committee truly defines my organization and is a vital cog in the wheel of the business that we are all working for (House 2004). It is a cultural tenet that is appreciated by the employees at large. It represents their basis and gives them a chance to do something different every week. I opine that this leadership empowerment committee is an organizational cultural example that truly resonates with the meaning of the business. It has become a true cultural symbol of my organization over the years.I am of the view that the most significant part of an organizational culture i s the understanding that the varied elements echo together to form the organizational basis which highlights how well people understand the same (Brenton 2005). From my personal life, I have always focused on highlighting different agendas that are within the domains of time management. This is because I have valued time as a significant metaphor for my personality basis. It has allowed me to manage things on my own and hence I have prioritized quite a few things up my sleeves with the time management constructs that remain dear to me.

Book review Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Book review - Coursework Example Capitalism is based on accumulation of wealth by ignoring the social facets of life; it embeds in us the evils of alienation, bitterness and takes away our compassion for others. With influence of capitalism creeping in our daily lives, we intend to make every social interaction a business transaction or something that can give us value or return. The essential of a worker’s society is obsession with work and the attraction and content one finds in working for corporations is enormous these days. Children who see their parents’ working day in day out witness the financial well being of their family and an assured status in society also get obsessed with it and follow the same path while unemployed men and women also inspire to find work with no real concern for work environment or consequences to social life. The modern worker in this society is in worst situation then in the era of industrialization and Fordism; which at least assured that work would not entrench in li fe and weekend leisure would remain intact. In those times death was feared and work was a means to an end although these days death is not feared but welcomed in comparison to the hell a worker lives in. Hence the fear is of living a life that is not worth living. According to the book, â€Å"Entering the workforce is like entering your grave while you pretend that you are interested in the work you do (Cederstrom & Fleming, 2012)†. Organizations tactfully mixed our lives with our work and strategized new ways to keep us going through the same routine and silently encouraging worker to work all the time. The slogans of ‘be yourself’ and ‘work is fun for us’ or ‘work leisure’ have diluted our identities, deprived us of real fun and leisure, as a result workers are either working or thinking about the work all time. The so called independence at work, motivational activities, parties and team activities brought formalized informality in t o action. While the whole corporation calls for informal practices, the worker who resists or finds these activities uninteresting is considered to be committing a crime. So are workers doing something about this? The authors suggest that the worker is an equal contributor to his demise by accepting such a life and responding to the ever increasing demands from the employer (Cederstrom & Fleming, 2012). A series of blunders were made by the government and later on by the organizations, the first being over reliance and obsession with the capital system which led to the exponential development of the private enterprise. What was initially controlled by government is now in hands of profiteers accumulating for themselves with amount of wealth that was not witnessed before in human history. Individual freedom that was once controlled by the government is now controlled by a more heinous motive, the motive of selfishness along with a hunger for more power and enhanced control. Poverty a n evil in our society is still prevalent and capitalism has not played a role in reducing it, similar to the old days poor are still dependent on governments and private enterprises are only concerned with their own profits and sustainability, cutting back jobs and closing operations on their will without any respect given to the worker or his

Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention Dissertation

Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention and customer loyalty in SME retail organization like SUPERVA - Dissertation Example The peripheral economies have not been able to restructure their economies and introduce reforms to enhance productivity and competitiveness of their economies. 1.1.2 The Irish Economy The Irish economy has been one of the most successful in the world but it has also been among the hardest hit during the economic recession (European Commission, 2012). Up to 2007 Ireland experienced strong economic growth and the living standards in Ireland caught up with the world standards. This occurred as more number of workers entered the labor market. Additionally, higher levels of education resulted in better productivity. EU being declared as a single market made Ireland an attractive destination for inward investments. Between 2002 and 2007 the economy experienced high growth rates but this was at the cost of the Irish households building up personal debts. The real estate sector surged forward to due to increase in bank lending. Due to this, the balance sheets of banks grew disproportionatel y large compared to the size of the economy. In addition to the deposit base, the introduction of the Euro encouraged short-term borrowing from overseas. Risky lending practices by the banks proved to be damaging for the economy and this was evident when the property bubble burst (European Commission, 2012). Because of these anomalies the Irish banks were vulnerable to the global recession in 2007. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, investment bankers of US, led to severe tension in the global financial markets which led to deposit outflows at the Irish banks. 1.1.3 SME Retail sector in Ireland The retail sector in Ireland comprises of over 20,000 food and non-food retailers, mostly SMEs, being both Irish and International in origin (IBEC, 2012). The retail sector employs over 240,000 employees. Retailing offers people career in their own locality. The retail SMEs have invested heavily in the sector in the last decade. As a result of recession, the retail market has shrunk by over one -fifth in the terms of value. The retailers were forced to reduce prices, which in turn impacts the overall profits. However, the operating costs have not been affected due to inflexible rents, hourly pay rates, local authority charges and property service charges. The shrinking of the retail market compelled the retailers to seek help from the government. To enhance consumer spending, focus on employees has been considered a valuable agenda. This is based on the recommendation of Irish Business & Employers Confederation in its election manifesto ‘Delivering the Jobs Agenda’ (IBEC, 2012). 1.2 Competitive advantage through people Human resources are now considered valuable assets as there has been a rise in the status of knowledge workers (Sheehan, 2005). Based on the resource-based view of the firm, human capital has become the source of competitive advantage as Koch and McGrath (1996) contend that a highly productive workforce possess attributes that make it a highly v aluable strategic asset. This has led to the recognition of and commitment to human capital development; this has also caused the shift from traditional personnel management to refined HR practices. Competitive advantage can also be gained by recruiting people from diverse backgrounds regardless of ethnicity, age, gender and other individual characteristics (D’Netto and Sohal, 1999). 1.3 Motivation for Research Retailing is intensely competitive in Ireland as anyone can open a store. This has brought in many new

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Madinah Cardiac Centre Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Madinah Cardiac Centre - Research Proposal Example Madinah Cardiac Centre The retention of health workers has been noted to be a very important requirement for ensuring quality delivery of healthcare. Meanwhile, most health facilities in Saudi Arabia go through very difficult times trying to achieve employee retention due to high incidence of employee turnover. This is the problem that has informed the proposed study, seeking to find ways in which the existing problem of high employee turnover can be solved. Based on literature reviewed, it has been established that when employees have sufficient control at the workplace to bring to bear their experiences, dynamism and innovation, they feel part of the overall management of the organisation. This situation is no different for health workers also. Meanwhile, in order for employees at the health sector to be given the room to operate in the manner described, it is important that the concept of employee engagement will be institutionalised at the health facilities. Because the need to undertake employee engagement has been noted to work best when institutionalised, the study seeks to use the concept of cultural metaphor through a social system approach to investigate the best modalities that can be used in making employee engagement a permanent part of the health facilities. Once this is achieved, it will be expected that instead of the health facilities to engage their employees once a while, employee engagement will actually become a permanent part of their organisational culture, where they will be practiced on a permanent basis.

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act Essay

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act - Essay Example The act implemented ways to make the process of filing for bankruptcy very long and costly in order to reduce the number of people filing for bankruptcy. People filing for bankruptcy undergo credit counselling intended to change their minds on filing for bankruptcy (Scott 2005). Later, those proceed to file for bankruptcy undergo means test to evaluate and determine their need and eligibility to file for bankruptcy. The establishment of this act has therefore worked to improve the cases filed on bankruptcy. This is because anyone who puts any file on a bankruptcy gets an opportunity to undergo credit counselling. With this counselling companies and individuals are able to have a clear analysis of their budges to avoid bankruptcy (Scott 2005). In that case, when individuals have critically well analysed and established budgets, they will be a position to have an insight of their ability to file for bankruptcy. This therefore eliminates the filing of bankruptcy by consumers without clear understanding of their ability to pay back their debts. Provision for counselling also helps people to plan on the options they have on paying their debts. These also provide a consideration of the available methods of paying back debts which can either be the priority of debts subject to the prevailing rate of interest or the consolidation of debts (Carroll 2007). After all this analysis, individuals will then be at their own free will to whether to file for the bankruptcy as they initially intended or to avoid it completely. On most cases, people who file for bankruptcy are very desperate for money. In that case, taking them through bankruptcy does not amount to any use at all. Individuals go ahead to file for bankruptcy in a financial state of dire need. After the counselling they proceed to file for the bankruptcy. This therefore is almost

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention Dissertation

Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention and customer loyalty in SME retail organization like SUPERVA - Dissertation Example The peripheral economies have not been able to restructure their economies and introduce reforms to enhance productivity and competitiveness of their economies. 1.1.2 The Irish Economy The Irish economy has been one of the most successful in the world but it has also been among the hardest hit during the economic recession (European Commission, 2012). Up to 2007 Ireland experienced strong economic growth and the living standards in Ireland caught up with the world standards. This occurred as more number of workers entered the labor market. Additionally, higher levels of education resulted in better productivity. EU being declared as a single market made Ireland an attractive destination for inward investments. Between 2002 and 2007 the economy experienced high growth rates but this was at the cost of the Irish households building up personal debts. The real estate sector surged forward to due to increase in bank lending. Due to this, the balance sheets of banks grew disproportionatel y large compared to the size of the economy. In addition to the deposit base, the introduction of the Euro encouraged short-term borrowing from overseas. Risky lending practices by the banks proved to be damaging for the economy and this was evident when the property bubble burst (European Commission, 2012). Because of these anomalies the Irish banks were vulnerable to the global recession in 2007. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, investment bankers of US, led to severe tension in the global financial markets which led to deposit outflows at the Irish banks. 1.1.3 SME Retail sector in Ireland The retail sector in Ireland comprises of over 20,000 food and non-food retailers, mostly SMEs, being both Irish and International in origin (IBEC, 2012). The retail sector employs over 240,000 employees. Retailing offers people career in their own locality. The retail SMEs have invested heavily in the sector in the last decade. As a result of recession, the retail market has shrunk by over one -fifth in the terms of value. The retailers were forced to reduce prices, which in turn impacts the overall profits. However, the operating costs have not been affected due to inflexible rents, hourly pay rates, local authority charges and property service charges. The shrinking of the retail market compelled the retailers to seek help from the government. To enhance consumer spending, focus on employees has been considered a valuable agenda. This is based on the recommendation of Irish Business & Employers Confederation in its election manifesto ‘Delivering the Jobs Agenda’ (IBEC, 2012). 1.2 Competitive advantage through people Human resources are now considered valuable assets as there has been a rise in the status of knowledge workers (Sheehan, 2005). Based on the resource-based view of the firm, human capital has become the source of competitive advantage as Koch and McGrath (1996) contend that a highly productive workforce possess attributes that make it a highly v aluable strategic asset. This has led to the recognition of and commitment to human capital development; this has also caused the shift from traditional personnel management to refined HR practices. Competitive advantage can also be gained by recruiting people from diverse backgrounds regardless of ethnicity, age, gender and other individual characteristics (D’Netto and Sohal, 1999). 1.3 Motivation for Research Retailing is intensely competitive in Ireland as anyone can open a store. This has brought in many new

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act Essay

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act - Essay Example The act implemented ways to make the process of filing for bankruptcy very long and costly in order to reduce the number of people filing for bankruptcy. People filing for bankruptcy undergo credit counselling intended to change their minds on filing for bankruptcy (Scott 2005). Later, those proceed to file for bankruptcy undergo means test to evaluate and determine their need and eligibility to file for bankruptcy. The establishment of this act has therefore worked to improve the cases filed on bankruptcy. This is because anyone who puts any file on a bankruptcy gets an opportunity to undergo credit counselling. With this counselling companies and individuals are able to have a clear analysis of their budges to avoid bankruptcy (Scott 2005). In that case, when individuals have critically well analysed and established budgets, they will be a position to have an insight of their ability to file for bankruptcy. This therefore eliminates the filing of bankruptcy by consumers without clear understanding of their ability to pay back their debts. Provision for counselling also helps people to plan on the options they have on paying their debts. These also provide a consideration of the available methods of paying back debts which can either be the priority of debts subject to the prevailing rate of interest or the consolidation of debts (Carroll 2007). After all this analysis, individuals will then be at their own free will to whether to file for the bankruptcy as they initially intended or to avoid it completely. On most cases, people who file for bankruptcy are very desperate for money. In that case, taking them through bankruptcy does not amount to any use at all. Individuals go ahead to file for bankruptcy in a financial state of dire need. After the counselling they proceed to file for the bankruptcy. This therefore is almost

Purpose of the Education System Essay Example for Free

Purpose of the Education System Essay The question posed is What should the education system be? This question cannot be answered specifically because the education system means something different to everyone. The education system is, to an extent, what it should be, which is an institution devoted to the development of the intellect. American education should however, be more than rote instruction of mandated materials. Our children should be taught more life skills along with science and math. Children sit in rows, facing straight, not talking. They select and use educational materials in unison, and watch the teacher write on the board. The droning sound of the teachers voice attempts to fill their minds with knowledge. It sounds militaristic because it is. Students remember more of what they are taught if the material is presented in a less formal, more enjoyable atmosphere. School administrators and state agencies set forth guidelines from which teachers must not deviate. The problem is, these administrators are removed from the classroom and tend to forget that children have changing needs. Todays teachers learn more progressive teaching methods such as portfolio assessment vs. testing, and sitting in groups instead of rows. There are few administrators willing to incorporate these changes into their schools. Education management needs to allow teachers the flexibility to teach their students using whatever methods actually work. There is no reason why children should not look forward to school. For the most part, our education system is devoted to teaching students. There is great concern that students should be prepared to move on to higher stages of education. Tests are given periodically to gauge students progress. There is much discussion how improving education and better preparing students for the world. Students do learn, and many excel, but school is still viewed as drudgery by most students. If our education system is to prepare children for the world educators need to look more closely at curriculum. Art, philosophy, history, math, English  and science are all important subjects. They teach us about the world around us and how things work. The social setting of the educational facilities also compels students to learn about society and what is acceptable behavior. However, are we properly preparing our students for the world? Are we teaching life skills like personal finance and relationship dynamics? Can we lower the rate of divorce or the number of poverty-stricken retirees by educating students in these areas? Our education system needs to incorporate fundamental life skills into the curriculum. The focus on education should not stop at the goal to create an intelligent adult. The education system must also attempt to create a responsible citizen, an asset to the community. The American education system is not entirely broken. There are many positive things happening. Progressive teaching methods are being employed and the student is being recognized as more of an individual. America cannot stop here. We need to ask ourselves if the moral fabric of our country can be improved through education. The education system plays a larger role in our lives than any other one thing. The system needs to use this influence to improve society as a whole and people as individuals.

Monday, October 14, 2019

External Auditors and their role in the Corporate Governance Framework

External Auditors and their role in the Corporate Governance Framework External Auditors check companys accounts and report to the company based on the accounts. Basically, the concern is how external auditors conduct these duties effectively. Legislations, such as The Companies Act 1965, have made great efforts to ensure external auditors conduct their duties and obligations effectively. The Code of Corporate Governance in 2001 and the amendment in 2007 have further enhanced the effectiveness of audit in the interests of stockholders and shareholders. In light of the recent scandals involving external auditors in the world, there is a growing concern for corporate governance globally as there is increased reliance by the stockholders and shareholders on external auditors. This study examines the role of external auditors in the corporate governance framework. The study then reviews the financial scandals involving auditors occurred in the world and investigate the role of external auditor in the collapse of the companies. Introduction Corporate governance is a central and dynamic aspect of business. It is very important for corporate success and social welfare. In the wake of Enron, HIH Insurance and other similar cases, countries around the world have reacted quickly by pre-examining similar events domestically. As a speedy response to these corporate failures, the USA issued the Sarbanes-Oxly Act in July 2002, and in UK, the Higgs Report and the Smith Report were published in January 2003 (Solomon, 2007). Nowadays corporate governance is a globally debated topic with many characteristics (Nobel, 1998). However, the concern is whether auditors play an important role in the framework of corporate governance. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of corporations. The main participants are the shareholders, the management and the board of directors. Corporate governance is the process whereby directors of a company are monitored and controlled. There are two areas considered to be fundamental to corporate governance, one is supervision and monitoring of management performance and the other is ensuring accountability of management to shareholders and other stakeholders (Marianne, 2009). Till now, probably the two most important basic elements of good corporate governance have been full disclosure and the presence of independent directors and auditors, who each has their own ways to confirm that the data provided by the corporation are true and fairly stated. The contents of full disclosure are listed out in regulatory demands and professional pronouncements, and companies are expected to fully comply. The independence of the outside director and external auditor means the directors and auditors will have to distance themselves considerably to assure shareholders that they have conducted their tasks (Bavly, 2004). Role of External Auditors in Corporate Governance External auditors play a key role in the corporate governance framework. They conduct one of the most important corporate governance checks that help to monitor managements activities. The audit of financial statement makes disclosures more reliable, thus increasing confidence in the companys transparency. The role of external auditors is to make sure that Board of Directors and the management are acting responsibly towards the shareholders investment interests. By keeping objectivity, the external auditors can add value to shareholders by ensuring that the companys internal controls are strong and effective. And by working with the audit committee and liaising with internal auditors, external auditors can help to facilitate a more effective oversight of the financial reporting process by the Board of Directors (Hassan, 2004). However, the audit expectations gap needs to be acknowledged, as the audit function can only do so much on the fraud. The external auditor can not be expected to find every fraud and error during an audit. In accordance with the Cadbury Report, it is important to know that the external auditors role is not to prepare the financial statements, nor to provide assurance that the data in the financial statements are correct, nor to guarantee that the company will continue as a going concern, but the external auditors have to state in the annual report that the financial statements show a true and fair view. The Cadbury Report highlighted that there was no doubt on whether there should be an audit but rather how the audit could be ensured to conduct effectively and objectively by the external auditors (Solomon, 2007). Auditor Independence External auditors are expected to be independent of the company and report on the company objectively. Actually, auditors can only play their role effectively if they are independent (Peel ODonnell, 1995). They have to conduct their tasks in the most independent and reliable manner to provide investing public with the level of assurance to make their decisions based on the financial statements. According to the Cadbury Report, auditor independence could be affected due to the close relationship between auditors and company managers and due to the auditors intention to develop a constructive relationship with their clients. There are a number of threats to auditor independence, one of which is to provide non-audit services since non-audit services are lucrative. Auditors can obtain the contracts for non-audit services only if they maintain a good relationship with the management. The Cadbury Report stressed that a balance is needed to be achieved in such way that external auditors will work with, not against, company management, but in doing so they need to serve shareholders. This is a difficult path. The easiest way to ensure this balance being attained is suggested to establish audit committees and develop effective accounting standards. The Cadbury Report recommended all companies to establish audit committees. Audit committees serve as representative of shareholder interests. They are not only responsible for monitoring financial reporting process to support good corporate governance, they are also considered to be able to ensure an appropriate relationship exists between the external auditor and the management whose financial statements are being audited (Hassan, 2004). The Smith Report issued in 2003 highlighted that the audit committee needs to be proactive and raise the concern with directors rather than brush them under the carpet. The Report also stressed that all members of audit committee should be independent non-executive directors. Companys annual reports should disclose detailed information on the role and responsibilities of their audit committee. Lessons from Financial Scandals 4.1 Collapse of Enron Enron, the energy trading company based on Texas is the first scandal shaking up the auditing profession. It has led to a crisis to the confidence on auditors and the reliability of financial reporting (Holm Laursen, 2007). The audit quality and the independence of external auditors were questioned. In this case, Enrons audit and accounting function were fraudulent. Arthur Andersen, the auditor of Enron, has been involved in Enrons fraudulent accounting and auditing. Failure of the audit function is one of the key factors contributing to the companys collapse. Enron created The Raptors, four special purpose entities (SPEs). SPEs are established in order that a company can form a joint venture with other interested parties to conduct a specific transaction. This transaction will not subject the other parties to the risks more generally associated with the companys operations. U.S Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAPP) allows companies to record the gains and losses of SPEs without reporting their assets and liabilities in certain instances. In this way, Enron avoided adding more than $1 billion debt to its balance sheet without consolidating certain SPEs (Jenkins, 2003). But the problems are, when the losses of these entities quickly rose into billions of dollars, these entities were brought into the core financial statements. It then became clear that Enron itself had great losses. The corporations stock price dropped sharply, and the company went into bankruptcy in December 2001 (Brown, 2005). Examples of Enrons devious accounting exist widely in the corporation. The company recorded profits, for example, from a joint venture with Blockbuster Video that was never materialized (The Economist, 7 February 2002). In 2002, Enron restated its accounts, which is actually a process that reduced reported profits by $600 million (The Economist, 6 December 2001). In fact, the process resulted in a cumulative profit decrease of $591 million and a rise in debt of $628 million for the financial statements from 1997 to 2000. The difference between the profit figures was mainly attributed to the earlier omission of three off-balance sheet entities. Such profit inflation enabled the company to raise its earnings per share (EPS). The company not only manipulated the accounting figures to inflate the earnings, but it also was found to remove substantial amounts of debt from its accounts by setting up a number of off-balance sheet entities. Such special purpose entities can be used to hide a companys liabilities from the balance sheet, in order to make the financial statements look much better than they really are (The Economist, 2 May 2002). It means substantial number of liabilities did not have to be disclosed on Enrons financial statements, because they were mainly attributed to another legal entity. All these issues raise the question, why did Enrons auditor allow this type of activity? This is because the conflicts of interest exist between the external auditor and the management. Conflicts of Interest Conflicts of interest are a frequent problem in the audit profession. Although independent appointment of external auditors by companys shareholders is regularly replaced by subjective appointment by the company management, the auditor is all too often appreciated to the companys senior management. Further, conflicts of interest arise from interactive functions of audit and consultancy. Arthur Andersen has been blamed to apply loose standards in their audits because of conflict of interest over the subatantial consulting fees collected from Enron. In 2000, Andersen collected $25 million for auditing Enrons books in addition to $27 million for consulting services. In 2001, Arthur Anderson earned US$55 million for provision of non-audit services (Brown, 2005). Although Arthur Andersen reported on the companys accounts, they did not report fraud to the shareholders. This is because the fraud was committed by the management. Kenneth Lay, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from Feb 1986 until Feb 2001, took home US$ 152 million although the company was facing a loss. If Andersen were to report, they probably will not be appointed in the following years or be engaged in non-audit services (Krishnan, L, 2009). Especially, close relationships are established over time between companies and their external auditors. It can again affect independent judgment and impact on the auditing function. In this case, there are regular exchanges of employees within Enron from Arthur Anderson. Such conflicts of interest affect the corporate governance function. Serious conflicts of interest have also arisen among members of Enrons internal audit committee, which causes the internal audit committee did not perform its functions of internal control and of checking the external auditing function. For example, Lord Wakeham, a member of the audit committee, was at the same time having a consulting contract with Enron (The Economist, 7February2002). This shows that people in responsible positions should have detected fraudulent activities if they were independent. Enrons board of directors was composed of a number of members who have been shown to be willing to conduct fraudulent activity. It is also because the non-executive directors were compromised by conflicts of interest. 4.2 Collapse of HIH Insurance In Australia, the collapse of HIH Insurance Ltd was observed as the beginning of the reflection into external auditors role. HIH is one of Australias biggest insurers, comprising several separate government-licensed insurance companies, including HIH Casualty General Insurance Ltd, FAI General Insurance Ltd, CIC Insurance Ltd and World Marine General Insurances Ltd. On 15 March 2001, HIH went into provisional liquidation with losses of A$ 800 million (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). HIH is one of the largest corporate collapses in Australian history. Similar issues arise as in the Enron case. HIH is claimed to mislead investors by providing incorrect financial reports to the market and HIHs auditor, Arthur Andersen, may have played a part in its collapse. Andersen conducted the external audits for HIH from 1971 until its collapse in 2001. Their contribution to the failure of HIH is considered in the following sections: Audit Practices As part of audit process, auditors will conduct a risk assessment to determine the structure and plan of the audit. Andersen assessed the risk of HIH and deemed it a maximum risk client, however, the engagement team of Andersen had not prepared the risk management plan and therefore the senior management team at Anderson did not review and approve the plan (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). At the end, the auditor simply drew the wrong conclusions. Andersen signed off HIHs annual report for the 30th June 2000 and stated that it was a going concern with net assets of $939 million. Nine months later, HIH collapsed with debts of $5.3 billion (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). Andersen used HIH management reports and forecasts and did not obtain sufficient evidence to get the conclusions they did. The liquidator could not find the documentation on the reasons for considering HIH as a going concern. This implies that Anderson failed to produce sufficient working papers to prove that the audit actually is conducted. Auditor Independence Andersen had a close relationship with HIH. By the time of liquidation, three former Anderson partners who had conducted HIH financial audit work held positions on the HIH board of directors. This obvious lack of independence between the board of directors and the auditors indicated that the best interests of HIH may have not always be a priority. Andersons failure in producing adequate working papers or in obtaining adequate evidence to support their findings have serious concerns on the quality of the audit they did. A significant independence issue is also reflected in the form of Andersons payment to HIH Chairman, Geoffrey Cohen for consultancy fees. These fees totaled $190,887 in nine years and included the use of Andersons office and secretary. These fees were not disclosed to the remaining board members in the annual general meetings (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). The close and complicated financial relationship between the auditors and HIH chairman raise further questions in this case. Finally, the threat to auditor independence is that Andersen provided both audit and non-audit services to HIH. It raises a question on how can an auditor provide an independent opinion on the financial statements when he may play a role in guiding the preparation of the statements? The Royal Commission in Australia, which investigates the collapse of HIH, has found that the largest corporate collapse in Australia was not due to fraud but the result of attempting to cover the cracks on the overpriced acquisition. Andersons role in it appeared to be substantial. Modern Approach to External Auditors Role in Corporate Governance External auditors now have to take a much stricter approach to their clients (Bourne, 1995). There is an increasing view to support that external auditors should take on a more proactive role (Baxt, 1970). The Companies Act has set the stipulation on appointment, eligibility, qualification, disqualification and removal of external auditors (Davies Prentice, 2003). The intention is to ensure that auditors are able to carry out audit in an impersonal, objective and professional way. It is also to ensure that auditors are independent of the company. The reason for such emphasis is to ensure the external auditors are not in a position of conflict of interests. When there is conflict of interest, disclosure must be made to shareholders and stakeholders. Alternatively, there should be prohibition to the provision of non-audit services to the company where they act as auditors. To ensure auditors are truly independent and not in a conflict of interest, auditors should be rotated every year. Thereafter there should be a gap of five years before the same auditors are appointed by the company. Conclusion External auditors have an essential role in corporate governance through their involvement and their examination of financial statements. The external auditors role in corporate governance is a fundamental complement to achieve the desired objective of corporate governance. Therefore, the duties and obligations of external auditors must be expanded for the rights and interests of shareholders and stakeholders. There must be a modern approach to the auditors role in the corporate governance framework.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Relationship between Human Nature and Global Warming Essay

The Relationship between Human Nature and Global Warming According to the National Academy of Sciences, global warming over the past century has caused a rise in Earth's surface temperature of about 1 degree Fahrenheit. There is evidence to substantiate attribution of the increased rate of this warming phenomenon over the past 50 years to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (Internet 0). This paper will explore modern human nature, the technology that it demands, and the effects, both positive and negative, that these factors have had on the environment. The advent of the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s brought with it unprecedented improvements in the quality of human life. Individual freedom, technology, industry, and economic growth became symbols of success and happiness, and society molded itself around these new technologies to the point where they were necessary for survival. New applications of energy developed by the Industrial Revolution provided energy-intensive agricultural methods that caused death rates to fall sharply and population density to increase significantly (Internet 1). Over time, improvements to human life increased as industry developed. Industry is now a worldwide, powerful and booming establishment. It is impossible even to imagine all the aspects of modern life that exist as a direct result of industry, and few would disagree with the statement that industry has afforded humans life improvements on an unprecedented scale. Yet this success has come at a great cost to our environment. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revoluti... ...bal Warming Information, http://www.globalwarming.org/index.htm Internet 4 United States Environmental Protection Agency, yosemite.epa.gov /oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/emissions.html Internet 5 United States Environmental Protection Agency, yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/ content/emissions.html Internet 6 United States Environmental Protection Agency, yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming. nsf/content/emissions.html Internet 7 The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability, http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/uniqueKeyLookup/SHSU5BPJWH/$file/chaptsum.pdf?OpenElement Internet 8 United States Environmental Protection Agency, yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/emissions.html Internet 9 United States Environmental Protection Agency, yosemite.epa.gov/oar/ globalwarming.nsf/content/emissions.html

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Comparing Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis Essay

Similarities between Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis It is unusual to say the least to open a book and the first line is about the main character waking up as a large insect. Most authors’ use symbolism to relate the theme of their work, not Franz Kafka. He uses a writing method that voids all aspects and elements of the story that defy interpretation. In doing this, he leaves a simple story that stands only for an objective view for his own thoughts and dreams. Kafka focuses the readers’ attention on a single character that symbolizes himself and his life, not Everyman as some authors do. This method is displayed in most of his literary works. To understand how this method is recognized, readers must study the author’s background during the period of writing and basic history to understand this author’s motive. In his short story, â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, there are multiple similarities between Kafka’s true life and Gregor Samsa’s. Before the similarities are displayed, the justifications behind this premise are as follows. Kafka’s works demonstrates the use of a self-nulling reference system in order to void possibilities of critics attempting to use hermeneutics (Thiher, 50). Hermeneutics is the methodology of interpretation. Examples of this method can be found throughout the story in the use of the realistic and unrealistic elements intertwined in different situations. â€Å"Kafka’s Metamorphosis validates contradictory readings that cancel coherent interpretation,† is a quote by confirmed critic Gavriel Ben-Ephraim(451). A specific example can be located in Part I, when Gregor attempts to rise from bed and fails. He thinks to himself, â€Å"What a job I’ve chosen.† In truth, he did not h... ..., Gavriel. â€Å"Making and Breaking Meaning: Deconstruction, Four-level Allegory and The Metamorphosis.† Midwest Quarterly. 35 (1994): 450-67. Sources Consulted â€Å"Franz Kafka/The Metamorphosis.† Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. Corngold, Stanley, ed. Oct. 2002.New York U. 21 Oct. 2002. . â€Å"Biography/Franz Kafka.† Literature Research Center. 2002. Thomas Gale Group. 21 Oct. 2002. . Goodwin, Evan. â€Å"little blue light-Franz Kafka.† little blue light. 6 May 2002. 13 November 2002. . Stephens, J. â€Å"Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in the Metamorphosis† The Kafka Project. 1999-2002. 13 November 2002. . Comparing Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis Essay Similarities between Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis It is unusual to say the least to open a book and the first line is about the main character waking up as a large insect. Most authors’ use symbolism to relate the theme of their work, not Franz Kafka. He uses a writing method that voids all aspects and elements of the story that defy interpretation. In doing this, he leaves a simple story that stands only for an objective view for his own thoughts and dreams. Kafka focuses the readers’ attention on a single character that symbolizes himself and his life, not Everyman as some authors do. This method is displayed in most of his literary works. To understand how this method is recognized, readers must study the author’s background during the period of writing and basic history to understand this author’s motive. In his short story, â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, there are multiple similarities between Kafka’s true life and Gregor Samsa’s. Before the similarities are displayed, the justifications behind this premise are as follows. Kafka’s works demonstrates the use of a self-nulling reference system in order to void possibilities of critics attempting to use hermeneutics (Thiher, 50). Hermeneutics is the methodology of interpretation. Examples of this method can be found throughout the story in the use of the realistic and unrealistic elements intertwined in different situations. â€Å"Kafka’s Metamorphosis validates contradictory readings that cancel coherent interpretation,† is a quote by confirmed critic Gavriel Ben-Ephraim(451). A specific example can be located in Part I, when Gregor attempts to rise from bed and fails. He thinks to himself, â€Å"What a job I’ve chosen.† In truth, he did not h... ..., Gavriel. â€Å"Making and Breaking Meaning: Deconstruction, Four-level Allegory and The Metamorphosis.† Midwest Quarterly. 35 (1994): 450-67. Sources Consulted â€Å"Franz Kafka/The Metamorphosis.† Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. Corngold, Stanley, ed. Oct. 2002.New York U. 21 Oct. 2002. . â€Å"Biography/Franz Kafka.† Literature Research Center. 2002. Thomas Gale Group. 21 Oct. 2002. . Goodwin, Evan. â€Å"little blue light-Franz Kafka.† little blue light. 6 May 2002. 13 November 2002. . Stephens, J. â€Å"Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in the Metamorphosis† The Kafka Project. 1999-2002. 13 November 2002. .

Friday, October 11, 2019

Poems

English Coursework Compare how strong human emotion Is conveyed in three poems from Section C of the Anthology and three other poems you have studied. Poetry engages readers with different forms of emotion; these emotions can be conveyed through stylish and subtle use of extraordinary language, form, structure and context, all of which provide an additional dimension to the literature. Emotion Is defined as a â€Å"strong feeling† and this will be explored in the paired poems: ‘Having' and ‘Remember'; ‘A Mother In A Refugee Camp' and ‘Mother Any Distance'; ‘Sonnet 1 16' and ‘If.The key themes in these passages are the universal feelings which we all experience, such as love and resentment. The poems In each pair share similar subject matter and messages. Poetry Is a thought-provoking way to explore the challenges encountered throughout our lives. These are demonstrated by the look and shape of a poem, the sophisticated vocabulary and emotion which can be depicted. Looking at the poems, I will explore how emotion is displayed and communicated to the reader. A Mother In a Refugee Camp' by China Achebe Is about the sadness of a mother who prepares o have her dear son take from her due to an unfortunate illness in the midst of a civil war refugee camp. The poem goes through four changing stages of emotion: reflection, sickness, pride and subsequently yet unfortunately ending in death. These emotions are universal experiences. Meaningful language Is used In the first line, â€Å"No Madonna and child could touch†, a religious reference used to describe the epitome of a mother and son relationship.The poem vividly describes the horrors taking place in the civil war, in lines such as, â€Å"heavy odors of diarrhea† and unwashed children with washed-out ribs† which graphically depict the experiences of disgust, as Intense pathos Is created at the expense of the children. Strong language is used so the reader can detect the stench of the odors and conceptualize the unwashed ribs of the children, as they're so desperate and in need of care. Huge pity Is Invoked In the reader as they can vividly picture what is happening In the camp.The â€Å"ghost-smile†, Is a false, fake smile displayed as the mother tries to behave with courage and strength at the most emotional time of her life, also provoking the reader as it did for me into feeling condolence and sympathy awards her. She is there in the present yet her mind is completely taken away from the camp Into reflecting upon memories. Comparatively ‘Mother Any Distance' by Simon Remarriage is a more thought-provoking poem as it delves into the ordeal of a young man leaving home and breaking free from his mother.It is thought-provoking because it allows the reader to reflect on one's own thoughts of this whether it is yet to come or a previous encounter. Loss and separation are two emotions felt In the paired poems but in contras ting contexts. ‘Mother Any Distance' focuses more on restoration whilst ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' on total heartbreak. ‘Mother Any Distance' is written in free verse allowing flexibility in structure and vocabulary.Likewise, words invariably used to portray distance are used to create a sense of the loss that Is soon to take place, â€Å"acres†, â€Å"years† and â€Å"zero-end†, these Impact the reader leading them to understand that the distance between the mother and son in this 1 OFF created through such lines as â€Å"she soon would have to forget† and â€Å"other mothers there had long ceased to care†. However, in both poems there is a feeling of not being able to deny something that looms large.The repetition of the word ‘mother' shows us the maternal love she feels and the inability to let go of her son as he moves into adulthood. Fantastic imagery is used such as the metaphors â€Å"Anchor†, safe foundation s and â€Å"Kite†, this represents the process of flight. The â€Å"endless sky to fall or fly', the son is preparing to fly, to leave safety, knowing not what lies ahead. In ‘Mother Any Distance' the stanza size seems to increase as the distance between them grows. As in ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' the mothers are devoted until the end.I feel that ‘Mother Any Distance' captivates me more as it has made me think owe my own experience will be and also because this is a more universal event. By contrast, ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' is something that many cannot relate to or cannot understand the pain and agony. Carol Ann Duffy ‘Having' focuses on the emotions of loss and separation. Having or Miss Having as she is known in Charles Dickens' ‘Great Expectations' is an elderly character who in her younger life was left at the altar and continues to obsess over this.The selection to not include the Miss at the start of her name is unknown; I f eel that it may be due to her coming creature-like and Duffy wishing to focus on her as person and not Just a spinster. Duffy self-consciously transforms this novel character from being depressed in ‘Great Expectations' to a more aggressive angry character in the poem ‘Having'. An interesting and controversial alliterative ‘B' oxymoron â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard. † is used in line one. This shows that possibly Having still has thoughts of love towards her ex-fiance ©e but still holds a grudge long after their parting.Duffy uses vivid colors as symbols, starting in line three, â€Å"dark green pebbles for eyes† Rene representing the emotion of envy, with her sinister thoughts. Also, â€Å"pebbles† demonstrate that her feelings are unhealthy as she wishes such hatred to another human being. From line three, this turns out to be a continuous theme throughout the rest of the poem. At the end of the poem, emphasis is used with â€Å"the hea rt that b-b-b-breaks. † Having is hiding from the outside world as she is old and trembling whilst she reflects on her younger years.The poem is written in free verse, allowing a flow through freedom of a variety of words and sentence structures as there are no constraints as in a sonnet. The stanzas are broken down into lines of four, called a quatrain; the stanzas go through four stages of emotion; hatred, horror, reflection and further hatred, finishing the way it started, returning to the emotion of hatred. ‘Remember' by Christiana Rosettes is written in first person as is ‘Having' thus the reader has a sense of a relationship with the protagonists in the poem, creating more pathos.Rosettes was bought up in the times of the Pre-Raphael movement, possibly explaining why her poems were controversial with formerly inaudible religious references such as â€Å"Pray'. In these paired poems protagonists are similar in hat they are soul-destroyed and are both going th rough or reminiscing on emotional break downs. Repetition of the personal pronouns â€Å"me†, â€Å"you†, â€Å"our† and â€Å"l† highlight the intimacy of the personal relationship and highlight loss between two people, also affecting the way we interpret the poem as it could be about anyone. Having' in its regular verses of four is much unlike ‘Remember' with a solid block of emotional her. â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away', a very melancholy line stating how sad she is and that soon she will be departing, setting the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the poem. Gone far away into the silent land† says that where she is going will not be dreadful, she can be calm and relaxed here but â€Å"far away'; she will not be able to return. However, this could be viewed as a euphemism for death and like Hafnium's â€Å"beloved sweetheart bastard† create an oxymoron feel. Remember' is a sonnet (a 14 lined poem), self-contradictory in it s paradoxical form in which the feel of the poem changes two lines from its conclusion from a demanding command at the start of each quatrain â€Å"remember me† to â€Å"better by far you should forget and smile† a happier and quite nostalgic quote. It follows the rhyme pattern, ABA and iambic pentameter, which are regular patterns; this gives the poem a flow and beat. Along with the precise use of punctuation, used in the middle of lines on clause emphasis, called a caesura, often incorporated to emphasis a point, â€Å"Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay. Compared to Having which follows no rhyme scheme, this is due to the constant use of enjambment. The emotions conveyed in ‘Having' and ‘Remember' are those of confusion and love. ‘Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare was published in 1609 in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The focal point is the emotion of love which is defined as â€Å"a strong feeling of affection†, which in Shakesp earean times perhaps had more meaning and more importance.Love is prominent throughout the poem through the use of poetic devices and fanciful language in the metaphors, â€Å"the star to every wandering bark† and â€Å"an ever-fixed mark', in an attempt to define the indefinable love. Shakespeare is trying to declare to us that love can't be altered by any means â€Å"love alters not with his brief hours and weeks. † Love is eternal, â€Å"bears it out even to the edge of doom†. To summaries what Shakespeare is attempting to say Where there is life there is love'. The poem has a rhetorical theme of love and what it is, which can be interpreted in many different ways.Comparably love, like the poem, has no real end or conclusion. After all, love is a philosophical perception. Rudyard Kipling ‘If like ‘1 16' explores the conflicting emotions of love and pride. ‘If is a didactic poem, meaning to give instruction. ‘If serves as an instructio n in this case to an exceptional leader, illustrating the actions a man should take throughout life, such as never giving up, â€Å"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting†. The creative use of an exclamation mark, manfully be a man, my son! † captivates the reader's attention and adds sudden enthusiasm to a rather serious poem.Writing to children, the rhyme scheme ABA assists coherence and comprehension. The paired poems are written in iambic pentameter, offering a regular pattern which also adds a ironically and infatuating quality to the poem. ‘If' is written in four stanzas of eight rhyming lines, in its order of ABA, whilst ‘1 16' is split into three quatrains and a couplet. The structure of the paired poems emphasizes the emotions depicted. The rhyme scheme in ‘If gives a sincere yet uplifting feel whilst ‘1 16' is more sophisticated.