COURSEWORK 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

2 - Coursework Example Change is pervasive not only in peoples individual lives but also in business organisations – for profit or not. Change is inevitable; it is also one of the constants in this world. It doesnt matter if an organisation is doing something about the impact of change – technological, societal and market – on how they do business. These changes will still impact on them and those who react fastest and most constructively will survive. Management theories emerged as a result of change. From the scientific management to centralized organisation; from a decentralized management to empowered workforce; and from a knowledge management to learning organisation. In order to protect its current status, Toyota Motors Corporation, as they say, must run faster to stay in place. First and foremost, it must embrace change whole heartedly – this means the entire organisation as a whole rather than its parts individually. The above changes unfortunately results to a more cutthroat competition not only in the automobile industry but in all industries affected by these changes. Sustaining status quo or surviving in a highly competitive environment is expensive. Companies, to maintain their standing in the market, have to spend more and more in advertising and other activities to sustain the market’s interest in their products and services. This practice is fatal in the long run. Certainly a company can not indefinitely spend its scarce financial resources in activities which can only sustain what is. To survive the company must not only please existing customers, but make new ones too. In this dynamic environment, an organisation finds change and performance improvement more as matters of business survival rather than as matters of competitiveness. Product differentiation and cost leadership are two strategies a company can adopt to stay ahead of competition. Continuous process improvement

Blogging Digital Media And Society Series Essay Example for Free

Blogging Digital Media And Society Series Essay Jill Walker Rettberg new edition â€Å"Blogging: digital media and society series† can be described as a key book in an emerging field. Blogging has come to be associated as a landmark in the current social cyber studies and even more. Blogging is all about the way today’s popular culture has become an important element in large magnitude changes in how culture is produced. With her book, Jill digs into the deep and broad of blogging to give the reader the real meaning of what is involved in blogging as the evidence and driver of a shift in epochal culture (Rettberg, 2014). Jill’s capability in ensuring that she reaches out to the right audience and puts the points on blogging across is enhanced by experience. Being a prolific blogger herself, Jill uses her experience as a blogger in pointing out the various issues to her audience. Jill also utilizes examination which is enhanced by use of an expert’s eye of a communications researcher with experience to reveal the historical, psychological, social and political meaning of the blogging initiative. Borrowing from various disciplines, it is evident of her good understanding on the blogging issue and its impact. The other strong point in her writing is the fact that she brings and uses various disciplines such as media studies, marketing, ethnology, literary studies, sociology and journalism into an excellent exploratory framework (Rettberg, 2014). Jill’s book expands blogging into a wider context of the decline in print culture to the emerging trends. The updated and revised edition provides a good study of the now each and every day phenomenon placing it in a theoretical, contemporary and historical context. The use of the most recent of the researches and developments in the blogging world is taken care of with an analysis of the new tools for visual blogging and micro blogging (Rettberg, 2014). In the book, Jill discusses the changing trends where in the current times blogs are being integrated into the mainstream social media ecology. This helps to show the reader the direction the blogging element is taking in the formation and continuation of popular culture. Jill notes that the comments and the links from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become more important than networks between blogs which was important five years ago. Jill also questions the new trend where there is a shift towards increased corporate control and commercialization of blogs (Rettberg, 2014). The cultural shift has also seen its share of influence from blogging as Jill illustrates using examples. Jill delves into the analysis of how the current smart phones equipped with cameras together with the social media has led to the shift towards more emphasis on the visual aspects in the blogs with the use of graphics and photographs being in the foreground. Jill puts in a convincing analysis of how blogging together with related genres have come to change the world of communication and media (Rettberg, 2014). The design of the book is in such a way that each of the chapters is a self-sufficient review of areas in blogging which makes the structure repetitive across the work. The book is more suitable for beginners or anyone with an interest in blogging as Jill puts the chapters in a loose connection to blogging. Though Jill has borrowed from many disciplines to help the reader in understanding the different aspects of blogging, there is some diversion, however when the discussion shifts from blogging as a phenomenon into the related and convergent forms like the social networking sites. There are lengthy discussions of the various sites such as MySpace and Facebook which though put with the right intention in mind, they do not achieve this as there is no clear elaboration to the reader how this relates to the overall topics (Rettberg, 2014). Walker’s work begins by tackling the question of what a blog is. She starts with an introduction to the history of online text based communication. She then moves on to the development of blogging tools such as Blogger. Walker develops a shred understanding of material aspects in blogging. An interesting section also discusses blogs as genre and medium which is a distinction that is not addressed directly most of the time. In â€Å"From Bards to Blogs†, Walter takes the discussion on the blogging place within media culture and the shift from one-to- many towards many-to- many. Walter positions the internet as a counterpoint to Plato’s complaint of a written text being unresponsive. Walker shares the view that there is potential for interactivity between authors of blog posts, the blog post itself and the reader in blog comments (Rettberg, 2014). Also of particular interest is the chapter â€Å"Citizen Journalist?’ where Walker puts her focus on the three ways in which blogging intersects with traditional journalism. There are bloggers acting as journalists, the bloggers who report on mainstream media and the bloggers giving first-hand reports on ongoing events. Walker goes ahead to discuss bloggers as the chance to witness big historical events. Her example of Kaye D. Trammell account on Hurricane Katrina is meant to show how blogs can be used as sources of information by both the public and mass media however understudied. This is an avenue that can be used for future works in blogging (Rettberg, 2014). Walker also discusses how blogs have expanded to various forms of narratives in â€Å"Blogs as narratives† She gives an account of the three forms of narratives namely the goal-oriented narrative, ongoing narration and fragmented narratives. In the same chapter she evaluates the ways in which blogs can be used as a means of self exploration with one discovering their strengths and what they can do best to contribute to the society (Rettberg, 2014). Walker finishes the book off with a review of the future of blogs and the future of social media. In the chapter, Walker also touches on the use of language, privacy government access and control each of which one gets the feeling that they could be well covered in a different book each on its own. An addition of some scholarly works using quantitative methods would have added some balance to the various discussions such as the one on protypical blog and blogger. Another limitation in Walker’s book is that there is a small number of scholarly works cited on bloggers and blogging (Rettberg, 2014). In general Walker provides a popular view on blogging culture and blogs and steers away from in-depth analysis and critical discussion. The text however is a good introductory resource for both non-academic and academic audiences (Rettberg, 2014). Reference Rettberg, J. W. (2014).  Blogging. Source document

Stephanie Coontzs What We Really Miss about the 1950s :: I Love Lucy

Part 1: Summary Stephanie Coontz's essay `What we really miss about the 1950's' is an essay that talks about a poll taken in 1996 by the Knight-Ridder news agency that more Americans preferred 1950's as the best decade for children to grow up. Coontz doesn't believe that it is a decade for people to remember fondly about, except for financial reasons and better communication within families. Coontz doesn't believe in it as the best decade because of the votes, the 50's only won by nine percent, and especially not by African Americans. Examples from family and financial issues in the 50's that makes it better than other decades from 20's to 80's. She doesn't believe that the 50's should be taken `literally' because from 50's there were changes in values that caused racism, sexism discrimination against women. Even though the 50's were good, it didn't lead to a better 60, 70, and 80. Part 2: Question I love Lucy was a very popular sitcom in the 1950s. Through humor and plot it brings out more of positive aspects and less of negative aspects for the 1950's that Coontz described in `What we really missed about the 1950s.' After viewing an episode of I Love Lucy, positive aspects of family and financial issues can be clearly seen in the 1950s. The Ricardo's are middle class, Ricky works as a club band leader and Lucy stays home and `poured all her energies into their nuclear family.' (37) This is a positive side of the 1950s because compared to a few decades before, `women quit their jobs as soon as they became pregnant,' (36) and concentrated more on raising children. These families were much more stable and made almost `60 percent of kids were born into male breadwinner-female homemaker families,' (37) which is a important factor for children to have a good childhood. Ricky Ricardo is a Cuban, and with his job, it is probably clear to say that he doesn't have a high education but he can still earn a living to support his family. So in the 50's `there were jobs for people who dropped out of high school' (41) that was also supported by federal assistance programs which helped many families to get through. It seems that in the 50's, wages often increased and there were `corporate pension plans and health benefits' (43) these were maybe why people who were working during the 50's were so in favor of this decade.

Problems teenagers face Essay

Acquiring an Identity and establishing self-esteem are two of the biggest obstacles that teenagers face. As children mature, they view themselves in more complicated ways. By the time they mature into teenagers they are able to give detailed psychological descriptions of themselves. Consequently, they become more interested in understanding their own personalities and why they behave the way they do. During the period of adolescence, feelings towards oneself change. Nonetheless, as individuals become more and more confident their self esteem increases. Most teenagers go through periods when they are unsure of who they truly are. When they reach adulthood it is more likely that these young adults have a better sense of their real personality then someone who didn’t go through this struggle. This is mostly do to the fact that if you have this problem at some point you tend to study who you really are and in the end know yourself better. A child who is popular is much less likely to go through this issue. As children get older and begin high school there is an increased importance of friends. As teenagers begin trusting and telling secrets to their friends, their relationship gains a sense of loyalty and obligation. When a teenagers finds him or herself thinking like a someone else it develops into a friendship. If a strong bond occurs with someone normally of the opposite sex dating might occur. Dating is a very loose word which can mean many different things. It can mean going out in a group to have fun, going out in a group to get to know each other, or just two people going out to see a movie. After feelings have grown between two people they sometimes experiment sexually with each other. Most teenagers’ first practice with sex does not involve another person. Many young adults have sexually related fantasies about someone they know (or someone they don’t know for that matter). It is also fairly common for adolescents to masturbate. When many adolescents have reached high school, they have had some experience with intimate sexual contact, such as kissing, caressing, or sexual intercourse. In the 80’s it was common to become sexually active young, however now it seems as though that rate is slowing down. Judaism and many other religions look down on sexual activity or anything of that nature before marriage. Sexuality is only one of the main issues that high-schoolers face. Another main concern in a teenager’s life is school. The school day and the school atmosphere is much more treacherous then it was in elementary school. When they were younger children very few classrooms and they were â€Å"taken care of† by one or two teachers. In high school, children tend to have a different teacher for each subject. This puts a huge strain on kids.Also, in elementary school, children work with their teachers all day. Once they are in Junior high they need to learn how to manage their time alone. This can put a huge dent in people self esteem. Because they are so stresses their interest in other things may decline which only makes the situation worse. The only way to try to avoid this is to prepare ahead of time for it. That way you will expect it and be ready for the change. Another huge problem that teenagers face is alcohol and drug abuse. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are big issues in many schools. Adolescents tend to experiment to fit in with their friends. Teenagers may see smoking or drinking a gateway to popularity. There are many more reasons as to why children try drugs, alcohol, and cigarrettes, but that is one of the immense reasons Establishing a sexual identity is another huge concern in the eyes of teenagers. Sexual identity mainly means who you are attracted to (Same/Opposite sex). People whose own sex appeals to them are called homosexuals/lesbian. People who are attracted to the opposite sex are called heterosexual. When most children enter high school they are spending most of their time with the same sex. An outcome to this would be that many adolescents begin to experience sexual feelings before they come close to anyone of the  opposite sex. This only means that their sexual development is beyond their social development. This isn’t always an obstacle but it is something all maturing teenagers face. Eating disorders is one of the most serious obstacles that teenagers face. Some adolescents, especially females, become so concerned about weight and their looks that they take drastic and dangerous measures to remain thin. The most common practice of this is causing yourself to throw up.This is called bulimia. Young women with a disorder called anorexia nervosa starve themselves to keep their weight low. These people view themselves as overweight when they are actually thin. Bulimia and anorexia nervosa are uncommon until one is a teenager and after one is 21. Their are many issues that teenagers face and they all, in one way or another, effect that child’s self esteem. Almost every aspect of maturing for a teenager can cause stress. It is a very sensitive and important time for all human beings.Every year more and more is being done to prevent the stress we face but there is still much more work to be done.

Changing pattern of agriculture in Bangladesh Essay

Change in the contribution of GDP The major change in the agricultural field is the contribution in the National GDP which is decreasing year by year. Like the GDP Growth rate of the agriculture sector is descending. Financial Year Contribution of Agriculture 1991-92 28. 70 1992-93 28. 21 1993-94 27. 30 1994-95 26. 02 1995-96 25. 68 1996-97 25. 87 1997-98 25. 34 1998-99 25. 28 1999-00 25. 58 2000-01 25. 02 2001-02 23. 98 2002-03 23. 47 2003-04 23. 08 2004-05* 21. 91 Fig 1: Contribution of Agriculture in GDP Contribution of Sub sector in GDP. As agriculture is consist of all the sub-sectors which are – crops, forestry, livestock and the fisheries. Like the total amount, percentage of the sub- sectors is also declining for contributing in the GDP. In Percent FY 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-2000 2000-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 Sub-Sectors CROP 15. 03 15. 21 14. 59 14. 33 14. 59 14. 70 13. 75 13. 43 13. 23 12. 51 12. 19 Live Stock 3. 36 3. 27 3. 19 3. 12 3. 02 2. 95 2. 96 2. 93 2. 91 2. 95 2. 93 Forestry 1. 93 1. 91 1. 89 1. 90 1. 88 1. 87 1. 88 1. 86 1. 83 1. 82 1. 79 Fisheries 5. 36 5. 48 5. 67 5. 93 6. 09 5. 51 5. 40 5. 25 5. 11 5. 00 4. 86 Use of chemical Fertilizer. The use of fertilizer has been increasing for agricultural production. In the FY 1994-95 the total quantity of fertilizer use was 26. 41 lakh metric tons which increased to 37. 55 lakh metric tons in the FY 2004-05. The use of Urea fertilizer alone was 17. 48 lakh metric tons in FY 1994-95 which increased to 25. 23 lakh metric ton in FY 2004-05. The percentage increase in Urea use in FY 2004-05 is 59. 78% i. e. 9. 44 lakh metric to compared to that of FY 1993-94. This is attainable to increase the irrigated areas and diversified use of Urea. On the other hand the use of phosphates Fertilizer such as TSP, DAP and SSP increased by 42. 16 percent in FY 2004-05 compared to that of 1994-95. Since 1995-96 Urea super/ mega granules are being manufactured and marketed through private sector. This has resulted in reduction of the Urea saving of 30to 35% of Urea and increase in yield together with creation of employment opportunity in the rural areas. The number of machines for manufacturing Urea super granules has gradually increased since 1996-97. Super/ mega granules are also being used in other Rabi Crops. Besides use of different types of mixed fertilizer is being encouraged for balanced use of fertilizer. TSP complex in Chittagong has started production and marketing of NPKS fertilizer on experimental basis. Some factors in the private sector have started production and marketing NPKS. Import of NPKS is also being encouraged under private sector. mport of DAP, TSP,NPKS and potash with more nutrient contents instead of low nutrient content SSP fertilizer is being encouraged and farmers are also being motivated to use such fertilizer, steps are being taken to enforce fertilizer marketing of low quality fertilizer, steps are being taken to enforce Fertilizer Control Order, 1999. Post- landing inspection has been strengthened in the case of imported fertilizer in the private sector. Besides manuals for fertilizer inspection and fertilizer analysis have also been prepared. In Bangladesh chemical fertilizer has been used for a long time. The census of use of fertilizer in Bangladesh of different years are given in the next page- Use of Chemical Fertilizer Type 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-2000 2000-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 Urea 1579. 0 1748. 5 2045. 5 2141. 0 1867. 0 1902. 0 2151. 0 2121. 0 2247. 42 2239. 0 2324. 08 2523. 39 TSP 234. 2 122. 9 111. 1 72. 6 62. 4 170. 2 259. 3 399. 5 425. 31 405. 0 361. 0 420. 02 DAP 28. 7 1. 8 0 0 6. 8 38. 6 109. 2 90. 1 127. 03 112. 0 90. 0 140. 72 MP 103. 9 154. 2 155. 9 219. 3 193. 5 210. 8 239. 5 139. 8 222. 26 250. 0 240. 0 260. 38 SSP 170. 6 533. 5 596. 9 525. 3 473. 3 362. 4 237. 2 138. 6 127. 13 130. 0 148. 0 170. 93 NPKS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10. 2 12. 87 30. 0 45. 0 90. 0 AS 10. 0 2. 5 8. 7 11. 7 9. 7 12. 4 26. 0 13. 0 20. 19 10. 0 9. 0 5. 59 Zinc 5. 2 0 1. 0 1. 2 0. 7 0. 3 1. 2 3. 0 0. 24 2. 0 7. 0 8. 0 Gypsum 86. 1 77. 2 103. 6 86. 6 113. 4 128. 2 189. 4 102. 3 96. 05 120. 0 140. 0 135. 70 Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Change in Agri-Financing During the two decades the system of agri financing has changed hugely. Now a day a huge part of agri finance came from the government Bank and other banks. There are a number of NGO to help the farmers with short term loan. Khudra Rin Prokolpo of Grameen Bank plays a very important role in changing this financing system. Before most of the agri finance was came from the Rich villagers who are generally known as Jamindars. But that loan was not enough helpful. Because the farmers have to pay a huge amount of money as interest of that loan and by giving back that loan and interest the farmers again reached at the point of taking loan again. Financial Years Target Disbursement Recovery Balance 1992-93 1474. 41 841. 85 869. 23 5692. 84 1993-94 1643. 08/ 1100. 79 979. 12 6222. 00 1994-95 2161. 72 1605. 44 1124. 11 7045. 22 1995-96 2434. 27 1635. 81 1340. 02 7769. 07 1996-97 2394. 22 1672. 43 1646. 38 8256. 00 1997-98 2525. 83 1814. 53 1779. 29 8515. 04 1998-99 3270. 01 3245. 36 2039. 65 9702. 51 1999-2000 3331. 00 2851. 29 2996. 29 10648. 90 2001-02 3265. 92 3019. 67 2877. 87 11137. 26 2002-03 3560. 53 3278. 37 3516. 31 11913. 35 2003-04 4388. 94 4048. 41 3135. 32 12705. 95 2004-05 5537. 91 4956. 78 3171. 15 14408. 94 Change in Employment Generation The economy of Bangladesh is based on agriculture, natural gas, and small industries of jute, textiles, garments, tea, cement, chemical fertilizers, sugar and light engineering. The contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP is about 23 percent while crops account for 13 percent. Agriculture employs 64 percent of labor force in the country. Agriculture is also the largest employer of women. In 1995-96, 79 percent of the total number of employed women (15 years or older) worked in agriculture. Rice and other cereals occupies nearly 80 percent of total crop land giving a production of food grains of more than 26 million tons in 2001 from a net cropped area of more than 10 million hectares. Agricultural products account for about 25% of total export value. Bangladesh has the largest number of NGO activities in the world. There are more then 2000 NGOs operating in Bangladesh, many of them are associated with agricultural mechanization and food processing. The NGOs are promoting agribusiness in providing technical backup, micro credit and managerial skill. Some other NGOs are also initiating post harvest and food processing programs for rural women. The rate of population growth has brought down to 1. 48 percent; the supply of labor force continues to increase at over 3 percent per annum without further access to land for agriculture. Agriculture is presently and will remain the largest employer of labor in years to come. The national aim would be to increase GDP growth to more than 7 percent (presently 5. 33 percent) on average during the next decades.

Darwins Theory Of Natural Selection Essays - Charles Darwin

Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection Essays - Charles Darwin Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection Charles Darwin revolutionized biology when he introduced The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. Although Wallace had also came upon this revelation shortly before Origins was published, Darwin had long been in development of this theory. Wallace amicably relinquished the idea to Darwin, allowing him to become the first pioneer of evolution. Darwin was not driven to publish his finding, which hed been collecting for several years before Wallace struck upon it, because he had never come across a single [naturalist] who seemed to doubt to permanence of species (Ridley, pp. 70). What follows are the key points of Darwins Theory of Natural Selection taken directly from the two chapters concerning it in his book Origins. In chapter III of Origins Darwin sets up his discussion on Natural Selection by establishing the struggle for existence in nature. By this he means not only an individuals need to fend of enemies and survive its environment but also its ability to create living, healthy, successful offspring. The first factor concerning this struggle is the ratio of increase in any given species. Darwin explains how this struggle must be occurring otherwise a single species would dominate the entire earth because every single one of its offspring would survive. This is due to the fact that every species reproduces exponentially, a rate that would soon produce astonishing numbers if left unchecked. This does not happen however, because nature has a system of checks and balances. Although we may not be able to detect these checks, we can see their effects by the indisputable fact that one species doesnt completely dominate the planet. These checks consist of enemies eating the young or even adults, the rigors of weather or environment, and countless others. In this way birds, for example, cannot populate beyond their food supply, and the grains they feed on are held in check, because even though they may produce thousands of seeds only a few are able to reach maturity. Darwin goes on to show how all plants and animals compete and relate to each other in this struggle for existence. He does so by relating various personal observations that show the introduction of a different species of plant or animal can have a direct effect on the present survival of the indigenous species and even allow other foreign species to proliferate. This leads to interspecies survival, which Darwin considers the hardest struggle of all, and the one that may have the greatest effect on the evolution of a species through Natural Selection. It springs forth from the similarity in habits and constitution. Plants and animals of the same species must compete for the same food and the same space to live in. Also, the original make-up of a plant or animal may give it an advantage to thrive in an ever-competitive environment. This brings us to Natural Selection and survival of the fittest that Darwin is most known for. Darwin begins chapter IV by comparing human selection to natures ability to select, dubbing his theory Natural Selection, and explaining how imperceptible it is for us (at least science in his time) to examine the minute changes slowly taking place in nature. Variations in a species now come into play, and how these adaptations concern Natural Selection. Slight differences in an individual of a species will give rise to two situations. One is that it will be an injurious variation, which will definitely lead to the death of the individual because of the aforementioned struggle for existence. The other is a favorable adaptation in the individual's ability to gather nutrients, survive its enemies, survive its environment, etc. The chance of this individual surviving is greater than its less adapted competitors, however slight, which gives it a better chance of leaving progeny. These progeny will also have these abilities, increasing their chances of survival. Changes in the young can a lso bring about changes in the adult, as the individual approaches maturity, due to the difference in its original constitution. Once again, it will possibly leave new traits to its progeny (if they are advantageous and this variation doesnt die out), spreading the variation throughout the community and continuing the cycle

Concepts of Speculative Fiction Essays

Concepts of Speculative Fiction Essays Concepts of Speculative Fiction Essay Concepts of Speculative Fiction Essay Speculative fiction is a unique, amazing and awesome way to portray a piece of fiction, speculative fiction is a piece with many different genres like science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, science fantasy, and superhero fiction. Speculative fiction takes our existing world and things and turns it into a whole new and different world that doesnt actually exist, usually speculative fiction has a purpose or a goal that the author want to portray. It turns it into a what if question. So what if you were 7’5ft? What if you had unlimited money? Many questions exist in this form and if the what if questions that put that exiting spin and different story lines on that piece of fiction. The Raven looks into universal issues because the main character is sad or mourning a loss of his wife that died recently and this led him to hear voices, and talking to a raven. People have the exact same issues and they experience the same thing as this because when they lose someone they wake up with the same kind of feeling or when they are really stressed out about an issue. When people lose someone or are under real bad stress they turn to drugs or some other form of painkiller, alcohol, etc. It doesnt tell us but he may also be on some form of drug but it does not tell us if he is or not. This could be considered a universal issue because so many people turn to those things. The author Allen Poe shows the weaknesses of society in todays world and makes us think about the way that we cope with losing something or being stressed out over something. It might not affect everybody, but most people if not all have had this experience and it they had to or will deal with the same pr oblem that Allen had to deal with. Allen Poe used very specific language to show the reader what he means; the reader has to focus on what he wants them to understand. He uses language or text that in todays world isnt usually used and it seems different to

Quines son indocumentados y cules son sus derechos

Quines son indocumentados y cules son sus derechos La definicià ³n de los indocumentados en Estados Unidos es clara. Son los extranjeros que no tienen estatus migratorio legal y su presencia en los Estados Unidos es objeto de gran debate polà ­tico. En este artà ­culo se explica quià ©nes son indocumentados, cules son sus nà ºmeros y procedencia, quà © sucede si son arrestados, por quà © no regularizan su situacià ³n y, finalmente, cules son sus derechos. Quià ©nes son los indocumentados en Estados Unidos Son las personas de otros paà ­ses que se encuentran en Estados Unidos y  carecen de estatus legal desde el punto de vista de las leyes migratorias. En general, hay 3  formas en las que un extranjero se convierte en indocumentado: En primer lugar, por cruzar la frontera sin ser examinado por un oficial de inmigracià ³n que autoriza la entrada como admitido o parole. El caso tà ­pico es el de cruzar la frontera entre Mà ©xico y Estados Unidos, principalmente por el desierto. Esta es una actividad cada vez ms difà ­cil, por el incremento de seguridad en la frontera. Y tambià ©n muy peligrosa, por el tipo de personas inescrupulosas que controlan el cruce ilegal de la frontera y tambià ©n porque cada vez se realiza ms por rutas que cruzan el desierto durante varios dà ­as, lo cual hace que decenas de personas fallezcan cada aà ±o por deshidratacià ³n. Cruzar ilegalmente la frontera se considera como la forma ms frecuente de convertirse en indocumentado. Por la propia naturaleza de que este cruce no est registrado es difà ­cil realizar un clculo exacto. Pero se considera que aproximadamente por cada migrante arrestado cuando intentaba ingresar ilegalmente, 2 migrantes lo han conseguido.   En segundo lugar, entrar con una visa o legalmente como la tarjeta de Cruce o una ESTA por ser de un paà ­s en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visados y quedarse ms all del tiempo autorizado. En el aà ±o fiscal 2015 un total de 525,127 migrantes lo hicieron. Esto es lo que tambià ©n se conoce como overstay de la visa y tiene serias consecuencias. Y, en tercer lugar, cometer una  violacià ³n migratoria.  Un caso tà ­pico, es trabajar sin autorizacià ³n. Nà ºmero de indocumentados en EE.UU. y origen Se estima que aproximadamente en la actualidad hay unos 11.3 millones  de indocumentados, este nà ºmero es menor al mximo histà ³rico del aà ±o 2000. El 52 por ciento del total de indocumentados ha nacido en Mà ©xico. Es decir, aproximadamente 6.5 millones de personas. El segundo paà ­s con ms indocumentados es El Salvador, con ms de medio millà ³n, seguido de Guatemala y Honduras. Muchos indocumentados forman parte de los que se conoce como familias mixtas, es decir, uno o varios de sus miembros carecen de estatus legal y otros son residentes permanentes o, incluso, ciudadanos americanos. Se estima que en la actualidad aproximadamente 4 millones de nià ±os estadounidenses tienen al menos un progenitor que es indocumentado. Pero estos infantes nada pueden hacer por sus padres, desde el punto de vista migratorio, hasta cumplir los 21 aà ±os. E incluso entonces no siempre es posible solucionar el problema. Indocumentado e ilegal Sà ­, desde el punto de vista migratorio es lo mismo un indocumentado que un ilegal. Sin embargo, se considera polà ­ticamente incorrecto dentro de la comunidad latina llamar ilegal a una persona sin estatus migratorio en regla. De hecho, existe una fuerte campaà ±a meditica para conseguir que los medios de comunicacià ³n eviten el uso de esa palabra, que se considera despectiva y que se use exclusivamente la de indocumentado. Quà © les puede suceder a los indocumentados si son detenidos por la migra Los indocumentados pueden ser enviados a prisià ³n mientras se tramita su caso. De hecho, como media cada dà ­a hay ms de 31 mil migrantes detenidos. Adems, pueden ser deportados, expulsados inmediatamente, liberados o pueden incluso en casos muy particulares ajustar su estatus y obtener asà ­ la green card. Cabe destacar que algunos migrantes aunque teà ³ricamente son indocumentados estn protegidos frente a la deportacià ³n, como por ejemplo los muchachos que en su dà ­a aplicaron por DACA y estn renovando el programa. En la actualidad, estas son las  categorà ­as de prioridades de deportacià ³n  establecidas por orden ejecutiva de Donald Trump. Cà ³mo un indocumentado puede regularizar su situacià ³n No es imposible pero es difà ­cil. Y es que a diferencia de lo que ocurre en otros paà ­ses en Estados Unidos no existe la posibilidad de regularizar la situacià ³n por radicar en el paà ­s por un nà ºmero de aà ±os. (No es verdad que si se viven 10 aà ±os se obtiene la green card. Eso es un malentendido de una medida de alivio que existe en algunos casos de procedimientos de deportacià ³n ante un juez migratorio). Estas son 15 posibilidades de legalizacià ³n de indocumentados. En ocasiones es necesario pedir un perdà ³n y obtener su aprobacià ³n. Estas son las opciones para solicitar un perdà ³n migratorio, tambià ©n conocido como waiver. Son situaciones muy particulares y delicadas por lo que es aconsejable hablar con un abogado especialista en esos temas, si es posible y si no al menos ponerse en contacto con una organizacià ³n reputada de ayuda legal a migrantes o con clà ­nicas legales de universidades. Derechos de los indocumentados Uno de los conocimientos ms importantes para los migrantes indocumentados es  saber cà ³mo hacer para saber si un indocumentado est detenido por la migra. Tambià ©n es importante saber que se tienen derechos, como a recibir el salario mà ­nimo por el trabajo realizado, a no ser abusado en el trabajo, a recibir ciertas prestaciones sociales, como asistencia mà ©dica de urgencia o alimentos por el programa WIC para lactantes y embarazadas.   Adems, algunos estados algunas categorà ­as de  inmigrantes indocumentados son considerados como PRUCOL. En estos casos podrà ­an tener acceso a beneficios sociales de los que con carcter general estn excluidos los migrantes sin papeles. Asimismo, no olvidar que todos los nià ±os tienen derecho a la educacià ³n obligatoria, sean ellos indocumentados o sà ³lo sus paps. Estos son los puntos bsicos que se recomienda conocer sobre el sistema educativo en Estados Unidos.  Todos los nià ±os tienen derecho a la mejor educacià ³n disponible. Es de Justicia y se juegan, en muchos casos, su futuro. Por à ºltimo no olvidar que Estados Unidos es un paà ­s muy grande y que los estados tienen distintas posiciones respecto a los indocumentados. Mientras que algunos permiten derechos como la licencia de manejar otros han aprobado leyes que hacen muy difà ­cil vivir el dà ­a a dà ­a. Es por eso que conviene pensar bien dà ³nde vivir, si es que hay esa opcià ³n. Tambià ©n recordar que algunas ciudades mantienen polà ­ticas pro-inmigrantes. Por ejemplo, convirtià ©ndose en ciudades-santuario que no comparten informacià ³n con Inmigracià ³n o emitiendo I.D. para poder abrir cuentas de banco, canjear cheques, etc. Adems, los consulados de varios paà ­ses emiten matrà ­culas consulares que pueden utilizarse como I.D. para gestiones como probar identidad para solicitar permiso de manejar en los estados que lo permiten, etc. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Individual and Group Dynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual and Group Dynamics - Essay Example Side conversion can be considered as an example of individual and group dynamics within a work team. Side conversions can significantly contribute to positive group dynamics. Team members supporting their colleagues’ efforts may also be a good example. A good group dynamics is characterized with individual helping their team members improves their performance. It is essential for a leader to assess individual and group dynamics within his team to improve the overall group dynamics and to enhance productivity and performance efficiency of the whole team. In order to assess individual and group dynamics, a leader must maintain strong personal relationships with his team members. When the leader is in close touch with his followers, he can clearly evaluate their individual behavioral traits and attitudes towards the work. In addition, the leader must try to spend more time with his subordinates to understand their needs and wants and to identify the factors influencing the individual as well as group dynamics. The leader may also use other analytical methods and behavioral strategies to obtain a clear view of the individual and group dynamics within a team. Today using surveillance cameras could be an effective technique to analyze the group dynamics because a leader cannot spend his whole time with the team members. Promoting interpersonal relationship among team members is also an advisable strategy because such a policy can assist the leader to understand the individual dynamics of a worker from his/her colleagues. One of the major aspects of the group dynamics within a work team is how individuals interact with their teammates and the group. Therefore understanding the nature of relationships within a team is particularly relevant to analyze the overall group dynamics. It is specifically recommendable for the leader to ensure that team members obtain the

Balanced Score Card Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Balanced Score Card - Essay Example "The aspects that the scorecard contains should be quantifiable or measurable. This is because it would be difficult to interpret something that cannot be measured in the first place." (Metrics, Scorecard, KPI's Measure Tools 2008). It could be seen that although financial parameters are seen as measuring tool of performance, there are now other aspects also which are equally critical in terms of customers, employee satisfactions, innovative methods, quality, quantum of sales, etc. The fundamental truth behind the Balance Score Card is to ensure that " that no single measure can provide a clear performance target or focus attention on all the critical areas of business, they proposed the concept of a Balanced Scorecard as a more sophisticated approach for meeting these shortcomings." (Pienaar & Penzhorn, 2000, pp.202-209). Just as financial ineptitudes could bring down a company, in the present context it is seen that even fall in sales, loss of goodwill, quality issues, etc could spell disaster for the company. at cannot be measured in the first place.

Corporate Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate Risk Management - Essay Example Unfortunately such high degree of risks can bring negative impact on the profitability as well as to the future success of the organizations. So to protect from such bad consequences it is essential for such organization as soon as possible to find an appropriate solution so that they could handle or manage risks in better way which in otherwise could bring catastrophe to them. So a desirable solution is through applying appropriate sets of procedures or policies at proper intervals. Risk management is one such effective strategy that to a great extent can minimize or reduce various types of risks that an organization has to face while carrying out its operations. By adopting such strategy an organization can ensure its better success and growth in the future. Viewing this importance the paper attempts to describe what is risk management or risk management decisions, the direct and indirect costs and benefits of risk management decisions to an organization and how they can be measure d. Risk management or risk management decisions are a logical process that aims at eliminating or minimizing the level of risk pertained to any business operations. In other words it can be told as a series of process that comprises of identifying, analyzing, and implementing necessary steps so as to minimize or eliminate the exposures to risk of loss that are to be faced by an organization. The practice of risk management makes use of number of tools and techniques, and also the concept of insurance, in order to manage the different types of risks. The duty of carrying out the process of risk management is entrusted to the concerned department of corporate risk management, who firstly identifies what are the various potential sources that cause to trouble, after identifying the corporate risk managers analyzes each of the sources carefully and then finally after analyzing they take precautionary measures or steps to overcome from such exposure of losses. The term risk management is known to be a "relatively a recent evolution of the concept to insurance management" (Sullivan, 2009, P. 452). The concept risk management that comprises of broader scope of activities and responsibilities than what the insurance management actually dealt with. The uses of Risk management was initially applied by the organizations to protect from various physical threats which occurs while carrying out their operations such as theft, fire, flood, legal liability, disability, employee injuries, car accidents, and many which otherwise took number of years to protect themselves from such risks and in turn which would bring barriers to their day-to-day operations and profitability. It was seen as the 20th century ended; the activities of risk management were much more expanded to the areas of financial risks such as interest rates, exchange rates, and now e-Commerce. As mentioned earlier risk management as a process risk management involves several series of steps where the concerned corporate risk management department of an organization identifies, analyzes, treats and monitors the risks which are involved in carry out their any business operations (Culp, 2001). These entire processes were carried out by the organizatio

Healthy College Cafeteria Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthy College Cafeteria - Assignment Example Eating healthy is made more difficult by the lack of available healthier foods in college canteens yet due to the economic restraints and busy lifestyles of students, the college canteen is often the main place that students eat. There is a responsibility from our educational institutions to focus on providing healthy , nutritious , reasonably priced foods that ensure that students have healthy eating options. In the UK, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has become notorious for his scathing attacks on the food served in schools. A ten part TV series released in 2005 based in a school, exposed exactly the type of food that was being served (processed food that is high in sugar and fat) and the negative effects on health. His pioneering work has since continued, urging schools to use natural ingredients, local and organic produce and serve well balanced meals. He has also succeeded in getting councils to sponsor "a ten-year strategic plan and fund a long-term public campaign to get people back on to a proper diet and empower/persuade (and possibly scare, if needed) the public to make better choices." (My Manifesto) Awareness Raising; Any significant change in the food served in the college canteens should also go hand in hand with a college funded awareness raising project. This has taken place in a number of colleges already in the UK and US2 and could provide students with ideas, recipes and information about the nutritional and health values of the food that they eat. Consultation with the students; In making a shift to providing healthier foods for students it is important that they are consulted in order to ascertain what health foods would be popular. By running a consultation information can be gathered to help design the new menus. Skills gap; To provide healthy and nutritious food using natural ingredients can often mean that those working on the cafeteria need proper training in food production. Training should be offered to cafeteria staff and their wages should reflect the potential increase in work hours caused by preparing meals with fresh ingredients. Sourcing Organic Foods; Organic foods can appear to be more expensive but often when they are brought in bulk the price goes down significantly. Maybe joining up with other educational institutions in the area to make joint food orders with or looking for sponsorship for the college's healthy food project could ensure that prices stay affordable yet the quality goes up. Sourcing Local Foods; While the food might not be organic, buying food from local producers assures a number of things. It boosts the local economy, it is often cheaper for the buyer as the 'middle person' ( in this case the food distributor) is cut out. Regular orders and establishing a good relationship mean producers listen to their buyers and could in the future ( for example) reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers Sourcing Fair Trade Products; Fair trade products are often organic and produced by co-operatives therefore ensuring the best price for the farmer. By purchasing these products the college not only supports farmers in the developing world but also indirectly educates students about just and sustainable farming methods and food distribution. Environment; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, As well as looking after our own

Strategy Myths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategy Myths - Essay Example e the demand of a product depends on many variables and ability that determine its ability to satisfy the customer needs (Stonehouse & Houston, 2012). For instance, the product design, product benefits, product quality and distribution strategies will affect the ability to attain success in the market. The success depends on product value to customers and not the price (Graham, 2005). 3. The third statement states that ‘I am a good cook so I should start a restaurant’. This is a myth because venturing in to any market requires careful scanning of the environment to identify the demand for the services, the resources available and competitive strength of the businessperson. In this case, management of the restaurant will require planning, resource allocation, and controlling the employees (Graham, 2005). 4. ‘The customer is always right’. This statement is true because customers complain for numerous reasons (Graham, 2005). The organisation must appreciate the customer complaints and use such information in improving the quality of the product and services. Customers complain for genuine reasons such as defective products, poor product quality, poor after sale services of poor customer relationships management in the organisation (Graham, 2005). 5. ‘I’ll just open my store, and people will stream in off the sidewalks and buy from me’. This is a strategy myth since consumer-buying demand is determined by several factors such as cultural factors, personal factors and psychological factors. Accordingly, the place of distribution must create customer convenience and conform to customer personality and attitudes (Graham, 2005). 6. ‘It’s a cool idea. Everyone will love this’. This is a strategy myth since reference groups like immediate family members, relatives, and social status in the society influences the consumer-purchasing pattern. Consumers seek to fulfill their psychological needs, love and belonging needs and self-esteem (Stonehouse &

Healthy College Cafeteria Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthy College Cafeteria - Assignment Example Eating healthy is made more difficult by the lack of available healthier foods in college canteens yet due to the economic restraints and busy lifestyles of students, the college canteen is often the main place that students eat. There is a responsibility from our educational institutions to focus on providing healthy , nutritious , reasonably priced foods that ensure that students have healthy eating options. In the UK, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has become notorious for his scathing attacks on the food served in schools. A ten part TV series released in 2005 based in a school, exposed exactly the type of food that was being served (processed food that is high in sugar and fat) and the negative effects on health. His pioneering work has since continued, urging schools to use natural ingredients, local and organic produce and serve well balanced meals. He has also succeeded in getting councils to sponsor "a ten-year strategic plan and fund a long-term public campaign to get people back on to a proper diet and empower/persuade (and possibly scare, if needed) the public to make better choices." (My Manifesto) Awareness Raising; Any significant change in the food served in the college canteens should also go hand in hand with a college funded awareness raising project. This has taken place in a number of colleges already in the UK and US2 and could provide students with ideas, recipes and information about the nutritional and health values of the food that they eat. Consultation with the students; In making a shift to providing healthier foods for students it is important that they are consulted in order to ascertain what health foods would be popular. By running a consultation information can be gathered to help design the new menus. Skills gap; To provide healthy and nutritious food using natural ingredients can often mean that those working on the cafeteria need proper training in food production. Training should be offered to cafeteria staff and their wages should reflect the potential increase in work hours caused by preparing meals with fresh ingredients. Sourcing Organic Foods; Organic foods can appear to be more expensive but often when they are brought in bulk the price goes down significantly. Maybe joining up with other educational institutions in the area to make joint food orders with or looking for sponsorship for the college's healthy food project could ensure that prices stay affordable yet the quality goes up. Sourcing Local Foods; While the food might not be organic, buying food from local producers assures a number of things. It boosts the local economy, it is often cheaper for the buyer as the 'middle person' ( in this case the food distributor) is cut out. Regular orders and establishing a good relationship mean producers listen to their buyers and could in the future ( for example) reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers Sourcing Fair Trade Products; Fair trade products are often organic and produced by co-operatives therefore ensuring the best price for the farmer. By purchasing these products the college not only supports farmers in the developing world but also indirectly educates students about just and sustainable farming methods and food distribution. Environment; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, As well as looking after our own

Health Standing for Mexico Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Standing for Mexico - Assignment Example Health Standing for Mexico Mexico cumulative health statistics has improved to a great extent over the years. Nevertheless, Mexico lags behind other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations (OECD) in health standing and health care accessibility. Overall health care expenditure accounted for a 6.9% of GDP in the year 2009; for every capita expenses on health care was US$846, which was adjusted for buying power parity, making it an approximate of a divide of four parts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development typical. In the year 2009, 45.5% of health expenditure was remunerated from public sources. Private backing in Mexico is almost exclusively in the structure of out-of-pocket expenses, as only 3.1% of totality expenses on health are subsidized through private health assurance (UNICEF, 2010). Healthcare within Mexico is worldwide, which makes private programs’ health cover pointless except for utilization in private hospitals. A numbe r of authorities have made a note of that whilst Mexico has a number of 3000 private hospitals; a few private hospices could by a hair's breadth be well thought-out hospitals at all, given that they do not have laboratories, radiography paraphernalia, or even nurses. The outstanding 1000 or several public hospitals take account of the greater part of hospital divans and, in fact, the size of private hospitals are establishments that have less than 20 beds. In the year 2009, Mexico had an approximate of 1.8 doctors as well as 2.2 nurses for every 1,000 population, a noteworthy boost in healthcare human resources over the preceding decade but again underneath the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standards for these pointers. The death rate for children who are younger than five years of age was 17 for every 1,000 surviving births in the year 2009, and Mexico has given away a faster increase of rate to lower death rates when compared to the United States and Canada within the preceding 10 years. 94% of the populace had direct access to clean water and 85 % to sanitation (UNICEF, 2010). In the same year of 2009, the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) amid persons who are 15 years of age to 49 years of age was 0.3%. At 11,000 deaths in a year vs. 22,000 deaths per year in the United States, this corresponds to a 44% elevated per capita mortality rate than the U.S. The Mexican government has made Health Insurance for a New Generation referred to as "Life Insurance for Babies’, which will reduce the death rates of children. This will help families to effectively take care of their children till they reach adulthood, without any difficulties in how they are to pay for health services they access. Universal Care Coverage has been made available for Pregnant Women. This is particularly vital because these women can have access to prenatal care making sure that the unborn babies are wel l taken care of till they are born and after with the Life Insurance specifically meant for babies (UNICEF, 2010). Top Recommendations to the Mexican Leadership I recommend that Mexican leaders should make universal Care Coverage public for everyone.

Misconception of African Americans Essay Example for Free

Misconception of African Americans Essay Since the beginning of time African Americans have been viewed negatively. We have always been viewed as a threat to society and frowned upon by many races. There are many cliches displayed in the media of what African Americans are supposed to act like. These conclusions cause almost immediate negative feelings from other races and sometimes by our own race. African American females in television shows and movies are often shown as the loud â€Å"ghetto† acting, angry black girl who is always â€Å"telling someone off†. Actor Tyler Perry has been criticized for illustrating African American females as â€Å"big momma†, another negative portrayal of black women. Other times shapely video vixens cause other black females to be portrayed as â€Å"jump-offs† or gold diggers. African American males have even greater judgments to overcome. They are viewed as a menace to society. They are illustrated as wild, angry, dangerous â€Å"gang bangers†. Black men are viewed as absentee fathers or abusive husbands. Although, in some cases, African American males do possess some of these characteristics, there are just as many black men that are positive role models. These ignorant judgments are called stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as â€Å"a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing†. Stereotypes, in my own words, are judgments blindly made by people who use ignorance as an excuse to be biased against those who are different from them. There are many different types of stereotyping. Racial stereotyping, sexist stereotyping, stereotypes about cultures, and sexual orientation stereotypes are all judgments that can affect one’s life in many ways. Stereotypes are, sadly, made by everyone. Racial stereotyping, however, is the most common type of stereotyping, and can sometimes be dangerous. The Trayvon Martin story, for example, is a situation where stereotyping turned tragic. Trayvon Martin was a young African American boy who was walking from the store with nothing but Skittles and a drink in his pockets. Because of his race, and the stereotype of what black Males are capable of, he was targeted, and tragically killed. There have been many similar cases of dangerous stereotyping. People’s fear of what the media shows we are suited to do, has gotten out of control. Too many of us are dying because of this fear. While many stereotypes do seem to be believable, people like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, my grandparents, and my mom allow me to realize that not all stereotypes are true.

Is It Possible to Reconstruct a State?

Is It Possible to Reconstruct a State? Definitions: According to Max Weber, â€Å"State is an entity which possesses a delegatable monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.† (Warner, 1991) When a state looses its monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force or looses its capacity to perform even the most basic functions within its territory, it comes under the category of failed/ dysfunctional states. Most of the times reasons for failure of a state are civil war, international conflict, corrpution, lack of resources etc. De jure state[1] State which exist by a fiat of the international community, which recognizes them as soveregin entities whether or not they have a government capable of effectively controlling or administering the territory. Example- Somalia De facto state- State which receives no international recognition and has weak institutions, but where power is exercised and enforced within its territory. Examples- Kurdistan, Puntland, Somaliland De facto de jure state- State which enjoys international recognition and excercises control over people and territory through formal and strong, preferably democratic instritutions. This is the modern state in all its legal- rational Weberian splendour. In other words, this is the model the international community tries to replicate in dysfunctional states. Reconstruction:- is a process of recreation of an entity by the intrnal or external forces. Externally-led-reconstruction Where International actors intervene into a state and try to reconstrct. This model demands transtition from dysfunctional de jure state to the Weberian de facto state. Examples- Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia etc. Internally-led-reconstruction- Where domestic actors inside a state try to bring change. A transition from dysfunctional de jure state to a de facto state that slowly develops institutions, though not necessarily democratic ones. Examples- Mozambique, Kurdistan etc. Historically failed states simply used to disappear, divided up or conquered by a more powerful neighbour but today’s conventional wisdom has it that collapsed states must be reconstructed immediately and comprehensively along the lines of democratic countries with free market economies, thanks to the intervention by international community.[2] International community has assumed that it is both possible and essential for all the dysfunctional state to be reconstructed within their old borders but this assumption is very recent one. In the 1990s intervention by international community in a dysfunctional state invariably entailed the organizing of multi-party elections within the shortest possible time. For example. The Lusaka agreement of 1999 required the warring parties of DRC[3] to engage in ‘national dialogue’ to reach agreement on a new democratic political syatem and to hold elections. The December 2001, Bonn agreement called for holding of a loya Jirga[4] in Afghanisatn to reach agreement on a new democratic political system, to be followed by elections. Historically, attempts to reconstruct a state can be categorized in two ways- Externally-led-reconstruction:- Donor approach[5] of reconstruction includes setting up of new democratic institutions, re-writing constitutions, new election laws, creating civil society organization, liberalization of the economy etc. Most of the times these organizations do not turn out to be significant and established-hence institutions because most of the time they do not provide solution to the real problems on the ground. But donors, however, think of institution building, less in terms of finding solutions to what local actors preceive to be problems, and more in terms of transpalnting â€Å"best practices† that have been successful elsewehere. In the end, this approach of international community makes difficult for organizations to become institutions because they do not solve the real time problems. International community also wants institutions to come into function within a short span of time which is impossible. Internally-led-reconstruction:- The domestic actors that reconstruct states are miliatry men and politicians, who are more prone to act than to write, meaning by creation of constitution and institutions (liked by international community) is usually not their first priority. Majority of the internally led reconstuction of states come from Africa. For example in Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, first step towards reconstruction was military victory. Since there were no other means at the disposal of domestic actors to generate the authority needed to govern a state, the only path was recourse to the raw power generated by superior force. Once they had generated legitimacy through force, they tried to transfrom that raw power into authority by regularizing institutions and processes of governemnt. This led to the reconstruction of the state, but not to the emergence of democratic states. Major components, free choice and popular participation were missing. Thus International community doesnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t like this approach. Criticism of Externally-led-reconstruction- Best practices do not solve real problems. For example, in Afghanistan retributional justice, against the wishes of President Karzai, was adopted against Taliban which became reason for Taliban to re-emerge. But if we look at the South African trasition from Aprtiheid regime, it was very smooth because they practiced what suited South Africa’s future the best. Donor supported institution building put an unbearable burdan on fragile states and in the end becomes self-defeating. For example , the strength of Afghan Army is 3,75,000. Annual budget of the Army and the annual income of the state are similar. Therefore, if there is no international committment then how will Afghan state fund the salaries of soldiers and what is their use if Taliban can come to negotiating terms. In most of the attempts of reconstruction, so-called institution building is not part of a sustained, open ended intrnational commitment to remain involved until the process is completed, but rather part of an exit strategy. Donors wants organizations in place so that they can go home but to my understanding that is a self-defeating strategy. Criticism of Internally-led-reconsturction- The actors wants to create a de facto state but usually they don’t have resources Even if they have the capacity to reconstruct the de facto state, they are likely to be reluctant to curb their newly acquired power and move from dictatorship or raw power to institutionalized politics and rule of law. In both types of state reconstruction, a major challenge lies in moving from â€Å"order imposed through power to the institutions† because institutions help in regularising authority in the long run. In internal reconstruction processes, second phase of state reconstruction[6] often fails to take place, because those who have consolidated power have little incentive to limit its exercise by developing institutions. In donor-directed processes, the international community rushes to develop institutions, but tends to withdraw the power that buttresses them far too soon, leading to failure. Some prescriptions to reconstruct a state:- When we think about the term reconstruction, we should give enough attention towards the possible outcome and resources at our disposal. Above all we need to know the short term and long term goals. Sometimes states are in need of means of survival but we are busy in creating democratic institutions and implementing best practices of governance for them. Thus we need to create and promote institutions according to the relevance and need of the hour but at the same time keeping in mind the long term goals. We need to recognize the potential candidates of statehood. For an example, Kurdistan Regional Government is a de facto state but it does not have international recognition. We are afraid of accepting the nationhood for Kurdistan. The same goes for Somaliland or Puntland. International community need to give heed to the de facto states. We need to know that institution building is a slow process and one size does not fit all- hence one type of system cannot fulfil the needs of every state. Every place is different on the earth and people have different approaches to the life. Thus we shouldn’t impose so-called â€Å"best practices† of governance in every corner of the world. Above all we shouldn’t create those institutions which can put unbearable burden on fragile states and become self defeating. For example- strong military apparatus in Afghanistan. If any state believes in the implementation of the â€Å"best practices† then that donor should set modest targets and should have long term commitment. We shouldn’t’ expect too much too soon. As saying goes, It takes 18 years for an infant to turn into an adult then how we can expect an institution to be functional within few years. Conclusion Reconstruction of states is a very difficult process. In 21st century, international community believes that there can not exist any failed states in the world and if there is any then we need to reconstruct it. But a lot of lessons needs to be learnt before we take up new assignments of reconstruction. Neither extrnal led, nor internal led approaches of reconstruction are perfect but with some improvements they can yield descent outcomes. International community always seems to be in hurry to build institutions but it requires a very long term commitment for organizations to turn into established institutions. Sometimes there is severe imbalance between the goals set by international community and the resources donors are willing to commit to attain the goals. It is possible to reconsturct a state if whatever organizations we set up, help in solving real probelms on the ground and thus become long lasting instutions. But if we just delpoy best practices without giving heed to the possible outcomes, it can lead to failure. Internally led reconstruction can also yield positive results if international community can provide long term commitment in building institutions. At the same time international community should bring de facto states into de jure states but there are always no easy choices to make. Bibliography:- Jackson, R. (1990) Quasi-states: Sovereignty, International Relations and the Third World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Daniel Warner (1991) An ethic of responsibility in International Relations. Lynne Rienner Publishers Chang, H. (2000) `Institutional Development in Developing Countries in a Historical Perspective: Lessons from Developed Countries in Earlier Times. Forman, S. and S. Patrick (2000) Good Intentions: Pledges of Aid for Post-Conflict Recovery. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction (2009), United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington DC Marina Ottaway (2003), Rebuilding State Institutions in Collapsed States, EBSCO publishing house. Call Charles T. (2008). â€Å"Building States to Build Peace? A critical analysis†. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development Vol.4 n.2 p.60. De Weijer, F. (2013). ‘A Capable State in Afghanistan: A Building without a Foundation?’ WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/063. Helsinki: UNU-WIDER. [1] Definitions of de jure and de facto states have been borrowed from the work of Robert R Jackson. [2] International Community- in this paper this word means â€Å"the conglomerate of industrialized democracies and the multilateral agencies over which industrialized countries have preponderant influence.† [3] DRC- Democratic Republic of Congo [4] Loya Jirga- is a special type of grand assembly that is mainly organized to choose a new head of state in case of sudden death, to adopt new constitution or to settle serious issues such as war etc. [5] Donors- International community including international organizations [6] Second phase of reconstruction in internally led reconstruction is to transform raw power into authority by establishing institutions.

Dramatic Monologue Essay -- Essays Papers

Dramatic Monologue When discussing the poetic form of dramatic monologue it is rare that it is not associated with and its usage attributed to the poet Robert Browning. Robert Browning has been considered the master of the dramatic monologue. Although some critics are skeptical of his invention of the form, for dramatic monologue is evidenced in poetry preceding Browning, it is believed that his extensive and varied use of the dramatic monologue has significantly contributed to the form and has had an enormous impact on modern poetry. "The dramatic monologues of Robert Browning represent the most significant use of the form in postromantic poetry" (Preminger and Brogan 799). The dramatic monologue as we understand it today "is a lyric poem in which the speaker addresses a silent listener, revealing himself in the context of a dramatic situation" (Murfin 97). "The character is speaking to an identifiable but silent listener at a dramatic moment in the speaker's life. The circumstances surrounding the co nversation, one side which we "hear" as the dramatic monologue, are made by clear implication, and an insight into the character of the speaker may result" (Holman and Harmon 152). Although Browning wrote numerous dramatic monologues his contemporaries often criticized his works as being too emotional. The dramatic monologues of Browning are characterized by certain identifiable traits. The three requirements of a Browning dramatic monologue are "The reader takes the part of the silent listener; The speaker uses a case-making argumentative tone; We complete the dramatic scene from within, by means of inference and imagination" (Landow). Critics have interpreted the third requirement, the reader's interpretation and conclusions... ...tical Views. Ed. Harold Bloom, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. 23-44. Murfin, Roy and Supryia M. Ray, eds. The Bedford Glossary of Critical Literary Terms. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1998. O’Neill, Patricia. Robert Browning and Twentieth-Century Criticism. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1995. Preminger, Alex and T.V. Brogan eds. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton: PUP, 1993. Shaviro, Steven. "Browning upon Caliban upon Setebos." Browning Society Notes 12 (1983). Rpt. in Robert Browning: Modern Critical Views. Ed. Harold Bloom, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. 139-150. Wagner-Lawlor, Jennifer. "The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning's Dramatic Monologues." Victorian Poetry 35.3 (Fall 1997) : 287-302. Woolford, John. Browning the Revisionary. N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1988.

Family and Doctor Essay

Before I go with the topic to express â€Å"Why I want to be a part of Yashoda’s Young Doctor’s Camp†. I like to tell a small incident that had changed my goal and the way I really got admired. The incident took place when I was studying in class 6. I was suffering with high fever, and then usually my parents took me to the nearby doctor. This was the time when my brain was concentrating seriously, I observed that all the patients were keen to meet the doctor and express their disarray. They relied on the doctor totally which was easily understood by their smiling faces after consulting the doctor. They also believed that he was the only one who can cure their disarray. This made me to think that the profession of a doctor has a high position in the society and he is the one who will be trusted forever. Then I have decided to have my goal to become a doctor. I started to work hard from that moment towards my goal. Even I used to have a feeling in my mind that I can really do my best to prove myself. From then I started to work hard in the field of science . This showed me immense results . I was able to maintain a huge patience in my all works. And even I started to analyze what should be maintained to have a good health. Being a doctor is really tough and it will need huge patience and hard work. I want to relate to another incident that took place in my life when I was 2 years old. Don’t be shocked that how I can remember what happened when I was two years old it is not magic, but my father revealed it to me. I used to live with my grandparents those days. I was suffering with heavy motions those days. My grandfather was cautious about the viral infections and took me to the hospital for treatment. The doctor gave me a medicine named with ‘G’. My grandpa gave the prescription to the pharmaceutical shop person. H e gave the medicine to my grandpa and it was given to me. But, the results after using the medicine were different; my disarray was not cured for even after some days. This made my grandpa to check the medicine he found that a single letter ‘I’ was misplaced with a letter ‘r’. This incident when my father was saying I was amazed to know that a single letter plays a vital role. I learnt that a doctor should be always aware about his actions and I started to think before once before I do anything. This will make me to take good decisions. But I think this will not be the trait of the real doctor’s as they are really very much experienced in their profession. This made me also realize that to become a good doctor we should be experienced in the profession. So I think by now you might have made a picture what kind of girl I am. I possess patience, I believe in truth; I will take the responsibility for my action’s and I will believe in the word â€Å"trust†. And I believe that being a doctor is like giving a commitment to serve for the society. So, before I go on with expressing my curriculum performance, I have to say a few lines on Yashoda Hospitals. They were really awesome and the doctor’s are really friendly and caring. You can ask me how I can say this feedback. I have an original experience with Yashoda hospitals. W hen my uncle had an accident in the industry almost his hand fingers were crashed. When we immediately rushed to the nearby hospitals they said that the whole hand should be removed. The pain felt by my aunt when she heard this was still in my heart. Then my father had a thought with him to take to the Yashoda hospital will be a good way. Only a single second after his words, we rushed to the Yashoda hospital. We observed that the crews of Yashoda Hospital were really caring towards the patients. Then we met the doctor and he said that no problem to the hand it will be cured with an operation. This stunned me that there are different kinds of treatments going on. And this even made me clear that Yashoda hospital doctors are the ones with immense character and also they believe in the proper treatment. And I forgot to mention that I take care of the animals suffering with hunger as instructed by my biology teacher to take care of the poor ones by giving them food. This was one of the reasons why I rushed to my teacher when she said I am eligible for a camp with Yashoda hospital doctors. And then coming to my curriculum I am good at Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I even do my bit good to get higher grade in maths. Coming to the languages I know I can speak in Telugu, English and a bit of Hindi. I am helpful and friendly with my friends. I will respect the elders. And I am always ready to learn anything. I have high confidence in myself. I will concentrate in my studies to show good performance through my higher grades. I even take almost everything serious except a fight with my sister. I will read books a lot. I will usually gather good science facts and the collection of things which I felt amazed will be with me always. I don’t get irritated fast. I will even take good exercise and balanced diet to keep my body fit. I will also gather the up to date information about the new techniques in the treatment of patients. I am lso a bit patriotic because I feel that doing something to the mother land is really a great job. This was one of the main reason why I chose to be a doctor because I can serve my country. I believe in the principles of Abdul kalam and Mother Teresa. I would also state one of the main aspects of mine which my mom says wrong, but I feel it is right; the query is that I usually work hard by sitting to study at least for 5 hours a day. But my mom says you should study even hard, but I believe in studying with concentration and practical experiences rather sitting like a book worm. I believe the fact that if you love your work you will excel in it. I think these are the qualities I posses and it is up to you whether you select me. I want to experience originally how a doctor behaves and correct myself if am doing a mistake now itself so that I can excel in my profession better in the next coming years. I believe that these are the traits that are of a doctor. If I missed anything, I will learn it through Yashoda hospital doctors in the camp. I hope that I will get selected for this camp, and I believe that one day I will surely be a good doctor.

Best Story

Today is my first day at the UniKL City Campus. After the registration session at the Multipurpose Hall, I need to go to the Male Hostel and later on to the Administrative Building. So, I asked one of the security guards on duty the way to both places. He explained to me the routes to the Male Hostel and the Administrative Building. First, from the guard Post 1, I must go straight and turn left into Jalan Teknologi. Then, I need go straight until I found Multipurpose Hall at my left and at the junction; I must turn left into Jalan Teknikal. After that, I must go straight until I found the classroom and laboratory at my left and turn left into small path at the end of classroom building. Then I need to turn right to park my car at student parking area and I will found the Male Hostel in front of the student parking area but I need to cross restricted area. After I check in at Male Hostel, I need to go to Administrative Building to settle out my document. From student parking area, I need to turn to small path and turn right into Jalan Teknikal. Then, I must going straight and turn right at the end of Jalan Teknikal into Jalan Teknologi. Then, I must take the first junction and I will found Multipurpose Hall at my left. When I move to in front, I will found the classroom and laboratory at my right and the Administrative Building at my left.

The Door You Willing to Shut

Stephen King provides us with his own vocabulary as well as methods for isolating one’s mind and unlocking it to its utmost potential. His blueprint for writing involves isolation from mundane life, from thinking too rationally or dogmatically in order to get in touch with our creative side. Using the terms â€Å"the room†, â€Å"the door† and â€Å"the determination to shut the door† he maps out an environment, which helps him concentrate on his writing.Stephen points out that usually we need to find a comfortable place to write (in his case-his home). The next step is to get rid of all distractions (the shutting of the door) and then to set a certain goal, as well as to make sure that it is quite attainable. King believes, based on his own experience that the hardest part about writing is just to begin the task, writing â€Å"one word at a time†; once it starts its not overly difficult to maintain the flow of ideas and their transfer on paper.Pers onally I find the environment of a small cozy cafe preferable to that of my home in terms of shutting the door to various distractions that King talks about. The room and the determination to shut the door are more important to me when I write, then the door itself. When I write in a cafe, I do not control the environment—the door — that is, I cannot shut it entirely, but I can control my focus on my work, in King’s own words it’s called the determination to shut the door.I’m not sure if I would be able to write to Metallica or AC/DC as King apparently can, but music in general if it is soothing, would not distract me. Just like King, I find the hardest thing is to begin, once I get going I do not feel distracted by my surrounding environment, I can focus and be completely absorbed by the writing task, creating a piece â€Å"one word at a time†.

Simple rules Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Simple rules - Assignment Example nds metrics, eliminating differences, establishing formal alliance management systems and structures and managing external relationships with partners. The companies should also put more emphasis on;- developing the right working relationship, creating means metrics, embracing differences, enabling collaborative behavior and managing your own internal stake holders. Solving of differences in the company should be given the highest priority. Because spending a lot of time and retention on reaching agreement sends the message that differences are bad, tends to drive conflict underground. In the solving of the difference Hp exhibited the following strengths; - General expertise related to complex-solution selling to enterprise customers, tends to focus on long term objectives and opportunities, good at minimizing risk in complex situations through careful analysis, in difficult circumstances, it is likely to find the creative solution that others might miss and it is good at understanding and focusing on customer needs and building close durable relationships. On the other hand Microsoft’s strengths were; - technical and support knowledge about exchange, which is essential to successful enterprise solution sales, it has disciplined focus on short term objectives where the objectives could have taken much time to get accomplished, good at capitalizing on opportunities by making decisions quickly, it is unlikely to waste time and effort when the standard answer or solution provides the optimal balance of performance and value and lastly it was good at identifying and responding to competitive threats. From the above scenario we need to look critically at the advice that executives get in relation to their companies. It is the time that the executives realized that alliance management is facing a crisis. In the recent past, companies have been forming alliances and relying on them solely for their growth. What is discouraging is that more than half of them fail.

Answering the questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11250 words

Answering the questions - Assignment Example 3. It is extremely difficult to precisely define religion because there are several counterexamples posed. Diverse authors have provided various features of religion in their definitions. The feature of religion to express the complete reality of goodness in all aspects of living has been proposed by F.H. Bradley. On the other hand, C.P. Tiele has explained religion as the pure and authentic reverent disposition which is present in the mind frame and known as piety. 4. The working definition is that religion is constituted by a set of beliefs, actions and experiences, both personal and corporate, organized around a concept of an Ultimate Reality. Their definition is not satisfactory because a given religion, with its preferred attitudes and emotions, its prescribed rituals, its important stories and myths and its recommended way of life can never be fully understood. 5. Beliefs are truth claims or statements which are accepted to be true. In a particular sense, all religious have the ir bases in beliefs. The five basic areas of beliefs are as follows: a) Humans find themselves in a predicament b) Humans need a way to resolve the predicament c) There is an existence of a transcendent being which assists humans or is the very objective of existence d) This â€Å"something† can be approached or known in a particular manner e) Something must be done by human to achieve liberation or salvation 6. Philosophy of religion is the attempt to analyze and critically evaluate religious beliefs. This is mainly because philosophy is the study of beliefs and religious philosophy tries to evaluate the diverse beliefs on which religions are based. Religious philosophers try to seek answers to religious beliefs in determining whether they are consistent and coherent. Critical questions are raised as to whether religious beliefs are plausible, probable, meaningful and true. The twentieth century witnessed an advent of religious philosophers to be influenced by analogy. Thus, religious philosophy may also be referred to the study trying to analyze and clarify significant arguments and concepts. 7. a. The editors have an approach to critically review the diverse religious beliefs by trying to and clarify significant arguments and concepts. b. The issue in the discussion of â€Å"the God of the philosophers† and â€Å"the God of faith† is that rigorous intellectual investigation has nothing to offer to devout faith. 8. The unreflective persons are those who have not made a serious attempt to reflect on the grounds of opinions. On the other hand reflective persons are those who responsibly look at all relevant arguments, clarify key ideas and carefully trace the implications of beliefs. 9. The three points of a philosopher of religion is to try and think critically about the issues related to the theistic concept of God, respect serious and responsible thought despite the outcome and respecting the rational process demands that the points rec ognize the stance of philosophers of religion on significant issues. Assignment 1. A â€Å"person-relative view of proof† means that the argument should be sound with accurate premises and a valid conclusion should be drawn from the premises. A person should know the argument to be sound for it to function as a proof. The role of proof helps in extending knowledge and this

Accounting assignment ( memo to the manager ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting ( memo to the manager ) - Assignment Example The market it covers expands from Middle East to North Africa and all the way up to North America. The company has its offices in a number of countries including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey,  China, USA, Canada and United Kingdom. Emaar has consistently maintained its financial position and stability. The numbers on the financial statement indicate a slight decline in revenue from 30th September 2007 to 30th September 2008 (1.62%). Although the revenue has declined slightly, the net profit has gone up by (0.4%). This indicates that the cost of revenues has gone down. From the company’s perspective, this shows that they have controlled on their costs. However, an interesting feature to note in the financial statements is that ‘selling, general and administrative expenses’ form a considerable portion of the overall expenditure both in 2007 and in 2008. Moreover, the ratio of selling and administrative expenses to the gross profit stands out to be (29.5%) and (29.1%) in 2007 and 2008 respectively. This indicates a very high proportion and is reducing the profitability considerably. In order to control these expenses, we first need to analyze the composition of these expenses. Selling, general and administrative is the sum of all direct and indirect selling expenses and all general and administrative expenses incurred by a company. Selling expenses are of two types, direct and indirect. Direct ones are those which can be linked with the sale of a specific unit. This would include warranty, advertisement or credit expenses. Indirect ones are those which cannot be allocated to a sale of a specific unit but is applied to all units in proportion. This would include telephone and postal charges. Whereas, general and administrative expenses include other expenses such as rent, heating, lighting and salaries of non-sales personnel (Investopedia). High SG&A expenses can be

Computer Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer Security - Research Paper Example Moreover, even if the vulnerabilities are exposed, it is likely that the hackers have used that information before. B.Keeping the attack confidential. This approach is being lauded by many organizations because this restricts the movements of hackers who are looking for exploits. This approach is good for government agencies because the general public can react hysterically once they learn that public agencies are not that secure. Perhaps, this approach should be used by organizations and agencies that can compromise national security. 2. The symmetric type of encryption is more popularly used simply because it more convenient and faster to implement than asymmetric encryption. This is due to the fact that same key is used to encrypt and decrypt the code by both receiver and sender of the message. There are many two main types of symmetric algorithms – block and stream ciphers. Examples of symmetric key cryptography are: DES, IDEA, AES and RC2. So far, DES is the most commonly used form of symmetric key. The only challenge presented to this method of encryption is that both parties must have a secure method when exchanging keys. Also, problems in verification can be encountered because both sender and user share the same key. Nevertheless, symmetric type is still used due to its speed and efficiency.

Free will Vs. Determinism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Free will Vs. Determinism - Essay Example the power to make decisions, take steps and establish a specific code of conduct regarding their activities related to the personal and professional obligations without any natural and social impediments or hurdles. Consequently, causality of change and movement is reliant of people’s personal ambitions and aspirations. On the contrary, determinism vehemently focuses upon the very principle that man is dependent of some external forces in all his activities, and these external forces, related to past and present, determine his future actions, conducts and the fate as well. Since both these terms have direct connection with individual and collective life of the people, their study is certainly of vital importance for comprehending with and exploration of natural and social phenomenon existing in the universe at large. Belief in supernatural powers as well as metaphysical objects is also contingent to the intellectual investigation of the scope and magnitude of free will and det erminism. The question arises why the issue of free will vs. determinism is the problem. Since philosophers and theorists appear to be at conflict on the issue, and have presented their notions in favor of as well as against free will and determinism, it has invited the curiosity of the thinkers for the further investigation of the topic. In addition, though the theorists including Halboch, Campbell, James and others have attempted to reject Schlick’s theory of free will, yet none of them could articulate the alternate framework contrary to that of Moritz Schlick; nor the theorists could managed to give solution to nullify the free will in a comprehensive way. It is therefore the debate still serves as a moot point even this day. Another reason for being this issue a problem includes the imperative significance of the subject, which maintains direct relationship with the disciplines related to logic, philosophy, human psychology and political science. Several theories have been

Importance of Literature Essay Example for Free

Importance of Literature Essay 1 Introduction In this article we will talk about the importance of literature reviews as a way of summarsing the state of the art of a field. We will examine ways of constructing literature reviews and we will see in the links provided examples of literature reviews. 2 Definition of literature review A critical summary and an assessment of the current state of knowledge or current state of the art in a particular field. The ability to carry out a literature review is an important skill for any student. It will provide you with a context in which to place your assignments regardless of the module you are studying. Practically any assignment in any module you take will involve reading what other people have written on the subject of your assignment, gathering information to refute or support specific arguments, and writing about yourfindings. For small scale projects, (like module assignments), you will not be expected to provide a definitive account of the state of research in your selected topic. You will be required to provide evidence that you have read a certain amount of relevant literature in the topic, that you have understood that literature, and that you can summarize the material you have read in a coherent way. The literature review is precisely that summary. In order to do a literature review you will need to spend time reading the literature relevant to the topic you are researching. Understanding the literature in your research topic will prevent you from repeating previous errors, or redoing work which has already been done. It will also give you insights into aspects of your topic which might be worthy of exploration and future research. 3 Purpose of a Literature Review There are several purposes to writing a literature review. To provide the reader with an up to date account and discussion of the research findings in a particular topic. This might sound pretty esoteric but you will find that in writing a literature review you will learn about the ways other people have constructed their own research projects. Seeing what others have done might help you understand your own assignment. You might be able to see the methods that other more experienced researchers have used and you might decide to follow on their footsteps and copy their methodological approach. You might also be able to detect conflicting points of view expressed by different authors. These conflicting points of view might be the indicators of diverging theories within the same topic. You need to be aware of these conflicting theories as well as of the arguments supporting these theories in order for you to assess their value and make up your own mind on the topic. Being aware of the theories will help you later in your life as a student when you will have to design a larger research project like your dissertation. You might also be able to discuss relevant research carried out in the same topic. It is important to be able to discuss relevant research because very often it is very difficult (as students and as researchers) to keep abreast of everything that is published every year in a topic. The job of the writer of the literature review is to summarize and discuss the major documents published in that topic over a stated period of time. The discussion will take into account the methods and the results or findings of the most relevant research. The reviewer will assess whether the methodology is appropriate and whether the results seem valid. The reviewer therefore evaluates the quality of the research as opposed to merely listing documents. The reviewer may also discuss material published in other fields which are related to the main topic. This process is very important since very often research in the social sciences is multidisciplinary, i. e. knowledge gets generated from many disciplines and needs to be integrated. For example in order to be able to research and write a literature review on a question like ‘Why do teenagers smoke? ‘ The reviewer might need to read material from journals in psychology, medicine, and sociology. 4 Mechanics of Writing a Literature Review You need to read. You need to read because it will give you ideas, and because it might improve your writing style. You need to develop some basic reading strategies. You need to decide: †¢ where to read †¢ what to read †¢ whom to read †¢ how to find what you need to read. Your University or College library might be your first port of call in deciding where to read, but as you progress in your course you might need to read in other libraries. You might also chose to photocopy material from these libraries and read it at home. The advantage of using photocopies is that you can underline the material and make notes. The question of what to read is more tricky. Books, journals, reports, popular media, computer-based material, internal reports, letters, conference proceedings etc. You will probably need to read all these when you are constructing a literature review. When you try to determine whom to read you need to be aware that anyone can be mistaken in their interpretations or their opinions. It is therefore important that you can be able to ascertain how authoritative is the person that you are reading. You should also be able to ascertain their motivation in writing. This might help you determine if the person has a biased perspective on an issue. You should be guided on what to read (at least as a starting point ) by your module coordinator(s) and seminar tutors however, that is only initial guidance, after that you should be capable of finding your own material. Once you have set-up your basic reading strategies, you will need to be able to understand what you read. This is slightly more complicated than it seems because you will need to be able to develop tricks to scan a lot of documents very fast, and decide if a particular document is good enough to merit careful reading. It takes practice to be able to look at a document in the library and determine if it is good enough for you to spend serious time reading it. Have a look at the table of contents and index of the book. Look at the introduction and concluding chapter . Scan some of the topics from the index and determine if the material is adequate. These hints will give you a superficial knowledge about the content of a document, however you will not be able to write a literature review based on superficial knowledge. You will have to read enough to know enough about what has been written and summarize it in an intelligent fashion. In other words, you need to know enough to be able to be critical about it. Once you select a document for serious reading, you will need to summarize and criticize it.