Saturday, August 31, 2019

Soldier X Summary

Summary: Soldier X Erik Brandt is a 16 year old half Russian half German boy. He is in a program called Jungend which is also known as Hitler's Children Army. It is like Boy Scouts for German Kids. They boys in the Jungend are also enlisted soldiers who have to fight when it is needed. One day Erik is sent to fight in the war. He is shipped to the eastern front where the Germans have to fight Russia on Russian soil. Erik is uncomfortable because he is half Russian and German.He was aware of the things Germans were doing to Jews but he was convinced it was right and that Jews were preventing Germany's world domination. While traveling to Russia he becomes acquainted with some other boys in his platoon named Oskar, Jakob, and Fassnacht. They get attacks by aircraft and very few of the Germans die but the boys are pretty scared. When they reach their destination they go into the trenches and prepare to fight.Their commander explains the plan and teaches them how to use certain equipment like mines and grenades. When the first waves of Russians attack it is mainly infantry foot soldiers. The Germans win and Erik thinks it’s over and he is exhausted and tired. Then their commander says that was the easy one and tells them to prepare for tanks to start progressing. In the second wave the Germans start to drop and German hope looks lost. Erik is hit by a grenade and he is hurt. He is lying in pain in the bottom of a trench.With many dead bodies around him, he sees that playing dead won’t help because the Russians are stabbing every body they find with a bayonet. He knew he was running out of time. To his luck a tank broke down over him. He now has to think fast. He sees a dead Russian boy and puts on him uniform to disguise himself. He leaves the trench disguised as a Russian. As he is going he get shot by a surviving German in the side. He passes out and wakes up in hospital. When the soldiers he meets asks his name he says he has amnesia.He meets a you ng nurse in the hospital named Tamara. They talk a lot and get to know each other very well. They eventually fall in love. The hospital is bombed one day and they must escape. They make a plan to go all the way to the United States. They are able to escape Russia and make it to America. While sneaking through Germany Erik loses his left arm when he gets shot. The American soldiers take care of him. He gets to America with Tamara and they start a family and live their lives there where Erik becomes a history teacher.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Word of Thanks

Ambitions could not be fulfilled without determination; goals cannot be achieved without sacrifices, and success could not be acquired without rising above Intrigues. Our honored guest and speaker, distinguished visitors, our respected school administrator, Madam Mercy L. Sales, beloved teachers, dear parents, fellow graduates, friends, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. As students, we often complained about our difficulties and adversities. However, you all would agree with me that this difficulties and challenges made us better individuals ready to face whatever disappointments in the future.Thus, we are all here today, standing before everyone else, able to proclaim to the world that we have survived the battles we have fought for all the years we have stayed in this institution. But we would never be here today, without the help and support of the people who In one way or another are part of what we are now. This Is the right moment and occasion we can express our gratitude and give them honor. First of all, we are very much grateful to ours Almighty God, the ultimate source of our strength and courage to face life.Everything we are now and everything we will be, we offer to the honor and glory of God. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to our dearly beloved parents, who consoled us, sweated for us and guided us like a kite gliding higher into the skies. Especially, I would like to acknowledge my parents, Mr.. Remnant Mobil and Ms. Angelina Appellation whose efforts and sacrifices have nourished me colorful and beautifully. Ma, Pa, even though we don't live under the same roof, I know and I believe that you've done your part to me as my guardians.Maybe not perfectly but In a way everyone would be proud of. For me, you're the best parents in the world. To my beloved Lass, loss, uncles, mommies and daddies, thank you for the time and efforts you've given In order to help me fulfill my ambitions In life. You are all so special to me. Our sincerest thanks also go t o our wonderful teachers, who patiently taught us not only the concepts of different subjects but most especially the values of life. Teachers, thank you for helping us discover what we are able to become. Truly, you've done great help in bringing out the best in us.And of course, our profound gratitude and appreciation to our respected school principal, Madam Mercy L. Sales, for making Mulligan National High School our friendly and conducive second home. Our triumphs would not be completed without the guidance and support of our beloved Alma Matter, Mulligan National High School who nourished, built and armored us to become worthy individuals dressed In Impregnable armor of knowledge to face the more complicated, spiritual, social and political confrontations of the future. My fellow graduates, graduation carries with it the marks of success in our s not everything.We must remember that this day is not the end our struggles. Rather, it is the beginning of a serious and responsible life ahead. As we separate our ways to another chapter of our lives, let us always be reminded that we should have deep and abiding commitment to participate and dedicate ourselves to the task of building a community equals under an environment of shared community. We bring change where it is needed, expertise where it is missing and leadership where it is wanting. As Mulligan Nationalists, this is our commitment. Thank you and again, good morning.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Project Management and Monitoring

Monitoring is the regular observation and recording of activities taking place in a project or programme. It is a process of routinely gathering information on all aspects of the project. To monitor is to check on how project activities are progressing. It is observation; – systematic and purposeful observation. Monitoring also involves giving feedback about the progress of the project to the donors, implementers and beneficiaries of the project. Reporting enables the gathered information to be used in making decisions for improving project performance.Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as a project progresses. It is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a project or organisation. It is based on targets set and activities planned during the planning phases of work. It helps to keep the work on track, and can let management know when things are going wrong. If done properly, it is an invaluable tool for good management, and it p rovides a useful base for evaluation.It enables you to determine whether the resources you have available are sufficient and are being well used, whether the capacity you have is sufficient and appropriate, and whether you are doing what you planned to do Purpose of Monitoring: Monitoring is very important in project planning and implementation. It is like watching where you are going while riding a bicycle; you can adjust as you go along and ensure that you are on the right track. Monitoring provides information that will be useful in: Analyzing the situation in the community and its project; †¢ Determining whether the inputs in the project are well utilized; †¢ Identifying problems facing the community or project and finding solutions; †¢ Ensuring all activities are carried out properly by the right people and in time;†¢ Using lessons from one project experience on to another; and †¢ Determining whether the way the project was planned is the most appropria te way of solving the problem at hand. Planning, Monitoring and Controlling Cycle: [pic] Importance of Monitoring: Monitoring is important because: it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress; †¢ it allows actors to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge; †¢ it often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily; †¢ it reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements; †¢ it provides a basis for questioning and testing assumptions;†¢ it provides a means for agencies seeking to learn from their experiences and to incorporate them into policy and practice; †¢ it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers; †¢ it adds to the retention and development of institutional memory; †¢ it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy. WHY DO MONITORING? Monitoring enable you to check the â€Å"bottom line† (see Glossary of Terms) of development work: Not â€Å"are we making a profit? † but â€Å"are we making a difference? † Through monitoring and evaluation, you can: _ Review progress; _ Identify problems in planning and/or implementation; _ Make adjustments so that you are more likely to â€Å"make a difference†.In many organisations, â€Å"monitoring and evaluation† is something that that is seen as a donor requirement rather than a management tool. Donors are certainly entitled to know whether their money is being properly spent, and whether it is being well spent. But the primary (most important) use of monitoring and evaluation should be for the organisation or project itself to see how it is doing against objectives, whether it is having an impact, whether it is working efficiently, and to learn how to do it better. Plans a re essential but they are not set in concrete (totally fixed). If they are not working, or if the circumstances change, then plans need to change too.Monitoring and evaluation are both tools which help a project or organisation know when plans are not working, and when circumstances have changed. They give management the information it needs to make decisions about the project or organisation, about changes that are necessary in strategy or plans. Through this, the constants remain the pillars of the strategic framework: the problem analysis, the vision, and the values of the project or organisation. Everything else is negotiable. (See also the toolkit on strategic planning) Getting something wrong is not a crime. Failing to learn from past mistakes because you are not monitoring and evaluating, is.The effect of monitoring and evaluation can be seen in the following cycle. Note that you will monitor and adjust several times before you are ready to evaluate and replan. Monitoring inv olves: _ Establishing indicators (See Glossary of Terms) of efficiency, effectiveness and impact; _ Setting up systems to collect information relating to these indicators; _ Collecting and recording the information; _ Analysing the information; _ Using the information to inform day-to-day management. Monitoring is an internal function in any project or organisation. WHAT DO WE WANT TO KNOW? What we want to know is linked to what we think is important. In development work, what we think is important is linked to our values.Most work in civil society organisations is underpinned by a value framework. It is this framework that determines the standards of acceptability in the work we do. The central values on which most development work is built are: _ Serving the disadvantaged; _ Empowering the disadvantaged; _ Changing society, not just helping individuals; _ Sustainability; _ Efficient use of resources. So, the first thing we need to know is: Is what we are doing and how we are doing it meeting the requirements of these values? In order to answer this question, our monitoring and evaluation system must give us information about: _ Who is benefiting from what we do? How much are they benefiting? Are beneficiaries passive recipients or does the process enable them to have some control over their lives?_ Are there lessons in what we are doing that have a broader impact than just what is happening on our project? _ Can what we are doing be sustained in some way for the long-term, or will the impact of our work cease when we leave? _ Are we getting optimum outputs for the least possible amount of inputs? MONITORING When you design a monitoring system, you are taking a formative view point and establishing a system that will provide useful information on an ongoing basis so that you can improve what you do and how you do it. On the next page, you will find a suggested process for designing a monitoring system.For a case study of how an organisation went about designi ng a monitoring system, go to the section with examples, and the example given of designing a monitoring system. Monitoring DESIGNING A MONITORING SYSTEM Below is a step-by-step process you could use in order to design a monitoring system for your organisation or project. For a case study of how an organisation went about designing a monitoring system, go to examples. Step 1: At a workshop with appropriate staff and/or volunteers, and run by you or a consultant:_ Introduce the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness and impact (see Glossary of Terms). _ Explain that a monitoring system needs to cover all three. Generate a list of indicators for each of the three aspects. _ Clarify what variables (see Glossary of Terms) need to be linked. So, for example, do you want to be able to link the age of a teacher with his/her qualifications in order to answer the question: Are older teachers more or less likely to have higher qualifications? _ Clarify what information the project or organisat ion is already collecting. Step 2: Turn the input from the workshop into a brief for the questions your monitoring system must be able to answer. Depending on how complex your requirements are, and what your capacity is, you may decide to go for a computerised data base or a manual one.If you want to be able to link many variables across many cases (e. g. participants, schools, parent involvement, resources, urban/rural etc), you may need to go the computer route. If you have a few variables, you can probably do it manually. The important thing is to begin by knowing what variables you are interested in and to keep data on these variables. Linking and analysis can take place later. (These concepts are complicated. It will help you to read the case study in the examples section of the toolkit. ) From the workshop you will know what you want to monitor. You will have the indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and impact that have been prioritised.You will then choose the variables th at will help you answer the questions you think are important. So, for example, you might have an indicator of impact which is that â€Å"safer sex options are chosen† as an indicator that â€Å"young people are now making informed and mature lifestyle choices†. The variables that might affect the indicator include: _ Age _ Gender _ Religion _ Urban/rural _ Economic category _ Family environment _ Length of exposure to your project’s initiative _ Number of workshops attended. By keeping the right information you will be able to answer questions such as: _ Does age make a difference to the way our message is received? _ Does economic category i. e. o young people in richer areas respond better or worse to the message or does it make no difference?_ Does the number of workshops attended make a difference to the impact? Answers to these kinds of questions enable a project or organisation to make decisions about what they do and how they do it, to make informed chan ges to programmes, and to measure their impact and effectiveness. Answers to questions such as: _ Do more people attend sessions that are organised well in advance? _ Do more schools participate when there is no charge? _ Do more young people attend when sessions are over weekends or in the evenings? _ Does it cost less to run a workshop in the community, or to bring people to our training centre to run the workshop? nable the project or organisation to measure and improve their efficiency.Step 3: Decide how you will collect the information you need (see collecting information) and where it will be kept (on computer, in manual files). Step 4: Decide how often you will analyse the information – this means putting it together and trying to answer the questions you think are important. Step 5: Collect, analyse, report. PURPOSE OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION What development interventions make a difference? Is the project having the intended results? What can be done differently to better meet goals and objectives? These are the questions that monitoring and evaluation allow organizations to answer.Monitoring and evaluation are important management tools to track your progress and facilitate decision making. While some funders require some type of evaluative process, the greatest beneficiaries of an evaluation can be the community of people with whom your organization works. By closely examining your work, your organization can design programs and activities that are effective, efficient, and yield powerful results for the community. Definitions are as follows: Monitoring can be defined as a continuing function that aims primarily to provide the management and main stakeholders of an ongoing intervention with early indications of progress, or lack thereof, in the achievement of results.An ongoing intervention might be a project, program or other kind of support to an outcome. Monitoring helps organizations track achievements by a regular collection of informa tion to assist timely decision making, ensure accountability, and provide the basis for evaluation and learning. STRATEGIC QUESTIONS In conducting monitoring and evaluation efforts, the specific areas to consider will depend on the actual intervention, and its stated outcomes. Areas and examples of questions include: †¢ Relevance: Do the objectives and goals match the problems or needs that are being addressed?†¢ Efficiency: Is the project delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner? Effectiveness: To what extent does the intervention achieve its objectives? What are the supportive factors and obstacles encountered during the implementation? †¢ Impact: What happened as a result of the project? This may include intended and unintended positive and negative effects. †¢ Sustainability: Are there lasting benefits after the intervention is completed? COMMON TERMS Monitoring and evaluation take place at different levels. The following box defines the common terms w ith examples. INPUTS The financial, human, and material resources used for the development intervention. Technical Expertise Equipment Funds ACTIVITIES Actions taken or work performed.Training workshops conducted OUTPUTS The products, capital goods, and services that result from a development intervention. Number of people trained Number of workshops conducted OUTCOMES The likely or achieved short-term and medium-term effects or changes of an intervention’s outputs. Increased skills New employment opportunities IMPACTS The long-term consequences of the program, may be positive and negative effects. Improved standard of living STEP-BY-STEP: Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation Steps for designing a monitoring and evaluation system depend on what you are trying to monitor and evaluate. The following is an outline of some general steps you may ake in thinking through at the time of planning your activities:1. Identify who will be involved in the design, implementation, and rep orting. Engaging stakeholders helps ensure their perspectives are understood and feedback is incorporated. 2. Clarify scope, purpose, intended use, audience, and budget for evaluation. 3. Develop the questions to answer what you want to learn as a result of your work. 4. Select indicators. Indicators are meant to provide a clear means of measuring achievement, to help assess the performance, or to reflect changes. They can be either quantitative and/or qualitative. A process indicator is information that focuses on how a program is implemented. 5.Determine the data collection methods. Examples of methods are: document reviews, questionnaires, surveys, and interviews. 6. Analyze and synthesize the information you obtain. Review the information obtained to see if there are patterns or trends that emerge from the process. 7. Interpret these findings, provide feedback, and make recommendations. The process of analyzing data and understanding findings should provide you with recommendati ons about how to strengthen your work, as well as any mid-term adjustments you may need to make. 8. Communicate your findings and insights to stakeholders and decide how to use the results to strengthen your organization’s efforts.Monitoring and evaluation not only help organizations reflect and understand past performance, but serve as a guide for constructive changes during the period of implementation. Why have a detailed toolkit on monitoring and evaluation? If you don’t care about how well you are doing or about what impact you are having, why bother to do it at all? Monitoring and evaluation enable you to assess the quality and impact of your work, against your action plans and your strategic plan. In order for monitoring and evaluation to be really valuable, you do need to have planned well. Planning is dealt with in detail in other toolkits on this website. Who should use this toolkit?This toolkit should be useful to anyone working in an organisation or project who is concerned about the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the work of the project or organisation. When will this toolkit be useful? This toolkit will be useful when: _ You are setting up systems for data collection during the planning phases of a project or organisation; _ You want to analyse data collected through the monitoring process; _ You are concerned about how efficiently and how effectively you are working; _ You reach a stage in your project, or in the life of your organisation, when you think it would be useful to evaluate what impact the work is having; _ Donors ask for an external evaluation of your organisation and or work. DESIGNING A MONITORING SYSTEM – CASE STUDYWhat follows is a description of a process that a South African organisation called Puppets against AIDS went through in order to develop a monitoring system which would feed into monitoring and evaluation processes. The main work of the organisation is presenting workshopped plays and/or p uppet shows related to lifeskill issues, especially those lifeskills to do with sexuality, at schools, across the country. The organisation works with a range of age groups, with different â€Å"products† (scripts) being appropriate at different levels. Puppets against AIDS wanted to develop a monitoring and evaluation system that provided useful information on the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of its operations. To this end, it wanted to develop a data base that:Provided all the basic information the organisation needed about clients and services given; _ Produced reports that enabled the organisation to inform itself and other stakeholders, including donors, partners and even schools, about the impact of the work, and what affected the impact of the work. The organisation made a decision to go for a computerised monitoring system. Much of the day-to-day information needed by the organisation was already on a computerised data base (e. g. schools, regions, services pr ovided and so on), but the monitoring system would require a substantial upgrading and the development of data base software specific to the organisation’s needs.The organisation also made the decision to develop a system initially for a pilot project, but with the intention of extending it to all the work over time. This pilot project would work with about 60 schools, using different scripts each year, over a period of three years. In order to raise the money needed for this process, Puppets against AIDS needed some kind of a brief for what was required so that it could be costed. At an initial workshop with staff, facilitated by consultants, the staff generated a list of indicators for efficiency, effectiveness and impact, in relation to their work. These were the things staff wanted to know from the system about what they did, how they did it, and what difference it made. The terms were defined as follows:Efficiency Here what needed to be assessed was how quickly, how corr ectly, how cost effectively and with what use of resources the services of the organisation were offered. Much of this information was already collected and was contained in reports which reflected planning against achievement. It needed to be made â€Å"computer friendly†. Effectiveness Here what needed to be assessed was getting results in terms of the strategy and shorter-term impact. For example, were the puppet shows an effective means of communicating messages about sexuality? Again, this information was already being collected and just needed to be adapted to fit the computerised system.Impact Here what needed to be assessed was whether the strategy worked in that it had an impact on changing behaviour in individuals (in this case the students) and that that change in behaviour impacted positively on Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation by Janet Shapiro (email: [email  protected] co. za that happens when a donor insists on it, in fact, monitoring and e valuation are invaluable internal management tools. If you don’t assess how well you are doing against targets and indicators, you may go on using resources to no useful end, without changing the situation you have identified as a problem at all. Monitoring and evaluation enable you to make that assessment.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Business Organization Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Organization Analysis - Essay Example ector, the organizations would experience major turbulence in their performance and hence, require experimenting new strategies to cross the barriers, for remaining successful.(Milliken & Lant, 1991)† (Miller et al., 1998). On the operational level, T-mobile would require utilizing strategic planning objectives, which react to the changes in the industry and reflect to same in an effective manner, as the industry faces instability and uncertainty. However, for the industries belonging to stable industrial sector, the strategic planning objectives, on operational level, would mean maintaining the operational status quo, while ensuring the positive growth for the company. Subsequent to government deregulations, T-mobile has been able to formulate a stimulated dynamic business environment in United States, while the company aims at forming strategy to stay ahead by providing excellent products and services to the consumers. Accordingly, it appears that the company is functioning well, in terms of strategic, planning and operational levels, as the company is offering innovative products, considering the rapidly changing customer preferences, while aiming to remain better, cheaper and faster, when compared to its competitors. In this direction, two models of mobile phone, brand-named as â€Å"sidekick† has many innovative features, including â€Å"Myspace† application, while making the mobile as the ultimate messaging device. In addition, high definition LCD technology with a large WQVGA screen can be witnessed in â€Å"Sidecick LX† model. (T-mobile, 2009) However, the company seems to be still facing tough competition from American Wireless operators like Verizon and AT&T, as it may require doing more, on operational level for matching their market share. While control is the function of planning process, T-mobile needs better coordination between control and planning, to achieve the above goal, as the company is no-where near the top wireless companies in America, in

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) Essay

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) and Unemployment rate - Essay Example Majority of employees are either young or old. The labor participation rate for women is lower than originally estimated. Experts argue that the number of women in the labor force will increase as soon as the economy recovers. The labor participation rate often affects the unemployment rate in the economy. It is important to note that with lower labor participation rate, with the same level of unemployment, there will be lower unemployment rate(McBride 1). If the employment growth could continue, for example, 250,000 jobs a month in 2012, and the participation rate (63.7% in 2012), statisticians predicted a 7.3% fall in December 2012 (McBride 1). For this reason, the higher the labor participation rate, then there will be a reduction in the unemployment rate. This study will be useful in explaining why changes in the labor force will mask gains in the jobs situation (McBride 1). Currently, the unemployment rate has reduced significantly, since the Great Recession. However, the labor force has not changed. A research by McBride, he defined the labor participation rate as the percentage of Americans at the working-age, who are either working or looking for jobs. Statistics indicate that the labor participation rate is at a 35-year low. Many people lay the blame for this rate to the economy, which has not been constant. Experts argue that the fall in the unemployment rate is because of the decline in the labor force participation (McBride 1). Reports indicate that the US labor force has changed positively because of demographics. Additionally, the same reports indicate that the US labor force keeps shrinking. During the previous years, the unofficial unemployment rate kept dropping even though job creation has been relatively soft (McBride 1). For instance, during the past four months, the U.S government created 150,000 jobs a month (McBride 1). However, the unemployment rate has been dropping precipitously. What is the reason for this? From

I'll attach it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

I'll attach it - Essay Example Moreover, the interviewee should know the responsibilities of the person in the post they are applying for. Such information can be obtained from the company’s website, and the job description in the post advertisement. Response to interview questions is critical. The best way to respond to questions is through the C.A.R strategy. The interviewee should describe the circumstance, actions taken and the result in details. This response shows deep understanding of concepts and increases the chances of the interviewee being hired. The response to general questions should be strategic. The fluency and ability to answer the general question is vital. The interviewers will want to know the strengths and weaknesses of the interviewee. They will also want the interviewee to explain what skills he/she will bring to the company if hired. It is important to prepare for such questions. The response should fit the requirements of that specific job. The appearance of the interviewee has a great impact on how well the interview goes. It is appropriate for men to dress in 3 piece suits or a shirt and a tie. The belt color should match the color of the shoes. Wearing minimal jewelry for both men and women is recommended to attain an official look. For women, it is highly recommended to wear a two piece suit. The skirt length should be below the knee, and the blouse should be conservative. Closed official shoes are more presentable during interviews. There are various types of interviews, the most common forms of interviews are telephone, video, face-to-face, panel, behavioral and case studies. When responding to a phone interview, it is recommended that the interviewee should use a landline. The interviewee should wear headphone in video and telephone interviews so that they can clearly hear and understand the questions. Most interviewers offer duration of one minute for

Monday, August 26, 2019

Karate King Letter to Mr. Johnnie Petro - Case Study

Karate King Letter to Mr. Johnnie Petro - - Case Study Example Just for your information, accounting is not a static system but a dynamic process that incorporates the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that is evolved to suit the needs of the people who read the financial statements of any business. This memo provides some basic details on the principles and concepts like business entity, monetary unit, going concern, cost principle, time period, consistency, materiality, full disclosure, objectivity, revenue recognition and matching principle, which form the basis for applying the GAAP. Under this principle, from an accounting point of view the transactions of a business entity operating in any form of organisation are considered separate and distinct from that of the personal transactions. It is necessary to maintain the personal transactions separate even if the owners work in the business entity. Monetary Unit Principle The assumption behind this principle is that the recording of the accounting transactions would be done in the primary national monetary unit. In the case of Karate King the monetary unit used is US Dollars. It is the responsibility of the accounting function to record all the inflows of sales revenue and the expense outflows in the dollar terms. Going Concern Principle In general it is assumed that a business entity will remain in operation for an indefinite period. This is the principle behind the going concern concept. The continuity of business assumes that the cost of the assets engaged in the business will be recovered over their useful life by way of profits from the business. Cost Principle This principle is closely associated with the monetary unit principle and it requires that the value of business transactions need to be recorded at the actual or equivalent cash cost. This principle is also related to stable dollar assumption. When the economy of any country suffers from continued periods of inflation or deflation comparing the revenues and earnings for different years would be meaningless if it is assumed that the dollar will have a stable value. However it would make sense to express the value of the inventories for resale as well as some items of income and some other balance sheet items in terms of current dollar value rather than on historic dollar value. Time Period Principle This principle requires that the accounting transactions be recorded and analyzed for reporting the financial status and profitability of the business operations over a specific time period of operation. Conservatism Principle This principle requires that the balance sheet items like assets should not be overstated and the value of liabilities should not be understated. Consistency Principle Under consistency principle the financial statements should be prepared applying the same accounting principles from one period to another so that the statements become comparable over different periods. Materiality Concept The materiality concept implies that all items having value which are important and material should be reported in a correct way so that the readers of the financial statements can take proper decisions. Full Disclosure Principle This principle states that any future event which is likely to have a major economic impact on the financial position of the company should be disclosed fully to the potential readers of the financial statements. Objectivity Principle This principle implies that all the accounting tr

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Management information system Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management information system - Case Study Example Each activity is interrelated and monitored accordingly. ERP takes a formal business approach. The approach is based on business model that is tested and well defined. For example, there is already a well defined logistics management or supply chain management model. All the data is maintained in a centralized database. All information relating to different activities of the organization are all stored at a single place and can be accessed when needed. Changing to ERP is expensive as the entire business process needs to be modified but proves to very beneficial once implemented. Benefits of implementing ERP The whole business process becomes very effective and efficient as a result of ERP implementation. As the different units like the development team, sales team, customer service, deliver team, all will be working i8n tandem and this will make the whole system more effective and also economical. Inventory can be managed better. The production team will know at any time how many uni ts are there and what is the demand as it is all automated. There is better co-ordination between the various departments in the organization. Customer service can be improved manifold as the communication inside the organization will be faster and also the lead time will be reduced.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Timing Mediation Initiatives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Timing Mediation Initiatives - Essay Example tween Israel and Hamas, where neither party could overcame one another, hence the need of secret negotiations for purposes of stopping the war (Zartman & De Soto, 2010). This was a stalemate, and hence it is a proof that when it occurs, then the time is ripe for mediation. In determining a stalemate, and making a decision on whether it is ripe for mediation, there is a need of assessing the costs of the conflict, and analyzing the losses that both parties have suffered (Zartman & De Soto, 2010). If the organizations have suffered numerous losses, and the costs of maintaining the conflict is becoming expensive, then this is the right time of mediation. Furthermore, there is a need of looking if there are changes in the leadership of an organization. If these changes occur, chances are high that the new leadership would embrace peace, and hence there is a need of starting the process of mediation (Zartman & De Soto, 2010). An example is the end of the 1992 war between Israel and Palestine, with the emergence of a new leader, Itzak Rabin. It is important to explain that if a new leadership that does not embrace dialogue and reconciliation come to power, chances are high that the mediation efforts would fail. For instance, the emergence of Tassos Papadopoulos as the Greek leader of the Cypriots was able to reduce any chances of a peaceful settlement between the Greek Cypriots, and the Turkish Cypriots (Zartman & De Soto, 2010). Subjective indicators also play a role in determining whether a conflict is ripe of mediation or not. This includes the utterances of influential leaders within the parties to a conflict. This is because these leaders have the capability of influencing the party leadership into entering into a negotiation or

Friday, August 23, 2019

Logical Fallacies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Logical Fallacies - Essay Example This fallacy illustrates disconnect in the premises and the conclusions. Informal fallacies forms include; inappropriate arguments or generalizations, due to ignorance. Informal fallacies are usually more common and interesting than the formal fallacies (Engle 141). In this paper, I’ll discuss the second logical fallacy illustrated in the assignment instruction. The fallacy is: Tradition is not always right. On Saturday, 23rd August 2014, I had a discussion with a class friend on the roles of tradition in the society. My friend continuously illustrated that tradition is not always rights; in order to influence my opinion on only the negative aspects of tradition. This fallacy illustrates informal fallacy, which is based on argument due to ignorance. My friend did not understand the importance of tradition in our society; but I effectively did my part by explaining the positive and negative issues in tradition. Tradition has greater significance in any society than previously believed. Tradition represents existing knowledge; and it is a collection of related ideas and concepts lasting for long time durations (Shils 42). These ideas are continuously improved in the society through addition of new knowledge. This is referred to as dynamic tradition. On the other hand, static tradition does not change easily over time. The prevalent tradition type in America is the mixed tradition that combines the two traditional approaches. Dynamic tradition is very significant because it illustrates the best knowledge in America. The tradition discovers the best ideas, and then continuously discards knowledge proved to be mistaken. Dynamic tradition is best due to the great levels of criticism, thought, and error correction allowed. If there is a wrong aspect in tradition; then emphasis should be on improving it, and not abandoning the aspect. Tradition should be flexible enough to

Thursday, August 22, 2019

How motivate the second language learner Essay Example for Free

How motivate the second language learner Essay The students are always motivated, and when we talk about motivation, it refer to student`s efforts to learn. Positively motivated students are more pleasant to learn, prepare more carefully for class, participate more actively and achieve more than negatively motivated students. Teachers should recognize that to improve motivation they will be dealing with cognitive, affective, social and perhaps even psychomotor variables. These recommendations are being offered as positive suggestion for improving student achievement motivation and also some thing which should not happen to participating students if high level of motivation is to be maintained. First, we should clarify for the student what is the goal of the course and what they have to do to achieve these goals. For reach this goal we should assist them. Give them feedback, and summarize important content of each class. We must have review sessions to help the student to recover what they learned. Use the example, that is, use a material which is related to what they know, in fact we should have a work which is creative and these activities should be purposeful. Give an exam and take them a test to motivate the student to have a better work. These are the cognitive works which we can do for motivate the students. In addition there is some affective variable which the teachers can done to motivate the students. They should avoid the practices which produce or continued anxity. A positive attitude toward the speakers, class and the teacher of the second language improve the motivation of language learner. Know the needs of students to achieve in some area. The teacher must be able to give reward for good work and punish for poor work if it is necessary. Use audio-visual aids whenever possible within reason. Plan for activities during the term. give them assignment to improve their proficiency. When applying a concepts use context which interesting the students Also there is some instruction to not be done in order to keep the student motivated. The student should not be made to suffer a lose of self-esteem and not be in a discomfort position like sit for a long time or cant hear what is said in the front of class. Or not asked them to take a test of what they don’t know or have an incomprehensible question. And should not be in inferior groups, or even ask them to be in a group of students who are superior learners. In conclusion to meet student needs, the teacher needs to make a commitment to themselves and to each student, to help that student grow. The purpose of teaching is growing the students knowledge which is be done by improving a motivation. If the teacher be aware of students need an the position of the class he/she can improve the level of the students` motivations and as a result their knowledge will be grow and language learning will happened as good as possible.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Transnational Crime Essay Example for Free

Transnational Crime Essay The documentary Life and Debt portrays a true example of the impact economic globalization can have on a developing country. When most Americans think about Jamaica, we think about the beautiful beaches, warm weather, and friendly people that make it a fabulous vacation spot. This movie shows the place in a different light, by showing a pressuring problem of debt. The everyday survival of many Jamaicans is based on the economic decisions of the United States and other powerful foreign countries. The film opens with camera shots portraying Jamaica as the beautiful and carefree place that most Americans view it as. The vast majority are oblivious to the fact that the delicious food they indulge in on their voyage probably came off a ship from Miami. In the 1970s, the countrys former Prime Minister signed a loan agreement which ultimately led Jamaica to owe over four billion dollars in debt to the World Bank and IMF. This ultimately caused a sinking economy of low valued imports and to sweatshops destroying local businesses and agriculture. In the video, we see workers who are working gruesome six-day-a-week work schedules to receive the legal minimum wage of only $30 in US money for the entire week. Many have protested against the poor compensation, and have been fired from their jobs; having been placed on blacklists which prevent them from ever getting work again. Many have turned to crime as a means of income. What Globalization Means Globalization is not a recent concept. It means that the worldwide, virtually instantaneous interdependence about many aspects of economic and cultural life within a nation or state has expanded across borders either intentionally or unintentionally. Now this nation or a states independence to control events within its borders is challenged by international corporations, economic globalization, trade, transnational crime and the increase in global communications and developments in technology. Ways in Which Globalization Increases Crime Streeten defined the components of globalization’s effects on the fundamental change in our lives as below: †¦additionally to economic interdependence in terms of trade, finance, direct investment, there are technological, educational, cultural, ideological, and environmental, legal, military, strategic and political incentives that are rapidly spread throughout the world. Money and goods, images and people, sports and religions, guns and drugs, diseases and pollution can now be moved quickly across all over the world. Although people in many places seem prepared to die for the better option, we can say that there is no absolute model of the state. While we are talking about the state and globalization, we face the same dilemma while discussing the family characteristics in the West. In other words, the traditional Western family model and marriage has lived through many changes, and faced irreversible damages. We cannot state how the family will be in the future. The only thing we can do is keep up old and traditional values. Similarly, states are seeing considerable elements of traditional statehood being eroded. Main Components The sum of the various elements of globalization has caused sovereign state less and less a locus of policy and control under some organizations such as the WTO, the EU, NAFTA. Those organizations have become more significant players in the world politics arena. Indeed, it will be increasingly difficult for our future civil servant to define what national and international dimensions of problems are. Main Actors More than 190 countries now take place in the political arena with a larger number of powerful non-sovereign and at least partly (and often largely) independent actors that at least partly, varying from corporations to non-government organizations (NGOs), from terrorist groups to drug cartels, from regional and global institutions to banks and private equity funds. The sovereign state is affected by them causing better or worse as much as possible. The monopolistic power once enjoyed by sovereign entities is now being eroded.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Using The Macro External Environment Analysis

Using The Macro External Environment Analysis Macro external environment here includes the factors such as issues related to politics, economical reforms and achievements, social behaviour, technological enhancements and inventions, environmental changes and environmental concerns and legislation and legislative changes. All these factors bear a significant effect on any industry and business. A business has take into consideration all such effects and then formulate its strategies and policies to work along with them and prosper. PESTEL analysis tool helps in determining the effect of all such factors on an industry and businesses. With the help of PESTEL analysis we will be seeing the affects of such factors on Indian Bakery and Dairy Industry. PESTEL analysis is a technique for identifying and listing the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors in the general environment most relevant to an organisation. (Boddy, D (2005). Management An Intoduction. 3rd ed. UK: Pearson Education. 88.) Type of Factors Effecting Factors Political Economical Social Technological Environmental Legal Exemption on Customs on Sugar Raw Material Import Shortage of Milk Need for Healthy Eating Habits Cloning of Livestock Change in the Climatic Conditions Raising the Norms for the Probiotic Food VAT on Biscuits Rise in Sugar Production and Duty Free Sugar Imports Problems with Cloned Livestock New Age Packaging Removal of Import Duty on Dairy Products Globalization Incentives to Build Cold Storage Facilities Requirement for Logistics Political Exemption on Customs Duty on Sugar Raw Material Import Due to the shortage in the production of sugar the deadline for the exemption on customs duty on raw sugar imports has been extended by the government to April 1, 2011 (Dey, A Jha, Dilip K (2010) Duty-free sugar imports extended till April 2011, Business Standard). Since sugar is a major input in the bakery, the price of sugar highly influences the price of inputs of the bakery industry. Exemption on customs duty will help in purchasing sugar at lower cost, which in turn will control the cost of production. VAT on Biscuits The VAT of 12.5% on Biscuits, being the only processed food item to attract such high VAT rates, will affect the pricing of the product (Bhushan, R (2009) Biscuit prices to rise by 10%, The Economic Times). Price of the biscuits might need to be increased due to the high VAT rates which may result in switch of brands due to the highly competitive market. Removal of Import Duty on Dairy Products The whole-sale price based inflation indicates that the milk prices have moved up by 14.73% over the last year. Worried about the rising prices government announced the removal of duty on Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) and other dairy products (Govt removes import duty on dairy products (2010), Business Standard). The imports at cheaper rate would help in reduce the cost factor for dairy products. Incentives to Build Cold Storage Facilities Wastage of food items due to lack of cold storage facilities lead to a loss of Rs. 500 billion every year. The government announces schemes and incentives to attract investments in cold storage warehousing (Union Budget 2010: Cold-storage incentives to attract fresh funds (2010), The Economic Times). Increase in the number of cold storage facilities would help in preserving products better and reduce the wastage cost. Economical Shortage of Milk Even though the milk production has risen by 4.6% compound annual average growth rate, it still cannot match up with the increasing demand. The demand for milk has been growing at a faster rate than the growth rate of milk production resulting in the shortage of milk supply (Milk output would stagnate (2010) The Economic Times). India cannot meet its expected demand if the demand and supply rise at the same rate. For the same the reason, the milk prices are on a constant rise. Price of milk increased by 12.6% to 13.6% (Goyal, K (2010) Indias Food-Price Inflation Holds Near 11-Year High- Business Week). This can cause an increase in the input cost for the dairy products and which in turn can lead to hike in price or lower profit margins. If the company increases the price of its products, it may affect the sales as it might lose on consumers. Rise in Sugar Production and Duty Free Sugar Imports The total sugar production in the first six months ending September 2010 is expected to be 22% more than the output in the unchanged phase last season, the total production expected is at 16.7 million (Press Trust India (PTI) (2010) Sugar output rises 22% in first half of 2009-10, Business Standard). Due to the shortage in the production of sugar the deadline for the exemption on customs duty on raw sugar imports has been extended by the government to April 1, 2011 (Dey, A Jha, Dilip K (2010) Duty-free sugar imports extended till April 2011, Business Standard). The increase in sugar production and the duty exemption on raw sugar can help in purchasing sugar at lower prices and this in turn can help in producing goods at lower prices. Globalization Globalization a universal phenomenon is affecting each and every industry. The world is coming closer, the communication gap is closing and the businesses are going global. This can serve as an opportunity to expand the business to a global level but on the other hand there is a threat of new entrants from international market. Requirements for Logistics Logistics in India suffer due to the poor infrastructure and other limitations. There is a high demand for sophisticated third party logistics so the domestic logistics service providers are trying to improve their service. International participation is also expected in the logistics industry (Pandey, S Basu, A (2010) Logistics cos ramp up supply chain to meet rising demand, The Economic Times). Sophiscticated logistics system will help in proper supply chain management and on time delivery of goods, which help in maintaining the shelf life of goods on meeting the demand on time. Social Need for Healthy Eating Habits Studies say that Indians are more prone to Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which is the major independent risk factor causing Cardiovascular diseases, due to the smaller calibred arteries found in Indians (Isalkar, U (2009) Indians more prone to heart disease, The Times of India). This suggests that Indians should move towards more healthy food and diet. This could be a new area to explore for Britannia with its new health associated products like Nuti-Choice biscuits and Actimind flavoured milk. Problems with Cloned Livestock Cloned animals are supposed to be suffering from large-offspring syndrome. The mother cows face a problem in giving birth to the cloned animals as they are larger than normal. Also these cloned animals suffer from health issues (Gogoi, P (2007) The case against cloning, BusinessWeek). It is morally wrong to clone animals as they cause problems to the mother during the birth and moreover the cloned livestock suffer from health issues which might make unsafe to consume the produce from them. Technological Cloning of Livestock India, a late entrant in cloning research, is now moving with a great pace in cloning technology. Hand guided cloning technique, a technique very different from the conservative cloning practice has been a successful venture (Mahalakshmi, BV Chowdhary, S (2009) Cloning Glory, The Financial Express). New Age Packaging The new packaging systems help in protecting food from micro-organisms by creating shelter layer. It uses new technologies like oxygen scavenging function, atmosphere control, biodegrability etc. and is low cost (Han, J Packaging Innovations, Bakers Journal). The packaging technology helps in preserving food for longer by protecting them from micro-organisms with the help of new technologies, thus resulting in longer shelf life of the food. The advantage of low cost packing and longer shelf life could be very beneficial for the company in increasing its profit margin. Environmental Change in the Climatic Conditions Climate plays an important role in the agriculture process. The change in the rainfall pattern has been a matter of concern now in India. The agriculture sector in areas which are monsoon dependent suffered badly due to the change in the rainfall pattern. The sector suffered a huge loss in terms of total output (Bhosale, J (2009) Farmers worried over climate disturbances, The Economic Times). The loss in crop will affect the input supply and this might delay or cause problems in the production. So the industry might not be able to meet the demands resulting in the loss of customers. Legal Raising the Norms for the Probiotic Food There is a need for setting the standards for probiotic food. Clinical tests should be conducted on the probiotic foods before they could reach the market for sale. The Indian Council of Medical and Research has submitted the proposal for the same to the government (Das, S (2009) Probiotic food likely to come under clinical trial ambit, The Financial Express). Strict norms will help in raising the quality standards but on the other hand the cost and time of production might subsequently increase. Micro External Environment Analysis Factors that influence the micro external environment are Competitor Rivalry, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, Buyers Power and Suppliers Power. These factors play a vital role in determining the current situation of the business and to plan strategies accordingly. With the help Porters Five Forces we will be analysing these factors and their immediate effect on the company. Five forces analysis is a technique for identifying and listing those aspects of the five forces most relevant to the profitability of an organisation at that time. (Boddy, D (2005). Management An Intoduction. 3rd ed. UK: Pearson Education. 83.) Competitor Rivalry: BIL has a market share of 38% and has been growing at 27%, compared to the industry growth rate of 20% (Saxena, R (2007) Battle-scarred Britannia on expansion spree, Business Standard) and has many competitors based on the nature of product. Parle and ITC (Sunfeast) pose a great competition to BIL (Biscuit Industry: India (2010), Market Research India). BIL earning major of its income from the biscuits (Britannia Annual Report 2007-08 (2008)), and Parle and ITC are the other major players in biscuit market. BIL is also into the production of dairy products, where the two major players in market are Amul and Nestle. Amul is the leader in the dairy industry. There is also a high level of competition from the unorganised baking sector. Overall rivalry is high. Threat of New Entrants: The entry on a small scale dairy industry and in the unorganised baking sector is easy. But on the other hand to enter the large scale dairy industry and organised baking sector a huge amount of investment is required in terms acquiring assets and to establish supply and distribution chains. Government regulations pertaining to food norms and others may also seem to be unattractive. Looking at the latest trends, the bakery industry is expected to earn huge revenues which might attract new entrants (Vijay, N (2008) Indian Bakery sector foresees high growth and increasing interest in product offering, FnBNews.com). So the threat of new entrants is moderate. Threat of Substitutes: Savoury snacks, crisps, cereals, fruits and other fast food can be substituted for biscuits. Dairy products are dubious to be replacing with other products as they key ingredients of majority of peoples diet. So the threat is a very moderate threat of substitutes. Buyers Power: The buyers of these products could be a retailer or the consumer. Both the dairy and bakery industry are price sensitive, so a little increase in price might lead the consumer to shift other brand or product. So the buyers power is calculated to be very strong. Suppliers Power: The major supplies for a bakery industry include wheat, sugar and other agriculture products. And the major supplies for dairy product is milk. Its difficult to bargain with the suppliers of the above mentioned inputs as the price of these inputs is majorly influenced by the production of these inputs. The prices tend to be high as the demand for these products is rising at much faster rate than supply. The secondary supplies include the packaging material. The secondary supplies can be easily substituted with the low-cost ones to save on cost. Overall the suppliers power is assessed to be moderate. Conclusion of Five Forces Analysis: There is an existence of major players in the market with a moderate level of threat of new entrants and substitutes. The suppliers power is moderate but the buyers power is measured to be strong. So the rivalry is suggested to be high. Stakeholders and Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) Freedman (1984) defines a stakeholder as any individual or group who can affect, or is affected by, the achievement of the organisations objectives. Further in addition to that, Clarkson (1995), stated that the government and the other communities that effect the working of the business and the market also form as a part of stakeholders. Stakeholders, except the employees, have a high power over the strategic change ideas (Hayes, J (2007). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. 2nd ed. UK: Palgrave Macmillan. 153). Internal Stakeholders The internal stakeholders are the ones associated with the company internally. For BIL its internal stakeholders would be: The Shareholders The Board of Directors, and The Employees Currently, nearly 51% of shares are held by Corporate Bodies and the rest 49% is held by the public (Statement showing shareholding pattern (2009), Britannia Industries Limited). The board consists of 11 members (Company Overview, Britannia Industries Limited) and employees nearly 2000 people (Britannia Industries Ltd. Overview, MarketLine). External Stakeholders The external stakeholders are the ones who are not immediately associated with company but influence the decision making of the company. To BIL the external stakeholders are as follows: Customers Suppliers Contractors Government Regulatory Agenices (like Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, etc.), and Society Britannia being the leader in the baker industry of India has a huge amount of customers to cater. Britannia has to keep up the tastes and quality preferences of its customers. The government plays an important in influencing the market by creating and changing the policies. BIL has to adhere to the rules and regulations formulated by the regulatory agencies. The suppliers and contractors form an important part of a business. Britannia completely relies on its suppliers and contractors for its raw materials. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) For years corporate entities followed the practice of providing goods and services and maximizing wealth. But the trends have changed over the period of years. The companies are now expected to be more socially responsible. The company now has to be responsible to the stakeholders, society and environment. They are expected to pay back to the environment and society for all the affects that are caused due to its operations (Idowu, S Filho, W (2009) Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility. Berlin: Springer. 1-2). BIL believes in working with the society and the culture. It gives a premier importance to the nation and its policies. It believes in being a good corporate citizen by not just adhering to the rules and regulations but also by helping the community to improve the quality of life. BIL involves itself in initiating and providing support to community health and family welfare, water management, vocational training, educating people and encouraging the application of modern techniques and technologies. BIL believes in ethical behaviour.

Pros and Cons of the European Union Essay -- European Union Economics

Do you think it is useful for a country to join into a union, especially the European Union, to strengthen their economic position? The question could be simple to answer but an individual must look much deeper into the situation. For instance, what are the pros and cons of joining a union? The European Union has many pros but also many cons. The European Union was formed in February 1992 with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. It consist of originally twelve members – Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, and Germany. Those twelve members originally formed the European Union until 1995 when three other countries joined the Union – Austria, Finland, and Sweden. The European Union currently is formed of twenty-five members with the ten new members – Cyprus, Malta, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia being added in 2004. In 2007 two other countries (Romania and Bulgaria) could join the European Union. European Union covers a mass majority of the Europe and the current Union membership covers a population base of nearly half a billion people. In 1992 the European Union decided to go for economic and monetary union, involving the introduction of a single European currency managed by a E uropean Central Bank. The single currency, the euro, became a reality in January of 2002, when euro notes and coins replaced national currencies in twelve of the 15 countries of the European Union (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland). (Europa) The information below will consist of the pros of the European Union. With the development of the European Union the countries are able to have the benefit of the principles of European integration, such as free competition or free movement of goods and capital, which will encourage the movement from a post-socialist economy to a free market economy in East-central Europe. The principle of free movement is saying that you can work and study anywhere in the Union if you are a citizen of the Union. By spending part of their education or training in another European Union country, the citizens can acquire an insight into other work environments and gain skills that are very useful in later life. By having a closer joint effort and sharin... ... the European Union. It has several characteristics about it that I do not like. For example, I do not like how the Union only has a single interest rate. I think that each economic cycle needs different interest rates for certain situations that occur in the Union. For instance, if you are in the European Union and let’s say you are going through a depression you are going to need to lower the interest rate but in the European Union you have no choice. The information above in the paper about the European Union has many pros and cons. The only reason the countries are entering the European Union or any other union is they feel it makes their country stronger and better economically. Yes, when you enter into a Union you are gaining some things but what some countries do not see are is that you are giving up just as many or more things. Works Cited Niebor, Jeremy. The pros and cons of Economic and Monetary Union. 1998 http://www.bullen.demon.co.uk/niebor.htm Venckute, Jurgita. European Union: New Members. 2003, http://www.debatabase.org/details.asp?topicID=233 Europa. The History of the European Union. 2004 http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/index_en.htm

Monday, August 19, 2019

Polonius in Shakespeares Hamlet and John Updikes Gertrude and Claudiu

Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet and John Updike's Gertrude and Claudius In every royal court throughout history, there has been the man who knows everything about everyone, and generally has the ear of the king; Shakespeare’s court of Denmark is no exception. Polonius, adviser and Lord Chamberlain to King Hamlet and Claudius, seems to know every intrigue, every alliance made in the interwoven royal court. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Polonius is firmly seated at the King’s right hand and he will go to any lengths to facilitate the union of young Hamlet and Ophelia. Similarly, in John Updike’s prequel Gertrude and Claudius, Polonius acts as the liaison between Claudius and Gertrude, even going so far as to permit adultery to take place and knowingly to allow the royal bed of Denmark to be besmirched by incest. Throughout both the novel by Updike and the play by Shakespeare, Polonius’ interests are obviously his own, but at certain times in Gertrude and Claudius, he does indeed serve others. Polonius represents a parado x of ideals: on the surface, the loyal, if somewhat senile, counselor to the King; below this servile exterior, however, lurks the mind of a schemer unable to achieve the throne itself and, therefore, determined to undermine and to manipulate it in order to retain his own power. Although sometimes his machinations do not go as undetected as he may have planned Polonius achieves these goals of power through his interactions with several of the characters in Hamlet and Gertrude and Claudius. Shakespeare does not expound greatly on the personalities of his characters; rather he lets them do it for themselves. Through Polonius’s actions and words towards Gertrude in the play, it seems that he is much mor... ...th King Claudius do eventually bring about his downfall, and he has only himself to blame for this. In his insistence that he be involved with everyone’s affairs and due to his faith that â€Å"human affairs could all be managed, manipulated with cogs and ratchets like millwheels and clocks, by a clever enough puppeteer,† Polonius is caught in his own trap (189). For a while he is able enough to run the puppet show; but as the intrigues in Claudius’ court increase, he continues to get farther out of his depth, out of his realm of experience. He never considers having to deal with Hamlet’s madness, his obsession to either sanctify or to condemn his mother. He never concerns himself with the possibility of an accident or changing loyalties. When the puppeteer becomes the puppet unbeknownst to himself a swift reckoning is exacted, caused only by Polonius’ own manipulations.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Papers

Gene Therapy I. Introduction With the human genome project now completed, identifying our DNA, the next step forward is being taken to analyze this information and apply it in a helpful context. As we discover which genes affect and trigger the different traits humans possess, new questions result pertaining to potential problems in our DNA as well as genetic enhancement opportunities. In theory, once a problem is pinpointed within a person’s DNA, there exists a possibility for correcting this defect. Gene therapy is a technique used for correcting defective genes responsible for disease development. This relatively new idea sparks much controversy when societal implications are examined. Bill Joy, chief scientist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, comments that â€Å"we can easily imagine an arms race developing over GNR [genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics] technologies, as it did with the NBC [nuclear, chemical, and biological] technologies in the 20th century†¦.This time†¦we are n't in a war †¦we are driven, instead, by our habits, our desires, our economic system, and our competitive need to know (Joy, 2000)." This paper provides an in depth look at gene therapy including a description as well as an examination of gene therapy as it affects societal issues. Faced with different applications for the recent knowledge gained in gene therapy, ethical considerations must be analyzed so that society can move forward with caution. II. Gene Therapy Review Gene therapy, with its first clinical trial in 1990, is a relatively new field that leaves much open to be explored. The idea of gene therapy focuses on locating the defective gene and treating it so that the fixed gene functions correctly by producing prot... ...e Without Wisdom: Human Genetic Engineering without Religious Insight. Christian Bioethics, 8, (2), pp147-63. â€Å"Gene Therapy†. (October 2004). Human Genome Project Information. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/genetherapy.shtml#status. Joy, Bill. (April 2000). Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us. Wired, 8, (4). Silva, Fred G. (September 2002). Ethics of the New Biology and Genetic Medicine (Molecular Ethics). Pathology International, 52, (9), pp555-62. Thompson, Richard E. (May 2003). Does Patenting Genes Change the Meaning of Life? Physician Executive, 29, (3), pp40-43. Williams, D. (December 2002). Public Confidence in Medical Technology. Medical Device Technology, 13, (10), pp11-3. Wright, Richard T. (2003). Biology through the Eyes of Faith. New York : HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Papers Gene Therapy I. Introduction With the human genome project now completed, identifying our DNA, the next step forward is being taken to analyze this information and apply it in a helpful context. As we discover which genes affect and trigger the different traits humans possess, new questions result pertaining to potential problems in our DNA as well as genetic enhancement opportunities. In theory, once a problem is pinpointed within a person’s DNA, there exists a possibility for correcting this defect. Gene therapy is a technique used for correcting defective genes responsible for disease development. This relatively new idea sparks much controversy when societal implications are examined. Bill Joy, chief scientist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, comments that â€Å"we can easily imagine an arms race developing over GNR [genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics] technologies, as it did with the NBC [nuclear, chemical, and biological] technologies in the 20th century†¦.This time†¦we are n't in a war †¦we are driven, instead, by our habits, our desires, our economic system, and our competitive need to know (Joy, 2000)." This paper provides an in depth look at gene therapy including a description as well as an examination of gene therapy as it affects societal issues. Faced with different applications for the recent knowledge gained in gene therapy, ethical considerations must be analyzed so that society can move forward with caution. II. Gene Therapy Review Gene therapy, with its first clinical trial in 1990, is a relatively new field that leaves much open to be explored. The idea of gene therapy focuses on locating the defective gene and treating it so that the fixed gene functions correctly by producing prot... ...e Without Wisdom: Human Genetic Engineering without Religious Insight. Christian Bioethics, 8, (2), pp147-63. â€Å"Gene Therapy†. (October 2004). Human Genome Project Information. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/genetherapy.shtml#status. Joy, Bill. (April 2000). Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us. Wired, 8, (4). Silva, Fred G. (September 2002). Ethics of the New Biology and Genetic Medicine (Molecular Ethics). Pathology International, 52, (9), pp555-62. Thompson, Richard E. (May 2003). Does Patenting Genes Change the Meaning of Life? Physician Executive, 29, (3), pp40-43. Williams, D. (December 2002). Public Confidence in Medical Technology. Medical Device Technology, 13, (10), pp11-3. Wright, Richard T. (2003). Biology through the Eyes of Faith. New York : HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Assessment of Problem of Tax Administration in Nigeria Economy (a Case Sturdy of Federal Inland Revenue)

TABLE OF CONTENT Title Page – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – i Declaration – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – ii Dedication – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – iii Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – iv Abstract – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – v Table of content – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the study 1. 2 Statement of the problem 1. 3 Objective of the study 1. 4 Research question and hypothesis 1. 5 Scope of the study 1. 6 Significance of the study 1. 7 Definition of terms 1. 8 Plan of the studyCHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Introduction 2. 2 Review of the Nigerian capital market 2. 3 Bond financing Prospect, Benefit, And Associated Risk 2. 4 The impediment and problem of Bond development in Nigeria 2. 5 Recent developments in the Nigerian Bond market 2. 6 Theoretical framework 2. 7 summary of the chapter CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Introduction 3. 2 Research Design 3. 3 Sources and Methods of Data Collection 3. 4 Methods of Data Analysis 3. 5 Justification For the Method Used 3. 6 Summary of the Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRSENTATION AND ANALYSIS 4. 1 Introduction 4. 2 Data presentation And Analysis 4. Hypothesis And model testing 4. 4 Discussion on Research Findings 4. 5 Summary Of Findings CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. 1 Summary 5. 2 Conclusion 5. 3 Limitation Of The Study 5. 4 Recommendation 5. 5 References CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1. 1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: The importance and centrality of the financial system to the growth of any economy is obvious and indisputable. It has been postulated that a well developed financial system performs several critical functions that enhanced the efficiency of their financial intermediation roles with highly reduced costs of information, transaction and monitoring.Also, it promotes investment by identifying and locating viable business opportunities; helps in mobilizing savings; monitors the performance of managers thereby enabling trading, hedging and diversification of ri sk in order to facilitate the exchange of goods and services. These functions result in efficient allocation of resources and rapid accumulation of physical and human capital with faster technological process which in turn feed economic growth. The financial market is a sub-set of the financial system where funds from surplus economic units are pooled and made available to deficit units at a cost. The financial market consists of the money and the capital markets.The money market is the market for short term funds with a maturity period of not more than a year. The Capital Market consists of institutions and procedures that provide for transactions in long term financial instruments with a maturity of more than one year. The major instruments that are used in raising funds in the Nigeria Capital Market include Debts – Government bonds (Federal, State and Local Governments), Industrial loan stocks or Debentures, Preference Stocks, and Equities – ordinary shares. Instrum ents classified as Debt securities are generally referred to as bonds because of their fixed income characteristics except for preference stock which is a hybrid instrument.Therefore investors in bonds are essentially lending money to the issuer. Some of the common bond issuers are governments (Federal, State and Local Government), government agencies and corporate institutions. There are different types of bonds with its unique features relating to the way it pays interest, the market in which the bond is issued, the currency it is payable in, protective features and the legal framework under which it operates. The bond market is the channel through which government and corporations that need to borrow money are matched with investors who have funds to lend. There are really two markets for bonds – THE PRIMARY AND THE SECONDARY MARKET.The underdeveloped nature of the Nigerian Bond market is reflected through the depth of the market, lack of investors’ confidence, infl ationary pressure coupled with continuous depreciation of the Naira, absence of major international rating organization, absence of secondary trading market, macro-economic instability and closed nature of the market to external actors. All these indices indicate the faulty fundamentals of the market and hence its inability to contribute significantly to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy as it obtains in other developed countries of the world like Europe and United States of America. The effect of reviving theNigerian Bond market on the Nigerian economy cannot be overemphasized as it will enhance the achievement of a transformed economy through provision of long term funding to government and corporate borrowers, foreign investment, participation in the global bond market and international capital flow. However, how fast the Nigeria government and financial authorities move to combat the faulty fundamentals of the market will determine its efficiency and effectivene ss as a major provider of the long term finance needed for Nigeria’s economic growth. In Nigeria, one major defect for the slow pace of development of the real sector which is necessary to bring about a sustained economic growth and development is inadequate finance.It is therefore pertinent to examine theoretically and comparatively the roles the Nigerian Bond market can play in the growth of the Nigerian economy with a view of assessing the effect of bond market development in an imperative way to achieve a transformed economy. 1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The major problem that brought about slow movement of developing the real sector of Nigeria which is necessary to bring about a sustained economic growth and development is inadequate finance. This can be traced largely to the underdeveloped state of the Debt segment of the Nigerian Capital Market which is supposed to serve as the vehicle for the mobilization and provision of long-term funds needed by both government and corporate organizations to embark on developmental projects needed for economic growth and development.The underdeveloped state of the bond segment of the Nigeria capital market has in time past led to distortions in the economy as most corporate organizations sourced their long term funds from commercial banks. This in effect is a financial mismatch funding strategy where long term projects are funded with short term finance. The commercial banks are set-up to provide only short term funding due to the nature of their sources of funds; whereas the kind of finance needed for sustainable development are long term funds. Also, because there is no developed outlet for the sourcing of long term funds by corporate organizations, there is overdependence on government to dictate and direct the pace of economic development.Thus, business activities are predicated on public expenditure projections and when these projections and budgets are delayed or not forthcoming, economic activities in the whole economy is directly adversely affected. 1. 3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The major objective of this study is to assess the effective development of the Nigerian bond market and it essential effect on the growth of the economy is however the task of this study. Other objective is to, (i) Find out whether there exist an optimal economy whereas bond market can be developed. 1. 4 RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS In line with the research problem, some specific questions must receive answers in the course of the study.These questions are as follow: (i) How does development of Nigerian bond market affect economic growth? (ii) Does inadequate finance result from underdevelopment state of debt segment in the Nigerian capital market? 1. 4. 1 HYPOTHESIS Ho: There is no significant relationship between effective development of the Nigerian Bond market and economic growth. H1: There is a significant relationship between effective development of the Nigerian Bond market and economic growth . 1. 5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This research is carried out mainly on Nigerian capital market to assess the development on fund to the Nigerian economy it covers data sourced from Nigerian stock exchange, Annual report, Security and exchange commission and National News paper.It covers the period of eight years (2000- 2008) 1. 6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The important of this study cannot be overemphasized owing to the value of a research on this nature. To the end, this research is carried out to bring to the attention of financial managers of the firms especially financial institutions, relevant information regarding to Bond market and economy development in order to assist in making financial decision. 1. 7 DEFINITION OF TERMS (i) Bond: A bond is simply a certificate of indebtedness issued by a borrower to a lender. (ii) Capital Market: This is the market for intermediate and long term securities that have more than one year of maturity say three years. iii) Debt: This is referred to as an obligation owed by one party (the debtor) to a second party the creditor. (iv) Debenture: This is referred to as type of bond that is not secured by physical asset or collateral, it is credit worthiness and reputation of the issuer. (v) Equity: this referred to as the residual claim or interest of the junior class of investors in asset after all liabilities have been paid. (vi) Financial Market: The financial market is a sub-set of the financial system where funds from surplus economic units are pooled and made available to deficit units at a cost. (vii) Money Market: This market is the market for short term funds with a maturity period of not more than a year. (viii) Preference Stock: ix) Primary Market: This is referred to as the market where securities are newly issued. (x) Secondary Market: This is referred to as the market where existing securities are traded. 1. 9 PLAN OF THE STUDY This research project is divided into five (5) chapters for better and easy understanding, chapter two (2) is the review of related literatures; the literature is reviewed with a view to lay a foundation for the building of new research that we are currently undergoing. It gives directions and light to research work. Chapter three (3) tell us about the method(s) of research used in this project. It shows the research design, source of data, method of data collection, and techniques of data analysis among others.Chapter four (4) is mainly the presentation of data and the analysis. Here our research hypothesis will be tested in order to enable us draw a conclusion on the topic under consideration. The final chapter which is chapter five (5) will highlight on the conclusion, summary and recommendation. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Introduction A bond is a debt security in which the issuer owes the holder a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest (coupon) at a later date, termed maturity. Other stipulations may also be attached to the bond issued, such as the obligation of the issuer to provide certain information to the bondholder or limitations on the behaviour of the issuer.Bonds are generally issued for a fixed term (the maturity) longer than one year (Olashore, 2006). Umoren (2000) also defines a bond as basically IOU’S of longer duration than the average money market instrument present in a given market. According to Fahm (2006), a bond is a long term debt instrument issued by an entity, company or government as evidence of a promise to pay. The claim protects the holder in circumstances in which the issuer is unable to pay the amount due. According to Oni (2006. ), the entity borrowing money by the way of a bond is called the issuer and the person investing is the buyer. The issuer of a bond promises to pay the buyer’s interest which is called a coupon for the privilege of using the buyer’s money.The issuer also promises to return the money which is the principal to the buyer on a specified date called the maturity date. The coupon which is a predetermined interest account is paid to the buyer at periodic intervals throughout the life of the bond. It is the nature of known periodic interest amount (coupon) and known principal amount that gave rise to the nomenclature â€Å"fixed income securities† given to bonds. Corporate bonds are often called debentures, but the term debenture is usually used to refer to borrowings without specified collateral. Such borrowings are based on the general credit standing of the borrower. In Nigeria, however, some debentures are said to be mortgage debentures.In such cases, the security provided goes beyond the credit worthiness of the borrowers to include a mortgage of some specific assets and also all future assets (Odife, 1999). 2. 2 Review of the Nigerian capital market 2. 3 Bond financing: Prospect, Benefit, And Associated Risk 2. 4 The impediment and problem of Bond development in Nigeria 2. 5 Recent developments in the Nigerian Bond m arket 2. 6 Theoretical framework 2. 7 summary of the chapter CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Introduction 3. 2 Research Design 3. 3 Sources and Methods of Data Collection 3. 4 Method of Data Analysis 3. 5 Justification for the Method Used 3. 6 Summary of the Chapter

Friday, August 16, 2019

Social Influences on Behavior

Social Influences on Behavior Somchai Knorr Grantham University Social Influences on Behavior â€Å"Sociologists and philosophers had recognized that people behave differently in crowds than they do as individuals and that a crowd is more than the mere sum of its parts† (Kowalski & Western, 2005). Human behavior changes based on social situations individuals may encounter, and these encounters may begin as early as toddler years. Individuals learn to adapt to society by changing their behavior in order to â€Å"fit in† with the rest of the crowd. Two examples of how an individual’s behavior changes based on social situations are when a) a person decides to drink liquor at a social event. The second example of when an individual’s behavior changes based on social situations is b) when a person decides to smoke marijuana or cigarettes. One may see these behaviors in an individual who regularly does not behave like so when they are trying to act like â€Å"everyone else. † These behaviors may be seen in situations such as a party, a club, or a popular social event, where an individual will find it fitting to behave differently to receive recognition from other social crowds. Precursors and Consequences â€Å"When he first arrived on campus at age 18, he figured he had to drink if he wanted to fit in, even though the legal drinking age is 21† (Wilson, 2008). Students, especially in colleges and universities, find themselves in situations where they believe they have to take part in drinking and partying to get approval from the rest of the student body to increase their self-esteem and popularity. An example of social comparison would be a student drinking and smoking to fit in with the crowd. Adults may also find themselves peer pressured to drink alcohol or smoke when taking part in extracurricular activities, such as going out to clubs or attending social events, to feel relaxed or content. Drinking and smoking is advertised on a daily basis as a way of â€Å"enjoying the party. † One example that I have observed would be with the recent kick off of the American football season. My television sets are invaded with beer commercials emphasizing on how fans seem to enjoy the game more when they are drinking a beer, when I visit my ocal Wal-Mart or Publix, there is an area designed just for football fans made of beer products. Social psychology concepts concentrate on the individual and the situation in which that individual is in. As mentioned above, self-esteem is one of the examples that apply to individuals who use liquor, marijuana or tobacco as a coping mechanism. The self-concept of one not being able to function correctly without the liquor or the tobacco in their system is another concept of social psychology. In the long run the individual is at risk of affecting his or her health, their education, and their social standing. Associated Phenomenon Phenomenon’s such as social facilitation and social influence have been associated with behaviors, such as drinking and smoking in social events. Social influence â€Å"Social influence, effects of the presence of others on the way people think, feel, and behave† (Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Social influence is associated with both behaviors because the changes in behaviors are due to the attitudes of others or guidance towards a particular direction, in this case the drinking and smoking of tobacco or marijuana. Another example of how social influence affects the behavior of an individual in guiding them towards smoking or drinking with the perception that getting involved is pleasurable and accepted widely among other peers. One might find themselves as the only person the group of peers that does not smoke or drink, at one point or another they will involve themselves in the same activities because everyone else is drinking and smoking and they have not had any severe apparent consequences. When it becomes a routine for everyone around oneself to party constantly and go on drinking and smoking binges, conformity is another phenomenon that occurs because this person is accommodating themselves to standards of the rest of the group. Social facilitation Social facilitation is another phenomenon that is associated to individuals who use drinking and smoking as an excuse to behave in a certain way. Individuals use drinking as a way to express their feelings better in a group of people or towards a certain individual. For example, when a person drinks while out at a club or a party, they may feel as if they have the confidence to approach others they may find attractive or laugh and dance within the group of partygoers. â€Å"Small amounts of alcohol might dull painful feelings† (C. A. M. H. , 2008). Just as individuals use drinking and smoking as a way to feel happy and relaxed others use these substances to feel numb. Individuals use alcohol as a gateway to forgetting any traumatic events in their lives such as being sexually, physically, or emotionally abused. The stress of dealing with other individuals, like a significant other, a parent, or a child, with mental or health issue also leaves behind emotional distress, and one may feel that the way of dealing with the stress is to drink. Recently a close friend started smoking cigarettes; I questioned her on why she had taken on this habit. Her response left me flabbergasted; it seemed ridiculous to me, that she had taken on this habit because it was a way of dealing with the stress of having three children at the age of 21. Therapeutic Intervention When an individual or an individual’s family and friends consider therapeutic intervention it is for the simple fact that the behavior has escalated to an uncontrollable degree. When an individual loses control of his or her life, the therapeutic intervention is what provides the guidance, reasoning, and inspiration for the person to make the needed changes to get back on track. The determining factor of whether a person should consider therapeutic intervention or not is the frequency and quantity of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana is consuming. Another determining factor would be the reason of why this individual has taken on this behavior. As mentioned earlier, many people begin smoking marijuana or cigarettes and begin drinking alcohol when they have encountered stressful situations as well as having to deal with traumatic events. Conclusion As examined, behaviors such as smoking and drinking are changed endured by humans based on social situations they encounter. Social situations such as parties or traumatic past events may trigger oneself to act a certain way or take on new habits. Individuals may feel that by partaking in certain activities their social standings will improve. Unfortunately, if the right amount of self control is not applied an individual may find oneself overwhelmed and become addicted to a substance or lifestyle. References Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. PAHO. (2008). Retrieved October  11, 2009, from http://www. camh. net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Informatio n/Women_and_Alcohol/alcohol_feelings. html Thadani, Vandana; Huchting, Karen; LaBrie, Joseph. (2009, August 1). Alcohol-related information in multi-component interventions and college students' drinking behavior The Free Library. (2009). Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://www. thefreelibrary. com/Alcohol-related information in multi-component interventions and†¦ -a0207704284 University of Phoenix. (2009). Week Five Readings: Psychology, Chapter 15. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week Five, PSY/300—General Psychology Web site. Wilson, Brenda. (2008, October  23). University Uses ‘Social Norming' to Curb Drinking. NPR Health. Retrieved from http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=95937183 Social Influences on Behavior Albert Fish was a 20th century serial killer, child rapist, sadomasochist, and cannibal. This paper is a brief description focused on the forces that impacted his life from the viewpoint of developmental psychology. The author made an effort to distinguish between the influences of hereditary and environment on psychological development. He also explains what family issues and social support systems may have influenced Albert Fish’s developmental growth and adjustment. Two different theories of personality selected by the author was applied to Fish, which includes a discussion of how each theory differs in terms of how it explains Fish’s unique patterns and traits. The author also makes a determination regarding which theory he believes best explains Fish’s behaviors and achievements. Forces That Impact Life: Developmental Psychology Developmental psychology is defined as â€Å"The branch of psychology concerned with the study of progressive behavioral changes in an individual from birth until death† (Farlex, 2011). Albert Fish’s rough childhood contributed to the person he became, along with other factors that occurred throughout adulthood. He was born to poverty on May 19, 1870. His father passed away on October 15, 1875. His mother could not take care of Fish, therefore, she placed him in a religious orphanage called Saint John’s Orphanage. Here he learned to lie, cheat, beg, and steal. He also experienced and seen wrong-doings no boy, or person, should. Albert Fish was whipped bare-bottomed at the orphanage and was forced to witness other boys being whipped. He said this abuse was the beginning of his ruined mind. During his interview, before his execution, he said he felt his first sex feeling while watching the other boys be whipped, which eventually developed while he was receiving the abuse. When Fish left the orphanage, he felt the need to satisfy these sexual urges with sexual experimentation and prostitution, which included men. His needs and urges became very sadomasochistic. He enjoyed what hurt. He inflicted pain on not only himself, but also on others. He would not stop until he reached his climax, and progress on with the torcher for days. In his late 20s, Albert Fish married. His wife had the same types of sexual interest as he. While he was married, he continued to lead a double life by fulfilling his sadomasochistic fantasies with boys. He made this way of life easily obtainable by working as a traveling housepainter and being away more than he was home. Fish traveled all over the United States. â€Å"I had children in every state,† Albert Fish stated during his interview (Borowski, 2006). After 19 years of marriage, Albert Fish’s wife left him for another man. She had sent their six children off to the movies, and they came home to an empty house. He came home to find his six children alone and discover she had taken everything. Fish believed this was his breaking point. His children testified, during his trial, although he never hit them or raised his voice to them, they did witness his self-torcher. They testified to finding blood covered boards with nails sticking out of one end and to seeing him drive needles into himself. An x-ray was taken of his pelvic region that showed 29 needles lodged within. In 1928, approximately five years after his wife abandoned him and their children, Albert Fish decided to act upon a growing urge. He responded to a newspaper advertisement of a young boy looking for employment. After he responded by telegram, he arrived at the young man’s house, bearing lunch. He quickly lost interest in the young man once Fish seen his younger sister, Grace Budd. He convinced her parents to let him take her to his niece’s birthday party, which was fictional. She was to never be seen again. Albert took Grace to an old abandoned house where he tricked her into coming into the house where he was naked, waiting for her. He strangled her, cut her up into little pieces, and devoured her. Fish said that he got the idea of cannibalism from his uncle in 1894, which was never verified. His uncle, Captain John Daus, sailed to China during the time of a famine. Children were sold to be butchered. They were brought out in parts to be cut to one’s choosing and sold as veal. The captain told his nephew human meat did taste of veal, and the behind was the sweetest part. The captain stole two children to bring home with him. He beat their behinds for days, while they were still alive, to make it nice and tender. Albert Fish decided he had to try it. Not only did the environment in which he grew up shape Albert Fish, it is believed that his genetic influences may have had a huge impact as well. â€Å"His family had a history of mental illness: his uncle suffered from religious mania, a brother was confined in the state mental hospital, another brother had died of hydrocephalus and his sister had a â€Å"mental affliction†. Three other close relatives suffered from severe mental illnesses and his mother was believed to suffer frequent aural and/or visual hallucinations† (Farlex, 2011). Albert Fish seems to fall in the postconventional moral development area of psychological development. Postconventional morality is how â€Å"people reason using abstract, self-defined moral principles that may not match conventional moral beliefs† (Kowalski & Western, 2009). Fish was a very religious man. He claimed that his reasoning for his crimes were of religious purposes. He took the word of the Bible and twisted it to make his doings the work of God. Several times he said he was visited by Jesus Christ. Jesus would give him messages telling him what to do. Fish identified religion with suffering. In all his doings, he thought he was doing right because no angels came and stopped him as they did in the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac. The word ‘stripes’ in the Bible he referred to the lashes left by being whipped. He performed castrations and sacrificed virgins. Fish put cannibalism on the same level as communion. Eat the flesh and drink the blood, and they will become one with him, and he with them. This made Albert Fish feel God-like and powerful. He said he inserted the needles into his pelvic region to purge himself of sin by torcher. Theories of Personality The two different theories of personality selected are the drive model of Freud’s theory of psychodynamics and the cognitive-social theory. â€Å"Freud reasoned that if a symptom is not of physiological origin and the patient is consciously trying to stop it but cannot, then opposing the conscious will must be an unconscious counter-will of equal or greater magnitude† (Kowalski Western, 2009), which is the basis for his theories. The drive model was proposed by two basics: sex and aggression. Albert Fish used both together to shape his life. To him they were one and the same. He enjoyed and got off the torcher of himself and others. â€Å"Cognitive–social theories share the behaviorist belief that learning (rather than instinct, conflict, or defense) is the basis of personality and that personality d ispositions tend to be relatively specific and shaped by their consequences. However, they also focus on beliefs, expectations, and information processing† (Kowalski & Western, 2009). This theory shows how environmental demands, and the way one processes the information about themselves and the world can have an effect on one’s interaction of a situation, such as school or in an orphanage, and one’s learned tendencies to behave in a certain way in a certain circumstance, which in turn can reflect one’s knowledge and beliefs. Albert Fish’s environment at the Catholic orphanage demanded him to watch other boys get whipped. He was also whipped himself. He began to relate this abuse to sexual gratification by torching himself and others. He also connected suffering to religious aspects, such as being purged of sin. In the end believed the religion was his reason for his crimes. The author believes the cognitive-theory best explains Albert Fish’s behaviors and achievements because of his strong belief that what he was doing was an act of God. If Fish was never subjected to the environment at the orphanage, he may not have developed the sexual urge from torcher. The author also believes many other factors in Fish’s life contributed to his deranged achievement, such as the family history of mental illness and the psychotic break, which occurred when his wife abandoned him and his children. Albert Fish’s environment and religious upbringing was horrid yet detrimental to his moral psychological development. It is obvious that family issues and support systems along with hereditary influences has greatly impacted his life and influenced his behaviors and achievements. Albert Fish was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death by electric chair. He was 65. References Farlex. (2011). The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Retrieved May 22, 2011 from The Free Dictionary by Farlex: http://www. thefreedictionary. com/developmental+psychology Kowalski, Robin and Western, Drew. (2009). Psychology. 5th Ed. Chp. 10, 12, and 13. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Retrieved May 22, 2011 from the University of Phoenix: https://ecampus. hoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC. aspx? assetMetaId=e5b1e2e8-3a11-4d07-970f-cecd423d9973&assetDataId=63bf6c04-77c0-4129-afdb-dd2c6b73eccf Borowski, John. (2006). Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation. Waterfront Productions. Schechter, Harold. (1990). Deranged: The Shocking True Story of America’s Fiendish Killer!