Wednesday, October 30, 2019

TO PLAN A SMALL BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

TO PLAN A SMALL BUSINESS - Essay Example It’s a time tested fact that every business when it is founded starts on a small note and then grows with time, in order to gain sustainability and maintain competitive advantage in the marketplace. The small businesses are started by identifying and fulfilling the needs of the customer while starting with a very small seed capital. In a similar note, to fulfill the needs of the needs of the youngsters, and busy professionals, who lack the time and space to network and socialize with each other, the concept called 18 Cafe has been developed. 18 Cafe will satisfy the socializing needs of today’s youngsters and busy professionals, while providing a cool, soothing and relaxing ambience of the 18th century, but with the technological connectivity of the 21st century. Mission The mission of 18 Cafe is to provide superior line of products at affordable rates without compromising on the product as well as the service quality. The following figure illustrates the expected figur es of net sales, gross profit as well as net profit for 18 Cafe during the first two years of its operations. Figure 1: Expected position during the first two years of operation Objectives The short term objectives of 18 Cafe would be to accomplish sales of ?200,000 in its outlet in the first year and maintain a net profit margin greater than 30% of sales by the end of the year. In the long run, 18 Cafe expects to expand its outlets in UK and subsequently across Africa. Business The globalization of the planet Earth has brought with itself, various advantages to the human life. It has moved on from the era of industrialization in the early 70’s to an era of digitization which began in the late 80’s and finally transformed itself to the era of globalization in the era of late 90’s. People’s lives have increasingly becoming hectic as they try to maintain a descent lifestyle with a descent income. With the rise of middle class families all around the globe a long with the pressure of financial crisis on the Euro zone, people around the globe and mostly in the western countries are responding to the pressure on their financial needs by working extra hours or by doing or handling multiple jobs. As a result of this hectic work schedule, social lives of the people are getting hampered. Man is a social animal and the social networking media like Facebook and Twitter has to some extent helped people in connecting with each other. But, the need for physical space is very much essential in spite of the shortage of time for networking in the people’s life. Keeping the need of today’s busy individual in mind, a proper business plan is being built to develop cater to the needs of the human interaction in the real world. So the idea in this business plan is to develop a Wi-Fi cafe that will be serving the purpose of human interaction in the real as well as virtual world, while grabbing some quick bite to please their appetites. The pr oposed name of the cafe is 18 Cafe. The Cafe is intended to be set up with an initial capital of ?100,000, of which the owner would put in 25% and expected to arrange a bank loan for the remaining 75% capital

Monday, October 28, 2019

Quality management Essay Example for Free

Quality management Essay Dialogue 2: Identify two (2) thought leaders relative to quality management. Research each to determine their core ideas and contributions. Synthesize your thoughts about each into a one paragraph (per leader) that contains important and meaningful statements about each thought leader, their contributions, and the relevance of the contribution today regarding the work of project managers. Joseph M. Juran Dr. Juran devoted 70 years to his books, thoughts, and life work revolutionizing the philosophy of total quality management. His developed quality management ideas work around the quality trilogy of Quality Planning, Quality Improvement, and Quality Control. Through the Juran Institute, Dr. Juran has maintained the capability to continually broaden the experiential learning of economist, scientist, and engineers around his work. Dr. Juran’s teachings and guidance focus efforts on the customer and their needs, optimizes the product for those individuals, optimizes the processes involved, and ensures that the process will actually produce the product. Dr. Juran understood that the human component (the customer, the manager, the scientist, the engineer) was an integral piece of the quality process. His lessons contributed to the rise of the Japanese economy after his hands on workings with the Union of Japanese Scientist and Engineers. The push of information today has allowed these theories to flourish. Customer satisfaction is an ever pressing position for large and small businesses. Today’s managers would be hard pressed to understand the human factor, if individuals like Dr. Juran did not lay the ground work to focus effo rts on the human factors. Genichi Taguchi Taguchi was a Japanese Textile Engineer that understood the processes and influences of small and large businesses. He realized there were variables within management’s control and others that we not. His major contributions/theories were the following: The Loss Function- an equation to quantify the decline of a customer’s perceived value of a product, as the quality declines; Orthogonal Arrays and Linear Graphs- tools to identify and isolate the items concerned when dealing with effective costs and time; Robustness- the identified course of developing products and processes that perform uniformly regardless of the uncontrollable forces.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Comparing Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slav

Comparing Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl What provokes a person to write about his or her life? What motivates us to read it? Moreover, do men and women tell their life story in the same way? The answers may vary depending on the person who answers the questions. However, one may suggest a reader elects to read an autobiography because there is an interest. This interest allows the reader to draw from the narrator's experience and to gain understanding from the experience. When the reader involves him/herself in the experience, the reader encounters what is known and felt by the narrator. The encounter may provide the reader an opportunity to explore a time and place long past. Reading the narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, one identifies a period when the slave's voice begins to emerge. Douglass and Jacobs emerge during the American Renaissance period. During this period, society struggles with the abolishment of slavery and women's rights. Douglass and Jacobs' narratives awaken society to the atrocities of slavery confirmed by their personal experiences. The American Renaissance, distinguished as an intellectual and artistic period, now includes, among others, Douglass and Jacobs brutal historical accounts. Douglass and Jacobs' narrative presence represents the voice slaves who desire freedom from bondage. In Trudy Mercer's "Representative Woman: Harriet Jacobs and the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," she suggests both narratives work as propaganda: The slave narratives of pre-Civil War America may exemplify the earliest and most dramatic uses of the "personal as political," and the sharing of experiences ... ... the Autobiographies of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs." Melus. 22.4 (Winter 1997): 91-108. 16 April 2002 http://relayweb.hwwilsonweb.com/cgi-bin/webclient.pl?sp.usernumber.p=513630&url=yes&sp.nextform=show. Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Laughter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. 1871-1880. Jacobs, Harriet Ann. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. 1962-1985. McFreely, William S. Frederick Douglass. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1991. Mercer, Trudy. Harriet Ann Jacobs Author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. "Representative Woman: Harriet Jacobs and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." 16 April 2002.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

International Business Essay

What is e-Bay’s core competency? How does it relate to its chosen strategy? e-Bay’s competencies lie in its software, which allows people to trade with little supervision. It also has competencies in dispute resolution, an automated item listing service, an online financial service and a communications platform. The integration of these allow e-Bay to have a more efficient and effective trading tool used and policed by the buyers and sellers in the site. What are the implications to the challenges identified in the case regarding e-Bay’s strategy today and the future? The challenge on translation software has the least amount of impact considering that even the users of the site are content with â€Å"pretty good.† An improvement in this area though, would make the service more reliable. Government regulation challenges are perhaps one of the most difficult. With new laws constantly passed in countries, some laws that touch on trade could prove a hindrance to e-Bay’s expansion and could restrict their operations. Unless the world becomes more open to the flow of goods, then e-Bay would constantly face problems. The digital divide is a less serious problem. With technology catching up to many countries and becoming more available and cheaper, it is only a matter of time before the internet becomes available to poor communities. Cultural attributes is one of the most problematic. Since beliefs take so much time to shape and that reactions are unpredictable, it is important for e-Bay to be able to make their strategies localized and adapt it to the current system. Finally, international expansion is an unpredictable challenge, but could prove successful if their users continue to support and trust the company for their trading needs. Which candidate should the committee nominate for the assignment? Why? The first choice would be Brett Harrison because of his experience in running line activities and supervisory staff and being rated as an excellent worker. More importantly, he has knowledge about the country which is one of the most important things in running the operations of the company there. If he doesn’t agree because of familial considerations, then, Ravi Desai should take his place, not only because of his knowledge of the country but also because he has experience in handling large operations. Should all the candidates receive the same compensation package? If not, which factors influence each package? The candidates should all receive the same principle in their compensation package: a common basic salary and a bonus dependent on their performance and contributions to the company.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Consider Carver’s view on marriage Essay

Marriage is defined by dictionaries as ‘a formal union of a man and a woman, by which they become husband and wife’. However, books containing a list of words adjacent to their definitions do not fully define the concept of marriage. Some argue that marriage is about love and trust; others think of it as a permanent commitment between two people. In the stories with which Carver presents us in his book, Will You Please Be Quite, Please? marriage is about love, where love is not an experience of high excitement but a form of available reassurance, security and comfort. In Carver’s view, love involves alleviating fear and providing the feeling of security that one is not alone. In the late stages of a marriage, mature couples tend to pay attention to the fear of loneliness, the fear that all human beings, such as their partners, are mortal which makes them feel vulnerable. In The Student’s Wife, Carver presents us with his first view of marriage through a couple, Mike and Nan. Mike and Nan live in an urban area with their children. Mike and Nan are in a late stage of marriage and have grown apart from each other. In the story, Carver emphasizes the lost affection of a person towards their partner. In this case, Mike has become unresponsive towards Nan.  Mike and Nan have been married for a long period of time; In The Student’s Wife, Carver describes Mike’s fading affection towards his wife. Mike enjoys reading poetry, but Nan is indifferent to it. This is evident when she fell asleep while Mike was reading poetry aloud to her (‘she closed her eyes and drifted off’). From Carver’s description of the bedroom scene, we can conclude that the couple do not share common interests. The story continues with Mike constantly implying his feelings towards Nan (‘He groaned extravagantly’); and, when he was asked for help, he ‘gets out of bed’ reluctantly. Mike finds Nan unalluring, (‘He thought she looked like a hospital patient in her white night gown’) and feels that his wife does not arouse him with desire. When Nan tries to engage him in a conversation, Mike accuses her of living in memories of the past (‘that was a long time ago, Nan’). With Mike’s accusation and gestures, Nan feels that she has lost her identity as a wife and as a woman (‘I’d like to be touched when I’m not expecting it’); she has become humiliated by having to initiate physical contact in her marriage. As the story progresses, Mike falls asleep while Nan lays awake. Her growing desperation to lose consciousness (‘Please, God, let me go to sleep’) has failed her (‘she tried to sleep’); her frustration kept her awake all throughout the story. She seeks comfort from her husband (â€Å"Mike,† she whispered’) because she couldn’t bear the sound of silence (‘There was no answer’). Nan felt alone when her husband did not respond to her need. When the night was over and the morning became visible, Nan walked towards the window to welcome the sun. As the sun rises, it dawns on her that there is no longer love in her marriage (‘she learned a sunrise was as terrible as this’). She undergoes a traumatic shock. Her marriage has failed. In this relationship, love was once present, but as the couple have grown apart, it is no longer an issue. In The Ducks, Carver presents us with his second view of marriage. In The Ducks, Carver’s ideas are interpreted to us by a couple whose names are not mentioned. The couple live in a remote area and are in the later stages of marriage. Carver sets the mood by using a meteorological soundtrack: rain falling, which is repeated frequently in the story to remind us of the situation. The rain is used to symbolize time passing. In this marriage, Carver suggests that a change of scenery can make a difference. At the beginning of the story, Carver gives us a description of the meteorological conditions: ‘a wind came’ and ‘bringing gust and rain’. He sets a gloomy scene. The setting of the story is set in the house of the main characters, ‘he’ and ‘she’. The dialogue starts with a conversation between the couple about the ‘trip to Reno’. As the story develops, the husband expresses his feelings towards his wife (‘don’t you feel good?’); this shows that he is highly aware of his wife’s feelings. Unlike the husband in The Student’s Wife, this husband is very responsive and tactile towards his wife (‘he touched her hips, pinched her dress’). In this relationship, the couple have no problem with communication. The wife  seeks reassurance from her husband (‘kiss me bye’); she initiates physical contact without the fear of humiliation because she knows that her husband will respond to her needs. This marriage shows that time does not weaken love.  The husband comes home early from work owing to the death of his work-mate (‘he shook his head’); he becomes aware of how quickly a life can end. On that night, the death of Jack Granger brought him and his wife closer together (‘held hands’); this action specifies that physical reassurance is present in their marriage. The couple decide to alleviate their fear by having a sex, (‘we’ll sleep in late’); they are making the most of the simple pleasures in life. The husband’s growing awareness of the rain leads him to think of time passing. As the night carries on, the couple reflect on the past, (‘remember when you got me this?’); distant memories give them the pleasure of remembering how they used to live. The husband has been living in the same house for a long period of time and believes that a change of scenery (‘someplace else’) will change his spirits – a place where is it not raining. In the process of making love to his wife, his mind was not devoted to the physical activity. He could not bring himself to focus on her needs (‘How much he loved her or if he loved her’). He is frustrated and his thoughts drift to his fears (‘he could hear it all over the house’). The sound of rain is introduced again, which disturbed him. After making love to his wife, he lies awake. His attempt to prevent the rain from falling and the time from passing keeps him alert most of the night. He begins to feel frightened (‘I hear something outside’); he realizes that he needs his wife’s reassurance. He needs her to tell him everything is going to be all right. In How About This?, Carver presents us with another view of marriage. He writes about a couple, Harry and Emily, who have travelled from San Francisco to the isolated farm houses of western Washington in search of a new place to live. Harry had always lived in cities and felt that leaving the city would grant him more happiness (‘a simpler life was what he had in mind’); he feels that moving into a rural area will suit his needs (‘just the essentials’) and would like a change from urban living. As they approach the house, where Emily spent most of her childhood, Harry feels disappointed (‘nothing he really wanted’); rustic living did not level up to his expectations. Sensing Harry’s disappointment, Emily reminds him of what she said before they reached the house (‘I told you not to expect too much’); she tries to ease his dissatisfaction but finds that she cannot relieve his frustration. After touring the house, Emily feels Harry’s discontentment and comforts him (‘Harry, we just have to love each other’). She signifies that, wherever they may end up, all they have to do is to love each other in order for them to be truly happy. This marriage shows us that location is not relevant when it comes to loving a person. When Harry found that rural living was not what he wanted, Emily was there to face the consequences with him. To Carver, marriage is about a couple who are willing to be together till death parts them. He presents us with three unconventional stories suggesting different outcomes of a long-term marriage. The simplicity of Carver’s semi-autobiographical stories gives us an insight into the reality of modern couples. Based on contemporary marriages, his stories are ironic compared to the stories we once read. In conclusion, marriage can be a comfort in knowing that when a person is going through pain and suffering or joy and happiness, that person is not alone.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation

3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation 3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation 3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation By Mark Nichol When an introductory or attributive phrase ending in a verb precedes one or more complete sentences enclosed in quotation marks to express something written or said, a comma separates the phrase from the quotation- for example, â€Å"The conventional wisdom is, ‘Trust, but verify,’† or â€Å"I replied, ‘Go for it.’† But if the quotation is incomplete or is complete but is incorporated into the syntactical flow of the sentence, generally, no punctuation should intervene, as explained in the discussions and shown in the revisions following each example below. 1. The reporter who wrote both articles said that, â€Å"the company never asked for a correction.† When a sentence ends in a partial quotation and is syntactically structured so that the quotation is grammatically integrated into the sentence, no intervening punctuation (and no initial capitalization) is necessary: â€Å"The reporter who wrote both articles said that ‘the company never asked for a correction.’† (Alternatively, the sentence can be revised to consist of an attributive phrase followed by a quotation consisting of one or more complete sentences: The reporter who wrote both articles said, â€Å"The company never asked for a correction.†) An exception to the no-punctuation rule is if the punctuation is grammatically required- for example, because of an intervening parenthesis, as in â€Å"The reporter who wrote both articles said that, as far as he knows, ‘the company never asked for a correction.’† (In this case, the implied quotation, though the person of course did not literally say as far as he knows, starts with that phrase.) 2. The magazine famously dubbed the 2003 flick, â€Å"The Citizen Kane of bad movies.† The phrase preceding the quotation is not attributive, and as in the previous example, the entire sentence constitutes a grammatically complete statement, so the comma is intrusive: â€Å"The magazine famously dubbed the 2003 flick â€Å"the Citizen Kane of bad movies.† (Again, note that because the quotation is a partial sentence, the first word should not be capitalized.) 3. Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking the rhetorical question, â€Å"What were they thinking?† This sentence suffers from the same obstructive punctuation, with the additional fault of implying, by setting â€Å"rhetorical question† off from the question with a comma, that the sentence is restrictive- that the question is not a rhetorical question but the rhetorical question: â€Å"Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking the rhetorical question ‘What were they thinking?’† (Alternatively, simply omit the extraneous phrase and write, â€Å"Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking, ‘What were they thinking?’†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowDoes "Mr" Take a Period?45 Idioms with "Roll"

Monday, October 21, 2019

Find and Claim Your Unclaimed Pension With PBGC.gov

Find and Claim Your Unclaimed Pension With PBGC.gov As of 2014, the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), reports there are more than 38,000 people who, for any number of reasons, have not claimed pension benefits they are owed. Those unclaimed pensions are now north of $300 million, with individual benefits ranging from 12 cents to almost $1 million. In 1996, PBGC launched the Pension Search directory Web site to help people who may have forgotten about, or been unaware of pensions they earned during their career. The pension database can be searched by last name, company name, or state where the company had its headquarters. The online service is absolutely free and available 24-hours a day. Updated regularly, the current list identifies some 6,600 companies, primarily in the airline, steel, transportation, machinery, retail trade, apparel, and financial services industries that closed pension plans in which some former workers could not be found. Benefits waiting to be claimed range from as little as $1 up to $611,028. The average unclaimed pension is $4,950. The states with the most missing pension participants and money to be claimed are: New York (6,885/$37.49 million), California (3,081/$7.38 million), New Jersey (2,209/$12.05 million) Texas (1,987/$6.86 million), Pennsylvania (1,944/$9.56 million), Illinois (1,629/$8.75 million) and Florida (1,629/$7.14 million). Does It Work? ​ According to PBGC, in the past 12 years, more than 22,000 people have found $137 million in missing pension benefits through the Pension Search program. The states with the most found participants and pension money claimed are: New York (4,405/$26.31 million), California (2,621/$8.33 million), Florida (2,058/$15.27 million), Texas (2,047/$11.23 million), New Jersey (1,601/$9.99 million), Pennsylvania (1,594/$6.54 million) and Michigan (1,266/$6.54 million). What to Do If You Don't Have Internet at Home For those without access to the Internet at home, many local public libraries, community colleges, and senior centers make computers available to the public that can be used for searching the Pension Search directory. Searchers can also e-mail foundpbgc.gov or missingpbgc.gov if they believe they are entitled to a benefit. What Happens If You Find a Missing Pension? ​ Once the PBGC is contacted by people who find their names in the directory, the agency asks them to provide more details including proof of age and other vital statistics. The identification process generally takes 4-6 weeks. After the PBGC receives a completed application, people currently eligible for a benefit should receive their checks within two months. Those entitled to future benefits will receive their benefits when they reach retirement age. Things You Might Need to Claim Your Pension Several documents may be required or helpful in proving proof of eligibility for a pension. These include: A notification from the company of plan administrator that you are vested in the planAn individual statement of annual plan benefitsA plan exit letter (sent by the employer) noting participation in the plan and a summary plan description showing the plan’s rules, including the rules for vestingA Notice of Potential Private Pension Benefit Information, if sent by the Social Security Administration (SSA) The SSA automatically sends a Notice of Potential Private Pension Benefit Information to people who may be due pensions when they apply for Social Security and Medicare benefits. How Do Pensions Become "Lost?" Many of the names in the Pension Search directory are workers with pensions whose former employers closed pension plans and distributed benefits. Others are workers or retirees missing from underfunded pension plans taken over by the PBGC because the plans did not have enough money to pay benefits. Included in the directory are people who may be able to document that they are owed a benefit, even though current PBGC records show that no benefit is due. Some reasons pensions might go lost or unclaimed include: The company went bankrupt or simply closed and vanished;The company moved to another town, city, or state;The company was bought by or merged with another company and given a new name; orThe company was divided into separate parts, none of which retained the company’s old name. For More Information The PBGCs booklet Finding A Lost Pension also provides tips, suggests potential allies, and details numerous free information sources. It is particularly helpful for those trying to find pensions earned from former employers whose identity may have changed over the years because of changes in company ownership. About the PBGC The PBGC is a federal government agency created under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. It currently guarantees payment of basic pension benefits earned by 44 million American workers and retirees participating in over 30,000 private-sector defined benefit pension plans. The agency receives no funds from general tax revenues. Operations are financed largely by insurance premiums paid by companies that sponsor pension plans and investment returns.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

A Man for All Seasons Summary and Characters

A Man for All Seasons Summary and Characters A Man for All Seasons, a play written by Robert Bolt, retells the historic events surrounding Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor of England who remained silent regarding Henry VIIIs divorce. Because More would not take an oath which essentially endorsed the kings separation from the church in Rome, the Chancellor was imprisoned, tried, and eventually executed. Throughout the drama, More is forthright, witty, contemplative, and honest. Some might argue that he is too honest. He follows his conscience all the way to the chopping block. A Man for All Seasons asks us, How far would we go to remain honest? In the case of Sir Thomas More, we behold a man who speaks with utmost sincerity, a virtue that will cost him his life. The Basic Plot Shortly after the death of Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas Moore, a wealthy lawyer and loyal subject of King Henry VIII, accepts the title of Chancellor of England. With that honor comes an expectation. The King expects More to sanction the divorce and his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn. More is caught between his obligations to the crown, his family, and the tenants of the church. Open disapproval would be an act of treason. Public approval would defy his religious beliefs. Therefore, More chooses silence, hoping that by staying quiet he can maintain his honesty and avoid the executioner as well. Unfortunately, ambitious men such as Thomas Cromwell are more than happy to see More crumble. By treacherous and dishonest means, Cromwell manipulates the court system, stripping More of his title, wealth, and freedom. The Character of Sir Thomas More When writing an essay about a literary work, students would be wise to analyze the character arc of the protagonist. Most main characters undergo a transformation. However, one could argue that Thomas Moore, the man who remains consistent throughout the seasons (in good times and bad), does not change. If you are looking for an essay topic in response to A Man for All Seasons, consider this question: Is Sir Thomas More a static character or a dynamic character? Many aspects of Mores nature hold steadfast. He demonstrates devotion to his family, friends, and servants. Although he adores his daughter, he does not give in to her desire to marry until her fiancà © repents his so-called heresy. He exhibits no temptation when offered bribes and contemplates no underhanded schemes when faced with political enemies. From beginning to end, he is forthright and honest. Even when locked away in the Tower of London, he politely interacts with his jailers and interrogators. Despite these almost angelic characteristics, More explains to his daughter that he is no martyr, meaning that he does not wish to die for a cause. Rather, he fervently maintains his silence in hopes that the law will protect him. During his trial, he explains that the law mandates that silence must be legally perceived as consent; therefore, More argues, he has not officially disapproved of King Henry. Yet, his opinion is not quieted forever. After losing the trial and receiving a death sentence, More decides to explicitly reveal his religious objections to the Kings divorce and second marriage. Here, students may find evidence of a character arc. Why does Sir Thomas More voice his position now? Does he hope to persuade others? Is he lashing out in anger or hatred, emotions he has kept in check until now? Or does he simply feel as though he has nothing more to lose? Whether Mores character is perceived as static or dynamic, A Man For All Seasons generates thought-provoking ideas about honesty, morality, law, and society. The Supporting Characters The Common Man is a recurring figure throughout the play. He appears as a boatman, a servant, a juror, and many other everyday subjects of the kingdom. In each scenario, the common mans philosophies contrast with Mores in that they focus on day-to-day practicalities. When More can no longer pay his servants a living wage, the Common Man must find work elsewhere. He is not interested in facing extreme hardship for the sake of a good deed or a clear conscience. The devious Thomas Cromwell exhibits so much power-hungry maliciousness that audiences will want to boo him off the stage. However, we learn in the epilogue that he receives his comeuppance; Cromwell is charged with treason and executed, just like his rival Sir Thomas More. Unlike the plays blatant villain Cromwell, the character Richard Rich serves as a more complex antagonist. Like other characters in the play, Rich wants power. However, unlike the members of the court, he doesnt have any wealth or status at the beginning of the play. He waits for an audience with More, eager to obtain a position in court. Although very friendly with him, More does not trust Rich and therefore does not offer the young man a place in court. Instead, he urges Rich to become a teacher. However, Rich wants to attain political greatness. Cromwell offers Rich the chance to join his side, but before Rich accepts the shady position, he desperately pleads to work for More. We can tell that Rich genuinely admires More, yet he cannot resist the lure of power and wealth which Cromwell dangles in front of the young man. Because More senses Rich is untrustworthy, he turns him away. Rich eventually embraces his role as a scoundrel. During the final courtroom scene, he provides false testimony, dooming the man he once revered.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Literature, Intertextuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literature, Intertextuality - Essay Example These results not only in what Roland Barthes calls as the "Death of the Author", but also makes the issue of authorship debatable. According to Barthes, the text [is] woven entirely with citations, references, echoes, cultural languages . . . which cut across it through and through in a vast stereophony. . . The citations which go to make up a text are anonymous, untraceable, and yet already read 1(Barthes 194-5) If intertextuality is a problematization of the inside-outside ratio of the text and context game, a classic example would be John Barth's Dunyazadiad. The text not only explicitly refers to the original work of The 1001 Nights, which is historically seen as an act of unoriginality, of plagiarism, but manages to create something original out of the reference. In the story, when Scheherazade and the genie (John Barth) are discussing the ending of the story the reader is currently reading, her epiphany illustrates one of the central ideas behind Barth's reworking: "Sherry asked with a smile whether by 'his version' the Genie meant that copy of the Nights from which he'd been assisting us or the story he himself was in the midst of inventing." The fact that Barth consciously subverts the original reference and recasts Dunyazade, the younger sister of the doomed Queen Scheherazade, the original protagonist of the Arabic tale, as the main stay of his text, shows Barth not only toying with the idea of form (as represented by the canon of Queen Scheherazade), but also illustrates the idea of post modern fiction to venture into the realms of 'might have been's' rather than following the filiated history. The greatest triumph of Barth lies in breaking this discourse of filiation, of canonization, by producing a pastiche of the probable. The intertextuality in the text thus, capillarizes the power lying inherently with the omniscient author of The 1001 Nights. If intertextuality celebrates the concept of art imitating art, it is true that Barth's text is a pluralistic discourse. However, the question of whether the text owes more to other texts than itself becomes difficult to analyze simply because the meta-narratives which evolve from Dunyazadiad are themselves a part of the world of intertextuality. The recursive tale structure is a treasure-house of narratives, but is at the same time confounding as it is held in the semiotics of language whose meaning can neither be ascertained nor be fully comprehended. Thus, "I can't conclude it," the narrator admits at the end of "Dunyazadiad," "but it must end in the night that all good mornings come to." The function of intertextuality in Alejo Carpentier's Like the Night has a function which is similar and at the same time dissimilar to Barth's Dunyazadiad. Whereas the similarity is evident in both the text's ability to challenge and break the canon of filiality, the difference becomes one in degree. Alejo's text, one could argue is a conscious effort to defer the issue of authorship at such an ad infinitum pace that its elasticity could combine the aesthetic concerns of multi-cultural traditions and focus on broader social issues regarding cultural identity. A typical example would be the use

Friday, October 18, 2019

Organisational culture, leadership and ethics in maintaining a Essay

Organisational culture, leadership and ethics in maintaining a successful workplace culture - Essay Example In order to achieve results like this, an organisation will have to understand its culture, evolution, patterns and future requirements. The concept of workplace culture has been evolving overtime. The present workplace no longer comprises of traditional hierarchy system. It is more open and complex. Thus, the personality traits and characteristic strategies required for the management of this workplace also has to change. In the current study, present day work cultures of business organisations will be studied with respect to various topics of organisation behaviour. The purpose of the assignment is to evaluate the influence of various organisational topics in maintaining a successful workplace culture. Topics such as organisational culture, leadership and ethics in business will be studied. Through specific examples, the study will also evaluate whether these topics have helped the workplace in becoming more tolerant and open or not. Since the topic of interest is vast, the study i s not limited to a specific region or country but evaluated in a global context. Looking at the drastic change in business environment, it can be arguably said that workplace has changed in every sense. As a result of globalisation and international alignments, more and more diversity can be found in the workplace. As a result people can easily adapt situation now. Also, the issues and problems arising in case of this culture are also complex. These issues cannot be handled by traditional methods and need new understanding and better techniques. Thus, the overall approach of the study will be to understand the present day work culture with respect to the selected topics and evaluate their affect on overall culture of an organisation. Leadership The competitive environment for business has changed drastically in last two decades due to various reasons like resource contingency, globalization, increase in buyer power etc. Academic scholars have pointed out that organizations need righ t form of leadership in order to survive in the changing competitive environment. Research scholars like Alas, Tafel and Tuulik (2007) have stated that leadership depends on personal traits of an individual such as behaviour, relationship with subordinates, interaction pattern with subordinates, influencing capability, ability to motivate people to perform well, influence on culture of the organization etc. Groves (2007) has proposed that systematic effort is needed in order to develop leadership quality among individuals. Ryan and Deci (2000) have revealed that social-contextual conditions boost psychological development and self-motivation and these two factors increase self efficacy among individuals. According to them self efficacy is an important aspect of leadership. Leadership as a concept has itself evolved over time. As a result of the increasing competition, pressure, managers are expecting much more from these leaders. Modern day leaders are expected to show few definite qualities which will complement the current open and tolerant work culture. Few of these characteristics are extroversion, ability to show respect, decision making capability and ability to take decisions that are ethically responsible. In the next section discussion will be held on how these characteristics have influenced the modern day culture of workplace. Extroversion is an important characteristic for a successful leader. Judge, Heller and Mount (2002) have stated that extroversion is linked with the positive emotions of a leader. Generally extrovert leaders are gregarious and sociable whereas introverts tend to be

Follow-Up to Concept Analysis Reports Assignment

Follow-Up to Concept Analysis Reports - Assignment Example The paper identifies three related concepts of Patrimonialism, and they are Neo-Patrimonialism, Corporatism, and Clientelism. In defining Neo-Patrimonialism, the paper takes the stand of Bach and Mammadou (2012). The two authors define it as a concept whereby a ruler mismanages the resources of a state, for purposes of acquiring power, and maintaining it (Bach and Mammadou, 2012). The initial paper defines Clientelism as an art of exchanging non-financial and financial benefits, for purposes of maintaining power. Corporatism refers to a situation where there are groups within a state, and they compete to gain favor from the ruler. In highlighting the Similarities of patrimonialism in Vietnam and Morocco, the paper observed that Patrimonialism in the two countries take place through the systems of governance. The paper stated that the system of governance in Morocco is through a monarch, while in Vietnam, it is through the Presidency. Patrimonialism thrives in these states because they have weak governance institutions, and it is easy to manipulate the holders of these institutional officers to serve the purposes of a ruler. Another similarity emanates from the motives of the Moroccan monarch, and Vietnam Presidents to engage in Patrimonialism. The two do so for purposes of maintaining power, and authority. A difference emanates from the objectives for which the leaders of the two states practice the policy. In Vietnam, the communist party practices the policy to promote socialism, and maintain unity in the country (Clapham, 1985). In Morocco, the Monarch practices the policy to maintain power, and for selfish gains. Another difference emanates at how the two countries implement the policy of Patrimonialism. In Morocco, the Monarch practices the policy by forming tribal groups, therefore creating divisions in the society (Bach and Mammadou, 2012). In Vietnam, the policy is practiced in such a way that it unites

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in Research Paper

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in U.S - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that as opposed to traditional education where teachers select the learning pace on behaviour of the children, the Montessori education gives children an opportunity to identify their own learning pace. The selection of individual learning pace plays a vital role in improving the level of education in the United States learning institutions. Involving children in making decisions on matters such as their learning pace therefore ensure that children are responsible for their action in future. In addition, children are trained on the most effective means of making informative decisions that have a considerable level of impact on their future activities and development. This paper makes a conclusion that unlike traditional education where teachers enforce lesson plans on students, Montessori education allows children to be free in discovering and exploring their own lessons. An opportunity to select topics that meet their interest helps in improving children performance and in enhancing the selection of individual career choices. Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers.... Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers (Martin, 2012). Cons of Montessori education in U.S As opposed to traditional education where disorderly conducts are regarded as children faults, Montessori education holds the perception that misconduct in class is the fault of teachers. Under this system, teachers are expected to adjust their approaches to address children misconducts in class and in school environment. Although in this system teacher are denied an opportunity of making decision on behalf of their children, they are forced to take responsibility of the students’ unacceptable behaviours. The act of compelling te achers to take responsibility of children unacceptable behaviours therefore kills the morale of teachers in undertaking their core obligation. In addition, the system denies children an opportunity of taking the responsibility of the actions thus increasing the level of impunity among students. Contrary to traditional education, Montessori education is characterised by endless disturbance and conflicts between teachers and children. Through this method, there is no distinctive separation between the role and powers of the teachers and the responsibility of students, creating conflicts of interests in classroom settings. Due to their excessive control, children undermine the contribution and powers of teachers thus posing a serious in the managing

Lafarge-Aget Heracles Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Lafarge-Aget Heracles - Case Study Example Lafarge- Aget Heracles is one of the leading producers of cement. The company has not been able to witness rapid growth within the industry. Some of the problems which are acting as major setbacks to the growth of the company are inability to offer a differentiated product line, huge freight costs added with under utilization of capacity. Out of these problems, the most vital being the inability of the company to offer diverse products which might become one of the principal causes leading to a huge loss of market shares. The company needs to address this problem and the consequences it may suffer as a result of this persistent problem. To strengthen its competitive edge in the market, the company needs to innovate its product line with the help of sophisticated technologies. Though other problems also needs proper resolution, but in this report we limit our scope of study to the analysis of one of the most crucial problem faced by the company which is inability of offering a differe ntiated product line. One of the biggest problems challenging Lafarge - Aget Heracles is their inability to differentiate their product line. The need of a differentiated product line was constantly felt within the cement industry and Aget, being one of the major players of the industry, was very much aware of the fact. To build a niche in the market, it was becoming necessary for Aget to innovate its product line. The need of environment friendly cement mixtures and specialty cement was becoming ardent. To ensure rapid growth in an industry, businesses need to adopt strategies to render higher customer satisfaction and offer value-added products and services. Aget was falling back on this aspect. Looming under its huge cost structure, it was felt that Aget was not keen on implementing innovation strategies. This was becoming an absolute necessity for Aget in order to strengthen its competitive edge in the industry as a whole. Aget was not able to develop its existing product line or offer new products and was becoming unable to meet the changing needs of the customers. For example, government institutions were demanding certain kinds of cement mixtures and specialty cements which would be environment friendly and would not contribute to the depletion of natural resources. With the development of the infrastructure industry in various regions across the world, for example in the middle-east, the demand for a special type of cement was becoming more and more apparent which would ensure greater durability to the infrastructure. But like other cement manufacturers across the world, Aget seemed to underestimate the need of an innovative product line as it

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in Research Paper

Comparison Between Traditional Education and Montessori Education in U.S - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that as opposed to traditional education where teachers select the learning pace on behaviour of the children, the Montessori education gives children an opportunity to identify their own learning pace. The selection of individual learning pace plays a vital role in improving the level of education in the United States learning institutions. Involving children in making decisions on matters such as their learning pace therefore ensure that children are responsible for their action in future. In addition, children are trained on the most effective means of making informative decisions that have a considerable level of impact on their future activities and development. This paper makes a conclusion that unlike traditional education where teachers enforce lesson plans on students, Montessori education allows children to be free in discovering and exploring their own lessons. An opportunity to select topics that meet their interest helps in improving children performance and in enhancing the selection of individual career choices. Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers.... Granting students an opportunity to explore and discover their lessons also offers learners the required skills of conducting constructive researches and evaluations. As opposed to traditional education in the United States where children do not have control over their future career, Montessori education gives children an opportunity to make informed and constructive decisions on their future careers (Martin, 2012). Cons of Montessori education in U.S As opposed to traditional education where disorderly conducts are regarded as children faults, Montessori education holds the perception that misconduct in class is the fault of teachers. Under this system, teachers are expected to adjust their approaches to address children misconducts in class and in school environment. Although in this system teacher are denied an opportunity of making decision on behalf of their children, they are forced to take responsibility of the students’ unacceptable behaviours. The act of compelling te achers to take responsibility of children unacceptable behaviours therefore kills the morale of teachers in undertaking their core obligation. In addition, the system denies children an opportunity of taking the responsibility of the actions thus increasing the level of impunity among students. Contrary to traditional education, Montessori education is characterised by endless disturbance and conflicts between teachers and children. Through this method, there is no distinctive separation between the role and powers of the teachers and the responsibility of students, creating conflicts of interests in classroom settings. Due to their excessive control, children undermine the contribution and powers of teachers thus posing a serious in the managing

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

A critical analysis of marketing strategy in the UK financial services Essay

A critical analysis of marketing strategy in the UK financial services sector. An empirical study - Essay Example According to Lazer (1971:209), â€Å"Given good intelligence, executives should eventually be able to scan markets, call for additional information through consoles, assess marketing alternatives more adequately, and adjust to dynamic market condition more readily†. It then requires that marketing strategies are structured to come abreast with the vicissitude of the time, for it to be successful and effective. THE United Kingdom financial services sector have in recent times adopted marketing strategies that are aligned with the information technology driven age. The conducting of business are embarked through e-marketing and to a great extent the UK financial institutions have adopted strategic alliance as an option of jointly pulling of their resources with organizations that share the same business orientation and prospects with them. â€Å"Markets face daunting challenges in an increasingly complex markets place. Market research information technologies have provided new tools to guide marketing resource allocation, but these technologies have added complexity to the marketer’s worldview. Compounding the challenge is the range of stakeholders that must be addressed: prospects, customers, shareholders, channels partners, market alliance partners, and vendors† (Cook & Talluri, 2005:244). In recent years the spate of strategic alliance in UK financial institutions are on the increase. According to Gup & Marino (2003), the United Kingdom financial institution recorded 401 alliances in Europe. Almost half of these strategies alliances occurred in 1998 and 1999. As a substitute to outright merger financial institution have prefer strategic alliance. In the same view, Proctor (2000), argues that the 21st century is seeing the development of strategic alliances and networks where firms work together towards shared goals and collaborate in their operations. The financial services sector plays a significant

Monday, October 14, 2019

Parallel Computer Architecture Essay Example for Free

Parallel Computer Architecture Essay â€Å"Parallel computing† is a science of calculation t countless computational directives are being â€Å"carried out† at the same time, working on the theory that big problems can time and again be split â€Å"into smaller ones†, that are subsequently resolved â€Å"in parallel†. We come across more than a few diverse type of â€Å"parallel computing: bit-level parallelism, instruction-level parallelism, data parallelism, and task parallelism†. (Almasi, G. S. and A. Gottlieb, 1989) Parallel Computing has been employed for several years, for the most part in high-performance calculation, but awareness about the same has developed in modern times owing to the fact that substantial restriction averts rate of recurrence scale. Parallel computing has turned out to be the leading prototype in â€Å"computer architecture, mostly in the form of multicore processors†. On the other hand, in modern times, power utilization by parallel computers has turned into an alarm. Parallel computers can be generally categorized in proportion â€Å"to the level at which the hardware† sustains parallelism; â€Å"with multi-core and multi-processor workstations† encompassing several â€Å"processing† essentials inside a solitary mechanism at the same time â€Å"as clusters, MPPs, and grids† employ several workstations â€Å"to work on† the similar assignment. (Hennessy, John L. , 2002) Parallel computer instructions are very complicated to inscribe than chronological ones, for the reason that from synchronization commence more than a few new modules of prospective software virus, of which race situations are mainly frequent. Contact and association amid the dissimilar associate assignments is characteristically one of the supreme obstructions to receiving superior analogous program routine. The acceleration of a program due to parallelization is specified by Amdahls law which will be later on explained in detail. Background of parallel computer architecture Conventionally, computer software has been inscribed for sequential calculation. In order to find the resolution to a â€Å"problem†, â€Å"an algorithm† is created and executed â€Å"as a sequential stream† of commands. These commands are performed on a CPU on one PC. No more than one command may be implemented at one time, after which the command is completed, the subsequent command is implemented. (Barney Blaise, 2007) Parallel computing, conversely, utilizes several processing fundamentals at the same time to find a solution to such problems. This is proficiently achieved by splitting â€Å"the problem into† autonomous divisions with the intention that every â€Å"processing† factor is capable of carrying out its fraction â€Å"of the algorithm† concurrently by means of the other processing factor. The processing† fundamentals can be varied and comprise properties for example a solitary workstation with several processors, numerous complex workstations, dedicated hardware, or any amalgamation of the above. (Barney Blaise, 2007) Incidence balancing was the leading cause for enhancement in computer routine starting sometime in the mid-1980s and continuing till â€Å"2004†. â€Å"The runtime† of a series of instructions is equivalent to the amount of commands reproduced through standard instance for each command. Retaining the whole thing invariable, escalating the clock occurrence reduces the standard time it acquires to carry out a command. An enhancement in occurrence as a consequence reduces runtime intended for all calculation bordered program. (David A. Patterson, 2002) â€Å"Moores Law† is the pragmatic examination that â€Å"transistor† compactness within a microchip is changed twofold approximately every 2 years. In spite of power utilization issues, and frequent calculations of its conclusion, Moores law is still effective to all intents and purposes. With the conclusion of rate of recurrence leveling, these supplementary transistors that are no more utilized for occurrence leveling can be employed to include additional hardware for parallel division. (Moore, Gordon E, 1965) Amdahl’s Law and Gustafson’s Law: Hypothetically, the expedition from parallelization should be linear, repeating the amount of dispensation essentials should divide the â€Å"runtime†, and repeating it subsequent â€Å"time and again† dividing â€Å"the runtime†. On the other hand, very a small number of analogous algorithms attain most favorable acceleration. A good number â€Å"of them have a near-linear† acceleration for little figures of â€Å"processing† essentials that levels out into a steady rate for big statistics of â€Å"processing† essentials. The possible acceleration of an â€Å"algorithm on a parallel† calculation stage is described by â€Å"Amdahls law†, initially devised by â€Å"Gene Amdahl† sometime â€Å"in the 1960s†. (Amdahl G. , 1967) It affirms that a little segment of the â€Å"program† that cannot be analogous will bound the general acceleration obtainable from â€Å"parallelization†. Whichever big arithmetical or manufacturing problem is present, it will characteristically be composed of more than a few â€Å"parallelizable† divisions and quite a lot of â€Å"non-parallelizable† or â€Å"sequential† divisions. This association is specified by the â€Å"equation S=1/ (1-P) where S† is the acceleration of the â€Å"program† as an aspect of its unique chronological â€Å"runtime†, and â€Å"P† is the division which is â€Å"parallelizable†. If the chronological segment of â€Å"a program is 10% â€Å"of the start up duration, one is able to acquire merely a 10 times acceleration, in spite of of how many computers are appended. This sets a higher bound on the expediency of adding up further parallel implementation components. â€Å"Gustafsons law† is a different â€Å"law in computer† education, narrowly connected to â€Å"Amdahls law†. It can be devised as â€Å"S(P) = P ? (P-1) where P† is the quantity of â€Å"processors†, S is the acceleration, and ? the â€Å"non-parallelizable† fraction of the procedure. â€Å"Amdahls law† supposes a permanent â€Å"problem† volume and that the volume of the chronological division is autonomous of the quantity of â€Å"processors†, while â€Å"Gustafsons law† does not construct these suppositions. Applications of Parallel Computing Applications are time and again categorized in relation to how frequently their associative responsibilities require coordination or correspondence with every one. An application demonstrates superior grained parallelism if its associative responsibilities ought to correspond several times for each instant; it shows commonly grained parallelism if they do not correspond at several instances for each instant, and it is inadequately equivalent if they hardly ever or by no means have to correspond. Inadequately parallel claims are measured to be uncomplicated to parallelize. Parallel encoding languages and parallel processor have to have a uniformity representation that can be more commonly described as a â€Å"memory model†. The uniformity â€Å"model† describes regulations for how procedures on processor â€Å"memory† take place and how consequences are formed. One of the primary uniformity â€Å"models† was a chronological uniformity model made by Leslie Lamport. Chronological uniformity is the condition of â€Å"a parallel program that it’s parallel† implementation generates the similar consequences as a â€Å"sequential† set of instructions. Particularly, a series of instructions is sequentially reliable as Leslie Lamport states that if the consequence of any implementation is equal as if the procedures of all the â€Å"processors† were carried out in some â€Å"sequential† array, and the procedure of every entity workstation emerges in this series in the array detailed by its series of instructions. Leslie Lamport, 1979) Software contractual memory is a familiar form of constancy representation. Software contractual memory has access to database hypothesis the notion of infinitesimal connections and relates them to â€Å"memory† contact. Scientifically, these â€Å"models† can be symbolized in more than a few approaches. Petri nets, which were established in the physician hypothesis of Carl Adam Petri some time in 1960, happen to be a premature effort to cipher the set of laws of uniformity models. Dataflow hypothesis later on assembled upon these and Dataflow structural designs were formed to actually put into practice the thoughts of dataflow hypothesis. Commencing â€Å"in the late 1970s†, procedure of â€Å"calculi† for example â€Å"calculus of† corresponding structures and corresponding â€Å"sequential† procedures were build up to authorize arithmetical interpretation on the subject of classification created of interrelated mechanisms. More current accompaniments to the procedure â€Å"calculus family†, for example the â€Å"? calculus†, have additionally the ability for explanation in relation to dynamic topologies. Judgments for instance Lamports TLA+, and arithmetical representations for example sketches and Actor resultant drawings, have in addition been build up to explain the performance of simultaneous systems. (Leslie Lamport, 1979) One of the most important classifications of recent times is that in which Michael J. Flynn produced one of the most basic categorization arrangements for parallel and sequential processors and set of instructions, at the present recognized as â€Å"Flynns taxonomy†. Flynn† categorized â€Å"programs† and processors by means of propositions if they were working by means of a solitary set or several â€Å"sets of instructions†, if or not those commands were utilizing â€Å"a single or multiple sets† of information. â€Å"The single-instruction-single-data (SISD)† categorization is corresponding to a completely sequential process. â€Å"The single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD)† categorization is similar to doing the analogous procedure time after time over a big â€Å"data set†. This is usually completed in â€Å"signal† dispensation application. Multiple-instruction-single-data (MISD)† is a hardly ever employed categorization. While computer structural designs to manage this were formulated for example systolic arrays, a small number of applications that relate to this set appear. â€Å"Multiple-instruction-multiple-data (MIMD)† set of instructions are without a doubt the for the most part frequent sort of parallel procedures. (Hennessy, John L. , 2002) Types of Parallelism There are essentially in all 4 types of â€Å"Parallelism: Bit-level Parallelism, Instruction level Parallelism, Data Parallelism and Task Parallelism. Bit-Level Parallelism†: As long as 1970s till 1986 there has been the arrival of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) microchip manufacturing technology, and because of which acceleration in computer structural design was determined by replication of â€Å"computer word† range; the â€Å"amount of information† the computer can carry out for each sequence. (Culler, David E, 1999) Enhancing the word range decreases the quantity of commands the computer must carry out to execute an action on â€Å"variables† whose ranges are superior to the span of the â€Å"word†. or instance, where an â€Å"8-bit† CPU must append two â€Å"16-bit† figures, the central processing unit must initially include the â€Å"8 lower-order† fragments from every numeral by means of the customary calculation order, then append the â€Å"8 higher-order† fragments employing an â€Å"add-with-carry† command and the carry fragment from the lesser arr ay calculation; therefore, an â€Å"8-bit† central processing unit necessitates two commands to implement a solitary process, where a â€Å"16-bit† processor possibly will take only a solitary command unlike â€Å"8-bit† processor to implement the process. In times gone by, â€Å"4-bit† microchips were substituted with â€Å"8-bit†, after that â€Å"16-bit†, and subsequently â€Å"32-bit† microchips. This tendency usually approaches a conclusion with the initiation of â€Å"32-bit† central processing units, which has been a typical in wide-ranging principles of calculation for the past 20 years. Not until in recent times that with the arrival of â€Å"x86-64† structural designs, have â€Å"64-bit† central processing unit developed into ordinary. (Culler, David E, 1999) In â€Å"Instruction level parallelism a computer program† is, basically a flow of commands carried out by a central processing unit. These commands can be rearranged and coalesced into clusters which are then implemented in â€Å"parallel† devoid of altering the effect of the â€Å"program†. This is recognized as â€Å"instruction-level parallelism†. Progress in â€Å"instruction-level parallelism† subjugated â€Å"computer† structural design as of the median of 1980s until the median of 1990s. Contemporary processors have manifold phase instruction channels. Each phase in the channel matches up to a dissimilar exploit the central processing unit executes on that channel in that phase; a central processing unit with an â€Å"N-stage† channel can have equal â€Å"to N† diverse commands at dissimilar phases of conclusion. The â€Å"canonical† illustration of a channeled central processing unit is a RISC central processing unit, with five phases: Obtaining the instruction, deciphering it, implementing it, memory accessing, and writing back. In the same context, the Pentium 4 central processing unit had a phase channel. Culler, David E, 1999) Additionally to instruction-level parallelism as of pipelining, a number of central processing units can copy in excess of one command at an instance. These are acknowledged as superscalar central processing units. Commands can be clustered jointly simply â€Å"if there is no data† reliance amid them. â€Å"Scoreboarding† and the â€Å"Tomasulo algorithm† are two of the main frequent modus operandi for putting into practice inoperative implementation and â€Å"instruction-level parallelism†. Data parallelism† is â€Å"parallelism† intrinsic in â€Å"program† spheres, which center on allocating the â€Å"data† transversely to dissimilar â€Å"computing† nodules to be routed in parallel. Parallelizing loops often leads to similar (not necessarily identical) operation sequences or functions being performed on elements of a large data structure. (Culler, David E, 1999) A lot of technical and manufacturing applications display data â€Å"parallelism†. â€Å"Task parallelism† is the feature of a â€Å"parallel† agenda that completely dissimilar computation can be carried out on both the similar or dissimilar â€Å"sets† of information. This distinguishes by way of â€Å"data parallelism†; where the similar computation is carried out on the identical or unlike sets of information. â€Å"Task parallelism† does more often than not balance with the dimension of a quandary. (Culler, David E, 1999) Synchronization and Parallel slowdown: Associative chores in a parallel plan are over and over again identified as threads. A number of parallel computer structural designs utilize slighter, insubstantial editions of threads recognized as fibers, at the same time as others utilize larger editions acknowledged as processes. On the other hand, threads is by and large acknowledged as a nonspecific expression for associative jobs. Threads will frequently require updating various variable qualities that is common among them. The commands involving the two plans may be interspersed in any arrangement. A lot of parallel programs necessitate that their associative jobs proceed in harmony. This entails the employment of an obstruction. Obstructions are characteristically put into practice by means of a â€Å"software lock†. One category of â€Å"algorithms†, recognized as â€Å"lock-free and wait-free algorithms†, on the whole keeps away from the utilization of bolts and obstructions. On the other hand, this advancement is usually easier said than done as to the implementation it calls for properly intended data organization. Not all parallelization consequences in acceleration. By and large, as a job is divided into increasing threads, those threads expend a growing segment of their instant corresponding with each one. Sooner or later, the transparency from statement controls the time exhausted resolving the problem, and supplementary parallelization which is in reality, dividing the job weight in excess of still more threads that amplify more willingly than reducing the quantity of time compulsory to come to an end. This is acknowledged as parallel deceleration. Central â€Å"memory in a parallel computer† is also â€Å"shared memory† that is common among all â€Å"processing† essentials in a solitary â€Å"address space†, or â€Å"distributed memory† that is wherein all processing components have their individual confined address space. Distributed memories consult the actuality that the memory is rationally dispersed, however time and again entail that it is bodily dispersed also. â€Å"Distributed shared memory† is an amalgamation of the two hypotheses, where the â€Å"processing† component has its individual confined â€Å"memory† and right of entry to the â€Å"memory† on non-confined â€Å"processors†. Admittance to confined â€Å"memory† is characteristically quicker than admittance to non-confined â€Å"memory†. Conclusion: A mammoth change is in progress that has an effect on all divisions of the parallel computing architecture. The present traditional course in the direction of multicore will eventually come to a standstill, and finally lasting, the trade will shift quickly on the way to a lot of interior drawing end enclosing hundreds or thousands of cores for each fragment. The fundamental incentive for assuming parallel computing is motivated by power restrictions for prospective system plans. The alteration in structural design are also determined by the association of market dimensions and assets that go with new CPU plans, from the desktop PC business in the direction of the customer electronics function.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Technological Development In Sport Competition Sport Essay

Technological Development In Sport Competition Sport Essay Technological development is becoming more and more essential in sport competition. Technological development refers to the development of techniques or appliance which can improve the quality and magnificence of the sport competitions. However, there could be some difference between different countries; it may depend on the level of the countries development. There are three main aspects revealing that technological development has revolutionized sport competitions. Firstly, the development of telecommunications promotes the globalization of sport competition. Secondly, the use of electronic appliance helps to reduce controversy and ensure the fairness of the results in the competition, such as auto-timing system. Moreover, the improvement sport equipments and analyzing system has become necessary for enhancing the performance of athletes. One of the most dramatic revolutions in sport completion is caused by the developments in new technologies of mass communication, especially the development of Internet and satellite television, which are allowing the sport competitions to be publicized around the world much more quickly. As an example, mega-events such as the Olympic Games can be regarded as a media-events (D. Rowe, 2004, 166). According to Roche, the 1936 Berlin Olympics was the first Olympic Games to be radio broadcast to the world; and it was also the first major sport event to be televised, although it was only available in the city of Berlin at that time due to the limited local cable system. Nowadays, the universality of the Internet and television are most effective to the globalization of the sports competition, however, turning the sport competition into global event. Referring to the television, Horne and Manzenreiter indicate that the estimation of 3.9 billion television audiences had watched parts of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and 40 billion which are cumulative television audiences, contributing to a increase of 27% over the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Moreover, Horne and Manzenreiter also indicate the   2002 FIFA World Cup staged in Japan and South Korea, 41000 hours of programming were provided in 213 countries and about 28.8 television audiences of this event, even more than that in Olympic Games. From this situation, there is no doubt that the development of telecommunication provides a much larger stage for the sport competitions, and makes the sport competition become a global history. In the sport competitions, the quality of the athletes is the most important factor in determining their performance. Analysing the movements of athletes could be the effective method to increase the possibilities of championship in the sport competitions; for instance, analyzing the movement or posture of an ice-skate athlete could help the athlete to maximize the speed and overcome the shortcomings. However, the details of the movements cannot be easily seen because the unassisted eye functions at the speed of 1/340th of a second exposure time; fortunately, the

Saturday, October 12, 2019

History of Nazi Germany :: World War II History

History of Nazi Germany National Socialism between 1920 and 1945 can best be described as an era of constant change. Hitler's enrollment in the German Worker's Party provided him the foundation needed to propel his idealistic views of anti-Semitism and Aryan superiority. Soon after Hitler's enrollment the party's name was changed to the National Socialist German Worker's Party and in the summer of 1921 his talents as an orator and propagandist enabled him to take over the leadership of the Nazi Party. Hitler's initial following - stemmed from German hyper-inflation and devaluation of the mark - included unemployed workers and the lower class, his keen ability to organize rallies to hear his speeches were instrumental in raising monies for the Nazi Party. Although the majority of his followers shared his dislike of the Weimar Republic's liberal democracy and anti-Semitic agenda, his party support, due to it's small size, was limited to the Bavarian region of German, this would prove to be a limiting factor w hen Hitler attempted to seize control of the provincial Bavarian government during his Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. Hitler's ill-fated attempt of treason proved to work to his advantage; thus, giving him national status as a patriot and a hero in the eyes of many. As a result, Hitler served 9 months in prison for the Beer Hall Putsch and wrote a book titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle) outlining his vision for the future Germany. By late 1924 Hitler was release on parole, after serving a portion his five year sentence, and quickly regained control of the Nazi Party, noting that any future seizure must come by legal measures through Parliamentary elections. Faced with a temporary improvement of the German economy by the Weimar Republic's ability to secure loans and investments (mostly from America), Hitler was forced to wait until economic conditions worsened to propel his Nazi agenda. In 1929 Hitler finally got his chance, the American stock market crash of 1929 affected nearly every nation in the world and German prosperity soon came to an end as a result of the Great Depression, vast unemployment and hunger that followed. President Hindenburg's Weimar Republic soon found itself obligated to repay debts owed to countries that once provided assistance during times of prosperity. Discontented German people wanted change and Bruening (Chancellor) believed that a stable parliament majority for his party could deliver the change required, so new elections were held.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Mastery Learning

Teaching involves numerous different factors and aspects of learning. Teaching employs different models and approaches in an effort to find the best way to address the needs of students. One such model or appraoch used by teachers is mastery learning. The goal of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of mastery learning through a review of past literature. How is mastery learning defined by the literature? What are the benefits of using mastery learning? How is mastery learning applied in higher education? Answers to these questions will be identified through a careful reading of the information presented in previously published articles regarding mastery learning. Mastery learning, initially, is a theory about teaching and learning. It emphasizes the belief that any educator can aid almost all students to learn excellently. By the term ‘excellently’, what is indicated is the maximum potential of the individual to learn. No matter the inherent differences in characteristics between students, mastery learning asserts that teachers can teach these students to learn in exactly the same way. (Block, 1980) The term mastery learning is also often used to refer to a set of individualized teaching practices that are consistent in their effectiveness to aid almost all students to learn excellently. These practices are divided into group-based and individual-based or teacher-paced and student-paced practices. In the group-based or teacher-paced mastery learning, the teacher is the one who determines the direction and flow the learning process. In the individual-based or student-paced practices, it is the student who determines the direction and flow of the learning process. (Block, 1980) Both types of practices have different developmental backgrounds but both have the same goal, which is to be able to teach excellent learning skills. A more operational definition of mastery learning can be acquired through a look into its mechanisms. According to Ironsmith & Eppler (2007), mastery learning involves a paradigm shift with regard to the definition of failure in education. Failure is not related to the results of an assessment of the student’s ability. Failure, in mastery learning, is related to the feedback a student gets about his or her progress. Mastery learning involves the use of feedback by students in order to supplement any deficiencies in their learning progress. The feedback serves as a director of what material needs to be learned more and also serves to increase the strength of the contingency between the student’s efforts and his or her academic success. The benefits of mastery learning as an optimistic theory are clear. By teaching students to be able to learn excellently, their chances of success in life become higher. The social and individual rewards are great both for the student and the teacher. (Block, 1980) The student is able to acquire skills and abilities that will aid him or her in future undertakings outside the school setting. Students of mastery learning also become motivated to continue the learning process in their lives because of the rewards – either material or non-material – that they receive from their acquired ability to learn excellently. On more palpable benefits, the study by Ironsmith & Eppler (2007) have shown that final exam scores were higher for students in mastery learning classes as opposed to those in normal lecture classes. Also, the benefits were greater for those students with the lowest grade point averages (GPA’s). The benefits came about as a result of the increased mastery of the material discussed. Endorsement to achievement goals that were more adaptive for the students also contributed to the attainment of the benefits. (Ironsmith & Eppler, 2007) Mastery learning also has benefits for the educational system as well as for the educators applying its principles. With the success of the application of mastery learning, teachers are rewarded with the knowledge that their students succeeded. Also, career rewards, praise and acknowledgments from colleagues as well as gratitude from the students themselves are to be expected. These will also serve as rewarding factors for the individual. The benefit to be derived by the educational system from these is the fact that good and accomplished teachers will be retained. Teachers will be inclined to continue teaching as a result of the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards received from the application of mastery learning. (Block, 1980) The effects and benefits to be derived from mastery learning are long term thus indicating a more profound impact on the lives of those who apply it. In higher education students, learning approaches such as the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) (Ironsmith & Eppler, 2007) are applied. These are based on the concepts of mastery learning albeit posing a more structured and organized design. A general PSI class would involve learning modules, self-tests, mastery tests, and feedback from educators. The mechanism for mastery learning in higher education, however, remains the same. It still involves the concepts of approaching instruction systematically, of being proactive instead of reactive, of managing the learning and not the learners, of matching the instruction to the outcomes as well as to the learners, and the like. (Block, 1980) Over all, mastery learning is still in the minority of applied models of teaching. However, its use in classrooms is continuously increasing. (Block, 1980) The benefits to be reaped from application of mastery learning in the educational system are assessed to be great. Also, the principles on which it is founded are sound and, in fact, seem to be a more adaptive way to view the educational system. Investigations into the viability of mastery learning as a learning theory should be continued. Also, more schools should begin to introduce the system into their classrooms. References Block, J. H. (1980). Promoting excellence through mastery learning. Theory Into Practice, 19(1), 66-74 Ironsmith, M., & Eppler, M. A. (2007). Mastery learning benefits low-aptitude students.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Brain Drain in Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO BRAIN DRAIN CRISIS DANIEL VILLAFANE BUSN 5000 WEBSTER UNIVERSITY Abstract Brain drain refers to the large-scale emigration of a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals. This situation is also commonly referred to as â€Å"human capital flight. † Globally, some generals factors contribute to this situation. Puerto Rico has his own distinctive factors. Puerto Rico has a special relation, and a unique political status with United States that make it easier for islanders to find an opportunity in the greatest country of the world.A concise timeline will show how and when â€Å"Puerto Rico became an asset to United States. † Remember, in financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. While Puerto Rico suffer a â€Å"brain drain† of human capital emigrating the hos t country enjoy a â€Å"brain gain. † Timeline of Puerto Rico and United States Relationship since the Spanish-American War 1898 -The Spanish–American War whereby Spain relinquished its sovereignty over Puerto Rico. 1900. The Foraker Act established the governing structure for the island of Puerto Rico. | 1917-The Jones Act granted U. S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico. | 1947- Operation Bootstraps â€Å"Operacion Manos a la Obra† based on an exemption for federal taxes, section 931 of the U. S. Internal Revenue Code. Provided for exemptions of federal taxes for corporation operating in P. R. Puerto Rico entered a period of rapid industrialization and strong economic growth. (Carrion, 2009)| 1952- Proclaimed the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. | 963-Industrial Incentive Act, Section 931, increased the period of exemptions for 17 years. Puerto Rico became an important Center for the petro-chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. (Carrion, 2009)| 1976- Se ction 931 changes to a more financially attractive Section 936. In 1991 corporations accounted for 72 percent of manufacturing jobs in Puerto Rico. (Barbosa, 2010)| 1993-2000 Governor Pedro Rosello and Resident Commissioner Romero Barcelo lobbying in Washington against the Section 936 because they consider it as an obstacle to change the political status for the island and become the 51st State. 1993-President Bill Clinton proposed to eliminate Section 936 periodically during the next ten years. Economy start to decline and corporations stopped investing and start preparing to leave the island. Thousands of employees lost their jobs during this period. | 1994-North America Free Trade Agreement NAFTA makes Mexico and Canada more attractive to corporations. | 2005- Sections 936 and 30A expiration of the tax incentives. | 2006- The commonwealth's population had a steeper loss than any of the 50 states since 2006, according to the Census Bureau. Nasser, 2012)| General factors contributi ng to a brain drain situation globally There are some common denominators that provoke a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals to emigrate. Some of these situations are well known as causes of Brain Drain. Many times high scholastic scores are recruited to study abroad. Upon concluding their studies, these individuals stay in the countries where they were educated. In several occasions individuals emigrate because the income is substantially higher.Countries like United States and others well developed nations offer a great diversity of careers and major possibilities of advancement. Last but not least, there is another driving factor know as the standards of living. Factors contributing to a brain drain in Puerto Rico Several factors identify causes of this emigration in Puerto Rico. First, the University of Puerto Rico’s excellent programs of engineering, science and nursing. Recruiters for companies such as Boeing and Disney, NASA and other U. S. g overnment agencies, school districts and hospitals from Texas to Florida flock to career fairs. Add that these students are bilingual; do not need a passport, visa or government permission to work stateside, and it's clear why they're a hot commodity, even in a down economy† (Nasser, 2012). Second, unemployment is still above 14%, compared with 8. 3% nationally (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 2013). Third, more than 20% of Hispanics in Puerto Rico have a bachelor's degree. â€Å"When you go to a job fair (in Puerto Rico), there are thousands of candidates† (Nasser, 2012). Finally, it is a reality that young people and families are leaving primarily for jobs, but also and sadly to get away from a spike in crime.Negative effects This crisis is bringing some negatives effects in the short run as well as in the long run. Puerto Rico’s median age will much older, as young people are leaving. This human capital flying situation also means that the best and brightes t of your country are building someone else's society. Confusion and skepticism are created when political leaders doubt the reliability of their own citizens and become frightened when valuable workers and capital fleas their country in huge numbers.Eventually this country, Puerto Rico in this case, could lose all of its inner strength due to scarcity of skilled domestic workforce. An a multiplier effect Multi National companies probably will avoid coming to Puerto Rico due to lack of capable workforce. It also put detrimental impact on the development of basic infrastructure. People in the affected country suffer due to unavailability of doctors and engineers. â€Å"Basically, brain drain makes a county hollow from inside and it is curse for developing nations† (The Gemini Geek, 2013). Brain gainThe brain drain that can causes damages to the economy ad future of one country could be the gold opportunity to another host country to flourish. This phenomenon is known as brain gain and is considered for many as a key time for a few cities to get ahead (Dimick, 2012). According to an article in the Smart City Web Newspaper one of the city with more benefits for this brain gain is San Antonio, Texas. Unlike much of the rest of the country, San Antonio is rapidly gaining 25-plus-year-olds with college educations and it is happening fast.The change began in 2008; prior to then, when looking at top metros for attracting college-educated talent, San Antonio was nowhere to be found. Of the top 100 metros in the U. S. , San Antonio ranks as number six in brain gain – those over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree or advanced degree who have moved to the city. To realize the full potential of a talent economy, as Pittsburgh has done, San Antonio will need to produce talent. It shows you how important our universities are and how the decades ahead are so important to rise to even greater promise. SCM, RSS 2013) These â€Å"stolen† minds have flourished and become some of the most successful people in America: 1. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina to sit on the United States Supreme Court. 2. Dr. Antonia Coello Novello is a pediatrician who served as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. 3. Dr. Edwin Muniz M. D. , Ph. D. and Ed. D. , was the first person of Hispanic heritage to be named Aerospace Physiologist in the United States Air Force and NASA. 4. Angel Rivero Mendez (1856–1930) was a soldier and businessman who is credited with inventing the â€Å"Kola Champagne† a soft drink. . Joseph Michael â€Å"Joe† Acaba is a teacher, hydrogeologist, and the first Puerto Rican NASA astronaut. 6. Pierre Omidyar of France founded Ebay 7. Sergey Brin of Russia co-founded Google. 8. Jerry Yang of Taiwan co-founded Yahoo. FACTS From 2005-2012 more than 400,000 people from Puerto Rico left for the U. S. During the same time, just over 160,000 people came to Puerto Rico from th e U. S. Finally, the people who left Puerto Rico had higher levels of education than the people who came back = brain drain.The completely opposite is happening in San Antonio according to the following extract from the report The Brain Gain: The Rise of San Antonio’s Talent Economy, Smart City Memphis (2013). the same situation in San Antonio. The trend of return migration began in the suburban rings around cities. As parents did well in their two-degree households, they sent their children away to the best college they could get into. Once they finished school, the children left for big cities like Chicago and New York and these children of educated homes didn’t just go to big cities, they excelled. At some point, perhaps for family issues or a desire to start a family, these people came home,† observed Russell. â€Å"I’m seeing this trend explode across the United States and there’s a major migration shift going on. † When they move back, they don’t move back to the suburbs, they have acquired a taste while away for urban neighborhoods. When they come back to San Antonio, shared Russell, they seek out the neighborhoods that remind them of D. C. or Brooklyn. (SCM, RSS 2013) Achieving equality through a higher education should be the goal of every vanguardist government.References Barbosa, P. M. (2010, 06 15). Pedro M. Rosario Barbosa's Blog. Retrieved from Quien Asesino la Seccion 936? â€Å"Who Killed Section 936? : http://pmrb. net/blog Carrion, M. E. (2009, 01 07). Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Retrieved from Operation Bootstrap: http://www. enciclopediapr. org Dimick, I. (2012, 11 16). UTSA Alumni Association. Retrieved from The Key to Continued Brain Gain: Specialized Higher Education: http://therivardreport. com Nasser, H. E. (2012, 3 11). Puerto Rico's population exodus is all about jobs. Retrieved from USA TODAY/News: http://usatoday30. satoday. com Smith, C. (2013). Brain Drain Crisis. San Juan, Puerto Ri co: El Nuevo Dia. Staff, C. O. (2012, March 12). caribbeanbusinesspr. com. Retrieved from Caribbean Business: http://www. caribbeanbusinesspr. com The Gemini Geek. (2013). What are effects of Brain Drain for a country? Retrieved from The Gemini Geek. Geek redefined: http://www. thegeminigeek. com U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2013). States Unemployment Rates. Retrieved from Puerto Rico Unemployment Rates: http://www. unemployment-rate. org/states/unemployment_rate/Puerto_Rico

Why Do People Smoke?

Why Do People Smoke? Shourav Banik 1111263042 ENG 105: 14 Abdus Selim May 2, 2012 Why Do People Smoke? Introduction Smoking is one of the most popular habits among people today. All around the world we see people smoking. Even in Bangladesh the number of smokers is quite high. Especially around the university campus young adults are seen smoking frequently. It can be said that among every friend circle in universities we will find one or two smokers. My circle is no different also. Not only in universities, even around schools and colleges teenagers can be seen smoking.Offices and restaurants have their own smoking zone so that people can smoke without any kind of problems. Given this huge popularity of smoking one can only wonder the main reasons behind it? Smoking cigarettes has become a very common trend among people today. Although there are various bad effects of smoking cigarettes people find it very hard to quit smoking once they start. Now-a-days we see even very young boys a nd girls smoking cigarettes. The bad effects of smoking are known to almost everybody in the world today. There has been strong promotion against this deadly habit.In school students are constantly reminded of its bad consequences. But still we see people smoking. This is a habit that has been going on for many decades now. Several reasons drive a man towards smoking. Every person tends to think that they have different reason for smoking. But if we look closely we may see a general pattern among smokers. The main reason of smoking is psychological. History of Smoking First of all we will briefly look at the origin of smoking. Cigarettes have a long history. Tobacco, the main ingredient of cigarettes, first started growing in about 6,000 B.C. In 1 B. C. American Indians started using tobacco. At first they were mainly used because of religious reasons. It was also believed then that tobacco had healing powers and was used as a pain killer. Tobacco was brought to Europe by sailors. Randall (1999) reported that on 1492 Christopher Columbus was gifted with dried tobacco by the American Indians. Even in Europe the major reason for tobacco use was medical. It was believed that tobacco could heal almost everything, starting from bad breath to cancer. In 1571 a Spanish doctor called Nicolas Monardes even wrote a book describing its healing factors.In that he said tobacco could heal 36 health problems. In the 1600’s tobacco became very popular. It was even used as money in some parts of the world. But this was also the time when people started noticing the dangers of smoking. In 1610 Sir Francis Bacon reported that quitting smoking is difficult. In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, tobacco helped finance the revolution. It was used as collateral for loans the Americans borrowed from France. Over the years scientists began to understand the main chemicals in tobacco. In 1826, nicotine was discovered.It was then completely realized that smoking is a d eadly habit. Around 1849 cigarettes became popular. Soldiers brought it to England from Russian and Turkish soldiers. During this time cigarettes were made from the scrap of other tobacco product. Chewing tobacco was one of them as it was quite popular among the Americans. In 1900’s cigarettes became a major tobacco product. During the two World Wars the use of cigarettes became very high. During these times women were targeted by the cigarette companies. In the Second World War (1939-1945) cigarettes were included in the soldiers’ C-Rations.Tobacco companies sent millions of cigarettes free of cost to the soldiers. And when the war broke they had a huge number of loyal customers. In the following years the real dangers of smoking started to come to being. Scientists linked smoking to cancer. Various health hazards were discovered. During this time the advertisements of cigarettes in television were being prohibited in Great Britain and in the U. S. In the recent years more bad effects of smoking have been found. But still lots of people are smoking even after knowing the bad effects (Randall, 1999).Reasons behind Smoking There are various reasons behind smoking. Like discussed previously, smoking was once considered as a healing treatment. But in modern society things have changed. Among several of reasons the main reasons of smoking are psychological. Radwan (n. d. ) said â€Å"Contrary to common beliefs people smoke cigarettes because of psychological reasons and not because of nicotine addition. † Starting from curiosity to depression, all the moods of human psyche play a large effect on smoking. Here we are going to see exactly what causes a person to smoke.The main psychological reasons are explained below. Depression Depression can play a big role in smoking. Whenever people get depressed they start to smoke. Again already depressed people might find difficulties in quitting smoking. For teen-agers depression triggers the starting o f smoking. McGovern et al. (2006) reported that â€Å"Teens who smoke regularly are almost twice as likely as teens who smoke occasionally to report high levels of depression†. The reasons for this kind of behavior have always been questioned. Only recently some explanations have come out. Cheong, Herkov, and Goodman (n. d. explained some of the reasons: New research has suggested that there may be something in cigarette smoke that has antidepressant properties, which explains why cigarette smoking is much more common among depressed patients. A survey of 3,000 individuals in the St. Louis area confirmed that lifetime frequency of major depression was more common among smokers than nonsmokers (6. 6 vs. 2. 9 percent) This study also demonstrated that smokers who reported at least one episode of major depression were less likely to succeed in smoking cessation programs than smokers without depression (14 vs. 8 percent). These findings have been confirmed many times over. These properties influence depressed people to smoke. Also it is often seen that whenever someone get depressed they start smoking heavily. So we can say that depression can strongly influence people into smoking. Curiosity One more reason why people especially teen-agers start smoking is curiosity. Young people often start to smoke just to find out how it tastes. Gaskell (2010) said â€Å"Curiosity may get the best of some teens who begin smoking just to find out what it feels like. † Especially children are often curious to do new or forbidden things.Whenever they go outside they see cigarettes being bought or sold. This all adds to their curiosity and they start smoking. The survey conducted for this research also yields the same result. This survey shows that almost 78% of students doing the survey have smoked out of curiosity at least for once. Some may think that young boys and girls actually smoke because it looks cool or to show off where the real reason is actually curiosi ty. Also some people start doing it as an act of rebellion (Pressmart Team, 2007). Peer Pressure Peer pressure also drives young people into smoking.Peer means friends who are of equal age. Maddox (2011) believes that peers play a large role in a person’s behavior: The behavior and choices of peers can influence the behavior and choices of others in their peer group, which may have either a negative or a positive impact, depending on the circumstances. When it comes to the unsafe behavior of smoking, the connection between young people who do or do not smoke and their peers is very strong. Whenever in a friend circle someone starts to smoke others also start doing it just because of not wanting to be left alone.Edwards (2011) reported that â€Å". . . not participating in an activity that others are participating in leaves impressionable teens feeling â€Å"left out† and more likely to pick up the habit merely to fit in with the group. † So it is often seen that people get the smoking habit just by trying to fit in socially. Evans (n. d. ) stated that â€Å"Often they feel encouraged and pressured or even teased and taunted into smoking. Teens also want to fit in with peer groups they admire-the â€Å"cool† kids-and many of them will do what â€Å"cool† kids do. So it is quite natural for young boys and girls to start smoking in order to get social acceptance. Influence of Others Young children look up to their elder brothers and sisters, parents and other familiar faces. So whenever they see their favorite figures smoking they get highly influenced to do so. It is believed they do so because children want be more like them (Evans, n. d. ). Parents also play a large role into this. Researches show that whenever mothers are depressed and smoke it is likely that their children will also take up this habit (Gaskell, 2010). Other studies also support this fact.Smokers in the family can lead children into smoking. Edwards (2011) reported: In addition, having family members who smoke increases the availability of cigarettes. Teenagers can simply take cigarettes from unattended packs around the house rather than putting effort into getting them another way. When a parent incorporates cigarettes into a teenager's life by having him bring the cigarettes, clean ashtrays or even light cigarettes, the teen is more likely to pick up the habit than an adolescent who does not handle cigarettes or cigarette paraphernalia on a regular basis.Not only relatives and friends sometimes even favorite actors or players can influence young people to smoke. Especially in movies when children see the heroes smoking they get influenced to do so. So role models also play a big part in the reasons of smoking. Stress Many chain smokers continue to smoke to relieve stress. Mature people when get addicted to smoking they don’t just continue to do it out of curiosity or peer pressure, they continue to do so to release stress or anxiety. Again some use smoking as a reliever of tension.It is very common among smokers to smoke whenever they feel stressed or anxiety. They often smoke in the beginning and the closing of the day. Ditcher (1947) said: The smoker has work to do, and he eases himself into the day's activities as pleasantly as possible. He gives himself a little consolation prize in advance, and at the same time manages to postpone the evil hour when he must begin his hard day's work. After a long tiring day of work they believe that smoking can make them feeling relaxed. Even during work it is not uncommon to take a break for a smoke.It can also work like a rewarding system. Orlopp (n. d. ) explains this fact by saying: Taking five at work to smoke a cigarette is a reward for a smoker, most wouldn't think of taking five if they didn't have a reason too. With smoking, you have that reason to kick back and enjoy yourself for a couple minutes. It helps give you that boost to get through a long day of work. So whenever smokers find themselves in trouble they tend to fix it by smoking. Some even go as far as to say that without having a puff of smoke they cannot think properly. Difficulties in Quitting SmokingHaving discussed the main psychological reason for smoking, now we will gaze a view on why it is hard to actually quit smoking. Every year lots and lots of smokers try to get rid of this nasty habit but more than half of them fail. Again there are some people who succeed in giving up smoking but after a while they go back to it. There is a very common saying among the smokers, â€Å"Quitting is easy, and I have quitted smoking many times. † So we can see that there many people who tried to quit but for some reason they just cannot stay away. There are several reasons behind this.Thompson (2011) reported that although nicotine makes it hard to quit smoking the main reason behind it is a bit more complex. Smoking makes several of psychological changes in a man’s l ife. People tend to make smoking a part of their everyday life. So whenever they try to quit smoking they also must deal with all parts of their life which can initiate the desire for smoking. One of the main difficulties in quitting is the withdrawal symptoms. It can vary differently among different people. The symptoms can be physical or psychological. Some of them are listed below: * Frustration Anxiety * Irritability * Dizziness * Sleep disturbances * Concentrating problems * Restlessness * Headaches * Fatigue * Depression These are the some of the many symptoms of withdrawal (Shaw, 2010b). So we can notice here that various psychological reasons that can cause smoking are also the effects of quitting. So smokers often find it hard and go back to smoking just to cope up with these problems. Another main obstacle in the fight against smoking is temptation. Some people find it very difficult to remain ex-smokers just because they cannot stay away from smoking.Shaw (2010a) has said : Dealing with temptations to smoke again often starts on the first day of quitting and can last for days or weeks. Many ex-smokers have an emotional attachment to smoking for a time. They may remember smoking while having a cup of coffee or alcoholic beverage. Smoking after a meal had been a common practice. Some people have friends still smoking or want to go to places where smoking is accepted. Also the availability of cigarettes now-a-days can make resisting cigarettes more difficult. Mostly in the streets of Bangladesh cigarettes is sold in plenty.People don’t have to walk very far to find a shop selling cigarettes. So just seeing all these cigarettes can awaken the temptation to smoke again. Another interesting theory about difficulties was described by Radwan (n. d. ). He said that people with â€Å"self image problem† always feel uneasy in crowded environment. They often do various embarrassing things and lose control. So to fix this problem people go back to s moking. As smoking demands repeating â€Å"certain fixed movements†, people can get back the sense of control they require. Thus for people like this quitting becomes extremely difficult.Survey Findings In order to prove the hypothesis that psychological reasons indeed play a large role into smoking a survey was conducted among 23 students of this university. Both male and female students were included in the survey. They produced significant results. And from the survey it seemed that curiosity, depression and influence from people are mainly responsible from smoking. An important question of this research was â€Å"does human psychology play a big role for people to smoke? † 14 people out of the 23 respondents thought that it played a big part.This means almost 61% people actually think that psychology is responsible for smoking. Figure 1 Among the 23 respondents 6 thought that it played moderate role. And only 3 people thought psychology is not the main reason for s moking. From the percentage point of view only 13% people go against this hypothesis. So this statistics strengthens the hypothesis that psychology is the main reason for smoking. Previously we discussed that teenagers start smoking mainly because of curiosity. In the survey a question was asked if they ever smoked out of curiosity. And out of 23 people 18 of them answered yes.So almost 79% people have smoked out curiosity. The reason of adolecence smoking also came out to be curiosity. Figure 2 So from the chart we can see that the majority of people (11 out of 23) believe that curiosity leads young people into smoking. It is also found out that 27% people believe that showing off also is another reason for smoking. 22% believes that peer pressure is another reason. So it seems that in Bangladesh curiosity and showing off are the main reasons of why young people start to smoke. Again they were asked that when do people tend to smoke more. 5 out 23 people believe that when someone i s tensed they smoke. Also 13 of them believe that depression causes them to smoke. And a small amount persons (4 out of 23) said that people smoke when they are happy. Figure 3 So from this chart we can come to the conclusion that tension and depression cause people to smoke more. From the survey another interesting result came out. It is popular belief that normal people smoke more than very successful and not successful people at all. This can point at the fact that a huge number of people smoke today as normal middle class people are the majority.Figure 4 As we can see the normal middle class constructs almost 35% of the total area of the pie and the lower middle class constructs 30%. So together, middle class people take up 65% of the whole area. Not successful people also hold 26% of the total area. So all in all we can say that middle class people smoke more. Also there were some other questions like â€Å"does influence of other actually play a role in smoking? † 91% o f the people thought that it did. And when they were asked who can influence them, most of them said friends and relatives.Again they were asked if they thought that smoking was fun. But most of them did not think that smoking was fun. Respondents also gave their own opinion about the reason of smoking. Most of them thought tension and depression are the main causes of smoking. So the survey produced some valuable results. The statistics from the survey proves that the main reasons those were discussed in the essay are quite correct. Conclusion Smoking today is a very popular habit among people today. Although it has severe consequences people still continue to do it. Various people do it for various reasons.But if we try to generalize the reasons we can actually see that most of them start smoking out of curiosity, peer pressure and influence. And when they get addicted they can’t quit because of the added stress, tension and depression. All of these are psychological reason s. It is true that there are some physical reasons also behind smoking but it’s the psychological reason that plays the bigger par. So it can be said that human psychology is the main reason behind smoking. References Cheong, J. , Herkov, M. , ; Goodman, W. (n. d. ). Depression and smoking.Retrieved from http://psychcentral. com/library/depression_smoking. htm Dichter, E. (1947). Why do we smoke cigarettes? In The psychology of everyday living. Retrieved from http://smokingsides. com/docs/whysmoke. html Edwards, C. (2011, June 14). Reasons why teenagers start smoking. Retrieved from http://www. livestrong. com/article/220035-reasons-why-teenagers-start-smoking/ Evans, A. (n. d. ). Smoking and teenagers. Retrieved from http://adrianaevans. hubpages. com/hub/Smoking-and-teenagers Gaskell, K. H. 2010, August 16). Reasons teenagers begin smoking. Retrieved from http://www. livestrong. com/article/207428-reasons-teenagers-begin-smoking/ Maddox, N. (2011, May 29). Smoking Peer Pre ssure Facts. Retrieved from http://www. livestrong. com/article/245384-smoking-peer-pressure-facts/ McGovern, J. A. , Rodriguez, D. , Patel, V. , Faith, M. S. , Rodgers, K. , ; Cuevas, J. (2006, April). How do psychological factors influence adolescent smoking progression? the evidence for indirect effects through tobacco advertising receptivity. Pediatrics, 117, 1216-1225, doi: 10. 542/peds. 2005-0808 Orlopp, B. 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