Frederic Chopin And Polonaises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frederic Chopin And Polonaises - Essay Example The Polonaise first appeared in Poland around the sixteenth century as a court dance that is sort of a procession where all the company passes in a stream and then defiles in pairs with movements. He left eighteen works in the genre with sixteen piano Polonaises, one for piano and cello and one for piano and orchestra. Their style changed over time evolving from conventional salon miniatures to some expansive dance poems. Chopin started a new chapter in the history of the genre with the Polonaises, Op. 26. Henceforth, he abandoned conventional stylizations. Each of the seven works has its own distinctive shape, pianistic expression, and style. The features of an authentic polonaise are 3/4 time, typical rhythmic formulas, a moderate tempo and a distinguished character (Ted, 22). He completed 2 Polonaises in 1835, Op. 26, in C sharp minor and Polonaise in E flat minor, marked by strong dramatic elements. In 1838-1839 he composed 2 Polonaises, Op. 40in A major and C minor. The A major has features of the heroic polonaise while the C minor is elegiac and tragic in expression. The other three polonaises are grand dance poems which are removed from earlier conventions of the genre and form. In1841 he composed Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44. It is close in its epic-dramatic gesture as to the idea of Romantic fantasy as well as it is unusual in the appearance of a mazurka in its middle section which is a contrasting lyrical passage. In 1842-1843 he composed Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53.

Advancements of Tourniquets in the Iraqi War Essay Example for Free

Advancements of Tourniquets in the Iraqi War Essay Background of the War The name of the Second Gulf War has often been referred with the Iraq War, which has begun from March 20, 2003 and is still deteriorating lives of millions of people in the Iraqi region of the world. In the year 2003, invasion of Iraq was led by the United States of America, and this war is still ongoing, which has affected the world adversely. Development of weapons of mass destruction was one of the main rationales that were presented by the government of the George W. Bush, as well as, his supporters in the form of different Democratic and Republican parties. (Danchev, pg. 62-65) According to the Bush government, allies and interests of the United States posed a threat from the development of abovementioned weapons by the Iraq. In the year 2003, it was claimed during the State of the Union Address by the President George W. Bush that there was no time to wait for the imminence of the threat from the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. However, such weapons were not found by the United States after the invasion of the Iraq. In order to support the decision of the Bush’s government, connection was made between the al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein by the citing of their claims. (Murray, pg. 71-73)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason for the invasion of Iraq   Ã‚  given by the George W. Bush was the democracy in the Iraq, which was necessary for the development, as well as, stability of the country due to the abuse that was being done by the government of the Saddam Hussein in the Iraq in terms of human rights before the invasion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many forms have been observed in the casualties of the war in Iraq since March 2003 until present. In addition, great variation has been noted in the available information, as well as, its accuracy and validity regarding the occurrence of different types of incidents that have resulted in different types of casualties in the Iraq.   Even in the great variation, it is confirmed that the Iraq War has deteriorated and terminated thousands of lives and damaged houses and habitats of many lives in the region. One of the reasons of this deterioration was the opposition and criticism of the war by a number of experts, professionals, critics, and even the Americans. A range of serious health issues, as well as, mental disorders has been reported by many veterans of the Iraq War in the United States forces. Tumors, migraines, blood in urine, muscle pains, dysfunction of the sex, and a number of issues have been reported by the coalition forces in the Iraq. In this regard, utilization of radioactive depleted uranium has been found to be causing the abovementioned health issues and disorders in the coalition forces, which cannot be stopped during the war. Thus, the Iraq War has provided a number of serious losses to the United States government. (Murray, pg. 99-100) (Abrams, pg. 101-111) Over nineteen thousand casualties have been suffered by the military of the United States, as the fourth year started on March 19, 2006 during the war in Iraq. All these casualties included a broken leg, or a broken arm, which created a sense of fear and opposition in the Iraqi, as well as, American civilians. A number of American soldiers were sent to their homes with one leg, or one hand that changed their lives from their scratch. A soldier, who used to protect the country, now can look in the sky and dream of doing the same, while sitting on his wheel chair. This was the condition of many soldiers in the United States. (Danchev, pg. 50-52) This resulted in the hatred towards the Bush government, and towards the decision of sending American soldiers in the Iraq. (Abrams, pg. 91-101)   To help this kind of dreadful situation, the US Army started to provide their troops with a special kind of tool, a Tourniquet, which was designed to help the soldiers to save a limb thus saving their lives. What are tourniquets? To explain in simple words, a tourniquet is a piece of cloth and a stick, which is used to stop the flow of blood if a person faces emergency. These simple types of tourniquets were used in the 18th century. The exact and modern definition of a tourniquet is a device that works on the principle of compression and uses pressure to be applied on the wounded limb that blocks the circulation of blood in the specific area and prevents the flow of blood for a certain period. (Klenerman, pp. 33-36) With the advancement of technology and research, various types of tourniquets were introduced. Modern surgical types of tourniquets are being very popular because of their convenient mode of operation and availability. There are two types of tourniquets being used, one of the types uses a cloth or a piece or rubber and the other make use of gas to apply pressure. The number of limb-deprived soldiers was increasing day by day; to help solve this problem the US Army widened the use of tourniquets. (Abrams, pp. 40-44) Before the discovery of the highly effective tourniquet, the soldiers were using the basic field expedient tourniquet, which uses a cloth and stick to help control the flow of blood.   The Pentagon made every possible effort to provide every soldier present in Iraq with a standard tourniquet. The tourniquets were saving lives and the lives were stopped from being wasted unnecessarily. Data indicated that the soldiers that were not using the tourniquets and were not equipped with the tourniquets died, in a way, unnecessarily. In the year 2005, a newly designed tourniquet named as â€Å"The special operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet† (SOFTT) was issued to the soldiers in Iraq. This type of tourniquet was designed to be used using a single hand so that the soldier is able to apply the tourniquet all by him without needing any help. The SOFTT replaced the field expedient method. The field expedient method was also proving itself beneficial but SOFTT was even better. The number of casualties was also decreasing because SOFTT was also helping to save time. The SOFTT was reported to be very effective and useful in injuries that were hard to reach. The strap of SOFFT can be released completely and can be rethreaded; this allows it to be applied on limbs that are trapped. The SOFFT makes use of two latches, one is needed to provide effective use for the tourniquet while the other provides ability for securing the limb after the tightening..In order to use the SOFFT it is needed to be slide up on the limb and the pulling of the tail right after application. In order to be secure the screws must be tightened. The device remains in use until the bleeding is stopped. During these times another invention by US Army institute of surgical research came forth, which was the â€Å"Combat Application tourniquet† .This type uses a system of windlass with an internal band that provides pressure to the wounded limb. After tightening, the windlass is to be locked when the blood flow is stopped. A strap made of Velcro is then used to keep the windlass in place. The Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) was tested in 2004 at the US Army institute of surgical research with the other eight tourniquets available in the â€Å"Tourniquet off† .It was marked as the most effective tourniquet and it topped the list . It was easy to use hence it was recommended for use in the army. CAT was placed on the top of the â€Å"TOP 10 GREATEST INVENTIONS THIS YEAR† by the Army in 2005. Before SOFFT and CAT were introduced, the tourniquets were being used but they included the conventional cravat and stick types’ .The soldiers during their training periods were taught to use the conventional types that belong to the American civil war period. An unfortunate incident, proving the significance of tourniquets occurred with an Army medic who was climbing to reach the helicopter in Baqoubah in Iraq when suddenly bullets seared through his left thigh. As he lay beside his helicopter, he took hold of a tourniquet inside his pocket and immediately slide it on to his wounded thigh and the tourniquet worked efficiently in stopping the bleeding. Hence, the device, which was once considered extremely low tech, ended up saving yet another life in this high tech world. (Klenerman, pp. 65-66) If USAISR had not created such an invention, there would have been no effective tourniquet. Tourniquets are still being used widely and they are proving to be functional when it comes to saving lives, since there is no useful device available on the battlefield to save lives. There is a great deal of increase in the use of tourniquets during the Iraq war. The tourniquet, which has gained immense popularity, is the CAT and is still in use by the soldiers until date. The CAT was also made available for use for the civilians. In case of extreme traumas, CAT can be used as a lifesaver. (Taliaferro, pp. 22-25) Now, the Army doctors state that the use of tourniquets in the battlefield cannot be dispensed and they are striving to design even better and modern tourniquets to facilitate self first aid on the battlefield. Conclusively, we have discussed that a device that works on the principle of compression and uses pressure to be applied on the wounded limb that blocks the circulation of blood in the specific area and prevents the flow of blood for a certain period has been referred as a tourniquet. It is a hope that this paper will help the students, professionals, and experts in the better understanding of the tourniquet, as well as, its significance in the Iraqi war. References Alex Danchev. (2005). the Iraq War and Democratic Politics. Routledge (UK). Irwin Abrams. (2003). the Iraq’s War and its Consequences. World Scientific. Leslie Klenerman. (2004). the Tourniquet Manual. Springer. William Hay Taliaferro. (1972). Medicine and the War. Ayer Publishing. Williamson Murray. (2003). the Iraq War. Harvard University Press.

What Contribution Does Curleys Wife Make to Of Mice and Men? Essay

What Contribution Does Curley's Wife Make to Of Mice and Men? Curley's wife is the most dangerous character in the novel, because she is the loneliest one. Because of her need for attention, she destroys George and Lennie's dream of living "off the fatta the lan'." The appearance and clothing of Curley's wife have a symbolic meaning. She is described as a "purty" woman because she is always made up. Even on the ranch she has "full, rouged lips" and her hair lies in "little rolled clusters, like sausages." Also her clothes are seductive. When she speaks with George and Lennie, she wears a "red dress" and has red lips. The symbolic meaning of the colour red in literature is danger. So Steinbeck foreshadows that she will be dangerous. She wears the same dress in the bunkhouse, as when she speaks with Lennie at the end of the novel. The reader senses that something bad will happen: the death of Curley's wife. Curley's wife does not have a good life on the ranch. The relationship between her and Curley is miserable. She hates her husband and is really glad when Lenni...

Toyota Motoring Manufacturing

1) How does the andon procedure work and what are its fundamental aspects? How much does it cost to stop the line? What are the benefits of stopping the line? The andon procedure is adopted by Toyota Motor Manufacturing to ensure quality of their products. It involves the pulling of the andon cord whenever production at a work station is unable to be completed within the cycle time, or whenever any problem is faced. Pulling the andon cord will alert the team leader to the station. If the problem can be corrected immediately, assembly is resumed by pulling the andon cord again. However, if the team leader is unable to solve the problem, the line is stopped. With this process, Toyota is able to manufacture quality products and prevent defective products from being transferred on to the next station. This is in line with Toyota’s principle of jidoka where problems are instantly detected and production is stopped whenever a problem is detected. However, stopping the line will reduce the flow time of the car assembly and flow rate of the production. As more time is required to produce the cars, worker overtime costs will be incurred. According to the case, line stoppages caused a shortfall of 45 cars per shift. These cars could have been sold in the market instead. Thus, line stoppages caused lost revenue (opportunity cost) for these 45 cars. In analyzing the costs for stopping the line, we assume that hourly wage per team leader is set at a 6. 5% premium. We assume 769 team members are spread equally between the two shifts. We assume that each worker causes an average of 1 line stop per shift. The number of shortfalls in a shift is based on that in April 1992 i. e. 45 cars. The breakdown of costs incurred to stop the line is as follows: Hourly Wage per Team MemberHourly Wage per Team Leader (6. 5% premium)Overwage rate per Team MemberOvertime Wage Rate per Team Leader 1718. 10525. 527. 1575 Number of Shortfalls per Shift45 Number of Shifts2 Total Team Members769 No. of Team Members per Shift (769/2)384 Number of Team Leaders per Shift102 Number of Stops per Worker per Shift1 Number of Stops per Shift384 Overtime per Car (57s/3600)hrs0. 0158333 Total Overtime Cost per Shift ($)8950. 4713 Overtime Cost per Stop ($)23. 308519 Lost Revenue per Stop (0. 17 x 18,500 x 45)/384368. 5469 Tota Cost Incurred per Stop ($)391. 86 Benefits of stopping the line is to reduce wastage as defects are detected early and problems can be solved earlier before the defect is passed on to the next station. 2) What are the underlying causes of the problems facing Doug Friesen? The main problem faced is a decrease in run ratio, which measured the numbers of cars actually assemble d in proportion to the number of cars that could have been assembled with no line stoppages, from 95% to 85%. This drop also led to a shortfall of 45 cars per shift, which had to be made up with overtime. The underlying causes are as follow: †¢The combination of seats, which resulted from by the variety of Toyota Camry, has increased the probability of defects or human error. †¢Problems are not solved at the point where the defect is detected and the defective cars remained in the assembly line until they are moved to the Code 1 clinic area for further inspection and quality control. Solving problems at the end of the assembly line could be more difficult or require more time than at the spot where the problem was first detected. This is because the car at the end of the assembly line has already been completely assembled thus, making amendments to specific components could be more challenging. †¢There is a long waiting time for the delivery of replacement seats from KFS to TMM. This led to an increase in inventory in the overflow parking area where the cars waited for KFS’ special delivery. 3) How, if at all, does the current routine for handling defective seats deviate from the principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS)? The current routine deviates from the TPS principles of Jidoka and Just-in-Time (JIT) production. JIT Principle TPSCurrent Routine (deviation) Produces only what was needed, how much was needed, and only when it was needed. Any deviation from true production needs was condemned as waste. Defective cars remain in inventory and some have to wait for replacement seats to be delivered. Cars are not produced at maximum capacity. Thus, consumer demand is not met on time. Jidoka Principle TPSCurrent Routine (deviation) Make any production problems instantly self-evident and stop producing whenever the problem was detected. Insisted on building in quality in the production process and condemned any deviation from value-addition as waste. Does not follow the jidoka principle – instead of stopping production and waiting for the new seat to arrive then fixing the seat before production restarts, Toyota continues with production and only fixes the seats after production ends 4) As Doug Friesen, what would you do to address the seat problem? Where would you focus your attention and solution efforts? What options exist? What would you recommend? Why? There are several solutions to address the seat problem in the manufacturing process. These solutions are non-exclusive and could be implemented together. Solution 1: Decrease the error caused by variability in car seat styles. This can be done by investing in training staff so that they will be proficient in handling the variety of seat styles for respective cars and reduce the defect rate caused by human error. Another way is to assemble the cars in batches based on its respective seat styles as this method of production decreases the chance of human error as well since production will be more uniform. However, batching violates Toyota’s ‘Heijunka’ principle. Solution 2: Toyota could also consider the option of repairing the damaged seat immediately rather than allowing it to through the entire process first and congregating at the end of the line; in other words, to put the practice of jidoka into play. All staff involved in the production line will then have to be more critical in ensuring the best quality of the seats, and stop the production line once a defect is realized. However, repair staff would need to be well equipped to handle the situation. Furthermore, this solution requires the production line to stop, thus incurring costs. Solution 3: Switch to another seat supplier or source for additional suppliers to ease the current load on KFS since the current supplier delivers poor quality of seats which causes the problem in the manufacturing process. However, having more than 1 supplier may result in differences across the finished goods as it is difficult for two suppliers to provide identical seats. Solution 4: Stock safety inventory to use it as a buffer for the defective seats so as to decrease the wait time required to deliver replacement seats. However, having excess seat inventory will incur inventory cost. It is also against the JIT principal which hallmarks Toyota. Solution 5: Seats can be redesign such as changing plastic hooks back to metal to reduce the probability of one of the problems for defective seats, which is a broken hook. The focus of the solution should be aimed at improving the internal process problem which is decreasing the human error caused by variability of car seat style and also improving external process problem which is the quality of the car seats supplier. As show in Exhibit 8, the main cause of defective seats comes from the poor quality of seats delivered by the supplier. Therefore it is vital that we would firstly have to improve the delivered seats and Toyota can do so by bringing up this issue to the management at KFS. Toyota must demand for better quality products and if the problem continues due to poor quality of seats, Toyota should then source for additional suppliers to cover up for the lack of quality sets supplied by KFS. Once the external problem has been handled, Toyota must look at ways to improve the capabilities of its production line staff. By training them to handle the various seat styles for respective cars, it increases the skill level of the workers and hence decreases the probability of making an error. However, Toyota will incur training cost but these costs will reflect savings in the long run if its staff would make less errors hence improving the run ratio of the production line.

Communication Process

Hypothesis The following hypothesis is used as a logical approach for completion of the essay. A hypothesis is used in order to identify all the key elements of the essay in a logical and a systematic order. The hypothesis is as follows; â€Å"Is effective communication more about identifying and overcoming barriers to communication? What is the nature of effective communication? † Based on the above hypothesis, I have listed the following key elements. 1. Communication 1. Communication process 2. Types of communication 3. Importance of communication 2.How communication can influence an organization? 3. Effective & ineffective communication 1. What is effective communication? 2. Importance of effective communication 3. What is ineffective communication? 4. How both effective and ineffective communication affects an organization? 4. Identifying & overcoming communication barriers 1. Barriers to effective communication 2. How to overcome barriers to communication? 1. Introductio n â€Å"Communication is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication between people trying to create shared meaning. † (Yoder, Hugenberg & Wallace 1996)Throughout the history of mankind, their uniqueness in communication has become the key element in their success to become the most developed and well organized living beings among thousands of others. It is no different when comes to the corporate world, better the communication process that an organization posses, better the performances they achieve in today’s competitive world. So it has become vital for an organization to keep its communication process as effectively as possible in order achieve its organizational goals in a both effective and efficient manner.So the following essay was prepared with the intention of giving the readers a better understanding and a clear view of what is effective communication and what makes the communication a process an effective one. 2. 0 What is communication? Communication i s where two or more people will transfer information, feelings, ideas and opinions between or among each others. 2. 1 The communication process This is the standard model of a communication process. This process always takes place between two parties.Sender – The starting point of the communication process, sender will encode the message Message – The information which is sent to the receiver. Channel – Is the medium which transfers the message from the sender to the receiver. Barriers – Barriers are the distortions which make the message not to be conveyed as intended. Receiver – The person who’s at the end of the process and who’ll decode the message Feedback – It will be the final step of the communication process where receiver sends a message as reply to the sender. 2.Types of communication Different forms of communication media like televisions, radios are used by people in order to communicate information,opinions, etc, among each others. The most primitive ways of communication are by body language,speaking,sign language and eye contact. All of those communication methods can be broadly divided in to two main types. Those two types of communication are as follows. †¢ Verbal communication †¢ Non verbal communication 1. Verbal communication Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking.When it comes to business,  verbal communication  is very important for the reason being that you are dealing with a variety of people through out the day. In some cases you may deal with people who have different culture, ages and with different levels of experience. Fluent verbal communication is essential to deal with people in business meetings. Business communication  self-confidence  plays a vital role which when matched with fluent  communication skills. 2. Non verbal communicationNon-verbal communication  involves physical ways of communication, like, tone of the voic e, touch, smell and body motion. Symbols and sign language are also included in non-verbal communication. Body language is a non-verbal way of communication. Body posture and physical contact convey a lot of information. Body posture matters a lot when you are communicating verbally to someone. Folded arms and crossed legs are some of the signals conveyed by a body posture. Physical contact, like, shaking hands, pushing, patting and touching expresses the feeling of intimacy.Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact are all different ways of communication. 3. Importance of communication Every action a person or an organization takes is mostly based on the information available; to perform that specific action as intended, relevant information will be required. Even after performing the act, the party which performed it will need a feedback to identify whether the performed act bore the intended results. So it is clear that, without communication, none of those would be possible. 3. 0 Involvement of communication in an organization.For an organization to run smoothly, it has to have a well structured communication process inside its own. According to Kondrat (2009), Communication is the â€Å"lifeblood† of every organization. A vital means of attending to company concerns is through effective internal communication. Decision making is the most vital activity in an organization, to make decisions, to implement them and to reassess those decisions, organizational management will require relevant information. As discussed previously to have better information, better communication among all layers is required.So it is evident that, better the communication inside the organization, better the decision it makes and also better the results. 3. 1 Formal communication channels Formal channels are used within an organization in order to make the flow of information smoother among all levels in the chain of command. In the general aspect, there are three main c ommunication flows within an organization. Those are downward, upward and horizontal communication. 3. 1. 1 Downward communication It is the communication flow which is used by managers in an organization mainly to give orders and instructions.In a downward communication, the information flow will be from top to bottom, where managers will send messages to their subordinates. Those messages will include implementation of managerial decisions such as goals, plans and strategies, job instructions, rationale, procedures, practices, performance feedbacks, etc. 3. 1. 2 Upward communication Under this channel, information flow will be from the lower levels to the higher levels. Upward communication is more popular in learning organizations, where the lower levels of employees do get involved in the decision making process by giving their suggestions.Upward communication can be helpful in problem solving as the parties who are actually involved in the problem can give their point of view t o the higher management. 3. 1. 3 Horizontal communication In horizontal communication, parties which are in the same level will communicate with each others. (e. g. inter departmental) This can be helpful to coordinate activities and request support. 3. 2 Informal communication channel These are the communication channels which are not authorized as formal communication channels and it doesn’t have a clear pattern of the hierarchical levels included.Literally an informal communication channel is a channel which can connect anyone in the organization. Examples for informal communication channels †¢ Management by walking around (MBWA) †¢ Grapevine 4. 0 Effective and Ineffective communication As the topic of this essay relates, achieving effective communication is vital. So before discussing about methods of achieving effective communication, it is more sensible to discuss what is meant by effective communication and what is meant by ineffective communication. 4. 1 Wha t is effective communication?The communication process can be recognized as an effective one, when the receiver decodes and understand the message as intended by the sender. Furthermore, a proper feedback from the receiver to the sender will also facilitate effective communication. 4. 2 Importance of effective communication Effective communication skills is most likely to prevent conflicts and solve current conflicts it is learnt that through effective means of communication people can negotiate and arrive at possible solutions. The benefits of effective communication are many as they enhance all aspects of personal and professional lives. . 3 What is ineffective communication? This is a process by which the meaning the receiver attaches to a message may be completely different to the message intended by the sender. So it is evident that the basic concept of communication, which is sharing ideas and information among each other will be broken down if ineffective communication takes place. 4. 4 Importance of effective communication to an organization According to Panse (2009), Most companies and organizations have people working in small teams.This has been found to be more effective and productive than a single individual toiling away at a project. When you have three or four more people working on an issue, you have the advantage of having access to more ideas and solutions for the project, of having more checking safeguards against any flaws in the plan, and of being able to establish more network connections. A group is also more likely to take on and complete large-scale, complex projects. For the team to operate smoothly there must be open and efficient communication between the members of the teamTeam communication is important for the following reasons – †¢ Project-related information needs to be shared. †¢ Each member of the team needs to be acquainted with the team goal and his/her role in the team. †¢ Effective and open communic ation lines create feelings of trust and of belonging to the team. The more the members feel valued the more dedicated they are likely to be, and this in turn makes it easier for the team as a whole to achieve its goals. 4. 5 Affects of ineffective communication on an organization Ineffective communication hampers organizational success.This can also be seen as miscommunication. In an organization ineffective communication can occur due to many reasons. So it is important as a manager to curb these issues and create an effective communication channel. Ineffective communication leads to conflict within the organization and lead to distortion of information and this misunderstanding between department and individuals. Lack of effective communication may lead to a breakdown in interactions between employees in the organization. 5. Identifying and overcoming communication barriers.As discussed under the communication process, communication barriers are universal for any type of communic ation. In the perspective of an organization, barriers to communication can be divided into two main categories as individual barriers and organizational barriers. 5. 1 Individual barriers – Individual barriers are fatigue, poor listening skills, attitude toward the sender or the information, lack of interest in the message, fear, mistrust, past experiences, negative attitude, problems at home, lack of common experiences, and emotions. . 2 Organizational barriers – One of the major organizational barriers is the high power distance between low and high level employees. Due to this subordinates will not share sensitive information with their superiors as a result of the fear of facing negative reactions from the top management towards them. Poorly structured organizational channels will also active as an organizational barrier towards communication. 5. 3 Methods of overcoming barriers †¢ Using constructive feedback Training employees to involve active listening whe n they communicate †¢ Training employees to constraint their emotions †¢ Eliminating differences in perception †¢ Proper communication channel selection By using some or all of the methods mentioned above, an organization can reduce the impact done by communication barriers. 6. Conclusion In conclusion under the current situation, effective communication has universally become mandatory in order to achieve success. According to Kondrat (2009), Communication is the â€Å"lifeblood† of every organization.A vital means of attending to company concerns is through effective internal communication. If a manager is able to communicate their ideas clearly, so that employees definitely know what is asked of them, the subordinates will, consequently, perform their jobs correspondingly. On contrast, an aggressive way of managing reports results in employees’ getting more and more frustrated often guessing what their real faults are To achieve effective communicatio n, one must have a clear understanding about the communication process and how it functions.On the other hand, having a thorough understanding about the communication process will not help to build up effective communication. So it is wiser to find out what factors make communication effective. As discussed above, what make a communication process ineffective are the communication barriers. When those barriers are in place, they can disrupt the communication process in a huge manner. Those barriers will make, encoding and decoding the message hard. If it happens, the message will not be sent and received as intended.So then the whole communication process will become ineffective, as the sole reason for the process’ existence relies on conveying the intended message properly. This proves that identifying and overcoming communication barriers are important to have effective communication. Understanding the communication process will definitely help to make communication effecti ve, but it will not eradicate the main obstacles for effective communication, which are the communication barriers.So it is now very clear that identifying and overcoming the communication barriers are far more important for effective communication than understanding the communication process. 7. References Communication Skills-Start Here, (1995). Retrieved on April 30, 2010 from http://www. mindtools. com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro. html Management Skills Resources, (2009). Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. bizmove. com/skills/m8g. htm Maya Pillai, (n. d). Barriers to effective Communication, Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. buzzle. om/articles/barriers-to-effective-communication. html Mortensen (1998) Communication Models, Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. shkaminski. com/Classes/Handouts/Communication%20Models. htm Overcoming Communication Barriers, (n. d) , Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://managementstudyguide. com/overcoming-communication-barriers. htm Sonal Panse, (2009). Effective team communication. Retrieved on May 1, 2010, from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/small-group-communication-effective-team-communication. html ———————– Feedback Barriers Receiver Message Sender

Differences Between Carbon-12 and Carbon-14

Differences Between Carbon-12 and Carbon-14 Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are two isotopes of the element carbon. The difference between carbon-12 and carbon-14 is the number of neutrons in each atom. The number given after the atom name (carbon) indicates the number of protons plus neutrons in an atom or ion. Atoms of both isotopes of carbon contain 6 protons. Atoms of carbon-12 have 6 neutrons, while atoms of carbon-14 contain 8 neutrons. A  neutral atom would have the same number of protons and electrons, so a neutral atom of carbon-12 or carbon-14 would have 6 electrons. Although neutrons do not carry an electrical charge, they have a  mass comparable to that of protons, so different isotopes have different atomic weight. Carbon-12 is lighter than carbon-14. Carbon  Isotopes and Radioactivity Because of the different number of neutrons, carbon-12 and carbon-14 differ with respect to radioactivity. Carbon-12 is a stable isotope. Carbon-14, on the other hand, undergoes radioactive decay: 146C → 147N 0-1e (half-life is 5720 years) Other Common Isotopes of Carbon The other common isotope of carbon is carbon-13. Carbon-13 has 6 protons, just like other carbon isotopes, but it has 7 neutrons. It is not radioactive. Although 15 isotopes of carbon are known, the natural form of the element consists of a mixture of only three of them: carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14. Most of the atoms are carbon-12. Measuring the difference in the ratio between carbon-12 and carbon-14 is useful for dating the age of organic matter  since a living organism is exchanging carbon and maintaining a certain ratio of isotopes. In a diseased organism, there is no exchange of carbon, but the carbon-14 that is present undergoes radioactive decay, so over time, the isotope ratio becomes more and more different.

Liberec, a city in the north of Czech republic essays

Liberec, a city in the north of Czech republic essays Liberec is situated in a valley between the Jizera Mountains and the Jested Ridge. The Nisa River runs through it. The Town Hall lies 373m above the sea level. The town has population about 100 000 inhabitants and occupies the area of nearly 115 square km. From its foundation (the first written report about the village, concerning paying elevenses to the Pope, comes from 1352), Liberec was gradually developing as a trade and crafts centre of regional importance. When the house of Biberstein died out, the Liberec manor was bought by the Redern family in 1558. Thanks to this purchase, Liberec started to change its parochial character. It gained the status of a town in 1577. First linen and dealers and drapers settled here. First stone buildings- the Castle, the Church of St. Anthony and the renaissance Town Hall (pulled down in 1893) grew up among wooden houses. Albrecht of Wallenstein continued in the Redern tradition. He founded the New Town and supported further development of textile crafts. The ground plan of the Sokolovske Square and timbered houses in Vetrna Street remind us of Albrechts age even today. The sufferings of the Thirty Years War reflected in Liberec only after his death, when the Swedish and imperial troops came here in turn. The order prohibiting construction of wooden houses in 1807 led to the rapid rebuilding of the town centre. Also the road connection with the rest of the world improved in the first half of the 19th century and a railway was introduced here in 1859. Liberec was already the second most populous town in Bohemia. Its importance was further elevated by a special statue from 1850 and by the fact that it became a seat of higher state offices and institutions. Economic power was represented by Trade and Commercial Chamber, cultural and social importance was intensified by the existence of the theatre (since 1820) and by the activity of various associations. Great attention was pa...

The Maya Calendar

The Maya Calendar What is the Maya Calendar? The Maya, whose culture in Central America and southern Mexico peaked around 800 A.D. before going into steep decline, had an advanced calendar system that incorporated the movement of the sun, moon and planets. For the Maya, time was cyclical and repeated itself, making certain days or months lucky or unlucky for certain things, like agriculture or fertility. The Maya calendar reset in December of 2012, inspiring many to see the date as an end-of-days prophecy. The Maya Concept of Time: To the Maya, time was cyclical: it would repeat itself and certain days had characteristics. This notion of cyclical as opposed to lineal time is not unknown to us: for example, many people consider Mondays to be â€Å"bad† days and Fridays to be â€Å"good† days (unless they fall on the thirteenth of the month, in which case they are unlucky). The Maya took the concept further: although we consider months and weeks to be cyclical, but years to be lineal, they considered all time as cyclical and certain days could â€Å"return† centuries later. The Maya were aware that a solar year was roughly 365 days long and they referred to it as a â€Å"haab.† They divided a haab into 20 â€Å"months† (to the Maya, â€Å"uinal†) of 18 days each: to this was added 5 days annually for a total of 365. These five days, called â€Å"wayeb,† were added at the end of the year and were considered very unlucky. The Calendar Round: The earliest Maya Calendars (dating from the preclassic Maya era, or about 100 A.D.) are referred to as the Calendar Round. The Calendar Round was actually two calendars that overlapped one another. The first calendar was the Tzolkin cycle, which consisted of 260 days, which roughly corresponds to the time of human gestation as well as the Maya agricultural cycle. Early Mayan astronomers used the 260 day calendar to record the movements of the planets, sun and moon: it was a very sacred calendar. When used consecutively with the standard 365 day haab calendar, the two would align every 52 years. The Maya Long Count Calendar: The Maya developed another calendar, better suited for measuring longer periods of time. The Maya Long Count used only the haab or 365 day calendar. A date was given in terms of Baktuns (periods of 400 years) followed by Katuns (periods of 20 years) followed by Tuns (years) followed by Uinals (periods of 20 days) and ending with the Kins (number of days 1-19). If you added all of those numbers up, you would get the number of days that had passed since the starting point of Maya time, which was sometime between August 11 and September 8, 3114 B.C. (the exact date is subject to some debate). These dates are usually expressed as a series of numbers like so: 12.17.15.4.13 November 15, 1968, for example. Thats 12x400 years, 17x20 years, 15 years, 4x20 days plus eleven days since the beginning of Maya time. 2012 and The End of Maya Time: Baktuns - periods of 400 years - are counted on a base-13 cycle. On December 20, 2012, the Maya Long Count Date was 12.19.19.19.19. When one day was then added, the entire calendar reset to 0. The thirteenth Baktun since the beginning of Maya time therefore came to an end on December 21, 2012. This of course led to much speculation about dramatic changes: some predictions for the end of the Maya Long Count Calendar included the end of the world, a new age of consciousness, a reversal of the Earths magnetic poles, the arrival of the Messiah, etc. Needless to say, none of those things happened. In any event, historical Maya records do not indicate that they gave much thought to what would happen at the end of the calendar. Sources: Burland, Cottie with Irene Nicholson and Harold Osborne. Mythology of the Americas. London: Hamlyn, 1970. McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. New York: Norton, 2004.

Knowledge on Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge on Nature - Essay Example Organic machine influences the healthy environment of the natural resources as a result of the technological pollutions, exploitation of the natural resources and the use of chemical substances in the manipulation of the nature. Technology is the only tool man employs in the extortion and exploitation of what he desired to transform the organic machinery of the river, its meanders, hinterland and the river valley as well as the other naturally occurring parts of the environment. In the exploitation of the naturally historical environment, the gender and race are distinctive and major participants (Conrad 102). The race and gender are always disagreeing between those who are for the healthy existence of nature in their own self-image and those who are against the healthy existence of the natural environment. The Colombia River, as an example of nature, emerges mainly from the organic machinery such as a cyborg. These were cultural artefacts including a blend of both human and nature c ontributions. For the conservation to take place, there must be individuals against the healthy being of nature while others are in support of the natural and pure form of the environment. This results into conflicts especially where some individuals resolve into the conservation of the environment while the others manipulate it through the technological knowledge and for their own self-interests.The understanding of nature is normally complex. The built environment has really affected the natural environment.... This results into conflicts especially where some individuals resolve into the conservation of the environment while the others manipulate it through the technological knowledge and for their own self-interests. The understanding of nature is normally complex. The built environment has really affected the natural environment. The wilderness and the geographical area parts of the environment are no longer in existence especially throughout my hometown. The skyscrapers have taken almost the whole environment in which we live. Technology, therefore, even though has improved the lifestyle of the people, greatly undermines nature. The natural underlying rock materials isotactic and biostatic equilibrium, because of the heavily built environment, is greatly affected. This is some of the major causes of tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes. The underground river sources are not in perfect flow because of the heavy earth moving machines which are part of the built environment. The artificial ly modified technological environment has affected the purity of nature beginning with the quality of the air we breathe to the plants and animals life. My understanding of nature, therefore, is based on the healthy conservation of the ecosystem. The built environment should be considerate of the well-being of the plants, animals as well as the underlying organic matter and rock material. My hometown environment is full of technological manipulations, which greatly undermines nature. For the continuity of the natural environment to be upheld, therefore, there is a need for each individual to take part in the natural environment conservation (Sherman 178). This is what is suggested in the Colombia River organic machine conservation. White believes that the cultural

Marketing Management. Experimentation and change Assignment

Marketing Management. Experimentation and change - Assignment Example This has given rise to another important trend in marketing: marketing metrics. Measuring the contribution of marketing to the overall firm performance has become a crucial part of the marketing management function. The critical question for marketing management is how the marketing function should be designed in order to provide the greatest value for organization. At the heart of this issue is the idea that the marketing function's key contribution is to serve as a link between the customer and various processes within the firm. As suggested by Moorman and Rust (1999) the marketing function should play a role in connecting the customer with 1) the product 2) service delivery and 3) financial accountability. Of those three connections the traditional role of marketing has been to link the customer with the product. The customer-product connection pertains to linking the customer to the focal offering provided by the firm. Marketing's emphasis in this linkage is on providing knowledge and skills that connect the customer to product design or quality issues. This emphasis underlies many contemporary methodologies for new product development and for managing the customer-product interface. The customer-service delivery connection involves the design and delivery of ancillary actions involved in providing a firm's goods and services to the customer. The focus of this connection is generally the frontline employee who facilitates pre or post-purchase aspects of the process. A marketing approach to this linkage is predominantly external in orientation. The focus in on ensuring that customers are satisfied with the delivery of services offered by firm, measuring customer satisfaction with services, and changing internal processes that stands to have the greatest impact on the customer. The customer-financial accountability connection refers to efforts focused on linking customers to financial outcomes. The marketing function in many firms does not manage this linkage, and the inevitable result is that financial accountability is perceived largely in terms of costs. The actual expectative is to understand the link between marketing and financial performance of firms. 3. How to measure the contribution of marketing The need for ex post evaluation of marketing programmes and activities is set by Kotler (2003) as a crucial part of the process of analysis, planning, implementation and control. This evaluation is made by means of different marketing metrics that are used to assess past performance and influence on firm effectiveness, as well as to design future strategy improvements. Marketing has a chain of effects in firm performance as suggested by Rust et al. (2004). Marketing strategies lead to marketing actions taken by the firm such as advertising campaigns, service improvement efforts, branding initiatives, loyalty programs. Then the tactical actions influence customer satisfaction, attitude toward the brand and loyalty. At the firm level, these customer measures can be into

Business information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business information system - Essay Example have tried to define criteria of successful IT project. According to them successful IT projects must satisfy following specifications. 1-The project should comply with technical performance specification. 2- The project should deliver solution to problem statement. 3-High level of satisfaction should be achieved among various stakeholders such as management team of parent organization, people of client organization, users and last but not the least project management team. Many researchers (such as Rook in 1986, Selin in 1989, Weitz in 1989, Redmill in 1990 and Wallace in 1990) have pointed out that cost, time and user specification as success parameter for IT projects. Other researchers (such as Might and Fischer in 1985, Larson and Gobeli in 1989) have found that IT projects need to fulfill criterions such as cost, technical performance and time in order to get successful. Meanwhile Baker in the year 1983 argued that success criteria for IT projects should not be restricted to var iables such as timescale and cost. According to Baker successful IT projects need to focus on fulfilling technical specifications and client satisfaction instead of focusing only on timely completion and saving cost. To put an end to this argument research scholars (DeCotiis and Dyer in 1979, Morris and Hough in 1987, Turner in 1993) have specified following criterion for successful IT projects (Wateridge, 1996). 1-The project must fulfil the business purpose. 2-The project must provide benefits to owner. 3-The project should satisfy needs of stakeholders. 4-The project should meet predefined objectives. 5-The project should be completed within specified time period. 6-The project should not exceed allocated budget. 7-The project should satisfy needs of all the stakeholders. 3.0 Organizational Perspective Delivering successful IT project depends on following organizational perspectives. 3.1 Contextual Facet Exogenous factors play crucial role on deciding the outcome of implemented I T project. In 2002, Lipshitzet has pointed out environmental uncertainties such as change in management, bankruptcy, labour disruption and other contingency situations can halt the progress of IT project. 3.2 Policy Facet Many organizations change their business policy in accordance to demand of the situation. For example business unit planning to expand their business in foreign shore might need customized IT project in comparison to business unit planning to diversify product portfolio in domestic market. 3.3 Psychological Facet Psychological drive of employees and stakeholders plays crucial role deciding the dynamics of IT projects. For example after implementation of IT project managers need to provide training to employees in order to handle implemented system without facing difficulties. In this phase there are possibilities of failure such as employees refuse to learn new things, employees get de-motivated to participate in the project, idea coalition between project manager and employees and others. Ultimately acceptance of the IT project among employees decides the success criteria (Chan, Cooper, and Tzortzopoulos, 2005). 3.4 Cultural Facet Learning organization concept plays cordial role on decidi

Child observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 1

Child observation - Essay Example Trish said â€Å"Hello!† and continued playing with blocks. Nate took some of her blocks from the tray and he also began to build something. Both children did not speak to each other and were very busy with what they were doing. I think Trish wanted to hold on longer to her mother because she is aware that they will be apart for the day. She was trying to assert her independence when she said â€Å"No!† which I believe is a powerful word for toddlers because it shows they can speak up for themselves. As her mother was walking away, I wonder what was running through Trish’s head. Is she afraid she will not see her mother anymore? Does she want to go with her mother? When the caregiver took her, it did not take long for Trish to stop crying as she was attracted to the toys on the shelf. I thought toddlers get distracted easily and they are fascinated with objects that stimulate their thinking. I think this is because they are in Piaget’s Pre-Operational Stage of Development when they begin playing with toys as symbols for something else. I believe she sees the blocks as tools to give life to her imagination. . I learned from Piaget that especially for very young children, they need concrete materials to help them learn better I think Trish felt comfortable with Nate because she did not mind him sitting beside her and taking some pieces of her blocks. Trish is still learning verbal skills and at her age, it is still very limited. I think if she had more verbal skills, she would engage in a conversation with Nate. I felt sorry for Trish when she clung to her mother. I just wanted to pick her up, comfort her and assure her that her mother will be back soon. As a mother myself, I feel her mother’s pain in leaving her at the centre but also understand that she needs to work. Trish was playing by herself at the play stove. The caregiver squatted near her and asked her what she was doing. Trish said

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 31

Homework - Essay Example To start with, I have found incorporation of technology in my studies to be very useful because of the readily available information in the internet. According to Educause, technology provides access to vast amount of information trough use of tools such as internet and online data bases (n.d). This is true because personally I do not encounter unsolvable academic problems considering the fact that I have easy access to internet tools at home and at the school library. For instance, whenever I need clarification on certain topics during my personal revision, I look up in the internet where there is virtually an answer to every kind of question. Secondly, incorporation of technology in training by our lectures has helped to grasp the ideas put forward easily. This is because technological presentations enable the lecturers to point out the key information easily and at ease. According to Nacada, use of good presentations can impact the success of students in their studies (2011). Considering how technological presentations are made, students are attracted to the method of presentation hence making them to pay full attention to the tutors. This is arguably true because presentations made through incorporation of technology, for instance PowerPoint presentation, appeal greatly to learners. Lastly, incorporation of technology in education has helped me to improve my academic performance by enabling my lecturers to have individual based supervision. The use of computers by students facilitates flexible training by lecturers because every student can submit their own work at their convenient time. Further, use of computers enables the lecturers to identify students with weakness on particular topics and attend to them individually as opposed to training the whole class at once. This is the reason for my improved academic performance because I have received

Child observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 1

Child observation - Essay Example Trish said â€Å"Hello!† and continued playing with blocks. Nate took some of her blocks from the tray and he also began to build something. Both children did not speak to each other and were very busy with what they were doing. I think Trish wanted to hold on longer to her mother because she is aware that they will be apart for the day. She was trying to assert her independence when she said â€Å"No!† which I believe is a powerful word for toddlers because it shows they can speak up for themselves. As her mother was walking away, I wonder what was running through Trish’s head. Is she afraid she will not see her mother anymore? Does she want to go with her mother? When the caregiver took her, it did not take long for Trish to stop crying as she was attracted to the toys on the shelf. I thought toddlers get distracted easily and they are fascinated with objects that stimulate their thinking. I think this is because they are in Piaget’s Pre-Operational Stage of Development when they begin playing with toys as symbols for something else. I believe she sees the blocks as tools to give life to her imagination. . I learned from Piaget that especially for very young children, they need concrete materials to help them learn better I think Trish felt comfortable with Nate because she did not mind him sitting beside her and taking some pieces of her blocks. Trish is still learning verbal skills and at her age, it is still very limited. I think if she had more verbal skills, she would engage in a conversation with Nate. I felt sorry for Trish when she clung to her mother. I just wanted to pick her up, comfort her and assure her that her mother will be back soon. As a mother myself, I feel her mother’s pain in leaving her at the centre but also understand that she needs to work. Trish was playing by herself at the play stove. The caregiver squatted near her and asked her what she was doing. Trish said

Answer the questions Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer the questions - Case Study Example Furthermore, it is out of his determination that he started the Element Bar, as an alternative producer of all-natural and organic bars. Third, Miller is a risk taker. As a strength, this ability grants him the opportunity to position himself in line with new business ideas in a highly competitive market and goes ahead to invest in them, with the hope of obtaining a substantial market growth. The strength of Element Bars lies in the differentiation of products done in the production of all-natural organic energy bars, as opposed to the competitor firms such as Bear Naked Granola, You Bar, and Humm Foods. On the other hand, Miller portrays weakness points in relation to his negotiation skills. He is a poor negotiator, as evidenced in his inability to convince the bank and other sources of financing to loan him capital to expand on the business. Subsequently, he panics when faced with the interviews with the Shark Tank investors, and spends a lot of time preparing, with mock interviews being organized by his family. Element Bars is also weakened by not having a strong capital base; hence, not viable for loan options from a bank or other financial institutions to enable it expand its business capacity. Additionally, has not been in the market for a long time, and lacks the capability to withstand the competitive pressure that comes from established firms within the industry (Gasparski, Ryan & Kwiatkowski, 2010). Element Bars has a great potential in the market of all-natural organic bars given that nearly all its competitor firms are not entirely differentiated into this form of bars. Furthermore, the firm has a potential market in diabetic and healthy conscious consumers who would always choose their products over those from other companies. The company has a huge potential of expanding in growth should it obtain the right amount of capital investment into increased production of the

Metaphysics & Epistemology Paper Essay Example for Free

Metaphysics Epistemology Paper Essay G. E. Moore’s main contributions to philosophy were in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and philosophical methodology. In epistemology, Moore is remembered as a stalwart defender of commonsense realism. Rejecting skepticism on the one hand, and, on the other, metaphysical theories that would invalidate the commonsense beliefs of â€Å"ordinary people† (non-philosophers), Moore articulated three different versions of a commonsense- realist epistemology over the course of his career. According to data I researched Moore’s epistemological interest also motivated much of his metaphysical work, which to a large extent was focused on the ontology of cognition. In this regard, Moore was an important voice in the discussion of sense-data that dominated Anglo- American epistemology in the early twentieth century. In ethics, Moore is famous for driving home the difference between moral and non-moral properties, which he cashed-out in terms of the non-natural and the natural. Moore’s classification of the moral as non-natural was to be one of the hinges upon which moral philosophy in the Anglo- American academy turned until roughly 1960. Moore’s approach to philosophizing involved focusing on narrow problems and avoiding grand synthesis. His method was to scrutinize the meanings of the key terms in which philosophers expressed themselves while maintaining an implicit commitment to the ideals of clarity, rigor, and argumentation. This aspect of his philosophical style was sufficiently novel and conspicuous that many saw it as an innovation in philosophical methodology. Moore is widely acknowledged as a founder of analytic philosophy, the kind of philosophy that has dominated the academy in Britain and the United States since roughly the 1930s. Moore also had a significant influence outside the academic philosophy, through his contacts in the Cambridge Apostles and the Bloomsbury group. In both academic spheres, Moore’s influence was due in no small part to his exceptional personality and moral character. One of the most important parts of Moores philosophical development was his break from the idealism that dominated British philosophy (as represented in the works of his former teachers F. H. Bradley and John McTaggart), and his defense of what he regarded as a common sense form of realism. In his 1925 essay A Defense of Common Sense, he argued against idealism and skepticism toward the external world on the grounds that they could not give reasons to accept their metaphysical premises that were more plausible than the reasons we have to accept the common sense claims about our knowledge of the world that skeptics and idealists must deny. He famously put the point into dramatic relief with his 1939 essay Proof of an External World, in which he gave a common sense argument against skepticism by raising his right hand and saying Here is one hand, and then raising his left and saying And here is another, then concluding that there are at least two external objects in the world, and therefore that he knows (by this argument) that an external world exists. Not surprisingly, not everyone inclined to skeptical doubts found Moores method of argument entirely convincing; Moore, however, defends his argument on the grounds that skeptical arguments seem invariably to require an appeal to philosophical intuitions that we have considerably less reason to accept than we have for the common sense claims that they supposedly refute.

Economic Changes to the Welfare State

Economic Changes to the Welfare State Write a 2000 words essay describing the economic aftermath of the Welfare state in the last century I. Introduction A welfare state is broadly defined as a state in which the government/the public sector undertakes key roles in the production and distribution of economic activities with the objective of protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. A welfare state is essentially a mixed economy type of economic system where the government undertakes a greater proportion of economic activities. This essay describes the economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century. The essay is organised as follows. Section II focuses on the theoretical foundations of the welfare state, while Section III concentrates on the economic aftermath of the welfare state. Section IV finally concludes the essay. II. Theoretical Foundations of the Welfare State The theoretical foundations described in this essay are from; (a) classical economics, (b) Keynesian economics, (c) Suzumura (1999), (d) Barr (1992), and (e) Heath (2011) Classical economics The classical economists including Adam Smith favoured a minimal role for the public sector. Their preference was for a limited role for the government in the provision of essential public works, the maintenance of law and order, and the defence of the country. They believe that the government’s role is to provide these core activities to provide an enabling environment for the market/private sector to undertake economic activities for economic growth. Keynesian economics Keynesian economics was used to justify an expansion in the economic role of the public sector. Keynesian economics created pressures on the government to stabilise the economy by helping to sustain the disposable income of individuals during cyclical fluctuations. Suzumura (1999) argues that welfare economics plays critical roles in enhancing human well-being and in the design and implementation of welfare state policies. Welfare economics is a normative concept and in general takes account of both efficiency and equity. On equity grounds, society may prefer an inefficient resource allocation for reasons for equity justice and this provides a justification for government intervention in the economy. Suzumura argues that the enlarged concept of welfare economics to incorporate equity justice has also extended the concept of well-being to incorporate/capture the basic considerations as liberty, opportunity and procedural justice and that this widening of the concept of well-being should reflect itself properly in the concept and agenda of the welfare state. Based on this conceptual framework, Suzumura then employs Amartya Sen’s concepts of functions and capabilities as vehicles to examine an individual’s advantages in the welfare s tate. To Suzumura the welfare state consists of one main system of competitive mechanism and three subsystems of (i) the competitive policy subsystem, (ii) the co-ordination policy subsystem, and (iii) the social security subsystem. Suzumura concludes that the task of the welfare economics in the welfare state is to deliberately design the main system and the three subsystems of the welfare state so that the whole system becomes incentive compatible to make it work effectively to maximise the well-being of the individuals in the society in terms of liberty, opportunity and procedural justice. Barr (1992) provides another theoretical foundation of the welfare state. Barr’s thesis and his contribution is on information problems for an efficiency case for various types of state intervention. He identifies two broad types of imperfect information problems leading to market failure in dealing with risks as adverse selection and moral hazard. The insurance industry was the focus of Barr’s analysis. Adverse selection results from asymmetric information between buyers and sellers of insurance, with buyers having more information than sellers and thus making it difficult to establish the ideal price for each individual. These characteristics of adverse selection cause the problems of (i) unstable pooling equilibrium because low risks drop out or because of competitive behaviour by insurers, and (ii) inefficient separating equilibrium, if it exists. Thus, in the face of adverse selection, the market is inefficient, or fails entirely and the state intervenes by making membership compulsory with social insurance as a typical example. Heath (2011) identifies the three normative models as redistributive, communitarian and public economics. The redistributive model describes the redistribution of resources to ensure that the outcomes produced by the market economy are less unequal.. The underlying assumption under the redistributive model is that the market is to maximise efficiency while the state promotes equity through redistribution by allocating initial endowments and adjusting final outcomes. The communitarian model considers the imposition of moral limits on the scope of the market so as to resist the commodification of certain domain of interaction. It is argued under this model that basic human needs should be satisfied through communal provision in which everyone is guaranteed a share rather than through commodification. The public economics model regards the state as correcting market failure, either through regulation, subsidisation and taxation, or the direct provision of goods and services. This model is referred to as the economic model because of the emphasis put on Pareto efficiency and the narrow conception of public goods based on Samuelson’s definition. Under the public economics model, market failure allows for the intervention of the state in economic activities. III. Economic Aftermath of the Welfare State The economic measure of welfare state activities is given by the proportion of public expenditure/spending to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that is, as a share of GDP. Gwartney, Holcombe and Lawson (1998) argue that even after providing for a generous definition of the concept of core functions to include (i) the protection of persons and property, (ii) expenditures on national security, (iii) expenditure on education, (iv) expenditure on physical infrastructure, and (v) the operational costs of the central bank to maintain a stable monetary regime; the share of the expenditures on core functions for most developed countries did not exceed 15% of GDP up to 1996. Meanwhile as at 1996, the share of government expenditure as a percentage of GDP was above 45% in most developed countries. The authors argue that this higher percentage above the required percentage for the core functions exerted a negative impact on the economy in terms of slower economic growth. Their findings indicate that a 10% increase in government expenditure as a share of GDP results in approximately 1% reduction in GDP growth. The authors assigned the following reasons for this ou tcome; (i) higher taxes/and or additional borrowing to finance government expenditures impose excess burden on the economy, (ii) as government grows, its productivity declines. This is characterised by the following trajectory – expenditure on core functions increases productivity but expenditure exceeding the core functions leads to diminishing returns and more and more expenditure eventually produces negative returns which leads to productivity declines, (iii) the political process accompanying increased public expenditure inhibits the entrepreneurship that drives economic growth through the discovery process. It is argued that as entrepreneurs discover new and improved technologies, better methods of production and opportunities that were previously overlooked, they are able to combine resources into goods and services that create wealth and economic growth, and (iv) the growth in government expenditure was characterised by heavy involvement in redistribution of income and regulatory activities that encouraged individuals to seek personal income via government favours rather than through production in exchange for income. Eventually resources are shifted from wealth creating activities toward the pursuit of wealth transfer which retards economic growth and generate income levels well below the economy’s potential. Tanzi and Schuknecht (1998) argue that from the late 19th century to early 20th century total government expenditure was less than 12% of GDP with expenditure covering the core functions. In the 1920s, the average total expenditure increased to nearly 20% of GDP. In 1937 public spending went up to an average of 23% of GDP resulting from the effects of the Great Depression. Between 1960 and 1980, there was a rapid increase in public spending from around 28% of GDP around 1960 to 43% of GDP in 1980. They further argue that the increased public expenditure/spending reflecting welfare state activities produced the following effects; (i) growing public spending and debt, (ii) rising real interest, (iii) slower growth, (iv) less attractive investment destination by international investors, even under growing globalisation, growing competition and capital mobility, (v) disincentive effects caused by higher taxation, and (vi) large-scale redistributive expenditures with negative impact on gr owth, employment and welfare. The authors’ table 6 (page 83) provides a comparative analysis on the size of government and economic performance as at 1990 between big governments and small governments. Big governments are equated to states with higher government expenditure, that is, with GDP shares exceeding 40% while small governments show government expenditures of less than 40% of GDP. The main findings were based on the following indicators of economic performance; (i) real GDP growth, (ii) Gross fixed capital formation (in percent of GDP), (iii) inflation (1986-1994), (iv) public debt (in percent of GDP), (v) economic freedom indicator, (vi) size of shadow economy (in percent of GDP), (vii) PPP-based per capita GNP (in US$), and (viii) standard deviation of GDP growth. The summary findings were as follows; (a) real GDP growth over a longer period lower in big government countries and that could account for growing unemployment experienced in welfare states with big gove rnments, (b) GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) much higher in countries with small governments, (c) based on the ratio of the standard deviation and the average growth rate (the coefficient of variation), there was no evidence that higher public spending leads to more stable growth (i.e no evidence that welfare states exhibited more stable growth rates). This indicator was to provide evidence on one of the main justifications of Keynesian economics that growing public spending is needed for a stabilisation policy to reduce fluctuations in growth over the business cycle, (d) gross fixed capital formation and inflation did not show much difference across groups of countries (i.e both big and small governments recorded almost the same rates), (e) public debt averages almost 80% of GDP in countries with big governments in 1990 – leading to the payment of considerable risk premiums on public debt obligations (higher real interest rates), (f) economic freedom in countries with big governments worse than countries with small governments, and (g) a strong correlation between spending by governments (and corresponding taxes) and the size of the shadow economy (almost 18% of GDP for big governments compared with 9.4% foe small governments in 1996). The authors recommend that fiscal reforms and lower public spending are needed in many countries with big governments in order to increase economic growth without sacrificing much social and economic well-being. IV. Conclusion In the current globalised world where technology is making major strides, the role of the state should be significantly different from the role played to the end of last century. The economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century indicates that to increase economic growth, the state should now play a more significant and intelligent regulatory role of providing a level playing field which allows the private sector to expand to areas traditionally undertaken by the state. The role of the state in income redistribution and in providing safety nets is very important but needs reassessment by policymakers. Targeted coverage and not universal coverage is what is needed and with the concept of redistribution narrowly defined to avoid many inefficient policies pursued under the justification of redistributing income. REFERENCES Barr, Nicholas, â€Å"Economic Theory and the Welfare State: A Survey and Interpretation†, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun. 1992); pp 741-803 Gwartney, James, Holcombe, Randell, and Lawson, Robert, â€Å"The Scope of Government and the Wealth of Nations†, Cato Journal Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 1998); pp 163-190 Heath, Joseph, â€Å"Three Normative Models of the Welfare State†, Public Reason, 3 (2), 2011; pp 13-43 Suzumura, Kotaro, â€Å"Welfare Economics and the Welfare State†, Review of Population and Social Policy, No. 8, (1999); pp 119-138 Tanzi, Vito and Schuknecht, Ludger, â€Å"Can Small Governments Secure Economic and Social Well-being?† Fraser Institute, 1998 YAW BEDIAKO

The Mending Wall :: essays research papers

Walls and Borders Do â€Å"good fences really make good neighbors?†(666) Robert Frost’s poem Mending Wall examines this as a local issue. It can also be interpreted as a global issue. Frost writes about two neighbor farmers and how a wall between their property effects the relationship between the two. Taking a more global look at the issue, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia relates to Mending Wall. Perhaps â€Å"good fences† give people a false sense of security. Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall, is about two neighbors who meet every year in the spring to rebuild the wall, which borders their properties. The wall is toppled each year by hunters, weather, and time. The narrator of the poem doesn’t see the point of rebuilding the wall year after year. He sees no problem with just letting the wall alone. He doesn’t understand what he is â€Å"walling in or walling out.† (667) He calls it, â€Å"an outdoor game, one on a side†¦ it comes to little more.† (667) His neighbor, however, wants to build the wall, saying, †Good fences make good neighbors.† (667) These neighbors have a conflicting view of the wall. One doesn’t see any sense in the wall, and the other insists that it be fixed, without giving any sensible reason. In 1991, the European country of Yugoslavia, located in southeastern Europe, in the Balkan Mountains, split into eight different nations, due to an â€Å"ethnic cleansing†. The countries formed from the split are Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Vgivodina, and Serbia. The main reason for the split is the diversity of the ethnic groups involved. There are the Serbs, Muslims, Croats, and Bosnians. The civil war started when Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia incited a rebellion. Bosnia is the center of the conflict, being the most diverse. The Bosnian-Croat Federation occupies Western Bosnia, which includes the capital city of Saraj evo. Whereas eastern Bosnia is occupied by the Serb Republic. Sarajevo is the center of most of the fighting, because it is such a diverse city, torn by different ethnic neighborhoods. Many European countries and the United States tried to end fighting before it spread throughout Europe, creating World War 3. The Dayton Agreement was established to try to unify the city. It stated that Sarajevo’s Muslim and Serb neighborhoods are reunified under the Bosnian government, much to the disdain of the Bosnian Serbs, who want to divide the city.

The Innate Nature of Sin

The Innate Nature of Sin Nathaniel Hathorne was an author who consistently wrote about satires of the Puritan time. His short stories often revolved around themes of sin and how no one could escape from committing sin. The short stories â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† written by Hawthorne, reflect these themes through elements of fiction, such as plot, setting, symbolism, and point of view. â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† is about a town’s minister who walks into Sunday Congregation with a heinous black veil covering his face.The veil shields him from the sins of the rest of the world, and the rest of the world from his sin. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is about a newly married man who leaves Faith, his wife to follow a man into the forest, where Satanic Rituals occur. These Satanic Rituals are powered by the people Goodman Brown had once known to be the most religious. Through the elements of fiction, t he short stories â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† show how there is no way for one escape from committing sin, no matter who they are. One of the stories Hawthorne writes is â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil. The story starts when a minster walks into his weekly Sunday sermon with a veil that cover’s his face.. The veil is seen as symbolic with sin, because the minister has started to wear his sin on his face. He is shunned from the town, as people start to grow uncomfortable in his presence. The veil is a constant reminder of their sins as well. When the Minister goes to a funeral of a girl, he walks in with the veil and stoops down to the corpse’s level, and when by accident his face unveiled (just to the corpse) â€Å"the corpse had slightly shuddered, rustling the shroud and muslin cap, though the countenance retained the composure of death. (â€Å"Black Veil† 337). When the corpse sees the face of the minister, it shudders in reaction. This reaction gives hints about what may be behind the black veil. It shows that what is behind the black veil is so dark, and horrible that even a dead body has a reaction, and the only reaction a dead body can have is fear of what may be coming next. At its end, there’s nothing the corpse can do about its life and how it was lived: with or without sin. Seeing all the sin behind the veil scared the corpse, as it was a reflection of all the sin it could not longer escape.All of its sin had caught up with the corpse as it lay in the coffin. Then the Minister continued to make a sermon, praying that everybody be prepared for death when what is underneath the veil is revealed. This scene says that death is when all of one’s sins come to catch up with them, and everything underneath the veil is revealed as they are judged before God. The veil, in this sense, can be anything as a cover for sin. For the Minister, it was a physical a pie ce of cloth that covered his face.For other’s it can be their personalities; how they behave around others can deceive others of their sin. After the funeral, the Minister goes to a wedding and just about he’s about to take a sip of his wine, after wishing the couple happiness, he sees his own reflection: â€Å"catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking-glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered – his lips grew white – he spilt the untasted wine upon the carpet – and rushed forth into the darkness. (â€Å"Black Veil† 338) In this scene, the Minister is, for the first time, seeing himself with the veil. His reaction is much similar to that of his congregation: fear.. Here, we see an element of fiction: Symbolism. The veil is symbolic for sins the Minister has committed. When he sees this veil, hHe feels fear – so much fear – that he drops what he is holding and flees. The fear of sin the veil ignites in him causes him to run, , as if to escape from them. He cannot let anyone see what he sees, as he is the only one who truly knows what his sins are.His sins are so frightening because he knows that eventually he will be accountable for every single one, and the veil will one day be pulled off. Even he, the Minister of the church, cannot escape from his sin, and eventually at death, everyone’s sins will catch up with him or her: At that point, there is nowhere to run. The next story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† is about a young man who is leaving his wife to go meet someone in the forests. He meets a man, who looks like an older version of himself, (actually the devil) and tells him that he wishes to go back to his village.He tells the man, his family was full of good Christians, and that he is ashamed to be associated with the devil. As he tells the Devil that he has to follow a different path, the Devil responds à ¢â‚¬Å"Well Goodman Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that is no trifle to say. † (Hawthorne 326) When the Devil says this, Goodman Brown gets confused: He believed his family to be of one of the most religious, and to see them associate themselves with the devil seems to be a lie. He believes that there must be rumors about his family.He can’t accept the fact that his father, and grandfather, who were known to be pious people, associated themselves with the Devil of all people. Goodman Brown waves off some people the Devil names, saying that they choose their own path. Then he says to the Devil that he would not be able to talk to the Minister of Salem Village if he were to go on. The Devil’s response to this is â€Å"Thus far the elder traveler had listened with due gravity; but now burst into a fit if irrepressible mirth, shaking himself so violently that his snakelike staff actually seemed to wri ggle in sympathy. (Hawthorne 327) Here, the Devil bursts into laughter when Goodman Brown suggests the Minister is a good Christian man. Goodman brown is offended at the man for proving all of his acquaintances wrong. He learns in this story that nobody, not even his good little Faith, can escape the Devil. His father, grandfather, the Minister, and Faith have all be revealed to be following the Devil, and it’s something he cannot escape. In Conclusion, both short stories, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† by Nathaniel Hawthorn, reveal the inevitable sin of the people we trust the most.It shows us that nobody can escape sin, and it’s innate of human nature. When the town’s people first see the Minister with his veil, their reactions are all of shock and fear. During his first sermon with the veil â€Å"Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preach er had crept upon them behind his awful veil and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought. † (Hawthorne 336) Here, Hawthorne is describing the effect the veil had on the people of that town.Everybody who was at the sermon felt as though Minister Hooper had crept up to them, and discovered their sins of actions, and their sins of thoughts. It says even â€Å"the most innocent girl† felt her sins being discovered. This quote states that nobody can escape from sin, despite trying your hardest. The innocent girl should have been free of sins, but she feels the fear of her sins being unveiled just as everyone else. The fact that the Minister came into the sermon with his â€Å"sins† on his face, people actually felt fear and power from his sermon.

Self Discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to make oneself do things that should be done. It is the correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. Acceptance, willpower, hard work, diligence, and persistence all come together to make self discipline. Self discipline is one of the more important attributes a person can master. Acceptance simply means that you see life as it should be seen and knowingly acknowledge what you see. Without acceptance you get either ignorance or denial.â€Å"Identify the area in which your discipline is weak, asses where you stand, accept your starting point, and design a program to improve. Along with acceptance you need willpower. Willpower is the ability to set a course of action and tell yourself to engage. Willpower gives you an intense temporary boost to create the momentum needed to overcome something. If you gather up all of your energy and use it to make a giant movement forward you can attack your problems at their weak points and break th em.Self-discipline is the ability to make oneself do things that should be done. It is the correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. Acceptance, willpower, hard work, diligence, and persistence all come together to make self discipline. Self discipline is one of the more important attributes a person can master. Acceptance simply means that you see life as it should be seen and knowingly acknowledge what you see. Without acceptance you get either ignorance or denial.â€Å"Identify the area in which your discipline is weak, asses where you stand, accept your starting point, and design a program to improve. Along with acceptance you need willpower. Willpower is the ability to set a course of action and tell yourself to engage. Willpower gives you an intense temporary boost to create the momentum needed to overcome something. If you gather up all of your energy and use it to make a giant movement forward you can attack your problems at their weak points and brea k them.

Principal Agent Conflict

2. Explain several dimensions of the shareholder-principal conflict with manager-agents known as the principal-agent problem. To mitigate agency problems between senior executives and shareholders, should the compensation committee of the board devote more to executive salary and bonus (cash compensation) or more to long-term incentives? Why? What role does each type of pay play in motivating managers? There are several dimensions to the principal-agent conflict.Principal-Agent Relationships exist whenever one person or party works in the interests of another party. The owner (the principal) hires and often delegates decision-making authority to professional managers (the agent) to perform tasks on his behalf. The challenge for the principal is to create an environment in which the agent has incentives to align their interests with those of the principal. The principal typically creates incentives for agents to act as the principal wants.The principal-agent conflict acerbates when th e incentive system creates a conflict of interest, the principal cannot ensure the agent is performing exactly the way the principal would like and due to the intrinsic unobserved managerial effort and the presence of random disturbances in team production. The lack of information shared between the two makes it impossible and expensive for the principal to monitor the decisions and performance of the agent.The agent usually has less to lose than the principal; therefore they often seek acceptable levels of profit and shareholder wealth while pursuing their own self interests. The uncertainty and risk includes the principal not knowing the extent to which the contract has been satisfied and they end up paying agency costs. To mitigate agency problems between senior executives and shareholders, the compensation committee should devote more to executive salary and bonuses (cash compensation); dependant on the level of cooperation between the executives and the board.If the board is ab le to secure the cooperation of the executives through higher salary and bonus, such action is acceptable. In addition, if the board can set up a system of monitoring the executives so that the executives make the effort required to further shareholder interests. Monitoring improves executive performance and can be combined with cooperation. If long term incentive schemes are used then there is isk that the organization may not make profits or the financial outcomes on which the incentives are based may not take place. When negotiating with managerial talent, the high risk of incentives keeps reputed managers away from the company. Top managers want to be certain of the compensation they will receive. Incentives are supposed to motivate managers to make more efforts, take responsibility, and achieve more. However, the insecurity of incentives reduces the motivation of managers.They feel insecure when the bulk of their compensation is incentive based. The role of higher executive sal ary and bonuses are to provide security to the top managers and motivate them. Overall, executive salary and bonuses based on negotiation with board members should reduce shareholder-manager conflict. There should be cooperation between the board members and the executives. A mechanism for monitoring executive performance will go a long way in improving the alignment of executive action with shareholder interest.

Welfare Reform Affects Us All Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Welfare Reform Affects Us All - Essay Example Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. This provided for many social programs aimed at helping people recover and get back on their feet. Within this legislation was provision for the unemployed, affordable housing, medical insurance, food assistance, as well as Aid to Families with Dependent Children. There were also many management agencies created to monitor the situation and ensure that the benefits were actually performing to their maximum potential; however, somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong. What started out as a stopgap measure to help the nation get back on its feet again quickly blossomed into an aid-dependency mentality that has spanned three generations. It’s a well known fact that anytime a person is given rights without being held accountable for those rights, respect for those rights falls. This is part of what has happened in our country with regards to social programs. Many people have developed not only a dependency, but also an entitlement concept that produces antisocial behavior and beliefs. So much so that in 1994, the Welfare, Food Stamps, and Medicaid programs comprised 20% of the national budget. On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Initially many politicians were afraid that there would be horrible results with families and children going hungry and becoming homeless. They felt that forcing Welfare recipients to go to work would jeopardize their children who would be left at home to fend for themselves while their primary care taker was at work. Seriously ill people, especially children, would not be able to receive treatment for their conditions and could possibly die. The Leftists Liberals painted a stunning picture of how America would become the scene of another Third World country with abject poverty and lack of basic human needs being met. Parents would be forced to get a divorce in order to get the amount of money needed by a family to actually survive on government assistance. Actually, it was never intended that a family could live happily ever after on government assistance with no need to do anything more than stand in line and reproduce yearly. What actually happened during the Welfare reform was simply amazing. Not only did the doomsday prophets prove to be totally incorrect, but also there was not part of the system that didn’t flourish under the new rules. It was discovered that the main contributors to a badly flawed system were intergenerational poverty, out-of-wedlock births, and system dependency. The very problems that the social programs had sought to eradicate were actually made larger through the programs. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act had these components that made it one of the strongest pieces of legislation aimed at fighting poverty in the late 20th century. It’s goals were to:1) end Welfare as an entitlement pr ogram, 2) require recipients to secure employment after two years on the system, 3) place a lifetime limit of five years on government assistance programs, 4) support two-parent families and discourage illegitimate births, and 5) enhance child support enforcement. The actual strength of this legislation was the back-to-work ethic for everyone to increase their self-esteem and confidence and decrease their dependency on handouts. People learned that they could become productive members of society again and become part of the solution not only for the economy, but also for their own families. Through increased child support enforcement, fathers could once again take pride in providing for their offspring. Back-to-work training programs gave people the necessary skills needed to enter the

Movie review for Shattered Glass Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For Shattered Glass - Movie Review Example As mentioned above, this film is about the real-life story of a journalist Stephen Glass, played by Hayden Christensen. At the start of the film, Glass in his 20s comes up with an entertaining story of a teenage hacker who is recruited by a software company, after or for hacking into their own computer system. However, when Glass fails to provide the relevant sources for that article, editor Charles Lane, played by Peter Sarsgaard, becomes suspicious. Then, when all his 41 published stories are investigated by the newspaper people, it is found out that Glass has completely or at least partially fabricated 27 of those articles. It is shown that Glass, without wanting to work hard and instead wanting to take a short cut to success, has came with these fabricated stories by concocting sources, supposed quotes, and even complete stories. However, when all his dubious actions were found out, he was fired and made to apologize along with his colleagues. The film clearly depicted the unethical activities of Glass and how it led to his downfall. From the beginning of the film, he is portrayed as a manipulative individual, who wishes to achieve fame through any means. A journalist duty comprises of going to the fields, studying the issues, interviewing all the connected persons, getting the official position, cross-checking the materials in hand, and then only writing the article. However, Glass due to his lazy nature and manipulative characteristic avoids fulfilling any of the above mentioned duties. Instead, he wrote articles from the confines of his office and home, by coming up with his own issues, by conducting fake interviews with concocted sources, and so on. Editors and other higher officials were also accused of journalistic dereliction because they missed cross-checking the stories of Glass, particularly his