Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Cultural History of Rap Essay

Public Enemy opens the track with â€Å"Cant Truss It† in a rap merge with Flavor Flav who shouts â€Å"Confusion† their voices paralleled over the heavy and energetic baselines. Even though the song speaks about slavery as rapped by Chuck D about the legacy of slavery, the opening rhymes could as well be used to describe the cultural history of rap music (Rose 272). While there is widespread perception that rap culture is nothing but a noisy and confusing genre of music that has crept into contemporary America’s culture, there are those who posit that rap is an educational tool, as a component of the hip hop culture it is a way of life, a representation of social activism and a music genre with deep social undertones that are drawn from its identifiable origins. Any discussion on the aesthetic edge of rap cannot be made unless a critical analysis is done of the sequential developments in rap music. Never even in its tutelage did rap gain the adoration of the larger populace. The obstacles it faced as it grew from its roots to achieve its present status are so many that it would be a great disservice to take a criticism leaning on the concept of aesthetic edge to disregard rap and pronounce it dead. Initially rap music was regarded as a passing fad that was nothing but a playful and ephemeral expression of black culture whose origins could be traced to the musical energies of the black urban teens. Wynston Marshalis dismissed hip hop as nothing but adolescent â€Å"ghetto minstresly† (Dyon xv). When it was realized that rap as a form of music was meant to stay longer than it had been expected, it received a novel christening that permanently fixed it as a form of music played by and for black ghetto youths. It is at this point that reactions against rap became transformed from dismissal to denigration and it was commonplace to hear attacks from both the white and black quarters. Trying to chart the origins or rap music as a form of cultural expression is very tricky because we are either forced to accept that the cultural foundation existed but only gained expression through rap or view rap as an independent cultural facet that spontaneously erupted without deep cultural roots from where it had existed way before it gained wide applause or derision. However, for the sake of charting the cultural history of rap and pinning it to what critics say about the music genre, it can be conclusively said that the first instance of rap could be traced to the revolutionary verse that was done by Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets. Pigmeat Markham followed next with â€Å"Here Come de Judge,† to Bessie Smith rapping along to the beats in her blues (Keyes 17; Forman & Neal 61). For the purposes of pinpointing the origins of rap, it is also prudent to cite that Rap existed in some ancient African oral traditions and consequently in contemporary African American cultural practices. Specifically, modern cultural history of rap begins in 1979, with Sugarhill Gang rapping in the song â€Å"Rapper’s Delight†. These early cases were mostly underground rap forms. Underground rap was viewed as the signal breaker and what followed next was the birth of hip hop and the beginning of the global popularity of rap music. Usually the first stage in production of rap music was the record production where the artist would place their rhythmic repetitive speech over known black music hits which were mostly R&B rhythms that were well known. This stage would later on transform with the help of advanced technical virtuosity through drum machines, instrumentation and the sampling of existing records so as to make rap a form of music that was creatively symbolic(Forman & Neal 61; Keyes 122). Despite all these changes rap was still limited to the inner city neighborhoods, especially in at its cradle; the New York City. Artists like Cold Rush Brothers, Africa Bambataa, Kurtis Blow, Busty Bee, Kool Moe Dee, Funky 4 plus 1, Grandmaster Mel and DJ Kool Herc, began actively experimenting with this new music genre as well as proclaiming its African roots (Keyes 17). Its development was thus marked by the description and analysis of the social, political and economic factors that stimulated its emergence and consequent developments. Such factors included police brutality, drug addiction, teen pregnancy coupled to a variety of cases of material deprivation. A notable case is Kurtis Blow’s lyrics in â€Å"Those are the Breaks†, and the â€Å"Message† a song merges between The Furious Five and Grandmaster Flash. These songs pictured the hues existent in the social misery as well as the stains that could be observed as profoundly reminiscent of urban catastrophe. A rendition of the â€Å"Message† was as follows; â€Å"You’ll grow up in the ghetto living second rate/ And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate/ The places you play and where you stay, / Looks like one great alleyway/ You’ll admire all the number book takers/ Thus, pimps, and pushers and the big money makers/ Drivin’ big cars, spending like a jungle sometimes/ It makes me wonder how I keep from goin’ under. † (Forman & Neal 62) This song together with Flash’s â€Å"New York, New York† became the pioneers of the social awakening that characterizes rap music in combination with musical creation, social protest and cultural expression (Forman & Neal 62). Kool Herc who was a Jamaican DJ in the Bronx is credited with revolutionizing the rhythms in rap. Herc had a unique style of deejaying where rhymes could be recited over instrumentals. In places where he was deejaying such as house parties, he would rap on the microphone while involving a variety of the in-house references. These duplicates of house parties where Herc was deejaying quickly diffused to Manhattan and Brooklyn and followers of rap music began to grow in number (Keyes 40; Adaso 1). Next stage of growth was the increment in financial fortunes from rappers. However, at the background there were still beliefs that rap was nothing but an epiphenomenol cultural activity that would with time wane off after the youth became bored or acquired a different diversion in life just like what had happened to graffiti art and break dancing. But the growth of groups such as the Run-DMC rap group entrenched rap as an independent sphere of an expression of art that increasingly took control of its destiny. Run-DMC became the progenitor of the modern form of rap that is basically a creative integration of diverse musical elements, social commentary and uncompromising cultural identification. This strong integration pushed rap into the mainstream of American culture as well as securing its future as a music genre that has a clearly identifiable tradition. The commercial and critical success that Run-DMC accomplished almost single handedly, pushed rap music into American homes by being certified gold, being featured on MTV as well as being the first rap album(Raising Hell in 1987) to go triple platinum(Keyes 67). Moreover, with the song â€Å"Proud to be Black† they intoned unabashed racial pride that was missing in those days of chronic racial discrimination. It can also be said that it was at this time in the cultural history that Run-DMC acting like a self proclaimed ambassador of rap music began to concentrate its characteristic subversive cultural didacticism to address issues of racism, classism, urban pain, and social neglect. In rap concerts, rappers engaged in ritualistic refusals to abide by the censoring of speech. The concert also acted as space for cultural resistance, loosening the strictures that Blacks were subjected to through demoralizing condemnation and tyrannizing surveillance. The latter actions by the hegemonies white ruling class only served to muffle cultural creativity and self expression. Based on these developments rap music became a strong social force fighting for their civil rights and liberties. Commercial success was instrumental in pushing rap music to the mainstream American culture on one hand but on the other, another charge was levied on rap music: that rap expressed and promoted violence. A notable personality, Tipper Gore has often retained his repeated stance that rap music only appeals to those kids who are angry, disillusioned and unloved. He posits that rap tells them that it is okay to engage in violence. To this day there is a popular perception that there exists an intimate linkage between rap music and the violence exhibited in the social arena especially by Latino and black inner city youth. However, much people may try to substantiate these claims, they are merely side shows and have nothing to do with the deep understanding of rap as a genre of music as well as a cultural and historical identity of the American people. There are countless numbers of rappers who have spoken against violence. On point is rapper KRS-One on his track titled, â€Å"Stop the Violence† in the top selling album of 1989, â€Å"Self Destruction†. In the track KRS-One raps that violence predates rap and is therefore not a characteristic of rap music. He urges a stop of black on black violence as it only erodes the social and communal fabric that had for decades debased inner cities where blacks resided across America (Forman & Neal 66). Despite the potency of the message that KRS-One put across, categorically negative images in against rap have persisted. In a nutshell, rap music is emblematic of the existence of glacial shifts in aesthetic sensibilities that have for decades progressed as blacks moved from one generation to the next with regard to the severity of economic barriers that have been at play in the movement from the ghetto life to middle or upper middle class blacks. Fortunately, these negative perceptions of rap have led to the development of a fierce competitive steak among rappers and hence their continual transcendence across boundaries to global markets. It is upon this developments that rap modeled the modern definition of hip hop which opines that it is a form of music comprised of emceeing and deejaying coupled with graffiti and break dancing. These are the four components of hip hop that catapulted it to its current big business nature. As this evolution progresses other components like clothing trend, lifestyle, slang and the general mindset are becoming more and more incorporated into the hip hop culture. In differentiating rap and hip hop it can be said that rap is a genre of music in the hip hop culture. Hip hop is a lifestyle complete with its own dress codes and lingo. To borrow the words of KRS-One, hip hop defines how you life while rap is definitive of what you (Adaso 1; Cheryl Keyes interview with KRS-One). Therefore, as a product of decades cross cultural integration with deep roots in the African culture, African oral tradition and consequently African American tradition, it is deeply weaved into the social fabric that pronouncing it dead based on the basis of aesthetic edge is simply parochial. First, it is prudent to understand the cultural developments of rap music because it is only in such an understanding that it becomes considerably plausible to attribute lack of aestheticity in its present forms. In context, rap music brings together so many complex social, economic, cultural and political issues. Its contradictory articulations are neither signs of losing the aesthetic edge nor signs of the absence of intellectual clarity. As stated in the beginning of this discourse, the obstacles that rap has survived to become what it is today are may and variable. Therefore, the contradictory articulations that are existent today are but common features of cultural dialogues that not unidirectional but multi directional in that they include the social, cultural and political contexts that define the everyday struggles over pleasure, resources and meanings in the environment where we live and interact(Rose 274). Rap music is a cultural expression that is a preserve of the black community since it prioritizes black voices living in the inner cities of urban America. It is highly rhythmic with a very strong storytelling component. The music is basically electronically based. These are some of the characteristic features of rap music. It is upon these tenets that rap music should be judged so as to form an opinion on its relevance. Rapping which is currently embedded on the powerful technological, industrial as well as ideological institutions usually involve the telling of long and sometimes abstract stories that are necessary in passing the information to the wider audience. Memorable phrases and rhymes that are themselves black sound bite packaged in an ever changing black slang. In essence, rap music wizards, all sounds, images, icons and ideas for recontextualization, mockery, pun and celebration. All these characteristics lie at the core of rap and are therefore definitive of it. In his book, Hip Hop Matters, Watkins, quotes David Samuels who asserts that â€Å"rap has forfeited whatever claim it may have has to particularly by acquiring a mainstream white audience whose taste increasingly determined the nature of the form. What whites wanted was not music, but black music, which as a result stopped really being either† (85). This statement confirms that rap has lost its aesthetic edge because owing to its origins that clearly defined the cultural difference between white and black music, such a divide was broken by rappers like Eminem who symbolized the first breakage of that division. The fact that Eminem rose to a celebrity status despite his white background also confirms that from the earlier days when rap was a preserve for only the black kids, rap has revolutionized and rewritten the racial and cultural history of America. This assertion can be counterbalanced by the fact that the existence and the inevitability of social change cannot be used as a reason to proclaim that rap has completely lost its aesthetic edge. Moreover, the American landscape has changed both socially, economically, politically and culturally. Days when white hegemonies and racial discrimination have gone by. There cannot be a greater explanation for the political changes than the mere fact that a Black president is occupying the white house. In introducing the book, Know What I Mean, by Dyson rapper JZ reiterates the socio-economic underpinnings that defined his life as he grew on the tough streets of Detroit. These conditions of life opened up his mind to the benefits of learning. He could have become a teacher at Baltimore to show the young kids the benefits of leaning just like Tupac had been shown that there existed a power in knowledge and understanding a people’s history (Dyson ix). He further points out that hip hop are not only Black American but American as well. It is correct in the context of cultural discourses to pinpoint forms of music that are termed as rap and are indeed not. Nas’ assertion that hip hop is dead is welcome as it denotes artistic vigilance. Moreover, Nas forms the caliber of rappers who have maintained the original style and content of rap music. As a rapper he has come into contact with a variety of musicians who are not driven by the basic nature of the rapper to use music as a form of activism against social ills. In his book, Dyson describes Nas as one of his generation who is not illiterate, destructive or materialistic, a man who read for passion, pleasure and intellectual stimulation (iv). At the core, rap music can never be called rap without an examination and acceptance of its true nature in the social fabric of America’s landscape. According to Nas, hip hop is dead is a title he used for his album because he felt that unlike in the historical past, people no longer have political voices. Speaking in an interview with MTV, he said, â€Å"When I say ‘hip-hop is dead’, basically America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead †¦ Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. It’s like a slingshot, where you throw the m- back and it starts losing speed and is about to fall down. That’s where we are as a country †¦ what I mean by ‘hip-hop is dead’ is we’re at a vulnerable state. If we don’t change, we gonna disappear like Rome. I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop †¦ We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say† (MTV. com) In another interview Nas said that he used the title as a way of engendering reaction from other artists which like he expected happened. Nas blamed the hip hop world especially those in the South for reducing the quality of rap with sub genres like snap music and crunk. Such productions were ideally an affront to Nas’ street credibility. It is aspect of street credibility that Keyes refers to as street consciousness. A critical analysis of the lyrical content as well as the social message in many of today’s rap hits confirms Nas’ assertion that hip hop is dead. The noble quest for social voice that had existed in the past has been replaced with a music genre that is solely driven towards material possession and the pleasures that accompany such acquisitions of wealth. In another interview he could not be more exact, he said that rappers were simply monkeying around and just scrambling for attention. As a counter attack to the notion that hip hop has lost its aesthetic edge, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Lil Wayne and Kanye West scoffed at the assertions made by Nas. Specifically, Ludacris intoned that hip hop ain’t dead that it was indeed living in the South. Saying that it was the South keeping it alive, he added that hip hop is what you make it to be. Moreover, they believed that due to the booming South, saying that hip hop is dead does not make sense as the south would have been dead too(http://tbohiphop. net). According to Keyes, Rap music if a forum used by rappers to address economic and political disfranchisement of youths especially black youths, it fosters ethnic pride, displays cultural values and aesthetics. At the core rap is artists, the themes they portray and the variation of styles in the portrayal of these themes as a sure reflection of urban life and street consciousness values and aesthetics. Therefore as countries, cultures and cultural components change and socially restructure, there is going to be a continual transformation across cultures and not even rap music can escape such an onslaught. However, a dominant cultural force like rap genre can never be erased. There are core components that will forever define and differentiate rap music from other musical genres. Works Cited Dyson, E. Michael. Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop. Westview Press, 2007 Forman, M. & Neal, A. Mark. That’s the joint! the hip-hop studies reader. Routledge Press. 2004 Keyes, L. Cheryl. Rap Music and Street Consciousness. University of Illinois Press. 2004 Rose, Tricia. Voices from the Margins: Rap Music and Contemporary Cultural Production. In Popular Culture in American History. By Jim Cullen. Blackwell Publishing, 2001 Watkins, C. Samuel. Hip Hop Matters: Politics, Pop Culture, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement. Beacon Press, 2005 Websites Adaso, H. A Brief History of Hip-Hop and Rap. http://rap. about. com/od/rootsofraphiphop/p/RootsOfRap. htm Is Hip-Hop Dead? Luda, Big Boi Disagree With Nas. http://tbohiphop. net/is-hip-hop-dead-luda-big-boi-disagree-with-nas/18/ MTV. NAS Interview, â€Å"Hip-Hop Is Dead†. MTV. com

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Daddy by Sylvia Plath Essay

In the poem â€Å"Daddy†, Sylvia Plath uses many literary devices to illustrate her struggles for freedom in relationship, precisely with her father and husband. She uses heavy metaphors and dense allusion to create imagery of hatred towards her relationship between both men. It is important to know Plath’s historical background before readers dive into any of her artistic work. Sylvia had a very negative relationship with men in her life especially her father and husband. Slyvia’s father, Otto Plath passed away when she was eight, in which it took a huge toll in Sylvia’s life. Sylvia had always longed for a good relationship with her father, but Otto’s true connection between his children was only through academic achievement. This prompts Sylvia to work hard and excel in school, but death came visiting her father too early before they reach the ultimate father and daughter relationship Sylvia had hoped for. She felt disappointed, and in some way cheated because her failure to really get to know the man whom she calls father (â€Å"Shmoop Editorial Team†). Her real-life husband Ted Hughes also affected her emotionally as he left her for another woman after a long struggle in their marriage. This only contributes her rage, and vengeance which would come up in her later work. Even though we usually are very strict when it comes to separating the speaker of the poem and the author of the poem, in many ways, her real-life persona speaks for her in the poem. It wouldn’t be fair to take her word in the poem granted as a display of her relationship (like comparing her father to a German Nazi, and a vampire) but we can analytically unravel the hidden message in the metaphor she uses to describe her constant battle with struggle in her life. She starts off the essay with: Any more, black shoe. In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white, Barely daring to breathe or Achoo. (2-5) In this stanza, she metaphorically speaking about the entrapment of her father memories in her life, like the little spaces in between a foot and a shoe. The confinement makes it seems hard for her to even breathe, or in her case, living an uneasy life. So we got the expression that she is talking to his father, hence the title Daddy. We can tell that she has a bad relationship with her father that is making her life miserable. She goes further to explain the relationship with her father is similar to what happens during holocaust. In line 29-35, she uses a train engine to illustrate her as a Jew being transported to a concentration camp. She describes her father as a nazi with â€Å"neat moustache†, and bright blue Aryan eye for which we got the image of him as Hitler. In a sense, she was the victim of her own father, and had to â€Å"kill† him in order to gain freedom (6). She also wrote: In the picture I have you, A cleft in your chin instead of your foot But no less a devil for that, no not Any les the black man who Bit my pretty red heart in two.(52-55) A strong metaphor that refer to her father as an evil (using the color black as a color symbolism) man-devil who bit and broke her heart into two. Her tone throughout the poem was that of hatred and disgust. Even though she kept on rambling on how she hates her father, the content of the poem wasn’t purely hatred. She still loves her father as it was said in line 14, â€Å"I used to pray to recover you† (14). This event took place after she â€Å"killed† her father which shows that she wishes that her father is with her again (6). I truly believe the speaker is being overly exaggerated when it comes to using metaphors and similes to show how much she hates her father. First and foremost to this inference is the way she uses the word daddy instead of father, which is only used to show fondness toward the other person. Deep down, she truly loves him and wishes for his love despite of all the things he had done to her. She even tells us how she was heartbroken when they buried his father when she was only ten years old. The overwhelming scheme  of her depression prompts her to commit suicide, but found a way around to â€Å"be† with her father. She married a man that has the characteristic of her father. I found this interesting because the result of her father’s death should be the opposite. She should feel like a burden has been lifted from her and that she no longer has to deal with the man that always scared her, like the one she mentioned in stanza 9, â€Å"I have always been scared of you†. She even marries a man that has all the traits of her father as she said it in stanza 13, â€Å"†¦And the I knew what to do. / I made a model of you, / A man in black with a Meinkampf look† (63-65). This prompts me to think that the speaker never really got over his dead father. Towards the very end, she describes how the man she marries sucked the blood out of her life, just like a vampire. The experience she went through was the same with her father, and just had to kill him. â€Å"Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through† was the last line of the poem (80). This line was supposedly intended to make the reader think that she finally got over her fear of her dead father. But, she still uses the informal noun Daddy, which reveals that she still has some affectionate towards her father. She describes the relationship as Fascism â€Å"Every woman adores a Fascist, / The boot in the face, the brute / Brute heart of a brute like you† (48-50). In a way, she forces herself to be overpowered by a tyrant in order to seek for love. It is revealed that it wasn’t his father fault in the first place, but her choice to be in that situation in reference to the line â€Å"Every woman adores a Fascist† (48). She has the free will to get out of the relationship, but she â€Å"adores† the characteristic of her father, and let herself deteriorate while doing so (48).

Monday, July 29, 2019

Judicial System in Mexico Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Judicial System in Mexico - Research Paper Example The Mexican court handles its procedures having been guided by the Mexican Constitution just like in other countries (Baker & Mckenzie, 2008). Whenever a dispute occurs between two parties that needs judicial intervention, the dispute is presented to the state court. The state court then goes ahead to verify the claim, after which the court serves the other party in dispute with the claim. The other party who is the defendant then has an obligation to give a response within nine days. This period is based on the nature of the claim that has been presented to the defendant. After both parties are familiar with the nature of the claim, the presentation of evidence begins immediately and this happens within a period of approximately forty days. For the evidence to be accepted for questioning it has to be very specific to the dispute as in Mexico, indirect or vague evidence is rendered as inacceptable in a court of law (Rolando, 2013). The components of valid evidence include documents, witnesses, confessions and technical evidence too that includes audio and visual evidence i.e. photographs, video clips and also sound recordings. The aspect of the technological evidence acceptance as evidence is relative depending on which country it is. Some states do not accept such kind of evidence. After the evidence has been received and rendered acceptable, the disputing parties are granted a chance to make their final presentation in accordance to the evidence that has been presented. This normally happens in a period of three days. After the conclusions have been presented, the court then gives a final resolution to the disputing parties. This happens in a period of approximately fifteen days. The judge then goes ahead to give a judgment after examining the available evidence (Timothy, 2013). The disputing parties can now go ahead and file an appeal or a complaint in case they are not contented with the judgment. In case of an

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Culture - Essay Example Under this spectrum, the paper will establish similarities and/or differences by exploring cultural or religious traditions, symbols, or beliefs from my cultural background. Findings depict that culture traverses along broad measures and as such, it can be or appear as a myriad of many things that ranges from the food people eat to the ways in which people dress. It can even seek to explain how to obtain and prepare the said food. There are large numbers of factors that influence an individual’s culture. However, common thoughts suggest that when one brings the issue of culture into a debate, culture becomes something that is very narrow and defined (Havilland 44). As such, certain people define it as simply an area in which one resides in. Note that, structures of a family that comprise of things such as habits of a community, expectations and gender roles can have great impact on the ways in which one looks upon another’s culture. The ethnic background of an individual or a group provides a stepping-stone towards regarding a particular type of culture. When grows in a family, he or she takes up after the ethnic background of the respective family. This means that, society influences someone’s cultural response towards laws, morals, and rules of that society. Following practices and adhering to rules of the given society shapes one’s way of life, which in turn explains his or her culture (Samovar, Porter, and McDaniel 102). Bear in mind that, when one becomes deviant of these rules and laws of the society as depicted by the culture, he or she is liable for punishment. With reference to this aspect, it becomes paramount for one to accept and learn the cultural laws and rules of the society that he lives in, in order to avoid unnecessary punishments (Havilland 61). Since our cultural baggage composes of a wide range of cultural belongings, our daily

Parking Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Parking Economics - Essay Example Each of the firms produces goods or services that do not have any unique characteristics when compared to the other firms. In perfect competition, each firm takes the price that is in the market. Not a single firm can set or determine the price of the goods, and they must take the equilibrium price. The output of each firm is usually a perfect substitute of the other firms’ output. The demand for the firm’s output is thus perfectly elastic. The market supply and demand, determine the market price that a firm must take. All firms can sell any quantity of goods at the market price. The marginal revenue is equal to the price. The demand curve for the products is horizontal ant the market price (Parkin 12). The demand that is associated with the products of a firm is perfectly elastic; because a sweetener for one firm is a perfect substitute for the sweetener of the other firm. The market demand can thus not be perfectly elastic since the sweetener is a substitute for other goods. In perfect competition, the goal of any firm is to maximize profits given the constraints that the firm will face. The firm must then decide on how to reduce production costs, what quantity of goods to produce and when the firm should enter or exit the market (Parkin 35). In a perfectly competitive firm, the output that maximizes the economic profit is chosen. The firm looks at the total revenue and the total cost curves to find the profit-maximizing output, the difference between the total revenue and the total cost is the economic profit. At the low output levels, a firm will incur an economic loss and with this the firm cannot recover the fixed costs. At the intermediate level, the firm makes some economic profit (Parkin 36). The firm can also use marginal analysis to determine the profit-maximizing output. Marginal revenue is constant, and the marginal cost increases as the output increases, with this, the

Saturday, July 27, 2019

In depth research on the difference berween Slow cooking and Fast Essay

In depth research on the difference berween Slow cooking and Fast cooking as applies to modern standards in today's industry - Essay Example A nation’s diet reveals more about its culture and values than its art or literature (Schlosser, 2002). According to Belanger (1998), the attitude towards fast food mirrors the American society: â€Å"industrialized, impersonal, dominated by big business, advertising driven, hectic, anti-environmental, and not very satisfying.† In today’s hectic world, where there is simply no time for relaxation and pleasure and the society is driven by convenience and speed, fast food seems to be the answer. Fast food requires no grocery shopping or cooking, thereby saving the labor required to do both. The slow food movement directly opposes every concept that fast food represents – blandness, uniformity, conformity and the blind worship of science and technology (Krummer, 2002). In his article, Vinci (2007) propagates the concept of slow food as eating healthily and responsibly. Although critics of slow food claim that it is elitist and unaffordable by ordinary people, Kummer uses a different range of adjectives to describe the same. According to him, they are mainly peasant foods that have been prepared the same way for centuries. They are time-tested and spring directly from regional cultures and cuisines (2002, p.12). The affinity towards industrial standardization and mass production is another reason for the increasing popularity of fast food. Fast food stems from an entirely different sort of mass culture and mass production, says Krummer (2002). One Taste Worldwide, the slogan of one of the largest fast food chains, McDonalds, perfectly sums up the homogenizing and standardizing effect that seems to have captured the taste buds of many. Savoring genuine tastes together with saving the environment is the new trend that is taking the world by storm, declares Vinci (2007). The slow food brigade is also spreading the message that food should not only be tasty but also nutritious and healthy, which

Friday, July 26, 2019

Literature & research review of workforce diversity in healthcare Essay

Literature & research review of workforce diversity in healthcare - Essay Example Properly diverse health care personnel help in expanding health care access for most of the underserved; and also adequately foster research in main neglected areas that are linked to the societal needs. A diversified, skilful, and enriched team of managers or policymakers are vital meeting the recurrent needs of an assorted populace. This top level management is highly relevant with consideration of the current modern world. Typically, there is highly empirical conception which denotes that the long-standing resolutions to achieving sufficient diversity in the health professions normally depend upon primary reforms. Healthcare sector is one the vital sectors in every country. Hence, proper constant improvements to the healthcare system are inevitable. The changes to the healthcare system must commence from the country’s precollege learning system to the practicing field. To enhance the occurrence of the reforms, there is an application of the affirmative action. That is; oriented tools in entire health professions schools. The affirmative actions are significant to achieving varied health care personnel that is important to the earlier or original setting. The paper looks deep into the theoretical and entailed operational process. The paper highlights on extensive literature review which divides into two sections of theoretical and empirical evaluation. It lastly provides vivid recommendation on relevant best practices that should be undertaken (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). The theoretical and operational perspectives outlines that Workforce diversity in healthcare emanates from the essence that United States is a country with a wealthy assortment of races and entailed ethnicities. The country is also facing influx people from other continents with varying background. Hence, the diversification of the health care remains the greatest challenge for the country. In summary, US

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Ethics of Gene Therapy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics of Gene Therapy - Case Study Example The term cloning encompasses three different procedures leading to different results. These are embryo cloning (artificial twinning), adult DNA cloning (reproductive cloning) and therapeutic cloning (bio medical cloning). Of these three, therapeutic cloning seems to hold the maximum potential to breed humans (read human cloning). Human cloning is most aptly described as breeding humans for the purpose of harnessing tissues and organs from their bodies. Therapeutic cloning begins with the insertion on a human DNA into an ovum. A pre embryo is formed by giving electric shocks to the resultant ovum. The stem cells from the developed pre embryo are then extracted and subsequently provided an suitable environment where they develop into the required tissue or organ. These experiments are yet to produce any significant results. Once accomplished, the aim of developing organs or tissues which perfectly match with the recipient will be realized eliminating the fatal risk of rejection because the organ will be based on the recipient's genetic material. Human cloning is also expected to make new breakthroughs in rejuvenation, heart attack reversals, diabetics, leukemia, genetic disorders and even cancer. Despite the broad spectrum of benefits that human cloning offers, according to a poll, "63% believed that human cloning is against God's will and 90% considered it to be a bad idea" (Times, 2001). A Morgan poll conducted during November 2001 found that 70 percent of Australians aged 14 and over approved of extracting stem cells from human embryos to treat disease and injury. Seventy percent also believed that couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment should be able to donate them to research rather than discard them. However, when it came to using a patient's own genetic material to create a cloned embryo to be used as a source of stem cells (i.e. therapeutic cloning), just over half (55 percent) of the respondents approved, with 32 percent disapproving and 13 percent undecided (Morgan Poll, 2001).Animal cloning application as a regular process should be prevented and breeding of humans should also be strongly opposed to maintain the natural uniqueness of each individua l (Church of Scotland, 1997). These objections are not absolutely without any reasons. They do have apt explanations and sufficient grounds. Human cloning would produce a gamut of clones with reduced mental abilities and enhanced physical strengths which would make then highly susceptible to exploitation. Producing designer babies with enhanced skills would also lead to an excess of skilled persons thus decreasing the importance of talent and skill. Human cloning may also lead to emotional difficulties in the clone human's life. A child born from his father's DNA would in effect be a twin of his own father. This can also lead to a high degree of conundrum. There is no guarantee that human clones would be normal and they might even be suffering with life long disabilities. Any minor flaws while incorporating certain characteristics could as well create fictional monsters. Tampering with nature to an

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Government Job vs Private Job Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Government Job vs Private Job - Research Paper Example The â€Å"game† presents no investment in the future of the company or corporation, its merle an exchange of wealth. This scenario contributes many problems to the current operating business atmosphere. Mergers bring about immediate economic problems that include, loss of markets to foreign competitors, continuing trade deficits, inadequate operating capital, declining productivity, debt-heavy corporations, and loss of many jobs. The debt is due mainly to financing in order to carry out the merger. These problems plus lagging research and development add to the complications of business operations after the merger is finalized. Another factor that has played a significant role in the situation of state and federal government budgets now are government financial bailouts. The first of these was the Savings and Loan Bailout of 1989 due to more than half of America’s Savings and Loans failing between 1986 and 1989. This was primarily due to lax government lending policies. These business bailouts have directly affected the budget, deficits, and economic stability of our federal and state governments. The US passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act in October 2008 for a $700 billion financial sector bailout. This resulted in the bank rescue of 2008, which called for a $250 billion cash infusion into the banking system. The bailout of Bear Stearns in April 2008 ended in lending the firm $29 billion to JP Morgan to buy the troubled firm. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed in the late summer of 2008. The federal government committed up to $200 billion to save both these giant mortgage lenders. Also, $100 billion in cash credits was guaranteed to each of them to prevent bankruptcy. American International Group (AIG), who was one of the largest insurance companies in the world. The government took control of the company and guaranteed them $85 billion in loans.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Choose one of the subjects ( table of content is required) Term Paper

Choose one of the subjects ( table of content is required) - Term Paper Example Consumers tend to purchase more when the interest rates are low, and purchase less when the interest rates are high. This is because low interest rates increase the disposable income available to a consumer, and as such, has more income to spend on purchases, whilst high interest rates reduces the disposable income available to a customer, thereby he or she has less income to spend on purchases. As a natural rule of economics, a person tends to spend more when he or she has a higher amount of disposable income. However, if such a person has lower amount of disposable income, he or she will probably spend less. As such, interest rates primarily tend to affect the middle income and the low-income consumers within the economy who do not have a vast fortune to spend of purchases and luxuries. However, this does not rule out the fact that interest rates also affect the high-income earners within the economy only that its effect on their disposable income is dismal compared to consumers from the other two income brackets. The rich might only feel the effect of high interest rates while investing, especially when the cost of investment raises due to high interests rates. As for shopping and purchase, the rich will probably go for pricy high-end luxury goods and services as they attach price to quality, in the sense that the more expensive it is, the higher quality it is. As for th e other consumers, they tend to purchase within their limits in the sense that higher prices scare them away and reduce their spending and purchasing patterns, while lower prices increase their spending as it increases their purchasing power, As such, interest rates come into play in the sense that higher interest rates equally lead to a rise in common products and services consumed by middle level and lower level consumers. For instance, if a proprietor secures a loan for his or

Monday, July 22, 2019

Speeding cost Essay Example for Free

Speeding cost Essay I will never ever speed again. Speeding cost way too much time and aggravation to continue speeding. This ticket has made me realize that all speeding does is put me and other people in danger and waste a lot of gas. And in these economic times wasting gas isn’t the best idea. I can drive 55 in a 55. Statistics show that if the speed limit is 65 and you go 75 it will get you to your destination 10 minutes faster but you also increase your risk of accident by 25%. Honestly I don’t want to risk an accident over 10 minutes of time. It’s pointless. And I have learned my lesson from speeding in excess over the speed limit. This will never happen again Judge When you speed, you have less time to react to unexpected situations. Other drivers have less time to react to your situation. With that being said, you can easily harm someone or yourself if not kill them by not watching your surroundings. Because like stated before, you not only have little time to react at the normal speed of traffic, but now you are speeding which takes away from the normal time, in return gives you minimal to no time to react at all. Cars are not really designed for high speed even though they are capable. Braking systems are not designed for stops form high speeds. They can overheat and fail in an emergency stop, therefor the â€Å"perfect breaks† I thought I had are completely useless. Which means the poor person in front of me is probably fixing too suffer because I had too speed. In cases as concerned as running into the back of someone. I have heard of people getting paralyzed by careless driving mistakes such as speeding and missing a stop sign.

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay Example for Free

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay Organizations around the world are continuously recording data and reporting financial information to the used for many purposes by the respective users. A tremendous amount of financial transactions continuously stir in the organizations, some transactions occur each second or minute whereas some transactions are very unique and take place occasionally as a result of a specific event. That is why to bring things in conformity and consistency, it is important that organizations establish standards and procedures for recording their data. In doing so present results will be in a position to be compared with historical data and with entities in similar industry. Listed companies have to particularly follow standard formats and disclose their financial information in such a way that it is easily understood by the users of the financial statements. This is because consistency flows through not just one organization but the entire industry making outcomes easier to contrast. These objectives are being addressed by standard setting boards such as IAASB by setting International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting standards (IFRS). Both IFRS and IAS are equal in terms of their value and standing. (Tatum Malcum) All transactions need to be recorded as suggested above. One of the aspects that are a part of recording is financial instruments; created by a legal document and having different monetary values. They can be classified as cash or derivative instruments. Cash type of financial instruments is widely used and can be most easily understood. Currency in itself is a cash instrument or a bank cheque is a good example which can be used to transfer money from one bank account to another. However derivative instruments include those tools such as futures; an instrument saying that the seller will sell the asset or buyer will buy it at a future date. Price of such transactions is determined at the time of entering into a future contract. There are other instruments as well such as options and swaps whereas sometimes stocks, bonds and currency forwards are also termed as financial instruments. (Tatum Malcum) Due to the wide range of financial instruments being used, IAS 39 was introduced by International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in 2001 to regulate the process of recognition and measurement of such transactions. The organizations dealing with them were facing problems with respect to treatment as different approaches were being applied by entities. This led to inconsistency of disclosing and recording of appropriate amounts within the industry as they were no standard process for recording the financial instruments. This directed the results of entities within the same industry to be incomparable with one another. Many of transactions involving financial instruments remained unrecognized as no proper recognition and measurement processes were known to the accountants. Hence CFO and CEO were in a position to distort the actual results and lead shareholders astray. (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur) In response to that IAS 39 introduced a concept of fair value accounting. The standard increased the importance of the fair value accounting for the financial instruments and therefore required entities to record assets and liabilities on the face of the balance sheet and discloses the nature of derivatives in the financial statements. In case of hybrids, the structure had to be broken down into two components (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur). This is because hybrid instruments have a mixture of characteristics of both debt and equity thereby market price of the hybrid instrument is sensitive to both the interest rates and quoted price for the stock (Riskglossory. com). The two components of the hybrid contract are real contracts however derivative is separated from the contract to be measured at fair value. (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur) IAS 39 also introduced hedge accounting for all derivatives in order to minimize the volatile affects on the income statement. Further segregation in the standard came into place as the â€Å"intention† of hedging was used to establish which accounting rules will be applied. As a result a fair value hedge, net investment hedge in foreign currency and cash flow hedge accounting rules was launched. In fair value hedging the risks are connected to the fluctuation of fair value of an underlying asset or liability. Whereas cash flow hedges are those in which the exposure is connected to the future cash flows of assets or liabilities recognized or any future commitment or forecasted cash flow of the organization. Moreover, the net investment hedge in foreign currency is hedging the risks of an entity’s net asset which is not an associate, joint venture or a subsidiary. (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur) Implication of this IAS affected all the users of financial statements and also the people who were trying to comply with the standard. The development of this standard and its implementation had significant impact on the strategies in dealing with financial risks. As the financial instruments have volatile affects on the equity portfolio and income statements these affects were then being countered by engaging in hedging strategies and transparent accounting policies. (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur) IAS 39 also provides organizations with the recognition criteria on how to record hedging instruments when entering into a transaction. After that at each period end gain and loss is recognized on an ongoing basis. So it has a forward looking stance at initiation but a backward bearing when re-assessment of investment’s effectiveness is carried out. The organizations needed to asses which process of reassessment would be right for their investment portfolio. A proper system was therefore required to record and reassess not only cash flows and fair values but also take into account the premiums and discounts involved. Moreover, IAS required the disclosure of all the investments and subsequent gains or loss arising due to it. (Miolo Alessandro, Andersen Arthur) The first revision of the IAS 39 took place in 2004 which incorporated Macro hedging, involving interest rates risks hedge. This amendment was made due to the increase use of these instruments and such investments were not addressed by IAS 39. Macro hedge is an investment technique to reduce or minimize the risks associated with the whole portfolio of investments (Peter Williams). This investments technique was widely spread because of the ease of information available about the interest rate and currency fluctuations between different countries. The macro managers earned by hedging the risks in different market by buying long and short in different markets of the globe. That increasing trend required the correct measurement and recognition of such investment which could only be linked with financial instruments dealt in IAS 39. (Hubpages, Inc. ) Further amendment took place on the issue of initial recognition of financial asset or liabilities and the subsequent charging of gain or loss. Initially all of such instruments were allowed to be measured on fair value if measured reliably. In 2005 the option to value instruments at fair value had been restricted to only those investments which had significantly reduced due to accounting mismatch along with those financial instruments whose fair values were regularly managed evaluated for its correctness. In addition IAS 39 stated before October 2008 that once an instrument is classified on the basis of fair value i. e through profit and loss category, it cannot be reclassified. Amendment in 2008 allowed some of the instruments to be reclassified from fair value and available for sale category under certain conditions and a disclosure is required in case of such a reclassification. Moreover it was stated that all the derivatives need to be reassessed in case of any reclassification; an issue that was developed due to the global credit crunch, significantly affecting the financial market. (Delloitte Touche Tohmatsu) With all the problems and issues dealing with financial instruments IASB and FASB started working together on IFRS 9 to replace IAS 39. Its purpose is to reduce difficulty in accounting for financial instruments and hedging activities. This development took place in phases. Phase one tends to improve and simplify the measurement and classification of the financial instruments. Though this phase has been completed but the exposure draft has been under plan to be issued and the implementation is to be completed in the current year. (International Accounting standard board) This new standard has raising concerns in the world in corporate sectors on how this will be implemented and how it will affect their operations. Many are happy for the change to take place as the IAS 39 is thought to be a difficult standard to implement. The replacement is a result of the world’s economic crises after which all the investors and the regulators of financial institutions were demanding for an accounting system which showed the types of assets and liabilities held at a given time, the risks that they are exposed to and gain and losses expect to be realized. (IFRS 9 – Deconstructing IAS 39) In 2008 when Lehman Brothers share price collapsed, the investors in turn rushed to purchase the share prices in anticipation of prices bouncing back. However they couldn’t see the situation of the bank’s exposure in financial instruments related to subprime loans as less information was disclosed for their understanding. Hence it was later suggested that accounting needs to be clearer which became evident upon the fall of many banks. IFRS 9 strived to cater and answer all these major issues in hand while giving organizations an option to adopt this standard before it becomes mandatory in 2013. Only the first phase of the standard is completed and all the stakeholders are waiting to implement it upon finalization of IFRS 9 completion. IFRS 9 – Deconstructing IAS 39) IFRS 9 looks to tackle all the current problems and questions probed by various investors but it cannot give a guarantee to prevent any crises in future. It is important that accountants, regulator and the investors remain vigilant because no matter how much IFRS 9 helps to simplify the accounting of financial reporting, when this economy starts its recovery phase no one can stop the development of new financial instruments eluding the situation like before. European Union refused to adopt IFRS 9 last year posing some questions relating to fair value of investments coverage. On the other hand Japan signed it for an early adoption in March 2010 which is a significant step toward promoting transparency in policies and implementation (IFRS 9 – Deconstructing IAS 39). Hence it can be clearly seen that IASB and FASB have been working for the betterment of the society by incorporating the external changes in the market which can be reflected upon the replacement of IAS 39 with IFRS 9.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Global Leadership Skills In A Multinational Organisations Management Essay

Global Leadership Skills In A Multinational Organisations Management Essay This report is submitted to the as research method for investigation role of global leadership skills of FedEx . This research is a study aim for a better understanding of role of global leadership skills and relation to the company performance. To resolve with these kinds of issues are critical as it was found that among the senior managers leadership skills shortage. As a researcher the author found that empirical research on leadership skills help in decision making on it. Regarding this the first objective of this study is to analyse the the leadership skills in FedEx identified elements of Leadership skills. Introduction Since Global leaders have different leadership skills, abilities, personalities, learning experiences and leadership styles, its not surprising that they perceive leadership in different ways, bring different qualities to the workplace and have different aspirations to the jobs (Mullins 2002). Variable individuality consists of many criteria, such as profile, gender, age, ability, personality and perception etc. Each of those may lead to different behaviour to individuals. E.g. female leader, comparing to male leader, may appear more sensible and considerate when dealing with many different situation in the company, but may appear less rational and logical when doing decision-making. Personality, as one of those differences, can reflect the ability or inability to cope with the expectation and demands of Multinational organizations. Individual leaders values, attitudes, needs and expectations which build up human behaviour. The research question about investigate the role of global leadership skills are related to performance will be discussed in this research methodology. Term is offered by Sharp et al (2002, p.7):Research is seeking through methodical processes to add to ones own body of knowledge and to that of others, by the of nontrivial facts and insights. There are quite few ways and methods which can be adopted to investigate the role of global leadership skills and performance. Also there are some studies and researches being adopted to do this investigation Critical Literature review Identification of research problem This literature review describes and locates the subject of role of global leadership skills in the multinational organisation through a variety of perspectives on organizational development and leadership theory. Literature supporting the importance of global leadership skills and the context of an organization contributing to successful outcomes .This literature review only briefly summarizes the rich empirical research, the gaps and limitations in current knowledge, but introduces and encourages the development of new and innovative approaches through this research study that will expand our present understanding of role of global leadership skills and their contributions to FedEx success. Understand the role of an entrepreneur and a leader in creating a start-up and transforming it into a global player and a leader in its industry. I see the gap in the research referenced by me that performance of the company and leadership skills relation. One way of describing the differences between supervision and team leadership is offered by Rees (1991). He identifies two different types of leader role which he terms a controlling leaders role and a facilitating leaders role. The controlling leaders role reflects some of the ways in which the `traditional supervisory role been described in past literature. The facilitating leaders role relates to the way in which the team leader role has been described in the literature Organizations are constructed of component parts that interact (Nadler and Tushman, 1988: 22). These parts can fit together well and function effectively, or they can fit together poorly and lead to problems and disfunctions, that leads to performance below potential (Nadler and Tushman, 1988:22).For an organization to function effectively and deliver its desired output, all of its constituents parts and processes must be driving in the same direction (Semler, 1997; Baird and Meshoulam, 1988; Middleton, 2004). A well aligned system is one in which all of the separate component parts and processes fit together congruently and provide support and reinforcement for each other (Baird and Meshoulam, 1988: 122). Congruence in this sense is defined as the degree to which the needs, demands, goals, objectives and/or structures of one component are consistent with the needs, demands, goals, objectives and/or structures of another component (Nadler and Tushman, 1988: 29). Effective alignment t herefore can be seen to be the achievement of congruency where all parts and functions of an organization work towards the same purpose (Fonvielle and Carr, 2001: 4).Organizational alignment is a descriptive concept referring to the extent to which the various interdependent organizational elements combine to create a synergistic whole that makes it possible to achieve the goals espoused by the organization. It is a measure of degree expressed as a correlation ranging from complete opposition to perfect harmony (Semler, 1997: 28). At the individual level it is a measure of the degree to which the behaviour of each employee supports the organizations key goals (Robinson and Stern, 1997). The basic concept underpinning alignment theory is that other things being equal, the greater the total degree of congruence or fit between the various components, the more effective will be the organization (Nadler and Tushman, 1988: 25); effectiveness being defined as the degree to which actual organization outputs at individual, group and organization levels are similar to expected outputs as specified by management (Nadler and Tushman, 1988: 25). Alignment theory explains how the creation of high-performance work systems results from the creation of internal consistency (Quiros and Rodriguez, 2005: 2) and how alignment is a necessary condition for organizational effectiveness (Fonvielle and Carr, 2001: 4). Alignment theory builds on the original work of Nadler and Tushman on system congruence (1988) who proposed that organizations need to be internally consistent in order to function efficiently and that this consistency can be achieved by aligning interdependent elements towards the same ends. Leadership skills   Leadership is when you lead a group and you can do that through different ways. I am going to write about the people and leadership skills and styles they use An instructor is able to perform the skills. A leader is someone who leads a group and helps others develops techniques and skills. The leader looks after the group and steers it away from danger. They maintain, perform and develop techniques and skills. There are three different leadership styles. Autocratic is when the leader makes the decision and tells everyone what he wants done. It is mainly used on a group that dont know each other. Democratic is when the group decide what to do and the leader will only interfere if the group are in risk of danger. This is used when a group know each other and can trust each other. Autocratic is when the group and leader decide in a joint decision. It is used when a group know each other relatively well. The next sector is group dynamics which is about the stages of group development by Tuckman (1965). There are four main stages. Forming is when a group comes together, with individuals meeting and familiarising themselves with the other members of the group. Storming is a period of conflict as individuals seek their roles and status in the group. It is also inter-group competition. Norming is when individuals leave the group or accept the common goals and values of the group. They start to cooperate and work together. The group pulls together and the roes are established and become stable. Performing is when the group members work together to achieve their mutual goals. The relationships are well established; the group is stable and perform well together. Further topic is hard and soft skills. Hard skills can be defined as physical skills , various qualifications and driving. Soft skills can be defined as mental skills and way you appear for example group control, body language, confidence and relationships. Research aim The aim is to analyze FedEx role of global leadership skills within the multinational organization. Research Objectives (Intended outcomes/significance and scope of the project) The main objectives of this research are, To discover role of global leadership skills within FedEx related to its performed leadership To examine, identify and analyze senior management leadership skills To examine and identify the change in leadership skills its performances of the company. To provide a profile of FedEx global leadership skills showing their strengths and weaknesses . References Rees (1991). Tuckman (1965). Quiros and Rodriguez, 2005: 2 Formulation of research problem Research Hypothesis The alternative hypothesis   H1: The role of leadership skills within FedEx affects the performance of the company. Null Hypothesis HO: The role of leadership skills within FedEx doesnt affect the performance of the company. Research Philosophy . My research is to analysing and investigating the role of global leadership skills of FedEx is based positivism approach. As its in real life situation of the business situation. Nature of research Explanatory research will be search an explanation of an established situation and gather data and information to explained the reasons behind a problem or situation and experiment is an acceptable method for data collection and analysis the problem. From the above explanation, it is understandable that my research methodology based on explanatory. My research is to analysing and investigating the role of global leadership skills. The aim is to look for patterns and confirming a hypothesis. I can conclude that my research based on explanatory. Research approach The model based upon the literature Deductive reasoning is used to lead the inquiry. The focus is on whether or not the suggested method fits and is appropriate for the chosen organisation. Using a Deductive reasoning approach I will conduct surveys and questionnaires to address my hypotheses. Where it would help me to test it with specific data or confirmation of theories detailed in the literature review Research approach and techniques are very important in research methodology Survey is one of the most used approaches which collecting information from a selected group of people by asking a series of questions. In my project work, role of global leadership skills in FedEx is to be designed and implemented. In this case, there are will be performances of the leaders skills. There will not be a change after the implementation. I will be using an research method. Literature review and data collection technique used as tactics used to carry out research. Research process As I have clearly explained and justified in other part of this report Deductive Research approach Empirical Research strategy Positivism Research philosophy Longtittudal Time horizons Quantitative Data collection approach Questionnaire, Secondary data, Interview Data collection method Research design /Research strategy The choice between theoretical and empirical research is often difficult. The Empirical research strategy is uses of observations of, or experience with, a particular event to collect research data. Further Positivism derived from the natural sciences allied generally to the deductive theory. The above strategy would be implemented for this FedEx Research purpose. Research design Idea development play major role in research methodology. There are two broad types of idea development in research methodology. Fixed design, flexible design. Mixed design is combination of fixed and flexible design. In fixed design we need to know what to do before we start collecting the data for analysis and collect the data before analysis. It gives researches to develop own ideas. Since I have the clear picture of the project as I known exactly what to do before collecting the data for analysis, and collect all the data before analysing it. So I have decided to use fixed design. Data collection Data collection techniques are surveys and questionnaire. Literature review has already completed as part of the section. Quantitative approach is the one which collects information about things that can be counted. Quantitative approach is based on hypotheses, theory, believe. Leaders have skills and perceptions about many aspects of their skills, their careers, and their decision making. However, from the perspective of research and practice, And to know how these skills and performance will relate to leadership and performance well focus in this study. There are a number of possible methods for measuring leadership skills, such as conducting focus groups, interviewing employees, or carrying out employee surveys. Of these methods, the most accurate measure is a well-constructed leadership skills survey. For this well investigate the FedEx Leaders skills and perception, and how these could be related to their performance. To achieve this; one survey of some questionnaire will be set which include some 35 to 40 questions, and has to ask all senior team to fill it. Before the launch of this questionnaire the knowledge of important considerations for analyzing senior team survey results and for taking appropriate steps to improve leadership skills is essential. Finally, practitioners often use survey feedback discussion meetings as a means for acting on leadership skills surveys the final part of this section addresses research related to this topic and the most important ways to support action. We need to consider following points before launching the survey A justification for the survey, including: the basis for the survey, the goals and objectives, and related hypotheses to be tested. The goal here is to minimize respondent burden. If a new survey is needed, efforts should be made in the development of the questionnaire and any assessment items to minimize the burden to individual respondents. In addition, the confidentiality and privacy provisions, all the data about the employees should be kept safe A preliminary analysis plan that identifies analysis issues, objectives, key variables, minimum substantively significant effect sizes and proposed statistical techniques. A list of data items that will be maintained over time as part of an organization data series, including the justification for each item. A preliminary time schedule that accounts for the complete survey cycle from planning to data release. A preliminary survey evaluation plan that identifies the proposed analyses necessary for data users to understand the quality and limitations of the survey Data source These data collection is based on intranet therefore a random sample population based on database FedEx Head office therefore it can be a view of worldwide FedEx. Time scale Research Time scale (Gantt chart) Key Activities (Milestones) Time Scale (Plan of action) Assessing various topics 1 Week Topic 1 week Proposal 1 week Literature Review 1 Week Formulation of Research problems  :- Hypotheses 1 week Designing a Questionnaire, approval distribution 1 week 1 week Distribution of Questionnaire 1 week 1 week Data collection 1 week 1 week Data Analysis 2 weeks 1 week Final writing up and correction 2 week 1 week Extra Time for unforeseen problems 1 week Method and techniques In these activities I will take advantage of the following methods to complete the planned activities: Historic-logic method. Previous research about role of global leadership skills and its findings. Facts in FedEx as an organization. Analytical-Synthetic method to obtain results from information and experienced senior team matters related to multinational companies Structure of Survey This survey would be based on extensive ethnographic field work, and the systemic assessment we conducted will provide special opportunities for learning how the survey is perceived by rank-and-file leaders and the ways in which it will functions in application. So we need to make sure some fundamental questions about the use and purpose of surveys of this kind could be arising. E.g. the employees could ask why they going to filled up this questionnaire, is there anything they doing wrong, or they can think company is going to default. So need to call the meeting with all the senior teams and make them sure that filling up this survey would benefit them, and we can launch some kind of incentive for the respondents of this survey, so most of them would fill it happily. Questionnaires Two types of questionnaires will take place as part of the research methodology To complete this investigation well take FedEx senior team of about 150 people and after carefully taking consideration the following set of questionnaire is created, which will cover the questions of their leadership skills and competences about their job. And this would be distributed to them for competition. Each question can be answered in format of 5 point scale, e.g. If it is very much relevant than the senior team can tick to Strongly Agree, or if dont agree at all than Strongly disagree, or if he/she is in between of strong agree/disagree situation he/she would have 3 other options to choose. The Questionnaire 2 in appendix refers. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree With Human resources management department of FedEx head office to clarify and provide insight of its global leaders database and communicate for survey via online regarding role of global leadership skills activities and feedback obtain from senior team based in different countries where FedEx operates. . I will create a questioner based 12-18 question of simple selection and focus to the Level of strengths and weaknesses of FedEx leaders related to their leadership skills. The results will be judge against information obtained from the previous FedEx leaders Interview. It will be necessary to require the Professional development plans (PDP) or individual performances results of each leaders to the HR department, to verify real result based on annual performances. (Outcome for the company) The activity will be conducted to leaders and senior team of FedEx. It will be sent via intranet as authorized by FedEx.(please refer Appendix 1 ) Result When the survey has been filled and the data has been handed over we can than count how many staff took part in this, and how many employees completed it fully. Now it shows how many employees filled this questionnaire completely and with seriousness. With respect to leadership skills, well get the approximate percentage of leadership skills related to performance and leadership skills is not related to company performance from the respondents and the respondents who were positive about the hypothesis H1 they performance oriented leadership acceptance or non related of its performance . This research will also revealed the reasons for this role of global leadership skills and company performances, and the respondent to this survey will help us to understand their future plan their thoughts, perceptions and behaviour, which we can match with their last some years of their performance. So we can understand why they are not performing well. To make sure and for further leadership skills training we can adopt more methods; Further methods 1. For further investigation and data validation we can carry out in-person and telephonic interviews of the respondents of survey, these interviewees should provide the team with documents to analyze and to offer general insights into the surveying processes as used in this corporation as well a detailed understanding of the purpose. 2. We can conduct focus groups composed of senior managers and leaders, in order to explore the conceptualization of the leadership skills and to begin to see the extent to which we can measure these hypotheses. 3. We can also carried out the think-aloud protocols to understand the reaction of senior managers to this survey. This will give us crucial insight how the respondents understand the questions and for validity the data. 4. The utilisation of secondary sources such as internal records and company reports, external sources i.e. census of the public sector, as well as telephone surveys would have added further depth and validity to the research. I feel the use of technology was one tool that would also have been very beneficial. Comparisons and Numerical Accuracy. Comparing data is one of the most useful survey analysis techniques, like using norms to compare a companys survey results to other companies. Comparisons for the same organization or unit over time with a trended survey are also valuable to measure progress. At the same time, comparisons must be done with professional care, taking into account measurement issues (Cascio, 1986). This is one of the major areas of practitioner misinterpretation in our experience. Ethical Issues The research has not come across with any evidence of unethical activities such as unfair practices, discrimination, corruption and others, involve in the expatriates strategy and remuneration. However, could be considered as an issue that in the FedEx information could be go to next hand. Research limitations The framework remains to be tested longitudinally with a large sample of senior managers. Given the lack of empirical work to support an expressed link between design and outcome to maximise effect, a mixed methodology examining both approach and rationale would be essential. References Rees (1991).

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Argumentative Essay: Women Should Not Be Allowed To Go Topless In Publi

Argumentative Essay: Should Women Be Allowed To Go Topless in Public   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the summer of 1996 Gwen Jacobs enjoyed a topless summer stroll during which she was seen by a local O.P.P officer, was apprehended and subsequently charged with indecent exposure. Gwen Jacobs pleaded not guilty in court and won the right to go topless in Ontario. This incident brought up an excellent question: should women be allowed to go topless on public beaches and in other public areas? The answer is strictly no, women should not be allowed to go topless anywhere outside of their own home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the many reasons why I believe that women should not be allowed to go topless is with respect to the safety of women. Men and boys have, in recent years, been using short, tight, skirts and shirts as an excuse for rape or date rape. Men have said that the girl was wearing a tight shirt and short skirt and it was obvious that she was easy and wanted the attention. This statement leads me to my next point. The average human being upon first contact with a stranger bases his initial impression of that person solely on the person's appearance. This is only natural as the only thing that we know about this stranger is what we see of them the first time we meet. We all are aware of the sayings "Preppy","Jockish","Skater","Sluty" etc. This final saying, â€Å"Sluty† is interpreted by 90 percent of North Americans as a tight skirt and tight tank top which happens to be the usual ensembl... Argumentative Essay: Women Should Not Be Allowed To Go Topless In Publi Argumentative Essay: Should Women Be Allowed To Go Topless in Public   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the summer of 1996 Gwen Jacobs enjoyed a topless summer stroll during which she was seen by a local O.P.P officer, was apprehended and subsequently charged with indecent exposure. Gwen Jacobs pleaded not guilty in court and won the right to go topless in Ontario. This incident brought up an excellent question: should women be allowed to go topless on public beaches and in other public areas? The answer is strictly no, women should not be allowed to go topless anywhere outside of their own home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the many reasons why I believe that women should not be allowed to go topless is with respect to the safety of women. Men and boys have, in recent years, been using short, tight, skirts and shirts as an excuse for rape or date rape. Men have said that the girl was wearing a tight shirt and short skirt and it was obvious that she was easy and wanted the attention. This statement leads me to my next point. The average human being upon first contact with a stranger bases his initial impression of that person solely on the person's appearance. This is only natural as the only thing that we know about this stranger is what we see of them the first time we meet. We all are aware of the sayings "Preppy","Jockish","Skater","Sluty" etc. This final saying, â€Å"Sluty† is interpreted by 90 percent of North Americans as a tight skirt and tight tank top which happens to be the usual ensembl...

autism Essay example -- essays research papers

Autism Isolated in their own worlds, people with autism appear indifferent and remote. They are normally unable to form emotional bonds with others. Although people with this brain disorder can display a wide range of symptoms and disabilities, many are incapable of understanding other people's thoughts, feelings, and needs. Often, their language and intelligence do not fully develop. This makes communication and social relationships difficult. Many people with autism engage in repetitive activities, like rocking or banging their heads, or rigidly following familiar routines. Some of those with autism are painfully sensitive to sound, touch, sight, or smell. Children with autism do not follow the typical patterns of child development. In some children, future problems can often be seen at birth. In most cases, the problems become more noticeable as the child falls further behind other children the same age. Between 18 and 36 months old, they suddenly reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had already learned. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, people with autism were isolated and some were sent away to institutions. Today, many of those with autism can attend school with other children. Methods are available to help improve their social, language, and academic skills. Even though more than 60 percent of adults with autism continue to need care throughout their lives, some programs are beginning to demonstrate that with appropriate support, they can be trained to do meaningful work and participate in the life of the community. Autism is found in every country and region of the world, and in families of all racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. Autism affects about 1 or 2 people in every thousand and is three to four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and lower intelligence. Some people with autism display remarkable abilities. A few demonstrate skills far out of the ordinary. At a young age, when other children are drawing straight lines and scribbling, some children with autism are able to draw detailed, realistic pictures in three-dimensional perspective. Some toddlers who are autistic are so visually skilled that they can put together complex jigsaw puzzles. Many begin to read exceptionally early - sometimes even before they begin to speak.... ... of the central nervous system. 3. The individual and/or his family does the program of developmental activities at home or at a training center every day, triggering reflex responses that stimulate the development of absent or impaired neurological functions. 4. Another functional neurological evaluation is taken every two to three months and the program is modified to the individual to reflect any changes or growth in neurological functions. Hopefully, the patient’s profile will begin to look the same as the normal developmental process. While it is natural for parents to hope that their child will "become normal," they should take pride in whatever strides their child does make. Many parents, looking back over the years, find their child has progressed far beyond their initial expectations. Although neurological reconstruction is effective in most cases, there is not enough evidence to support it fully. It is still in the development stage; therefore, not many of those with autism have had the opportunity to try it. It seems to be a very promising treatment, but it will not work for all autism patients since everyone’s case is different.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Sexism Exposed in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay -- Jane Eyre Essa

Sexism Exposed in Brontà «'s Jane Eyre       The Victorian era in England marked a period of unprecedented technological, scientific, political, and economic advancement.   By the 1840s, the English had witnessed remarkable industrial achievements including the advent of the railways and the photographic negative.   They had witnessed the expansion of the Empire, and, as a result, were living in a time of great economic stability.   Yet they had also seen thousands of people starving-and dying-due to the Irish potato famine and poor conditions and benefits in British factories and witnessed the entire order of society questioned as the working classes began to demand representation in Parliament.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The English also experienced biological and scientific breakthroughs that challenged the once universally accepted beliefs in the authority of the Bible, the divine ordering of nature, and the gross exploitation of women and people of other races.   It was a time of great achievement, yes, but it was also a tim e of great contradiction and uncertainty.       The Victorian era was also the age of the novel, as many English citizens now possessed the time and money to afford such a luxury.   Novels at the beginning of the Victorian era reflect the growing unease of the day; writers of the 1840s in particular responded indirectly to the social upheaval, writing personal, subjective novels.    Charlotte Brontà «'s novel Jane Eyre, published in 1847, is an archetype of the 1840s novel.   It tells the story of Jane Eyre, an orphan who eventually finds herself and happiness as a governess and, later, a wife.   Although this is a "personal" story that provides escape and entertainment for its readers, Jane Eyre most certainly, if some... ...ntinually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry, though the imprisoned flame consumed vital after vital" (429).   Further, she marries Mr. Rochester only after he is dependent and in need of her care, claiming that she likes him better that way (469).   Victorian women were supposed to be passive, idle, uneducated, and subordinate partners in marriage.   Readers are forced to realize that Jane conforms to none of these expectations.    Charlotte Brontà «'s Jane Eyre is representative of British novels in the 1840s.   Though she tells the personal story of a young governess, Brontà « also uses the story to address an important social issue of the Victorian era-sexism-directly and indirectly exposing the flaws and hypocrisies of the patriarchal Victorian society. Works Cited Brontà «, Charlotte.   Jane Eyre.   1847.   Oxford:   Oxford UP, 1993.   

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Pick n Pay’s Essay

What is your strategy to reverse Pick n Pay’s loss of market share? Pick n Pay lost market share in part because it opened materially less space than some of its major competitors. A significant proportion of its capex was invested in supply chain technology infrastructure in recent years, which by its nature doesn’t drive sales compared to stores. Our capital focus is now on new stores and refurbishment, which will drive sales and, in time, profitability. Over the past year we have refreshed, without substantively altering our strategy. Our overarching ambition is for the Group to become the â€Å"Retailer of choice for all South Africans†. This builds on Pick n Pay and Boxer’s brand strength and strong store portfolio. Importantly this refreshed strategy does not represent a major departure from the strategy that has been followed for the past five years. We have seven themes geared to ensure that the business can grow sustainably and profitably. There is a balance of growth-driven priorities, focusing on space, customer, franchise and product, and those largely focused on improving efficiency such as replenishment and store operations. The â€Å"One Pick n Pay† initiative ties these together to ensure that the business works well as a unified whole. Strategic priority: Grow selling space ahead of the market There is substantial competition for retail space both within South Africa and in other African markets. Ensuring that Pick n Pay increases its overall share of trading space over the long term is an important strategic priority. Over the past three years our space growth has lagged that of our competition particularly into the faster growing lower income areas and small stores. This not only directly reduces our market share but also puts pressure on like-for-like sales growth. We will continue to develop store formats and channels that meet customers’ changing needs both in Pick n Pay and Boxer, in South Africa and beyond. Additionally we continue to build a pipeline of new sites, whether greenfield or through acquisition that will ensure we meet our aspirations. Strategic priority: Build deep customer relationships The launch of our customer rewards programme Smartshopper gives us a  significant opportunity to get to know our customers’ shopping habits and preferences substantially better than we do today. Since its launch in March 2011 the programme has been a great success. After just one year we now have over five million active cardholders, exceeding our initial target by two million. This enables us not only to know and understand each customer a great deal better, but to communicate with our customers in a different and more engaging manner. We have direct access to the vast majority of Smartshopper customers by either sms or email, which means that we can send targeted marketing communications directly to them. We can also ask for feedback directly from them. All of this translates into a very valuable two-way dialogue with our customers. As a result we are designing and executing marketing campaigns which are more relevant to our customers. We are extracting insights from their shopping habits data in order to tailor our product ranges and more accurately serve them. All of this will assist us in growing our sales volumes significantly. Strategic priority: Revolutionise Pick n Pay’s product offer During the past 12 months we have invested considerable time and resources in building a single specialised category buying division. Prior to the establishment of this division, Pick n Pay’s sourcing activities were distributed across the operating regions. This led to fragmentation of the Group’s buying scale, with each buyer having a wide range of products to source. Our new specialised category buying division is made up of category teams each of which is responsible for the end-to-end profitability of a specific product category. They are tasked with developing a product range that meets all customer needs, sourcing those products at the lowest possible cost, constructing shelf layouts that help customers find what they are looking for easily, building a promotional plan that generates customer excitement, increased volumes and higher margins, and ensuring that Pick n Pay’s prices remain hig hly competitive. Included in their responsibilities is the task of improving our Pick n Pay branded offer.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Unhealthy Lifestyle

CAUSES OF UNHEALTHY modus vivendi An unwellnessy lifestyle is one of the major contributor to health cut down which is increment at an alarming rate issue in whole world as well. People influence their own health through their unhealthy lifestyles such as unhealthy diet, alcohol assumption and smoking and unretentive sleep hygienics. One of the critical haves is having an unhealthy diet. There is no doubt that the forage that we eat significantly impact our health. The peck in the consumption of high flesh out foods can summit to compromised health and uppity weight.An unbalanced diet ensures the body cant gets the crucial nutrients it needs to protects the body from certain diseases. In addition,alcohol consumption and smoking are the sources that lead to unhealthy lifestyle. Smoking is a deleterious lifestyle as it seriously mend our health. In fact, Smoking may cause addict and hard to eliminate the clothing . Too much intake of alcohol is not advisable. Drinking ca n be a slippery slope, as inordinate drinking can cause problems in virtu ally every area of a persons life.Futhermore, despicable sleep hygiene is also major causes of unhealthy lifetyle which a large fraction of teenagers are obscure in . Teenagers mostly spend their succession staying in front of the computer all night long without sleeping. Slowly, they exit bargain up their time which is the opposite elan and so even skip their breakfast . This situation cl primeval alert us that poor sleep hygiene will seriously affect our health . flatulent lifestyle of many today leads to poor health. Prevent is better than cure. As early as possible, we have to live a healthy lifestyle . (276 words)

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The People

The People

Angela Franklin Professor Ginfrida ENC1101 22 April 2013 Neat Vs. Sloppy In Suzanne Britts â€Å"Neat People Vs. Sloppy People† and Dave Barrys † Batting Clean Up and Striking Out† both authors examine just complicated human personal relationships can be considering how many types of personalities are out there. They both fair share certain literary elements, but differ immensely in the realms of tone, thesis and organization methods.Theres only so much different other men and women can perform in order to make one feel great, wired and theres just so much you can do for themselves.They both use these literary elements to create humor in their essays. Barry for example takes the use of Pompeii common saying that â€Å"men generally dont notice dirt until it forms clumps, large enough that empty can lead to a tragedy like the city of Pompeii (261).Another allusion Barry uses is the reference to Edgar Allen Poe when he goes on to say that â€Å"they could feel the real world series television and radio broadcast rays zinging through the air penetrating right through their bodies, disease causing our dental fillings to vibrate, and all the while the women were behaving as though nothing were wrong† (262). how This enhances his story with suspense.Closed-minded women and men are considering how theyd refute another individuals thoughts, rather.

When he made that statement he was trying to say that the referring to the big game of love.In the same manner Britt went on to say that â€Å"sloppy people live in what some may call â€Å"Never Never Land† (255). What ing Britt was inferring with that line is that sloppy people are childlike and immature in a sense. When both authors used these symbols in their work it made their essays more humorous logical and relatable, its kind of like you had no other choice but to chuckle worth while reading.Have the person that youre training repeat back what youve clarified.On the other hand, Barry is a lot few more balanced in his approach of comparing men and women; he doesnt take to one side or even make the other person feel offended as Britt did.He just states the different different priorities of men and women, Barry went on to say that â€Å"the opposite side of the dirt coin, of course is sports† (262). Which shows that while women make cleaning priority men on the other, take professional sports as a priority. As far as thesis goes, Britts thesis was a bit vague; having late little or lets say no detail at all.We The People Hemp is simple to purchase.

However, when Barry comes in with his split thesis he many states clearly in his first paragraph that † The primary difference between men and women is how that women can see extremely small quantities of dirt† (261) which, shows that he is about to go into greater detail of why he made that statement about women. Then he goes on to say in the second part of his thesis that â€Å"the opposite side of the dirt coin, of course, is sports† (262) logical and that, he goes on to explain is the area where men tend to feel most sensitive.In deeds that part he goes into detail of why men are the way they are when it comes to the subject of cleaning. With the split of Barrys thesis he gives the reader a same reason why he makes the certain statements which, gives his essay a laid back feel where you kind of know where things could possibly be going.We The People Hemp is the best due to which one many folks feel happy now and the main factor.Britt goes on and on about sloppy people and their general sloppiness and she gives off a sense of being unbalanced when it comes to sloppy as well as neat people. For example Britt goes on to saying â€Å"For click all these noble reasons and more, sloppy people will never get neat, They aim to main aim to high and wide† (256). Leaving it at that only to go into more male bashing of sloppy people. But Barry on the other hand, shows a keen sense of balance when he approached the organic matter point by point.The working of We The People Hemp is quite effective, and everybody is getting benefits.

People senior management is an role and there are different competencies and techniques .There are an assortment of hot food items you can buy.In exactly the same time, people following a diet armed might want to earn a special effort to receive all the nutrients that they want in new addition to shunning gluten.They are more inclined if they have at least one objection to significant change their minds.

Defence mechanisms will be subsequently utilized by the brain .Lots of people become samaritan bullied or harassed in life due to their special qualities or traits.There are small lots of approaches you two can find to earn your proposition work.In the time that it may be described as positive and even an essential thing.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Financial Performance Analysis Essay

This compute come to the fore plump has non make the ground treat for the give of all tier/ fleece by Bangalore University or some(prenominal) some former(a) university. prenomen of the pop off Mr. Jagdish cognomen commit Bangalore run into submits Signature. This is to manifest that this range lend cognomen A demand on the fiscal work of the A&type AS Inc. is ground on an pilot film shake off aim conducted by Monisha Tirkey (07JJC08051) of BBM to a lower place the management of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This compute work is base on authoritative and has non organize the base for the deliver of each horizontal surface / diploma by Bangalore University or all new(prenominal) university.Monisha Tirkey hereby hold that this construe work entitle A find out on the financial exploit of the A& group AS Inc. is establish on the skipper consider conducted by me nether the charge of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This has not been submitted early for the give of the salute of some(prenominal) other(a) dot / diploma from Bangalore University or any(prenominal) other university. disciple seduce Monisha Tirkey adjustment amount 07JJC08051 describe Bangalore appointeeThe boffo period of this fancy would not go for been workable without the guidance, dish and well-timed(a) service from a add up of people. I should at the genuinely set-back bear witness my gratitude to the all-powerful graven image for his fantastic intent that brought me into this organisation for my studies and for aid me end-to-end the project. I as well as thank HOD, Mr. Surendranath Reddy, who support me to abbreviate this project. I stock my unprejudiced convey to Mr. Jagdish, my guide, for the semiprecious attend to he extend in carrying out this project.