Saturday, August 31, 2019

What Dog are You?

Dogs are one of the few animals that are considered as pets and are usually domesticated by man. These canines are usually groomed to become guards or simply a home-buddy and best friend. Others spend time, efforts and money to teach their pet dogs certain tricks and abilities. Dogs, in general, are friendly and kind to their master/s while aloof and sometimes can pose threat to strangers. In current times, dogs are associated with their masters in terms of attitude, physical appearance, and abilities. In these regards, I would like to take into account the breed Saluki and its similarities to myself. Saluki, pronounced as Sa-loo-key, is a pure breed that can be traced as far back as 3 500 B. C. The relevance of this claim can be identified through an inspection of paintings found inside the Egyptian pyramids and tombs. It also regarded as special and at some places worshiped in the Middle East regions (Brown, 1968). Murawski elaborated that Saluki plays a significant role for the Egyptians. It is revered and is known as ‘el hor’ or ‘noble one’ There is even a tradition that when a saluki died, the family that owns it shaved off their eyebrows. It is also known as Persian greyhound or gazelle greyhound (O’Neil, 2007). Saluki is originally used by the Bedouin tribe to hunt for gazelles. Gazelles, by the way, are considered as the quickest of all antelopes (Murawski, 2001). This illustrates that Saluki’s are fast runners. According to dogbreedinfo. com, Saluki’s run at top speed of 40 mph. In Bitain and some parts of Europe, Saluki is prized for their hunting skills to bring down an agile hare (Hom, 2008 ). Saluki is usually compared or at times confused as greyhound. This is due to the fact that both are ‘gazehounds, hunting by sight and have similar body type (Allsen, 2006)’. Both of them exhibit features such as ‘long legs and deep chest which are built for speed and endurance (Allsen, 2006 )’. The difference between the two breeds is their ears. Allsen, (2006), described that greyhounds are known for their pricked and short ears that differ from saluki which are pendulous and long and at time feathered or has longer furs. I can relate myself with Saluki in terms of temperament. Saluki’s are sensitive which highly demonstrates my perceptive side. I am critical of another person’s emotion/s and of what other people think. I always take into consideration other people especially when they will be affected by decision/s. Saluki is also even-tempered, that is they do not get mad easy. Although, I sometimes get mood swings when really irritable circumstances are present, I usually try to understand the logic behind things before reacting. This attitude could reflect being even-tempered since I do not react easily when triggered by heated or annoying events. Other characters of saluki includes being gentle and affectionate (Burke, 2005). In my opinion I am not really an aggressive type when in comes to my friends and families. However, like a Saluki, I seldom show my affection. I am barely a demonstrative type. Thus, people often think I am taking them for granted when in fact I just don’t want to show my emotional side. Burke (2005) elaborated that Saluki are happy in the company of other Saluki. Well, this seems to generally portray my own temperament. For one I only make friends with people who have common traits with me. One cannot be close and happy with someone you cannot connect anything about. I am a magnanimous and generous type of person especially to friends. I am also sincere to my friends and family. When something wrong happens to anyone of them there’s this natural tendency in me to retaliate. Saluki, according to O’Neil (2007) is ideal for active people. They are recommended outdoors due to their running skills and instinct. They are basically inactive indoors. This means they are quiet, clean and enjoys as much attention, just like a cat (Burke, 2005). I think I am very much the same since I am really quiet at home but a bit more active outdoors. In the outdoors I am a bit more talkative. I can express myself more freely with friends than family members. I enjoy camping and swimming outdoors most specifically in places I haven’t been. Camping makes me feel refreshed and free. Saluki is known to be a good watchdog (Burke, 2005). Although, of course I am not a watchman or a guard, I often watch other people and, as mentioned above, reflect on their possible position regarding a certain issue. It is not as though I am trying to learn mind reading. It is simply taking into account what their views would be and how I will or can be affected by them. As explained, Salukis are prominent hunters. They are known as hunter millennium ago and they are still used to hunt in some Middle East countries up until today. Despite their non-aggressive nature towards humans, dogbreedinfo. com explained that it is Saluki’s natural instinct to kill or chase non-canine animals. Thus, it is recommended that obedience training are needed to keep their hunting instinct under control. Well, I don’t possess such hunting instinct myself. But I believe I am not an obedient type either. I believe that humans are embedded with their capacity to reason and think for themselves. Thus, at times it is simply hard to follow everything that your parents or elders say. There are occasions when I disobey rules but I guess it is normal for people to do things this way. It is like testing the limits of my ability and luck. My favorite sport is soccer which is like hunting in the sense that the goal is to get the ball. Somehow, I am also a fast runner but not as fast as the Saluki, I mean, I cannot outrun a gazelle but I am confident that my running skills are good enough especially in the soccer field. In the soccer game, the Saluki abilities reflected my own since I also need to be watchful and to try to get hold of the ball as much as possible. Physically, Saluki has thin body type with long legs. Basically I am also medium built. Although I am not as thin as Salukis are. Brown quoted Morrow in commenting that ‘Saluki’s look as if they undergone 7 weeks of famine’. I don’t really look like that. But at least I am not a fat type of guy or a muscle builder type. I also don’t have long legs; I guess my legs are normal for my height. Saluki’s has feathered fur in the ear area which somehow resembles my curly hair, according to my friends. My friends and family agree that I do resemble some of Saluki’s attitude although I do not look so much like a Saluki. My abilities do resemble some of those portrayed by Saluki such as good running skills. Nevertheless, I am not as thin as Saluki and I am not so much as a hunter type. I believe that I best display Saluki’s abilities in the soccer field. I enjoy the outdoors as much as Saluki does. Trying to relate myself to a dog is something that uncovers my inner self. In doing this essay I did amazing discovery regarding some parts of my attitude that are too blatant for me to pay attention to. A dog indeed resembles some human abilities and a certain type of dog can be appropriate for certain types of person. As for me, I guess a saluki is not a bad match. I prefer saluki than a shiatsu or a poodle, that’s for sure.

Friday, August 30, 2019

About Effect of Salt on Rusting

Citric acid reacts rapidly with iron, but is not itself the rusting of iron. The water in the lemon juice helps iron rust, but in the presence of air. The same happens when you open bottle of Coca-Cola, including citric acid, phosphoric acid, carbonic acid and other things in the fall for the taste. Citric acid has an advantage over some other acids, because it is less corrosive, not as dangerous to the environment, while remaining efficient, cheap (but not as cheap as the old battery acid).The chemistry is relatively simple, rust (iron oxide) is Solubilised by the acid (ammonium ion is also acidic) and citrate ion coordinates to the iron-forming soluble iron citrate. Citric acid has an advantage over some other acids, because it is less corrosive, not as dangerous to the environment, while remaining efficient, cheap (but not as cheap as the old battery acid). The chemistry is relatively simple, rust (iron oxide) is Solubilised by the acid (ammonium ion is also acidic) and citrate io n coordinates to the iron-forming soluble iron citrate.A fast, easy and safe to remove rust from your old tools (or anything else for that matter) is to dip rusty parts in a solution of citric acid. Citric acid can be bought at the pharmacy. Officially it is used as an obstruction of the pig!. The involvement of water accounts for the fact that rusting occurs much more rapidly in moist conditions as compared to a dry environment such as a desert. Many other factors affect the rate of corrosion. For example the presence of salt greatly enhances the rusting of metals.This is due to the fact that the dissolved salt increases the conductivity of the aqueous solution formed at the surface of the metal and enhances the rate of electrochemical corrosion. This is one reason why iron or steel tend to corrode much more quickly when exposed to salt (such as that used to melt snow or ice on roads) or moist salty air near the ocean. [pic] salt will speed up rusting. The more salt you have the fa ster more severe rusting you'll get. [pic] t will speed up the rusting as it allows the metal to oxidise faster [pic] the salt will speed up the rate of rusting since it will disolve in water to become an weak acidic solution hence will make the metal to rust more quickly [pic] The more proximity to sea the more chance of rusting since the air coming from the sea contains salt. So, it is safer to avoid use of iron frames on windows etc. at the time of construction or repair of your house, shopping complex if the places is in proximity to the sea. About Effect of Salt on Rusting Citric acid reacts rapidly with iron, but is not itself the rusting of iron. The water in the lemon juice helps iron rust, but in the presence of air. The same happens when you open bottle of Coca-Cola, including citric acid, phosphoric acid, carbonic acid and other things in the fall for the taste. Citric acid has an advantage over some other acids, because it is less corrosive, not as dangerous to the environment, while remaining efficient, cheap (but not as cheap as the old battery acid).The chemistry is relatively simple, rust (iron oxide) is Solubilised by the acid (ammonium ion is also acidic) and citrate ion coordinates to the iron-forming soluble iron citrate. Citric acid has an advantage over some other acids, because it is less corrosive, not as dangerous to the environment, while remaining efficient, cheap (but not as cheap as the old battery acid). The chemistry is relatively simple, rust (iron oxide) is Solubilised by the acid (ammonium ion is also acidic) and citrate io n coordinates to the iron-forming soluble iron citrate.A fast, easy and safe to remove rust from your old tools (or anything else for that matter) is to dip rusty parts in a solution of citric acid. Citric acid can be bought at the pharmacy. Officially it is used as an obstruction of the pig!. The involvement of water accounts for the fact that rusting occurs much more rapidly in moist conditions as compared to a dry environment such as a desert. Many other factors affect the rate of corrosion. For example the presence of salt greatly enhances the rusting of metals.This is due to the fact that the dissolved salt increases the conductivity of the aqueous solution formed at the surface of the metal and enhances the rate of electrochemical corrosion. This is one reason why iron or steel tend to corrode much more quickly when exposed to salt (such as that used to melt snow or ice on roads) or moist salty air near the ocean. [pic] salt will speed up rusting. The more salt you have the fa ster more severe rusting you'll get. [pic] t will speed up the rusting as it allows the metal to oxidise faster [pic] the salt will speed up the rate of rusting since it will disolve in water to become an weak acidic solution hence will make the metal to rust more quickly [pic] The more proximity to sea the more chance of rusting since the air coming from the sea contains salt. So, it is safer to avoid use of iron frames on windows etc. at the time of construction or repair of your house, shopping complex if the places is in proximity to the sea.

Poverty In United States Essay

United States of America being among   Ã‚  the richest and most developed nations one would expect poverty to be a vocabulary that only exist in the national policies of third world countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By comparison Americans can be described as wealthy but there are some pockets of poverty in this vast and rich nation This paper attempts to explore poverty situation in United States highlighting its causes and characteristics, digging deeper to understand which group of people consist the poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A report released in 2002 shows that there were 35 million poor Americans, this represented roughly 10% of the population, and this figure has been rising Presently 12% of Americans are living below the poverty line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By definition poverty is described as that condition where one is unable to meet the basic need in life, that’s one, can not afford a well balanced meal, decent housing and clothing. Poverty in United States is somehow different from the one experienced in least developed nations where living on less than a dollar qualifies one as poor. The poor in America constitute people who depend on state welfare since they are unable to provide for themselves, every year people fall in and out of poverty.   In a period of 10 years 40% of American fall in and out of poverty, this is attributed to fall of their income, when one of the family member moves out, among other situations (Fisher, G.M., 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some groups of people are more prone to poverty than others. This depends on their economic social or cultural position they occupy in the society. There are those who are unemployed meaning they do not engage in any income generating activity. Crime on one hand is a result of poverty or it can breed poverty. Poor tend to engage into criminal activity or they are driven into it by poverty. Apprehended criminals in correction centers rarely engage in economic activity while victims of crime e.g. thefts have to replace the stolen property eating on their savings. (Zweig, Michael, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Households headed by women on average tend to be poor in comparison to those with both spouses. In this type of a family woman is the sole bread winner. Most of her income goes towards provision of basic needs with less or no savings therefore making it difficult for this family to rise beyond poverty line (Martin N.,2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The size of the family affects family income, large families have more mouths to feed, more household bills to clear, huge spending in insurance, education and healthcare. If this type of family income is not enough they will for ever be trapped in poverty cycle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other groups that are likely to be poor are the unskilled, the less educated substance abusers immigrants and children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Causes of poverty in America are several they range from economical, cultural, and geographical to social. . Distribution of resources largely affects people ability to produce. This also determines employment opportunities available which by and large dictates people incomes. States endowed with resources will have low poverty rates than those with little or unexploited resources. (Adams, J.Q, Pearlie S.A, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economic condition which is not favorable will result to increased poverty rate, recessions leads to rise in inflation which means people pay more for the same goods they were buying but their income remains constant, and this means savings are curtailed. For example recession in 1982 led to rise in poverty rates from 12% to 15%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Education equips Americans with skills that enable them to gain employment or venture into business. On average Americans with a college diploma have access to high paying jobs compared to the less educated. To a greater extent educational level determine ones income, less educated are likely to earn less making it impossible for them to afford a decent living. On the same line education level dictates opportunities available to an individual. Unskilled labor attracts low pay making unskilled laborers more prone to poverty than their skilled counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rural and urban settings provide greater disparities as far as living standards are concerned. Americans living in urban areas have higher incomes when compared to their rural countrymen. There are more opportunities in urban areas due to high population with disposable income and better infrastructure. In rural areas opportunities are few and are limited to primary production e.g. agriculture, mining e.t.c.This means income generation activities and employment opportunities are fewer and only attract the less skilled   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Regionally, most of the southern states have higher poverty rates especially the rural areas .This is due to few employment opportunities and historical background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children are more prone to be poor than any other age group. According to the information released from population survey by census bureau in 2004, 21% 0f children were considered as poor. A greater disparity is seen when it comes to racial lines, almost half of African Americans and 40% of Latino kids are trapped in poverty circles. (Harrington, M.,1962).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Immigrants are great victims of poverty .Those with low education earn their living in low paying jobs. Illegal immigrants are even more disadvantaged as they can not gain any meaningful employment, therefore remaining in poverty circles for a long time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, poverty in United States is dynamic, one may be in and out of poverty throughout their lives. Though there are conflicts as to who is poor, there is a common understanding that those who live on an income that is below what an average American earn is living below poverty . What constitutes poverty in United States may be middle class in some parts of the world especially in least developed nations. Poverty is a limiting factor in the society as it denies some Americans decent lives curtailing their freedom to enjoy lives. Policies need to be implemented to lower the poverty rates so as to rid United States of poverty. Reference Adams, J.Q.; Pearlie Strother-Adams, 2001. Dealing with Diversity. Chicago, IL: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. . Harrington, Michael ,1962 The Other America. Macmillan. Fisher, G.M. ,2003 The Development of the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds. Macmillan Zweig, Michael ,2004 What’s Class Got to do With It, American Society in the Twenty-first Century. ILR Press. Martin N. ,2008. Social Inequality: Patterns and Processes, 4th ed.. Boston: McGraw-Hill

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management Essay

Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management - Essay Example 91-92). There are several other functions that the human resource department of the company has to monitor along with recruitment and selection of the employees. These functions includes job analysis, training the employees, monitoring performance of the employee for appraisal, ascertaining the remuneration for the particular job position or employee, allotting incentives for good performance, taking care of the employee benefit policies of the company, acting as a communication channel between the employees and the top level management, developing employee welfare, safety and health care plans, taking care of promotions, transfers, maintaining industrial relationships, handling the issues of the Trade Union, solving disputes within the employees or departments, assessing the ethical issues in the department or organization, etc (Aswathappa, 2007, p. 5-6). The study aims at mainly focusing on the contemporary issues involved in human resource management, such as job stress, discrimin ations, diversity, safety issues, emotional labour, and employee burnout. In this study the issues of skill shortage, diversity management and emotional labour has been considered with the help of journal articles, and newspaper editorials to capture the latest discussions on these issues. Skill Shortage Newspaper Article by - Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); July 5, 2011 Tuesday Nuneaton Edition: In the article, â€Å"Skills shortage for city's small firms; business briefing†, it has been highlighted that nowadays companies are struggling to find really skilled employees to meet the requirements of the organization. These major concerns compelled Lloyds TSB Commercial to conduct a survey, which revealed that there was a skill short of about 43 percent in the small business industry. The owners of these firms believed that there was major scarcity of skilled workforce in most of the region. Gary Saxon, a representative of Lloyds TSB Commercial accepted the fact that ther e is short supply of skills; so on job training or hands on experience would surely solve the problem of shortage (Perry, 2011, p. 42). Journal Article by- Sussman, Dan: The journal article â€Å"Skills Shortage†, focuses on the shortage of skilled employees in the manufacturing industry. According to CIA World Factbook, 29 percent of the global production was derived from US, but this statistics has fallen to 21 percent. Though there are many reasons for such situation, such as enormous layoff in the automobile sector, advent of automation in manufacturing segment, etc. The National Association for Manufacturers (NAM) has revealed that 80 percent manufacturer agreed to the shortage of skilled personnel in their organization. Another important reason is that nowadays education and training is very important even in manufacturing industry. Gone are the days when people with less education could also gain good jobs in manufacturing industry. One needs to have the ability to sol ve problems, communicate, understand statistics and utilize brain (Dan, 2006, p. 2-3). Newspaper Article by- Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); February 20, 2012 Monday Nuneaton Edition: In this news article, â€Å"Credit Easing Can Boost Employment†, UK’s labour market is considered and has been analyzed that, the situation has become very

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Business decision making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business decision making - Essay Example If this isn’t used effectively, then the opposite response will be given and won’t provide the right impression while leaving a bad image that is within the economy. Planning and Delivery of London Olympics 2012 The process used for planning and delivery of the London Olympics for 2012 began with the concept of supply chain opportunities through the concept of Compete For. This allowed potential suppliers to work within the London Olympics 2012 while finding the most qualified for the atmosphere that was a part of the business. By offering contract opportunities, there was not only the ability to select those that fit with the atmosphere, but also to balance out the competition among businesses interested in being a part of the games. This allowed equal opportunity among suppliers and vendors and ensured that those who were working could balance the supply chain needed (Compete For, 2011). The concept of Compete For was furthered by the paper, electrical goods, furnitur e, nails, steel, radio systems, cleaning contracts and other vendor opportunities. The goods are divided by the vendors that are needed and the pending contracts that haven’t been fulfilled. There are also options for small to large restrictions and the ability for different nationalities to be a part of the supply and demand as a part of the London Olympics. ... The approach which has been taken with this is one that is not only providing the main committee with the ability to create a response, but also allows the businesses to advertise for more vendors. Those who are invited to working in the London Olympics 2012 also have the capacity of moving into the games. This is combined with the ability to advertise for other vendors by connecting to the area where vendors are needed. This allows other vendors to come in and provide more opportunities to those who are working into an online presence. The other vendors then have the ability to spread the word of working for the London Olympics 2012 while providing more that are looking into the same opportunities. This allows the committee to find a combination of vendors while offering various options that are a part of the business. The options that are available allow the marketing to work with the London Olympics while having advertising from other businesses that show they are selected as a pa rt of the committee. They can then add in PR, opportunities for their business and show that they are offering high end services. The second process is with a celebration that was given to introduce the London Olympics 2012. The UK wide celebration was an annual event that was held to show the choosing of being a part of the chosen city. Creating this as a kick off event was then able to create a different association with being a part of the Olympics. By doing this there is the ability to create a specific alternative to working within the Olympics while showing that the businesses could submit their plans and work within the committee. This provided a specific way to create an approach to advertising the business while getting response from PR, businesses and

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Control Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Control - Coursework Example Open and honest communication will open the door to stronger relationships as they control their employees. In order to nurture staff members to a higher performance level requires a manager to lead and control them to the p[lace of stronger relationships as well as trust. this will create high employee engagement through which they care deeply about their work and feel like part of the team. Employees are brought into the greater vision enabling them to bring their unique strengths to the work. The employees will feel like the company values their work, cares about them, and has their best interest in mind. Open communication is a culture that encourages employees to share their concerns and ideas making the feel valued (Sims, 2006: 282). This will lead to happy employees, and happy employees are often the most productive employees. Secondly, a manager needs to be a good listener so as to find out what their employees are thinking or facing. This will help in establishing and reinforcing a â€Å"we† spirit within the organization (Sims, 2006: 282). This in turn creates an effective and efficient method for collaboration as well as sharing of ideas. This will increase the productivity as very successful organization takes the coordinated efforts of all their employees (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2009: 226). In addition, the employees will maintain the focus on the overall mission of the organization thus improving the overall effectiveness. Thirdly, the manager should provide consistent as well as regular feedback by letting every employee know the outcomes whether bad or good. This will help in establishing trust by being open, honest, and forthright regarding the rewards as well as challenges of the organization. Good communication of consistent and regular feedback is vital in keeping all employees on track (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2009: 226). This will encourage

Monday, August 26, 2019

How does hip hop music affect black youth Essay

How does hip hop music affect black youth - Essay Example Music became the distinctly identifiable symbol of African music culture deeply rooted in African tradition. Early forms of African music symbolized the determination of the generations to preserve a rich collection amassed throughout history. The collection of music demonstrated the determination of Africans to survive the conditions of the systemic social, psychological, and economical oppression thrust upon them. Music provided a documentation of a legacy of struggle. The myriad of music genre berthed throughout history continue in the tradition, demonstrating the significances of music in African culture. Collective Struggle Through Music Perhaps most evident throughout the history of black music is the presence of struggle. In music, struggle is evidenced as evidenced as the social conditions of the people. In Blacks music, struggle surfaces as the conditions of economic oppression, racism, social and gender inferiority, violence, devastation, and despair (Taylor, 1997). Music p rovides social and psychological sustenance and emotional fulfillment in the midst of the struggle (Rose, 1999). Evident is a shared, fundamental common thread: the music genre provides social identification and group solidarity for the respective followers. Music allows the individuals in struggles to share ideas, values, and belief (Titon, 1984; Rose, 1999). For groups silenced by mainstream constraints, music renders a powerful voice. Music is used to cast upon the consciousness of issues inherent in the mainstream relationship to the black community (i.e., injustice, prejudice, and oppression; Rose, 1999). Of further evidence is the youth influence on the evolution of black music forms. Black youth have historically struggled to overcome societal... This "How does hip hop music affect black youth?" outlines the connection between listening to hip-hop music and teenagers behaviour. Rap is an integral component of the African oral and musical traditions. Rap artists have emerged as the modern orators, the present-day Black icons (Rose, 1999). The non-violent anti-establishment rhetoric of 1960s, has been swapped by the powerful defiant, hate-driven, aggressive, anti-establishment rhetoric of rap icons, which provide contentment for the 1990s generation of Black youth (Rose, 1999). This often rebellious rhetoric speaks to the social, psychological, economic, political, educational, and cultural conditions and challenges of today's youth. Specifically, rap developed as a result of youth efforts to negotiate the often adverse conditions of their environmental surroundings. The lyrical images in rap music provide a graphic and spellbinding representation of the social conditions of the artists and the youth who embrace the music. The lyrics, delivered in an explicit and combative manner, seek to capture the austerities of urban life as youths encounter and experience them every day. The connectedness of the lyrics to the social conditions of the youth enraptured by the music stimulates an impassioned embrace (Rose, 1999). The enraptured state of the youthful devotees is reminiscent of the fervent state often displayed during an emotional religious experience. Youths who immerse themselves in the music and with such fervor embody the youth oriented culture known as hip-hop.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Advanced Financial Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Advanced Financial Reporting - Essay Example Another way of achieving growth is through Merger and Acquisition (abbreviated as M&A). The former is also known is organic growth where the firm uses its own resources (retained earnings, reserves and surplus, or equity capital) for financing growth. The later is also known as inorganic growth where the acquirer firm buys the assets and liabilities of the target(s) as on a given date (Sherman, 2010, p.1). Thus, M&A are external growth strategy that gains popularity mainly due to globalization. It has become an important an important way for firms to expand their product portfolios and gaining new markets. M&A also helps the firm’s to acquire knowledge, latest technology and improved management capabilities. In addition, M&A has been found to be extremely successful for specific sectors like pharmaceuticals where extensive Research & Developments are required. R&D does not only require huge capital investment but also requires knowledge in relevant areas so that the target pro duct remains competent on global scale (Kumar and Yadav, 2005, pp.51-63). The main motive for any M&A is to experience a synergy in existing operations as well as profitability of the firms. However, it is also important to note that not all M&A have been successful in the past and thus some failed to maximise values leading to huge capital losses (Frensch, 2007, pp.48-49). In July 2013, TD Travel of Cheshire acquired Hotel scene, the hotel booking agency of Bristol and consequently created a new entity by rebranding called Corporate Travel International. The combined entity is expected to boost revenues for both the companies to over ?100 million and also employ more than 160 staff across different units. With reference to the above recent acquisition, the objective of this study is to discuss with reasons as to why such business combination has taken place and also explain the probable consequences or problems that the companies might face in future. Merger & Acquisition Strategy As on July 12, 2013, TD Travel completed the acquisition of Hotel Scene. The acquirer in this case is TD Travel where as the acquired is Hotel scene. The deal was finance and backed by private equity investment firm LDC. The acquisition is expected to create one of the largest and independent corporate travel and booking agent entity of UK. The companies have decided to re-brand the combined business into Corporate Travel International. It is also expected that such M&A will create a synergy that can boost the revenues of the new combined business entity of over ?100 million. The companies are also expecting to employ over 160 staffs in different branches located across London, Liverpool, Wilmslow, Bristol, and Hull. From the press release of the company it was found that the director of LDC is very optimistic about the M&A and has recommended the deal. He also believes that the management team of TD Travel is very experienced and motivated and thus holds immense potential to take t he new entity to the next level of stimulating growth trajectory. Regarding the financing of the deal, a package of working capital and senior debt facilities was provided by Lloyds Banking Group’s Finance and Acquisition team. The negotiation was primarily led by Relationship Director of TD Travel, Richard Townsend. The responsibilities of lead manager and advisory of the deal was given to BDO LLP which is also one of the most reputed Accountancy and Business

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Achieving a goal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Achieving a goal - Essay Example I was born in Saudi Arabia and ever since my childhood, I had set my goals and ambitions. I wanted to move ahead in my career and achieve the best possible education so that I could excel in my field. I dreamt of going to the United States for the purpose of studying English and then getting enrolled in a university for the attainment of quality education. I kept on working towards my aim and I was very focused and determined to fulfill my goal. I believe that hard work never goes unpaid and my hard work was also not wasted. I succeeded in achieving my goal and hence proved the fact that determination and hard work can make a person succeed. I am a Saudi national and I completed the initial years of my studies in Saudi Arabia. I aspired to learn English language and have a good grip over the language. English is an international language which is understood and spoken globally. It is for this purpose that I wanted to speak this language fluently and be able to communicate as well as understand English perfectly. I was focused to attain this goal and to accomplish this aim in the best possible manner. I needed a good stand in the form of an institution that would provide me with classes of English language up to the international standards. At the same time, my other objective was that I wanted to pursue my further studies in the United States owing to the fact that I wanted to obtain quality education which would make my future secure as well as broaden my knowledge and perspectives. I understood the fact that by enrolling in a University in the United States I would actually gain good knowledge and I would have a good stand in my field and profession. I kept this aim in my mind and I continued to study in school in Saudi Arabia. I was very ambitious and hence I was fully aware of the fact that I would have to struggle all along to fulfill my aims and aspirations. I got a chance and I moved to the United States for the purpose of increasing my knowledge and edu cation. My first aim was to learn English language which would assist me in gaining further education. I was well aware of the fact that if I did not learn English in a proper manner, I would not be able to pursue my further studies at the university without difficulty. I joined an English school. It was not very easy to cope up with the lessons but I put in all my efforts as I did not want to let go of my goal after being so near to accomplishment and success. I worked hard all along and my efforts did not get wasted. I finally completed my course of English language and this achievement made me even more confident. It served as a push for me that I should stick to my aim and move ahead and start to search for good universities for further studies. I was very motivated and I now wanted to see myself graduating from a University in the United States. I understood the fact that this was my second goal and it would not only make me happy but it would also be a reason of pride for my f amily in Saudi Arabia. I applied for enrollment in many universities and I succeeded in getting admission in one of the universities of my choice. I am now enrolled in a university in the United States and doing my first semester. I fulfilled my goals and made my dream come true. A person should always keep on striving and working hard towards achieving what they want. I set a goal for myself ever since I was a child. I was very determined and I put in all my efforts so that I could fulfill my goals and succeed in my career as well as my life. I learnt English in the best possible manner and I am currently a student in a reputable

Friday, August 23, 2019

Strategic management practise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Strategic management practise - Assignment Example Examination of data and appropriate literature has uncovered that Sony maintains the most significant strategic issues associated with ineffective marketing strategies, a culture of power distance that forbids teamwork and collaboration, and poor positioning in its markets among competition. It is recommended that Sony work toward making a more decentralised and collaborative organisational culture, cease its process of quality and innovation positioning as part of brand management and marketing, and enact a performance management ideology that includes the 360 degree feedback mechanism as well as strategic and tactical dashboard to improve control and metrics production to guarantee more return on investment for the recommended changes. This should position Sony more competently among very diverse competitors worldwide. Strategy is the process of determining the long-run aspirations and goals of a business and deciding on the specific action plans and resource allocations required to achieve determined objectives (Nag, Hambrick and Chen 2007). Strategy is inclusive of management activities whereby direction for the firm is established, guidance provided to subordinate support staff members, and where the structure of the organisation is established. Strategic management is the development and implementation of objectives issued by a firm’s management team in order to position a business in a desirable future state. Businesses consist of many inter-dependent divisions that assist a firm in achieving its strategic goals, the firm’s value chain, which consist of marketing, production, human resources, customer service systems, technologies and other operational business components (Maritz and Salaran 2010). Strategic management is the process of aligning these divisions in the most effective and productive methodology so that the business can achieve its mission and guide the organisation toward its long-term goals. Through the proper

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Introduction to business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Introduction to business - Essay Example In fact, any negative or positive outcome affects them directly. In this business, there is a change after change of ownership. This is seen as the company opens new groceries and bakery stores. The company has also excelled in public relation and marketing. Moreover, the company has managed to incorporate corporate social responsibility in its system. When one works in King Arthur flour, there are a number of benefits. The first crucial benefit is gaining ownership of the company. The company is 100 percent owned by the employees. This means that the employee controls their fate in the company. Moreover, employees have a stake in the flour. Additionally, employees are viewed as precious members of the group. Employees are also offered training and development opportunities. This means that they continuously gains skills in the company. Such benefits include training on baking or cooking workshops. They are also given free products and store discounts. In conclusion, King Arthur Flour is a great place to work. This is because of employee benefit and its involvement in social responsibility. This has in fact agitated my urge to work in such a

External World Skepticism Essay Example for Free

External World Skepticism Essay ‘’Locke and Descartes have very different ideas about how to defeat external world skepticism.’’ Whose views are more valid about the realiability of sense perception for understanding the external world? The knowledge, the idea of the existence of external world and the way it is perceived by human being has been controvesy issue for centruies. Descartes and Locke also two very important name who proposed some viewpoint, even it can be said some theories, on the issue. The existence of external world and external bodies are true without us? Or do they exist as long as we perceive them? The idea of existence of external bodies, the knowledge of them can be attained through the way they reach us in any form. The most common and the easiest, as it will be discussed later as the only, way is the senses through them we perceive the material objects and arrive at the information they exist or not. Every existential material being has some spesific physical qualities that appeal to our senses, and through this way we experience them. It is an obvious fact that something that does not exist can do nothing to us or can show no quality to be noticed by us. Famous philospher Descartes also, basically based on this perspective, put forward that what we are perceiving through our senses are the external bodies that caused the ideas in us. As the ideas of external bodies caused in us by their perception through our senses, they exists outside independent of us. This means that whether or not we perceive any material being, it keeps to process of existence. Only, the idea of it, in us, begins with our noticing, perceiving and putting in a place in our mind. To be more clear, the part of it, its existence to us is this: our getting the idea of it. And getting an idea of an objects is provided through experiencing it by our senses independent of our will and desire. When we notice an object it has been realized that it reached us with one or more physical qualifications of it; thus we perceived it through our sense organs and have an idea about its existence. So, tt the very moment we perceive an object, its existence accepted by us in my opi nion. However, Descartes claims that sensory ideas must be produced by some substances other than us as we have a passive faculty of sensory perception and only active faculties can use them. It is worth to noting that it is totally wrong as it is possible our having an idea that produced without us. The ideas are produced, no matter what they are about, in our mind. And, ideas of external things comes into being in our minds just because we can notice them in a way. After their idea, their knowledge is reached with the way their qualities are perceived by senses. On the other hand, Locke makes his theory depend on a more assured ground. The Knowledge of the Existence of any other thing we can have only by Sensations. The only way to know any external thing is to experience it through our sensory organs. Because their realization in our minds or their existence in us is created by the testimony of our sensory organs. It can be said that our understanding of the external things pass through our reliability on our sensations. However, it also is worth to note that whenever we perceive something through our sensory organs, a certain quality of them affects us in a specific way. After their perception realizes in our mind, we makes reasons about them and understand that there are material objects that exists outside, independently. So mean, there are external material things that exists without and independent of us. Furthermore, the knowledge of them can be gained only through sensations and perceptions. First of all, when we face with an object, we perceive it through our sense organs. This perception is moved on to our brain, and with its interpretation of the object, an idea of it takes place in us. For instance, my perception of a book, my knowing of a book is provided me with the certain qualities of it. Its shape and color could be an example for this. It has a shape and a color and i can see it with my eyes, so the idea of the book reach me through the testimony of my eyes. In this example the color and the shape of the book helps me to define it in my mind with some specific qualities. Again, let’s consider a flower which has a good odor and pink color. Using our sensory organs we can ascribe the flower color and odor qualities. In a more detailed way, thanks to its odor i know that there is a thing independent of me which has a color and an odor. It already has been there with its color and odor but we were not aware of it before perceive it. Otherwise, because our sensory organs do not have the capability of producing some senses without getting any stimulus from outside, it would be a fallacy to believe that we create the ideas of external objects in our own mind without their existence, even though in some situations stimulus may leads us to have wrong ideas about the reality. Additionally, it is also another possible situation that we may have the idea of an object, without getting any cause from it at the very that moment depending on past experiences. As an illustration, let’s consider a nomad traveler who passing through a desert. The weather is so hot, everywhere is yellow and the tiredness of walking very long time increases the desire to have some water but he does not have. In this while, within this deprivation he sees a puddle. But as far as he gets close to it, the puddle becomes distant, and the nomad realizes that it is not a real, existed puddle but just a mirage. His eyes tricke him and he sees an object which, in fact, does not exist there at that moment. With the effect of other stimulants like hot weather, yellow color etc. the thirst increases to the extend that it gives rise him to see an unexisted thing as it exists there. The idea of a puddle comes into being in the mind of the nomad at the result of the causes come from the ou tside existed things, but it drags him to be under the illusion of an unexisted thing at that moment. To be more clear, it is not the situation that the nomad sees a never existed thing as existed at that moment; on the contrary, he sees an image of an existed thing which existed in fact on this world, but unexisted there and for that moment. The appearance of a puddle is a consequence of the perception of hot and the vast desert. Perceptions of their being truly creates a false idea of another object. So to speak, her brain plays a game with the nomad and brins up the idea of a previously perceived object. The nomad has the notion of puddle. He has the idea about how a puddle looks like. And at that moment with the wrong association of ideas, he had wrong idea about the puddle’s to be there at that moment. Nonetheless, it does not change the reality that there is a puddle thing outside him and the perception of it realized before, the idea of it comes into being in the mind of the nomad, thus he can recall it among from all the ideas he has thanks to previous perceptions. The perception of the puddle came to existence in a moment his previous life. Consequently, our sensory organs may lead us to have wrong perception in a moment of our life, but it cannot be deniable that this wrong perception also comes from a true perception of the object in another moment, so it exists for another moment even though it does not exist for that moment. Locke has a claim related to this: ‘’ As when our Senses employ’d about any Object, we do know that it does exist; so by our Memory we may be assured, that therefore Things, that affected our senses, have existed. And thus we have knowledge of the past Existence of several things, whereof our senses informed us, our memories still retain the ideas; and of this we are past all doubt, so long as we remember well.’’ We believe the existence of some objects as we have past experiences with them, even though at the moment we think about them we do not have any physical relation with them. Moreover, as another point of view, if it would be thought for things that cann ot be sensed by our sensory organs but material, it can easily be said that it is impossible that there such a being exists, as the material objects are the ones that have some physical qualities that affect us through sensory organs of us. When it comes to abstract things or their ideas in us, the situation is totally different and we cannot be so sure about their existence and we cannot have a definite, true knowledge of them. They are not physical obejcets nor are qualified with the features that can be comprehended through perception. As i agree with him to some extent but do not completely, Locke thinks that the idea of spirits does not make us know that any such thing do exist without us, but Eternal God. And according to him we must believe existence of some spiritual things, even though we cannot perceive and discover them in any way, as God created them and we informed about them with revelation or for other reasons. The spirits or abstracts that we have idea about them are known by us, as some of us experienced them. We are tend to believe in what majority believes. Although we do not perceive them with our own senses, we may be persuaded to have the idea of their existence. It also is related to our beliefs. If God informs us that they exist even though we do not experience them, we may believe as we faithfully trust and obey Him. However, It is not certain that some spirits are around exists. They may be there for the ones who believe in them, and not for the others who do not believe. These kind of knowledge depends on belief and it would not be logical to say something certain about them. Descartes on the other hand, links the knowledge of non-material things to God. According to him, if God had not give us a way to recognize such ‘higher forms’, we has been strongly inclined to believe that bodies produce them. And so if the ideas were transmitted from a source other than corporeal things, God would be a deceiver; and he is not; so bodies exists. This claim again would be true if one believe in God without any doubt, but s/he may not. So it shoul have more logical explanation that do have a common validity for everyone. As i mentioned above, since the ideas of abstracts cannot be thought independent of belief, their existence might be related to the believing them directly. As an example, think about Deism; those who believe in it consider God as the only holly one. They believe in God, but they rejects the religions, reveletion and all the other things which are mentioned in religions as things created by God. So in short, the existence of things other than the material things cannot be known clearly and certainly as they might be accepted by the ones who believe and might not be accepted by the others who rejects. Last but not least, it can be said that having knowledge about any issue begins with knowing and knowing with understanding. To understand something, it is a must that its being left an impact on us in such a way that we perceive it through sensations. Addition to this, it is a fact that an impact comes with a feature that belongs to an object and helps us to perceive the object, thus we comprehend its existence and have the knowledge of it. [ 1 ]. Descartes, Meditations 6 , p 43 in textbook. [ 2 ]. Descartes, Meditations 6 , p 45 in the textbook [ 3 ]. Knowledge of the Existence of other Things p. 630 (in textbook) [ 4 ]. Knowledge of the Existence of other Things (p 636, p 134 in textbook) [ 5 ]. Knowledge of the Existence of other Things (p 637, p 134 in textbook) [ 6 ]. Descartes, Meditations 6, p 45 in textbook.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Depictions of Paranoia in Art Exhibitions

Depictions of Paranoia in Art Exhibitions An essay relating a text from Art in Theory (ed. Harrison and Wood) to a current exhibition or work of art located in United Kingdom In this essay I will look at a selection of art from the exhibition entitled â€Å"Paranoia† situated at the Freud Museum. The exhibition is intended as an investigation of â€Å"suspicion, fear, trauma and delusion in the post 9/11 world† and investigates the abuses of political power and the media in generating a public consensus of good and evil in the world. In particular, I will look at the work of Franko B., a London based artist who uses paintings and performance to challenge perceptions of our bodies and of how the political relates to the artistic and the individual. In this exhibition there are exhibits of a couple of his black acrylic paintings. These paintings are heavily wrought, naively painted and concerned with depth and texture rather than with notions of prettiness. Because they eschew certain relationships between what comprises art, and are coupled with Franko B’s place as a performance artist, whose blood-letting performances in 2003 at Tate Modern, they challenge the aestheticism and the inability for the artist to be a politically relevant individual. A number of video installations also attempt to directly politicise art in crude rather than subtle ways. Jackie Salloom’s Planet of the Arabs and other works is a 20 minute video that pieces together stills from films, magazines, newspapers, television and advertising media, and functions to expose how myths and prejudices are developed and disseminated across society. Because I am interested in the political effects of art, and whether art can be established effectively as a critiquing tool to place against society, I will be looking in particular at how this exhibition relates to Joseph Buoys theories on the democratization of art, and upon whether performance based â€Å"Action Art† by artists such as Franko B. can effectively empower the individual, making him or her an artist him or herself. The 1960s signalled a movement away from the perception of the artist as a unique purveyor of singular genius towards a more inclusive, incorporative process that questioned the underlying mechanisms and mythologies of artistry. Andy Warhol in particular sought to fabricate the notion of the artist as a Promethean character; a sort-of demented idiot-savant, whose suffering brought light upon the world, by questioning the very foundations of the artist. Warhol’s techniques were designed to automate and remove any particular response from the art. Similar to the collage techniques of the futurists, the pop art movement could be seen as both an attempt to contemporize art and furthermore to erode or, at the very least, to change the perception of the artist and how he or she relates to the world around him. Politically this has important connotations. Because of Warhol’s techniques towards the mass dissemination of art and of factory produced Warhol pieces of art, the arti st is no longer seen as objective and singular, and the â€Å"truth† offered by the artist is no longer situated above society, but alongside it. Politically, this means that the sweeping and grandiose ideologies signified by futurism, cubism, surrealism and other modernist movements no longer have the same currency. Therefore, politics have changed and art has become a fusion of high and low forms of entertainment and politics. The video installation and performance-based art that looks to remanufacture the artifice of the artistic self is innately political in Joseph Beuy’s terminology because it seeks to confront and democratize the artistic world, making artists of everybody that interacts with it. â€Å"To impose forms on the world around us is the beginning of a process that continues into the political field. Discussion used to centre on the participation of the public and it became apparent that actionism as a sort of joint play was not enough; the participant must also have something to contribute from the resources of his own thought† (905). Therefore, in accordance with Buoys, the political field of art is in its struggle to empower and to transform others into artists. Buoys’ theory posits that, while there are people excluded from art, there can be no democracy. Thus, rather than art being a peripheral critique of society and politics, it forms a principle component of art i tself. He continues by saying that â€Å"A total work of art is only possible in the context of the whole of society. Everyone will be a necessary co-creator of a social architecture, and, so long as anyone cannot participate, the ideal form of democracy has not been reached† (905). At the exhibition, techniques are adopted which serve to democratize art. Two books are present in the museum in which people draw things related to their dreams. Also, in a more abstract way, much of the art leaves gaps and ambiguities into which the artist can place his or her engagements. The use of video footage and stills from mass market publications in Salloom’s Planet of the Arabs suggests that the artist is attempting to democratize the art in question. The intentionally crude collage nature of the work which juxtaposes images sharply, quickly and crudely also serves to denounce the role of the artist as talented, serving instead to perceive the artist as a facilitator to bring abo ut other artists. The use of footage that we are all familiar with; war torn countries, bombings, newspaper images and other forms of mass media serves to invoke a sense of feeling in the viewer, and the satirized nature of the piece helps the viewer confront one’s own prejudices, which in turn empowers the viewer and helps to denounce the controlling mechanisms of mass-media. â€Å"Truth† and the specific role of artist are further interrogated by the artist Tim Blake and his piece The Big Secret. This simply features an interview with the prominent conspiracy theorist David Icke. Although widely denounced in scientific communities for his â€Å"crackpot† theories, here David Icke is allowed to speak in an unmediated way about his theory that extraterrestrial insects control and govern the planet. Here Tim Blake attempts to provoke the viewer into a reaction by filming Icke in an unelaborated way. In the accompanying pamphlet, he uses a quotation from Freud: â€Å"The psycho-analyst, in the light of his knowledge of the psychoneuroses, approaches the subject with a suspicion that even thought-structures so extraordinary as these and so remote from our common modes of thinking are nevertheless derived from the most general and comprehensible impulses of the human mind† (1). Thus, here there is an attempt made to democratize humanity a nd to assume that all emerges from a general principle. Coupled with the absence of any particularly artist-like pretensions in the film, the question of artist is interrogated and jeopardised, allowing for democracy, in Buoys’ sense, to occur: â€Å"In a true democracy there are no other differences than capability; democracy can only develop freely when all restrictive mechanisms are gone. One of the greatest of these restrictive mechanisms is the present-day school, because it does not develop people but channels them† (905-6). In Franko B’s retrospective of his art, he posited that the best reaction to his work would be for somebody to mention themselves in relation to it. His work has always attempted to denigrate his own position as technical artist in favour of more openly politicised attempts to democratize his viewers. His work in multiple medias over the years, from performance art involving blood letting to mass-produced flags that he would stain with his own blood, to more â€Å"traditional† painting, suggests that he is attempting to transform the image of the artist and how it is conceived by the masses. As most people feel politically isolated from art, it is of especial importance that the artist relates to people outside of the artistic world. Franko B’s crude and naà ¯ve painting, his simple iconography, and his lacerating, self-sacrificing performance pieces attempts to achieve this by making his work both accessible and vague simultaneously. His massive black portraits echo Rothko in their minimalism, but are concerned with iconic and image based themes that Franko B. takes from his own life. Because these pieces don’t use any colour other than black, they appear more concerned about depth and line. Also, because they are made from blown up photographs, they also deny singular artistic talent in favour of a more inciting, democratic painterly technique. Buoys argues that â€Å"The times educate people to think in terms of abstract concepts†¦ most people think they have to comprehend art in intellectual terms – in many people the organs of sensory and emotional experience have atrophied† (905). Buoys attacks what he sees as â€Å"the prevailing scientific concepts†, which constrain and hamper the development of artistic imagination. According to Buoys, the concept of art must be widened to incorporate all things. The use of multimedia and various sources fragment the traditional role of artist as a singular paradigm of a truth that cannot be interacted with. Also, the conception of mass-produced art, which can be disseminated through video also serves a similar purpose – to allow for a larger audience to be incorporated into art, not as passive but as active components. The crudity of the art on offer at the museum, which directly and unambiguously interrogates the role mass media has to play in the f ormation of mechanisms of racial hate, terrorism and power, echoes the sentiments of Joseph Buoys. Works Cited Leaflet for Paranoia at the Freud Museum, 2007 Beuys, Joseph (1921-1986) ‘Not Just a Few Are Called, But Everyone’, Art in Theory, pp 903-6 Harrison, Charles Wood, Paul (2003), Art in Theory: 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

US Dollar And Turkish Lira Exchange Rate

US Dollar And Turkish Lira Exchange Rate In finance, the exchange rates which are also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate between two currencies is how much one currency is worth in terms of the other. In other words, it is the value of a foreign countrys currency in terms of the home countrys currency. Furthermore, the foreign exchange market is considered as one of the largest markets dominating in the world, and approximately about 3.2 trillion USD of currency changes transactions takes place every day. Specific currencies become more valuable when demand for it is greater than its supply. On the other hand, it will become less valuable or in other words it will depreciate whenever demand becomes lower than its supply. Investors all over the world will probably choose to buy certain currencies only if the return on this particular currency is high. Therefore, the higher the countries interest rate, the greater will be the demand for that countries currency. We chose to compare the $U.S against the Turkish Lira as we know that turkey is a very strong country with a floating currency; that is, not fixed exchange rate. Turkey is well known and popular for exporting textiles and clothes all over the world and taking to consideration its past history at a stage in time it had ruled many parts of the world and so it was among the most powerful countries ruling most of the Arab countries. Therefore, we chose to select the Turkish Lira and compare it to exchange rates of the $U.S and analyze what events or factors have lead to the depreciation or the appreciation of the Turkish lira. Our aim in this research project is to develop a general understanding of the forex market world and be able to compare and analyze different markets in the exchange market as well as relating national and international events and factors contributing to the success or the failure of a particular currency. Moreover, we will gain the knowledge of tips of smart international business activities such as currency exchange investments for instance when to buy or sell certain goods under certain currencies. Turkey Economy Overview: Government Type: Parliamentary ,Representative, Democracy. Currency: Turkish Lira Turkey economic is largely dominated by modern industries and the services sector. Also, its one of the leading countries in world in producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation equipment; construction materials; consumer electronics and home appliances and they import non-auto consumer goods, fuels, production machinery and equipment, non-fuel industrial supplies, motor vehicles and parts, food, feed and beverages to partner in European Union, China, Canada, Mexico and Japan Furthermore, the gross domestic product it worth in December 2099 -6.50% -7.00% Jun 2009 of the world economy, according to the World Bank.  [1]   As we can see from the table above, the Turkish lira inflation rate has experienced a noticeable disinflation rates which is defined as the slowing in the rate of the inflation as well as a remarkable decline in the volatility of inflation which is due to some factors such as tight fiscal and monetary policies. However, previously since the 1970s and the 1990s the Turkish lira had been depreciating in its currency value due to turkeys constant inflation. US Economy Overview: Government Type: Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition. Currency: US Dollars. The economic history of the United States has the largest national economy in the world in both nominal and purchasing power parity. In addition, US have a stable overall GDP growth rate, a low unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment. The United States Gross Domestic Product is worth in December 2009 -1.90% September 2009 -2.50% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. The US has several export import; first the export is machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, non-auto consumer goods, motor vehicles and parts, aircraft and parts, food, feed and beverage to partner Canada, European Union, Mexico, China and Japan. In addition, US import non-auto consumer goods, fuels, production machinery and equipment, non-fuel industrial supplies, motor vehicles and parts, food, feed and beverages. To the Main import partners are: European Union, China, Canada, and Mexico and Japan  [2]  . N/A ,0.03%(Jan 2009) Table Source: InflationData.com (2003- 2009). Inflation Rate in Percent for Jan 2000-Present. Retrieved on 8-12-2009. http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Rate/CurrentInflation.asp On the other hand, U.S.A seems to have similar inflation rates across the years, as the U.S economy is considered to be the largest in the world. Forex rate system used in Turkey: Turkeys exchange rate has been changing over the past years and this can be related to its economy validated in many ways. In 1990-1997 Turkey exchange rate system was considered as a crawling band which means that the Currency is maintained within certain fluctuation margins around a central rate is adjusted periodically a fixed preannounce rate or in response to change in selective quantitative indicators  [3]  . However the exchange rate in 1998 -2000 was crawling peg which define as the currency is adjusted periodically in small amount at a fixed preannounce rate or in response to change in selective quantitative indicator.  [4]   Since 2001 the exchange rate change to independent floating which can be defined as the exchange rate is market determine with any foreign exchange intervention aimed to moderating the rate of change and preventing undue fluctuation in the exchange rate rather than at establishing a level for it  [5]  . This change has taken place after the financial crisis the country had at the same time which result the Turkish lira to depreciate against the euro.  [6]   After conducting Turkey the floating exchange rate system had lost more than 50% of the Turkish lira value. Therefore the lira appreciated in the mid of 2002; however their sensitivity fluctuated in the exchange rate. After this appreciation, the lira depreciated again due to the Iraq crisis. On the other hand the Turkey government takes some action to prevent the lira and its economy from certain events such as switching to formal inflation target regime. On 2006 the central bank implemented the formal inflation target and it used the interest rate as a short instrument which was the result to depreciate the lira again.  [7]   Forex rate system used in US: As a matter of fact, the U.S mainly went through two different exchange rate regimes. The first referred to what is commonly known as the Bretton woods system of fixed exchange rates and this has been the period from 1958 till 1973. However, after that period and until this day the exchange rate regime is referred to as the managed floating .The first, which lasted effectively from December 1958 to March 1973, was the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates. In the second, which began in March 1973 and has continued to the present, exchange rates have been subject to managed floating which is characterized by fluctuating exchange rates on a daily basis however they are affected by the intervention of the U.S central bank in order to stabilize their currency by buying and selling their own currency. Turkish Lira history: First lira Turkish lira is the currency of turkey that is subdivided into 100 Kurus. Turkish liras symbol is TL and according to the international standard its code is TRY. Turkish lira had experienced many difficulties and changes in its history. To begin with, the Bimetallism system was adopted in turkey between 1881 and 1884. Bimetallism refers to the fact that the country functions on a double standard in other words both gold and silver were used. According to turkey at that time: 1 lira = 519 grams pure gold = 99.8292 grams pure silver  [8]  . Then, the classical gold standard was adopted in turkey from 1881 until the 1914. Gold standard means that under this particular standard the exchange rate between any two currencies will be determined only by their relative gold contents.  [9]   However this system vanished and the gold lira was worth nine lira money. As a result, and after all those changes that took place in turkeys monetary system, they pegged to British pound, then to French France, and finally to U.S.A dollars  [10]  . Second lira:- After all the difficulties in January 2005 six zeroes has been deleted from the lira currency and the Turkish lira generally became the official currency and unit of payment in turkey. The categories of liras book notes were 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. In addition the coins Category were 1, 5,10,20,50,100.  [11]   As a matter of fact, a lot of countries drop zero(s) from their currency in order to facilitate their transactions and avoid any mistakes. Dropping six zeroes and the effort to decline the inflation impact on the currency is a useful way for turkey to have a good reputation in its lira currency. Therefore dropping the zero from its currency had reduced the mistakes and problems that had arisen in the calculation side and record problems. In short, the transition to the New Turkish lira was necessary both for the expected positive effects on the currency, as well as for its reputation. Furthermore, the New Turkish Lira is considered also as a symbol or a sign of Turkeys determination to reduce inflation.  [12]   Turkish Lira against the U.S. Dollar during the past 5 y The below graph demonstrate the behavior of the exchange rate of Turkish Lira against the U.S. Dollar during the past 5 years, which reflects the economic situation in both countries. Table Source: Yahoo! finance (2009). TRY/USD (TRYUSD=X). Retrieved on 8-12-2009. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=TRYUSD=Xt=5yl=onz=mq=lc Table outlining the exchange rates desired on a daily basis: In our research, we are going to study the exchange rate fluctuation between the Turkish Lira (TL) and the U.S Dollar (USD) during the period from 14 September to 4 December 2009. Our study depends on using the daily data of FX of TL against the USD and will focus on analyzing the factors and events that affect the exchange rate and interpreting the causes of fluctuation during the period of study. The exchange rates graph on a daily basis: Analysis of national and international events contributing to results we obtained from the graph: 17 September to 1 October As observed from the graph, the Turkish Lira had a downward sloping against the US Dollar starting from 17th September to 1st October 2009; this may be due to the fallowing factors and events. Events:- Turkish bond yields rose on due to worries about the countrys widening budget deficit Reduction in Turkeys GDP which has lead to the depreciation of the Turkish lira against the $U.S. Turkey seeks bids for sugar factories. Turkey is selling six factories that produce sugar to finance the global slow down economy. Turkey also trying to reduce the government control in its economy. However this event will test turkey privatization  [13]  . Factors:- September 2009 Balance of Payment Budget of the government: The current account deficit realized a huge increase by 60.5% from 558 in August 2009 to 869 in September 2009. This reflects the increase on the country expenditures over revenues that negatively affected the TL exchange rate The level of the country trade: The deficit of the goods and services increased by 18%, which is a mean of increase of TL supply over demand that is reflected negatively on the TL exchange rate, and put a pressure on the TL to depreciate against US Dollar.  [14]   US inflation decreased from -8.90 in June to -9.90 in September. Therefore US $ appreciated over the TL. Turkeys industrial production fell by 8.6% in the year to September. The biggest decline was in the production of capital goods, the output of which fell by 18.2%.  [15]   1 October to 15-October:- During this period our graph direction went up due to the below factors and events Events:- In October 2009 the annual meeting of the World Bank held in Istanbul, this was the fist time the meeting being held in a country other than the United State. The country outlook rating of Turkey outlook has been upgraded by the two rating agencies Moody and Standard Poors. In addition to that, there is a strong probability to upgrade Fitch rating agency of the Turkey outlook rating. This is due to Turkeys policies in handling the financial crisis and its ability to implement policies to stabilize the economy.  [16]   Factors:- Inflation: the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey decreased the inflation rate from 5.27 in September to 5.08 in October 2009. This is considered a positive indicator that leads investors to invest in TL, consequently, TL appreciated. We can observe that the Turkish Lira firmed in October than its performance in September against the US dollar and this was due to the fact that the central Bank of Turkey stated that the annual inflation in October would be low despite the end of stimulus tax cuts on durable goods and a near 10 percent hike in power prices. 16 October to 28 October:- During this Period our graph has a downwards sloping due to the below factors and events. Factors:- Interest rate: a Central Bank of Turkey lowered its interest rate from 7.75 in September. To 6.75 in October 2009. As a result the TL depreciated ay the beginning of October reflecting the expectations of the investors that the currency will have downward direction. Budget: Finance minster of Turkey stated that Turkey end-2009 budget deficit of 62.8 billion lira ($43.1 billion) before a fall to 50.1 billion lira in 2010 which affect TL negatively. 29 October to 8 November: As the Graph show the TL lira appreciate in this period due to some factors and events. Events:- As reported in Turkey newspaper four officials at the tax office were suited for damages caused by the record tax office the case was brought by the media group. Factors:- Oil: the crude oil prices went up on November 2009 this is in indicator that investors shift their investment from dollars to oil leading dollars prices down, accordingly TL appreciated against US dollars. US dollar: Federal Reserve on Wednesday 5th November offered a caution economic outlook and kept borrowing costs near zero as a result the US dollar depreciated and the TL appreciates. The Turkish bank Turkey Ekonomi Bankasi have reach 47 % rise of profit which leads to upward TL sloping . 9-Novamber to 25 November The graph illustrate that the TL has been depreciated in this period for those factors and events. Factors Financial stability report: the CBRT has published the financial stability report, the report indicates that Turkey economy would notice a slow improvement, and in banks profitability levels in 2010 would decrease. According to the report the consumption levels is expected decline which will lead to lower the investment expenditures. This news has affected the public confidence in the economy of turkey and resulted in a decline of the TL exchange rate. Unemployment rates: According the Hurriyet Turkish news paper unemployment rate problem would still grow and would not be solved anytime soon. This is also a negative indicator that TL value will decline. US Gross Domestic Product: The third quarter economy statistics of the US have been published on 24 November 2009, it shows that the US GDP has increased at an annual rate of 2.8%, this increase in US GDP is a result of the positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a negative contribution from nonresidential fixed investment. As a result USD gained more confidence and rose against the TL. 26 November to 30 November As the graph shown in this period the TL has a downward slop which is the most negatively sloping at the analysis period of our project. Events:- From 27 to 30 November Turkey government and business sector had a public holiday to observe the occasion of Eid Al Adha. The economy during this period slow down and this caused the downward of the TL exchange rate against the USD. The global crisis has hit turkey trade especially turkey exports to neighborhoods decrease to 7.7 % as publish in Hurriyet Daily News and Economic. EU to ask Turkey to adopt a more European Iran policy The European Union welcomes Turkeys stabilizing role in the Middle East but feels uneasy with its Iran policy,  [17]   Factors Oil: Oil price decreases on 25 of November which attract investor to buying oil by dollars as a result the TL depreciate. Inflation: in November the turkey inflation rate increases from 5.08 on October 2009 to 5.53 in November which lead to depreciate the TL in this time. Balance of trade: Turkey balance of trade increase from -2573.0 to -3948.0 deficits which mean that turkey import increase in November increasing the supply of TL which leads to downward TL. 1 December r to 4 December:- As we observe after the deep down wards at the end of November the TL appreciate at the beginning of December leads to upwards slopping. Events:- Turkish news has announced that Turkish lender Sekerbank has signed a deal loan with the international finance cooperation to finance the agriculture and foods project that worth 30 millions. Turkey news has announced that turkeys poverty rate has decreased from 17.79 percent in 2007 to 17.11 percent in 2008which leads to strong Turkish lira reputation. Factors Gold : the gold price increase from 1054.00 on November to 1115.40 on December as a result the investor shift their investment direction to invest more in safe assets which is gold leading to supply the market by dollars as result the dollars depreciate and the TL appreciate . Government Budget: the Turkey government budget has 989.80 surpluses on December after having a budget deficit for the past month. As a result the TL appreciated. Current Account : the current has increase from -863.0 on September to 671.0 on December which mean the export is greater than import and the demand of TL is greater than supply leading appreciate TL on December 2009. Conclusion:- In conclusion, we have benefitted a lot from this study as we were able to analyze the Turkish lira exchange rate against the U.S Dollar as both economies have many factors and events affecting this exchange rate phenomenon such as gold reserves, balance of payments of each country, unemployment rates in addition to inflation rates, crisis in other countries, as well as many other implications .Furthermore, As for the exchange rates instability during the past three months as was required for us to analyze, the Turkish-dollar exchange rates observed several highs and lows which was generally due to multiple political, economical, social factors, and fiscal monetary policies by both countries the U.S and Turkey. We benefitted a lot from conducting this research study as it gave us the knowledge of relating the international and national events with the currency performance along with understanding the role of the exchange rate system applied in analyzing the appreciation as well as de preciation of the currency. References: ANKARA Anatolia News Agency. (2009). Crisis hits trade relations with neighbors. Retrieved on 8-12-2009. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=crisis-hits-trade-relations-with-neighbors-2009-11-30 ANKARA Bloomberg. (2009). Fitch lifts Turkish outlook, poised to upgrade rating. Retrieved on 14-11-2009. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=fitch-lifts-turkish-outlook-poised-to-upgrade-rating-2009-10-27 ArticlesBase.com (2005-2008). Export Import in Turkey. Retrieved on 14-11-2009. http://www.articlesbase.com/ask-an-expert-articles/export-import-in-turkey-1219667.html ASIM ERDÄ °LEK. (, 2009). How vulnerable is Turkey to an external financial shock?. 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Monday, August 19, 2019

Brain Drain Essay -- essays papers

Brain Drain One of the major concerns of today's companies is the shortage of labor, especially in management. The baby boomers are nearing retirement age in the United States and the birth rate is dropping. These circumstances, coupled with the booming economy are the main causes of the labor shortage. There is a high demand for labor but the once seemingly bottomless pool of employees and managers that companies drew from has started to dry up. What are the factors that contributed to the problem and how are today's corporations going to handle this problem? The type of labor needed in today's society has been undergoing a constant change. There is an increase in demand for workers but there is a much greater demand for educated white-collar workers, especially management material. Projections state that the growth in managerial positions will increase 20% by the year 2010 yet the population aged 35-50 will decrease nearly 10%. What these figures say is the already diminishing supply of executives is going to dwindle even more over the next 10 years. There is a shortage of blue-collar workers now and there will also be an even greater shortage of them in the future. In order for employers to find people who are willing to perform unskilled, repetitive jobs they are going to have to be willing to raise the level of compensation offered to employees. If McDonalds needs someone to flip hamburgers they better be prepared to pay double to triple minimum wage. There are a wide variety of employment opportunities and today's workforce can afford to be selective when choosing a job. The demand for employees is high while the supply is low. The figures on the change in average population ages and growth in industrialized nations is beginning to make the corporate world stand up and take notice. If the trends continue as they have been for the past thirty years, the shortage of labor is going to continually get worse with each year that passes. The predictions from the United States Census Bureau state that between 1990 and 2000 the increase of the American population over 60 will be 10.5% but in 2010 to 2020, the increase will be 32.5%. The change in the 60 plus population in the United States is projected to nearly triple in thirty years. Compare these figures to the increase in under sixty-year-old population. From 1990 to 2000, t... ... the economic obstacles caused by an aging workforce. The companies of today are aware of the constantly growing problem and are working towards a solution. I think that they are moving in the right direction. Offering flexibility in what was once a very rigid structured hierarchy is certainly a step in the right direction. People in today's world lead very different lives than they did 4o years ago. A rewarding profession is not exclusively defined by the income generated anymore, rewarding can also mean personally rewarding. A good employee doesn't necessarily work 40 hours each and every week, some work part time or are involved in a job-sharing program. In order to keep the workforce meeting the needs of the economy, the employer must continue to become more flexible and remain open to suggestions. Today's companies are on the right track. I believe that with proper management and forward thinking, we will be able to cope with the ever-increasing shortage of labor. Bibliography: Center for Strategic and International Studies Newsweek magazine Business Week magazine The Economist magazine St Petersburg Times Newspaper The United States Census Bureau

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Movie Analyses Essay -- Film Essays

Movie Analyses There is more to movies than pure visual quality and simple, predictable plots. While a movie may be able to appeal to masses of people with pure visceral quality, most quality movies have more in the way of character interaction and establish of an environment that suits the movie. There are many qualities to judge a movie by, but it is best to find qualities that certain movies share in common to best judge the two. The three movies being compared and contrasted in this paper are The House of Games, Blue Velvet, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. To best analyze these movies, they will be looked at from three viewpoints: their use of both physical and emotional relationships, their use of surrealism, and their use of art and music. Before one can learn anything about the three movies, they need some type of prior knowledge of what the movies are about. One of the movies being discussed is The House of Games. This movie is about a con artist, named Mike, who draws in a psychologist, named Margaret, into a very complex con through building her trust in him through a sexual relationship. Neither Margaret nor the audience is given any real clues that the relationship between the two is a hoax, and at the end of the film, the audience is shocked to make the discovery that Mike had no real feelings for Margaret as he cons her out of a large sum of money. After realizing the falsity of this relationship, Margaret essentially loses her mind, and ends up killing Mike. The next movie gone over is Blue Velvet, a combination of small-town satire and a mystery that taps into a man's most twisted sexual urges. The film takes place in a small town called Lumberton consists basically of four characters: Jeffrey, a cl... ...ay from Tomas time and time again, and Tomas proves this when he flees to his second main relationship, between him and Tereza, after it seemed him and Sabina were about to fall in love. The second relationship just mentioned is basically the exact opposite as the first one. Although it began similar to Tomas’ relationship with Sabina, it evolved throughout the movie to become less and less physical, and more about love. This is basically Tomas’s main conflict throughout the whole movie: although he was truly in love with Tereza and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he was unable to connect the physical relationship with the emotional, and Tereza had trouble believing that he truly was in love with her. The main thing the movie is trying to say about relationships is that sex and love are not necessarily the same thing, though they are often connected.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Ending School Shootings

Justin Bizarro Mrs. Nye English 1301 14 November 2012 Stopping the Tragedy of School Shootings Every single day, millions of kids across the country wake up, get ready for the day, and head to school. The parents of these children trust the school with many things; a safe bus ride, a productive environment, and most importantly, keeping their kids safe throughout the day. School districts take pride in this, and on a normal basis, things will go smoothly. Despite all of their efforts, though, one of the most serious and saddening problems that affects schools today is the occurrence of school shootings.Since 1980, there have been over 50 deadly shootings in the United States that occurred on school campuses. There have been many actions taken to prevent these terrible acts, but because they are so unpredictable, shootings still occur. There are many more things we can do to prevent school shootings, horrible events that do not need to occur, and to help those who suffer from thoughts of violence. Shootings have been a problem for hundreds of years. Beginning in 1927, individuals have been driven to intense measures and have taken it out on classmates, teachers, or even random victims.Unfortunately, almost every single incident involving school shootings could have been avoided if people would have taken precautions and said something. Dr. Fred Bemak, a professor at George Mason University, feels that situations can be dodged if we just talk to one another. â€Å"This is a very individualistic society, and we need to work more toward becoming a collective one. We need to work in groups to help foster tolerance and acceptance for others† (Orr 92). One of the most saddening things is the fact that often times, the attacker is a victim driven to these extremes.There are many different things that can be pointed to as the cause of school shootings, including mental disorders and family trouble, but perhaps the largest contributor is bullying. â€Å"One-third of U. S. students have experienced bullying, either as a target or the perpetrator, and 8 percent of those reported bullying or being bullied at least once a week† (Orr 25). We constantly hear the media telling us about how serious of a problem bullying in schools is, but even the news underestimates how bad it is.According to a study produced by Secret Service after the Columbine shooting, one of the most famous deadly school shootings ever, bullying is a leading cause in driving someone to a breaking point. â€Å"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack† (Threat Assessment). Bullying is something that will never entirely go away, but there is not nearly enough being done to put an end to it. If this problem were taken out of the equation, hundreds of lives could have been saved.More programs need to be put into place that make people aware of this impending problem, and schools need to be more firm about putting their foot dow n against bullying when it occurs. In turn, the chances of a victim lashing out will be hugely diminished. In this day and age, firearms are much too easy to acquire. There are laws that say you must be a certain age to purchase a gun, and laws that make the punishments clear for supplying a minor with a weapon, but kids across the country find ways to get them illegally with ease. In the eyes of gun-control advocates, the correlation between violence and a growing supply of guns is clear: the greater availability of guns leads to more gun-related deaths† (Gun Control). Guns are a great thing for many reasons, and in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, every American has the right to possess a gun, but in the wrong hands they can have deadly consequences. They also become all the more dangerous when someone driven to the breaking point owns one, and lashes out. Shootings can be entirely spontaneous and throwing a deadly weapon into the picture makes them all the scarier. Gu n-control advocates add that the mere existence of a gun in a home raises a family's risk of harm significantly. A 1993 study by criminologist Arthur Kellerman, for example, concluded that the presence of a gun in the home actually triples the risk that someone in the home will be killed† (Gun Control). By reducing the access to firearms, the school shootings will be directly effected in a positive way. Students aren’t the only people who start school shootings. There are countless stories of former students and adults coming onto school campuses and shooting them up.One of the leading questions is how did they get on to the campuses so easily? â€Å"Backers stress that the chief reason for imposing mandatory-ID policies is to improve the safety of students in school buildings and around campus. By requiring students to carry IDs, trespassers can be detected more easily, they say† (Student ID Cards). Generally, when someone wants to enter a school campus during t he school day, they have a specific purpose for going there. Assuming someone wanting to access a school is up to no good would be wrong, but it goes back to the old saying, â€Å"better safe than sorry†.ID’ing people coming and going from schools would definitely not be a hindrance to anyone, and if it could prevent deadly attacks from happening, what would the harm be? â€Å"More than three-quarters of school shooters had a history of suicidal thoughts, threats, gestures, or attempts. Most of these students were known to have been severely depressed or desperate at some point before their attacks† (Threat Assessment). Approximately 1 in 4 people in the United States suffer or have suffered from depression at some point in their lives. To really comprehend this, an understanding of the meaning depression is crucial.Dictionary. com defines depression as â€Å"a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrateà ¢â‚¬ . Depression is a serious mental-health issue, and it takes a strong toll on its victims. Thankfully, modern medicine is advanced enough that we can now treat people with this truly awful condition, helping their personal lives along with preventing possible dangerous situations stemming from this disorder. By beginning to identify these individuals, we can help them by getting them medical attention and counseling to assist them in their troubles.Many victims think that there is no hope for them, or anyone else they know, so they take drastic measures. No situation needs to ever be escalated to the point of violence, and if these victims can be helped soon enough, we could prevent shootings everywhere. After a school shooting occurs, there is often a common feeling of sorrow, a tense atmosphere, and a sense of confusion, and rightfully so, considering that people have been hurt or killed. The way that the school and teachers cope with the aftermath is a crucial step in healin g. Beyond just dealing with the physical injuries and/or deaths, there will be students who are emotionally or mentally traumatized by the entire incident† (Orr 150). These students have just seen things that no one should ever have see, and people that they knew on a daily basis were either involved or affected. At this stage, teachers have a right to take action, and there is more that can be done. Counseling is a very good solution for these students. Talking about how they are feeling is proven to help the healing process, and it can help spot students who may be having the same thoughts as the shooter, but have hidden them. Schools may decide to have prepared crisis teams on hand to help students with their various reactions, which may include anything from suicide to paralyzing grief to insomnia to paranoia† (Orr 150). This is just another way that future violent events can be prevented, and a difference can be made in schools across America. School shootings have been a problem in our country for too long. As we continue to grow as a nation, we must remember all of those victims of shootings- not just those people who have passed away, but the families of those people as well.The easy thing to do is to condescendingly look at all of the hurt and pain, destruction and havoc caused by school shootings, but instead of turning into pessimists. We should be optimistic about the good things going on to defend against these attacks. A wise man once pointed out, â€Å"Rome wasn’t built in a day†. While we learn in our knowledge of techniques for ending this problem, we need to be patient and realize that when tragedies do occur, we can turn them into valuable learning experiences.By putting a stop to bullying, being more careful with gun laws, and helping those who suffer from depression, we can prevent school shootings. Let’s band together, take a stand, and act to save lives across the country. Works Cited â€Å"Key Findings from the ‘Threat Assessment' Guide for Schools. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. Orr, Tamra. â€Å"Violence In Our Schools: Halls of Hope, Halls of Fear. † Danbury: Scholastic, 2003. Print. â€Å"School Safety. Issues & Controversies On File: Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Feb. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. â€Å"School Safety: Statistical Update. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Student ID Cards. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 17 Dec. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Update: Gun Control. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 May 1998. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. Ending School Shootings Justin Bizarro Mrs. Nye English 1301 14 November 2012 Stopping the Tragedy of School Shootings Every single day, millions of kids across the country wake up, get ready for the day, and head to school. The parents of these children trust the school with many things; a safe bus ride, a productive environment, and most importantly, keeping their kids safe throughout the day. School districts take pride in this, and on a normal basis, things will go smoothly. Despite all of their efforts, though, one of the most serious and saddening problems that affects schools today is the occurrence of school shootings.Since 1980, there have been over 50 deadly shootings in the United States that occurred on school campuses. There have been many actions taken to prevent these terrible acts, but because they are so unpredictable, shootings still occur. There are many more things we can do to prevent school shootings, horrible events that do not need to occur, and to help those who suffer from thoughts of violence. Shootings have been a problem for hundreds of years. Beginning in 1927, individuals have been driven to intense measures and have taken it out on classmates, teachers, or even random victims.Unfortunately, almost every single incident involving school shootings could have been avoided if people would have taken precautions and said something. Dr. Fred Bemak, a professor at George Mason University, feels that situations can be dodged if we just talk to one another. â€Å"This is a very individualistic society, and we need to work more toward becoming a collective one. We need to work in groups to help foster tolerance and acceptance for others† (Orr 92). One of the most saddening things is the fact that often times, the attacker is a victim driven to these extremes.There are many different things that can be pointed to as the cause of school shootings, including mental disorders and family trouble, but perhaps the largest contributor is bullying. â€Å"One-third of U. S. students have experienced bullying, either as a target or the perpetrator, and 8 percent of those reported bullying or being bullied at least once a week† (Orr 25). We constantly hear the media telling us about how serious of a problem bullying in schools is, but even the news underestimates how bad it is.According to a study produced by Secret Service after the Columbine shooting, one of the most famous deadly school shootings ever, bullying is a leading cause in driving someone to a breaking point. â€Å"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack† (Threat Assessment). Bullying is something that will never entirely go away, but there is not nearly enough being done to put an end to it. If this problem were taken out of the equation, hundreds of lives could have been saved.More programs need to be put into place that make people aware of this impending problem, and schools need to be more firm about putting their foot dow n against bullying when it occurs. In turn, the chances of a victim lashing out will be hugely diminished. In this day and age, firearms are much too easy to acquire. There are laws that say you must be a certain age to purchase a gun, and laws that make the punishments clear for supplying a minor with a weapon, but kids across the country find ways to get them illegally with ease. In the eyes of gun-control advocates, the correlation between violence and a growing supply of guns is clear: the greater availability of guns leads to more gun-related deaths† (Gun Control). Guns are a great thing for many reasons, and in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, every American has the right to possess a gun, but in the wrong hands they can have deadly consequences. They also become all the more dangerous when someone driven to the breaking point owns one, and lashes out. Shootings can be entirely spontaneous and throwing a deadly weapon into the picture makes them all the scarier. Gu n-control advocates add that the mere existence of a gun in a home raises a family's risk of harm significantly. A 1993 study by criminologist Arthur Kellerman, for example, concluded that the presence of a gun in the home actually triples the risk that someone in the home will be killed† (Gun Control). By reducing the access to firearms, the school shootings will be directly effected in a positive way. Students aren’t the only people who start school shootings. There are countless stories of former students and adults coming onto school campuses and shooting them up.One of the leading questions is how did they get on to the campuses so easily? â€Å"Backers stress that the chief reason for imposing mandatory-ID policies is to improve the safety of students in school buildings and around campus. By requiring students to carry IDs, trespassers can be detected more easily, they say† (Student ID Cards). Generally, when someone wants to enter a school campus during t he school day, they have a specific purpose for going there. Assuming someone wanting to access a school is up to no good would be wrong, but it goes back to the old saying, â€Å"better safe than sorry†.ID’ing people coming and going from schools would definitely not be a hindrance to anyone, and if it could prevent deadly attacks from happening, what would the harm be? â€Å"More than three-quarters of school shooters had a history of suicidal thoughts, threats, gestures, or attempts. Most of these students were known to have been severely depressed or desperate at some point before their attacks† (Threat Assessment). Approximately 1 in 4 people in the United States suffer or have suffered from depression at some point in their lives. To really comprehend this, an understanding of the meaning depression is crucial.Dictionary. com defines depression as â€Å"a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrateà ¢â‚¬ . Depression is a serious mental-health issue, and it takes a strong toll on its victims. Thankfully, modern medicine is advanced enough that we can now treat people with this truly awful condition, helping their personal lives along with preventing possible dangerous situations stemming from this disorder. By beginning to identify these individuals, we can help them by getting them medical attention and counseling to assist them in their troubles.Many victims think that there is no hope for them, or anyone else they know, so they take drastic measures. No situation needs to ever be escalated to the point of violence, and if these victims can be helped soon enough, we could prevent shootings everywhere. After a school shooting occurs, there is often a common feeling of sorrow, a tense atmosphere, and a sense of confusion, and rightfully so, considering that people have been hurt or killed. The way that the school and teachers cope with the aftermath is a crucial step in healin g. Beyond just dealing with the physical injuries and/or deaths, there will be students who are emotionally or mentally traumatized by the entire incident† (Orr 150). These students have just seen things that no one should ever have see, and people that they knew on a daily basis were either involved or affected. At this stage, teachers have a right to take action, and there is more that can be done. Counseling is a very good solution for these students. Talking about how they are feeling is proven to help the healing process, and it can help spot students who may be having the same thoughts as the shooter, but have hidden them. Schools may decide to have prepared crisis teams on hand to help students with their various reactions, which may include anything from suicide to paralyzing grief to insomnia to paranoia† (Orr 150). This is just another way that future violent events can be prevented, and a difference can be made in schools across America. School shootings have been a problem in our country for too long. As we continue to grow as a nation, we must remember all of those victims of shootings- not just those people who have passed away, but the families of those people as well.The easy thing to do is to condescendingly look at all of the hurt and pain, destruction and havoc caused by school shootings, but instead of turning into pessimists. We should be optimistic about the good things going on to defend against these attacks. A wise man once pointed out, â€Å"Rome wasn’t built in a day†. While we learn in our knowledge of techniques for ending this problem, we need to be patient and realize that when tragedies do occur, we can turn them into valuable learning experiences.By putting a stop to bullying, being more careful with gun laws, and helping those who suffer from depression, we can prevent school shootings. Let’s band together, take a stand, and act to save lives across the country. Works Cited â€Å"Key Findings from the ‘Threat Assessment' Guide for Schools. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. Orr, Tamra. â€Å"Violence In Our Schools: Halls of Hope, Halls of Fear. † Danbury: Scholastic, 2003. Print. â€Å"School Safety. Issues & Controversies On File: Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Feb. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. â€Å"School Safety: Statistical Update. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Student ID Cards. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 17 Dec. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Update: Gun Control. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 May 1998. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.