Caribbean history Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Caribbean history - Research Paper Example Preceding the European invasion, Caribbean region was densely inhabited with millions of native people. The period starting in 1492 realized a sudden influx of explorers that caused the natives to almost face a total extermination. Following this period, only a few native Indians survived, most of who relocated to the mountains far from European control (Beckles, & Verene, 3- 6). Here they intermingled with Africans escapees and other colonial rebels. The speedy decline of native Caribbean matched with the initial importation of slaves from Africa. Trans-Atlantic slave trade played the greatest role in these relocations, as it brought close to 11 million Africans to the Americas. Out of these African slaves, over 40percent were taken to the Caribbean were they greatly shaped the region's culture and population. This work explores the gradual changes that characterized the Caribbean slave societies as they struggled to oppose their enslavement and secure their freedom. The purpose of this paragraph is to detail various modes of resistance developed in plantation societies by field, domestic, and skilled slaves as well as the evolution of maroon societies. African fight against enslavement and captives’ revolt against the slavery conditions were a common reaction. According to the enslavers, ‘slaves were notoriously lazy and ill disposed to labor’ which suggest daily resistances as ubiquitous. (Beckles, & Verene, 12)The forms of resistances depicted by the enslaved Africans included: runaways, day to day resistance, adaptation and conspiracy. ‘RUN AWAYS’ Taking off was considered a common and most frequent act of resistance displayed by the enslaved throughout the slavery era in the Caribbean. In taking off, slaves in this region peacefully opposed their enslavement. This presented a gross mistake of subordination in the eyes of the slave masters who regarded every successful escape as serious failure in security. In addition, the act of running away depicted erosion of discipline which was established to maintain control and order among the enslaved. ‘Run aways’ caused the slave owners serious inconveniencies, while on the other side carried no negative implication on stability of the slave society (Beckles, & Verene, 65). In essence, ‘run aways’ served to deny the enslavers the much needed labor and at the same time signal those who remained behind to assert their power , thought to have significant impact on economic activities. The fact that all enslaved peoples needed freedom above all other things is no secret; the only puzzle remained on the issue of how one would accomplish such a desire. Individuals who successfully ran from their captures later came together on their own to form what is commonly referred as maroon communities (Engerman, Seymour and Robert, 23). . DAY –TO- DAY RESISTANCE The purpose of this paragraph is to detail on day –to –day resista nce as a tool used by the slave societies to fight against their enslavement. While slaves taking off from their enslavers publicly showed their opposition to the status they were in, fellow slaves who choose to remain continued with other forms of resistance. These different approaches to opposition were shown throughout the slavery era on a daily basis. Most of them were hard to identify as intentional owing to their subtle nature. Many of these actions were

Military Pay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Military Pay - Assignment Example In order to carryout this research, some of the resources that must be carried include electronics e.g. a laptop and mobile phone. Laptop will help in recording and storing information collected from the informants. This is a reliable storage facility because information is permanently stored. Writing materials are very essential when carrying out research. This is because the activity involves lots of recording. The researcher notes down information gathered from the informant in a notebook. These are mainly short notes that are later expounded when compiling data. Biro pens should also be enough for the number of people intended to fill the questionnaires.According to Nasu (2009), money is a major resource. In order to carry out any research, the researcher should ensure that he/she has enough funds. Most of the activities need money. For instance, money is needed to cater for transport purposes. In order to collect reliable data, the researcher should collect data in different reg ions and from different military officers then compare. Money is needed to cater for food and accommodation. What and where the researcher will eat, rest and sleep has to be paid for. The researcher should have enough airtime to feed their mobile phone to enable communications to take place, pay assistants who help in carrying out research as well as be in a position to cater for his and their medical needs. I will buy some gifts to motivate the informants. Finally, I will have the questionnaire and survey questions. that will be used to carry out the survey at hand. Personnel In order to carry out this research successfully, I have to hire somebody who will assist me carryout various activities. For instance, he/she will help me in distributing questionnaires to informants and collecting them after they have been filled. The research assistant will help in collection and documentation of data. Secondly, I will need somebody to help me go through areas I may not be familiar with. During data collection, I will visit different areas some which I may never have been before and that is why I may need somebody’s assistance. It may be difficult to access some of the areas I will have to visit because of poor or lack of roads. In this case I will need somebody to take me there through other means like motorbikes or animal transport like camels. Finally, I will need somebody to type and print the report after data collection and analysis has been completed (Orakhelashvili, 2011)

Does Prison Work For Offenders?

Does Prison Work For Offenders? Introduction Prisons, most commonly known as correctional institutions, have been an integral part of Criminal Justice System along with Police and the Courts (Griffiths, 2007: 3). Even though prisons and sentencing varies from country to country, they all operate in same manner i.e. to sentence criminals and prevent further damage to the society. Offenders are usually sent to a prison when a legal penalty is imposed on them. Prison is considered to be as the last resort. In past few decades, prisons have been a controversial topic. Recent trends have shown disapproval of prison system by public (Griffiths, 2007: 64). There has been lots of debate on whether prisons are effective or whether they are ineffective in making criminals law-abiding citizens. This essay opens with a discourse of what prisons are in general, looks at analysis and evaluation made by scholars, criminologists, and sociologists on potency of prisons in Canada as well as provides insights into possible reforms to enhance pris ons effectiveness. According to Christianson (2002: 1168), A prison is any institution or device that holds a captive in custody. Prisons have been in existence since ancient times. They didnt serve as a form of punishment back then but rather were just used to hold individuals until they receive their punishment which included beheading, death penalty and public shaming. Crime and punishment are both public acts. Ancient punishments were cruel and harsh but today punishment is used as a form to make all offenders or criminals law-abiding citizens including prisoners. In modern prisons, criminals are deprived of their freedom and they must follow all the protocols, rules and regulations set by the correctional institutions. Jails and closed structures are also considered as part of prison but they just hold individuals for a day or two while they await their trail (ibid: 1168). Slavery was another form of imprisonment where a slave must abide by his/her master (ibid: 1168).International Prisoner Trade and Convict Transportation during seventeenth century which was selling criminals to America, Australia as slaves marked criticism, which leads to enlightenment along with American Revolution and finally put a stop on International Prisoner Trade in eighteenth century (ibid: 1169). Jails, what we call prison today, were first modern structure ever built in Colonial America (ibid: 1169) and early eighteenth century marked modern foundation of prisons. Contemporary institutions came into existence in nineteenth century. They first originated in United States of America (Goff, 2004: 278). Prisons hold convicted offenders who have been sanctioned to be there by the judges. In Canada, there are two levels of prisons Federal Level and Provincial/Territorial Level. People serving two years or less go to provincial or territorial prisons whereas inmates serving more then two years go to federal prisons (Griffiths, 2007: 294-297). Correctional System in various countries operates in same manner but the incarceration rate between all countries is very dissimilar. According to Statistics Canada (Internet), about 158,000 people were serving some sort of sentence in 2008 in Canada compared to other countries which is comparatively low. Canada holds 116 per 100,000 populations compared 702 of United States of America (Griffiths, 2007: 289). Compared to size of country and rate of incarceration, why is the prison population going up despite the best effort made to rehabilitate offenders? Does prison work? Is correctional system effective? Prisons have gone fundamental changes since they first came into existence. Punishment has become very essential for law thats broken. People are always given some sort of punishment if they break any law. There have been lots of issues with prison recently. Criminologists, Sociologists and various scholars have debated both on success and failures of prison. Lots of scholars argue that prisons doesnt rehabilitate offenders, it rather makes them bad. Other scholars argue that prisons are really effective and they are an essential component of criminal justice system along with society and helps in improving all those who have committed crimes. This paper is going to discuss which opinion is more valid and true. Canadian Correctional System Canadas prison system first originated in early 1800s. Kingston Penitentiary was first prison ever to open in Canada. Canadas prison has vastly grown since then. Today Canada has about 215 facilities all over Canada ranging from federal prisons to provincial/territorial prison (Goff, 2004: 259). Correctional System plays a significant role in keeping the community safe. There are three general models laid out the foundations of Canadian Correctional System: The Custodial Model, The Rehabilitation Model, and The Reintegration/Risk Reduction Model (ibid: 265-266). All the models emphasize on prisoners incarceration for purpose of deterrence, ideal treatment of all offenders and reintegration into the society. According to Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Profile Series, there are few very common and general themes among the population in custody. Most of the prisoners are either black or aboriginal and are substance addict. Most of them are men and many of them suffer some sort o f psychological disablement (Griffiths, 2007: 292-293). People who have committed property offences, addicted to drug/alcohol, failed to pay a fine go to provincial/territorial prison whereas people convicted of serious offences such as murder go to federal prisons. There are various security levels of prison in Canada including maximum security, medium security and minimum security (Goff, 2004: 267). Factors such as severeness of offence, level of danger to society, prior criminal record, substance abuse, and psychological impairdness determines level of security and type of prison an offender is going to (Mathews, 2003). Regardless of best efforts made by Correctional institutions to reform the prisoners, there has been constant debate both in favour and effectiveness of prison. Next part of this paper will discuss arguments and counter-arguments regarding success of prisons. Prison Does Work Based on research done by many authors, scholars, criminologists, sociologists, various survey agencies, some evidence has been presented on success of prisons. They argue that prisons are effective. According to Goodman (2006), who was former diocesan director of education as well as former chair of Independent Monitoring Board, prisons are effective and help prisoners changing from criminals to law-abiding citizens. Public can play a big role in make their life better. Prisons offer very special courses such as anger management courses to rehabilitate them. Intensive courses are also offered to help prisoners overcoming their drug problems. According to the Economic Theory of Crime, developed by Becker, offenders are different and each of them offends due to different reasons. Theory has been tested in various countries and has indeed provided positive results. Punishment does exercise substantial influence on conduct. (Saunders et al, 2002-03: 4). Prison well wishers also argue th at the courses that are being provided to the inmates have changed their thinking from criminal side to a law-abiding citizen. These courses include educational and treatment programs, adult basic education, skills development program which helps in shaping their behaviour. Rehabilitation programs have been really effective as they focus on targeting specific problem areas. Rehabilitation programs include pro-criminal attitudes, problem solving deficit, creating educational and employment opportunities (Ore et al, 2003: 62). Prisons are effective as they rehabilitate prisoners along with deterrence. Also it has been suggested that police arrest rather than reported crime to police should be used in minimizing bias in comparative studies across countries regarding success of prisons (ibid: 62). In addition, what varies from country to country is which crimes are considered for incarceration. Saunders and Billante further defended this point by arguing that prisons deterrence effect d oes reduce crime. Co-relation between crimes rates and incarceration doesnt prelude success of prisons (Saunders et al, 2002-03: 8). For example, in Canada, criminal law is same throughout the country but dispensed differently on provincial levels. Charles Murray mentioned in his work that prisons do work and are effective. He used USA as an example and described how high incarceration rates in USA led to low crimes between 1980s and 1990s (ibid: 5). He further added that even if crime is low, incarceration must be kept high and prison can definitely put halt on crime, thats the main reason why crime rates in United Kingdom were up the roof. Dulilio further expanded Murrays point by saying that prison is an answer to question of how to deter crime (ibid: 5). Crimes in Australia and New Zealand have escalated because of an ease on imprisonment. The New Generation correctional facilities have been praiseworthy. They have dramatically reduced the escapes and violent acts in prison. The direct supervision model has also been considered really valuable. There are six different objectives attached to it along with seven behavioural dimensions that supervise the inmates in pods (Goff, 2004: 268-269). Other custody options or alternatives to imprisonment have had mixed reviews. No accurate numbers have been released whether they have been considered to be far more successful than incarceration, especially treatment approaches and community-based programs (Griffiths, 2007: 278-279). Restorative justices have high review rates. According to Goff (2004: 345), Restorative Justice refers to activities within the criminal justice system that are directed at repairing the injury to the victim and the community. Its one of the central features in Canadian criminal justice (Griffiths, 2007: 272). Believers of our system hold the fact that sanction must be proportionate to the crime. Its different from Utilitarian Goals and Retributive Goals (ibid: 237). Offender must realize what he/she has done and how he/she has disturbed society as whole and should apologize to the victim for his/her actions. One of the main goals of this type of sanction is to avoid the offender from going thorough the criminal justice process and then be sent to prison. Circumstances, intentions and motives of offender are always taken into consideration. This type is totally based on restitution. According to Zehr (1990) this process rebuilds relationships and restores peace. Prisons Dont Work Counter-argument for potency of prisons is failure of prisons, that is, prisons dont work. Criminologists have argued that a prison doesnt alter criminal behaviour and theres a very high likelihood that inmates will re-offend once they finish their term and leave prison. People have encountered brutality and unfairness in prisons. According to Frank, Beirie and Mackenzie (2010: 93) prisons dont alter criminal behaviour, but they rather often promote criminality. They are generally delegitimizing. Prisons are considered schools of crime. Emotions play crucial role in phase of incarceration. Some researchers have indicated that criminals dont cope well in prisons whereas critics have argued prisons do cope criminals (Frank et al, 2010: 93). According to research conducted by Hurd (2005: 26-27), prisons dont work at all. Increase in imprisonment doesnt reduce crime. He used England and Wales as an example. Number of prisoners increased from 44,000 to 60,000 from 1986 to 1997, but no red uction in crime was recorded. Offenders were being numbered up into jails but crime was still going up. Other scholars have argued the same thing. Sinead Hanks have argued the same point. The author used England and Wales as an example. In February 2008, there were about 82,000 people in prison, highest ever in the country. But crimes were still up as more than half of offenders were reoffending within two years after being released from prison (Hurd, 2005: 26-27). Many prisoners have indicated that they have learned more on how to commit crimes during their imprisonment. Hanks (2008: 95-96) argued that prison has been considered as dumping ground, that is, people who have mental health issues, drug addiction problems, are homeless and illiterate are offenders. The author also argued that since imprisonment rates have gone up, overcrowding is a big concern in prisons. This problem further leads to problem of less rehabilitation and higher reconviction rates. The cycle perpetuates it self. It was also discussed that its really expensive to keep the offenders in prison and more than half of the offenders are back within two years or so, thus putting extra burden on the budget (Hanks, 2008: 95-96). Penal Policy is an important weapon in fighting crime. Article written by Mathews (2003), former inmate, suggests that maximum security prison doesnt rehabilitate prisoners, it rather makes them worse. He further added that inmates spend twenty hours a day in their cell in total isolation and its hard for them to function properly in society after spending that amount of time in total isolation, without any human contact. Most prisoners have developed some sort of psychological illness and those who had it before, their situation is even worse. Prisoners are abused most of the time. Criminologists argue that this type of incarceration is inflicting punishment rather then rehabilitating those individuals. Individuals also face administrative separatism (Mathews, 2003: 41 ). This article has received a lot of attention from various scholars, researchers, criminologists, sociologists and more research is being done on maximum security aspect of prison. Some of them even say it that its totally inhumane and degrading. Roger Matthews, Professor at London South Bank University, mentioned that looking at recidivism figures, it certainly looks like that prison isnt totally effective. Instead of rehabilitating prisoners, it adds up to governments budget (Matthews, 2005). People learn more about crime in prisons. Studies have revealed that prison time can help offenders in enhancing their criminal skills, described as prisonization effect (Tremblay, 2009). Other research studies have revealed that incarceration is not meeting up the expectations. According Griffiths (2007: 279-280), incarceration is not an effectual restraint but being caught and punished is a deterrent. It has also been argued that people who have spent more time in prison feel more comfortable in prison rather then being out in community. Longer prisons are totally ineffective because sometimes low- risk offenders are exposed to high-risk offenders, and likelihood of learning other ways to commit crimes is very high. Further studies have revealed that even most offenders prefer probation over incarceration. Studies further revealed that prisons dont always carry out through its provisions and some of them have even failed to meet their performance targets (The Economist, 2003). There are bunch of other challenges faced by prisons. Prison Violence is still prevalent. It can be between inmates or between inmates and staff members (Goff, 2004: 275). No body knows what happens inside the walls but official data disclosed that prison violence has gone up since 1989-90. Prison suicide is another challenge faced by correction facilities. No particular details are available why prisoners commit suicide but it has been said that mostly white males commit suicide in prison (ibid: 275-276). Rising cost of prisons is viewed as another trend in institutional corrections (Griffiths, 2007: 323). As per the statistics, in 2003-04, average cost of inmate housing was approximately $ 87,000 in federal prisons, and approximately $ 51,000 for provincial/territorial prisons. This further raises question on effectiveness and rehabilitation of prisoners (ibid: 324). Overcrowding is another issue and has been considered as a leading cause of violence. In federal prisons, about 25 p ercent of inmates share their room with another inmate (ibid: 324). Over-representation of black and aboriginal people has definitely raised concerns. It has been said that criminal justice system is biased against them and systematic discrimination against aboriginals prevails (ibid: 292-293). Comparison/Conclusion Effectiveness of prisons is a hot debate topic but its not easy to say whether prisons are effective or not. Studies have definitely revealed that high incarceration have lead to low crimes in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and United states but at the same time critics have argued that high incarceration rate have inflicted upon high crime rates in England and United States. It has also been argued that abuse of power by prison staff is degrading and inhumane and makes them even less collectible, that is, they dont use their authority legitimately but at the same point it has been argued that their legitimate authority have promoted people to follow the rules and be of good behavior. Media has also affected our thinking as prisons are predominantly represented as bad place. Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides limited rights to prisoners but their rights are being violated (Goff, 2004: 276-277). Overcrowding of prisons and high costs have forced government to impl ement reforms. Provincial/territorial governments have debated earlier about privatization of prisons as private companies can provide better and cost effective service. This can definitely take off some burden from the budget but at the same time private companies try to maximize their profits by using less staff and paying them low wages (Klassen, 2009). Restorative justice has proven to be successful in recidivism and restitution (Klassen, 2009). Restorative system saves an offender from further damage and helps him/her in reintegration into society. Incarceration rate and its success is a topic that will never have a proper ending. Every time arguments have been presented regarding success of prison, they have been criticized using counter-arguments and more evidence is presented focusing on failure of correctional systems. Appropriate reforms should be implemented to make prisons more effective. Social programs should be provided, both inside and outside of prison, to strengthe n public safety. Penal Crisis and Justice System reforms should be addressed and modified as per the needs. Theres no need of new prisons, or to rise up incarceration rates. Democratic values of any given country are reflected through prisons and therefore, prisons continue to be an integral part of our justice system and society. Careful analysis needs to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of prisons as presentation of incorrect information can be misleading to the society and public.

Working Together in Robert Frosts Mending Wall Essay -- Mending Wall

Working Together in Robert Frost's Mending Wall The air is cool and crisp. Roosters can be heard welcoming the sun to a new day and a woman is seen, wearing a clean colorful wrap about her body and head, her shadow casting a lone silhouette on the stone wall. The woman leans over to slide a piece of paper into one of the cracks, hoping her prayer will be heard in this city of Jerusalem. Millions are inserting their prayers into the walls of Japanese temples, while an inmate in one of a hundred prisons across the United States looks past his wall toward the prayers he did not keep. Billions fall asleep each night surrounded by four walls and thousands travel to China to witness the grandest one of all. Who builds walls and who tears them down? The "Mending Wall" is the opening poem in Robert Frost's second book entitled, North of Boston. The poem portrays the casual part of life as seen by two farmers mending their wall. A great number of people might look at "Mending Wall" and see a simple poem about a simple aspect of life. If this is truly the case then why are so many drawn to the poem and what is found when more than a superficial look is spent on Robert Frost's work? The "Mending Wall" is an insightful look at social interactions as seen in the comparison of the repeated phrases and the traditional attitudes of the two farmers. The speaker believes, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall"(Stanford 1, 28). What sets this line apart from others? First there are only two phrases repeated in this piece of Robert Frost's work and we hear the speaker posing the first of them. Due to an otherwise lack of repetition, we can see that Robert Frost is trying to exemplify to the reader the different perspe... ...t took two boys to build Rome, but it takes two men to mend a wall. Works Cited Barry, Elaine. Robert Frost. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1973. 145 Frost, Robert. "Mending Wall." Responding to Literature. 2nd Ed. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co. 1996. 1212-1213. Gerber, Philip L. Robert Frost. Ed. Kenneth Eble. Boston: Twayne Publishers. 1982. 124-125 Lentricchia, Frank. Robert Frost: Modern Poetics and the Landscape of Self. Durham: Duke University Press. 1975. 103-107. Zverev, A. "A Lover's Quarrel with the World: Robert Frost." 20th Century American Literature: A Soviet View. Translated by Ronald Vroon. Progress Publishers. 1976. 241-260. Rpt. in World Literature Criticism. Vol. 2. Ed. James P. Draper. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. 1992. 1298-1299.

A Textual Analysis and Response to: In Memory of Zoe Yalland and Tortoise

Both poems represent suffering in the twentieth century, albeit different types. Both are also written in blank verse. This allows the author to write using a very flexible form not being hampered in the expression of thought or syntactic structure by the need to rhyme. The title ‘In Memory of Zoà « Yalland’ is stating clearly that this is a memorial to the lady; however, this does not mean that it is an obituary. Although it is written after her death I don’t necessarily see it as an obituary, rather more of an epitaph, and a bitter one at that. Obituaries are generally very generous in their remembrance of the deceased. They usually describe their life and the contributions they made to it, paint a pretty picture of how loved they were and how sadly missed they’ll be. This poem is totally contrary to the norm as regard to obituaries. I see this written on a tomb, as if to say, â€Å"Look! Here lays a young woman, who during her life suffered a great deal. Go live your life to the full, savour each moment, love those around you, for you know not what tomorrow brings†. Tortoise is a different title altogether. It is written in the same context as the verse, ambiguously and metaphorically. Initially you believe that the verse is literally about a tortoise, until you come to realise that the author is using a clever play on words. As you read on you find yourself analysing the text, struggling to understand what the author is trying to say, which is totally contrary to ‘In Memory of Zoà « Yalland’. While Zoà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s poem is straight talking and to the point, ‘Tortoise’ is ambiguous Zoà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s poem is weighed down with mental and physical anguish, the torturing of mind and body. It represents the struggles of everyday life against society and disease. The text used is very harsh, no frills, the author has told it like it is. This is a poem that could be written for so many and yet I feel that this is personal to the author. I believe Zoà « was close to him and he is airing his anger and frustration at the waste of such a young life. Zoà « was clearly a person who never found true happiness. It evokes pathos, I felt quite disturbed when I read this. Also you can read Analysis July at the Multiplex Tortoise, I feel portrays the story of a soldiers suffering. This is the suffering of a tormented soul, the very suffering of ones spirit. Here is a man who has fought wars, seen comrades suffer and die, and is left but a shell of his former self. He has shut himself away from the world, for it’s grievances are nothing compared to what he has seen and experienced. He walks around like you or I and yet in his eyes his turmoil is clearly visible. Nothing is important to him anymore; he wanders day to day, questioning nothing, existing, and drifting like a forgotten spirit. This poem is brimming with bathos. It made me feel melancholy. Zoà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s poem is quite angrily written. There are undertones of bitterness and regret, maybe these are emotions felt by the author for his subject. Words such as ‘dog shit’ and ‘nothing done’ show the harshness of the author’s feelings towards her situation. His tone throughout is sad and regretful, with a hint of unfairness; he knew an awful lot about her life. It paints a very bleak picture of a young, hopeful, yet very sad life that never quite came up to her expectations. I believe the author is trying to say that we should all care a little more about those around us, to open our eyes and see the reality of life, and to live each day as if it were our last. He is trying to convey the cruelty and unfairness of the world. At first glance the reader of the ‘Tortoise’ could be totally baffled by the text in this one. It definitely requires further scrutiny to try and understand what the author is trying to say. The text is much more gentle and simple, yet more difficult to understand due to the ambiguity. I believe only the author truly knows the meaning behind Tortoise, it is left up to the reader to interpret it in their own way. Maybe this was the intention. While Zoà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s poem is quite clear to understand Tortoise is open to many interpretations. The text in ‘In Memory of Zoe Yalland’ is very negative. For example ‘no space’, no sun’, ‘nothing done’, ‘boxed in’, ‘ dragged down’ and ‘not true’. There is also text, which indicates the struggle in her life such as; ‘battling’, ‘hoping luck could run out’ ‘more like praying’, ‘that with time just staying meant starting to belong’. As you read the text in the first verse it draws you into the emotional turmoil that she is experiencing, you are able, quite easily, to relate to her suffering. In the second verse I felt the emotion the author was displaying. He was unmistakably hurting; not only at the loss of this woman, but also at the poor hand fate had cruelly dealt her. His words were cutting, as if to shock the reader into recognising the reality of this awful situation. Read also  Case 302 July in Multiplex The text of ‘Tortoise’ in comparison to ‘Zoà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is quite positive, although in a sad way. ‘So he became a sort of miraculous stone’ suggests that even though he was struggling he overcame his problems and adjusted, even after he had everything ‘shot away’. Everything about the poem suggests a gentle surrender to life’s difficulties. ‘You see?’ is almost like saying, â€Å"oh well!† phrases like ‘no question either’, ‘no reason to hurry’ and ‘life is simple’, are all positive, but in the context of the poem it’s as if he has given up, and so, life is no longer difficult. He can’t change what has happened, so he just lives with it, inside his shell. In conclusion I found ‘In Memory of Zoà « Yalland to be a very negative poem with harsh realities and no hope, while ‘Tortoise’ was more positive and hopeful, although it still cleverly portrayed suffering using a clever use of language. While ‘In Memory of Zoà « Yalland’ bore pathos, ‘Tortoise’ contained bathos. These were two poems both displaying suffering but in entirely different ways.

“Gender Inequality Exists to Some Extent, in Most Areas of Society, in All Countries of the World”. Geographically Examine This Statement.

â€Å"Gender inequality exists to some extent, in most areas of society, in all countries of the world†. Geographically examine this statement. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on the gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles, behaviors, and activities and attributes that a given society deems appropriate for men and women. For two years Iceland is the number one country for gender equality followed by Norway in second, Finland third and Sweden fifth – showing that the Nordic countries are the best for gender equality.The gender equality gap is measured by looking at politics, education, employment and health. According to recent studies the highest representation of women in parliament was in Europe, in which 20. 56% of parliamentary people were female, and the lowest Oceania in which 7. 5% of parliamentary people were women. Women’s political empowerment is very important, and small loans can help improve it. More power means an increase in confidence to change and challenge gender relations. Economically it will mean women have increased access to markets, and increased control over income, assests and resources within the home.Kuwait is an example of a country trying to solve gender inequality issues and increase women’s empowerment politically, socially, and economically. Women in Kuwait have been given the right to run in local and governmental elections, as well as vote in elections. Sub-Saharan Africa is another area in which women’s empowerment is being promoted. This time through giving women mobile phones to help improve their lives slightly. Statistics show that within Sub-Saharan Africa 300 million fewer men than women have mobiles. So the plan was to issue 150 million mobiles to women across the region.It is thought that mobiles can help with literacy, health programs and project awareness, developing small businesses, and gaining fina ncial independence. Education is also another area in which gender inequality is trying to be beaten. By improving women’s educations statistics show that Fertility rates and Infant and child mortality numbers will decrease, while women’s labour force and women’s children going to school will increase. Gender inequality in education correlates with ethnicity and religion, domestic responsibilities, cultural restrictions and less economic power.Examples of gender inequality within education are in Pakistan and Yemen. In Pakistan the Taliban was restricting women’s education. 125,000 girls have had to abandon their education after 180 schools were torched and 900 school closed down. Taliban are brutal, they behead, assassinate political figures and destroy homes. A recent example might be the fourteen-year-old Malala who was shot in the head by the Taliban on her way home from school because she was trying to promote women’s rights. In Yemen being th e lowest global rating of gender inequality means they’re heavily investing in this sector.The International Development Association (IDA) are working to increase access to and the quality of education, as well as promoting it to women nationally. They’re encouraging female teachers, which will increase ‘social acceptance’. 1000 new female teachers were introduced in 2008 alone, and they successfully attracted girls to schools. As well as 100- new female teachers, 4000 classrooms and 200 schools were built, and 80 of the original schools were repaired. All of these efforts have worked, as the illiteracy rate has halved from 90% in 1999 to 45% in 2009!Other areas in which gender inequality exists are within culture and government, migration, health, employment, birth ratios and legal rights and land ownership. Not all countries with gender inequality issues are third world countries. Infact, some are the most developed. Places like China, Switzerland and Th e United Kingdom all suffer from gender inequality. This might show that gender inequality does exist to some extent in all countries of the world, not just less developed countries because they don’t have the money to over come the problem. China’s a very good example of the birth ratios gender inequality issue.It is estimated there that men will outnumber women by 30 million by 2020. And in 2005, china’s birth rate was 119 males to every 100 females, in some provinces it went up to 140 males. According to feminist writers in China, it is because Chinese people would rather have a son, as they’re considered more useful, they also say that son preference is seen as blunt gender discrimination. Overall it’s common for one to think that the statement â€Å"Gender inequality exists to some extent, in most areas of society, in all countries of the world† is very much true.All the evidence points towards geographically spread gender inequality wo rldwide, not just certain countries in which one might assume to suffer from gender inequality. Yemen, Ethiopia, Kuwait and Sub-Saharan Africa are all strong examples of less economically developed countries suffering from gender inequality, and UK, Switzerland and China more economically developed countries also suffering from gender inequality – however all are affected by politics, education, employment and health.

Free Essays on The Runaway Jury

The Runaway Jury John Grisham, author of The Runaway Jury, is considered by many as the â€Å"king of the legal thriller† (Runaway). He brings a background to his writing that earns him this title honestly. Born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Grisham grew up with hopes of becoming a professional baseball player. Some time later he realized that he was not talented enough for the job, so he enrolled in college. After graduating from the University of Mississippi, he attended law school and in 1981, earned a law degree. He practiced law for nearly a decade, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. During this time, his interest turned to politics, and in 1983, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives where he served two terms (John). While in office, Grisham began writing his first novel, A Time to Kill, which was published in 1989. With that book’s success, he decided to give up his job as a politician to become a full-time nov elist, publishing a book nearly every year from that time on. The Runaway Jury, his seventh book, was published in 1996 (Grisham). In all, Grisham has written fifteen books. Six of those books have been made into movies (Movies). Currently in production, â€Å"Runaway Jury† is expected to be released in 2003 (Yahoo). In 1996, Grisham returned to the courtroom one last time, this time to represent the family of a railroad brakeman who was killed when he was pinned between two of the railcars. This resulted in Grisham’s biggest win to date with an award of $683,500 to his client (John). Even when Grisham is not writing, he is extremely busy. He divides his time between his family, charity work and refereeing on one of the six ball fields he built for the twenty-six Little League teams in his area. The Runaway Jury is the story of a tobacco trial set in Biloxi, Mississippi, and is loosely based upon a tobacco suit brought years earlier in ... Free Essays on The Runaway Jury Free Essays on The Runaway Jury The Runaway Jury John Grisham, author of The Runaway Jury, is considered by many as the â€Å"king of the legal thriller† (Runaway). He brings a background to his writing that earns him this title honestly. Born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Grisham grew up with hopes of becoming a professional baseball player. Some time later he realized that he was not talented enough for the job, so he enrolled in college. After graduating from the University of Mississippi, he attended law school and in 1981, earned a law degree. He practiced law for nearly a decade, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. During this time, his interest turned to politics, and in 1983, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives where he served two terms (John). While in office, Grisham began writing his first novel, A Time to Kill, which was published in 1989. With that book’s success, he decided to give up his job as a politician to become a full-time nov elist, publishing a book nearly every year from that time on. The Runaway Jury, his seventh book, was published in 1996 (Grisham). In all, Grisham has written fifteen books. Six of those books have been made into movies (Movies). Currently in production, â€Å"Runaway Jury† is expected to be released in 2003 (Yahoo). In 1996, Grisham returned to the courtroom one last time, this time to represent the family of a railroad brakeman who was killed when he was pinned between two of the railcars. This resulted in Grisham’s biggest win to date with an award of $683,500 to his client (John). Even when Grisham is not writing, he is extremely busy. He divides his time between his family, charity work and refereeing on one of the six ball fields he built for the twenty-six Little League teams in his area. The Runaway Jury is the story of a tobacco trial set in Biloxi, Mississippi, and is loosely based upon a tobacco suit brought years earlier in ...

Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews

Regulations against Jews Rules and regulations placed upon the Jewish citizens during World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹ were the plan of Adolph Hitler, a nazi leader, to protect the  ¡Ã‚ §perfect ¡Ã‚ ¨ race. This is known to day as genocide. This is also, directly linked to racial profiling, and discrimination against a people or race. Some of these laws included were the Nuremberg Laws and the Dwork laws. These laws had a major affect on how people of Jewish descent would affect the world population. They also had a dominant influence of how the Jewish citizens were treated, and their outlook of the government. The Nuremberg Laws were passed on September 15, 1935 (Austin). The laws consisted of three main goals. These goals were each a different section to the document (World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹). The first is to fulfill the goal of clarifying the requirements of citizenship. The second section of the document is to clarify the position in society that Jewish citizens were to obtain. The third division was placed to protect the purity of the German blood (Austin). The first goal was to declare the requirements needed to be a German citizen. There were only two qualities that were needed to obtain citizenship. One being a citizen must be of German or kindred blood. It goes further to state that a person of  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ may also be eligible for citizenship. A person with  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ are those with grandparents that are racially of Jewish background, or religiously active in their communities. The second, is a personal trait, of being proud to be German and also proud of its heritage. The first quality is a racial quality which humans have no control over. This would in turn be a natural defect to the Jewish people. In addressing the second goal there were laws passed to keep civil rights foreign to Jewish citizens. Some rights that would be available to some citizens and revoked by others are the holding of politi... Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews Regulations against Jews Rules and regulations placed upon the Jewish citizens during World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹ were the plan of Adolph Hitler, a nazi leader, to protect the  ¡Ã‚ §perfect ¡Ã‚ ¨ race. This is known to day as genocide. This is also, directly linked to racial profiling, and discrimination against a people or race. Some of these laws included were the Nuremberg Laws and the Dwork laws. These laws had a major affect on how people of Jewish descent would affect the world population. They also had a dominant influence of how the Jewish citizens were treated, and their outlook of the government. The Nuremberg Laws were passed on September 15, 1935 (Austin). The laws consisted of three main goals. These goals were each a different section to the document (World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹). The first is to fulfill the goal of clarifying the requirements of citizenship. The second section of the document is to clarify the position in society that Jewish citizens were to obtain. The third division was placed to protect the purity of the German blood (Austin). The first goal was to declare the requirements needed to be a German citizen. There were only two qualities that were needed to obtain citizenship. One being a citizen must be of German or kindred blood. It goes further to state that a person of  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ may also be eligible for citizenship. A person with  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ are those with grandparents that are racially of Jewish background, or religiously active in their communities. The second, is a personal trait, of being proud to be German and also proud of its heritage. The first quality is a racial quality which humans have no control over. This would in turn be a natural defect to the Jewish people. In addressing the second goal there were laws passed to keep civil rights foreign to Jewish citizens. Some rights that would be available to some citizens and revoked by others are the holding of politi...

How to Get a CDL in Massachusetts

How to Get a CDL in Massachusetts This article applies to anyone who wants to apply for a CDL in Massachusetts. If you want to learn about getting a CDL in other states, TheJobNetwork has put together a very comprehensive CDL guide on every state of the country. MassachusettsEligibilityIf you are at least 21 years old  and have not had your driver’s license or right to operate revoked, you may apply for an interstate transport CDL permit. If you are at least 18 years old  and have not had your driver’s license or right to operate revoked, you may apply for an intrastate (Massachusetts only) transport CDL permit.RequirementsFederal law requires all  commercial drivers have a social security number that verifies with the Social Security Administration.Drivers of commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs. must carry a valid US Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved medical certificate. Also, drivers transporting 15 or more passengers or carrying placarded hazardous materials, regardless of vehicle size, are required to carry a D.O.T. medical certificate.Written TestObtain a   CDL, you must first fill out an application (available at any RMV full-service office or on the RMV website).  Then,  present the application, the required identification, and the $30.00 written test fee, and the fee for any endorsements, in person, to any RMV full service office to take the written test.  If you pass the written test, you will receive a 2-year permit.Road TestFinally, a road test is usually required when applying for a CDL. When you are ready to take a road test, you must call the RMV Telephone Center to schedule your road test. All road tests must be scheduled by the Telephone Center. You may NOT make a road test appointment in person.For the road test,  you you must  supply a properly equipped, legally registered and insured vehicle with  a valid inspection sticker. It must be of the proper type and manufacturer’s GVW  rating for the class license you are applyi ng for, and it must pass a safety check by the examiner.The skills that will be tested during a CDL road test are pre-trip vehicle inspection, basic vehicle control, and   an on-road test

Team and Leadership Recommendations Research Paper

Team and Leadership Recommendations - Research Paper Example Nando’s Restaurant has devised the method of improving its leadership and performance as the staff motivation (Hambley & Kline 2007, p. 142). The first team to be considered in the strategy is HR team. This is because they are the immediate people who will influence and change the attitude of the entire employees, as they are the immediate people dealing with other employees direct. HR team should be motivated in various ways. They should be given time to attend frequent leadership seminars and training (Harris, Hopkins & Chapman 2013, p. 63). This will enable them to acquire more skills, which will enable them to lead by example and motivate the other employees. The HR team should be given chance to give their new ideas on how the services can be improved or solve certain problems. This will make the HR team feel comfortable when delivering their duties as they feel they are part of the organization. The shareholders should consult the team before taking any step or making an y decision concerning employees’ performances. (Lumby & Coleman 2007, p. 61). This is a kind of motivation on the HR team, as they feel recognized before any decision is made in the company.HR team should employ the theory of team formation when trying to meet the targets of the organization. HR team together with other managers and supervisors should convince the other employees to form teams. When the employees work in teams it will be easy as they will work together aiming the same target.

Costing and Information Systems of the Worplestrop Essay - 1

Costing and Information Systems of the Worplestrop - Essay Example Product costs are identified with goods produced or purchased for resale in an organization. In marginal costing, the only variable cost is charged as a cost of sale and we get the contribution is which normally is given by sales revenue less the variable cost of product sold. The closing stock of goods which are work in progress or finished goods in the store is valued at variable production cost. Fixed cost are normally treated as period cost and are charged in full to the profit and loss accounts of the accounting period in which they are incurred. The principle of marginal costing of a product is that in a particular period, fixed cost will always be the same, for any volume of sales and production provided that the level of activity is within the relevant range or the budgeted range, therefore, by selling an extra item of product or service the following will happen. Similar if the volume of sale, if the volume of sales falls by one item, profit will fall by the same amount of contribution earned from the sale of items. Profit measurement should, therefore, base on analysis of total contribution. Since fixed cost relates to a period of time, and do not change with either increase or decrease in the sales volume, it is misleading to charge units of sales with a share of the fixed cost from the total contribution of the period to get the profit figure. When one unit of a commodity is produced then an extra cost must be incurred in its production as a variable cost but the fixed cost will always remain constant. Then it is true to say that it is in order to value the closing stock as a variable cost. It is sometimes called full costing, in this costing, all the manufacturing cost incurred in any particular period is accounted for, and also until the product is sold fixed overheads will remain a product cost.

Costs and Benefits Associated with ERP Systems - Advanced Accounting Essay

Costs and Benefits Associated with ERP Systems - Advanced Accounting Information systems - Essay Example P.Regardless of the reason that has contributed to need of searching a new ERP, the fundamental question to be kept in mind is how the ERP will cost (Busco et al., 2007). The cost of an ERP varies depending on different factors. These factors include the size of the company; type of solution needed for instance the more specialized the solution is the pricier the ERP will be. The needed resources also contributes to the decision to be made regarding the ERP.The more external resources are the more costlier the ERP is.The level of customization is also an a factor determining the cost of an ERP (Nixon, 2012). There is the purchase cost and the licensing cost. When an ERP is purchased, licenses for the Database Management System need to be bought separately. Often, the licenses are excluded in purchase price of the software since it is distinct product developed by a different company. There are two types of users’ license in the ERP; the named user and parallel operator. Respective worker has to require an authorization to be able to use the software in the named user licensing. In a parallel user licensing, there has to be a password available to each connected user (Li, 2011). There are also infrastructure related costs. The infrastructure cost incorporates all the required hardware to ride the ERP. However, this will fluctuate for each company, but the following should be included irrespective of the company. Firstly, there is server infrastructure cost, the cost of storage, the cost of backups and new desktop computers, or the computers that require upgrading. The infrastructure costs are responsible for about ten to twenty of an ERP implementation project (Li, 2011). There are also human resources. Human resources accounts for the greatest ERP implementation budget. Consultant costs and the employees’ wages consume more than fifty percent of the total ERP cost. Internal resources cost is also a cost related to ERP. The wages of employees should cater

Lean thinking game Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Lean thinking game - Assignment Example The production system seemed to be push system where the master production schedule 1 has been followed in this round. U-Shaped layout has been implemented at the beginning of the game. The allotments of the members were same as in the round one. The further additions to the round two were that there were some changes in the inspection criteria. The inspection of the quality was done along the line instead at the end. With the inspections being done along with the operations the lines where encouraged to pace up the process. The speeding up of the operations certainly reduced the cycle time of the station. Significant changes have been made to the operations of the process. Long pull was introduced between the operations. The team has decided to use Mini heat treat unit in round 3. Additionally, the team decided to cut off the quality control and move forward to total quality control; that means eliminating all the possible defects from the process rather than identifying the defects by the end of the process. The observations of the end of the round 3 of the game concluded the following results. With the lack of alignment with production and demand the over production of the product will occur which can be seen in every round of the game. The production of the product shall be designed so as to fulfill the demand so that there shall be no over production in the upcoming rounds. The over production also occurred due to the lack of knowledge of inventory. With the proper transfer of the knowledge as where the inventory is present in the process and how much work is to be done on each of the station then the over production can be reduced to the minimum. With the control in the over production of the products the direct costs shall decrease along with the overheads and shall be beneficial. The production system shall be Kanbaan where the product is produced as per the demand of the customers and the demand of the next

Consultancy Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Consultancy Management Techniques - Essay Example For internal sources of data, maintaining data quality is not that important as data is extracted through company generated reports whose authenticity is verified. For external sources of data to ensure data quality care must be put on selecting a good data source. Data should be extracted only from reputed research firm, company reports and other reputed reporting agencies. Information that needs to go in a management report depends on the type of management report. Mostly the information that goes into a management report is financial data, industry analysis reports etc. The report actually presents a picture of the specified area and how it affects the management. Sometimes vision of top executives and other qualitative information may also go into a management report. In a management report the data used can be both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative data represents those data which can be statistically or mathematically analyzed. There is certain other form of data which cannot be analysed in this manner and those data represents qualitative data. Qualitative data are those data which represents what an industry expert views about the future of a particular industry and likewise (Johnson, and Christensen, 2008. Â  ). The data that will be collected by the company in the course of operation will be huge. The data will be of all sorts ranging from sales data, to financial data, to industry data, to human resource data. This is a digital age which means that the data collection mechanism has seen a rapid change and so the amount of data collected and will be huge. Collecting the data is just an initial step in creating the management report. The next important step is to select and keep the relevant data and discard the rest. To understand which data is relevant and which is to be discarded, it is very important to define the scope of management report. Once the scope and purpose of the management

Application and Impact of Financial Reporting Standard 5 Essay

Application and Impact of Financial Reporting Standard 5 - Essay Example The best advantage is that this FRS does not affect a majority of transactions; however, it has an effect on complex transactions whose substance is not very apparent. Objective: The aim of Financial Reporting Standard 5 is to make sure that the substance of the transactions of the business is reflected clearly in the financial statements. Moreover, it intends to cover the honest representation of the commercial impacts of the transactions on the profits, losses, liabilities as well as assets of the business so that the accounting statements do not just consider the legal form of a specific transaction but also its commercial form. A chief point in concluding on the substance of the transaction is to note whether the transaction has resulted in an increase or decrease in liabilities or assets of the business. The definition of assets and liabilities has been clarified in the FRS 5. Once the identification of a liability or asset is done, the inclusion needs to happen in the balance sheet subject to the condition that there is adequate evidence of the existence of the liability or the assets. Moreover, the monetary value of these should be measurable. The asset or liability respectively should be included only if the transaction does not significantly alter rights of the benefits to the entity or its exposure of risks. If the transaction does not do so, it is appropriate to make amendments in the monetary value of the asset/liability. The FRS takes into consideration several transactions and gives a detailed disclosure and measurement guideline regarding transactions with specific features including consignment stock, repurchase contracts, loan transfer, securitization, factoring, revenue recognition, and private finance initiatives. Presentation and Disclosure FRS 5 takes a view of the problems of financing off-balance sheet items. The problem of understatement is solved due to the presentation and disclosure guidelines of FRS 5. A specific type of presentation known as "linked presentation" is suggested for financial arrangements that are non-recourse in nature. Such a presentation shows the deductions of finance from the gross amount of the particular item that is financed. Sufficient disclosure is vital for the transaction for having a clear idea of the commercial effect of the same. The disclosure requires detailed explanation when the recognition of the asset or liability is different from that found under the related headings in a balance sheet. (FRS 5, Accounting Standard Board) Thus, FRS 5 has a clear and structured approach for reporting the substance of the transactions. FRS 5 has a noteworthy effect on the reporting of financial statements. However, it is clarified that it does not affect a vast majority of a transaction, but certainly has an impact on complex transactions. Here, we take into consideration the impact and application of FRS 5 on various transactions.

Consultancy Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Consultancy Management Techniques - Essay Example For internal sources of data, maintaining data quality is not that important as data is extracted through company generated reports whose authenticity is verified. For external sources of data to ensure data quality care must be put on selecting a good data source. Data should be extracted only from reputed research firm, company reports and other reputed reporting agencies. Information that needs to go in a management report depends on the type of management report. Mostly the information that goes into a management report is financial data, industry analysis reports etc. The report actually presents a picture of the specified area and how it affects the management. Sometimes vision of top executives and other qualitative information may also go into a management report. In a management report the data used can be both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative data represents those data which can be statistically or mathematically analyzed. There is certain other form of data which cannot be analysed in this manner and those data represents qualitative data. Qualitative data are those data which represents what an industry expert views about the future of a particular industry and likewise (Johnson, and Christensen, 2008. Â  ). The data that will be collected by the company in the course of operation will be huge. The data will be of all sorts ranging from sales data, to financial data, to industry data, to human resource data. This is a digital age which means that the data collection mechanism has seen a rapid change and so the amount of data collected and will be huge. Collecting the data is just an initial step in creating the management report. The next important step is to select and keep the relevant data and discard the rest. To understand which data is relevant and which is to be discarded, it is very important to define the scope of management report. Once the scope and purpose of the management

Ancient Political Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Ancient Political Philosophy Essay What is Philosophy? The Central Questions of Philosophy – Political Philosophy †¢ Value – Ethics (Good, Evil, Right, Wrong, Justice) †¢ Political Philosophy – Aesthetics (Beauty) †¢ Reality – Metaphysics (Cosmology, Ontology) †¢ Knowledge – Epistemology (Theory of Knowledge) PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 1 What is Philosophy? Political Philosophy Some central questions of Political Philosophy: †¢ What ought the relationship between a person and society (government) be? †¢ What does society owe its citizens? – Safety (Protection)? Education? Health Care? A Job? †¢ What do the citizens owe society? – Pay taxes? All their possessions? Serve in the military? †¢ What is the just form of government? PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 2 PHI 7100 Richard Legum, Ph. D. 1 8. The Central Questions of Philosophy Political Philosophy 7/8/2013 The Central Questions of Philosophy – Political Philosophy Plato The state is the individual writ large (The state is the same as an individual, but on a larger scale) †¢ Three Parts of the Soul – Rational (reason) – Spirited (emotional defender/enforcer) – Appetitive (emotional – driven by basic desires). PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 3 The Central Questions of Philosophy – Political Philosophy Plato †¢ Three kinds of the citizens – Gold – Those possessing reason (Wisdom/Knowledge) philosophers – Silver – The enforcers of the law – the guardians/soldiers – Bronze – The craftsman, merchants, farmers, etc. †¢ The Republic is the Utopia Teleology – The goal of the state is to achieve harmony †¢ The gold people, The Philosopher King (the one who knows best) , should rule PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 4. PHI 7100 Richard Legum, Ph. D. 2 8. The Central Questions of Philosophy Political Philosophy 7/8/2013 The Central Questions of Philosophy – Political Philosophy Aristotle †¢ The city (polis) is the natural political community or partnershipâ€Å" †¢ The aim of the city is to allow citizens the possibility to live a good life, and to perform beautiful acts †¢ Justice is having a constitution (a social contract of sorts) supporting the accomplishment of these goals PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 5 The Central Questions of Philosophy – Political Philosophy Aristotle. †¢ Goals of the state are much greater for Aristotle than they were for Social Contract Theory of the Renaissance (Thomas Hobbbes Leviathan (1651), John Locke Two Treatises of Government (1689), Jean Jacques Rosseau The Social Contract (1762) ) – in the pre-government state (pre-social contract) the state of nature– people fear of violent death, unstable economic relationships, losing their property – The government arises from a Social Contract for the purpose of protecting the citizens PHI 7100 History of Philosophy: The Classical Philosophers  ©2013 Richard Legum – all rights reserved 6 PHI 7100 Richard Legum, Ph. D. 3

The Marketing Strategies Of Kellogg Cornflakes Marketing Essay

The Marketing Strategies Of Kellogg Cornflakes Marketing Essay This is a report on the investigation and evaluation of the marketing strategies adopted by Kellogg Company for the marketing of Kellogg Cornflakes a popular household name among branded breakfast foodstuff. Kellogg cornflake is a cereal product which is highly consumed by children and adults as breakfast foods. Cereals are major popular items at the grocery store. Kellogg Company is a leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavoured snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. The report explores the marketing strategies for Kellogg Cornflakes on the basis of the promotional methods and target consumer. It also makes some recommendation for the improvement of these marketing strategies. Marketing is a fundamental aspect of any organisation sustainable competiveness. It is at the heart of the organisation and a key driver of its financial and economy performances. As a result of its importance, organisation defines the best appropriate ways to market the company and its product. Kotler et al (1999, p. 7) notes that todays successful organisation is one that is dedicated to sensing, serving, and the satisfying of the needs of the customers in well-defined markets. Marketing is at the core of this. Marketing is simply the delivery of customer satisfaction at a profit (ibid, p. 7). Therefore, marketing involves the process to identify and satisfy the need of the consumers. These processes are made in several parts, and the main purpose of this short report is to identify, investigate and evaluate this process in regards to Kellogg Cornflakes. In this light, this report will investigate and evaluate the design of Kellogg Cornflakes to satisfy and attend to the needs of the consumer. The consumers as identified are parents and older adults; they represent the main buyer of this product. The transmission of the companys offers to the specific target is therefore very important in the process to meets consumers satisfaction. Specifically, it relates to the identification of target consumer, identification of objectives of the goods (Kellogg Cornflakes), evaluation of media options and identification of best possible media vehicle and the content of the message both in terms of the verbal and visual contents of the message. Therefore, the investigation and evaluation of the marketing strategies for Kellogg Cornflakes would be done on the basis of target consumer and the promotional methods. However, these are simultaneously examined in the context of traditional marketing mix within the customer perspectives of four Cs  [1]à ‚  of marketing. This section followed by recommendations on the best ways Kellogg Company needs to go about marketing Kellogg Cornflakes. It also serves as the conclusion. 3.0 Promotional methods/marketing tools The most noticeable contemporary marketing tool for Kellogg Cornflakes are the company newsletter which incorporates all its product and latest news on each, mass advertising i.e., TV and print media, and direct promotion i.e., coupons. The company is using the right marketing tools through such avenues as newsletter that kept updating the consumer on latest improvement and available offers by Kellogg Company; its television advert in United Kingdom which is based on the sunshine street breakfast and putting the good in good morning and its direct promotion by using coupons which enable consumers to redeem prices. The coupons allow customer to claim box of cereal. This is even made much easier by allowing the customers to claim the free box of cereal coupons on the Kelloggs promotional website (www.freecereal.co.uk). Kelloggs Company promotional methods show that it focus more on its target consumers so as to get in their minds. The company recognises the needs to get in the minds of its customers which are also important towards getting information from the customers. Kellogg Cornflakes is not only appealing in outlook and contents, its promotional offer of free cereal box are also appealing to customers. Therefore, through its coupons Kellogg management is aware of price sensitivity of consumers and gives out coupons that will enable the consumer redeem a free cereal box which is an indirect way of price reduction. The company has also been using the packaging of Kellogg Cornflakes to influence consumer beliefs about the product. Kellogg Cornflakes has colours green, purple and yellow which depict perceptions of green as wellness, natural and organic, purple as creativity and sensitivity and yellow as brightness, happy and uplifting. Colour plays an essential part of business and marketing at b oth strategic and tactical level since it affects consumer emotion and behaviours towards a particular product (Wright 2006, p. 115-116). Kellogg cereal promotional offers such as news and offers from Kellogg i.e., coupons, special offers and promotions, great tasting recipes, nutrition tips, product sneak peeks and getting great saving on their products ensure the company maintain its competitiveness. With its innovative promotional adverts, it is able to strengthening the company market shares and develops more focus organisation. Doyle (2000, p. 1) affirms that in todays rapidly changing environment, a company cannot long maintain market share of profits unless it is innovative. While, keeping abreast of competition in the food industry, it has not in any way compromise it products value. It consistently provides its teeming customers healthy food and as specified on the product packs. However, it is notable that Kellogg Cornflakes promotions are made according to the specification of targeted consumers, in this case mainly children. Therefore it has fancy phrases; fancy labels and pictures specifically to attract c hildren who as earlier stated are the highest consumer of cereals. 3.1 Target Consumer The target consumers for Kellogg Cornflakes are children. Therefore, this group of consumers should be able to identify Kellogg Cornflakes among the tens of cereal boxes in the grocery stores. Kellogg Company designs Kelloggs Cornflakes is such a way that is very attractive to children. The picture on the park is cork hen head, which is bold enough to attract children attention. Children are assumed to like chickens, it fascinates them. So the pack design with cork head will fascinates children to draw the attention of their parent to buy Kelloggs Cornflakes. It is a visual message that children understand easily. Therefore, for children as the consumer, it is convenience and an easy way to find a product they want as well as ensure their parents purchase it. The ability of a company to identify customers need and wants and design products that meet this need and wants is what Fifield describes as real marketing (2004, p.112). The graphics on the Kellogg Cornflakes box captures the c ustomer convenience and communication as it relates to children. The visual communication content explains how this product is advertised to children. On the part of the parents and older people who eat cornflakes, they are hardly concern about the visual contents of the adverts but rather the real contents in the cereal box. This has to do with the amount of cornflakes inside the box and the nutritional contents. In this regard, they will want to search for cereals that are healthy by looking at their nutrition fact labels. With the nutrition labels boldly inscribed on the side of the box of Kelloggs Cornflakes, the parents/ adults are able to check through the nutrition label, which is certainly to meet the nutrition standard for a healthy living. In essence, the product description as low in saturated fat and cholesterol and contains several vitamins will catch the attraction of this group of consumers. This shapes their perceived value of the product. Kotler and Keller (2006, p. 141) argues that customers estimate which offer will deliver the most perceived value and act on it. Consumers are more educated and informed than ever , and they have the tools to verify companies claims and seek out superior alternatives (Ibid, p.141). Certainly, a parent would not want to buy unhealthy product for the child likewise, an adult would not buy unhealthy foodstuff. By regularly updating the vitamin contents of this product therefore, Kellogg Company ensures that the product meets the changing consumer needs. It also has varieties of this product to satisfy different needs of consumer. This explains the promotional aspect of the marketing mix and where communication really matters. The product dimension shown in nutrition fact label explains what is good about Kellogg Cornflakes that is by providing healthy food with its fat specification near 0 and letting the target consumer aware of it easily. However, the possibility that an adult will not concern itself with the graphics on the Kellogg Cornflakes does not remove the fact that package graphic is very important in strengthening or weakening marketers explicit verbal claims (Bone and France, 2001). For instance, green is often used on a product package, particularly f oodstuffs to denote wellness because consumers associate the colour with fresh, natural and organic (Ibid, p. 468). 4.0 Recommendation Kellogg Company has more or less concentrate on marketing approaches that are meant to influence sale and turnover of the company. It has relegated to the background the need to make consumer happy, not just from the satisfaction derives from the product but also by developing a healthy customer relationships that seeks to secure customer loyalty. As a result of the lack of customer relationship aims at guaranteeing customer loyalty rather that directed mainly at product performance, this study recommends that the company upgrades its Kellogg Kids Club. The Kellogg Kids Club should be sponsor in all major primary school in the country. This club that will be taking place once a month will incorporates beautiful story telling about nutrition and wellness. This will ensure that Kelloggs Cereals are established in the minds of the kids and even if their parents have not been buying the product, the children will persuade them to doing so on the long run. Another important area that needs consideration is in the aspect of newsletter. Certainly, the purpose of a newsletter is to provide the necessary information that consumers need in regard to a product. However, considering that children are the major consumer of Kellogg Cornflakes, there should be a newsletter or children magazine that will covers such aspect on cartoons that children are most interested in. Corey, 1991 and; Kotler 1994 agree that market targeting implies major commitment to satisfying the needs of particular customer groups through the development of specific capability and investment in dedicated resources (Slater and Olson 2001, p. 1056). It should use striking and dramatic graphics that will draw the attention of children to want to read the magazine. Although they are children, the graphic pictures in the magazine should be to convey most of the advertorial messages. Hamilton states that we should never underestimate the readers intelligence but never overestim ate their interests (1996, p. 11). By regularly sending cartoon magazines to children, it will ensure their loyalty to Kellogg through to adulthood. In actual fact, creativity is the heart of new paradigm on customer relationship management, and it those organisations that adopt an effective, well-conceive customer relationship that will succeed in the 21st century (2003, p.3). The Kellogg Kids Club will be an avenue to let children sign up for the magazine and will be dispatch to them via regular mail. Apart from ensuring the loyalty of the children, it will ensure that the company have an encompassing database of its consumer, which is essential for the company to tapped into the value that is locked in that customer base outside of what it currently delivers. Therefore, by focusing on targets and keeping track of children and parents that are committed to Kelloggs line of products, it will be able use the database for future market forecast. This is important for the organisation performance. The fact that kids are central influencing factor on their parent necessitates that Kellogg should consider the location of its print media advert bill boards. Understanding and identifying who has influence on Kellogg Cereal products will enable the company to understand how such group apply their influence and how to turn that into the companys advantage. Therefore, given the impact the children can have on their parents buying decisions, it is essential that Kellogg Cornflakes advertorial be placed around children schools. Outdoor advertising is one of the main marketing tools that Kellogg Company should employ to win the attention of its target consumers. Advertising space is as important as the advert itself as such the adverts must reflect creativity that focuses on children sentiments. Hence, to focus on this sentiments and captures the attention of children, the billboards should be placed close and around children schools. At the same time, such outdoor adverts must reflect the product as affordable, best value for money and meets the standard requires in the industry. There are lots of cereal manufacturing companies and some other major brands that posed threats to Kelloggs share of the market using price competition and product proliferations. As a matter of facts, market competition is heated up in the breakfast cereal market as flat sales and low price are predominant. Simply, there are a lot of cereal boxes out at the grocery store and therefore Kellogg advertisement should focus on what differentiate and makes it product better than others. At the same time, the marketing of Kelloggs cereal product should also reflect optimum customer value through pricing and the contents in the boxes. This should be made clear to the consumer. It is also adviceable to get product catalogues to the customers. A regularly mailed catalogue is a direct way of marketing that can improve the sales volume and assist in customer loyalty base. The customer relationship marketing (CRM) involves a mix of marketing intervention such a direct mail, internet contacts, pe rsonal selling contacts, telephone contacts etc (Rust and Verhoef, 2005). In this way, the children would be able to compel their parents to always buy Kellogg Cornflakes since they will be able to say: mum please let us buy Kellogg, I love it and after all it is not expensive and good for health. 5.0 Conclusion Therefore, Kellogg market share is increasingly been challenged not only by other major brands but also by private label cereals product. Private labels cereals products are often more cheaper compare to the high price of branded cereal product. This underscored the need for Kellogg to have an effective marketing strategy so as to maintain its competitiveness in the industry. As stated by Slater and Olson (2001) marketing strategy is a crucial element that determines an organisation willingness to achieve it set objectives and goals. It is the set of integrated decisions and actions by which an organisation expects to achieve and meet its objectives and the value requirements of its customer (Ibid, p.1056). The study have shown that Kellogg Company concentrate of customer, that is it chooses the 4 Cs of consumer-side marketing by focusing on cost, customer value, consumer and communication. As Saunders et al have stated, relationships with customer is a significant advantage generating resources (2008, p.144). Kellogg Company has thus establishes a brand name not only in the minds of its customer but also in the industry that distinguishes and differentiates its product from those of others in the cereal breakfast markets. Kellogg Cornflakes brand allows allow the consumer to identify their desirable qualities and traits with the product. This enables the customer to have a relationship with the brand and thus they feel complete because of the brand. The company knows its target as well as the people that consume the product (mainly children). It capitalizes on this, and using its marketing approaches its product was able to get in the minds of its customers. Customer can even pay more because of the value they get from the brand since they have been associated with it.

Whales Essay -- essays research papers fc

Whale weighs as much as 20 elephants but lives beneath the sea. The blue whale is Earth's largest animal. Larger than the largest of ancient dinosaurs, blue whales can grow to be more than 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh nearly 150 tons. Not all whales are so large. The much smaller pilot whale grows to about 28 feet (8.5 meters) in length. And dolphins, which belong to the whale family, range only from 3 to 13 feet (1 to 4 meters). Although whales spend their lives in the sea, they are, like humans, warm-blooded mammals. After a baby whale is born, it nurses on its mother's milk, just like the young of land mammals. Whales are members of the order Cetacea, along with dolphins, porpoises, and the narwhal. There are two basic types of living cetaceans: baleen, or whalebone, whales of the scientific suborder Mysticeti; and toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti. General Characteristics Whales live in all of the open seas of the world, though some occasionally enter coastal waters. Some species, such as the white whale, or beluga, may travel upstream in large rivers. Some species migrate with the seasons; others remain year-round in the same habitats, where they find their preferred food. The present-day distribution and abundance of some species has been greatly influenced by the commercial whaling industry. Whalers eliminated or greatly reduced the numbers of some species of baleen whales in certain oceanic regions where whales once frolicked in abundance. This is particularly true in parts of the Arctic Ocean and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where the blue whale was almost completely exterminated in the early 1900s. Some species of whales, however, are numerous today in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The skin of whales is usually black, gray, black and white, or all white. Some, such as the blue whale, have skin that is bluish-gray. The surface of the skin is smooth, but like other mammals, whales have hair. Hair first appears while the fetal whale is still developing inside its mother's womb. In adult whales, hair is confined primarily to a few bristles in the head region and is largely absent over most of the body. Whales that live in polar regions are insulated from the extreme cold by a layer of blubber, or fat, enveloping their bodies. Baleen Whales The baleen whales inc... ...usion In 1946 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established to set up the guidelines followed by whaling nations today. The sizes, kinds, locations, and seasons of catches are controlled. However, strong international politics came into play, and some nations steadfastly voted against, or even ignored, restrictions that were not economically advantageous. The limitations were passed almost too late for the blue whale, which had already declined to dangerously low numbers in all oceans. The once large populations of blue whales in the eastern North Atlantic were almost brought to extinction. Today, fewer than 500, and possibly as few as 100, are found there. In 1971 the United States declared all commercially exploited whales endangered species and made it illegal to import any whale products. The United States lists the blue, bowhead, finback, gray, humpback, right, sei, and sperm whales as endangered species. Therefore, we should take goof care of whale. Works Cited Cousteau, Jacques, and Paccalet, Yves. Whales (W.H. Allen, 1998). Tinker, S.W. Whales of the World (Bess Press, 1997). Day, David. The Whale War (Sierra Club Books, 1997).

Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc

With the technological knowledge in the world growing from day to day, there is no way to predict where science may lead us in the future. Just a few years ago, cloning was something of a fictional nature that most scientists had thought about, but never seriously considered it as an experiment. Recently, animals have been cloned, and cloning has become no less than true reality. In a few more years, the knowledge on how to clone humans could be present. Before that advancement arrives, we need to ask ourselves if this knowledge of cloning is a beneficial idea or a destructive one. Cloning will have negative effects on our society in the future because: cloning devalues uniqueness of the individual cloned, clones could be used in crimes or used as weapons, cloned animals that are reintroduced into the ecosystem could cause the ecosystem to change drastically, people who try to clone their dead loved ones will be shocked to find that the clone may resemble the person that they love, but it really isn't the person that they love, finally, animals that are cloned for medical reasons don't deserve to be brought into this world just to be used only for their organs and other body parts. If something isn't done to avoid cloning humans before it is too late, then cloning could upset the balance of our society drastically, possibly causing irreversible mishap in the world as we know it today. The knowledge on how to clone humans doesn't exist yet, but the knowledge on how to clone animals is presently being utilized in research labs worldwide. Standard cloning involves taking DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a cell of a particular species and transferring it into an egg cell from another animal belonging to the same species or another one. Before this process can take place, the nucleus from the original cell must be removed from that egg. The result is then implanted into the surrogate mother. This mother will then provide the food and nutrients for the embryo to develop until the mother gives birth to the clone. Until recently, the surrogate mother had to be of the same species, but now, with recent technological advances, one species can now give birth to a different species ("Science and Technology" 100). The laundry list of complaints about cloning begins with the fact that cloning humans decreases the value of uniqueness of the individual. Accordi... ...ls." CeresNet 2000.5 Nov. 2000 http://www.ceresnet.org/ViewEntry.cfm?ID=82&Section=outreach Colvin, Jonathon. "Me, my clone, and I (or in defense of human cloning)." The Humanist May/Jun. 2000: 39. Dixon, Dr. Patrick. Don't Clone – 3 Reasons. 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm Lemonick, Michael D. "Could a clone ever run for President?" Time 8 Nov. 1999: 96. Mayor, Susan. "UK authorities recommend human cloning for therapeutic research." British Medical Journal 98: 1613. Myers, Nichole. Personal Interview. 1 April. 2001. Pavone, Fr. Frank. "What does it mean to be Me?" 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.priestsforlife.org/pressreleases/clonepress.html Rembert, Tracey C. "Me and my shadow." E Jul/Aug. 1997: 15–21. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Many oppose human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 19,21. "Science and technology: New kid on the block." The Economist 14 Oct. 2000: 100. "Vatican: No to human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 21. Watson, Rory. "European parliament wants world ban on human cloning." British Medical Journal 97: 847 Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc With the technological knowledge in the world growing from day to day, there is no way to predict where science may lead us in the future. Just a few years ago, cloning was something of a fictional nature that most scientists had thought about, but never seriously considered it as an experiment. Recently, animals have been cloned, and cloning has become no less than true reality. In a few more years, the knowledge on how to clone humans could be present. Before that advancement arrives, we need to ask ourselves if this knowledge of cloning is a beneficial idea or a destructive one. Cloning will have negative effects on our society in the future because: cloning devalues uniqueness of the individual cloned, clones could be used in crimes or used as weapons, cloned animals that are reintroduced into the ecosystem could cause the ecosystem to change drastically, people who try to clone their dead loved ones will be shocked to find that the clone may resemble the person that they love, but it really isn't the person that they love, finally, animals that are cloned for medical reasons don't deserve to be brought into this world just to be used only for their organs and other body parts. If something isn't done to avoid cloning humans before it is too late, then cloning could upset the balance of our society drastically, possibly causing irreversible mishap in the world as we know it today. The knowledge on how to clone humans doesn't exist yet, but the knowledge on how to clone animals is presently being utilized in research labs worldwide. Standard cloning involves taking DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a cell of a particular species and transferring it into an egg cell from another animal belonging to the same species or another one. Before this process can take place, the nucleus from the original cell must be removed from that egg. The result is then implanted into the surrogate mother. This mother will then provide the food and nutrients for the embryo to develop until the mother gives birth to the clone. Until recently, the surrogate mother had to be of the same species, but now, with recent technological advances, one species can now give birth to a different species ("Science and Technology" 100). The laundry list of complaints about cloning begins with the fact that cloning humans decreases the value of uniqueness of the individual. Accordi... ...ls." CeresNet 2000.5 Nov. 2000 http://www.ceresnet.org/ViewEntry.cfm?ID=82&Section=outreach Colvin, Jonathon. "Me, my clone, and I (or in defense of human cloning)." The Humanist May/Jun. 2000: 39. Dixon, Dr. Patrick. Don't Clone – 3 Reasons. 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm Lemonick, Michael D. "Could a clone ever run for President?" Time 8 Nov. 1999: 96. Mayor, Susan. "UK authorities recommend human cloning for therapeutic research." British Medical Journal 98: 1613. Myers, Nichole. Personal Interview. 1 April. 2001. Pavone, Fr. Frank. "What does it mean to be Me?" 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.priestsforlife.org/pressreleases/clonepress.html Rembert, Tracey C. "Me and my shadow." E Jul/Aug. 1997: 15–21. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Many oppose human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 19,21. "Science and technology: New kid on the block." The Economist 14 Oct. 2000: 100. "Vatican: No to human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 21. Watson, Rory. "European parliament wants world ban on human cloning." British Medical Journal 97: 847

Political Science Critique Essay

Why is it to be changed? For as a citizen of the Philippines experiencing simple life can see this problem in our country. It is said in the sections that â€Å"official language is the prescribed medium of communication in the government, courts and schools. It may not be the national language†. Including with this, the official language of the Philippines are Filipino and English. And that is the error of this part of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. We should not include ENGLISH as an official language of our country. First, is it implication that Americans are still in our culture especially in our Constitution. Second, we must have only one official language for us Filipinos will not be confused. It is acceptable that if we will use ENGLISH language in the school because it is a place of learning. But in the government and courts we should not use ENGLISH language. By this act we insult other FILIPINOS. Why? Let us accept the fact that some of the FILIPINOS are trying hard understanding or speaking in ENGLISH and some of the FILIPINOS are what we call â€Å"mangmang†. How can the â€Å"maralitang mga-tiga lungsod† understand these things? We should consider their or should I say our capabilities. For some instance, In having a hearing in the congress by speaking in ENGLISH we think that the whole Philippines got it? NO!, considering that some of the topics are not understandable because we can’t relate because they use such highfaluting words. It is said that Filipinos are the master of the country but how can that be if they can’t understand what we’re trying to implement in their land also how can we get their opinions if they can’t understand it. Second instance, In having trials, mostly fair and poor persons are always convicted due to poverty. If I am in their situation having a trial that I can’t understand, It is a big insult. To sum this up, In Philippines we should consider first our own before anything else. And solving problems should start in little problems like these because we can fixed thing starting in little not in big ones. And some little things like these is the mode and kind of communication in our country. NEW PROVISION: The national and official language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing  Philippine and other languages. Filipino and English languages as a medium of official communication of instruction in educational system but In Government and Courts the medium of communication shall be our national language.

Audit and Assurance

BA (HONS) ACCOUNTING & FINANCE BA (HONS) PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANCY COURSE YEAR 3 AUDIT & ASSURANCE 1 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT BRIEF HAND OUT DATE:5th October 2011 HAND IN DATE: INSTRUCTIONS FOR COURSEWORK You are required to research and prepare a report based on one of the following topics. Please seek the assistance of the module leader Ivor Pingue and your seminar tutors for help and guidance with your coursework. Do not leave the research too late!! The word limit for the report is a minimum of 3,500 (+10%) words. maximum word count can be + 10% (Note: reports submitted with less than 3,500 words will be rejected and given a mark of zero !! ). Reports must indicate the word count and any report that does not include this will be rejected. All reports must be properly referenced and also be submitted with a TURNITIN report. NOTE that high similarity reports could be subject to further investigation which might lead to a charge of academic misconduct for plagiarism. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN In addition to the written report, you are to prepare a separate individual personal development statement in accordance with the attached brief. This individual submission is to be handed in for the attention of Peter Blowes. The personal development statement will contribute up to 10% of your overall mark for the unit. TOPIC 1 Given the recent banking crisis and the current volatility of the financial markets, some commentators have suggested that the current audit model is not fit for purpose and should be changed to reflect the current business practices and models particularly relating to risk and risk assessment. REQUIRED Critically evaluate this statement and consider whether in your view, the current risk based approach to auditing should be amended and if so, what model should be adopted. (NOTE: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RESTRICT YOUR RESEARCH TO THE UK). TOPIC 2 External auditing has changed to accommodate the changes in corporate governance in the UK and other countries such as South Africa, Australia, US, India and China REQUIRED Using a country or countries of your choice, research and prepare a report to critically evaluate the above statement. TOPIC 3 With the current emphasis on carbon emissions and damage to the environment that businesses cause and an awareness of social issues, the role of auditors in providing social and environmental assurance engagements is likely to increase as we enter into the 21st Century. REQUIRED Research and explain the growth and development of social and environmental auditing in both the UK and a country of your choice. Explain whether you agree or disagree with the statement made. (NOTE: make sure that your research supports and is evidenced by any assertions that you make !! TOPIC 4 Auditors are not only engaged in performing statutory audits but can provide assurance reports to a number of entities both incorporated and unincorporated. Also, auditors can help reduce the incidence of fraud within a business. REQUIRED Write a report suggesting ways that an assurance engagement can be useful to various forms of businesses including the use of forensic auditing services. Also, do you agree that an assurance service can reduce the incidence of fraud? How and why do you arrive at your view? TOPIC 5 There have been a number of reports by the Audit Inspection Unit examining, amongst other things, audit quality and audit compliance reviews (ACR’s) REQUIRED Research the reports that have been produced in the UK that have considered audit quality and critically appraise them. In your report, you should make clear why you consider audit quality to be an important aspect of both the external and internal audit process. Your report should also consider how an audit firm can perform an effective audit compliance review (ACR). TOPIC 6 Given the behaviour of the audit firm Arthur Andersen in the Enron debacle, it could be argued that auditors are never truly independent of their clients and cannot be properly ethical in relation to their dealings with them for a variety of reasons, one of which being fees. REQUIRED Critically appraise the above statement by examining the relationship of the auditor to Enron. You should also consider how governments and the auditing professions in the US and UK have dealt with the issue of auditors independence and ethics. Have they gone far enough in providing public confidence in this area? What suggestions would you make to improve the position? TOPIC 7 The question of competition within the audit market is a ‘hot topic’ particularly for the middle tier and lower tier audit firms who have argued for some time that there is an unfair dominance of big ‘4’ audit firms in relation to FTSE 100 companies. REQUIRED Consider whether in your view the mid and lower tier audit firms have a fair argument in terms of the dominance of the big ‘4’ audit firms in relation to the FTSE companies. What can be done to address this issue to ensure fair competition in the audit market ? Can governments do more in this regard? (NOTE: Consider the current debate relating to this as well as the relevant reports). TOPIC 8 Examine articles within the following auditing journals: Auditing: A Journal Of Practice & Theory International Journal of Auditing Take a period of 36 months and selecting a theme that has been examined within these journals, write a report showing how it has been considered in these journals. Within your answer, state whether in your opinion, the matter has been satisfactorily resolved or whether further research and examination is required. MODULE LEADER