Management of the recruitment, selection and induction of employees Essay

Management of the recruitment, selection and induction of employees - Essay Example IBM, having one of the most professional workforces in the world, employs approximately 329,000 employees and operates business in 170 countries around the globe (IBM, 2009). They employ staff worldwide across different disciplines ranging from technical IT areas to the non-technical disciplines of Sales, Finance, HR and Legal (Monster, 2008). Being a globally integrated company, they need to keep changing their business model radically and shift its value proposition. Thus, attracting and developing individuals is critical to IBM’s success (Schmidt, 2005). There are three main steps in the recruitment process – identification of the requirements, attracting the right candidates and the selection from the applicants. The right job description and the job specifications help to attract the right candidate and eliminate unwanted work involved in the selection process. IBM has the reputation of being the resilient to market forces and strong leadership. They strongly follow the online recruitment process and it is their key recruitment strategy. Online recruitment includes their own website www.ibm.com apart from key online recruitment websites such as monster.com (Monster, 2008). Online recruitment supplements and complements other forms of recruitment. Online recruitment enables reaching a wider audience, and being in the IT industry, this reflects its nature of business. Besides, online recruitment process is cost effective and it also allows continuous improvement of the process. Online recruitment and selection process has saved time spent by as much as 25 percent (Kumar, 2003). They accept applications online as well as through emails. In addition, they adhere to the traditional forms of recruitment such as sourcing through headhunters and recruitment fairs. Thus, they outsource recruitment as well as keep it in-house their website. For graduate trainees they have a different strategy. Their inclusive work environment makes every

Robert Frosts poem The Mending Wall Essay Example for Free

Robert Frosts poem The Mending Wall Essay Robert Frosts poem The Mending Wall may not seem to be a poem with a lot of meaning but if readers take time to listen to what the author has to say they will discover that it is talking about the basic relationships between people. The author is focusing on an inanimate object that separated two individuals even though it is nothing more than a little stone wall in the middle of a field. Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast The above selection of the poem shows how impersonal the wall is. There is no humanity associated with this object, nor is there any emotion attached to it. Even thought the object has no emotion itself, there is emotion directed toward it as we see in line 1 of the poem. There is something out in the world that doesnt like this wall. Not only does this relate the authors feelings about how it keeps objects separated, This feeling of animosity has gone so far that something has gone as far as to destroy sections of the wall. I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs, The gaps I mean, The author goes even further in his description of the emotions directed at the wall, and explains that other dislike the wall as well. Although they dislike it because it is helping to hide the quarry they are after. The hunters express this dislike of the wall but physically destroying the wall, they tear it down even though it is not their wall. This goes a long way at letting the reader understand that this poem is also about relationships between people. Often times others will attack a person to get something they want with little to no regard for the person that is being attacked. But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk a line And set the wall between us again. This little wall goes a long way in effecting the authors relationship with his neighbor. They go out of their way to make repairs to this small stone wall, that really has no purpose other than to keep their lives separated. This purpose may seem like a small one but both individuals meet to make sure the wall stays standing and keeps their lives separate. They are meeting and interacting only because the thing that makes them comfortable with each other has fallen in to disrepair and needs to be erected again. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him He only says, Good fences make good neighbors. The author is trying to get past the barriers that people erect between themselves and the rest of the world in the above section. He tells his neighbor that even without the wall their lives will never interact with each others. Even with his insistence the other man makes sure that the wall will go up again. He is going to do everything he can to ensure that every facet of his life is separated from that of his neighbors. Why do they make good neighbors? Isnt it Where are the cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall Id ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, Here the author is confused because once again he is trying to get past the barriers that keep people separated. The author doesnt feel like there is anything that needs to be separated, he would be able to understand it if there were some sort of object that might cross into his neighbors world, but there is no such object. The only thing to keep separated is the two worlds them selves. He will not go behind his fathers saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, Good fences make good neighbors. Once again the neighbors grasp on an old tradition and saying are all that justify the wall being in existence. The neighbor cannot explain the reason for the wall, he just knows that it has always been there and it adds to his discomfort when there is a hole in the wall, or a section of it missing. The author finally gives up trying to penetrate the barrier between himself and his neighbor, and puts the wall back into place to once again keep their lived from mixing. The whole tone of this poem suggests that the author believes that people should have more interactions with one another and not hide behind thing. If we all stopped hiding behind these wall that we create we would have more time to devote to better pursuits â€Å"Mending Wall† is a poem that presents two opposing attitudes towards keeping barriers up between people. Each neighbor has a different opinion. One neighbor wants a visible line to separate their property lines and the other sees no reason for it. The poem implies a lack of security and trust one person may have towards another, even when it may not seem illogical or necessary. Each year the two neighbors meet annually at the adjoining wall. Both men walk the length of the wall to assess and repair the year’s wear and tear. Frost’ writing style invites the reader to probe the need for communication or, more precisely, the way people put up walls to create barriers between themselves. The visual imagery of the wall helps the reader to shift from just seeing the wall as a basic, natural setting to an abstract consideration of human behavior. In the first stanza of the poem it establishes the sense of mystery, a true color of atmosphere, â€Å"something† that does not want the wall to be there. Whatever it is, it’s a powerful force and it creates a â€Å" frozen ground swell† that disrupts the wall from underneath, forcing stones on top to tumble off. Damage appears each year so the neighbors walk along the wall to repair the gaps and fallen stones that have not been created by either of the two neighbors. Frost then gives the reader an uncertain question as to why should neighbors need walls anyway. Why do good fences make good neighbors? If one or both neighbors had cattle or something that could do possible damage then a fence would be reasonable. However, it is pointed out in the poem that there are no cattle. So, there must be some sort of human distrust between one of the neighbors. What is the distrust? Frost doesn’t let the reader know. Perhaps it is an age difference that results in extreme points of view or tradition. Or maybe there is a religious bias about the other. One neighbor wants to separate and possibly his family. The wall prevents the evil of indifference from entering. The phantom of discomfort seems to be kept in check by this rock structure. Frost gives us the impression that he doesn’t agree with separating people. The poem might have something to do with racism. Maybe one neighbor is black and the other is Caucasian. Perhaps one of the neighbors can’t deal with the difference in ethnicity therefore separates and creates a barrier. He gives a suggestion that good fences make good neighbors but that statement may be a friendly way of saying, â€Å"if I can create a visible way of keeping you away then we can get along because I can fend off your strangeness from me. Frost might be using the simplicity of a common object to allude to a prevalent human dilemma-fear of the unknown. The wall prevents investigation to confirm or negate our presumptions about others. Conversely, the hard, cold rock represents the extreme measures taken to preserve our ridged thinking. Using the tool of visual imagery, Robert Frost challenges the reader to travel deeper within to visit our own personal boundaries. A wall is a physical demonstration of isolating that which we do not wish to trespasses into our domain. I believe Frost wants the reader to question the implications for our emotional limitations. Who do we keep abbey and why? Even the civility of shared responsibility, the fixing of the wall, presents a pretense of cooperation and acceptance. Yet, the very act of repair denotes a willingness to keep distance the trend. It is arguable that the self-righteous speaker of Mending Wall is himself obsessively committed to wall building, far more intractably and instinctively committed than his clichà ©-bound neighbor. While the speaker of Mending Wall justifiably castigates his unthinking neighbor and is himself far more aware of the powers of language for good and for ill, he is nonetheless caught up, ironically perhaps, in the same actual task, wall building, which will have the same results and look no different from his neighbors contribution despite the narrative he brings to it. There are several possibilities for irony here, depending on the level of Frosts self-awareness. Wall imagery pervades his poetry, as a conscious poetic image and as a psychosexual marker of control and limitation. That the speaker is the one who calls the neighbor to mend the wall is vitally important, then, but it is not clear that Frost meant for the speaker to be ironically perceived as a hypocrite. The simple explanation, that the speaker acts out of a sense of inevitability, knowing his neighbors habits, seems hardly enough given the contextual symbolism of the wall in Frosts poetry; the psychological explanation attendant upon this version might suggest that Frosts conscious intent was subverted by his own unconscious need for walls. So while Frost might not mean the speaker to be self-parodic, the reader might judge that there is an ironic discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, both by the speaker and by the poet. On a deeper level even than this is the possibility that Frost was aware of, had taken account of and justified, his own need for barriers. One does, after all, need something against which to push. In this case, the poem might be completely unironic, for while both men are engaged in the same task, each brings a different narrative to it, the one limited to a thoughtless clichJ , the other enriched philosophically. It could be that Frost is illustrating what it means to move from delight to wisdom: the road less traveled may not look any different, but it is made different by the inner progress of the traveler. The one wall becomes, in this reading, two walls, the speakers wall a philosophically differentiated structure, the neighbors wall a mere landmark of past cliches.

Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate

Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate by Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to synthesize methyl nitro benzoate from methyl benzoate, as well as nitroacetanilide from concentrated nitric acid (HNO3), and concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) by using an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. The HNO3 and H2SO4 were combined to form a nitrating solution, which was added to a mixture of methyl benzoate and H2SO4, and the same was done with acetanilide. Following recrystallization, melting point was used to identify and characterize the product of the reaction. The melting point was determined to be 74 ËÅ ¡C-80 ËÅ ¡C for methyl nitro benzoate and for nitroacetanilide it was 195 ËÅ ¡C-200 ËÅ ¡C, which indicates meta-regiochemistry for methyl benzoate and para-regiochemistry for nitroacetanilide. The percent yield of this reaction for the recrystallized product was 59.3% of methyl nitrobenzoate, while it was 6.75% for nitroacetanilide. Figure 1: The reaction for the nitration of acetanilide. Figure 2: The reaction for the nitration of methyl benzoate. Experimental Concentrated sulfuric acid (0.6 mL) and concentrated nitric acid (0.5 mL) were added to a reaction flask and placed in an ice bath. Concentrated sulfuric acid (1 mL) was added to methyl benzoate (0.5 g) in a vial which was then packed in ice, and the same was done with acetanilide.ÂÂ   While stirring, the cold H2SO4/HNO3 mixture was added drop-by-drop. After the acid mixture was added, the reaction mixture was removed from the ice to warm to room temperature, with stirring. It was then transferred by Pasteur pipet into a beaker and stirred for five minutes. The methyl benzoate nitration formed white solid, and the acetanilide nitration for a light yellow solid. The crystals were the vacuum filtered with a Buchner funnel. The crude product was recrystallized by adding a distilled water and ethanol slowly while heating the product. While cooling, the solution produced large white crystals for methyl benzoate nitration and light yellow crystals for the acetanilide nitration. The ma ss, melting point percent yield were obtained. Results and Discussion Through the use of electrophilic aromatic substitution, acetanilide is nitrated to nitroacetanilide, while methyl benzoate was nitrated to methyl nitrobezonate. The first step of the reaction involved in the donation of an electron pair, which generates the nitronium ion from nitric acid by protonation and loss of water, using sulphuric acid as the dehydrating agent. The mechanism for methyl benzoate can be seen below. Figure 3: The mechanism of the nitration of methyl benzoate to methyl nitrobenzoate. To prevent acetanilide from dinitrating, the nitrating solution of HNO3 and H2SO4 were added drop by drop to the acetanilide solution, so that the concentration of the nitrating agent is kept at minimum. The cooler temperatures were used to reduce the reaction rate and help to avoid over nitration. The electrophilic aromatic substitutions involved the replacement of a proton on an aromatic ring with an electrophile that becomes substituent. The sulfuric acid protonates the methyl benzoate, which creates the resonance stabilized arenium ion intermediate.3 The electron deficient nitronium ion reacts with the protonated intermediate meta position. The ester group is the meta deactivator and the reaction takes place at the meta position because the ortho and para positions are destabilized by adjacent positives charges on the resonance structure.2 The major product of the methyl benzoate nitration is the meta product due to carboxyl and nitro groups both being powerful electron withdrawing groups. Table 1: The weight, melting point, and percent yield of both Nitroactenilide and Methyl Nitrobenzoate. Product Name Crude Weight (g) Product Weight (g) Percent Yield (%) Melting Point (ËÅ ¡C) Literature Melting Point (ËÅ ¡C) Nitroactenilide 0.585 0.045 6.75% 195-200 214-217 Methyl Nitrobenzoate 0.56 0.32 59.3% 74-80 78-80 The actual yield of methyl nitrobenzoate is 0.32 g while the theoretical yield is 0.54 g. The melting point is 74ËÅ ¡C 80ËÅ ¡C, and the value is closed to the literature value which is 78ËÅ ¡C 80 ËÅ ¡C. The percent yield for the methyl benzoate electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction was 59.3% with 0.32g of methyl nitrobenzoate formed. The percent yield for the reaction with acetanilide was 6.75% with 0.045g of nitroacetanilide formed, which can be seen in table 1. The melting point observed was 195-200 ËÅ ¡C, which can be accounted for impurities in the product, which can be seen below in table 1. Some impurities might be Ortho and Meta directing substances, as well as there could have been some experimental errors that occurred during the experiment such as not overheating solutions during the reactions. These low yields may have resulted from poor recrystallization, product lost during transfer from one apparatus to another, or human error. The miss ing percent accounts for the impurities removed during recrystallization. However, some product must have been lost in the acetanilide reaction recrystallization because of such a low percent yield. The melting point of the final product was 74-80 ËÅ ¡C suggesting that it was formed by meta-substitution. The literature melting point for meta-methyl nitrobenzoate is 78-80 ËÅ ¡C. Therefore, the melting point is lower than it should be suggesting that an impurity is in the product. This impurity may have occurred due to poor recrystallization or it may have been picked up after recrystallization. The melting point of the nitroacetanilide product was 195-200 ËÅ ¡C suggesting the para-regiochemistry. The literature melting point for the p-nitroacetanilide is 214-217 ËÅ ¡C. Therefore, the melting point of the product is a little lower than the literature value, suggesting that an impurity exists in the product from poor recrystallization of contact with an impurity during recrystallization. The methyl nitrobenzoate product was determined to be meta-substituted based on its melting point range. This can also be proved by evaluating the attack of the benzene ring of methyl benzoate on the electrophililic species and nitric acid.4 The C-OCH3 substituent is a meta-deactivator. Therefore, when the benzene ring attacks the nitronium ion, the NO3+ group will add meta-positon. This creates a resonance stabilized arenium ion without a positive charge on the carbon with the C-OCH3 substituent. Then the proton is removed from the meta position by the weak base, the HSO4-, formed in the creation of the nitronium ion, which reforms the sulfuric acid catalyst.3 Once the proton is removed the substitution product, methyl nitrobenzoate remains. The nitroacetanilide product was formed by a para-substitution. This can be determined by examining the melting point and comparing it to the literature values for each position.4 However, this can also be determined when examining the electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of acetanilide on the electrophile, nitric acid. The NHCOCH3 substituent is an ortho-para-activator. Therefore, when the benzene ring of acetanilide attacks the nitronium ion, it can add ortho or para. The para substitution, if more stable than an ortho substitution, will be added because the para position is a further distance from the position of the NHCOCH3 substituent. Therefore, the benzene ring adds at the para position based on the melting point and resonance in the mechanism shown above. Conclusion The methyl m-nitrobenzoate and p-nitroacetanilide were prepared. The percentage yield is 6.75% for nitroacetanilide and 59.3% for methyl nitrobenzoate. The melting point of the products are 74ËÅ ¡C 80ËÅ ¡C and 195ËÅ ¡C 200ËÅ ¡C. From the given physical constant, the literature melting point of methyl m-nitrobenzoate is 78 80ËÅ ¡C and 214ËÅ ¡C 217ËÅ ¡C for nitroacetailide, so it can be concluded that the products were methyl m-nitrobenzoate and p-nitroacetanilide. References Wade, Jr., L.G. Organic Chemistry 2003, 722-741. Chemistry Laboratory Manual: Susquehanna University 2014, 242-244 250 ChemFinder.Com. Cambridge Soft Corporation. . Anerjee, Dhruv K. Ortho and Par % of Key Reaction. Utkarschemistry. 2013. Appendix A: Finding the Limiting Reagent Grams X 1 mol / molecular weight = moles of reactant Nitric Acid: 0.6 mL X ((1 g/1 mL) X 1 mol) / 98.08 g/mol = 0.0061 mol Nitric Acid: 0.5 mL X ((1 g/1 mL) X 1 mol) / 63.01 g/mol = 0.0079 mol Methyl Benzoate: (0.55 g X 1 mol) / 181.14 g/mol = 0.030 mol Appendix B: Calculating Theoretical Yield of Methyl Nitrobenzoate Moles of limiting reagent X molar ratio X molecular weight of product) / 1 mol = theoretical yield (0.030 X 181.13) / 1 mol = 0.54 g Appendix C: Calculating Percent Yield (Actual / theoretical) X 100% = percent yield (0.32 g/ 0.54 g) X 100% = 59.3%

Atlas Shrugged - Iser and Bakhtin on the Closed Text Essay -- Atlas Sh

Atlas Shrugged - Iser and Bakhtin on the Closed Text The process of reading places the author, text, and reader into a dynamic relationship in which, through a fusion of the author's literary vision and the reader's creativity, the text is transformed into an informative and enjoyable experience. This process is especially apparent in the novel form. As the theorist Wolfgang Iser states, a novel must be "conceived in such a way that it will engage the readers imagination in the task of working things out for himself, for reading is only a pleasure when it is active and creative" (Iser 51). Similarly, another theorist and philosopher, Mikhail Bakhtin, argues that within a novel an author creates numerous different voices and languages, each of which contributes to the dynamic reading process; every word and sentence has a context both inside and outside of the novel. Though there are many other theories regarding reader-response, these two form a cohesive definition of the process: Iser's theory broadly explains the interaction-or inter section-of the three components in the process, while Bakhtin's theory explains the specific subjectivity of the novel language. Both of these theories, however, rely on the basic assumption that all texts are intended to be interpretable; that is, in the words of Umberto Eco, that all texts are 'open'. Eco describes an 'open' text as one that attempts to force the reader "into an interplay of stimulus and response which depends on his unique capacity for sensitive reception of the piece" (Eco 49). In essence, an open text invites the reader to fuse his own unique experiences with that of the text to form an interpretation that is his own. Conversely, Eco also describes an antithesis to the... ...tes reader anticipation. Thus, one must conclude that while Eco's theory is fascinating and may very well have a solid basis outside of the novel form, it is impossible for a novel to be closed; though the author's intentions bay be set in stone, the reader's intentions certainly never will be. A novel, by virtue of being a novel, will always be more open than closed. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. The Diologic Imagination. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981. Eco, Umberto. The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979. Iser, Wolfgang. "The Reading Process: A Phenomenological Approach." Published in Tompkins, Jane P. ed., Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism. Maryland: John Hopkins UP, 1980. Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1957. Â  

Classroom Assessment Essay

Introduction Assessment is the process of obtaining information about a student academic status in school. According to Gronlund and Waugh (2009), assessment is a continueous process, and an integral part of the classroom instruction process. â€Å"It helps in determining learning readiness, in monitoring and improving learning, and in grading or clarifying students achievement † (p. V). The purpose of assessment is to obtain information about a student academic status in order to make decisions on how to help students, teachers and school improve. Proper interpretation of the assessment result is key component in deciding the implication for both the student and teacher. Interpretation of the results For the purpose of this assignment, the assessment results are based on a formative reading assessment used to measure the extent to which students have mastered a specific learning outcome for vocabulary unit in a hypothetical remedial reading class of struggling readers. According to Gronlund & Waugh (2009), formative assessment is used to monitor student progress during instruction and is designed to measure mastery of the learning outcomes of a limited segment of instruction. The test is a criterion- referenced because Assessment Development and Use According to Gronlund and Waugh (2009), careful consideration must be given in planning and preparing the assessment. Specific questions concerning the goals of the curriculum, instructional objectives, learning outcomes, and procedures for the assessment were major focus in developing the assessment (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). The institution provided guidelines of what the students should know and able to do. As a result, reviewing the specific instructional objective outcomes and constructing relevant test items were keys in developing the assessment. In constructing each test item, addition, focus was given to the selection type and matching items to specific learning outcomes. Gronlund and Waugh (2009) stated, â€Å" Use the item type that provide the most direct measures of student performance specified by the intended learning outcome† (p. 76) Assessment Interpretation and Grading Gronlund and Waugh (2009), described two types of assessment interpretations. Norm-referenced interpretation compares an individual performance with others. Criterion- referenced interpretation compares the individual with himself and tells what and how each individual performs without comparison to others (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). The assessment is criterion-referenced, and is one of many assessments throughout the course. The result from the assessment will be used to indicate the extent of which each student master the specific knowledge and skill taught in the unit. Grades assigned to the students work will represent the extent to which the instructional objectives have been achieved (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). Students will be assigned a letter grade (A, B, C, or D) according to their performance on the assessment. Gronlund and Waugh (2009) stated, â€Å"letter grades are typically assigned by comparing a student’s performance to a prespecified standard of performance† (p. 192). The results will not be used to compare student performance against others, but will aid in planning instruction for future lessons. I chose criterion-referenced assessment as a means of helping students achieve mastery of the instruction, and improve learning by determining what they know and what they don’t know. Grading Rubric References Angelo, T. A. , & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: a handbook for college teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gronlund, N. E. , & Waugh, C. K. (2009). Assessment of student achievement (9th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Formal Charge Definition in Chemistry

Formal Charge Definition in Chemistry Formal charge of FC is the difference between the number of valence electrons of each atom and the number of electrons the atom is associated with. Formal charge assumes any shared electrons are equally shared between the two bonded atoms.Formal charge is calculated using the equation:FC eV - eN - eB/2 whereeV number of valence electrons of the atom as if it were isolated from the moleculeeN number of unbound valence electrons on the atom in the moleculeeB number of electrons shared by the bonds to other atoms in the molecule Formal Charge Example Calculation For example, carbon dioxide or CO2 is a neutral molecule that has 16 valence electrons. There are three different ways to draw the Lewis structure for the molecule to determine formal charge: The carbon atom may be joined to both oxygen atom via double bonds (carbon 0, oxygen 0, formal charge 0)The carbon atom may have a single bond with one oxygen atom and a double bond to the other oxygen atom (carbon 1, oxygen-double 0, oxygen-single -1, formal charge 0)The carbon atom may be joined to each oxygen atom via single bonds (carbon 2, oxygens -1 each, formal charge 0) Each possibility results in a formal charge of zero, but the first choice is the best one because it predicts no charge in the molecule. This is more stable and thus is most likely. See how to calculate formal charge with another  example problem. Formal Charge Key Takeaways Formal charge (FC) is the electric charge of an atom in a molecule.It is calculated as the number of valence electrons minus half the number of electrons shared in a bond minus the number of electrons not bound in the molecule.Formal charge is used to estimate the way electric charge is distributed in a molecule.

10 Fascinating Facts About Ants

10 Fascinating Facts About Ants In many ways, ants can outwit, outlast, and outnumber humans. Their complex, cooperative societies enable them to survive and thrive in conditions that would challenge any individual. Here are 10 fascinating facts about ants that just might convince you that while you wouldnt welcome them to your next picnic, theyre still pretty amazing creatures. 1. Ants Have Super-Human Strength Ants can carry objects 50 times their own body weight in their jaws. Relative to their size, their muscles are thicker than those of larger animals- even humans. This ratio enables them to produce more force and carry larger objects. If you  had muscles in the proportions of ants, youd be able to heave a Hyundai over your head! 2. Soldier Ants Use their Heads to Plug Holes In certain ant species, the soldier ants have modified heads, shaped to match the nest entrance. They block access to the nest by sitting just inside the entrance, with their heads functioning like a cork in a bottle to keep intruders at bay. When a worker ant returns to the nest, it touches the soldier ants head to let the guard know it belongs to the colony. 3. Ants Can Form Symbiotic Relationship with Plants Ant plants, or myrmecophytes, are plants that have naturally occurring hollows in which ants can take shelter or feed. These cavities may be hollow thorns, stems, or even leaf petioles. The ants live in the hollows, feeding on sugary plant secretions or the excretions of sap-sucking insects. What does a plant get for providing such luxurious accommodations? The ants defend the host plant from herbivorous mammals and insects and may even prune away parasitic plants that attempt to grow on it. 4. The Total Biomass of Ants The Biomass of People How can this be? After all, ants are so tiny, and were so much bigger. That said, scientists estimate there are at least 1.5 million ants on the planet for every human being. Over 12,000 species of ants are known to exist, on every continent except Antarctica. Most live in tropical regions. A single acre of Amazon rainforest may be home to 3.5 million ants. 5. Ants Sometimes Herd Insects of Other Species Ants will do just about anything to get the sugary secretions of sap-sucking insects, such as aphids or leafhoppers. To keep the honeydew in close supply, some ants herd aphids, carrying the soft-bodied pests from plant to plant. Leafhoppers sometimes take advantage of this nurturing tendency in ants and leave their young to be raised by the ants. This allows the leafhoppers to raise another brood. 6. Some Ants Enslave Other Ants Quite a few ant species take captives from other ant species, forcing them to do chores for their own colony. Honeypot ants even enslave ants of the same species, taking individuals from foreign colonies to do their bidding. Polyergus queens, also known as Amazon ants, raid the colonies of unsuspecting Formica ants. The Amazon queen finds and kills the Formica queen, then enslaves the Formica workers. The slave workers help the usurping queen rear her own brood. When her Polyergus offspring reach adulthood, their sole purpose is to raid other Formica colonies and bring back their pupae, ensuring a steady supply of slave workers. 7. Ants Lived Alongside Dinosaurs Ants evolved some 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period. Most fossil evidence of insects is found in lumps of ancient amber, or fossilized plant resin. The oldest known ant fossil, a primitive and now extinct ant species named Sphercomyrma freyi, was found in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey. Though that fossil only dates back 92 million years, another fossil ant that proved nearly as old has a clear lineage to present-day ants, which suggests a much longer evolutionary line than previously assumed. 8. Ants Started Farming Long Before Humans Fungus-farming ants began their agricultural ventures about 50 million years before humans thought to raise their own crops. The earliest evidence suggests ants began farming as early as 70 million years ago, in the early Tertiary period. Even more amazing, these ants used sophisticated horticultural techniques to enhance their crop yields, including secreting chemicals with antibiotic properties to inhibit mold growth and devising fertilization protocols using manure. 9. Ant Supercolonies Can Stretch Thousands of Miles Argentine ants, native to South America, now inhabit every continent except Antarctica due to accidental introductions. Each ant colony has a distinctive chemical profile that enables members of the group to recognize one another and alerts the colony to the presence of strangers. Scientists recently discovered that massive supercolonies in Europe, North America, and Japan all share the same chemical profile, meaning they are, in essence, a global supercolony of ants. 10. Scout Ants Lay Scent Trails to Guide Others to Food By following pheromone trails laid by scout ants from their colony, foraging ants can gather and store food efficiently. A scout ant first leaves the nest in search of food, wandering somewhat randomly until it discovers something edible. It then consumes some of the food and returns to the nest in a direct line. It seems scout ants can observe and recall visual cues that enable them to navigate quickly back to the nest. Along the return route, the scout ants leave a trail of pheromones- which are special scents they secrete- that guide their nestmates to the food. The foraging ants then follow the path designated by the scout ant, each one adding more scent to the trail to reinforce it for others. Worker ants continue walking back and forth along the trail until the food source is depleted.

Weighing In Essay Essays

Weighing In Essay Essays Weighing In Essay Essay Weighing In Essay Essay In Essay Racism has repeatedly played a controversial role throughout the course of history. This is a topic fueled by the heated arguments of the parties on both ends of the matter, may it be the cry of the victim or defense of the offender. As described in the works of two members of ethnic minorities coping With the alienation they both faced in what is supposed to be the land of diversity, Froze Dumas The F Word, and Brent Staples Black Men and Public Space, racism is portrayed as a dark shadow cast upon those who may not me to conform to the norms of western culture to the typical American. Such stereotypes and predispositions should not hold the power to classify and simplify human beings to one single standard of a certain background, as one single Story or idea does not define an entire mass Of people. In Froze Dumas The F Word, she describes her life growing up as an Iranian in America. From the very beginning of her transition into western society, Dumas was exposed to the ugly world of racism at the tender age of seven, an idea almost too outlandish to even entertain. The idea that children t such a young age could feel the need to alienate someone due to unfamiliarity shows that indifference to foreign culture and background can begin at almost any age. She writes that her cousin was named Forbad, a respectable Iranian name meaning greatness, but in a land filled with Joeys and Mars, this was completely alien to his peers, resulting in his nickname Forehead. Similarly, her brother, Fairish, meaning he who enlightens became known as Farthest. A friend of Dumas sounded too similarly to an African American slur and her brothers name reminded those of a skin indention. These children earned themselves such vulgar names solely due to the fact that they were raised and named accordingly to their culture, something that should never be disrespected or looked down upon as abnormal just because it is uncommon. When she reached the age of twelve, Froze opted for an American middle name, understandable for a young girl bearing the pressure of her surroundings, yet unacceptable for her to feel pressured to do so in the first place. She explains that she regrets this decision as it only complicated her life in the long run, even though it seemed o be a quick fix to her problems at the time. She had always received incredulous glares or horribly executed pronunciations, many without even a hint of actual effort in attempting to properly address her, a sad but common occurrence for those who are not often exposed to foreign cultures. Dumas finally settled on the name Julie and even introduced herself to her next-door neighbor using her new name. Her brothers even made fun of her for wanting to Americanize herself, who then later became Fred and Sean. In college, she did away with Julie and went back to her old name, but found that applying for jobs was a more successful venture when she used her American name, interestingly enough. Once she got married, it was almost as if she was living a double life, with family calling her Froze and most friends referring to her as Julie. This prompted her to permanently go back to her original name, forcing herself to cope with the mispronunciations and comments, which she simply now finds humor in. It is a huge relief that Dumas ended up referring to herself by her original first name, as dont feel that she should have ever felt pressured into conforming to the standards of stern culture and trying to Americanize herself. The fact that simply changing her name from Froze to Julie on job applications is mind blowing, as it is clearly not her credentials or talents that are being considered, but her American name. I appreciate that Dumas was able to come to the realization that although her American name would often allow her more job interviews and less of an intense reaction in every day life, her original Iranian name was part of her struggle growing up as an immigrant in America and was a better telltale of her story than Julie would ever be. Rather than being another Joe or Mary, people would just have to adjust to her, not the other way around. Similar to Dumas struggle in America as an Iranian, Brent Staples Black Men and public Space details the struggle of being a black man in America. There are countless stereotypes implanted in the minds of Americans of the typical black person, aggressive, dishonest, ruthless, and overall ill intentioned. The first encounter with this racist outlook on blacks Staples had was in a wealthier area of downbeat Chicago, who began to appear irksome and soon after proceeded to run from the author, who had done nothing intentionally to provoke fear in her. I agree that women should always place their safety as their first priority and should remove themselves from any situation in which they find themselves uncomfortable or at risk, but if blacks and whites cant manage to walk the same streets without one race thinking the other is going to attack at any given moment due to the misconceptions floating around in their heads, then America really isnt a land of diversity. It then becomes a land of hierarchy. As he says, Staples is too scared to even wield a knife at a chicken, let alone wield a knife at another human being, but by the color of his skin and appearance, one would never know this. Being perceived as dangerous, he writes, is a hazard in itself, and could easily land him in the back of a police car simply due to the stereotypes of the black man. Staples understands that women are vulnerable in situations involving street crime, and that blacks have a tendency to be the offenders in such situations, yet this is no excuse for the complete isolation teen blacks and whites that occurs on an everyday basis. He recalls a fascinating incident in which police attempted to arrest a black journalist whom they mistook for the murderer, further proving that many will forever have these misconceptions that almost all blacks are violent by nature. On late nights now, Staples finds himself whistling classical music, as he explains that many do not seem to think that a typical, violent black man would ever be whistling Beethoven or Vivaldi, which is one of the saddest parts of this story. It is almost disgusting to me that blacks and minorities in general feel he need to prove themselves to American society by doing White things. It is often understandably easier to do so and conform to western ways, but it is never necessary because one should not ever be ashamed of their background. No single story or stereotype or standard defines a human being. That persons actions, impact on the world, and the lives they touch are what define them. America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, is often an image of hopes and dreams and opportunity for those who wish to create better lives for themselves, yet the stereotypes people tend to hold of each racial aground impede any sort of progress in continuing to paint America as this beacon of hope. Racism not only simplifies humans to one single story, but almost dehumidifies a person, as well, looking past their traits and qualities and defining them as where they come from and what their culture is. It is necessary to learn that what society may deem normal to us is not necessarily normal to others, and rather than one party adapt to the other or furthermore alienate one another, we must begin to respect and not reject the diversity which surrounds us.

Philosophy of Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy of Law - Essay Example The facts of the case are clear, the Speluncean Society in one of their routine endeavours were inadvertently trapped inside a cave they have set out to explore. Imprisoned for a period of twenty days, the group has become weary and lost for hope without nourishment or the prospect of escaping their prison in just about the right time that they are still alive. Devoid of any further source of food or sustenance, the men faced the ultimate decision of resorting to an act gravely disdained by any civilized society. The joyful day of the men’s freedom simultaneously gave rise to the moment of astonishment when the men who went in came out one person short. Sadly and regrettably, Roger Whetmore was not one of the lucky survivors. Whetmore has fallen victim to his own devise. He unfortunately suffered the fateful consequence of what he had himself proposed. Though he became reluctant upon the last minute, his idea had already been fuelled and intensified by the burning will of a ba nd of men with lost hope of survival and literally dying of hunger (Fuller, n.p.). It was a point of no return and it was a circumstance no God-fearing individual would wish for to his family, his friends or even his enemies.

Human resource- motivation at sales company Essay

Human resource- motivation at sales company - Essay Example Statistics indicate that sales persons are motivated by tangible rewards as well as cash rewards. They acknowledge that cash do help them get the bills paid but it does not keep sales people going (32%). In fact 79% respondents to an Incentive Federation survey indicate that they find non-cash rewards more effective in motivating them achieve sales and marketing goals than cash rewards. Tangible rewards increase performance by 22% while team incentives increase performance by 44%. Moreover, sales people are more enticed by incentive programs including give-aways, travel opportunities, privileges, club membership or be part of the company’s elite group. Although companies have the potential to improve their organizational performances, they are at times unaware of the tools available to them. For most organizations, motivation is compensation; it is cash rewards given out to employees as incentives. However, this is not the appropriate or effective strategy for increasing employee performance, changing their attitude or even motivating them, especially for a sales workforce whose motivational factors differ from other employees. Organizations need to focus on stoking sales team spirit according to Greco (1994). Compensation is not the only motivating factor (Smith 2008). The University of Michigan identified communication as the key to understanding employees motives and a means to responding to their needs (Ford, McLaughlin, and Newstrom, 2003). Representatives need statistics to boost their performance. Statistics to track sales and profits include traffic, average sale, closing ratio, inventory, pricing trends, prospects lists, client information, industry statistics etc. Cash rewards are unpopular as compared to tangible rewards. Positive incentives which can be integrated at the workplace to motivate sales team include recognition program, awards, and respect for contribution. Marchetti (2006) indicates

Accounting Theory (Australia) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting Theory (Australia) - Essay Example Presently, the Japanese Generally Accepted Accounting Principles are recognized by the European Union. The Financial Services Agency of Japan is also working to have common regulations with the International Financial Reporting Standards. The Business Accounting Council has come up with deliberations about the treatment of consolidated financial statement based upon International Financial Reporting Standards within the purview of Japanese Security Exchange Law. This measure has been presumed as the regulatory response of Japan as it involves the treatment of IFRS based consolidated financial statement prepared by issuers of both, Japan as well as foreigners, to be listed in the Japanese market. Japan and other Asian countries should participate more into the regulatory authorities for their own benefit. Their valuable presence in the committees would voice their needs and requirements. Presently, the Accounting Standard Board of Japan is trying to build up consensus over various financial regulatory issues among the Asian economies. Among the various regulatory issues, BASEL reforms have been very crucial for the transformation of the banking sector. It has been observed that there have been certain issues in terms of compliance of BASEL norms in Japan. The financial disorder prevalent in the last decade and the continuous postponement of resolution of non – performing loan (NPL) hindered compliance with the BASEL standards in Japan along with propagating political intervention in the economy of Japan that considerably hampered bank regulations. Today, it is almost certain in the periphery of the financial regulations that IFRS would make way for GAAP in due course of time as it has already adopted by European Union. Japan should focus more on accounting standards of IFRS rather than that of GAAP to be in line with the

Business Ethics in an Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Ethics in an Organisation - Essay Example The organisation that was chosen for the purposes of this assignment is the global for-profit education giant known as Career Education Corporation. According to their website, "Since it was founded in 1994, CEC has progressed rapidly toward the goal of becoming the world's leading provider of quality educational services. CEC is the world's largest on-campus provider of private, for-profit postsecondary education and has a rapidly-growing presence in online education" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). Career Education Corporation has more than 95,000 students worldwide and is made up of a number of different, well-recognized, and widespread brand names of colleges, schools, and universities. Their main specialty is offering career-oriented degrees to their students in a short period of actual classroom time. "The 80-plus campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U. S., Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately one third of students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University Online and Colorado Technical University Online" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1) As mentioned above, Career Education Corporation operates under a number of brand names that span the entire globe, including the online environment. "Those brands include, among others, the Le Cordon Bleu schools of North America; the Harrington School of Design; the Brooks Institute; the Katharine Gibbs schools; American InterContinental University; Colorado Technical University and Sanford Brown" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). The company proudly displays its mission on its main website, claiming that, "The mission of CEC, through its schools, its educators, and its employees is education-their primary goal, to enable students to graduate successfully and pursue rewarding careers." Their mission statement itself declares, "We are a dynamic educational services company committed to quality, career-focused learning led by passionate professionals who inspire individual worth and lifelong achievement" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). Ethics In order to understand how an organization adheres to business ethics in values, it is first important to understand what those are. In this section, perspectives on business ethics and values, ethical issues in business, ethical theories and how to use them, personal values in the workplace, individual responses to ethical situations, corporate responsibility, corporate governance, corporate citizenship, sustainability and the responsible corporation, ethical conformance: codes standards, culture, leadership, and citizen power, global and local values and international business, and ethics in practice will be covered in detail (Fisher and Lovell, 2006, Ambrose and Schminke, 1999 and Boyle, 1990). According to Wikipedia, "Business ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws (e.g.

Contingency Theories of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contingency Theories of Leadership - Essay Example Fiedler's contingency theory states that the manner in which a leader can be effective is dependent on what he calls as 'situational contingency', or the resultant product arising out of the interspatiality or interaction of leadership style and situational favourableness (or situational control). Fiedler holds that in situations of extreme importance, as during floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, a task-orientated style of leadership would be more beneficial than a considerate (relationship-orientated) style. This is so, as because in such an uncertain situation the leader-member relations get strained, due to fear or anxiety, the task becomes haphazard or unstructured, and the subject position of power becomes weak. In such a situation, the task-orientated leader who gets things accomplished proves to be the most successful. On the other hand, Fiedler emphasises that the considerate style of leadership is appropriate when the leader-member relations are good, the task is unstructured, and the locus of power is weak. ... For instance, there is some doubt whether the LPC is a true measure of leadership style. In 1986, Fiedler proposed another contingency model. This was called the Cognitive Resource Theory and attempted to analyse the conditions whereby intelligence, experience, and expertise are predictive indicators of leadership effectiveness. Fiedler stated that the effects of cognitive resources shall be significant only when the leader is able to be direct, when he/ she suffers from little stress, and when the leader has some unique expertise that cannot be performed by other subordinates. The theory formulates the idea that in low-stress situations, the intelligence of the leader has a great impact on the effectivity of the workers, and in high-stress conditions, the leader's expertise gets important. Interestingly, this assumption is not supported by Fiedler's research. An participatory discourse of the contingency theory is Vroom and Yetton's concept of Normative decision theory. Going by this variation, effectiveness of a decision procedure in an organisation is dependent upon various parts of a situation. It emphasises on the significance of the decision quality and acceptance by the people. What is interestingly is the fact that it values the criteria such as the amount of relevant information possessed by the leader and subordinates; under what circumstances would the subordinates accept a decision or try and co-operate in following a decision and the amount of disagreement among subordinates with respect to their preferred alternatives. This variation is definitely preferred over Fiedler's assumptions simple because it takes into account a thorough circumference of problems that the idea of decision making may face. The sheer flexibility, at times

Turning around fortunes at Procter & Gamble Essay

Turning around fortunes at Procter & Gamble - Essay Example In P&G company, much attention is paid to the social dimension. The main responsibility of the leaders of the company is to build the working environment to welcome and inspire diversity. P&G company is driven by the idea of creating the favorable surroundings where all the employees would feel comfortable being themselves. The major aspects under focus are the equality in terms of access to information, and the equality on opportunities in terms of learning, developing and growing both – professionally and personally. Numerous training, learning and coaching programs are provided systematically and are aimed at enhancing work/life integration, personal productivity and maintaining of the corporate culture. All the employees are monitored through surveys and culture sensing in order to determine the level of competence and commitment (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014). Technological environment:P&G’s Global Medical organization advises and assists management and employees to a ssure a safe, healthy work environment. Global medical delivers preventive health services to all employees, at all sites. It manages health issues that may affect employees, technologies, and brands (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014).For all the companies worldwide there are a lot of safety, health, and environmental regulations to be followed. Factories and plants are required to limit their emissions and fulfill all the regulations within a production process, discussed in law, permits and statutes

Business Ethics in an Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Ethics in an Organisation - Essay Example The organisation that was chosen for the purposes of this assignment is the global for-profit education giant known as Career Education Corporation. According to their website, "Since it was founded in 1994, CEC has progressed rapidly toward the goal of becoming the world's leading provider of quality educational services. CEC is the world's largest on-campus provider of private, for-profit postsecondary education and has a rapidly-growing presence in online education" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). Career Education Corporation has more than 95,000 students worldwide and is made up of a number of different, well-recognized, and widespread brand names of colleges, schools, and universities. Their main specialty is offering career-oriented degrees to their students in a short period of actual classroom time. "The 80-plus campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U. S., Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately one third of students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University Online and Colorado Technical University Online" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1) As mentioned above, Career Education Corporation operates under a number of brand names that span the entire globe, including the online environment. "Those brands include, among others, the Le Cordon Bleu schools of North America; the Harrington School of Design; the Brooks Institute; the Katharine Gibbs schools; American InterContinental University; Colorado Technical University and Sanford Brown" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). The company proudly displays its mission on its main website, claiming that, "The mission of CEC, through its schools, its educators, and its employees is education-their primary goal, to enable students to graduate successfully and pursue rewarding careers." Their mission statement itself declares, "We are a dynamic educational services company committed to quality, career-focused learning led by passionate professionals who inspire individual worth and lifelong achievement" (Career Education Corporation, 2008, pg. 1). Ethics In order to understand how an organization adheres to business ethics in values, it is first important to understand what those are. In this section, perspectives on business ethics and values, ethical issues in business, ethical theories and how to use them, personal values in the workplace, individual responses to ethical situations, corporate responsibility, corporate governance, corporate citizenship, sustainability and the responsible corporation, ethical conformance: codes standards, culture, leadership, and citizen power, global and local values and international business, and ethics in practice will be covered in detail (Fisher and Lovell, 2006, Ambrose and Schminke, 1999 and Boyle, 1990). According to Wikipedia, "Business ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws (e.g.

Turning around fortunes at Procter & Gamble Essay

Turning around fortunes at Procter & Gamble - Essay Example In P&G company, much attention is paid to the social dimension. The main responsibility of the leaders of the company is to build the working environment to welcome and inspire diversity. P&G company is driven by the idea of creating the favorable surroundings where all the employees would feel comfortable being themselves. The major aspects under focus are the equality in terms of access to information, and the equality on opportunities in terms of learning, developing and growing both – professionally and personally. Numerous training, learning and coaching programs are provided systematically and are aimed at enhancing work/life integration, personal productivity and maintaining of the corporate culture. All the employees are monitored through surveys and culture sensing in order to determine the level of competence and commitment (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014). Technological environment:P&G’s Global Medical organization advises and assists management and employees to a ssure a safe, healthy work environment. Global medical delivers preventive health services to all employees, at all sites. It manages health issues that may affect employees, technologies, and brands (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014).For all the companies worldwide there are a lot of safety, health, and environmental regulations to be followed. Factories and plants are required to limit their emissions and fulfill all the regulations within a production process, discussed in law, permits and statutes

Compare and contrast the Lady of Shalott with In Westminster Abby Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast the Lady of Shalott with In Westminster Abby Essay Consider * The context * The depiction of the women * Form * The poets use of language * Your response Both of the poems are about a woman. From the outset the two women appear very different, but when you study them more closely and we can begin to discover similarities. I think that both the woman in The Lady of Shalott and the women in West Minister Abbey are prisoners in some way or form. It is maybe more obvious in The Lady of Shalott where she is actually imprisoned inside a tower which is on an island and more than that she is also imprisoned by a curse which is upon her. The woman in Westminster Abbey is imprisoned by her lack of connection with reality and is so out of touch with the real world that I would say she is a prisoner within her self. The main difference between the two women is that one of them knows she is a prisoner and eventually in the end breaks away (even though it kills her) yet the other is blaitinly unaware. The tradition is which they are written is very different. The Lady of Shalott tells a story therefore it is a Narrative poem. In Westminster is about self-revelation so it is a dramatic monologue. The Lady of Shalott is set in the era of King Author and the Knights of the Round Table. The poem features Sir Lancelot (one of the greatest of the Knights) who is a key character. I think he symbolizes the male system that was very dominant back in the Victorian times. In short Lancelot represents to her all that she cant have and accepting death is better than being locked up. The poem is split into four parts, which build a kind of chapter formation. Part one gives us a bit of insight to what her surroundings are like and the fact she lives in a tower and that no one really knows very much about her. Down to towerd Camelot: And by the moon the reaper weary, Piling sheaves in uplands airy, Listening, whispers Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott. This quote from the poem (which is the last four lines of part 1) tells us that she is perceived almost like some kind of super natural being. In part two the lady of Shalott never stops working. She is weaving a picture of the things she sees reflected by a mirror so what she sees is 2-d and fickle. (Notice the contrast, her surroundings are drab yet her tapestry is colourful) A funeral, with plumes and lights and music, went to Camelot: Or when the moon was overhead, Came two young lovers lately wed The above statement connects the funeral with a wedding like both are equal and that love is equivalent to death. The lady then realizes that there is something unsubstantial about her life and proclaims Im half sick of shadows In Part three Lancelot appears and she sees his attractive reflection in the mirror, it appeals to her so much that she stops her work and looks out through the window at him. SHOCK the mirror breaks and the curse has come upon her. We can see how the lady almost becomes a mirror in herself with the glassy expression on her face. In this chapter the rhyming pattern changes when Lancelot appears, usually every verse ends with the word Shalott but one of the verses ends with Camelot instead. This is symbolic of how much devastation he actually causes, the whole form of the poem alters when he appears. In part four she wonders from the tower down to Camelot. And down the rivers dim expanse Like some bold seer in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance With a glassy countenance. These lines tell of the ladys trance like gaze possibly cause by thoughts of passion and desire (Lancelot). This could indicate that she is not responsible for her own actions. The changes of weather in the chapter indicate the change in mood. She comes down to Camelot and finds a boat that is her final resting-place. She does not kill her self, nor is she evil because her last song is said to be mournful and holy. All the people gather round her and in the crowd, totally oblivious to the fact he caused her death Lancelot proclaims that god has mercy on her as she has a lovely face. In Westminster Abbey is set during a war against Germany in the church in Westminster abbey. A woman is talking the whole time, which makes this, distinctly different from the last. In fact she is doing more than talking, she is praying. Once we discover that the audience is God we become very shocked by the things she is coming out with, especially when she says if he makes a mistake she will forgive him! She is being incredibly selfish and asking for special treatment i.e. that she should be protected more than anyone else. The woman is being greedy and praying for silly things like that her shares down go down and such like. In one of the verses she is talking about why England should win. There is great juxtaposition in the list that she gives placing things like democracy and class distinction together and then bringing in the fact they have proper drains, which just shows her snobbery. In other parts she is racist telling god to protect the blacks but to protect the whites more, which is saying that whites are more important just because they are more sophisticated and probably more civilized that the blacks she was talking about. The last verse gives us real insight into her character. She asks God for what she wants and expects to have her prayers answered in return for doing things she should have been doing any way. I.e. helping the war effort and going to church when ever she got the time. The poem ends with her having to leave for a social occasion- A now dear lord I cannot wait, Because I have a luncheon date She is a snob and she thinks God is one too, instead of praying to him in her local church she comes all the was to Westminster because she thinks God will view her prayer as more important. The end line of every verse deflates to what she has said (exposes the selfishness). The poet uses irony to show her up so you cant help laughing because you become almost astonished by the things that she says. The womans actions dont co-inside with her words and the language doesnt fit. This makes her seem like a walking contradiction. I think there is great contrast in both the context and styles of these poems but there still are similarities. They are both poems with a message; the message in The Lady of Shalott is that if you strive for more freedom you might end up dead. The message in the second poem is that we arent always aware of our faults etc. but they are always there.

Relying On Senses To Provide Truth Philosophy Essay

Relying On Senses To Provide Truth Philosophy Essay The absolute truth is a journey that leads to never-before experienced realms. The end of this road could never be reached and even the best man will only go a few steps in the right direction. To determine what the truth is and what it is not, a reliability is placed upon what we identify from our senses. This is the standard approach that we as humans take but, it is not necessarily the correct one. Many problems came up when establishing the truth based on our senses and thus they can rarely be fully trusted, this is what we can say when taking bad decisions. Sense is scientifically defined as any of the faculties by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as the faculties of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium. Senses are important in our lives. We are born with them and we would not be able to live without them, but we have a problem with them we can not identify whether they are true or not. Whether they tell us the truth. We are ab le to see, hear, touch, smell but we are not aware how much these senses matter to us, we are not able to use them properly. Our senses work best in trying to prove if something stimulating our knowledge of reality, not if what we know is absolutely true, but rather if a new truth stimulates known truths, and the old ways remain the same way. Experience that has been done with our senses previously lets us know that something is not working quietly good. Our actual senses convey the physical world to the extent they can do it without being tricked they are mechanisms, they do not understand and interpret, they give us complete information. Our sensory areas in the brain immediately start to simplify this information till we can attach meaning to it. From that point on the information is interpreted as truth( not counting the wavelength, certain pitches, because this would make a minor difference to our understanding of truth). There has always been a problem in distinguishing between something that is true and something that is not true, because how exactly do we know if its true or if its not. In this essay truth is going to be defined as conformity with fact or reality; verity.Truth can be defined by senses, however it is very hard to say that form the definition. For example lets have two brothers Andy and Harry. Andy and Harry have the same perfumes and wear the same clothes. Harrys friend thought he saw and smelled Harry passing by but actually it was Andy. We can now say that our senses are not right, because as the friend smelled Harrys perfumes and saw the clothes of Harry his senses were wrong it was Andy which passed by. This example is showing that senses can tell us truth, only on certain grounds. So there are five definite senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Going back to the essential question, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾When should we trust our senses to give us truth?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ In other words, in what aspects of our life can we trust ourselves to understand the true reality of what we believe is happening? Must we really rely on our sense perception for everything? The functioning of all the senses may give us true, but isnt true based on our perception A good example of the above statement is the belief in God we believe in him but actually we dont see him. So do we really trust our senses if we believe in God. We can not see him we can not hear him we can not touch him and we believe in him, also here is the truth in that. So do we really relay on our senses and do they really tell us the truth? Now what causes that is that the faith and for us that becomes the ultimate truth. Another example would be when you have a cold or you are sick can you still trust your senses? If you have a blocked nose then you can not smell anything, so should you still trust your sense of smell? Or should you just ignore that and trust the other senses. A well known philosopher A.J. Ayer. A.J. Ayer (1910-1989) was only 24 when he wrote the book that made his philosophical name, Language, Truth, and Logic (hereafter LTL), that was published in 1936. This book defines, explains, and argues for the logical positivsm, sometimes referred to as the criterio n of significance or criterion of meaning. It explains how problems might be solved by the principle of verifiablity. In these views Ayer saw himself as continuing in the line of British empiricism established by Locke and Hume, whose representative was Russell. Throughout A.J Ayer subsequent career he remained with his traditions rejection of the possibility of synthetic a priori knowledge. He saw philosophy method to be the analysis of the meaning of key terms, such as causality, truth, knowledge, freedom.. He has investigated the concept justified true belief. Ayer has argued that existence is not a predicate( what is a predicate? In the sentence. Alex is slow is slow is the predicate) A persons sense of perception isnt exactly true that the object exists. Using the above example is Alex exists or not this does not change the fact that the perceive of Alex is slow. Basically what he was trying to say that for something that has to be known, it has to be believed, justified( sense s for example) and true. The difficulty is proving if something is true or not for example in science we dont prove something we just support it. There is also the question how to test for accuracy which also can make our true different, so for example if we have a really accurate results for testing truth this can lead us to finding out what is truth actually. There is another theory of knowledge known as justified racialism this thory is about that where in order for a knowledge claim to be knowledge it has to be believed, true and justified according to a reliable cognitive process there is a lot of debate over what constitutes a reliable cognitive process and in particular about whether the senses are trustworthy enough to be this process. Summarising your senses are the inner being of our souls and that is what needs to be used fist. Trust can be broken our senses tell us when something is wrong and if we chose to ignore our senses and trust what someone is telling us we can end up being hurt and if we go on emotions boy, children get hurt many times when they feel that bad and trust that a bad person with a sob story will tell them. This is when they do not trust their senses for example if their hand is hurting and their friend tells them to play they ignore their senses and just continue playing then they sib at home, due to the fact that the hand is hurting and they cant play football any more, because their hand is broken. So we do need to trust our senses. But our senses as I said before never give us true they give as data which we can use or ignore as the kid in the story above. Truth is not something we sense, it is something we recognize. The data that our senses give us is pretty accurate, we just have to k now how to use it correctly. On the other hand our interpretation of that data is many times in error. Emotion is the bodys reaction to thought, I will again use the example of the boy playing football he didnt trust his senses he kept playing football and after when he came back home he couldnt lay any more football, his body reacted to his emotion, the hand was hurting. We can trust the information that emotion imparts only as far as we have been able to become aware of how it operates in our lives. All emotion is giving us information about ourselves and the best way of accepting that is to know our way of living. If we know our reaction to emotions we know ourselves. Concluding we can not identify if we should trust our senses or not, sometimes we should trust our senses and sometimes there are situations that we should not trust our senses.

Good Ol’ Southern Food: The Ins and Outs of Preparing a Southern Feast

Good Ol’ Southern Food: The Ins and Outs of Preparing a Southern Feast There is just something about Southern Cooking, something about the women who’ve mastered it, and something about what it represents. A Southern Feast represents time spent in careful preparation and an almost entire region of people that didn’t get the memo about cholesterol. Southern cooking brilliantly displays a community that still remains untouched by at least some of the craziness in the world around us. Things move a little slower in the South, and one of those things is the cooking. Preparing a Southern feast is a job. It is hard work, and it takes some time, but that is part of the charm. This cooking is the kind that allows for sitting around canning beans and fussing over biscuits. In the way that baking Christmas cookies brings families together, Southern cooking does as much. It can be done, with ease and grace, not to mention great fellowship when a meal is prepared with the ones you love. I believe the basis of any southern meal is a good amount of lard. We are not really talking olive oil here, but actual lard from a pig. If done correctly lard should be found in at least three of the main dishes. Equally important are the homegrown veggies. No meal, southern or any other, for that matter would be complete without some good homegrown food. Now, a true genius can use the lard and veggies, but we will get to that later. Once you have your veggies and main dish, complementary side items like biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea make the meal complete. The Main Element: In most circles, you will find the main element to be a meat. In most southern circles, you will find that meat to be fried, be it southe... ...nd nutmeg v Stack 2 piecrusts; gently roll or press together. Fit pastry into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. v Toss together apple and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine brown sugar and next 4 ingredients; sprinkle over apple mixture, and toss to coat. Spoon into prepared piecrust. v Roll remaining piecrust to press out fold lines; place over filling. Fold edges under, and crimp; cut slits in top for steam to escape. v Bake at 450 ° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 °, and bake 35 minutes. Fried Apples 12-15 Golden Delicious Apples  ½ -3/4 Cups Sugar 1tsp Cinnamon  ½ stick of butter v Wash and Cut apples into bite size pieces v Combine Sugar, Cinnamon, and Butter in skillet v Add apples v Stir occasionally until apples are tender v Serve hot or later chilled

Medieval Castles :: History

Medieval Castles In 1494 the armies of the French king, Charles VIII, invaded Italy to capture the kingdom of Naples. They swept through the country and bombarded and destroyed many castles. This invasion signaled the end of the castle as a stronghold of defense. For centuries it had been the dominant fortification in Western Europe for the defense of kings, nobility, and townspeople. Ancient cities were often walled to keep out invaders, and within the walls there was usually a citadel, a strongly built fortification occupying the highest or militarily most advantageous position. A castle is much like such a walled city and its citadel contracted into a smaller space. Castles were basically fortified locations. The word itself comes from the Latin castellum. Up to the 6th century fortifications were primarily communities in which most of the population lived. But in the middle of the 6th century, the armies of the Byzantine Empire began to build strong forts as defensive positions. For the next few centuries this castle building was confined to the Byzantine Empire, but later hordes of Islamic warriors who swept out of Arabia to conquer the Middle East, North Africa, and much Byzantine territory also started building such forts. Western Europe, in the depths of the Dark Ages from the 5th through the 9th century, had no such works. But late in the 9th century, as local lords and kings began to consolidate power, castle building began probably in France. Once begun, castle building spread rapidly to other areas. But it was not until the 12th and 13th centuries, after the Crusaders returned from their wars against Islam in Palestine, that castles as imposing as those of the Byzantine or Islamic empires were constructed in Europe. Many of the stone castles of the late Middle Ages still stand. Some are tourist attractions, in various states of repair, along the Rhine River from Mainz to Cologne in Germany, dotted about the French countryside, or perched on hilltops in Spain. The original French castles had been built on open plains. Later ones, however, were situated on rocky crags, at river forks, or in some position where advancing enemies would find approach extremely difficult, if not impossible. The fortifications became more elaborate with time, with considerable attention paid to making the living quarters more comfortable. A typical castle was usually guarded on the outskirts by a surrounding heavy wooden fence of sharp-pointed stakes called a barbican_. Medieval Castles :: History Medieval Castles In 1494 the armies of the French king, Charles VIII, invaded Italy to capture the kingdom of Naples. They swept through the country and bombarded and destroyed many castles. This invasion signaled the end of the castle as a stronghold of defense. For centuries it had been the dominant fortification in Western Europe for the defense of kings, nobility, and townspeople. Ancient cities were often walled to keep out invaders, and within the walls there was usually a citadel, a strongly built fortification occupying the highest or militarily most advantageous position. A castle is much like such a walled city and its citadel contracted into a smaller space. Castles were basically fortified locations. The word itself comes from the Latin castellum. Up to the 6th century fortifications were primarily communities in which most of the population lived. But in the middle of the 6th century, the armies of the Byzantine Empire began to build strong forts as defensive positions. For the next few centuries this castle building was confined to the Byzantine Empire, but later hordes of Islamic warriors who swept out of Arabia to conquer the Middle East, North Africa, and much Byzantine territory also started building such forts. Western Europe, in the depths of the Dark Ages from the 5th through the 9th century, had no such works. But late in the 9th century, as local lords and kings began to consolidate power, castle building began probably in France. Once begun, castle building spread rapidly to other areas. But it was not until the 12th and 13th centuries, after the Crusaders returned from their wars against Islam in Palestine, that castles as imposing as those of the Byzantine or Islamic empires were constructed in Europe. Many of the stone castles of the late Middle Ages still stand. Some are tourist attractions, in various states of repair, along the Rhine River from Mainz to Cologne in Germany, dotted about the French countryside, or perched on hilltops in Spain. The original French castles had been built on open plains. Later ones, however, were situated on rocky crags, at river forks, or in some position where advancing enemies would find approach extremely difficult, if not impossible. The fortifications became more elaborate with time, with considerable attention paid to making the living quarters more comfortable. A typical castle was usually guarded on the outskirts by a surrounding heavy wooden fence of sharp-pointed stakes called a barbican_.

Corporate governance Essay

Introduction Corporate governance refers to a system of mostly rules, practices as well as procedures that direct as well as control a company. In most cases it involves the balancing of all the stakeholders that have an interest in the company including the management, shareholders, government, the community to mention but a few depending on the company. Essentially, corporate governance provides a framework that if followed will help the company attain its objective in an all round manner. Though a relatively new phenomenon, this concept has been able to take the world by storm with countries that have embraced it turning in a lot of development that their counterparts. The embracing as well as the internalization of corporate governance by different countries has been able to foster growth and development while creating a business friendly environment in which companies can co-exist with the state as well as the communities in which they operate (Fernando, 2009, p.23). Case study: the United States As recent as 2002, the United States enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley bill into law making it an act. This was ushered in to restore the public’s confidence in companies and markets. Prior to this act, there had been a string of bankrupted high profile companies that had been brought down by internal accounting fraud. This left a twist that ensured that the companies would essentially be governed by state laws and therefore failure due to breach of such laws would be answerable to the government. This ensures that not only are the interests of the company shareholders protected but that then community that usually benefits from activities such as employment are also taken care off. Thus, the country has over years adopted different legislations both at the federal as well as state level that ensure that corporate governance is fully realized in the state. Therefore, from the United States, the UK can learn to enact strong legislations that would act as a guidelines to both state as well as the companies and any other stakeholders of the importance of embracing corporate governance. This would also serve the purpose of regulating corporations that will then have to acknowledge the fact that rules have been put in place and therefore have to be followed and that failure of compliance would lead to outlined penalties (Chew & Gillan, 2009, p. 3). Case study: India India, unlike the United States, has created a committee that deals with corporate governance know as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The board that in most cases takes on a trustee role for all the companies in India was created through the adoption of SEBI Act, 1992. The act gives the body statutory powers to be able to carry out its duties and functions. These approach adopted in India is believed to have been adopted from the Ghanaian principle of trusteeship and that it is a directive of the Indian constitution with a little twist in between. The preamble of the body is to among other functions â€Å"†¦to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the growth (Das, 2008, p. 7). Reference Chew, D. H., & Gillan, S. L. 2009. U.S. corporate governance. New York, N.Y., Columbia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Das, S. C. 2008. Corporate governance in India: an evaluation. New Delhi, Prentice-Hall of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   India. Fernando, A. C. 2009. Corporate governance: principles, policies and practices. New Delhi,   Ã‚  Ã‚   Pearson Education.   

English Phonetics and Phonology

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG HKU SPACE Community College Associate Degree Programmes 2012-13 Course Document Course Title: English Phonetics and Phonology Course Code: C C 8 8 3 5 6 0 0 Aims and Objective This course will focus on articulatory phonetics and the classification of sounds in English. It will explain how English is pronounced in the context of a general theory about speech sounds and how they are organized in languages. Topics will include the speech production mechanism; the description of sound qualities and their representations; prosodic features.There will be many exercises in ear training, sound production and their written representations. Intended Learning Outcomes of the Course On completion of the course, students should be able to: ILO1. describe how speech sounds are produced; ILO2. describe sound production with reference to the articulatory track; ILO3. link perceptual descriptions with production and explain in general how perceptually different sounds diff er in their production; ILO4. distinguish the classification of speech sounds and discuss their phonological groupings and distributions in English; ILO5. ecognize English Phonetic symbols and be able to transcribe connected speech in English; ILO6. discuss the syllabic structure of English; ILO7. select relevant details and systematically organize ideas in answering questions. Syllabus 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Voice production and the organs of speech The production of vocalic elements in speech — cardinal vowels and their representation English vowels – their production, perceptual qualities and representation.Long short vowels, diphthongs and tripthongs The larynx, its structure and the role it plays in speech production The phoneme – its theoretical justification, symbol representation and realization under different phonetic contexts Consonantal elements in speech. English consonants – their production, perceptual qualities, place and manner of articulat ion. Discussion of the phonemic status of some consonants The syllabic structure of EnglishAssessment Type of Assessment (Weighting) Description Test 1: Transcription of English vowels (5%) Test 2: Short questions on the first half of the course (8%) Test 3: Transcription of English (entire text) (10%) Continuous Assessment (50%) Test 4: Long questions on phonemic theory and related issues (10%) Tutorial performance, ear training exercises and homework written exercises (12%) Attendance and performance in class (5%) Examination (50%) Pre-requisite(s) Nil Required and Recommended Reading Text Book: 1. English Phonetics and Phonology – A practical course by Peter Roach, Cambridge University Press, 2000.Written Exam Other References: 1. A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged, Heinle & Heinle: Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, 2001. 2. Practical Phonetics and Phonology by Beverley Collins and Inger M. Mees, Routleddge: London and New Yo rk, 2003. 3. Fundamental Problems in Phonetics by J. C. Catford, Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 1982. 4. Introduction to Phonetics by L. F. Brosnahan & Bertil Malmberg, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976. 29. 06. 11

Drug Testing in The Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug Testing in The Workplace - Essay Example The paper tells that no worker wants that his private life is invaded and suspected. You do not want your life to be your boss’s business. Individual and civil rights are the ones that are most respected giving every citizen the right to keep his life off-the-work private and not scrutinized. However, with the advent of efficient technological tools, it is difficult for a worker to hide his off-duty activities from the scrutinizers. Urinalysis drug testing is conducted when a person applies for a job to know if he is on drugs. The biggest point is the violation of privacy and civil rights. No worker in any position will want that he is being observed or that whatever he does off-duty is counted as having an effect on his performance on-duty (Hansson and Palm). Courts and judges have also been not very protective regarding privacy issues that arise in drug testing, nor have any laws or policies been designed regarding when to conduct drug testing and what to do after a person s hows positive. Also, the process of drug testing itself is privacy-invasive since a person is required to give his urine sample in the presence of other persons. This makes the process uncomfortable and disrespectful for the employee. Moreover, when a person shows positive on a drug test, he is not given any medical treatment but he is very likely to be fired. If this continues, then the society will have an increasing number of jobless drug addicts especially those who are not motivated to leave the addiction. This will result in deterioration of the society on the whole.

Evolution--Creationism and Intelligent Design Essay

Evolution--Creationism and Intelligent Design - Essay Example This suggests that the knowledge imparted upon the students should reflect the ideals and ethos of all science theories that help humanity survive and prosper. On that aspect, a controversial theory, such as creationism, that insists on the existence of human life and the earth as the work of a supernatural being called Abrahamic God is paramount in within the framework of this research. Alternatively, there is also the intelligent design whereby some believe the creation of the universe should be questioned on the basis of a scientific and an intelligent cause rather than natural selection. In other words, parents or school boards should constantly review the syllabus of the science subject in order to ensure only the right material is fed to the students. In the account, the scientific theories presented in schools should improve the both analytical and research skills of the students in respect to discovering the truth about God and other elements of the universe (Dembski, 2002). Additionally, parents or the school boards can petition the government through the Ministry of Education on the type of scientific theories and ideas are valuable for students in schools. I think the views of creationism that are primarily based on a particular type of Christianity should be given special consideration based on certain factors. For example, this will have the effect on transforming the perceptions that students have on other religions, such as Islam and Hinduism among others. Additionally, creationism is a widely accepted doctrine because of its belief in the Abrahamic God and, hence, it is a yardstick for guiding other religions in knowledge enlightenment. Alternatively, it is fundamental to observe that Christianity is the largest religion in the world with one-quarter of Christians having residence in Europe alone. In other words, the influence of Christianity around the world should encourage

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Reaction paper - Essay Example There are irregularities with the reports that are being disseminated to the public. These information varies from the number of people who died at Auschwitz to the percentage of the buildings are kept from its original state and which have been modified. Some information that was made public has inconsistencies and there have been no concrete proofs of the â€Å"killings† made at Auschwitz. The interview was made in search of the truth and not to make false conclusions and judgments as to what have happened. It is still in the search of the truth as to what have happened to the people at Auschwitz and how they â€Å"disappeared.† It was an unbiased report and just brought out the inconsistencies of the information being disseminated into the public for them to â€Å"believe.† On a personal note, although the issue regarding holocaust can be considered as a sensitive and controversial issue for most people, it needed to be faced and the public should have the responsibility of facing the facts and deciphering

Vodafone industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vodafone industry - Essay Example This paper is an analysis of Vodafone products and services from the past and a comparison with the products and services it offers in the present scenario. Vodafone is a UK based company which started its operations in 1983. It was the start of telecommunication technologies. In the year 1985 Vodafone launched the first National Network in UK. This was first generation technology of the telecommunication sector in which mobiles were installed in cars and used car’s battery as energy sources. Vodafone was one of those who got the first movers advantage in this sector. Vodafone dealt with the challenges of 1G technology with the help of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. It was a digital system. It launched its first GSM network in 1991. 2G technology enabled transmission of data along with voice over the mobile network whereas Wireless application protocol (WAP) made internet based services accessible with mobiles. Vodafone Group Plc is operating in more than 39 countries. It has a strong customer base of approximately 155 million customers. It has expanded its services from telecommunications to mobile har dware and internet communications. It has expanded itself with the changing communication requirements of its customers. Its efforts are directed towards meeting all kind personal or official communication needs of its customers. Mobile is always at the heart of what we do, but now we are moving into integrated mobile and PC communication services. We are doing that in two ways – wirelessly through 3G and HSDPA (High-Speed Download Packet Access), but also using fixed line broadband services like DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). (Vodafone.com, 2007) In the year 2001 it became the first in the world to offer 3G roaming calls to its customers between Japan and Spain. It introduced Short Messaging services in the same year which enabled customers to

The Third Sector and Public Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Third Sector and Public Policy - Essay Example 375). According to Kendall and Knapp (2000, p. 12), the term the Third Sector can also be defined as the range of institutions that occupy the space between the private sector and the government or State; they are neither private sector nor public sector. The third Sector includes registered charities, trusts, social co-operatives and enterprises, voluntary groups, and the local community among others. Even though the Third Sector organizations exist in varying dimensions and entities, there are three main characteristics that unite the Third Sector (Alcock, 2010, p. 7). The first characteristic is that these organizations are value- driven; that is, certain desires motivate them to achieve social, economic and political goals such as the environment well- being, public welfare improvement, and economic well- being. It is noteworthy that this characteristic rarely seeks to distribute profit but seeks to improve the overall welfare of the society. The second characteristic is that the se organizations usually reinvest any generated surpluses in order to facilitate the pursuit of their goals. That is why they are considered not- for profit organizations. The last main characteristic of these organizations is that they are independent from the government explaining why they are mostly referred as non- governmental organizations (Keane, 2001, p. 18-19). The Third Sector differs from the state and the market in a number of ways. Anheier, et al (2001, p. 24) note, their differences arise fundamentally from how Third Sector organizations are formed, their values, the scope of their activities, source of funding, and their objectives. To begin with, this essay will focus on what distinguishes the Third Sector from the State. The first distinction between the two entities is in regard to their range of provision; the state has a wide range of provisions while the Third Sector organizations have limited range of service provisions. For instance, whereas the state can offe r numerous public services, the Third Sector organizations can offer specific services such as social housing and personal social care. It should also be noted that in some cases, the services offered by the Third Sector organizations are usually outsourced to them by the state. The state seeks to provide more space to the Third Sector so as to increase the Sector’s capacity to provide services that were previously provided by the public sector (Kramer, 2000, p. 20). Towards this end, the Third Sector is seen to have potential in making contribution in the following areas; social and health care services, educational services, children services, and correctional services among others. The second distinguishing factor between the Third Sector and the state is the scale of funding. It is an undisputable fact that the state has far much funding for its services compared to the Third Sector. This can be attributed to the fact that the state collects revenues in form of taxes whic h is usually in large amounts which help it to fund its expenditure in regard to provision of services (Anheier et al, 2001, p. 13). This is totally different from the scale of funding that the Third Sector has; the Sector has small amount of financial resources to provide the required services. This problem is heightened by the fact that the Third Sector is not- for- profit organizations hence limiting their amount of revenues.