The Negative Effects of the Internet

I wholly disagree with the notion that â€Å"When you give everyone a voice and everyone power, the system usually ends up in a really good place†. This idea is not only naive and foolish but simply untrue. Cyber bullying , cyber stalking and cyber paedophilia are threats that have sprung up in recent years in tandem with the modern phenomenon that is social media where everybody’s voice and opinion can be heard (well, read ) no matter how inappropriate illegal or damaging it may be to another person or even a group of people.Along with these cyber space based problems, content shared or posted online can often step over the threshold of the internet and affect somebody’s day to day life. However, seldom the voice and power given by the internet and social media is responsible for awareness campaigns such as â€Å"Kony 2012†. Unfortunately the harsh and brutal reality is, when people can hide behind computer screens, even gain anonymity if they wish, the d arker side of a person quite often shines through and the system does not end up in â€Å"a really good place†.Cyber bulling, the scourge of my generation and many generations to come is vicious, devastating and unapologetic. Before the days of social media and even widespread mobile phone ownership, let’s say pre 2000 bullying would generally take place in school corridors, maybe within clubs or organisations and within the workplace. Even though bullying was and always will be a traumatic experience, in those days it was escapable, a victim of bullying could go home, or to a friends house or anywhere really out side where they were being bullied and be free of it.With the advent of social networking and text messages the torment of bullying has been made inescapable. Poisonously worded text messages, tormenting wall posts and mocking comments being fired at a person night and day by a coward hiding behind a computer screen is taking bullying to a whole new extreme. I n my opinion cyber bullying is far more detrimental, vicious and calculated then ordinary bullying , because of the power a person can feel hiding behind a computer screen punching out letters, words ,sentences at a rapid pace not even facing the person the toxic words are aimed at. Internet famous â€Å" former â€Å"site model† and myspace girl Leda Muir admitted she has been a victim of hurtful ,offensive and threatening messages on the internet and in the past was also guilty of sending them to other people. She describes the â€Å"instant rush† sending offensive messages gave her, and how she simply forgot about it minutes later. When she talks about receiving comments and messages similar to the ones she herself once sent, it is an entirely different experience.She describes how each derogatory comment and message she received stayed with her for weeks, and how it made her feel belittled, humiliated and depressed even when she didn’t know any of the bulli es personally. These bullies probably felt a similar rush to the one Leda described ,which probably comes from feeling â€Å"drunk on power† after all power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the year two thousand and twelve cyber stalking was more common then physical harassment.While in certain aspects it is similar to cyber bullying it is more disturbing, it is based on a twisted obsession with usually a single person with a determined and perverse want to control that person in some aspect. Unlike cyber bullies, cyber stalkers are not chasing an instant power high; they desire something much darker. The aim of a cyber stalker is to get their victim to yield to them in one way or another and may involve other people in this plan.Social media enables these individuals to obtain information such as where you live, work and even who your family members are which in turn gives them the power to make threats to you online using this information. As extreme as i t sounds anyone could be cyber stalked, even as it turns out, Mark Zuckerburg himself who probably has the most heavily protected profile on facebook.His stalker Pradeep Manukonda attempted to contact both Zuckerburg and his sister Randi requesting money. When the police told him to cease contacting Zuckerburg , he ignored them and continued to send the facebook Ceo e-mails, hand written letters(in one of which he describes the â€Å"power to communicate) and flowers. He even went to the extent of travelling to face book’s main offices and even Mark Zuckerburg’s house.This was evidently a traumatic experience for Zuckerburg has he took out a restraining order against his stalker , this is a prime example of when everyone is given power buy information obtained on the internet, things do not end in a good place. Finally the most sickening and disturbing threat on the internet, cyber paedophilia. 99% of children between the ages of twelve and seventeen have access to th e internet and this is something cyber predators are well aware of.Using chat rooms, web cam and an array of social networks paedophiles have the power to seek out potential victims. For example in two thousand and three , a man posted a message in a chat room requesting sexual favours in exchange for money, out of curiosity a pair of fourteen year old girls responded to this message and they were both violated. The man also texted the victims in order to intimidate and threaten them. This clearly illustrates how somebody can abuse the voice and power given to them by cyberspace to horrific effect.When everyone is given a voice, and given power it is up to the person themselves how they use that power. Some my raise awareness, some my rise to fabled â€Å"internet fame† and some may just spend twenty minutes browsing their news feed. However the idea of the whole system ending up in a good place is one of fantasy, some people can turn into power hungry monsters online while o thers may abuse their voice and power for disturbing reasons. When you give every one a voice and everyone power, the system won’t end up in a really good place.

Leadership Essay

Vice Principal Mr. Leonard Curry entered the main staffing office of the Academy and ordered a young teacher to get out into her class. Her quiet gentle response was, ‘I do not have a class now, sir.† â€Å"What!’ was his rebuttal insisting that the schedule had been changed and it was her period to be teaching a 10th grader’s Biology class. She replied by asking if it were ethical for her to be informed in such a manner pointing out that   a memo is the acceptable mode of transmitting such changes. This was followed by a gentle explanation she wanted to perform her duties without conflict. Further he said that it was her responsibility to check out changes on the teacher’s assignment notice board from time to time. She reiterated that that was an unconstitutional approach since it was not stated like that in the bylaws of the school. They continued to argue with the principal threatening her with suspension for insubordination had she not complied. A disciplinary report was eventually filed for insubordination and disobeying the rule of law. Impact on credibility—Principal-Mr.Cury displayed a tendency towards an autocratic leadership style. Once how to address the issue was lawful inscribed in the bylaws stipulating a particular way to inform about staffing changes it had to be adhered to. It would appear that the young teacher reminding him of it antagonized the situation. This is a challenge to his credibility. Communication-It is clear that there was a change of command in terms of communication. The principal seemed to have erred. His reaction is to blame the young teacher for his mistake by imposing a penalty on her for his mistake. This is often a management strategic adopted in a autocratic culture. Power of influence—in this situation the power of influence lay in the position or status of principal. The principal used it to make himself look respectable while casting blame onto unsuspecting immature teacher.

Music and Color which ones positively affect men and women, which ones Essay

Music and Color which ones positively affect men and women, which ones negatively affect them - Essay Example However, there are currently no books on this topic, and educators and parents are often forced to rely on news reports and websites that sometimes present the information in a biased and sketchy fashion. As a result, there is a great deal of confusion about the benefits of music listening and instruction. Music has been touted to cure backache, asthma, obesity, writer’s block, alcoholism, schizophrenia, prejudice, heart disease, drug addiction, headaches, and AIDS. Claims have been made that music makes bread rise better and improves the taste of beer. In Florida it’s now the law that all childcare facilities receiving state aid include at least half an hour of music exposure every day. The governors of both Tennessee and Georgia give newborns in their states classical music CDs. An Indiana obstetrician even markets a device that administers music in-utero. Clearly, most of these claims are unsubstantiated, despite the (usually) good intentions of their supporters. Unf ortunately, the exaggerated claims that have often accompanied the research have caused some academicians to be skeptical of any research suggesting the benefits of music. Although music is important in its own right, a book that systematically reviews what is known about the power of music to influence non-musical domains is necessary for scientists and laypeople alike’.(Sabattical , 2 ) ‘Color conveys meanings in two primary ways - natural associations and psychological symbolism. No, it’s not mind control. The truth of the matter is that people are comfortable when colors remind them of similar things. For example, a soft shade of blue triggers associations with the sky and a psychological sense of calm. Successful design requires an awareness of how and why colors communicate meaning. The source of these meanings can be quite conspicuous, such as those found in nature — red is the color of blazing fire

Retail Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retail Branding - Essay Example The current interest in retail branding is scarcely to be wondered at, given that, as Ailawadi and Keller acknowledged, ‘’With the growing realization that brands are one of a firm’s most intangible assets, branding has emerged as a top management priority in the last decade’ (p.1). If one looks at a breakdown of the revenue of a major retailer, one will usually find that a large proportion of that revenue comes from the sale of manufacturer’s goods. However, this poses problems for retailers given the incredibly competitive nature of the marketplace – many stores might stock exactly the same goods, and quite probably at similar prices. They thus have to focus on developing marketing strategies which will encourage consumers, when faced with a choice of stores, all of which sell what they want, to choose one over another. As Ailawadi and Keller note, ‘building their [retailers] own equity is a particularly challenging problem, but one wi th big potential rewards. Such equity insulates them from competing retailers’ (p.1). The definition of retail branding offered by the Canadian Marketing Blog supports this, stating that it ‘is about differentiating, a unique personality, a true point of difference’. ... n incredibly wide range of factors, from the assortment of goods on offer in the store, to the level of customer service and comfort they experienced while shopping there, to their pricing and credit policies, and of course the quality of the goods sold. This stands in contrast to a consumer’s opinion of a product brand, which is more likely to have been constructed mostly from their opinions on that product’s marketing campaigns, and any experiences they’ve had of that brand’s goods. Identifying the manifold elements that strongly influence the construction and perception of a retailers’ brand image, we might conclude that the general atmosphere in the store, the prices and presence or absence of attractive promotions or reductions, and the range of products are perhaps the most important. One might think that price is always the most important factor in decisions made by consumers, but Brown highlighted long ago that price perception is more impor tant that actual prices. In short, if a retailer intends to market its brand based principally on its price, Brown found that for consumers, what was important was that they believed a store’s prices to be low, rather than whether they actually were. Therefore, a retailer has to work on getting all of these elements right in order to create the best possible experience for consumers frequenting their stores, in order to build up networks of loyalty and patronage among consumers. The key is winning over large numbers of consumers who believe that a particular retailer offers a superior shopping experience, and will recommend that retailer to their friend and family networks, as well a visiting it again themselves. Of course, manufacturer brands, as Ailawadi and Keller acknowledge, can be useful in creating a

Explaining the reasons for income inequality in the US Research Paper

Explaining the reasons for income inequality in the US - Research Paper Example The causes of the increasing levels of income gaps and inequalities in the United States of America, which is one of the largest and most developed nations in the world has been a topic which is subject to a number of extensive researches, political interests and media attentions because this aspect involves how the income of the nation is divided among the people of the country and thus, is a primary factor involved in the development of economic consistency and stability of a country. Therefore, the topic of identifying and analyzing the main reasons which are driving the exponential growth of the inequalities in the financial and economic positions of the rich and the poor classes of the society has become an interesting area of study and research. This research is aimed at identifying and analyzing the primary and secondary reasons that have caused the high level of income inequalities in the United States of America. For this purpose, the macro economic backgrounds of the company as well as the different sources of income among the rich and the poor classes of the American society are studied in depth. Additionally, the main drivers of the income inequalities in the society and economy of the United States are identified so as to understand how these income gaps can be reduced in the future by the government of the United States of America and the various other governing authorities and institutions functioning in the country. Thus, the main research question formulated for the study is given as follows As per the work of Galbraith and Hale (2008), income inequality refers to the degree to which income within a population is distributed in a disproportionate and uneven manner. Income inequality can also be described as the gap between the income of the rich and the poor classes of people within a society or a nation (Galbraith and Hale, 2008, p.344). Duncan and Murnane

Atypical Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Atypical Development - Essay Example Grandin claims that her science teacher in the special education centre motivated her a lot thus helping her develop her area of strength. One of the many important things mentioned by Grandin is that there are myriad misconceptions related to autism. People think that a child suffering from autism is unable of doing any good to his/her life, which is a pure misapprehension. Grandin proved this belief to be groundless by achieving big feats in her life by writing valuable books related to autism. Any developmental psychologist or parent can benefit a lot from Grandin’s interview for building up the abilities of a child with autism. Grandin claims that autism does not mar the capabilities of an individual rather the visual thinking skills of a child with autism can be used for designing. Artistic minds tend to be less social and there should be a teacher working with the children with autism to teach them social interaction in an order to keep their minds connected to the outer world. The parents can build on their child’s thinking and social abilities by restraining from letting him/her watch television all day long. Rather, they should try teaching him/her basic concepts of language and ways to interact with people. Reference: www.npr.org. (2006). A Conversation with Temple Grandin.

PUBLIC LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

PUBLIC LAW - Essay Example The legislative or law-making function, which is the enactment of rules for the society. The executive or law-applying function, which covers actions taken to maintain or implement the law, defend he state, conduct external affairs and administer internal policies. Finally came the judicial or law enforcing function, which is the determining of civil disputes and the publishing of criminals by deciding issues of fact and applying the law. The three functions of government should be carried out by separate persons or bodies and that each branch of government should only carry out its own function. For instance, the legislature, executive and judicial branches should have equal status so each could control the excessive use of power by another branch2[Constitutional and Administrative Law Pg 105]. The doctrine of separation of powers has been attributed to Aristotle3. However, the clearest exposition of the doctrine can be found in the France writer Baron de Montesquieu's De L'Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) [1952]. In order to answer this question it is necessary to discuss about the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, the relationship between executive and legislature, legislature and judiciary; executive and judiciary. ... The Constitutional Reform Act modifies the office of Lord Chancellor and makes changes to the way in which some of the functions vested in that office are to be exercised. Part 2 of this Act modifies the office of Lord Chancellor and provides for the future exercise of certain functions of that office and for continued judicial independence4. [Constitutional and Administrative Law Pg 109] The Executive: The Executive may be defined as that branch of the state which formulates policy and is responsible for its execution. In formal terms, the sovereign is the head of executive. The Prime Minister, Cabinet and other ministers, for the most part, are elected Members of Parliament. In addition, the Civil Service, local authorities, police and armed forces, constitute the executive in practical terms. The legislature: The Queen of the parliament is the sovereign law making body within the United Kingdom. Formally expressed, parliament comprises the Queen, the HL and House of Commons. Parliament is bicameral, that is to say there are two chambers, each exercising a legislative role-although not having equal powers-and each playing a part in ensuring the accountability of the government. The judiciary: The judiciary is that branch of the state which adjudicates upon conflicts between state institutions, between state and individual, and between individuals. The judiciary is independent of both parliament and the executive. It is the prime feature of judicial independence which is of prime importance both in relation to government according to law and in the protection of liberty of the citizen against the executive. As Blackstone observed in his Commentaries that the administration of common justice be in some degree separated both from the legislative and

Mobile learning, technology leadership and technology competency Article

Mobile learning, technology leadership and technology competency - Article Example The article discovered that the principals’ skills that were aligned with NETS-A were fluency in using programs or hardware, knowledge of data and information recovery, interacting with stakeholders, and planning and overseeing resources (Garcia and Abrego). Garcia and Abrego compare their findings to those of the studies cited in the theoretical framework. The article’s conclusion does not deviate from the research question, which is highly commendable. The representation of findings in graphs also makes understanding the study easy. I learned that innovation leaders should be capable of planning and overseeing their respective innovations. I could use this information to expand the research for my dissertation and assist my discussion group while working on our project on mobile technology. Park’s research work did not involve any particular population. Instead, Park used former theories about mobile innovations used for educational purposes to test against and with electronic and ubiquitous learning. Park says the study’s purpose was to offer an improved insight of the features of mobile learning in terms of distance education by comparing three different learning innovations, and changing and accepting the TD (Transactional Distance) theory to suit his research. (Park, 2011). As a result, Park tries to fix former research works into four kinds of mobile education. The outcome of this analysis is the confirmation that mobile gadgets are compatible especially with continuous movement and shifts. The article also says mobile gadgets specially support mixed learning between high and low transactional distances. The lack of systematic methods and research design turn Park’s work into an investigative and argumentative research. The research presented theoretical frameworks adopted from previous researches with the aim of analyzing and comparing them (Park, 2011). All vocabulary in the article are well defined but the

Police Brutality Essay Example for Free

Police Brutality Essay Police Brutality, is defined as the intentional use of excessive force which is most time physical but can be verbal to get something done. This can be as a result of the order given by a superior officer or by the officer’s idea. Sometimes some people might need iron hands before they take to instructions or comply with the rule and regulations guiding a particular institution, but when it become unnecessary and unjustified to use force on people to achieve the desired goal, then the police have to be checked. When talking about police brutality we often think that racism or color is involved, but we don’t tend to think that women could as well be a target of police brutality. While in custody of a police officer one might think everything is safe. In many instances that would be the assumption, but what people think may not be in every case. Police have dealt brutally and inhumanely with many women in our society for instance in Stark County, an Ohio woman who was being assaulted by her cousin called the stark police for help, but instead of saving her from her cousin, she was cuffed and sent to the Stark prescient (Meyer, Tom). The woman was then thrown to the floor by deputies and strip searched by the men deputies while still in cuff. The victim was stripped completely naked and left for six hours until she was able to put something on. She was not allowed to defend her case and the worst part of it is that these police officers did not deem it fit to interrogate her cousin on the issue. When the Stark county officers were contacted, they denied the allegation saying that the woman denied to voluntarily remove her clothes. But does this allegation leveled against her worth her being stripped naked? In any case the code of conduct rule for Stark County is that if a woman is being strip searched the person doing the search must be of the same sex (Vanella, Susan). Police brutality if not check will continue to escalate and deteriorate. Imaging a police officer beating a woman to death because she does not cooperate or may be she fails to corroborate the officer’s findings. For example, there was an incidence that occurred in Shreveport in which a woman was brutally beaten while in the custody of a police officer (CBS news). The woman was taken to an interrogating room for a sobriety test, but because the woman declined the offence, the police officer cuts the camcorder off, and then minutes later the woman was found lying in a pool of her own blood. The police had been beating her to death. Though the police officer was fired, it does not have much effect on the police officers generally because firing the officer does not carry same weight as charging the officer to court and sentencing him to either life in prison or death by any means In a study by the feminist majority foundation, LAPD male officers are known to be more involved in unnecessary force than female officers. ‘’ Hiring equal numbers of women in the LAPD would go further toward reducing police brutality and misconduct than anything else the Department could do, said Spillar (Feminist Daily News). Now that we know that police brutality to women is one of the rising problems to our society causing many women to be left with life-long injuries, we have to do something before it goes out of hands. These menace can be reduced if not totally stopped, this can be achieved by making the citizens of a community to come together to discuss topics and help educate those who don’t know anything about police brutality. Being open minded to awareness and just being able to speak out loud in one voice can make Police officers, especially those that are men need to have some kind of surveillance playing when dealing with women in their custody or have another police officer of the opposite sex with them. Also, police officers that are caught treating women badly should be reported and brought to book, this will be a lesson to the other officers who are about to do such things.

The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example for Free

The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay The Family and Medical Leave Act sets regulations for job-protected leave related to family and medical reasons. FMLA applies to organizations with 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite (â€Å"Employment Laws,† n.d., para. 6). Employees who have been with their current employer for 12 months and who have worked 1250 hours of service in the previous 12 months are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA (â€Å"Eligibility Requirements,† Revised 2013). FMLA covers the following leave reasons: The birth of a child, or the placement of an adopted or foster child. A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their job. To care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. A â€Å"qualifying exigency† arising out of a covered family member’s active duty or call to active duty in the armed forced. To care for a covered family member who has suffered an injury or illness while on active duty. Employees must be restored to their position or equivalent position when returning from leave (â€Å"Benefits and Protections,† Revised 2013). The use of accrued paid leave can be determined by individual organizations, but should be documented in a policy. It is important for an organization to create a leave policy that complies with FMLA and be consistent when applying the policy. The Family and Medical Leave Act can provide stability to employees, but can be tricky to administer. Company X needs to consider a few factors to ensure FMLA compliance. Paternal leave is included under FMLA, so Company X was in compliance when they granted leave to Employee A (assuming the employee has also worked a minimum of 1250 hours). Employee A was eligible for 12 weeks of leave, but voluntarily decided to return early. FMLA does not require Company X to pay Employee A while on leave, denying that request was also in compliance with the law. Company X met the FMLA requirements, allowing Employee A to return to the same position with the same rate of pay. My conclusion is that Company X has not violated FMLA requirements. I would recommend Company X create a policy that documents FMLA procedures and clarifies what to expect while on leave (salary and benefits). Situation B As Human Resources professionals, it is key to be mindful of protected job classes, particularly age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was put in place to protect workers over 40 years of age. The ADEA applies to employers with more than 20 employees and applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training (â€Å"Facts About Age Discrimination,† Revised 2008). Since the ADEA applies to the hiring process as well as the term of employment, employers are not allowed to ask for date of birth in any pre-hire process. There are a couple of exceptions to the law. Employees may waive their right to the act as long as the ADEA guidelines are met. In certain situations, high level executives may be asked to retire at 65 and for jobs with bona fide occupational qualifications employers may discriminate based on age (â€Å"Exceptions to the ADEA,† 2007). An example of this would be a modeling agency hiring for an ad that promotes children’s clothing. Based off of the information provided, Company X is in clear violation of the ADEA. Employee B is over 40 and therefore in a protected job class. Unless they have reason to justify their decision, employee B has a clear case for discrimination. Since employee B has higher performance and longer tenure, the promotion should have been granted. My recommendation to Company X is to create a documented policy the outlines what factors are used in promotions and rank employees accordingly. In my opinion, performance should always be first. Other factors to consider could be attendance/accountability, education and seniority. If company X followed this policy, there would be no question of age discrimination. Situation C The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits job discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA applies to all terms of recruitment and employment for employers with 15 or more employees (â€Å"ADA Questions and Answers,† (Revised 2009). Under the ADA, it is illegal to discriminate against qualified individuals and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to ensure individuals with disabilities can perform the essential functions of their job. Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the work environment that would allow someone the ability to do their job (â€Å"ADA Questions and Answers,† (Revised  2009). Reasonable accommodations may not bring undue hardship to an employer or require significant difficulty or expense. When complying with the ADA, job descriptions will help provide an outline of essentials functions of a job. In order to know if someone is able to perform the essential functions, a job description must be documented. Assuming that Applicant C was the most qualified candidate, Company X would be in violation of the ADA for denying employment. Since Applicant C is able to perform the essential functions of the position with one modification to the office, it would be discriminatory to disqualify the candidate. An additional elevator keypad would not cause operational harm to the organization and cannot be considered undue hardship. My recommendation to Company X would be to make the necessary adjustments and ultimately, hire the best candidate for the job. References ADA Questions and Answers. (Revised 2009). American with Disabilities online. Retrieved May 27, 2014 from http://www.ada.gov/qaeng02.htm Benefits and Protections. (Revised 2013). United States Department of Labor online. Retrieved May 27, 2014 from http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf Eligibility Requirements. (Revised 2013). United States Department of Labor online. Retrieved May 27, 2014 from http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf Employment Laws. (n.d.). United states Department of Labor online. Retrieved May 27, 2014 from http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/employ.htm Exceptions to the ADEA. (2007). Human Resources BLOG. Retrieved on May 27, 2014 from http://www.humanresourceblog.com/2007/09/10/exceptions-to-the-adea/ Facts About Age Discrimination. (Revised 2008). EEOC online. Retrieved May 27, 2014 from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/age.html

The Explication Of Lawrence Ferlinghettis English Language Essay

The Explication Of Lawrence Ferlinghettis English Language Essay A simple glance at this poem is enough to notice Ferlinghettis unique choice in structure. Taking a deeper look, there are several elements which help showcase the message using the principles of form. The staggered format and artful spacing seems to support the subject matter of harmony by adding a pleasant flow to the poem. A sense of stability is created by the meticulous arrangement; the words on the left-side are well-adjusted with those found on the right. The contrast found between heaven and hell, adds to the concept of balance in the world which brings us back to the thematic statement, there is a pain to match every pleasure. To every light exists a dark. Henceforth, an important element of design, shading. There is an aspect of darkness that underlies the poem with the subtle references to death and starvation. The good is shadowed by the bad. From this, colours such light and dark blues come to mind. The harsher tones such as red are present but not as vibrant; a touch(5) of hell, some people(13) dying . On the subject of death, symbolism of winter and darkness is present, alongside the tragedy that comes with fall. There is also constant reference to life, born, which sprouts greens which are associated with spring and yellows to correlate with the summers. Another element of design is emphasis. The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you dont mindà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1-2, 11-12, 19-20) is repeatedly stressed and Name Brand (28) is the only phrase in the poem that is capitalized. These moments of intensity carries us into the next principle which is rhythm. An interesting aspect of the poem is the somewhat zigzag organization of words, where each line alternates sides; this faces an interesting shift from lines 45 to 50 (48) and goosing statues and even thinking and kissing people and The lines descend from right to left, similar to how a flight composed of three stairs would. Seemingly, a measly observation, this occurrence actually adds to the pace of the poem especially when read aloud. The rhythm increases, which culminates a dulcet crescendo from which a momentous feeling of happiness strikes and all of a sudden a line break evokes the reader to step back. The poem ends on an aesthetic note of emphasis as mortician it is abruptly placed in the center. Going further in-depth, there are several components which help showcase the message using principles of style. An eloquent reading by Lawrence Ferlinghetti is not necessary to pick up on the relaxed arrangement of the poem. The reader is introduced to a mellow irregular rhyming scheme. now and then(6) and even in heaven(8) is an example of consonance is complimented through assonance found in the same stanza fine(7) and time(10). The third stanza builds on this concept and does an excellent job of conveying the message through figurative language. into(20) and two(24) keeps the assonance alive, later carried by the rhyming in places(23) and faces(26). Leading us into a cacophony with its men of distinction and men of extinction(29-30) and the rhyming found in segregations(34), investigations(35) as well as constipations(36). Finally tied together with the alliteration used in fool flesh(37). Everything is arranged in a particular cadence that flows in accordance with one another. No netheless, this does not diminish the negativity he depicts in this stanza about the world. The line immediately after reads Yes the world is the best place of all(39) and using juxtaposition the pessimistic theme found in the previous stanza is counteracted. Additionally, to balance the negative the reader is engaged using the five sense looking at everything and smelling flowers [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and kissing people(46-50). Referencing these powerful emotions experienced through the world helps conceal the bad mentioned earlier. Something as ordinary as wearing pants (50) is made to sound optimistic. Humorous, because looking back at lines 46 to 50, Ferlinghetti writes and even thinking(49) as if it is something people rarely do. This brings us to the cynical undertone and the idea of irony, undoubtedly brought forth in this poem. When he writes that our fool flesh is heir to the alliteration is talking about the vulnerable selves we are bound to become. The irony satire symbolizes winter and is matched perfectly with the darkness evidently found in the text. It is also associated with wisdom as the reader is able to gain a new perspective through the poem. Ferlinghetti repeatedly calls the world a beautiful place but at the same time points out all the things that are wrong with it. Heaven, the finest place of all is not so perfect because even in heaven they dont sing all the time(7-10). A touch of negativity is associated with every positive and vice versa. mortician is proceeded by the word smiling. A paradox, but the choice in placing such a euphonic word next to something as harsh as death further corroborates the concept of good and bad coinciding with one another. Finally, the content of the poem is where concrete meanings and references are found and are used to help support the overall message. Ferlinghetti makes it so that the readers who have difficulty transporting themselves to a higher state of understanding, are able to see the world through a detachment lens. Visually he jumps from the pleasant to the troubling. His intention is for people to gain a heightened perspective. Oh the world is a beautiful place to be born into if you dont much mind a few dead minds in the higher places (29-23) specific connections to politics are evident in these lines. He seems to be referring to the idea that those in higher positions, or those who run society are not necessarily the most qualified to do so. The repetition of if you dont mind plays on the idea of the human condition of what people are willing to deal with. If an individual is okay with some people dying or people starving some of the time then they are okay with living in a world that is unfairly balanced. Furthermore, we are brought to the denotative meanings of improprieties. It refers to the incorrectness or quality or condition of being improper. Our society is specifically referred to as Name Brand(28). This connotes the fact that people conform to the status quo and become prey to; they become targets to these men of power. This is where feminism in the poem can be seen. The people in the authoritative positions are males, from which the idea of an unfavourable balance is derived. Ferlinghetti jumps from these states of darkness to lightness. There is a symbolic reference to summer. in the middle of the summer ( 56) to be precise. It is speaking of the peak of the best time of the year. A time of romance which mythological criticism describes as a happy society that resists change. Summer followed by tragedy, which is related back to fall. Recollecting what was first stated in the previous stanza Yes the world is the best place of all(38) twenty lines later t he idea is affirmed but contrarily states, Yes but then right in the middle of it comes the smiling mortician (59-62). The last lines of the poem tell us that once again the world may be a beautiful place but there will always be darkness that underlies it.

The Bedroom inThe Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman :: Yellow Wallpaper essays

The Yellow Wallpaper - The Bedroom As the story progresses in, The Yellow Wallpaper, it is as if the space of the bedroom turns in on itself, folding in on the body as the walls take hold of it, epitomizing the narrator's growing intimacy with control. Because the narrator experiences the bedroom in terms of John's draconian organization, she relies on her prior experiences of home in an attempt to allay the alienation and isolation the bedroom creates. Recalling her childhood bedroom, she writes, "I remember what a kindly wink the knobs of our big, old bureau used to have, and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend . . . I could always hop into that chair and feel safe" (Gilman 17). Ironically, Gilman's narrator cannot retire to the otherwise "personal haven" of the bedroom because she is always already there, enclosed within the attic room of John's desires, bereft of her own voice and personal history. The narrator's imagination is altogether problematic for John, who would prohibit his wife fr om further fancifulness: "[John] says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try" (Gilman 15-16). For Gaston Bachelard, who devotes himself to a phenomenological exploration of the home in The Poetics of Space, "imaginative power" is the nucleus of the home, if not the home itself. Memories of prior dwellings are for Bachelard a fundamental aspect of creating new homes based on a continuity with the past and past spaces. "[B]y approaching the house images with care not to break up the solidarity of memory and imagination," writes Bachelard, "we may hope to make others feel all the psychological elasticity of an image that moves us at an unimaginable depth" (6). Bachelard's "elasticity" infers that spatial depth and expansion are contingent upon a psychological flexibility of imagination. Gilman's narrator is nota bly denied this elasticity when her physician/husband attempts to prevent her from writing. "I did write for a while in spite of them," the narrator explains, "but it does exhaust me a good deal--having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition" (Gilman 10).

Inventions :: Technological Scientific Advancement

Stepping into the 21st century, almost everybody is living on the edge of technological and scientific advancements. Many inventions and discoveries have been made by so many great minds whose purposes were to make our life always better than before. Ever since the beginning of all mankind, humans have always had the ambition to improve their life. From that ancient time to the present, we can’t list all of our discoveries and inventions. Each of them is very important and helped making our life better. Among these, three most important inventions that define our life in the 21st century are automobile, computer, and music.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dated back even to the ancient time, transportation has always been a very important thing. Back then, ships were the only mean of transportation for human to travel from one place to another. It was a great method of transportation and even used until today. In the 1800s, human saw the emergence of train as the primary method of transportation on land. But the greatest thing was yet to come. Automobiles came to life in late 1800s and begin to shape people’s life so differently that it defined the new era from the past. In the 1900s, Ford made automobiles a lot cheaper and this mean transportation for everybody to everywhere. No longer human had to be restricted to single route for the masses. Each family can now own an automobile and can go anywhere the roads permit anytime they want. This is a new sort of freedom for each individual. They don’t have to gather to one place at a specific time, going to the same destination as in the past. This kind o f freedom is the stuff that defines the modern world. Take away the automobile and imagine how our life will be. Will 21st century be 21st century if we don’t have the freedom to traverse from point A to point B?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Automobiles have given people the mean of transportation, but in 1940s a new inventions was made. Computers came to the world and have completely taken the whole world to a new different level. Modern age wouldn’t be modern age if it wasn’t for the computers. Invented in 1945, but came into our life in less then 20 years, computers have changed the way people live. Nobody would refuse the fact that computers have blended themselves into our life. Inventions :: Technological Scientific Advancement Stepping into the 21st century, almost everybody is living on the edge of technological and scientific advancements. Many inventions and discoveries have been made by so many great minds whose purposes were to make our life always better than before. Ever since the beginning of all mankind, humans have always had the ambition to improve their life. From that ancient time to the present, we can’t list all of our discoveries and inventions. Each of them is very important and helped making our life better. Among these, three most important inventions that define our life in the 21st century are automobile, computer, and music.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dated back even to the ancient time, transportation has always been a very important thing. Back then, ships were the only mean of transportation for human to travel from one place to another. It was a great method of transportation and even used until today. In the 1800s, human saw the emergence of train as the primary method of transportation on land. But the greatest thing was yet to come. Automobiles came to life in late 1800s and begin to shape people’s life so differently that it defined the new era from the past. In the 1900s, Ford made automobiles a lot cheaper and this mean transportation for everybody to everywhere. No longer human had to be restricted to single route for the masses. Each family can now own an automobile and can go anywhere the roads permit anytime they want. This is a new sort of freedom for each individual. They don’t have to gather to one place at a specific time, going to the same destination as in the past. This kind o f freedom is the stuff that defines the modern world. Take away the automobile and imagine how our life will be. Will 21st century be 21st century if we don’t have the freedom to traverse from point A to point B?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Automobiles have given people the mean of transportation, but in 1940s a new inventions was made. Computers came to the world and have completely taken the whole world to a new different level. Modern age wouldn’t be modern age if it wasn’t for the computers. Invented in 1945, but came into our life in less then 20 years, computers have changed the way people live. Nobody would refuse the fact that computers have blended themselves into our life.

Meaning of life †Question Essay

Freud, like Newton and Darwin, did not consider himself to be a philosopher but had an enormous influence over philosophy, he believed that to consider the question: â€Å"what is the meaning of life? † is a waste of time. The question, he thought, is rather meaningless and has no ultimate answer, asking it is being somewhat like asking what the color of time is (Mason). There are serious arguments that can be advanced in support of this point of view, especially if we agree that meaning is not something inherent to events, things, and other processes and so on, but something we ascribe to them (Mason). To think otherwise would involve ascribing them something that is a product of our intellect and consciousness. The meaning of X, whether X is an event, a thing, or a process, is actually the connection or a set of those connections X has with other events, things, and processes and so on, which we choose to consider to be of particularly importance to us (Mason). This is why the same events have different meaning for different people. For a Chinese, be he a Communist or an anti-Communist, the meaning of the war in Korea is that it marks the end of a century of national humiliation and a permanent threat of devastation through a long series of military defeats by foreign powers; for an American, the meaning of that very same war is that it put an end to the attempts to expand by direct military invasion the influence of Chinese Communism (Adams). There are undoubtedly countless amounts of explanations to this riddle, and there are many circumstances that can change one’s perspective towards this problem, but ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer. Paragraph 2: Everything changes radically, of course, if we belong to a Church. Everything is noted under God’s eye For believers, their life long goal is to sustain God’s knowledge and go his way. Go to the right passage and obey his â€Å"laws† Their passage of life consists of saving one’s immortal soul. Duty of life makes up the meaning of life. Paragraph 3: The practical Romans grasped something that over the head of two millennia of Christianity resonates with contemporary pragmatism, and with the life philosophy resumed in the dictum â€Å"the meaning of life is life itself† Meaning of life is life itself Living the life in happiness is the meaning of life. Anything that fits you the best will become your meaning of life. Find out your goals, what you want to achieve life, and that will become your meaning of life ultimately. Limitations will apply. Paragraph 4: Living your life according to this life philosophy, which is the most commonly chosen among the life philosophies derived from the answer â€Å"the meaning of life consists in living life†, is usually not too difficult for a â€Å"normal† person living under â€Å"normal† circumstances. Meaning of life depended on the status of the person. Meaning of life is to live a good life. Do not know what exactly is a good life but a good life will be noted. Everyone has different meanings to life. Paragraph 5 (Conclusion): But be it Confucius, Aristotle or even Kant with his theory of being impossible to achieve moral perfection or any other of the great minds each of whom spent years of their lives trying to provide humanity with an answer to the fatal question, essentially, they trying to tell us what to live for and how to live. Namely, almost all the answers they offered have the same basic flaw: when they are workable at all, they work only for very few exceptional individuals and are way beyond the reach for the rest of us (Shields); us, those weak, silly and prone to sin creatures that make up the vast majority of humankind. Luckily, this vast majority do not worry too much about what great minds have in mind, but just live their lives as they best can according to their own, petty, senseless wishes and notions (Metz): work their gardens, even if they never heard of Voltaire, and whether they know that Freud existed or not, do not waste their humble intellectual potential trying to answer a question that has no answer (Metz). The rest is a senseless waste of time, â€Å"Primum vivere, deindre filosofare†, and if you spend too much time and effort philophizing, you will have no time nor energy to live, which involves earning money to pay the bills. As to the great eternal and fundamental questions, let’s leave them to professional philosophers whom society pays to do this specific job, as it pays plumbers to do the plumbing, scientists to explore nature, nurses to help the sick, the clowns to entertain us.

Nurse Education Essay

Nursing has always seemed to be a profession in which the nurse is the follower of the doctor such as their personal minion only doing the nominal things that the doctor does not want to do. However in Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing and the article â€Å"Quality and Nursing† by Hall, Moore, and Barnsteiner you can see that nurses can have a much larger impact on the healthcare system. In Nightingale’s book the author takes an in-depth look at nursing and exclaims that it should not be the mere, â€Å"administration of medicines and application of poultices† (Florence 2). The article â€Å"Quality and Nursing† looks into what nursing is and the potential it has to make a larger impact on the healthcare system. These two informative pieces make a claim that the nurse’s job has been inhibited by the lack of knowledge of what elements make a good nurse, and that it is time for them to not merely be a follower of a doctor but through bett er communication and continued education nurses could improve the healthcare system. Patient’s safety is a key issue in both documents and with the right nurse you can increase the efficiency of their safety. Nightingale notes that with â€Å"bad sanitary, bad architectural, and bad administrative arrangements,† it is impossible for a nurse to work effectively (Florence 2). What the author is trying to say here is that they do not really know how to keep things running in a smooth fashion in a hospital to increase the safety of the patients. This in turn has an adverse affect on the nurses because it keeps nurses from advancing and limits them to simply be administers of medicine and bandages. The author later goes on to reveal that the elements of nursing are really unknown in that the art of nursing has been one that tries to, â€Å"unmake what God had made a disease to be, a reparative process† (Florence 2). In contrast the article on â€Å"Quality and Nursing,† says that today it is not the lack of knowledge in patient safety but a lac k of communication between nurses within a hospital and across the country. The writers of this article are making the point that patient safety has become a major focus for virtually every health system within the past ten years. For example it was noted in a study from 2000 that 3% to 4% of hospitalized patients died from adverse effects of being in the hospital (Hall 418). Another study in 2004 revealed that 1 in 200 patients died of preventable diseases that were caused from being hospitalized (Hall 418). Through evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness of operations in the hospitals they have noted that health professionals need to acquire skills relating to quality control just as much as having knowledge of how to perform surgery. Just as Nightingale exclaimed, in 1859, it is not the lack of advancement in medicine but rather the lack of patient safety that is holding nurses back from performing successfully (Florence 4). Within the articles one can see that both authors note the need for better quality of care in the hospitals. Nightingale is mesmerized by the fact that we can advance so much in the laws of motion and astronomy but we can not better understand the human body which is under observation every minute of everyday. The author is criticizing us on being more experienced about astronomy than simple hygiene. She suggests that there is something that the hospital could do to increase sanitation and better quality. While Nightingale shows that there is a need for better quality in healthcare she does not suggest anything that could be done. However, she states that the hospital should be responsible for it. On the other hand the article by Hall, Moore and Barnsteiner show that specific programs have been made to improve the quality in the workplace. They include that systematic improvement initiatives will improve, â€Å"patient flow problems, communication around complex patients, and improv ing medication safety† (Hall 419). Not only does it improve those things but also as these qualities improve it will increase the joy of the nurses in the work place in turn leading to higher patient satisfaction. With further education nurses can also serve as better patient advocates through, †integration of care, provision of emotional support, education of patients and families, assistance with compensation for loss of function, and monitoring of patient status† (Hall 419). Programs that aid with the implement of those topics patients and families can be introduced to a common ground between medicine and natural healing. When nurses are able to fulfill this balance there can be a better atmosphere for the patient and families as well as the medical staff.  Nightingale originally established this principle with her theory on what nursing is, and what it is not and one can see how it is finally being implemented today in the modern day of nursing. This being said the theories started in Nightingales time period really just needed time and realization to be understood. Through these points we can see that Florence Nightingale was a very smart individual and laid the basis for what nursing is today with her confrontation of the things hospitals need to improve on. This historic text relates directly to the modern text found today in the article on quality and nursing. Once one has read both articles it can be noted that there has been a tremendous effort to increase the quality of healthcare in the last ten years which can and will benefit the patient while also making the job of nurses more enjoyable. The shift in these time periods has led to greater initiatives that deal with the problems in the hospital by creating safer and more cutting-edge environments. All the resources that nurses have and will be exposed to in the modern world is leading to a more proficient health system that is increasing the quality and well being of the medical field. Works Cited Hall, Leslie W., Shirley M. Moore, and Jane H. Barnsteiner. â€Å"Quality And Nursing: Moving From A Concept To A Core Competency.† Urologic Nursing 28.6 (2008): 417-425. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Florence Nightingale. Notes on Nursing. NY. Barnes & Noble, 2003.

Mr. Road

Old Alfred Road, who is well-known to drivers on the Maine Turn-pike, has reached his seventieth birthday and is ready to retire. Mr. Road has no formal training in finance but has saved his money and invested carefully. Mr. Road owns his home—the mortgage is paid off—and does not want to move. He is a widower, and he wants to bequeath the house and any remaining assets to his daughter. He has accumulated savings of $180,000, conservatively invested. The investments are yielding 9% interest. Mr. Road also has $12,000 in a savings account at 5% interest. He wants to keep the savings account intact for unexpected expenses or emergencies. Mr. Road’s basic living expenses now average about $1,500 per month, and he plans to spend $500 per month on travel and hob-bies. To maintain this planned standard of living, he will have to rely on his investment portfolio. The interest from the portfolio is $16,200 per year (9% of $180,000), or $1,350 per month. Mr. Road will als o receive $750 per month in Social Security payments for the rest of his life. These payments are indexed for inflation. That is, they will be automatically increased in propor-tion to changes in the consumer price index. Mr. Road’s main concern is with inflation. The inflation rate has been below 3% recently, but a 3% rate is unusually low by his-torical standards. His Social Security payments will increase with inflation, but the interest on his investment portfolio will not. What advice do you have for Mr. Road? Can he safely spend all the interest from his investment portfolio? How much could he withdraw at year-end from that portfolio if he wants to keep its real value intact? Suppose Mr. Road will live for 20 more years and is willing to use up all of his investment portfolio over that period. He also wants his monthly spending to increase along with inflation over that period. In other words, he wants his monthly spending to stay the same in real terms. much can he afford to spend per month? Assume that the investment portfolio continues to yield a 9% rate of return and that the inflation rate will be 4% Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 154.

Blue Streak Essay

What suggestions would you offer to Art to improve his operation? It seems as though, Art prematurely opened the two locations in neighboring states. Because Art was a constant figure in his other locations from inception, the vision that he had for those locations were taught and able to be practiced to his standards. There are at least three areas in which this operation can be improved. It is clear that art believes that the common denominator in the success of all his other locations is his presence. At the locations in neighboring states his managers feel as though, he frequents the locations too much. There is a clear disconnect in his intent and their out look of the situation. His manager likely believe that he doesn’t trust them to effectively manage, and do the job in which they were hired. They likely seem his as a micromanager. I believe that this problem can be solved with simple communication. He explains the reasoning behind his constant visitations and I’m sure his manager will be able to understand his reasoning and that will relieve some of the tension. Also, his managers do not seem to know what Art is expecting of them as managers. This problem can be handled with training. Art may want to think about closing down his locations for a limited period of time in order to teach his managers what is expected of them. When Art visited these locations, it seems as though he never effectively What management skills must Art master if he is to resolve his problems and continue to grow? Conceptual skills may help him to understand that in order for the company to succeed he needs to plan and organize his goals. Using these skills increases the ability to see the organization as a whole. It would help Mr. Benton to understand the relationships among the different offices and see how the organization fits into its broader environment. These skills are cruel for the top management and will the company will grow and it will also allow Mr. Benton to grow as a person. Mr. Benton can apply the skills mastered in his company by realizing how the out-of-state offices are connected to the other offices. By understanding this he can understand the business as a whole and decide on the objectives and then proceeding to plan and organize management task. Therefore, mastering conceptual skills are recommended to learn since it will help the CEO understand the company as whole making better decisions and resolving the problems at ease.

At Any One Moment

â€Å"At any one moment† uses context to give meaning to the story and and allow the reader to have a clear image of the events in their mind. The story was written in 2005 so the context it was written in was after the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. Through the readers understanding and experience of this event the author is able to build images in the reader’s mind and allow them to fully understand the gravity of the situation occurring. Had the story been written in a time where a Tsunami had not occurred for many years it would be a lot harder to imagine and put into perspective the enormity of the tragedy occurring in the story.Judy Allen builds on this idea through the specific language and metaphors used to set the scene and further build on the context. â€Å"It rose up like a mountain, either hiding or engulfing the distant boats†. Through using real locations in the text the reader can see and believe the story. The reader’s context is also used to build dramatic tension. As the water is drawn out before the Tsunami approaches the reader is mostly likely aware of what is occurring due to their context compared to Sherif, his brother and the villagers who were obliviouxs to the disaster about to occur. His brother started to laugh- it was all so extraordinary, a trick played by the ocean†. This situation creates dramatic irony and positions the reader to want to warn the characters in the story to get out of the water. Judy Allen builds and plays on the readers context which is most likely that of a busy Western life. Many people in society are always busy and never take time to think about other people. â€Å"Even so, most people are aware only of their own small world, and many believe their own small world, and many believe their own small world is all there is†.Through the structure and the omniscient point of view the author positions the reader to imagine all the things happening in the world right now and h ow every action has a consequence. Allen then takes the reader down to one specific event which could be happening right now. This structure is especially effect because of Western Society’s desensitised view of disaster. The reader relates to a personal story much more than figures on the news. Allen’s use of emotive language and smilies also creates an environment for the reader to personally react to the story. â€Å"He stared as the vast sweep of water was pulled back like a huge bed cover†.This imagery allows the reader to put themselves in the story and use their own personal context to make meaning to â€Å"At Any One Moment†. Through my own personal context I am able to react to the story and feel sympathy for the characters in it. Although I was not personally affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 I can still appreciate the pain that Sherif goes through. This prose fiction work put the world into perspective for me and caused me to feel grat eful for the things I have in my life. It made me realise how fragile life can be, how people can be alive one minute and dead the next.Through all the tragedy in our wold I had become partially immune to the horrors in our world until I read this personal story. I have a strong sense of family and this caused me to react strongly to Sherif losing his brother and probably his mother. I cannot imagine losing one of my family members and it pained me to see that a whole life can be lost in a matter of seconds you just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether it is man-made tragedy or natural disaster we never know what life is going to throw at us and often we cannot stop it. At any one moment on this small planet†¦ †. Through the use of structure, point of view and context Allen encourages the reader feel small and insignificant. By allowing us to imagine all the events and people in the world the reader is positioned to feel as though they are helpless to the world around them and can do nothing to stop it. Through this realisation Allen then inspires us to come together as a global community that can make a difference, we are insignificant on our own but together we are much more powerful.

Associations of Diet and Lifestyle with Hyperlipidemia for Middle-Aged Assignment

Associations of Diet and Lifestyle with Hyperlipidemia for Middle-Aged and Elderly Persons among the Guangxi Bai Ku Yao and Han Populations - Assignment Example Since the study is focused Guangxi Bai Ku Yao and Han Populations, all other populations apart from ones used as control samples will be excluded from the study. Information on demography, dietary intake, and lifestyle factors was collected by standard questionnaires. Blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, and serum lipid levels were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared. Data will be collected depending on various methods that will be used in the study to collect data. Since study will be conducted within certain period of time, there will be specific timing of measurements collected, depended variable like diet and lifestyle, and independent variables like middle-aged and elderly people. There will also be control variables as discussed above. In this study, people between the age of 25 and 65 (both male and female) were used in this study. This study will be focused on two clans Bai Ku Yao and Han. Their lifestyle and eating habits will also be used in this study. The prevalence rates of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperlipidemia in Bai Ku Yao and Han were 19.59% vs 36.13% (P0.05), and 28.45% vs 43.11% (P

Marketing research of Holland & Barrett Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing research of Holland & Barrett - Essay Example Holland and Barrett is a European retailer company which deals in the products of herbal supplements, vitamins and other health care products. It is widely diversified company which operates through more than six hundred outlets. It mainly operates in UK and Ireland. The Holland and Barrett was founded in 1920 by Samuel Ryder. The head quarter of the company is situated in United Kingdom. The staffs of the company are well trained and most of the training is provided by the company itself. In 2008 Holland Barrette bought Julian Graves another health food retailer of United Kingdom, which expanded the number of the company’s outlets across UK and Ireland. The parent company of Holland and Barrette is NBTY Europe Ltd whose former name was Holland and Barrette ltd. The parent company was established in 2002. It is also based in UK and operates in the pharmaceutical sector. The Holland and Barrett offers a number of products from its retail outlets. All the products are health care products which can be categorized as food and health drinks, body building products and services, dietary products, multi vitamins, toiletries and other products. Food and health drinks contains various brands of cereals, confectionery, dried fruit, honey, nuts and seeds. Body building products includes a number of brands of protein supplements, creatine, amino acids, weight gain products, weight management products etc. Dietaries products have a number of brands which are all weight reducing products.... It is widely diversified company which operates through more than six hundred outlets. It mainly operates in UK and Ireland. The Holland and Barrett was founded in 1920 by Samuel Ryder. The head quarter of the company is situated in United Kingdom. The staffs of the company are well trained and most of the training is provided by the company itself (Holland and Barrette-a, 2011). In 2008 Holland Barrette bought Julian Graves another health food retailer of United Kingdom, which expanded the number of the company’s outlets across UK and Ireland (Holland and Barrette, 2008). The parent company of Holland and Barrette is NBTY Europe Ltd whose former name was Holland and Barrette ltd. The parent company was established in 2002. It is also based in UK and operates in the pharmaceutical sector. 2.2. Product and Service Analysis The Holland and Barrett offers a number of products from its retail outlets. All the products are health care products which can be categorized as food and h ealth drinks, body building products and services, dietary products, multi vitamins, toiletries and other products. Food and health drinks contains various brands of cereals, confectionery, dried fruit, honey, nuts and seeds(Holland and Barrett-b, 2011). Body building products includes a number of brands of protein supplements, creatine, amino acids, weight gain products, weight management products etc (Holland and Barrett-c, 2011). Dietaries products have a number of brands which are all weight reducing products (Holland and Barrett-d, 2011). Most popular brands of toiletries are chemical free deodorant, instant hand sanitizer and tea tree oil soap (Holland and Barrett-f, 2011). The major brands of

Constitutional Ethic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Constitutional Ethic - Essay Example ral competence involves the capacity of the public administrator to work for the government with demonstrated expertise and with precise intent principles unlike party or private loyalties and compulsions (Kennedy & Schultz, 2010). Neutral competence contributes positively towards democratic consolidation where novel democracies emerge and become established in ways that demonstrate no possibility of demanding political compliance unless with exterior forces. This way, the value of government performance is recognizable given the isolation of politics from administration, hence resulting in policies that endorse a well-served society. Neutrality in public administration in open fora permits participation by interested parties, including various stakeholders who then point out social values to be addressed facilitating formation of effective policies. Public administration dichotomy defines the contributions of administrators in policymaking and involves topologies that distinguish public administrators as trustees, interpreters, and delegates (Zhang, Lee, & Yang, 2012). Delegate administrators do not try to influence elected bodies to alter their policy focus and do not take any action until they are issued with policy guidance by the voted body. Additionally, delegates only offer policy recommendations when forced by serious issues. Conversely, trustee administrators advocate for novel policy focus of public interest, have strong and firm stance on the policy issues, and do not support council’s expressed desires. Interpreter trustees are neither trustees nor delegate administrators since they believe in their capacity to identify political failures, but only endorse what is acceptable to the ruling body. Anarchical and hierarchical organizations are prone to fragmentation resulting functionality incapacitation (Kennedy & Schultz, 2011). The key principle of bureaucracy facilitates functional specification and differentiation of tasks and competencies

Reflaction essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflaction - Essay Example he semester and from the number of essays I have written to meet the above objective, it is evident that my writing skills have gradually improved, and have partially met my objective of writing perfect mistake free essays, though there are still a few areas that need more efforts and improvement. One of the improvements that I have made this semester in effective writing is the ability to narrow down my thoughts to specific and narrow issue, which allows better coverage of the topic. In the water shortage essay that I wrote, I managed to narrow down the topic in addressing the problem of water shortage, specifically in Tucson, Arizona. Narrow topics are easier to cover and present ideas concretely rather than dealing with a broad topic that may not be addressed to a good degree of material coverage (Ferris and Hedgecock, 40). Another major improvement in the course of the semester is ability to formulate a narrow thesis to guide my essay in proper and systematic presentation of ideas. For example, in this essay, my thesis was based on issues that may lead to shortage of fresh water specifically in Tucson, which is a narrow area of coverage, and a specific objective that guided me in the entire essay as required in effective writing. Another improvement that I have made in writing skills in the course the semester is in using data to support my ideas, which gives concise information on the extent of problem being addressed. For example, in the essay in have noted that only 2.5% of water may be considered fresh water, and out of this, only 0.88% of fresh water is available for use to man currently. Such statistics and others as used throughout the essay makes the essay to be more authoritative in portraying the extent of the problem being addressed, which might not be perceived through the use of plain text in presenting these ideas. This has been my major breakthrough in research and presenting ideas. Moreover, I have improved in the use of references in

Management Knowledge-Based Organizations Assignment

Management Knowledge-Based Organizations - Assignment Example Operating on a regional or international basis, companies that can be considered to be relatively large require an appropriate knowledge management system that is in line with its operations. These kind of services can thus be acquired through a liaison with an appropriate international consultancy company. Knowledge management is thus the process of collecting, development, sharing and effectively utilizing the organizational knowledge in an appropriate manner. Management of knowledge in an organization begins with an articulate communication system that is coupled with a multi-disciplinary approach to making the best of the organizational objectives through an appropriate utilization of the existent knowledge (Sedera & Gable 2010, pp. 296). Successful organizations have resources dedicated to knowledge management; this is usually part of the business strategy, human resource or information management department. Management of knowledge thus focuses on the organizational objectives such as innovation, performance improvement as well as maintenance of a competitive advantage. Manipulation of the existence resources of an organization such as the available database, as well as the human resource, is significant for the success in the achievement of proper knowledge management strategies. In an attempt to intrinsically understand the modalities and the implications of appropriate knowledge management. The XYZ international company is an organization that operates on an international basis.

Milton's essay test Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Milton's test - Essay Example The fate of man changed into a nature of uncertainty. While it was Satan who caused the deviance, man is justifiably and inevitably coursed to take on his new fate; and this new fate becomes a responsibility of choosing between good and evil as a result of a now emerging free will. In creating man, God gave him a free will; but, on the other hand, man is free to fall. Man is entitled to punishment to his sins which are attached to his free fall. This then poses a question on God’s merciful intentions: if man is not responsible for the fall as it was based on free will, how can he be subject to punishment? However, if God inclines the will of man to moral good or evil according to his own pleasures, and then rewards the good and punishes the evil disparity is also caused. It is then from this supposition that divine justice is founded on. Milton emphasizes what Genesis describes about a sinful fate and nature of man as well as the consequences that this development brings: â₠¬Å"Farewel happy Fields Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail infernal world† (9). In the preceding line, Milton shortly chronicles the partial end of â€Å"absolute† happiness of mankind. ... It is true that if man had not fallen then there would be no need of Christ the Savior. This also means that there would be no redemption which is God’s plan of restoring man. The process of redemption of man began when Christ died for man. Even though man will have to suffer consequences, he will have God’s grace and mercy. This is ironical, because it’s God who created man a perfect human being and then later punishes man for fulfilling his purpose. In his poem, Milton states: â€Å"If not deprav’d from good, created all Such to perfection, one first matter all, Indu’d with various forms, various degrees Of substance, and in things that live, of life (85). This can only be justified if punishing man was one of the plans of God. However, it is significant to note that the good resulting from the fall surpasses the consequences of the original sin, hence the fall can be said to be fortunate to man. Furthermore, there is a significant incongruence o f Milton’s account of the Fall of Man as compared to that stated in the Bible: â€Å"Which hee, who comes thy Saviour, shall recure, not by destroying SATAN, but his works† (208). In the preceding passage, Milton is trying to say that Jesus will only end the bad works of Satan, but not Satan himself. This is quite Biblically intriguing in that in Revelation Satan will be destroyed forever, which obviously would include his bad deeds. Milton through Satan’s declamations shows Satan’s idea of free will as a facade. God carefully manipulates Satan to accomplish his plan of Adam and Eve’s fall. While speaking, Satan mistakably introduces doubtful thoughts in the minds of the reader in the sense that his or her will is free. Satan aims at proving that God

Literary Analysis of United States Conflict in Iraq Essay

Literary Analysis of United States Conflict in Iraq - Essay Example The continuation of the war in Iraq with no end in sight is producing a negative impact, not only upon individual soldiers, but also upon the average American citizen whose tax dollars are being diverted away to fund causes in another nation, which do not concern him/her. The film â€Å"Stop Loss† opens by focusing on the lives of U.S. soldiers and their combat encounters in Iraq. It then follows them home to Texas, where one of the protagonists Brandon discovers that he is the victim of a stop loss order that requires him to return to Iraq (www.en.wikipedia.org). The sense of relief and joy on his return home changes into a sense of helplessness and a feeling of being trapped, because he now has to return to the scene of suffering and strife. He soon discovers there is no way out from the stop loss order; others who had earlier contested these orders had failed to succeed. This aspect of the film represents the continual nature of the conflict in Iraq. It depicts the way soldiers are forced to keep returning to Iraq, to continue to languish in the needless violence and combat. The inability of the United States to bring about a decisive end to a war which was initially presented as an easy victory is underscored through the plight of individual soldiers as depicted in the film â€Å"Stop Loss†. These soldiers are forced to return again and again to combat regions, while the administration continues to pump billions of dollars into the war, without being able to bring about an effective end to the conflict. As pointed out by Shapiro (2006), the status quo has been preserved in the Iraq war and there is little that the President or his administration can offer in defense to justify the loss of life and the huge financial costs being borne by tax payers to support the United States action in Iraq. In 2007, the budget for its military units controlled by the Pentagon was $450 billion and the â€Å"War on

The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essay Every work of literature has a recurring theme. Whether it is about a love, guilt or a desire for revenge, every character comes across a struggle between their passion and responsibility. The Things They Carried features many characters that overcome conflicts. Jimmy cross struggles with his responsibility to his men as well as his love for a woman that does not love him back. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a young, carefree man who is still searching for his future. Without realizing what he was getting himself into, he applies for the Reserve Officers Training Corps at his college in New Jersey. Many of his friends knew he did not care about the war. Even Cross himself never gave it a second thought. He never thought he would actually go to war by taking the Reserve Officers Training Corps course. Later that year, he is drafted to the war as Lieutenant of several men under his charge, and he is unsure about everything he does. He had no desire to be a team leader, let alone lead a group of men into a blind war. Up until the day he was drafted, Jimmy Cross did not care for the war and what was happening. Being only a sophomore in college, he was still a young man with no experience when it came to war and being Lieutenant. As the war goes on, Cross begins to grasp that he is responsible for the safety of his own men. Although he did not want to be, he understood that someone had to be the leader. While they were all in Vietnam for the war, Jimmy Cross’ men find him day dreaming frequently. His mind was on Martha, a woman he fell in love with while attending college in New Jersey. Even he would find himself day dreaming about old memories of her and what his future would be like with Martha. Lieutenant Cross carried various reminders of his love for her. He would often read letters from her and gaze at her photographs she sent him. He knew she did not love him back like how he loved her. Cross wished things were different between the two of them. He wanted her to love him back but he knew that was too good to be true. When Ted Lavender died, Jimmy blamed himself. He felt guilty for not watching over his men at the time when they needed him the most. He should have saved Lavender but instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of Martha, a woman who gave no indication of ever loving him back. As a result, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggles to make the right decision for his men and burns all letters, photographs and memories of Martha. His struggle for Martha’s love kept him from protecting his men and he now holds guilt for Lavender’s death deep within. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggled throughout the novel frequently. He had conflicts with what he wanted from Martha, and his responsibility to his soldiers. In the end, Cross steps up and takes control of his situation. He becomes the leader that everyone expects him to be by giving up Martha and focusing on the war and his men. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross did what was right for his men to keep them safe from harm.

The under achievement of boys in Language Learning

The under achievement of boys in Language Learning For many years, research has been carried out in the field of applied linguistics, predominantly from a psychological perspective, on the attitudes towards foreign language positioning gender issues as important in understanding attitudes towards learning (Powell Batters, 1985; Loulidi, 1990; Bacon Finnemann, 1992; Ellis, 1994; Clark Trafford, 1995, 1996), sited in Kobayashi 2002:181). Gender differences in attitudes towards learning foreign languages have been repeatedly witnessed, compelling researchers to provide an explanation for the fact by drawing attention on the ways that gender may affect ones attitude in learning a foreign language. Foreign languages in schools have been rendered as the subject in which the disparity between girls and boys performance is at its greatest (Barton (2002), sited in Murphy 2010:81). Considerable international data has emerged (Field, 2000; Chavez, 2001; Carr and Pauells, 2006), illustrating that achievement and participation in foreign languages in schools seems to be predominantly the domain of girls (Murphy, 2010). The underachievement of boys in language learning, the low participation of boys in foreign language modules as well the negative attitudes of boys towards the learning of a language has led in research trying to identify the underlying reasons. The gender gap noticed in performance on foreign languages at an international level (Murphy, 2010), has led in gender to be considered other than the socioeconomic background of students, also an important factor in understanding the attitudes of both girls and boys in learning foreign languages at school. This paper seeks to explore and bring together the various factors affecting boys attitudes towards the learning of a language. It attempts to understand why foreign language learning may be experiencing a particular delineation of participation and achievement along gender lines and to raise awareness of the issue of boys and foreign language learning. Moreover, this paper shall draw attention on the various methods that teachers could employ in order to motivate boys and raise their involvement and achievement. Boys and foreign language learning Nowadays, due to an enormous amount of statistical information it is widely accepted that boys perform less well than girls in all kinds of schools with the greatest gap found in foreign languages (Murphy, 2010). Davies (2004) points out that researchers over the past decade (Barton, 2002; Jones Jones, 2002; Clark Trafford, 1996) have noted, in particular, that the disparity in performance between boys and girls is significantly greater in modern languages than in other areas of the curriculum. The option of learning a foreign language is not taken seriously by boys in schools with the majority of them refusing it or not fully becoming engaged with it (Murphy, 2010). Clark (1998) and Chavez (2001) argue that in reality, from the moment foreign language study becomes optional and as the study of foreign languages become more advanced in school systems, classrooms across the English language dominant communities of the world are inhabited primarily by girls(Murphy, 2010:81). Data tak en from the UK, Australia and New Zealand shows the low participation of boys in foreign language learning. At advanced levels of foreign language learning in schools across these countries boys only count 24-38% of all students with an average of only 33% of male participation (Muprhy, 2010). In the UK specifically, the gender-gap in achievement among several subjects has been recognized by the government which in the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status has made explicit reference of the distinctive needs of boys and girls (Murphy, 2010) leading in teachers having as one of their main targets the development of strategies to respond to the different needs (Davies, 2004). It has been noticed that boys in the UK educational system generally have less favourable attitudes towards foreign language learning than girls and are less likely to take a language in a public examination (Pritchard, 1987:65). Davies (2004), points out that in 2000 the average size of the gender gap across subjects (i.e. girls results minus boys) was 9.2%, which prompted headlines such as Girls stay top of the class in GCSEs (Guardian) and GCSE results reveal that boys are failing to close the gender gap (Independent). The GCSE results in 2001 and 2002 have shown that the gender gap across all subje cts is persisting at 9% with a higher figure of 15.6% in modern languages indicating that boys are underperforming more severely in this subject; a phenomenon also confirmed by the Nuffield Languages Inquiry (Davies 2004). For example, in 2000, statistics showed 44% of boys achieved grades A*-C in French whereas 60% of girls achieved those marks. Comparable results were found in German with 49% of boys achieving Grades A*-C compared to 63% of girls in the same year (Davies, 2004). Bradford and Noble (2000) point out that an examination of the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) results as well as A-levels confirms that girls do far better than boys in foreign languages. Davies (2004) argues that if GCSE results serve as an indicator of linguistic performance that means that although statistics have shown some progress since 1992, the gender gap remains wide. In all secondary school subjects, modern languages are the most likely to be dropped by boys at key stage 4, being the least popular amongst the other subjects (Bradford Noble 2000). Main Concerns The above facts have led in a considerable amount of concern to be expressed about the underachievement of boys in various subjects, especially foreign languages (Williams et al. 2002). As we enter the next millennium, it is the underachievement of boys that has become one of the biggest challenges facing society today (Wragg (1997), sited in Williams et al. 2002:508). A major concern is that due to the increasing disproportion between the percentage of girls and boys taking public examination in the five most popular languages taught in the UK (Powell 1979; Hawkins 1981) the profession of language teaching is becoming increasingly feminized (Pritchard, 1987). According to Pritchard (1987), this is also a matter of concern as it means that fewer and fewer boys are likely to be available for training as future language teachers, a fact which makes it increasingly possible that boys will be taught predominantly by women teachers (Pritchard, 1987: 65). In turn this is more likely to enhance the perception of boys that languages are a girl subject contributing in the maintenance of a vicious circle leading in boys underachievement in languages (Pritchard, 1987). This leads in further concerns arising as language learning may be seen as a key component in pursuing the objectives of co-operation between states, respect for the identity of others and the promotion of mutual understanding (Moys (1998), sited in Williams et al. 2002:508). According to Graddol (1997), we move into an era where peoples future will need to be based on multilingualism therefore such a situation has severe consequences (Williams et al., 2002). The Nuffield Inquiry points to the need for foreign languages in the new century from a European perspective, from a business stance, and because of the rising need for international communication and highlights the fact that many employees in Europe can speak a second, third and fourth language. Speaking English alone will not be enough to ensure a full and productive participation in the 21st Century (Graddol (1997), sited in Williams et al., 2002). Moreover, Williams et al. (2002) point out that both the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Nuffield Inquiry indicate that there is a need for foreign language as the lack of it has been a major barrier in business. The Nuffield Inquiry identifies that there is an inadequate supply of language skills available to industry across a range of languages and points out that UK companies are more deficient in linguistic and cultural competence than their major European competitors. It recommends that in order to promote international understanding and contribute to economic success the government should show commitment in setting a national policy agenda for languages and enhance international dimension in education (Williams et al., 2002). Reviewing the reasons To be able to deal with these issues one (either that is the government, school or teachers) must be aware of the personal, interpersonal and external factors leading in boys opting out or underachieving in foreign language learning. As according to the Office of National Statistics (1999) girls consistently outperform boys both in GCSE and A-Levels in modern languages there must be mainly gender differences that cause this consistency. Muprhy (2010) argues that efforts to understand and to explain the effect of gender on language learning, and in this case in particular foreign-language learning, can generally be categorised into the traditional binary structure of either nature or nurture (Murphy, 2010:89). According to Murphy (2010), differences in language learning between girls and boys may be attributed to two positions namely, the essentialist and anti-essentialist position. The essentialist position contends that there are innate and inherent brain differences between females and males, which result in different language learning abilities for the two sexes (Young and Brozo (2001), sited in Murphy, 2010). According to the essentialist position, linguistic information goes directly to the seat of language processing in the female brain, whereas males use sensory machinery to do a great deal of work in untangling linguistic data resulting in more inefficient processing of language (Murphy, 2010:89). As per this perspective girls are qualified with possessing other innate characteristics that give them advantage in foreign language classes i.e. enhanced aural, oral and memory skills as well as social and collaborative learning styles, intrinsic motivation and concentration (Murphy, 2010). Cecco and Shaw (2008), point out that according to brain research brains develop differently according to gender even before we are born, with females having more language centres and males having more visuo-spatial centres. Moreover, they point out that there are three preferred ways of learning i.e. auditory, visual and kinaesthetic, with the visual and kinaesthetic learners processing information mainly from the right side of the brain, the dominant side in boys learning. According to Noble et al. (2001), verbal and linguistic intelligence required for language learning is linked to the auditory learning the weakest style in boys (Cecco and Shaw, 2008). The anti-essentialist position holds a socio-cultural perspective contending that gender is about socially constructed maleness and femaleness and the performance of same (Murphy, 2010). Carr and Pauwels (2006) argue that it is generally accepted that enduring hegemonic versions of masculinity in society accord little importance to the oracy skills, personal expression, disclosure, introspection, exploration and literate practices, which form the bedrock of foreign language classroom practice (Carr and Pauwels (2006), sited in Murphy, 2010:89). According to this perspective, language classrooms therefore involve ways of working and learning, which contradict the dominant versions of masculinity, that frame many males out-of-school experience (Gilbert and Gilbert 1998; Hall and Coles 2001, sited in Murphy, 2010). As males of school-going age experience particular pressure to be accepted, to conform and to perform hegemonic versions of masculinity many males will avoid, dismiss and rej ect peer-disdained activities (Rankin et al., 2004) of which foreign language is one, with the resulting consequences for relative male participation and achievement (Murphy, 2010). According to Cecco and Shaw (2008), the factors for gender differences explained by nurture cover various learned attitudes and behaviours that seem often to be modelled unconsciously. Minns (1991) argues that social and cultural attitudes about gender are learnt from birth and are modelled and reinforced, often unconsciously, by parents and other significant adults, including teachers (Minns 1991, sited in Cecco and Shaw 2008:11). Bleach (1998) also argues that socialisation towards particular roles takes place based on the adult version of appropriate behaviour (Cecco and Shaw, 2008). According to Barton (1997), differentiation between the sexes from birth is inevitable and important as our identity is determined by the knowledge of our sex. Most parents encourage behaviours appropriate to the childs gender e.g. males are expected to be more noisy and adventurous whereas girls are supposed to be passive and dependent to others. The toys and games given to children nature the characteristics conforming each gender. e.g. cars and building kits foster creativity and spatial awareness whereas dolls, teady bears or domestic appliances such as cookers mostly resemble human or animal life (Barton, 1997). Therefore, Barton (1997) argues that if we consider the prerequisites for language learning, it becomes clear that girls toys, promoting human contact and communication, give them [girls] an immediate advantage over boys (Barton, 1997:11). Moreover, it is argued that role models in the home have an influence in the childs life and ways of learning (Barton, 1997). The male figure model is more practical and goes out to work daily whereas the female prepares meals, takes care of the children and doesnt work so hard. Even where children live in an environment which does not conform to domestic norms they may be influenced by those stereotypes through the media. Therefore, their learning is also influenced as girls are meant to sit down and abuse their brains whereas boys are meant to move around. (Barton, 1997) Furthermore, studies have showed that both parents and teachers interactions with children can either consciously or otherwise endorse the different approaches of the two sexes to language use (Barton, 1997). Fagots (1977) study revealed that teachers interactions with girls were more verbal whereas they tended to join in with boys play (Barton, 1997). Boys unwillingness to listen to others as well as the challenge required by them in order to get motivated do not enable them to perform well in language learning as the lesson makes demands of them that are inconsistent with the linguistic role normally expected of them by the society (Barton, 1997). Moreover, peer pressure is considered to be an important social factor affecting the attitudes of boys towards learning a language. Youngs research (1994) offers much in support of the view that learner perceptions and experience of peer attitudes concerning school, education, foreign language learning in general or the learning of a particular language in question may exert considerable influence on the individuals own FLL orientation, attitudes and motivation (Bartram, 2006:47). Also, Walqui (2000) argues that teenage peer pressure usually has a negative effect on language learning due to the performance element involved in this learning which may provoke feelings of insecurity and embarrassment (Bartram, 2006). According to Barton (1997) male adolescents will, no doubt, find it much more difficult than females to relinquish their hold on their primary means of communication and expose their breaking voices to their peers ridicule (Barton, 1997:12).The fact that males have a need t o show off and be thought as successful does not allow them to get involved with something that would make them feel insecure or embarrassed. Boys [] think success is sad, and that image is all-important (Hofkins, (1995), siten in Barton, 1997:12). In addition, peer group pressure is considered be a key reason for the demotivation of boys in learning languages as according to Court (2001) boys need to assert their emerging sexual identity (Bartram, 2006). Due to the feminised associations of language learning boys usually reject it or do not get involved with it. Barton (1997) argues that making clear ones sexual identity and appearing one of the lads is, it seems, foremost in the male adolescent mind and is often achieved by appearing uninterested and boasting of missed homework (Barton, 1997:12). In their momentous study of psychological research published, Jacklin and Macoby (1974) came to the conclusion that boys are more susceptible to peer pressure than girls with teachers and advisors investigating male underachievement coming up with remarkably similar findings (Barton, 1997). The fact that boys need to assert their sexual identity can be supported by studies into attitudes and motivation towards learning different languages in the UK. Chambers reported a differential rise in the number of students entering for GCSE examinations in French (4%) and German (22%) between 1991 and 1994 (Williams et al., 2002). Philips and Filmer-Sankeys (1993) findings showed that the majority of pupils of both sexes preferred learning German to learning French and that more boys than girls showed an interest in learning German. According to Barton (1997), this is due to the fact that German has a masculine image and is viewed as more useful by boys for industry and commerce. Interviews of students have revealed that French is considered feminine and not cool for boys to make an effort in learning French (Williams et al., 2002). In the popular imagination French would be associated with fine wines, good cooking, haute couture and luxurious perfumes all either domestic or feminine in orientation [whereas] German language is associated in pupils minds with masculine-type imagery such as war, harshness, strictness, shouting, the Nazis and Hitler (Pritchard, 1987:65). The fact that French is considered as feminine is considered to contribute in the low motivation and achievement of boys in French as they do not wish to harm their image and sexual identity. Furthermore, the fact that the most popular and widely taught language in the UK is French is particularly offputting boys who are far less inclined than girls to see French as useful to them in a future job or course of study (Powell and Littlewood, 1983) (Pritchard, 1987). Moreover, there has been evidence to suggest that boys rate French as more difficult (Clark Trafford, 1996), less important (Powell Batters, 1985) and less relevant to their future lives than girls (Pritchard, 1987) (Court, 2001:7). Stables and Wikeley (1999) found that other reasons putting boys off involve the belief that modern languages are difficult and that they are not required for international communication. Although science and mathematics may also be considered as difficult, boys view the effort as necessary due to the importance of the qualification. Stables and Wikeley (1999) point out that Employers do not, in general, require GCSE in a modern language; to be more exact, pupils seem little aware that they might. Thus the difficulty that many pre-GCSE pupils seem to find with modern foreign languages is not offset in many cases by the belief that the effort is really worthwhile (Stables and Wikeley, 1999:30). Moreover, Stables and Wikeley (1999) argue that in the UK where the home language is also the dominant international language, motivation to learn is inevitably less than in countries where failure to speak other languages is seen as severely personally limiting. As members of a national cultur e with strong international standing, pupils may also lack motivation in the form of curiosity about other national cultures (Stables and Wikeley, 1999). What also seems to de-motivate male students in learning foreign languages is the lesson content itself as well as the assessment methods used. Barton (1997) points out that features of the language lesson may seem as a threat to male identity. Reading fictional novels, that is considered as a feminine activity, puts boys off as they prefer informative texts such as newspapers, articles and comics; a thing which needs to be bared in mind by teachers and educators. Moreover, as dialogue is crucial in learning a language, boys usually hesitate to get involved as dialogues indicate vulnerability (Barton, 1997). Boys usually hesitate to ask for directions or corrections. In an investigation into patterns of interactions in foreign language classes, Sunderland (1998) found that even if boys did talk more, the girls exhibited more sophisticated interactions, and actively created learning opportunities for themselves and took advantage of those the teacher provided them with (Sunderland (19 98), sited in Williams et al. 2002:508) Furthermore, due to the fact that boys from a young age are not taught to sit still and listen but to search for the experience, they are unable to concentrate on language tasks, leading in teachers complaining about boys attitude in the classroom (Barton, 1997). Moreover, Jones and Jones (2001) have found that boys see modern languages as different from other subjects mainly because of the central position of the teacher in the language classroom and that boys who are underperforming tend to see the teacher as responsible for the difficulties they are having because the pedagogy of modern languages is so teacher-centred ( Cecco and Shaw, 2008:7). In addition, Cecco and Shaw (2008) point out that boys attributes are not particularly favoured by the requirements of coursework, i.e. sustained effort, process as well as outcome and often a considerable amount of well-presented written work. Although exams themselves may suit boys sudden bursts of effort, national awards in recent years have incorporated increased amounts of coursework. However, Arnot et al. (1998) argue that fairness to all learners involves a variety of assessment modes so that all pupils have opportunities to produce their best performance (Cecco Shaw, 2008). Other factors that seem to contribute in the underachievement of boys include the sex of the teacher as well as teacher expectations. As mentioned in the previous section most language teachers are females and this is considered to perpetuate the myth that languages are feminine subjects. However, Clark and Traffords recent survey showed that students ascribed more importance to teachers personalities than to their sex and many boys in Powell and Batters study preferred a female teacher because it contributed to their overall perception of languages as an easy, non-serious subject (Barton, 1997). On the other hand it is argued that a boy who is susceptible to peer pressure (found most commonly in the weaker sets) will not be highly motivated to set himself apart from his fellows and affiliate himself with a subject dominated by feminine connotations (Barton, 1997: 13). In addition, the fact that the gender-gap in language learning is widely acknowledged as well as boys attitudes towards the subject often leads in teachers being either consciously or unconsiously biased towards their students. Although there is not much evidence to support this it is argued that teachers will focus their attention on the girls, assuming that the boys will not be interested in continuing their study of a feminine subject (Barton, 1997:14). This leads in enhancing both their belief that foreign languages are feminine and their negative attitudes towards the language. Raising boys achievement The above factors discussed lead into boys being de-motivated to learn the language resulting in their underachievement. The findings of a group of PGCE students at Goldsmiths College conducting interviews in two schools to ask boys why they thought girls did better at Modern Languages predictably showed poor motivation as a key factor: Us boys dont take it seriously. Some days, I just think oh its French today and I aint going to try very hard if I dont want. (Harris, 1998:57) Cecco and Shaw (2008) point out that motivation is a central component to successfully acquire knowledge and that lack of motivation can hinder learning whereas being motivated can greatly enhance it. Particularly welcome is the assumption that motivation can be increased or decreased; that it is not a unitary characteristic of which learners have a lot or a little (Cecco and Shaw, 2008:6) The issue of motivation has always been on the agenda in language learning. In order to raise boys motivation educators and teachers need to be aware of the motivational conditions identified by psychologists and also have an insight into the ways boys learn in order to modify the classroom context to meet boys learning needs. According to Cecco and Shaw (2008), three sets of motivational conditions identified by Dornyei (1994) have also been found useful for providing a framework for the classroom context. These are a) course-specific motivational components which relate to the motivational influence of the syllabus, teaching materials, teaching methods and learning activities, b) teacher-specific motivational components which relate to the teacher-pupil relationship, the teachers approach to the management of behaviour, the promotion of the sharing of ideas between pupils as well as between teacher and pupils and the provision of motivating feedback and c)group-specific motivational components which relate to the dynamics of the learning group, its participation in collaboration, its shared goals and shared norms of behaviour (Cecco and Shaw, 2008). As far as how boys learn, Hannan (1996) offers an insight into the typical boy learner and cites the following characteristics. Boys are doers first and thinkers second, they have a shorter concentration span, they get easily bored, they have weaker listening and verbal skills as well as social and collaborative skills, they have less ability to organize and plan work, they are highly influenced by their peer group and they seek immediate gratification. In the following paragraphs, by having in mind the reasons for boys underachievement, the motivational conditions and the ways in which boys learn, various ways that could help raise their motivation shall be discussed. Although as has been discussed social norms to a great extend seem to affect boys attitudes towards language learning, some steps could be made on the part of teachers in order to enhance boys motivation and achievement. According to Ofsted (2003), improving the achievement of boys is a complex matter in which interlinked factors play important parts including a positive learning ethos, good teaching and classroom management, close monitoring of individuals and effective support for learning. Ofsted (2003) argues that these factors are significant in all schools and are relevant to girls as well as boys (OfSTED, 2003). It must be noted that the strategies suggested should not disadvantage the learning of girls but to incorporate them so that they enhance boys participation and involvement. Taken that boys underachieve in languages, due to the fact that they are considered to be feminine, teachers should encourage an atmosphere that would raise boys will to participate. Boys perceive languages as feminine as they consider girls to be better at them and as the majority of them consider typical topics like wine, cooking and haute couture to be feminine in orientation (Pritchard, 1987:69) What can be done, therefore, is to provide challenging exercises and integrate materials that attract boys attention such as articles, newspapers and comics (Noble and Bradford, 2000). As boys like challenge, challenging activities shall get them involved e.g. giving them team quizzes about the set texts and marry this with competition. Moreover, as boys tend to read non-fiction, including articles that involve sports, technology or hobbies would probably lead to more commitment to reading by boys. Increasing the choice of reading resources available in the language classroom is essential , as this would show consideration of boys preferences. Diversity in the materials used is required to meet both the needs of boys and girls (Noble and Bradford, 2000). Moreover, although language teachers are usually biased, they should not allow this to let them treat boys differently from girls. By devoting their attention to girls assuming boys are uninterested in the learning of the language would have indirect implications for boys achievement as less attention would mean less language opportunities (Court, 2001). Even though studies (Spencer, 1998) have found that boys receive around 2/3 of teachers attention during class much of it is negative as it arises from discipline problems appearing to receive less praise than girls (Harris, 1998). Harris argues that insensitive feedback may serve only to foster the macho image that boys are tough and you dont need to worry about hurting their feelings (Harris, 198:61). Instead teachers should encourage the participation of boys into the lesson and praise them for their involvement without harming their image. However, Harris (1998) suggests that due to the nature of peer pressure this should not alw ays be praised in front of the class as it may not be seen as cool but should also be done also on an individual basis either on an individual basis or positive comments on homework. Without it boys shall remain unmotivated, behave badly and produce poor quality work, becoming even more convinced that they are not good at languages and feel justified by making even less effort. In addition, teachers should allow boys to do things rather than being more teacher-centered. According to Harris (1998), this would give them more flexibility to really adapt things to their way of learning. Graham and Rees (1995) suggest that boys need to have some sense of control because by learning what they feel they need to know in a way that is appropriate for them accelerates their learning (Harris, 1998). The Ofsted report Boys and English (1993) concluded that boys performance improves when they have a clear understanding of the progress they need in order to achieve (Harris, 1998). Harris (1998) suggests that clear and explicit guidelines should be given to boys in order to help them progress and that it is not enough to offer pupils greater independence in their learning. Teachers should also equip them with the tools or strategies that will enable them to go about it. Nunan (1995) points out it is a mistake to assume that learners come into the language classroom with a natural ability to make choices about what and how to learn (Numan (1995), sited in Harris, 1998:58). OMalley and Chamot (1990) identify three types of strategies that the teachers should help the boys to develop; metacognitive strategies which deal with planning and evaluating learning, cognitive strategies which deal with grappling directly with the language itself and social and affective strategies through whic h the learner interacts with others or controls their own emotional response to the learning situation (Harris, 1998). According to Ofsted (1993), female students use more learning strategies than males and use them more often therefore it is important for teachers to intervene systematically with some strategy instruction to enable boys to develop their learning strategies (Harris, 1998). By developing these strategies boys shall be able to control their own learning. Rather than feeling that there is nothing they can do about their lack of success other than give up, it makes explicit what can be done to improve and locates the responsibility firmly on them (Harris, 1998:59). In addition, we have noted earlier that boys tend to like audio-visual work. Incorporating the use of computers in the language classroom would not only be see