My Idiolect free essay sample

Explore how and why your own language varies in different contexts and consider how others react to your speech. During the 14 years of my life, I have learnt to adjust and familiarise my dialect to suit diverse situations through the impact of media, family, music and social networking. Moreover, I have come to pay special attention to the context of where someone is talking and the mode of how they are communicating. I have also gained the awareness of how others respond to features of my idiolect and what to anticipate of them if I alter it. One aspect that stands out to be the utmost dominant in the means of varying my idiolect is social networking. Abbreviations like â€Å"LOL† and â€Å"ROFL† appear to be making their way into everyday teenager dialects around the world including mine. I have noticed that I currently use â€Å"LOL† often to let others recognise when I find something humorous. We will write a custom essay sample on My Idiolect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What I perceive from this is that I only use this abbreviation around my friends primarily because of the formal and informal parting of my idiolect between my friends and people like my teachers and parents. I think I do this because I consider using informal words with an audience I’m generally formal with, strange and unfamiliar. I also believe I do this because I expect an audience of that kind to object to it since teenage slang is most frequently thought as discourteous and lethargic. Music also impacts my idiolect as I am so exposed to it that it has come to be typical for me to pick up a few words and slang from certain lyrics. One example of how music has influenced me is a simple conversation between me and my sister in which she said: â€Å"You lost my earrings didn’t you? and I answered with â€Å"Oh whatever, YOLO! † The origin of this acronym came from the Canadian rapper, Drake’s bonus track from his album ‘Take care’. It has since been popularized all over the world and people have now started using this term to define when someone is about to do something idiotic. I used this word because I knew my sister would be acquainted with it since the majority of teenagers have basic understanding of slang and abbreviations being used at the moment. I regularly speak to my mother in a more official and basic way thus the variation in spoken language between my sister and my mother is due to me wanting to adapt to the way my friends and the younger generation of my family use the aspects of music to express their feelings. I also used â€Å"YOLO† to strengthen the connection between me and my sister so that she would know that we have a lot of things in common in terms of understanding general teenage knowledge. I do not use slang when conversing with my parents because I know that they will criticize this way of communicating as most parents believe slang makes teenagers sound unintelligent and incompetent including mine. My parents think I should use try to use Standard English in everyday life as practice for when I do specific English exams. They also consider that media in terms of TV shows and the dialectal manner of celebrities have triggered an adverse effect on people my age because they believe that the poor grammar of people from this region is promoted to sound cool and trendy. My parents have confidence in the idea that my vocal language has been substituted with words like â€Å"Totes† and â€Å"amazeballs†. Nevertheless when I indicate to them that I have adapted to using proper and apparently ‘posh’ words from classical books, my parents react positively and praise the use of my language. This goes to show that certain factors have certain outcomes to the way a person speaks and how a person responds to this.

History of Public Relations Essays

History of Public Relations Essays History of Public Relations Essay History of Public Relations Essay Public Relations (PR) results from a convicted and thoughtful communication process that recognizes that favourable public opinion, attention and support is not achieved by accident. It recognizes a great deal of hard work since success depends on ensuring that nothing happens by chance. This is probably due to the inevitable growing complexity of the world and its communication channel and our Ghanaian society in particular. Every organization either provides a service or direct sales of products to its publics. This is regardless of whether the organization is state owned or otherwise. This presupposes that every organization has its own defined publics it deals with day to day basis. This is where PR comes in. According to the British Institute of Public Relations (IPR), PR is a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. In 1999 the Institute added another version to the definition which is on reputation – Public Relations is about reputation, the results of what you do, what you say, what others say about you. Public Relations practice is a discipline, which looks after reputation – the aim of earning understanding, support and influence public opinion. Edward Bernays, the grandfather of PR in the USA sees Public Relations practitioner as an applied sociologist who advises clients or employers on social attitudes and action to be taken to win the support of public upon which the viability of the employers and clients depend (Harrison, 2000). Cutlip, Center and Broom (1985) are of the view that â€Å"Public Relations is a management function that establishes and maintains mutual beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on which its success or failure depends† Ruehl defines public relations as â€Å"Public Relations is what public relations does† â€Å" PR practice is the art and social science of analyzing trends predicting their consequencies, counseling organizations leaders and implementing planned programmes of action which serve both the organization and the publics interest† (World Assembly of PR, Mexico City, 1978) Canfield (1952) in different semester inner do, upholds this perception of Public Relations as â€Å"a social philosophy of management expressed in policies and practice which are communicated to the public to secure its understanding† Philip Kitchen (1977) in his book Public relations; Principles and Practices came out with a revelation that over 500 Public Relations definitions exist; however a number of common themes abound as follows; Public Relations is essentially a communication function but the emphasis is on the two- way nature of the communication process. Public Relations is concerned with establishing and maintaining mutual understanding (goodwill) between an organization and its particular group of people (publics). Public Relation serves as an intelligent function analyzing and interpreting trends and issues in the environment that may have potential consequences for an organization and its stakeholders. Running through these definitions is the fact that, the p ractice is essentially in promoting mutual understanding, rapport and goodwill between an organization and its publics. Such a condition, needless to say is indispensable to the success of every establishment including higher education. It must be noted that this condition is premised on a two-way communication system with both inward and outward activities. An organization must be able to communicate its plans and actions to the public and at the same time, the public thinking and attitude must be communicated to the organization in order to evolve acceptable policies. It is not enough that an organization should have good intentions; it is essential that such intentions be communicated to the publics and translated into concrete acts. It is only by making people know and see concrete deeds that one can build a good public image. The importance of Public Relations practice is underscored by the indispensability of communication in any human setup. However, in spite of this importance in our side of the world Public Relation practice has suffered certain abuses by those who profess to practice it as well as those who are supposed to benefit from its practice. While management seems not to appreciate the importance and its relevance, the numerous publics do not appear to understand it and the practitioners themselves have for most part been woefully incapable of explaining to both management and the various publics what the practice entails. In short the Public Relations profession, its aims and objectives, guiding principles have largely not been understood and appreciated by the public. 2. 0 HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS â€Å"In truly democratic society everything depends upon the consent of the public† Thomas Jefferson. Public Relations began when people started communicating and needed to motivate others. The idea of public relations as a profession is relatively young. Public Relations is a twentieth (20th) century phenomenon and Edward Bernays often accredited as the father of Public Relations. He played a major role in defining the industry’s philosophy and methods. The history of Public Relations is mostly confined to the early half of the twentieth century; however there is evidence of practices scattered through history. A number of American precursors to the Public Relations are found in the form of publicists who specialized in promoting circuses, theatre performances and other public spectacles. In the United States of America where Public Relations’ has its origin, many early Public Relations practices were developed in support of rail roads. Many scholars believed that the first appearance of the term â€Å"Public Relations† appeared in 1897 year book of Railway Literature. Later, practitioners were recruited from the rank of journalism. Some reporters concerned with ethnics criticize former colleagues for using their inside knowledge/understanding of news media to help clients receive fovourable media coverage. 2. 1 THE FIRST NAMES Some historians regard Ivy Lee as the first real practitioner of Public Relations but Edwards Bernays is generally regarded as the profession’s founder. In the United Kingdom, Sir Basil Clarke (1879-1947) was the pioneer Public Relations. The First World War helped stimulate the development of Public Relations as a profession. Many of the first professionals get their start with the â€Å"Committee on Public Information† (also known as the Creel Committee) which organized publicity on behalf of the USA objectives during the World War II. In describing the origin of the term Public Relations, Bernays commented â€Å"when I came back to the United States of America (after the war) I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace. And propaganda get to be a bad word because of the German’s using it. So what I did was to try to find some other words, so we found the words (counsel of â€Å"(Public Relation)† Bernays was the profession’s first theorist based on Sigmund Freud’s theories about the irrational, unconscious motives that shape behaviour. He authorized several books; Criticizing public opinion (1923), Propaganda (1928) and The engineering of consent (1937). Ivy Lee is credited with developing the modern news release (also called press release). He espoused a philosophy consistent with what has been called the â€Å"two – way street† to Public Relations. It is reported that Kings College (Columbia University) sent out an announcement of its 1758 graduation ceremonies the first anywhere in the colonies – several newspapers printed it apparently the first instance of a NEWS RELEASE. 2. 2 PUBLIC RELATIONS IN GHANA The emergence of Public Relations in Ghana according to Gyan (1991) was characterized by scenario in which Public Relations Officers in such departments as administration, marketing, sales and personnel carried out Public Relations functions. Gyan (1991) further notes that, where the need for Public Relations job offer arises, organizations usually opted for press or information officers usually from the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Ministry of Communication. This had the effect of reducing the Public Relations practice to publicity or press relations thus limiting the scope of the practice in Ghana. Shortly before and after independence, that is between the late 1950’s and early 1960’s the civil service started replacing expatriate principal secretaries with Ghanaians. Multinationals like UAC, PTC, Shell and BP followed suit by appointing Ghanaian intermediaries between them and their various respective publics. Significantly, virtually all these Ghanaians who were given the Public Relations functions came from journalistic background and were therefore given the opportunity to learn some skills in PR practice. Some of these early PR practitioners took advantage of refresher courses to upgrade themselves and later became accomplished PR practitioners. Notably among them were Mrs. Veronica Addae-Mensah, Mrs. Regina Agbozo, Moses Dorvlo Herman Alan, Kafui Asem and Carl Reindorf. They joined the PR profession from other fields. The stigma attached to the PR by the unprofessional approach of some untrained practitioners in the past still remains. Thus in his article entitled â€Å"Public Relations, African’s biggest problem† Santuah Niagia Affidiweh (1998) asserts that Public Relations in Ghana has been reduced to negotiating for canopies for meetings, organizing press coverage’s or receiving delegates for conferences. He summed up saying â€Å"Public Relations in our part of the world is still a serious joke† However, Public Relations practitioners like honourable Kwadwo Yankah, Kafui Asem, honourable Ekow Spio-Garbah, J. E. Papoe Allotey and Ben Antwi have by their sterling performances in the field of Public Relations proved that PR practice has become recognized as a scientific professional and indispensable management tool in Ghana. In a recent study conducted by Wu, Ming-Yi, Baah-Boakye, Kwame,(2008) on â€Å"Profile of Public Relations Practice in Ghana, Practitioners role Most Important Skills† revealed that now most public relations practitioners perform managerial roles and take part in decision-making process. However, public relations practitioners who perform communication technician role do not have decision-making powers in their respective organizations. This result is different from the results of the Gyan(1991) study. The results of her study suggested that PR practitioners’ positions were very low on the organizational chart. However, they are now performing managerial roles and have decision-making powers in the organizations. Comparing the results with Gyan (1991) study which was conducted 16 years ago, we can see improvement in professional status of PR in Ghana. Currently, all state institutions have employed the services of qualified PR practitioners and consultancies to help promote and protect their respective images. Thus the practitioner is therefore a policy person and advisor to his or her organization. 3. 0 HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION From Colonial Harvard University to today’s online courses, higher education whether public or private has occupied an important place in the social cultural and political spectrums. It signified citizen commitment to next generations’ future as well as avenue to produce knowledge for current use. Today the long insulated position of higher education like other professions such as law and medicine is undergoing public scrutiny in all parts of its complex operations. Such change from enjoying reverend, unquestioned status to being pushed into high profile arena populated by media, special interest groups, empowered consumers and other vocal entities present new challenges to higher education public relations practitioners. (For example, Students’ reporters/journalists of the Part Time programme often scan the notice boards for news worthier items for publication. ) Because, the historical structure within higher education institutions evolved quietly, often without wide spread public attention, the new demand, by outside groups for accountability might seem like a threat for higher education. For example, it came as surprise to see an article published in the Ghanaian Times Newspaper in 2001, calling on the government to initiate action to investigate the financial impropriety and abuse of power leveled against the Finance Officer and Registrar of University of Education, Winneba. The number of rejoinders that were published after the University had stated its side of the story was overwhelming. That was unprecedented in the history of universities in Ghana. The issue of examination malpractices involving the son of a Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Asenso Okyere took centre stage in the media circles. A court action was instituted by the University of Ghana against the Daily Graphic, Newspaper. This compelled the paper to withdraw an article published by the paper alleging that 30% of student’s population of the University is HIV positive. This is clear demonstration of media scrutiny of higher education, which had hitherto enjoyed uninterfered running of the universities. The recent proliferation of the press and the electronic media (Radio stations broadcasting in local Ghanaian languages) may pose a serious challenge to the universities in Ghana on the best practices in media relations. Center, Cutlip and Broom (1985) description of closed and open system aptly illustrates higher education transitory state. The traditional close system promise of higher education institutions emphasized bringing internal and external stake holders in line with the organization with little regards for how the interaction of the components parts appeared to work together or conflict, hence the â€Å"ivory tower†. By contrast, the open system promise view external and internal holders interactions as critical to adopting to and flourishing in today’s changing environment something higher education is realising it must do. In the 21st century, emphasis will continue to be on the individual’s responsibility and power of choice for selecting and questioning his or her own health care options, to demanding quality and relevance from higher education institutions. One, the public perception of higher education must be more responsive to the needs of its constituents including being more accessible to different types of students more aware of and responsive to educational costs more concern with relevance of higher education to the market place. The internal structure of higher education is also chaotic, with many different factions balancing their goals with others while competing for resources and visibility, example, graduate education versus undergraduate education, finite and often diminishing resources versus increasing resources, administration versus faculty on issues such as academic freedom nd governance innovation versus traditional course and informal delivery system. In Ghana, for example, it took the University of Ghana, the oldest University, a considerable length of time and political pressures for it to change from the term system (3 terms) to semester system after all the other Universities in Ghana had adopted the semester sy stem. The structure is often compared with multitude of fiefdoms squabbling under the nose of a king. As higher education institutions grew and became more fragmented internally, functions became compartmentalized and seemed to operate without the knowledge of what other parts of the institutions were doing. Warner (1996) detailed the other disjointed developments of higher education as a separate office to deal with media relations, publications video services (most recently) website for external audiences. All of these coexist with internal faculty and staff audience resulting in a plethora of seemingly, unrelated and often contradictory external and internal messages. Now more than ever, higher education institutions not only must become aware of public relations efforts going on in their respective Universities but also must step up and coordinate these efforts within the structures before going out to the external audiences. As Berube (1996) wrote â€Å"the most important thing is that we need to re-evaluate our priorities internally, if we are going to understand how we might be valued externally† page 17. Today, good public relations is vital to the successful functioning of any educational institution. Higher education has been branded as â€Å"two expensive† and suffers from the receiving charge that money is wasted and graduates cannot get jobs. Universities face competition for students and dwindling resources it usually has three charges to fulfill that is teaching, service and research. Many are not aware of the last two, it is the job of public relations to create that awareness. 4. 0 THE PUBLIC RELATIONS ROLES Background The University Relations Office for the Kumasi Campus of UEW was set up in 1996 when the then KATTC was integrated into the University. The main objectives of the office is to provide an efficient, effective and high quality corporate publicity and public relations services to the University of Education, Winneba (Kumasi Campus) including; Production of external and internal corporate communication and publicity materials. Proactive and responsive media relations activities Advise and guidelines to other departments on media, liaison and promotional activities Staging of special events and protocol services to University of Education, Winneba guests Also to enhance the image and visibility of the university through the various functions of media relations, publications, advertising, marketing, special events and strategic public relations planning, for the administrative and academic departments in achieving the university goals. The practice of PR in an educational setting like the universities is similar to that of other government institutions. It is very important that PR specialists be part of the instituti ons management team. Many a time institutions don’t include PR in their management team. Ideally the PR should attend top-level management meetings involving the Vice Chancellor and other Administrators to ensure what we call â€Å"Learning the Whys and the Wherefores of decision made and lending counsel† University and College PR are generally carried out through the public information bureaus. The responsibilities consist of producing and distribution of news releases photographs and special events. The major roles of public relations are basically to analyze, create, projects, influence, sustain, educate and building relationships. The public relations practitioner may operate at the level of manager (sit at management table e. . Deputy Registrar at KNUST) or Technician (implementing). There are many different functions or activities engaged by the public relations practitioner to be able to perform all these roles – whether, in organizational functions such as media relations, and publicity or societal functions such as social responsibility and commun ity relations, the functions are the driving forces behind the way public relations is practiced in institutions. For the purpose of this presentation I would like to discuss the following; Media Relations Event Management Publications/Publicity Reputation building Community Relations Employee Relations Internal and external communications Protocol and passages 4. 1 Media Relations Media relations is one of the key functions of public relations. It is an important aspect of public relations since the media are important tools for effective public relations. Again the media, being the channel through which information is disseminated to the organization’s publics, are themselves a major public of the organization. Media relations is an organization function that is conducted through the media through channels such as, television, newspapers, magazines, and radio. An effective media relations often depends on designing and implementing a well though-out plan. The responsibilities of the PR specialist in such fields include writing and distributing news releases, feature articles and rejoinders to the press and compiling press list, publishing of newsletters, handling and maintaining media information, service, arranging press, radio and television interview for management. Also preparing marketing plans and strategic promotional and marketing efforts are other activities undertaken by the PR. A classic example of good media relations practice was documented in 1999 when Barclays Bank was donating some items to UEW-K and KNUST, the media team decided to have the presentation done on our campus to give us more publicity due to the good relationship that we had established with them. The type of media to use depends on accessibility and affordability in addition to what is their target audience. At times the University has little or no control over the messages in the media, it is the reporter and writers that decide what will be published depending on the angle they choose. 4. Publicity/Publication Publicity is a public relations function to ensure that the University has a strong public image. It can help the public to understand the University and its products and services. From promotional activities to marketing campaigns, publicity is the tool that public relations use to get the word about the University to the public. Negative publicity can cost organizations million s of Ghana cedis and forced out of the market. The public relations section has embarked on a deliberate campaign to prevent negative publicity through coordinated activities with the students and the edia in Kumasi. The creation of the notice board to display pictures of events and programmes are means of disseminating information to the University community through â€Å"News in Pictures†. Production and distribution of newsletters, leaflets, brochures and magazines are some of the activities undertaken to publicize the University. Articles are sometimes written and sent to the media to publish thereby keeping the Universities in the public mind through constant positive publicity. 4. 3 Community Relations The relationship that an organization has with its community can be vital to the success of that organsation. Institutions can interact with the community in numerous ways, from participating in community activities, to putting on events through donations. Successful organizations understand that their relations with the surrounding community is important. Community goodwill must be maintained through proactive public relations programmes in cities and towns where Universities are located. Due to this reason, it makes sense for Universities to participate in neighborhood programmes. The PR department should also serve as liaison between the university and the community and work closely with other social partners in the locality. For instance, University of Education, Winneba –Kumasi Campus has constantly maintained healthy relationships with the Manhyia Palace and other sub-chiefs in the catchment areas, like Atwima Agogo, Asuoyboah, Tanaso and Apatrapa. The naming of one of the two halls Atwima after the district is a vivid example. Occasionally, students, church and other members of the community are allowed to make use of university’s facilities to promote good neighbourliness. The community would be prepared and defend you in times of any problem or difficulty. The introduction of the admission to students from less endowed schools by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is clear indication of the university’s corporate social responsibility to the communities. There is currently a proposal before management for consideration on UEW’s contribution to the Best Teacher Awards scheme instituted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) by the University Relations Office. UEW-K is one of the first institutions to pay a courtesy call on the Ashanti Regional Minister when he assumed office recently. 4. 4 Employee Relations Internal motivation is vital factor which attacks the bottom line by building morale, enhancing productivity and creating team spirit. Public relations provides an early warning system by avoiding interruptions which may occur when single surprise issue or unplanned for social/political changes arise. Public relations practitioners interact more with the internal and external audiences than only one else in the organisation. Public relations helps institutions to manage change and ensure smooth transition in the system. Example, whenever, there is change is management, the public relations office informs the staff and students of the change and its implications. Through seminars and workshops the staff and students are given in death knowledge about the University, what it stands for, its structures and policies. 4. 5 Communication Expert The Public Relations Office deals with the management of both internal and external communication. It is responsible for promotion of the mission and vision of the University and also manages and improves the flow of information within the University and between the University and the publics that it serves. Public relations professionals have a role to play in helping management to keep in touch with their various publics because the role of public relations within an organization has become that of spokesperson to management, they actively solicit both employee and consumer opinions and make management aware of the effects of various decision on clients and employees. That is in line with the two-way systemic public relations model by (Grung and Hunt). It is important to realize that public relations is vital not only in helping to secure the universities funding, but also in recruitment of staff and students. We have to make sure that we build that basic awareness of what the University (UEW) is all about. We have to keep in mind that university is a learning community that needs different constituents to join in to make it strong. We are facing heavy competition for those constituents to join other communities. For example, when the part-time programme started, the University Relations Office went round institutions and organizations to inform them of the introduction of the programme by distributing brochures and other leaflets to sensitize them. The challenge for the future will be to continue to become more effective in getting stories out to the media and the public without taking the lecturers’ energy away from teaching or research. The institution of e media encounter and meet the press series are some of the programmes planned to promote research findings and papers presented at conferences and in international journals. Example the Department of Technology Education’s research into the use of oil palm for furniture was given much publicity. Recently, the office wrote a circular calling on the University community to furnish the University Relations Office of such information for upward publication to the University community. Public relations helps to overcome management isolation, something that can affect every organization sooner or later. An inescapable PR role is opening the eyes and ears of management to what is really happening out there (intelligence gathering function). The 1999 students’ demonstration on the Kumasi Campus, students’ reaction to the University’s delay in releasing results on time and the breakdown of the University of Education, Winneba Online Student Information System (UEWOSIS). The office quickly gathered enough and relevant information and advised management on what steps to take to avert agitations and confrontations. 5. 0 ACHIEVEMENTS The University Relations Office of the University has chalked a considerable success in the areas of media relations, communication event management and protocol services. The office in collaboration with the students, staff and management has been able to establish and maintain a very good rapport with the media. This has resulted in the projection of image of the University in media circles. There hasn’t been any negative publicity in the media on the University. Thus the University enjoys good reputation. The university is always in the news projecting its activities, core values and programmes. In the area of publication and publicity, we have contributed a number of articles in the University Newsletter, produced attractive brochures for our part-time and MSc in Marketing and e-Commerce programmes. The brochure covering the Kumasi Campus of the UEW published in 2005 is another classic example. The office frequently issues News Releases to inform the University Community on the events and programmes taking place in the university. We have successfully organized and staged a number of high profile events, like congregation, matriculation, media encounter, congregation lectures, workshops, seminars and orientation programmes etc. Good organizational skills of event management have contributed to the successful organisation of events sometimes at a very short notice. Our concerned for the image and reputation of the University motivated us to make sure that we coordinate all the activities to ensure incident free events. We have exhibited excellent customer relationships among the numerous clients, guests, visitors that do business with the university (both local and foreign). We have provided good protocol services to our guests and warm front desk/reception has always been accorded our visitors. We received commendations for our good works both written and verbal from the numerous guests; example was a letter from Mrs. Quashie-Sam, former Registrar of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST). We launched a successful campaign to make the UEW-K become a household name or to inform the Kumasi public of the new status of the Kumasi Campus of the University. There have been tremendous results. UEW-K is now known to most institutions and organizations as well as general public including taxi and trotro drivers. In the areas of policy direction we have written and contributed a number of proposals in the form of memoranda to ensure that we move in the right direction. The introduction of radio lecture and innovative programmes on the Mynd FM has contributed to the projection of very enviable image of the institution. 6. 0 CHALLENGES In spite of the success chalked, the section faces a number of challenges. The greatest challenge is that the University Relations Officer is on 24 hour call without much incentive like allowances. The problem has compounded with the absence of the Principal and Registrar on campus. He is the first point of call and in the event of any crisis he should be prepared to manage it. Limited office space is another serious challenge. There is no privacy to our guests who come to discuss confidential matters. Means of transport is sometimes difficult to come by but thanks to the Deputy Registrar who readily releases his pick up to us for our numerous assignments. The absence of qualified staff with journalism background to handle news and article production is another setback. The delay in procurement of certain vital logistics and in release of funds for programmes is a source of worry. 7. 0 RECOMMENDATIONS We wish to recommend that the Office be upgraded to that of a department to enable it operates fully and efficiently. Acquisition of means of transport for the unit would help us function effectively. Also the provision of new strategically located and spacious office will help interaction with staff, students and guests more professional and diligently.

The Contribution of Academic Research to Accounting and Financial Essay

The Contribution of Academic Research to Accounting and Financial Regulation - Essay Example 1). Despite the contribution of academic research in advancing theory, however, Coetsee (2010, p. 1) pointed out that no comprehensive theory in accounting has emerged. I have used only accounting journals except one which is a journal in management. I believe that the definitions of â€Å"accounting† and â€Å"financial regulation† in the journals have the same standard and the definitions are basically common in the profession. There can significant variations, however, in the area of financial regulation as the definitions can reflect theories on how financial regulation can best be implemented. In any case, the specific definition of accounting and financial regulation follows what the author or authors have used in their works. Some of the authors do not even have a definition of â€Å"accounting† and â€Å"financial regulation†, perhaps as a tacit assumption that there is a usual definition of the concepts in the accounting journals anyway. ... 273). Academic research is usually associated with research that is undertaken for its own sake, something done for the advancement of knowledge. It is different from the other kind of research which is usually described as policy-oriented. Academic research is usually found in journals while policy institutes, government, financial regulators, and consultancy groups usually undertake policy research. Although academic research is usually described as theory-oriented, in accounting it seems difficult to separate the theory part and the parts that are relevant for corporate governance. Baker and Barbu credited the academic community for improving rigor and theoretical underpinning in their research and the said factors contributed a lot in the major step in the harmonization of accounting standards in Europe (Baker and Barbu 2007, p. 273). Between 1965 to 2004, the academic community had an increasing output of academic research related to the international harmonization of financial standards (Baker and Barbu 2007, p. 276). However, the idea of creating a conceptual framework to facilitate accounting harmonization was introduced much earlier or in the 1940s (Baker and Barbu 2007, p. 280). In the 1980s, an important role played by accounting academic research is that the research pointed out that cultural and economic factors play important roles in shaping differences in accounting practices by countries (Baker and Barbu 2007, p. 280-281). Another sub-theme that had been prominent during the 1980s is the role played by history in shaping the accounting practices adopted by countries (Baker and Barbu 2007, p. 281). During the mid-1990s, the arguments towards accounting uniformity played an

Training during global recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Training during global recession - Essay Example This paper will posit the various views stating why it is an unwise move for the company to discontinue its training programmes. Galagan (2009) views the effect of the economic challenges of 2008 as motivators for greater precision and efficiency in the execution of business strategies. There is a move towards more constrained use of resources, including people. At about the same time, however, there is an accelerating retirement trend among the Baby Boomer generation, creating a skills gap in several organizations. This is apparent in the rehiring or extension of retirees and retirables in jobs that require specialized knowledge and skills, and for which there is a dearth of qualified younger workers. The confluence of forces that bear upon industry’s manpower complement sometimes create perplexing developments. For instance, the grim economy has manufacturers and other businesses laying off record numbers of workers, yet at the same time there is strong, unsatisfied demand for employees that have anxious companies begging on their knees (Cadrain, 2009). According to economists, academics and human resource managers, the causes can be traced to changing technology, offshoring, global competition and retirements. It is thus not a matter of the unavailability of jobs, but the unavailability of the right types of employees to fill the jobs that are open and waiting. Apparently, â€Å"it’s not a worker shortage, it’s a talent shortage,† according to a report by The Manufacturing Institute, Deloitte and Oracle (Cadrain, 2009). In all companies, there is need for particular skills and talents that training can address, even and especially during an economic slowdown. It takes a matter of strong leadership, vision and foresight to perceive the necessity of training, the kind of training needed, and how such training can benefit the company long after the recession has ended (Van Buskirk, 2009). The American

Televised Presidential Debate (10-3-12) Assignment

Televised Presidential Debate (10-3-12) - Assignment Example (2) About how many people attended the meeting? Describe the audience demographics. This event drew an immense number of audience members. Unlike a private event, this debate was aired live, on multiple networks, allowing for, easily, millions of viewers. The demographics of the audience of this event are as diverse as the country we live in. Americans of all genders, races, political parties, and ideologies were tuned in to view this debate. (3) What was the main topic of the meeting? The topic of the debate was announced as domestic policy. Lehrer explained that there would be, ideally, six segments of 15 minutes in length, with 2 minute responses from each candidate. Three segments would focus on the economy; one segment would be dedicated to healthcare, role of government, and the last on the meaning of â€Å"governing.† I choice this event, particularly, because of it is so very important. There are issues being discussed that are so incredibly relevant to the future of t his country that it is an event deserving of critical attention. This is, also, again, the first debate where these two candidates would be debating these issues face-to-face in an open forum. There are a lot of important questions that need asking, issues that need addressing, and answers that the voters deserve to hear. (4) Why did you choose this meeting, and what did you know about the topic before you attended? There is nothing more politically important in the United States of America than when we choose the leadership that we have. Where to cast your vote should never be a small issue and tends to involve many specific variables. Individuals must assess their political concerns; review the prospective candidates, their personal beliefs and views, and ever so much more, before they make their choice. It is all the harder today with the cut throat nature of the campaign tactics, being overused in this election, for Americans to make that choice clearly. The smear campaigns, ult imately, begin to feel like childhood name-calling. With the state that American is currently in, struggling through a continuing the unemployment crisis and continuing and increasing debt, this is hardly the time for games. Choosing the right candidate is extremely important, regardless of your political party. These are the reasons that I chose this particular event. (5) What were the four most interesting things you learned from the meeting? This debate was, in fact, quite interesting. However, the issue that I was most eager to hear addressed was concerning the unemployment crisis. Although, both, candidates have plans for the issue, Obama reiterated the same approaches that he has proposed throughout his Presidency. While Romney offered some fresh perspectives that, definitely different from Obama’s, had a lot of merit. The next topic of importance to me is the controversial healthcare reform, often called, â€Å"Obamacare.† Romney was able to communicate how, not only is â€Å"Obamacare† not the best solution for healthcare reform, as it takes the power from the patient and physician and places it into the hands of medical councils, but, also, how â€Å"Obamacare† directly contributes to the, aforementioned, unemployment crisis.("YouTube") There are many businesses, particularly small businesses, that are less likely to hire new staff members because of the insurance requirements that â€Å"

Mobile Phone Conversations vs. Face-to-Face Conversations

Mobile Phone Conversations vs. Face-to-Face Conversations Mobile Phone Conversations vs. Face-to-Face Conversations in Public Settings: An Annotated Bibliography Margarita Parker Cell phones burst into our life in the early 90’s and became an integral part of the modern world. They are convenient and essential. They are not only communication devices but also our friends who keep our secrets and save our happiest moments. They remind us about important events and wake us up in the morning. However, more and more people find it inappropriate and unethical to be involuntarily involved in other people’s cell phone conversations in public settings. At first, this paper was planned to be designed as a research critique paper on a study found in the textbook. The study I found interesting was conducted in 2008 by Scott Campbell, professor of Telecommunications in the University of Michigan (Campbell, 2014). His study, Perceptions of mobile phone use in public: The roles of individualism, collectivism, and focus of the setting (Campbell, 2008), was mentioned by Keyton (2010) in terms of â€Å"how mobile phone use in public settings was influenced by cultural and individual differences† (p. 45). I located the study online at ECU Joyner Library, read it, and found the results interesting. Campbell (2008) found that â€Å"participants with a collectivistic orientation [are] more tolerant of mobile phone use† in public settings that participants with an individualistic orientations (Campbell, 2008). While reading the study, I noticed that Campbell often mentioned the study by Monk et al. (2004) who found that people perceive cell phone conversations in public settings more annoying than face-to-face conversations of the same loudness. I located this study online at ECU Joyner Library, found it very interesting, and my initial research question – â€Å"How people of different cultures perceive the use of the mobile phones in public setting?† – changed to the other one: â€Å"Do people find cell phone conversations in public settings more annoying than face-to-face conversations?† Thus, I shifted my focus from a study in the textbook to an annotated bibliography. The study of Monk et al. (2004) became as incitement for its replication by Forma and Kaplowitz (2012). Therefore, this study was located online at ECU Joyner Library, read and analyzed carefully, and an annotated bibliography of the two studies was written. Monk, A., Carroll, J., Parker, S., Blythe, M. (2004). Why are mobile phones annoying? Behaviour Information Technology, 23 (1), 33-41. doi: 10.1080/01449290310001638496 In this study, Monk and the colleagues investigate the participants’ perception of mobile phone conversations and face-to-face conversations in public places. Monk et al. (2004) suggested that people might be more annoyed when hearing a cell phone conversation than a face-to-face conversation. They hypothesized that there were a few explanations to it. Frist, they suggested that it could be explained by the content or the volume of the conversation. Second explanation could be the novelty of the mobile connection technology. â€Å"People are used to others having face-to face conversations in public spaces and have learned to ignore them. The mobile phone is relatively new and hence more noticeable† (Monk et al., 2004). Third factor was suggested to be the fact that the one only hears a half of the cell phone conversation thus could not fully understand the content of the conversation. The experiment involved sixty-four randomly chosen participant – a half of them in the bus station, another half in the train carriage. The participants were exposed to the same staged conversation – one was face-to-face and another on the cell phone. The conversations lasted about one minutes. After that the participants were asked to read six statements and rate the conversation one the card displaying the Likert scale from 1(‘strongly disagree’) to 5 (‘strongly agree’). Each of the six statements was analyzed separately to find out â€Å"how the three independent variables, context (bus station or train), medium (mobile phone or face-to-face) and loudness (normal or loud), affect the ratings† (Monk et al.). A three-way between-subjects analysis of variance, Levine’s test for heterogeneity of variance, a two-tailed t-test, and a Mann-Whitney U-test were used to analyze the data. Analysis of Statement 1, The conversation was very noticeable, showed that the participants found the mobile conversation more noticeable than the face-to-face conversation of the same volume and content. Most of the ratings of Statement 2, The conversation was intrusive, were low. Analysis of Statement 3, I found myself listening to the conversation, revealed that the participants tended to listen to the cell phone conversation more than the face-to-face conversation. The participants were not strongly agreed or strongly disagreed on Statement 4, I found the ring tone of the phone annoying, as well as Statement 5, I found the volume of the conversation annoying. The rating of Statement 6, I found the content of the conversation annoying, were low. The findings provide evidence that in general, cell phone conversations are perceived as more noticeable and annoying than face-to-face conversations at approximately the same volume and content. The authors conclude that the study supported one of their hypothesis – cell phone conversations are more annoying because one hears only one side of the conversations that means people would rather hear a dialogue of two people than a monologue on the call phone. One of the advantages of the study is the random selection of participants as well as conducting the study in the real public settings were participants could do what they usually do in this public setting. However, the level of background noise was not taken into consideration. It can vary from very loud to very quiet in the bus station as well as on the train. This could affect the results of the study. More could be done on studying the effect of the context and content of the conversation. The authors of this study refer to Wei and Leung (1999) who found that public transportation settings were to be less irritating than restaurants, schools, and libraries (Wei Leung, 1999; Monk et al, 2004). Thus, the experiment could be conducted in the different public places such as restaurants, schools, theaters, hospitals, shopping malls, etc. in order to ensure validity and reliability of the experiment. The content of the conversation could be manipulated from being very annoying (talkin g to a customer service representative) to being very pleasant (congratulation on a new baby). The study is interesting but quite outdated. As stated in one of the hypothesis, cell phones were perceived as novelty. They were the novelty in the 90s but not anymore. However, the cell phone conversations in public setting are still perceived as rude and annoying. Thus, this study needs expansion as well as replication in the current time. Forma, J., Kaplowitz, S.A. (2012). The perceived rudeness of public cell phone behavior. Behaviour Information Technology, 31 (10), 947-952. doi: 10.1080/0144929X.2010.520335 The authors report two studies on the perception of face-to-face and mobile phone conversations. The first study was designed to find out if people speak louder when talking on the cell phone than when talking face-to-face. 90 participants were found on a university campus â€Å"30 cell phone users and 60 people having face-to-face conversations† (Forma Kaplowitz, 2012). The participants were observed in two public settings – in a food court on campus and in a lobby outside the food court. 30 cell phone and 30 face-to-face conversations were discretely recorder by one of the authors of this study who sat within 1 m of the participants and recorded the average dB level for 1 minute. The analysis of the collected data confirmed that people talk louder on the cell phone than face-to-face. The second study was a replication of the study of Monk et al. (2004). The goal of this study was to confirm or disprove the findings of Monk et al. (2004) that mobile phone conversations in public settings are perceived more annoying than face-to-face conversations. As in Monk et al. (2004) experiment, Forma and Kaplowitz (2012) used two actresses who engaged in cell phone and face-to-face staged conversations on a bus. In some of the face-to-face conversations, both actresses were audible while in others only one actress was audible. Participants were students riding the bus on the campus. After the conversation was over, the participants were asked if they noticed the girls’ conversations. Those who answered â€Å"yes† were given the questionnaire. 160 participants completed the questionnaire similar to the one Monk et al. (2004) used. The analysis of the results confirmed the findings of Monk and the colleagues that people perceive cell phone conversations in public places more rude that face-to-face conversations. Moreover, Forma and Kaplowitz (2012) found that face-to-face conversations in which only one person was audible were perceived even more annoying than cell phone conversations. Both studies of Forma and Kaplowitz (2012) are fairly recent, well designed, the topics are deeply analyzed, and the authors’ claims are strongly supported with evidence. The replication of the study of Monk et al. (2004) included more participants (160 vs 64) that could increase validity and reliability of the study. However, there are some factors that could make the validity and reliability of both studies of Forma and Kaplowitz (2012) slightly questionable as the participants were mostly young students, and the sample did not include people of different ages and occupations while in the original study by Monk et al. (2004) participants were randomly selected on the train and the bus station. Lastly, I would like to mention that the studies conducted by Monk et al. (2004) and Forma and Kaplowitz (2012) based on some of the findings in the work â€Å"Blurring public and private behaviours in public space: policy challenges in the use and improper use of the cell phone† by Wei and Leung (1999). This work deserves a special attention. However, this assignment is limited to two annotations. Thus, I am planning to return to this work in the future. References Campbell, S.W. (2008). Perceptions of mobile phone use in public: The roles of individualism, collectivism, and focus of the setting. Communication Reports, 21 (2), 70-81. doi: 10.1080/08934210802301506 Campbell, S.W. (2014). Curriculum Vitae. University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/scott.campbell/files/campbell_cv_aug_2014_.pdf Forma, J., Kaplowitz, S.A. (2012). The perceived rudeness of public cell phone behavior. Behaviour Information Technology, 31 (10), 947-952. doi: 10.1080/0144929X.2010.520335 Keyton, J. (2010.) Communication Research: Asking Questions, Finding Answers (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Monk, A., Carroll, J., Parker, S., Blythe, M. (2004). Why are mobile phones annoying? Behaviour Information Technology, 23 (1), 33-41. doi: 10.1080/01449290310001638496 Wei, R., Leung, L. (1999). Blurring public and private behaviours in public space: policy challenges in the use and improper use of the cell phone. Telematics and Informatics, 16, 11–26. doi:10.1016/S0736-5853(99)00016-7

Was there really a revolution in Germany in 1918? Discuss :: essays research papers fc

A revolution is a complete overthrow of an established government or political system, which means that the events occurring in Germany in 1918 didn’t constitute a revolution. Groups changed in and out of power, but in the end it was always one group ruling over the people, just as the Kaiser had. The Social Democrats, a right-wing political group, eventually took his place, using the Freikorps to control people. The Spartacists wanted a revolution exactly like that in Russia in the previous year, but they were never allowed the chance to come into great power. And so the governmental and social system remained fairly similar to that of the Kaiser’s rule. The general public of Germany had never had any say in political matters; they allowed the Kaiser to make all the decisions regarding themselves and their once-prosperous country. The groups controlling Germany began to change during October and November 1918. More power began to fall into the hands of the people as they realised the blame for their involvement in the war was the Kaiser’s. People such as the armed soldiers, sailors and workers started protesting and going on strike. This was a far cry from before the war, when Germany was wealthy, proud and ambitious. So for a brief period, it seemed that a revolution would take place, with the people of Germany wanting a social and political revolution. The Social Democrats were the leading party during and after the fight to remove the Kaiser from his powerful position. They were greatly influenced by the Elite, the rich Germans they thought essential to the prosperity of Germany. They recruited armed forces, the Freikorps, to aid them in controlling those opposing their ideas and policies. The Social Democrats often associated themselves with the Bolsheviks, one half of the Social Democrats that leaded the Russian Revolution the year before. But when it came down to it, the Social Democrats weren’t in favour of a change in government, and they believed â€Å"getting rid of the Kaiser was the end of the revolution† (Lacey and Shephard, 2002, p.13). The fact that there was a revolution wasn’t true, because no groups had actually wielded great power over the rest of Germany, and they hadn’t established any kind of government system. The Kaiser’s abdication, initiated by the Social Democrats, should have started a change, but instead it just made way for their party to gain control.

Online Shopping and Amazon Essay

Abstract: This paper is about the customer service that is offered at Amazon. com. Amazon is a re-tailer that offers products at a responsible price. Amazon has evolved from being an online bookstore and they have become one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world where customers could find and discover anything they wanted to buy online in a more convenient way. With customer service, loyalty, and customer retention were the three important aspects of Amazon’s that it offers. Amazon has increased their sales significantly due to its high levels of customer service that they provide. In addition to consumer customers, Amazon offered marketing and promotional services for third-party retailers and web services for developers. It allowed third party vendors to sell their products on its website. Amazon is a well-known company that was founded in 1995. It is best known for selling the Kindle, offering low competitive prices, offering fast and responsible cost with shipping that is reliable. Everything could be sold online all at the click of a button. â€Å"In 2009, US-based online retailer Amazon. com, Inc. (Amazon) topped BusinessWeek’s 2009 annual list of customer service champs†(Qumer 2010). Amazon is completely a customer service company that concentrates, on making sure that the customer is happy and taking care of. Which is reflected in their company values and what they believe in. Amazon was considered to be one of the most customer-centric companies in the world where customers could find and buy anything they wanted online at the lowest possible prices. Delivering excellent customer service and offering compelling value to its customers had been the core strategy of Amazon since its inception. Amazon focuses on being loyal to their customers, when they are loyal to them they figure that in return their customers would recommend others and continue to shop with them and make future purchases. Amazon makes sure that the infrastructure is taken care of so that the retention is there. When the retention is there they will continue to grow and expand their product lines so their customers will not have to take their business elsewhere. To make sure that the customer satisfaction is taken care of they live by Sic Core Values to make things happen to make sure that everything stay in order. The first on they have is Customer Obsession: With customer Obsession they start off with the customers and work backwards to make sure that things are taken care of. Secondly, Amazon includes innovation. Amazon says that if you do not listen to your customers, you will fail and if you only listen to your customers you will fail. You have to be able to find the balance. Third, you have a Bias for Action which is living in time of unheralded revolution and insurmountable opportunity and provided that they make every opportunity count. With the Fourth thing you will find that Amazon will take ownership when it comes to building a great company. Fifth they will have a High Hiring Bar that they often ask themselves† Will I admire this person? Will I learn from this person? Is this person a superstar? All of those important questions Amazon will ask themselves when they are looking to hire you. Lastly, they have frugality, where they spend money on things that really matter and believe that frugality breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. In the future I do believe that Amazon should continue to find unique ways to reach consumers to continue to win them over. Right now Amazon should continue to grow their customer base and continue to grow social media awareness and continue to post the review of the consumers who have purchased products and how they were impressed with the arrival and how they love using what they purchased. With the role of Jeff Bezos in creating a customer-centric culture at Amazon he has done an awesome job working on Amazon and making sure that they continue to grow. Jeffrey Preston known as â€Å"Jeff† Bezos was born on January 12, 1964 and is an American Internet entrepreneur and investor. He is a technology entrepreneur who has played a key role in the growth of e-commerce[5] as the founder and CEO of Amazon. com, an online merchant of books and later of a wide variety of products. Under his guidance, Amazon. com became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and a top model for Internet sales. † Bezos, J. (2013). Retrieved â€Å"Bezos believes that if you fix the customers problems then customer loyalty will be built from that. Jeff Bezos said his main goals are to provide his own perspective to the paper’s managing staff and to ensure the financial stability of the â€Å"Post† while it experiments with ways to be profitable. Though he’ll be active in leading the plans for the â€Å"Post,† he plans to continue living in Seattle and will remain the chairman and chief executive of Amazon. com. While the â€Å"Post† purchase took many by surprise, especially given the state of print journalism, it makes sense within Jeff Bezos’ unconventional business philosophy. He has said that Amazon. com management is â€Å"willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time. † He prefers to be patient and accept losing money for several years if he believes the long-term investment is worth it. He’s also known for an approach that puts customers’ needs and desires over everything else. Lots of retailers give lip service to that approach, but Amazon. com truly incorporates that philosophy into everything it does. Jeff Bezos might not do things the traditional way, but many would point to his unconventional approach as the foundation for the incredible growth of Amazon. com. His principles of growth over profit, long-term investment, and prioritizing the customer have made Amazon. com the worldwide online retailing leader. If anyone can find a way to pump new blood into traditional journalism, it might well be him. † (Beyond. com) Amazon did understand the integration scenarios and their impact on retailers, â€Å"let’s look beyond the financials and think about Amazon’s probable thought process in the transaction: Shoes are a $40b category (online and offline) and comscore reports that online apparel in 08 was $23b. While Amazon doesn’t disclose their apparel/shoe sales, they are definitely much smaller than Zappos. Thus this creates a clear leader in the category and gives Amazon mass in a third category (media, electronics, apparel). Amazon’s CFO said on the conference call last night: â€Å"†¦ this (the Zappos acquisition) is not about synergies. This is about growing in categories that we think are interesting. † Amazon did $4m in 08 revenues in EGM (non-media categories) – Zappos’ approximately $1b in GMV grows this 20% overnight. Also, Zappos was a large competitor to Amazon’s apparel business and forced them to come out with www. endless. com to counter the threat. According to compete. com, Zappos has about 6m visitors/m and endless is stuck in the 1m range. While amazon says they won’t close this, they can definitely stop spending marketing dollars on it so there’s going to be some savings there. There are also some shipping synergies. By injecting the Zappos’ approx 10m shoe shipments into the Amazon fulfillment engine, Zappos could save as much as $1/shipment which would effectively grow their profits by 50%. I also wonder if Amazon has any interest in the Zappos robotic fulfillment system and would consider moving that into their fulfillment centers to increase efficiency. Some have suggested that one driver could be Amazon wanting to sell prime to the Zappos audience. That doesn’t make sense to me as with the Zappos free shipping model, why do you need Prime at all? I don’t think Amazon would mess around with the Zappos model and move to something like normal S+H, free with Prime. The bottom line is Amazon gets a potentially 4-win scenario here: (1) good valuation, (2) eliminate a growing competitor, (3) grow EGM 20%, and (4) cement a leadership position on a big category (shoes+apparel). With putting this move into play I would say was the might move for both companies. Zappos focused on delivering WOW through service, they embraced and drove change, Created fun and a little weirdness, they were adventurous, creative and open minded, pursue growth and learning, built open and honest relationships with communication, built a positive team and family spirit, do more with less, be passionate and determined and they were humble. All of those core values made Zappos. â€Å"(â€Å"Analysis and retailer,† 2009)

Meanings of Tool

Meanings of Tool Meanings of Tool Meanings of Tool By Maeve Maddox A reader wants to know who’s right about the use of the word tool: My brother vehemently asserts that a tractor counts as a tool, since it is an invention that helps someone do something. However, the rest of [my friends and family] maintain that since it is mechanical as opposed to manual, it does not fit the general connotation of a tool. Please help in settling this discussion once and for all. Like many common English words, tool is used with both literal and figurative meanings. Take the word hammer, for example. At the most basic level of meaning, a hammer is an implement for pounding nails or breaking something up. But pianos contain hammers that strike strings without breaking them, to produce sound. King Edward I of England (1239-1307) is known as â€Å"the Hammer of the Scots† because of his military incursions into Scotland, when he did his best â€Å"to hammer† the inhabitants into submission. So is it with tool. The noun tool has been with us since King Alfred’s day, when he used it in his translation of Boethius to refer to one of the necessities of life: â€Å"a tool [to practice] some craft.† Tool derives from an Old Germanic verb that meant â€Å"to prepare† or â€Å"to make.† In his dictionary of 1755, Dr. Johnson (1709-1784) defined tool as â€Å"any instrument of manual operation.† The OED expands on this basic definition: tool noun: a mechanical implement for working upon something, as by cutting, striking, rubbing, or other process, in any manual art or industry; usually, one held in and operated directly by the hand (or fixed in position, as in a lathe), but also including certain simple machines, as the lathe; sometimes extended to simple instruments of other kinds, [like a lens]. By extension, tool can refer to anything that helps a person carry out a job. For example, the tools I use to write these articles about language include a computer, the Google Ngram Viewer, and an assortment of reference books. Shakespeare plays on two meanings of tool in the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet. Sampson and Gregory, characters in the employ of the Capulets, make jokes laced with sexual innuendo. When two men employed by the Montagues enter, Gregory says, â€Å"Draw thy tool! here comes [sic] two of the house of the Montagues.† One meaning of tool common in Shakespeare’s day was â€Å"a weapon of war, especially a sword.† Another meaning for tool that the audience would have been aware of was â€Å"the male generative organ.† In reference to a person, a tool is â€Å"a person used by another for his own ends; one who is, or allows himself to be, made a mere instrument for some purpose†: Making a shocking statement of moral equivalence, Turness  stated  in 2006,  We have to ask ourselves, are we being the tool of terrorists or the tool of the government?    The idiom â€Å"tools of the trade† refers to anything that used in a particular occupation to achieve an intended goal: While the strategic goal of professional  campaigning  remains the same as it ever was- finding enough votes to win an election- the  tools of the trade  have undergone, and continue to undergo, a permanent technological revolution. The expression â€Å"to down tools† means, â€Å"to refuse to work, especially because you are not satisfied with your pay or working conditions,† as in this headline: Clinical interns threaten to down tools over allowances To get back to the question that prompted this post, the reader’s brother is not wrong to refer to a tractor as a tool in the context of something used to perform a task. Here, in an article about missionaries in Belize, the word tool is used with both meanings, â€Å"a handheld implement† and â€Å"a means of getting something done†: Fortunately, Paul  had  shipped his tractor, bush hog, plows, tools and other farming implements to Belize. The tractor has proved to be an invaluable tool, especially with rock removal. Note: Tool has other uses as a verb. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleOne Fell SwoopGrammar Review #1: Particles and Phrasal Verbs

Cmo discapacitados pueden evitar examen de ciudadana

Cmo discapacitados pueden evitar examen de ciudadana Los residentes permanentes que desean naturalizarse para sacar asà ­ la ciudadanà ­a pero que  sufren de una discapacidad fà ­sica o mental pueden solicitar una waiver para no tener que rendir el examen de inglà ©s y conocimientos. Esta waiver, de ser concedida, serà ­a una excepcià ³n a la prctica general que establece que para convertirse en estadounidenses los residentes permanentes deben aprobar un examen sencillo en el que demuestren que pueden entender, hablar, escribir y leer el idioma inglà ©s y tambià ©n que tienen conocimientos bsicos sobre la historia y principios cà ­vicos de los Estados Unidos. En este artà ­culo se explica cà ³mo tramitar esa excepcià ³n y cules son los casos en los que es posible. Adems, se brindan consejos de interà ©s para los residentes permanentes que estn pensando en sacarse la ciudadanà ­a. Tramitacià ³n de la solicitud de la waiver para el examen de ciudadanà ­a Entre la documentacià ³n que acompaà ±a a la planilla N-400 debe incluirse la forma N-648. Esta sà ³lo puede ser cumplimentada por un mà ©dico o por un osteà ³pata (M.D., M.O.) o por un psicà ³logo clà ­nico con las debidas licencias o un psiquiatra y que tenga conocimiento de primera mano sobre la incapacidad. En otras palabras, puede ser un profesional de la medicina o psicologà ­a especialista en la discapacidad o el mà ©dico o psicà ³logo que le trata como paciente, siempre y cuando tenga experiencia suficiente sobre la discapacidad. El formulario N-648 debe rellenarse empleando un lenguaje sencillo y muy claro, no demasiado tà ©cnico y se debe identificar claramente la incapacidad. Se deben aà ±adir ejemplos especà ­ficos de cà ³mo la discapacidad afecta la capacidad del solicitante de aprender para rendir el examen de ciudadanà ­a, siendo esto extremadamente importante. Por à ºltimo, se debe prestar especial atencià ³n a completar la pregunta nà ºmero 3  de la planilla. Requisitos para que pueda solicitarse la waiver Deben cumplirse los siguientes requisitos: Se supone que la incapacidad va a durar por al menos 12 meses ms.La incapacidad debe ser la causa de que el solicitante sea incapaz de aprender inglà ©s y/o de estudiar el test sobre cultura cà ­vica e historia de los Estados Unidos. Este punto es fundamentalà ­simo. No basta con tener la discapacidad, sino que à ©sta debe afectar negativamente a la capacidad de aprender. Y por à ºltimo es necesario que la discapacidad no es  el resultado de haber consumido ningà ºn tipo de droga ilegal. Ejemplos de discapacidades para los que se puede solicitar la waiver. Siempre y cuando estas condiciones afecten a la capacidad de aprender porque inhabilitan la posibilidad de concentracià ³n o memoria, el USCIS podrà ­a conceder esta waiver.   Despuà ©s de examinar caso por caso, a personas que sufran entre otras de las siguientes enfermedades: depresià ³n severa, estrà ©s postraumtico (PTSD, por sus siglas en inglà ©s), demencia, esclerosis mà ºltiple en grado avanzado, esquizofrenia o desorden bipolar. Tambià ©n pueden incluirse un conjunto de enfermedades que provoquen que una persona està © agotada, en cama y no se pueda concentrar, como por ejemplo algunos enfermos de cncer que estn recibiendo quimioterapia, la arterioscleoris cerebral o casos severos de diabetes o enfermedades del corazà ³n. Tambià ©n pueden incluirse los casos de autismo, sà ­ndrome de Down o algunas instancias de discapacidades del aprendizaje. Es importante entender que esas y otras incapacidades pueden o no ser causa para la waiver, depende del su grado de severidad. El simplemente padecerlas no califica automticamente para que se conceda la peticià ³n. Por otra parte, la  ceguera o la sordera no son, por sà ­ solas, suficientes para que se conceda esta waiver de rendir el examen de ciudadanà ­a. Sà ³lo se aprobar si la discapacidad fà ­sica  es tal o va acompaà ±ada por otras enfermedades que impidan el proceso de aprendizaje. En general, si una persona es ciega el USCIS no le pedir que rinda el examen de inglà ©s escrito, pero le examinar oralmente. Tambià ©n se espera que aprenda las preguntas del examen de historia y cà ­vico. Si una persona es sorda, el USCIS puede pedir que utilice audà ­fonos, y si no puede o no son suficientes para que pueda escuchar o leer, se puede pedir que se haga el examen y se sea entrevistado con la ayuda de un intà ©rprete de lenguaje de sordos o incluso que se rinda el examen totalmente por escrito. Consideraciones a tener en cuenta y consejos sobre examen de naturalizacià ³n El ser analfabeto en el idioma nativo, en este caso en espaà ±ol o uno de los idiomas indà ­genas no es razà ³n suficiente para permitir no  rendir los exmenes. Si se tiene una discapacidad que no impide rendir el test de naturalizacià ³n pero que requiere ciertos acomodos, como es la necesidad de un intà ©rprete para sordos, se necesita solicitarlo al llenar  el N-400. Adems, en algunos casos,  en los que necesariamente hay que presentarse al examen, es posible rendir el examen en espaà ±ol. Finalmente, tener en cuenta que  en casos de necesidad econà ³mica la ley establece unas situaciones en las que se  califica  para no pagar tarifa por naturalizacià ³n. Es decir, es posible iniciar y finalizar todo el proceso sin tener que pagar las cuotas a Inmigracià ³n. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Racial and Ethnic Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Racial and Ethnic Relations - Assignment Example This led to the migration of more Portuguese from Europe who came to own plantations in Brazil that used Native Indian and African slaves as cheap labor. The secret to the Portuguese domination of Brazil laid in the fact that they had a stronger military that used superior technology. Due to this, the seized the fertile lands of Brazil and suppressed all efforts for fairness and justice. This led to the establishment of a wealthy elite made up of White Portuguese land owners. These Portuguese were assisted in the middle-ranks by Moors and other mixed race mulattoes who suppressed Black Africans and Indians. This racial stratification led determined the distribution of land and wealth in Brazil and this transcended throughout the generations till this day. In South Africa, the Dutch first settled in the Western Cape and found fertile lands that was fit for agriculture and cultivation. The British also settled in the Eastern Cape and some of them seized lands from the native Xhosa peop le and began plantations. At this time, the natives were used as cheap labor on the White farms.

Significant Aspect in the Painting Three Studies for Figures at the Essay

Significant Aspect in the Painting Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944) - Essay Example One of his highly influential works was the ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’ that he did in 1944. This essay will focus on the style of triptych and distorted images that are evident in the painting, making it an outstanding piece, whose relevance has surpassed the passing of time. From the onset of his career, Bacon exhibited an addiction to the Crucifixion as a subject in many of his artistic works. This does not imply that he depicted a salient attachment to religion. He highlighted that the crucifixion represented a unique subject that he could use to express a range of human feelings successfully.2 From the years when he started painting, he demonstrated immense interest in depicting images that he associates closely with the crucifixion. Prior to painting this piece of work in 1944, he had painted other images that revealed his unique style of depicting strange objects. For Bacon, the ‘Three Figures’ marked the beginning of his career because he made claims that he had not taken art as a serious career in the previous years. Apparently, he had painted other pieces of work before this influential piece, but he attributed this to his immature style, judging from the increased criticism he had received from his counterparts and himself.3 According to him, the Three Figures’ served as his debut into painting, and it depicted his mature style. Judging from the uniqueness of the painting, it is evident that he exerted himself and expressed himself in an outstanding manner. Through the use of strange images, he managed to bring out the format of the triptych, a style of painting that redefined his painting experience because he painted many other art pieces using this unique style.4 ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’ Description The painting has three images that exhibited differences.5 A glance at the images reveals that they are not the usual image that the human eye is familiar with, a factor that makes an art analyst realize that such strangeness is one of the unique aspects of the painting. Whereas many artists depict normal objects that the audience are familiar with in conformity with the realism art ideology, Bacon depicts surrealism in this piece of art.6 Artists belonging to the surrealist school of thought defied the norm and highlighted that art was a form of expression that allowed each individual to express even things that did not exist in nature. This is the ideology that motivated Bacon because the objects depicted in his painting do not exist in real life. From one perspective, the objectives resemble birds while a closer analysis of the depicted torso resembles the body of a woman. This strangeness of the objects reflects surrealism at its best. First Panel on the left In the image on the left side of the painting, the object appears as the torso of a woman, finding support on another object that resembles a table.7 The position t hat the woman’s torso occupies on the table-like structure creates a resemblance to flowers resting on a table. The torsoappearsto have a head that exhibits wrapping using a cloth. The shoulders on the torso resemble reduced wings, giving the viewer a new idea idea that probably the torso is but a chicken after some plucking of its wings and feathers. The head depicts a downward stretch, with a triangle-like picture forming in the view of the observer. The torso seems to have a mouth-like structure resembling the beak of a bird. Further analysis also presents the idea of an animal in its efforts to snarl. Image in the Second Panel The image at the center is different and exhibits multiple contours and a