Edgar Allan Poe Essay

Edgar Allan Poe was evil genius for his time and a great literary forerunner of today. He created the mind set for current writers such as Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Robin Cook by creating the horror story. Poe invites the reader to enter the mind of the narrator by using our senses as a way to provoke terror, suspense, and awe. His writing was influenced by many tragic losses in his life, and this would explain why Poe was a writer of such morbid short stories and poems. Poe’s experiences in life definitely influenced the remarkable literary work he produced. In his early life he had to deal with the death of both his parents, a difficult experience, but Poe accepted it as time went on. Later on in his life Poe’s stepfather disowned him. Young Edgar’s life was changed due to abandonment, alcoholism, and depression. In 1832 Poe moved in with his aunt and his 11 year old cousin in Baltimore. Poe then married his younger cousin in 1836. However, Poe did not know that he would suffer yet another terrible loss, the loss of his love, his wife. Poe’s ability to write literature was the window for him to express his feelings. All of Poe’s tragic losses affected the way he wrote. Poe used his life experiences to make his writing a lot more interesting. Poe’s writing is remarkably interesting. The poem â€Å"The Raven† showed how Poe erected a crazed state of mind, as the poem shows how the loss or a loved one drove a person crazy. This poem was possibly created for his wife that he had lost. While reading the poem it seems as if the stresses of the life of Poe, and his thoughts and feelings were all put into this poem. Throughout Poe’s life, many factors have contributed and influenced his writing style. He lived a difficult life, because he was raised in a dysfunctional household. But the final product of Poe’s mind is printed in his short stories and poems. Poe’s stories all have similar motifs and composition that would suggest suppressed emotions from life experiences are being discharged through his writings. The most prominent feature of Poe’s writing is his obsession with death. Poe’s writing does more than entertain the reader. It can be an insight into the dark and somber world of Edgar Allan Poe. One does not understand the meaning of Poe if one reads at the superficial level. One has to read into Poe, and understand the hardships of his life and how he maintained them that way. He knew that death was an inevitable part of life, it is the price of life, but he tried to fight it as if it was an unnatural part of life. He was an extremely intriguing man from all viewpoints, and he was and is, the dark side of all of us. It is difficult not to link Poe’s fictional stories with his real life. Evidence shows that Poe had a heart condition during his later years in life. Could â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† be his own fear of the disease? Who knows? Could Poe have been expressing his fears that his alcoholic rages may cause him to hurt the one’s he loved most in his tale â€Å"The Black Cat†? Finally, was â€Å"the Pit and the Pendulum† an allegory of his life? Did he find himself caught â€Å"between the pendulum of financial adversity and the pit of degradation of death†? Poe made the reader feel as if the reader were there, in the story, struggling with the same terrors of the characters. All his famous mystery thriller works give the reader a sense of nervousness, a sense of fear, and a sense of evil, by making our five senses awaken by reading every word. Critics say that Poe did not merely imitate the Gothic tales, but he also â€Å"enriched them by preserving a central action while adding philosophical speculations and lore that deepened the impressions of the tales†. As a result of the traumas he endured, Poe was â€Å"unafraid of taking his readers for a walk on the dark side, where lines between life and death were sometimes blurred†. His ability to tap into humankind’s deepest fears and his consistency in portraying such intriguing and captivating themes is what has kept the work of Poe timeless. In short, Edgar Allan Poe has created many great stories for us. He liked to illustrate the dissolution of an individual’s mind and body, as he had suffered it himself for quite a long time. He thought death is unavoidable, because he experienced keenly deaths all around him and its threat on his own life. He was obsessed by the loss of love of ideal women, for he had the same experience in life. Now, we can understand why Poe had a tendency of choosing such themes. Poe is an author of the inner world and his writings are his psychological autobiography to some extent. In this respect, Poe pioneered a new field in literature. He is the first one who focused on man’s mental and spiritual activities, and his writings have deep influence on many of later writers.    WORKS CITED Poe, Edgar Allan. Introductory Notes and Editor’s preface by Phillip van Doren Stern. In Selected Tales and Poems. The Viking Portal Library, Penguin Books, 1993. Moore, R. â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart: Discussion.† 2002.Online. Internet. 11 November 2002. Available WWW: http://www.allpoe.com Murphy, Sally. â€Å"Poe’s Poetry.† 2002.Online. Internet. 12 November 2002. Available WWW: http://www.allpoe.com Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe His Life and Legacy. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992. Peters, James. â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe.† April 1, 2002.http://www.island-of-freedom.com/POE.HTM Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: A Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Death of Edgar Allan Poe. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998

A Story About Courage Essay

Waking up in the morning to birds chirping and the warm summer breeze is almost impossible when you live in the heart of New York City, well it is for me at least. My name is Sandy Collins, I’m your typical teenage girl. I like going out with my friends, having slumber parties, and going shopping. I moved from Texas to New York City a month and a half ago. The moment I stepped out of the car I instantly loved the change. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy living in Texas, but now living in New York felt like it made much more sense. As a child I did everything with my dad. Biking, fishing, rollerblading, you name it. I, Sandy Collins has done it. My dad always said he wanted a better life for me then what he had, he sure meant it. Back when I was almost eleven years old my parents got a divorce, great birthday present, huh? At first when I’d walk into the room where my parents would be arguing, they’d pretend they were only talking loud of some sort. But as the months went by, they didn’t even noticed when I’d enter the room. Soon after that my mom filed for a divorce, leaving me in the middle. It was hard to cope with it to begin with, but soon after that I realized I had no part in what happened. Now four years later here I am making the decision to move in with my dad. When I first mentioned moving to New York to my mom, her reaction was absolutely no. After mentioning it a few more times, giving her a month or two, she finally realized that I should be able to make my own decisions because in the end it’d make me happier. Now five months after, BAM! New York City here I come. The twelve hour drive was definitely the worst road trip, bonding time, or whatever my mom would wish to call it. She came up with a clever idea to shove me, my seven year old brother Ricky, my stepfather Joe, and herself in our beat up Toyota Tercel and take on the task to drive us all the way to New York for the last bonding time she’ll have with me in a long time. Not to mention we’re in the month of July. â€Å"Sweetie would you like something to eat? † mom said shaking my shoulder. I’d fallen asleep three hours into the drive. We ordered from the nearest fast food place, Mcdondalds, filling all our hungry appetites. After about ten hours I became so bored I started to play with the lose thread on my shirt. I could tell Ricky wasn’t having any more fun then I was considering he was opening and closing the screen of his Nintendo DS over and over and over again. The traffic became agony, there’s no doubt that you could put your car in park for five minutes and no would notice. Finally after hours of traffic we arrived at the house. Dad had just walked out the front door waving and smiling. â€Å"Dad! † I exclaimed while giving him a giant bear hug. â€Å"Hi hunny, I’m so glad you’re here. Dad said smiling. â€Å"Nice place you got here† Joe said examining it with his eyes. We’ve never been to dad’s place before, he’d always come to Texas to visit on special occasions and my birthday’s. â€Å"Now you be good, call whenever you have the time and no late night walks, New York is very different then back home. † Mom said. She kept going on until she had run out of things to say. â€Å"Okay, Okay mom. See you at thanksgiving, love you. † I said giving her a hug. I realized after saying that, that made her take-in how long it’d be until we’d see each other again. After saying goodbye to everyone I knew I’d miss each and everyone back home in Texas terribly but I had a feeling this was a change for the better. What we had left of the day, dad decided it’d be a good idea to show me around the neighbourhood. â€Å"Your hair is so straight and black now† dad said. â€Å"Yeah, I coloured it a few months ago. I thought it was time for some change, like moving here. † I said smiling. For the next month dad and I went fishing, rollerblading, shopping, and all the other things we used to do when mom and he were together. I even met a new friend, Paige. She’s the neighbour’s daughter; she told me we’d be attending the same school together up the street when school re-opens in two weeks. The next day we arranged to go shopping. â€Å"Hey dad, would it be okay if I go shopping with Paige today? † I said. â€Å"Sure hunny, I have to run a few errands and do some grocery shopping anyway, so I’ll drop you two off at the mall. † Dad said, smiling as always. Paige is so nice and out-going to be around. My friends in Texas were more down-to-earth. We would still go places and what not, but Paige’s personality screams fun. â€Å"We need to spice up your wardrobe, all of your out-fits are too toned down for NYC. † Paige said, trying on a vintage pair of black boots. After a couple of hours of shopping, we grabbed something to eat and went home. Home I kept thinking. I like it here, being with my dad made me so much happier. Walking down the busy streets of New York with the sound of cars honking, people shouting for taxis, bargainers trying to sell you their no more than $5 junk, was now what I got to call home. Oddly I loved it. When I got home I took my shopping bags to my room and headed downstairs to watch T. V while waiting on my dad to come home and make dinner. As I reached for the television remote the phone rang. â€Å"Hello, may I speak to Mr. Collins? † â€Å"He’s not home at the moment; would you like me to take a message? † â€Å"Sure, is this Ms. Collins? † â€Å"Yes it is. † I said, realizing soon after this person was probably referring to Ms. Collins as if I was my dad’s wife. A moment before I was about to correct myself, the person started speaking again. Oh, hi Ms. Collins, this is Tom’s doctor, Dr. Lee. Unfortunately I have to break the bad news to you; Tom’s cancer results have come in positive. He has cancer in his right lung and it’s too late to attempt to cure it. I’m extremely sorry to tell you this way; Tom’s appointment was re-scheduled in two weeks from now when school re-opens, he cancelled the appointment scheduled for today knowing he’d want to spend as much time with your daughter arriving from Texas before school started. When I got the results, knowing Tom for so long, I wanted him to know as soon as possible. † I didn’t know what to do, I held the phone to my ear ready to reply but my mind went blank. Eventually I replied and hung up the phone. Did I really just hear that? No, it couldn’t be. My dad couldn’t have cancer, he just couldn’t. Who am I kidding!? His doctor called for god sakes, I just didn’t want to believe it. Moments later my dad walked in the front door. â€Å"Hi hunny. † He said smiling.

Case Study Of Tom Shareholder Of The ABC Ltd †Free Samples

In the given case study, Tom was a minor shareholder of the ABC Ltd. The directors of the company had sold the assets of the company to purchase an island resort in their own names. Therefore, the directors are said to be the controlling shareholders of the company and hence, they will have more rights on the property compared to a minority shareholder[1]. Tom was made aware of these activities at a general meeting and soon after he wanted to take an action against the directors of the company. As per the Company Law , the directors will be held liable if they take such actions by not disclosing it to the existing shareholders of the company. Being a minor shareholder, Tom can claim for his amount of shares that he had invested in the ABC Ltd. As per the guiding rules on Principle 2, individual directors has direct control and right over the company of ABC Ltd[2]. but it is also their responsibility to inform every shareholder of the company about the activities. Therefore, Tom can initiate an action against the directors. As seen in this case study, Flywell Ltd was the owner of an Australian airline. The Flywell Ltd. wished to persuade each investor to invest $10,000 with the company. The company had focused to raise the funds between $9 million and $11 million in new funds. Therefore, a company can raise its fund with the help of five primary methods that are generally used by the corporations[3]. It can issue bonds, put a sale on the common stock, can issue preferred stock, borrow from finance inventories and can put the profits on use. Proportional granting of ownership in the firm is given to the investors in exchange of money. Corporations raise money by this popular method. Therefore, the Flywell Ltd can fund raise the obligations by these primary methods under the Corporations Act. The Board of Directors of Flywell Ltd can purchase extra plains by raising the funds since the company does not have sufficient capital fund[4]. The advice, which the Flywell Ltd. should be given, is that it should u tilize the primary sources for raising the funds. Bà ®gioi, Adrian Doru, and Cristina Elena Dumitru. "The rights of shareholders–basic principle of corporate governance by means of case-specific jurisprudence."  Audit Financiar  14.136 (2016): 401-412. Kshetri, Nir. "Success of crowd-based online technology in fundraising: An institutional perspective."  Journal of International Management  21.2 (2015): 100-116. Matsusaka, John G., and Oguzhan Ozbas. "A theory of shareholder approval and proposal rights."  The Journal of Law , Economics, and Organization  33.2 (2017): 377-411. Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones.  Lean solutions: how companies and customers can create value and wealth together. Simon and Schuster, 2015.

Critical, Close Reading Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games Essay

Critical, Close Reading Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games - Essay Example The major strengths of this paper is the use of examples, drawn from the novel as well as real life examples on how authoritarian rule caused rebellion. However, the area I would like to improve on is the analysis section. One of the major themes identified in the novel is power. The main source of power is the authoritarian government that is situated in the Capitol. This is because the Capitol contains majority of the wealth of Panem (Egan and Suzanne, 10). The government also uses this city to control the citizens of Panem. This is by holding the hunger games, whereby teenagers are chosen from the 12 districts and forced to fight to death. The major aim of holding these games was to thwart any form of rebellion from the people. It was also aimed at creating divisions within the districts, and infighting amongst the members of the 12 Districts in Panem (Balkind, 33). This in turn would prevent the citizens of Panem from rebelling against the government. However, these games did not succeed in preventing the citizens of Panem from rebelling. This paper takes a stand that the authoritarian use of power is a motivating factor for rebellion. It identifies circumstances where the citizens of Panem rebell ed against the authorities of the Capitol. This is through the two civil wars that occurred in Panem, and the actions of Katniss Everdeen. Originally, the country of Panem had 13 districts, but due to the authoritarian rule of the Capitol, the first civil war emerged. This was referred to as the Dark Days rebellion, and it was led by the 13th district. However, during this war, district 13 was able to gain independence, and formed its own rule. This is because its military was advanced, and it had threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy Capitol (Collins, 7). The Capitol and the 13th district signed a secret ceasefire deal that granted district 13 independence. During

To Do the Right Thing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

To Do the Right Thing - Essay Example Lies, even the smallest ones, weaken relationships and lead to bigger problems down the road. When I sat and thought about what Learner spoke, i felt, most people in principle would agree that lying is wrong. However, I believe that lying is much more than the untruths that can come out of one's mouth. It is, too often, also in the way one lives their life. There is no justification for a lie, no matter what its form. An essay such as this allows one to sit for a few moments and examine his life. I found myself sitting here thinking about what examples I could share that were a 'good enough' to be recognized as a lie while, at the same time, maintain a balance so that it would somehow seem acceptable. The reader may see my words and think to himself that, given the same situation, he would do the act or speak likewise; that somehow his justification would make my lie right. In doing that very thing, I was, in effect, doing what I had just stated was never justified. I was making my own life, my very existence, into a lie. Not in word, perhaps, but a lie, none the less. So, in truth, I offer you an example of a lie within my own life. In trying to convince ourselves that, somehow, there must be a reason for telling a lie no matter for what reason, I found myself imaging what it would be like to live in a place where exactly wha

U.S Banking Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

U.S Banking Industry - Essay Example As the essay declares the U.S banking Industry is faced with some limitations like the 2008 global economic crisis, whose effects are still limiting the industry’s capabilities. Financial crisis as one of the major limitations in the current U.S banking industry can be defined insufficient finances to run ensure banking obligations.   It comes in different types, currency crises, implies insufficient currency in a specific region. The banking industry is obliged f to transact in different or foreign currencies which might turn out to be costly.   Bank crisis is the situation where a certain baking institution has insufficient funds to loan its customers among other banking obligations. The third type of financial crisis is the twin crisis, which is a combination of currency and bank crisis.From this paper it is clear that  the U.S central bank   through some financial agencies resolved in hiking interest rates to increase the baking industry revenue and recover some of the debts caused by the 2007 financial crisis. Several baking studies reveal that the majority of U.S citizens have resolved to alternative baking systems like companies’ cooperatives, insurance companies, asset management agencies as well as macro and micro finance institutions. Multilateral businesses have also resolved in baking in their respective countries whose interests and baking rates are still appealing.  The crisis led to closure of some banking facilities, leaving customers with few options but to crowd the remaining ones. Several regional and multinational businesses stopped or reduced their operations until the hiked banking rates goes down. This greatly compromised the banking revenue due to decrease in loan beneficiaries hence low revenues

About Destination Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

About Destination Management - Assignment Example It is the home for most of the national as well as the international based organisations and is also considered to be a significant commercial centre. It has been ascertained that millions of tourist visit London every year. It is worth mentioning that number of famous attractions dwells in the city. Amongst these Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London and Buckingham Palace among others are the few world renowned places that are located in the city. Apart from these, numerous events are also conducted in the city annually. The city has a good transportation system. It is regarded as among the safest destinations for visitors (Visit England, 2013).Correspondingly, this paper primarily intends to describe the emergence of destination development along with relating various theories and concepts to the city of London. 2. The Emergence of Destination Development and Consideration of Sustainable/Responsible Tourism Development A destination is duly regard ed as an area of tourist appeal which comprises attractions and accommodations along with support services. In other words, it can be regarded as a physical boundary embrace with distinctive images as well as qualities that provides a brand identity to a particular location recognisable by potential visitors (Visit England, 2013). The aspect of destination development is often considered to be a central theme especially from tourism perspective. It is worth mentioning that emergence of destinations, government policies, impact of development and marketing issues among others are the vital components that play an imperative role in destination development. It is strongly stated that a destination possesses the capability to motivate visitors to travel by and entail activities of interest to accommodate wherein visitors feel safe and secure. At the same time, shortage of tourism resources, obstructionist role often play by governments, inadequate infrastructure and ineffective promoti on are the primary determinants for destination development (Henderson, 2006). It is firmly stressed that destination development has viable influence on the notion of sustainable development. Broadly speaking, tourism activity considerably contributes towards the development as well as the growth of a particular location. It can be affirmed that sustainable development has greater interrelation with destination development. Correspondingly, destination development is accompanied with various significant factors such as quality environment, social interaction, cultural distinctiveness, security and welfare of visitors and host communes (European Commission, 2007). Thus, destination development is viewed as an important tool driven with economic development along with enhancing the quality life of tourists as well as host communities. 3. Application of Theories to the City Of London a. Stage of Development The mounting demand of national along with international visitors for spending their holidays has resulted in rapid development of tourist destinations. In order to understand the destination development stage, it is crucial to adopt the model propagated by R. W. Butler. According to Butler (1980), the development of a particular destination typically passes through six major sequences or phases. These stages can be identified as exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and decline or rejuvenation (Butler, 1980). Diagrammatic representation of the aforementioned stages of destination development has been illustrated below. Source: (Butler, 1980). With this concern, it can be apparently observed that the city of

Costing and Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Costing and Economics - Essay Example Prevention Costs: The planned costs incurred by an organization to ensure that errors are not made at any of the various stages during the delivery process of that product or service to a customer. The delivery process may include design, development, production and shipping. Examples of prevention costs include education and training, continuous improvement efforts, quality administration staff, process control, market research, field testing and preventive maintenance. Failure Costs: The costs incurred by a company because the product or service did not meet the requirements and the product had to be fixed or replaced or the service had to be repeated. These failure costs can be further subdivided in to two groups - Internal or External failures. Internal failures include all the costs resulting from the failures that are found before the product or service reaches the customer. Examples include scrap, rework, extra inventory, repair stations, re-design, salvage, corrective action reports and overtime due to nonconforming product or service. External failures are all the costs incurred by the company resulting when the customer finds the failure. These external failure costs do not include any of the personal costs of the customer. Examples of these costs include warranty, customer complaint administration, replacement product, recalls, shipping costs, analysis of warranty data, customer follow-up and field service departments. b) Relationship between Failure Costs and Prevention Costs: The following sketch illustrates that actual performance can fall short of customer satisfaction either because of quality of design failure or because of conformance quality failures. Actual Design Customer Performance Specifications Satisfaction Conformance Quality Quality of Design Failure Failure Conformance Quality refers to the performance of a product or service relative to its design and product specifications. For example, if a photocopying machine mishandles paper or breaks down, it fails to satisfy conformance quality. Products not conforming to specifications must be repaired, reworked, or scrapped at an additional cost to the organization. If non conformance errors remain after the product is shipped and the product breaks down at the customer site even greater repair costs as well as the loss of customer good will (often the highest quality cost) may result. Since as outlined above, there exists a strong relationship between prevention costs and failure costs, to ensure that actual performance achieves customer satisfaction companies must first design products to satisfy the customers through quality of designs, and they must then meet design specifications though conformance quality. Thus it may be seen that there is a direct relationship between the prevention cos t and failure costs and if the prevention costs are not taken care of by the company, it may lead to the incurring of additional quality costs in the form of internal or external failure costs.

Discuss the advantages of analysing organizations as incentive Essay - 1

Discuss the advantages of analysing organizations as incentive mechanisms - Essay Example In other words, it has been made clear that organizations can operate as incentive mechanisms for achieving the goals set by their strategic planners. Such perspective of modern organizations would be particularly important in order to understand the changes in organizational needs through the years and to identify an effective framework of action – meaning a plan for updating existing organizational policies – that would be best suit to the organizational aims; flexibility would be one of the key characteristics of such plan indicating the ability of the plan to be alternated in order to allow the development of the organization involved as an incentive mechanism. The terms and the characteristics of organizations as incentive mechanisms are presented in this paper focusing on the advantages of such perspective for both the organization, as an independent entity, and the organization’s stakeholders. 2. ... In accordance with Herbert Simon (1991) the organizational behaviour should be primarily based on the organizational loyalty (in Knack 2003, p.237); using the above view, the following assumption can be produced: organizations cannot act as incentive mechanisms if loyalty across their units is not strong. Another requirement of the development of organizations as incentive mechanisms has been introduced through the study of Ledgerwood et al. (2006). In the above study it is explained that organizations can operate as incentive mechanisms only under the terms that the communication in the internal organizational environment is at high levels. It is further explained that such organizations can be easily transformed as of their structure, goals and operational activities, without being negatively affected as of their performance. The transformation of an organization from a NGO to a Micro Finance Institution is used as an example of the above phenomenon (Ledgerwood et al. 2006, 292). A t the next level it is made clear that even when all measures have been taken regarding the quality of communication and cooperation within the organization, still it is possible that the organization fails to respond to its role as an incentive mechanism. In accordance with Ledgerwood et al. (2006, 292) one of the key reasons for this failure would be the inability of managers to identify the context of the organization’s incentives as being differentiated from the incentives of its employees. The incentives provided by the organization – acting as an incentive mechanism – are usually different from the incentives setting by individuals (employees) who are more likely to

Passion in Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Passion in Life - Essay Example Without passion for something, life becomes dull and drab. However, the insertion of passion in such a life will brim it with energy and power. Similarly, a lack of passion in a relationship makes it dull and boring. Many people confuse ambition with passion. Passion is the driving force behind the work that an individual does to achieve the goals and ambitions in his life. Passion is a mix of truth, authenticity, enthusiasm and depth. The complex and yet simple nature of this uncontrollable and unbridled emotion is such that it just cannot be faked. Any act lacking sincerity, emotion or enthusiasm just will never be able to exist in the world of the passionate. Passion exudes its own unique energy. Passion is what gives a person solace while doing what they feel so strongly about. A person becomes infatuated with certain things in life, but if there is no passion in it, the act starts to feel too monotonous. The person will eventually get fed up of it and consider all the time spent on it as wasted. However, if the very same thing is done with passion, it embraces one for life. I also a passion in my life and I deeply wish to accomplish it. I have come to realize that the driving force behind everything that I do is the intense desire to give my family a life void of strain and one that promises a better future. Everything I do is now based on this simple thought.

Scenario Consider Essay Example for Free

Scenario Consider Essay Operant conditioning is based on the premise that behavior can be formed and even modified with the aid of consequences. The main defining difference between operant conditioning and the classical or Pavlovian conditioning is the fact that it is concerned with change or development of voluntary behavior (Kirsch, Lynn, 2004). It is important to note that under operant conditioning the main variable of concern is the environment that is acted upon and is affected by given variables (Dalla, Shors, 2009). The consequences of the operant therefore play an important role in ensuring that a behavior that has been developed or modified is maintained. Under operant conditioning reinforcement and punishment are the key factors that determine the direction that behavior will be redirected to. Negative Vs Positive Reinforcement a) Similarities The core similarity between positive and negative reinforcement is that they are all aimed at ensuring high frequency of target behavior The use of a stimulus that is introduced into or removed from the environment under consideration is another factor that is shared by the two forms of reinforcement (Wenger, Schmidt, Davisson, 2004). It is important note that the key goal in both forms of reinforcements is to increase the frequency of the expected or observed behavior b) Contrast The key difference between the two modes of reinforcement is the type of stimulus used. In positive reinforcement the stimulus used is favorable and negative reinforcement employs an aversive stimulus (Myers, 2004). Another notable difference is that in most cases negative reinforcement involves removal of a stimulus whereas positive reinforcement involves its introduction. Most Effective Reinforcement Positive reinforcement is more effective than negative reinforcement. This choice is guided by the fact that reinforcements though included in the operant conditioning set up may in fact lead to forced adoption. It is important to note that the key goal in operant conditioning is to impact on the environment and not the organism being observed (Myers, 2004). Thus negative reinforcement which is in most cases included in the set up when behavior is being observed and removed once frequency has been heightened may lead to wrong results by impacting on the organism. On the other hand, positive reinforcement is not aimed at avoidance of a negative effect and therefore the behavior observed is likely to be of high level of accuracy. Â  a two year old who is continually crying with minimal provocation. Crying is behavior and provocation is a stimulus that impacts on this behavior The main aim in this scenario is to reduce the frequency of his or her outbursts with the introduction of a stimulus and a form of reinforcement. The stimulus under this consideration is to continually tell the child that crying is bad and may attract dangerous animals into their home. This may impact on the child perception of crying by affecting his sphere of thought or more accurately the environment. A reinforcement may also be required to increase the frequency with which a child responds positively (does not cry with minimal provocation). Reinforcement Schedule Candies are any childs favorite and will therefore play an important role in reinforcing behavior It is important to note that candies are not within the environment when a child is provoked and therefore do not impact on behavior rather it is introduced later. After the first lecture, the child is presented with a candy when he resists crying after being slightly provoked. This cycle is continued with no increase or decrease in the number of candies that the child is presented with. It is important to note that the form of reinforcement used under this scenario is positive due to the age of the subject and ethical concerns. Reference Dalla, C. , Shors, T. J. (2009). Sex differences in learning processes of classical and operant conditioning. Physiology Behavior, 97(2), 229-238. Kirsch, I. , Lynn, S. J. (2004). The role of cognition in classical and operant conditioning. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(4), 369-392. Myers, D. G. (2004). Exploring Psychology. London: Worth Publishers. Wenger, G. R. , Schmidt, C. , Davisson, M. T. (2004). Operant Conditioning in the Ts65Dn Mouse: Learning. Behavior Genetics, 34(1), 105-119.

Biological Effects of Methamphetamines Essay Example for Free

Biological Effects of Methamphetamines Essay Methamphetamines affect the human body in a physical and neurological and psychological way. The use of meth can lead to devastating effects to the nervous system for example leaving the user with nervous ticks and body jerks similar to a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease. On a physical level, the user may show skin sores and tooth decay. Last but the not least, the user may develop psychosis including hallucinations and paranoia. Not limited to the self destruction a user will suffer, the family and/or loved ones will also suffer the effects of methamphetamines. Family will suffer, but mostly the children are the ones who will be left alone to deal with this drug that has swept the nation. I will talk about the devastating effects to the family. Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug that affects the abuser physically, psychologically, and neurologically. The history of methamphetamines dates back to 1887 when it was first developed by the Germans. The abuse of amphetamines can be logged back to when the Germans and Japanese would give their factory workers and their soldiers the drug to keep them alert during WWII. The method they used to produce the drug became known as the Nazi or Birth method†. (Meth Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota [MAPP-SD], 2000, para. 1) For many years, it was considered a drug in search of a disease because it was not developed for any one particular cure. It wasn’t until 1920 when it was being researched more seriously and then started being used as medication from antidepressants to anti-congestants. Later in the 1930’s it was being sold as Benzedrine, as a nasal spray for congestion. By 1937 amphetamine began to be sold as medication in a tablet form. It is believed that during the â€Å"Great Depression†, because of all the hardship people were going thru, and the availability and easily prescribed drug helped facilitate and/or encouraged the abuse of amphetamines. By 1919, Japan started producing methamphetamine which was cheaper and more potent than amphetamine. It was produced in a crystalline powder form and was able it to be dissolved in water, making it easier for it to be injected. This form of amphetamine is still legally produced in the US and is being sold under the name of Desoxyn. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 2010, para. 1-3) The abuse of methamphetamines in the United States seems to have started during the â€Å"Great Depression† and increased during WWI, WWII, and Viet Nam. Many times, amphetamines were prescribed by the government and the military to keep fighting soldiers going. After returning from their tour of duty, many soldiers returned home addicted to the drug. Also during the 5 0’s and 60’s, amphetamines were being used as a weight loss medication. But eventually began to be abused by the users. Today, methamphetamines are abused throughout the US. It has spread like wildfire, starting on the West Coast. Today, meth does not discriminate and will affect every race, culture, age, and socio economic level. Meth users range from the most prestigious political figures, all star athletes, famous celebrities, re-known musicians, honest business men/women, respectable housewives/husbands, honor students, to your street drug dealers and junkies. Many truck drivers and bikers are notorious for abusing meth. They used an old slang term and called them co-pilots because it would keep them up on long road trips. Methamphetamine is taken by snorting it, ingesting it orally, smoking it, or injecting it intravenously. Meth is most commonly found in a crystal form. It’s most common street names are: crystal, speed, ice, and crank. Once taken, meth will give the user a rush or euphoria with the following symptoms; â€Å"†¦increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and hyperthermia†. National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA], n. d. , para. 6). The effects of methamphetamine has on the central nervous system or CNS, will include irritability, insomnia, confusion, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Since it is known that it is difficult for nerve cells to be regenerated after having been damaged, it is a clear indication that use of this drug—in small or large qua ntities—cause irreversible damages in the CNS. In clinical researches, it is found that individuals who have a long history of methamphetamine abuse have reduced levels in dopamine transporters, which are associated with slowed motor skills and weakened memories in the individuals. Abusers who remained abstinent for at least nine months were found to have recovered from damage to their dopamine transporters, but their motor skills and memories were not found to have significantly recovered. Over time abusers of meth appear to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinsons disease. They will have uncontrollable jerking and twitching. Asides the harmful damage to the CNS and brain, the abuser may also develop psychotic-like behavior or also known as type-two schizophrenia, which include bizarre behavior and hallucinations, both audible and visual. Anxiety, emotional swings, and paranoia are the most common psychological effects due to chronic use of meth. Symptoms increase with long-term use, and can involve paranoid delusions and hallucinations. Violence and self-destructive behavior are common. Pellowski, 2000) One of the most striking effects of meth is the change in the physical appearance of meth users. The physical effects of meth include skin sores, tooth decay, aging of the skin, and lack of hygiene. Because the use of meth causes the blood vessels to constrict, it cuts off the steady flow of blood to all parts of the body. Heavy usage can weaken and destroy these vessels, causing tissues to become prone to damage and inhibiting the bodys ability to repa ir itself. Acne appears, sores take longer to heal, and the skin loses its luster and elasticity. Some users are covered in small sores, the result of obsessive skin-picking brought on by the hallucination of having bugs crawling beneath the skin, a disorder known as formication. These sores develop as the body is only able to dispose of 10% of the chemicals in meth. The rest of the chemicals are then forced out of your body by its natural defenses and is emitted through the skin. This chemicals form and leave behind small red bumps on the skin and the user will then start picking and scratching these bumps thinking they are small parasites under their skin. This picking will cause open sores, infections, and scarring of the skin. (Sheff, 2008) A common sign of meth abuse is extreme tooth decay, a condition that has become known as meth mouth. . Meth users with â€Å"meth mouth† have blackened, stained, or rotting teeth, which often cant be saved, even among young or short-term users. The exact causes of meth mouth are not fully understood, but it is believed that the chemicals used to produce meth may attribute to the tooth decay. Another possibility is the lack of hygiene. Many meth users will not worry about brushing their teeth or flossing when all their worries are on their next fix. In Arizona alone, meth is the second most abused drug of choice following alcohol. It is rapidly becoming the most devastating drug that is affecting everyone, not only the abusers. Family members suffer financially and emotionally as they see their loved ones being ravaged by the drug. They have to deal with the lies and deceit, and many times the abuse by the users. They are robbed of their securities and their possessions. Many children suffer neglect and abuse due to the parents using meth.

Skilled Workers Shortage in China: Causes and Effects

Skilled Workers Shortage in China: Causes and Effects In this chapter the researcher will present the theoretical foundation for this dissertation. This review aims to investigate and examine extant literature on the following research questions: Research Question 1: How great is the shortage of skilled workers in China? Research Question 2: How do such shortages in skills affect the working of multinational corporations? Research Question 3: How do multinational corporations, with the use of talent management practices and tools, retain skilled workers, including managerial and executive staff, in China? Information for this literature review has been obtained from a range of secondary sources including books, journal and magazine articles and other media publications, both in online and physical form. Talent management is a comparatively new development in HR theory and practice and much of pertinent and associated literature on the subject exists in the form of publications in various periodicals. Shortage of skilled workers in China is presently attracting a significant amount of concern and material on the subject has been sourced from different articles authored by Chinese and Western experts. The various aspects of the studied subject matter have been taken up in sequence in the interest of coherence and continuity of thought and discussion. 2.1 Shortage of Skilled Workers in China The shortage of skilled workers, whilst of recent origin, is assuming grave dimensions. The Chinese economy has been growing at an astonishing pace for the last two decades (Barbosa 2010). Such phenomenal economic growth has propelled the country from the ranks of the poorest of the poor to the position of the second largest global economy (Barbosa 2010). Having crossed Japan in the GDP rankings in August 2010, the Chinese economy is now second in size to only that of the USA (Barbosa 2010). With it being widely accepted that access to cheap and skilled labour has played a predominant role in the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance, the emerging shortages in availability of skilled workers is becoming a serious matter of concern (Powell 2009). Experts feel that the problem, whilst manageable until now, is increasing in various dimensions and can become a serious challenge to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic growth in the foreseeable future (Powell 2009). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Various domestic  media reports  put the labour supply gap at around a million people in Guangzhou and neighbouring cities such as Dongguan, legendary centres of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s export boom in the past three decades. Numerous assembly lines and construction sites are sitting idle while anxious employers have raised salaries by more than 30% but still canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t attract enough applicantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Hong, S. 2010) The current shortage of skilled workers in China is due to the emergence and interplay of a range of factors (Trading Economic 2010). It is in the first place indisputable that sharply accelerating economic growth in China has created enormous demand for skilled workers (Trading Economic 2010). The Chinese economy has grown in size from an annual GDP of 990 billion USD in 2000 to 4900 billion USD in 2010 (Trading Economic 2010). The last decade has seen the entry of numerous multinationals in the country and the establishment of thousands of local and foreign owned production units (Blanchard 2007). Such production units are now being established in different geographical areas making it easier for workers to obtain gainful employment near their houses (Blanchard 2007). The Chinese government has also in recent years embarked upon developing the economic and physical infrastructure of numerous inland and hitherto neglected provinces (AsiaNews.It. 2006). Airports, roads and housing in upcountry regions are receiving strong investments (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such investments are creating thousands of jobs across the country and reducing migration of workers to zones with strong manufacturing activities (AsiaNews.It 2006). Experts also feel that low wages in the manufacturing sector, along with long working hours and difficult working and living conditions are forcing many workers to give up their jobs in manufacturing units and return to work on their farms (Rein 2010). The Chinese governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision to reduce taxes on agriculture has also helped in reinforcing such attitudes (Rein 2010). The Chinese government has constantly placed emphasis upon development of agriculture and providing of adequate food supplies for the rural population, who constitute 727 million people (Rein 2010). A continuous supply of positive policies, like the elimination of onerous taxes and powerful market intercession, have enhanced rural incomes and made farming rewarding in comparison to skilled jobs in some manufacturing organisations (Rein 2010). China implemented its one child policy in 1979. This has resulted in the development of an ageing population (Hong, S. 2010). The median age of the country, at 33 years, is closer to that of the USA, the UK and the countries of Western Europe, rather than to its southern neighbour India, which has a median age of 26 and whose economy is also growing rapidly and with a swiftness that is second only to that of China (Hong, S. 2010). The ageing population is leading to lesser numbers of people joining the workforce every year and consequentially to restrictions on the availability of skilled workers (Hong, S. 2010). The impact of an ageing population is being felt intensely in manufacturing centres like Shanghai, where people above 60 are expected to constitute practically 30 percent of the total population in another 10 years time (Hong, S. 2010). The numbers of people in the 15-19 age groups in the country have reduced by approximately 17 percent, from 124 million in 2005 to around 10 3 million today (Hong, S. 2010). Academic policies in China have in recent years paid greater attention to academic performance and have neglected imparting of high level vocational training and skills training to people (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many universities have failed to understand market demands and mechanisms in the designing of their courses (AsiaNews.It 2006). Only 200 of the 20,000 vocational schools in the country are aiming to produce skilled workers and technicians with good skills (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such circumstances have added to the reduced availability of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector (AsiaNews.It 2006). Rein (2010) states that the younger Chinese unwilling to work any longer in factories. They are much too buoyant about their work prospects and perceive no compulsion to work for comparatively low wages at long distances from their families (AsiaNews.It 2006). The increase in the number of college and university graduates from just about a million in 2000 to 6 million in 2010 has reduce d the pool for potential skilled workers (AsiaNews.It 2006). Even workers with low skills prefer to stay nearer home in interior provinces like Sichuan and Hunan, rather than relocating to manufacturing centres like Guangdong to work for remuneration that is being increasingly perceived to be insufficient (AsiaNews.It 2006). The shortage of skilled workers is being felt intensely in the export regions of the country like the Pearl River Delta as also the Yangtze River Delta. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Surveys, conducted a few years ago, revealed that technicians constituted only 4% of the total numbers of skilled workers, even as organisations needed at least 14% technicians in their labour force (Peoples Daily 2004). Personnel who are most in demand include skilled workers, technicians and marketing staff. Such shortages appear to be greater in case of enterprises where skilled workers were not trained adequately (Peoples Daily 2004). Business organisations are also finding it difficult to attract and retain employees in different administrative and managerial positions (Peoples Daily 2004). It is ironical that the country that is widely considered to be the largest reservoir of cheap and skilled workers is now actually hard pressed to find and retain skilled workers as well as supervisors and managers at different levels for its own needs (Peoples Daily 2004). 2.2 Impact of Shortage of Skilled Workers and Managerial Employees on the Working of MNCs in China. Shortage of skilled employees is affecting the working of all business firms, MNCs as well as locally owned establishments, across China (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are in the first case leading to progressively higher levels of attrition and employee turnover in business firms (Roberts 2006). The most important challenge in contemporary Chinese business enterprises concerns attracting, finding and retaining skilled workers (Roberts 2006). The Institute of Contemporary Observation, a research organisation based in Shenzhen, states that employee turnover in low technology industries is nearing an unprecedented 50% (Roberts 2006). There are 2.5 million jobs in the province of Guangdong that are yet to be filled, even as the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also facing considerable shortages of skilled labour (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are affecting the production of numerous organisations, adversely impacting expansion plans, and restricting organisational growth (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (AsiaNews.It 2006) Numerous MNCs have increased their investments in Chinese production centres and built up large capacities (Lane Pollner 2008). The unavailability of the required numbers of skilled workers is leading to underutilisation of capacity, idle machinery, higher finance costs, and poor productivity and profitability (Lane Pollner 2008). Shortages in required numbers of skilled workers are also leading to significant increases in job hopping and in the movement of employees between organisations for the sake of achievement of small salary differentials (Roberts 2006). MNCs and local companies are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stealingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? skilled workers from each other, by offering the target worker a lucrative opportunity such as a better compensation or better benefits. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“talentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? war has led to rapid wage inflation. . MNCs have been increasing salaries to keep existing employees (Downing, Rouleau, and Stuber 2008). Whilst labour intensive industries are facing increasingly severe problems, substantial increases in numbers of employee departures are affecting all low tech and high tech organisations (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Emerson General Manager David Warth says its all he can do to keep his 800 employees from jumping ship to Samsung, Siemens, Nokia, and other multinationals that are now operating in the tech manufacturing hubà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Roberts, 2006) Increases in employee turnovers and shortages in supply of skilled workers, as well as employees for higher level and managerial jobs, is leading to sharp increases in employee costs. AS Salop and Salop (1976) indicate that labour turnover is costly for all firms. In the event of a sudden employee departure, the firm suffers two types of cost: direct and indirect cost. Direct cost includes leaving costs, replacement costs such as advertising, interviewing and selection costs and transitions costs, and indirect costs refer to the loss of production, reduced performance levels, unnecessary overtime and low morale (Schlesinger and Heskett, 1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Companies across the board are feeling the squeeze. Last year turnover at multinationals in China averaged 14 percent, up from 11.3 percent in 2004 and 8.3 percent in 2001 (AsiaNews.It 2006). Salaries jumped by 8.4 percent, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates LLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Minimum wages in China are going up steadily and are currently many times that of Bangladesh, a neighbouring low cost producer (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many organisations are perforce improving the working and living conditions of their employees and the quality of food served in their cafeterias, with result increases in total costs expended on labour (AsiaNews.It 2006 ). Such increases in labour cost have multiple implications (Roberts 2006). At one level companies are seriously thinking of putting up new establishments in interior regions where wages are lower, or even of shifting their operations to lower wage countries like Indonesia or Vietnam (Roberts 2006). Organisations that have already made substantial investments in regions that are now facing labour shortages are experiencing strong pressures on costs and margins (Roberts 2006). Such pressures are leading either to problems with organisational viability or are manifesting themselves in higher product prices and consequent pressure on competitiveness (Roberts 2006).The American Chamber of Commerce recently reported that increasing costs of labour have reduced the margins of practically 48 percent of US organisations that operate in China (Roberts 2006). Teresa Woodland, the author of the report states that China could well run the risk of using its cost advantage (Roberts 2006). The shortage in availability of skilled people goes beyond the workforce and extends too many other organisational areas (Roberts 2006). Mckinsey and company estimate that just about 10 percent of job candidates in areas like engineering, accounting and finance have skills that are necessarily required by foreign organisations (Roberts 2006). Whilst 75,000 jobs for managers are expected to arise in the country during the next five years, the country currently has lesser than 5,000 managers with the required skills (Roberts 2006). Observers believe that the impact of shortage of skilled people on the economic growth and performance of companies and the nation as a whole is likely to be far more powerful than other constraints like material or power. 2.3 Talent Management and its Application in China Multinational corporations in China can benefit in areas concerning employee turnover and improvement of employee retention through the application of contemporary talent management techniques and tools. Organisational managements have over the years constantly tried to develop and adapt in response to workplace changes, right from the days of the industrial revolution and the emergence of labour unions to the demands of automated production, globalisation and outsourcing (Schuler, et al, 2010). Contemporary years are witnessing a global HR movement for attracting and retaining talent (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst organisations have in many ways been trying to attract and retain skilled and productive employees for ages, formal talent management processes have emerged only recently (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst such practices are now being implemented rigorously by progressive business organisations in the developed economies, they have become extremely relevant in the Chinese envi ronment where an abundance of people is ironically accompanied by shortages in availability of skilled workers and other managerial personnel (Schuler, et al, 2010). 2.3.1 The importance of talent management Talent management represents the systematic use of appropriate HR strategies, policies and practices for management of the talent challenges faced by business organisations (Lane Pollner 2008). Such policies and practices in the Chinese context include attraction of the most appropriate talent, careful selection, training and development, fair and sympathetic evaluation and assessment, high quality training and development and alignment of personnel and business objectives (Lane Pollner 2008). The importance of adopting strong talent management practices for retaining talent assumes great importance in the existing and predicted scenario (Lane Pollner 2008). Research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute, conducted in 2007 in six countries, including China reveals that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“policies such as career path programmes, goal development and monitoring, regular feedback sessions with managers, tracking progress have a demonstrable effect on employee execution and motivati onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Talent Management 2008). The report confirms that employees of organisations that focus on talent management are more engaged with their functions and more content with their jobs and organisations (Talent Management 2008) 2.3.2 Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE expectancy theory Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE (Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy) theory of expectancy states that individuals tend to act in specific ways with the expectation that specific acts will lead to particular outcomes, and in line with the attractiveness of such outcomes (Citeman.com 2010). The theory, whilst appearing to be complex, is actually simple and necessitates the comprehension of three relationships, namely (a) the perceived probability by individuals that the making of specific efforts will lead to performance, (b) the extent to which individuals believe that performing at specific levels will result in achievement of specific outcomes and (c) the importance placed by individuals on possible rewards that can be obtained in job execution (Citeman.com 2010). The intensity of individual motivation to make efforts depends on the intensity with which individuals believe that they can achieve what they are attempting, whether they will be adequately rewarded by their organisations, and whether such rewards will meet their individual objectives (Pitt 2001). The application of the expectancy theory needs the careful consideration of four relevant steps (Pitt 2001). Organisations must firstly assess the perceived outcomes offered by specific jobs to employees (Pitt 2001). These may be (a) positive like income, benefits, stability and security, comradeship, congenial relationships trust, employee benefits, and opportunities to use skills, or (b) negative like weariness, monotony, annoyance, apprehension, inconsiderate management or danger of dismissal (Pitt 2001). Employee perceptions, regardless of actual reality become relevant in such scenarios (Pitt 2001). Organisations must try to assess the attraction to employees of such outcomes and whet her employees perceive outcomes with positivity or negativity (Pitt 2001). Individuals who find specific outcomes attractive and view them positively would like to achieve them (Pitt 2001). Managements also need to determine the type of behaviour required of employees to achieve positive outcomes and employees need to clearly and explicitly know what they must do to achieve them (Pitt 2001). It is finally also important to know how employees view their chances of satisfying what is asked of them (Pitt 2001). HR experts feel that appropriate applications of the expectancy theory through the linkage of efforts with performance and rewards can make employees developed a liking for their jobs and consequentially reduce employee attrition and employee turnover (Pitt 2001). Whilst the expectancy theory certainly has its logical strengths, talent management is a far broader area and retention of talent in skilled jobs in China poses specific challenges like (a) the need for skilled workers to work far away from their farms and homesteads, (b) difficult working and living conditions, (c) inadequate monetary benefits and (d) the emergence of various alternative areas of occupation and work with more attractive attributes with regard to location, remuneration and job content (Changing Minds.org 2010). 2.3.3 Impact on skilled workers The Kenexa (2007) report on organisations in countries including China states that organisations with progressive talent management cultures have workers with greater pride in their organisations who moreover recommend their organisations to others as good places to work for (Talent Management 2008). Employees with positive perceptions of the talent management practices of their organisations are likely to be confident of the prospects of their organisations (Talent Management 2008). The research revealed that employees who believed in the talent management policies of their firms tended to have more positive perceptions of their managements (Talent Management 2008). Such employees believed that their managers were capable of effectively managing workloads and that their senior managers felt that employees were critical to organisational success and growth (Talent Management 2008). Employees of such companies were likely to experience greater sense of job stability and security, be h appy with company training, feel that their performance is fairly assessed and harbour greater feelings of individual achievement (Talent Management 2008). MNCs in China are working towards retaining talent through the adoption of a range of initiatives (Roberts 2006). Many companies are locating their manufacturing units in interior regions in densely populated areas in order to tap larger workforce pools (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“General Motors, Honda, Motorola, and Intel, for instance, have all shifted some manufacturing or research to inland locations in recent years, both to tap lower costs and to open up new markets.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Roberts 2006) Salaries and rewards are being increased significantly across the line in order to retain talent and reduce job hopping (Roberts 2006). Many organisations are taking pains to ensure better living conditions, better cafeteria food and more attractive career paths for their employees (Roberts 2006). Foxconn, the maker of Apple iPhones in China is experiencing severe criticism for its treatment of its workforce (Rein 2010). It is evident that such organisations will have to make significa nt investments in HR policies and practices if they are to attract and retain skilled employees (Rein 2010). The Chinese government is also taking initiatives to improve the content of vocational and technical courses and build a stronger workforce base of skilled workers. It is however very evident that the Chinese economy and the various business organisations, both MNC and local, are facing significant challenges with regard to availability of skilled workers and competent managerial employees. Such trends are also expected to intensify in future. 2.4 Talent Retention tools Vaiman and Vance (2008) suggest that motivational force can be achieved by extrinsically through monetary incentives or intrinsically through non-monetary incentives. 2.4.1 Monetary rewards and non monetary rewards Monetary rewards include all types of compensation and benefits (CB) packages such as salary, performance related payment, deferred compensation plans, social and commercial benefits and etc (Tian 2007). Monetary rewards can satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ physiological needs and it is an effective tool to retaining talent (Vaiman and Vance 2008). Maslowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Hierarchy of Needs, suggests the physiological needs have to be satisfied before dealing with the higher order needs. This may be the reason why money is still the best reward for the majority of people. In contrast, non-monetary reward is another essential tool for retaining employees. It can be use to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ higher other of needs such as the needs for achievement, affiliation and power (McMlelland 1987). Non-monetary rewards include: training and career development, employer branding, ect. (Tian 2007). The researcher will consider these retention tools in the Chinese environment below.. 2.4.2 Extrinsic motivation According to a recent survey conducted by Waston Wyatt in China, the number one reason for Chinese talented and skilled workers to leave their current job is to find a better-paid job (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is extremely important for MNCs to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, in order to retain the Chinese skilled worker. The following components are normally included in the packages that MNCs offer to local employees, and therefore they are discussed here in detail. 2.4.2.1 Salary Salary is the fixed amount of money pay to an employee for work performed and is the largest component in a CB package. Due to the weak social security in China, Chinese employees tend to place more value on money than Western employee (Jones 1997). Therefore, MNCs need to consider a number of factors when they design the salary level for Chinese employees. For example, the cost of living and level of economic development vary significantly from city to city, so the salary for equivalent positions may vary as well. Leininger (2004) points out that first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai enjoy the highest salary level, followed by second- and third-tier cities. Moreover, the salary level has been increasing at a dramatic rate in China. Since the rapid economic growth, the annual salary growth rate has been risen up to 8 percent in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue in future (Tian 2007). As a result, it is necessary for MNCs to have a general idea about local compensation level and salary growth rate before designing their own competitive packages. 2.4.2.2 Performance related payment Performance related payment (i.e. bonus) is the portion of a CB package that is related to performance. It is very popular and accepted by many MNCs in China. Many MNCs believe that performance related payment is an effective tool to given an incentive for compensation to meet certain goals such as completion of a specified sales target. In addition, it is able to encourage local employees to be more creative such as: propose a new idea to increase efficiency in the work place ,or improve the quality of the output, etc (Melvin 2001). To an extent, performance related payment helps to attract local employees and keep them help in the company. 2.4.2.3 Deferred compensation plans- Deferred compensation plans are also called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. They are popular with MNCs in China, and are offered in the form of a contract-related gratuity. For example, If the Chinese employee stays with the company for a contractually specified length of time ( i.e. 2 years), at the end of his/her contract he or she would be given an extra years salary as a reward. Deferred compensation plans are useful in retaining Chinese employees because it provides a financial incentive for talented Chinese employees to remain in the company. Recently, MNCs have begun offering a new version of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to young talented Chinese employees who would like to get a degree at an overseas university. They offer a full scholarship for these employees and in exchange, the employees have to work for the company for specified length of time after completing their degree (Tian 2007). 2.4.2.4 Social and commercial benefits. Social benefits are mandatory in China they refer to contributions to government-run social insurance schemes, which cover pensions, medical care, unemployment, work injury, child birth and housing, etc. The benefits are borne by both employer and employee. 30 and 40 percent of payroll is paid to the State, of which around 50% is paid by employers. In recent years, Chinese employees are increasingly aware of the importance of social benefits, due to rising costs of housing and medicare in China. , Some MNCs are even willing to pay benefits of more than regulated ratios to retain their employees. By contrast, commercial benefits refer to the benefits offered by an employer to an employee on a commercial basis. Many MNCs in China provide numerous commercial benefits for their employees such as offering loans at below-market interest rates, monetary assistance with single child family or even payment of wedding. Both social and commercial benefits are reported as useful to inducement to employees to remain in the company (Tian 2007). 2.4.3 Intrinsic motivation However, monetary rewards are not everything employee wants. Once compensation reaches a certain level, employees are likely to look for higher order of needs such as career development opportunities ( Maslow 1954; McClelland1987). According to the DDI survey in China 2007, the result shows that the top two reasons for Chinese employee turnover were lack of growth and development opportunities with the current company with 53% of the respondents agreed and better career opportunities elsewhere with 42% of the respondents agreed. The result reflects that Chinese employees have high expectations for rapid advancement (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). Therefore, it is necessary to consider these non-monetary factors that can motivate and retain employees. As Jones (1997) points out that it is very important to understand Chinese employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations. For most Chinese employees, especially those top performers joining a MNC not only for a high CB package but also for the opportunity to receive advanced training and learn western business methods. Those top performers are clearly aware of the skill gap between them and their Western counterparts, so they are eager to improve their own knowledge and skills. Additionally, providing training and career opportunities to employees can improve employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ commitment to the company. As Leininger (2004) stated that the heart of retention is long term employee commitment. He divided employees into two different groups. They are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees. The satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees can easily be retained by satisfying their monetary incentives while the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? employees tend to stay longer with companies even without monetary incentive. A global research conducted by Waston Wyatt shows that committed employees are more productive and efficient than those whose employees showed low commitment (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is important that MNCs recognize the importance of training and development opportunities to their Chinese employees and demonstrate a commitment to training, development and career path development for them. Besides, organizational factors can also influence talent retention such as corporate culture, communication, leadership behavior are able to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ needs for affiliation (Chew 2004). In the Chinese case, the leadership behavior is one of the most important motivation and retention drivers for Chinese employees. For many MNCs, the meaning of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“good leaderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for Chinese people can be far more complicated than what they have seen in their home countries. Leadership in China has specific connotations. According to the research conducted by Craig Pepples, to achieve success in Chinese environment, foreign leader need a strong leadership style to build a team. Chinese employees respect those leaders who have a strong leadership style. They expect leaders always able to give them instruction to follow. Moreover, Pepples also insists that to be an effective leader, foreigners need to create a culture of teamwork, showing their personal commitment to the employees and care for each individual (Jones 1997). Therefore, Chinese employees are most likely to want to stay and work for an organization if they have a good manager or boss, who recognized individual contribution, and had great company leaderships (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). These studies above are just a few examples of tools regarding talent retention in the Chinese context. When these retention tools are applied to Chinese employees, MNCs have to rank all the tools in order of importance, and then focus on several areas for motivation and retention talent (Vaiman and Vance, 2008). 2.5 Talent development in the Chinese cont Fear: Types, Causes and Effects Fear: Types, Causes and Effects Bradley Varney McLea How Fear Allows Us to Better Know Ourselves It is difficult to know how one would respond in a moment of fear or terror. People tend to give themselves the benefit of the doubt in situations like these. Fear is one of the most powerful emotions for all living creatures and the most extensively studied emotion (LeDoux, 2014). Autonomic responses are involuntary actions that take place inside our nervous system. Fear is an autonomic response that can only be triggered by outside stimuli. You cannot make yourself feel fear, but it is something that we more passively experience. In order to better understand ourselves and our basic nature, fear should be studied being one of our most primitive emotions. By looking at the origins of fear, the main categories of fear, the characteristics of fear, and the natural responses to fear I believe we can better understand the concept of fear what it means for us. Do We Know the Origin of Fear? To more fully understand fear it is important to understand its roots. Since the beginning of time, fear has been essential in the survival of the human race and the survival of many different species. Ãâ€"hman, Carlsson, Lundqvist, and Ingvar (2007) found the following, Fear denotes an emotion that has been primarily shaped in evolutionary arms races between predators and prey. Improved predator hunting skills have prompted more efficient defense manoeuvres by preys, which have put a pressure on further skill development in the predator, and so on. Thus, the function of fear is to motivate organisms to cope with threats that have jeopardized survival throughout evolution. This quotation explains just how the â€Å"game† is evolving; the prey is getting smarter and so the predator must do the same or starve. If the rabbits learn that a fox lurks around the woods at night, then the rabbits might start to only go into the woods during the day. The rabbits will start to learn the habits of the fox that way they can maneuver their way around and survive. This is how the game is evolving; the fox must now learn that the rabbits are getting smarter and so it must make changes if it wants to eat. The rabbits fear getting eaten and dying while the foxes fear starvation and dying, fear drives their motivation. Another example is of deer, when a deer is spotted in the woods, will it lift its head up and stare at strangers because it is friendly or because it is afraid? If a human approaches the deer too closely, it will turn and run. Will a fawn do the same, maybe not to the exact extent of a deer but yes. Some claim that many creatures, including humans, are born with an innate sense of fear. Is fear learned or is it part of our essence since birth? A toddler is not born afraid of fire; he will approach the flames without caution. Once the toddler touches the flame and is burned, he will cry and feel pain. Those flames will forever be associated with the pain he felt in that instant. According to McGuire et al. (2013), learning about and remembering fearful experiences are critical to survival. No one enjoys feeling pain and so they will avoid it, even a toddler knows to avoid and fear pain. It is not safe to say that fear is solely felt due to experience. Why will the baby cry in the arms of a stranger, but not in the arms of his mother? Does the baby feel afraid? I believe that the baby does feel fear in these instances, while the level of fear is not known. According to Trost, France, Vervoort, Lange, and Goubert (2014), people can be conditioned by observation alone. Due to priming, a sample group of people believed that they c ould get hurt doing day to day activities. This sample group highly associated fear with pain. These people were so afraid to experience the pain that they were seeing during the priming that they refused to participate in many normal day activities. Living creatures can also be conditioned to fear certain things. An example of this could be a dog that fears the sight of a spatula because he knows that spatula means getting spanked. When I was young my parents would make loud sounds with a belt in order to spark fear in myself and my siblings. We began to fear the belt, especially if the belt ever accompanied us getting spanked. These forms of conditioning are used to put fear into the heart of someone or something else. There is no one that is completely immune to fear, it is something that is inescapable. What Are the Two Main Categories of Fear? Fear is divided into two major categories; these two categories include irrational and rational fear. Irrational fears are not â€Å"ridiculous fears†, but they are fears that one has that do not pose an immediate danger to one’s life. Phobias are an example of irrational fears. Often people think that irrational fears would consist of fears that are extremely uncommon or strange, but in reality if one were asked what fears he has then almost all named would be considered irrational. According to Quandt et al. (2013), women with diabetes are terrified of leg amputation. Since they are so afraid of leg amputation, many of them will not walk around their house without their shoes on in case there is a nail poking upward. The likelihood of stepping on a nail inside your own house is slim to none, which means that the idea of wearing shoes to protect their feet is due to an irrational fear. Arachnophobia and claustrophobia are fairly common phobias, or irrational fears. Most people will say that they have some sort of phobia/something they are afraid of. Recently, a woman c laimed to be afraid of sharks. Yes, there are many sharks in the ocean, but the likelihood of a shark attack is very slim. In Hawaii, more people die from falling coconuts than from shark attacks. Irrational fears can be potentially dangerous, but are usually misjudged or magnified. A shark attack is very dangerous, but a lot of times the likelihood of occurrence is amped up significantly inside our minds. While watching horror films, people experience irrational fear since they are not actually in any form of danger. Rational fears are opposite of irrational fears and are composed of immediate threats. If a gun is brought to school one day by a fellow classmate, students will experience rational fear. If the crime rate is high, then a fear of crime can be a rational fear (Chadee Ying, 2013). Threats that can cause injury, death, and ruin reputation are rational fears and have a much higher probability of occurring than do irrational fears. If someone is afraid of heights and decides to go skydiving, that is also an irrational fear. While it may be dangerous to jump out of a plane, you are still strapped in and safely falling down with a skilled instructor. Do these fear categories ever overlap? Definitely, they do. This overlapping happens when the probability of danger increases. If Bob is afraid of heights, but decides to skydive, his irrational fear can become rational once one or two of his parachutes decide to not function correctly. The Characteristics of Fear Allow Us to Detect What does fear look like? Is it described by screaming or by â€Å"goose bumps†? Characteristics of fear will vary from person to person and also with each different situation. Some physical characteristics of fear involve a rapid heart rate, quick breathing, elevated adrenaline levels, perspiration, and the tensing of muscles. Depending on the severity of the degree of fear, one can also enter into a state of temporary paralysis which will prohibit the person from being able to scream, make sound, and sometimes even move. If a bunch of college kids decide to go into a cemetery late at night, the ones who are afraid are all experiencing similar or the same physical symptoms of fear. The physical characteristics of fear are generally the same for everyone, but the emotional characteristics will vary from individual to individual. Most people have negative feelings towards fear, but others enjoy it. â€Å"Adrenaline junkies† will search for opportunities to feel fear beca use they like the way it allows them to feel. To people like them, fear is desirable and that is its characteristic for them. Fear is not an emotion that can easily be masked or denied due to the obviousness of these characteristics. When people experience negative feelings due to fear, you will see it on their faces. The same works vice versa when positive feelings are felt. Without someone saying that they are afraid, it is stillvery possible to diagnose their symptoms without any words being exchanged. How We Respond to Fear Grants Understanding Fear is the strongest of all the autonomic emotional responses. Since fear is completely an autonomic response; it cannot be consciously triggered. It is so fascinating that our consciousness cannot decide nor tell our unconscious how to think or behave. Of course, there are many factors that help define the human being but how often does one get to tap into the unconscious and learn about our basic nature? To truly understand who we are, we must tap into the conscious and the unconscious parts of our own minds. The two categories of fear responses There are two different categories of fear responses: biochemical responses and emotional responses. Biochemical responses are quite possibly an evolutionary development, which allows us learn more about our nature. The major biochemical response is the fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight response is when the body will prepare itself to either stand its ground or run away. This response has been crucial to the survival of many species. When a threat is perceived, hormones are released throughout the body granting humans enhanced ability for survival. With these hormones circulating throughout our bodies, we become quicker, have increased strength, and can see more clearly through dilated pupils. Can we know if we would fight or if we would flee? The only way to truly know is to experience it. In non-human primates, the fight-or-flight response has been observed time and time again. Some researchers have concluded that the term should be reversed to flight-or-fight. The reas oning behind this reversal is that when a non-human primate first perceives a threat, then it enters into a â€Å"frozen† state followed by an attempt to run away. If the primate cannot flee and it feels it must fight, then it will fight (Bracha, Ralston, Matsukawa, Williams, Bracha, 2004). The second category of fear responses is the emotional response. This is generally a negative or a positive feeling. When negative feelings are associated with fear, then the individual will try to avoid the stimuli that are creating fear at all costs; this is how phobias are born. When positive feelings are received as a response to fear, â€Å"adrenaline junkies† are born, and these people will actively seek activities that invoke fear. These people are not without fear, but they embrace fear itself and turn it into a natural high. By attempting to understand the concept of fear we understand parts of our self. We are searching through the enigmas of the unconsciousness so that when we feel afraid, we can realize and better understand who we are. In the future, more research should be done on the emotional response of fear. Researchers should study the â€Å"adrenaline junkies† to find out what chemicals in their brains are different. How does one person react so differently to fear? Although, one will not have conscious control over oneself during moments of fear, the beauty lies within the idea that this is human survival instinct at its best. References Bracha, H. S., Ralston, T. C., Matsukawa, J. M., Williams, A. E., Bracha, A. S. (2004). Does â€Å"Fight or flight† need updating? Psychosomatics, 45(5), 448-449. doi:http://dx.doi.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/10.1176/appi.psy.45.5.448 Chadee, D., Ying, N. K. N. (2013). Predictors of fear of crime: General fear versus perceived risk. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1896-1904. LeDoux, J. E. (2014). Coming to terms with fear. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(8), 2871-2878. doi:10.1073/pnas.1400335111 McGuire, J. L., Bergstrom, H. C., Parker, C. C., Le, T., Morgan, M., Tang, H., . . . Johnson, L. R. (2013). Traits of fear resistance and susceptibility in an advanced intercross line. European Journal of Neuroscience, 38(9), 3314-3324. doi:10.1111/ejn.12337 Ãâ€"hman, A., Carlsson, K., Lundqvist, D., Ingvar, M. (2007). On the unconscious subcortical origin of human fear. Physiology Behavior, 92(1-2), 180-185. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.05.057 Quandt, S. A., Reynolds, T., Chapman, C., Bell, R. A., Grzywacz, J. G., Ip, E. H., . . . Arcury, T. A. (2013). Older adults’ fears about diabetes: Using common sense models of disease to understand fear origins and implications for self-management. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(7), 783-803. doi:10.1177/0733464811435506 Trost, Z., France, C. R., Vervoort, T., Lange, J. M., Goubert, L. (2014). Learning about pain through observation: The role of pain-related fear. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 37(2), 257-265. doi:10.1007/s10865-012-9483-4

Alpine Skiing :: essays research papers

Alpine skiing derives its name from the mountain range, The Alps in Europe, where the sport developed in the late 1800’s as a means of moving down snow-covered slopes. Skiing spread to other parts of the world and is now done primarily at ski resorts on specially cut trails. The most common lift in North America is the chairlift, which is a series of seats suspended from a motor-driven cable that pulls the seats up the mountain. Various surface lifts which pull skiers up the hill while they remain standing on skis include rope-tows, T-bars, and J-bars. Many larger areas have enclosed aerial lifts, such as gondolas or trams, which allow skiers to take off their skis and ride up the mountain inside specially designed cars suspended from cables. In Europe, cog railways and funiculars (cable railways) are also used to carry skiers up a slope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Almost all ski resorts have equipment to make snow artificially when there is not enough natural snow to support the sport. Snowmaking equipment combines air and water with special additives and then sprays the mixture at very high pressure onto the slopes. Grooming machines smooth out the slopes and ensure that the snow has a uniform consistency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The components of fitness include mostly cardiovascular and a lot of muscular strength in the legs, particularly in the thighs and quads. Because skiing involves riding the chairlift to the top of the mountain after each run, a cool-down is not necessary because you get a consistent break the entire workout. A warm-up, however, could include swinging your legs to stretch out your leg muscles. A workout of skiing could last anywhere from a few hours, to an entire day depending on your stamina and ability. To progress to greater abilities in skiing, one would not want to stay on the â€Å"bunny slope† every day, but instead progress to harder and perhaps steeper trails.

Fiction vs. Non-fiction Boundaries Essay -- Books Literature fiction T

Fiction vs. Non-fiction Boundaries Blurring the boundaries between Fiction and Non-Fiction has always been a great way for authors to make their points, yield their arguments, and to keep interest. Some may even be inclined to believe that there is not a definite boundary between the areas of fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is often used throughout non-fiction writings as more of a point of view than a character in itself. This voice is not exactly a character in the text, but it still exercises an attitude toward the material to help control the writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Lola,† by Truman Capote is a great instance where these boundaries are so well mixed, that it becomes hard to tell the difference where one starts and another begins. This story is about a bird named Lola, and the main character. At first, Capote doesn’t like the bird and in fact despises it. However, towards the middle and towards the end of the story, he beings to care for the bird and treat it as a pet. This story does not state very many facts like one would expect throughout a non-fiction account, but rather tells a story like in fiction writing. By doing this, the reader would actually never suspect that the story was in fact non-fiction without being told so. It is a first person account of the events that unfold throughout the story. Capote does a fantastic job of revealing these events and holding the readers attention instead of boring the reader with the strict description, times, and dates such as one would find some non-fiction wri tings. He incorporates humor into the story to help with the excitement of these events. â€Å"The Kerry decided Lola was the latter. He tapped her with his paw. He chased her into a corner. She fought back, pecked his snout; her cawing were coarse and violent as the harshest cures words. It frightened the bulldog;†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This sentence revels some of the intermingling of fiction and non-fiction that Capote utilizes within the account. He is actually giving human characteristics to these animals where the dog â€Å"decides† and the bird begins to â€Å"swear†. Capote does not actually know what these animals are thinking so this is a perfect example of fiction controlling the tempo throughout a non-fiction writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The structure of â€Å"Lola† relates strongly to the structure of a fiction story. It includes an introduction, middle, climax, and ending. Similar to ficti... ...ases. The reader does not know if Danny Deever is a real person or just some made up fictional character. The poem actually describes Danny and his death to the reader. â€Å"For they’re done with Danny Deever, you can hear the quickstep play. The regiment’s in column, and they’re marching us away.† These Sentences show how the poem rhymes and yet confuses the reader in the fiction or non-fiction account of the poem. The reader does never really discover what the poem is and this is the exact reason why the author made it this way. To keep the reader guessing and to hold the attention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Blurring these boundaries between Fiction and Non-Fiction has always been a great way for authors to make their points, yield their arguments, and to keep interest. If authors did not utilize this particular technique, most non-fiction accounts would become boring and uninteresting to a reader who did not want to learn about the particular. It is completely acceptable as long as the readers are told of the fictional aspect of the work. This is not one of the easiest techniques to use but if written correctly, creating a fictional account cannot be considered anything but excellent writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

HDTV: Implications for High Definition Television Essay -- Exploratory

HDTV: Implications for High Definition Television    HDTV (High Definition Television) has many positive attributes and is the television set of the future, but the primary concern is how this revolutionary standard can coexist and eventually replace the existing color TV system.   This vital problem associated with HDTV is similar to the obstacle that color TV encountered in 1954 - which was enabling the color signal to be read simultaneously with the monochrome signal, without interference. There is an estimated 600 million television sets dispersed throughout the world and about 70 percent of them are color.   (Kuhn, 2001: 1).   A significant and precarious matter is whether the modern criterion of HDTV should be attuned with existing, color TV standards, succeed the existing standards, or be concurrently transmitted with the accessible standards (with the conception that the existing standards would obliterate over time).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High Definition Television is any system developing vitally enhanced picture resolution than that of the usual 525-line (625-line in Europe) television monitor.   Digital HDTV systems, by dissimilarity, broadcast pictures and sounds in the arrangement of digital data.   These numerical data are transmitted, utilizing the identical high radio frequencies that contain analog waves, and computer processors in the digital television system that then decipher the information.   Digital HDTV can transmit sharper, clearer images and sound with very diminutive interferences or other flaws.   Of more significance, digital television systems will apparently be adept to send, store, and influence pictures as well as receive them, thus combining the functions of the television set and the compute... ... 1998. http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F00D17FE3A540C718DDDAA0894D0494D81.   Accessed on April 7, 2002.       â€Å"Maier, Susan.†Ã‚   HDTV:   Who Needs The FCC?.   HDTV Magazine. Advanced Television Publishing: Oregon, 1999.   http://web-star.com/hdtv/whondsfcc.html. Accessed on April 7, 2002.    â€Å"HDTV.†Ã‚   Internet. Yahoo.com.   Britannica Concise. http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Ah/high_definition_television Accessed on April 7, 2002.    â€Å"A Proposal For Public Interest Obligations Of Digital TV Broadcasters.†Ã‚   Executive Summary.   Internet.   http://www.nntia.doc.gov/pubintadvcom/aprmtg/Sohn.htm. Accessed on April 9, 2002.    â€Å"HDTV.† Internet.   http://www.crs4.it/~luig/MPEG/hdtv.html.   Accessed on April 11, 2002.   Ã‚   â€Å"Beckman, Jeanne.† Television Violence: What Research Says About its Effect on Young

Astronomy Final

The age of the cluster can be estimated by viewing a cluster of stars on the HR diagram in reference to where they end on the main sequence. 2. Seasonal variation of a planet depends on the frequency with which any given side of the planet changes it's position with respect to the star. For a planet like Uranus, which has a high tilt (73 deg), the same side always faces the sun and hence it's always summer on one side and winter on the other. Thus we can conclude that seasonal variation is directly related to the tilt of the planet. 3. a.Among the given planets, D has the minimum tilt – So the answer is D, which shows max seasonal variation. b. A planet will be geologically active if it has a high density, since that would assure wide vvariety of rocks and minerals and ores and less amount of hot gases; so among the planets, A has the highest density and is the most geologically active. 3. The younger surface would go to Moon A due to the fact that Moon B possesses many crater s, which are clearly visible as the picture represents (this is clearly shown by the illuminated spots).Genesis shows that the craters were developed over time. Since moon A has far less craters, this mearns it was recently formed thus making it the younger moon. 4. a. The Hubble Expansion: As the distance increases, the apparen't brightness of the object decreases meaning it becomes darker the farther away it gets. This technique determines the relative distances of ssimilar objects. In addition, a phenomenon called the Doppler effect can be used to determine the velocity of an object.The sonic Doppler effect is caused by compression of sonic wave fronts, which can be generalized to electromagnetic radiation and other wavelike phenomena. The magnitude of an object's Doppler shift is a function of its radial velocity relative to the observer. Velocities of various objects, such as stars and galaxies, have been tabulated in our vicinity. An almost straight line with positive slope wa s obtained when the distance was plotted for various galaxies against their velocities. This shows us that the farther away an object is, the greater the velocity.This lends support to the Big Bang theory–if the universe does indeed expand in a manner consistent with the Big Bang model, then two objects that are close to each other should have smaller relative velocities than in comparison with distant objects. b. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): This is the result of theorized energetics, which was discovered in 1965 by Penzias and Wilson. Their discovery showed microwave radiation emanating from all directions in our observable locality of the universe. As predicted by the Big Bang Model, the universe is filled with plasma at high temperatures.As a result, hydrogen can only exit as plasma with an ambient temperature of about 3000K. c. Primordial abundance of light elements: This is the observed abundance of elements in the universe. Examinations through the spectra of var ious objects shows us that helium makes up about 23% of observable mass in the universe, which is entirely too large to be accounted for by stellar fusion. Since stellar nucleosynthesis makes the abundance of lighter nuclei hard to explain, the Big Bang model theorizes that the nuclei were created during the fierce explosion. . Due to the numerous negative effects on the body, human space travel remains physiologically difficult. Many of these affects are due to long-term weightlessness. Examples include: muscle atrophy, skeletal deterioration, slowing of cardiovascular functions, red blood cell production decrease, balance disorders, and weakening of the immune system. In addition, without the appropriate protection, space exposure becomes a sever threat due to the environmental differences between space and earth – especially the lack of oxygen and pressure.Interstellar space travel consists of many problems, which makes human travel extremely difficult – even in the future. One problem is the amount of fuel needed for long-duration flights. In addition, we have to worry about the damaging effects of galactic radiation. Also consider the loneliness and boredom of generations of humans spending their entire lives aboard a spacecraft. In order to get to the nearest star system beyond our Solar System (Alpha Centauri), we would have to travel 4. 3 ly with a constant flight velocity of 50 km/s; which is roughly about 25,000 years.Although that velocity would allow us to escape the Solar System, it would still take 250 centuries to reach our closest star system. It is very unlikely that humans will be able to equip themselves with the technology, at least anytime soon, to make contact with extraterrestrial life. Even if we took into account the many factors in the Drake equation, galactic civilizations are probably spread out like small islands tthroughout space. Even if the average lifetime of extraterrestrial civilizations is 1 million years, our most optimistic estimates suggest that each is separated by ~300 ly.Additionally, thousands of sorties would have to be launched toward candidate star systems for any hope of successful extraterrestrial contact. In summary, although it may never become feasible, interstellar space flight is both uneconomical and impractical now and anytime in the foreseeable future. 6. Galileo Galilei was a very influential astronomer because he defended his beliefs in a time when the Roman Inquisition was in power. Galileo defended his idea of heliocentrism against the Inquisition and was put on house arrest. This did not stop him from doing what he loved.While on house arrest, he made observations and continued his work. His contributions to astronomy include the discovery of three moons of Jupiter, the idea that the nature of each planet is unique, identification of sunspots, and his continued examinations of the Milky Way and sea tides. 7. As of March 23, 2012, 763 exoplanets (extrasolar) within our Milky Way have been discovered by satellites such as the Kepler. Consequently, these satellites have been flying through space, uncovering hundreds of new planets within our galaxy.Recently, two planets (Kepler 62e and 62f) have been discovered, which orbit a sun ssimilar to ours but cooler. These planets are at just the right distance that allows water to remain liquid – an essential must for a planet to support life. In addition, these planets are very ssimilar to the size of Earth. Because of their size and orbits, it is highly likely that they are either rocky or watery. The two planets are located 1,200 light-years away in a five-planet system orbiting a star dubbed Kepler-62. 8. The milky is a flat disk surrounded by a halo with a bulge at the center.Within the disk, lay clouds of gas and dust that amount to around 15% of the mass of stars. Although we cannot see the nucleus due to all the scattered dust – radio, infrared, and x-ray telescopes allow us to se e through the dust and show us that the core contains a dense swarm of gas and stars and a massive black hole. A majority of the gas and dust clouds lie within the disk. In addition, bright stars gather into spiral arms winding in an outward direction. The location of our solar system is about 26,000 ly from the center, lying on the inner edge of the spiral arm. 9. D C B A