About the Patients’ Vital Informations

The male patients being dealt with in the case is a 35 year old male who is married. He has been reported to have been involved in drinking since he was 16 years of age.It could be noted that during those years, he developed a certain level of tolerance with the effect of alcohol upon his physical system. Within those years of tolerance, alcohol became medicine-like source of his calmness.He claims in his narration of his experiences that he has normally been alcoholically dependent to the liquor that he drinks until his tolerance grew even weaker that he became much involved with drinking during parties. He admitted having to drink three rounds during parties then later on in the morning, he would still need to have another drink upon waking up to keep his sense back to normal for his job. At first, the seriousness of his tolerance towards the matter has not been recognized at once.However, although he denied telling the physicians with regards his passing out at times, several memo ry problems every now and then, having hepatitis illness, and also having a diminished sexual drive, it cannot be denied that as the years of tolerance prolonged, his ability to perform his responsibilities to his family and his wife as well as his responsibilities in the job accurately diminished as well.Although he continued denying the fact that there are already changes happening within his personal behavior, the symptoms became more and more obvious that it already affected his personal relationships and his reputation as an individual, most likely in terms of his professional life as he continues as an officer in an engineering company.It is undeniable that his personal adjustments needed to be given attention to. Hence, he attended a 28-day in-patient alcohol rehabilitation process and later on continued a three month AA therapy. He was also given a tranquilizer by a physician; however, because of fear of being depended in the medicine, he refused to take the prescription giv en to him.It could be noted through his narration of his past experiences and the progression that he particularly shows with regards his situation proves that he is quite in denial of the fact that he is already having a great tolerance with liquor intake. This effect upon his personal behavior could be noted to have detrimental effects with his personal dealings.This is the reason why it is very important that the said individual be given assistance through professional help. It may be true that he is indeed in denial, but through careful assistance, it is undeniable that the process could still be successful for both the therapist and the patient himself.

Fossil Story Essay

Northeastern Illinois has a great deal of geological history hidden beneath the surface. If you just take a trip to the Larson Quarry or even Pit 11 you can find some interesting rock formations as well as fossils in them. But, if you cannot get to these areas, this paper can tell you what you can find in 5 different locations in Northeastern Illinois. We will be looking at Larson Quarry, Thornton Quarry, Mazon River, Pit 11, and the Glacial Drift which is at Palos Hills and throughout the surface of the Chicago area). The first stop is the Larson Quarry. This is located near DeKalb, Illinois. The specific coordinates are 42? N, 88? 35’ W at 920 feet. This site contains specimens from 450 million years ago which include trilobites like Flexicalymene, brachiopods like platystropia, rafnesquina, leptaena, the horn coral streptelasma, an unnamed bivalve, bryozoans, various crinoid stem parts, the cephalopod endoceras, and the gastropods cyclonema and malcurites. The rock types and formations that were found around these fossils were Cincinnatian Maquoketa Shale and Galena Dolomite. â€Å"The Maquoketa shale, which contains seams of argillaceous dolomite†¦and ranges from highly to slightly weathered, with the highly weathered portions having the consistency of a stiff clay and are extremely fissile† (Preber). These fossils were preserved by replacement as well as mold and cast. The Mazon River, which is near Morris, Illinois is located at 41? 20’N, 88? 30’W at 525 feet. This site had fossils from 290 million years ago and included seed ferns like alethopteris and neuropteris, true fern Pecopteris, horsetail rush parts calamites (trunk), and annularia (leaf whorl), lycopod tree (club moss) parts and bark lepidodendron, and leaf lepidophylites. The rock types were shale and sandstone as well as coal and the formation was Francis Creek. The Illinois State Museum writes in an article about how Francis Creek formation is formed: â€Å"Much of the area that we now call Illinois was a mixture of swampy lowlands and shallow marine bays. From the northeast flowed at least one major river system. The river(s) built large deltas through the low swamps and into the shallow bays. The mud that the river(s) carried was deposited in these deltas and bays. This mud turned into a rock called the Francis Creek Shale†. The preservation type was impressions in concretions. Next is Pit 11 which is the Mazonia/Briadwaood State Fish and Wildlife area at 41? 15’N, 88? 15’W at 590 feet. These specimens were found from 290 million years ago. The fossils include the same basic plants as the Mazon River. They also include jellyfish like the essexella, the shrimp belotelson, clams like edmontia and aviculopectin, an unnamed marine annelid worm, a possible fish fossil coprolite, the infamous Tully Monster: tullymonstrum, and the echinoderm sea cucumber holothurian. The rock types that held these fossils were shale and sandstone, as well as coal. These were in a Francis Creek formation. These fossils were preserved by impressions in concretions. It becomes quite apparent that there are certain biases in how and what fossils are preserved. Some species, notably Pecopteris unita, are found with fertile structures nearly half of the time while others like the more common true fern, Pecopteris acadica, are rarely seen with fertile structures being preserved at all† (Mazon Creek†¦). This tells us how these fossils were formed. Thornton Quarry, at coordinates 41? 35’ N, 87? 35’ W at 590 to 250 feet, is located on the south side of Chicago. This Quarry was formed 420 million years ago and includes fossils such as the trilobite calymene, brachiopod pentamerus, corals like favosite and halysites, an unnamed crinoid stem and the cephalopod moorecoceras. The rock types that were here were limestone-dolomite in Niagaran Racine Dolomite with fossils in mold and cast. â€Å"The most famous reef unearthed in the Chicago area is the coral reef†¦Debris from the growing reef began to be deposited and cemented. The reefs contained sea lilies, animals resembling horseshoe crabs, and ancient ancestors of squids and octopuses up to ten feet long. The ashy, gray-white limestone mined from the Thornton Reef contains the fossils of these animals† (Herweck). The reason that there are multiple types of coral is because this area was at the bottom of the Silurian Sea and molded well into the limestone. Lastly, we visit Palos Hills which includes the Glacial Drift. This area was from ~15,000 years ago and showed deposits of unconsolidated pebbles, sand, silt ad clay which contain mixed rocks of 400 million to 1 billion years old at 41? 41’N, 87? 50’ W at 772 feet. The fossils found here are mammoth or mastodon remains that are preserved as unaltered hard parts. There are also mixed marine fossils including crinoid stems, brachiopods, corals like hexagonaria (Petosky Stone) and trilobite parts, where were preserved as mold and cast r replacement. The glacial till include striated rocks composed of a mixture of many types including sedimentary (limestone/dolomite), igneous (granite, basalt) and metamorphic (gneiss). The formation was Valparaiso Moraine. â€Å"At this time, glacial ice covered the entire Chicago region†¦. the active ice sheet retreated into the Lake Michigan basin, although stagnant, melting ice remained behind. The ice then rapidly re-advanced to the†¦Valparaiso moraine in the western Chicago region† (Grimm). The glaciers that were in Chicago made a big impact on picking up rocks and sand and dirt from other regions and bringing it into the area, which is a reason why you may find interesting things in the area and that rocks age from 400 million to 1 billion years ago. The areas that we can find an assortment of fossils and rock formations are abundant in Illinois and have a wide variety of ages. From this summary, you can see what type of rock are around Northeastern Illinois and what type of animals, plants, and rocks were around from different periods and what type of environment they must have lived in.

Body image by Hye Young Byun Essay

Some deny it, some may not show, but we all know that every woman is self-conscious about her body and want to fix it. How often do you look yourself in a mirror and imagine how good you would look if you lost ten pounds? It is either that your butt is too big or too small, or your waist is too thick, your legs look like tree trunks, or your nose is too high or flat, your eyes are too small or your skin is oily and the list seems endless. The heroin chic is on trend, where a person is too skinny she looks to be involved in heroin abuse. Recently, a 22 year old woman Luisa Ramos died of heart failure from Anorexia Nervosa. Actresses and models are becoming younger, thinner and taller. Media knows that we have low self-esteem so they attack us, women of all ages. Many women regardless of nationality or age contain negative body image and if they do not develop healthier body image, they will suffer physically and emotionally. How bad is our negative body image? During childhood, we grow up, looking at Barbie dolls, which is too skinny in size that if she were made into living person, her back would be too weak to support her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain only than half of a liver and only a few centimeters of bowel. When we grow older, we watch makeup and beauty product ads that contain models that are severely underweight. Studies have shown that 81% of women in Canada feel anxious and insecure after watching a 30 second advertisement promoting beauty improvement on TV. (Wellness edu) Firstly, our negative body image causes us to think that we are bigger in size than reality. A study found that women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25% yet they were correctly able to estimate the size of a box. (Nancy Hayssen blog-Shocking body image statistics) We think that our body is fatter than it actually is, because we feel depressed when comparing our ‘normal’ body to ‘fake’ images in media. Secondly, containing unhealthy body image makes us have unnecessary fear of gaining weight. Recent study stated that young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than experiencing nuclear war, cancer or even losing their parents. (Wellness Edu) It is terrifying to see that media’s influence even applies to women in such young age. Lastly, having an unhealthy body image will cause women and even men to waste unbelievable amount of time fitting into the ‘ideal’ body. Two out of five women and one out of five men would trade up to five years of their lives to achieve their weight goals. (Wellnessbeing-edu) Also, the average woman in North America spend 2.5 years of her life washing, styling, cutting, coloring, cramping, and straitening her hair at home or in salon. (120 Wolf, 1991) We become prisoner of perfect body without even realizing it. Lots of us think it is not a big deal. But here’s the problem. Body image involves our perception, emotions, imagination and physical sensations. Having negative body image damages all of these parts. Having negative body image will bring many negative effects to women. Firstly, it will lead to depression or lower self-esteem. Feeling insecure and less confident, women are more likely to believe or fall in for the exaggerated advertisement shown in media. They will look at air brushed models or celebrities who has gone through several cosmetic surgeries, and feel ashamed of their own body. Women will experience financial damage from spending lots of money into cosmetics, clothes, diet products, and even cosmetic surgeries. The diet industry itself is worth between 40 to 100 billion dollars a year only selling temporary weight loss programs! (People magazine Sept.2000) Secondly, unhealthy body image will lead to Eating disorders or bad habits. One of four women in early 20s in North America uses unhealthy methods of weight control like fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self- induced vomiting.(American research group Anorexia Nervosa& related Eating Disorders Inc.) The pressure to be thin is not only affecting older women but young girls as young down to 5 or 6. Nearly half of all girls wish to be thinner. (â€Å"Appearance Culture in Nine-to 12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction†) Last, but not least, women could develop disorders like Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is a disorder where a person has extreme fear of gaining weight, and women with this disorder believe themselves to be overweight when they are actually visibly underweight to the point where they need hospitalization. Up to 450,000 Canadian women were affected by Anorexia Nervosa or extreme eating disorder in 2006. (Teen Vogue 2006) Many women if not all, mostly think that worrying a little about their health is not a big deal or a good thing. But they don’t even realize how severe their worrying has become. It has become severe to the point where they lose their identity. If you as a woman do not stop having unhealthy body image, it will lead to very unhappy life. So how do we not have negative body image? It seems so hard to just let go and be free. Women’s biggest concern and biggest interest is beauty. There are lots of ways to keep you healthy, but free of pressure, and stay beautiful but still have positive body image. First, you need to accept people of all sizes and shapes. (Margo Maine’s book â€Å"Body Wars,†) You can even make a list of people that you admire regardless of their body. Does their outer appearance affect how you feel about them? Appreciating the people around you will help you appreciate yourself. Secondly, another way to avoiding having negative body image is to question Media’s messages. (What Do You See When You Look in the Mirror?, Thomas F. Cash, Ph.D., Bantam Books, New York, 1995.) Media is a powerful source that could influence women. 96% of normal women in Canada do not match up to the models and actresses shown in the media. Average model is 5’10† with weight of 110 pounds, while the average woman is 5’4†³ with weight of 142 pounds. Women should remember that most of the images presented have gone through Photoshop or have been airbrushed. They also need to learn that media is not hundred percent honest to reality. Lastly, women today need to learn to listen to their body, not abuse it. They should eat when they are hungry. Staying fit in the healthiest way is to eat when you feel hunger, and to exercise in an enjoyable way, regardless of stress, or pressure to lose weight. While listening to their body women should also ask themselves this question: Would I rather spend my precious time with my family, friends, on school, and on career? Or would I spend it on pursuing the â€Å"perfect body image†? I don’t think anyone would give up their quality time with family on for accomplishing lower weight goals. All of these things will bring great benefits to your life. Today, in Canada, we have freedom to accomplish whatever we want to. Yet, women are prisoners of beauty myth, and appearance. Negative body image is a serious problem and has damaging effects on women’s self-esteem and it can lead to depression, as well as an eating disorder or other disorders like Anorexia Nervosa. It also causes women to waste time on diets, or improving their outer beauty, and also fear gaining weight more than anything. Medias influence us every day, producing air brushed models that are severely underweight. Media causes women to feel angry and anxious about their own body. But we can develop healthier body image if we appreciate ourselves for who we are and listen to our body. We lose lots of women in Canada that starve themselves to death. Women need to learn to self-love and respect their body instead of abusing it. Our bodies are not our enemies, and it is our responsibilities to stay unique and set our own trend.

Course assignement - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Course assignement - - Essay Example In view of the above information pertaining to the operations of humanitarian aid organisations, it can be noted from the given case study that Reza District is located in the Horn of Africa in Somalia and is severely affected by famine as a result of long lasting conflict where 12 million people are affected and in need of humanitarian aid. The area is characterised by high mortality rate and the children are the most affected since they are severely malnourished. It is against this background that the two organisations namely Hungeraid and Feedaid underscored to take the initiative to offer humanitarian assistance to the district of Reza and both agencies arrived on the 1st August on OCHA charter with the aim of offering supplementary feeding to the vulnerable and needy children. However, a close analysis of the cases involving the two organisation reveals that Hungeraid does not achieve its goal fully as a result of different obstacles it encountered during it distribution exercis e. Enlightening lessons from the two cases can be drawn in order to give recommendations to the management of Hungeraid as a way of trying to minimise the recurrence of similar disturbances. In order to ensure accountability in as far as humanitarian assistance to poverty stricken areas is concerned, there is every need for community involvement at all levels in order to avoid confusion as well as conflict among the intended beneficiaries. From the onset, it can be noted that Hungeraid quickly started their food distribution exercise on the very first day without taking into consideration other logistics such as compilation of the register and verification of the register. Unlike Hungeraid, the Feedaid organisation dedicated its time to verification of the register of the intended beneficiaries and this was done in consultation with the local leadership as a way of ensuring transparency and credibility. It can be noted that Hungeraid encountered its first problem

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 37

Reaction paper - Essay Example However, one is convinced that aside from the failure of academic institutions to integrate relevant modules or courses on this facet, people who are actual victims of domestic violence have strong apprehensions to report the incidents due to a variety of factors: could be personal reasons, fear to disclose the information since a loved one is involved, fear for retaliation, lack of information, resources, or knowledge of reporting, and out right denial. Thus, one seriously believes that in paper, the Safe Family Project which is based on the expounded logic model is perfectly designed; however, in the real life setting, the implementation process could be more challenging, as it seems. Yet, however daunting the tasks are, providing training for health care practitioners to address domestic violence is paramount. Overall, one affirms that the model could be slowly integrated as a regular training module for nurses in all health care settings to enable them to appropriately identify, assess, and apply the appropriate interventions needed, according to the patients’ or victims’ needs. One believes that the total success of the program lies with the complete support and participation of the victims of domestic violence, as well as members of the health care institutions, to provide education, counseling, patient care, monitoring, follow-ups, and effective use of resources to ensure that the violence that these patients have experienced would be ultimately

Asian history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Asian history - Essay Example se reading of the text could represent many thousands of different truths, such an interpretation and discussion would be too broad for the scope of this particular assignment. In this way, the following discussion will be mainly concentric upon three core interpretations that this author has determined to be of the greatest overall worth with regard to understanding Asian history. These are: the impact of religion upon the norms of society, the degree and extent to which international interaction took place within Asia, and the formative impact that non-violence played in determining social and political order within the ancient societies of Asia. Through such an analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding of the relevance that this particular chapter has to Asian history as well as a more specific interpretation of the actual events that culminated in the period in question. Further, although the impacts of nonviolent movements have been powerfully felt within the 20th and 21st centuries, this particular form of expression was not something that was unique to individual such as Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King. By much the same token, the nonviolent resistance was not something that was initially â€Å"thought up† near Walden Pond. Instead, the chapter helps to denote the fact that nonviolent protest play a powerful role in affecting a political change within ancient Chinese culture. Naturally, it would be foolish to assume that the text in question provides one of the first historical accounts of nonviolent resistance. However, notwithstanding this fact, it must not be ignored that nonviolent resistance in such a period was something that far exceeded the norm that could have been found elsewhere throughout the world. Says the text: â€Å"Seeing that he would be obtained by force and opposition to his original design, [Xuanzang] declared with an oath that he would eat nothing, in order to affect the

Qatar Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Qatar Airways - Essay Example This has led to many of its global achievements and awards. Management strategies help to identify new opportunities for growth, like the merger between the American Airlines and US Airways which provides an exciting opportunity for further growth American Airlines and US Airways provides an exciting opportunity for further growth American Airlines and US Airways provides an exciting opportunity for further growth and connecting of customers to North America. The airline has also refocused its capacity to Africa in response to market and competition developments. During the recent years the airline has launched various global networks and destinations covering from Europe, South Asia the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet and cargo aircrafts. It has made plans for its expansion with an additional frequency ad capacity to both existing and new destinations. The addition of airlines provides a major increase in the number of passengers and networks. Qatar Airways is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck super jumbo recognized for its luxurious design and as the world’s biggest aircraft capable of carrying capacity of 555 passengers. The first aircraft was delivered in 2014. The company also operates corporate jets for its executive subsidiary launched in 2009. The use of modern technology is a major advantage in the airline industries; it plays a key role in enhancing efficiency and customer services, the Qatar airways has partnered with Wipro Infotech in order to conceptualize their growth strategies. This gives them a competitive edge as they will be able to utilize Wipro’s highly technical resources, research and development centers to explore and take advantage of new technological solutions. Hamad International Airport opened I April 2014 is a project undertake y Qatar Airways designed to help shape Doha as one of the greatest regional and international aviation hub. The

Who was to blame for the banking crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Who was to blame for the banking crisis - Essay Example After the Great Depression of 1930 the world economy faced a dangerous financial crisis. It all began when sky rocket property prices in the United States started decreasing and this impact soon spread all over the financial sector. The Global Financial Crisis initiated in July 2007 with the credit crunch when US investors lost confidence in the investment of mortgage property. This all compelled US investors to inject a large portion of capital into the financial market. By September 2008 the crisis got worse and hit all stock markets globally and made the market volatile. The consumers started losing confidence in properties and the stock market and were in a position of fear what could be lying ahead of them (Broman, 2012). The banking industry has seen many fiscal crises in the past, the notable one of them being the one that started in the 1930. Since then many countries have seen ups and downs when it comes to their banking industry. The most recent one of them being that in 2007; which changed the perspective of many investors and regulators. It all took one Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt for the Wall Street crisis panic to spread worldwide and affect other countries, developing or developed. The causes were smaller in person and unimportant but together, they caused huge economies to collapse and endure great loss. The reasons were as followed: On a general note, the global financial crisis began developed its roots in 2007, July, when the US investors started to lose confidence in the values of subprime mortgages, resulting in a liquidity crisis. This lead to the US federal bank adding a notable sum of capital into the financial market but nevertheless, the issue persisted such that by 2008, the stock markets around the world became seriously volatile and subsequently crashed. The Global market braced them for they feared the impending doom that approached them. Questions pertaining to the liquidity of banks, a fall in the availability of

Northcentral's Expectation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Northcentral's Expectation - Research Paper Example Introduction It is important for the researchers to clearly differentiate and distinguish the quantitative research method and qualitative research method. In order to make sure that the research is properly carried out and the stated aim and objectives are fulfilled in effective and efficient manner, it is essential for the researcher to carefully select the research method. For this purpose, the researcher should be able to clearly distinguish the two research methods from each other. The qualitative research method is descriptive as it focus on depth and details, on the other hand quantitative research method is precise as it focus on the quantity. The research designs in the quantitative research method are more formal and use more numbers and statistics. Apart from this the quantitative research designs are designed for the statistical treatment and analysis. On the other hand, the qualitative research method and designs focus more on different informal sources like words, image s and other things. This in turn, allow the researcher to get hold of the topic being investigated on more personal level. It is also important to acknowledge here that some researchers often use a mix method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used. ... For this purpose, researchers also take help from different statistical tests. The numbers are interpreted with the help of different mathematical and statistical techniques for example, mean, frequency, z-score test, and many other. In order to increase the generalization of the research study, there should be large amount of information or data. Researchers normally use different well structured questionnaires and surveys in order to gather quantitative data. Along with this the experimental studies are also common in order to identify and establish causal relationship between difference variables. These experiments are either performed in controlled setting or non controlled setting (Creswell, 2007). In order to come up with the problem statement in the quantitative research study it is first essential to identify different variables which includes confounding variables, covariates, mediating variables, dependent variable, independent variable, etc. Along with this in quantitative research study the researcher has to come up with different research questions and the related proposed hypothesis. The researcher should make sure that the research questions and hypothesis are formulated in such a manner that they are aligned with the problem statement of the research study. Hypotheses are only formulated in the quantitative research study or mix method research study. The quantitative research study focuses on exploring the direct relationship between two or more variables with the help of different tests and experiments. For this reason, in quantitative research studies and mix method research studies it is essential for the researcher to present the operational definition of the

Essay in 3 part Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

In 3 part - Essay Example I think education grooms a person, and if the education discipline is that in which one wants to pursue a career, then there remains practically nothing between success and the person, assuming he puts in all his efforts into his work. Studying business management would not only allow me to understand various theories that underpin how businesses are managed, but would also allow me to learn from real life experiences of people, that I could later use to my help when I start my career. Moreover, almost all business management courses have an internship requirement before graduation, and that I believe, is the perfect time when young business graduates get to apply theoretical knowledge at work and get hands on experience with real life scenarios. Once I get done with my Bachelors’ Degree in Business Management, I would have a lot of career opportunities lying in front of me. To start off with, I would ideally want to start my own company from scratch and take it to the verge of success. However, sometimes situations arise that cause a deviation from the prime plan; in these circumstances too I believe having studied business management I would be open to a wide array of jobs around the globe. A look down business management graduates tell us that they have been able to discover innumerable career opportunities in all fields of work, including accounting, finance, human resource, supply chain management and various others. In this section I would be comparing the university where I would be pursuing my education from, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), against another university which teaches the discipline that I would be pursuing; Manchester Metropolitan University Coventry University (MMU). LJMU gives a rough timeline of completion of the BA Hons Degree in Business Management as three years, while CU also gives a similar time frame for degree completion. A look at the course structure of the two programs also proves that both of

Eastenders and Coronation Street Essay Example for Free

Eastenders and Coronation Street Essay astenders and Coronation Street deals with these rules by not showing any bad violence, drugs, sexual intercourse, nudity or demonstrations of exorcisms. If any of these are shown they will be justified so much that it is suitable for all ages. This affects the reality of the programme because in some of the storyline situations they cannot fully show the reality of what may happen in real life because they cannot swear for example, and all the things they cannot show are usually in everyday life. Paragraph three There are different principles shown in every episode, from the Eastenders episode we watched issues raised were things like underage drinking, working underage and adultery all these issues are delt with without harming or offending anyone. In the Coronation Street episode issues raised were slander, stalking, teenage depression, abortion and St Georges Day. Again all these issues were raised without insulting people. They couldnt show anything on local elections because it is against the broadcasting code and it may sway peoples decisions on who they are going to vote for. This also makes the reality of the programme not real because at that time of year people are talking about elections but on these programmes they cannot. Paragraph four The two soap operas Eastenders and Coronation Street differ from advertising because BBC1 dont have a commercial breaks in the middle and Coronation Street do they also are sponsored by Cadburys so at the start, the breaks and the end they advertise Cadburys. On BBC1 the viewers pay for the channel to stay up and running, but on ITV they make their money from adverts and advertising different products, and in Coronation Streets instance it is Cadburys. The commercial breaks are limited and regulated so they suit the stereotypical types who watch that certain programme but in soap operas instance all ages watch so there is adverts for all ages. Coronation Street and Eastenders are similar in that both dont show any products, brand names or designs so people are not persuaded to buy one product over another. Paragraph five Conclusion My opinion is that soap operas can never be real because of the regulations they are under, for example swearing and abuse is apart of everyday life even if it is to the minimum. However I dont think people watch them, for the realism of the programme but for the gossip or the melodrama others for the humour or the storylines which may help people with similar situations.

Whose Reality Expository Piece Essay Example for Free

Whose Reality Expository Piece Essay Computer gaming and in particular online gaming with games such as World of Warcraft and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace nowadays are a becoming a massive issue and are taking over millions of peoples realities the world over. Their sense of real or unreal, fact or fiction, and even in some cases right or wrong is becoming increasing blurred or warped by the illusion cast over them by their second lives that it is difficult for them to tell the difference between reality and illusion. See reality is defined as the state or fact of being real, but we as humans have the capacity This is because online, you have greater control over who they are, what they do, etc. Whereas in real life you have little to no control what happens to you e. g. bad things, like deaths. This adds to the appeal of these â€Å"second lives† because you do have a great deal of control over who you are, what you look like, who you associate with and what you do. There is a fine line between reality and illusion and sometimes, with the help of computer technology that line can become very blurry. This piece will allow you to delve deeper into what reality and illusion are, and the differences between them. Also to have a better grasp on what an avatar and second lives are in regards to online games and forums and also the pro’s and con’s of video gaming. A blurred sense of reality is known as an illusion and this can have detrimental effects on many aspects of one’s life. Reality can be defined as the state or fact of being real, but as humans we have the capacity to perceive or interpret our own realities in many different ways. Some of the ways a blurred sense of reality can have negative effects on a person’s day to day life are that they can become so involved in their online persona that they call other people by their online names, lack of motivation for their real job, among other things. This was the case in Colorado, America where a 34 year old man was fired from his job as a financial planner because he was playing the online fantasy game â€Å"World of Warcraft† at work. He was so involved in his â€Å"second life† as a superhero on the game that it took over his life. It is clear to see that a strong sense of reality is essential in order to maintain the line between reality and illusion. The lines between reality and illusion can become warped with the aid of avatars and second lives so it’s about finding a balance. An avatar is an online persona created by people for virtual reality games. The appeal of these avatars is that you can make them look however you want e. g. black, white, tall, short, fat, skinny, etc. The goal of these avatars is to boost them or progress through a game via levelling up. So it provides the players with a sense of accomplishment when they grow a level, unlock a new accessory, get a badge, beat a boss, etc. A second life evolves when a player becomes so engrossed in their game playing that it takes over their life and becomes a new life inside their real one, and this is a danger all gamers face: a loss or blurred sense of reality. The difference between reality and illusion can sometimes be so difficult to distinguish between because the line has been blurred so badly. Often due to excessive gaming or networking, or overly motivated gamers who are obsessed with boosting their avatars. The online fantasy game â€Å"World of Warcraft† has over 13 million players worldwide and over half of them have admitted they have an addiction in a recent online poll. This has taken its toll on them in a variety of ways including their work life, their social life, and not to mention their financial accounts, as you have to keep paying for this particular game monthly. It is all about finding a balance between work and play in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Reality all comes back to the individual person, their reality is based on their perception on the world and their previous life experiences. There should be no duplicate realities, just like there are no two people the same. What my reality is should never be the same as what your reality is. For each person has different, albeit special, beliefs. And these beliefs should be what, over the years, shape our reality to what it is. Not what somebody else says is going on, not what everyone else is doing, but what our heart says is real. So, if they wish to blur their line between reality and illusion with hours upon hours of gaming, avatar obsessions or networking who are we to stop them, because after all, it is their reality.

An analysis of internal controls

An analysis of internal controls Internal control as a process, effected by an entitys board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in Three categories: 1. Effectiveness and efficiency of operations 2. Reliability of financial reporting, and 3. Compliance with applicable laws and regulations 1.Internal control our EDP System Internal controls are a vigorous part of accounting and data processing systems. It is important that the auditor be aware with the functions and uses of internal controls with respect to both manual and automatic systems. The controls of an electronic data processing system (EDP) and their identification, evaluation, and importance to the external auditor 1.1.1. Importance of Internal Control Internal controls are a important part of accounting and data processing systems. It is important that the auditor be familiar with the functions and uses of internal controls with respect to both manual and automatic systems. 1.1.2. What are Internal Controls? In a broad sense, internal control comprises controls which embrace the organizational plan and the methods used to protection the assets, create the dependability of financial data and records, endorse working efficacy and loyalty to managerial policies. Internal control is categorized by independence between departments and lines of vicarious duty and authority. It is important that these internal controls verify the dependability and correctness of the data supportive all transactions using control total techniques, sanctions and approvals, contrasts, and other tests of data accuracy. Committee on Auditing Procedure. Auditing Standards and Procedures, Statements on Auditing Procedure No. 33. New York: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2008, p. 27. 1.1.3. Why Internal Controls are Important? Before management can make judgments to maximize the long run profit of a firm, it must first have dependable accounting data on which to base these decisions. This info should be timely, accurate, complete, and reliable. The protection of the assets of the firm against losses from misappropriation, robbery, failure to take discounts, inadequacy, and unjustified delays of credit are some functions of internal control that should be sufficiently interweaved in any good accounting system. These controls are necessary to assure management that the agreed procedures and orders are obeyed to since the management of large companies are not usually involved in personal supervision of their employees. Therefore, controls add reliability to accounting and financial data. Internal controls are important to deliver appropriate segregation of functional responsibilities and to create a system of authorization and sanction to provide reasonable safety over these assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Sound practices shadowed in the performance of duties with in the organization and the allocations of persons of a quality appropriate with responsibilities are two additional necessary and correct functions of internal controls in any system. 1.1.4. Why the Auditor is Concerned with Internal Controls? Management identifies the needs and importance of internal controls as valuable tools to assure that events and transactions are properly carried out. The use and attendance of sufficient internal controls loans reliance and credibility to accounting records and consequently, reduces the length and detail of the audit. These internal controls reduce monotonous, routine, mechanical checks and verifications of bookkeeping accuracy, authorizing replacement of less time consuming approaches that involve judgment, reasoning, and common sense. 1.2. Internal Control Over Financial Reporting The internal control system of an entity is severely interconnected to the structure used by management to supervise the activities of the organization, or to what is defined as the entitys corporate governance. Good corporate governance should deliver proper inducements for the board and management to follow purposes that are in the interest of the company and shareholders and should ease effective monitoring, thereby encouraged firms to use resources more proficiently (OECD Principles of Corporate Governance). The Board of Directors is thus accountable for providing governance, supervision and oversight for senior management and guaranteeing that a suitable internal control system is in place and effective, meaning it ensure that foreseeable objectives are attained. Financial reporting is the connection between the company and its external environment. One of the main features which contributed to these failures relate to the internal control system established around the disclosure of information to stakeholders. It seemed that not attaining the objective of effective internal control system over financial reporting demoralizes the status of a company, even at the attendance of many other control components, making it problematic or impossible for a company to be dependable on the market, to be able to collect financing resources, to be believable to shareholders and stakeholders in general. 1.2.1. Role of the Internal Auditor in Evaluating Internal Controls The Internal auditor should scrutinize and contribute to the continuing effectiveness of the internal control system through evaluation and commendations. Though, the internal auditor is not lodged with managements primary obligation for designing, applying, maintaining and documenting internal control. Internal audit functions add value to an organizations internal control system by transporting an orderly, disciplined approach to the evaluation of risk and by making commendations to strengthen the effectiveness of risk management struggles. The internal auditor should emphasis towards improving the internal control structure and promoting better corporate governance. The role of the internal auditor consists of: Evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of internal control à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Commending new controls where essential or stopping unnecessary controls à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using control framework à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Developing Control self-valuation The internal auditors assessment of internal control includes: Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Determining the significance and the compassion of the risk for which controls are being measured; Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Measuring the vulnerability to misuse of resources, failure to reach objectives concerning moralities, economy, efficiency and effectiveness, or failure to accomplish accountability obligations, and non-obedience with laws and regulations. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Identifying and understanding the design and operation of related controls. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Determining the grade of control effectiveness through testing of controls. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Measuring the sufficiency of the control design. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Reporting on the internal control evaluation and debating the essential corrective actions. The comprehensive areas of review by the internal auditor in assessing the internal control System are: Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Mission, vision, ethical and organizational worth system of the entity. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Personnel allocation, evaluation system, and growth policies Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Accounting and financial reporting policies and obedience with applicable legal and regulatory standards Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Objective of dimension and key performance pointers Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Documentation standards Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Risk management structure Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Operational framework Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Processes and procedures followed Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Degree of management administration Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Information systems, communication channels Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Business Continuousness and Disaster Recovery Procedures The internal auditor should get an understanding of the important processes and internal control systems adequate to plan the internal audit engagement and develop an effective audit tactic. The internal auditor should use professional finding to assess and evaluate the adulthood of the entitys internal control. The auditor should obtain an understanding of the control environment sufficient to evaluate managements attitudes, consciousness and actions regarding internal controls and their importance in the entity. Such an understanding would also help the internal auditor to make an initial assessment of the sufficiency of the accounting and internal control systems as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements, and of the likely nature, timing and magnitude of internal audit procedures. The internal auditors measures the as is internal control system within the organization. The internal auditor should become an understanding of the internal control. Procedures adequate to develop the audit plan. In obtaining that understanding, the internal auditor would consider knowledge about the attendance or absence of control procedures obtained from the understanding of the control environment, business processes and accounting system in determining whether any additional understanding of control procedures is essential. The internal auditor should document and understand the design and operations of internal controls to assess the effectiveness of the control environment. When attaining an understanding of the business processes, accounting and internal control systems to plan the audit, the internal auditor obtains information of the design of the internal control systems and their operation. For example, an internal auditor may perform a walk-through test that is; present a few transactions through the accounting system. When the transactions selected are typical of those transactions that pass through the system, this procedure may be treated as part of the tests of control. The internal auditor should deliberate the following aspects in the evaluation of internal control system in an entity: Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Discovering the entity has a mission statement and written goals and objectives. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Evaluating risks at the activity (or process) level. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Completing a Business Controls worksheet for each important activity (or process) in each function or department with documentation of the attendant controls and their degree of effectiveness (partial or full); arranging those activities (or processes) which are most critical to the success of the function or department Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Ensuring that all risks identified at the entity and function or department level are addressed in the Business Controls worksheet along with the combined documentation of the operating controls. Æ’ËÅ"â‚ ¬Ã‚  Discovering from the Business Controls worksheet, those risks for which no controls exist or existing controls are insufficient. 1.2.2. The assessment of internal control over financial reporting The total assessment gives a complete opinion of the effectiveness of entitys internal control system across internal control components. To facilitate the comparability with other entities and give complete assessment of the effectiveness of an entitys internal control system as such, universal system for evaluations is needed. Assessments and audits of internal control system should be tailor-made to the size, business, operations, risks, and procedures of each company, not directed by standardized lists (Heuberger 2009). This should more exactly identify possible problems, promote more efficient allocation of resources to higher-risk areas, and encourages a focus on outcomes rather than on processes. Internal control over financial reporting can be judged effective when reasonable assurance subsists that financial statements are being prepared reliably. Quantitative assessments are intended to measure the level of confidence that can be placed on the internal control systems ability to perform effectively (Perry 2010). Perry and Warner (Ibid: 52-55) have suggested a five-step model for quantitative assessment of internal control system, which is described on figure 1.1. The most important feature to note in this framework is scoring individual control objectives against the selected model. Using a suitable framework as a basis of the evaluation helps to attain a complete and structured assessment without missing important features of internal control. Figure 1.1. Quantitative assessment of internal controls. Perry 2010: 52-55. A framework can be deemed suitable as the fundamental for evaluation, when it is free from bias; it permits reasonably consistent qualitative and quantitative measurements; it is adequately complete so that those related factors that would modify a conclusion about the effectiveness of a companys internal control over financial reporting are not mislaid; and it is related to the evaluation (PCAOB 2009: 11). There are two key components of quantitative scoring: establishing how the maximum score will be assigned within the model and determining what percentage of the total allotted score to award to each control components. The initial COSO cube provides insight into the importance of the five internal control components in relative to each other, emphasizing the great importance of control environment and observing. However, Perry. (2010:54) note that those performing the assessment should apply their own experience with and information of internal controls and use this in combining with COSO guidance. COB IT model describes numerous different levels of dependability or maturity of an internal control system. Levels may range from initial, the lowest level of dependability, to optimized, the highest. COBIT Internal control reliability model is drawing the evaluators consideration to different features of the effectiveness of internal control, which would otherwise go unobserved, e.g. documentation and perceived value of controls. At the same time, this model is incomplete with respect to COSO internal control framework, because control environment and risk assessment are not comprised. Also, difficulties may arise greatly in small and medium-sized enterprises, where documentation regarding internal control system is limited and control procedures informal, but consciousness, communication and observing functioning might still be at high level. The Internal Control Institute in the US features six categories in rating internal control components. Groups range from reactive controls to world class system pronounced in table 1.3. Each category is worth a percentage that is proportionate with the attained level of control (Perry 2005: 54). Specifically, category 1 is worth 162/3 percent (1/6) and category 6 is the highest level of maturity and is worth100 percent. The points for each control principle should be assigned according to the evaluated percentage of proposed maximum score, then concise and an assessment report prepared. In this system, the evaluators score the internal control over financial reporting according to the fulfillment of the principles of internal control through numerous criteria. The total evaluation of internal control is attained through summarizing the scores across objectives and components. Perrys model allows giving an total numerical opinion of the effectiveness of the internal control system, taking into account the distinct features of every organization by assigning different percentages for different control principles and components according to the entitys size, ownership and business activities. The assessment of the efficiency of internal control over financial reporting in an entity is closely associated to the concept of fraud. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) defines fraud as those intentional misrepresentations of financial statements and other records which are carried out to conceal the misappropriation of assets or otherwise for gain (Pickett 2000: 550). For a person to commit fraud, three factors need to be in place: incentive or burden, chance and rationalization (Rittenberg 2005: 301; Pickett 2000: 550).

Media Violence and The Effects on Children Essays -- essays research p

Does media violence have a negative effect on children? On September 11th, 2001, millions around the world crowded around televisions across the globe, watching the horrific scenes of terrorism that had struck New York City, Washington, D.C and Pennsylvania on that ill-fated and now infamous morning. Our sense of security and impenetrable protection crashed 110 stories to the shaken streets of New York City. We watched with shock and horror, disbelief and grief as the images were repeatedly flashed before our eyes, with the all the drama of the plane crashing through the World Trade Center and bursting into an indescribable ball of fire and of the surreal scenes of demolished piles of what used to be the Twin Towers of New York City. We witnessed desperate pleas for help from family members of missing victims. We were shown images of the wounded victims and of the unimaginable destruction in the streets of New York. Our expeditious system of mass media provided us with an immediate window to this dramatic and unprecedented tragedy. We were not alone as we stood looking through this window to the trauma and terrorism enveloping us. As we looked on with fear and horror, so did children. As we watched the 24-hour coverage of the events unfolding, so did children. Every major station broadcast continuous coverage of the "attack on America" for days following the tragedy. While networks provided live coverage, personal interviews and professional analysis, cable stations flashed messages of condolence and sympathy across the bottom of the screen during regular programming, as a constant reminder and acknowledgement of tragedy that had shaken us to our knees. If we as adults were so affected by the trauma of the events, then what can be said for the children who witnessed these same images of horror and terrorism? How, with such an undeveloped capacity to understand the world and the proximity of danger, can we say that children were not affected by the violence of this tragedy? In a time when adults cannot fully understand the context of the violence in our world, how can children possibly be expected to make sense of it? They cannot. Living in a culture and time where violence permeates countless aspects of society in both fiction and reality; visual, verbal, implied and overt; and given the prevalence and pervasiveness of the violence surrounding us,... ...fficult to avoid the influence of media violence. For impressionable children who are constantly shaping and reevaluating the world around them, media violence plays a role in the formation of their negative perceptions of society and their surrounding environment. They are affected by the frequent influence of violent depictions in the same way that they are influenced to want a toy because of the commercial that promotes it. It is the degree and severity of this effect that remains open for heated debate in the arena of social policy and public interest. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Anonymous. (1999). Get Real. Broadcasting and Cable, 62, 129. CNN. Bethesda, MD. 12, Sept. 2001. 2. Cutler, Maggie. (2001). Whodunit-The Media? The Nation, 18-20, 272. 3. Hepburn, Mary. (1997). T.V. Violence! A medium's effects under scrutiny. Social Education, 244-249, 61. 4. Mifflin, Lawrie. (1999). Many Researchers Say Link is Already Clear on Media Violence and Youth Violence. The New York Times, 27, 03624331. 5. Mitchell, Dr. Jeffrey. "Children need 'reassurance' in the face of tragedy." Interview 6. Posch, Robert J Jr. (1993). What you do emerges from who you are. Direct Marketing, 43, 56.

Brutal Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

Brutal Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"(Williams 2008-2075; additional references by page number only.) the characters are extremely physical. The most physical of all characters in the play was Stanley Kowalski. Stanley is considered to be a brutal, domineering man with animal-like traits. The best relationship to illustrate Stanley's brutality is the one between he and his wife, Stella. Stanley treats Stella badly. He beats Stella and is impolite to her in front of other people. He rarely takes her suggestions and often scolds her. Stanley only acts kindly to Stella when he wants to make love with her. There is evidence in scene three of Stanley's brutality. [At the poker game.] STELLA: How much longer is this game going to continue? STANLEY: Till we get ready to quit. ...Why don't you women go up and sit with Eunice? STELLA: Because it is nearly two-thirty A.M.... [A chair scrapes. STANLEY gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.] STELLA: [Sharply.] That's not fun, Stanley. (t o Blanche) It makes me so mad when he does that in front of people. (2026-27) ...Shortly after this incident during the same scene... [BLANCHE turns the radio on. STANLEY stalks fiercely through the portieres into the bedroom. He crosses to the small white radio and snatches it off the table. With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out the window.] STELLA: Drunk, drunk animal thing, you!... BLANCHE: [Wildly.] Stella, watch out, he's... [STANLEY charges after STELLA.] MEN: [Feebly] Take it easy, Stanley. Easy fellow... STELLA: You lay your hands on me and I'll... [She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow, STELLA cries out. BLANCHE screams and runs into the kitchen. The men rush forward and there is grappling and cursing. Something is overturned with a crash.] BLANCHE: [Shrilly.] My sister is going to have a baby! (2031) These are just two examples of Stanley's brutality towards Stella. Near the end of the play, the reader discovers that S tanley has raped Blanche. This is probably considered to be his most brutal act during the play. Stanley doesn't want to let anyone destroy his marriage. When he finds that Blanche is talking bad about him to Stella, he tries his best to "defeat" Blanche by staying with Stella. Blanche would say things such as "He acts like an animal, has an animal's habits!.

Essay --

The Great Depression was an economic problem in North America, Europe, and other industrialized countries around the world that began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. It was the longest and most stressing depression ever. The U.S. economy had gone into a depression six months earlier, but the Great Depression had begun with a breakdown of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. The next three years stock prices in the United States had continued to drop, until 1932 it had dropped to about 20% of its value. Other than messing up thousands of individual investors, the decline in the value of good banks and other financial facilities went bad. Many banks were constantly forced to hide their debts, and that’s why by 1933, 11,000 of the United States 25,000 banks had failed. The failure of so many banks was because of the lack of confidence the economy had, which had led to too much reduced of spending and demanding money. This was constantly dropping, and unemployment began rising. By 1932, U.S. manufacturing had dropped to 54% of its money, and unemployment had gone up to between 12 and 15 million workers. The Great Depression began in the United States, but then had turned into a worldwide economic problem. The United States was trying to come out from the depression as the main one in the depression. National economies had been weakened by the depression itself, but by war debts in Germany and other defeated nations to. So once the American economy had dropped and the money of American investments to Europe was gone, the depression had become worst than nations that were mostly in debt to the United States, Germany and Great Britain. In Germany, unemployment began to raise high in 1929, and by 1932. It ... ...ing completely out of reserves making it harder to purchase stocks and bonds to improve their businesses. The Great Depression ended as nations went up on their production of war materials at the beginning of World War II. This had made production better, made more jobs, and put a bunch of money back into business so that the economy would be better again. What I have learned through this research paper is that the economy will never be perfect. It does not matter how many polices the government makes, people will be people and continue to spend money in ways that could affect the economy. Majority of people require loans today since we have wants and needs in order to live. I do not believe the US economy would ever go back to the times of the Depression since more people have jobs today, there is not one central bank anymore and having a better economic system. Essay -- The Great Depression was an economic problem in North America, Europe, and other industrialized countries around the world that began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. It was the longest and most stressing depression ever. The U.S. economy had gone into a depression six months earlier, but the Great Depression had begun with a breakdown of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. The next three years stock prices in the United States had continued to drop, until 1932 it had dropped to about 20% of its value. Other than messing up thousands of individual investors, the decline in the value of good banks and other financial facilities went bad. Many banks were constantly forced to hide their debts, and that’s why by 1933, 11,000 of the United States 25,000 banks had failed. The failure of so many banks was because of the lack of confidence the economy had, which had led to too much reduced of spending and demanding money. This was constantly dropping, and unemployment began rising. By 1932, U.S. manufacturing had dropped to 54% of its money, and unemployment had gone up to between 12 and 15 million workers. The Great Depression began in the United States, but then had turned into a worldwide economic problem. The United States was trying to come out from the depression as the main one in the depression. National economies had been weakened by the depression itself, but by war debts in Germany and other defeated nations to. So once the American economy had dropped and the money of American investments to Europe was gone, the depression had become worst than nations that were mostly in debt to the United States, Germany and Great Britain. In Germany, unemployment began to raise high in 1929, and by 1932. It ... ...ing completely out of reserves making it harder to purchase stocks and bonds to improve their businesses. The Great Depression ended as nations went up on their production of war materials at the beginning of World War II. This had made production better, made more jobs, and put a bunch of money back into business so that the economy would be better again. What I have learned through this research paper is that the economy will never be perfect. It does not matter how many polices the government makes, people will be people and continue to spend money in ways that could affect the economy. Majority of people require loans today since we have wants and needs in order to live. I do not believe the US economy would ever go back to the times of the Depression since more people have jobs today, there is not one central bank anymore and having a better economic system.

A Comparison of the Writing Styles of Mary Austin and Willia Cather Essay

Steve rayburn! ! !Every author has his or her own style of writing in the works he or she produces. Two female British authors, Mary Austin and Willia Cather, both have similar but distinct styles of writing.! !Mary Austin wrote a novel called â€Å"Land of Little Rain† that depicts death valley and the surrounding desert. The landscape of the story is no doubt a desert; sand dunes, small shrubs, will grass, blistering heat, scavengers and very little water. Although the desert can be easily described, Austin goes to great lengths to show the relationships between the subtle changes in  the landscape, behavioral patterns of animals, and even the way plant life grows around the landscape. For example, she describes and almost personi? es the way that the dunes are blown up on themselves that eventually form a shield that protect the grasses and shrubs that grow behind the dunes. Austin takes a blunt picture of the landscape and shapes and sharpens it into a ? uid ecosystem. She shows the vibrance of life that exists in the so-called death valley.! !Willia Cather is the author of the novel called â€Å"My Antonia† that follows the path of a boy,  Jim Burden, who moves west and befriends a bohemian family that settles close to his. Jim is a thoughtful, self-aware individual that is very introverted; wandering through the woods and pasture on his horse, his thoughts wandering like he is. Like Austin, Cather uses the landscape to springboard themes and motifs throughout the book, often the scenery being an outward expression of the thoughts and feelings of the characters. For example, the rugged, untamed, potentially dangerous landscape foreshadows the imminent suicide of his friend’s father. The death is also very dangerous because he was the main breadwinner of the family, and without him the family could potentially be trapped in the winds and chill of the landscape themselves. Cather pulls from the scenery but uses it as a garnish rather than the main focus of Austin’s work.! !Although both writers use the landscape to build their stories, they use it very differently. Austin’s story is the landscape, while Cather uses the landscape as an element. The style of both authors have similarities but have distinct differences.

Pizza Hut vs Greenwich Essay

Greenwich Pizza is one true Filipino pizza chain. It is a small entrepreneurship that made an extraordinary leap to the big league. What started out as a small over-the-counter pizza store in the Greenhills Commercial Center in 1971, is now the Philippines biggest pizza chain. We are not just the biggest. We are the Philippines favourite pizza chain. We give you a scrumptious blend of exciting pizza and pasta innovations, all prepared for the comfort of the Filipino taste. More than just delicious food choices, we offer to transform your everyday dining into shared delightful moments with friends. Mission We strengthen relationship through bonding and sharing over our best-tasting and best value pizzas and pastas. Vision Greenwich is the dominant and unquestionable no. 1 pizza and pasta destination. 215902349503179445234950 Greenwich Strengths Weaknesses â€Å"Customer Loyalty† Instead of targeting all customers, They only need to target new customers in order to grow their business. â€Å"Quality of the Products† They sell products for a price as low as possible but it affects the quality of it. â€Å"STRONGER BRAND IMAGE† Greenwich re-invents itself more with a more dynamic â€Å"G† logo to attract more customers. This brand look is also an indication of how attuned the company is with the ever-changing times and evolving customer lifestyles. â€Å"POWERFUL ADVERTISING† Greenwich aggressively harnesses tri-media to communicate all the benefits consumers can enjoy at them. This is augmented by the use of outdoor advertising materials and merchandising collaterals that help heighten public awareness of Greenwich offerings. All these complete effective campaigns and exciting promotions that inevitably translate to high sales performance. 190500 Pizza Hut. Saint Joseph Street, Angeles, Pampanga Fast Food Chain Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza restaurant company specializing in Pan Pizzas and Stuffed Crust Pizzas. There are more than 7,500 restaurants in the United States and more than 4,500 restaurants in over 80 countries and territories around the world. The company is the recognized leader in the pizza category. The reason behind Pizza Hut’s success all over the world is its steadfast belief and uncompromising drive in providing customers the best in terms of product quality, service, cleanliness and value. Pizza Hut pizzas are made with fresh dough baked daily and 1 / 2 smothered with our very own Pizza Hut special tomato sauce, tender meat toppings, crunchy vegetables and a double layer of 100% pure imported Mozzarella cheese. Service is an attitude in Pizza Hut. Crew members are trained to make customers feel appreciated. Customers are treated with courtesy, attentiveness, respect, and enthusiasm. Cleanliness is a must in Pizza Hut as much as giving customers the best value for their money. 1905024325821905018990 Pizza hut Strengths Weaknesses POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Marketing and PR Handout

Taking a Masters in Business Administration degree means that you need to understand each and every aspect of the organization you work in.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowledge in Marketing and PR will equip you with the essential tools to make your own business or organization survive the competition.   Below are my insights from taking Marketing and PR course:1. Brand equity, which is the position that a product or company holds in the minds of the consumers is primary to creating the character and personality of your product.2. Branding integrates the overall strategies of your company or brand – advertising, marketing programs, customer service, public relations (Ochman, n.d.).   Make sure you give your brand a consistent positioning approach.3. Marketing is not just about offering discounts on coupons or giving away prizes in raffles.   It is about integrating effective tools to communicate with your market.4. Four Ps of marketing stand for Product, Price, Place and Promotion.   These determine the direction of your product, and integrate your programs to ensure consistency and synergy in your efforts (Arens, W., 2005).5. Market penetration strategies determine the total market potential, then divide that potential by the amount of product that is already sold or purchased (Berry, T., 2007).   If not done right, you may end up picking yourself on the wrong side of the road, with unjustifiable expenses and wasted efforts.6. Rewarding your loyal customers is a powerful tool nowadays to keep them coming back (Marketing Tricks for the Frugal Budget, 2003).   This gives rise to Relationship Marketing, ensuring that everything from customer service to after-sales service is going smoothly (Arens, W., 2005).7. Use discounts and promos sparingly.   Otherwise, people may think that your product is not good enough because they are always on sale (Marketing Tricks for the Frugal Budget, 2003).8. In Public Relations, you need to take care of your image to the pu blic, and equally important, to the media.   Otherwise, you risk yourself of being cast in the shadows of darkness, because media create the buzz for your product or company.9. The media coverage that you get through recommendations of editors, write-ups in columns and mentions in press releases is more powerful than advertising.   Utilize this as often and as effective as you can.10. Advertising is an effective tool to promote your product, which is why it does not come cheap (Arens, W., 2005).   You have to make sure that you pick the right medium for your product to reach the right market.ReferencesArens, W.   (2005).   Contemporary Advertising.   McGraw Hill, pp. 325-328.Berry, T. (2007).   Market Penetration Opportunity.   Retrieved May 8, 2007.Marketing Tricks for the Frugal Budget.   (2003).   Retrieved May 8, 2007 from https://businesstown.com/articles/cheap-marketing-tricks-that-work/Ochman, B.L. (n.d.).   Branding:   The Most Misunderstood Word in M arketing.   Retrieved May 8, 2007.

Human Resource at Mcdonald’s Essay

I. Introduction In today’s intensely competitive and global marketplace, having a highly committed or competent workforce is one of the most critical factors in maintaining a competitive advantage (Millmore et al., 2007). Therefore, in a growing number of organizations, strategic human resources management (SHRM) is now viewed as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management is designed to help companies meet the needs of their employees while promoting company goals. As an important aspect of strategic human resource management is employee development, organisations have to consider employees may want or need and what the company can reasonably supply (Baker, 2009a; Tarique and Schuler, 2010). This research paper tries to discuss how organisations achieve this mission. We will discuss about two very important aspects of SHRM, strategic international HRM (SIHRM) and employment relationship. Although these two fields will be analysed separately, we can see the link bet ween them when we apply them to the case McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). In each section, we will discuss about the theories and models relating to each of those aspects and how these theories showed up in McDonalds’. II. McDonalds’ and Strategic International HRM II.1. Literature review of SIHRM and its frameworks The main trend of recent studies on changes in the business environment is the growth of internalisation, for example Ferenbach and Pinney (2012); Hitt et al. (2012); and Zain and Kassim (2012). As businesses become more and more global, SIHRM plays an important role in the development and success of multi-national corporations (MNCs) (Festing et al., 2012; Smale et al., 2012; and Stahl et al., 2012). According to Briscoe (2012) international human resource management (IHRM) can be defined as set of managerial tools for managing organizational human resources at international level to achieve organizational objectives and competitive advantage over competitors, both domestic and international. IHRM, therefore, includes typical HRM functions such as recruitment, selection, training and development, performance appraisal and rewards and punishment done at international level and additional activities such as global management skills, expatriate management and so on (Millmore et al., 20 07). Milliman et al. (1991) developed a SIHRM framework based theory of â€Å"fit and flexibility†. The concept of â€Å"IHRM fit† included external and internal side. External IHRM fit indicated the MNCs’ capability to deal with the cross-national environment, which includes the social, legal, political and cultural factors of diversified foreign countries where they operate. On the other hand, internal IHRM fit stressed on the management ability to ensure appropriate control and co-ordination between corporate and foreign subsidiaries. In addition to â€Å"fit† concept, â€Å"flexible† was also important as it specified the organisational capability to smoothly implement changes and adapt to diverse circumstances. Zheng (2013) commented on the framework that in today’s open global environment in which information and knowledge is transferred freely and quickly, an integration of fit between internal HRM and external functions is required and sho uld not be treated as two separate functions. The SIHRM framework of Schuler et al. (1993) seems to implement this point (Figure 1). The framework constituted of two major elements: inter-unit linkages and internal operations. Inter-unit linkages showed the MNC’s ability to differentiate its operating units thorough the world while, at the same time, keep them well coordinated and controlled. Internal operations indicated the fit between each unit’s confines of its local environment, laws, politics, culture, economy and society and its own strategic objectives given by the corporation. Schuler et al. (1993) framework’s limitation is to ignore the role of human-beings (managers and staff) which is widely considered as a very important constituent of SIHRM (for example Briscoe et al., 2012; Shi and Handfield, 2012; and Sanchez-Arias et al., 2013). The SIHRM framework of Taylor et al. (1996) stressed on how smoothly top managers can transfer the parent company’s SIHRM orientation to affiliate’s HR M system, then to impart organisational values and top managers’ belief to specific employees within the affiliate (Figure 2). Although Taylor’s model (1996) can complement the limitation of Schuler’s framework (1993), we still need a more detailed and practical model to apply in the real business world. This is the point at which the framework for global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) comes in handy. In the next section, we will discuss about the framework in details and in the case of Mc Donalds’ (Figure 3). II.2. The framework for global talent management and the case of McDonald’s a.Global Talent Challenges for McDonalds’ The major driver of global talent challenges for McDonalds’ is the globalisation. Although globalisation enables firms to employ workers in the developing economies of the world at much lower wages than is possible in the developed economies of the world (Wise and Covarrubias, 2012), it also leads to increasing competition in fast food industry (Asif et al., 2011; Gupta, 2012; and Royle, 2012). In such circumstance, global competitive advantage is only for those multinational firms that succeed in locating and relocating its workforce over the world, adapting to local differences, learn continuously, and transfer knowledge more effectively than their competitors do (Molinsky, 2013; Steers et al., 2013). Therefore, human recourse becomes more and more important in maintaining competitive advantage at MNCs. In addition, as McDonalds’, like other MNCs, expand its business into many other countries, its consumers continue to have very different buying patterns from region to region. The organisation therefore must have a talent management strategy in place that continually assesses whether employees have the ability to address the particular needs of a diverse customer base (Podsiadlowskia et al., 2013). In 2011, Manpower Group conducted research among nearly 25,000 companies across 39 different countries and territories, which shed light on that 32% of American companies were looking for foreign workers, higher than any other area (that number of the whole world was 24%). This raises the demand for workers with competencies and motivation considerably high, especially for American companies. While the demand was getting higher, the foreign labour supply for MNCs was not so abundant. The research of Manpower (2011) showed that 74% of American employers (among 5,820 surveyed companies) found it difficult in recruiting foreign labours. In addition, Pearson (2012) believed that high employee turnover is a threat for today’s businesses. These issues made the labor market more competitive for employers, especially operates in an industry whose the rate of employee turnover is as high as fast food industry (Harris, 2012). For McDonald’s and other fast food restaurant, there is another specific obstacle. According to Sharma and Kiran (2012), employees nowadays do not only look for organisations offering high wage but also those â€Å"whose philosophies and operating practices match with their own principles†. This might create an issue for McDonalds’ to compete in recruiting best talents as fast food restaurants usually have bad reputation of causing ethical healthy issues such as obesity (Fraser et al., 2012; Jeffery and Utter, 2012). Tarique and Schuler (2010) summarised global talent challenges as too little needed talent and too much unneeded talent, or rather â€Å"the needed talent is available in the wrong place†. b.McDonalds’ Human Resource Actions to Address Global Talent Challenges Talent management initiatives can only be effectively successful when linked to the strategies of the organization. Since 2005, McDonald’s global workforce strategy has been designed to be aligned with and support the execution of its business objective, which is â€Å"to become everyone’s favorite place and way to eat† (Harkins et al., 2005). Interestingly, the global talent management practice initiated by McDonalds’ nearly ten years ago was very similar to the Tarique and and Schuler’s framework (2010). Prior to 2001, McDonald’s developed its performance assessment system comprised of six â€Å"performance drivers† (Figure 4) on which managers and staffs’ annual performance will be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it (Goldsmith et al., 2009). However, when it was rolled out globally in 2003, it was clear that certain elements of the new system re-design were not suited for the foreign cultures and legal structures that existed in certain countries. As a result, all of its affiliate and franchising stores were given flexible to make certain changes to adapt local requirements. This manager’s initiative reflected the â€Å"fit and flexible† concept of Milliman et al. (1991) as discussed in the last section. In 2003, McDonalds’ introduced its Global Talent Review Process of which main purpose is to train and develop next generation of leaders and managers and in 2006, the organisation added a more in-depth analysis of who needs development moves to enhance their experience and a process that facilitates this movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The initiative allowed potential leaders of next generation to move more freely to various organizational departments in order to realise development job opportunities with support of their peers and develop their own talents (Brown and Lent, 2012). With the intention of attracting and retaining high-performing talents, The McDonald’s Leadership Institute and the Global Leadership Development Program were introduced in 2006 (McDonald’s, 2013). The Institute was a virtual community that provides a culture of learning and development and to which anyone from any geographic location can accessed. The Global Leadership Development Program focused on preparing participants for broader leadership responsibilities and building a strong peer network that will support these individuals in developing their leadership path. The qualitative impacts of these initiatives were managers and staffs became much more aware of the strengths and talent gaps in each area, so they can recognise their own development needs and develop their talents more effectively. In addition, as the number of cross-organizational movement increased, organisation had better selections for all tasks. Schuler et al. (2010) pointed out several barriers of talent management to which McDonalds’ and other MNCs should pay attention. First, managers at all levels rather spend time on their own pressing tasks than on talent management programs. Second, organizational structures might inhibit collaboration and the sharing of knowledge across boundaries. Finally, HR departments might be short of â€Å"the respect of other executives whose cooperation is needed to implement appropriate HR actions† and might not be able to deal with the global talent challenges. III. McDonalds’ and Employment Relationship III.1. Literature review of employment relationship and new ERM model In last section, we discussed how important talent management is for McDonalds’ to maintain its competitive advantage in today’s widely open business. Although McDonald’s already has a quite complete talent management program, the organisation should be noticed that its workforce strategy could not be successful without great employment relationship. Gospel and Palmer (1993:3) define employment relationship as â€Å"an economic, social and political relationship in which employees provide manual and mental labour in exchange for rewards allotted by employers.† Rose (2004) clarified that rewards can be not only economic but also social and psychological. Millmore et al. (2007) believed that psychological reward is an indispensable part in employment relationship. They went on to define two key strategic concepts that were labour – management partnership and psychological contract. According to Millmore et al. (2007), key values of a successful labour – management partnership included share of goals, culture, knowledge, effort and information. Armstrong (1996) discussed that the labour – management partnership initiated when employees provide skill and effort to employers and the employers provide the employee with a salary in return. However, the employment relationship can also be expressed in terms of a psychological contract defined by Rousseau (1994, cited by Millmore, 2007:448) as â€Å"the understanding people have regarding the commitments made between themselves and their organisations†. Noe (1999, p. 290) states, â€Å"a psychological contract is the expectation that employers and employees have about each other†. According to CIPD (2006), psychological contract breach occurs when employees believe that the organization has failed to deliver its promises or obligations. There were many research works about psychological contract and its importance in employment relationship, for example Robinson and Morrison (2000); Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000); Guest and Conway (2002); Turnley et al. (2003); Conway and Briner (2005). These works however did not point out a model that is practical and easy to apply and measure in the workplace. In addition, because of globalisation and today’s fast changing business environment, the needs of organizations and workers’ expectations changed significantly (Burke and Ng, 2006). Therefore, the traditional psychological contract might not work as well as it had been. Besides, most of the research in the past has emphasised the employee, while it should be on both employees and employers’ perspectives (Baker, 2009a). Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship that enables corporations to attract good staff and retaining talented employees in toda y’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition. In such a business environment the traditional perspective on employment relationship such as that of Gospel and Palmer (1993) might not work. According to Baker (2009a), the new employment relationship model must base on the workers’ needs with organisational outcomes. He then provided core attributes of the model including flexible environment, customer-focus, focus on performance, project-based work, human spirit and work, loyalty, learning and development and open information. In next section, we will discuss about these core attributes with the illustration of McDonalds’. III.2. McDonald’s and the application of new employment relationship model The first aspect of the relationship is flexible employment which defined by Baker (2009a) as organisation policy to encourage workers to work for other units or departments. In 2006, McDonalds’ conducted an in-depth analysis of which staffs could be potential leaders and managers, what skills and experience they needs, to which units they should be moved to get these skills and knowledge, and how to facilitate the movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The implementation of flexible employment strategies can create opportunities for workers to develop their career beyond the confines of their specific specialization. Kappia et al. (2007) proved these career development opportunities could be more motivating than monetary rewards. The concept of customer-focus, which becomes more and more important in business techniques (Bharadwaj et al., 2012; Idris, 2012; Kanti, 2012), is the second attributes of new employment relationship model (ERM). The concept of customer-focus places empl oyees in the â€Å"unique position of answering to two bosses†, the organisation and the customer (Baker, 2002). Baker (2009b) believed that a successful customer-focused strategy depend on managers and workers’ good communication with external sources such as local communities and culture. Related to the case of McDonald’s, its customer-focused â€Å"Plan to Win† relies on local talent to develop a deep connection between McDonald’s and the local communities in which it operates (Goldsmith et al., 2009). According to Baker (2009a), the concept of focus-on-performance suggests that customers should focus on the achievements of their job and the way they achieve them instead of job specifications. Organisations, on the other side, should link rewards and benefits with performance rather than organisational policies and rules. Moreover, new ERM suggests that an effective â€Å"multidimensional performance system† promotes workers to contribute beyond their regular task while organisations can utilise and reward workers for these non-job contributions (Baker, 2009b). Since 2001, McDonald’s redesign its performance measurement system with six â€Å"performance drivers† for which employees ‘be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The system also enable top managers to signal the importance of needed culture change in which employees are encouraged to be more innovative and contribute more than merely doing their regular tasks. The fourth aspect of new ERM is project-based work. As business environment is increasingly uncertain and unstable, project-based work gains more interest from both corporations and employees (Watson, 2012). This initiative includes several forms such as temporary and fixed term contracts, outsourcing, flexible time, part-time working, overtime, job rotation, or functional mobility, which provides job flexibility (Peirà ³ et al., 2002) The project-based work is also widely applied in McDonalds’ as the senior managers often depend on peers’ assessment in providing employees development job opportunities (Goldsmith et al., 2009). With the increase in market competition and dynamic work environment, many employees are suffering from work overload that could seriously affect the organisational performance (Altaf and Awan, 2011) and many researchers believes that workplace spirituality is one way to deal with this problem (Karakas, 2010). Baker (2009a) also mentioned human spirit and work as a function of new ERM. The effectiveness of the workplace spirituality on work performace, however, is still criticised by several researches and hypothesis tests, for example Bell et al. (2012) and Weitz (2012). There is also no evidence that this concept has ever been applied at McDonalds’. Another aspect of new ERM doubted to be effective and not applied at McDonalds’ is open information. Loyalty and commitment, on the other hand, has no doubt to be a so important attribute of new ERM. According to Baker (2009b), these aspects should come from both sides. Employees’ loyalty is to enhance organisational outcome rather than processes, while organisational commitment is to improve employees’ personal objectives and development. McDonald’s has paid significant attention to its employees for years. McDonald’s has its Commitment Survey to assesses employee satisfaction with the support and recognition they receive, the extent to which their skills are utilized and developed, the degree of their empowerment, working condition and their compensation (Goldsmith et al., 2009). A manager’s scores on the Commitment Survey are one of many important factors considered in assess employees’ effectiveness and potential for advancement. Much related to this aspect is learning and development. As discussed in last section, McDonalds’ initiated its The Leadership at McDonald’s Program, which aimed at identifying developing high potential talent, in 2004 (Goldsmith et al., 2009). Having been accessed as qualified candidates of the program, employees will be granted for many individual learning opportunities. First, each participant will have a coach to discuss progress against objectives and receive objective feedback and developmental coaching throughout the program. They also have opportunities to work closely with McDonald’s high potential peers throughout the program and with talented management peers from other companies/industries as part of the Thunderbird Program in order to build strong internal and external peer networks ( Goldsmith et al., 2009). The application of these attributes brought McDonalds’ several positive signs. As of mid-2006, 34% of the 104 graduates of the LAMP Program have been promoted while only 4% of the them have left the company for other opportunities. It is a key objective of the program for its participants to know they are highly regarded and that the company will continue to invest in their ongoing development. The program also made itself a strong brand identity and equity within the organization and more and more employees want to join the program (Goldsmith et al., 2009). IV. Conclusion As SHRM becomes more and more important for organisations, it is critical for managers to understand not only its related theories and concepts but also discover and invent the most practical models for which they can apply to their organisation. As businesses become more and more global SIHRM and the model of global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) plays an important role in the development and success of MNCs. Even when organisations already have a quite complete talent management program, they should notice that its workforce strategy could not be successful without good employment relationship. Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship in today’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition and he introduced the new ERM. The case of McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009) has shed the light on how practically successful these models could be when appropriately and effectively applying in an organisation. This is, however, just the beginning of these relatively young models and the question of whether these models can create sustainable competitive advantage will need more academic and practical researches in the future.

Review of Monique and the Mango Rains

Review of Monique and the Mango Rains Monique and the Mango Rains is a memoir about a friendship that develops between Kris Holloway, and a midwife in the village of Nampossela, Mali. Kris Holloway served in the Peace Corps and was assigned for 2 years to be stationed in Mali. Kris was trained to â€Å"give health demonstrations, repair wells, build fuel-conserving stoves, plant trees, and protect the shoots from the ever hungry mouths of goats† (11). Kris meets and assists Monique Dembele in her struggle to improve health care for the women of this village and surrounding areas.Monique, having apprenticed for two years as a midwife, and studied for nine months in a health services program, is the only health worker in the village. She performs prenatal consultations, gives health demonstrations, births babies, administers vaccinations, solves the health problems she can treat and is forced to accept the fate of those who suffer from more serious illnesses and have no access t o further medical care. But not only is Kris helping Monique, they develop a relationship that becomes a very real friendship as their lives intertwine and Monique brings Kris into the circle of her family.Despite all the things that might make it difficult, these two women create a partnership as they both try to better the lives of the women and children in the village. Women of Mali In Mali, the women’s role is to be confined to her home and yard. A Malian woman is first and foremost valued in her roles of spouse and mother. Placement into these family roles starts early; young girls are expected to help with housework and look after younger siblings. The women of Mali have arranged marriages from an early age.And even though they are arranged, the husbands are usually married to other women also. Irreconcilable differences like lack of communication, spousal incompatibility, and unhappiness between marriage partners are some of the things Monique complains about. She has more education than her husband Franois, she speaks a different language than he, and came from a much different city than the one he grew up in. As Kris gets to know Monique better, she learns of her friend's deep unhappiness with her marriage.Monique also reveals that she's having an affair with the man she would have married, had the cultural practice of arranged marriage not existed. The village of Nampossela has a clinic and birthing house. Monique was able to help the mother’s in the prenatal stages and the birthing process, teach them how to clean water, make baby food and wash their hands to stay clean and prevent the spreading of germs. She weighted the babies to show the mothers if their children were in a healthy weight range or if they were in the dangers of being malnourished.She could provide some vaccinations and administer first aid to wounds. Women of Mali faced many health risks. Since women were to have many children they were at danger during childbirth. à ¢â‚¬Å"I knew that Mali had one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world. I’d read a sobering statistic that placed a Malian women’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth around one in twelve, compared to a women’s risk of one in over three thousand† (8). Excessive bleeding, straining after pregnancies, unsanitary conditions are some of the risks for women.Female genital cutting (FGC), was common amongst the women in Mali. At a young age they experience the cutting of their genital area, because they are not to experience pleasure during intercourse. This process is painful. It causes problems with childbirth, urinating, sitting comfortably and even death. It is often used with an instrument that is not sanitized and can cause the spread of diseases. The most troubling threat to the women was spousal abuse. â€Å"The lantern light was dim, but I could see that one side was swollen, her eye half closed with puffy tissue.She met my st are, lowered her gaze, and quickly draped the scarf back over† (51). The practice of arranged marriage usually led to close-knit families in Nampossela, but Korotun's defiance by marrying against her family's wishes left her stranded without any relatives to turn to in her time of need. Another danger to women that existed was rape. â€Å"He forced you? Yes, she shrugged. It was painful and then it was over† (130). Holloway finds it difficult to tell her friend of her own similar memory.Despite the difference in the ways these two address this subject of rape, it is heartbreaking that women from two completely different worlds are able to find a common ground in the act of rape. All of these risks to the women of Mali happen to the women in America as well. And shows that even from two different worlds, it seems things are not so different. Cultural Relativism No culture is superior or inferior to any other. Kris had to accept the differences about Mali without judging them or believing that her culture was the right way things should be done.Kris knew it was wrong and against women’s basic human rights to have their genital’s cut. Monique couldn’t believe that Kris hadn’t had her genitals cut. â€Å"I have never met a women like you, who has not gone through koloboli. I thought every woman had it† (114). She did not think it was right that the women of Mali were victims of domestic violence, physical violence or of rape. She felt that all children should be receiving adequate health care and that women should have the right to take contraceptives to not want to have anymore children. But this was apart of their culture.And it was up to them to change these problems. And that was what Monique wanted and was trying to do. Conclusion I really like this book. It is a personal story in an international setting about women who inspire and succeed. Kris Holloway's book is easy to read and has a perfect blend of her ref lections of her Peace Corps experience, her romance, Malian village life, Monique's individual life, and the care of women in the village of Nampossela. This book has funny moments that made me laugh, moments where I felt sorrow, and stories of the goodness in people that made me hopeful for humanity.Holloway's friendship with Monique is at the heart of this book and it is tender, inspirational, educational and heartbreaking. It is because of the relationship of these two women, who are from very different backgrounds, and have become such good friends that this book works. I feel like I get to see Monique through Holloway's book and can see how selfless, giving, strong, smart, and funny she was. I would recommend this book for anyone who is wanting to know about the culture in different parts of the world.