Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection - Coursework Example These skills include professionalism, networking through social media and brand development. Having a good brand will enable me to sell my personal traits, skills and expertise to potential employers. I will use these skills to develop myself through learning how to sell my personality to the employers, thus enhancing my employability. I will also learn how to conduct myself during interviews and to develop some transferable skills, which include emotional intelligence at level one, self-responsibility at level two and leadership skills at level three (Cottrell 2010). Moreover, I also need to develop my professional skills in my area of training or specialization and do proper goal setting to create a focused target of my career growth and development. Finally, I need to perfect my role-playing skills. These skills enable me to know, understand and master my position in the business dynamics. For me to get a good job, learning presentation skills is important especially during interviews, and learning how to articulate complex information relating to my

Monday, October 28, 2019

Preparing for the BMAT (biomedical admissions test) Essay Example for Free

Preparing for the BMAT (biomedical admissions test) Essay The biomedical admissions test was created to assist medical and veterinary schools in the admissions process. Some of the universities have much more applications than places and the majority of these applications are strong. The BMAT allows the universities to filter out the strongest candidates based on exam performance. The BMAT exam lasts for 2 hours and is split into 3 sections. The examination test date is 31st October 2008. This article will aim to provide you with some advice and give an overview to students who are planning on taking the BMAT exam. †¢ aptitude and skills (1 hour) †¢ scientific knowledge and application (30 minutes) †¢ writing task (30 minutes) The universities which currently require you to take the BMAT are: †¢ The university of Cambridge †¢ The university of Oxford †¢ Imperial college London †¢ The royal veterinary college †¢ University of central London Aptitude and Skills This section aims to explore your problem solving skills, your ability to understand and interpret data and your analytical skills. It is multiple choice for the most. This is the main reason as to why you should guess intelligently, take a look at the given data and take a guess. Practice is key in this section. For the problem solving element of this section look at all the given data carefully. Here are some techniques to help you. †¢ Divide and conquer technique: Break down any large chunks of data into smaller chunks, making the smaller problems which are easier to solve and then once you have solved them put the data back together and form an answer. †¢ Trial and error: Use different approaches to come to a final conclusion and answer. †¢ Working backwards: start with one of the possible answers and work backwards from it. †¢ Incubation: This is a last resort method which seldom works. Put all of the starting details relating to a problem in your mind picture them and then stop focusing on them and carry on with the examination (take an intelligent guess). Your subconscious mind may come up with an answer during the rest of the examination The understanding and interpreting subset involves using the information in front of you, do not make assumptions unless it is appropriate to the question. Analyse all data given carefully not leaving anything out. The data analysis subset involves extracting certain points out of the data and using these to make suitable conclusions, to give the answer. Depending on the starting data you are provided with this could include using statistical methods, interpreting graphs, curve fitting or even eradicating unwanted information and prioritising said data. Scientific knowledge and application This section attempts to make students utilise their scientific knowledge to help them answer questions. Again this section is multiple choice, so make informed guesses when there is a need using the data given. This section also requires practice and revision of scientific principles in order to score high marks, so we advise you do some revision covering the basics of biology, chemistry and physics. Writing task The writing task is asking you to create an essay from a given question. Here are some general pointers to help you achieve a great score. †¢ Read: Read articles, newspapers, journals and book. This will help you to gain an understanding of how to put forward logical thought and will also help improve your English writing skills †¢ Partake in group discussions/debate forums: By doing this you will develop the skills that allow you to analyse certain situations and statements, in addition to developing the ability to generate a fair argument looking at both sides of the situation and can help you produce good conclusion. †¢ Good structure: Ensure you have an introduction, Main body and conclusion. By having an assigned essay structure your ideas will flow more freely and will follow a logical order that makes it easier for the reader to understand. †¢ Snappy conclusion and introduction: the introduction and conclusion can be the sections of your essay that sell it to the reader. Because these are the first and last things they read and so will remain in their mind the longest. An extremely good conclusion will stick in the readers head and maybe it might help you to boost your mark. Conclusion One key aspect for revision regarding the UKCAT is to sit some mock BMAT examinations; this will allow you to get a feel for the allocated time slot for the exam and thus ensure that you can finish all the questions. Some final general pointers I would like to add are 1. Don’t waste too much time on one question. 2. Generate a short plan for your writing task, just pointing out what you are going to cover and in what order. 3. Make sure you get plenty of rest before the exam. 4. If you have time available at the end of the exam use it to check over your answers.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Compare and contrast the views of Autumn in Ted Hughes’s There Came A E

Compare and contrast the views of Autumn in Ted Hughes’s There Came A Day and John Keats’s Ode To Autumn. How do the poets use language to convey these views? There are many similarities and differences between the two autumn poems ‘There came a day’ by Ted Hughes and ‘Ode to autumn’ by John Keats. Both poems are based on autumn but they portray it in different ways. ‘There came a day’ presents autumn in a negative way where as ‘ode to autumn’ presents it in a positive way. The reason that John Keats may have written in a in a positive way about autumn is because he was a pre-twentieth century poet and had a love for nature and respect for the countryside. The style in which he writes is known as ‘romanticism’, which is when the poet writes from a personal view, rather than based on facts. Ted Hughes was a twentieth century poet and wrote in a slightly different way to John Keats. He knew a lot about nature and was fond of animals and plants. This could explain why he felt autumn is a harsh and ruthless season, because it symbolises decay and the end of most plant life until spring. We can tell from the title of John Keats’s poem ‘Ode To Autumn’ that it is a positive poem, and obviously about autumn. The title means ‘to praise autumn’ which implies that it is going to be about the good aspects of the season. However, in Ted Hughes’s ‘There Came a Day’ there is a sense of anticipation and fear about the day. From the title we cannot tell that the poem is about autumn but it is more negative. In the opening stanza of ‘Ode to Autumn’ the first few lines set a bright and colourful introduction to the poem. It talks about autumn as a season of mist and mellow fruitfulness. From this we know that it is a... ...rsonal tastes and styles. John Keats was a pre-twentieth century poet, so the vocabulary used in his poem was very old fashioned and traditional. We can tell this from the following words and phrases â€Å"thou hast’’ and â€Å"thou dost†. Ted Hughes was a twentieth century poet, so his writing and use of language is more modern, phrases such as â€Å"stuff them† and â€Å"plucked it† imply that it is a more recent poem. The two poems have many differences and only a few similarities. I believe there to be so many differences to be because of the different time period that the two poets lived in because John Keats’s poem is more traditional and Ted Hughes’s is modern. It is also because of the different style they write in and their own personal points view about autumn. Although I feel the similarity between the two poems is that both poets show their individual feelings.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Psychological Interventions for Schizophrenia Essay

This article surveys three types of psychological interventions (i.e. individual psychotherapies, group psychotherapies, and psychosocial skills training) for people with schizophrenia regarding their degree of effectiveness. Assuming patients are receiving adequate therapy, this article poses the following questions: 1. Do any of these interventions reduce relapse or psychopathology in persons with schizophrenia? 2. Do any of these interventions improve social or vocational functioning in persons with schizophrenia? 3. For psychosocial skills training, is there evidence that:  · this intervention results in skill acquisition by persons with schizophrenia?  · the effects persist over time?  · the effects generalize from the training setting into â€Å"real life†? As part of their cases studies, the authors used their own patients. But they used more from cases they have unearthed from Psyclit  and Medline  databases. They discovered that the research literature and case studies on individual and group psychotherapies are outdated (i.e. at least 10 years old) and methodologically flawed. However, those papers on psychosocial skills training are more acceptable. They are very recent and had more â€Å"controlled trials.† Accordingly, individual therapies do not really reduce symptoms, rates of relapse and hospitalization, nor do they help the patient adjust socially (Gomes-Schwartz 1984). Some studies suggest that group psychotherapy may be harmful (Schooler and Keith 1993). Despite the fact that psychosocial skills training appears to be the best of the three types of interventions, studies indicate that this type of therapy at best is limited in terms of the results. The authors admit that the research methodologies of many of their cited researches and studies are limited or ineffective, so future studies must be made. However, some conclusions can be made: First, individual or group psychotherapies are ineffective at best and harmful at worst. Second, psychosocial skills training are effective up to a certain extend but better models must be created to improve outcomes. Analysis Notice that the authors admit that there is a relative lack of merit of for many available literature or studies. This begs the question. Suppose that the research literature and studies available were closer to the ideal, and that the methodologies used by those studies were more sound and credible. Would the conclusions provided by the authors remain the same? The authors desire more reliable and valid studies, so different possible outcomes are likely. If, however, the same conclusions appeared despite better research findings were available, then the conclusions made by the authors would be placed on a more solid footing. Interpretation Therefore, in the same way that the concept of schizophrenia is still ill-defined, there exists no totally effective psychological treatment for schizophrenia (or to be more politically correct, to the symptoms which characterize â€Å"schizophrenia†). Integration According to p. 497 of our textbook: Historically, a number of psychosocial treatments have been tried for schizophrenia, reflecting the belief that the disorder results from problems in adapting to the world because of early experiences (Nagel, 1991). Many therapists have thought that individuals who could achieve insight into the presumed role of their personal histories could be safely led to deal with their current situations. Although clinicians who take a psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approach to therapy continue to use this type of treatment, research suggests that their efforts at best may not be beneficial and at worst may be harmful (Mueser & Berenbaum, 1990; Scott & Dixon, 1995b) The concept of mental illness including schizophrenia is questioned by many psychiatrists from the Anti-psychiatry Movement. The corresponding concept of normality is also an open question. Perhaps, a major overhaul of our conceptions of abnormality may be needed in order to produce more valid and desirable results. Conclusion Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder. Its accompanying symptoms render many afflicted people unproductive. So, effective therapy is needed. Even though the concept of schizophrenia (ill-defined to some extent) has been around for a hundred years, no effective and final form of treatment is available. Therefore, research in schizophrenia is a vast and open field. Researchers, from those who have faith in Psychiatry and those from Anti-Psychiatry, are welcome to conduct research and contribute to existing knowledge in search for that holy grail of finding a perfect cure or treatment for schizophrenia, even though schizophrenia (by current convention) has no cure. It is also the job of students of Abnormal Psychology or Psychiatry to be more aware of current research in schizophrenia. They have to decide as early as possible whether they would want to contribute in future research, since a breakthrough would greatly help many people afflicted with schizophrenia.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

College Expectations Essay

Every January 1st brings around another opportunity for people to set goals and have new hopes to accomplish in the year that follows. Some people make these hopes and dreams in the way of resolutions that they will attempt to start or stop doing something in their lives. For some people another new year means another 52 weeks of being scared. Some people are scared of financial situations, some of family situations, and some of the unknown’s that lie ahead. At the present time in my life I am one year away from graduating high school. That means that I am only one year away from going to college as well. That brings up many different hopes and fears. The next year will dictate much of what happens to me during the four years that follow; my hope is to take all the necessary steps to be able to enter the college of my choice. Sometimes I get jealous of those students that have more money than my family and I do. Not that this means that I live in a bad situation, but it does mean I will have to work harder during high school to get as much grant and scholarship money as I can for my college education. Much of my time in the next year will be spend preparing for college. That includes applications, campus visits, financial aid and scholarship forms, and eventually leaving home. My college experience will most likely dictate how I will spend the rest of my life. At this point in my life I must concentrate and stay focused. Even when I feel that I do not want to continue the applications and essay’s I must remember what this point in life holds for the rest of my life.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Delaware essays

Delaware essays Delaware, is a state with a lot of meaning. Did you know that it is the 4th ranked in population and only the 2nd in size? It was also the first state to join the Union. This all might not seem very interesting to you. But, I picked this state just because of its size. I wanted to find out just how important this little state of ours is. Read on, I hope to make some interesting realizations about Delaware that just might peak your interest. Let us start with some interesting facts: Delawares size is just 1,982 square miles. The abbreviation is Del. Or DE. The blue hen chicken is the state bird. The Lady bug is the state bug. (A bunch of elementary school kids just like us lobbied the legislature on its behalf and helped to make it their #1 bug.) The state tree is the American Holly. Their state flower is the peach blossom. The motto: Liberty and Independence. The nickname: The Diamond State, Small Wonder and Blue Hen. Delawares history goes back to when 2 Algonquin tribes were the only people in Delaware. Tragically, the white explorers came and forced the Indians out. It was Henry Hudson who discovered Delaware. That is, he was the first European to see it. He of course didnt discover a land that people were already living on. Anyway, he sailed in Delaware Bay. When he left the Swedish colonists claimed the area. They formed and built a colony called Fort Christina. It was the first permanent settlement in the Delaware region. In 1651, Peter Stuyvesant built Fort Casimar, in what is today called New Castle. Delaware was involved with the Revolutionary War. One battle did take place on its soil. The British ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

The History of the Brassiere - Mary Phelps Jacob

The History of the Brassiere - Mary Phelps Jacob The first modern brassiere to receive a patent was the one invented in 1913 by a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob. Jacob had just purchased a sheer evening gown for one of her social events. At the time, the only acceptable undergarment was a corset stiffened with whaleback bones. Jacob found that the whalebones poked out visibly around the plunging neckline and under the sheer fabric. Two silk handkerchiefs and some pink ribbon later, Jacob had designed an alternative to the corset. The corsets reign was starting to topple. An unhealthy and painful device designed to narrow an adult womens waist to 13, 12, 11 and even 10 inches or less, the invention of the corset is attributed to Catherine de Mà ©dicis, wife of King Henri II of France. She enforced a ban on thick waists at court attendances during the 1550s and started over 350 years of whalebones, steel rods and midriff torture. Jacobs new undergarment complimented the new fashion  trends  introduced at the time and demands from friends and family were high for the new brassiere. On November 3, 1914, a U.S. patent for the Backless Brassiere was issued. Caresse Crosby Brassieres Caresse Crosby was the business name Jacob used for her brassiere production line. However, running a business was not enjoyable to Jacob and she soon sold the brassiere patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut for $1,500. Warner (the bra-makers, not the movie-makers) made over fifteen million dollars from the bra patent over the next thirty years. Jacob was the first to patent an undergarment named Brassiere derived from the old French word for upper arm. Her patent was for a device that was lightweight, soft and separated the breasts naturally. History of the Brassiere Here are other points in the history of the brassiere worth mentioning: In 1875, manufacturers George Frost and George Phelps patented the Union Under-Flannel, a no bones, no eyelets and no laces or pulleys under-outfit.In 1893, a woman named Marie Tucek patented the breast supporter. The device included separate pockets for the breasts and straps that went over the shoulder, fastened by hook-and-eye closures.In 1889, corset-maker Herminie Cadolle invented the Well-Being or Bien-à ªtre, a bra-like device sold as a health aid. The corsets support for the breasts squeezed up from below. Cadolle changed breast support to the shoulders down.World War I dealt the corset a fatal blow when the U.S. War Industries Board called on women to stop buying corsets in 1917. It freed up some 28,000 tons of metal!In 1928, a Russian immigrant named Ida Rosenthal founded Maidenform. Ida was responsible for grouping women into bust-sized categories (cup sizes). Bali WonderBra The Bali Brassiere Company was founded by Sam and Sara Stein in 1927 and was originally called the FayeMiss Lingerie Company. The companys best-known product has been the WonderBra, marketed as The One And Only WonderBra. Wonderbra is the trade name for an underwired bra with side padding that is designed to uplift and  add  cleavage. Bali launched the WonderBra in the U.S. in 1994. But the first WonderBra was the WonderBra - Push Up Plunge Bra, invented in 1963 by Canadian designer Louise Poirier. According to Wonderbra USA this unique garment, the forerunner of todays Wonderbra push-up bra had 54 design elements that lifted and supported the bust to create dramatic cleavage. Its precision engineering involved three-part cup construction, precision-angled back and underwire cups, removable pads called cookies, gate back  design for support  and rigid straps.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Confidence Interval for a Mean When We Know Sigma

Confidence Interval for a Mean When We Know Sigma In inferential statistics, one of the major goals is to estimate an  unknown  population  parameter. You start with a statistical sample, and from this, you can determine a range of values for the parameter. This range of values is called a confidence interval. Confidence Intervals Confidence intervals are all similar to one another in a few ways. First, many two-sided confidence intervals have the same form: Estimate  ± Margin of Error Second, the steps for calculating confidence intervals are very similar, regardless of the type of confidence interval you are trying to find. The specific type of confidence interval that will be examined below is a two-sided confidence interval for a population mean when you know the population standard deviation. Also, assume that you are working with a population that is normally distributed. Confidence Interval for a Mean With a Known Sigma Below is a process to find the desired confidence interval. Although all of the steps are important, the first one is particularly so: Check conditions: Begin by ensuring that the conditions for your confidence interval have been met. Assume that you know the value of the population standard deviation, denoted by the Greek letter sigma ÏÆ'. Also, assume a normal distribution.Calculate estimate: Estimate the population parameter- in this case, the population mean- by use of a statistic, which in this problem is the sample mean. This involves forming a simple random sample from the population. Sometimes, you can suppose that your sample is a simple random sample, even if it does not meet the strict definition.Critical value: Obtain the critical value z* that corresponds with your confidence level. These values are found by consulting a table of z-scores or by using the software. You can use a z-score table because you know the value of the population standard deviation, and you assume that the population is normally distributed. Common critical values are 1.645 for a 90-percent confidence level, 1.960 for a 95-percen t confidence level, and 2.576 for a 99-percent confidence level. Margin of error: Calculate the margin of error z* ÏÆ' /√n, where n is the size of the simple random sample that you formed.Conclude: Finish by putting together the estimate and margin of error. This can be expressed as either Estimate  ± Margin of Error or as Estimate - Margin of Error to Estimate Margin of Error. Be sure to clearly state the level of confidence that is attached to your confidence interval. Example To see how you can construct a confidence interval, work through an example. Suppose you know that the IQ scores of all incoming college freshman are normally distributed with standard deviation of 15. You have a simple random sample of 100 freshmen, and the mean IQ score for this sample is 120. Find a 90-percent confidence interval for the mean IQ score for the entire population of incoming college freshmen. Work through the steps that were outlined above: Check conditions: The conditions have been met since you have been told that the population standard deviation is 15 and that you are dealing with a normal distribution.Calculate estimate: You have been told that you have a simple random sample of size 100. The mean IQ for this sample is 120, so this is your estimate.Critical value: The critical value for confidence level of 90 percent is given by z* 1.645.Margin of error: Use the margin of error formula and obtain an error of  z* ÏÆ' /√n (1.645)(15) /√(100) 2.467.Conclude: Conclude by putting everything together. A 90-percent confidence interval for the population’s mean IQ score is 120  ± 2.467. Alternatively, you could state this confidence interval as 117.5325 to 122.4675. Practical Considerations Confidence intervals of the above type are not very realistic. It is very rare to know the population standard deviation but not know the population mean. There are ways that this unrealistic assumption can be removed. While you have assumed a normal distribution, this assumption does not need to hold. Nice samples, which exhibit no strong skewness or have any outliers, along with a large enough sample size, allow you to invoke the central limit theorem. As a result, you are justified in using a table of z-scores, even for populations that are not normally distributed.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Organisational Behaviour in an Engineering Company Case Study

Organisational Behaviour in an Engineering Company - Case Study Example In 2009, Ronald retired and Christine took over as Managing Director. The company had gone through rough weather with an impact on profits though there had been no reduction of staff. Markets had stagnated and certain conditions had reduced the need for new grain silos. Christine’s vision was one of economic survival through expansion and diversification based on the existing competencies of the company. Existing resources may be made available for diversification projects without an increase in the outlay of the company. An understanding of Christine from the standpoint of Maslow’s model brings out the fact that she is keen to prove her capabilities. Recognition from colleagues and her peer group, she is keen to show her individual ability to manage new important projects without consulting employees who can add value to her decisions. She tries to get involved in projects that will bring her into the limelight and feed her need for prestige and status. She is at the Ego stage of the hierarchy. This is the reason she prefers to take independent decisions and shares information on a piecemeal basis. She has adopted a Directive style of leadership with the expectation that output will be produced on the strength of her communication. She derives power from her status of leader and expects staff behaviour to mould itself on the strength of monetary incentives that she introduces to enthuse the staff. There has been a shared sense of pride in the objective of the company. This is brought out by, Dobson’s statement of pride in producing silos for farmers of the country. Dobson is upset that nobody asked about his willingness to manage a new challenge since he is used to being involved in key decisions about the company. Dobson is conscious of his seniority and is used to being consulted as brought out in the comment about his age and  experience with the company.  

Diabetes Mellitus Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diabetes Mellitus - Research Paper Example It is worth beginning by describing the role of insulin when the body is functioning normally. When a person eats, the levels of glucose in their blood increase, as foods, and especially carbohydrates, are digested. Glucose is the main source of energy in the body, but must undergo metabolic processes in cells to produce this energy. Among the body’s homeostatic systems – the mechanisms for keeping conditions in the body within a given, safe range – is a system for controlling insulin levels, by removing or adding it from the bloodstream. Key to this process is the hormone insulin, produced by the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. When the blood glucose level rises after eating, the pancreas secretes insulin into the blood. This stimulates the cells of the liver to absorb the glucose from the blood, thus reducing the level of glucose in the blood. Diabetes takes two main forms, generally known as Type 1, or insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus and Type 2, or non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus. Type 1 Diabetes accounts for around 5-10% of cases; Type 2 for around 90-95% of cases. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Such diseases occur when the mechanisms of the immune system – the body’s defences for dealing with infection and disease - damage parts of the body. This is a failure by the body to recognise some cells as parts of itself. In the case of Type 1 Diabetes, the body destroys its own beta cells in the pancreas – where insulin is produced. Therefore, when the glucose level in the blood rises, cells do not have sufficient energy for metabolism, which can leave the sufferer in a very dangerous situation. Suffers of Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin injections every day, in order to maintain normal blood glucose levels. The first insulin injections became available in 1921. Before this, pe ople who suffered from Type 1 Diabetes

Friday, October 18, 2019

Week3 Ethical Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week3 Ethical Decision Making - Essay Example They are victims of office gossip because they were being talked about behind their backs by their other co-workers. Their reputations have already been tarnished because of the gossip being spread by Sharkey. Sharkey does not gain anything in spreading the gossip because even if he has evidence to prove it, he should have gone to the HR and discussed the issue instead of talking to his co-workers about it. The HR will be in a better position to investigate the matter. HR should handle the problem because they can directly confront both Cypher and Sharpe without being subjective. They will be more objective in handling the case unlike Sharkey who has an ax to grind against Sharpe because she got the promotion he wants. Applying the second question of Professor Badaracco, one sees that the rights of Cypher and Sharpe have been violated. Sharkey’s right to question the promotion is something which he can exercise but he must go through the proper channels. The proper channel is to go to the HR department and raise his concern to them. He can also go to his immediate supervisor to ask the reasons why Sharpe was promoted instead of him. Assuming that Cypher and Sharpe has no relationship as construed by Sharkey and the HR is faced with a decision of whether to fire Sharkey as proposed by Sam, the HR should weigh the consequences of its decision. As Professor Badaracco suggested, it should be guided by the question of â€Å"what will work in the world as it is?† (2002). The HR should resolve the issue by taking into account its decision’s effect on the organization as a whole and how its decision will impact on all the concerned individuals. If the other office workers will find out that the promotion of Sharpe is due to her relationship with Cypher, then the morale of the other office workers will be affected. They will think negatively of management because of the questionable criteria for

Psychology and Child Psychiatry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Psychology and Child Psychiatry - Essay Example The manner, in which the parent and the child relate, influences the outcome behavior of that particular child in his/her adulthood life. Furthermore, attachment theory looks at how this relationship in the early life affects both the mental and emotional aspects of children in their adulthood. In relation to criminal justice, attachment theory evaluates both the prosocial and antisocial behavior of children and their effects to the social norms and control. Poor attachment between the child and the parent results in antisocial behaviors manifesting itself within the child such as imitating public figures and peers that supplement the child-parent relationship. Attachment theory asserts that a good relationship between the child and their parent may lead to better emotional development and mental well-being. However, parent-child attachment has its implications if not well established. It may lead to children acquiring attributes and traits that do not conform to the social norms, such as, getting involved in criminal. Secure child-parent attachment results to the child developing sense of self-control and positive attributes. Contrary to that, insecure child-parent attachment may result to the adulthood life of that child to face difficulty in conforming to the social control and norms of the society. Weakened child-parent relationship may lead to increased crime related activities since the children. Parent-child bond is a crucial determinant to the overall relationship of that child with the social norms. It has been examined that weaker bond results to unaccepted practices later on. This is evident whereby a child raised up by aggressive and abusive parents, develops a negative behavior towards life. He/she may be characterized violence and aggression to others. Additionally, this child may seek refuge in oneself for comfort, love and affection denied to him/her by the parent(s)

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Dance as a Form of Cultural Expression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dance as a Form of Cultural Expression - Essay Example Over the years, there have been different forms of dance and choreographers who have steered the American culture.   Non-academic modern dance in America was first introduced by St. Denis and Shawn, collectively referred to as Denishawn, who coached their students to use their talents so as to express themselves through movement (Thomas 85). This dance group was created against the backdrop of the First World War when America had developed a high sense of nationalism and the federal government took control of almost of sectors of the society. The Denishwan dance was characterized by ballets and exoticisms, adopted from Greek movements. According to Thomas, any person who was suspected of engaging in activities that could undermine national security was arrested and imprisoned (87). After the war, though, political goals posts changed and the then government minimized federal interference in business and other sectors. According to Thomas, progressive education during this era champ ioned for change. The modern dance was characterized by different experiments with bodily movements, which did not rely on Greek methods of dancing. In short, the new age dancers were in search of dance methods that reflected the American culture, as opposed to oriental culture. The Americanized dance involved more profound body movements as a way of expressing art. In addition, the modern dances sought to establish the independence of dance from music, considering that Denishawn had always viewed dance as secondary to music (Thomas 89). Martha Graham, a former dancer in Denishawn became one of the modern age dancers and produced numerous choreographic works in her career. Graham, for example, fused humor and dance as a form artistic expression relevant to the American culture. Graham’s choreography was characterized by increased torso movements, to go along with the breathing partners of the dancers (Thomas 89). The exaggerated contractions and expansions represented the inn er conflicts within the inner self of a human being. Additionally, there was the inclusion of emotional intensity and expression of inner feelings in the modern dance as compared to the formal ballet dances that were more narrative. Humphrey’s choreography involved isolating music from dance, in such a way that dancers sometimes performed in complete silence or a spoken word (Thomas 89). The relationship between balance and imbalance, depicted by falls and the rises of the dancers from the floor characterized much of Humphrey’s choreography. In addition, Humphrey preferred individual work as opposed to group dances in her choreography. Dancing with the Stars Dancing with the stars as a ballroom dancing reality show is designed to exemplify the American dream that encourages personal growth. The dream that everyone in America is accorded the chance to showcase their talents regardless of race, religion, background and other factors that make individuals different is wha t dancing with the stars is all about. The reality show serves to encourage people to pursue their dreams and believe that they can be successful regardless of any limiting factors.  Ã‚  

Quality revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality revolution - Essay Example However, this level of dominance soon was challenged with regards to many developing nations around the world as they began to industrialize and had the potential capacity to produce goods at a lower price than the United States. The lower-priced in and of itself was not a key concern. However, the ability of nations such as Japan to produce items of increased quality caused much alarm within the United States. Experts within the United States, after viewing Japan’s structure and industrialization, as well as improvement upon its products, began to warn those within the United States that in less a fundamental reintegration with quality management was performed, the Japanese, and perhaps many others throughout the world, would be able to gain a competitive advantage against the United States. Individuals such as W. Edward Deming raising the alarm among American producers and industrialists with regards to the fact that American goods would surely come to be represented as second rate unless core changes were made with respect to the manner through which quality control was understood and engaged. Pointing to the fact that managers and business leaders alike had categorically misunderstood or outright ignored this aspect of business improvement, tuning, as well as others, were able to reengage those within industry and production with the need to radically alter the manner through wh ich quality control was directed and evolved. Unfortunately, rather than heeding the advice of individuals such as bending, industrialists and manufacturers within the United States continued to believe that Japan’s total competitive advantage was predicated upon price alone. As such, the United States response to this was to attempt to cut prices as a means of matching Japan’s level of success. As can clearly be noted, the strategy was an abysmal failure as quality control diminished even further with regards to this failed attempts to cut costs (Berry and Parasuraman 7).

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Dance as a Form of Cultural Expression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dance as a Form of Cultural Expression - Essay Example Over the years, there have been different forms of dance and choreographers who have steered the American culture.   Non-academic modern dance in America was first introduced by St. Denis and Shawn, collectively referred to as Denishawn, who coached their students to use their talents so as to express themselves through movement (Thomas 85). This dance group was created against the backdrop of the First World War when America had developed a high sense of nationalism and the federal government took control of almost of sectors of the society. The Denishwan dance was characterized by ballets and exoticisms, adopted from Greek movements. According to Thomas, any person who was suspected of engaging in activities that could undermine national security was arrested and imprisoned (87). After the war, though, political goals posts changed and the then government minimized federal interference in business and other sectors. According to Thomas, progressive education during this era champ ioned for change. The modern dance was characterized by different experiments with bodily movements, which did not rely on Greek methods of dancing. In short, the new age dancers were in search of dance methods that reflected the American culture, as opposed to oriental culture. The Americanized dance involved more profound body movements as a way of expressing art. In addition, the modern dances sought to establish the independence of dance from music, considering that Denishawn had always viewed dance as secondary to music (Thomas 89). Martha Graham, a former dancer in Denishawn became one of the modern age dancers and produced numerous choreographic works in her career. Graham, for example, fused humor and dance as a form artistic expression relevant to the American culture. Graham’s choreography was characterized by increased torso movements, to go along with the breathing partners of the dancers (Thomas 89). The exaggerated contractions and expansions represented the inn er conflicts within the inner self of a human being. Additionally, there was the inclusion of emotional intensity and expression of inner feelings in the modern dance as compared to the formal ballet dances that were more narrative. Humphrey’s choreography involved isolating music from dance, in such a way that dancers sometimes performed in complete silence or a spoken word (Thomas 89). The relationship between balance and imbalance, depicted by falls and the rises of the dancers from the floor characterized much of Humphrey’s choreography. In addition, Humphrey preferred individual work as opposed to group dances in her choreography. Dancing with the Stars Dancing with the stars as a ballroom dancing reality show is designed to exemplify the American dream that encourages personal growth. The dream that everyone in America is accorded the chance to showcase their talents regardless of race, religion, background and other factors that make individuals different is wha t dancing with the stars is all about. The reality show serves to encourage people to pursue their dreams and believe that they can be successful regardless of any limiting factors.  Ã‚  

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Social Security Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Security Programs - Essay Example President Roosevelt served the United States army during World War II (Ssa.gov, n.d.). It was before 1930’s that supporting the elder people was a federal concern and not of the family (Ssa.gov, n.d.). It was on January 17, 1935 President Roosevelt sent a message to congress asking for the implementation of social security legislation (Ssa.gov, n.d.). It was because of this man’s effort and move that the bill was passed. On august 15, 1935 he signed the social security act into making it a part of law (Ssa.gov, n.d.). The act was the solution for all the old age people. It was a solution for a old-age pension. It was supported from the taxes and employer’s payroll rather than from the government funds. The act not only provided benefit to the old people but it also helped the children (Ssa.gov, n.d.). Those people who are blind and provide family health programs. As a result of these all benefits, the act bought some challenges to the administration (Ssa.gov, n.d.). The act also encouraged the citizens to get them registered. As the policies and the government is changing who just want to get benefit. The government doesn’t want to support its citizens and want to feed themselves (Goss, 2010). A recent survey which has been made to see how much benefit does people get from this act, it was nil. People who were included in the surveys were the retired sector of the economy that was near to face poverty. They answered, this act never provided benefit to us and we are in a very bad situation. Things are not looking positive for the social security program. The future is negative and has many threats. The trust funds reserve will run out around 2030. The funds that were collected by the taxes and payrolls will end up and eventually do no good to the citizens. The act which was specially made to provide support to the deserving people is doing nothing for its citizens anymore. The reasons may include the demographic changes that are occurring all over the

Monday, October 14, 2019

Influences to Become an Ik Essay Example for Free

Influences to Become an Ik Essay In Lewis Thomas’s essay â€Å"The Iks†, the Iks are described as cruel and detestable human beings. Iks grew up in their own ideal society as nomadic hunters and gatherers, but were soon forced to change into farmers on a poor hillside soil. After that, the Iks created their own views of how society acts to defend their self in their unworkable environment. The Iks treat their children as labor workers because they are put to work once they are able to walk. They desert their elders to starve and the children steal their food. The Iks breed without love or care for each other, which makes the breeding seem like a way to just increase their population. The only joy they get from life is by laughing at other people’s misfortune. Another bad quality they have is that they defecate on other people’s doorsteps. The Anthropologists believe that the Iks are cruel and detestable characters. However, Thomas believes that the Iks became who they are by copying that behavior from other groups. I agree that everyone has Ik characteristics from the influence of others. For everyone to have inner Ik characteristics, it would have to be from the influence of others. As Thomas states, â€Å"Cities have all the Ik characteristics†(82). Cities are a big influence because everyone watches or reads news about how they treat each other and others. They portray Ik characteristics on themselves or others. Thomas states that cities have the same qualities as Iks because they also have greedy and heartless characteristics, and they could have been an influence on the Iks. Cities portray Ik characteristics on their own or on others. The people living in the cities desert their elders in a less harsh sounding way, by sending them to senior centers. Senior centers are similar to deserting elders because one pays another to take care of their elders, so they do not have to deal with them. Cities also laugh at other people’s misfortune. In addition, cities also defecate on other properties. They ways that they defecate on themselves are by littering. People litter all over the environment, where the cities had to take action and create laws that would punish those who litter. To show a cleaner environment to others, rules are made to stop people who do not care about the environment. In addition, Thomas says, â€Å"No wonder the Iks seem familiar. For total greed, rapacity, heartlessness, and irresponsibility there is nothing to match a nation†(82). A nation strives to protect themselves and for other nations to respect their area. However, war is a big factor on how the Iks are cruel to others. There is only fighting and distain between the nations that are in war with each other. For example, â€Å"†¦editorials in every American and European newspaper and magazine of note adding to this vocabulary of gigantism and apocalypse, each use of which is plainly designed to inflame the reader’s indignant passion as a member†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (105). This shows that the news is a big factor on how the citizen of the nation acts. If the news says how despicable one country is, then all the citizens would believe the same and act angrily towards them. All these characteristics are ways that influence how the Iks act towards each other in their own society. Thomas’s ideas are true because people grow and change from watching the actions of others. Especially, with how they were treated and forced to change their lifestyle. This rude and forceful way of changing them are also factors in the Ik character. People hold Ik like characteristics from different kinds of entertainment and how others typically react to it. The only enjoyment Iks get in life is from laughing at other peoples’ misfortune. This is portrayed in current society through the media, such as movies or television shows. Recently I watched the movie Jackass 3D because my friend went to go see it. This movie directly relates to how Iks get enjoyment from other peoples troubles. The whole movie was about a group of guys doing stupid and harmful activities to make the audience laugh. The movie did bring some laughter out of the audience, but there were also scenes that were shocking or displeasing to watch. However, the whole point of the movie was the make the audiences laugh by watching their misfortune. There are also video clips on YouTube with similar concepts. Even though people in the videos get seriously injured or die, there are still people that find enjoyment from watching it. These are all characteristics that can influence others to hold the same characteristics as the Iks. As Thomas believes, the Iks would have to have some sort of influence to become the way they are. Overall, I agree with Thomas that the Iks were influenced by some outer group to become the way they are. People grow up with different characters depending on how their society lives and acts towards others. Cities and nations are a big influence to how people act towards one another. They also influence each other on what is funny to laugh at. Without the influence of others, movies like Jackass 3D would not even be a movie if they did not know that people enjoy laughing at their stupid activities. In addition, the Iks were treated badly by the people that forced them to change their lifestyle. These traits are the sorts of ideas that give people Ik characteristics.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Planning the Care of Terminally Ill Patients

Planning the Care of Terminally Ill Patients Critical care nursing is a challenging field in which nurses must be frequently confronted with ethical dilemmas. One of the most frequently encountered dilemmas that occur in this field is the management of care for terminally ill and actively dying patients. When providing care to such patients, it can become emotionally burdensome for the nurse to carry out medical interventions that may be uncomfortable or painful to the patient while not providing much of a benefit. Nurses in these environments often feel the desire to relieve the patient’s suffering and a sense of accountability for their comfort. When aggressive medical interventions are implemented for patients that are actively dying, it is important to recognize if any worthwhile benefits are achieved by the interventions. Sometimes in the ICU setting, the provided aggressive medical treatments do not offer notable medical or palliative benefit to an actively dying patient. The question that arises in these situation s may be: Should aggressive treatments be continued when they can be considered medically futile? One of the biggest challenges that surfaces when considering medically futile interventions is that there has been no universal agreement between medical professionals on how futility should be defined. For the most part, futility in relationship to medical interventions is defined as any clinical action which no longer serves a useful purpose in reaching a given patient’s goals and outcomes (Kasman, 2004). If a certain treatment only has the potential to prevent bodily death while not improving the health status of the patient or providing palliative benefit, it may be considered medically futile. When planning the care of terminally ill clients, it is important to weigh the effectiveness of the medical interventions against the benefits the treatment will bring as well as potential harms. The health care team must look at the patient as a whole instead of simply focusing on treating their specific diagnosis. Many factors come into play when considering which treatments may be appropriate and effective for these patients. Each patient’s unique goals should be evaluated thoroughly when the health care team creates their plan of care. For example, if an actively dying patient’s goal is to have a dignified and peaceful death, it may be considered maleficent to implement aggressive treatments such as intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (Kasman, 2004). It is important for the wishes of the patient and the patient’s family to be documented and known to the healthcare team when planning care. The problem of providing medically futile care has the p otential to affect everyone involved with the care on an emotional and intellectual level. This includes the patient, their family members, and members of the health care team involved. There are four ethical principles that must be considered when providing care to critically ill patients. These principles include beneficence, veracity, justice, and autonomy. The principle of beneficence in this context may be described as acting in a way which promotes the wellbeing of the patient. Veracity may be described as the truthful communication between healthcare providers and patients. The idea that all patients deserve to be treated equally according to their needs and that they should receive the appropriate level of care for their conditions describes the principle of justice. Autonomy is the principle that a patient has the ability to make their own individual decisions regarding their medical treatments. Beneficence is a commonly referenced principle in the context of providing interventions that may be considered medically futile. Because this principle is based on the idea of acting in a way that will have a positive impact on the patient, it would not be beneficent to provide care that is considered medically futile. This kind of care may succeed in prolonging the life of the patient, but it will likely have no net improvement on the patient’s quality of life, and may even result in a decreased quality of life. Veracity is a very important principle to implement in the critical care setting. Health care providers should be communicating with patients and their families in an honest manner about their medical condition. In some cases, providers may continue with life-sustaining treatments that will not result in a patient’s meaningful recovery for primarily emotional reasons including having concerns regarding the family’s reaction to the actual medical status of their family member (Suprising reasons for continuing futile treatment, 2012). This is an example in which the provider is not practicing veracity. It is important for the patient and their family to be given realistic expectations on the outcome of any treatment, even if it is a difficult discussion to have. Justice may be practiced in this setting by the careful consideration of each patient’s case individually. The healthcare team should evaluate each patient’s situation and consider what treatments will improve their condition as opposed to simply prolonging the life of their body. Even if a patient has decided they no longer desire to receive aggressive medical treatment, they still should be receiving adequate care and attention to their needs by the principle of justice. Autonomy is a vital component in providing care to critically ill patients. If at all possible, it is important for the patient to make their own decisions regarding their wishes during the end of their life. If the patient is not mentally competent or physically able to declare their decisions, the durable power of attorney would make these decisions if this person has been assigned prior to the patient’s incapacity. If there is no durable power of attorney, then the court will appoint a proxy that must act in a morally valid way and will make decisions with the patient’s best interests in mind (Kasman, 2004). When caring for critically ill patients, it can be challenging to understand the difference between interventions that are actually benefiting the client and interventions that will simply prolong the life of the client’s body. This is a concept that is especially difficult for family members who may not understand the severity of the patient’s medical status to understand. In some cases, the opinions of the healthcare providers and the opinions of the family members differ regarding what treatment options should be carried out for the patient. If this occurs when the patient is unable to make decisions for themselves and they have a surrogate appointed, the surrogate will make decisions on behalf of the patient. If the decisions made by the surrogate are not congruent with those of the physician, the physician may deny to carry out requested treatments if there are concerns of potential risks associated with them. If the surrogate continues to insist on the controversi al treatment, the patient’s case may be presented to other physicians. If the physician has serious concerns regarding the surrogate’s decisions, they have the right to request the court to replace the patient’s surrogate with one that has morals that are more sound. A recent case regarding medically futile care involved a man named David James who was originally hospitalized due to complications that arose with his stoma. During his stay at the hospital, he suffered from multiple organ failure. He was moved to the critical care unit with cardiovascular failure, respiratory failure, and renal failure where he was put on a ventilator. The patients medical condition was so bad that even aggressive medical treatments were unlikely to benefit him. As his condition continued to worsen, the hospital used the principle of beneficence and decided to place a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order in the patient’s medical record. The family disagreed with this decision, and the medical team took the case to the Court of Protection (Griffith, 2013). The court originally decided that treatment for this patient would not be futile and therefore withholding treatment would not be in the patient’s best interest. The ruling was not well accepted, and the case then moved to the Court of Appeal where the original decision was overruled. Here, it was decided that the results that the proposed treatments sought out would not be able to be produced in this patients case. The treatment that could be provided would likely not offer any therapeutic benefit to the patient or palliate the patient’s condition, so it was ruled to be medically futile treatment (Griffith, 2013). The decisions made in the care of critically and terminally ill clients are not usually obvious or straightforward. It seems as though as technology develops further, death appears to become viewed more as an option rather than a fact (Paris, Angelos, Schreiber, 2010). Because of the principle of justice, patients will still receive quality medical treatment for their illnesses even if they have a DNR status. It is important for all patients, especially those who do not have a long life expectancy left, to be knowledgeable about their options for end of life care. Everyone deserves the right to making autonomous decisions regarding their health. For a patient that does not desire to endure aggressive medical treatments at the end of their life, an alternative option could be either palliative care or hospice care depending on their individual case. The client would still be treated and more effort would be put towards relieving the symptoms of their illness rather than implementing aggressive medical treatments that could prolong their life at the risk of decreasing their quality of life. This could allow the client to have a more peaceful, dignified death, rather than having to endure several medical interventions that may be intrusive and painful such as intubation, ventilation, and CPR. It is important for the family to understand that just because many life-prolonging options are available due to modern medicine, it is not always the best choice to implement these options. Some opponents of the idea of medical futility claim that physicians aim to overpower less knowledgeable patients and their families. This leads opponents to believe that healthcare providers who have end of life discussions with families regarding medically futile care are consequently delivering paternalistic care. Some also believe that the idea of medical futility is simply a decoy used by physicians to convince patients and families to withdraw medical treatments in order to lower the costs associated with end-of-life care and to help ration the hospital resources (Kasman, 2004). There are many examples of professional literature exploring this topic, which discuss the reality of medically futile care, some of which have been cited throughout this paper. I believe that aggressive medical treatment should not be carried out if multiple health care providers share the same opinion and have decided that the interventions will not provide any foreseeable therapeutic medical or palliative benefit to the patient’s condition. Through researching this topic, it has become clear that with the advancements in medicine, death is becoming a fact that is not as accepted as it once was. Many people want their loved ones to live as long as possible at any given cost. Death is a fact of life, and once that is better understood and accepted by family members it may be easier for them to let go of their loved ones once the time arrives. The last moments of some actively dying patient’s lives may be of higher quality if they are able to spend time with their families and have the chance to say goodbye, rather than having the health care team fight the inevitability that is death (Ufema, 2001). This decision does not come in any conflict with my value system. I realize that death is an inevitable part of life, and at some point, this should be accepted by patients and their families. The quality of life for patients who are actively dying, yet still receiving numerous medical interventions simply to keep their body functioning as long as possible, does not seem just. I would like to think that patients have the right to die a dignified death without having to suffer from extensive medically futile interventions. Planning the care of terminally ill clients in the critical care setting can be a challenging and emotional process for everyone involved. It is important for providers to be honest with those affected by end-of-life decisions regarding the patient’s medical status. Although death can be very difficult to discuss and accept, all patients deserve the right to die a dignified death. As technology in medicine continues to advance, it is likely that people will view death increasingly as an option. Patients should be educated on deciding and documenting their end-of-life decisions while they have the chance to state their wishes so that they can experience the last moments of their lives in the manner that they desire.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Presidential Rhetoric and Campaign Essays -- essays research papers

Presidential Rhetoric and Campaign Osama bin Laden   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Osama bin Laden is a political icon to the people of Afghanistan. He has created a modern day crusade against western civilization that people support because of his rhetorical ability to create, not only through speech, but also through his actions, an insightful philosophy that has moved thousands of people into action against the United States. He was able to achieve this because he chose a religious path that people supported; he took influential persons in his life and his familial background into his radical stance on Islamic government and created an historical movement that has affected thousands of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Osama bin Laden was born into a wealthy Saudi family that owned a very successful construction company, the Saudi bin Laden Group. This company was started by bin Laden’s father, Muhammed. With this company, Muhammed bin Laden was able to build three of the most religious mosques located in Medina, Mecca, and Jerusalem. Osama bin Laden, in his later years would take this as one of the greatest honors bestowed upon his family. (â€Å"Through Our Enemies’ Eyes† pg. 82) His father, besides building the religious mosques, left his fifty-two children, including Osama, with a very strong devotion to Islamic religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because of this strict background with Islamic religion Osama bin Laden attended schools located in Medina and in Mecca. Both places provided Osama with alliances that supported him in his beliefs, in the past and in the present with his education at both secondary and university levels. Throughout his education, he came across three of the most influential people in his life, Taqi al-Din Ibn Tammiyah, Mohammed Qutb (a.k.a. Sayyid Qutb Ibrahim Husayn Shadhill) and Shaykh Abdullah Azzam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mohammed Qutb is referred to as the â€Å"brains behind Osama.† (http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~jdouglas/F02finalart9.pdf). During the late 1940’s Qutb spent a few years as an educator. During his time there, he experienced things that completely turned him off to the ways of the west. He described the U.S. as â€Å"materialistic and occupied with topics of money, cars, and movie stars.† He also described Americans as, â€Å"crass people who were generally disinterested in life’s spiritual and aesthetic d... ...ma bin Laden is able to capture and maintain the interest of thousands of Al-Qaeda members. He uses his experiences, his current involvement with the Islamic world, and his hatred for western societies in order to convey an easily readable message to his listeners. They find it easy to support him because of the basis for the Al-Qaeda code, which, in general, is to create an Islamic based society that is free of outside enforcements. Many members of the Al-Qaeda already believe and stand for this idea. Thus, Osama bin Laden has created a message that provokes emotional response from his followers and has been able to maintain that emotion throughout all of the trials and tribulations that came along with the terrorist attacks. Bibliographies Anonymous. Through our enemies' eyes : Osama bin Laden, radical Islam, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the future of America. 2002. http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~jdouglas/F02finalart9.pdf http://www.ummah.org.uk/ikhwan/ http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/al-ahbash.html http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fundamentalism http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/manualpart1_1.pdf http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/d20011213ubl.pdf

Friday, October 11, 2019

Findings †secondary research Essay

The Bank of China was established in 1912 and thus has a long history of experience in the Chinese banking industry. The bank gained velocity in 1994, after it assumed the role of a state owned commercial bank and in 2003. The liberalization of Chinese economy and the growth of the banking sector has seen rapid growth of Chinese banks into self sustaining institutions of profit despite state control. Bank of China has been quick to adapt to these changes and has thus benefited over the years. The overall business profile of the Bank of China involves, commercial to include corporate as well as retail banking. In addition it has engaged in treasury business as well as conducts financial institutions banking. The corporate banking segment provides financial services to customers with a view to provide them total solutions for all their financial requirements. (About Bank of China,. 2006). On the other hand retail banking is designed to provide customers personal banking services to include savings deposits, credit carts and to the high value customers wealth management business. The treasury business segment includes provision of facilities for currency trading, management of funds, secured debts, financing within and overseas and other ancillary fund management services. As a banking financial institution, the Bank of China provides clearing, lending between banks and custodian services to banks, brokerage houses, funds and insurance operators. The bank claims to be customer centered and has a rich experience of providing banking services, thereby establishing its credentials in the rapidly growing Chinese economy. It is thus providing a complete range of services for personal as well as business banking. HSBC as a prime component of the HSBC group has a vast experience and presence in the global banking industry. HSBC has enhanced its global presence over the years by dynamically adjusting to the growing challenge of fitting in global services in a local World with typical local needs. Thus it fashions itself as the Worlds local bank. HSBC provides a wide range of personal and business banking packages on a variety of platforms to provide value based services to the customer. These have been covered in detail in the previous chapter. To highlight the same a view of the wide range of business insurance packages that have been made available by the bank, to include virtually all the possible contingencies for which insurance is required by business such as small business for turnover less than ? 1 million or less than 10 employees, commercial packaged insurance, customer packaged insurance, business car insurance, keyman insurance for principals in the business should indicate the depth of services provided by it. The insurance package also covers share holders and partners, professional indemnity and trade credit. It is therefore evident that HSBC has been providing complete banking solutions for individuals as well as corporate. Questionnaire to Customers – Bank of China and HSBC The researcher prepared a questionnaire related to the study and 40 clients across a wide cross section of personal and corporate customers were requested to take part in it. These included 10 customers each from Bank of China and HSBC, London. The questionnaire is at Appendix. Multiple choices have been provided to the respondents to ease response as well as collation and analysis. Detailed findings on response to questionnaire are as given below.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Britney Spears or Spear Britney

â€Å"Manufactured bands have brought us some fab solo acts in the way of Mr Keating, and Robbie. Where would the screaming girlies be with out them?† J17 magazine. The truth is as long as they aren't screaming and waving their underwear anywhere near me I don't honestly have a problem with teeny-boppers. Of course I enjoy the occasional joke about some larger than life band with a talent count of minus 50 but they don't aggravate me as much you might think. Ignorance is bliss! But if I HAD to rant about anything it would be about manufactured and their music. And so to make the rant really good I might as well exaggerate some of my views and thoughts to make me appear like a true cynic and hater of all that is pop. So I sat in my room staring at my CD collection, tossing away the couple that don't do me proud. So with my ‘Ricky Martin' and ‘Spice Girls' album on one side (carefully poised on the desk, teetering dangerously over the bin) and my ‘System Of A Down' and ‘Blink 182' on the other I sat down to write this article. OK. Ever stop to think about how much hormonally-charged energy you put into the quick quips and biting banter? Your life would be considerably more productive if you took some, what's that word again, oh that's it — action. I'm not suggesting that you incinerate some fresh teeny-boppers. There are laws against it. Yep even in that state of the US. But if you're so fed up of manufactured bands and this article awakes the rebel in you, then I say ‘Go Forth, join a band and top the charts!' OK fine maybe its not that easy but its more productive than bitchin about the manufactured lot with your mates. In this world of MTV soundbites (we are not worthy) and insanely uncreative lyrics, the manufactured band and the manufactured singer run rampant They are people who are pooled together, not because they excel musically, but because their looks and personality can be pigeon-holed to fit a â€Å"type† : cute, funny, naughty, or sexy. It's just that simple. Musical passion is generally becoming a fading art, with most people in it for nothing more than the money and the quick-fix of fame. Fame, you see, very rarely comes from the strength of the music. A few years ago, Britney Spears exploded onto the scene. Her virginal yet strangely flirty lyrics had paedophiles across the world intrigued. Here was a 16 year old girl who loved Jesus Christ, sung about ‘being hit' and claimed to be a virgin. It was all so†¦fan-bl**dy-tastic. Britney went on to sell lots of records, preach Satan's teachings and get to wear increasingly skimpy outfits in her music videos. With this much success, the clones were bound to follow. And, lo and behold, they did. Christina Aguilera was the first to jump on the pink-coated bandwagon, and one of many to ride Carson Daly's gear-stick to TRL glory. The girl could certainly sing, but she was the blondest Hispanic in history, and the most annoying anorexic this side of â€Å"Ally McBeal†. They became more and more annoying. â€Å"Is that humanly possible?† I hear you say but as I say if in doubt turn to the merry U S of A. Enter Mandy Moore. Moore was about 12 and could barely even screech well. She sang a song about missing a guy â€Å"like candy†, which is just plain sad. Nobody misses anyone like candy. I wonder what I'd miss my pin-ups like after my brains are gobbled by the undead teeny boppers. Mmmm†¦.. The manufactured craze is continuing as I write this dread-filled article. Oily men across the industry are lining their pockets and making an absolute mint from girls who dream about â€Å"cute guys† and â€Å"Dawson†. Why is it so big? Well its not because its so cutting edge. It's because girls are insecure. And popular culture capitalises on that. Girls think — maybe if I go out and buy that new lipstick, I'll fit in. Or maybe if I watch this show or listen to that music, I'll be popular. I mean, look around you now (that's right just blatantly stare at them!), every one of these girls is incredibly insecure. You can't even speak your mind anymore without stomping on somebody's feelings. You make a ‘Five' break up joke and the teeny-boppers have a fit. You make a Two Pac (deceased) joke and the Hip-Hop posse kindly raise their middle finger. And any comments of Marilyn Mansons femininity will have Satanists swarming around threatenin to send the forces of evil to your abode. In the States, songs about coming on over and getting hit in the face are all the rage. In Britain, the flavour is love. If you're ever making a boyband, be sure they sing songs about â€Å"love† and â€Å"sex†. If you're planning on making a girl group, make sure they sing songs about â€Å"love† and â€Å"sex†. Really its not that hard. The dudes on ‘Popstars' make it look so hard. However, if you plan on plucking an underage girl from school (and there are laws against it) in the hopes that you'll create the next Britney, make sure she sings songs about â€Å"genies in bottles† and being unvirginised. As I was surfin the wonderful net and followin the proverbial ‘yellow brick road' to all that is fake†¦(with a capital F ladies and gentlemen) I discovered that Britain is just as bad as the States in terms of manufactured bands. There's a deep-seated history involved in the art of making boybands. In the seventies, the Bay City Rollers were all the rage. Essentially, they were ugly Scottish dudes who wore Tartan costumes (kilt-like but not quite) and sang really badly (they have sound clips on the site†¦.sayin they sing badly is like saying ‘o the arctic is a bit chilly'). But the teenyboppers loved them, simply because the machine trained them to love them. It's like that mind-washing scene in â€Å"A Clockwork Orange†. Impressionable kids are force-fed a cocktail of bland music, and few of them have the intellectual tools or inquisitive nature, and think to themselves ‘er†¦why'. Well, it's very simple. These guys make money, and the formula is easy to reproduce. And people will buy anything if it's well-packaged. Sheep. BAAAA! Best not to think about it too much. It hurts my b r a i n! Fact is, these bands make great money for their producers, all by living up to a fallacious image. It's easy money, and while the fat cats grow obese, we're the ones who are losing out. Because when genuinely talented performers fail to find a niche in the busy marketplace, we'll be overcome with these beasts. I'll be honest, though. I like a wide range of music. Sometimes I'll be blown away (OK, hooked) by a boyband tune or maybe I'll even shock myself and buy the track†¦(id like to stress that this is not a frequent occurrence, and any tracks I do waste my money on tend to be incinerated by some Satanist folk that hang around these parts.) OK, let me be completely honest: I prefer rock/punk music to virtually any other type of music (yes, even opera). Now, I like a lot of â€Å"respected† artists as well and I think I have fairly good taste when it comes to rating music, but there's something alluring about Pop. I'm not saying the music is necessarily good, but it is very effective. I realise that it's manufactured, that it's sugary and the song lyrics are dud, but tell me you yourself haven't caught the Pop bug at some point. These songs linger in your mind, even more so than Papa Roach screaming about how much life sucks and how we should all die. Not dissin P'Roach or anything†¦Coby, Dude, You Rule! That strange mixture of superficial positivity and cynical marketing works for some. Not me, but it does for some†¦ahh an outcast yet again. But while I won't admit too vehemently that I enjoy cheesy pop ballads, I'd like to celebrate some of the manufactured â€Å"artists† here in this article – where no-one â€Å"in real life† will ever know. Our group up for discussion is†¦ Westlife, or using their pronunciation, â€Å"Westloife†. Flying without Wings Everybody's looking for a something One thing that makes it all complete You'll find it in the strangest places Places you never knew it could be Some find it in the face of their children Some find it in their lovers eyes Who can deny the joy it brings When you've found that special thing You're flying without wings This is Westlife's entry into the â€Å"we condone drug usage† halls of chart history. I know that I'm only flying without wings after ten too many beers (so that's 10 beers in total yea). It's obvious that these depraved young men are either promoting illegal substances (S club Seven wannabe's) or singing about love. Whichever way you look at it, the song is pretty damn kooky. All right, it's sweet and touching. This sucks. And to conclude†¦.o wait someone's at the door. ::Abruptly stands knocking Ricky and Spice-eys into the bin. Looks out window:: And now I've been called away by a knock at my door. And the person knocking is a God-lover telling me I need the light of God. I've been thinking†¦God is a lot like a boyband. People go on about him 24/7 and plaster his posters on their bedrooms, but has he ever written his own tracks?

Porters Five Force Analysis for Paint Industry

1. Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company Formed in January 1998, Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company (CCAC) brings together two leaders in the air conditioning industry: Carrier Corporation of the United States and Concepcion Industries, Inc. of the Philippines. In just a few years, CCAC expanded from manufacturing window room air conditioners to becoming the market leader in virtually all categories of Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment and services in the country. CCAC brings to the Philippine market Carrier Corporation's long tradition of innovation and product excellence.It has the Philippines' largest air conditioning facility that makes an wide range of products of outstanding quality, and is recognized by customers abroad, who source from it products proudly Philippine-made. Carrier products are designed in engineering centers and manufacturing facilities located worldwide. Spread across six continents, Carrier's global operations make it the largest manufacturer of air conditioning, heating, ventilation and refrigeration products. It is supported by a vast network of distributors, dealers, retailers, and technicians who sell, install and service Carrier products in over 170 countries.A heritage of technological innovation. Leadership in responsible environmental stewardship. Carrier Corporation and CCAC – creating environments for life. Worldwide. * Concepcion Industries, Inc is a maker of electrical appliances such as air conditioning equipment and refrigerators. The company is based in the  Philippines  and was founded in the 1960s. The company is known for its several notable brands that include  Carrier,  Condura, and  Kelvinator. * Carrier in 1902, Willis Haviland Carrier designed the world's first air-conditioning system.This single achievement made it possible for people to live, work, study, shop, travel, or play in worry-free indoor comfort. Today, Carrier continues to build on the pioneeri ng spirit of its founder. With manufacturing, sales, and service operations in more than 170 countries, Carrier is the world's leading heating, ventilation and air-conditioning company. It leads in developing a constantly growing array of innovative products – all designed to meet the exacting needs of its customers around the world, while leading the rest of the industry in forging higher standards of stewardship over the environment. . Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation (PMPC) A manufacturer, importer and distributor of electronic, electrical, mechanical, electro-mechanical appliances, other types of machines, parts and components, battery and related products bearing the brand name, â€Å"Panasonic†. At present, the primary products manufactured by PMPC are refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, electric fans, dry cell batteries and flashlights.Consequently, through its sales division, Panasonic Philippines (PPh), PMPC Continually strives to expand its sales, service and distribution networks to make Panasonic products and service conveniently available to its consumers. In October 2003, PMPC ceased using â€Å"National† Brand and Unified the branding of all its products under the Panasonic brand. PMPC, formerly known as Matsushita Electric Philippines Corporation, changed its corporate name to Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation and officially started using it on April 1, 2005 along with its continuing commitment to customer satisfaction and service to society.Since an enterprise uses society's resources – people, capital, real estate, community services – PMPC believes that it started out and remains indebted to society. Along this premise, the company recognizes that the primary role of its business is to serve society in return for the use of its resources and thus devotes its business activities to the progress and development of society and the well being of the people. This commi tment serves as guidance for PMPC in carrying out its operation and corporate activities. 3. Koppel, Inc. 957 marked the year when the company started manufacturing splits and packaged type air-conditioners. The years that ensued saw Koppel as the preferred brand of choice among industry consultants and the undisputed market leader in the industry. The company continued its growth and maximized its sales volume, growing its products and improving its services, making Koppel the by-word in all air conditioning requirements across the country. In January 2000, Koppel was acquired from Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) by Fedders Corporation.By then, the company has expanded its product line-up to include not just the commercial and industrial segments, but to tap the growing retail market through  residential air conditioners. Last September 2008, the company has been acquired by KPL Inc. , a local company which is keen on tapping the dynamic aircon market. As Koppel, Inc. , the company is fo cused in strengthening its core competency in the packaged business and advancing its technological capability by sourcing strategic products in the projects and industrial applications.To date, Koppel is the second largest aircon manufacturer in the Philippines, servicing aircon requirements across the country for over 50 years. Its rich heritage in providing high-quality and reliable aircon products is a testament to Koppel’s commitment to service all its customers nationwide, from its centrally-located office in Paranaque to its full-service branch  offices  in Cebu and Davao. For 2009, Koppel, Inc. has expanded its product range to include eco-friendly products that dramatically reduce our  energy consumption.The company continues to challenge itself with ways to help reduce our  carbon footprints and in the long run, protect our fragile environment. 4. Hitachi Air Conditioning Philippines, Inc. Established on March 02, 2000 with a capital fund of 20,285,000 pesos . Mainly engage on the manufacture and sale on wholesale basis of Home Appliances and air conditioners. nvestment for Hitachi Air Conditioning Sales is 85% financed by Taiwan Hitachi Co. ,Ltd. and 15% by Hitachi Life and Solutions, Inc. Hitachi Air Conditioning Sales (Phils. ) Inc. ells air conditioning products like the Self-Contained Air Conditioners,Air-cooling Chiller Unit, Room Air Conditioners, Packaged Air Conditioner,Fan Coil Unit, and Dehumidifier, washing machines and refrigerators which are distributed in the domestic market. The merger between the two companies, Taiwan Hitachi (Subic), Inc. and Hitachi Air Conditioning Sales (Phils. ), gave way to better opportunities for Hitachi air conditioning products and home appliances to be introduced to a wider range in the market both domestic and global. . KOLIN Philippines International, Inc. A consistent major player in the industry, that is committed to produce, innovate, and distribute world class home appliances and servic e, molded by competence and dedication to quality after-sales-service, guided by moral and ethical business principle. Contributes to the development, growth and upliftment of the welfare of its employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers. Genuinely committed in supporting community endeavors in the preservation of the environment.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Individual Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual - Case Study Example In terms of its operations strategy, Whole Foods is using a market-led strategy which manifested by its varying store size, layout and design that is largely dependent on the particular site and building configuration and the store’s target clientele. Recent developments and conditions in the natural and organic foods segment of the food retailing industry such as the USDA labeling standards for organic products and the post 2000 increased sales of natural and organic foods at conventional U.S. supermarkets than in the nation’s natural foods stores have increased industry competition. Whole Foods development of new stores and acquisition of others ensures the company continues to increase its market share which gives it muscle to better face the rising competition. Also, the company’s varying store design, size and product variety increases its market positioning among its target clientele. Whole Foods strategy is therefore well matched to meet these recent developments and conditions. John Mackey’s strategic vision is for Whole Foods to become a national brand and be regarded as the best food retailer in every community it served. This is a good strategic vision for two main reasons. Firstly, the trend towards organics is still in its infancy and as such to increase revenues and profitability the organization has to pursue market development. For market development across the United States to be effective Whole Foods would require national branding. Secondly, Whole Foods has to compete with large established retailers that have large distribution networks such as Wal-Mart and Costco that are increasingly attracted to the natural and organic food industry. With a growing market it is more prudent for Whole Foods to rapidly gain market share in order to compete against these â€Å"more-resourced† competitors. Core values

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

RP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

RP - Essay Example The positivists view of realist exhausts in empirical structure in order to understand the ontology of economic regulaties (Lopez, J. 2001) 11 Marxism differentiates between an intransitive reality, which may exists independently of human knowledge, and the socially produced world of science and empirical knowledge. Bhaskar’s influence is also acknowledged in the ontology in the philosophy of social science (Sayer,A., 1992) 11 Critical realist philosophy has increasingly encouraged the influence of international realtions. The ontology is also credited to Bhaskar (1998). The private sector in Omani is affected by both politics and international realtions. 11 Most organisations know what good strategy and leadership development are and that good management makes a real difference to organisational performance. There is strong evidence to support this contention: historically, the greatest business leaders have driven economic prosperity and growth (BIS, 2012). The BIS findings are further confirmation of the opinion held by Mabey and Ramirez (2004), wherein they analysed that leadership and management development (LMD) leads to superior performance across companies of all sizes, sectors and national location. Managers as well as leaders at all levels, and not just those at the top, need a common set of skills associated with their management and leadership role, and these need to be developed. Just assuming that well qualified or professional people will be able to assume the management role on promotion does not necessarily help them become effective (Wolff, 2008). Some approaches to LMD are concerned predominantly with organisational strategies while other models strongly emphasize individual aims. There is a range of opinion between these two views, from those who argue that ‘organisational’ strategy may be imposed by leaders on the less powerful

Monday, October 7, 2019

Water supply Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water supply - Personal Statement Example Although most people take it for granted, the availability of an abundant water supply has become an increasingly important and contentious issue.This essay will argue that water resources should and will become an increasingly important global issue Drinking water was temporarily privatized in Bolivia, access to water resources affect demands in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and issues of water sustainability have begun to find themselves inserted into broader discussions dealing with human rights and national security.This essay will argue that water resources should and will become an increasingly important global issue; more particularly, water issues will assume global significance because life on Earth is water-dependent, because human population growth and industrial growth are leading to water scarcity, and because increasing competition for water cannot ethically be resolved by market forces alone.As an initial matter, all life on Earth is dependent on water. T here is no more fundamental resource or need. In addition to providing basic physiological sustenance, water is also used as a raw material for agricultural production and for many industrial processes. Both population changes and migration rates have been shown to correlate with historical changes in access to water and water availability. Water is, in short, an issue of life and death. Significantly, migration patterns have flattened in recent times and there is less opportunity for groups or for larger communities to simply move to an area with better water resources. Sri Lanka, to be sure, cannot simply migrate in total to Thailand in times of water crisis. There are immigration constraints and old methods of migration are no longer an answer to water shortages. Whole countries can become trapped inside of their geographical borders and forced to find alternative solutions. Particularly worrisome is that there are no real substitutes for water. This is true both in the context of human population growth and in terms of agriculture and industrial use. The increasing demand for this increasingly scarce resource forces competition. How this competition manifests itself, either peacefully or violently, ought to be of concern to all nations. We see that old border disputes between Israel and Lebanon are now burdened with additional conflicts regarding access to water. China builds the world's largest dam, and downstream countries, such as Thailand and Laos, protest that their rivers are drying up in critical agricultural seasons. We have seen how aggressively that countries will fight for oil; simply imagine how aggressive countries might become in a conflict over water. The potential for serious conflict is real. In the final analysis, there are ways to address these water scarcity issues. First, there needs to be a global consensus that issues of water scarcity are of fundamental importance. These issues should be declared a priority because water for human consumption ought to be an enforced human right, because the use of water for agriculture and industrial processes is a commercial necessity, and because the potential for conflict is great. An old saying suggests that "blood is thicker than water"; in this context, however, I would suggest rather confidently that water is more necessary than oil. As a result, scarcity issues ought to be addressed and resolved at a global level. In ten years, I am of the firm opinion that my chosen field of study will be far more interdisciplinary. By this, I mean to suggest that traditional engineering programs will be far more diverse and require far more critical thinking; the ability to synthesize and apply theories from traditionally separate fields, such as mechanical engineering and medicine, will be encouraged and required. This essay will present the emerging field of biomedical engineering as an example of the future of engineering programs. To begin, it must be acknowledged that many advances in medical science

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Role of transfer in second language acquisition Essay

Role of transfer in second language acquisition - Essay Example Most researchers now presuppose that innate principles and transfer interact in L2 development, but researchers have varying positions on how these interactions take place (Gass 1996). This paper explores second language (L2) acquisitions theories and their analysis of the role of transfer. Universal-grammar based approaches contend that transfer has a significant role to play in L2 acquisition through the exercise of innate principles (Universal Grammar or UG) (Gass 1996:330). Two major alternatives explanations have been expressed by studies. First, learners have access to UG either (a) completely, in the way that children do, or (b) partly, in ways that other variables, such as L1 may interrelate with UG and avoid complete access to UG. Second, learners cannot access UG (Gass 1996:330). When exploring these possibilities, the first (UG access) hints that UG is the preliminary access stage for L2 grammar development. In the strong account of UG access, UG limits grammar development through the complete process of L2 acquisition; in the weak account, UG is the initial point, but the L1 is a vital part of the process, successfully stopping the full use of UG (Gass 1996:330). The second likelihood indicates that the L1 is the preliminary point and provides the foundations on which L2s build up (Gass 1996:330). Principles are important in second language acquisition and accessible to all humans during the acquisition of L1.Otsu and Naoi (1986) studied the principle of Structure Dependence, which asserts that linguistic rules work through structural units, through investigating data from Japanese learners (ages 14-15) of English (Gass 1996:330). The focus was on L2 question formation with subjects that have relative clauses (Gass 1996:330). In Japanese, questions are made by adding a particle without changing the word order. This means that from L1, there is lack of available information on how question formation is processed in English (Gass 1996:330). Generally, the subjects observed the limitations of the structure dependency, although by the age of the subjects, the results may not directly shape L2 acquisition as adults (Gass 1996:330). The goal of the study was to establish access to a principle that cannot be found in L1. Nevertheless, White accurately recommends that this principle may still manifest in NL through other structures (Gass 1996:330). If this is true, it is not certain if UG is directly accessible to L2 learners or whether it is accessible through the L1 (Gass 1996:330). Another theory that has recently surfaced is the Full Transfer/Full Access theory (FTFA) (Schwartz and Sprouse 1996), which has greatly influenced the literature. This theory argues that at the beginning of L2 acquisition, the L1 grammar is being transferred in full (except the phonetic structures of lexical items). Consequently, this grammar will be restructured, as limited by the UG (Schwartz and Sprouse 1996). Hence, the L1 provides the foundation for L2 acquisition. It suggests that a Turkish speaker learning English will use grammar based on Turkey, so that the English language can be learned. For instance: 1) I see a red house. 2) Ben k?rm?z? bir ev gorurum. In order to learn number one, Turkish speakers use their L1 grammar. In the Competition Model (Bates and MacWhinney 1981), transfer plays a large role. The model assumes that form and function cannot be detached from one another, which is its

Friday, October 4, 2019

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

Process Costing - Essay Example Companies need to know the amount of money spent on their products before they can set appropriate selling prices. Firms that fail to accurately determine process costs can find themselves setting too low prices that lead to losses or too high prices that scare away customers. Accurate process costing helps to set right prices or adjust the process if costs cannot allow reasonable pricing. Importance of the Study Although many researchers have contributed to this topic, little can be seen in terms of standardization of the approaches of determining process costs. This paper is a literature review aimed at determining major points of divergence that have prevented standardization of process costing methods. Four scholarly articles are analysed to determine gaps, discrepancies and common grounds in relation to process costing. The paper will make suggestions on the best way forward as well as lay ground for future research. Literature Review One of the articles reviewed is a research s tudy done by Cooper and Slagmulder aimed at determining process costing methods used by different Japanese firms (2002). ... use failure to give all firms equal chances of being included in the sample introduced some biasness in the study (Dillman, Eltinge, Groves & Little, 2002). The interviewers made notes while taping interviewees’ responses. The findings indicated that most Japanese firms preferred target costing as opposed to process costing. In this regard, target costing is a projection of costs of future products with the aim of determining whether the assigned expenses can allow reasonable pricing to generate profits or not. The difference between process costing and target costing is that the latter is applied on future products while the former on complete or semi-complete products (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2002). All interviewed firms indicated that they relied on target costing and only applied process costing when they find discrepancies at the end of the production process. In another study, Everaert, Germain and Werner sought to investigate process costing methods used by different compa nies in Belgium (2002). The researchers based their study on four companies that were selected randomly (2002). After getting approval, they issued questionnaires to process costing officers in the selected firms and collected them after two weeks (Everaert, Germain and Werner, 2002). The results indicated that three out of the four sampled companies used weighted average method of process analysis. The remaining firms used the first-in first-out (FIFO) method. The FIFO method treats costs from different periods separately and has four steps comprising of analysis of physical flow of units, calculation of equivalent units, computation of unit costs and analysis of total costs (Everaert, Germain and Werner, 2002). The company that used FIFO said the method is reliable because separate calculation