ELD Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ELD Project - Assignment Example Creating the work breakdown structure (WBS) is necessary not only in project planning but also when managing the project costs and scheduling (Schwalbe 198). Basically, the main purpose of WBS is to enable the project manager to group the work deliverables as identified in the project scope. In relation to the ELD project, the following is the work breakdown structure: Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) is basically a type of network-based scheduling technique whereby each task is being represented by either nodes or boxes; and that each of the identified tasks is being linked by the precedence relationship (Bullen, LeFave and Selig 317). Doing so enables the project manager to effectively present the sequence in each task that needs to be performed. Applicable to the ELD project, the following is the PDM: When it comes to pre-determining the required time to complete the ELD project, the process of conducting the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) analysis is necessary because it adopts the use of a three-point estimates. Other than trying to depict the presence of interrelated tasks, the PERT diagram can also be used when tracking the pre-identified tasks (DuBrin 203). Gannt charts are useful when it comes to the tracking the schedule or progress of the actual project (Gido and Clements 121). Based on the PERT diagram presented on page 5, the following is the schedule of the ELD project: The estimate activity resource was purposely conducted to determine the rough estimate of available resources and time required to complete certain tasks within the project schedule (Heldman and Mangano 88). Basically, this section aims to determine both human and non-human resources and quantities needed when scheduling the required work activities. As such, the following is the estimate activity resources of the ELD project: Cost management requires the process of controlling the project costs through budgeting. As such, it is

Target Population Essay Example for Free

Target Population Essay My Target population will vary from area to area, different people live in different areas. Some areas people of higher status and class will want high quality goods. Other areas rent could be lower so this could effect my choice of location as well. Also the time of year could effect my target population, during the summer there would be more tourists than locals, and not many people like to go out to dine during the winter. The style of the restaurant will affect the target population, how I decorate the restaurant, the choice of colours and sorts of music as well. The choice of advertising will attract different sorts of target population, if I advertised in a higher class magazine or paper, I would get customers with a higher status. If I advertised in a teen magazine I would expect teenagers to come to my restaurant. Advertising on the city radio could attract local business men or commuters to the restaurant. Also allowing people to make party bookings or reservations will help attract a wealthier target market, if they want to book the whole restaurant. To attract a good target population I may decide to set lowest possible prices for my first menu, this will capture customers. Then I could raises prices and add new meals to a next menu. To really find my target population I have decided to draw up a questionaire and ask a few members of the public to fill it out to find out what they are interested in. The Business And The Product I have chosen to start a chinese themed restaurant and I will be selling both vegatarian dishes and meat dishes. I have considered starting the business near central London, therefore aiming mostly for tourists as customers. The rent in the area is quite high so I have decided to hire just enough staff to cover floors. Staff will be trained internally by a manager, this will set high standards and will save money, also staff will learn skills they need not irrelavant skills. I will have to ask a friend to design a high class menu, asking a friend to design the menu will save some money. I will decorate the restaurant depending on my questionaire results, but if I was aiming for a higher class and tourists I would use simple decoratives, at the same time different and unique. Pricing will differ from meal to meal, and also on demand and ingredients used. Location To find a suitable place to locate my restaurant I will need to look around certain areas for cheap affordable places. The place will need to be easy to find and have easy access. I may need to look for areas new famous landmarks or sites, to attract tourists. Also location will effect availability of labour and how much salary will be. If located in a wealthy area salary will be higher. Promotion Advertising Well, I have decided to advertise in a local specialist magazine, and local paper. I chose these because they will allow me to include some information about the restaurant where as, if I was to advertise on radio not many words can be fitted in and it isnt visual. I need visual advertising so I could include a Map so customers can cut ths out and keep it so they know where to locate my restaurant. If I have the money I considered renting a billboard or producing posters to put up in the local area. This will attract a larger audience if placed by busy roads or streets and I could also include a map, but they can not cut it out and refer to it. Sales Promotion I could have special lunch offers, or issue vouchers for the next time a customer visits they could get money off. I could also offer free dishes to promote new additions to the menu. This sort of promotion could make customers want to come back since they know they are getting money off, or they might come back to try out new additions to the menu. Also this helps promote new additions to the menu so customers may want to order them next time. Direct Marketing I am also going to post menus of the restaurant to local residences alerting them a restaurant is near by. This will include a map, a telephone number incase people might consider ordering a takeaway. This sort of marketing is quite effective and could draw alot of customers to my restaurant. Public Relations I could invite people from local papers and local magazines to taste my meals, asking them to write a review about the restaurant. If the public was to read about the reviews and the reviews are good people might come just to see if the crittics are right. This is quite effective but can also have disadvantages, if the food is not too good crittics will write bad things about the restaurant.

The Perspective of Plato and Aristotle on the Value of Art Essays

The Perspective of Plato and Aristotle on the Value of Art    As literary critics, Plato and Aristotle disagree profoundly about the value of art in human society. Plato attempts to strip artists of the power and prominence they enjoy in his society, while Aristotle tries to develop a method of inquiry to determine the merits of an individual work of art. It is interesting to note that these two disparate notions of art are based upon the same fundamental assumption: that art is a form of mimesis, imitation. Both philosophers are concerned with the artist's ability to have significant impact on others. It is the imitative function of art which promotes disdain in Plato and curiosity in Aristotle. Examining the reality that art professes to imitate, the process of imitation, and the inherent strengths and weaknesses of imitation as a form of artistic expression may lead to understanding how these conflicting views of art could develop from a seemingly similar premise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both philosophers hold radically different notions of reality. The assumptions each man makes about truth, knowledge, and goodness directly affect their specific ideas about art. For Plato, art imitates a world that is already far removed from authentic reality, Truth. Truth exists only in intellectual abstraction, that is, paradoxically, more real than concrete objects. The universal essence, the Idea, the Form of a thing, is more real and thus more important than its physical substance. The physical world, the world of appearances experienced through the senses, does not harbor reality. This tangible world is an imperfect reflection of the universal world of Forms. Human observations based on these reflections are, therefore, highly suspect. At b... ... the definition derived by each philosopher is profoundly different. In order to construct a coherent, wide-ranging philosophy, art and its impact on society must be reckoned with, whether as an imitation of a system far removed or a system in our midst. The process of imitation is used in both cases to promote the particular version of reality espoused by each man. While such a study is beneficial in tracing the philosophical conflict regarding the usage and importance of imitation in art, what is most apparent, perhaps, is the discovery that language itself is an imperfect imitation of meaning, capable of fostering such conflicts. Works Cited: Aristotle. "Poetics" The Critical Tradition. Ed., David H. Richter, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. Plato. "Republic, Book X" The Critical Tradition. Ed., David H. Richter, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.

Federalists vs Democrat Republicans

10/13/11 Federalists Vs. Democratic-Republicans Hearing about political parties, Washington was not too keen on the idea. Conversely, he was part of the uprising of the first two political parties. Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, previously named anti-federalists, were the two different political organizations. The first two parties to evolve were very different regarding beliefs of the common people, views of the government, their stances on the foreign policy, and ways to manage finances. Alexander Hamilton, a political mastermind, was the first leader of the Federalists.Like him self, the Federalist followers were wealthy land owning men who were powerful and held high jobs within the cities. They believed that industries of mercantilism and business were going to be significant contributors to the success of America’s future. Therefor Federalism was very popular in New England and the North part of the United States because of the popularity of â€Å"big businessà ¢â‚¬  in those areas. In fear of getting in the middle of a war with another country they did not want any ties with any other countries, but to trade with them. Hamilton and his followers also believed in a very strong central government.They wanted a secure executive branch and trusted it as the key for a strong nation. However, they followed the Constitution, but if they found the need to change anything, and it was necessary and proper and would benefit the nation, they were ok to make the change. The federalists were very strong supporters of the British. Hamilton felt that they should not get involved with the war between France and Great Britain, this however angered the French because without them, they believed, America would have lost the Revolutionary war. Thomas Jefferson led the Democratic-Republicans.This party’s followers were considerably less wealthy than the Federalists. Supporters came from the south and west where there were more of the farmers, small bus iness owners, and employees of the new nation. The beliefs of these people were very contrary to those of the Federalists. They followed the constitution very strictly and anything that was opposing the constitution the Central Government had no place on handling the issues. They felt that there should not be too much power placed on the federal government and that the legislature should hold more of the power.Their beliefs were that a strong Central Government would diminish the rights of the states and the people. This party saw the future of America flourishing under agriculture. They did not want the national bank as the Federalists did because it was not originally written in the Constitution. Also in contrast to the Federalists, the Democratic-Republicans did not like the British and wanted nothing to do with them. Between the two parties, consolidating the differences down to major dissimilarities, the Federalist Party is one I side with for some distinct reasons. A loose int erpretation of the Constitution is a major upside in my opinion.If America were to make no changes to the constitution we would be fixed in a system of roundabouts. The same problems would keep arising and there would be no way to change them while under strict interpretations. The last difference is the strong central government with a secure executive branch. The distinction of powers in the government insures separation of the powers and does not give positions concurring powers and rights. Although the representation of the lower totem-pole citizens is marginal, they can make changes based on the representation of the people because of the equalized powers of the government.

Binomial Distributions in Public Health

According to Gerstman (2007), a binomial event is that which has only two outcomes, and therefore if the probability for one of the outcomes is known, then the probability that the other outcome will occur is simply the difference of the known probability from 1. Treating repeated trials as independent events, the compilation of results of a binomial experiment altering the number of desired successes while keeping the number of trials fixed forms a binomial distribution.The binomial probability distribution thus gives an idea of how likely it is that successive successes can occur over a given number of trials. For say a simple experiment of throwing a fair coin 4 times, the probability of getting a heads in any toss is 0. 5. Thus, the probability of getting no heads at all in the four tosses is 0. 5^4 while the probability of getting exactly 1 heads is 0. 5^2, and the probability of getting 2 heads is 0.5 and then the probability of getting more than 2 heads decreases in the same m anner that the probabilities increased in the progression described. If the probabilities are altered in such a way that success is much more likely in a single event than failure, then given five trials it would be expected that having successive successes would be more probable than successive failures. The binomial distribution also allows probabilities for multiple events to simply be added in order to give an idea of the total probability for that event.For example when determining what the probability of getting at most 2 heads in four tosses of a coin, the probabilities of getting exactly 0 heads, 1 heads, and 2 heads can simply be added to give the correct probability for getting no more than 2 heads. Give this nature of the binomial probability distribution, its applications to public health becomes apparent. Villeneuve (2002) states that the binomial distribution can be used â€Å"to describe the number of times an event [such as a disease] will occur in a group of [peopl e]† if the probability concerning the occurrence of that event is known.For example, if the probability of getting infected by rabies if you were bitten by a particular animal is known, then given a certain number of people who were all bitten by that particular animal in an area it would be possible to reasonably determine how many of those people are likely to be inflicted with rabies. Public health practitioners need to be well briefed with what binomial probabilities and distributions are so that they will be able to make sound decisions based on data that they have on hand.Oftentimes, public health practitioners that have responsibilities at the macro-level are placed with decisions involving prioritization wherein the one responsible needs to make a decision that would concern the division of a limited amount of resources. With information that can be modeled using a binomial distribution, the public health practitioner would be able to have a more reliable idea on how t o allocate such resources.Going back to the example of rabies, if several outbreaks occurred at the same time in different areas with a different animal causing each outbreak, then based on the probability of getting rabies from each particular animal and the number of patients bitten in each area, a public health practitioner can use binomial distributions as a good basis for allocating a limited number of personnel, equipment, and medicine for each of the areas. Many diseases such as cancer or AIDS can be described as a binomial experiment. That is, one either has cancer or does not and one either has AIDS or does not.In such cases, knowledge of the binomial distribution can be very useful to public health officers in enabling them to predict the likelihoods associated with the condition occurring on a certain population. References Gerstman, B. (2007). Basic Biostatistics: Statistics for Public Health Practice. Jones & Bartlett Villeneuve, P. (2002). â€Å"Binomial Distribution. † Encyclopedia of Public Health. Ed. Lester Breslow. Gale Cengage. Retrieved December 26, 2008 from eNotes. com: http://www. enotes. com/public-health-encyclopedia/binomial-distribution

Communication Skills Essay

Communication Skills Essay Communication Skills Essay Analyze Communication John Spear BUS 600: Management Communication with Technology Tools Dr. Erick Aguilar December 02, 2014 Analyze Communication Communication skills is the transmitting, receiving, and processing of information. The better the communication skill the more likely the message will be interpreted better. To analyze my current communication skills I took the Queendom Communication skill test and scored 62%. My results indicate that I am fairly adept at interpreting other people’s words and actions and seeing things from their perspective - although the rare misunderstanding may occur. Overall however, I seem to realize that empathy is an essential part of good interpersonal skills and therefore, will do my best to place myself in other people’s shoes in order to better understand them. For the most part, I can sense what others are thinking and will likely adjust my behavior accordingly if a person I am conversing with seems confused or perhaps uncomfortable. There may be the occasional time when I pay more attention to the message I am sending rather than how it’s received. With some time an d experience, you’ll likely be able to improve your insight even more.(Queendom) The quiz will give me great insight on how to improve my communication skills. The quiz indicated that my weakest area was my assertiveness. The way to improve this would be to have more self confidence in the message or information I am delivering. The part of the quiz I scored the highest in was insightfulness. This part shows that I am self confident when communicating my opinion about information or a situation. Communication gaps often happen when the message that is being delivered is not being received and understood by the receiver. One of the communication gaps I often experience come from a person not being able to see a situation as I see it. Personal differences can cause a breakdown in communication amongst people. In my personal job experiences, I have seen communication gaps because of the diversity of the workplace including ethnicity, gender, age, etc. Because I realize the communication gap I’m experiencing, I find myself often trying to listen more attentively before responding in conversations so that I am able to make sure I have a good understanding. I’ve noticed that this opens my mind to new ideas, opinions and insights of others, therefore bridging the gap in my communication skills and interpersonal relationships. I believe that I would benefit greatly from additional training in communicating empathy and sensitivity as well as working on my non-verbal communication. In my current position as an accounts receivable representative, I often have to express understanding to our

Array as a Function Return Type and Method Parameter

Array as a Function Return Type and Method Parameter Arrays in Delphi allow us to refer to a series of variables by the same name and to use a number (an index) to tell them apart. Heres an example integer array that can hold up to 7 (integer) values. Note: this is a fixed-size static Delphi array declaration. Arrays as Function Return Types In Delphi, functions are routines that return a value. When you want a function to return an array type variable, you might be tempted to use the next declaration: When you try to compile this code, youll get the next compile-time error: [Pascal Error] E2029 Identifier expected but ARRAY found. Obviously, when you declare functions that will return array value, you cannot include index type specifiers return declaration. In order to allow a function to return an array value, you first need to create a custom array type, then use it as a return function type: Arrays as Method/Routine Properties Similar to using arrays as function return types, when you declare routines that take array parameters, you cannot include index type specifiers in the parameter declarations.

The Common App - New Questions for 2013

The Common App - New Questions for 2013 The Common Application keeps a-changing! This admissions season we have both a new word limit (650, increased from 500) and new question choices. Here are the questions you will be asked to choose from if you are applying to college this fall: Some students have a background or a story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family. As pointed out by the Huffington Post, these questions are designed for you to demonstrate what you would contribute to your college class. What is special about you? What character do you possess? What are your values? What’s important to you? Do these questions seem daunting? Said one of my clients, â€Å"These questions all seem so theoretical!† He did not know where to start. Allow me to make a suggestion: Consider that these questions are only theoretical if you don’t know what you want to say in your essay. Once you choose a topic, I’m willing to bet you can find a way to talk about it in response to one of the five Common App questions. There’s a trick for interview preparation where you write a list of things you want to talk about, and then use whatever questions the interviewer asks to say what you wanted to say. It’s an art to succeed in this method, as you do need to answer the question (you can’t answer a different one). Let’s look at an example as it applies to the Common App. Let’s say you want to talk about your love of music and what it’s like to perform. You could answer any one of the Common App essay questions and say what you want to say. Perhaps your musical abilities are central to who you are (#1). Perhaps you played a wrong note in a concert, or struggled in some other way as you learned (#2). Maybe your parents or teacher wanted one thing for you, and you wanted another (#3). Is the stage a place where you feel completely at peace? If so, maybe question #4 is for you. And certainly if music is important enough to you for an essay, you might have some accomplishment there that marked a transition to adulthood (#5). As you consider how your topic might apply to each question, you might learn something about yourself you didn’t know before! â€Å"OK,† you might be saying, â€Å"Now the questions seem less theoretical, but I’m still daunted: If I could write a great answer to every one of the questions, how do I possibly choose which one to answer?† I would suggest outlining a response to as many of the questions as you think you might want to answer; then evaluate which question allows you to express yourself most fully. In which answer do the most aspects of yourself get revealed? And, perhaps most important, which answer is most interesting to read? Important: The most interesting answer will not necessarily be the easiest to write. It might be less straightforward and take more thought and creativity- which is exactly what admissions committees are looking for! What if I don’t have a topic in mind? If you don’t have a topic you know you want to write about, try going through the questions one by one and having a conversation with someone (most likely someone other than your parents) about how you might answer each question. Brainstorm ideas and see what arises. Give it some time. Sleep on it. Have conversations with more than one person. You might discover a topic you didn’t know could become an essay! And of course, if you’re still stuck, it might be time to work with a professional essay coach. The Essay Expert would be happy to help!

American History 1584-1783 #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American History 1584-1783 #3 - Essay Example They shared their goods like clothes, food and other equipments with them. The natives, in return showered them with expensive gifts like gold etc. Later the Spanish, in their quest for wealth and precious metals like gold and silver, tried to isolate the Native Americans from the other European invaders’ influence. In the early 17th century (1607) the British came to North America to have a strong foothold in the region. Jamestown in Virginia became the first place for British settlement followed by colonies in Massachusetts and eastern seaboard in the later part of the century. The initial friendly relationship with the native Indians turned hostile when the settlers started exploiting natives with respect to labor and sea faring activities. Diseases like tuberculosis, diphtheria were brought by the settlers who passed them on to the natives. The natives then refused to work for them. The settlers then brought Africans to work as bonded labors in the plantations and elsewhere, whom, they were freed after several years. Turn of the century saw the raced based slavery becoming a full fledged tradition with Africans and non whites becoming slaves for life. Control over the blacks became the main concern of the white because of the rebellion from the natives. The British Crown delegated the power to the companies who administered in their behalf with rules and regulations. The natives, on the other hand, did not believe in subjugation and rebelled against any revenue imposed by the settlers. French came to America in search of trading avenues and in 1599 the first serious fur trading was established as Tadaussac that grew into the city of Quebec. They had no desire for colonization. They did their trading with the Native Americans as equal. Though French claimed large area in Canada and north America by coming first to Quebec and later expanding from Louisiana in the south to great lakes in the North which included Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans and

Wedding Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Wedding Planning - Research Paper Example The most important is to make a checklist consisting of all the factors to prepare for. Before actually going for the actual interview, the interviewee should be aware of each and every detail of the service to be offered. These includes ideas for venues, photographers, wedding ceremony music, details and procedure of the marriage license, advice for the wedding reception including the time of the reception, other reception activities. As a wedding planner, one should know each and every detail of the wedding and should have proper contacts in the right places. It is obvious that the interviewing couple or family would ask a lot of questions related to the experience of the planner as well as all other minor details of the wedding preparations. Therefore, the interviewee should also have all the necessary documents, brochures of photographers, hotels, caterers etc. It is advisable to also carry pictures of previous weddings planned by the interviewee. This would give an idea to the family of what to expect from their own contract. The interviewee should also be able to give advices on hotel accommodations, photographers, suitable locations etc. The wedding planner should also give details about the packages offered by him for the couple including details of the wedding planning services, wedding day coordination plans, wedding consultations and other services offered. Other important details should include the pricing of the services, significant features of the client contract and every major as well minor detail of the services provided for the wedding. The wedding planner should be able to convince the couple that he would take all the responsibility for the wedding and would make sure that the wedding takes place in the best way possible and according to the wishes of the bride, the groom and their families. The planner should be able to convince the family that he would be responsible for each and every thing and would make sure

Financial Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Financial Report - Essay Example The bench mark companies in this industry include DP world limited, Global point investment and finally Hangar & plc. Review of U.K and global economy U.Ks economy is in a strong position. It has been stable and its growth rate has been consistent for the last two decades. The economy boosts of the highest employment rate among the G7 nations. The main challenge facing United Kingdom currently is finding ways to build it further in order to become more competitive in the globe. Currently UK has almost 30million people employed. Global economy has been changing at a very high rate. This is contributed to from different emerging economies that include china and India. This is illustrated in China’s growth that was at over 11% in 2005. With this trend it is likely to be the third biggest economy by 2016. Review of the target company sector The major players in this industry are small and medium sized enterprises. In this sector a person will notice that less than 1% of these comp anies do employ 300 people and above and on the other side sole traders make up 37%. In respect to education, 16% will account for people who have graduated. There are various forms of transport in this industry namely, land transport, water, warehousing, postal, courier and air transport (TAMARI, 1978). The key issues in this industry include attitude that people have especially the young graduates who are not interested to join this sector Company information The target company was incorporated in the year 2011 and does conduct its business through its subsidiary Fujian Xingtai Company limited. The company was founded by Mr. Shufang and Mrs Meijin. The main business undertaken by this corporation is providing logistic services. The corporation has a market share of about 60 manufacturers based. Swot analysis Strength Risk management system Company market position Business model Weakness Poor performance Management team Opportunities Assessment of the company’s sources of in puts and finance Threats Strong franchise value Expansion potential Strength of the company The company also has a strong market segment in Europe that it serves best. The company top 20 client’s account for 45% of the total revenue. In management of its risks, the company uses what we call a proactive approach. This approach ensures that both the employee and the customer are safely protected (FINE, 2009). The business model of this company forms the strength of the company. This is because it is loyal to its customer, the services are offered at affordable prices which create economic value hence sound business model. Opportunities for the company Sources of inputs and finance for the company are available and obtainable at a reasonable cost. A larger percentage of the company source of finance is through the owners’ contribution. The company also get loans from the leading financial institutions in the United Kingdom. Besides these, the company also raise part of th eir capital through issue of shares which are sold to the public at a given price (FINE, 2009). Threats Potentiality to expand its business activities is limited because of its competitors in Europe. The company get stiff competition from multinationals companies in the transport industry and this has led to reduced revenues in the company (WIEHLE. 2007). Weakness The Company has a poor management team which has resulted to poor

Prohibition of Cigarette Manufacturing Term Paper

Prohibition of Cigarette Manufacturing - Term Paper Example â€Å"Awareness of and involvement with tobacco marketing were both significantly associated with being a smoker: for example, 30% (55/185) of smokers had received free gifts through coupons in cigarette packs, compared with 11% (21/199) of non-smokers (P

The Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Final Project - Essay Example The argument of the author evolves in the following manner. In Chapter 1, Zakaria presents a main thesis of the book, according to which we will witness the emergence of a â€Å"post-American† global order, within the framework of which the USA will retain its predominance but lose an ability to determine the attributes of international system unilaterally (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 1-5). He compares the change in power dynamics that is taking place currently to the shift in predominance from the Oriental empires to the proto-capitalist West in the 15th to 16th century, arguing that a similar process can be identified nowadays with regard to the rise of Asian nations (Zakaria, 2008, p. 2). Somewhat counterintuitively, Zakaria claims that globalization which led to the dissemination of Western models of capitalist system and mass consumption culture allowed the potential contenders of the U.S., such as China and India, to increase their competitiveness and present an economic challeng e to the American role in the world (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 20-21). Nevertheless, according to Zakaria, the political limitations will not allow either India or China to become real rivals to the U.S. in the short-term future, as the uneven economic development and internal social tensions undermine their potential (Zakaria, 2008, p. 97; p. 132). ... Zakaria ends the book with guidelines for the future U.S. foreign policy that may be summarized as commitment to multilateral policies, creation of broad alliances with the other great powers, and an emphasis on legitimacy as a ‘soft power’ of the USA (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 235-250). For all the arguments presented by Zakaria in his book, the over-optimistic assumptions about the continuing political predominance of the United States in the new globalized world seems the weakest. Zakaria seems to overlook the fact that the loss of economic hegemony was invariably followed by the corresponding weakening of the political role of respective nation in the world, as the examples of Holland in the 17th century and Great Britain in the 20th century demonstrated. His optimism on the alleged lack of strong competitors to the U.S. dominance seems misplaced as well; even if no single state would match the economic and military-political potential of the U.S., the coalition of them cer tainly might, and the rise of BRICS (Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Africa) nations shows that some newly industrialized countries, together with the former contender to the U.S. might, may be not too much content with the global order determined by the Western geo-economic and geopolitical interests. In addition, Zakaria’s naive enthusiasm about the financial globalization as the driving force of supposedly even economic development may be seen as the greatest problem of the book, as his praises for neoliberal restructuring, especially in India, were contradicted both by the events of the Lehman Brothers crisis of September 2008 and the overheating processes in the economies of India and China that led to inflationary pressures and rising social

A Brief for a financial case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Brief for a financial case - Essay Example However, in the past few months, the market share of Teletech Corporation failed to maintain pace with general stock market and with the telecommunication business index. Security forecasters had commented on the company’s uninspiring rates of return, particularly in comparison with the strong competition in telecommunication industry as well as unsatisfactory financial performance in the product and system division (Bruner, R. F., â€Å"Case Studies in Finance: Managing for Corporate Value Creation†). The product and system division was recognized as industrial leader in the telecommunication business and maintenance of this leadership status necessitates substantial outlay in research and development. As the entry of numerous companies in the telecommunication sector improved, the technological transformation and competition had also raised considerably. Converting the mission statement of Teletech Corporation into real world performance had become a difficult task for Margaret Wetson, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Teletech Corporation in order to maintain its position in the market. Therefore, first significant requirement was to create a value of the company. In order to create value, Teletech had implemented economic profit as a measure of developing strategic decision regarding capital distribution, promotion, and incentive recompense (Bruner, R. F., â€Å"Case Studies in Finance: Managing for Corporate Value Creation†). The other method for value creation was evaluation of capital investment offers by using the hurdle rate. Hurdle rate is helpful for providing an amount of net present value (NPV) of each offer. The implementation of hurdle rate has become an issue of conflict within the senior managers of Teletech Corporation. The Vice President of telecommunication service division, Rick Phillips had depicted that without hurdle rate the threat of investment cannot be managed and telecommunication service segment will face lack of capital. He

The Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Final Project - Essay Example The argument of the author evolves in the following manner. In Chapter 1, Zakaria presents a main thesis of the book, according to which we will witness the emergence of a â€Å"post-American† global order, within the framework of which the USA will retain its predominance but lose an ability to determine the attributes of international system unilaterally (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 1-5). He compares the change in power dynamics that is taking place currently to the shift in predominance from the Oriental empires to the proto-capitalist West in the 15th to 16th century, arguing that a similar process can be identified nowadays with regard to the rise of Asian nations (Zakaria, 2008, p. 2). Somewhat counterintuitively, Zakaria claims that globalization which led to the dissemination of Western models of capitalist system and mass consumption culture allowed the potential contenders of the U.S., such as China and India, to increase their competitiveness and present an economic challeng e to the American role in the world (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 20-21). Nevertheless, according to Zakaria, the political limitations will not allow either India or China to become real rivals to the U.S. in the short-term future, as the uneven economic development and internal social tensions undermine their potential (Zakaria, 2008, p. 97; p. 132). ... Zakaria ends the book with guidelines for the future U.S. foreign policy that may be summarized as commitment to multilateral policies, creation of broad alliances with the other great powers, and an emphasis on legitimacy as a ‘soft power’ of the USA (Zakaria, 2008, pp. 235-250). For all the arguments presented by Zakaria in his book, the over-optimistic assumptions about the continuing political predominance of the United States in the new globalized world seems the weakest. Zakaria seems to overlook the fact that the loss of economic hegemony was invariably followed by the corresponding weakening of the political role of respective nation in the world, as the examples of Holland in the 17th century and Great Britain in the 20th century demonstrated. His optimism on the alleged lack of strong competitors to the U.S. dominance seems misplaced as well; even if no single state would match the economic and military-political potential of the U.S., the coalition of them cer tainly might, and the rise of BRICS (Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Africa) nations shows that some newly industrialized countries, together with the former contender to the U.S. might, may be not too much content with the global order determined by the Western geo-economic and geopolitical interests. In addition, Zakaria’s naive enthusiasm about the financial globalization as the driving force of supposedly even economic development may be seen as the greatest problem of the book, as his praises for neoliberal restructuring, especially in India, were contradicted both by the events of the Lehman Brothers crisis of September 2008 and the overheating processes in the economies of India and China that led to inflationary pressures and rising social

Hispanic American Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Hispanic American Diversity - Essay Example This essay stresses that usually, Cuban Americans have higher living standards than other ethnic minorities because of tight socio-economic support and family relations. Cuban Miamian community significantly affects socio-cultural and political background of the region; for example, it reflects on holidays celebration, carnivals, numerous soccer fields, menu in local cafes and restaurants. It impacts their relations with other Hispanic minorities, because â€Å"Cuban Miamians are slowly adjusting to sharing their influence with the growing diversity of Hispanics.† Life within community implies multigenerational families, respect of the elderly and steady family values. Dominican American females have more freedom in independent living, earning money and making career than the other Latinas. This paper makes a conclusion that younger generation prefers lifestyle and family model of White Americans. Approximately 30 – 35% of Puerto Ricans graduated from colleges and universities; this ethnic group has the highest percentage of skilled labor force in the USA. Puerto Rican American students are participated into ESL programs, but many of them know English perfectly. Large national communities promote socio-cultural support in the form of linguistic courses, professional advanced training etc.

Theoretical Foundations of Human Relations Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Foundations of Human Relations Essay Section One: Increasingly there is economic interdependency among nations. A global communications network, like a gigantic central nervous system, links every nation of the earth. As ideas, information, and technology are exchanged, cultures merge and adapt to one another. Throughout the world, people dress more alike than ever before. Cities of the world share much in common—police, luxury hotels, traffic, stores, banks, pollution. Thus, as the peoples of the world come together, we witness what some describe as an emerging world culture. According to Herbst, there are several American companies that actually employ oversees workers without thinking of the said individuals’ needs as foreign nationals in the country. Moreover, the situation of the said workers become devastatingly disturbing with regards the evaluation on how American companies treat their workers whether natives of the country or not. With the promise to give due payment for the job of the employees, such employers hold payment for the work visas of their workers, thus forfeiting the issues related with the contract signed by them and their employees as well.   Likely though, it could be observed that such greed has increased the possibility of employees living their work or suing their employers at court with demand of the rightful amount of salary which they believe they are due. The increase of such incidents in the American market however had been reportedly committed by immigrants themselves. Such immigrants who are able o establish their own business in the country and are aiming to earn more than what they are supposed to earn likely make possibilities in stealing from their employees. Negatively, this results to a more devastating situation that is increasingly disturbing within the American society. Understandably, the said situation could still be fixed through educating the said entrepreneurs with regards the laws and ethics of human resource management. Through this, the problem could be resolved thus giving justice to the business and the workers of the organization as well. Nevertheless, while peoples and cultures intermingle, clearly not all see one another as brothers. â€Å"Everyone’s quick to blame the alien,† wrote a Greek playwright over 2,000 years ago. Sadly, the same is true today. The evidence is no farther away than newspaper reports of bigotry, hatred of foreigners, â€Å"ethnic cleansing,† racial strife, religious riots, massacre of civilians, killing fields, rape camps, torture, or genocide. Of course, most people can do little or nothing to change the course of ethnic conflicts. People may not even be directly affected by them. For many of us, however, problems come from a lack of communication with the foreigners with whom we come into contact—neighbors, workmates, or schoolmates. Does it not seem odd that people of differing ethnic groups so often find it difficult to trust and appreciate one another? After all, the Earth is a planet of enormous diversity, endless variety. Most of the people appreciate the rich variety of food, music, and color as well as the many kinds of plants, birds, and animals. Somehow, appreciation of variety does not always carry over to people who do not think and act in the same way that others do. Instead of looking at the positive aspects of diversity among peoples, many tend to focus on the differences and make them a point of contention. Certainly, living in a world that is governed with diversity, it could be expected that in the workplace, diversity itself is also present and thus cannot be avoided. Many workers refer to this hardship as the common source of many conflicts within the working area. Hence, the performance of the employees is then directly affected. Impossible as it may have seemed, diversity within the workplace has still been referred to by many modern business enthusiasts as assets of the organization. How could this be possible? What is Diversity?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversity, when referred to in business terms may mean a lot of things. An organization’s workforce may be referred to as diverse for many reasons as well. Diversity may occur because of the differences of opinion because of the differences in personality, in age, in educational attainment, in status in life and even in culture. Mostly, as observed on different business companies, the main reason of such diversity is the existence of a much distinct group of races making up a single workforce for a company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How could all these happen? As mentioned in the introduction, many people have already transferred from place to place and a lot of those people, the so-called immigrants, have already decided to stay and work on the foreign lands they have gone to. Hence, the main effect of this social move on achieving success on other places, the employment of the multicultural population has been the resort to supporting the lives of the said immigrants. Hence, the workforce of every company making up the business industries are at times having the same worries on how to face the challenge of dealing with and managing people who are widely different from each other. Section Two:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As mentioned earlier, management of a diverse workforce has been one of the biggest problems that concern the human resources department of any type of company present in the business industries. Hence, it is just reasonable to say that at some points, some management teams may find it a difficult task as well. However, the author, John riddle says otherwise. According to him, â€Å"these are all factors of management that should be considered by good managers even before entering an organization† (113). Hence, this definitely means that avoiding diversity in the workforce may be impossible but giving a resolution to it is not that impossible. After all, there is still a common ground among the working force of each company no matter how diverse they may be it is that they are humans, which makes them capable of being dealt with and managed well. To add to the implication of the procedures, the reading entitled â€Å"CURRENT PSYCHOTHERAPIE, INCREASING MULTICULTURAL UNDERSTANDING: A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL AND DOUGLAS MCGREGOR, REVISITED: MANAGING THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE ENTERPRISES†, the author further mentions that human relations could be enhanced through the psychology of human relations. This means that the psychological approach in understanding human connections actually helps in understanding why and how people are able to relate to each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this regard, John Riddle has suggested several points of consideration when dealing with such business problems. In general terms, he summarized the ways by which a good manager could handle the difficulties of dealing with a diverse workforce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The said suggestions are as follows: Concentrate on the strengths of the employees. When a manager discovers the tasks where the employees usually excel in, they should be assigned to them as they are expected to be more productive on those fields of the job. Understand the abilities and the potential of each employee present in the organization. These potential assets of the employees could as well be used by the company itself in aiming for the goals that it has set up for the future. Allow communication lines t be open at all times. It is very important for managers to be good listeners. The ability of hearing what the employees want form the company as well as to how they could be of bigger help to the organization could be used as a resource of ideas for the company as well. Make the employees feel that they too have a sense of authority in the company. However, this type of authority should not overstep that of the administration’s. It should be clear that this authority could only be exercised at specific times and places when it is permitted. This may often refer to an ‘open door’ policy that deals with an easier type of agreement between the employees, which could give them a chance to affect how the organization is being managed. They are then allowed to give suggestions; however, no suggestions are implemented unless approved by the administration. Make sure that all employees understand the business goals and objectives. It should always be remembered that a well-informed employee, whether young or old, is a productive employee. A manager should always remember that he is supervising people with feelings who are valuable members of the organization, hence, treating them with great respect at all times no matter what culture they come from is one of the most important virtue any manager could post as an example for his colleagues. Treating everyone fairly and sensitively is the key to creating a fine working environment. It should be remembered that because of the different clutters of the people, they all have different preferences; they have different personal obligations and other more. Considering the fact that dealing with multicultural workforce also involve dealing with their differences of belief, a manager could as well consider fairness at all times to be able to set a common ground for everyone else in the organization. Keep everyone else busy and going all the time. Feeling one’s worth is usually measured on the things they are able to do for the organization in a day. In this manner, it could be said that regardless of one’s difference from the others, being able to do something for the company and being of worth to the organization makes an employee feel that even though there are differences, he still belongs to the organization he is working for. Keep employees informed of the ins and outs of the organization. Keeping employees in the dark when some changes within the organization arise may give them the notion that they are not given importance by the administration of the company. Acknowledge the employees’ efforts, years of work, talent, creativity and good job attributes. Doing so would help everyone else strive for the best while they are working in the company. It could be noticed that the suggestions listed in here are general. Putting these suggestions into good use have mostly caused several companies to achieve unity beyond diversity in their own much diverse workforces. Hence, as Jones commented in his book â€Å"Contemporary Management†, â€Å"diversity is a normal part of modern management. Being globally distinct, it could not be avoided that dealing with different people everyday is a challenge to the modern managers today† (180). Section Three:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The certainties of dealing with diverse people in the workforce are around ninety-nine percent. Considering that we are living in a culturally diverse society, it could be argued that a diverse workforce is indeed a challenge to many business managers today. However, at first, this fact may seem a big problem, on the other hand, if the managers are able to see the common ground of everyone else, which is being human, the said managers would recognize the possibility of making diversity a source of further progress for the company. Mixing up the talents and the abilities of the employees for the goal of the organization would surely help the company reach its peak potential. True, many businessmen around the world today are open to the idea of sharing their business programs with people from other races. Because of the advancement of technology, the said business systems have been made possible to exist between business enthusiasts who belong to different respective cultures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To others, this step in modern business is usually referred to as one of the most prevalent risks taken by business companies today. Although, to those who have been able to succeed in a highly culturally diverse business environment, the system of involving different races within an organization system had brought them so much challenge to improve and thus further develop their company’s competency within the business world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   True, the challenges in making certain business systems possible is really not that easy to face. Both the risks of dealing with different people having different individualities as well as diverse cultural preferences are real challenges that must be considered carefully by any business founder. Yet, taking the necessary steps and adjustments in attaining success from the said business system is indeed most rewarding in the end. â€Å"Putting up any business is taking on a big risk†, indeed, controlling a business organization as well as the people making it up is a big challenge for anyone trying to enter the business industries. Although there is the information technology to help out in the process of business expansion, meeting people’s needs from different countries and cultures is always an issue in putting up any business which is expected to become known worldwide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, it is no joke to take such a kid of challenge. But with the use of rightful reasoning and open-mindedness, the challenge of meeting people’s needs amidst their differences could be taken by anyone who is determined in making it to the business world. True, it does take so much effort, time and even research to really be able to become successful in this kind of business venture. But the ability to adjust one’s self for others as well as for the organization’s sake is considered a key reason why many who strongly believe in this system of diverse business environment survive the challenges. The Need to Communicate to Eliminate Issues of Differences   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Communication is an important factor that makes a particular organization revolves around the cycle of success. It is one particular element that naturally makes the connection between the individual members of the organization possible. However, it is only through an effective use of communication shall it be noted as a prospect source of success for an organization. Without the effective use of the said factor of organizational connection, it could be observed that the organization would have a hard time following the success system that communication itself offers. What are the measures of both the positivity and the negativity of the usage of communication in organizational arrangements? How does this particular element of success affect the behavior of the members in a certain business organization? These questions shall be carried on through the discussions presented within the paragraphs that follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interpersonal connection that communication particularly creates between people around the organizations actually creates the environment that the said groups of people are supposed to work in. there are particularly five major areas with which communication is particularly involved in the progressive process of the organizations in business: Communicating for the sake of passing information There is a need for constant passing of information especially for organizational members. The idea is that the regular way of people communicating with each other would indeed keep the organization unified and intact for the sake of continuous business progress. Communicating for organizational update on progress Whatever the company deals with, the members should know of all of them. This is for the sake of the establishment of trust among the employees as well as the organization’s administration section. It is through the application of regular communication that the progress reports could be utilized to motivate the other members of the organization. Communication for motivational purposes As mentioned earlier, there is a specific need for the people of the organization to take specific steps in being able to perform well for the sake of organization’s progress. To be able to come to a meeting point between the administrators and the employees, it is then necessary to take advantage of communication. Through the open line of communication that exists between the two said parties, it is then obvious that the changes could be given chances of being fulfilled as both sides of opinions are already able to relate to each other’s needs and expectations form the organization as well as form each other. Communication for the sake of advancement as an organization It is necessary that there exists an open line of communication between all the people making up the organization because of the fact that much of the progress procedures would rely on the ways that govern the ways by which the said people are able to connect with each other through speaking with each other. Their unity, their connection with each other towards progressive efforts relies on their capabilities to talk to each other and support each other through the use of communication. Communication for the sake of implying law To be able to keep the whole organization at the right track, there is a necessity for the administration to imply the laws of business within the operational engagements of the employees as this would particularly identify the limitations and the capabilities as well as the benefits that the company has further provided for the employees. Communicating to the employees on why the said set rules are necessary to be followed by the people working within the organization shall then make it easier for them to cope up with the organization’s rules and thus keep a clear track of the changes that they need to face as they are staying with the said organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the discussion of the five-point reasons of why communication in the continuing process of a particular organization’s growth, it could be noted that the price that keeping the communication lines open pays is much essential for any organizational progress procedures. Constant attention given to the procedures of communication shall indeed bring forth fine results for the whole team or group that works their way on towards advancements. These five concepts of communication obviously involve the presence of arising conflicts within the process. As obviously mentioned in the explanation, the individuality of each member of the organizations actually notes the possibility of developing conflicts between them. It is through the usage of effective dealing with conflict could the organizations survive the procedures of dealing with their member’s individual differences. Facing destructive conflicts may not be as easy as with dealing with the constructive conflicts. This is primarily because of the fact that destructive conflict aims to destroy the thinking and the perception of the parties involved, whereas constructive conflict could still be turned around just to be able to use the conflict as key reasons for human motivation. [e.g. competition-based conflicts could bring in the possibilities of people wanting to achieve better than the others; thus constructive enough for the organization’s growth]    BIBLIOGRAPHY Riddle, John. (2001). Business Management. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Adams, Bob. (2000). Managing people: Lead your staff to peak performance. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Hiam, Alexander. (2001). Motivating and rewarding Employees: New and better ways to inspire your people. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Martinez, Esdras. (1998). Buisness Managements theories and practice. Rex books Publishing. Manila, Philippines. Jones, Gareth R. (2004). Contemporary Management. Irwin/McGraw-Hill; 4th edition. Pawan Budhwar. 2004. Managing Human Resources in Asia-Pacific   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Global Hrm). Routledge. Publishing Company. 236.   Richard C. Foltz. 2000. Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. Palgrave Macmillan. 241. Chen. 1998. Trajectories (Culture and Communication in Asia). Routledge. Publishing Company. 211. Kwok-kan Tam. 2002. Sights of Contestation: Localism, Globalism and Cultural Production in Asia and the Pacific. The Chinese University Press. 311. Peter Van Der Veer. 1995. Nation and Migration: The Politics of Space in the South Asian Diaspora. University of Pennsylvania Press.141. Laurence Whitehead. 2002. Emerging Market Democracies: East Asia and Latin America. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 213. Alan Barnard. 2002. Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Routledge. Publishing Company. 122. David Birch. 2001. Asia: Cultural Politics in the Global Age. Palgrave Macmillan. 23. CURRENT PSYCHOTHERAPIES,INCREASING MULTICULTURAL UNDERSTANDING: A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL AND DOUGLAS MCGREGOR, REVISITED: MANAGING THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE ENTERPRISE. Moira Herbst. (January, 2008). Are H-1B Workers Getting Bilked? Overseas companies are accused of underpaying foreigners on work visas—and hurting U.S. wages. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_06/b4070057782750.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_best+of+bw. (May 20, 2008).

The Triad Of Impairments In Asd Psychology Essay

The Triad Of Impairments In Asd Psychology Essay Having aspirations to become an educational psychologist, I have always held a strong interest in clinical conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and how they can affect a persons behaviours. This interest has been further fuelled by my nephew having been recently diagnosed with high functioning ASD. Whilst I am familiar with the behavioural aspects of this disorder I lack knowledge on the neurological explanations. I wish to change this to increase my understanding of ASD in order to be better equipped to offer my nephew and others with ASD the best possible support. Introduction The complexity of Autistic Spectrum Disorders is partially due to the fact that, until recently, there were no clear biological functions which corresponded with the syndrome. Scientific developments in brain imaging in recent years, however, have enabled psychologists to begin to research ASD from a neurological perspective, meaning that the symptoms of ASD are beginning to be understood more clearly as an expression of a neural disorder (Just et al, 2012). According to the DSM-IV a person can be diagnosed with ASD when they exhibit symptoms under the following three primary criteria: Qualitative impairment in social interaction Qualitative impairment in communication Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. The above symptoms are often referred to as a triad of impairments. However, in the proposed DSM-V there is the possibility that the social and communication impairments will be combined and that in the future the definition will form a dyad of impairments instead (Pina-Camacho et al, 2011) . At the time of writing, however, a triad of impairments still exists. This essay is focusing not on the general differences between the brains of typically developing (TD) humans and humans with ASD, but on the neurological explanations for the most prominent behavioural symptoms of ASD. Accordingly the triad of impairments will be taken, one by one, and possible neurological explanations will be explored. Qualitative impairment in social interaction Much of the neurological research on ASD focuses on this impairment following the pattern of behavioural research on ASD. Indeed, one of the most prominent theories of ASD, the Theory of Mind (Baron-Cohen, 1985), focuses almost entirely on the social deficits, arguing that people with ASD struggle with mentalising; they lack social insight and are unable to perceive the world from another persons viewpoint. From a neurological standing, however, it is not enough to assume that people with ASD do not have a Theory of Mind; instead, we must understand biologically why this may be so. Brothers (1990) conducted a variety of studies, both with humans and other primates, and proposed that primates alone have social cognition they are able to perceive psychological facts about others. Through the examination of evolutionary studies, as well as the study of clinical conditions which can affect social cognition, Brothers proposed a neural network of regions in the brain, which, combined create the social brain: Superior temporal sulcus (STS) plays an important role in social perception and is implicated in the processing of many types of sensory information which are relevant to social interaction, e.g. selective sensitivity to vocal and speech sounds rather than to non-vocal sounds and the processing of the motions of hands, face, eyes, and body, especially if the motions relate to emotion in some way (Neuhaus et al, 2010). Fusiform gyrus (FG) region is thought to display a selective response to human faces and is often referred to as the fusiform face area (FFA) (Neuhaus et al, 2010). Prefrontal cortex (PFC) a subdivision of the PFC is the ventromedial PFC, a region including the orbital frontal cortex and the ventral part of the anterior cingulate cortex areas implicated in motivation, reward, and emotion processing, and planning for the future. This region also has extensive connections with the amygdala (Neuhaus et al, 2010). Amygdala involved in processing emotions, empathy, perspective taking and social judgements (Neuhaus et al, 2010). Figure A A diagram of the regions of the brain thought to comprise the social brain. Data retrieved from: http://www.jaynejubb.com/june2012article.htm It seems highly probable that damage to a region in the social brain is likely to cause some visible social deficit. Thus, ASD may be explained, to a certain extent, through abnormalities in these regions when compared to TD humans. Various studies support this idea; the amygdala theory of autism, for example, proposes that there is an amygdala impairment in people with autism, which can help to explain the deficits in their social behaviour (Baron-Cohen, 2000). Given that the amygdala is strongly associated with emotion along with other social functions, irregularity in this region could well contribute to the lack of social insight so often noted in people with ASD. In an earlier study, Baron-Cohen et al (1999) conducted an fMRI study comparing TD subjects with patients with high-functioning ASD or Asperger Syndrome (AS) on a mentalising task whereby participants were asked to judge from a photograph of another persons eyes what emotion that person was feeling. They found that when TD participants were attributing emotional states to the photographs, there was increased activation in their STGs and amygdalas areas associated with social perception and emotion. The ASD and AS group, however, did not show increased activation in the amygdala. Other research suggested that as well as decreased amygdala activity, people with ASD tend to process faces differently to TD people, using the right inferior temporal gyri (ITG) an area more commonly associated with processing objects, rather than the FFA (Schultz et al, 2000). Research by Pierce et al (2001) also found that there was either weak or no activity in the FFA and the amygdala in response to the human face in autistic patients but found no evidence to suggest that they used the ITG as an alternative. The differences in the results of Pierce and Schultz may be due to their samples, with Schultz using a sample including participants with autism and AS and Pierce using a sample only of participants with autism. Caution is urged when placing too much emphasis on the FGs association with faces as previous research has suggested that this region may not be face specific but may be activated when objects increase in familiarity (Gauthier et al, 1999). Fletcher et al (1995) used PET scans to compare brain activity in normal volunteers when reading Theory of Mind stories, physical stories and unlinked sentences. When activity during the Theory of Mind stories was compared with the others, the authors discovered significant activation in the left side of the medial frontal gyrus and in the posterior cingulate cortex regions in the prefrontal cortex suggesting that these regions are specifically activated when a person is mentalising. Furthermore, Castelli et al (2002) used PET scans on ten able adults with ASD or Asperger Syndrome (AS) whilst they watched a variety of animated sequences, and were asked to attribute mental states to the animations based upon what they had seen. The TD group showed increased activation in their medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus and temporal poles, areas associated with social cognition, as described above. The autism group, however, showed less activation than the normal group in all of these regions. Qualitative impairments in communication Symptoms in this impairment range from a total lack of development of spoken language, to a person having adequate speech but being unable to use it in conversation with others, to stereotyped and repetitive use of language (DSM-IV) making it difficult to explain the impairment as a whole. There is also less literature in general on trying to explain the communication deficit in ASD than there is on trying to explain the social deficit. This may be because aspects of the communication deficit are not applicable to people with AS or high-functioning ASD whereas the social deficit is central to all ASDs. Within the left hemisphere of the brain are two areas that govern the understanding and production of speech: Brocas area and Wernickes area. Brocas area is in the frontal lobe and is primarily involved in the production of speech; Wernickes area is in the temporal lobe and is mainly involved with speech comprehension (Passer et al, 2009). Also in the left hemisphere of the brain is the primary auditory cortex an area associated with hearing and thus also largely involved in language production and comprehension (Passer et al, 2009). One possible explanation for a lack of language development is therefore likely to involve damage or irregularities in the left hemisphere of the brain and more specifically in the above areas. Boddaert et al (2004) used PET scans to compare the brain activity of eleven autistic children with six non-autistic mentally retarded children while they were listening to speech-like sounds. They found that there was less activation in speech-related areas, including Wernickes area, in autistic children. In previous work with autistic adults (Boddaert et al, 2004) they had found abnormal right frontotemporal activity but this was not found with the children. Research by Eyler et al (2012) measured the brain activity of forty toddlers with ASD and 40 TD toddlers during the presentation of a bedtime story. Their results showed that a region of the left STG, an area which includes both Brocas and Wernickes area, was significantly less responsive to speech stimuli in the group with ASD than in t he TD group. The TD toddlers showed dominance in the left hemisphere of the brain, as one might expect, given the association between the left hemisphere and language. Contrary to the Boddaert et al study, Eyler et al did find that toddlers with ASD however displayed stronger activation on the right anterior portion of the STG rather than the left. The differences in the results of the groups may be that the sample in the Boddaert et al study was significantly smaller than the sample used by Eyler et al, with only 11 autistic participants compared to 40. Eyler et al propose that the right STG may be trying to compensate for the incompetent processing of the left STG but that by doing so the development of social communication and language abilities is being lost, thus providing an explanation for not only language delay but also ineffective communication in people with ASD. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interest and activities There are very few neurological studies focusing on this aspect of ASD. An fMRI study by Shafritz et al (2008) on repetitive behaviour in ASD showed that the severity of restricted, repetitive behaviours was negatively correlated with activation in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and posterior parietal regions areas associated with attention, motivation and error detection (Neuhaus et al. 2010). Research by Thakkar et al (2008) supports this finding. Through an experiment on response monitoring they found functional and structural abnormalities in the ACC in ASD participants and suggested that this may cause rigid and repetitive, rather than responsive and flexible behaviour. As the cerebellum is concerned primarily with muscular movement co-ordination but also plays a role in learning and memory (Passer et al, 2009), Pierce and Courchesne (2001) examined the possibility of a link between cerebellar abnormality and exploration in autism. They held an experiment where 14 autistic chi ldren and 14 TD children were in a large room with several exploration containers and encouraged to play. The results showed that children with autism spent significantly less time in active exploration and were more likely to engage in repetitive movements than TD children. They found that the more abnormal the cerebellar vermis, an area in the medial cerebellum (Passer et al, 2009) the less time spent in exploring a new environment. Conclusion Much more literature exists examining the neurological explanations of social impairments in ASD than in the other two impairments. A vast amount of evidence exists associating the social deficits in ASD with irregularities in various regions of the social brain; the superior temporal sulcus, the fusiform gyrus, the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. A lack of activity in the left hemisphere of the brain is likely to contribute to the communication impairment visible in AS. There is very little literature on the restricted behaviour impairment but recent work has proposed a possible association between cerebellar abnormality and exploration and between the ACC and repetitive behaviour. Further work is needed in all three areas ideally work could be conducted that could help to explain all three impairments rather than focusing on a single one.

The Other Nature Essay -- Writing Writer Literature Papers

The Other Nature Early in her exploration of man's soul, Joyce Carol Oates discovers a fundamental truth while writing about the character of Stavrogin in Dostoyevsky's The Possessed-that as part of his inevitable fall, man violates "nature" in so complete a way as to separate himself from the only forces that can save him. This theme dealing with the Fall of man is a constant thread that weaves itself through most of Oates' essays, the corruption by various internal and external forces and the tragedy that results from man's blindness to his own nature and to what would provide him salvation. Oates' power lies in her ability to delve deep within the personalities of the writers, the characters they create, and the powerful themes buried deep in the work's soul. She applies psychological concepts and archetypes in order to explore the implications brought about by the similarities and differences in the characters' thoughts and actions. She reaches her most thought-provoking insights by connecting parallel motifs across a wide spectrum of literature and constantly leaps from one generalization to the next causing the reader to wonder how she has come to the fascinating and brilliant conclusions presented in Contraries. By examining the Fall of man, she discovers how self-awareness and material preoccupations lead to a corruption of the "natural" self. Later, the discussion of tragedy and transcendence in essays about King Lear and Nostromo reveals the fundamental importance of women-as saviors of the natural world and representatives of salvation for men. Women are the und erlying focus of her essays; the archetypes and roles they adhere to and defy as literary characters shape the way she perceives the female. Ultimat... ... subjection is presented as grisly and mean. Perhaps this shift of focus from the sublime to the obscene is necessary to bring more clearly into focus the longstanding female archetype and provide us with the strength to intervene in such deep-running cultural patterns. Oates certainly does not preach at us, and she never tells us exactly what to do. But reading Connie's story, and reading over Oates's shoulder as she sees the archetype that created it, we are pushed, at least, to read the stories we encounter to find and reflect on the conflicts of human nature they reveal. Works Cited Oates, Joyce Carol. Contraries: Essays. New York: Oxford UP, 1981. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" 1966. Celestial Timepiece: Joyce Carol Oates Archive. Ed. Randy Souther. Dec. 1996. San Francisco. 10 Dec. 2000. <http://storm.usfca.edu/ ~southerr/wgoing.html>

Fool Chapter 1

THE STAGE The stage is a more or less mythical thirteenth-century Britain, with vestiges of British culture reaching back to pre-Roman times still loitering about. Britain encompasses what is now modern Great Britain, including England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, of which Lear is king. Generally, if not otherwise explained, conditions may be considered damp. ACT I When we are born, we cry that we are come To this great stage of fools. – King Lear, Act IV, Scene 5 ONE ALWAYS A BLOODY GHOST â€Å"Tosser!† cried the raven. There's always a bloody raven. â€Å"Foolish teachin' him to talk, if you ask me,† said the sentry. â€Å"I'm duty-bound foolish, yeoman,† said I. I am, you know? A fool. Fool to the court of Lear of Britain. â€Å"And you are a tosser,[1]† I said. â€Å"Piss off!† said the raven. The yeoman took a swipe at the bird with his spear and the great black bird swooped off the wall and went cawing out over the Thames. A ferryman looked up from his boat, saw us on the tower, and waved. I jumped onto the wall and bowed – at your fucking service, thank you. The yeoman grumbled and spat after the raven. There have always been ravens at the White Tower. A thousand years ago, before George II, idiot king of Merica, destroyed the world, there were ravens here. The legend says that as long as there are ravens at the Tower, England will stand strong. Still, it may have been a mistake to teach one to talk. â€Å"The Earl of Gloucester approaches!† cried a sentry on the west wall. â€Å"With his son Edgar and the bastard Edmund!† The yeoman by me grinned. â€Å"Gloucester, eh? Be sure you do that bit where you play a goat and Drool plays the earl mistaking you for his wife.† â€Å"That would be unkind,† said I. â€Å"The earl is newly widowed.† â€Å"You did it the last time he was here and she was still warm in the grave.† â€Å"Well, yes. A service that – trying to shock the poor wretch out of his grief, wasn't it?† â€Å"Good show, too. The way you was bleatin' I thought ol' Drool was givin' it to you right proper up the bung.† I made a note to shove the guard off the wall when opportunity presented. â€Å"Heard he was going to have you assassinated, but he couldn't make a case to the king.† â€Å"Gloucester's a noble, he doesn't need a case for murder, just a whim and a blade.† â€Å"Not bloody likely,† the yeoman said, â€Å"everyone knows the king's got a wing o'er you.† That was true. I enjoy a certain license. â€Å"Have you seen Drool? With Gloucester here, there'll be a command performance.† My apprentice, Drool – a beef-witted bloke the size of a draught horse. â€Å"He was in the kitchen before the watch,† said the yeoman. The kitchen buzzed – the staff preparing for a feast. â€Å"Have you seen Drool?† I asked Taster, who sat at the table staring sadly at a bread trencher[2] laid out with cold pork, the king's dinner. He was a thin, sickly lad, chosen, no doubt, for his weakness of constitution, and a predisposition toward dropping dead at the slightest provocation. I liked to tell him my troubles, sure that they would not travel far. â€Å"Does this look poisoned to you?† â€Å"It's pork, lad. Lovely. Eat up. Half the men in England would give a testicle to feast thus, and it only mid-day. I'm tempted myself.† I tossed my head – gave him a grin and a bit of a jingle on the ol' hat bells to cheer him. I pantomimed stealing a bit of his pork. â€Å"After you, of course.† A knife thumped into the table by my hand. â€Å"Back, Fool,† said Bubble, the head cook. â€Å"That's the king's lunch and I'll have your balls before I'll let you at it.† â€Å"My balls are yours for the asking, milady,† said I. â€Å"Would you have them on a trencher, or shall I serve them in a bowl of cream, like peaches?† Bubble harrumphed, yanked her knife from the table and went back to gutting a trout at the butcher block, her great bottom rolling like thunderclouds under her skirt as she moved. â€Å"You're a wicked little man, Pocket,† said Squeak, waves of freckles riding o'er her shy smile. She was second to the cook, a sturdy, ginger-haired girl with a high giggle and a generous spirit in the dark. Taster and I often passed pleasant afternoons at the table watching her wring the necks of chickens. Pocket is my name, by the way. Given to me by the abbess who found me on the nunnery doorstep when I was a tiny babe. True, I am not a large fellow. Some might even say I am diminutive, but I am quick as a cat and nature has compensated me with other gifts. But wicked? â€Å"I think Drool was headed to the princess's chambers,† Squeak said. â€Å"Aye,† said Taster, glumly. â€Å"The lady sent for a cure for melancholy.† â€Å"And the git went?† Jest on his own? The boy wasn't ready. What if he blundered, tripped, fell on the princess like a millstone on a butterfly? â€Å"Are you sure?† Bubble dropped a gutless trout into a bushel of slippery cofishes.[3] â€Å"Chanting, ‘Off to do ma duty,' he was. We told him you'd be looking for him when we heard Princess Goneril and the Duke of Albany was coming.† â€Å"Albany's coming?† â€Å"Ain't he sworn to string your entrails from the chandelier?† asked Taster. â€Å"No,† corrected Squeak. â€Å"That was Duke of Cornwall. Albany was going to have his head on a pike, I believe. Pike, wasn't it, Bubble?† â€Å"Aye, have his head on a pike. Funny thing, thinkin' about it, you'd look like a bigger version of your puppet-stick there.† â€Å"Jones,† said Taster, pointing to my jester's scepter, Jones, who is, indeed, a smaller version of my own handsome countenance, fixed atop a sturdy handle of polished hickory. Jones speaks for me when even my tongue needs to exceed safe license with knights and nobles, his head pre-piked for the wrath of the dull and humorless. My finest art is oft lost in the eye of the subject. â€Å"Yes, that would be right hilarious, Bubble – ironic imagery – like the lovely Squeak turning you on a spit over a fire, an apple up both your ends for color – although I daresay the whole castle might conflagrate in the resulting grease fire, but until then we'd laugh and laugh.† I dodged a well-flung trout then, and paid Bubble a grin for not throwing her knife instead. Fine woman, she, despite being large and quick to anger. â€Å"Well, I've a great drooling dolt to find if we are to prepare an entertainment for the evening.† Cordelia's chambers lay in the North Tower; the quickest way there was atop the outer wall. As I crossed over the great main gatehouse, a young spot-faced yeoman called, â€Å"Hail, Earl of Gloucester!† Below, the greybeard Gloucester and his retinue were crossing the drawbridge. â€Å"Hail, Edmund, you bloody bastard!† I called over the wall. The yeoman tapped me on the shoulder. â€Å"Beggin' your pardon, sirrah,[4] but I'm told that Edmund is sensitive about his bastardy.† â€Å"Aye, yeoman,† said I. â€Å"No need for prodding and jibe to divine that prick's tender spot, he wears it on his sleeve.† I jumped on the wall and waved Jones at the bastard, who was trying to wrench a bow and quiver from a knight who rode beside him. â€Å"You whoreson scalawag!† said I. â€Å"You flesh-turd dropped stinking from the poxy arsehole of a hare-lipped harlot!† The Earl of Gloucester glowered up at me as he passed under the portcullis.[5] â€Å"Shot to the heart, that one,† said the yeoman. â€Å"Too harsh, then, you reckon?† â€Å"A bit.† â€Å"Sorry. Excellent hat, though, bastard,† I called, by way of making amends. Edgar and two knights were trying to restrain the bastard Edmund below. I jumped down from the wall. â€Å"Haven't seen Drool, have you?† â€Å"In the great hall this morning,† said the yeoman. â€Å"Not since.† A call came around the top of the wall, passing from yeoman to yeoman until we heard, â€Å"The Duke of Cornwall and Princess Regan approach from the south.† â€Å"Fuckstockings!† Cornwall: polished greed and pure born villainy; he'd dirk[6] a nun for a farthing,[7] and short the coin, for the fun. â€Å"Don't worry, little one, the king'll keep your hide whole.† â€Å"Aye, yeoman, he will, and if you call me little one in company, the king'll have you walking watch on the frozen moat all winter.† â€Å"Sorry, Sir Jester, sir,† said the yeoman. He slouched then as not to seem so irritatingly tall. â€Å"Heard that tasty Princess Regan's a right bunny cunny, eh?† He leaned down to elbow me in the ribs, now that we were best mates and all. â€Å"You're new, aren't you?† â€Å"Just two months in service.† â€Å"Advice, then, young yeoman: When referring to the king's middle daughter, state that she is fair, speculate that she is pious, but unless you'd like to spend your watch looking for the box where your head is kept, resist the urge to wax ignorant on her naughty bits.† â€Å"I don't know what that means, sir.† â€Å"Speak not of Regan's shaggacity, son. Cornwall has taken the eyes of men who have but looked upon the princess with but the spark of lust.† â€Å"The fiend! I didn't know, sir. I'll say nothing.† â€Å"And neither shall I, good yeoman. Neither shall I.† And thus are alliances made, loyalties cemented. Pocket makes a friend. The boy was right about Regan, of course. And why I hadn't thought to call her bunny cunny myself, when I of all people should know – well, as an artist, I must admit, I was envious of the invention. Cordelia's private solar[8] lay at the top of a narrow spiral staircase lit only with the crosses of arrow loops. I could hear giggling as I topped the stairs. â€Å"So I am of no worth if not on the arm and in the bed of some buffoon in a codpiece?† I heard Cordelia say. â€Å"You called,† said I, stepping into the room, codpiece in hand. The ladies-in-waiting giggled. Young Lady Jane, who is but thirteen, shrieked at my presence – disturbed, no doubt, by my overt manliness, or perhaps by the gentle clouting on the bottom she received from Jones. â€Å"Pocket!† Cordelia sat at the center of the circle of girls – holding court, as such – her hair down, blond curls to her waist, a simple gown of lavender linen, loosely laced. She stood and approached me. â€Å"You honor us, Fool. Did you hear rumors of small animals to hurt, or were you hoping to accidentally surprise me in my bath again?† I tipped my hat, a slight, contrite jingle there. â€Å"I was lost, milady.† â€Å"A dozen times?† â€Å"Finding my way is not my strong suit. If you want a navigator I'll send for him, but hold me blameless should your melancholy triumph and you drown yourself in the brook, your gentle ladies weeping damply around your pale and lovely corpse. Let them say, ‘She was not lost in the map, confident as she was in her navigator, but lost in heart for want of a fool.'† The ladies gasped as if I'd cued them. I'd have blessed them if I were still on speaking terms with God. â€Å"Out, out, out, ladies,† Cordelia said. â€Å"Give me peace with my fool so that I might devise some punishment for him.† The ladies scurried out of the room. â€Å"Punishment?† I asked. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"I don't know yet,† she said, â€Å"but by the time I've thought of the punishment, I'm sure there'll be an offense.† â€Å"I blush at your confidence.† â€Å"And I at your humility,† said the princess. She grinned, a crescent too devious for a maid of her tender years. Cordelia is not ten years my junior (I'm not sure, exactly, of my own age), seventeen summers has she seen, and as the youngest of the king's daughters, she's always been treated as if fragile as spun glass. But, sweet thing that she is, her bark could frighten a mad badger. â€Å"Shall I disrobe for my punishment?† I offered. â€Å"Flagellation? Fellation? Whatever. I am your willing penitent, lady.† â€Å"No more of that, Pocket. I need your counsel, or at least your commiseration. My sisters are coming to the castle.† â€Å"Unfortunately, they have arrived.† â€Å"Oh, that's right, Albany and Cornwall want to kill you. Bad luck, that. Anyway, they are coming to the castle, as are Gloucester and his sons. Goodness, they want to kill you as well.† â€Å"Rough critics,† said I. â€Å"Sorry. And a dozen other nobles as well as the Earl of Kent are here. Kent doesn't want to kill you, does he?† â€Å"Not that I know of. But it is only lunchtime.† â€Å"Right. And do you know why they are all coming?† â€Å"To corner me like a rat in a barrel?† â€Å"Barrels do not have corners, Pocket.† â€Å"Does seem like a lot of bother for killing one small, if tremendously handsome fool.† â€Å"It's not about you, you dolt! It's about me.† â€Å"Well, even less effort to kill you. How many can it take to snap your scrawny neck? I worry that Drool will do it by accident someday. You haven't seen him, have you?† â€Å"He stinks. I sent him away this morning.† She waved a hand furiously to return to her point. â€Å"Father is marrying me off!† â€Å"Nonsense. Who would have you?† The lady darkened a bit, then, blue eyes gone cold. Badgers across Blighty[9] shuddered. â€Å"Edgar of Gloucester has always wanted me and the Prince of France and Duke of Burgundy are already here to pay me troth.† â€Å"Troth about what?† â€Å"Troth!† â€Å"About what?† â€Å"Troth, troth, you fool, not truth. The princes are here to marry me.† â€Å"Those two? Edgar? No.† I was shaken. Cordelia? Married? Would one of them take her away? It was unjust! Unfair! Wrong! Why, she had never even seen me naked. â€Å"Why would they want to troth you? I mean, for the night, to be sure, who wouldn't troth you cross-eyed? But permanently, I think not.† â€Å"I'm a bloody princess, Pocket.† â€Å"Precisely. What good are princesses? Dragon food and ransom markers – spoiled brats to be bartered for real estate.† â€Å"Oh no, dear fool, you forget that sometimes a princess becomes a queen.† â€Å"Ha, princesses. What worth are you if your father has to tack a dozen counties to your bum to get those French poofters to look at you?† â€Å"Oh, and what worth a fool? Nay, what worth a fool's second, for you merely carry the drool cup for the Natural.[10] What's the ransom for a jester, Pocket? A bucket of warm spittle.† I grabbed my chest. â€Å"Pierced to the core, I am,† I gasped. I staggered to a chair. â€Å"I bleed, I suffer, I die on the forked lance of your words.† She came to me. â€Å"You do not.† â€Å"No, stay back. Blood stains will never come out of linen – they are stubborned with your cruelty and guilt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Pocket, stop it now.† â€Å"You have kilt me, lady, most dead.† I gasped, I spasmed, I coughed. â€Å"Let it always be said that this humble fool brought joy to all whom he met.† â€Å"No one will say that.† â€Å"Shhhh, child. I grow weak. No breath.† I looked at the imaginary blood on my hands, horrified. I slid off a chair, to the floor. â€Å"But I want you to know that despite your vicious nature and your freakishly large feet, I have always – â€Å" And then I died. Bloody fucking brilliantly, I'd say, too, hint of a shudder at the end as death's chilly hand grabbed my knob. â€Å"What? What? You have always what?† I said nothing, being dead, and not a little exhausted from all the bleeding and gasping. Truth be told, under the jest I felt like I'd taken a bolt to the heart. â€Å"You're absolutely no help at all,† said Cordelia. The raven landed on the wall as I made my way back to the common house in search of Drool. No little vexed was I by the news of Cordelia's looming nuptials. â€Å"Ghost!† said the raven. â€Å"I didn't teach you that.† â€Å"Bollocks!† replied the raven. â€Å"That's the spirit!† â€Å"Ghost!† â€Å"Piss off, bird,† said I. Then a cold wind bit at my bum and at the top of the stairs, in the turret ahead, I saw a shimmering in the shadows, like silk in sunlight – not quite in the shape of a woman. And the ghost said: â€Å"With grave offense to daughters three, Alas, the king a fool shall be.† â€Å"Rhymes?† I inquired. â€Å"You're looming about all diaphanous in the middle of the day, puking cryptic rhymes? Low craft and tawdry art, ghosting about at noon – a parson's fart heralds darker doom, thou babbling wisp.† â€Å"Ghost!† cried the raven, and with that the ghost was gone. There's always a bloody ghost.

Chemistry Experiment: Bubble Blowing

Bubble quality Is most positively affected by the mixture of sugar and dish detergent due to the sticky consistency of sugar when emerged in liquid. Procedure: First of all, three cups were labeled according to their solution.Then, a teaspoon of dish soap and two-thirds of a cup of water was added and mixed to make cup#l . Next, a half teaspoon of table sugar was added to the same control solution and was named cup #2, as well as half a teaspoon of table salt to cup #3. After that, a straw was used to blow bubbles, by being dipped into each solution separately and blown through. Finally, data was recorded.Control Sugar salt Appearance of Solution Colorless – More translucent than control – Cloudy Bubble Size – Generally small; occasionally medium – Consistently medium-sized; bigger than control – Medium to large Ease of Bubble Blowing – Easy to blow – Must be gentle – Moderately easy Some strength and speed needed – Diffi cult – Must be gentle and slow *Relative Time Before Bubbles Popped – 5-10 seconds 15-20 seconds – 10-15 seconds * Time started when bubble left straw and popped, under any circumstances, such as touching objects.Analysis: The effects of adding table salt and sugar are positive, In comparison to the control. Both of the added ingredients made the overall bubble quality stronger. The refusing to pop for about 15-20 seconds. This is most likely because when sugar dissolves, it becomes sticky; therefore, it would make a tackier bond with the dish soap than the control. On the other hand, although very slow and gentle blows were deed to produce adequate bubbles with the salt solution, it was much stronger than the control; its relative time before the bubbles popped was about 10-15 seconds, whilst the control only lasted around 5-10 seconds.Hence, if one were to pick out the strongest solution, the table sugar mixture would be the best. Conclusion: The previous hypo thesis that, bubble quality improves with the addition of sugar, has been proven true. To improve this experiment, an increase in amount of the table salt and sugar should be made. This will create a more drastic and clear difference. Also, a bigger area of space would allow the bubbles to freely move and give more accurate times on their survival.Another hypothesis regarding bubble making is that adding both, salt and sugar, to dish soap will boost the bubble quality. By taking in both strong qualities of the sugar solution's strength and the salt's size, this solution will be better than both the salt and sugar mixtures alone. In order to do this, one teaspoon of each ingredient, salt and sugar, should be added to a two- thirds cup of water. Stir well, and blow with adjustments to speed and strength, with a straw.