Essay on Risk Management Process - 1603 Words

Purpose The purpose of this Risk Management Process document is: †¢ To provide a framework to track and monitor project risks throughout the project lifecycle †¢ Establish roles and responsibilities of all participants in the process Scope This process will be used by the entire project team. As such, this document defines the Risk Management process and flow for a project. Description A risk is any factor that may potentially interfere with a successful completion of a project by having a negative impact to scope, cost, quality, or timeline/ schedule. A risk is not an issue – an issue has already occurred; a risk is the possibility that an issue might occur. By recognizing project risks, or potential issues, the Project†¦show more content†¦Risk monitoring will be managed by the project manager or designee and supported by all project team members. Risk Management Flow Roles and Responsibilities The following table represents the roles and responsibilities associated with tracking risks on a project: Role Responsibility Project Leadership †¢ Analyze and assess risks identified †¢ Attend risk meetings as scheduled †¢ Participate in: - Identifying, discussing, and clarifying new risks - Re-evaluating and updating current risks - Defining and modifying mitigation/contingency strategies for each risk - Present project point of view in developing risk mitigation strategies - Perform actions that reduce the exposure for a risk, focusing on probability, risk impact, or both - Assess risk mitigation activities, program and effectiveness; help refine these as necessary †¢ Final validation of risk owners †¢ Serve as risk owner, as assigned Project Manager or designee †¢ Facilitate the risk assessment processes of identification, assessment, mitigation †¢ Prompt risk owners as necessary for updates to assigned risks †¢ Manage and update the Risk Management Log †¢ Coordinate risk meetings †¢ Monitor overall status of project risks †¢ Escalate risks as appropriate †¢ Provide initial input to and assignment of risk owner as appropriate Risk Owner †¢ Perform research required to clarify and analyze risks †¢ Develop mitigation strategies and contingency plans †¢ Monitor status of individual riskShow MoreRelatedRisk Management Process Is Risk1436 Words   |  6 PagesRisk management is developed in order to reduce the likelihood of possible events that have negative effects for patients, staffs and the organization; to reduce the risk of death and injury or disease for patients, staffs, and others as result of services provided; to improve patient outcomes; to manage resources effectively; and to support legislative compliance and to ensure organizational viability and development. In order to achieve these goals, risk management teams should follow the fourRead MoreRisks Of A Risk Management Process1208 Words   |  5 PagesEvery day businesses face the challenge of being exposed to potential risks. Whether these risks are internal to the company financially, damaged caused to the interior or exterior of the building itself, or lawsuits due to liability losses, businesses have a responsibility to be prepared. There are numerous way s for businesses to protect themselves from possible risks resulting from a loss. Risks may also vary depending on the type of business and operations it conducts. Not all companies will beRead MoreRisk Management Process1617 Words   |  7 Pages4 DESCRIPTION 4 RISK MANAGEMENT FLOW 5 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 6 RISK TRACKING PROCESS 7 Identify Risks 7 Assess and Prioritize Risks 7 Determine Course of Action 8 Review and Monitor Risks 8 RISK MANAGEMENT LOG ENTRY DEFINITIONS 9 PROCESS ASSISTANCE, QUESTIONS, OR RECOMMENDATIONS 10 APPENDIX A: RISK MANAGEMENT LOG 11 Document Overview Purpose The purpose of this Risk Management Process document is: †¢ To provide a framework to track and monitor project risks throughout the projectRead MoreThe Risk Management Process1424 Words   |  6 PagesTHE METHODS OF RISK ASSESSMENT: Risk management process: This process is known as risk management and involves the four steps set out in this code: †¢ Identify Hazards – find out what could cause harm †¢ Assess Risks – understand the nature of the harm that could be caused by the hazard, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening †¢ Control Risks – implement the most effective control measure that is reasonably practicable in the circumstances †¢ Review Control Measures – toRead MoreRisk Management Process : Identifying The Risk1234 Words   |  5 PagesThere are five steps of the risk management process: identifying the risk, analyzing the risk, evaluate the risk, treat the risk, and monitor or review the risk (â€Å"What Are the 5 Risk Management Process Steps?†). Step one would be to identify the risk. This step involves finding all the possible potential losses. There are some major issues that can cause a risk in risk management, such as, worker compensation, climate change, and increasing cost. A risk manager can use a variety of information toRead MoreSecurity Risks And Risk Management Process1263 Words   |  6 Pagesand hazards periodically. In order to provide security, the information has to adapt to certain risk analysis and management techniques which has to be done dynamically with the changes in environment. This paper briefly describes about analyzing the security risks and risk managem ent processes to be followed for electronic health records to ensure privacy and security. Overview of Security Risk Management: Security is being free from threats. The term can be used with reference to crime, accidentsRead MoreEssay on The Risk Management Process1896 Words   |  8 PagesRisk Management Process Identify Risk Risk identification, focuses on identifying which risks will affect a project, by looking at the project plan, the work breakdown structure, the project charter and other project related documents (PMBOK, 2008). Broad risk categories are human resources, technology changes, quality and performance issues, customers, vendors, management, funding, political, legal, market forces and environmental issues (PMBOK, 2008). Risk identification involves forward andRead MoreRisk Management Process Section Of Management2300 Words   |  10 Pagesof the Risk Management Process section of the Risk Management Plan based on the facts presented in the case study Risk management process is an important aspect of the organization. There are various threats that may impede the organization’s success. For example, the scenario in the case study may make the company lose a number of loyal customers; hence, reduction in sales revenue. The scope and objectives of the risk management process should be in line with the overall risk management plan. TheyRead MoreRisk Management Is The Process Of Information System Management Essay942 Words   |  4 Pages Risk Management: Risk management is the process of information system managers applies to balance the operational and economic costs of protective measures for their information and information systems. As a part risk management process, organizations (Stoneburner, 2002) select and apply security controls for their information and information systems. The System development life cycle is the overall process of developing, implementing and retiring information systems through a multiple process fromRead MoreRisk Assessment : An Essential Part Of A Risk Management Process1046 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction The risk assessment is an essential part of a risk management process designed to provide appropriate levels of security for information systems. The assessment approach analyzes the relationships among assets, threats, vulnerabilities and other elements. Security risk assessment should be a continuous activity. Thus, a comprehensive enterprise security risk assessment should be conducted at least once every two years to explore the risks associated with the organization’s information

A Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor

Maddie Maurer Hour:1 A Good Man is Hard to Find â€Å"Do you ever pray,† (9) In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† two unlikely characters find themselves on an unexpected journey to find God. Christianity, the grace of God, and redemption are all used throughout the story. Religion is the underlying theme of the story through the title, the characters, and the details. The main purpose of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is to convert others to Christianity. The title, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, is related to the theme of the story. The story describes all male characters to be rude and arrogant. For example, when the grandmother exclaimed she knew who the Misfit was, Bailey reacted by showing his true colors in this passage, â€Å"Bailey turned his head sharply and said something to his mother that shocked even the children. The old lady began to cry and the Misfit reddened† (8). Bailey lacked compassion throughout the entire story, especially when he made his mother cry moments before they would die. Unlike Bailey, the Misfit kills for the thrill. He says, â€Å"...it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him† (11). In the short time Red Sammy is mentioned, he gives the reader the impression of a disrespectful husband. He tells his wife to quit lounging around, to hurry up with the food, and to stop talking about theShow MoreRelatedA Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor824 Words   |  4 PagesInstead, you should focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences and analyze how he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict? When reading, A good man is hard to find by Flannery O Connor, the question intrigues the reader to read further, about the infamous Villian, The Misfit. The grandmother is the other key character in this short story. The older woman is overpowered by temptation, regardless of what her familyRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor1190 Words   |  5 PagesIn Flannery O’Connor’s short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find†, O’Connor tells the story mainly on the emphasis of the grandmothers prospective. The grandmother was never named in the short story, only leaving the reader to guess if this story was how O’Connor portrayed a feeling toward society and religion. In order for the reader to understand the point of view of the story, the reader must look at the back ground of the author. Born in Georgia, where the story takes place, O’Connor was raisedRead MoreA Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O ´Connor766 Words   |  4 PagesFlannery O’Connor: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery o Connor. Known as the southern United States, the second after Faulkner writer. A good man is hard to find the religious fable story, the story is very simple, an elderly woman with her son a family trip to Florida, due to the old woman wanted to see a supposed to be on the way but somehow thought in Tennessee plantation in Georgia, and the way for the old woman with a bad idea to turn over a car, then the escaped from prison thatRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor972 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† by Flannery O’ Connor, is about a family going on a trip from Georgia to Florida. The grandmother, who is old-fashion in her beliefs, tells her grandchildren stories on the road trip; one story leads them down a dirt road to find a house on an old plantation, which produces an unpleasant outcome. The author uses the grandmother’s voice and language to give an old southern appeal to the story, which causes the impression that those who live like her are considered moreRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor898 Words   |  4 PagesOne can imagine an old lady with a cat, who appreciates respect towards herself, is stylish and likes to take care of herself. She s elegant, yet a bit talkative and dramatic at the same time. In the story A Good Man Is Hard to Find Flannery O Connor introduces to a similar character, The grandmother who is sophisticated and conservative in some ways. The short story begins with how the grandmother wants to take a road trip to Tennessee while the rest of the family wants to visit FloridaRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1356 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† was written by Flannery O Connor in the early 1950’s. The abnormal story of sudden viciousness in the provincial South opens discreetly, with a family arranging a get-away. The spouse, Bailey, his significant other, and their kids, John Wesley and June Star, all need to go to Florida. The grandma, Bailey s mom, in any case, needs to go to east Tennessee, where she has relatives, and she strongly endeavors to convince them to go there. Unfit to persuade them that theRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1837 Words   |  8 Pages In the short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† Flannery O Connor uses the grandmother as a main character. Baileys mother in this story views herself as a truthful, wise and righteous lady throughout. She uses her manipulation, lies, and persuasiveness to her advantage but soon the reader learns how honest those views are. She quickly reveals herself as a different person when those traits she usually uses to get what she wants fails her. She can easily persuade someone to get her way, but howRead MoreSummary Of A Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor1114 Words   |  5 Pages Man is Hard to Find Theme Essay: Religion ENG1300/ Literature Anthony Copeland December 16, 2014 In the short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’ Connor, the major theme in this story to me is how religion plays such a larger role in some lives more than others. The grandmother, a prime example for this, shows throughout the story that having â€Å"faith† isn’t a saving grace and misplaced faith could possibly get you killed. The major confrontationRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O ´Connor698 Words   |  3 Pagesdown the embankment. The misfit says it would have been better for the family if the grandmother hadn’t â€Å"recognized† him. It seems like the misfit was pleased to be recognized by the grandma. The misfit recognizes himself not as a good man. He says he would be a different man if he were there to see whether if Jesus resurrects the dead or not. It seems as if even though the misfit says his father’s heart was made of gold, he did not like his father due to his father’s kna ck of handling authorities orRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1655 Words   |  7 Pages In the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, the theme that the definition of a ‘good man’ is mysterious and flawed is apparent. The reader must realize that it is difficult to universalize the definition of a good man because every person goes through different experiences. Thus, these experiences affect his or her viewpoint and in turn flaw ones view on a good man. O’Connor conveys this theme through her excellent use of diction, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism A Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953 during the period of the Southern Renaissance. Around the time of 1900, the American South was beginning to recover from the economic depression it had been immersed in since the Civil War had ended. After an improvement in economic conditions, there followed a flourishing of culture which produced some very successful literature, and this phenomenon became known as the Southern Renaissance. In the early to mid-twentieth century American writers living in the South began to explore gothic themes, leading to the formation of the term Southern Gothic or Southern grotesque literary tradition. Gothic literature focuses on human terror, is typically set in old, isolated areas or architecture like abandoned buildings, haunted houses or threatening landscapes, and centres on characters who are challenged by mysterious forces. Southern literature often combines with social realism to create strange and unique characters with qualities that force the reader to look closely at the world fashioned in the novel, and the human experience more thoroughly. Flannery O’Connor’s work is well known for including the gothic component, where it includes anything strange, freakish, or perversely weird. ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ features the grotesque as a way of representing humanity by showing how it can cause people to act in a certain way, but also how it can change a person. Right from the beginning of theShow MoreRelatedA Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor824 Words   |  4 PagesInstead, you should focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences and analyze how he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict? When reading, A good man is hard to find by Flannery O Connor, the question intrigues the reader to read further, about the infamous Villian, The Misfit. The grandmother is the other key character in this short story. The older woman is overpowered by temptation, regardless of what her familyRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor1190 Words   |  5 PagesIn Flannery O’Connor’s short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find†, O’Connor tells the story mainly on the emphasis of the grandmothers prospective. The grandmother was never named in the short story, only leaving the reader to guess if this story was how O’Connor portrayed a feeling toward society and religion. In order for the reader to understand the point of view of the story, the reader must look at the back ground of the author. Born in Georgia, where the story takes place, O’Connor was raisedRead MoreA Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O ´Connor766 Words   |  4 PagesFlannery O’Connor: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery o Connor. Known as the southern United States, the second after Faulkner writer. A good man is hard to find the religious fable story, the story is very simple, an elderly woman with her son a family trip to Florida, due to the old woman wanted to see a supposed to be on the way but somehow thought in Tennessee plantation in Georgia, and the way for the old woman with a bad idea to turn over a car, then the escaped from prison thatRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor972 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† by Flannery O’ Connor, is about a family going on a trip from Georgia to Florida. The grandmother, who is old-fashion in her beliefs, tells her grandchildren stories on the road trip; one story leads them down a dirt road to find a house on an old plantation, which produces an unpleasant outcome. The author uses the grandmother’s voice and language to give an old southern appeal to the story, which causes the impression that those who live like her are considered moreRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor898 Words   |  4 PagesOne can imagine an old lady with a cat, who appreciates respect towards herself, is stylish and likes to take care of herself. She s elegant, yet a bit talkative and dramatic at the same time. In the story A Good Man Is Hard to Find Flannery O Connor introduces to a similar character, The grandmother who is sophisticated and conservative in some ways. The short story begins with how the grandmother wants to take a road trip to Tennessee while the rest of the family wants to visit FloridaRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1356 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† was written by Flannery O Connor in the early 1950’s. The abnormal story of sudden viciousness in the provincial South opens discreetly, with a family arranging a get-away. The spouse, Bailey, his significant other, and their kids, John Wesley and June Star, all need to go to Florida. The grandma, Bailey s mom, in any case, needs to go to east Tennessee, where she has relatives, and she strongly endeavors to convince them to go there. Unfit to persuade them that theRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1837 Words   |  8 Pages In the short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† Flannery O Connor uses the grandmother as a main character. Baileys mother in this story views herself as a truthful, wise and righteous lady throughout. She uses her manipulation, lies, and persuasiveness to her advantage but soon the reader learns how honest those views are. She quickly reveals herself as a different person when those traits she usually uses to get what she wants fails her. She can easily persuade someone to get her way, but howRead MoreSummary Of A Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor1114 Words   |  5 Pages Man is Hard to Find Theme Essay: Religion ENG1300/ Literature Anthony Copeland December 16, 2014 In the short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’ Connor, the major theme in this story to me is how religion plays such a larger role in some lives more than others. The grandmother, a prime example for this, shows throughout the story that having â€Å"faith† isn’t a saving grace and misplaced faith could possibly get you killed. The major confrontationRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O ´Connor698 Words   |  3 Pagesdown the embankment. The misfit says it would have been better for the family if the grandmother hadn’t â€Å"recognized† him. It seems like the misfit was pleased to be recognized by the grandma. The misfit recognizes himself not as a good man. He says he would be a different man if he were there to see whether if Jesus resurrects the dead or not. It seems as if even though the misfit says his father’s heart was made of gold, he did not like his father due to his father’s kna ck of handling authorities orRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard For Find By Flannery O Connor1230 Words   |  5 PagesHour:1 A Good Man is Hard to Find â€Å"Do you ever pray,† (9) In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† two unlikely characters find themselves on an unexpected journey to find God. Christianity, the grace of God, and redemption are all used throughout the story. Religion is the underlying theme of the story through the title, the characters, and the details. The main purpose of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is to convert others to Christianity. The title, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard

Portfolio Risks and Returns

Question: Discuss about thePortfolio Risks and Returns. Answer: Introduction Portfolio investment deals with investing in the securities such as shares, bonds and debentures. In every investment there is a high chances of getting high returns, however, it also includes high risks to earn such high returns. The risk in investment is the probability of deviation of returns from that of standard return and it could be measured with the help of standard deviation of rate of return. In one of the video, it was mention that the risk associated with the portfolio securities is classified as the systematic risk and unsystematic risk. Harry Markowitz, The Father of modern Portfolio Theory, has mentioned in an interview with Eric Schurenberg, Editor Director of Moneywatch.com that portfolio diversification will help reducing the unsystematic risk, as the negative return on one security will be nullified by the positive return of the other security. Markowitz has won himself a Nobel Prize for economics in 1990 for providing the portfolio diversification model. He has explained that there should be precise portfolio management with efficient set of stocks that are often termed as the efficient frontier of risky assets. In the video where William F. Sharpe and Paul Costello are discussing about investment in Stanford University, it has been said in order to gain high gain, it is important to take big risks in financial investment as there are no short cuts to achieve high gains even if such high risks does not guarantee high returns. However, Paul Costello agreed that ignoring the risk versus return by people had led to the meltdown in banking community. They explained that diversification in portfolio using various assets such as shares and bonds may increase the chances that one of them will yield highest return. In mutual fund, the mutual fund team analyze the market, trends, and thus after a thorough study they make a portfolio of different stocks that would result is overall good performance of the portfolio. On contrary, an Index fund though is well-diversified fails to eliminate the volatility. As per the Markowitz model, investors should focus more on what to do rather predicting what they a ctually would do. Based on the theory Sharpes dissertation has provided an important concept of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The portfolio management is the most crucial thing and must be dealt with care and complete understanding of the securities or the risk involved in the same. Any negligence could affect the return of the investors. It is not just important to understand the present scenario of the market but to analyse the future growth or fall of the market is also very important. As shown in one of the video, the case of Bear Stearns clearly shows how they claimed that the company is sound and the investors do not require withdrawing their investment, however, within next 6 days the market collapsed and caused huge loss to the investors. It becomes very important to analyse all the risk in order to be safe and get the estimated return.

The Role Of The Media (In Australia) Essays - News Media, Media Bias

The Role Of The Media (In Australia) Select one of the three major themes in Australian thinking about media,communication and information identified by Osborne & Lewis (1995) and explore the ideas that underpin it. Explain when and where these ideas emerged in history and say something about why they have had an ongoing influence in this country. Osborne and Lewis state that [a] preeminent theme in Australian thinking about the use of communication is the extent to which it has been viewed as a form of control . There has been concern in recent times of the enormous power communication holds as an agent of societal control. This is due to a number of factors, such the media mogul dominated media, which promotes a very conservative view and does not allow for alternate opinions to be voiced. The wide-reaching capabilities of the media, particularly electronic media via the Internet allows for the influence to spread across the entire country to remote areas and therefore heightens a sense of societal control. Although there have also been calls for harsher and more defined regulations to be set down on the media industry in light of its influence, the concepts of free speech and censorship have existed ever since the introduction of the mass media. With the current trends in Australia moving towards an essentially corporatised system of public communication , concerns about the extent to which media and communication controls society will continue to be of relevance in Australia. The very basis for Australia, that is colonialism and settling a new land, formed the foundation for the media of the nation. In 1803, The Sydney Gazette, a government publication, became the first Australian newspaper to be circulated in the colony. It dealt with legal news, farming news and other areas of interest for the colonisers. Of course, it was aimed only at educated white colonials and not indigenous people or convicts. Despite starting as a government controlled newspaper, by 1824, the year that The Australian was started, all government ownership of the press has ceased and private owners were involved. This was a sign of things to come and is the root of current problems with dominant ownership of the press. Although by 1923 there were twenty-six metropolitan dailies owned by twenty-one proprietors, this balanced industry was not to remain and by 1983 there were only three major owners in the press industry. In 2001, two major media companies dominate the Australian pres s NewsLtd, and Fairfax. A government controlled media is not possible in a democratic society, however a media industry controlled by media moguls with widespread influence is hardly a better option, and results in a greater and more centralised control over society. The media-mogul dominated industry presents enormous problems and certainly contributes to the fear of controlling power held by the media. The fact that one person, family or company could control the majority of newspaper media that is being fed to society is consistent with the growing fear of social control. Rupert Murdoch, and his company NewsCorp, currently owns more than half of the newspaper industry in Australia, as well as about one-third of British newspapers. He also has film, TV, newspaper and publishing interests in the USA and owns Star Television in Asia. NewsLtd, the Australian subsidiary of NewsCorp, publishes 67.8 per cent of the capital city and national newspaper market; 76.1 per cent of the Sunday newspaper market; 46.6 per cent of the suburban newspaper market; and 23.4 per cent of the regional newspaper market. Fairfax owns and controls 21.4 per cent of the capital city and national newspaper market; 22.8 per cent of the Sunday newspaper market; 18.1 per cent of the suburban newspaper market; 15.4 per cent of the regional newspaper market. This total domination by two companies over what information is provided to Australians via the press is disturbing and further enhances the notion of the powerful control of the media over society. Although the situation is not uncommon in other nations, particularly the USA where Murdoch owns controlling interests in a variety of media formats, the concentration of media ownership is more pronounced in Australia than in any other modern Western society. Therefore, this form of communication

How Does Stress Affect The Body Professor Ramos Blog

How Does Stress Affect The Body What is stress? Any intrinsic or extrinsic stimulus that evokes a biological response is known as stress. The compensatory responses to these stresses are known as stress responses. Based on the type, timing and severity of the applied stimulus, stress can exert various actions on the body ranging from alterations in homeostasis to life-threatening effects and death. In many cases, the pathophysiological complications of disease arise from stress and the subjects exposed to stress, those that work or live in stressful environments, have a higher likelihood of many disorders. Stress can be either a triggering or aggravating factor for many diseases and pathological conditions. In this study, we have reviewed some of the major effects of stress on the primary physiological systems of humans. A natural reaction Have you ever found yourself with sweaty hands on a first date or felt your heart pound during a scary movie? Then you know you can feel stress in both your mind and body.  This automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the body with hormones that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy and prepare you to deal with the problem.  These days, youre not likely to face the threat of being eaten. But you probably do confront multiple challenges every day, such as meeting deadlines, paying bills and juggling childcare that makes your body react the same way. As a result, your bodys natural alarm system the â€Å"fight or flight† response may be stuck in the on position. And that can have serious consequences for your health. Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com How does stress affect the heart? people who are under intense stress often seem to dramatically keel over from a heart attack, but that’s extremely rare. The real danger is the accumulated impact of chronic stress, which contributes to each of the top five risk factors for developing heart disease: abnormal cholesterol levels, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and smoking. How does stress affect the brain? Chronic stress can make your brain behave in an Alzheimer’s-like manner. Stress adversely affects a key structure in the brain, the hippocampus, leading to impaired memory and problems with orientation and sense of direction. These brain changes may have evolved to protect against the memory of traumatic and stressful events, like being attacked by a predator; but losing short-term memory hinders today’s brain-intensive lifestyle. We all recognize the frustration of forgetting where we put our keys, names of people we just met or other recent events.  Nor does stress help you function any better on brain-intensive tasks. In one study, scientists studied brain blood flow while subjects performed tasks that required sorting large amounts of data essentially stressful multitasking. They found that the prefrontal cortex, the â€Å"executive† part of the brain used for planning, execution, reasoning, and organization, was initially very active but then tired and sh ut down. That left the â€Å"reptilian† brain, the impulsive and emotional brain, in charge. Pay attention to how your emotions transform in the midst of multitasking, typically moving from initial clarity to confusion and frustration. How does stress disrupt sleep? When you’re continually stressed, your body constantly pulses out stress hormones, which make it harder to fall asleep and impair the deepest stages of sleep. That can lead to hyperarousal insomnia a state where your mind and body are easily woken by sounds or by your own stressful thoughts. No longer can you sleep as soundly as a baby.    Does stress make you age faster? One study compared a group of women caring for disabled children with a group of women whose children had no disabilities. In particular, the researchers compared their telomeres, protective sections of DNA that are known to be a genetic marker for aging. Telomeres routinely wither and get shorter with time, but external factors, including stress, can accelerate this process. The study found more prominent premature aging in the high-stress mothers caring for disabled children. In fact, it translated into that group being 10 years older at a cellular level than the other group, who were the same chronological age. The 35-year-old stressed mothers looked closer to 45. Pressure points Even short-lived, minor stress can have an impact. You might get a stomach-ache before you have to give a presentation, for example. More major acute stress, whether caused by a fight with your spouse or an event like an earthquake or terrorist attack, can have an even bigger impact.  Multiple studies have shown that these sudden emotional stresses especially anger can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death. Although this happens mostly in people who already have heart disease, some people dont know they have a problem until acute stress causes a heart attack or something worse. Chronic stress When stress starts interfering with your ability to live a normal life for an extended period, it becomes even more dangerous. The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body. You might feel fatigued, unable to concentrate or irritable for no good reason, for example. But chronic stress causes wear and tear on your body, too.  Stress can make existing problems worse. In one study, for example, about half the participants saw improvements in chronic headaches after learning how to stop the stress-producing habit of â€Å"catastrophizing,† or constantly thinking negative thoughts about their pain. Chronic stress may also cause disease, either because of changes in your body or the overeating, smoking and other bad habits people use to cope with stress. Job strain high demands coupled with low decision-making latitude is associated with increased risk of coronary disease, for example. Other forms of chronic stress, such as depression and low levels of s ocial support, have also been implicated in increased cardiovascular risk. And once youre sick, stress can also make it harder to recover. One analysis of past studies, for instance, suggests that cardiac patients with so-called â€Å"Type D† personalities characterized by chronic distress face higher risks of bad outcomes. What you can do Reducing your stress levels can not only make you feel better right now but may also protect your health long-term.  In one study, researchers examined the association between â€Å"positive affect† feelings like happiness, joy, contentment and enthusiasm and the development of coronary heart disease over a decade. They found that for every one-point increase in positive effect on a five-point scale, the rate of heart disease dropped by 22 percent.  While the study doesnt prove that increasing positive affect decreases cardiovascular risks, the researchers recommend boosting your positive effect by making a little time for enjoyable activities every day. Conclusion Altogether, stress may induce both beneficial and harmful effects. The beneficial effects of stress involve preserving homeostasis of cells/species, which leads to continued survival. However, in many cases, the harmful effects of stress may receive more attention or recognition by an individual due to their role in various pathological conditions and diseases. As has been discussed in this review, various factors, for example, hormones, neuroendocrine mediators, peptides, and neurotransmitters are involved in the bodys response to stress. Many disorders originate from stress, especially if the stress is severe and prolonged. The medical community needs to have a greater appreciation for the significant role that stress may play in various diseases and then treat the patient accordingly using both pharmacological, medications and/or nutraceuticals, and non-pharmacological, change in lifestyle, daily exercise, healthy nutrition, and stress reduction programs, therapeutic interventions . Important for the physician providing treatment for stress is the fact that all individuals vary in their response to stress, so a particular treatment strategy or intervention appropriate for one patient may not be suitable or optimal for a different patient. work cited   American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress. Goldstein, Elisha. The Now Effect: How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life. Simon amp; Schuster, 2013. â€Å"Lower Stress: How Does Stress Affect the Body?† About Heart Attacks,   www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/lower-stress-how-does-stress-affect-the-body.   â€Å"Stress Symptoms: Physical Effects of Stress on the Body.† WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-symptoms-effects_of-stress-on-the-body#1.   Wilson, Donielle. Stress Remedy: Master Your Bodys Synergy and Optimize Your Health. Empowering Wellness Press, 2013.  

Definition and Examples of Autobiography

Definition and Examples of Autobiography An autobiography is an account of a persons life written or otherwise recorded by that person. Adjective: autobiographical. Many scholars regard the Confessions (c. 398) by Augustine of Hippo (354–430) as the first autobiography. The term fictional autobiography (or pseudoautobiography) refers to novels that employ first-person narrators who recount the events of their lives as if they actually happened. Well-known examples include David Copperfield (1850) by Charles Dickens and Salingers  The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Some critics believe that all autobiographies are in some ways fictional. Patricia Meyer Spacks has observed that people do make themselves up. . . . To read  an autobiography is  to encounter a self as an imaginative being ( The Female Imagination, 1975). For the distinction between a memoir and an autobiographical composition, see memoir  as well as the examples and observations below.   Etymology From the Greek, self life write Examples of Autobiographical Prose Imitating the Style of the Spectator, by Benjamin FranklinLangston Hughes on HarlemOn the Street, by Emma GoldmanRitual in Maya Angelous Caged BirdThe Turbid Ebb and Flow of Misery, by Margaret SangerTwo Ways of Seeing a River, by Mark Twain Examples and Observations of Autobiographical Compositions An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last installment missing.(Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, 1968)Putting a life into words rescues it from confusion even when the words declare the omnipresence of confusion, since the art of declaring implies dominance.(Patricia Meyer Spacks, Imagining a Self: Autobiography and Novel in Eighteenth-Century England. Harvard University Press, 1976)The Opening Lines of Zora Neale Hurstons Autobiography- Like the dead-seeming, cold rocks, I have memories within that came out of the material that went to make me. Time and place have had their say.So you will have to know something about the time and place where I came from, in order that you may interpret the incidents and directions of my life.I was born in a Negro town. I do not mean by that the black back-side of an average town. Eatonville, Florida, is, and was at the time of my birth, a pure Negro towncharter, mayor, council, town marshal and all. It was not the first Neg ro community in America, but it was the first to be incorporated, the first attempt at organized self-government on the part of Negroes in America.Eatonville is what you might call hitting a straight lick with a crooked stick. The town was not in the original plan. It is a by-product of something else. . . .(Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road. J.B. Lippincott, 1942)- There is a saying in the Black community that advises: If a person asks you where youre going, you tell him where youve been. That way you neither lie nor reveal your secrets. Hurston had called herself the Queen of the Niggerati. She also said, I like myself when Im laughing. Dust Tracks on a Road is written with royal humor and an imperious creativity. But then all creativity is imperious, and Zora Neale Hurston was certainly creative.(Maya Angelou, Foreword to Dust Tracks on a Road, rpt. HarperCollins, 1996) Autobiography and TruthAll autobiographies are lies. I do not mean unconscious, unintentional lies; I mean deliberate lies. No man is bad enough to tell the truth about himself during his lifetime, involving, as it must, the truth about his family and friends and colleagues. And no man is good enough to tell the truth in a document which he suppresses until there is nobody left alive to contradict him.(George Bernard Shaw, Sixteen Self Sketches, 1898)Autobiography is an unrivaled vehicle for telling the truth about other people.(attributed to Thomas Carlyle, Philip Guedalla, and others)Autobiography and Memoir- An autobiography is the story of a life: the name implies that the writer will somehow attempt to capture all the essential elements of that life. A writers autobiography, for example, is not expected to deal merely with the authors growth and career as a writer but also with the facts and emotions connected to family life, education, relationships, sexuality, travels, and inn er struggles of all kinds. An autobiography is sometimes limited by dates (as in Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography to 1949 by Doris Lessing), but not obviously by theme.Memoir, on the other hand, is a story from a life. It makes no pretense of replicating a whole life.(Judith Barrington, Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art. Eighth Mountain Press, 2002)- Unlike autobiography, which moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, memoir narrows the lens, focusing on a time in the writers life that was unusually vivid, such as childhood or adolescence, or that was framed by war or travel or public service or some other special circumstance.(William Zinsser, Introduction, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir. Mariner Books, 1998) An Epidemical Rage for Auto-Biography[I]f the populace of writers become thus querulous after fame (to which they have no pretensions) we shall expect to see an epidemical rage for auto-biography break out, more wide in its influence and more pernicious in its tendency than the strange madness of the Abderites, so accurately described by Lucian. London, like Abdera, will be peopled solely by men of genius; and as the frosty season, the grand specific for such evils, is over, we tremble for the consequences. Symptoms of this dreadful malady (though somewhat less violent) have appeared amongst us before . . ..(Isaac DIsraeli, Review of The Memoirs of Percival Stockdale, 1809)|The Lighter Side of Autobiography- The Confessions of St. Augustine are the first autobiography, and they have this to distinguish them from all other autobiographies, that they are addressed directly to God.(Arthur Symons, Figures of Several Centuries, 1916)- I write fiction and Im told its autobiography, I write autobiography and Im told its fiction, so since Im so dim and theyre so smart, let them decide what it is or isnt.(Philip Roth, Deception, 1990)- Im writing an unauthorized autobiography.(Steven Wright) Pronunciation: o-toe-bi-OG-ra-fee

Peer to Peer Lending Scheme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Peer to Peer Lending Scheme - Essay Example The following are some of the roles Mr. Campbell McBain should expect (Mostafa, 2014).The facilitator should ensure that the functions are given are fulfilled by the right people with the proper experience and authority. The facilitator is the task of developing clear objectives and agenda that are in line with the company goals. He should also decide the workshop process and briefing process. The facilitator should also ensure that logistical arrangements are. During the workshop, the facilitator ensures that objectives are, and benefits are realized. He also ensures that all relevant information is available to the group so that strategic decision-making is facilitated. After the workshop, the primary role of the facilitator is to produce and deliver the workshop report. He also reviews the report with the management of the company. McBain is not qualified for the role of facilitator although he has all the relevant knowledge about the company. McBain has been in the business for a long time and understands the role that the proposed software is supposed to play. McBain is very excited about the progress of the program. Thus, he will be available to the programmers at London Agile (Shankar et al.,2014). Despite his qualifications, it might be difficult for him to be impartial which is a quality required for the facilitator role. He should ensure he facilitates the workshop rather than dictate what is to be. A facilitator plays his role with no alignment or stake in the company, and there Campbell will not be suited for the role (Kafilongo et al, 2014) The company ambassador is the person given the responsibility of ensuring he or she embodies the cooperate identity of the company. The company ambassador has the ability of the to use promotional strategies that will strengthen the customer product relationship. It will influence a large number of organizations into using the products of the organization (Turk et al, 2014). The

How cloud computing will affect businesses Research Paper

How cloud computing will affect businesses - Research Paper Example Cloud Computing is a term that has gained popularity within last couple of years. Figure 1 shows the trends in the usage various computing terms, the figure is indicative of the fact that the terms like grid computing and distributed computing are dropping in usage where as from 2008 onwards the term cloud computing has picked up at an exponential rate. Cloud computing has been defined as â€Å"†¦.a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)†¦.† (Search Cloud Computing). The term Cloud is a metaphor of Internet as Internet it is represented as a cloud in schematics and diagrams Figure 1. Trends of usage of term Cloud Computing. Cloud computing has numerous benefits and these beneficiaries not only include the users but also the companies. Cloud computing is beginning to change the way businesses are done. The following are the key benefits of cloud computing: Cloud Computing enables the users to access information (files and data) remotely, that is from their home or office, during working hours or even beyond working hours. Cloud computing is relatively cheaper with respect to the resources, for smaller companies and companies in resource limited settings cloud computing provides low cost solutions because these users need not procure expensive software and hardware. The companies just need to pay for the services and infrastructure when it is required, thereby reducing the costs. Since cloud computing is all about online or virtual resources, resources like storage space etc. for the companies into cloud-based services is limitless. Monthly subscription fee takes care of the growing needs of the companies . In other words, cloud computing offers such advantages capable of posting the companies, those adopt cloud computing, in all together a different league because the scales and economics are a class apart. Figure 2. Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing (Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe) Although cloud computing presents numerous benefits, quite like any other entity or technology, cloud computing has its share of shortcomings. These include concerns like the additional costs for transfer of data; lack of control over security, reliability of the hardware where the data and applications reside, because the hardware and software etc. are owned by third party; since cloud computing is a service oriented technology, quality of service of each vendor can vary, hence this technology can not be considered to be free from qualitative aspects like, security issues, etc. Figure 2 gives an idea of the pros and cons of

How Young People Represented in Eastenders and Hollyoaks Essay Example for Free

How Young People Represented in Eastenders and Hollyoaks Essay Eastenders is a British Soap Opera, first broadcast in the UK on BBC1. It’s about people who works and live in the frictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The scenes usually around the Albert Square. This soap originally played in the TV as two half-hour episodes per week since 2001, for episodes are broadcast each week. It is one of the UK’s highest rated programmes. It’s created by two person called Julia Smith and Tony Holland. Hollyoaks is a long running British Soap Opera firs broadcasted on Channel 4 in 1995. It’s created by Phil Redmond and Directed by Ross Knowles and Robert Duffey. This programme is set in a fictional suburb of Chester called Hollyoaks. Scenes usually around the education college called Hollyoaks Community College. The characters are people who are in their late teens or early twenties. The series are filmed at Lime Pictures. There are many conventions in the soaps. Cliff hangers are is a practice of ending of an episode which leaves the character in a seemingly impossible situation or something really exciting happens. The purpose of this that it makes the story so interesting which makes people want to watch the next episode of the soap. Moralistic storylines are usually main theme of the story; the lesson the main character learns. Usually people who watching the soap learns from that storyline. For example for a moral storyline is could be that: a girl steals another girl’s roller-skate, the moral in this that stealing is wrong. Multiple storylines are means in a soap that lots of different lines going on. For example that a lady has a baby, someone had a car crash, while the school burnt down. Realism is also important for a soap opera because who watching it has to believe in that it’s ‘real’. For example people can’t sell a pen which cost 50p for  £20.000 because it’s not realistic. Soaps are passing on social messages such as: drunk driving, young pregnancy, taking drugs and so on. The writers passing these messages to do not do any of these by showing their consequences. If people see that 5 people dies because the driver was drunk they might not going the drive when they drinking. Characters from Eastenders I’ve chosen are Stacey Slater and Bradley Branning. Stacey had arrived in Watford at the age of 15 and she stayed with her uncle Charlie. She had been causes troubles with her behavior. She had been thrown out because of her behavior. She falls in love with Bradley BranningStacey represented like a bad teenage girl with lots of boyfriends. She also had taken drugs in the past. She not very educated. She worked at a stall. She was pregnant but had an abortion. Bradley represented as a quite clever teenage boy. He has a good job at the bank. Was in a relationship with Stacey. He sexually harassed by his boss. He flirted with lots of girls/women. He flirted with her colleague as well. I’ve chosen these characters because I thought they are exciting to me. Characters from Hollyoaks are Ste Hay, He has some wicked ways. It hasnt all been plain sailing for him. A job at chez brought him into the flight path of one Brendan Brady and so began the twisted love/hate/love/hate/love romance that is Stendan. All sorts of obstacles have come between them pregnant girlfriends, fitness instructors, angry wives and long lost sons; however it was Brendans issues with his sexuality and his propensity for violence that stopped them truly being together. Leanne Holiday is a blonde, petite, button-nosed; Leanne looks all sweetness and light. She first came to the village as fiancà ©e to Lee Hunter, who was returning to the village after a five year absence. Hardcore fans will have followed their engagement in the online drama Fresher’s. Wandering eyes from both parties soon caused trouble in their relationship, Leanne snagging Doug and Lee falling for Amy. She always chases boys. Young people in Eastenders represented more badly, in there are young pregnancies and other bad stuff going around the young characters. In Hollyoaks the young people are mostly represented as a studying respectful teenager. So the young people in Eastenders represented most likely as bad, while in Hollyoaks they are represented as goods. I think in Eastenders and Hollyoaks young people are represented in the way how the young people act or behave in the real life. Some young people having in trouble some of them are behaving well and doing their work and just being normal.

The Need For Universal Health Care Essay -- Medicine Medical Essays Ar

The Need For Universal Health Care Like many college students I have to pinch pennies to make it through school. Every last penny counts when budgeting my monetary supply. As a result of this I have found that I do not have enough to spare to pay for health insurance. Unlike most college students I am over the age of 23 and thus not covered by my parents insurance. Since I am only employed part time I am also not able to obtain it from work. This puts me in the company of the more than 42 million Americans who do not have health insurance. It is past time that the United States join the rest of the industrialized countries that have already decided to provide their citizens with health care. I believe a single payer health care system is necessary. A national health care system would provide a number of benefits. To begin with, it would cut the overall costs of health care. Secondly it would actually decrease bureaucracy by removing the many layers of insurance paper work patients and physicians are forced to go throu gh in our current system. Finally it would increase life expectancy by allowing more money conscious Americans to receive adequate prevention instead of waiting until an illness becomes worse. All of these reasons point towards a national health care program as being the solution we need. Some opponents of single payer sytems, mostly financed by insurance companies that stand to lose billions from such a plan, point to some of the other countries that have enacted such plans as an advisory against our following suit. However they fail to take into account some of the methods unique to those countries and overstate some of the problems while ignoring our own. Single payer health programs are set up so that all... ... that we, as a nation that considers ourselves civilized can make to ensure the health and safety of our populace. Works Cited Canham-Clyne, John, Woolhandler, Steffie, and Himmelstein, David. The Rational Option. For A National Health Program. Stony Creek, Connecticut: The Pamphleteers Press, 1995 Fisk, Milton. Toward a Healthy Society The Morality and Politics of American Health Care Reform. Lawrence Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2000 Kuttner, Robert. ?The Efficiency of Universal Health Care.? Boston Globe. 12 February 2000. http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/044/oped/The_efficiency_of_ universal_health_careP.shtml Sheils, John F. and Haught, Randall A. Analysis of the Costs and Impact of Universal Health Care Models for the State of Maryland: The Single-Payer and Multi-Payer Models. 2 May 2000. http://www.healthcareforall.com/summary.html

Inspirational Speech Essay

I would like to begin my speech by asking if anyone has ever felt like giving up on their education? Like myself, I am sure most will answer †Yes†. Today, I would like to speak on the importance of staying in school and completing your education. Hopefully what I have to say can both inspire you and motivate you to want nothing but the best for yourself and your future. One of the most important reasons why it is important to complete college and received a degree is because in todays society it is a mandate. There used to be a time where having a high school diploma or even a GED could get you by in life. Now, as times have advanced, most employers for a decent job won’t hire you unless you have an associates degree or higher. Just take a second to think about what the job requirements will be in years to come. It’s shocking to know that in just a few years to have a decent job you will need to have a bachelors or masters degree. I would like to share a sto ry with everyone. I have an Aunt that graduated from high school about 10 years ago. A few months after her graduation she was offered a good job opportunity for a company and she accepted it. She worked there for 7 years and one day her new boss told her that she needed to be recertified for the position. With all the changes that had gone on within society and within the workplace, the job now required that she have an associate’s degree. At the time my Aunt was a single mother and worked full time so it was an almost impossible task for her to complete an associate’s degree program in the allotted amount of time the job had given her. To make a long story short they allowed her to work at the job for 6 more months and let her go. Furthermore, it is not only important to complete college for the degree but for the status it brings. I’m sure everyone has friends and family members that are on a path for destruction. If they can see that you completed college, even with all you may have or have had going on in your life, it can be motivation for them. I’ve always been told that you never know the impact that your story will have on another person. In conclusion, some of you may be feeling a sense of discouragement, losing hope towards your life. Some of you may even be wondering why you’re sitting in that chair because there is no hope. Let me tell you first that you are a person of worth, a person who can be a successful businessperson or a famous entrepreneur one day. By stay motivated and having perseverance you can be successful in any career field of your choice. It may seem an impossible dream or goal but as  you know, it is never too late to get back up again. Every challenge and misfortune that you have to face during your duration in this school, will only make you a better and a stronger person.

Horniman Horticulture Essay

Executive Summary: Horniman Horticulture is a wholesale nursery located near Lynchburg, VA. Its owned by Bob and Maggie Brown. From 2002-2005, the nursery’s operations grew by more then 40%. Revenue growth has exceeded the industry benchmark. The nursery now consists of 52 greenhouses, 40 acres of land, and 12 full-time workers as well as 15 seasonal workers. Problem: While experiencing booming demand and improving margins, the Browns are confused by their plummeting cash balance. Analysis: Horniman’s current assets are growing over time, but in a less liquid fashion, less from cash and more from receivables and inventory. Horniman is not receiving money as quickly as they would hope, which is shown by the 9-day increase in receivable days since 2002 (exhibit 2 p.141). This figure is also well above its benchmark. The Inventory days increased every year as well and was well above the benchmark of 386.3. Payable days decreased much more than was expected, to 9.9 in 2005 when the benchmark was 27. What most likely happened is that as Horniman grew, it began selling inventories with higher margins and better financing options were being offered to its customers. Favorable terms are attractive to new clients but it can also increase risk of non-payment from customers. In terms of where the cash they have made is going, we must look at how they are distributing their cash flow. Most cash was invested back into the business itself to build capital. It seems as if every dollar of profit was put towards more net working capital. Recommendation: Increasing the payable days or lowering the day’s receivable outstanding would reduce the cash conversion cycle. Although it is important to invest cash back into the company for growth, a more conservative approach of holding on to more cash would benefit Horniman in the future.

Biography of Che Guevera

Biography of Che Guevera Free Online Research Papers Ernesto â€Å"Che† Guevara is a revolutionary legend and international icon. The man known simply as Che has left a lasting impression on society. From his revolutionary status to his undying determination, Che has exceeded the expectations of not only his superiors and disciples of his time but those who were born much later as well. He is not your typical leader although he possesses many of the characteristics, traits and values that are referred to most of the worlds primary leaders. From his childhood up through his fantastical live to his untimely death, Che has defined what it is meant to be a leader in every sense of the definition. Che was born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in the into a middle-class family in Argentina. In the early 1950s he was trained to be a practicing medical doctor but that career did not seem to suit his wild heart. He then decided to explore the world in which he lived, by riding his motorcycle through Latin America. During this time he has the opportunity to remove himself from his comfortable, middle-class life and see for himself what the people of his country and of neighboring countries are experiencing as their life. What he saw was absolute poverty and tremendous despair. This had sparked a part of his mind and heart to be active in fighting this type of economical depression by taking on the capitalistic government directly. He then chose to join Fidel Castro in his fight against imperialism. This is where his genuine leadership abilities had surfaced. His immense determination combined with his emotional fervor for such a cause, he was practically unstoppable. From here on out, Che fought side by side with the people he was trying to protect and empower. His meeting with Castro brought him to Cuba where he fought and eventually assited in the overthrowing of then ruler and Dictator Fulgencio Batista. He did not stop here. Che went on to ensure all of the people of Latin America who were aware of their exploitation and continued to spread the revolution as the commander of the Rebel Army. Up until his death he maintained his ideals and values while motivating people to take action. Che found much of his education not only in the books that he read while pursuing his education but also through extensive travel. According to David Deutschmann, â€Å"Travel is another kind of learning. It changes your perspective immediately, because it requires new and different responses from you.† Che really cultivated himself and even reinvented himself during the time of his motorcycle tour. He had grown as a person and as a leader considering now he was motivated that he took the responsibility to then motivate others. Deutschmann also describes â€Å"authenticity† and â€Å"self-invention† as almost parallel terms. As leaders grow and adapt to not only their position but also to the world in which they live, they form a sense of self that they embrace and that entices others to follow. Che knew exactly what he wanted to do. Clearly he wanted to make his vision the vision of the people and he succeeded in doing that on an international level. He was being true to himself and his beliefs. His core values included but are not limited to self-sacrifice, moderation, faith, and devotion and not once did he stray from these values. Throughout his leadership endeavor, Che had maintained authoritarian leadership style. He was given the name â€Å"Che† which means â€Å"friend† or â€Å"buddy† which would suggest a more democratic or possibly even a laissez-faire leadership style but his work suggests something else. Although he was the type of leader that seemed to truly set an example and followed the rules that he imposed on others, he was also the person making the rules and expecting others to follow. In David Deutschmann’s compilation The Guevara Reader, it is evident throughout that he is laying down the law. Once reading through, it is evident that although it is educational material it has a propagandist air to it. We have to remember, however, that he is attempting to start and maintain a revolution that is to spread worldwide. He controlled a highly efficient group of men and women whose general interest were at hand. Although this may be contradictory, I feel that Che engaged in interpersonal orientation pattern of leadership over the task orientation. This is apparent in Che in the way he had even embarked on his revolutionary endeavor. â€Å"The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love,† believed Che. He has also undoubtedly shown his leadership by the roles he has assumed from his youth until his death. He has a vision for not only himself but for all people. Che has had a loyal following since he first set out on this endeavor. He recruited followers through his expert power and referent power. Marxism was Che’s forte and he held strong to his philosophies. Through his compelling writings and teachings, Che gathered many followers both in Latin America and beyond. He unified the Latin American people not according to country or class but the entire continent. His socialist philosophy and his philanthropy has given him such the honor to be compared to Jesus Christ. Communication was obviously one of Che’s key traits to his leadership success. Through his writings alone, he portrays a sophisticated individual with the knack for narrative. He also was quite a charismatic leader. He was even known to entice people by having them merely look at him. He is a highly educated man with a passion for words and his altruistic actions speak for themselves. He inspired an entire generation to question authority and opened their eyes to an unjust world that was hidden behind a new wave of American consumerism. Actions tend to speak louder than word but when sung together they are all the more effective. Ernesto â€Å"Che† Guevara is a genuine example of how a person emerges as a leader and evolves into an icon. He was able to take the world in, adapt to his surrounding and in turn attempt to change the world, as we know it. He is a pioneer of a revolutionary theory that is still a living and breathing document today. As Che had said, â€Å"Let the world change you then you can change the world.† Research Papers on Biography of Che GueveraBringing Democracy to AfricaQuebec and CanadaWhere Wild and West MeetBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XPETSTEL analysis of IndiaMind TravelInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Epicenter vs. Center

Epicenter vs. Center Epicenter vs. Center Epicenter vs. Center By Simon Kewin In an article on the BBC website just recently, the head of a computer game industry body described the city of Dundee as the epicentre for the industry in Scotland. A little earlier, in an article about renewable energy on the same site, the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, described the city of Glasgow as the epicentre for renewable energy engineering. Now, either someone has been secretly building a network of vast tunnels underneath Scottish cities, or these are two examples of a widely misused and misunderstood word. Epicenter (epicentre in British English) refers to a point over or above the centre of something. It is most commonly used to identify the point on the Earths surface that lies directly above the focus of an earthquake. Increasingly, however, the term is used in a vague and lazy way to make the word center seem more dramatic and interesting. Reporters are forever standing at the epicenter of something, apparently unaware that the events they describe must, logically, be happening underground. Of course, you could argue that epicenter is a word whose meaning is in transition; that it is acquiring a secondary sense of, simply, center (especially the center of something dramatic or calamitous.) For now, the best advice is not to confuse the two. Center and epicenter are two perfectly good words, meaning two different things. You can read more from Simon on his blog, Spellmaking. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?Writing the CenturyEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases

The influence of Street Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The influence of Street Art - Essay Example History of Street Art. Street art is capable of changing the cold concrete walls into beautiful lively canvasses. The beautiful artifacts act as a reflection of the thought processes of the daily lifestyle of the people. The street art draws its prolonged history in the 16th century in Europe. The street art evolved from the dwindled history of the artists who used this mode as a process to collect money from the pedestrians. Later on, through the different international festivals, the street art attained recognition. Today, street artists form the major sector of the contemporary art and visual culture. Street art in the present day forms a connecting node of the multidisciplinary institutional domain. Difference between Street Art and Graffiti. The basic difference between graffiti and street art is that the message delivered by the street art is understood by the general public. Graffiti with the use of tags and messages secludes the use of the message only for closed groups who b elong to the same community. Graffiti fails to provide for a podium for the general public to interact freely about the message of the art. Moreover, graffiti provides for a textual base to share messages whereas the street art is drawn with the pictorial focus to beautify the urban environment. Influence on the People. The different pictorial images that are used in the street arts often carry a motivational message that influences the thinking process of the general public. The street art carry the subversive messages.

Religion8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religion8 - Essay Example ove and caring for all the members of the church, but on the church as an institution love and caring is lost to the achievement of it believed mission. Practices within the church as a community through love and care looks to build up each member of the community. This is essentially through greater focus of sharing of the resources within the community to build every member of the community. In the church as an institution the building up of the individual through love, care and sharing is lost. Instead the resources are used to build the institution called the church. The concentration of practices is on increasing number of individuals that are members. This means there will be greater emphasis on activities on the show of the religion, like increase in the visibility of prayer and hymns to the world, as against the activities of caring, in a community like charity and service of the community. Building of churches, expansion of parishes, and growth of the church would be the mor e prominent practices in the church as an institution, instead of practices aimed at the building up of each member, when the church is a community. (2). Providing a simple meaning to the concept of the sacrament to the church is not easy, for it is a very significant aspect of the Christian church. It can be looked upon as the receiving of the greatest gift of Divine Grace, or restoring it when it is lost, or increasing it, depending on the sacrament. (3). The sacraments offer in them celebrations relating to Christian celebration, Christian life, and Christian hope. The meanings associated with these sacraments lie in the past, present and future providing the import to these celebrations. This makes sacraments no ordinary celebrations, but occasions to remember and experience the saving presence of God. This makes it important for receiving of the sacraments to be accepted in a meaningful manner. The sacraments are the means to remember and celebrate several elements of the Divine

Principles of Social Workers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Principles of Social Workers - Essay Example Thesis Statement Considering the task of social workers this report would intend to discuss the ethical standards and responsibilities of social workers. Thus, the objective of report is to understand various aspects of the moral concerns and other operating principles to be considered by the social workers taking into account the working standards, historical outlooks, confidentiality and ethical responsibilities. Unique Aspects of Social Worker’s Profession Social worker’s occupation has its unique form of understanding, ‘code of ethics’, values, state certifications and countrywide system of qualified education packages. These aspects prepare social workers to syndicate the aspiration and to assist others with the knowledge, abilities and morals which are essential to offer such assistances with efficiency. Contextually, besides various non-governmental organizations, social workers are also found in public organizations, profit-seeking companies, hospit als, universities, police branches, courts and numerous other modern day workplaces serving various people, families and societies at large (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). It is worth mentioning in this regard that professional social workers assist people to restore or improve their abilities for social working through developing societal situations favorable of the accomplishment of their objectives. Hence, the tasks of social work require acquaintance of human behavior of social, financial and cultural establishments and the incorporation of all these characteristics. Furthermore, social workers’ occupation is considered as highly qualified and knowledgeable specialists, which is also regarded as one of the rapidly increasing professions in the United States. The report of ‘Council on Social Work Education’ depicts that in the year 2000, almost 22,163 students were registered in social working programs which was further anticipated to grow by 3 0% in 2010. Unlike other professions, social workers attempt to assist people to overcome the challenges faced by them in their daily lives in terms of poverty, discernment, abuse, addiction, physical sickness, annulment, joblessness, educational limitation, disability and mental sickness. It is in this context that the social workers attempt to inhibit crisis situations and guide people to deal with the pressures of regular life more efficiently (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). National Organization for Human Service Education (NOHSE) Standards In general terms, there are no specific standards which can provide action for every situation that might appear in the tasks of social workers. However, in the year 1995, National Organization for Human Service Education (NOHSE) had approved ethical standards for social workers in order to reduce the conflict of strategies towards determining the course of actions to be taken in certain circumstances. These standards narrated the responsibilities bestowed on social workers defining social work as an occupation which has developed in reaction to the expectation of human requirements and problems. Therefore, social workers should preserve the truthfulness and morals of occupation, encourage welfare of people and improve their professional qualities on a continuous basis.

Analysis of the International Accounting Standards on Inventory

Analysis of the International Accounting Standards on Inventory This eassy mainly introduced the information about the International Accounting standards of Inventory(IAS 2). First, we introduced the background of the IAS 2; then we discussed the major requirements of the standards and the importance of these requirements; after that we critically evaluate the IAS 2. Background The IASs, International Accounting Standards, which issued with the IASC setting up in 1973, are the common standards followed by accountancy bodies. Then, the IASB with new accounting standards (IFRS) and more member countries was founded to replace the IASC. Both of the two committees concerned with the regulation improvement and global harmonisation of international accounting. Inventory valuation plays a vital role in the profit calculation and assets valuation process. However, method differences and controversy still exist in stock valuation among different companies. In terms of that, a consistent benchmark seems necessary to eliminate them and compare companies profit on the same basis. IAS 2 is such an international standard to offer regulation and method for inventory. Its first draft of Valuation and Presentation of Inventories came out in 1974, and was brought into the IAS one year later. The former standard of stock (IAS 2(1993)) set up in 1993 and it took effect on the date of January 1st 1995. Since IASB replaced of IASC, the modified version was published in 2003 and it took effect in 2005. Aiming to obtain the accurate calculation result of cost and subsequently expense of inventory, IAS2 mainly concern with the write-down to Net Realizable Value. In order to allocate cost to stocks, it provides cost principle as well. To be more specific, IAS2 classifies that the inventory includes finished products, goods in process and raw material. Furthermore, it also contains measurement of inventory, fundamental principle of IAS2, write-down to Net Realizable Value, expense recognition and the required disclosures as well. Requirements and importance of IAS 2 There are many requirements of the inventories in International Accounting Standard, in terms of IAS 2 regulate how to analysis the cost of inventories, how to measure inventories, how to assign inventories etc. The first requirement is that the cost of inventories is the total cost to deliver inventories to their present location and condition. According to IAS 2 (2005) cost of inventories shall comprise all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition. The second requirement of IAS 2 is that inventories should be measured at the lower of net realisable value and cost on an item by item basis Once measured, the lower of net realisable value and cost must be used as an asset in the balance sheet. When the inventories net realizable value below its cost, it means that the future economic benefits will less than its carrying amount, which are brought to the companies by inventories. Therefore this part of the loss should be deducted from the value of assets, and included in accounting subjects of current profit and loss. Otherwise, there will be the phenomenon of virtual assets. Thus, we should use the lower of the net realisable value and cost in the stocktaking process. The third requirement of IAS 2 is that the cost of inventories should be assigned by using the First-in First-out (FIFO) or weighted average cost formula unless there are some special inventories. IAS 2 does not require that the fairest possible approximation to the cost should be reflected by the formula used. Therefore, the Standard gives the FIFO, as well as the weighted average cost formula for free choice. Accounting to Wikipedia (2009), FIFO is an abstraction ways of organizing and manipulation of data relative to time and prioritization. This method describes the principle of what comes in first should be handled first, what comes in next waits until the first is finished. FIFO is the formula, which is frequently-used, to bear the cost of inventories which are out and which are still in. Weighted average cost formula is easier than others, also when the market price rising up or falling down, this formula is easy to calculate the average unit cost of inventories, in order to s hare the cost of inventory is more trade-offs and objective. Options IAS 2 offers some optional rules for companies to choose. These options, to a certain extent, affect the internationally implement of IAS. The following essay will list three primary options. Firstly, IAS 2 stipulates two alternative formulas for measuring the cost of inventories, which are first in, first out (FIFO) and weighted average. FIFO assumes that goods sold are those produced earlier. That is to say, the cost of inventories is those produced later. This approach may lead to underestimate cost and overestimate gross profit in the year of inflation. Weighted average is the average cost of all units currently in stock at the time of reporting. (kcsi) IAS 2 is not mandatory for which formulas companies should choose. Obviously, these two optional formulas would measure different cost of inventories. Secondly, IAS 2 stipulates that normally expenditure incurred is not recognized as cost of inventories. Nevertheless, IAS 2 supplies option of including some expense of inventories or not in the cost. For example, it is appropriate that non-productive indirect expense could be part of the cost of inventories if they are for special projects. Apart from that borrowing cost of inventories could be included in the cost under special circumstances. Thirdly, there are two optional techniques in the inventories cost measurement, standard cost method and retail method. IAS 2 requests retail industry use retail method to measuring the cost of inventories. However, other industry could apply either retail or standard cost method, which may result in discrepancy between companies that use different methods. Applicability At present, IAS 2 is widely implemented in Asia and Europe, while US GAAP plays a significant role in North America. This becomes a critical restriction factor of the applicability of IAS 2 internationally. Most stock exchanges in the world incline that quote companies should treat IAS 2 as financial report benchmark. It could improve the transparency and reliability of inventories information if listed companies apply IAS 2. Besides, more and more multinational corporations apply IAS 2 on their own, such as Air France, Nestle and Adidas. Owning to multinational corporations have companies in more than one country, it would be convenient for parent companies to consolidate statement if parent and subsidiary companies all implement IAS 2. Although IAS 2 has been applied by most countries worldwide, during the process of applicability IAS 2 internationally, some deficiencies still have arisen inevitably. Take net realizable value as an example. IAS 2 prescribes it as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale(Birzeit Consulting). With regard to costs of completion and costs necessary to make the sale, IAS 2 does not list exact items, which implies lacking comparability between companies. The defects cause that some countries apply their own national accounting standard which are related to their national conditions. Opportunities for creative accounting The item inventory plays a significant role in companies operation and financial performance since it is not only determines the computation of profit, but also impacts the valuation of assets which displayed on the balance sheet. IAS 2 probably is a comprehensive guidance which prescribes systematic accounting treatments for inventory in terms of the determination of inventorys cost, the recognition of correlative expense, and the formulas for assigning costs to inventory. Despite the constraint of IAS 2, it is acknowledged that there are several stratagems for those unethical companies to manipulate their valuation of inventory, thereby expressing a fictitious favourable performance to the authorities and public. A study from Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) described that there is no area of accounting provides more opportunities for subjectivity and creative accounting than the valuation of inventory. More precisely, because of the close relationship between the inventories and revenues, companies often tend to inflate their revenues by overstating the value of inventories which is a direct and effective measure. There are a number of approaches to manipulate the value of inventory and those methods are mainly categorized into three aspects which are time horizon, NRV and overhead. Firstly, because IAS 2 do not have detailed guidance in respect of time dimension, companies usually like to employ tricks at the end of fiscal year by utilizing cut-off procedures. Assume that goods are delivered to a company at the last day of fiscal year 200X but the invoice date is at the first day of next fiscal year. In this situation, the company probably takes the goods into inventory immediately but not records the purchase invoice. The premature recording of inventory leads to the automatic increase of revenue which displays a false boost on the financial report. Furthermore, companies can falsify a transfer of non-existent inventory at the year-end which is difficult to confirm by auditors. Thus, the overstated value of inventory will generate from these fictitious in transit inventories. Secondly, IAS 2 adopted a specific method which is use the lower figure of net reliable value and cost to measure inventory. This measurement concerned the true value of inventory in a large extent and let this valuation reflects the real market appropriately; on the other hand, it also provides opportunities for frauds because the calculation of NRV is largely depends on accountants anticipations. More specifically, it is obvious that the extent of provisions should be reduce to NRV are highly subjective and manipulative. Just like Barry Elliott argued that a provision is an effective smoothing device and allows overcautious write-downs to be made in profitable years and consequent write-backs in unprofitable ones. Thirdly, although IAS 2 provides guidelines for allocating appropriate overhead into the cost of inventory, the distinctions between diverse of overhead are still hardly to be distinguished exactly. Companies might find opportunities of manipulation and include those overhead which indirectly attributable to production in the inventory valuation, thereby differing the influence of overhead and so rising profits. Weaknesses and Improvement Overall, the statements about the inventory at the International Accounting Standards (IAS) are understandable and comprehensive. However, it seems that problems still obviously exist in the inventory standards. Firstly, the calculation methods for the same industry are not unified. Although IAS2 has cancelled LIFO method, two different methods are still available: FIFO and weighted average method. Different methods of calculation will produce different results. Thus, it makes no sense for the companies of the same industry to compare the ratio results. Therefore, the standard should be more detailed. First, it should select the most appropriate measurement based on the characteristics and nature of various industries. Second, it should be clearly defined that all the companies in the same industry should adopt the same measurement method. These two measures help to eliminate difference, and subsequently to promote development of harmonisation. Secondary, it offers the opportunities for creative accounting. There are many cases about listed companies involved in the stock fraud, and the most famous one is the U.S. Fallmos case. Its creativer Monas first get a pharmacy located in Ohio, and in the subsequent decades, he acquired another 299 stores, then he formulated a company called Fallmo. Unfortunately, all of these brilliants are fraud based on the overestimation of the inventory. Such a fraud ultimately led to the bankruptcy of Monash and his company as well. At the same time, the Big Five firm who provided audit services to it also lost millions of dollars. From these cases, it seems that fraud happened owing to the inadequate inventory management system. In order to prevent companies from cheating by inventory, the standards should require the audit firm to check the companys inventories regularly. The third one is that the International Accounting Standards failed to keep pace with the times process. With the development of enterprises, it generates a lot of new inventory management methods, such as the Just-In-Time (JIT) method. JIT originated from Toyoda in Japan, it was created by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, his son Kiichiro Toyoda and the engineer Taiichi Ohno. Toyota implemented the Kanban management which runs with the physical. For example, when an order which includes the requirements of the delivery time is proposed, Toyotas workers entered these information on the Kanban. The ordering department get the ordering information through Kanban and give the new order to the production department through Kanban, and so forth; all orders will be connected to the entire department. Aiming to eliminate waste, reduce costs and improve economic efficiency, its core is to seek a non-stock production system or to minimize inventory production system. In that case, it is the reverse order of the traditional mode which product first then looking for customers. Although the demands of JIT are high, many companies have adopted this approach, such as Dell Inc. In the JIT, the zero inventory is the main goal. Thus, the traditional methods such as FIFO and weighted average method lost the meaning of their existence, and the traditional fields of the closing stock inventory system and the perpetual inventory system also appears to be meaningless.

How the Houses in Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights Compare :: Emily Bronte Literature Essays

How the Houses in Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights Compare Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are two exact opposites separated by the neutral territory of the moors, a dreamlike place thought of as heaven by Heathcliff and Catherine. Although both estates are wealthy, there is a definite difference in class between them and this bears greatly on the characters from both estates ability to socialise with each other. The two different buildings have their own strengths and weaknesses and the characters reflect their features. On the one hand there is Wuthering Heights with its stark and intimidating appearance but strong magnetism representing savagery and Thrushcross grange with its refinement and pleasant appearance representing civility. Wuthering heights has the characteristics of being a very strong, prominent structure and is described by Mr Lockwood as being a misanthropists heaven. It is a very desolate and lonely place up on a hill exposed to stormy weather with no real beauty and can be seen as an uncivilised place to live. Thrushcross Grange is a very classy, civilised estate and living in a place like this would bring a lot of status with it. It is quite a sheltered place down in the valley and this is something that is common with its children - they tend to be sheltered and spoilt. Thrushcross grange is comfortable and decorative whereas Wuthering Heights is basic and down to earth. Whilst Wuthering Heights has great power in its commanding position up on the hill, it will never be in the same class as the Grange. The features of the estates have a strong association with the people who live in them in terms of mood, emotion and appearance. Heathcliff is a very dark and stormy character of Gypsy blood and is the person who has the greatest association with Wuthering Heights. Mr Earnshaw who found him alone and starving introduced him to the place as a child where he grew up with Catherine and Hindley as an interloper. In adulthood he becomes more and more antisocial and puts up a stone barrier when it comes to showing his emotions. He and the building suit each other as though they were one and the same because whilst he displays all the strength and pride of the Heights, he also has the roughness. Isabella is Edgar Linton's sister and although being a pleasant, well-educated person has the soft and civilised traits of Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff marries her as a way of revenge against Cathy and Edgar and as part of his overall plan to own both estates. Not realising Heathcliffs intentions she is taken in by his magnetism and strength but is too soft a character to stand up to his might and

Violent and Vulgar Rap Lyrics

VIOLENT AND VULGAR RAP LYRICS What happened to censorship? â€Å"Then shall we allow our children to listen to any story anyone happens to make up, and so receive into their minds ideas that often the very opposite of those we shall thing they ought to have when they are grown up? † Plato, The Republic While Plato may not have had rap music to contend with, he posed a question that could be a leading concept for a society concerned with the impact of today’s music on its kids.In truth, Plato would note a archetype shift from a culture that put their family’s social, emotional, and spiritual well being as primary; to a society that is enslaved to whoever or whatever nets the mighty dollar gets to make decisions regarding what is right for our youth. Let us begin with censorship. Most freedoms are taken for granted, because they always seem to be in effect. Censorship keeps freedoms in check, or so it should. There are some things that are not suitable for the whol e population. Children should not be exposed to vulgar or violent media.The young impressionable minds of our youth should not be exposed to media that promotes relaxed morals, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and the glorification of being a violent criminal. There are a lot of arguments regarding censorship, pro and con. I am willing to bet that those opposed to censorship of vulgar music do not have small children, specifically daughters. There are a lot of reasons to support censorship to protect our youth and our future. But those in control, those making major profits from the offensive media, only have their fat bank accounts to protect-not our precious children.On the following pages, I am going to submit some evidence that shows what effects rap music has had on our youth. I am also going to show you some examples of how this insult to our children’s minds, growth and healthy development has been allowed to continue. And finally, since the power’s that be are so hard to stop-I am going to propose a solution that we, as citizens, parents, and teachers can do to help gain some of our power back in educating our youth. The federal government and the states have long been permitted to limit obscenity or pornography. (Deflem) ] While the Supreme Court has generally refused to give obscenity any protection under the First Ammendment, pornography is subject to little regulation. However, the exact definition of obscenity and pornography has changed over time. In fact, federal obscenity law in the U. S. is highly unusual in that not only is there no uniform national standard, but there is an explicit legal precedent (the â€Å"Miller test†) that all but guarantees that something that is legally obscene in one jurisdiction may not be in another. In effect, the First Amendment protections of free speech vary by location within the U. S. , and over time.The â€Å"Miller Test† has 3 basic guidelines for the trier of fact: (a). W hether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the *prurient interest, (b). Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law. (c). Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. (The First Amendment, Miller vs Californie,1973) An great example of the ambiguity of the Miller Test was during the 2Live Crew obscenity trial in 1991.Legal scholars have argued against each and every decision the Judge Gonzales made when he used to Miller Test during the first trial when he ruled in favor of the plaintiff and found 2Live Crew guilty of violating obscenity laws. First, it was argued that the Judge’s determination of the relevant community and its standards was overtly subjective. The Judge decided upon a geographical concept of community, but this was inappropriate because the fact that people live in close physical proximity does not automatically suggest that they share common values.Judge Gonzalez was also inconsistent in determining, on the one hand, that the considered community is generally more tolerant than others, and, on the other hand, that he could rely on his personal knowledge of the community standards which he never defined, of which he did not say whether they could change over time, and of which he did not determine the defining criteria. Second, the three standards of the Miller test (prurient interest, patently offensive, lacking serious value) were not met.With regard to determination of the album’s prurient interest, it was argued that there was no clear intention on the part of 2 Live Crew to lure hearers into sexual activity, and, referring to the profit-making motive of the rap band, Judge Gonzalez ignored that motive was irrelevant in aesthetic maters. Next, the patently offensive character of the â€Å"Nastyà ¢â‚¬  album was decided upon as the result of a misinterpretation of the lyrics, based upon Gonzalez’ arbitrary determination of â€Å"the† community standards. Actually, the lyrics of 2 Live Crew’s music should not be taken literally as they are comedic parodies in a culturally specific language.Also, music does not appeal to the intellect but to human emotions and imagination. Finally, the Judge’s ruling that â€Å"Nasty† did not have any serious artistic value was by definition mistaken since the â€Å"as a whole† test fails automatically in the case of a recording which after all always has some serious elements (the Judge never heard all the songs). Judge Gonzalez particularly failed to take into account Professor Henrey Louis Gates’s testimony which indicated the specific artistic style of the â€Å"Nasty† recording.Long pointed to the call and response style, the tradition of â€Å"doing the dozens† (a word game with insults), and the meaning of â€Å"boasting† as part of this type of rap music. Judge Gonzalez thus completely ignored the specific African American cultural values that are manifested by the album. Gates testified on behalf of Navarro, arguing that the material that the county alleged was profane actually had important roots in African-American vernacular, games, and literary traditions and should be protected. [ (Deflem) ] What a slipper slope.Not to mention â€Å"the prosecution suffered a setback when Judge June L. Johnson of Broward County Court agreed with the defense that a transcript of the tape contained comments that might distract the jurors and said that it could not be admitted as evidence†. [ (RIMER) ] When Joanne Cantor was asked to comment on Freedom of Speech issues at a Madison Civics Club dinner on October 12, 2002 this is what she had to share, â€Å"Many people have noted that corporate interests control what gets discussed in the media, and one place where this is obvious is the controversy over the media's effects on children.Research shows that violent television, movies, videogames, and even commercials can produce serious harmful effects on children, such as promoting violent behaviors and inducing intense anxieties. Parents need this information so they can make informed choices about their children's viewing, but the media use their corporate power to censor information that might damage their profits. At the same time, these corporations raise First Amendment concerns when solutions that might help parents are proposed. † Here are the examples of what she was referring to: 1.In 1997, I participated in a taping of The Leeza Show. On that show, parents were highly critical of the TV industry's new age-based rating system that was supposed to help them block harmful content using a device called the V-chip. NBC, which opposed making changes in the rating system, refused to let that program air. And five years later, they still have not gone along with the compromise that the other stations adopted. 2. After the National Institute on Media and the Family released a list of the 10 most violent video games, they were sued by the manufacturer of one of the games on the list.Although the lawsuit was eventually dropped, the costly process caused the organization's liability insurance to double, and they were subsequently lucky to get any insurance at all. 3. The Center for Successful Parenting produced a documentary on the effects of media violence for Court TV, a cable channel that is owned by Time-Warner. Before the program could air, the producers were told to remove the mention of Time-Warner's products. They were also required to include remarks by lobbyist Jack Valenti, who claimed that the research showing harmful effects was inconclusive. (Joanne Cantor) ] These are just a few of many examples of corporate interests using their muscle to restrict the free flow of information to parent s. They say that it's up to parents, not the media, to raise their children. But they make harmful products, which come into our homes automatically through television and radio and the internet. They market them to children too young to use them safely, and they try to keep parents in the dark about their effects. There are many studies that show the effects of violent and vulgar lyrics on our youth.The studies are too numerous to dispute and the results are pretty much the same. Teen pregnancy, STD’s are on the rise and although some studies indicate a drop in crime- they don’t’ show you the rise in crime in offenders under the age of 19, which is significant. I don’t want to go into all the statistics and the sources. I want to focus, instead, on the plan to use knowledge to empower ourselves and our youth-It’s called Media Literacy. The impact of media is critical, especially when it comes to the socialization of our children. Dr.Renee Hobbs wr ites that, â€Å"Media messages are representations of social reality, defined as perceptions about the contemporary world, which are shared among individuals. Messages also represent the social realities of times and places far removed, and help us make sense of the past, present and future. People need the ability to judge the accuracy of particular messages, which may or may not reflect social reality† (Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, 1998). few understand that media literacy consists of teaching about media as well.So the problem is clear: our students are growing up with media messages, messages that fill the bulk of their leisure time and provide them with information about who to vote for and what consumer decisions to make. Yet students receive little to no training in the skills of analyzing or evaluating these messages, many of which make use of language, moving images, music, sound effects, special visual effects and other techniques that powerfully affect our emotional responses. Educator’s are still focusing on historical context of the past, when cultural survival depended upon the mastery of the printed word.While these skills are even more important today, language is only one of a number of symbol systems which humans use to express and share meaning. Changes in communication technologies over the past 100 years have created a cultural environment that has extended and reshaped the role of language and the written word. Over the past decade, there's been a lot of discussion about how to best help teachers, parents and students be more critical consumers of the media. Quite logically, this response has been called â€Å"media literacy. Media scholar David Considine describes media literacy: â€Å"In an age when most Americans get most of their information from television, not textbooks, pictures not print, we need a wider definition of what it means to be literate. [Media lite racy], then, is an expanded information and communications skill that is responsive to the changing nature of information in our society. It moves from merely recognizing and comprehending information to the higher order critical thinking skill implicit in questioning, analyzing and evaluating that information† (Telemedium, Fall 95).Because the presence of media has become so accepted, we mistakenly presume that consumers of media are able to decode, deconstruct and digest media messages. Most of us received considerable teaching on how to interpret the written word, but we've had zero preparation for â€Å"reading† media messages. In an age when most Americans get most of their information from television not textbooks, pictures not print, we need a wider definition of what it means to be literate. Many of us grew up hearing the proverbs and adages like these: You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.These words are even truer today in a n age not only of computers and telecommunications but of virtual reality and imageneering. Today's technologies represent a startling fusion of sight and sound that frequently make it difficult for us to discern illusion from reality, fact from fiction. Special effects like those seen in movies like â€Å"JFK† and â€Å"Forrest Gump† merge the past with the present, color with black and white, the dead with the living, fact with fiction in such a way that the real truth can often be confused with the reel truth.Censorship and the welfare of our youth can not compete with big business, all we can do is try to arm ourselves and our children with the knowledge and understanding to correctly comprehend the messages that are being spewed from the media. With that power we may not be able to control what our children hear and see, but we can protect them with the knowledge of the motives of the messages. BIBLIOGRAPHY Deflem, Mathieu. Rap, Rock, and Censorship: Popular Cultu re and the Technologies of Justice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association, Chicago, May 27-30.Chicago, 1993. Joanne Cantor, Pd. D. â€Å"Who's Freedom of Speech is it Anyway? † Madison Civic's Club. Madison: Joanne Cantor, Ph. D, 2002. Kirchheimer, Sid. WebMD Health News. 3 March 2003. 1 April 2011. Piotrowski, by Tom. â€Å"Media messages†¦ more than meets the eye? † The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (2003). RIMER, SARA. â€Å"New Yorimesk T. † 17 october 1990. New York Times Archives. 22 April 2011 .