Stride Toward Freedom

Identical Thought in â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Once I was exposed to reading â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† I put myself in Christopher Hitchers and Rachel Reedier shoes and realized how humor, can be used in a horrendous situation. Not everyone may know what a cancer patient has to go through but as days go by everyone has been through a situation that cannot handle on his or her own. By reading these two articles, I automatically had a mental mage of what and how the narrator felt.In the article, â€Å"Patient†, Reedier is trying to lighten the mood by using humor throughout the whole article. Both articles have multiple similarities that have personal anecdotes that explain their life story. The articles are similar with Hitchers and Reedier with the use of tone in the â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† through humor, images and horrible situations. Humor can be comical in many situations, but in th e â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer†, the authors indicate the reader that pain can be a wholesome situation.In the article, â€Å"Patient† a teenager was hit by a bus and later on was informed that her leg may need to be amputated. The author uses phrases saying, â€Å"l feel like I got hit by a bus† to show his expression on how he truly feels about this situation (Reedier 166). Hitchers, the author of the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† expresses humor throughout the article in ways of saying, â€Å"The chest hair that was once the toast of two continents hasn't yet wilted, but so much of it was shaved off for various hospital incisions that it's a rather patchy affair† (Hitchers 88).Hitchers is expressing how he has lost all of his hair, and he can still look at it in a humorous way (The Best American Essays). Reedier and Hitchers explain how situations like these can be engaged in many different ways. Anyone can take these essays as serio us as possible but can also take them as a humorous situation. As Reedier and Hitchers went through the essays, the narrator explained how they had struggled through their situation and still found positive attitude.Reedier uses a positive attitude by saying, â€Å"It is easy to be calm cause I cannot really have been run over by a bus† (Reedier 165). As horrible as the situation may sound the narrator makes it out to be not as bad is it seems to be. Hitchers explains how the situation needs to be in a positive way, â€Å"l sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risk my life for the good of others, instead of being a gravely endangered patient† (Hitchers 88). The narrator expresses how she would rather be suffering for a good reason instead of being in the hospital with cancer (The Best American Essays).Both of the articles prove that you can fight through any kind of injury or disease no matter how critical the situation can accrue. The narrator shows his faith by saying, â€Å"She would make the driver move that bus, but I can't see her† (Reedier 165). In the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Hutchins shows, how he feels about his conditions and diagnoses with the quote, â€Å"To the dumb question â€Å"Why me? † the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: â€Å"Why not? † (86). He is obviously looking at his illness as a positive outcome when many people look at it as their life is over (The Best American Essays).Even though cancer can kill someone and losing a leg can cause death, both of the narrators kept a positive attitude. Both of the narrators start out by asking themselves â€Å"why me†, as the articles continue the â€Å"Patient† goes on living a healthy life, but in the article â€Å"Topic of Cancer† he is still fighting for his life. There are similarities throughout the stories showing the way they feel, and showing their emotions through humor but in the end there is a differe nt outcome.

An Explanation of Point Illustration

This semester, I learned point illustration explanation (PIE) in y writing skills which will be valuable in my future college papers. The topic that stood to me the most was point illustration explanation (PIE). PIE makes the reader understand one's purpose better. When using PIE, the flirts thing a person starts with Is the P which stands for point. The point Is the topic sentence and this sentence will be one of the claims the entire essay addresses which is pretty much the reader's the argument. Next is the I which stands for illustration.During the illustration phase, the writer shows the proof of one's argument I. E. , the writer can provide evidence to purport the point, or topic. Depending on the type of essay, this can take many forms. Whether it's textual evidence, a memory based on the point, or a supporting quote from an outside source. Last but not least we have the E which stands for explanation. This is where the writer must find the reasoning between the point and the Illustration, which Is kind of Like a conclusion because one is tying the Illustration back to one's point.While writing paragraphs may seem like an intuitive kind of skill, there are some easy things to keep in mind while writing to make sure paragraphs do hat they're supposed to do: illustrate an idea and end when it's done. This strategy helps prove one's point through the reader. This semester we read â€Å"How to watch Your Brother Die† by Michael Lease†. When writing this paper, I learned how to observe the types of strategy the author uses by providing the evidence (quotes) from the text and this is valuable because when a person Is writing a paper stating their point, that person has to prove that point.One can't Just state their point and expect the reader to agree with them. For Instance, In How to Watch Your Brother Die† the author uses vivid imagery; the quotes he uses to invite the reader in were: â€Å"Remember the time he was Jealous and opened you r eyebrow with sharp stick† (Lasses 479). â€Å"Feel the lover's hand on your arm restraining you. See In the guard's eye how much a man can hate another man† (Lasses 480). â€Å"Stand beside a casket covered in flowers, white flowers. Say Thank you for coming,' to each of several hundred men who file past in tears, some of them holding hands† (Lease† 481).In â€Å"How to Watch Your Brother Die†, Lasses uses vivid imagery. His Imagery Invites readers go threw his Journey with him, the narrator takes the reader with him in the past when his brother â€Å"broke his skin† causing him to bleed to watching him be buried, with his brother's gay friends being at the funeral for support. This semester we also watched a movie called the â€Å"Dead Poets' Society'. By watching the movie, I learned to pay close details to certain characters and I will value this in the future because I will be able to see the different methods the 1 OFF poetry affects t he students throughout the course. The Dead Poets were dedicated o sucking the marrow out of life. That's a phrase from Thoreau that we'd invoke at the beginning of each meeting. You see we'd gather at the old Indian cave and take turns reading from Thoreau, Whitman, Shelley; the biggies. Even some of our own verse. And in the enchantment of the moment we'd let poetry work it's magic† (Keating: Dead Poets' Society). Mellon chapter. The meetings will be conducted by myself and the other new initiates now present. Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to read, will keep minutes of the meetings.I'll now read the rotational opening message by society member Henry David Thoreau. ‘l went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life† (Neil: Dead Poets' Society). In the â€Å"Dead Poets Society' The boys create a club called the dead poets' society to express their thoughts to one another. Professor Keating encouraged them to believe in their own beliefs and to strive for their own voice. Professor Keating gives them clues to start something that has to do with language which is poetry and he showed the boys how language works and how it's all around us.I feel like using PIE has improved my writing skills from high school papers to college papers. If I had watched the movie the â€Å"Dead Poets' Society without having learned the PIE structure, I would of Just watched the movie without examining the details of the actual meaning of the movie. But having learned the PIE structure, I had the opportunity to go beyond the movie. And I loved it because of the way the characters acted and Just the movie itself. There was a lot of poetry through the professor's teachings but I don't think it's the actual poetry that changed his students o react the way they did which was by creating a secret club.And Neil ending up killing himself. I think the thing that really influenced his students was th e professor, the way it taught the class and made them read the poems and do activities inspired them. If they were to read the poetry on their own, they wouldn't have gotten the same reaction. Society then was not as good as it is now and by society I mean parents; all the parents controlled their child on what school that is good for them and what career they should do.But the professor changed that towards his dents, he also influenced them to think for their own no matter what anybody says â€Å"l always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for your self† (Keating: Dead Poets' Society). While learning the PIE structure, I had few difficulties throughout my papers. Looking back at my three essays I see how my writing has evolved. What I learned from my first essay that helped me write my second essay was being clearer when writing my explanation in PIE. For instance when using we or they, I need to be more specific on who I'm referring to.

Political commentator Essay

Inspector Goole is an ingenious character; manipulated by Priestley to display many functions within the play, as he is used as a political commentator, universal inquisitor and truth seeker. -Many people view Inspector Goole as a representative for political and moral value, but overall, he is just a mere dramatic device, used for the purpose of delivering Priestley’s opinion across to the audience, in the context of a domestic backdrop. The audience becomes first aquatinted with the character of Inspector Goole, when he enters the play at the beginning of Act One. -During this arrival, the Inspector interrupts Mr. Birling in midst of his pro-capitalist speech, thus disrupting the pretentious calm of middle-class luxury displayed before. -Mr. Birling, who represents the Capitalist opinion in full, speaks extremely arrogantly, as he believes that all knowledge and experience is held within his grasp:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve learnt in a good hard school of experience – that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mr Birling, act one). -Through this, Mr Birling shows that he is a Capitalist, and is one who feels that he has to take many risks to keep hold of his aesthetic power in status and money. He uses the speech to reveal all of his secrets and predictions around living life to the full, and in mid-flight of this, is rudely interrupted by the doorbell ringing. This doorbell acts as a dramatic device and medium for Inspector Goole’s entrance. – It’s shrewd disturbance, possibly acting as a symbol for his disagreement in ethics, but also, the lack of respect for Mr Birling’s Capitalist beliefs. Mr Birling is immediately phased by this impertinence, as just the Inspector’s presence stops him from carrying on. The audience knows at this point that Birling isn’t the great ‘power figure’ that he made himself out to be and in fact, someone far greater has taken his dominating role for good. – The Inspector is now ‘number one’. At first, the other characters are completely unaware of the Inspector’s purpose within the play, as though they don’t realise there is something to hide from. However, this arrogance and disregard for others is soon transformed, as they become conscious of the brutal truth of what they have done. Sheila and Eric become vividly changed, whereas the somewhat stubborn Mr and Mrs Birling remain seemingly callous within their original Capitalist views: – but even with their supposed ‘unchanged opinions’, the effect of Inspector Goole steel haunts them, as all the characters will never be the same. The overall impression that surrounds Inspector Goole throughout the whole play is that of mystery and superior presence. This notion is partly created by the Inspector’s manner but also his name, ‘Goole’, which is obviously an inference to mythical creatures of the medieval times, by the name of ‘Ghouls’. This similarity could just be a mere coincidence, but I think it is a metaphor, used to describe the Inspector’s mystical character in short. Ghouls by legend are mysterious, magical creatures that are associated with death; and through this comparison, (plus the Inspector’s style of just appearing with immediate authority), the same can be said about him. – Priestley ultimately wanted to create a presence of â€Å"massiveness, solidity and purposefulness† (directional notes, Act one) and through the Inspector’s deliberate name, manner and timing, he has created just that.  Paragraph 4 – The Inspector’s function as a Protagonist – 1st Re-Draft  The most influential role of the Inspector and perhaps the most crucial in setting up his political authority within the play, is his imminent function as a ‘Protagonist’. In this role, Priestley has allowed the Inspector’s character to immediately hold power and influence over the plot, thus giving him enough status to later deliver a political opinion to the audience. The first indication of the great power Inspector Goole has within the play, is only given upon his entrance into the plot, as it is then and only then, that the main proceedings are allowed to unfold. The audience is instantly left in suspense as they await the Inspector’s motive for coming to the Birling household on such a joyous occasion. – Although he immediately reveals his intentions: â€Å"I’d like some information, if you don’t mind†(The Inspector, Act one), they know he wants more. This mere ‘information’ is all too trivial for Priestley to make such an atmosphere around the Inspector and thus, it is not viewed upon as just a light-hearted inquiry, but far more. The audience realises that the Inspector has immense power – even enough to disrupt people of higher class; therefore they know he is here to reveal something life changing – something important, and they won’t stop watching until they find out exactly what. Throughout the play, Inspector Goole is the dominating character, as he leads the proceedings through immense interrogation. Every action he takes part in changes the reactions of the other characters, as he continually delivers Priestley’s socialist opinion across to the audience. Before the Inspector enters though, Mr. Birling fulfils this role, as he roams through the dominion of a middle-class celebration, in flare of his true Capitalist mind. However, Birling’s power is only temperamental, as it is immediately transferred to the Inspector as soon as he arrives into the plot. This switching of power and purpose between Inspector Goole and Mr Birling upsets the overall equilibrium of the play. The contrast of reign is thus shown vividly, as the pretentious calm of Capitalist wealth is rapidly morphed into the blunt truth of socialism. Priestley emphasises this change in mood specifically in his directional notes at the beginning of Act One:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder† (Directional notes). This change in light signifies the transferral of power between characters, but also the transformation of the plot’s tone. It shows that during Inspector Goole’s entrance, the barrier of higher-class wealth does not matter, as he holds the power where no one can hide. ‘Light’ in religious terms is a symbol for truth, and I think that this ‘brighter’ light in the directional notes is a sign of the honesty in Inspector Goole, as Priestley shows the Inspector’s beliefs to be pure and genuine.  Later on in the plot, after the Inspector has left, the other characters are close to restoring the equilibrium to how it previously was. They try to gain power back and delude themselves into thinking that the Inspector’s existence was merely a hoax: â€Å"There isn’t any such Inspector. We’ve been had.† (Gerald, Act three).  The characters are purely interested in just their own statuses and therefore, try to make up excuses of why Inspector Goole’s testament is not valid, so that in the end they can go about their lives, un-affected. However, the Inspector’s power was so great and commanding, that Sheila and Eric are transformed and therefore, can not let the Inspector’s morals go on forgotten. In the end, they stand up for what they believe, and in agreement with the Inspector they allow his reign to have justice until the very end – the equilibrium of which, does not return.

The Case Study of Club Med Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Case Study of Club Med - Essay Example This cultural concept was picked up during the initial inception of Club Mediterranee whereby both Blitz and Trigano opted to create a vacation camp under the sun that could provide a relaxing experience to guests after the Second World War. Secondly, before the year 2000 it could be argued that the business was largely managed through a paternal approach of which Gilbert Trigano was cited saying that Gerard Blitz and her wife Claudine Blitz were the tutelary parents of the club. Moreover, Philippe Bourguignon who spearheaded major reforms before 2000 in the company, and enabled it to start generating massive profits was disowned by the company’s staffs because of his autocratic management style as they preferred Trigano’s paternalism approach. In regards to the force of competition, it can well be stated that before the year 2000 Club Med had managed to create a monopoly within a unsaturated market niche, which had low level of competition and to a greater extent it co uld be argued that Club Med was the among the first pioneers in the village-camp vacation resorts. According to Magretta (2011), the low threat of competition provided Club Med within an opportunity to expand faster and even diversify to other related businesses. Before the year 2000, Club Med faced low threats of competition since the village –camp vacation resorts had not yet gained wide fame and most players in the hospitality industry only focused on providing customers with high quality experience within high-class tourism facilities. In the studies by Saloner et al. (2001), the low threat of new entrants could further be attributed to the limited knowledge that potential competitors had about the operations of village camp vacation resort and the high amount of capital that was required since constructing a village required a huge pieces of land situated at strategic locations. Before the year 2000, the threat of substitutes was very eminent since there were many excell ent hotels and resorts that had been established. Moreover, substitutes presented a major competition more so for the high-end clients who preferred high-end hotels and luxurious resorts instead of the village-camps where tourist resided in camps. In regards to the buyers’ power, it was stated that because of the availability of numerous substitutes buyers wielded a lot of bargaining power and hence why Club Med offered it services at an affordable range. As for suppliers bargaining power, Magretta (2011) stated that a business organization would be able to wield more power against the suppliers if for instance the business organization buys supplies in large volumes, the switching cost of firms in the industry is low, and there is presence of substitute inputs. As for Club Med before 2000, it is correct to state that it had a stronger bargaining power because of the fact that it had a wide branch network and therefore, it bought its supplies in bulk, which means it was capab le of negotiating for better prices. Reasons for Club Med’s success between 1950s and 1990s In the writings by McLimore (1996), he attributed the success of any venture to the leadership of the venture. In regards to the case study of Club Med its success between 1950s and 1990s can largely be attributed to the exceptional leadership by Gerard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano, who

Implementing Leadership Change Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Implementing Leadership Change - Term Paper Example Objective The main objective of the company is to remain competitive via product development and to focus on innovations. Strategies to Be Followed Two main strategies can be inculcated by Gene One. They are leadership strategy and the training strategy. Leadership has been a key component for determining the success of for-profit as well as non-profit organizations. Gene One has taken the decision of going public via IPO issuance; however lack of knowledge of effective implementation is becoming the challenge for the company. It is leadership strategies through which the company will effectively be able to implement the decisions that have been taken by the management. When such decisions are taken, it becomes important for the company to opt for effective leaders since they can make even the weak business plan a successful one. It is the leaders who will set a proper direction for the followers and thus help to visualize the goals to be achieved (Mills, 2005). The leaders at Gene O ne needs to have a proper vision of what is to be achieved. He further needs to assume the risk of loss as well as failure and thus formulate his strategies accordingly.

Learning the art of good composition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning the art of good composition - Essay Example writing an essay will be easy and even fun to a person who is aware of the steps and strategies involved in this process. â€Å"Learning the art of good composition and written expression takes years of practice.† (Wyldeck 2008, P. 5). Following certain tips or guidelines can be useful in the process of effective essay writing and it is important to follow the basic structure of essay, whatever the topic may be. Understanding the essay topic exactly is of primary significance and it is important to undertake a thorough research to begin the essay writing process by gathering information relevant to preparing a strong argument or thesis. After making a good knowledge base on the topic, one may start analyzing the arguments of the essay, clearly defining the claims, writing out the reasons and the evidence. At this stage, a good brainstorming can be greatly useful as it will help one in focusing on the major argument. The next stage involves preparing the thesis statement which is the main point of the essay summed up in a concise sentence and a good essay requires a clear thesis. Outlining the essay structure and main points can be most useful in organizing the essay as a whole. Now, it is time to write down an effective introduction which can grab the attention of the readers, set up the issue of discussion, and lead in to the thesis argument. In preparing the body of the essay, arrange and organize the major arguments in a precise manner, neatly supported and elaborated with evidences, arguments, illustrations etc.

Marketing Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Research Report - Essay Example Other than this, in order to analyse the problem, secondary research methods are used so as to evaluate the findings of the problems. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Introduction and Problem Definition 4 Research Method and limitations 5 Research findings 10 Conclusion and Recommendation 12 References 13 Introduction and Problem Definition The Reliance group is recognised as one of the most reputed and largest private sector enterprise. It is established by Dhirubhai H. Ambani in the year 1932. Being headquartered in the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra, it performs its operations in the entire world. Moreover, Reliance group also enjoys dominance in varied segments such as oil and gas, petroleum, refinery, textiles, retailing, telecommunications and many others. As a result, it is regarded as one of the Fortune Global 500 companies among many others. This acted as a boon for the group thereby enhancing its profitability and brand image to a sky-soaring height. And it also amplifi ed the equity and market share of varied segments in an effective way. The corporate issue viewed in the organizations of Reliance is corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is described as one of the most important concept that reveals continuous commitment of the organizations towards the shareholders, employees, customers and stakeholders. Moreover, according to this concept the organizational members always tries to behave ethically that might enhance the economic condition and well-being of the society. Not only this, corporate social responsibility also aims to offer qualitative life and working environment to the workforces so as to improve their performance and productivity. However, in order to analyse the problem of corporate social responsibility within Reliance group, secondary research methods are used such as newspaper reports, journals and magazines. By doing so, the management of Reliance group might reduce the troubles of the employees and their families along wit h the citizens hereby amplifying their profit margin and reputation. Other than this, it might also help the organization in amplifying its productivity and sustainability in the global market among others. Thus, it might be depicted that, the prime objective of performing secondary research is to identify the corporate issue (CSR) and its solutions in an effective way. So that it might enhance the performance of the organization of Reliance in global perspectives among others. This report is divided in four phases. The first phase describes a brief overview about the corporate of Reliance along with the depiction of an ethical issue (corporate social responsibility) within the organization. The next phase includes a description of the research methods and process used to detect and analyse the impacts and consequences of the issues of CSR over the organization of Reliance along with the limitations of the selected research design method. Apart from this, the third part consists of the research findings so as to detect, whether it proved effective for the organization of Reliance or not. And finally the last part comprises of the conclusion and recommendation for further improvement of the organization in long run. Research Method and limitations According to Visser & et. al. (2010), research is the process used to evaluate and explore the underlining causes for any specific problem within an organization. By doing so, the defaults or defects of the organizati

Benner practice analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Benner practice analysis paper - Essay Example This paper will, therefore, discuss the function of caring in nursing and responsibilities of caregivers. Benner's Model emphasizes a differentiated practice that promotes achievements through a systematic progression. The paper will apply Benner’s model and Dreyfus’ model to reflect on my nursing profession. The paper will focus on appreciation of value through self-empowerment and professional relationships and networks. Functions of Caring In Nursing Caring Caring is the fundamental aspect of nursing. However, there is a slight variation in the mode and length of caring hence, the requirement for specialized training and experience. Throughout my practice, I have acquired relevant skills and experience that I find useful in my practice. Comforting and giving hope to patients is my first priority. Some of the health issue such as terminal illness, old age, some mental disorders, and physical disabilities cannot be solved through medication. In addition, some of the co nditions take long time to be treated. In both situations, the patients have the right to receive care and dignity while undergoing treatment and therapies. Continued practice has enabled me to acquire specialized skills in comforting patients. Firstly, I always let the patient to know that they are worth living and acknowledge that they are not the only people with such problems. Thus, my basic approach in care giving is helping patients to rebuild their self-esteem. I achieve the objective by assisting the patient to re-discover themselves besides their immediate condition. Self-discovery enables the patient to determine their value and reason for life. Teaching and Coaching The second aspect of caring is a trainer or a teacher to the patient. As a skillful caregiver, I have realized that the wellbeing of a patient is dependent on the decisions made by the caregiver. In addition, patients rely on the nurse as their sole source of information and instruction. Being a caregiver requ ires you to be a role model and a point of reference. For instance, you cannot take a patient through regular exercise while you are not willing or able to exercise. Throughout my practice, I have successfully encouraged my patents to comply with the prescribed therapy. I have also been successful in promoting healthy lifestyles among the patients. Lastly, I am always considerate about the information that I pass to the clients through effective communication and interpretations. Counseling As a caregiver, I am also expected to be a counselor. This is useful in helping the patients to cope with stressful psychological or social issues arising from their condition. Experience in nursing has enabled me to acquire useful tactics to help patients cope with stressful situations. Firstly, I am concerned about offering intellectual and psychological support to the clients. Empowering clients through intellectual and psychological support enables the clients regain control over their lives. I also have outstanding skills in offering psychological support to my clients. I consider myself gifted in the area due to the positive results that I have always received. In the first stage of intellectual and psychological support, I always encourage the clients to develop new attitudes about their life. On a scale of 1-10, I can comfortably achieve a score of 8 points in promoting intellectual growth. Finally, I always encoura

Discussion Forum Post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Discussion Forum Post - Essay Example I do agree with Castiglione to some extent, but I think that he overlooked the fact that for individuals to perform well they need to acquire experience in the field they are engaged in. I think that no man can be perfect in all areas; everyone has a strong and a weak point. In addition, he never considered the moral values of a gentleman. This is emphasised in the book The American gentleman where the author describes a gentleman as a person who gives room for character development. He is a person that proves to others that he is committed to following the moral high road and acquires his personality and continuously developing, which is associated with his actions. The author also highlights that being a gentleman necessitated self-sacrifice, needs efforts and that a gentleman offers himself freely without expectations for anything in return (Hall v). Yes I agree with Machiavelli’s conviction that a leader must never trust anyone because as written in the selected political writings it is hard to anticipate an armed person would obey a defenceless person gratefully or a person who is not armed would feel secure in the hands of armed employees. This is due to the fact an armed individual disrespects a person who is not armed, and the defenceless person does not have confidence in anyone who can overthrow him. The author describes a wise ruler as the one who is always working in periods of peace taking the advantage of the calm period to prepare for trouble and when disaster strikes he must be ready to retaliate (Machiavelli & Wootton

Carnivals readings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Carnivals readings - Essay Example Every social position within a society has sacred attributes, and such attributes are only gained through a rite of passage from one position to the other. The role of liminality is not to simply confer the sacred state of the social positions, but rather to act as the bond that unites society in its different levels and structures. Liminality acts as a bond without which there could be no society, since there could be no high, unless the low existed, while no society could be complete even without the social class like the hippies, who do not observe the rites of passage, but still demonstrate the requisite liminality behaviors (Turner, 1969:370). The state of the rite of passage represents a moment in life during which the lesser in society wields more power than the individuals who are well endowed politically, economically and socially, since the weakness dominates greatness during the rite of passage, denoted by the words, â€Å"Even if your child is a chief’s son, tomor row he will be like a slave†, words spoken to mothers on the day before the initiation of their children (Turner, 1969:367). The relevance of the rights of passage within a society is that; the rites of passage serve as the bridge through which men are released from structure into communitas, and will only go back to structure after their experience of the communitas (Turner, 1969:373). The characteristics of liminality include: humility, passivity, nakedness and expression of the power of the weak, where the weak in society are the powerful in rituals, because they are the ones who administer them to the well-endowed, and those seeking to rise into a position of power in the society (Turner, 1969:368). The difference between communitas and community is that; communitas refer to the social bond created by the socio-cultural systems of rites of passage to bond the society together and makes

Cultural Influence on Human Development Essay Example for Free

Cultural Influence on Human Development Essay It is important to understand why culture affects and is an integral part of human development and should not be overlooked. Demographic experts predict that the human population will reach 9 billion by 2050, but the rise will not occur equally around the world. The existing demographic divide between the wealthy developed countries and the poor developing countries will only widen because majority of the increase will occur among the developing countries whilst that of the former will actually decline progressively. As it is, the combined population of developed countries only make up 18% of the total world population, and 9 of 10 individuals living here are in the top 20% of the global income distribution. In contrast, about 40% of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars per day (Arnett, 2012). Variations in human development occur because of differences in cultural settings, which in turn are significantly impacted by socioeconomic status (SES) of a group. Educational level, income level, and occupational status are all parameters within the SES. It pervades all aspects of human development, from risk of infant mortality to quality of education and job prospects to affording healthcare in old age. It is no surprise that differences in SES are sharp between developed and developing countries. Like SES, gender and ethnicity are strong drivers of culture and are key factors in development. The dichotomy is blurred now, but throughout our history cultural expectations of men and women have been vastly different. The Hunter-gatherer way of live evolved because our Homo ancestors needed to adapt to the long infant dependency to the mother, who remained in a stable home base caring for the offspring and gathering edibles within reach while the males ventured out to hunt for food. An extreme example of women assuming a secondary role occurred in Imperial China (10th or 11th century) where young women of the wealthy elite who did not need them to work were subjected to painful foot binding to prevent further growth. This was a display of status and became the symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. So deep-seated is the gender difference in Antiquity that it manifested in the ancient conceptions of human development that the three ancient religions – Dharmashastras (Hindu), G reek (conceived by the philosopher Solon), and the holy Talmud (Jewish) – were all written by and for men only. Women were excluded from areas such as religious leadership and philosophy. Religion,  along with race and language, is a component of ethnicity. Recent scientific conceptions of human development also hinge on the influence of the social environment. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005) draws attention to the broader cultural environment beyond the mother-child relationship that people experience as they develop. He distinguishes an exosystem of social institutions school, religion, and media – that have indirect but pivotal influences on development. His more encompassing macrosystem of cultural beliefs and values form the foundation of economic and governmental systems. Middle Eastern countries possess governments and economic systems that are based on Islam. Conversely, developed countries believe in the value of individual freedom and this is reflected in their capitalist economy and democratic government. No matter how we look at it, every aspect of human development be it biological, psychological or social, is invariably intertwined with culture. Moreover, a study on human development that focuses on the 18% of the world’s population living in developed countries that can fund major research undertaking is both inadequate and unfair. Poor developing countries have rich and complex cultural systems that have legitimate impact on human development. Therefore it is vital that we learn about human development as it is experienced around the world.

The overall sense New World Essay Example for Free

The overall sense New World Essay The overall sense prevalent in each of the three readings is that the beginning of the inhabitation of the New World by the colonists was one filled with trepidation and little exploratory overtures. The colonies were on the surface largely inhospitable, and its original inhabitants viewed as savages were viewed with prejudice, wariness, and dread. As the days progressed, however, it became evident that the savages were willing to explore some form of relationship and interaction with the colonists, and in both John Smith’s and William Bradford’s accounts, there were episodic moments of goodwill, friendship, and collaboration. In these accounts, the importance placed upon their belief in God was uncompromising. In them, the providence of God in bringing friendly savages to befriend them and to supply them was acknowledged. There exists a palpable atmosphere of gratitude and cheer when such events transpired. It was almost as if the settlers in general and the writers in particular knew just how daunting a challenge their situation was, and how perilous their enterprise promised to be. The writers’ mention of God in the execution of their enterprise and how their fortunes rested on his statutes and goodwill bring out the stark contrast of the human displays of treachery, slander, and scant regard for the natives, whom they viewed as savages. This conflict would continue in their later dealings with the other tribes of the interior, and such janus-faced behavior appears schizophrenic, to say the least. Yet, the reliance on and the zeal with which they displayed their faith marked the beginnings of the settlements characterized by these three locations as mentioned in the writings. This faith then was the thread of continuity that existed in the different accounts and narratives of the settlers, and in spite of the different types of settlements founded by different groups for diverse purposes, the Christian basis was contingent on them all. It was needful for them to rely on a comforting system of belief, and one that provides them strength of hope, unity of oneness, and a certain security of what and where they had originated from. Yet, it is also very clear on a closer inspection of these three writings that William Bradford’s and John Winthrop’s accounts were more God-centric. This of course is a reflection of the foundations of their voyage and expedition. The colony of Jamestown, as displayed in John Smith’s account, was meant to promote business and reap profits, an enterprise by a joint stock company. Plymouth was for pilgrim families in search of a new life, a new beginning that was homely and familial. Boston, as characterized in John Winthrop’s account, was Christo-centric in its most fundamental conceptualization, foundation, and development. Little wonder that reading his account was akin to reading an interpretation of Scripture. The level of devoutness corresponded with the motivation for the founding of the colonies. Employing basic textual analysis, it is evident that the concern, thrust, and feelings surrounding their brave ventures centered on the role of their functions in the new settlements. Every one of these accounts ended in some measure of success, and each of them concludes with a triumphant tone that their efforts had not been in vain. From Winthrop’s firm exhortations to Smith’s tentative positive conclusion, it could be deduced that the strength of their convictions determined their celebration of the outcomes. Their struggles and searching out of the land, while battling disease, climate, lack of provision, and facing hostility from the natives, were definitely an arduous struggle. Yet, this brings out the reality of the situation and circumstances facing them, and as one gets drawn into the narrative, one begins to feel the proximity and reality of the connection. The desperation of the settlers at Jamestown was palpable, and the eventual sigh of relief gave way to a resigned air of fatalism, that the difficult labour exercised by the less-than-scrupulous figures that dominated the narrative would finally be put to rest. The more positive gratitude of Bradford’s account was dotted with certain moments of sorrow, yet, the overall emotion that emanated forth was that here was a place where industry and good Protestant ethics would prevail and reap them a good harvest, first a thirty-fold, then a sixty-fold, and finally, a hundred-fold. Winthrop’s account was a direct call to Christian virtues, with his sermonizing extolling the promises of God in accordance to their practicing of the faith, in spite of the difficulties that may appear from time to time. These narratives are the blood, sweat, and tears of our forefathers, and upon their shoulders are built the foundations of this great nation, America, that stand at once for freedom and liberty, and that proclaims, â€Å"In God we trust. †

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay One constructive approach of categorizing a market is by dividing it in terms of the number of firms on the supply side of the market and the buyers concentration on the demand side. Oligopoly represents one of the market structure where there are a very few firms on the supply side and a huge concentration of buyers on the demand side. As the buyers cannot affect the market conditions, they are going to adopt it as such and the supplier will be busy in anticipating the rival behavior. Oligopoly looms large in industries of steel, petroleum, automobiles etc. Many industries can operate geographically as oligopolies. For example banking in a small town operate as oligopoly since there will be one or two banks in the area and the residents will be forced to take their business to the local banks.( Friedman, 1983) Oligopoly a complex market structure Oligopoly is virtually a big business. Under this market structure, the rivalry takes on its worst form. Product innovations, aggressive advertising and innovative marketing tactics are frequently applied to outweigh each other. Oligopolistic market structures are the most difficult to analyze as they are highly interdependent and interwoven, where moves and countermoves are taken rapidly. For example a simple action by Ford may lead to a reaction by General Motors, which in turn cause a readjustment in Fords plan, thereby modifying GMs response and so on. So anything can happen anytime in oligopoly. There are few models that highlight oligopolistic behavior. They are: Cartels A case arises in monopoly when all the firms attempt to promote interdependence and they all mutually agree to set price and output. The firms through their mutual coordination try to create a giant monopoly. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an example of a cartel platform. Price leadership and Tacit Collusion It is an arrangement in which one or two firms make an arrangement of the pricing for the entire firm. Other firms are forced to follow the same price pattern although no such agreement exists in the industry. For example: In the infant formula industry, Abbot laboratories, Bristol Myers Squibb and American Home Products deliberately set their prices closer to each other to dominate the industry. The Kinked Demand Curve This model elaborates the stickiness in pricing in an oligopolistic structure. It has been hypothesized in this model that if for example, a firm X lowers its price in an oligopolistic market, the rival will be forced to lower its price to in order to avoid the loss of its market base. The demand curve dd is thus the relevant curve in case of a price reduction. dHowever, if the firm X goes for a price increase, then the case wont be the same. The rivals will not imitate this time, and would continue to enjoy the customer support as they would flee the firm X products. In this case the demand curve would be DD. The firm then tries to remain in a segment of the elastic demand curve between dd and DD. The true demand curve is represented by DAd, known as the kinked demand curve which silently points out the fact heads you lose, tails you lose (Baumol and Blinder, 2009) D A Price 8 (Competitors prices are fixed) 7 D d (Competitors respond to price changes) 0 Quantity per year 1,400 1,100 1,000 Game theory and the Oligopoly Game theory has been formulated to understand the behavior of the firms in an oligopolistic market structure that do not work on a collaborated output and pricing. The underlying assumption is that the large bossy firms are like players in a game of poker. They make the moves of lowering or increasing the price, to advertise or not to advertise, to discount and so on, based on their rivals move. Understanding the payoffs can put a firm in a better position to compete with its rival and be in a profit maximizing and rational position. For example the game between two coffee shops is illustrated as below: C:Documents and SettingsAnumDesktop4th assignmentUnderstanding Oligopoly Behavior a Game Theory overview Economics in Plain English_filesgame-theory-1.jpeg Source: Welker, J. (2009).Understanding oligopoly behavior-A game theory overview. Available from: http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2009/12/15/understanding-oligopoly-behavior-a-game-theory-overview// According to the above figure, both San Francisco coffee and Starbucks is following a dominant strategy. They are working up to maximize their outcome through advertising, ignoring what their competitor does. If S.F advertises, Starbucks earns profit ($12 vs. $10) through advertising. This means the pay offs are the same. Since both firms are enjoying profit through advertising they will do so, though the total profits are less in case when both are advertising, as compared to when they are not advertising. But such a condition would be a condition of instability, as to advertise is likely to be beneficial for both. So we say that advertise/advertise is Nash equilibrium, as at this stage none of the firm is going to change its strategy since it is bringing incentives to both (Jason Welker, 2009). Market failure due to Oligopoly Keeping in view the above theories that try to explain oligopolistic behavior, the market failure due to oligopoly can be attributed to various causes. Inefficiency, instability and indeterminacy brought about by oligopoly may result in a market crash. The firms supremacy is established as the capacity is established more and more, but little is produced in order to create artificial barrier to entry. The competitors compete on the basis of non pricing factors such as heavy advertising, which gives more hold up to the artificial barrier to entry. Prices are well above cost and price discrimination prevails. Some of the firms also engage in self-regulation to preserve their own profits and market share that further detoriate the situation (Grewal and Kumnick, 2006). Oligopolistic firms output and prices substantially differ from what is socially accepted from them. It is also believed that the misleading advertisement by the large firms also deludes the consumers and compels them to b uy products that they do not want. They impose political and economic power and hover over the mind of the consumers working like an invisible hand. Market Form Number of firms in the market Frequency in Reality Entry Barriers Public Interest Results Long Run Profit Equilibrium Conditions Oligopoly Few Produces Large share of GDP Varies Varies Varies Varies Source: Economics: Principles and Policy By William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder MC=MR applies for a profit maximizing firm, under equilibrium. However, in oligopoly, MC is usually unequal to MR mainly because in oligopoly the firms are seeking to adopt strategies in accordance with the game theory, or they look for techniques such as increasing sales for profit maximization as their ultimate goal. Conclusion In a perfectly competitive market place the behavior of the firms automatically lead to a maximization of consumer benefits through an efficient allocation of resources. In oligopoly however, resource allocation is usually is not well set, more focused is paid on restricting output in an attempt to maneuver prices and profits. In an oligopoly everything is possible, can happen anytime anywhere, so the economists are still unable to clearly predict its behavior. Besides, its ability to lead the market down, some economists are of the belief that oligopoly has made a significant contribution towards the economic growth in the past two decades resulting in an increase in the average income of the rich countries.(Baumol and Blinder, 2009). Question two What are the implications for management of businesses in such structures? Introduction Oligopoly is a market characterized by a few firms. Managers of a firm in such a structure know that their firm enjoys a market power. But the other players have their share of power too. If the managers take the right course of action, properly assessing the behavior of their rivals in the industry, they are likely to make a profit. Strategic behavior Strategic behavior refers to the firms ability of proper consideration of their market power and awareness of their rivals move. Strategic behavior occurs in oligopolistic structures where there is less product differentiation and a competitive industry exists (Taylor and Weerapana, 2009) Implication for the managers The most important implication for the managers regarding oligopoly is the pricing practice on the basis of mutual interdependence. In case of monopoly, the absence of competition enables the managers to follow the MR=MC role to maximize its profit. However in Oligopoly, simply following the MR=MC isnt just enough. Example Consider, for example the case of Proctor and Gamble, where the manager hires a consultant for the thorough analysis of the cost, structure and demand. After a detailed analysis of the structure of the body soap products, the manager follows the MC=MR rule and set the retail price at $1.99.In a sudden move, the competitors Colgate-Palmolive , Lever brothers etc set the price of the comparable product 10 to 15 below to that of proctor and gamble. What the manager is likely to do? Either he can go for advertising and heavy promotion to compete against the lower prices of the competitors or can lower its prices down. Or he can simple do nothing if he is confident enough of the strong loyalty that his brand enjoys among consumers. The point is that, that pricing in oligopolistic structure cannot be done without taking into account your competitor. This is the essence of mutual interdependence (Young and McAuley,1994) The second implication for the managers is to understand that it can be extremely difficult to make money in a competitive market. Firms are required to be as much cost efficient as possible because they cannot control the prices. The managers are supposed to be vigilant enough to be able to spot opportunities and enter the market before the others could enter. They should be able to make their place before the demand gets high enough to support an above normal price. A situation could arise in oligopoly, where the managers in a firm become so successful in beating up the competition that the firm turns into a monopoly, or the one that can exercise monopolistic power. Such a case happened with IBM when In 1969, the firm dominated the computer market so much so, that the department of Justice had to issue an antitrust suit against it (Keat, Young and Benerjee, 2009) Global implication for managers The managers should keep in mind that the process of benchmarking in an oligopolistic structure strategy formulation should be done keeping in view both domestic as well as the global competitors. For example AT T communications not only took into account Northern telecom but also Siemens, Ericsson and NEC and Fujitsu. Many of the firms that refuse to take challenge from the foreign firms are likely to face consequences. Like many American firms got a serious blow from their Japanese competitors in the past 20 years. Companies like IBM and Caterpillar enjoys success because they established a strong hold in the Japanese market well before time. The oligopolistic structure also highlighted the importance of alliance for the managers. Alliances enable the firm to acquire technology from the rival firm. Whilst the acquisition of the technology can be a source of benefit for the firm, the firm giving up the technology can face causalities ( Yoffie,1993) Conclusion The managers of an oligopolistic market structure have to take into account several aspects in their decision making. The managers are plunged into complex pricing decision. They take into consideration the three Cs of Cost, customers and competition in their decision making. Price wars were common in an oligopolistic market, but they are becoming less frequent with the passage of time, mainly due to the realization of the managers. Managers have understood, through their bitter experiences, that the price wars are costly and do not bring any benefits. They chose to compete on the advertising and on product variations. So they have chosen not to compete on prices and have found for themselves a path of mutual advantage.

Canadian Involvement in the Suez Crisis :: Canadian Canada History

Canadian Involvement in the Suez Crisis Eleven years after the second world war, a crisis occurred which had the potential to escalate into a third world war. Hostilities ran high and the background causes that prompted this crisis contained the same fundamentals as were seen in the first and second world wars. Those being militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism; wrought by those countries that had an interest in the Suez Canal and the Arab states. In the world of superpowers in conflict, Canada made a name for itself through an innovative peacekeeping scheme, instead of aggression (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 1999-2000). If Canada had not become involved in the Suez Crisis, as a neutral party, it could have escalated into a world war. The three components which add up to the conclusion of the Suez Crisis and a bench mark for Canada and world peacekeeping are: Canada's choice for those countries directly involved in the crisis, Canada's choice for involvement, and Canada's resolution of the United Nations Em ergency Force, which would put a stop to a possible world war. In the Middle East, by July 1956, tensions were rising. The Egyptians were denied funds from the Us, Britain and the World Bank for the creation of their Aswan dam to affiliation with the Soviet Union. In desperate need of funds for the dam project, the Egyptian government had nationalize the Suez Canal Company, froze its assets in Egypt, and proposed to use canal tolls to pay for the dam (Hillmer, 1999, p. 226). In fear of the Egyptians cutting off the transportation of Arabian oil and Asian goods, the British, French, and Israel secretly planned an attack on Egypt. Meanwhile, the Israelis and the Arab states, including Egypt, were having an arms race. Israel was concerned with self-preservation while the Arabs, who had opposed Israel's creation, wanted to destroy it. The Americans opposed the British, French, and Israeli invasion of Egypt because it didn't want to offend the Arab states where US oil companies were drilling. On the other hand, the US was wiling to supply Israel with weapons if the Soviet Union sent arms to the Egyptians. Such military support could inevitably have lead to a nuclear war. Through ties with Britain, Canada was expected to aid in the invasion pf Egypt but Canada was reluctant and saw how much actions might put their relationship with the Americans in danger.

Double Lives in Victorian Literature Essay -- Literary Analysis

The existence of a â€Å"dark double† abounds in many literary works of the Victorian Era. These â€Å"dark doubles† are able to explore the forbidden and repressed desires of the protagonist, and often represent the authors own rebellion against inhibitions in a morally straight-laced societal climate. The â€Å"dark doubles† in these stories are able to explore the socially unacceptable side of human nature, and it is through these â€Å"dark doubles† that many of the main characters (and through them, the reader), are able to vicariously explore and experience the illicit, forbidden, and often exciting underbelly of what was considered deviant behavior. The accepted â€Å"normal† behavior that strict Victorian social protocol demanded could be cast aside by these â€Å"dark doubles† and the â€Å"immoral† desires of the human heart could be explored in the safety of ones sitting room. In Oscar Wilde's play, â€Å"The Importance of Being Ernest,† we see a satirical prodding of the hypocrisy associated within the strict moral code of English â€Å"genteel† society. The play's protagonist, Jack, creates his own â€Å"dark double†, his supposed carefree, immoral, and decadent brother, Ernest. It is through his own creation of Ernest that Jack is able to lead his entertaining double life. While portraying himself as Ernest, we see Jack pursue all of the things that he is incapable of exploring in his own stuffy Victorian world as Jack. While explaining his presence in town to Algy, Ernest states, â€Å"Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?† (690). Ernest goes on to explain to Algy what occupies his time this way, â€Å"When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other p... ...clear through the literature of the time, that individuals were beginning to question the necessity, both morally and socially, of either living a double life or having to repress their desire to do so. It is through these â€Å"dark doubles† that many authors were able to explore and expose the hidden truths within their character's personalities, and possibly themselves. By giving their character's the â€Å"masks† of these â€Å"dark doubles†, they were able to tale the truth. Works Cited   Kipling, Rudyard. "The Mark of the Beast." The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2006. Print. Stevenson, Robert Louis. New York: Simon & Brown, 2010. Print. Wilde, Oscar. "The Importance of Being Ernest." The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2006. Print.

Personal Narrative- Books Have Greatly Impacted my Life Essay -- Perso

I wasn't interested in books when I was very young, except for an interest in comic books. Maybe that's because I was never really read to consistently. My mother claims to have read to me some when I was younger, but I don't remember it. Giving birth to five kids in seven years, and having one die at three days old, sort of cut into her time for entertaining me with thrilling renditions of The Cat in the Hat. I had to entertain myself with what I could find, and I picked up some basic reading skills from some of the kid's shows on television in the sixties. When I hit that magical age of six and went to elementary school, I was introduced to the first real books I can remember. There I learned about the world of Alice and Jerry, who played all the time and had such a wonderful life. Jerry even had a dog named Spot who sounded like great fun. I always wanted that dog for my very own. And Alice had a beautiful doll with golden hair named Betsy Lee that I wanted, too. Guess what my sister who was born that year was named at my insistence? She's hated me for it ever since, and I can tell you in all honesty, she didn't end up being a doll either. So you see the influence of books had already begun to affect my life even at that age, even though they hadn't gotten into my blood at that point. Rather I did my own thing, and I was much happier just riding my bike, playing dolls with my friends, or reading comic books, which amounted to mostly looking at the pictures. Even before I started school, I remember riding my bike to the local gas station every week to buy a bag of penny candy and a new comic book with money I got from finding soda bottles and trading them in for the nickel deposit. Superman, Spiderman, Aquama... ...nd writing dynamic essays. And as soon as I got home, I had to make myself do my homework first, because I was writing every day by that time. I knew if I started writing fiction first I'd discover the next time I looked up from the computer screen that it was already 4 am. It was the second revelation in a year for me when I realized that I had only one path of study that felt right for me. Writing and books were the only things that ever made me that happy. So now I have college texts instead of comic books. I still love the art that made comics special, but now I have text as well as a passion in my life. And now I have lots of new friends--Dickinson and Foucault and Chopin and so many others. Here I have so many opportunities to read for shared and new insight, and to write to my heart's content. I'm a happy woman. It's like I've come home at last. Personal Narrative- Books Have Greatly Impacted my Life Essay -- Perso I wasn't interested in books when I was very young, except for an interest in comic books. Maybe that's because I was never really read to consistently. My mother claims to have read to me some when I was younger, but I don't remember it. Giving birth to five kids in seven years, and having one die at three days old, sort of cut into her time for entertaining me with thrilling renditions of The Cat in the Hat. I had to entertain myself with what I could find, and I picked up some basic reading skills from some of the kid's shows on television in the sixties. When I hit that magical age of six and went to elementary school, I was introduced to the first real books I can remember. There I learned about the world of Alice and Jerry, who played all the time and had such a wonderful life. Jerry even had a dog named Spot who sounded like great fun. I always wanted that dog for my very own. And Alice had a beautiful doll with golden hair named Betsy Lee that I wanted, too. Guess what my sister who was born that year was named at my insistence? She's hated me for it ever since, and I can tell you in all honesty, she didn't end up being a doll either. So you see the influence of books had already begun to affect my life even at that age, even though they hadn't gotten into my blood at that point. Rather I did my own thing, and I was much happier just riding my bike, playing dolls with my friends, or reading comic books, which amounted to mostly looking at the pictures. Even before I started school, I remember riding my bike to the local gas station every week to buy a bag of penny candy and a new comic book with money I got from finding soda bottles and trading them in for the nickel deposit. Superman, Spiderman, Aquama... ...nd writing dynamic essays. And as soon as I got home, I had to make myself do my homework first, because I was writing every day by that time. I knew if I started writing fiction first I'd discover the next time I looked up from the computer screen that it was already 4 am. It was the second revelation in a year for me when I realized that I had only one path of study that felt right for me. Writing and books were the only things that ever made me that happy. So now I have college texts instead of comic books. I still love the art that made comics special, but now I have text as well as a passion in my life. And now I have lots of new friends--Dickinson and Foucault and Chopin and so many others. Here I have so many opportunities to read for shared and new insight, and to write to my heart's content. I'm a happy woman. It's like I've come home at last.

Pschological assessment Essay

Section A Write an essay on the process you would follow in developing a psychological assessment measure. Discuss the steps that you would take in this process, including how you would choose items for your test, how you would evaluate the reliability and validity of your test, and the issue of establishing norms. Discuss the theory comprehensively and illustrate your understanding with an example or examples. Introduction The process of developing a psychological test is a complex and lengthy one. ( Foxcroft & Roodt, 2001) but aspects related to the planning of a psychological test are not always sufficiently emphasised and sometimes not mentioned at all ( Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 1997). When the test is to be used in a multicultural context, attention needs to be paid to the cultural relevance (and potential bias) of the test right from the planning and design phase instead of only being sensitive to cultural aspects from the item writing phase onwards. Also given that we do not have a long history of developing culturally appropriate tests applicable to diverse groups in South Africa, test developers need to grapple with basic issues such as what methods of test administration might be appropriate or inappropriate for certain cultural groups and what language to develop the test in, for example. More time needs to be spent in the planning phase exploring and critically considering test design issues. Planning phase The first and most important step in developing psychological measures is the planning phase. Planning involves writing out the skeleton of what one aims to achieve. Careful though needs to go into deciding on the aim of the measure, defining the content of the measure and key elements of the test plan. a test plan consists of the following aspects: (a) specifying the purpose and rationale for the test as well as the intended target population, (b) defining the construct (content domain) and creating a set of test specifications to guide item writing, (c) choosing the test format, (d) choosing the item format, and (e) specifying the administration and scoring methods (Robertson, 1990). Specifying the aim of the measure The first step is to state the aim of the measure, the construct I will use and how the outcome will be used. If I am conducting this study in South Africa I will also need to mention that the measure will be used in a multicultural society. I would need to elaborate on what I mean by multicultural by highlighting the context. I would state the age of the test takers and their educational status. The information concluded above is important because it may have an impact on the test specifications and design. I would need to state whether the test would be paper-based or computer-based. When that decision is made I would need to consider whether the test-takers are familiar with such tests. The test takers may underperform on the evaluation because they are not proficient in the instrument of measure. This may impact the validity of the study to be conducted. I would also need to ascertain whether the test will be administered individually or in a group setting. Because psychological constructs are brewed in western societies, the emphasis is on individualism. When working in a multicultural society, however, it is important to consider the norms of the society I would be working in. In some cultures, for example, the group identity is valued over the individual identity. This could have an effect on the content of the measure. Defining the content of the measure Here I need to figure out what I want to measure and why. This will show me what to focus on during the other steps. A working definition of the construct is needed. This includes identifying exactly what I aim to get out of this research study. To do this I need to embark on a comprehensive literature review. I will see how my topic has been investigated in the past and spot the gaps. I can now make the decision on whether I am conducting a new study or adapting an existing study into the South African context. Later I will need to make the same decision on the instrument I will use for data gathering. Since I would be working in South Africa, I need to decide on whether separate norms should be developed for test takers from advantaged and disadvantaged schooling backgrounds and/or for urban and rural areas. I would assemble a team of content, language and cultural experts to scrutinise the content being developed. Nell (1994) states that  language is a critical moderator variable of test performance. If the test taker is not proficient in that language, it is difficult to ascertain whether poor performance is due to language or communication difficulty or that the test-taker has a low level of the construct being measured. I would produce the test in a bilingual format and specify the source language. Work would need to be done to ensure that the construct is meaningful for each group. Developing the test plan (specifications) Once the construct to be assessed has been defined and operationalised, a decision needs to be reached regarding what approach will be employed to guide the development of the test content and specifications. Decisions will be made regarding the format to be used (open-ended items, forced-choice items etc.), how they will be scored (objective or subjective tests), and whether time limits will be imposed. The language and cultural experts are once again needed during this step. Sometimes psychological constructs, conceptualised in western society, do not have a known equivalent in African discourse. For such constructs the translated version would need to explain the construct in a way that is closest to the English meaning. This will require more time for the African language test taker. The test specification should eliminate the possibility of construct bias. The format therefore needs to be standardised for a variety of cultural groups or it should at least include items that will be considered easy, moderate and difficult by all groups. Although these steps follow after each other, I will need to go backwards and forwards to ensure content and construct validity. Item writing The second step is item writing. Once the test specifications have been finalised, the team of experts writes or develops the items. The trend in South Africa has been to simply adapt an already made test to accommodate South African test takers. This is not necessarily the easier option. Firstly, concepts are not always understood in the same way in different societies. For example, the term depression is sometimes taken to mean with  very sad in some societies. It is therefore important to ensure construct validity even for an English test given to English mother tongue speakers of a different society to that of the tests’ origin. If the assessment measure will be administered to children, face validity will be ensured through the use of big writing, use of colour and drawings. The length of the items should also be considered. With every step of items writing reliability is ensured. Reviewing the items An item bank is then developed and items reviewed in terms of whether they meet the content specification and whether they are well written. Items which do not meet the specifications are removed from the bank before it can be used to generate criteria-referenced tests. The team of experts should focus on both content validity and indicate whether the items are from stereotyping and potential bias. The experts will then return the item list with recommendations. They will need to be re-written or revised. Assembling and pre-testing the experimental version of the measure Items need to be arranged in a logical way. Since we are dealing with a multicultural society, we need to ensure that the items are balanced and on appropriate pages. The length of the items in each category needs to be finalised. For long problems based items, time adjustments need to be made. A decision would have been made with regards to whether the test is paper-based or computer-based. The appropriate apparatus needs to be made available. The  Pre-testing the experimental version of the measure The test items have to be administered to a large group of examinees. This sample should be representative of the population for which the eventual test is intended. This will be the norm group. Items analysis phase During this phase items are checked for relevance. Again we see if each item is reliable and valid to the study. The characteristics of the items can be evaluated using the classical test theory or the item response theory. At the item level, the CTT model is relatively simple. CTT does not invoke a complex theoretical model to relate an examinee’s ability to success on a particular item. Instead, CTT collectively considers a pool of examinees and empirically examines their success rate on an item (assuming it is dichotomously scored). This success rate of a particular pool of examinees on an item, well known as the p value of the item, is used as the index for the item difficulty (actually, it is an inverse indicator of item difficulty, with higher value indicating an easier item). The ability of an item to discriminate between higher ability examinees and lower ability examinees is known as item discrimination, which is often expressed statistically as the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between the scores on the item (e.g., 0 and 1 on an item scored right-wrong) and the scores on the total test. When an item is dichotomously scored, this estimate is often computed as a point-biserial correlation coefficient. IRT, on the other hand, is more theory grounded and models the probabilistic distribution of examinees’ success at the item level. As its name indicates, IRT primarily focuses on the item-level information in contrast to the CTT’s primary focus on test-level information. The IRT framework encompasses a group of models, and the applicability of each model in a particular situation depends on the nature of the test items and the viability of different theoretical assumptions about the test items. Revising and standardizing the final version of the measure Once the qualitative and quantitative information has been gathered, the test is administered to the large sample for standardization. All the items that were found to be unclear are simplified. Vocabulary and grammar is corrected. Split-half reliability is assessed. The translated version is checked through back translation (into the source language). The items are finalised for the test. The final database is used to check on reliability  and validity. The administration and scoring instruction may need to be modified. Then the final version is administered. Technical evaluation and establishing norms The items can be analysed using the item response theory. The characteristics of each item may be represented graphically be means of a graph which relates an individuals’ ability score with their probability of passing the items. Items with large variances are selected. The scores obtained by the norm group in the final test form are referred to as the norms of the test. To compare an individual’s score with the norms, their raw score will be converted to the same kind of derived score as that in which the test norms are reported (e.g. percentile ranks, McCall’s T scores etc). Publishing and ongoing refinements A test manual is compiled before a measure published. The manual should make information on the psychometric properties of the test easily understandable. It will be updated from time to time as more information becomes available. Section B List the steps that should be followed in the adaption of an assessment measure for cross-cultural application and briefly explain what each step means. 1. Reasons for adapting measures  Cross-cultural assessment has become a sensitive issue due to specific concerns regarding the use of standardized tests across cultures. By adapting an instrument, the researcher is able to compare the already-existing data with newly acquired data, thus allowing for cross-cultural studies both on the national and international level. Adaptations also can conserve time and expenses (Hambleton, 1993). Test adaptation can lead to increased fairness in assessment by allowing individuals to be assessed in the language of their choice (Hambleton & Kanjee, 1995). 2. Important considerations when adapting measures The test can be compromised if there are problems between the test takers and the administrator. The administrator should therefore familiar with the culture of the test-taker. They cannot take it for granted that the test taker will be exposed to the format of the test. This could lead to the score representing a lack of skill with regards to the format of the test instead of measuring the construct being assessed. Some languages, like isiZulu, require more time to be spent reading therefore would require more time to complete. 3. Designs for adapting measures Before selecting an assessment instrument for use in counseling or research, counselors and researchers are trained to verify that the test is appropriate for use with their population. This includes investigation of validity, reliability, and appropriate norm groups to which the population is to be compared. Validity and reliability take on additional dimensions in cross-cultural testing as does the question of the appropriate norm group. The instrument must be validly adapted, the test items must have conceptual and linguistic equivalence, and the test and the test items must be bias free (Fouad, 1993; Geisinger, 1994). Two basic methods for test adaptation have been identified: forward translation and back-translation. In forward translation, the original test in the source language is translated into the target language and then bilinguals are asked to compare the original version with the adapted version (Hambleton, 1993; 1994). In back-translation, the test is translated into the target language and then it is re-translated back to the source language. This process can be repeated several times. Once the process is complete, the final back-translated version is compared to the original version (Hambleton, 1994). Each of these adaptation processes has their strengths and limitations. 4. Bias analysis and differential item functioning Another issue that must be considered in cross-cultural assessment is test bias. The test user must ascertain that the test and the test items do not systematically discriminate against one cultural group or another. Test bias  may occur when the contents of the test are more familiar to one group than to another or when the tests have differential predictive validity across groups (Fouad, 1994). Culture plays a significant role in cross-cultural assessment. Whenever tests developed in one culture are used with another culture there is the potential for misinterpretation and stagnation unless cultural issues are considered. Issues of test adaptation, test equivalence and test bias must be considered in order to fully utilize the benefit of cross-cultural assessment. 5. Steps for maximizing success in test adaption Hembleton (2004) summarised nine key steps that should be addressed when adapting or translating assessment instruments. 6. Challenges related to test adaption in south Africa A disadvantage of adaptation includes the risk of imposing conclusions based on concepts that exist in one culture but may not exist in the other. There are no guarantees that the concept in the source culture exists in the target culture (Lonner & Berry, 1986). Another disadvantage of adapting existing tests for use in another culture is that if certain constructs measured in the original version are not found in the target population, or if the construct is manifested in a different manner, the resulting scores can prove to be misleading (Hambleton, 1994). Despite the difficulties associated with using adapted instruments, this practice is important because it allows for greater generalizability and allows for investigation of differences among a growing diverse population. Once the test has been adapted, test equivalence must be determined. Reference Foxcroft, C.D. & Roodt, G. (2009). An introduction to psychological assessment in South Africa. Johannesburg: Oxford University Press Hambleton, R. K. (2001). The next generation of the ITC Test Translation and Adaptation Guidelines. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 17, 164-172. Hambleton, R. K. (2004). Issues, designs, and technical guidelines for adapting tests into multiple languages and cultures. In R. K. Hambleton, P. F. Merenda, & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment (pp. 3-38). Mahwah,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Van Ede, D.M. (1996). How to adapt a measuring instrument for use with various cultural groups: a practical step-by-step introduction. South African Journal of Higher Education, 10, 153-160.

Ryanair Business Model

MEMO To: Steven Rand From: Morgan Murphy and James Klein Subject: Response to Memo Assignement Date: February 28, 2013 Purpose: Demonstrate the similarities and differences between an article from a magazine and an article from an academic journal and apply what is learned to future learning. Summary: The areas that will be examined regarding the two articles will be; tone, vocabulary, author background, details about the airline that are included and excluded, as well as length.Using this examination we will decide how to treat academic and magazine articles from here forth. Discussion: To begin with, Ryanair is a European budget airline based out of Dublin, Ireland. They are able to keep prices low, such as a round trip ticket from Dublin to Edinburgh for $30, because of their numerous budgeting techniques. The techniques and ideas used to cut costs, such as paying to use the restroom, cause a lot of controversy amongst the consumers. Still Ryanair has one of the largest fleets in Europe and continually has its flights filled near to capacity.The question asked by these two articles is whether or not this type of business plan can last and if consumers will continue to put up with Ryanair’s budget tactics. The tone of each of the articles is the first trait noticed by the reader. The titles of each of these articles are a good indication of what the tone will be throughout the article. The Newsweek article, â€Å"Is this Any Way to Run An Airline† (Any Way to Run), puts the reader immediately in a relaxed state and almost makes the reader feel as though the author is on their side.On the other hand, the article by the International Journal of Transport Management has a more formal title suggesting to the reader that this article is more for relaying facts than opinions. This article is titled, â€Å"The Sustainability of the Ryanair Model† (Ryanair Model). The introductions for both of these articles are also very different in their tone. â€Å"Ryanair Model† uses only facts and statistics to give the reader a short background as to where Ryanair stands amongst its competitors.However, in â€Å"Any Way to Run† there is a background on the current savings techniques used by Ryanair that directly affect their customers because this article is meant to be read mainly by Ryanair customers. Going hand in hand with tone, vocabulary can also contribute to how formal or relaxed an article may sound. The type of vocabulary used in each article is used to effectively reach the targeted audience of each article. The vocabulary used in â€Å"Any Way to Run† is meant to be simple due to the fact that Newsweek is being read by a much larger audience than an academic a journal would be.There are also many more quotes by Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, that are in fairly simple terms. An example of this would be O’Leary’s comment about fares when he stated, â€Å"You paid us a fare of $19-go away†. The other end of the spectrum is more technical vocabulary. Vocabulary that is used in â€Å"Ryanair Model† is only fully understood by economics and business professionals. In the â€Å"Ryanair Model† article, each section begins with pure statistics and facts with many terms such as net margin, industry average, deregulation etc.These terms are somewhat understood by the common reader but in order for their full meaning to be understood it would take a business professional to understand the meanings behind them. There are also many tables and charts included in this article that would make mean more to someone who is familiar with reading those kinds of statistics. The choice of vocabulary is made by the author and the background of the author can determine what kind of vocabulary they may choose to use. The article, â€Å"Any Way to Run†, was written by Daniel McGinn MBA.The academic article, â€Å"Ryanair Model†, was written by Sean Barrett PhD. While these authors are fairly similar in their qualifications for writing, Barrett, being an economics professor at Trinity College, is much more qualified to comment on qualities of business models and McGinn is much more capable of capturing the consumer perspective. After reviewing the author’s profiles it makes sense that Barrett would give the reader tremendous amounts of facts in his article and then comment on whether or not what Ryanair is doing is a good business decision, purely from an economic stand point.McGinn, being a reporter and have some knowledge on the economics behind the Ryanair model, would choose to comment only on quotes from customers and employees of Ryanair. While these authors are writing to different audiences there are still some facts about Ryanair that are included in both articles. Both the Newsweek and the Transportation Journal articles comment on Ryanair’s extensive use of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. They both m ention how versatile an aircraft it is and how it is able to hold a large amount of passengers. Any Way to Run† goes into more depth about what it means to the consumer to have an aircraft that can hold more passengers. â€Å"Ryanair Model† on the other hand goes more in depth about how Ryanair was able to negotiate with Boeing to purchase these aircraft as cheap as they did. One of the most visible and, aside from tone, the most noticeable to the viewer is length of the article. Length is one of the main deciding factors in how much credibility is received by an article, academic or general.The length directly correlates to how many sources are cited within the article and how much information is available. â€Å"Ryanair Model† is much longer than â€Å"Any Way to Run† because academic articles need many more sources to sustain their credibility in the academic world. In â€Å"Ryanair Model† most of the length is taken up with facts and statistics about Ryanair and its competitors while opinions make up most of the â€Å"Any Way to Run† article. Action Statement: After an in depth analysis and comparison of this academic and magazine article we have realized the different intended uses for each article.From this point forward we will also keep in mind, when reading magazine articles, that they are meant to be appealing to the reader and not necessarily include all the facts about the topic. For academic articles we learned that we may not necessarily understand all the content unless we are well versed in the field that the article is written for. Going forward, if we need an in depth analysis of a specific subject we will research and use academic journals. If we need more of an overview of a topic we will use magazine articles.

“Astronomer’s Wife” by Kaye Boyle Essay

In the opening paragraph of Kay Boyle’s Astronomer’s Wife, Boyle depicts a woman who is oppressed of an equal, intelligent conversation with her spouse. Mrs. Ames sees to all matters of running a successful household, while the astronomer sleeps late and is a loner. His profession makes it clear that he spends a lot of time in thought and alone in the dark at night. Boyle explains, â€Å"He was a man of other things, a dreamer. At times he lay still for hours, at others he sat upon the roof behind his telescope, or wandered down the pathway to the road and out across the mountains.† Since the astronomer is often in his own world, Mrs. Ames is expected to cater to his needs. â€Å"That man might be each time the new arching wave, and woman the undertow that sucked him back, were things she been told by his silence were so.† This quote exemplifies how involved in his work the astronomer is. Whenever he is on the brink of a brilliant idea, she interrupts his train of thought. Therefore, she is the undertow that breaks the force of the arching wave. The astronomer was obviously obsessed with his work leaving little time to act as a husband. The marriage appears to be one that compromises Mrs. Ames’s, and perhaps the astronomer’s, happiness. This is where the plumber is introduced and Mrs. Ames begins to find stimulation outside her marriage. Something as simple as a conversation with a plumber about a stopped elbow is enough to trigger an awakening in Mrs. Katherine Ames. When Mrs. Ames realized that the plumber was talking about something she understood, she in turn realized that her marital problems were not the result of a division between the sexes; instead, she avalid one. She is not happy with a man who wants to go â€Å"up† and that she rather prefers â€Å"down†. Through meeting the plumber, she recognizes this and is â€Å"called to go down†. Mrs. Ames is seeking happiness and someone in whom she can relate. She needs something that speaks to her, something that means something to her, and she wants to change. Mrs. Ames feels a connection to the plumber. He involves her in his theory and she develops her own thoughts. Where her husband treats her as unimportant, the plumber makes her â€Å"bewildered that it should be a man who had spoken to her so†. The astronomer’s wife is trapped in a lifeless  marriage and somewhere there appears a line in which she is not sure if she should cross. The plumber has made her feel like she thought no man ever could. The point is simple; Mrs. Ames has desired respect over the years and finally along comes a man that gives her that much needed self-dignity. When one’s feelings are taken advantage of or neglected, it is natural for that person to begin to look for a beau who will nurture those needs. Whether this is an act that is carried out subconsciously or intently does not matter. In the case of Mrs. Ames it is happening without her permission, but even as she tries to deny her inner feelings and needs she finds them leaking through, like water from a pipe, and the reader begins to wonder if maybe the plumber wasn’t there just to fix a dripping wash-basin.

The First Snowfall

The first snowfall always seems so magical to me. My first glimpse of glittering, white snowflakes brings an external burst of joy. Each tiny snowflake, from a distance, looks exactly the same. But up close, I am able to see each unique pattern these small wonders possess. They shimmer and reflect like tiny little diamonds underneath the glow of the street lamps. Floating ever so gently, down to the not-so-bare ground, a gentle breeze sends the snowflakes into a swirling dance before they resume their journey to the earth. In the distance, I can hear the shrieks and laughter of small children as they relish in pure and innocent wonder, the joys of the first snowfall. I can only imagine them grabbing up handfuls of paper-light snow and throwing it into the air, sticking their warm little tongues out to catch the frostiness of the flakes. I glance to the left of me and notice a cat huddled in the corner of a dimly lit doorway covered in a thin blanket of crystal snow, shivering miserably and letting out pathetic meows as he waits to be let into the warmth of his home. There is a cold kiss of wind against my flushed, red cheeks. And that chilly breeze sends a rushing sound through my bare, cherry-coloured ears. Tiny droplets of water, just moments ago were snowflakes, form on the base of my dark, auburn hair. I exhale sharply and watch as a brief mist forms from my warm breath, mixing with the frigid air. I hear the unmistakable piercing crunch of snow, as my boot hits the blanketed pavement. It is almost impossible to walk silently in the snow. I thoroughly enjoy the first snowfall. I stand outside and marvel at its beauty, as the earth is covered in the brightest, white blanket my eyes have ever perceived. I enjoy kicking up the lightness of the snow before it becomes heavy and hard with the burden of perpetual snowfall. I stand there and let the tiny, diamond like flakes cover me for just a moment, because I know that soon this mesmerizing snowfall will soon transform into a bitter, long, bone-chilling winter.

Character Analysis of Romeo

The character analysis of Romeo Rio Mio and Juliet is a story made up of lovers studying two stars who love each other and think that they are willing to sacrifice their lives. Romeo is a very sullen man and his role has grown considerably in the play in various ways. In this article I will focus on the role of Romeo, his intention and ability, and the relationship with other characters in the play. In the dialogue between Benborio and Montague in the first game of the first act, we learned that Romeo was very strange and avoided his friends. Secret. In this sentence, Benvolio explains to L. This article is a literary analysis of the play of Romeo and Juliet. The format is point, proof, and description. The question is, What are the factors and roles that lead to the extinction of Romeo and Juliet? I used Lady and Road Caplet, Juliet Nurse, and Flore Lawrence. There is also a direct reference to the content in the play. This 929 words Shakespeare plays, Romeo and Juliet show a tragic love story to the readers. This is the story of the two young people who fall in love, the people who bind them and the environment. In particular, four characters, Lady and Lord Capulet, Juliet nurse Friar Laurence played an important role in the destruction of the main characters and young lovers Romeo and Juliet. Those personality leads to their desperate behavior and ultimate death through selfishness, betrayal, and authority over young lovers. The literary analysis of similarities between Romeo and Juliet is similar in that there is a common feature between two or more things. Similarities are used to compare similarities. Romeo and Juliet of Shakespearean plays Romeo and Juliet are comparable in their short relationship. They are strangers, but they are gathering through mutual contact. The most obvious similarities between Romeo and Juliet are each other's eternal love.

Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism Essay

Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism - Essay Example The essay "Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism" talks about the age as a factor that distinguishes individuals in the society. To begin with, when I was young, during my third-grade year, my elder brother, who was in twelfth grade at the time, and his friends once discussed an issue which all of them seemed quite unaware of. Their discussion was mainly marred by speculation and imagination of what a new education policy was about and the implication it would have on the education system. Even though I was not part of the discussion, I was sitting with them in the living room, and had an upper hand over them, having watched the broadcast about the policy and its implication on national television. They kept arguing speculatively with one of them particularly explaining a completely distorted version of the policy to the rest. At some point, I joined in the discussion, giving the true version of the policy and its implication just as I had watched on television. They took it t o another side of the argument, giving it little attention, maybe because it did not come from one of their peers, and more so, it had come from a younger person whom they did not seem to believe had the command on such matters. Even after I had told them that I had watched it on national television, they still ignored my version and continued with the argument using their own speculated versions. As the debate continued and after I had given up on convincing them, my father arrived in the house and found the debate raging on.

Strategic Management in Singapore Airlines Research Paper

Strategic Management in Singapore Airlines - Research Paper Example This research report introduces airline industry in general and Singapore Airline in specific. It includes a brief history of the company. However, the focus is on the mission and vision of the company and on the profile of Board of Directors, which run the strategic management of the company. Current marketing strategy of the company is also under discussion. Introduction Air travel is an essential requirement of today’s global world. It provides its users with an easy, fast, and comfortable mode of travel. However, with the economic and social development of the world resulting in almost every developed country launching its international airline, air travel has become an option with considerably large number of choices. Every airline is competing with other airlines to enlarge their customer base on bases of airfare, comfort, services, and travel route. In this competitive environment, the name of â€Å"Singapore Airline† holds a lot of worth. The airline from its la unch until today has grasped a huge share of international air travelers due to its excellent and expert services. The airline with its slogan â€Å"a great way to travel† works hard to provide its customers with the promised experience of excellence. The company describes itself as â€Å"Singapore Airlines has evolved into one of the most respected travel brands around the world. We have one of the world's youngest fleet in the air, a network spanning five continents, and the Singapore Girl is our symbol of quality customer care and service. Customers, investors, partners, and staff — everyone expect excellence of us† (Singapore Airline, 2012). History On 28 January 1972, the Singapore government founded Singapore airline (SIA). It was incorporated as a limited liability public company, completely owned by the Singapore government (Singapore Investor Association, 2006). â€Å"The history of the company dates back to 1947 with the initiation of a scheduled serv ice of Malayan Airways Ltd between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur† (Singapore Airlines, 2012). With the addition of international services and formation of â€Å"Federation of Malaysia in 1963,† the airline acquired the new name of â€Å"Malaysian Airways Ltd† (Singapore Airlines, 2012). Government of Malaysia and Singapore in 1966 acquired joint control of the airline and renamed it to â€Å"Malaysia- Singapore Airline Ltd† (Securities Investor Association, 2006). However, MSA in 1971 was restructured in to two entities: Malaysia Airline System Bhd and SIA (Singapore Airlines, 2012). Mission Singapore airlines describe its mission through its mission statement. The mission statement clearly identifies the main objectives of the company. The statement is as follows: â€Å"Singapore Airlines is a global company dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximizing returns for the benefits of its shareholders and employeesà ¢â‚¬  (Singapore Airline, 2012) Vision The company considers itself a citizen of the world and aims to excel not only as an excellent company but also as an excellent and responsible citizen of the world. It aims to fulfill this mission, which it believes to be actually its responsibility by enhancing the lives of the people they come in contact with. This is the reason that the company has made numerous commitments to the art, education, communities and health and welfare of their countries’ citizens and of those countries it flies to. It also feels a strong sense of responsibility towards the environment, and so holds a strong commitment towards environment preservation for the future generation (Singapore Invest