Thursday, October 31, 2019

Supply chain inventory, people, technology and risk Assignment

Supply chain inventory, people, technology and risk - Assignment Example People involved if not well trained and equipped can be a major source of risks. In the recent years, companies have been introducing advanced technology that is relatively more reliable and accurate. Perhaps one of the main challenges facing most companies in their operations is obsolescence and fraud. Over the past years, cases of fraud have highly been reported in the UK. The government has established specialized bodies to fight fraud. Serious Fraud Office is one of the bodies together with National Fraud Authority are but examples of such bodies. The technology industry has greatly been affected in the UK with Obsolescence over the last decade. This is highly associated with the quick advance in technological advancement. In order to be prepared against these two obstacles, companies have to develop well planned strategies. In these strategies, three factors are inevitable; inventory, people and technology. This report analyses how O2, the second largest telecommunication company in UK. The report tries to put into perspective the challenges and strategies used by the company in its operations in an effort to have an effective supply of its products and also fight fraud. This has jointly been attained through training of its employees and use of cloud based inventory system. O2 is the second leading telecommunication company in the UK. The company offers a wide range of services and products from mobile phones, SIM cards, internet bundles, and also financial services like the O2 Money which allows people to send money, receive money, pay bills among other transactions. The diversification of its products and services has seen the company expand its market and customer base over the past years. The high number of customers comes with its challenges. Among the challenges is how to handle demand and supply. This is mainly depended on their management on the inventory. The supply chain has to be well

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Individuals Relationship to the Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individuals Relationship to the Community - Essay Example Sartre's existentialism and Human Emotions talk about how an individual can get the essence of his individuality through his existence. According to him, humans are thrown in this world without essence and with the span of time that he spends in the world, he has the chance to make decisions for there are choices available no matter what kind of situation circumstance he will be. He also added that since the people are born in the environment where there is no external value, it is already his chance to achieve the internal value that he desires. This optimistic view of existence can be related to how people base their decisions, most of which depend on what will people say and how people will judge. The individual and the community can never be separated although that is the aim and the goal of each one, still to depart from what is real and existing as a factor of survival is absolutely impossible. That is because of the reality that man cannot live and interact with himself alone. The interaction with other people that is needed for the nourishment of his physical, mental and emotional aspects is quite significant to be disregarded. This is the same reason why the community, the place for interaction is indispensable for his survival. The disadvantage comes in when free will and personal decisions get replaced by what we call "rules," rules which Freud said to be a kind of mutual relationship which replaces the individual's freedom by the rules of the society. This means that one is restricted to do things of his desire to give way to order and justice. Individual instincts for happiness are also controlled so as to reach the level of civilization which is thought to be progr ess. And since we talked about progress as another goal of every society, we can't remove the fact that progress deals with new technology which just like what Said mentioned in his book Representations of the Intellectual can somehow alter the real meaning of freedom. This is due to social conformity that needs to be accomplished to get the work done riding along with technology. The improvements and progress being the aim of every community and society, or group of individuals which usually follow a rule will always violate the so-called "norm of freedom" which Said partly talked about in the said book. The point being raised here is that even if there is a choice for man to be totally free at a given time or place, there is always a big possibility for him to be submissive to the rules which to him will bring forth bigger advantages. The violation then comes in when the expectations of the man who went struggling to deprive himself from personal satisfaction for a bigger cause gets corrupted by a bigger longing not from an individual but from the society, which supposedly is the on that would protect and or work for his desires to be achieved. A violation can also be done to personal freedom of choice and decision is when at a moment, the basis for a particular action or agendum is already the reaction of the community which cumulatively formed the rules in the society. What went wrong between the individual and the community was the interlocking of desires both from the individual and the community. No matter how mutual the so-called rules can be, there is always a greater desire that may pass over the well-made rules of the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Does Water Hyacinth Affect The Ph Level Environmental Sciences Essay

Does Water Hyacinth Affect The Ph Level Environmental Sciences Essay Invasive aquatic plant species are causing a growing threat in South Africa, as well as the whole world. These plants threaten the freshwater bodies causing a wide spread degradation on the environment. This study aims to see if Water Hyacinth can help the environment in which it inhabits by neutralising the pH level of acid water. As water hyacinth is a fast growing invasive species that can be controlled by weevils and pesticides  [1]  which can be used to assist in the purification and neutralisation of South African water sources. South Africas water sources are limited and in high demand. As 76.5% of the Earth water is polluted  [2]  , this study can enable the possibility of neutralising acid water. Aim Does water hyacinth affect the pH level of water contaminated with an acidic pH? Research Question Water hyacinth will affect the pH level of acidic water as it will be tested in controlled environments where comparisons between acidic and neutral water can be drawn as water hyacinth will be placed in both conditions and over time, the pH level of the water will be tested to observe the change of pH level of the water due to the water hyacinth. Hypothesis. Water hyacinth will alter the pH level of the acid water and make the water become more neutral, closer to 7. Rationale This research is important as water contamination and pollution is a growing problem in South Africa. As water hyacinth is able to grow at rapid rates, by deciding where one needs to pollinate their seeds, we can breed the plant in contaminated water to resolve the pH levels of the water. The water levels have a great effect on the ecosystems in and around it so with acidic water, ecosystems will be destroyed and the surrounding habitats and ecosystems near the water will be lost or destroyed. The topic is of great importance as there are severe problems concerning drinking water in the world and this can aid to fix the pollution of water around the world. Literature Review This project shows great importance as Water hyacinth is a problem on a global level. The problem of over population of this plant causes death of water life as sun light is restricted by the water hyacinth and therefor the plants at the bottom of the dam providing food and nutrition to the life start do die and add to the pollution as they do not receive sunlight for photosynthesis. When these plants have died, the dead fish (for example) begin to decompose which adds to the pollution of the already polluted water. There have been numerous studies around the world into the use of water hyacinth as a pollutant monitor.  [3]  Water Hyacinth has been tested to observe the absorption of arsenic, cadmium lead and many other metal compounds.  [4]  The plants can be tested to study the percentage of the compounds absorbed by looking inside the roots and stems and conducting tests to look at the compounds absorbed by the plants while living in the solution.  [5]  With all plants being made up of chemical structures, an imbalance of chemicals can cause plants to deform and in some instances die. There have been experiments to prove how the concentration of the chemical affects the growth of the plants. In this study, the plants are being tested whether or not the water hyacinth can improve the pH level of acidic water. Plants are very sensitive to high pH levels vinegar and dish washing liquid as a previous test conducted to see the survival of the plants at different pH levels resulted in the death of the plants after only one week when placed in solutions with high pH levels and normal garden plants flourish at a pH level of between 6.3 and 7.8  [6]  . Water hyacinth is a plant with easy access and grows in specific conditions which could alter the results as plants are sensitive to the conditions in which they grow. Sources of pollution are direct pouring waste into water and washing clothes in fresh water streams and indirect leaking oil pipes and runoff from eroded lands  [7]   which both add to the pollution levels as well as effecting the pH levels of the water as there are harmful substances being added to a sensitive ecosystem. As water hyacinth is not indigenous to South Africa and originated in Brazil where their ecosystems were equip to control this plant and ensure it did not take over the water sections. South Africas water does not have the methods in place to cope with the overtaking of this plant as it is clogging up water ways, reducing the rate of water flow and adding to the pollution of the water  [8]  . If this plant could have a positive function, it could be controlled by humans and used for only that function. Method i) Label 9 small plastic bags (3 x control, 6 x acid ) with a permanent marker. ii) Using an electronic scale, weigh 24grams of fertilizer and repeat 9 times. iii) Place each 24g of fertilizer into a separate bag. iv) Using an electronic scale, weigh 8grams of Iron chelates and repeat 9 times. v) Place each 8g of Iron chelates into one of the bags. i) Place 3 sets of 3 tubs in an enclosed area ii) Measure 80ml of water and pour the water into each tubs. iii) Draw a line with a permanent marker at the meniscus on the tub. iv) Label three of the tubs Control and the other six Acid v) Add one of each of the small plastic bags of the fertilizer and chelates to each of the according tubs vi) Add 3 plants of Water Hyacinth into 3 of the tubs vii) Measure 5ml of a coffee solution to each of the six acidic tubs iix) Place one of each tub in a row and make 3 rows of 3 tubs. ix) Record the pH level of each tub using HP pool testing strips in the table. x) Take pictures of each of the strips next to which tub it is. xi) Record the data once a week for 8 weeks. The collection of the pH level of each tub once a week for 8 weeks will allow one to observe the effect of water hyacinth on water with irregular pH levels. Week 1 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 2 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 3 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 4 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 5 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 6 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 7 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 8 TUB pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 A table showing the average pH levels of the three tubs over eight weeks. Tubs Average pH level Control 1 2 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH level A line graph showing the change in pH level of the control tub over 8 weeks Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH level A line graph showing the change in pH level of acidic tub 1 over 8 weeks Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH level A line graph showing the change in pH level of acidic tub 2 over 8 weeks Plan for Data Analysis Using the collected data of pH levels from each of the nine tubs, after the 8 weeks, 3 separate line graphs can be drawn to show the neutralisation of the acidic water. The data will be collected from the 2nd of March to the 20th of April. Bibliography African Entomology vol. 19 No. 2 2001. J.A Coetzee http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Va-Z/Water-Pollution.html. Dan M. Sullivan Invasive Aquatic Plants. Lesley Henderson and Carina J Cilliers. 2002. Science direct : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0143147182900605 http://www.plantea.com/pH.htm

Friday, October 25, 2019

Futile Dreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie :: Glass Menagerie essays

Futile Dreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "I have always been more interested in creating a character that contains something crippled. I think nearly all of us have some kind of defect, anyway, and I suppose I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge on hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person" (Rasky 134). This statement of Tennessee Williams supports the idea that he incorporates something crippled into all his major characters.   In his play, The Glass Menagerie, Williams portrays a crippling mother and child relationship. He clearly illustrates that none of the characters are capable of living in the present. The characters believe that happiness will be found in their repeated quests for escape from the real world. As such, they retreat into their separate worlds to escape life's brutalities.    Set in Depression-era St. Louis, the overbearing Southern ex-charmer, Amanda Wingfield is the de facto head of the household. A former Southern belle, Amanda is a single mother who behaves as though she still is the high school beauty queen. Williams' still-resonant study reveals her desperate struggle with the forces of fate against her dysfunctional relationship that looms and grows among her adult children. (Gist)    Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim resort to various escape mechanisms to avoid reality. Laura, fearful of being denigrated as inferior by virtue of her innate inability to walk, is shy and detaches herself from the unfeeling modern world. Amanda tries every means to integrate her into society, but to no avail. She sends her to business school and invites a gentleman caller to dinner. She is both unable to cope with the contemporary world's mechanization represented by the speed test in typing and unable to make new acquaintances or friends due to her immense inhibition with people. Her life is humdrum and uneventful, yet it is full of dreams and inundated with memories. Whenever the outside world threatens Laura, she seeks solace and retreats to her glass animal world and old phonograph records. Amanda, her mother hints at the alternative of matrimony for fiasco in business careers and Laura "utters a startled, doubtful laugh. She reaches quickly for a piece of glass." (Williams, ). The gl ass menagerie becomes her tactile consolation.    The little glass ornaments represent Laura's self and characterize her fragility and delicate beauty.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Economic Analysis Of An Oligopoly Market Structure

NEW YORK – Feeling bad about the economy? Indulge a little, have a soda. Marketers at Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. are counting on that sentiment to appeal to consumers overwhelmed with a drumbeat of bad economic news. â€Å"What people want to do is pause and refresh,† said Coca-Cola chief marketing officer Joe Tripodi. Pepsi, the world's second-largest soft drink maker, launched a new marketing campaign at the beginning of the year, while No. 1 Coke launched its campaign three weeks later.Soda makers, who have seen their highest-profile products lose ground to energy drinks and pricey bottled water in recent years, are turning away from the lifestyle marketing that has dominated the soda wars. Now, they hope to draw customers back to the old favorites with a simple lure: they're cheaper — or at least a better value. Coke's campaign includes 16-ounce plastic bottles of Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta for 99 cents. The new size could draw people lo oking for a bargain, in that a 20-ounce bottle costs $1. 25 to $1. 50.An ad campaign called â€Å"Open Happiness† and tied to the â€Å"Coke Side of Life† ads launched on â€Å"American Idol† last week. One spot features two students sitting across from each other in a library and flirting by drawing competing images of Coke bottles and on their arms. â€Å"A lot of people have left the category,† Beverage Digest editor John Sicher said last week. â€Å"Also, a lot of young people have not entered the category, so these ads may help Coke both recruit new young consumers and re-recruit some lapsed ones. † Coke plans to run three ads during Sunday's broadcast of the Super Bowl football championship on NBC.PepsiCo spokeswoman Nicole Bradley said PepsiCo would air five to six minutes of commercials for bottled drinks during the Super Bowl, making it the biggest advertiser for the game. The ads will feature Pepsi, Gatorade, PepsiMax and SoBe Life Water. With the launch of its new logo, the company also has increased its number of drink ads on billboards and in other public places such as subway stations, bus stops and on tops of taxis. In recent years, as U. S. soda sales fell steadily — including 2. 5 percent in the third quarter last year at PepsiCo,  while Coke doesn't break out soft drink performance — the two turned to other bottled drinks for growth. PepsiCo refocused its drinks portfolio around bottled Lipton teas and Starbucks coffees, its Aquafina bottled water, Izze sparkling juice drinks and others.Coke made the biggest drinks acquisition in industry history in June 2007 when it bought Glaceau's VitaminWater for $4. 1 billion. Though its products contain plenty of sugar, the brand had attracted health-conscious consumers with drink names such as Power-C, Defense, Endurance, Rescue and Multi-V.But CEO Muhtar Kent said last fall that soft drinks are the â€Å"oxygen of our industry. † The chief exec utives of both soda makers indicated they were refocusing on soft drinks last fall as consumers felt the weight of a recession but it had not yet been officially declared. PepsiCo's push is â€Å"complementary† with the trend of shoppers trading down, the company's North American beverages chief Massimo D'Amore said Tuesday. He declined to say the company was appealing to consumers' pocketbooks. â€Å"We will not communicate on price,† he said in an interview. â€Å"Value to consumers is much broader than price.It's not the primary focus of our marketing. â€Å"D'Amore told reporters gathered Tuesday to hear details of the company's Super Bowl plans that Pepsi's drink portfolio is the â€Å"exact ammunition† it needs to win in the current climate. Chief Executive Indra Nooyi has said the company — which also owns the Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker brands — aims to slow the decline of U. S. soda sales. Both companies are grappling with how to hold on to consumers that have grown wary of the high-fructose corn syrup that is used in a wide variety of bottled drinks, from soft drinks to bottled teas and energy drinks.David Schardt, senior nutritionist at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, said â€Å"the companies' latest campaigns are not going to improve public health if sales of sugar-based sodas do rebound†. â€Å"We already drink too many of our calories† he said. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AN OLIGOPOLY MARKET STRUCTURE 1. INTRODUCTION 1a. ARTICLE SUMMARY Not many corporations can boast of a 100 Year rivalry. The beverages industry witnessed such intense competition between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.One can say that the competition between the corporations was and still is  so intense that it could be likened to sibling rivalry. The product offerings of both companies are so similar, if Pepsi were to offer a new product it wouldn’t be surprising to see Coca-Cola follow suit. Pep si has always taken the lead in developing new products, but Coke soon learned their lesson and started to do the same. The companies not only compete in soft drinks, but also have branched out to other beverages including coffee, juice drinks and even water. As the companies lose their market share in energy drinks and pricy bottled water in recent years; now they refocus on soda pop to draw customers back.PepsiCo is innovative with launching a marketing campaign of new logos while Coke’s campaign is price strategy with a range of cheaper products. The fact is each company is coming up with new products and ideas in order to increase their market share. The creativity and effectiveness of each company's marketing strategy will ultimately determine the winner with respect to sales, profits, and customer loyalty. 1b. JUSTIFICATION OF THE TOPIC Pepsi and coke control over 75. 3% of market (as shown in the figure 1).These two companies have significant control over the direction of the market in terms of price, quality and taste. This clearly indicates that the industry has a duopolistic structure. It is not easy to enter into the market as it needs a large investment and can expect the big players to crush into the competition. The presence of barriers to entry protects the present players from competition from new firms. The companies compete on product differentiation either through product itself or through heavy advertising to reduce the elastic of demand for their product.Clearly the industry is oligopolistic with the market shared between these two firms, and the oligopoly characteristics of high concentration ratio, fewness, high barriers entry, product differentiation and mutual interdependence apply. Figure 1 Source: Beverage Marketing Corporation, New York. Retrieved from www. beverageworld. com > â€Å"data and statistics† on 4/10/2008 2. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS A firm under oligopoly faces a kinked demand curve (see figure 2). The point of th e kink is the point of the established market price.The kink of the demand curve suggests that a competitor would react asymmetrically to price increases and price decreases by the firm. Suppose the price is established at $1. 99 for a six-pack of either Pepsi or Coke. Let's consider the demand curve for Pepsi. If Pepsi increases its price to $2. 49 per six-pack, it will lose some of its market to Coke along the AB component of the demand curve. Pepsi will be able to sell 500 six-packs a day instead of the original sales level of 1000.Coke is likely to stay at $1.99 and enjoy the additional sale, as some people who were originally buying Pepsi will be switching to Coke. If Pepsi lowers its price to $1. 49 to gain an advantage over Coke and increase it sales to 1500 six-packs, it may not succeed. The increase in sales by Pepsi to 1500 can only happen if Coke did not react to Pepsi's price cut. However, Coke is likely to match the price reduction by Pepsi to protect itself against los s of market share. As the result of price cuts by both Pepsi and Coke, there will be an increase in sales by both — at least partially at the expense of smaller competitors.The sales of Pepsi increase to 1300 six-packs per day from the original 1000. This is along the BC segment of the demand curve. Therefore, there are two demand curves facing Pepsi—AB relatively elastic for price increases and no reaction by Coke, and BC relatively inelastic for price decreases and price matching reaction by Coke. This explains the kinked demand curve for Pepsi and similarly for Coke. Notice that the kink in the demand curve is at the established market price. It is also important to realize that the established price tends to be maintained.Neither Pepsi nor Coke will be inclined to raise their price since it would cause loss of sales and market share to the rival. Also neither of them is particularly interested in lowering the price and starting a price war since the outcome is loss of profit for both in favor of consumers. The profit maximization level of output can be determined by adding to the demand-MR model the cost curves for a firm under oligopoly. The profit maximizing level of output is 1000 six-packs of Pepsi, where MC = MR. Pepsi can sell this quantity at $1. 99 according to the demand curve.The average total cost of production at 1000 level of output is $0. 99 per six-pack. Therefore the company is making $1000 a day of economic (or excess) profit as illustrated in Figure 3. An interesting observation is that the profit maximization of oligopolies, generally, occurs at the kink of the demand curve, which in-turn represents the established market price and market shares of the oligopolies. Another observation is that moderate changes in the cost conditions of oligopolies do not cause a change in their profit maximization quantity and price as long as they are in the vertical range of the MR curve.This implies that technological improvements that lo wer the cost of production or change in the price of inputs encountered by an oligopoly would not lead to a quantity or price change. We therefore suggest that under an oligopoly market prices are rigid. Firms especially avoid lowering their price from fear of igniting a price war. Instead oligopolies resort to non-price competition such as advertising. Price wars can and occasionally do occur when one of the dominant firms in the oligopoly market experiences a significant decrease in its production cost and attempt to increase its market share.Coke and Pepsi know that they are spending millions of dollars on advertising just to counter each other’s ads. Advertising game will provide us with a modeling framework within which to show the choice that the managers of oligopolistic firms face. ( see figure 4) Although it would increase both firms’ payoffs if both play â€Å"Less Advertising†, this cannot be easily achieved. According to the above payoff matrix, play ing â€Å"Intensive Advertising† yields a higher payoff for Coke no matter what Pepsi does. In other words, â€Å"Intensive Advertising† is Coke’s dominant strategy.Similarly, â€Å"Intensive Advertising† is also Pepsi’s dominant strategy. Given that there is no guarantee the other player plays â€Å"Less Advertising†, each player will play â€Å"Intensive Advertising†, which is the unique Nash equilibrium of this game. 3. CONCLUSION Sales of carbonated soft drinks have been declining in US for several years, as consumers turn to a growing number of new beverages like enhanced waters, sports drinks and energy drinks. But the problems have accelerated in a volatile economy, with consumers eating at restaurants less and buying fewer grab-and-go beverages.In addition, consumers are increasingly choosing tap water over other beverages at restaurants and at home to help save money and the environment. Both companies have also relied on fin ding new markets, especially in foreign countries. Although the goal of both companies are exactly the same, the two companies rely on somewhat different marketing strategies. The companies must be willing to accommodate their â€Å"target markets†. They have to always be creating and updating their marketing plans and products. Gaining market share occurs when a company stays one-step ahead of the competition by knowing what the consumer wants.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Communication Leaflet Essay

Idea occurs: this is when you think of an idea that you want to communicate. We all communicate for a reason, which is usually to pass on information to another person. Message coded: once we have thought of an idea we compose this within our thoughts, how we are going to say our idea to the recipient in a way the recipient will understand. For example, is the message going to be spoken to them, do they speak English. Is the message going to written down for them or are we going to use sign language, if so, what signs are we going to use to portray our message. Message sent: idea/message sent to the recipient. Message received: message is received by the other person. The recipient senses they have a message, for example either by seeing the message you’re signing or have written to them or hearing the message you’re speaking to them. Message decoded: recipient looks at the message and has to process what you have communicated for them to understand what has been spoken, signed or written, the message could be misunderstood easily by interpreting words differently. Message understood: the message has been received, decoded and understood by the recipient. If it has been communicated clearly, for example if there were no barriers within the communication cycle, the recipient will show their understanding by replying to your message. As the conversation continues, the sender of the message will then become the receiver of the replied message and so on and so on. Example of a message being sent using the Communication Cycle. The cycle will only continue if both parties understand what one another are sending, they can only do this by listening and processing what is being sent, understand then you can reply appropriately. In the communication cycle, things don’t always go smoothly and communication can break down when the cycle is broken. The cycle can break if the sender is unclear when they are sending their message or the receiver can misunderstand the message due to other distractions and then assume something else was being sent. Working in health and social care, your communicational skills are one of the most important skills you’ll need and use everyday. When communicating with patients/service users it is important they understand what discussions are taking place so they can join in them and it is equally as important for you to understand them so you know what they need and the choices they want to make. Communication barriers There are so many barriers that could affect communication between people. For example: Noisy surroundings: these can be a barrier as you may not be hear what is being spoken over the noise. For example, The manager of a care home was having a staff meeting when they were distracted with a noisy drilling and hammering sounds from workmen using loud tools in the room next door.. To overcome a noisy distraction you could ask the workmen how long they are going to be and if it isn’t too long you may take a break or postpone your meeting until they have finished. You could ask if they could delay theirs works for the remainder of your meeting. If this is not possible, rearrange your meeting for a later day, move room location for the remainder of the meeting. Disabilities: A physically disabled person attending their eye appointment and there is no lift at the opticians. To overcome this barrier you would enquire to see if the have another means to transporting the service user up the stairs and if this was not possible, enquire if the appointment could take place downstairs and if this was not possible, arrange an appointment where they can accommodate a wheelchair. Cultural differences: same meaning but different beliefs in different cultures. For example, eye contact when initially greeting some cultures is important but continuing eye contact is seen as a sign of disrespect. Some cultures like you to introduce yourself, they like a smile and a shake of hands. They are particular with the way they shake hands, extend the hand out and gently touch the other person’s hand, they don’t like the strong grasping shake of hands that the some cultures have. Bad lighting: bad lighting can be a distraction for example, someone who is visually impaired and wears glasses is at a meeting and the bright florescent lights are reflecting off their lenses or flickering distracting their sight. To overcome this barrier, you would enquire of any disabilities people may have, such as visual impairments or epilepsy and would not use lighting that will affect their condition or change room locations if the problem of flickering lights persists. Jargon: is technical terminology used by professionals for example, when a doctor uses full medical terminology when speaking to a service user and they do not explain what they mean in a way the service user can understand. Slang: is wording and phrases that are used by service users that could have several ways of being misinterpreted by others, for example, the elder service users may say they have water problems, and they are meaning they have toileting problems, we may think they mean tap water problems. Slang can be used when all parties understand. Language barriers: someone who doesn’t speak in a language you understand, for example, they are foreign or they can only communicate with sign language. To overcome a language barrier, enquire what language they communicate and have in place a signer if needed or a translator. Body language: is an aid to expressing what we want to communicate, verbally and none verbally. Body language that can be misinterpreted, for example, a manager stood at their office door with their arms folded may be seen as they are angry when really they are stood there listening as they are waiting for a visitor. Aggression: an aggressive attitude is often a barrier as this behaviour is frightening to others and can be intimidating. Mobile phones: ringing at the wrong time, for example, you are at Sunday mass with a service user and whilst your at the alter with the service user, your mobile phone rings. To ensure mobile phones do not ring, put signs in place to ask people to kindly turn their mobiles on silent if they cannot turn them off for any reason.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The 9 Absolute Best Books on Writing by the Pros - Freewrite Store

The 9 Absolute Best Books on Writing by the Pros - Freewrite Store Today’s guest post is by  Matt Grant.  Matt is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor.  His  work has appeared in  Literary Hub,  Book Riot,  HuffPost, and  BookBrowse.  Find Matt  online, or follow him on  Twitter  and  Facebook. As a writer, as with any form of art, you need to constantly hone your craft. Education plays a big role in self-improvement, but you don’t have to be an MFA candidate to keep learning. You can pay for classes (which often cost and arm and an leg), or try to find free options online. One great way to find free (or at least cheap!) advice you can learn at your own pace is to read books on writing. Many prominent writers, publishers, English professors, and grammarians have written books on their craft intended to help writers improve their craft. And who better is there to learn from than the experts? Below are nine books to add to your shelf today that will help you in all phases of your writing journey. Reading Like a Writer,Francine Prose Technically a book on reading, Prose’s book is written with writers in mind. Her entire argument is that before there was such a thing as creative writing instruction, the only way writers learned their craft was from reading other writers. Prose’s practical and straightforward book will give you a deeper appreciation for good literature in general, and what it takes to write good literature specifically. She has sections on sentences, paragraphs, narration, character, dialogue, and more. Along the way, she stocks her advice with examples from literary titans, even including an entire section at the end called â€Å"Books to be Read Immediately.†    How to Read Literature Like a Professor,Thomas C. Foster Have you ever read a â€Å"great† novel and felt like you’re missing out on a hidden layer of meaning? If subtext often goes over your head and you have a hard time deciphering metaphors, this book may be for you. Foster, a professor of English at University of Michigan-Flint, has provided a fun and easygoing guide to â€Å"reading between the lines.† With chapter titles like â€Å"Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires,† and â€Å"It’s My Symbol and I’ll Cry if I Want to,† Foster’s book is a fun, lighthearted take on literary analysis. It’s a helpful guide for how to deconstruct motifs, themes, images and other symbols in great novels, which you can turn around and apply to your own work.      The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White No writer’s library is complete without a stylebook, and The Elements of Stylehas been thestandard stylebook since 1918. You probably recognize E.B. White as the author of beloved children’s classics Charlotte’s Weband Stuart Little.William Strunk, Jr. was his English professor at Cornell University. Strunk wrote the original version, which White later expanded. This is an extremely practical book to carry around, just over 100 pages, and it easily fits in your pocket. It focuses on usage, form, and even lists commonly misspelled words.    Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott Lamott’s wonderful book is both a memoir and writing advice guide. Her emotional and honest take on the writing life is refreshing. In it, she tells a story from her childhood about her ten-year-old brother freaking out over a huge report on birds that he’d had three months to complete. Overwhelmed by the task and unsure of where to begin, Lamott recalls her father putting his arm around her brother and telling him to just take it â€Å"bird by bird.† The same advice applies to writing, Lamott says, as writers take their work one word, sentence, and book at a time. What’s more, Bird by Birdwill disabuse you of any notions of overnight success in literature.    Several Short Sentences About Writing,Verlyn Klinkenborg Klinkenborg is a creative writing professor at Yale University, and his short, breezy book is one of best books on writing I’ve ever read. Written in short, snappy sentences laid out like poetry, Several Short Sentences About Writing aims to have writers focus on writing good, clear sentences. And that’s it. Klinkenborg argues that great sentences will lead to great writing, and that good sentences can make even the most boring and mundane subject seem fascinating. He encourages writers to think of each sentence as its own entity on the page, separate from everything that comes before and after it. At the end, he includes a section of bad sentence examples, culled from his years as a writing professor. I’m just glad he wasn’t mine!    On Writing Well, William Zinsser Zinsser’s On Writing Wellis a pretty classic college textbook for writing classes, so if you slept through English, now might be a good time to revisit it. As a former reporter for the New York Herald Tribuneand the author of 17 nonfiction books, Zinsser’s area of expertise is nonfiction. The first two sections of his book are a more narrative version of The Elements of Style,but the third focuses on different forms nonfiction writing can take. Zinsser shows what goes into good interviews, memoir writing, sports reporting, and travel writing. This volume is essential reading for anyone wishing to write good, compelling nonfiction.    On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King If you think Stephen King is enjoying a renaissance right now with the film versions of The Dark Towerand Itin theaters, you don’t know his work very well. King is one of the most influential and iconic authors of the 20th century. His stamp is everywhere you look and has been for a long time. In this acclaimed book that is â€Å"part memoir, part master class, by one of the bestselling authors of all time,† King shares the habits and practices that have solidified his place in American literary history. King’s prose is personable and reads like you’re talking to a good friend in person. On Writingis great for King fans and aspiring writers alike.    Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee Now wait a minute, you might be asking, how is a book on screenwriting helpful for prose writers? Well, read McKee’s brilliant Storyand you’ll see why. This is not just a book about screenwriting, but how all great stories are structured. After an introduction that takes you through the principlesof good storytelling – why do people find certain story elements compelling? – McKee breaks down, using examples from some of the most influential films in cinematic history, essential story elements. There’s the Inciting Incident, Three-Act story design, and the crisis, climax, and final resolution. If none of this sounds familiar, pick up this essential guide for writers of any genre who want to tell well-structured, compelling stories.    Bonus: What We See When We Read, Peter Mendelsund Another book on reading? Absolutely! All writers are good readers. This delightful book, told mostly through pictures, is all about the phenomenologyof reading – how words, which have no concrete images attached to them, can nevertheless conjure images in a reader’s brain. It’s an essential reminder that the writer’s work is bringing images to life with our words.    When in doubt, a writer’s first stop should always be books. While we don’t all have personal, constant access to writing experts to ask their advice and opinions, we do have the next best thing: their books. Not to mention all the literary classics throughout history that you can learn a lot from just by reading. So don’t hesitate - head to your local library or bookstore today and pick out some of these titles!    There you have it, the books by the pros to get you writing like a pro. Which books on writing are your favorites? Which books did we miss? Let us know in the comments!    Matt Grant  loves to write about writing, business, and all forms of popular  culture – books, film, and television. Matt started writing DVD reviews for  Pop Matters  in 2012, and in 2016, he followed through on a life-long dream by launching a part-time writing business at  www.mattgrantwriter.com. Since then, Matt’s work has appeared in  Literary Hub,  Book Riot,  HuffPost, and  BookBrowse,  and he has several ongoing clients.  His first personal essay,  Swimming Lessons,  is being published in LongReads at the end of August. Matt is also currently hard at work on his first novel, a comedic take on fantasy tropes for young adults. When not writing or reading, Matt works in youth development as an after-school program director  for one of the largest middle schools in Manhattan. Matt lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Katelyn.

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to plan successful events and meetings -The JobNetwork

How to plan successful events and meetings -The JobNetwork Whether you’re an admin or an engineer, there are some skills that will come in handy no matter what. Being able to organize events and meetings effectively is one of those skills- good organizational skills and tools will help you in virtually any field. If you’re in an administrative role and need to take the lead on planning a meeting or event but don’t know where to start- we’ve got you covered! Let’s look at the basics you’ll need.Pre-organize your meeting or event.Before you get started, make sure you understand everything you’ll need to have in place. Take notes so you remember all the elements. (Nothing fancy- this is for your own reference.)For meetings, that means making sure you know†¦What’s the topic?What’s the goal (desired outcome) of the meeting?Who needs to be there?Is it happening in your office, or somewhere else?Will people outside of your company be attending?Should you arrange for food or drinks to be available (like coffee, breakfast foods, sandwiches)?What kind of tech or tools will the attendees need (like access to presentation software, a projector screen, a white board, etc.)?For events like conferences or parties, that means making sure you know†¦Who should be attending?Do speakers’ schedules need to be coordinated?Is there a tentative schedule for the event, or will you need to figure out the timing?Does a location or facility need to be booked? If so, how many rooms are necessary?Will people be traveling to attend this event?Will attendees need to have any travel arrangements made?Is there a social component (lunch, dinner, drinks)?What are the catering needs?What kind of technology will presenters and attendees need?Does the event require programs, handouts, or anything else that needs to be designed or printed?If you’re being asked to organize the event, make sure you have all of the details from your boss or whomever is requesting the event. D on’t be shy about asking questions- you don’t want to miss something, and have to scramble later.Choose an organizational tool for your event.Ask yourself: how do you best stay organized? Do you function best when you have information physically in front of you? Or do you function best when you have all the information you need at your fingertips on your phone or tablet? The great thing is that you can go as technological as you want here- there are a number of helpful business event planning apps out there, like Sched or Planning Pod.Create specific folders on your computer, so you can store any documents, emails, and notes. If you prefer a more old-school method, try using a binder, which you can divide into relevant sections:Vendor informationSchedulesReceipts and invoicesAttendee informationOrganizational planners with calendars (like the kind you get at your local office supply store) can also be helpful, especially if you have a long lead time and specific deadli nes you need to meet along the way. The most important thing is to pick a method that works best for you and  stick with it.Set a timeline for your event planning.Before you move ahead with inviting people or booking a space for your meeting or event, sit down and plan a timeline.When is the event taking place?What milestones will you need to hit before then?How much time will each of those steps take?Once you know your own planning schedule, set reminders along the way to make sure you’re checking everything off from your to-do list. Again, whatever format works best for you is good. You can build reminders in via your work email platform (like Outlook or Gmail) or set them on your phone or tablet. The most important part is that the reminders aren’t easily missed or ignored.Master your meeting plan.If you’re planning more of an everyday meeting, many of these principles still apply. Being organized is the key; even if it’s a budget summit with five pe ople or a basic sales meeting, you want it to run just as smoothly as if you’re planning a conference. The timeline for meeting setup is likely more condensed; you or your boss may need to set up a meeting in the near future, so your timeline is even more important, even if you have fewer to-dos.Get your meeting on everyone’s calendar.One of the first things you should do for your meeting (after answering the questions outlined earlier) is make sure that everyone who needs to be there is available. Juggling multiple calendars can be tricky, especially if your company doesn’t have a synced calendar system (like Outlook) where you can see if another employee is booked during a particular time, or if you’re including people from outside of your company. One way to get the ball rolling is to send out an email to the necessary attendees, offer them blocks of time for potential meeting slots, and let them weigh in on what works best. For example:Hi all,  Iâ⠂¬â„¢m setting up a one-hour meeting to talk about the year-end results, and wanted to confirm what time works best for the group. Can you please let me know if any of the times below do not work for you?  Monday 12/1, between 2:00 and 4:00Wednesday, 12/3, between 10:00 and 11:30Thursday, 12/4, between 9:30 and 11:30Thanks!Ideally, everyone in the group can make one (or more) of the times you give them. If they can’t, well, then you have to start playing a bit of meeting Jenga, finding a time that works for the most people (while making sure that you’re not excluding someone who absolutely needs to be there). But at least you have a starting point for everyone’s availability.Set your meeting agenda.One of the biggest meeting pet peeves is that the meetings aren’t focused enough or don’t have a set agenda of discussion points, and waste time on things that might not be necessary. The best way to counteract this is to send a detailed agenda ahead o f time, making sure that everyone involved knows what will be discussed. That way, Bill can prepare his notes on the project status and Susan can be ready to talk about her recent trip to corporate headquarters to talk about quarterly earnings. If you’re running the meeting yourself, the agenda gives you a ready outline to keep things moving. And if you’re not the one running the meeting but are organizing on someone else’s behalf, you can ask him or her for the agenda points they’d like to discuss. That not only helps keep you on track for organizing everything well, but also helps your boss prepare as well. It also gives you a ready-made template for notes after the meeting because then you can just add bullet points and next stepsWhen you send out the agenda, be clear about the expectations of the meeting. Is it just an informational meeting? Will there be a presentation? Are participants expected to brainstorm? If everyone knows what’s expected of them, then it will be a more productive meeting (and if someone isn’t prepared after you did all this advance work, that’s not on you as the organizer!).Be ready to follow up on your meeting.This is especially important if you’re running the meeting yourself. Make sure you take notes during the meeting, keeping track of the main points, conclusions, or action items that people will need to do next. Afterward, send out those notes to the group. I find that these notes don’t need to be super-detailed- an outline with bullet points and clearly identified sections is usually welcome. People tend to skim or glaze over large chunks of narrative text and may miss some crucial information. If there are any next steps that are required from any meeting attendees, make sure those are presented clearly so that everyone understands what’s expected of them.If you’re organizing the meeting for a boss or someone else and you won’t be attending t he meeting yourself, be sure to ask if that person wants you to send out any notes or follow-up correspondence to the group. And if a follow-up meeting is necessary, restart this whole process as soon as possible so that it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind.Organizational skills are a resume winner for just about every field. And if you’re going into an administrative job, being able to wrangle every kind of event- from small meetings to big to-dos- will make you extremely valuable. These are skills everyone can develop with a bit of practice, diligence, and help from organizational tools that can save you from your own human forgetfulness. Before long, you’ll be impressing your bosses with how smoothly your events go and earning much deserved credit for getting and keeping everything organized and running well.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

8th Grade History Observation

I was very excited about this assignment. I enjoy going into the classroom and being able to observe what is going on and how everyone interacts with each other. I decided to attend a classroom at an expulsion school that has 4th- 12th grade students. Every student has a different story of why they are they at this school, some students made a mistake and want to earn their way back to their school site and some do not care about school and to not try to work towards anything positive. The staff explained that working there is a challenge and takes a special type of person that can adjust to a variety of challenging students and still try to accomplish a positive learning environment. I decided to observe the 8th grade history class for an entire chapter. I wanted to get the full experience from the start of the lesson to testing and see how the whole lesson is presented, delivered and received from start to finish. The text book used is United States History: Independence to 1914. I sat in when the students were learning about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The book seemed difficult for some students to read and comprehend. There was an aide in the classroom at all times. I sat in a class with 31 students in it and 12 of them had an IEP, 504 plan or BSP. The teacher and aide were constantly walking around and helping the students with a diverse set of challenges. Some students I could see clearly could not read the book. The level of reading was considerably lower that what the textbook was. I could see there were students with a 2nd grade reading level trying to read a 8th grade textbook. There was also one student who caught my eye because he had a one on one aide. The first day of class the teacher passes out a page that is front and back. This has a few vocabulary words that are in the text and has sentences from the text with blanks within the sentences. The student is to read through the text and fill in the blanks and define the vocabulary words. Most students are able to complete this task without help. It took them to look in the glossary or dictionary and copy the definition. The student with a one on one aide did not have the skills to find the words alphabetically. He needed assistance finding the words and then was able to copy the words down on the page. The teacher and aide continued to walk around with the class and that kept everyone on task. I thought this was a good idea and the students seemed to know what to do and got right to work. They are allowed to work in a group of two or independently. The students that seemed serious about getting the work done worked independently. The students who worked â€Å"smarter not harder† split to front and back pages and then copied so that they could finish and have free time. The second day of class was for the students to finish their sheet of work. The students that already finished earned free time. I saw this was a distraction for the students who were still working. They were constantly looing at the students that had free time and could not focus on the job they needed to complete. A few students rushed through their work to earn free time. I did not notice anyone checking their completed work. After this class knowing that all the students were finished I asked the teacher if I could see the answer key and review the students work. He gladly granted my request. Out of 30 students, only 5 students did a great job and it showed in their work that they cared about getting a good grade and had little to no incorrect answers. More than half of the students clearly did not care and wrote in bogus answers. The few that were left copied each other’s work and clearly did not care about what was written. The third day of class the students traded papers and corrected their work with the teacher. He went through every question and had them write in the correct answer if they got it wrong. This was the first time I saw interaction between the teacher and the students. There was no conversation about the information and how this may apply to the students today. The correction of the two sided paper took the whole hour period, mainly because the students were uninterested and wasted a lot of time talking. It was almost like the students did not know how to behave when the teacher was in front of the class. After the students were done correcting their work the teacher collected the papers and recorded their grades. The next day, which was day 4 and the 4th hour of instruction on this lesson, the teacher passed out their work with the correct answers and a similar paper that read â€Å"test†. This format was the same as the assignment and had sentences from the text with blanks for the student to write the correct answer completing the sentence. I reviewed the test and see that the answer or black portion for the student to fill in was the question in the assignment. The question in the assignment was the answer or blank portion in the test. The whole concept seemed a little easy for this age and to be honest very boring and redundant. The next day the teacher had the students watch a history movie on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The movie had more interest to the kids than the assignment that week. I was disappointed with the teaching aspect of this class. The teacher said he feels this â€Å"packet method† gets through the material and is repetitious for the kids to learn the material. I felt the kids were bored and had no desire to read the material. These kids especially strive for attention and most of the times do not have positive interactions with adults. The Constitution and Bill of Rights is a LARGE part of our history and after this week these kids did not have a better understanding or respect for our country and the rights they take for granted. The teacher and the children were not involved with each other at all with exception to correcting the assignment together. There are many things I would do differently. I would first, to get their attention, had out a blank piece of paper and ask them to make their own rights and make their own Constitution. I would have them do this to grab their interest in the lesson. These kids are more interested in what they think and what they want than anything else so I would use that and ask them what they want. I would then let them speak to the class about what they feel like they should have as right and why. This would teach the kids to respect the student speaking and also teach the kids courage to get up and speak in front of a group of their peers without using foul language. I would want to spark up a conversation about right and how important they are to each and every person. After that I would use the study guide the teacher created and read and answer the study guide as a class. I would also relate the lesson to what the students wrote in their own Bill of Rights. This was a great learning experience for me as an aspiring teacher. I would want more interaction within my classroom and my students. The students were very diverse in the aspect of some wanting to work, some not caring about the work, some unable to do work and some tweeners. I think having control of the classroom is the key in this environment. Being in front of the students and showing them you care about this and they should too, this is the philosophy I would do every day in class. I would have very little time in this environment where the student has the option when they are finished they would have free time. The only incentive there is the quicker you finish the quicker you can do whatever you want. I would have different incentives and a more positive environment that the kids could participate in with me, the teacher, the leader and their peers. In this type of school I feel with the curriculum you are also teaching life skills that they have not had the privilege of learning in their home environment. I cannot wait to have my own classroom and see the outcome of constant interaction and having the students give their personality to the lesson and assignments.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Transgender Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Transgender - Research Paper Example Most states have not developed hate crime laws related to gender identity. It has been estimated that one transgender is killed in the united state per month as a result of hate crime. Transgender people also face sexual discrimination in their day to day activities. This is because many people in the society have not accepted them. As a result, employees and housing agents tend to shy away from them. Most states have laws that ban discrimination based on ones sexual orientation. However, few have laws banning discrimination based on gender identity. In some states in the United States do not have laws that cover couples of the same sex. This is a delicate issue among the transgender community where couples of the same sex, also known as gays are a subset of this community. This are couples of the same sex. They miss out on the privileges of being in a marriage. These privileges include: the right to inherit the partner’s property, the right to enjoy tax deductions related to properties and income and the right to share property after divorce (Currah et al. 15). In several states in the United States there is a restriction in the foster care and adaption sector. There are restrictions on who can adapt children. In most cases, adoption is not allowed to couples of the same sex marriage. There is also a ban in several states on adoption of children by couples of the same sex. Couples experience discrimination from the adoption agencies based on the religious or the moral background. The disorder leads to unhappiness and depression because there is that feeling of not belonging in the society. This is because the society is yet to fully accept transgender in the society. In most cases, these individuals are rejected by their families, friends and even the church for what they believe. This is because transgender is seen it as being against the religion, especially by the church (Valentine and David 35). This

WORLD WAR II WAS A WAR OF UNPRECEDENT DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, MUCH OF Essay

WORLD WAR II WAS A WAR OF UNPRECEDENT DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, MUCH OF IT FOCUSED ON CIVILIANS, WHY - Essay Example The major control of Germany was in the hand of Adolf Hitler. He was the leader of Nazi party. He conquered the lands of Germany and defeated Poland. This proved to break out war against Germany and slowly nearly whole world indulged into it. In world war 2 more than 63 million people of allied and axis powers were died. This death figure included 24 million soldiers and 38 million civilians in which 90% civilians were from allied nations. Allied nations defeated the axis powers and this was the end of war. The major destruction in this war caused to Allied nation people. Death figure of civilians are given which shows the deadliness of world war 2.Around 11.7 million civilian died in Soviet Union, 7 million in China, 5.2 million in Poland, 2 million in Germany and 0.6 million in Japan. 5 million European Jews died due to genocide. In world war two many new weapons like atomic bombs, missiles, fighter planes, biochemical bombs were invented which caused to mass destruction and genetic disorders.

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction Essay

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction - Essay Example White argue that taxpayers were now allowed to deduct interest they pay on secured loan by qualified homes, either their main home or a second home. The loans in this case include first and second mortgages, credit’s home equity line and home equity loans. White (1) argues that recreational vehicles and even boats may also qualify as home in case they have cooking sleeping and toilet facilities. White notes that millions of US homeowners depend on the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction as a way of reducing their true cost of homeownership and have more disposable income. This interest is filed on form 1040 of schedule A accompanied with other itemized deductions such as medical expenses, real estate property tax and donations. In this case, taxpayers are expected to fill in Schedule A, to determine if their itemized deductions exceed the standard. If this is proved so, then taxpayers will save more money based on their taxes by itemizing. Over the past years, many issues and cont roversies surrounding Home Mortgage Tax Deduction have arisen as to whether or not it should be scraped. Many economists consider it a waste of money due to concern about the federal budget deficit (Perez 1). They argue that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction does very little to assist in lowering income homeowners make the changeover from renters to owners. These economists say that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction only encourage upper income buyers to buy big homes to take bigger mortgages a view which I also concur with. This paper will discuss why Home Mortgage Tax Deduction should be scraped as a way of cutting the budget. History of the residential housing market Muth and Goodman (1) argue that housing is the most precious and unique commodity. In US for instance, about one-seventh of all personal consumption expenditures are on housing exclusive of other household operations and furnishing. They notes that residential real estate accounts for more than half of the US fixed capital stock and about one-quarter of the country’s gross lending investments are made up of construction of residential estates. Mortgage lending has however varied for one-quarter to one-fifth of all funds raised by Americas credit markets. United States is one country that has faced economic housing bubbles over the past few years affecting many parts of the countries housing market. For instance, the prices of housing peaked at the beginning of 2006 with a decline towards 2007 reaching its low recently in this year. For instance, at around December 2008, the home price index of Case-Shiller reported the largest drop in prices in America’s history. It is argued that increased rates of foreclosure between 2006 and 2007 among homeowners in US is what led to the crisis that hit the country in August 2008 for credit, subprime, mortgage, hedge funds. Leader of the realty and mortgage industries Economy Watch (1) notes that real estate industry emerged as one of the major industries i n the united states over the past few years. It argues that the housing bubble witnessed in Florida, California, and Michigan, and New York brought with it major changes in real estate in US. The housing bubble was the result of an increase in valuation of real estate in the US domestic territory. Economy Watch reports that mortgage lenders, commercial banks and other financial

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 6

Philosophy - Essay Example e worry that this world might too be a dream was famously expressed by the French philosopher Rene Descartes in the seventeenth century in his Meditations. In fact, he specifically sought to doubt whatever could be doubted in order to lay the foundations for true knowledge through reasoning. After pointing out what happens during sleep, he makes his ‘dreaming argument’ when he writes, â€Å"In dwelling carefully on this reflection, I see so manifestly that there are no certain indications by which we may clearly distinguish wakefulness from sleep that I am lost in astonishment. And my astonishment is such that it is almost capable of persuading me that I now dream† (Descartes, 2009: 12). Put simply, the reasoning of his argument is that perceptions during both states are similar, and given that there are no ways to distinguish between them, therefore this raises the possibility that even during ‘waking’ one may be dreaming such that the perceptions du ring ‘waking’ may turn out to be ‘false’ as in dreams. An outline of this argument is presented below. Thus, Descartes doubts both; being presently awake and being ever awake. He refers to the particulars (i.e. what we do) during sleep as false delusions, and the things represented to us in dreams, as â€Å"painted representations which can only have been formed as the counterparts of something real and true †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ibid). Incidentally, this shows that the non-dream world does have a greater originality than the dream world because what is painted in dreams is not created ex nihilo, but he continues to suggest that all the thoughts he has â€Å"are no more true than the phantasies† of his dreams (ibid: 49). Furthermore, Descartes’ obsessively skeptical approach is rather dubious because in places, it does not make sense, and some of his ideas like the demon are hypothetical. Moreover, it is ironic that after much doubting and casting aside the trustworthiness of the senses, he never once doubts his own

Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World Essay - 2

Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World - Essay Example The brain in a vat scenario depicts a situation where all beliefs we hold about the world would presumably be false despite the fact that they are justified. Brain in a vat argument presents a situation where a removed human brain placed in a life-sustaining fluid and connected to computers that provide exactly the same impulses as the body. The computers effectively create a virtual reality. The person with the disembodied brain continues to have a perfect life without a relationship with the object of the real world. The person will not be able to discover the reality of their simulated world thus transferring my consciousness to a computer would make no difference, I will not mind. Q2. Metaphysics is concerned with the fundamental nature of reality whose hypothesis may claim the truth underlying physics. It may also say a thing about our mind’s nature or creation of the world. Matrix hypothesis is regarded as a metaphysical proposition with all the three elements. These are the reality underlying physics, nature of our minds and the creation of the world. Each of these elements is coherent, and cannot be ruled out conclusively and none of them is a skeptical hypothesis. Matrix and metaphysical hypotheses are similar in three-part version. The fundamental computation of the physical processes, the separation of our cognitive systems from physical processes while interacting with these processes and lastly the physical reality created outside the physical space. One may make various objections. For instance, one might argue that the matrix hypothesis implies a computer simulation where physical process exists but not simply that the physical processes themselves exist. Matrix hypothesis seeks to create consciousness in minds, which may or may not be fully aware that they are living in a simulation. Q3. Computer games and simulations are interactive multimedia whose

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction Essay

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction - Essay Example White argue that taxpayers were now allowed to deduct interest they pay on secured loan by qualified homes, either their main home or a second home. The loans in this case include first and second mortgages, credit’s home equity line and home equity loans. White (1) argues that recreational vehicles and even boats may also qualify as home in case they have cooking sleeping and toilet facilities. White notes that millions of US homeowners depend on the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction as a way of reducing their true cost of homeownership and have more disposable income. This interest is filed on form 1040 of schedule A accompanied with other itemized deductions such as medical expenses, real estate property tax and donations. In this case, taxpayers are expected to fill in Schedule A, to determine if their itemized deductions exceed the standard. If this is proved so, then taxpayers will save more money based on their taxes by itemizing. Over the past years, many issues and cont roversies surrounding Home Mortgage Tax Deduction have arisen as to whether or not it should be scraped. Many economists consider it a waste of money due to concern about the federal budget deficit (Perez 1). They argue that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction does very little to assist in lowering income homeowners make the changeover from renters to owners. These economists say that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction only encourage upper income buyers to buy big homes to take bigger mortgages a view which I also concur with. This paper will discuss why Home Mortgage Tax Deduction should be scraped as a way of cutting the budget. History of the residential housing market Muth and Goodman (1) argue that housing is the most precious and unique commodity. In US for instance, about one-seventh of all personal consumption expenditures are on housing exclusive of other household operations and furnishing. They notes that residential real estate accounts for more than half of the US fixed capital stock and about one-quarter of the country’s gross lending investments are made up of construction of residential estates. Mortgage lending has however varied for one-quarter to one-fifth of all funds raised by Americas credit markets. United States is one country that has faced economic housing bubbles over the past few years affecting many parts of the countries housing market. For instance, the prices of housing peaked at the beginning of 2006 with a decline towards 2007 reaching its low recently in this year. For instance, at around December 2008, the home price index of Case-Shiller reported the largest drop in prices in America’s history. It is argued that increased rates of foreclosure between 2006 and 2007 among homeowners in US is what led to the crisis that hit the country in August 2008 for credit, subprime, mortgage, hedge funds. Leader of the realty and mortgage industries Economy Watch (1) notes that real estate industry emerged as one of the major industries i n the united states over the past few years. It argues that the housing bubble witnessed in Florida, California, and Michigan, and New York brought with it major changes in real estate in US. The housing bubble was the result of an increase in valuation of real estate in the US domestic territory. Economy Watch reports that mortgage lenders, commercial banks and other financial

Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World Essay - 2

Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World - Essay Example The brain in a vat scenario depicts a situation where all beliefs we hold about the world would presumably be false despite the fact that they are justified. Brain in a vat argument presents a situation where a removed human brain placed in a life-sustaining fluid and connected to computers that provide exactly the same impulses as the body. The computers effectively create a virtual reality. The person with the disembodied brain continues to have a perfect life without a relationship with the object of the real world. The person will not be able to discover the reality of their simulated world thus transferring my consciousness to a computer would make no difference, I will not mind. Q2. Metaphysics is concerned with the fundamental nature of reality whose hypothesis may claim the truth underlying physics. It may also say a thing about our mind’s nature or creation of the world. Matrix hypothesis is regarded as a metaphysical proposition with all the three elements. These are the reality underlying physics, nature of our minds and the creation of the world. Each of these elements is coherent, and cannot be ruled out conclusively and none of them is a skeptical hypothesis. Matrix and metaphysical hypotheses are similar in three-part version. The fundamental computation of the physical processes, the separation of our cognitive systems from physical processes while interacting with these processes and lastly the physical reality created outside the physical space. One may make various objections. For instance, one might argue that the matrix hypothesis implies a computer simulation where physical process exists but not simply that the physical processes themselves exist. Matrix hypothesis seeks to create consciousness in minds, which may or may not be fully aware that they are living in a simulation. Q3. Computer games and simulations are interactive multimedia whose

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The aim of this experiment Essay Example for Free

The aim of this experiment Essay The aim of this experiment is to find out if a steaming cup of coffee stays warm longer when leaving it untouched, or pouring cold milk into it  Theory  Physics informs us that large quantities of liquid take longer to cool than smaller quantities. Since there are more molecules in a larger quantity of liquid it may take longer to heat, but once the molecules are heated they take longer to cool down than a smaller quantity of water. Therefore I expect the beaker where the milk has been added straight away to have a higher temperature Procedure  1. First of all the coffee has to be made. Pour some water in the large beaker and heat it using the Bunsen burner. Once the water is boiling sprinkle the coffee powder into the beaker and stir it until the coffee is made.  2. Now pour equal amounts of coffee into the beakers A and B, and place a thermometer in each beaker. Set the stopwatch on zero and start recording the time. Record the temperature of each beaker. 3. Pour the milk into beaker A and stir the liquids for a short amount of time.  4. Now let a member of your group walk across the laboratory and open the door. Obtain the time duration of this procedure.  5. As soon as the team member returns to the experiment site pour the same amount of cold milk into Beaker B. record the temperatures of both beakers after stirring beaker B for a short time. 6. Now repeat this experiment, but change the amount of time spent going to the door and back. Also change the amount of milk and water used. Record your results appropriately.  Smallest division for measuring liquids (water, milk) = 0.1 ?C  Error = 0.1 ? 0.5  = 0.05 ?C  Difference between Beaker A and Beaker B:  The average difference = A B = 51?C 49.50?C = 1.50?C.  Error:  0.05?C + 0.05?C = 0.1?C  Therefore difference = 1.5 ?0.1?C Evaluation As always the apparatus was set up with great care, and I ensured that the thermometers were not heated or cooled before being used. The only major error that may have occurred is the parallax error. This may have happened during the taking down of readings from the thermometers, although great care was taken to avoid this. Conclusion As the table of results shows; the beaker in which the milk was poured right after the coffee was added (beaker A), meaning it contained more liquid during the procedure of going up to the door and back, did indeed stay warmer. Beaker A was, on average, 1.50?C warmer than Beaker B. This supports my expectations and I conclude the experiment as being successful. Therefore the best option would be to pour the milk before attending to the door, especially if it would take a longer period of time to deal with the person at the door.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Discussing Principles And Importance Of Good Record Keeping Nursing Essay

Discussing Principles And Importance Of Good Record Keeping Nursing Essay This essay aims to focus on record keeping. It will briefly discuss the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2009) guidance for nurses and midwives and the importance of good record keeping in the health care setting. This literature will also discuss four of these principles. The first principle is of detailed assessment and reviews which helps set up a care plan. It then moves on to the next principle which discusses hand writing and how it should be written legible. The next principle that has been discussed is the one that records should be accurate and recorded in a way that meaning is clear. Finally the last principle that has been discussed is that records should be factual and not include unnecessary abbreviations, jargon, meaningless phrases or irrelevant speculation. It then progressively moves on to discuss how these four principles impact on a care plan and how they are maintained. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2009:1) have guidelines for good record keeping, this helps nurses maintain good record keeping skills. Good record keeping skills is an important part of a nurses role in the health care setting. It helps nurses provide the correct and safe care towards a patient. Computer documentation is used in many of the health care settings, however hand writing in documentation is still widely used. The guidelines are used for both written and electronic record keeping. The process of record keeping is every bit as important as hands on clinical skills to helping maintain patients safety within the health care setting. It is not only important for monitoring a patients treatment and medical condition, it is also important for any legal issues that may arise when providing care to a patient regarding any care or treatment they have received when in a health care setting (Griffith 2007:363 ). There is a principle in the NMC 2009 for good record keeping that states you should record details of any assessment and reviews undertaken and provide clear evidence of the arrangements you have made for future and ongoing care. This should also include details of information given about care and treatment (NMC 2009). This principle can help when putting a care plan in place for the care needs of a patient. When a patient first comes into any health care setting the first form of documentation is a written assessment of the patient and what their care needs are. This is a very important part of record keeping as it is the beginning of the care planning process. Assessment forms will include vital information on the patients medical condition and what their care needs are. It is also important to have all information regarding next of kin in case a patients condition was to deteriorate (Miller and Gibb 2007:250). A part of an assessment that is vital to a patients safety can be infor mation regarding any medication. This can highlight what a patient may be taking at the present time or any medication that they have an allergy to. If information regarding allergies is clearly documented then all care staff involved are aware when delivering care to the patient (Diamond 2005:460). The next stage in the care planning process is to put a plan into action to what treatment is best for the patients needs. All aspects of the patients care needs get reviewed so that all the patients care needs can be met. Implementation moves on from the planning stage in a care plan. This stage involves the nurse in charge of the patient getting referrals from other care professionals to meet the care needs of the patient. Evaluation is the final part of a care plan which looks at all the information recorded in a care plan. If the care needs of the patient have not been met then the health care professionals are able to make changes to the care plan for the best interest of the patient. This may include professionals at a different skill level, specificaly to deliver that care and treatment. It is the health care professionals responsibility to record and review all information regarding patients care. This enables care progress and makes sure the patients care needs are being met safely (Brooker and Waugh 2007 358). One of the principles for good record keeping is regarding handwriting hand writing should be legible (NMC 2009). A way in which badly written documents can cause problems is if prescribed medication that has been recorded is not written clearly, not only the type of medication but also information on administering medication. If a patients records are written clearly there is less risk to the patients safety (Reddy 2006:330). In any care setting good writing skills are very important as other multidisciplinary teams can be involved in a patients care. It is important that they can easily read any treatment and care a patient is receiving and that all needs of the patient are being met. A care plan is a legal document so it is vital that all information can be easily read. Any care professional who writes any information in a care plan is personally responsible for the information that they have written (Powell 2009:300). When a nurse writes in a care plan regarding treatment to a patient they may make a mistake and need to correct what they have written, this is the only reason why information can be changed. Correction fluid should never be used in a care plan to cover any written mistake. A line should be put through the error that has been made and the appropriate notes should be written in. The person making the change to the care plan should sign and date when they made the correction so other health care professionals can see why the correction was made to the care plan (Diamond 2005:261). This makes all written information in a patients or clients care plan more easily to read and any individual who writes in the care notes should try and use a black ink pen on white paper. A patients care plan is the main tool used in a care setting to communicate with different care professionals and services who may be involved in the care of a patient. In a variety of different care settings different colo ured paper is used for certain medical interventions. It is important that any paper and ink that is used in a care plan can be easily photocopied, as at times copies of some of the patients care plans may be needed (Griffith 2004:123). There is also a principle in the NMC that states your records should be accurate and recorded in a way that the meaning is clear. All notes that are written about a patients care should be clear so that any other care professionals who need to read the care plan know and understand what has been written. If a nurse was to write settled day what meaning does that actually have to other care staff. Care plans are helpful at finding out any care issues a patient may have. If there has been a problem regarding a patients care and it has been resolved then this has to be clearly documented. When a nurse comes on shift and takes over the care of a patient and the patients care notes may read awake most of the night due to being in pain and then did not write how she helped the patient overcome this problem then this is poor record keeping skills. Highlighting every intervention while delivering care is vital and information should not be missed out. It may be the case that the patient rece ived pain relief medication at the end of that previous nurses shift. If this was not documented in the patients care notes or kardex then the nurse who has taken over care of the patient may administer pain relief again, putting the patients safety risk. Documenting and recording clear and meaningful information regarding a patients care and any changes in a patients condition is a skill, and it is essential care professional in a care setting get it right. All written and computerised notes should be spelt accurately and have a clear meaning. Spelling may not always put a patients safety at risk but its not always that way regarding miss spelt medication. Many medications do sound the same when you say them but they are spelt differently and this can put a patients safety at risk (Diamond 2005:568). To keep records accurate all information written in a patients care plan must have a date with the day, month and year the staff member who has documented the information in the care plan. The time of documentation should also be added using the 24 hour clock. If all information in a patients care plan is accurate and up to date it helps maintain good communication between all care professionals involved in the patients care (Griffith 2004:124). Moving on to another principle in the NMC for maintaining good record keeping is the one that states records should be factual and not include unnecessary abbreviations, jargon, meaningless phrases or irrelevant speculation. One way this can cause a problem is if a nurse were to write in a patients care notes using abbreviations or jargon. Nurses who come on to a shift to take over the care of patients have to be able understand what has been written to help them deliver care effectively. Records are an important part of a patients care in which various health care professionals are involved in. Using abbreviations or jargon can put a patients safety at risk as it may have a totally different meaning to another person (Brooker and Waugh 2007:154). The NMC try to advice health care staff not to use abbreviations and follow the principles for record keeping. In some health care settings abbreviations will be used and nursing students need to be aware of what they mean to avoid any confusion. One of the abbreviations that are used safely in a health care setting is BP which means blood pressure. Abbreviations get used in health care settings to try and save time on record keeping as it does take up a lot of the health care staffs time (Diamond 2005:665). When care professionals follow these four principles of good record keeping it has an impact on a patients care plan in many ways. A care plan has all the relevant information regarding a patient. Having the correct and up to date information regarding a patient helps maintain a patients safety. Good record keeping has an impact on a patients health and helps recognise any sudden changes in a patient condition. If all information is written clearly with the correct spelling then other care professionals involved in the care of the patient can clearly understand what has been written. A well documented care plan helps maintain good communication between all care staff involved in the care of the patient. Some care staff who are involved in the patients care never see each other and a care plan is the only tool they have and would use for communicating and knowing what treatment and care the patient has been given and what care still needs to be delivered to the patient (Greyer 2005:24). A care plan is a legal document and all written information has to be accurate, clearly written and should not have any jargon or abbreviations contained in it. If a care plan is clearly documented with all the relevant information it impacts on the healthcare staff by safe guarding them in regards to any legal issues involving patients including the care staffs involvement (Diamond 2008:119). A care plan is maintained by reviewing this document at regular intervals. Reviewing care plans helps maintain accurate and safe care towards a patient. The main purpose for reviewing care plans is to maintain continuity of care. A review will help care staff determine if all care needs of the patient are being met and to notice if any of the care needs of the patient have changed from the initial assessment (Miller and Gibb 2007:272). An audit is another way to help maintain good record keeping of a care plan. An audit will check that all information is written clearly, with meaning, up to date and its accuracy. Audits can help highlight any inaccurate documentation and changes that can be made to rectify the inaccuracies within a document (Anderson 2000:355). Throughout this essay record keeping has been discussed and the importance of record keeping in the health care setting. It looked at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2009) guidance for nurses and midwives and four principles of record keeping. It later discussed how these principles impact and are maintained in a care plan. Record keeping is an important skill that nurses should have to maintain good communication between other care staff members regarding care needs of a patient. All care professionals involved in the care needs of a patient may never meet and only communicate through what they write in a patients care plan. It is important that all information is written clearly and can be easily understood to help maintain continuity of care towards the patient. There could be a problem for some nurses when it comes to writing information in a patients care notes. One way of doing this is if a nurse comes from another country and English is not their first language then they mi ght have some difficulty writing care notes and they need to be assessed to see if they are capable to write up notes correctly. Writing up care notes regarding a patient does take up time, many nurses feel the time used documenting information could be time used to treat a patient, but care plans are very important in the health care setting. Nurses should try and not leave writing up care notes to near the end of their shift, they should try and set aside time to document all relevant information regarding care given and nursing interventions of patient. If nurses leave writing up care notes to near the end of their shift and rush through what they are recording then this may cause them to miss out important information and could put a patients safety at risk. A care plan is a legal document and nurses should be aware of this when writing any care or treatment in a patients care notes. If all care notes are written clearly with no jargon then all other care professionals can easil y read what the care needs are of the patient. Student nurses should be aware that good record keeping is a skill and it is every bit as important as clinical skills they will learn. If a nurse finds it difficult to read any information in a care plan, they should inform the person in charge. Care notes are vitally important to protect healthcare staff in the event of any legal allegations that a patient has made regarding care or treatment they have received from the nurse. A care plan is a very important document for a variety of different reasons so good record keeping is important in all health care settings. Anderson E (2000) Issues surrounding record keeping in district nursing practice. British Journal of Community Nursing 5 (6) 297-299. Brooker C, Waugh A (2007) Foundation of Nursing Practice. Edinbrugh, Mosby Elsevier 154-358. Diamond B (2005) Exploring the principles of good record keeping in nursing. British Journal of Nursing 14 (8) 460-462. Diamond B (2005) Exploring common deficiencies that occur in record keeping. British Journal of Nursing 14 (10) 568-570. Greyer N (2005) Record keeping. South Africa. Juta and co ltd: 24. Griffith R (2007) The importance of earnest record keeping. Nurse Prescribing 5 (8) 363-366. Griffith R (2004) Putting the record straight: the importance of documentation. British Journal of Community Nursing 9 (3) 122-125. Miller J, Gibb S (2007) Care Practice for Higher 2nd edition. Paisley, Hodder and Gibson 205-272. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2009) Record Keeping: Guidance for nurses and midwives [Internet]. London, Nursing and Midwifery Council. Available: http://www.nmc-uk.org/aDisplayDocument.aspx?DocumentID=6269 [Accessed 19 January 2010]. Powell S (2009) Study skills: clinical writing; what is best practice? British Journal of Healthcare Assistants 3 (6) 300-301. Reddy B (2006) Prescription writing standards: why they are important. Nurse Prescribing 4 (8) 330-335.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Therapeutic Horseback Riding and Children with Autism Developmental Dis

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that affects a person’s social interaction and communication. This disorder is mainly characterized by having difficulty with social interaction, communication, and having restricted behaviors. Difficulty with social interaction means someone will struggle to communicate their feelings/emotions, understand how others feel or think, develop peer relationships, and understand nonverbal behaviors (eye gaze, facial expressions, etc). Difficulty with communication will vary among the individual. Some individuals will develop expressive language, while others will not. The speech of those that do develop expressive language will often be repetitive, rote, and lack meaning. They may struggle with turn taking in conversation and topic maintenance. Those individuals who do not develop expressive language typically do not use other modalities to communicate, like pointing or gestures. The last characteristic of the autistic spectrum disorder is having repetitive behaviors or activities. Typically children on the spectrum will play with their toys in an unusual manner, or may prefer only one toy, movie, or activity. Changes in daily schedule are hard for children on the spectrum to adapt to; usually these children like the same daily schedule. Bass, Duchowny, and Llabre (2009) state, â€Å"It is possible that animal-assisted activities provide a multisensory environment that will prove beneficial to children with profound social and communication deficits.† Macauley and Gutierrez (2004) state: Today, in the United States, people’s use of horses can be classified into two main categories: equine-assisted activities and equine-assisted therapy. Equine- assiste... ...tations of this study were the age range (6-8). Also, only looking at children with autism. Other children with motor and sensory function disorders might benefit from the same horseback-riding program. Works Cited Bass, M., Duchowny, C., & Llabre, M. (2009). The effect of therapeutic horseback riding on social functioning in children with autism. Journal Of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39(9), 1261-1267. Macauley, B. L., & Gutierrez, K. M. (2004). The effectiveness of hippotherapy for children with language-learning disabilities. . Communication Disorders Quarterly, 25(4), 205-217. Wuang Y, Wang C, Huang M, Su C. The effectiveness of simulated developmental horse-riding program in children with autism. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly [serial online]. April 2010;27(2):113-126. Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 19, 2012

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Comparing Novel and Film Version of Snow Falling on Cedars Essay

Comparing Novel and Film  Version of Snow Falling on Cedars It is no easy task to create a work - through writing or film - that has an impact on society. In writing, one must discuss and analyze a relevant topic that will have an impact on the readers. One must also present stunning sensory images through words in order to create a complete understanding for the reader. In filmmaking it is not much different, but there must be striking visual imagery in combination with a fitting musical score in order to give the viewer of the film the full experience. There must also be historical accuracy, both in writing and film. In either case, it can take years to create such a captivating piece of work. David Guterson's novel Snow Falling on Cedars and its cinematic counterpart of the same name combine all of the aspects of good writing and filmmaking to create an emotionally provocative and historically accurate masterpiece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Snow Falling on Cedars was set on a fictional island called San Piedro, somewhere in the Puget Sound area. The island had a thick history of generations of prejudice disguised by immigrant strawberry farmer life. The island was home to descendents of German, Swedish, English, and Japanese ancestry. When the Second World War arose, the people immediately panicked and reacted poorly to the Japanese American citizens. The story follows the lives of these Japanese Americans through their painful internment by the American government for what they termed the 'good of the union.' The story is also centered on several other subplots, including a biracial romance between a young couple, as well as the death of a white island fisherman named Carl Heine, Jr., and the trial of the Japan... ...racy and leads the reader or viewer to develop an intense emotional involvement with the story line. Both the novel and the film are remarkably vivid with the use of imagery and theme. The snow falling upon the cedars, as the prevalent image in both versions, functions as a beautiful metaphor begging for interpretation. The themes about the complexities of the human heart and the random distribution of both good and bad fortune are reinforced throughout the entirety of each work. The original work of pure genius - the novel, of course - deserves the credit for the incredible story behind Snow Falling on Cedars, but it is clear that the film followed in its antecedent's path with ease. Works Cited Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Snow Falling on Cedars. Screenplay by Ron Bass and Scott Hicks, Universal Pictures, 1999.