My granddad who is in his 60s Essay

Childhood in its simplest term is defined as the period of time that a person is a child, for a something that sounds so simple childhood is an extremely complex concept. No-one’s childhood is ever the same, similar, yes! But our childhood experiences are unique. Affected by many factors such as; personal experiences, personality, restraints (money, rules, laws) , period born, place that we were born, gender etc†¦ . Childhood is understood to be social constructed, therefore the definition of an ‘ideal’ childhood never says the same for long even in the same society expectations of childhood is constantly evolving, circumstances change; new laws are passed, enhancements in science and technology, war all contribute to the social construction of childhood. It is thought as years have passed that the childhood has improved; more toys, more places to go, better education, entering a technological era, greater understanding of health, all are a part of the life we all now know. However, no matter how many toys, recent gadgets, new clothes a child is given is it really any consolation to the loss of quality time with their parents? Money does not grow on trees, and in recent years percentage of both parents having to work has increased dramatically, you are far less likely to see a stay at home mum but two working parents that won’t even be home by the time their children get home from school. It is said that children have become more independent? Partly I agree children do have to spend more time without the company and influence of their family, however, everything else is handed to them on a plate, children now no longer have to work for what they want but get given it as compensation by their parents who no longer have time for their children, does this really show childhood has improved? To investigate how the ideology of childhood has changed over the years, I interviewed my granddad who is in his 60’s, he began to explain how him and his siblings had a structured up bringing parents were strict but reasonable, they all respected each other and his father was the dominant in the household, they all knew there place. He lived in a 2 bedroom house; mum and dad in one room and him and his two brothers in another. Everything was basic, clothes where either second hand or more often than not hand me downs from his elder brother . Toys were not like they are now you had the choice of small figurines or marbles he’s favourite was a small teddy knitted by his mother. However, the majority of the time they entertained themselves by playing with the other children that lived on their street, he stated games are not what they are now you had to use your imagination and be social to have a good time, you could not just sit in front of a computer screen talk to your all friends. His mother was a stay at home mum, she was relied on to keep the house in order and make sure dinner was on the table as their father got in. Every night they would sit around the table to eat and be thankful for whatever they were given, he made it quite clear there was no snacking so you’d saver every last bit. He did go to school, it was small but education was taken seriously by all the students even though it was basic. He had his first job at the age of 16 and had to use the money he earned to buy himself the things he wanted, which taught him at a young age how important the concept of money is. Overall his memories as a child were extremely happy and family orientated. It is clear when comparing the information given in the interview, to the expectations of what childhood is meant to be like in the twenty-first century, peoples childhoods have changed significantly over the years. Although who is to say this change is for the better? Admittedly children now have a much better education and health care but is that really important when they are taken for granted by most. Even though we have progressed greatly in our understanding of science and technology, as well as being given a wider range opportunities and the freedom to express ourselves. We have lost what was once the most important parts of society and that’s family values, no longer is quality time thought of as important, in fact no one, not even children have time for it. Or do they? is the reason our children are so corrupt and confused, is it because they are begging for the attention of their parents who don’t have the time for them. It seems to me even children now are no longer brought in to this world because couples wanting a family but babies are just another step to having this materialistic ‘perfect’ life everyone is now striving for. I have been focusing on the stereotypical childhood of a child in a more economically developed country, I have concluded that childhood has both progressed in a positive as well as negative way. But what about in other countries? How have their children’s childhood changed? In Asia children are used as slave labourers, and for what exactly? To fulfil the wants of others in more economically developed countries. Children are taken away from their families and made to work in sweatshops to produce the materialistic possessions that apparently have improved other children’s childhood so greatly. Children in these countries are made to grow up so quickly that it can be said they have no childhood at all, they are seen to be young adults, they have to; provide for their family, work before they are even given a proper or any education, the eldest children are made to care for their younger siblings, becoming parents before they even have children of their own. Seems childhood is slowly disintegrating our corrupt and colluded world has forgotten about its children that now even the child protection laws are no longer abided by.

Implement financial management approaches

Provide support to ensure that team members can competently perform required roles associated with the management of instances 2. 3 Determine and access resources and systems to manage financial Budgets as plans, monitoring and communication tools What is the point of budgets and why should they be monitored? In order to plan effectively – both strategically and in terms of operations – management must have analyses that provide estimates of income and of factors that will cause variation in any or all of the factors related to income. Income will change and sales volumes will fluctuate.This is a certainty. Yet in order to maintain and initiate operations a forecast of how much things will change is necessary. Thus financial information – on costs, environmental factors, expenses, units, capital, revenue, variance etc is brought together to provide a picture which relates directly to operations -? its planning and function. Properly conceived budgeting can mean t he difference between a general drift that might (or more likely will not) lead toward a desired goal, and a plotted course toward a predetermined objective that holds drift to a minimum.Managing financial information and budgeting is not simply a once yearly (or 6 monthly) process – where a budget is prepared and at the end of the budgeting ERM you check to see whether your business activities match the projections. If you use the budget in this way, you might get a very big surprise at the end of the year. Use the budget to monitor work activities, resource use and income. The other thing that should be remembered is that it is very difficult for employees to work toward achieving a budget if they do not know what the projections are. Reports and other relevant financial information (e. . Cost cutting needs, sales targets etc) must be communicated to the employees within the organization, as well as to other shareholders and stakeholders. Age 13 Responsibility accounting Re sponsibility accounting is a method of attributing costs to specific departments/ sections/ teams or project areas within an organization. In this way a fair assessment of team and individual performance can be based on the resource costs for which the team/ section etc is responsible, and over which its members can exercise control and seek to improve their performance.Responsibility accounting can provide a sound basis for team decision making. It can be positively motivational because members who are directly responsible for the management of their own team/ section/ visional costs, can relate operations to financial outcomes. They become, to a large degree, self-managing ; waste reduction and cost improvement techniques are within their sphere of influence.Involvement The guidelines that should be followed if budgeting is to serve effectively as a source of motivation are that: C] subsequent evaluations of performance should be made carefully with opportunities to explain appare nt deficiencies objectives reflected in a budget should be obtainable -? they must be realistic – and clearly communicated 0 employees who will be affected by a budget should be consulted when the gadget is prepared and should be kept up to date with regard to monitoring Performance evaluation One of the hallmarks of leading-edge organizations is the successful application of performance measurement to gain insight into, and make judgments about, organizational effectiveness – to drive improvements and successfully translate strategy into action. A cohesive and clear performance measurement framework that is understood by all levels of the organization, including employees, process owners, customers, and stakeholders, supports objectives and the collection of results. High-performance organizations Leary identify what it takes to determine success and make sure that all employees and managers understand what they are responsible for. Accountability for results is clear ly well-understood and assigned.Budgets – as a planning/ forecasting and as a monitoring/ evaluation tool, contribute to the determination of performance expectations (Key Performance Indicators and Key Results Areas). They contribute to the design of information collection systems and those information results are, in turn, used to develop and design future budgets/ forecasts. Accountability requires understanding and information. It is amazing that in so many organizations employees have no awareness of the relationships between costs, profits and their own contribution to financial success. The communication aspect of a budget should enable employee awareness and involvement in waste reduction, cost cutting and revenue raising. Yet managers often withhold this information from employees.Performance measurements offer information on what expenditures are needed and on how to priorities expenditures – how to develop the financial plan (budget) that will support all or ganizational operations. They help to identify what works and what does not so as to continue with and improve on what is working and repair or replace what is not working. Thus performance management and budgets are critically linked. Budget analysis produces information about the efficiency with which resources are transformed into services and goods, on how well results compare to a program's intended purpose, and on the effectiveness of operations in terms of their specific contribution to program objectives.For this reason, it is vital that information be collected, collated and stored, so that it is both accessible and useable for hose purposes Page | 4 Budgeting steps Cash flow is the movement of money in and out of a business – the process through which the business uses cash to generate products/services for sale to customers, collects cash from sales, then completes this cycle all over again. Organization's need cash flow in order to operate. The cash position chang es constantly, depending on material/stock/supplies purchases, leases or wages payments or incoming payments. Inflows are the inward movement of money from the sale of products/ services.If your organization extends credit to customers and allows them to hare the sale of the goods or services to an account, then inflow occurs as money is collected on the customers' accounts. Proceeds from bank loans are also cash inflow. Outflows are the movement of money out of a business – generally the result of paying expenses. If the business involves reselling or on-selling goods, then the largest outflow is most likely to be for the purchase of retail inventory'. A manufacturing business's largest outflows will mostly likely be for the purchases of raw materials and the supply of other production components. Purchasing fixed assets, paying back loans, and paying accounts payable are also cash outflows.Profit is not the same as cash flow. It is possible to show a healthy profit at the e nd of the year, and yet face a significant money squeeze at various points during the year. Assignment tools Budgets provide for money and specify where it should be spent. They determine who should be accountable for what activity and are used to allocate human resources to processes, functions and projects. They are also used to match resources to results. The intention of budgets is to ensure: 0 sufficient cash flow which will meet all financial obligations 0 maximum profitability Types of budget There are a number of different budgets that will be prepared in an organization.Some of these are:: sales training cash flow capital expenditure operations advertising etc Page 15 Managers, frontline managers and supervisors will deal with some of these budgets; either trying to stay within budget, in terms of expenditure, or to reach budgetary expectations with regard to revenue (income). The different cost centre in the organization will obviously have different budgetary applications . The master budget pulls each of these individual budgets together to form a budget for the overall organization and provides a marry of the financial sources and requirements for operations. It establishes planned and authorized expenditure and when compared with financial reports and running operational information, provides a monitoring tool so you can determine whether events over the budget period are following the predicted course.It indicates revenue shortfalls, excess of over cost spending and sign efficient changes in the economic performance of the organization, a department, project or product. Thus budgets tell you where the organization's money is going and where the resources for operations will mom from. They tell you, therefore what money is available for your team/ division/ section or what the organization's expectations are with regard to income generation by your team/ section/ division. Budgets are one of the most commonly used management tools. Every business, large or small, public or private, profit oriented or not- for-profit should have a budget of some sort.They enable the organization and the people working within it to pull together its commitments, projects and plans and all its costs and to contrast expenditure with expected revenues. A budget enables an organization's financial manager (or team) to anticipate the business's cash resources and make sure they are available ahead of time. Every budget process, therefore, develops a cash flow budget and in most organizations there will be a capital budget (usually extending for more than a year), which sets expected needs against the various sources of capital, providing the basis for capital resources allocations – money for capital expenditures (CAPE). Rapports for expanding business, changing operations, purchasing new machinery and equipment are allocated from the capital budget. As a managerial and planning tool, when properly deployed, budgets ensure that key resources (including people) are assigned to priorities and results. In their capacity as a reporting and monitoring tool, they enable managers to know when to revise and review plans, either because results are different from those expected (better or worse) or because environmental, economic, market or technological conditions no longer correspond with the budget assumptions. Page 16 Forecasting and operations budgeting Budgets are concerned with the uncertain future.They forecast or predict what will happen to the various parts of the operation, and used to ask questions such as: What historical data or trends can we use to help us? How much cash will we need to operate the business? What profit will We make? What will happen to costs? What can we sell? Developing cost consciousness Controlling costs and continuously improving our cost performance requires that teams and individuals constantly review work procedures, practices and systems. This requires the cooperation of the whole team a nd their ongoing support to develop a cost conscious culture where searching for improvements is part of everyday activities. Many people in organizations know how to do things better and save costs and time, but they are often reluctant to suggest them.There can be a number of reasons for this: fear of rejection, fear of loss of a job if the idea could reduce the number of employees, or simply because they think the company does not care or would not act on their suggestions. One of the other reasons for this reluctance might come from the fact that they have not been informed of the budgetary requirements applicable to the team or group with which they work, therefore the significance of their suggestions is lost. These are the barriers that team leaders, frontline managers and supervisors have to overcome so that their team/ work group members will talk freely with them and know that good suggestions will be recognized, acted on and rewarded.Information regarding budgets should b e disseminated to team members; they should be given opportunities to contribute to the development Of new budgets, the tools to use for monitoring the budget and the training that will enable them to understand how their work impacts on organizational cost/ profit ratios. If they do not have this information, they cannot be expected to erect their work activities at cost savings and effective income generation. Thus, not only do team members require the right information, they also require the skills to be able to use that information to add value in terms of their work and in terms of improvements to work. Page 17 Budgets as controls (setting direction) Organizations apply financial controls in order to monitor progress.Cost or actively centered budgets and actual expenditure reports or financial statements are compared and analyses to budgets to identify variance, its causes and corrective actions. As a monitoring tool, budgets enable assessment of success in various areas â€⠀œ are we under, over or on budget? Figures show the organization's performance relative to a specified time frame – last week, last month etc. They act as an early warning system for poor performance and danger, or for the need to revise a forecast. Performance against budget should also be viewed as a warning system for opportunities – for performance that is better than expected and should, therefore be analyses and where appropriate, reproduced. Budgets as reporting tools Budgets are financial reports. They report on what is expected to happen.Comparing and monitoring what actually happens (or is happening) over a set period gives a picture of how well the organization is progressing in achieving its goals. In most organizations a business manager, accountant or accounting department will be responsible for the organization's overall financial management. This is usually achieved through input from the various cost centre which are the units, divisions or sections in an organization which carry accountability for their own expenditure. Such responsibility might relate to day-to-day operations or to the management of specific projects. The employees in the various cost centre would be responsible for collating, collecting and recording the data that will support financial plans.Examples of cost centre include the following departments: Production marketing administration manufacturing Smaller organizations will probably not be broken into separate cost centre. You might be required to record and collect financial data, and, at times, prepare financial reports, oversee the budgeting functions in your section/ division or manage project budgets. At the least, you should be able to read and understand the information contained within financial budgets and reports. Financial information relating to operations, costs, credit analysis, inventory management, invoices and accounts, etc enables management to monitor and control cash flow, production an d productivity, solve problems, plan for continuous improvement, implement quality control procedures and to plan future strategies.

International Health Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Health Care - Assignment Example Also there are many â€Å"barefoot doctors" that are working for the health care of citizens. All these policies that are being implemented in China are in accordance to the Mao’s initial ‘prevention first’ health policy. During Mao’s era the healthcare was taken as an utmost priority (W & Sidel, 1977 ). China did a surveillance to check for any social inequities in the healthcare system (W & Sidel, 1977 ). Few inequities were found as a result of the surveillance and these inequities seemed difficult to resolve. But the authorities figured out that the health care responds directly to the demonstrated needs of citizens. The surveillance also helped China in activation of political will and community participation among the public because it provided realistic information for local, district and national decision-makers (W & Sidel, 1977 ). This activation of community participation was done through the famous Model County Project. This model showed how an efficiently organized system can be extended to test procedures in experimental areas and adapt them for wide-ranging achievement of specific goals. This project shows how ideological commitment to impartiality and objectiveness can improve health care. Between the early 1960s and late 1970s, China used barefoot doctors to monitor the health of locals and also to give health care to people nearby. Local health cooperatives and the barefoot doctors together, spread knowledge related to healthcare. The activities from the implementation of Model County Project showed a considerable decline of infant mortality which was 275 to 250 (CE, 1992). The general economic reform occurred in China in 1980. China shifted to privatization which reversed the earlier priority of equity. This has caused Chinese rural health care system to go through a rapid transformation. According to some researches, the modernization of China has caused its once viable model of health care system to fall apart.

History 3a Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History 3a - Essay Example Lastly, another difference between the two revolutions was that American Revolution was against United Kingdom while French revolution focused its attention on French government that was led by King Louis XVI and other different coalitions (Office of Historian, 2012). One of the major similarities of the revolutions is that both revolutions aimed at overthrowing the legitimate monarchs that were governing the countries. In addition, both revolutions were bloody and a lot of people lost their lives during the revolution. Also both revolutions were agitated by people’s suffering that emanated by poor governance from the previous regimes. Therefore, both revolutions were political and social. Both revolutions gained support from each other. France supported Americans through sending troops and intellectuals such as Marquis De Lafayette while Americans sent Thomas Pain to assist in French revolution (Office of Historian, 2012). One of the aspects that gave strength to the slave was the African culture and their identity. As a result, masters ensured that they brainwashed the culture of the slaves through giving them new names and banning any form of cultural activities. Some of the cultural activities that slaves used to come together included African music and Saturday night dances which happened in the woods. In addition, the masters prevented the slaves from gathering an aspect that reduced their bond and strength to resist. Some of the ways that slaves used to resist included breaking of their masters equipments, stealing the masters provisions and use of lies in order to evade hard work. Masters set up stiff penalties to ensure that they curb these methods of resisting (Office of Historian, 2012). Another method that the masters used to prevent slaves from resisting is giving them a lot of workload. This ensured that slaves were always busy an aspect that reduced their free time which could

Law practice management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law practice management - Essay Example The customer can also pay a USD 100 fee, for the first call for service. Ordinarily, the first hour of services will cost a customer not more than USD 250. The center will target its services at young customers, and will guarantee them the legal services help they need, before they say or do anything that may place then in compromising situations. Through the outlook, the center is reorganizing its traditional business, so that it can stand out from the crowd of legal service providers, towards pacing-up to the innovativeness adopted by different industries (Suskind 172). The group chose this legal practice area, following the increment of the sentiments of customers that the flexibility of legal services is low. Many legal services consumers have also expressed the sentiments that the costs of legal services is very high, and bulky, therefore many customers may not be able or willing to purchase the customized service packages offered by lawyers (Suskind 57). Through unbundling the legal services, splitting the different areas of service into component parts will help the center, in offering the different services in the most efficient manner. Due to this outlook, the lawyers at the center will not offer the services based on the undivided time of a single lawyer serving the wide range of the legal needs of their client (Suskind 59). The lawyers at the center will offer customized services to different clients, and some aspects served simultaneously for different customers, so that the center and the customer can reap from the economies of scale. The choice of this service line was also based on the fact that the unbundled services will be marketed in a relatively decentralized manner, and sold in a way which is similar to that of other service sectors like document processing and tax preparation (Suskind 157). Qn.2. The urgent legal services center will be characterized by the unbundling of the service packages offered by a lawyer. The unbundling of the servi ces into different component parts will help the different team members to offer the different services in the most efficient way possible. The center will offer its services to current and potential customers around the clock, which will increase the flexibility of service consumption (Van Zandt 1130). Though the adoption of a more flexible service delivery pattern, the center will exploit the potential clientele that are restrained from seeking legal services due to time and the costs of services. The marketing of the services of the center will be done through the lawyer-client relations developed after the formation of the center and those from the contacts of different lawyers. Through adopting this marketing outlook, the center will benefit from the diversity of social interactions, which will reach potential customers that the center or the different lawyers could not reach. The center will offer unbundled services to different customers, depending on the characteristics of t he services required by the given client. This outlook was chosen, because unbundling will be easier for comparatively routine services, where many personal issues or complex links are not involved (Van Zandt 1130). An example

Professional Codes of Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Codes of Ethics - Research Paper Example Provision Five states that the nurse should be competent and accept to serve with integrity. Provision Six stipulates that a nurse, through individual and collective efforts, should strive to offer quality services to the patients by properly manipulating the environment. Provision Seven states that the nurse should adhere to the principle of Evidence-Based Practice and be ready to advance their skills through research and education. It stipulates that a nurse needs to be a team player with collaborates with their colleagues, physicians, doctors, careres and the general public in promoting healthcare in the country.Provision Nine advocates for a strict observance of professional integrity amongst the nurses. In my capacity as a professional nurse, I would like to point out that these codes of ethics are above board. It does not leave out any single issue and strives to highlight all the important aspects of nursing that needs to be observed. In other words, all the elements captured in the list are of great value to the profession since they contain everything that needs to be done to ensure that the nurses do their best. However, the only recommendation that I can make is it can still be made much better if additional provisions are included to touch on the implementation, enforcement and the consequences of failing to adhere with them. Also, it should include a provision that deals with benevolence and the role of communication, confidentiality and the seeking of personal consent while handling a patient.

Segregation In Public Schools In the American Society Research Paper

Segregation In Public Schools In the American Society - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that some researchers claim that the school assignment policies must focus mainly on socioeconomic integration instead of racial integration. Even though the most significant aim is racial integration, economic integration is significant if academic achievement is to be boosted. The low socioeconomic status of a learning institution is openly connected to minimal learning for students, even when age, family socioeconomic status, and race have been controlled. Additionally, so as to be able to appreciate the proper social significance of integration, it is good to focus on the long-term results rather than short-term outcomes. Although the court verdicts limit schools to take into consideration race in the admission processes, these verdicts do not forbid racial deliberations in total. Since there is a strong affiliation between school integration and neighborhood in the present days, the court ruling should on integration instead concentrate on decreasing ethnic s egregation in the neighborhoods. This paper makes a conclusion that school segregation in the United States is still present even after court rulings that enhance integration. Greatness ought to be shared no matter what race or age you are in, it is good to have a society that is integrated so as to be able to achieve civil rights goals. Additionally, when enacting policies, the lawmakers must make sure the laws touch all aspects of segregation, and there should be a continuous oversight if the laws are being adhered to.

Decolonization in West Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Decolonization in West Africa - Essay Example The integration of nationalism was critical to the expression of hatred or dislike, as well as hostility against the foreign rule. It was vital to express these hostilities by individuals’ conscious of their national hood. The rise and development of African Nationalism were because of the internal and external factors. The internal factors were prevalent in Africa, thus massive or enormous contribution to the growth of patriotism in Africa. Some of these factors include colonial exploitation, roles of the African elites, the creation of imperialism, starring role of ex-soldiers, the influence of WACU, and formation or generation of civil entities.On the other hand, certain external factors such as the starring influence of Pan-African institutions, the US influence, implications of the UN, and effects of the WWII on African ex-soldiers did play critical roles in the rapid growth of African patriotism. These factors were essential in ensuring that African Nationalism was adequ ate in influencing the journey of African nations toward the achievement or realization of independence against the foreign or colonial rule. There were three critical approaches toward achievement of independence. That is through the integration of peaceful approach, war, and revolution. These approaches were vital in gaining independence from the colonial rule. In the first approach, a peaceful approach focused on the integration of peaceful protests, which were slow and steady toward winning the race to create change or realize independence.

Net Framework Essay Example for Free

Net Framework Essay Net Framework is a Microsoft tool provided to the development world with an objective to facilitate the consistent object oriented programming environment. The . net Framework comes as an integral component of Windows Operating System to create a code execution environment. For this the . NET Framework comes with the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the . NET Framework class library. CLR acts as a standard foundation to build a variety of new applications, where as the . NET Framework class library offers standard implementations new services for CLR-based applications. Such facility of code execution settings will minimize the Software versioning and software deployment conflicts. The built in . net Framework in Operating system will encourage safe execution of code Microsoft’s design goals in building the . net Framework are Component Infrastructure Simplified Development, Language Integration, Reliability, Security and Interoperability The advantages with the . Net Framework include – A Development environment which is language Independent and with Multi-Language Support. The partial platform independency of the . net Framework enables it to work on Linux operating system. The   net Framework supports different types of application development. It even supports the different user accepted tool integration like windows, console, mobile, pocket pc, GPRS, smart client etc. , The major disadvantage is it doesn’t fully support all the operating systems. Unlike Java or JVM, the CLR components, which are essential to run . net application are not readily available. Also the Cost of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with . NET, ASP. NET, and C# is another disadvantage. Though alternative IDEs and Text Editors are available to develop the . net application they experience less efficient productivity. The multiple Language integrating and support aspect of CLR enable the languages like VB to easily integrate with . net Framework.. Through this a class written in Visual Basic can inherit from a base class written in another language like COBOL or C++, when implemented on . NET. This interoperability is supported by the metadata of the CLR in . net Framework. References: .NET Framework Advantages, Retrieved November 8, 2000, from http://www. startvbdotnet. com/dotnet/frameworkadvantages. aspx .NET Framework (2), Retrieved November 8, 2000, from http://www. developerfusion. com/samplechapter/1678/introducing-net/3/

Hydrocephalus Disease Essay Example for Free

Hydrocephalus Disease Essay There are many birth defects being discovered all around the world. However, the birth defect I found to be most interesting was hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is one of the single most common birth defects and most people have never heard of it. What happens is, the brain is producing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) normally and fluid is drained from the brain into the spinal canal and is reabsorbed by the body, keeping the amount in the brain balanced. But when normal drainage doesn’t occur, the brain produces too much CSF fluid to be able to drain normally which leads to the build-up of fluid in the ventricles of the brain and causes pressure and enlarging of the head. Hydrocephalic skulls can be found in ancient Egyptian medical literature from 2500 BC to 500 AD but was described more clearly by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in the 4th century BC. Hydrocephalus may be caused by genetic defects or certain infections during pregnancy. If the mother has infections such as the chicken pox or mumps during pregnancy it makes the risk of the baby having hydrocephalus greater because the infection creates a blockage in the brain which doesn’t allow the CSF fluid to drain properly and when this happens it starts to put pressure on the brain causing the embryos head to enlarge. Some malformations of the brain may cause hydrocephalus such as spinal bifida and dandy-walker syndrome as well. Also it can occur when the ventricles produce too much CSF fluid or when the bloodstream cannot reabsorb the fluid that was produced. â€Å"Each year, 1 in 1,000 children are born and diagnosed with hydrocephalus.† This is fairly large number especially when the latest statistics reveal that a child is born in the U.S. every 8.1 seconds, meaning that a child is born with hydrocephalus every 135 minutes. Many cases of hydrocephalus are most likely detected in the utero or at birth as early as the first trimester. The doctors can somewhat tell whether or not the baby in the utero has hydrocephalus or not by doing multiple ultrasounds throughout the months but it may not show the obstruction precisely. There are limited studies available on the long-term prognosis of those with prenatal hydrocephalus. There aren’t any treatments to treat this birth defect while in the utero but there are some after birth. One of the treatments is called â€Å"Shunting†. Shunt procedures, involve surgically implanting one end of a catheter (flexible tube) into a ventricle of the brain and placing the other end in the abdominal cavity, chambers of the heart, or space around the lungs where fluid is drained and absorbed by the bloodstream. A valve in the shunt system regulates the flow to prevent over-draining and under-draining. This procedure can be quite dramatic because the head circumference can shrink as much a 7-8 centimeters in the first week. However, there are risks such as infection when performing this procedure. Infections occur in 5-10% of shunting operations. Hydrocephalic skulls can be found in ancient Egyptian medical literature from 2500 BC to 500 AD but was described more clearly by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in the 4th century BC. Hydrocephalus cases were originally described by Hippocrates who believed that this disease was cause by an extra cerebral accumulation of water. Hydrocephalus and its side effects can cause many common side effects such as confusion, loss of vision, headaches, problems driving a car, and diabetes. â€Å"Approximately one third of patients who are treated for hydrocephalus will attain a normal intelligence level (i.e., a mean score of between 80 and 100 points on an IQ test) or higher. These patients are more apt to be self-sufficient and capable of leading a normal life.† Some people have success with the outcome of hydrocephalus and some do not. â€Å"A thorough neuropsychological examination can cost up to $2,000, particularly if the findings are reviewed with you afterwards.† It cost a lot of money just for an examination to be done. But when they are examining you they can help you develop strategies to maximize performance of various tasks and to help make you more conscious about the conditions and its effects. The long-term outlook for a child born with hydrocephalus depends on how serious the problem is and other associated abnormalities. Doctors recommend that children receive follow up care and evaluations to prevent infection and monitor the functions of the shunt. Normal pressure hydrocephalus was found to be significantly more seen in males. It can occur at any age group. With good, early treatment, a normal lifespan with few limitations can be reached. After surgery, trained medicals professionals monitor the patient. Headaches may start to disappear because of the release of pressure on the brain. People may improve quickly or it might take weeks or months to improve and in some patients little or no improvement is possible. The length of time that a person will stay at hospital depends on how fast they recover. Hydrocephalus is a common disease not many people know about and should take time to learn about. It can have some serious side effects if you don’t have it treated right away. There are limited treatments today to cure hydrocephalus but it doesn’t mean people aren’t trying to find more.

The Core Business of Allianz Insurance

The Core Business of Allianz Insurance Allianz is ranked among the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide and is a leading insurance and financial services company. Allianzs core business is Life and Health insurance and property casualty. Allianz is also one of the four active asset managers in the world. The total asset management operations as of 2009 were à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1,202 billion. The company s business activities in this segment consist of asset management products and services both for third-party investors and for the Allianz Groups insurance operations (Allianz Annual Report, 2009, p.48). Allianz banking operations now comprise of operations in Germany, Italy, France and New Europe. The bank offers a wide range of products for corporate and retail clients. Due to their limited size, banking operations are reported as part of the corporate and other segment. According to a press release on 24 February, 2011; Allianz announced preliminary results for the fiscal year 2010 of total revenues reaching a new high of 106.5 billion euros. Based on this release, Life and Health insurance generates the most revenue reaching a record level of 57.1 billion euros. Growth amounted to 12.5 percent compared to 50.8 billion euros in 2009, and was driven by strong demand for both investment-oriented and traditional life insurance products. Life and Health insurance also generates the most profit with operating profits growing 7.4 percent to 2.9 billion euros, compared to 2.7 billion euros in 2009. This was largely driven by a better expense result, as well as an increase in operating investment income which benefited from significantly lower impairments compared to 2009 (Press release preliminary results 2010, p.1). Life and Health insurance and property casualty will drive growth in the next decade as they have always counted for the main revenue of the Group. Allianz has been performing well and sustainable. Since 2007 it reached à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 97,689 million revenue and in 2008 the global economy was in crisis but the revenue was just went down slightly with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 92,568 million. In 2009, the economic crisis reached its peak in the first half of 2009 however its revenue still increased up to 5.2% with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 97,385 million. A newly announced figure for its 2010 revenue has been impressive, with total revenue reaching à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 106.5 billion. These figures have proven that the company has been doing well for the last four years and there is no doubt that the company will be successful in coming years (2009 Allianz Annual Report, p.48). Corporate Responsibility: Allianz responded to the increasing demands of society for greater Corporate Responsibility by adopting a new CSR strategy in 2009. This strategy assures that environmental and social issues are managed, deliver value for the company and that there is a continued benefit for society. The strategy focuses on three themes; managing the companys environmental impact, addressing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and supporting the communities in which Allianz is operating (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.3). As an international financial services provider, Allianz sees sustainable development as fundamental to its business. Allianz is focusing on finding innovative solutions that address local and global challenges. Allianz also established a strong structure for handling CSR activities. Delivery of the CSR strategy is the responsibility of the Human Resources Director, who is a member of the Allianz Insurance Management Board. CSR issues are included at the monthly Management Board meetings, as well as featuring at the companys annual Director and Management Conferences. The CSR Manager is responsible for setting the overall strategy, implementing initiatives and reporting performance to the HR Director and the Management Board. In addition, a CSR Steering Committee comprising of 11 senior managers from each of the major divisions has been established to ensure the CSR strategy is embedded in the business. The committee meets 2-3 times a year to review progress against the strategy and to identify future risks and opportunities. The Committee is chaired by the HR Director (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.4). Climate Change Allianz sees itself and the insurance industry at the forefront of the fight against climate change. The industry must play a central role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation. Based on this initiative, Allianz has done a wide range of activities in response to Climate Change. Allianz Insurance is a founding member of ClimateWise which was founded by leading insurers in 2006 to respond to the myriad risks and opportunities of climate change, aiming to reduce the overall risks faced by economies and societies (Climatewise.org.uk). As a member of ClimateWise, Allianz must report annually on its performance against the principles and sub-principles. Allianz also supports national and global CO2 emission reduction targets and government action, including regulation that will enhance the resilience and reduce the environmental impact of infrastructure and communities. In 2002 Allianz joined the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an independent organization now representing 534 institutional investors worldwide with more than US $64 trillion in funds. CDP collects, evaluates, and publishes data on the CO2 emissions from more than 3,000 companies around the world. RCM, a globally active investment company belonging to the Allianz Group, uses the CDP database to compile risk profile lesson companies climate performance (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.9) Furthermore, Allianz remained committed to its carbon reduction plans even when the Copenhagen Summit ended having set no binding global emissions targets and no indication of when emissions should peak. Carbon management has a strong business case it is primarily about reducing energy consumption and costs. Stakeholders In order to understand stakeholders expectations, Allianz is working closely with a range of national and international organizations and doing surveys to discover which topics are most relevant to their stakeholder groups. Every two years Allianz asks its main societal stakeholders which key issues Allianz should deal with and how they should address them. For example, in the 2009 Stakeholder Survey, 131 completed questionnaires were received from stakeholders from the following sectors or groups: Politics, Media, Non-governmental organizations, Science, Companies and Allianz management (Allianz  Sustainable Development Report 2010, p.12). Regarding customers, Allianz is committed to making it easier for its customers to deal confidently with financial topics by maintaining a section on its Group web portal that explains how the financial and economic crisis develop and what its possible consequences for consumers are. Regarding Suppliers, Allianz carries out supplier surveys to learn more about their suppliers businesses and their efforts in the area of sustainable development. Regarding Community, Allianz takes todays challenges as opportunities for action through its local activities, global projects, and the work of Corporate Foundations. A good example is the Foundation for Sustainability and the Allianz Cultural Foundation. Regarding Government Relations, Allianz maintains various partnerships with renowned and trustworthy organizations such as World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) or the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) (Allianz  Sustainable Development Report 2010, p.12). Crisis Management Allianz and other financial institutions had to face the global financial and economic crisis which started in mid 2007 with the collapse of the housing market in the United States. The crisis that was initially observed within the banking sector accelerated in 2008 and spilled-over to various other sectors of the financial industry. Serious disruptions in the global financial system led to deteriorating economic conditions and investors became much more risk averse. In September 2008, the global financial system almost collapsed: large financial institutions faltered, leading to changes in business models, failures, mergers and nationalizations. Some economies were even on the verge of national bankruptcy. In consequence, the weak situation in the financial markets that was observable from falling stock markets and volatile credit spreads became even more intense in the fourth quarter of year 2008. The global economic downturn caused a series of collapses or near collapses of giant financial institutions such as Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, AIG  and Citigroup. However, Allianz has managed successfully in its business operations, particularly its risk management as demonstrated by its impressed revenue: 97,989 billion euros in 2007, 92,567 billion euros in 2008, 97,385 billion euros in 2009 and 106.5 billion euros in 2010. Allianz  emerged from the market turbulence as one of the strongest insurance groups in the industry by solvency and ratings, as evidenced by external rating agencies. The financial strength of Allianz SE was rated by Standard Poors as AA (stable outlook), by A. M. Best as A+ (stable outlook), and by Moodys as Aa3 (stable outlook). As of December 31, 2009, Allianz SE had the best Standard Poors rating among the internationally active primary insurance groups in Europe. Even during the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, these ratings were confirmed and remained stable (Annual report 2008, p. 41; Annual report 2009, p. 187). Allianz has executed and managed its risk management consistently and focused on three main objectives to secure itself from market turbulence: Protect the  Allianz  Groups capital and solvency position as well as position its investment portfolio for continued market turbulence Protect the value of their Property-Casualty business Focus on sustainable profitability in the Life/Health business Allianz considers risk management to be one of its core competencies. It is an integrated part of its business processes. Based on the risk management framework, these key elements have been focused on: Promotion of a strong risk management culture supported by a robust risk governance structure. Consistent application of an integrated risk capital framework across the Group to protect its capital base and to support effective capital management. Integrate the risk considerations and capital needs into management and decision-making processes through the attribution of risk and allocation of capital to the various segments. This comprehensive framework ensures that risks are properly identified, analyzed and evaluated. Allianz Groups risk appetite is defined by a clear risk strategy and limit structure. Close risk monitoring and reporting allows Allianz to detect deviations from risk tolerance at an early stage (Annual report 2009, p. 179). Strategy Allianz has been doing successfully for many years, even through years of financial market turmoil and global economic contraction by executing its strategy consistently. According to Allianzs announcement in the 2009Annual Report, the Group focuses its strategy in five management priorities: Become the partner of choice for all stakeholders: Allianz believes that the Group can only continue to thrive if Allianz manages to balance the interests of all of their key stakeholders: customers, employees, investors and the public. Drive profitable growth: In property-casualty Allianz will only grow where target margins can be achieved. In life/health insurance Allianz can build on a strong capital position, growing asset base and attractive new business margins. The strategy has served the Group well in asset management where Allianz is diversifying revenues and risks into different asset classes with an overweight in fixed income investments and regions. Strengthen competitiveness: Allianz has been continuing to adapt its business models, products and customer interactions accordingly. Hence Allianz has been focusing on efforts to drive efficiencies, reduce complexity and leverage new web-based technology along the entire value chain in order to achieve productivity benchmarks. Increase market and customer focus: The Group has created the foundations for Allianz to become a customer-centric organization through its customer focus and innovation programs. Going forward they are further strengthening their customer segmentation and the delivery of segment-specific offerings. Maintain capital management discipline: Allianz has strengthened risk management function and de-risked its investment portfolio to appropriately adjust to the rising uncertainty in the real economy (Annual Report 2009, p.63). Allianzs core strength is risk management which has helped the Group protect its net asset value and carefully balance cash generation and investment opportunities. In the 2009Annual Report they state that we are managing the transition to the new Solvency II framework. And we are leveraging this process to place state-of-the-art risk management technology into the hands of our business leaders for even better day-to-day decision making. Based on this, Allianz has performed successfully as the Group usually gets AA rating and the Group has successfully steered through one of the most severe financial crises ever. Allianzs solvency is strong and its capital base grew almost 20 % to more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 40 billion (Annual Report 2009, p. 179). Allianz is definitely an innovative company as it has a wide range of changes, improvements and strengthening in management, products and customers services. Regarding customer services, the Group always put innovation as its priority. The 2009 Annual Report remarks At all important points of contact, we are measuring the propensity of our customers and distribution partners to recommend our products and services to others. And we have been tying our frontline managers incentives to systematically improving the service experiences of our clients. Furthermore, we are creating a channel architecture which allows customers and distribution partners to experience more targeted value propositions, service offerings and price positions which are easy to understand and consistently delivered. (p.66). Werner Zedelius, Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE, also confirmed that at Allianz, innovation is a part of an even bigger goal Allianz wants to become a trusted innovator engagem ent (Allianz Group Portal, press, n.d). Mission and Goals: Mission: At Allianz, we strive for exceptional financial performance and growth based on our commitment to the pursuit of a sustainable world through combining long-term economic value, environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Goals: Performance: Maintain sustainable development leadership in the financial services sector Sustainable Development Reporting: Active stakeholder engagement in our materiality assessment Climate Change: Global awareness on CO2  emission reduction concept for 80% of employees Environmental   Management  System: Accomplish an 80% employee coverage Sustainable Investment: Invest an additional à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬150 million in renewable energy projects Micro insurance: Creation of a global Allianz micro insurance strategy to be implemented by a task force Engagement with Society: Launch global employee engagement program Employees: Develop KPIs for employee engagement, trust, feedback, motivation, development and diversity from the strategic HR scorecard. Customer Responsibility: Further strive for our 2010 goal of Loyalty Leadership. Net Promoter Score above market average. How does Allianz motivate employees: Allianz believes that employees are motivated if their work is well recognized and well paid. Therefore the Group created a pay structure that includes a mix of basic pay, performance-related pay and additional benefits to motivate it employees, Incentivizing staff is an important way of encouraging entrepreneurship. We have now adopted evaluation procedures that help assess more clearly how an individual or team has performed, and reward that performance accordingly (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d). Allianz also motivates its employees with the Employee Stock Purchase Plan as approximately 939,000 shares were bought through the scheme. This has not only proved a sound financial strategy but it has also allowed the Group to strengthen employee engagement (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d). In addition, The Group creates a good working environment where employees can maximize their ideas through innovative programs, healthcare program, tale nt development etc. Desirability as an employer Allianz is a good company to work for. Firstly, good performance will receive high payment and the incentives and bonuses of the company are attractive. Secondly, Allianz has a good working environment as a result of their policy to put employees first. Many Allianz companies offer wellness and sickness prevention training and health testing on a voluntary basis; as well as health programs for members of staff and customers. Allianz has a diversified working environment and promotes a diversity theme called Power of All Worlds. This aims to promote diversity and inclusion to reach their business goals, and continues to support Gender, Disability, Generation Mix and international cultures. Thirdly, Allianz is an innovative working place which allows employees to develop and maximise all new ideas. This culture of innovation was turned into reality by the Ideas to Success (i2s) framework launched in April 2006, and has been rolled out to 58 Allianz companies worldwide. It has actively encouraged over 172,000 employees to develop ideas which could improve the way in which Allianz operates on a day to day basis. And so far more than 60,000 ideas have been generated (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d).

Difficulties in Formulating Macroeconomic Policy :: Economics Policy Making Essays

Difficulties in Formulating Macroeconomic Policy Policy makers try to influence the behaviour of broad economic aggregates in order to improve the performance of the economy. The main macroeconomic objectives of policy are: a high and relatively stable level of employment; a stable general price level; a growing level of real income (economic growth); balance of payments equilibrium, and certain distributional aims. This essay will go through what these difficulties are and examine how these difficulties affect the policy maker when they attempt to formulate macroeconomic policy. It is difficult to provide a single decisive factor for policy evaluation as a change in political and/or economic circumstances may result in declared objectives being changed or reversed. Economists can give advice on the feasibility and desirability of policies designed to attain the ultimate targets, however, the ultimate responsibility lies with the policy maker. Policy makers are continually trying to formulate policies that will help the economy achieve these objectives. However, there are numerous difficulties which policy makers are faced with. In a democratic society like the UK, the macroeconomic objectives are not under the sole control of the Government. For example, the level of employment depends on the decisions not only of the government (e.g. for employment in the public sector) but also of private firms as to how many workers they wish to employ. Also, membership to international organisations (i.e. WTO or EU etc.) means that the international regulations and directives must be adhered to and cannot be altered. Therefore, the freedom of action of the policy maker is restricted, as the new policy must function along side existing international policies. Most policies are designed against the background of a theoretical model. However, there is no ‘true’ model and so different policy makers and economists may have different views to certain economic variables. Therefore, each policy maker will formulate different policies based on their views in order to achieve the same objective. For example, Keynesians view that consumption expenditure depends upon current disposable income. Whereas Milton Friedman argued that consumption is related to permanent rather than current income. He was therefore more sceptical about he usefulness of a tax change for stabilisation purposes than one who believes that consumption depends on current disposable income. Policy makers usually use Fiscal policy to alter the level, timing or composition of government expenditure and/or the level, timing or structure of tax payments. And they use Monetary policy to alter the supply of money and/or credit and also to alter interest rates. But some policies are not always successful; a good example was the decision to use monetary policy to solve the liquidity trap. This policy aimed to reduce interest rates and stimulate investment

Colette Dowlings The Cinderella Complex: Womens Hidden Fear of Indepe

Colette Dowling's The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independency In her book, The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independency, Ms. Colette Dowling states her belief in a condition which she names "the Cinderella complex", being an intricate system of beliefs put upon women which make them feel as if they must be submissive to the wills of others, seemingly less intelligent than they truly are. However, with a more detailed analysis of the tale of Cinderella, Dowling would have realized that this is not a completely accurate naming of her discovered complex. But in order to prove this, we ourselves must take a closer look at the tale of Cinderella. In the classic version of Cinderella, that written by Charles Perrault, we are presented the image of a girl completely submissive to the will of her stepmother and of her sisters. Not quite flattering to the modern woman. However, let us examine the author and the circumstances surrounding his retelling of the story. Charles Perrault was a French nobleman, whose project was to collect tales from all over the world and rewrite them in such a format as would make them suitable for his intended audience, namely the French court. In the world of royalty, it is the man who is truly important, the sole purpose of his wife being to bear him children and make him look good in public. Perrault's Cinderella is a perfect example of what, in the eye of his audience, would be considered the perfect wife. She was a hard worker, who never objected to anything that she was told. She was "sweetness itself", according to Perrault, a perfect girl without a trace of animosity in her being--as is shown in her final treatment of her stepmother and sisters. She would ne... ...lking on our drive home from school, I said to her, "if I were a girl, it's not like I would turn 19 and suddenly say I have to get married now', it's more like you know, maybe I am ready to get married'." But she responded that it's not that simple...that she felt pressured to get married quickly, because if she would wait, all the good husbands would be gone already. She also mentioned that girls who wait longer take on a status of being less than prime candidates for matches. This shows an evident external force acting on women to make them fear their own independence. (However, I cannot state the existence of such a condition in the same manner anywhere outside the American religious Jewish community.) Sarah was married on December 29th, and moved to New York three days later. So perhaps the condition would be more appropriately named the "Sarah complex".

Reaction Paper on Vampires Essay

Vampire movies always have lots of fans, and of course, I’m a vampire film fan, too. In the past, vampires looked so scary: they were old, extremely ugly, knows nothing but killing†¦ Nowadays, however, people start to make vampires more â€Å"human†(and sometimes they are made even better than human beings): They are so good-looking they have breath-taking faces, they have sexy figures; they are immortal  they won’t die because they are too â€Å"old†, in other words, they are undead. They still looked young even thought they are hundreds years old; they have so many superpowers they read minds, they move as fast as wind, they are unbelievably strong. Now people even made vampires know more than just hunting like animals they know romance as well, they will fall in love with like human do†¦ I think this might be one of the reasons why people love vampire movies that much: because we find that our dreams (which can never come true in real life) come true in these movies. Reverse Psychology† is often used on children, through which parents let their children to do something by telling them †don’t do this. † This is because children are more likely to respond orders with reactance. In the movie â€Å"let the right one in†, when Eli and Oskar first met, Eli told Oskar â€Å"I can’t be your friend†. But obviously, Oskar didn’t have a clear desire to make friends with Eli. Eli started stating a negative in order to achieve her positive goal. And this is the use of reverse psychology. Based on the film notes, Eli’s intentions regard the function of Oskar is a replacement of Hakan. But even after reading the film notes, I still feel that Eli’s ultimate goal with Oskar is not just for finding someone to kill people and get blood for her. For me, Eli is just trying to have a friend who can keep her company. It’s easy to tell that Eli’s attitude towards Oskar is totally different from that to Hakan, she cares about Oskar (at least for me it is). At the beginning I thought Hakan is the father of Eli, but later on I found he’s more likely to be someone who helps Eli finding â€Å"food†. He might used to be Eli’s lover, but that’s just a guess, because there might be other reasons why he chose to take care of Eli. For example, he might be the one who cause Eli’s changing into a vampire, he feel guilty so that he chose to stay with her. According to the notes, at first Eli tried to sense Oskar as a potential serial killer, then she took control of Oskar’s self-image†¦Assume that Eli is a pedophile, she might keep Oskar, a young boy with her and replace Hakan, who’s no longer useful to her. In this film, the uncanny ability is shown to audiences over and over again, and it presents that love is just an excuse, which is used to disguise the subliminal reality of objectification and exploitation. By looking at the way Oskar dresses and behavior, we can tell that Oskar is an effeminate personality in this movie. I think that’s why the boys enjoy making fun of him. I thought that the reason why Oskar didn’t ever fight back is because he is so cowardice that he’s afraid that they might hit him harder if he fights back. But the note assumes that Oskar is actually sublimating his unconscious sexual attraction by allowing himself to be victimized. I think that because the group of bad boys always attacked Oskar and he couldn’t get any help from someone else, so he was mentally ill already. He had a strong desire of revenging but he didn’t have the â€Å"courage† to do so. He wants to kill people if it is allowed. Just because he knows that he cannot do it, he transferred his inner desire of killing to collecting the newspaper clippings on murder. I think his too cowardice. When I first watched this movie and saw Eli asked Oskar to teach her how to play the Rubrik’s cube, I didn’t think too much about this. But after reading the notes, it shows me that Rubrik’s cube might be one of the tools Eli use to achieve her subterfuge (which is to get close to Oskar). I think because Eli is a vampire who cannot live without drinking human’s blood, so it’s better for her to live in a lower class apartment so that she won’t catch people’s attention, otherwise she will get into trouble so easily. In a telling scene, we saw Eli’s naked groin with a horizontal suture, which means Eli was a boy but castrated by someone.

Hostile Mint Case Study

Case – 1 Hostile Mint it’s probably the last place you might expect to find a hostile work environment. First of all, it’s a federal workplace. And even more surprising, it’s heavily guarded against intrusion. But the situation inside the U. S. Mint in Denver was anything but a safe place for 71 women who brought a complaint to the facility’s equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer in 2003. When the organizers of the complaint began to fear that they were the investigation targets instead of the complaints, 32 of the women decided to take the matter to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Their contention: The Denver Mint was a hostile work environment. These allegations were the culmination of a number of incidents that had occurred over a long period of time. The Denver Mint, which opened in 1863, has 414 employees, of which 93 are women. One woman who started working at the Denver Mint in 1997 said, â€Å"She found the atmosphere completely hostile toward females. † When she filed an EEO charge claiming discrimination, she was retaliated against by having most of her job duties reassigned and being required to work at home. Events leading to the current complaint started in 2001, when another female employee who was inspecting a men’s room for cleanliness saw a loose ceiling tile, removed it, and found 40 to 50 sex magazines. Some months later, this same employee was checking for rats in an attic and found a stash of pornographic magazines. Both times she made these discoveries, she was with a male colleague. Later, she would say in a statement given to the main office of the U. S. Mint that to her knowledge no action was every taken to address the situations. Another female employee filed a claim of retaliation and sexual harassment with the facility’s EEO officer in 2000. It was 2003 before she got a hearing with the EEOC and an administrative judge ruled in favor of the Mint. However, when she filed her claims in federal court in 2005, a jury found that she â€Å"worked in an environment hostile to women and awarded her $80,000. † In 2001, the facility’s new superintendent held a women’s forum attended by the then-director of the U. S. Mint. However, the highest-ranking woman at the Denver Mint—the administrative services chief, Beverly Mandigo Milne—said, â€Å"Nothing changed. † The final straw that triggered the complaint was the demotion of the mint’s acting EEO manager in February 2003. The month after the demotion, the 71 women filed the petition alleging a hostile work environment. An individual from the San Francisco Mint was assigned to investigate; however, the women claimed that the investigation never focused on the facts, but on Milne. One of the women said, â€Å"They believed that Beverly coerced everyone into filing the petition. † That was when 32 of the women took the matter to the EEOC. Despite the filed petition, hostile situations still continued. One woman said that in 2004, a male co-worker offered to pay her for sex. Another woman said that after she returned after a short bereavement leave following her husband’s death in 2005, a male supervisor propositioned her. On March 31, 2006, the U. S. Mint and the female employees who had filed the class complaint reached a proposed settlement. The terms of the settlement included a payment of $8. 9 million for damages, fees, and costs. The joint press release of the United States Mint and Class Couns

Rhetorical Analysis Mary Oliver

Period 4B In this very lyrical excerpt, Mary Oliver has a great attraction to nature because of its paradoxical yet balancing form. By being both terrifying and beautiful, nature fills the world with contrasting entities that can be â€Å"death-bringers† or bring â€Å"immobilizing happiness. † Oliver uses imagery, parallelism, and contrasting to express her swaying emotions of fear, awe, and happiness towards nature. The imagery creates the very distinct contrast between terrifying and beautiful parts of nature. The frightening great horned owl has â€Å"razor-tipped toes† that â€Å"rasp the limb† and a â€Å"hooked beak† that makes a â€Å"heavy, crisp, breathy snapping. † The physical form is rough and rugged, reminiscent of a terrifying being. The owl is presented with characteristics of the â€Å"night† and â€Å"blackness,† The flowers, on the other hand, are like â€Å"red and pink and white tents. † The color contrast reinforces the complete oppositeness of the flowers and the owl. Contrasting continues throughout the excerpt to display the conflicting character of nature. Nature is so complex that even very similar animals have very differing aspects. Oliver can â€Å"imagine the screech owl on her wrist† and she can learn from the snowy owl, but the great horned owl will cause her to â€Å"fall† if it â€Å"should touch her. † Even though this great horned owl is terrifying, Oliver still is in amazement of it. She says it would become the â€Å"center of her life. † While â€Å"the scream of the rabbit† in â€Å"pain and hopelessness† is terrible, it is not comparable with the â€Å"scream of the owl† which is of â€Å"sheer rollicking glory. † Nature has extremes, and the owl is the extreme of terror. The flowers, however, represent the extreme of happiness. Through parallelism, Oliver exemplifies the happiness given by the fields of flowers. The flowers have â€Å"sweetness, so palpable† that it overwhelms Oliver. She uses phrases continually beginning with â€Å"I’m† and then a verb, to show how the fields engulf her like a â€Å"river. † She is then â€Å"replete, supine, finished, and filled† with an â€Å"immobilizing happiness. † The continual use of adjectives reinforces how the field is so vast and â€Å"excessive† that it creates an almost surreal feeling of satisfaction. Parallelism is also used to describe the great horned owl. The merciless elentlessness of the owl is so great that it hunts â€Å"even skunks, and even cats†¦thinking peaceful thoughts. † Its â€Å"insatiable craving for the taste of brains† is so excessive that the owl is â€Å"endlessly hungry and endlessly on the hunt. † The uncontrollable, terrifying nature of the great horned owl fu rther emphasized because â€Å"if it could, it would eat the whole world. † The owl causes so much terror that soon enough the terror becomes â€Å"naturally and abundantly part of life,† any life of any world. The terror even fills the â€Å"most becalmed, intelligent sunny life† that Oliver lives in. Despite the massive contrast between the two extremes of nature, there is still a universal concept of nature. Both the owl and the field of flowers are overwhelming, vast and â€Å"excessive. † The owl is so overpowering that â€Å"if it could, it would eat the whole world. † The fields â€Å"increase in manifold† creating an â€Å"immutable force. † Oliver asks two rhetorical questions, â€Å"And is this not also terrible? † and â€Å"Is this not also frightening,† to describe the excessiveness of the fields and also the owl. But, even though Oliver is frightened, she is also amazed. While continuously describing the owl as terrifying, Oliver still acknowledges that the owl is â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"swift. † Even though the fields of roses seemingly engulf in a terrifying manner, it still creates a feeling â€Å"full of dreaming and idleness. † The combination of opposites, the owl and the field of roses, shows how nature can be seemingly paradoxical by being both cruel and sweet at the same time. By being so complex, nature also requires a complex response. Oliver’s emotional and sensuous response is filled with conflicting feelings of fear, happiness, and amazement to show her attachment to nature.

An Analysis On Value Chain In TVS Group

An Analysis On Value Chain In TVS Group TABLE OF CONTENTS TOPICS Page No 1. INTRODUCTION OF TWO WHEELER AUTOMOBILE SECTOR: -4- 2. GLOBAL TWO WHEELER MARKET – 2009 -4- 3. TWO-WHEELERS PURCHASE TREND -5- 4. INDIA AS A GLOBAL AUTOMOBILE MARKET PLAYER. -6- 5. INTRODUCTION OF TV SUNDARAM IYENGAR AND SONS LIMITED (TVSS). -8- 6. TVS MOTORS AS A TWO WHEELER PIONEERS. -10- . OVERVIEW OF TVS, QUALITY, FINANCIALS & GROWTH PLANS-15- 8. IT’S COMPETITORS. -13- 9. TVSM – STRATEGY FOR GROWTH-15- 10. SCOOTY PEP + -17- 11. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SCOOTY PEP-19- 12. CONCLUSION-19- 13. BIBLIOGRAPHY-20- INTRODUCTION OF TWO WHEELER INDUSTRY Automobile is one of the largest industries in global market. Being the leader in product and process technologies in the manufacturing sector, it has been recognized as one of the drivers of economic growth. During the last decade, well directed efforts have been made to provide a new look to the automobile policy for realizing the sector's full potentia l for the economy. Aggressive marketing by the auto finance companies have also played a significant role in boosting automobile demand, especially from the population in the middle income group. Two-wheeler segment is one of the most important components of the automobile sector that has undergone significant changes due to shift in policy environment. The two-wheeler industry has been in existence in the country since 1955. It consists of three segments viz. scooters, motorcycles and mopeds. In India there are some MNC’s and Indian company dealing in automobile sector. The main key players who are dealing in this sector are Hero Honda, Bajaj, Yamaha, Honda, and TVS. Global two wheeler market – 2009 Two-wheelers to remain the preferred option over Cars – The ownership and maintenance cost of a car is 4 times of a two wheeler – Two wheelers deliver a superior mileage of 70kmpl as compared to 12kmpl of the cars. – Mileage is a key factor influencing buying behavior. Size of the total market: 43 million numbers [pic] Two-wheelers Purchase Trend- India is on every major global automobile player's roadmap and it isn't hard to see why: [pic] ? India is the 2nd largest two-wheeler market in the world, ? th largest commercial vehicle market in the world ? 11th largest passenger car market in the world and is ? Expected to become the 7th largest by 2016. Two-wheelers on a roll ? The demand drivers for the two-wheeler industry are ? High growth in service sector @ 9% ? Favorable demographics – a young population, rising hous e-hold incomes, increasing literacy levels ? Faster introduction of new models ? Increasing replacement demand (from 6 to 3 years) ? Absence of effective public transport. ? Increased availability of low cost retail finance (more than 1500 locations) pic] The key factors emerging are:- †¢ Target audience for two-wheelers is huge. †¢ 140 mn people will be added to the working population in the next 5 years time. [pic] Two-wheelers to remain the preferred option over Cars – The ownership and maintenance cost of a car is 4 times of a two wheeler – Two wheelers deliver a superior mileage of 70kmpl as compared to 12kmpl of the cars – Mileage is a key factor influencing buying behavior. [pic] 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Introduction of TV Sundaram Iyengar and Sons Limited (TVSs) pic]TVS Motors is the second largest company in the two-wheeler industry with a market share of 16%. Infect, it is the only Indian company without a foreign colla boration in the two-wheeler industry. When the company opted out of the collaboration with Suzuki in 2002, many believed that TVS was headed towards extinction. But the company proved the doomsayers wrong and came out with a very successful `TVS Victor'. TVS Motors Ltd. originally incorporated in 1982 to manufacture two-wheelers in collaboration with Suzuki Motors of Japan, TVS was one of the leaders in two-wheeler industry. It is the holding company for the TVS Group of companies engaged in the manufacturing of various automotive components, two wheelers and a few other industrial products. They are also into the financial services sector. The turnover of the entire group was close to $2 billion in 2003. TVS was founded by T. V. Sundaram Iyengar in 1911. It is the only automotive manufacturer in India to get the prestigious Deming Prize. One of its subsidiaries Sundaram Clayton was the first company in India to receive the Deming followed by Sundaram Brake Linings also getting the Deming Prize. This prize is â€Å"given to organizations or divisions of organizations that have achieved distinctive performance improvement through the application of TQM in a designated year. † Sundaram Clayton went on to be awarded the Japan Quality Medal. The TVS group of companies is mainly situated in Padi, Tamil Nadu, in the outskirts of Chennai (formerly Madras) |Type |Private Conglomerate (BSE) | |Founded |in 1911 by Shri. T V Sundaram Iyengar | |Headquarters |Chennai, Tamilnadu, India | |Key people |Mr. Venu Srinivasan Chairman | |Products |Motorcycles,Mopeds,Ungeared scooters, Automotive components | |Revenue |USD 3. billion (FY 2009) | |Employees |5,633 (2007) | |Website |www. tvsmotor. in | TVS Motors:- TVS Motor Company has its origin in SUndaram Clayton Limited, Moped Division, started in 1980. The factory was started in Hosur, Tamil Nadu in southern India. The first product launched was a 50 cc moped, which appealed to the asses because of its capability to carry two people. In the same location, the same promoters started another company in 1984, in collaboration with Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, for the manufacture of 100 cc motorcycles under the brand name of Ind-Suzuki Motorcycles. Subsequently in the moped division was bought by Ind Suzuki Motorcycles in 1987 and the company changed its name to TVS Suzuki Ltd. Even though the company started producing all kinds of two wheelers like mo peds, scooters and motorcycles, the collaboration with Suzuki continued for the motorcycles only. The collaboration with Suzuki Motor Corporation ended in 2001 and since then the name of the company changed to TVS Motor Company. The company now develops all types of two-wheelers through its own in house R&D facility and manufactures in three locations in India, Hosur in Tamil Nadu, Mysore in Karnataka and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. It has recently started a new manufacturing plant in Indonesia to cater to the South East Asian market. The Chairman and Managing Director of the Company is Mr. Venu Srinivasan who is the grandson of TV Sundaram Iyengar. OPERATIONS REVIEW Quality The Company has significantly improved the quality performance of all its products through a systematic task force approach. The fact that the Company came out with Industry first five year extended warranty program on Star brand is a testimony to its manufacturing quality. TQM The Company continues to benefit from 100% participation of employees in TQM activities. The employees have completed more than 1,200 projects through QC Circles and Cross Functional Teams. The average number of suggestions implemented per employee was 69 during 2007-08. Cost management The Company continues its rigorous focus on costs through an effective deployment system. Value engineering and aggressive global sourcing projects are being pursued to reduce material costs and also to partially neutralize input material cost increase. TPM is practiced in all the plants to ensure significant improvement in productivity and reduction in manufacturing cost. During 2007-08, the Hosur and Mysore plants were awarded the TPM excellence certificate by the Japanese Institute of Plant Management (JIPM). Going forward- Going forward, the road for TVS appears to be bumpy. Automobile industry is the most competitive industry with competition on all fronts viz. pricing, innovations, supply chain, efficiency etc. The situation is further aggravated by rise in raw materials like steel, rubber, plastics etc, as the company is not able to increase the selling price in proportion, thereby affecting the net profit growth. This is evident from the fact that though in FY04 sales grew by 4%, operating profit fell by 1%. Though the raw material prices have cooled off from their peaks, we expect margins to remain under pressure in near future. Riding on significant growth in the two-wheeler segment over the years, coupled with strong cash position and expectation of buoyant economy, two wheeler companies have been planning capacity expansions. Hero Honda has embarked on a green field expansion plan (initial investment of Rs 2. 5 bn). Bajaj Auto (BJAT. BO, news) is expected to increase its capacity by 33% by June 2005. Similarly Honda Motors and Scooters (SCOO. BO, news) India Ltd, 100% subsidiary of Honda Motors Japan is expected to double its capacity in FY06. These developments are likely to create a significant increase in supply of two wheelers, changing the demand supply scenario and thus putting pressure on margins. As compared to TVS, its competitors are sitting with on a huge pile of cash. Hero Honda generated close to Rs 9 bn from operations, where as Bajaj Auto generated Rs 15 bn from operation in FY04, thereby are in a better position to execute expansion plans. TVS generated Rs 2 bn from operations in FY04. National Council for Applied and Economic Research (NCAER), in its report has projected that the demand for motorcycles will be almost 10 times of that of the scooters by 2011-12. TVS, traditionally is considered to be a regional player with a strong hold in Southern region. As per NCAER report, major demand for Scooters is expected to come from northern region, which will account for 50% of the total demand. Similarly the major demand for motorcycle is expected to be from Western region, which will account for 40% of the total demand. Thus it will require considerable effort on part of the management to significantly improve their presence in these regions. This may have an adverse impact on profits due to additional expenditure on account of advertising and publicity. Suzuki sees TVS Motor as main competitor SUZUKI MOTOR Corporation (SMC) and Venu Srinivasan-led TVS Group may have parted company. But the separation seems to be still working on the mind of the erstwhile foreign partner in the former joint venture TVS Suzuki Ltd. (now TVS Motor). SMC, which is now entering the Indian two-wheeler segment independently, has sort of identified TVS Motor as its principal competitor. In a chat with the visiting Indian newspersons at Hamamatsu in Japan, Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director, had on more than one occasion indicated that their target would be TVS Motor. Suzuki would aim to match the production and sales of TVS. Otherwise, there is no meaning for the divorce,† he asserted. Suzuki is currently waiting for the `cooling off' period post-separation to end to launch head-on into the Indian two-wheeler market. The cooling-off period ends in April 2004. Mr. Nakanishi indicated that the SMC joint venture with Integra Group would go on stream in the autumn of 2005. While declining to di vulge the capacity of the proposed plant, he said the initial Suzuki investment in the venture would be around $10 million. To a question, he said, the joint venture would focus on producing products in the growing segments (100cc to 150cc four-stroke vehicles). Suzuki had picked the plant location in Haryana in view of the fact that Maruti Udyog had already established a large vendor base around that place. Mr. Nakanishi said Integra would function only as a facilitator for Suzuki to get into the two-wheeler business. â€Å"It will be a gate for us. We will buy them out over a period,† he added. Asked to comment on TVS Motor's proposal to enter the Southeast Asian market, Mr. Nakanishi was guarded but did not mince words. â€Å"We will fight them out there as well,† he asserted. The market in Southeast Asia was competitive, he said. And, Suzuki had presence in countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Indian two wheeler market – Competitive Scenario [pic] India is now the second largest two-wheeler market in the world TVS Motor Company – Mission We are committed to being a highly profitable, socially responsible, and leading manufacturer of high value for money, environmentally friendly, lifetime personal transportation products under the TVS brand, for customers predominantly in Asian markets and to provide fulfilment and prosperity for employees, dealers and suppliers. Vision Statement TVS Motor – Driven by the customer TVS Motor will be responsive to customer requirements consonant with its core competence and profitability. TVS Motor will provide total customer satisfaction by giving the customer the right product, at the right price, at the right time. TVS Motor – The Industry Leader TVS Motor will be one among the top two two-wheeler manufacturers in India and one among the top five two-wheeler manufacturers in Asia. TVS Motor Company is the third largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India and one among the top ten in the world, with annual turnover of more than USD 1 billion in 2007-2008, and is the flagship company of the USD 4 billion TVS Group. [pic] TVSM – Strategy for growth †¢ Secure product leadership by – Introducing brands that break compromises for customers. – Offering the most innovative ‘package’ of product, access and finance. – Faster introduction of Refresh / upgrades †¢ Forge TVSM into an organization that is ‘fit for growth’ by – Delivering best-in-class durability & reliability Building a lean and flexible manufacturing with faster ramp-up capability. – Aggressive global sourcing – Sweating assets to the maximum. – Leveraging the power of IT across core functions. †¢ Accelerate development & deployment of energy-efficient technologies. TVS Motor posts 23% growth in November 2009 Sco oters grow at 38%; Domestic Sales increase 38% Hosur, 01 December 2009: TVS Motor Company has posted 23% growth in November 2009, registering total two wheeler sales of 120,844 units against 98,402 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company continued to post growth in sales for the eighth consecutive month, registering a cumulative growth of 8% with sales of 989,353 units in the current financial year up to November 2009 against 917,439 units in the same period last year. Domestic sales of the company witnessed a quantum increase in sales positing growth of 38% recording 106,836 units in November 2009 as against 77,491 in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company's scooter sales grew by 38% posting 25,115 units when compared to 18,210 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. Total motorcycle sales of the company stood at 45,080 units in November 2009 when compared to 45,276 units recorded in November 2008. Exports recorded sales of 14,008 units of two wheelers in November 2009 as against 60,911 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. During the month, the company unveiled two novel products, 110 cc motorcycle TVS Jive and 110 cc automatic scooter, TVS WEGO. TVS Jive features innovative T-Matic technology with rotary gear technology coupled with an automatic clutch. The bike's anti-stall mechanism makes smooth riding possible at low speeds even in high gears, without the engine shutting off. The downward rotary gear system enables the rider to reach neutral straight from top gear. The bike can be started in any gear and is fitted with an electric start for convenience. TVS WEGO is a multi-user, family-friendly and sleek metal bodied scooter that strikes a perfect balance between stability and maneuverability, power and mileage, and sturdiness and ease, making it a delight to ride for any category of users. The company hopes to add around 15% to 20% to its monthly sales, once these new products are made available in the market. SCOOTY PEP + The TVS Scooty Pep Plus is a modern 4 stroke 75cc scooty that is ideal for the ladies. Its powerful engine generates maximum power of 3. 68kw (5 bhp) @ 6500rpm and maximum torque of 5. 8 @ 4000 rpm. [pic] Some of the best features of the Scooty Pep Plus are jewel box headlamp, integrated tail lamp, chrome plated exhaust, multi reflector indicators, and the striking pillion grab rail. Besides these, there are many other features to this scooterette that prove very user-friendly- auto choke, bag hooks, compartmentalized utility box, auto fuel tap, glove box push and pull bag holder among others. The Pep Plus Scooty comes in dual texture colors and arresting graphics. TVS Scooty has always been a good looker. The Pep+ retains the familiar face with its friendly expression but gets a tangy new set of graphics. The grab-rail also now matches its body color. Dual-tone shades spruce up the scooter with a racy chequered look on the front apron and rear panels. Grips, levers, switchgear and mirrors are top-notch. The only drawback is absence of a rear brake-locking clamp. In a smart move, the key slot itself is florescent, so as to allow grope-free access in the dark. There's also a new cell phone-charging point. Pep+ lights up its lockable under seat storage bay and offers yet another smart feature that would do well on any such scooterette, a spring at the mounting pivot prevents the seat from accidentally closing at a fuel station and crushing unsuspecting fingers. It retains its quality feel in offering alloy rims, both front and rear. The refreshed force air-cooled Plus motor feels just as buzz-free and convenient in its automatic ways as before, but there is a difference with healthy dozes of supplementary performance begging to be used. The Plus not only feels meaty where it matters most in its low- and midrange punch, but does manage a relatively respectable top speed of 71kph delivered with refinement. Sitting on the Scooty is comfortable for all except the tallest and the heaviest, who will surely feel cramped. The Scooty was always bold offering twin telescopic forks as front suspension. While the rest of the industry sticks with diminutive and far less effective front dampers, the Pep Plus carries forward this handling-enhancing theme. At the rear, there is a single shock absorber doing duty in conjunction with its hinged engine. The alloy rim-shod Pep Plus is set just right for a ride quality that doesn't wallow overtly, nor feels too firm. It's a well-damped scooterette that offers as much stability as can be expected from any two-wheeler on 10-inch wheels. It steers accurately, turn-in to corners is feather-like and cornering manners satisfactory. The 110mm drum brakes are adequate kit for this vehicle, and offer fine feedback through their individual levers. SWOT ANALYSIS StrengthWeakness |Huge sale network (3500 Dealers). |Suppose to be very sophisticated. | |Better sale service. |Not fit for ruler India. | |It has the highest share in automobile sector. |They have big gap between cubic capacities of its products. | |It has a good brand image. |Its market share is reducing from last few years. | |It gives better service for customers. |Spare parts are too costly. | |Best customer preference. | |Debt equity ratio is only 0. 1. | | |If they are able to improvise the fuel efficiency of Scooty pep+, it |Main threats to TVS are their competitors like:- | |will be a golden opportunity to take over the market. |Bajaj Auto Ltd. | |Growing world demand for entry-level motorcycles especially in emerging|Hero Honda. | |markets |Yamaha Motors India. | |The cost of the product is very high in comparison to other companies. | Opportunitie sThreats CONCLUSION:- †¢ Long term growth prospects for the industry is attractive. †¢ TVSM poised to grow ahead of market through strong innovation and faster upgrades. †¢ Exports will be a key thrust area and will contribute to 10% of sales. †¢ Indonesian project will be an adjacency to current operations and will improve geographical insurance. †¢ Focused efforts to reduce cost will improve profitability. Awards and Accolades _ 2002 – Deming Application prize ( First powered two wheeler company in the world to be awarded this prize for TQM ) _ 2002 – Best Technology award for TVS Victor from Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt of India _ 2003 – Best managed and most investor friendly company by Business today _ 2004 – ‘Best design’ award in the two wheeler category for Scooty PEP from National Institute of design and Business world _ 2005 – ‘Mother Theresa’ award for best Corporate citizen BIBLIOGRAPHY- www. google. com www. tvsmotorsltd. com www. tvsmotor. in   

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Adults across America Essay ? Although this type of outrageous behavior may upset many people, it is accepted widely and enjoyed by millions of teenagers and adults across America. People in America have become desensitized to sex and violence by having organizations such as the WWF making it appear â€Å"O.K.† on television. Although it is immoral and not yet accepted by society, pornography is rampant in America, with strip clubs and porn shops situated in the same areas as family shopping centers. Violence can be seen everywhere, especially in the evening news. Wrestling takes the two biggest topics of American society, and turns them into a two hour show. Americans accept this and are willing to watch or pay to see the action. Although many wrestling fans such as myself view the show and see it as pure entertainment, there are many more people who believe what they see. Sadly, these type of people make up a large portion of wrestling fans. Because of this, many nations see Americans as â€Å"ignorant† and â€Å"shallow.† Critics claim that wrestling is a â€Å"Cultural Phenomenon† which embodies all of the negative aspects of American culture. People who are willing to watch a man rolling around in feces or someone falling twenty feet from a cage into a wooden table instead of doing something that could be potentially productive does not say much for American society. Opponents of professional wrestling may also say that the direction and values of American culture are quickly deteriorating, in part, due to a cultural phenomenon such as professional wrestling. As long as Americans demand instant gratification and the quick fixes of raunchy entertainment, phenomena such as wrestling will be around to act as mindless distractions from the real world. The critics of wrestling have not stopped its tremendous success across the world. Wrestling can be seen as a form of entertainment, just as movies and sports represent the same kind of enjoyment to viewers. Wrestling is not the cause of society’s deterioration, as it is meant to please viewers across America. One form of entertainment is not going to cause American society to crumble. Wrestling used to represent â€Å"good guy vs. bad guy.† Times have changed, and now, everyone cheers for wrestlers such as â€Å"The Rock† and â€Å"Stone Cold Steve Austin† who portray qualities that the fans appreciate. The Rock is extremely popular, due to his â€Å"coolness factor.† Everytime he gets on the microphone, he promises to â€Å"Lay The Smackdown on Someone’s Candyass† and things of that nature. He always praises the fan’s, and considers himself the â€Å"People’s Champion.† Because of his popularity, it doesn’t matter if he wrestles a â€Å"good guy† or a â€Å"bad guy.† Fans like someone they can cheer, but would not cheer someone who appears corny, like a â€Å"superhero† type character. Professional wrestling never has any repeats, and always keeps a fresh, new storyline. That may be the biggest reason why people keep tuning in to this phenomenon. When it comes down to watching either a rerun of â€Å"Ally McBeal† or a live â€Å"WWF Raw,† many people would choose to watch something new, such as â€Å"WWF Raw.† American society is constantly evolving, and over time, all people need to accept the changes that it goes through, whether positive or negative. Pioch, Nicolas. â€Å"Realism.† January 1, 1996. http://www.oir.ucf.edu/wm/paint/glo/realism/  (December 16, 1999)  Roberts, J.M. The Penguin History of the World. London, England : Helicon Publishing, 1992.  Ross, Cilla. June, 1999. â€Å"Greek Democracy in Practice.† http://www.oir.ucf.edu   (December 18, 1999) Adults across America. (2017, Aug 21).