Wednesday, October 30, 2019

International advertising campaign Research Paper - 1

International advertising campaign - Research Paper Example the company has created in the minds of its target clients the idea that the Cisco-offered internet utilities and services are capable of transforming the way individuals work, learn, play and live, and the Cisco Networking Academy (CNA) Program is spearheading this great transforming. Since 1984 when it was founded, the company has overwhelmingly dominated the network equipment world making a number of network administrators to attest to the idea that they never see any burden channeling intensive funds to acquire Cisco products and services. Indeed, the overall cost of Cisco-produced routers and switches surpasses the prices issued by a number of the competitor firms, but this has steel left businesses perceive the Cisco tools as the way to go for safe and efficient network practices. The company has also been credited for producing reliable products that target a wider range of global customers (Wylie 33). As a way to evade the high rates associated with Cisco networking products, some consumers have often tried exploring products from competitor firms, but they have always ended up settling for Cisco tools. The organization also employs a strategic approach to marketing adventures as a way to increase revenue. This has been realized through an active research unit that pursues custom research on the prevailing market trends then uses the findings to advise the company on best approaches to design adverts. Some areas of focus during research adventures include brand positioning, buying behaviors, price elasticity and advertising among others. The organization also uses business intelligence tools like database analysis and reporting tools. These tools provide benefits like offering insights plus directions ahead of market planning and execution and delivering incremental values obtained from data-generated models that are applied to different marketing programs. The company advertises its products through Cisco mConcierge program. At the most basic level, the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Carr and the Thesis Essay Example for Free

Carr and the Thesis Essay Edward Carr begins What is History? By saying what he thinks history is not†¦by being negative. In Carr’s words, what history is not, or should not be, is a way of constructing historical accounts that are obsessed with both the facts and the documents which are said to contain them. Carr believes that by doing this the profoundly important shaping power of the historian will surely be downplayed. Carr goes on to argue – in his first chapter- that this downgrading of historiography arose because mainstream historians combined three things: first, a simple but very strong assertion that the proper function of the historian was to show the past as ‘it really was’; second, a positivist stress on inductive method, where you first get the facts and then draw conclusions from them; and third – and this especially in Great Britain – a dominant empiricist rationale. Together, these constituted for Carr what still stood for the ‘commonsense’ view of history: The empirical theory of knowledge presupposes a complete separation between subject and object. Facts, like sense-impressions, impinge on the observer from outside and are independent of his consciousness. The process of reception is passive: having received the data, he then acts on them†¦This consists of a corpus of ascertained facts†¦First get your facts straight, then plunge at your peril into the shifting sands of interpretation – that is the ultimate wisdom of the empirical, commonsense school of history. 2 Clearly, however, commonsense doesn’t work for Mr.Carr. For he sees this as precisely the view one has to reject. Unfortunately things begin to get a little complicated when Carr tries to show the light, since while it seems he has three philosophical ways of going about his studies one being epistemological and two ideological his prioritizing of the epistemological over the ideological makes history a science too complex for comprehension to anyone other than himself. Carr’s epistemological argument states that not all the ‘facts of the past’ are actually ‘historical facts. Furthermore, there are vital distinctions to be drawn between the ‘events’ of the past, the ‘facts’ of the past and the ‘historical’ facts. That ‘historical facts’ only become this way is by being branded so by recognized historians. Carr develops this argument as follows: What is a historical fact? †¦According to the commonsense view, there are certain basic facts which are the same for all historians and which form, so to speak, the backbone of history the fact, for example, that the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. But this view calls for two observations. In the first place, it is not with facts like these that the historian is primarily concerned. It is no doubt important to know that the great battle was fought in 1066 and not 1065 or 1067†¦The historian must not get these things wrong. But when points of this kind are raised, I am reminded of Housman’s remark that ‘accuracy is a duty, not a virtue’. To praise a historian for his accuracy is like praising an architect for using well-seasoned timber. It is a necessary condition of his work, but not his essential function. It is precisely for matters of this kind that the historian is entitled to rely on what have been called the ‘auxiliary sciences’ of history archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, chronology, and so-forth. 3 Carr thinks that the insertion of such facts into a historical account, and the significance which they will have relative to other selected facts, depends not on any quality intrinsic to the facts ‘in and for themselves,’ but on the reading of events the historian chooses to give: It used to be said that facts speak for themselves. This is, of course, untrue. The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context†¦The only reason why we are interested to know that the battle was fought at Hastings in 1066 is that historians regard it as a major historical event. It is the historian who has decided for his own reasons that Caesar’s crossing of that petty stream, the Rubicon, is a fact of history, whereas the crossings of the Rubicon by millions of other people†¦interests nobody at all†¦The historian is [therefore] necessarily selective. The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the historian is a preposterous fallacy, but one which it is very hard to eradicate. 4 Following on from this, Carr ends his argument with an illustration of the process by which a slight event from the past is transformed into a ‘historical fact’. At Stalybridge Wakes, in 1850, Carr tells us about a gingerbread seller being beaten to death by an angry mob; this is a well documented and authentic ‘fact from the past. But for it to become a ‘historical fact,’ Carr argues that it needed to be taken up by historians and inserted by them into their interpretations, thence becoming part of our historical memory. In other words concludes Carr: Its status as a historical fact will turn on a question of interpretation. This element of interpretation enters into every fact of history. 5 This is the substance of Carr’s first argument and the first ‘positionâ€⠄¢ that is easily taken away after a quick read his work. Thereby initially surmising that Carr thinks that all history is just interpretation and there are really no such things as facts. This could be an easily mislead conclusion if one ceases to read any further. If the interpretation of Carr stops at this point, then not only are we left with a strong impression that his whole argument about the nature of history, and the status of historical knowledge, is effectively epistemological and skeptical, but we are also not in a good position to see why. It’s not until a few pages past the Stalybridge example that Carr rejects that there was too skeptical a relativism of Collingwood, and begins a few pages after that to reinstate ‘the facts’ in a rather unproblematical way, which eventually leads him towards his own version of objectivity. Carr’s other two arguments are therefore crucial to follow, and not because they are explicitly ideological. The first of the two arguments is a perfectly reasonable one, in which Carr is opposed to the obsession of facts, because of the resulting common sense view of history that turns into an ideological expression of liberalism. Carr’s argument runs as follows. The classical, liberal idea of progress was that individuals would, in exercising their freedom in ways which took ‘account’ of the competing claims of others somehow and without too much intervention, move towards a harmony of interests resulting in a greater, freer harmony for all. Carr thinks that this idea was then extended into the argument for a sort of general intellectual laissez-faire, and then more particularly into history. For Carr, the fundamental idea supporting liberal historiography was that historians, all going about their work in different ways but mindful of the ways of others, would be able to collect the facts and allow the ‘free-play’ of such facts, thereby securing that they were in harmony with the events of the past which were now truthfully represented. As Carr puts this: The nineteenth century was, for the intellectuals of Western Europe, a comfortable period exuding confidence and optimism. The facts were on the whole satisfactory; and the inclination to ask and answer awkward questions about them correspondingly weak†¦The liberal†¦view of history had a close affinity with the economic doctrine of laissez-faire – also the product of a serene and self-confident outlook on the world. Let everyone get on with his particular job, and the hidden hand would take care of the universal harmony. The facts of history were themselves a demonstration of the supreme fact of a beneficent and apparently infinite progress towards higher things. 6 Carr’s second argument is therefore both straightforward and ideological. His point is that the idea of the freedom of the facts to speak for themselves arose from the happy coincidence that they just happened to speak liberal. But of course Carr did not. Thereby knowing that in the history he wrote the facts had to be made to speak in a way other than liberal (i. e. in a Marxist type of way) then his own experience of making ‘the facts’, his facts, is universalized to become everyone’s experience. Historians, including liberals, have to transform the ‘facts of the past’ into ‘historical facts’ by their positioned intervention. And so, Carr’s second argument against ‘commonsense’ history is ideological. For that matter, so is the third. But if the second of Carr’s arguments is easy to see, his third and final one is not. This argument needs a little ironing out. In the first two critiques of ‘commonsense’ history, Carr has effectively argued that the facts have no ‘intrinsic’ value, but that they’ve only gained their ‘relative’ value when historians put them into their accounts after all the other facts were under consideration. The conclusion Carr drew is that the facts only speak when the historian calls upon them to do so. However, it was part of Carr’s position that liberals had not recognized the shaping power of the historian because of the ‘cult of the fact’ and that, because of the dominance of liberal ideology, their view had become commonsense, not only for themselves, but for practically all historiography. It appeared to Carr that historians seemed to subscribe to the position that they ought to act as the channel through which ‘the facts of the past for their own sake’ were allowed self-expression. But Carr, not wanting to go the route of his fellow historians, nor wanting to succumb to the intellectual complaints about the demise of the experience of originality, says: In the following pages I shall try to distance myself from prevailing trends among Western intellectuals†¦to show how and why I think they have gone astray and to stake out a claim, if not for an optimistic, at any rate for a saner and more balanced outlook on the future. 7 It is therefore this very pointed position which stands behind and gives most, if not all, of the reason for Carr’s writing What is History? Carr himself seems to be quite clear that the real motive behind his text was the ideological necessity to re-think and re-articulate the idea of continued historical progress among the ‘conditions’ and the doubters of his own ‘skeptical days’. Carr’s ‘real’ concern was ‘the fact’ that he thought the future of the whole modern world was at stake. Carr’s own optimism cannot be supported by ‘the facts’, so that his own position is just his opinion, as equally without foundation as those held by optimistic liberals. Consequently, the only conclusion that can arguably be drawn is that ‘the past’ doesn’t actually enter into historiography, except rhetorically. In actuality there should be no nostalgia for the loss of a ‘real’ past, no sentimental memory of a more certain time, nor a panic that there are no foundations for knowledge other than rhetorical conversation.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Riders to the Sea: The Sea as a Living Character :: essays research papers

Riders to the sea: The sea as a living character In the tragic contest that is the inspiring soul of the play â€Å" Riders to the sea†, the sea is a party ranged against the weak, inoffensive inmates of the peasant family of Maurya. The sea is indeed the most impressive character in the play, it is so intimately associated with human characters whose fate concerns us that it may be called, Fate personified. The peasant family, as of course all other people of the island, live all their lives in open view of the sea. Even little Nora is familiar with its ways, its ebb and flow, its behaviour in storm and calm and all that. They are familiar not only with its physical features and its various moods, but also with the image of the sea as a mighty demon which looms large and dark and mysterious before their minds. At the very opening of the play, the sea enters as a terrorizing living personality. The sea as a ‘character’ is never off the stage, nor is it for a moment off the mind of inmates of the cottages. How can they close their eyes or minds to it seeing that it has already swallowed four strong young sons of the family, and it is almost sure it has made an end of the fifth, Michael? The monster is never for a moment absent from the thoughts of the three women. Bartley too knows the risk and the chances. But he is manly enough to put forth courage to perform his duty by the family. He silently agrees with Cathleen when she rebukes the whimpering mother: â€Å"It’s the life of a young man to be going on the sea†, thereby bringing out the association of the sea with the life of the islanders. It is a demon whom the poor islanders have no means of shunning if they would. And that is the demon’s opportunity of exercising its free will. It is all along an unequal fight- the fight between the Evil in nature which is, as Hardy expounds in his tragic novels, the handmaiden of Fate or blind Chance, or inscrutable Destiny.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Response to Bystander Effect, Prejudice, Aggression and Deterrence Theory Essay

The Bystander Effect states that the greatest number of bystanders who witness an emergency the less likely anyone of them will help. What are your views about the bystander effect?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The phenomenon of the bystander effect became recognized and found its niche in social psychology studies after the murder of Catherine â€Å"Kitty† Genovese in 1964.   As it is one of the most shocking murders in the history, the emphasis on the psychological phenomenon that occurred in March 13, 1964 at about 3:15 am (Gado 2007) is overrated. Trekking back to the murder of Genovese, we can note that at the very hour when the crime occurred people are still usually asleep. According to the accounts on the incident, the victim did scream for help, and since it was a fatal assault, surely, the victim’s persistence to get some aid should not be doubted, -this screaming and shouting for help may cancel out the fact that the people in her proximity are still deeply asleep (as accounts say there are 38 witnesses to this murder), but at those very hours we need not further dig deeper to unravel the mysterious apathy of the witnesses all we need to do is take note of the time the assault happened; some of the witnesses may have actually heard the screams but still has the need to sleep to face a Saturday-workday ahead of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We can complement this further with what Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states; that the greatest need of an individual is his/her physiological needs in which sleeps or rest falls under. Moreover, since the violent scene broke the supposedly yet sleep-time’s peace, it is understandable that the witnesses had chosen not to leave the refuge of their homes, fearing that they could be the next victim. -the need for safety and security comes as the second priority in Maslow’s renowned pyramid model. These two needs therefore may have overridden any urges to be a hero or a Good Samaritan among the witnesses at those moments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The belief that occurs each time a â€Å"bystander effect† happens is that every witness thinks that someone else among the other witnesses is more capable to help. Let us simulate a likely scenario in observance of the theory: a 79 year old lady was tripped by a rock on a crowded and busy street. In an instance like this you may likely see that not only one person will rush in to help the old lady get back on her feet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A bystander effect though always has a chance to occur and cast its spell; to shroud a cloud of confusion that may blur the discerning of witnesses to response to an emergency. On one hand, some factors may actually trigger a witness’s or a bystander’s urge to help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First, the affinity or degree of relation the bystander has with the individual in need of help. This will define the innate will to help and would trigger a certain sense of responsibility on the bystander’s side to help that someone he/she knows or that someone whom he/she at least have something-in-common with (for example, supporting the same basketball team, someone in the same organization). Second, would be the empathy factor that may come from one’s recalling of a previous experience that will move him/her to be of help. Third, would be the effect of mood and condition of a bystander (Bordens & Horowitz 1973), this however considers the ruling of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs over the urge to help base on mood. How can prejudice be reduced?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through quick referrence to a dictionary, prejudice would simply be defined as preconceived or   premature judgement. First, let us see the nature behind prejudice; according to the Gale Encyclopaedia of Psychology (2005), â€Å"People are not born prejudiced: many prejudices are formed against groups with which a person has never had any contact.† In basic analysis, we can then perceive that the existence of prejudice pre-requires innocence or even ignorance, -that one’s mind must be a pail that should be empty or yet has to be filled (by information and initially with opinions of other people).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through interaction and communication with other individuals, one would naturally absorb the prejudices of another individual he/she gets contact with. According to the communication model (Laswell 1948); in every communication process there is the presence of: 1) a source, 2) a message, 3) a channel, 4) a receiver, 5) an effect, and 6) a feedback. Applying this process in tracing the development of prejudice, if an individual has yet zero knowledge or background towards a subject, as a receiver of a message he/she had to undergo the next step of the process, which is the effect. The effect here now since the receiver is yet an ’empty pail’ would be to digest the message, and if the message transmitted is prejudiced it will pour a content in that empty pail that may soon serve as the receiver’s raw material in generating his/her own prejudices. In psychology, this model resembles the social cognition pattern which likewise explains the development of prejudice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     If we are to reduce prejudice, the direct equation we can derive from Laswell’s Model would be to reduce the interaction and communication with other individuals. This in reality however, is improbable as communication being both infinite and spontaneous processes cannot be reduced in terms of amount. The number of communication sources can forcibly be reduced but the messages that a receiver had already received will continue to develop and be repeatedly analysed in his/her mind which then will be used by him/her when it’s his/her turn to communicate as a speaker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prejudiced beliefs lead to stereotyping, which are natural tendencies to categorise the world in order to make sense of it (NAT.org 2003). In an attempt to make the complex world organized as we perceive it, we tend to put labels on objects, events, and individuals that has same characteristics which send to us stimuli that are alike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A means to reduce stereotyping and generalization as dictated by prejudice is to expose a prejudiced person to individuals capable of dispelling it (Gale Encyclopedia2005), these individuals include those that contradict the stereotypes. This approach to reduce and neutralize stereotyping, though somewhat indirect, will help in thawing whatever barriers prejudices had formed within one’s disposition which eventually is good, as sooner or later this prejudiced person will have the chance to interact with a person who belongs to a grouped he/she had stereotyped.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the treatment to reduce prejudice in the form of stereotyping, immersion could be a vital antidote. In the same manner as Edward Said’s Travel Theory (1983), a culture or an idea (which in some cases can be a prejudiced idea) is bound to loose its original potency, its strength, and even its form as it gets contact with other cultures.  Ã‚   A stereotype can likewise be tamed; if the ignorance and the innocence where it was founded over will finally be bridged by discovering the truth (which may include interacting with the people whom you had a stereotype on) -this first-hand, actual, and direct encounter will not just reduce prejudice but also dispel it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More than the more common but not-at-all easily done idea; to be open—minded, interaction would be the best achievable solution in reducing stereotypes. Write a two-page essay in which you describe Freud’s theory on aggression. Additionally, describe Bandura’s theory on aggression and what strategies would he recommend using to diminish aggressive behaviour. Do you think that aggression is innate or learned? Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sigmund Freud explained that the theory of aggression begins at the early ages when a boy begins to develop his intimate relationship with his mother, being the natural provider and nurturing entity for the boy -this intimate relationship will come to a point that the boy will have sexual desires for his mother. In the family picture however, there is the presence of the father -whom the boy will ‘treat’ as his rival in getting his mother’s affection and attention. But eventually, the boy will realize that he can’t win over his father, as the chances of winning in physical terms is impossible due the boys inferior size, the boy will concede is this competition and soon will realize that his mother is not a suitable object of love and sexual urges (cited in Freud & Smith 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This sexual-desire idea is called the Oedipus complex; while as for the girls, they also undergo the same condition and it is termed Electra complex. Freud claims that these are manifestations of the modifiers that dictate human behaviour; instinct and sexual urges called libido. Libido is energy derived from the Eros, or life instinct (cited in Freud & Smith 1999). Aggression is the outcome when the urges of libido are not released.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eros, is present in every man, so as what Freud had introduced thereafter; the concept of Thanatos or death force. This energy from this death force seeks to deliver death and destruction, which also bounds a man to destroy his own self. Thanatos does not entirely pour its energy towards self-destruction, some of which are channelled to other objects and individuals which explains the presence of aggression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even before technology, liberal thinking, and advance science, and even before the man who gave name to the concept was born, the world had abide with the ‘survival of the fittest’. Scientist Charles Darwin used the phrase to term the endless struggle of beings against one another for existence. The energy from Thanatos may support what sends a being to take aggression upon another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bandura (1973) claimed that human behaviour is determined by the environment. Likewise man’s behaviour also dictates his environment.   This means that a man learns his aggression on what he perceives on his environment, while with the presence of aggression or the absence of it around, affects what the environment will become.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bandura’s approach in dealing with and along the process diminishing behaviour is through self-regulation or simply to control one’s own behaviour. This begins with self-observation (watching and analyzing our own behaviours), then with judgement (setting a standard or an ideal measure were we can compare our behaviours with and pattern it to them), and finally with self-response (your manner of affirming yourself whether you are satisfied or not with what was your behaviour in a particular occasion).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aggression is innate to man, I agree for solid reasons. First, I would refer to what Abraham Maslow (1954) refer as the second immediate need; safety and security.   From which threats do we seek protection against? Harsh weather? -We got our concrete homes and thick winter suits. Wild Animals? That’s what technology and urbanization is for, putting the dangerous forage-and-hunt lifestyle locked in oblivion, then what? The best answer would be human threats -which are manifestations of the presence of aggression in man. Second; man is the superior specie of all but we are still classifiable as animals -beings which are programmed from birth to seek, hunt and fight for survival. An aspect of aggression is learned by man but this mainly covers the manners of aggression; like the idea of how to use weapons and sub due impending opponents. What is deterrence theory? Why do people commit crimes?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Punishments are pre-emptive instruments set by established laws and rules meant to discourage and intimidate would-be offenders. An ever-existing idea based on what is called the Deterrence theory. â€Å"Deterrence theory is based on the concept that, if the consequence of committing a crime outweighs the benefit of the crime itself, the individual will be deterred from committing the crime†. (Summerfield, 2006, p. 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By default, deterrence theory lies on the fear a punishment can instil to the subjects of a law.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ideally, a law applies to everyone in a state; both the government and the subjects. But in reality, since deterrence theory was put to practice in an organized-society nation, it has revealed some serious flaws in itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Write Morgan Summerfield traced the origin of the deterrence theory -stemming out the roots of its practice from old England from the Dark Ages, Feudal Era, the Tudor period, when feudal lords, kings, and queens, where the first to introduce the system of punishment.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although crimes at that era meant heavy punishment, as Summerfield would collectively describe as â€Å"brutal† and â€Å"severe†, an individual’s economic status would determine his vulnerability to the legal consequences of the crime; â€Å"Someone wealthy or influential could often commit offences with impunity, while someone of lesser birth would be severely punished for the same offence.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Between this statement’s lines lies an implication; the power of money, and the call to have it, which is avarice, is also ‘encouraged’.  Ã‚   Money, power, and influence has been the bridges to punishment-evasion several centuries ago. These gives definition to deterrence theory as the imperfect concept where present laws and subjects-controlling policies are taken from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The answer to the question why do people commit crimes lies in the failures of deterrence theory. By default, law enforcers assume that making it known to the people that crimes are met with punishments is not enough.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First reason; not every criminal are caught, hence the crime = penalty equation is not absolute. Second, every criminal does not have the same level of fear; the fear variable is defined by how ‘hard’ the criminal/law offender is (a repeatedly imprisoned individual may not fear the conditions of being in jail as much as a first-time convict would. Third would be how able the criminal is in protecting/saving himself/herself from the legal repercussions of the crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we are to directly relate the question why do people commit crimes with the fear-dependent deterrent theory, we can conclude that the discrepancy of fear among the subjects of a law do explains why not all individuals are stopped by impending punishments and thus, go on and commit crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another premise that may explain why do people commit crimes is the existence of free will; â€Å"When they act in a criminal manner, they do so out of free will and weigh the consequences of their actions—they know what they are doing and choose to do it† (Summerfield 2006).   Along with it is the belief of Chinese Philosopher, Kong Zi (Xun-Zi) that man is by nature evil. -reflected in the oldest book of all time, the Bible, in the chapter of Genesis where the first man used its free will to ignore the rule set by God in the Garden of Eden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kong Zi meanwhile acknowledges too that man is capable of doing good; but for a man to do a good act it has to be done consciously. The society’s means of increasing man’s awareness and sensitivity to do conscious good acts, to teach what is right and to do right is by establishing institutions   (schools, churches) to teach norms, and make laws and policies (to assure that the norms are followed).   -Which brings us to an uncomplicated cycle; the â€Å"naturally evil† man is straightened out and taught what is good being covered by different laws and policies which is based from the deterrence theory. On a research done by Richard Lebow and Janice Stein (1995), they claimed that Deterrence theory rarely succeeds. Although their work underwent ‘waves’ of criticisms and was thoroughly scrutinized for gaps and flaws, the spirit of deterrence theory, which is carried over by the laws in present time seems to testify on the findings of Lebow and Stein. References Contributors: Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. p. 183. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice-Hall. Bordens, K. Sm, Horowtiz, I, A.(Eds.). (2001) Social Psychology (second edition). Lawrence   Ã‚   Erlbaum Associates Gado, M. (2007) A Cry in the Night: The Kitty Genovese Murder   Retrieved February 26, 2008 from Crime Library, Courtroom Television Network, LLC. Gale Group, (2001). Gale Encyclopaedia of Psychology, 2nd Ed..   Retrieved February 27, 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0002/ai_2699000270 Huitt, W. (2006). Social cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   State University. Retrieved February 28, 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/soccog/soccog.html. Jervis, R., Lebow, R., Stein, (Eds.). (1985) Psychology and Deterrence . Baltimore: The Johns    Hopkins Press, Laswell, H.D., (1948). â€Å"The structure and function of communication in societyâ€Å" -in the communication of ideas, ed. Bryson, L. New York: Harper. Maslow, A (1954). Motivation and Personality. NAT.org. (February 2003). The Psychology of Prejudice Retrieved February 28, 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-4301.pdf. Said, E. W. (1983) â€Å"Travelling Theory,† The World, the Text, and the Critic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cambridge: Harvard    University Press. Smith, A. K. (1999) Theories of Aggression. Biology 202: 1999 Final Web Reports-Biology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved February 28, 2008 from Serendip database. Summerfield, M. (2006). Evolution of Deterrence Crime Theory, a journey with an End. Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   February 27, 2008 from Associated Content, Inc.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Economic Exposure Essay

This report reviews the foreign exchange exposure of Eurojet due to the future development plans and growth of the low cost airline company, this report also highlights the various risks Eurojet, faces in operating in different countries identifying, measuring, and managing the various foreign exchange exposures that might be faced by Eurojet. However, some of these issues will be analysed differently. Foreign Exchange Exposure: According to Buckley (2004, pg.135) foreign exchange exposure means that a firm has assets, liabilities, and profits or expected future cash flow streams such that the home currency value assets, liabilities, profits or the present value in the home currency terms of expected future cash flows changes as exchange rate change. ISSUE 1: foreign risk exposure management Identifying Eurojet foreign exchange risk For Eurojet the risks that might arise currently for being an international business is the concentration of Eurojet airlines with significant exposures in Euro areas (Dublin Dusseldorf, London-Stanstead, Milan, Brussels,) and North Africa, means that they need to be aware of this risks before they analyse, and agree on what to do about it. Therefore, this exposure occurs due to their currency movements in operating centres, which may alter their home currency (Buckley, 2004, pg.143) giving rise to exchange rate fluctuations and risks. Therefore Eurojet exposure to exchange rate fluctuations will come in three forms: transaction exposure, economic exposure, and translation exposure. In addition, these different exposures will be analysed by applying to Eurojet. Transaction exposure Transaction exposure occurs because; a payable or receivable is denominated in a foreign currency (Buckley, 2004). It is also a cash flow exposure including sale of an asset and the receipt of the payment. Within this time interval exchange rates might change, and will exposed Eurojet to a risk either positive or negative, which will have an impact on Eurojet exposure to international contractual transactions to exchange rate fluctuations. Eurojet transaction exposures will therefore have an impact on the exchange rate fluctuations in the value of committed cash flows. From Eurojet income statement (appendix 2-note 5), due to the contracts for the supply of  fuel and oil to Eurojet invoiced in US foreign currency (dollars). It could be analysed that Eurojet will be faced with currency risk. This is going to affect the price of fuel cost due to exchange rate movements. So the current price of fuel cost is â‚ ¬18887million, so to get the fuel cost in dollars. It will be â‚ ¬188 7 divided by US$1.59686 (current exchange rate value in dollars) will equal to US$1181694075- this is how much eurojet have to pay in dollars to get fuel supplied to their airlines, which is certain. However, there is also an issue of uncertainty as to what the fuel cost in dollar will be in the future. Due to dollar invoicing of fuel, the dollar price will vary with the exchange rate. Although eurojet can lock in the dollar price on its current orders, it has no idea what the will be the dollar costs of its future orders of fuel. This also explains the volatility of fuel prices, as when eurojet buys fuel they have to pay for it immediately. So they will need to hedge fuel price to stablise fuel costs. However, losses due to transaction exposure merely result in lower sales revenue. Eurojet also faces currency risks as regards to the British pound sterling. From the case study, 40% of Eurojet revenues come from its London-Stanstead operations, this means that a change in pound sterling will hugely affects Eurojet profitability. In calculation, (40% of â‚ ¬4884m=1953.6) to get the real revenue, we say 1953.6 divided by â‚ ¬1.19683(currency exchange rate) = £1632.312024-so therefore, this is Eurojet revenue from its London-Stanstead operations. To measure transaction exposure, Eurojet will need to project the net amount of inflows or outflows in each foreign currency, and determine the overall risk of exposure to those currencies (Pilbeam, 2006). And then it will measure any gains or losses that may arise from the settlement of existing financial obligations whose terms are included in the foreign currency. Economic exposure According to Tesar and Dominguez (2006), factors such as firm size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets, and competitiveness and trade at the industry level may influence economic exposure of the companies Economic exposure the impact of long-term currency exposure and analyses the health of a company’s business in the long run. The changes registered in the expected future cash flows depend of the  change in the position the company holds In the case of Eurojet foreign operations and competition, managing economic exposure will involve all aspects of the company. Economic exposure will arise in all markets for Eurojet against US dollar, British pound, Swiss Franc. This arises because Eurojet has its costs base in Euros whereas competitors might have theirs in British pound, US dollar etc. Although it is difficult to reduce economic exposure, Eurojet can reduce the risk by offering same as competitors. Airlines, like many industrial companies, are potentially exposed to risks resulting from adverse movements in interest rates, foreign currency prices, and commodity prices, particularly fuel prices. Airlines’ fuel price exposures are particularly transparent because oil is a widely traded global commodity, and the poor economic condition of airlines (partly as a result of higher fuel prices) has frequently been in the news since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 Translation exposure Under the FASB 52, Eurojet translation gains and losses of â‚ ¬138 million will be included in their stockholders equity. So therefore, when the Euro strengthens, the consolidated earnings of Eurojet will be unfavourably affected by the translation exposure, and when the euro weakens the consolidated earnings are favourably affected. Also from Eurojet income statement, it could be analysed that currently eurojet concentrates on local sales and has little foreign competition, although obtains foreign fuel supply from the US (-denominated in foreign currency) this will likely be hurt by depreciated local currency. As in the case of translation exposure the MNC can have an equal amount of exposed foreign currency assets and liabilities. By doing so the company will be able to offset any gain or loss it may have due to changes in the exchange rates of that currency, also known as balance sheet hedging. (Eiteman, Stonehill, & Moffett, 2007) Management of foreign exchange exposure/risks Eurojet Foreign exchange risk management will focus on identifying areas in the operations of Eurojet, which may be an issue to foreign exchange exposures, evaluating and analysing the exposure, and choosing the right  approach to manage the risk to the final performance of Eurojet. Before establishing hedging policies, Eurojet will need to measure its economic exposure. In order to do that a eurojet can invest some of its resources in evaluating its exposure, i.e., identifying the set of environmental contingencies affecting and relevant to the creation of shareholder value (Miller, 1998). This identification allows the assessment of alternative environmental scenarios and consequent adoption of improved strategic decisions by the company. Furthermore, Froot et al. (1993) analysed that firms find hedging more valuable when the connection between investment opportunities and cash flows resulting from hedgeable risks is lower. For Eurojet, it could be implied that hedging will increase their value and investment opportunities, which are available when fuel prices are high (and internal cash flow is low as a result). In addition, hedging can assist Eurojet ability to invest by negotiating with US aircraft manufacturer in advance of delivery of some of the aircraft. In essence, Hedging might preserve Eurojet internal cash flow to meet future commitments to purchase aircraft. In dealing with economic exposures efficiently, a MNC may have to diversify either its finance or its operations. It can diversify its operations by either moving to locations where the cost of production is low, or having a flexible supplier policy, or changing the target market for its products and the types of products it deals in. As it can be illustrated from the 1994 example of Toyota, when a strong Yen made Japanese exports to US more expensive, it decided to shift its production from Japan to US, where it achieved comparatively lower costs of production, enabling it to compete in the US car market. (Eun & Resnick, 2007). ISSUE 2 Firstly, for Eurojet expanding to more routes, this will mean more revenues as regards to cash inflows and outflows. And Eurojet achieving their business objective of airline ambitious growth plans. One of the Risks eurojet is mostly likely to face is operating risk, which it will incur from the US dollar. This also reveals that exchange rate has been a big challenge for the airline industry. The instability of an exchange rate makes it  impossible for airlines to match in transaction and timing of foreign currency expenses. Furthermore, in extending its route network Eurojet might incur a net cash outflows in currencies (dollars and rubbles) when operating in US and Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) which will create a higher exposure to exchange rate. As Eurojet currency (â‚ ¬) will represent a net cash outflows on the balance sheet thereby giving rise to translation exposure due to the increase in proportion of earnings as generated by these foreign subsidiaries ((Muller, 2005). So therefore as eurojet wants to operate in US and Russia areas, if they want to fly from other European locations they will need to approach government to deal with US and Russia Eurojet also face the risk of weather turmoil in Russia, compounded with the volatility of risk in Euro-dollar exchange rate. Also in expanding to Russia areas, there are some legal issues due to tightening regulations from government authorities. As non-refundable tickets, charging for meals, and hiring of foreign pilots ISSUE 3: Firstly, due to Eurojet opportunity for network growth, by ordering 200 aircraft from US, and China manufacturer. Here Eurojet will be considered to be an importer, and their exchange rate risk will be limited to net cash flows in US and China currency. Eurojet transaction risk will arise in the US (dollar) and China (yen) order received immediately for the manufacture of 200 aircrafts to Eurojet, payable within 10 years. Also, the quantity of US dollar and China yen price is already known. This means that the transaction risk will concern the euro value of the dollar payment in 10 years, and the China quotes the yen value of the dollar payment in 10 years-as the price of china aircraft in Renminbi . To buy the C900 aircraft offered by the Chinese manufacturer, eurojet might face exchange rate risk as they will need the dollar to buy the Chinese aircraft. In calculation, this will be 116,307.5m Renminbi divided by 6.12287CNY= US$18995.5854-this is how much it will dollars to pay for China aircrafts. Furthermore, Eurojet will also face exchange rate risks, as their transaction risk arise from their euro currency denominated imports in the same ways as US and China foreign currency denominated exports. Eurojet economic risk will be subject to variations of its costs induced by exchange rate fluctuation. This is  also going to have an impact on Eurojet exchange rate variations on their stock market return, and controlling the return for their entire market (Dohring, 2008). So therefore euro appreciation will increase Eurojet share value because it is eurojet-operating currency. Also the exposure of Eurojet to US aircraft payment is 65% when measured over a 10 year period this can be quite difficult, to hedge as Dohiring (2008) identified that long term exposures are difficult to hedge than short term exposures as they could increase over the time horizon under consideration. Risks involving short-term transactions can be dealt with using financial instruments but long-term risks often require changes in the operations of the company. In the case of Eurojet, importing aircrafts from US and China. Eurojet will have to pay in the currency of the US manufacturer (US dollars), therefore it is Eurojet who carries the risk as they have to buy dollars in order to pay the manufacturers. However, Eurojet can pay in its own currency (Euros) but this might mean that China manufacturer will carry the risk most as they have to change the Yen from dollars. Furthermore, as Eurojet wants to contract out much of its production to US (including fuel supply) and China manufacturers, this means that Eurojet will face currency risk and uncertainty as US and China manufacturers are billing in their local currencies, There is also an issue of uncertainty as to what the dollar cost of its orders will be, both now and in the future. If it insists on dollar invoicing, the dollar price will likely vary with the exchange rate. Hence, although Eurojet can lock in the dollar price of its current orders, it has no idea what will be the dollar costs of its future orders Furthermore, adding new aircrafts means that Eurojet needs more crew members, pilots and maintenance engineers, this will impact on the Eurojet profitability as the expenditure will go up. Eurojet will also face political risk due to significant foreign financing, foreign suppliers or customers, and international transactions or assets are relatively exposed to adverse changes in currency controls, capital flow barriers, and other laws and regulations (Graham, 2012). The probability of expropriation can differ across industries. Firms whose cash flows are particularly sensitive to general economic conditions may be exposed to political risks due to their broad impact on the economy. APPENDIX 1 The main objectives of the Bretton Woods system are to achieve exchange rate stability and promote international trade and development According to David Ricardo, with free international trade, it is mutually beneficial for two countries to each specialize in the production of the goods that it can produce relatively most efficiently and then trade those goods. By doing so, the two countries can increase their combined production, which allows both countries to consume more of both goods. Any foreign currency (ie non euro) denominated transactions may give rise to transaction exposure if there is a delay between entering the contract and settlement Eurojet addition of 200 aircrafts of its existing operations reveals a strategic move by Eurojet. Bringing new flights will also require upgrading of its scheduling and reservation application, this is mostly related to change management, so Eurojet will need to understand the risk, which could arise due to it. However, as the number of fleets go up, Eurojet will face the challenge of domestic aircrafts been rested for a short period. Inappropriate handling of this issues will lead to operating risk where the charges to be paid to authority will increase. Therefore Eurojet need to make sure that its scheduling application is proficient enough to take this challenge. There’s also a risk, which might arise due to social acceptance from Eurojet passengers if this happens, Eurojet will have to educate its customers more on the usefulness of its new aircrafts may be by offering at discounted rates. Eurojet will need to implement on the job and off the Traning programs for its new crew members and maintenance engineers. So they can learn how to operate the new fleet. For new employees the training will include, training for B737 or C900 depending on which option it wants to buy. However, the aim of achieving this will generate some additional training costs for Eurojet, but it help Eurojet to enjoy its process driven operation rather than having its driven people operation Russia climbed eight places to the 112th position in The World Bank’s 2013 Doing Business Rankings, up from 120th in 2012. Tax payment and contract enforcement fueled this improvement. However, despite this progress, Russia’s overall ranking for doing business remains relatively average. According to recent estimates†¨by the Central Bank of Russia, approximately US$54.1 billion of private capital was invested out of the country in 2012. This is†¨an improvement on the US$80.5 billion of outward investment recorded in 2011, which suggests that some of the Government’s efforts to improve this situation have been successful. Also, the traditional literature on the choice of he invoicing currency of international business trade. Grassham law 1973, starts from the observation that trade in manufacturing goods between industrial countries is mostly invoiced in the exporters currency Exchange rate changes can also impact on the level of competitiveness of the firms that are exposed to exchange rate risk, or affect the value of their net assets denominated in foreign currencies It is widely believed that changing exchange rates affect the competitiveness of firms engaged in international competition. According to Luehrman (1991), a falling home currency promotes the competitiveness of firms in home country by allowing them to undercut prices charged for goods manufactured abroad. Many simple partial equilibrium models (e.g. Shapiro) predict an increase in the value of the home country firm in response to a real drop in the value of the home currency. Economic theory suggests that under a floating exchange rate regime, exchange rate appreciation reduces the competitiveness of export markets; it has a negative effect on the domestic stock market. Conversely, if the country is import denominated, exchange rate appreciation may have positive affect on the stock market by lowering input costs. Financial hedging may be a more cost-effective strategy than operational hedging for many firms since it doesn’t involve major redeployment of resources like building factories in other countries. One likely risk to be faced by Eurojet is the financial crisis. Involved with the foreign currency exchange markets. It is also evident from the case study that due to eurojet current and future operations it is already dealing with more than one national currency especially in extending its routes to US travels. So therefore, the changes in the foreign exchange rates will affect eurojet profitability. Also this risks arises because of currency movements may alter in home country values(Buckley, 2004), which depends on various variables such as the interest rate parity, government policies purchasing power parity on exchange rates Is there any direct evidence that risk management increases firm value? The answer is yes, but the evidence is fairly limited as yet. A number of more recent studies show a clearly positive correlation between higher share values and the use of derivatives to manage foreign exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. And one study provides fairly compel-ling evidence that the use of commodity price derivatives by commodity users increases share values. But studies of the hedging by commodity producers provide no clear support for the argument that risk management adds value. At a minimum, whether hedging adds value appears to depend on the types of risk to which a firm is exposed to. Given investment patterns in the airline industry, the value premium suggests that hedging allows airlines more ability to fund investment during periods of high fuel prices. The constructive relation between hedging and value further suggests that investors view such investment as positive net present value projects. We find that The interaction between hedging and capital expenditures captures a large majority of the hedging premium. We also examine a two-stage system in which hedging impacts value through its effect on capital expenditure. Given investment patterns in the airline industry, the value premium suggests that hedging allows airlines more ability to fund investment during periods of high jet fuel prices. The positive relation between hedging and value further suggests that investors view such investment as positive net present value projects. We find that the interaction between hedging and capital expenditures captures a large majority of the hedging premium. We also examine a two-stage system in which hedging impacts value through its effect on capital expenditures. The results of this procedure also suggest that the hedging premium is largely attributable to the effect of hedging on capital investments. The results of this procedure also suggest that the hedging premium is largely attributable to the effect of hedging on capital investment. However, from airline industry research it could be assumed that Eurojet is faced with the following financial risks; change in fuel prices, foreign currency exchange fluctuations, and changes in interest rates. An increase in fuel price, which is due to increase in demand from emerging economies like India and China. And decline in supply is due to major disruptions in oil production and refinery. REFERNCES http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2005.00042.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2005.00042.x/pdf David A. Carter, Daniel A. Rogers, Betty J. Simkins 2008 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/2013-Russia-attractiveness-survey-Eng/$FILE/2013-Russia-attractiveness-survey-Eng.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication11475_en.pdf

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas

The Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas The Texas Revolution (1835–1836) was a political and military insurrection by settlers and inhabitants of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas against the Mexican government. Mexican forces under General Santa Anna attempted to crush the rebellion  and had victories at the legendary Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of Coleto Creek, but in the end, they were defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto and forced to leave Texas. The revolution was successful, as the present-day US state of Texas broke off from Mexico and Coahuila and formed the Republic of Texas. The Settlement of Texas In the 1820s, Mexico wished to attract settlers to the vast, sparsely populated State of Coahuila y Texas, which consisted of the present-day Mexican State of Coahuila as well as the US State of Texas. American settlers were eager to go, as the land was plentiful and good for farming and ranching, but Mexican citizens were reluctant to relocate to a backwater province. Mexico reluctantly allowed Americans to settle there, provided they became Mexican citizens and converted to Catholicism. Many took advantage of colonization projects, such as the one led by Stephen F. Austin, while others simply came to Texas and squatted on vacant land. Unrest and Discontent The settlers soon chafed under Mexican rule. Mexico had just won its independence from Spain in 1821, and there was much chaos and infighting in Mexico City as liberals and conservatives struggled for power. Most Texas settlers approved of the Mexican constitution of 1824, which granted many freedoms to states (as opposed to federal control). This constitution was later rescinded, angering the Texans (and many Mexicans as well). The settlers also wanted to split from Coahuila and form a state in Texas. The Texan settlers were initially offered tax breaks which were later taken away, causing further discontent. Texas Breaks from Mexico By 1835, troubles in Texas had reached a boiling point. Tensions were always high between Mexicans and American settlers, and the unstable government in Mexico City made things that much worse. Stephen F. Austin, long a believer in staying loyal to Mexico, was jailed without charges for a year and a half: when he was finally released, even he was in favor of independence. Many Tejanos (Texan-born Mexicans) were in favor of independence: some would go on to fight valiantly at the Alamo and other battles. The Battle of Gonzales The first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired on October 2, 1835, in the town of Gonzales. The Mexican authorities in Texas, nervous about the increased hostility with the Texans, decided to disarm them. A small squad of Mexican soldiers was sent to Gonzales to retrieve a cannon stationed there to fight off Indian attacks. The Texans in the town did not allow the Mexicans entry: after a tense standoff, the Texans fired on the Mexicans. The Mexicans swiftly retreated, and in the whole battle there was but one casualty on the Mexican side. But the war had begun and there was no going back for the Texans. The Siege of San Antonio With the outbreak of hostilities, Mexico began making preparations for a massive punitive expedition north, to be led by President/General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. The Texans knew they had to move quickly to consolidate their gains. The rebels, led by Austin, marched on San Antonio (then more commonly referred to as Bà ©xar). They laid siege for two months, during which time they fought off a Mexican sally at the Battle of Concepcià ³n. In early December, the Texans attacked the city. Mexican General Martà ­n Perfecto de Cos conceded defeat and surrendered: by December 12 all Mexican forces had left the city. The Alamo and Goliad The Mexican army arrived in Texas, and in late February laid siege to the Alamo, a fortified old mission in San Antonio. Some 200 defenders, among them William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett, held out to the last: the Alamo was overrun on March 6, 1836, and all within were slain. Less than a month later, about 350 rebellious Texans were captured in battle and then executed days later: this was known as the ​Goliad Massacre. These twin setbacks seemed to spell doom for the nascent rebellion. Meanwhile, on March 2, a congress of elected Texans officially declared Texas independent from Mexico. The Battle of San Jacinto After the Alamo and Goliad, Santa Anna assumed he had beaten the Texans and divided his army. Texan General Sam Houston caught up to Santa Anna on the banks of the San Jacinto River. On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, Houston attacked. Surprise was complete and the attack turned first into a rout, then into a massacre. Half of Santa Annas men were killed and most of the others were taken prisoner, including Santa Anna himself. Santa Anna signed papers ordering all Mexican forces out of Texas and recognizing the independence of Texas. The Republic of Texas Mexico would make several half-hearted attempts to re-take Texas, but after all Mexican forces left Texas following San Jacinto, they never had a realistic chance of re-conquering their former territory. Sam Houston became the first President of Texas: he would serve as Governor and Senator later when Texas accepted statehood. Texas was a republic for almost ten years, a time which was marked by many troubles, including tension with Mexico and the US and difficult relations with local Indian tribes. Nevertheless, this period of independence is looked back upon with great pride by modern Texans. Texas Statehood Even before Texas split from Mexico in 1835, there were those in Texas and the USA that were in favor of statehood in the USA. Once Texas became independent, there were repeated calls for annexation. It wasnt so simple, however. Mexico had made it clear that while it was forced to tolerate an independent Texas, annexation would likely lead to war (in fact, the US annexation was a factor in the outbreak of the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War). Other sticking points included whether slavery would be legal in Texas and the federal assumptions of Texas debts, which were considerable. These difficulties were overcome and Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845. Resources and Further Reading Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: the Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004.Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Lesson Plan on Present Perfect and Past Simple

Lesson Plan on Present Perfect and Past Simple The switch between the present perfect and the past simple is one of the most challenging aspects for English learners. There are a few reasons for this: Students use a language - such as German, French or Italian - which uses its version of the past simple and the present perfect interchangeably.Students find the difference between specific past experience (past simple) and general experience (present perfect) difficult.Students speak a language in which tense usage is much more loose such as Japanese. This lesson focuses on the switch by first narrowing the choices down to either the present perfect or the past simple. It asks students to first ask questions about general experience with ever and then drill down to the specifics with question words such as where, when, why etc. Aim Becoming more proficient in switching between the present perfect and the past simple Activity Number 1 Asking about experiences # 2 Writing about experiences Level Lower-intermediate to intermediate Outline Begin the lessons by speaking about your own experiences in a general way. Be careful not to give any details about these experiences. In other words, keep to the present perfect. I find topics such as travel, education, and hobbies work well. For example: Ive been to many countries in my life. Ive traveled in Europe and Ive visited France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Ive also driven a lot in the United States. In fact, Ive driven through almost 45 states. Ask students to ask you questions about the specifics of some of your adventures. You may need to model this. However, students will hopefully be able to catch on fast and keep to the past simple. On the board, create a timeline showing past to present with some of your adventures. Put question marks above the general statements, specific dates above specific statements. Point out the difference between the two. You can use the ​tense time charts on this site as well. Introduce the question Have you ever ... for general experience. Review information questions in the past simple to focus on specific experiences. Model a few question-and-answer exchanges with students switching between Have you ever... followed by information questions When did you ..., Where did you ..., etc. when students answer in the affirmative.   Have students complete exercise one with partners or in small groups.   Moving around the class, listen to these conversations helping when necessary. To continue, ask students to fill in the worksheet following the example provided. Move around the room making sure students are switching between the present perfect and the simple past in writing. Exercise 1 Use the present perfect with Have you ever... to ask your classmates questions. When your partner answers yes, follow-up with information questions in the past simple. For example: Student 1: Have you ever been to China?Student 2: Yes, I have.Student 1: When did you go there?Student 2: I went there in 2005.Student 1: Which cities did you visit?Student 2: I visited Beijing and Shanghai. buy a new cartravel in a foreign countryplay football / soccer / tennis / golfwork in a large companyfly over the oceaneat something that made you sickstudy a foreign languagelose your money, wallet, or purseeat snailsplay an instrument Exercise 2 Write a few sentences on each of these topics. First, begin with a sentence using the present perfect. Next, write a sentence or two giving specific details. For example: I have learned three languages in my life. I studied German and Italian when I was in college. I also learned French when I visited the country for a three-month French language program in 1998.   Hobbies I have learnedPlaces I have visitedCrazy food I have eatenPeople I have metStupid things I have boughtSubjects I have studied

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Top 3 Awesome Resources for Administrative Assistants

Top 3 Awesome Resources for Administrative Assistants Being an administrative assistant can be a tough job. It’s often considered an entry-level position, but it’s a role that requires a large number of skills to perform effectively and support your manager. So how do you gain those skills? And once you’re in the assistant role, what kind of support is there for the supporter?These three online resources are great places to help admin assistants expand and improve skills.1. The American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP)ASAP is an organization created specifically to support professionals like you. Here, you can find career development opportunities like online training courses and webinars, articles on industry trends and business skill development, and a certificate program (Professional Administrative Certificate of Excellence, or PACE) if you  want to be certified as an administrative professional. Access to these benefits is part of a free membership, and with 50,000 members nationwide, you get th e support of an entire field- you’re not alone!2. LinkedInLinkedIn is a great resource for job hunters- but did you know that it can be a useful tool once you’ve been hired, too? Groups like the Administrative Assistant Office Professional Network (149,000+ members) and Administrative Assistant Office Professionals (All Levels) (189,000+ members) offer discussion and networking opportunities for all sorts of admin assistants and professionals. You can also find specialized groups relevant to your role or industry: for example, medical assistants, executive assistants, receptionists, etc. Want to connect with other assistants in your area? You can search for groups specific to your city or region, as well.3. Lynda.comThere aren’t many sites out there that can teach you everything from basic software use to advanced coding- and that’s what makes Lynda.com so special. This site offers online video tutorials for professionals in all industries and at all leve ls and features some great seminars for administrative assistants- whether it’s application training (Excel, Office, Word) or general business skills (marketing, leadership, project management).This site can also be excellent for bumping your skills to the next level, or helping you adapt to different office environments. For example, if you’ve always used a PC but your new office is all Mac, Lynda can give you tips on how to perform your daily tasks in iOS. It’s like having an expert mentor in your pocket at all times.If you’d like to build skills or just find others who can relate to the realities of being an administrative assistant, these resources can be a big help.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Evaluation Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluation - Movie Review Example The story revolves around a family where the father is a loser, the mother is a drunkard and the protagonist is a frustrated son trying to escape such dilemma. To do so, he often goes to his friend’s laboratory. During one of his visits, his scientist friend shows his invention, a time-machine; when all of a sudden, a group of thugs riding a van shot at the doctor. As he tries to escape the criminals, Marty rides the time machine which brought him to the past. His travel did not only offer adventures but a chance to help his father become a better man. Indeed, this is a unique way of presenting the common plot of stories of making things right. The protagonist living in his parent’s teenage world is also a wonderful way of doing â€Å"flashback† although of course it is not called a flashback because the scenes should be current. With such presentation of the story, it is awesome to think about a story sequentially unfolds but still is able to bring the audience back to the past and back to the future. The plot is pure genius and it exceeds my expectation of a good plot. Theme should always be a criterion for judging a story especially when it extends to various aspects of life. Obviously, the theme of Back to the Future is about changing for the better, perseverance and love. Nevertheless, sometimes, it is not the obvious that makes things great but the inconspicuous. I agree with Rubin Safaya who wrote about easily dismissed scenes that portray a well-thought theme. In his article, Safaya mentions the joke about the former actor Reagan becoming the president and Lou becoming one of the early colored politicians (2010). Such portrayals imply the theme of living the American dream, that nothing is impossible for a person who is determined to make his way to success. The actors are have well-played their parts to make the story come to life. Among the many reviews on

Friday, October 18, 2019

Articles of Confederation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Articles of Confederation - Essay Example Constitution was written in 1787, ratified the next year, and George Washington assumed its presidency one year after that. (Bush Defends Rate of Progress in Iraq, p. A03) However, it is also believed that the cause for the alterations was widespread mistrust of the fundamental authority and jealousy of some states involved in this issue. Unfortunately, these were some reasons which resulted the emasculation of the articles of confederation. When the 13 original American colonies met in 1774 to ratify the Articles of Confederation - the first draft of the US Constitution - smaller states were frightened of domination by larger states and every state was frightened of losing its independence. (United State of Confusion p. 8). Moreover, Strang also believes that "the Articles established a "confederacy" and "firm league of friendship" of "free [] and independent[t]" states. It purported to create a "perpetual Union" between the same". (Strang, P. 909) In fact, when ratified the articles of confederation the articles declared solemnly that each of thirteen states would enjoy freedom, independence and sovereignty. Soon after the ratification of articles of confederation each thirteen states enjoyed equal rights and privileges, freedom of movement, and most importantly the articles of confederation clearly outlined the trials of criminals accused. ... Nonetheless, in this regard, neither separate judicial branches nor executives were provided for. According to Golove D the articles of confederation, though in some few respects national, were mainly of a pure federative character and were treated as stipulations between states.( Golove, p.1697) As a matter of fact, congress was the only authority that had major obligations such as declaring war or peach, maintaining or rotating foreign relations with other nations, army and navy command, foreign disputes regarding boundaries, conducting and settling postal services and so forth. Nevertheless, some aforesaid obligations were shared among states and in one way or another in this respect congress was the alone authority who was dependent upon cooperation of the states for carrying out any of them. "Four visible weaknesses of the articles, apart from those of organization, made it impossible for Congress to execute its constitutional duties. These were analyzed in numbers 15-22 of The FEDERALIST, the political essays in which Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay argued the case for the U.S. CONSTITUTION of 1787". ( Golove, p.1697) In this regard, the very first weakness of the articles was that according to it the congress could not legislate for individual peoples; however, it could legislate only for state, consequently, congress could not enforce legislation. Secondly, congress under this article could evaluate its expenses and can distribute those among the states, and it was calculated on behalf of land's value, but congress had no right and power on taxes. In order to raise the money for these expenses and turn the proceeds over to congress, States had rights and powers to mark tax their

International Marketing( Pizza hut in China) Essay

International Marketing( Pizza hut in China) - Essay Example success story due to the specialized and far sighted strategies followed by the company in expanding its business into the high potential market of China. Pizza Hut is one of the most famous fast food centres specialized in a wide variety of pizzas with different crusts and toppings. Pizza Hut is based in Texas and is the largest pizza restaurant in the world. There are more than 7500 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States alone. The company also operates more than 5600 Pizza Hut restaurants in almost 100 countries in different corners of the world. The first fast food restaurant of Pizza Hut was opened in 1958 in Kansas by two brothers named Frank Karney and Dan Karney. The company followed a franchisee based strategy to expand its operations (Bradley, 1999, p.118). The first franchisee of Pizza Hut was opened in Topeka region of Kansas. After the opening up of this franchisee, the company continued to grow in terms of size, popularity as well as scale of operations. The company currently has more than 8000 units of food chains operating across different countries in the globe. The company introduced the delivery system in 1988 a fter which the sales of the company were boosted to a high extent, especially in the United States. Apart from a variety of pizzas, Pizza Hut also offers other fast food items like Garlic bread, chicken wings, soups, pastas, nachos, cornitos and lasagnes in its menu. The company offers a wide range of food items and is famous for its excellent quality and efficient services provided to the customers. Pizza Hut emerged as a highly popular fast food company in the United States. After the success in their home country, the company focused on expanding their operations in other suitable international markets to tap in new opportunities and increase their revenues and customer base. The high market growth and profitability of Pizza Hut in the domestic market provided the company with the necessary backup and resources to internationalize

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Aging in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aging in America - Essay Example Guided by the welfare initiative under the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision in 1999, and a New Freedom Initiative (NFI) in 2001, all American States are expected are modify their respective long term care (LTC) policies to provide comprehensive health care services dedicated to the needs of older Americans. This framework is expected to reform the following areas to increase well being of older Americans:Using the Systems Change Framework as a guide, this paper examines reform in the State of Oregon and how reform efforts have affected them. In Oregon, LTC services are administered on a local level, so as to increase the number of options available to seniors citizens.About 7% of Oregon's population are less than 5 years old, 25% under 18, and 13% are 65 or older. Women constitute 51% of the population. Of these, most settlers originally came from Europe. Others like Mexican Americans, Hispanics, Asians form a large part. The Asian community forms slightly less than 5% of the popula tion.Program information was obtained through interviews with people over 65 years of age, health care professionals and health service providers about each of the four component areas of the LTC Systems and Change Framework. Interviewees provided details regarding the impact of services across available services, satisfaction with services, and future plans for reforms.Unrelated to governmental policy changes though, a technical experts meeting held during April 2000 had underscored the fact that the issue of older population is currently under-addressed, is poorly understood and widely unrecognized. It said that not many organizations are taking into account the comprehensive health issues, medical systems and reimbursement, environmental issues, and education that are necessary to help older Americans live better. To utilize available funds effectively, resources must be tailored to the needs of the aged. The 25% of the population who are over age 50 today control 70% of the total net worth of U.S. households and are seasoned consumers (Dychtwald 1990). Baby Boomers, already in there 60s, are already pushing the market to produce goods and services that are relevant to their needs. They do not like to be thought of as old. Many of these goods and services will increasingly be health-related such as gyms, ski slopes, and dating services for older adults. Since they have resources to spend, the market will respond to meet their demands. To meet the needs of the elders, the government has framed Older Americans Act (OAA). The OAA aids state agencies to cover their social service needs. All people over age 60 are eligible, regardless of need or income. Further the State Units on Aging establish local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to develop and administer service plans within local areas. These provide referral services, case management, transportation, home services, day care, nutritional information, community meals, legal services, senior centers, employment programs, and protective services. Access is the most important concept to remember when planning services for the aged. They will try to avoid services that they perceive are inappropriate, too expensive, or

INTRODUCTION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION and CONCLUSIONS AND Essay

INTRODUCTION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION and CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS - Essay Example It gives a clearly structure for the enquiry and help me to stay within a defined set of limits. This methodology provides the scheme for sampling, data collection, data analysis and explanation of findings for the research. For the sake of providing the best understanding, it will be appropriate to summarize important elements of the research to make the research methodology meaningful. Silverman, (2004) states that qualitative methods are meant to provide an observation of social phenomenon from a close analysis of facts and trends with a critical review of information to provide an opinion by me This means that qualitative research methods are mainly concerned with the assessment of social events with a view of making critical conclusion . However, Marshall and Rossman (2010) identify qualitative research as a field of enquiry that cuts across disciplines and fields and examines key concepts. Which means it is theoretical and does not really seem to be related to figures. On the other hand quantitative research focuses on figures and trends to provide ideas from experimental studies (Silverman, 2004). This is different from qualitative research which is more theories and ideas. In this research, the primary approach would be more theoretical, making it more of a qualitative research. It would examine patterns and trends in peoples perception towards Art Education at the secondary school level in both Iraq and the UK. Within the findings there would be some elements of statistical analysis to provide a pattern and tone that is quantitative in nature. Sampling is an important element for the study of a representative body to acquire information about a subject that can be generalised over a wider population (Dodds, 2011). In order to understand each of the four objectives, there will be the need to study a carefully selected proportion of the population to come up with findings that would be

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Aging in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aging in America - Essay Example Guided by the welfare initiative under the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision in 1999, and a New Freedom Initiative (NFI) in 2001, all American States are expected are modify their respective long term care (LTC) policies to provide comprehensive health care services dedicated to the needs of older Americans. This framework is expected to reform the following areas to increase well being of older Americans:Using the Systems Change Framework as a guide, this paper examines reform in the State of Oregon and how reform efforts have affected them. In Oregon, LTC services are administered on a local level, so as to increase the number of options available to seniors citizens.About 7% of Oregon's population are less than 5 years old, 25% under 18, and 13% are 65 or older. Women constitute 51% of the population. Of these, most settlers originally came from Europe. Others like Mexican Americans, Hispanics, Asians form a large part. The Asian community forms slightly less than 5% of the popula tion.Program information was obtained through interviews with people over 65 years of age, health care professionals and health service providers about each of the four component areas of the LTC Systems and Change Framework. Interviewees provided details regarding the impact of services across available services, satisfaction with services, and future plans for reforms.Unrelated to governmental policy changes though, a technical experts meeting held during April 2000 had underscored the fact that the issue of older population is currently under-addressed, is poorly understood and widely unrecognized. It said that not many organizations are taking into account the comprehensive health issues, medical systems and reimbursement, environmental issues, and education that are necessary to help older Americans live better. To utilize available funds effectively, resources must be tailored to the needs of the aged. The 25% of the population who are over age 50 today control 70% of the total net worth of U.S. households and are seasoned consumers (Dychtwald 1990). Baby Boomers, already in there 60s, are already pushing the market to produce goods and services that are relevant to their needs. They do not like to be thought of as old. Many of these goods and services will increasingly be health-related such as gyms, ski slopes, and dating services for older adults. Since they have resources to spend, the market will respond to meet their demands. To meet the needs of the elders, the government has framed Older Americans Act (OAA). The OAA aids state agencies to cover their social service needs. All people over age 60 are eligible, regardless of need or income. Further the State Units on Aging establish local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to develop and administer service plans within local areas. These provide referral services, case management, transportation, home services, day care, nutritional information, community meals, legal services, senior centers, employment programs, and protective services. Access is the most important concept to remember when planning services for the aged. They will try to avoid services that they perceive are inappropriate, too expensive, or

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Identifying a discourse's significance and problem Essay

Identifying a discourse's significance and problem - Essay Example onveyed in a powerful way by linking it with the story of the protagonist lion cub that grows into a lion and realizes what happens when the hyenas take over and kill all the animals. In the film, â€Å"Lion King† King Mustafa refers to the valley as the â€Å"Circle of Life† which is significant for the cause of preservation of animal life. The incidents that occur later in the story when Scar lets the hyenas loose on pride land demonstrates the disastrous results when animals are used for selfish purposes and when their lives are not preserved. This is an important message that only serves to emphasize how important it is that animals should be made to suffer, neither should they be used indiscriminately for man’s benefit, as in the entertainment industry and in scientific experiments – where they are put through pain and suffering. Killing animals is also likely to disturb the Circle of life and the delicate ecological balance that exists. This is the real problem the film addresses with its underlying message - the cruel and indiscriminate killing of animals. The film applies subtle persuasion as far as the viewer is concerned, highlighting the importance of preservation of the life of animals in order to ensure that the various species of the earth are protected. The text of the film supports the message against indiscriminate killing of animals, mostly through the stark desolation it portrays of the land when most of the animals in it have been destroyed. This is an important message in the modern day context, when man is indiscriminately destroying animals and subjecting them to cruel and inhuman treatment. As the film portrays, there is a delicate balance in nature, where different species co-exist harmoniously together. Pride Land as it existed was a place where there was a productive earth and happy animals because none was subjected to cruel degrading treatment. The film also provides a resolution for the problem. After highlighting the devastation

Macbeths Change Through Lady Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Macbeths Change Through Lady Macbeth Essay What would make any man change himself and his personality? Marriage? Without a doubt, Macbeths real tragedy is his marriage. Macbeth changed from good to evil from Lady Macbeths influence through manipulation and her dominance in her marriage role. From the beginning Lady Macbeth is viewed as very controlling, strong, and certain. â€Å"First, she has very little regard for her husbands humanity and actually derides him for being too full oth milk of human kindness† (Thompson 1). This shows how cold Lady Macbeth is, as milk is the food of new born children, she is implying Macbeth is too much like a kind child to murder anyone. Once Macbeth has the courage to tell her he does not want to continue with the murder she rallies, calling him a ‘coward’, saying that if he could murder Duncan ‘he were a man’. This to Macbeth, a proud and mighty warrior is a deep insult, and he soon is convinced that he will carry out the murder. Macbeth’s real tragedy is his marriage lies with the fault of his wife Lady Macbeth (Thompson 1). â€Å"Macbeths violent behavior is correctly understood as, and deemed to be, bravery because it is in service of his friends and cousins. His loyalty is what is being lauded. But, mangled by the blood-spotted hands of his wife, he becomes a traitor to his brother band and to himself. Her monomaniacal ambition changes him into a monster.† She is literally awakened by her blind and vaulting ambition to realize she did not want the kind of man she thought she wanted (Scheil 2). â€Å"She is desperate to fit in with her husbands warrior society, and fails to do so.† Lady Macbeth’s downfall comes more quickly than Macbeths when we see her weaknesses coming through, only on her own however. We see that she is troubled by guilt, saying that they never should have murdered Duncan. She’s a guilty wreck; she is sleepwalking and talking gibberish. She says ‘What, will these hands never be clean? These words echo her word earlier in the play, when she talks of washing ‘their hands of this deed’; she has now realized that the guilt that has overcome her will never leave. She willingly commits suicide leaving her husband not to mourn her passing but to simply comment ,†She should have died hereafter† â€Å"Macbeths life of striving for greatness, as he himself now realizes, has blossomed into no more than a withered leaf† (Pellikha 2). Macbeth no longer fears anything, for he has seen too much violence and fear to be affected anymore. â€Å"Macbeth, on the other hand, determines not to surrender and not to fall upon his sword, for at the end his overconfidence blinds him to any possible danger† (Thompson 7).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Employee Involvement in Decision Making

Employee Involvement in Decision Making McCabe and Lewin (cited in Dundon et al., 2004) termed employee voice as a way of   expressing complaints or grievances or dissatisfaction and the participation and involvement of employees in decision making process of organization. During the last two decades, revolutionary steps that have been initiated to facilitate the high performance working mainly focused on increasing the ways of joint consultation, which attracts both employers (who demand better business results) and employees (who demand recognition and protection of employee rights) (CIPD, 2009). Employee voice is a very important factor in the success of an organization. Dundon et al. (2004) argues that successful voice regimes not only positively affect the performance of employees in terms of quality and productivity but also help to negate the issues which might explode otherwise. Opportunities of Employee voice are believed to be associated with the employee turnover. According to (Spencer,1986)employees will   show more interest in staying with the organization if they have more opportunities to express their dissatisfaction, grievances and to change the unsatisfactory work conditions. Collective bargaining and joint consultation have been the main spotlight of industrial relations as far as employee voice is concerned According to Boxall and Purcell (2003) in the industrial relations, the main focus for representation of employee voice has been on the collective bargaining and consultation. Freeman (1976) defined unions as the institutions of collective voice in the labour market. He further asserted that collective forums, for voicing employee issues are more effective in some situations as they help strengthening worker communities and provide a direct mean of communication between them and management; but Addison and Belfields (2004) findings tend to negate these arguments as according to them more formalized union structure may create a communication gap between workers and management, because they have to deal with their issues through a third party. Freeman and Medoff (1984) argued that union plays a vital role in minimizing turnover rate as they provide employees with the voice mechanisms through which they can rectify the work related problems and can negotiate higher compensation packages . Their arguments are supported by Batt, Colvin and Keefe (2002), who believes that employees in union set-ups are expected to have higher compensation than they could earn in similar jobs in non-union set-up and secondly unions strengthen employees, by providing them with a voice in determining policies that reduce the pay inequality, grievance and arbitration procedures for appealing managerial decisions Employee voice refers to the two dimensional dialogue between management and employees which allows employees to give their feedback and express their concerns and griefs relating to matters affecting them. Employee voice is not a one-off phenomenon as employees like to put their   suggestions for improvements and express griefs on a continuing basis. (Landau, 2009) Employee voice not only helps employees to improve performance but it is good in principle (Wilkinson 2001). It is a fundamental right of each employee to know the information regarding the financial and organizational performance of the organization   and express their concerns about the work conditions or feed any ideas which they feel will be beneficial and helpful in achieving the long term goals of the organization. Employee involvement (EI) and employee participation (EP) have been given much importance in the employee relations literature for a long time. Employee involvement is normally initiated by the management and it takes place at lower levels of organization sharing information at the shop floor on matters that effect their day to day working not allowing them to give their opinion about the higher lever decision making., on the other hand ,employee participation is driven by indirect means of representation like unions and advice councils etc and its aimed at higher levels of the organization concerning matters of long term importance (Ackers et al,2003). Employee voice plays an important role in increasing commitment. Sensitive financial and organizational information is shared with employees. These symbolic gestures can make them feel they are trust worthy and being treated fairly and openly and they are an important asset for the organization. (Marchington,Wilkinson, 2005 pp77). This commitment can lead to improved performance as committed employees put extra discretionary effort in to the work. Landau, 2009 concludes that employees who express their voice and their voice is accepted and appreciated are more committed,more likely to stay in the organization, have good attitudes about their immediate managers and feel more secure as compare to those who speak up unsuccessfully. Downward communication takes place in almost all the organizations, different kind of mediums are used to brief employees about the current issues faced by the organization. Employee voice can pave a way for more conducive and open work environment to work in.(Wilkinson,2004)   Financial participation not only helps employee to contribute towards the success of the organizatioan but also help them take their fair share of company profits. (Marchington,2005) It is argued that employees will be more likely to accept decisions in which they involved. Employees will be in a right /better position to perform if they know what is expected from them and what is the situation of the organization. Participation can lead to less conflict and increased team work spirit. There is compelling logic in favour of effective employee involvement.regular provision of relevant information to employees together with consultation on management proposal on issues, promotes a shared commitment to the objectives of an organization, this in turn maintains a positive climate in which employees are motivated to contribute to business success which benefits both employer and employees alike. Direct participation: direct participation means that the employees themselves express their opinion and say over matters affecting them on the contrast, indirect participation means that a third party e.g trade union or advice council represents the right of the employees (Guest, Fatchett, 1974). In top down problem solving, workers may feel that they are being lectured and not listened to ,where as in bottom up approach,employees may feel that management is using their ideas and suggestions without giving them any reward. A feeling of powerlessness decreases loyalty and commitment in employees, it is important to tap new ideas and suggestions from lower level employees as there are more close to the customer the workplace. There are more chances of having more satisfied employees if they genuinely being involved. Transformational leadership encourages their subordinates to give suggestions or report grievances or anything they are dissatisfied with because of their natural instinct towards improvement rather than just maintaining the status quo. These initiatives help the employees to perceive/discover their value for the organization and results in more committed and enthusiastic work force which is fundamental to the achievement of long term goals and objectives (Detort, 2007) References Derek Rollinson ,2005 pp56 Organizational behaviour and analysis, an integrated approach,3rd edition,prentice hall publishers. Wilkinson, A.(2001) Empowerment, in M. Warner (ed.)International Encyclopaedia of Business and Management(London:ineternational Thomson Business Press) Dr. Tony Bennett, 2007 The significance of employee voice mechanisms in the workplace: Employee participation in the new global economyPaper for submission to the Work, Employment and Society Conference held at Aberdeen University September 12th to 14th September Peter Ackers, Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson ,Tony Dundon,2003 .Partnership and Voice, with or without trade unions: changing UK management approaches to organizational participation. Research series Paper 4 Peter Ackers, Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson ,Tony Dundon,2004 Changing Patterns of Employee Voice: Case Studies from the UK and Republic of Ireland Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson, ,2005 Human Resource   Management at Work, third edition,CIPD Jacqueline Landau, 2009, When Employee Voice is Met by Deafears, SAM Advanced Management Journal ,pp 4 -12 James R.Detort,2007 Leadership behaviours and employee voice,Is the door really open,Academy of management journal,Vol 50,no 4, 869-884 David Guest,Derek Fatchett 1974 ,Worker Participation: Individual Control and Performance ,institute of personnel management ,pp13 Mick Marchington,2005 ,Employee Involvement: Patterns ans Explanations ,Participation and Democracy at Work, essays in honour of Harvie Ramsay, pp27 palgrave macmillan CANNEL, M., 2009. Employee Voice [online]. CIPD. http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/comconslt/empvoice.html DUNDON, T., WILKINSON, A., MARCHINGTON, M., and ACKERS, P., (2004) Changing Patterns of Employee Voice: Case Studies from the UK and Republic of Ireland The Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 298-322 SPENCER, D.G., (1986) Employee Voice and Employee Retention Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 488-502.