Exxon Moblie Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exxon Moblie Company - Essay Example The company had stored over 72 billion equivalent of oil barrels by the end of 2007. The company also has 37 oil refineries in 21 different nations. This makes Exxon Mobil Corporation the world’s leading refiner (Vassiliou 54). This paper will look at the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Exxon Mobil Corporation is the leading of the largest oil producers in the world. The company boasts of an everyday oil production of 3.921 million barrels of equivalent. This was almost 3% of the globes oil production, in 2008. Nonetheless, when Exxon Mobil Corporation is categorized by gas and oil assets, it is placed 14th in the globe. The Daily Telegraph wrote an article in 2012. This article asserts that Exxon Mobil Corporation has become one of the most despised companies in the world, with the ability to influence the fate of many countries and American foreign law. In addition, Exxon Mobil Corporation drills oil in areas leased to them by countries controlled by dictators, for example, Equator ial Guinea and Chad. The company also has little regard for the environment. The company’s chief executive, Lee Raymond, until 2005, opposed the administration’s interference at any stage and was cynical about global warming and climate change (Vassiliou 57). The corporation was condemned for its sluggish reaction to handling the Alaska oil spill. The headquarters of Exxon Mobil Corporation is in Texas, Irvin. The corporation sells products all over the globe under the trade names of Esso, Mobil, and Exxon. In addition, the company owns a number of businesses, for example, SeaRiver Maritime, an oil shipping corporation, and Imperial Oil Limited, located in Canada. It owns 69.6% of the Imperial Oil Limited. The upstream division of Exxon Mobil Corporation leads the corporation’s cash flow. It contributes almost 70% of returns. The Exxon Mobil Corporation’s corporate citizen report in 2006 indicated the company offers 82,000 employment opportunities all ove r the world (Vassiliou 62). The report also asserts that 27,000 workers are located in the company’s Houston upstream headquarters and almost 4,000 workers are in the company’s Fairfax downstream headquarters. Exxon Mobil Corporation is structured functionally into several functioning sections. These sections are subdivided into three groupings. Nonetheless, Exxon Mobil Corporation has a number of supplementary sections, for example, Coal and Minerals, which are separated from the main divisions. The upstream division is located in Houston, Texas. It is concerned with wholesale operations, shipping, oil exploration, and extraction. The downstream division is located in Fairfax, Virginia and is concerned with retail operations, refining, and marketing (Vassiliou 64). Also, the downstream division comprises SeaRiver Maritime, International Marine Transportation, ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company, and Engineering Company ExxonMobil Research, and ExxonMobil Fuels, Lub ricants and Specialties Marketing Company. In addition, the chemical division is found in Texas. Exxon Corporation’s chief executive officer had a meeting with Mobil Corporation’s chief executive officer in 1998. Both these chief executive officers had initial talks of the probability of a merger between the two corporations. Later on, management proceeded with negotiations and gave the board the results of the discussions. In 1998, the chief

Advertising Victorias Secret Essay Example for Free

Advertising Victorias Secret Essay Victorias Secret is a retail seller of womens clothing and beauty goods, but is most familiar as a dealer of lingerie. Victorias Secret had retailing of more than US$ 2.6 billion through their over 900 retail stores in the U.S. in 2005. In Joseph Jaffes Life After the 30-Second Spot,† he looks at how the mode that most companies and organizations believe is the best way to get their point crosswise to customers and projection television advertisements. It is significant to note that its not that the ads arent imaginative, inventive, or are not talking the verbal communication of the spectator no less than for the most part that has sourced the need for a life after this type of marketing, its the empowerment of all of us in the marketplace, letting the people call the shots for maybe the first time in a long, long while. Victorias Secret was six money losing lingerie stores and a successful catalog when Wexner bought the company in 1982. It was a business aimed at making men comfortable buying lingerie. But what Wexner saw was an essential appeal to women. From its inception, Victorias Secrets telephone operators were trained to be soothingly supportive when embarrassed males called. You dont know your ladys bra size? No problem. Do you know where she keeps them? Okay, look on the edge of the strap and it will tell you the size. Today almost exclusively women for women who are mainly buying to please themselves run Victoria’s Secret. Doing only $7 million when Wexner bought it, the business grossed nearly $1.8 billion in 2003, two-thirds from the stores. Wexner was at his best, grasping the potential of Victorias Secret and then realizing that potential. He created stores that enhanced a mood: pretty but not overtly sexy, with satin nightgowns hung on the walls, a color-coordinated spread of undergarments on tables and plenty of room to mill about on thick carpeting. Thus coddled, the Victorias Secret customer buys eight to ten bras a year; the typical American woman buys two. Weve made women consider the bra and panty part of their fashion wardrobe, says Grace Nichols, 48, chief executive of Victorias Secret stores. A woman buys an aqua satin bra from Victorias Secret in the same way she buys a new lipstick color, to cheer up, to feel better or to indulge herself. Narcissism is real, says Wexner. Its the key to the business. The stores and catalog arc now run separately and carry mostly different goods, with only about 5% overlap. But they reinforce each other. FORBES estimates between 200 million and 240 million catalogs are mailed to 10 million peoplewith some getting as many as 45 catalogs a year. As much as generating mail-order and 800-number business, the catalogs stimulate women to visit the stores. Were in the customers face on a regular basis, Nichols says. She has plans to go from 600 Victorias Secret stores to as many as 1,000 stores, adding 50 a year, even without expanding abroad. Six years ago Victorias Secret introduced a line of scented bath gels, soaps and lotions. These products are indulgence-oriented, so we saw a great emotional marriage between the two products, says Nichols. The line now constitutes $180 million in revenues and 15% of sales, with better than 50% gross margins. Not rock music but Vivaldi and Beethoven pour softly from the loud-speakers in Victorias Secret stores. Customers started requesting tapes and CDs. Why not? Since 1989 the stores have sold more than 10 million tapes and CDs, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra for the Victorias Secret label. Cynthia Fedus, chief executive of the catalog operation since 1988, also made major changes. Out went the steamy shots of scantily dad males and females grappling, ogling or embracing each other that were common under her male predecessor. In came a mannered, aristocratic look with British affectations. Though headquartered in New York, the catalog first listed a London address on the cover. But when people started showing up at that address, an administrative office, it was dropped. The catalog still states a price in pounds. It became aspirational, with older models posing in rich-looking, lovely settings, she says. Sales doubled her first year, to more than $100 million. Fedus also added to the lingerie a line of sportswear and evening wear, which has become 60% of sales. A supplemental swimwear issue debuted, bringing in $12 million in sales. There followed a country issue with rustic clothing and Timberland shoes. Leslie Wexner has always understood that retailing and show business are first cousins. Victorias Secret has become a powerful mainstream retailing brand image. Why. Those with a taste for pop psychology speculate that professional women, denied highly feminine clothes at the office, want to wear ultra-feminine garments underneath. Such talk bores pragmatic Nichols. I could tell you any bullshit you want to hear, she snaps, but youll find the [lingerie] category hasnt grown; weve just grabbed market share. Victorias Secret has aided; perchance more than any other product attract notice to the lingerie industry. Their advertising operations, together with the Victorias Secret Lingerie Catalog and Victorias Secret Fashion Show are visually attractive and contentious. The notice received by Victorias Secret for their violent advertising campaigns has produced invaluable rumor and media bytes to further augment the Victorias Secret brand. References Joseph Jaffe, 2005, Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional, Publisher: John Wiley ; Sons Inc

Marion Pritchard :: essays research papers

MARION PRITCHARD Marion Pritchard was born in Amsterdam, Holland in 1920. Her father was a judge who treated her with love, respect and caring. Her mother lived in Britain. Marion would visit her mother who resided there. Marion watched the German invasion on May 10, 1940, and as anti-Semitic laws were passed, she told her Jewish friends to escape or to hide. Her father was not Jewish; however, he was disappointed that the Dutch government did not do more to help Jewish refugees. As Hitler rose to power she watched many children being thrown into trucks which encouraged her assist in the rescue effort. Marion remembered two soldiers joking about picking up small children by the arms, legs, and hair, and tossing them around. In 1942 she took in the Polak family and hid them in a tiny space under her living room. Her friends would give her milk and other healthy foods to feed the Jews. One night a Dutch police officer acting for the Nazi regime knocked on her door very early in the morning. A neighbor had reported that she was hiding a Jewish family. She knew she would be sent to a concentration camp along with the Polak family if they were found. Marion believed that it was either the officer or the children, and so she shot the officer. Afterwards, a gay Jew ballet teacher took the dead body out of Marion’s house at night and took it in a cart to the undertaker. The undertaker put the officer’s body in a coffin which was soon to be buried. Marion was lucky that the police officer was not missed. She hid over 150 people from the Nazis but some Jews were found and killed. The Nazi army murdered about 110,000 of the Netherlands’ 140,000 Jewish citizens. After the war was over the Polaks came out of hiding. The mother who had been separated from the Polak family was reunited with them. Marion decided to work for the United Nations relief and Rehabilitation Administration’s Displaced Persons camps to find her Jewish friends.

Art as Nazi Propaganda

Abby Hutt HUM 324 1 December 2008 Art as Propaganda in Nazi Germany Having been an artist himself, Hitler understood the potential power of imagery in moving the masses. â€Å"We shall discover and encourage the artists who are able to impress upon the State of the German people the cultural stamp of the Germanic race . . . in their origin and in the picture which they present, they are the expressions of the soul and the ideals of the community† (Hitler, Party Day speech, 1935, qtd. Nazi Approved Art).It is true that, with every culture throughout history, art represents â€Å"the ideals of the community,† but it is clear that during the Third Reich, these â€Å"ideals† were controlled by the Nazi Party. Hitler transformed the role of the artist to promote Germany and glorify the nation and his own ideals. Artists who did not comply with Hitler’s ideals risked their life, and therefore, there is an absence of social realism in German art during this time. The artists of Nazi Germany commonly depicted beautiful pastoral scenes, the heroism of German soldiers, the â€Å"volk† (common folk) as Aryans in peaceful settings, and the evils of the Jewish people.These kinds of stereotypes were useful in art, in that they were extremely simplistic, and therefore easily interpreted by the masses. Even the uneducated, the people who couldn’t read, could view these kinds of paintings and sculptures and understand them, but more importantly, could be moved by them. In the early twentieth century, there were radical changes being made in the art world. Modern movements such as Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Expressionism were not easily understood by the masses. They were not universally appreciated, and in fact, seen as â€Å"elitist† by many, or even â€Å"degenerate† by others.Max Nordau, a physician and social critic, wrote Degeneration, in which he attacks â€Å"degenerate† modern art. â€Å"Such a style of painting may be compared to the disconnected speech of a weak mind, who chatters according to the current of the association of ideas, wanders in his talk, and neither knows himself, what he wishes to arrive at, nor is able to make it clear to us† (Nordau 84). Nordau presents several case studies of artists and writers, his main point being that society is degenerating and that it is both partially caused by and reflected in modern art.Despite being Jewish, and using anti-semitism as an example of degeneration, Nordau’s â€Å"scientific† attack against modern art, and the phrase â€Å"degenerate† was recycled by the German Nationalist Socialists in order to promote their own style of art as propaganda. It is clear that the artists of the Third Reich did not â€Å"wander† in their message, and knew precisely what they wanted to make clear to the public. Hitler expressed his disgust with modern â€Å"degenerate† art, â€Å"As for the degene rate artists, I forbid them to force their so-called experiences upon the public.If they do see fields blue, they are deranged, and should go to an asylum. If they only pretend to see them blue, they are criminals, and should go to prison. I will purge the nation of them† (Hitler, qtd. Gardner 110). This is a perfect example of the way in which Hitler adjusted the intellectual level of his message in order to appeal to the masses. Yourman identifies one of the major propaganda techniques of the Nazi party as â€Å"name-calling. † â€Å"’Name calling’ is a device to make us form a judgement without examining the evidence on which it should be based. Here, the propagandist appeals to our hate and fear† (Yourman 149).Hitler calls modern artists deranged, degenerate, criminals. It seems that, during this time, modern art was not widely understood by the public, and it is for this reason that Hitler was easily able to persuade the masses into both fearin g and hating this type of art, as well as accepting the more realistic and simplistic Nazi propaganda. In September of 1933, Reichskulturkammer (Reich Culture Chamber) was established. Within the chamber, subgroups were established for music, film, literature, and visual arts, consisting of racially pure artists who would promote the Third Reich.In 1937, the Haus der Kunst (â€Å"House of Art†) was erected by the Third Reich, in order to showcase the finest German art approved by the Third Reich. It was to hold two annual juried art shows, called â€Å"The Great German Art Exhibition† and â€Å"The German Architecture and Crafts Exhibiton. † July 16th was declared the â€Å"Day of German Art,† an annual holiday to coincide with the exhibitions (Kasher 53). At the opening of the Huas der Kunst, Hitler gave a speech in which he declared, â€Å"†¦the artist does not produce for the artist, he produces for the people, just as everybody else does! And we are going to take care that it will be the people who from ow on will again be called upon as judges over its art†¦. For an art that cannot count on the most joyful and most heartfelt assent of the healthy, broad masses of the people, but relies on small, partly interested, partly disingenuous cliques, is intolerable† (Hitler, qtd. Werckmeister 337) Again, Hitler was appealing to the masses by portraying Nazi propaganda as the art of the people. He convinces them that they are the true judges of art, instead of the â€Å"elitist† modern artists. The Reich Culture Chamber held a Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich at the same time as The Great German Art Exhibition.After seizing about 17,000 works of art from German museums, they displayed about 600 of them in their famous in the exhibition. â€Å"Exhibition organizers surrounded the paintings and sculpture with mocking graffiti and quotations from Hitler's speeches, designed to inflame public opinion against this â€Å"decadent† avant-garde art. Ironically, the exhibition attracted five times as many visitors (36,000 on one Sunday alone) as the equally large â€Å"Great German Art Exhibition† of Nazi-approved art that opened in Munich at the same time† (Philadelphia Museum of Art).Arno Breker was â€Å"the official state sculptor† of the Third Reich. He had studied sculpture in Paris and Berlin, and he was discovered by the Nazi Party, when his sculpture Decathlete came in second in the sculpture competition for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. After being appointed by Hitler as official state sculptor, he was given a studio and assistants. The majority of Breker’s works consist of muscular male nudes that were meant to symbolize a nation young, natural, healthy, and moral†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kasher 10). One of Breker’s most famous works is Die Partei, a statue meant to represent the spirit of the Nazi party.Heinrich Hoffman was considered the leading Nazi ph otographer. He was a friend of Hitler’s and he documented the rise of the Nazi party. He was eventually appointed by Hitler as a national photojournalist, with the â€Å"exclusive right to issue photographs of Hitler† (Kasher 17). He ran his own business, hired other photographers, published several photobooks glorifying the Nazi party, and distributed photographs to the press, which did the same. One of the most successful forms of Nazi propaganda, however, seemed to be the Nazi Party posers, which exhibited â€Å"volkisch† thought, appealing to the â€Å"common people. Hitler was shown in posters, as somewhat of a mystical figure, guiding the destiny of the people of Germany. â€Å"The essentially negative anti-parliamentarianism of Nazi propaganda led to the projection of the ‘Fuhrer-myth', which depicted Hitler as both charismatic superman and man of the people† (Welch). Many paintings and posters portrayed Hitler in the ‘renaissance pose ', with one knee up, with the slogan â€Å"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer† (â€Å"One People, One Nation, One Leader†).Beginning in the late 1930s, the tone of Nazi propaganda reflected the increasingly radical view of anti-semitism. â€Å"The Jewish stereotypes shown in such propaganda served to reinforce anxieties about modern developments in political and economic life, without bothering to question the reality of the Jewish role in German society† (Welch). The transition from the popularity of avant-garde visual arts in Germany to the art of the Third Reich, is somewhat symbolic of the entire manner in which Hitler gained control over Germany.His words from Mein Kampf foreshadow this, â€Å"The greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be† (Hitler, qtd. Asheville 464). Hitler understood the power of imagery in persuading the German people, especially the uneducated. The uneducated could understand the simplistic style and subject matter of the art of the Third Reich. The Nazi Party played off of the fears of the German people, which was why the demoralization of modern art and the glorification of the Nazi Party was so successful in Nazi Germany.Works Cited â€Å"Degenerate Art. † Philadelphia Museum of Art. 2008. . Forster, E. M. Commonplace Book. Standford: Stanford University Press, 1985. Heskett, John. â€Å"Art and Design in Nazi Germany. † History Workshop, No. 6 (1978), pp. 139-153. Oxford University Press Stable. Ramsey Library University of North Carolina. (Nov. 26, 2008) . Kasher, Steven. â€Å"The Art of Hitler. † October, Vol. 59, (Winter, 1992), pp. 48-85. The MIT Press. Ramsey Library University of North Carolina. (Nov. 26 2008) . Nordau, Max. Degeneration. New York City: D.Appleton and Company, 1895. Welch, David. â€Å"Nazi Propaganda. † World War II. BBC. . Werckmeister, O. K. â€Å"‘Degenerate Art': The Fate of the Avant-Ga rde in Nazi Germany. † The Art Bulletin 79. n2 (June 1997): 337(5). Academic OneFile. Gale. Univ of North Carolina Asheville. 26 Nov. 2008. . Yourman, Julius. â€Å"Propaganda Techniques Within Nazi Germany. † Journal of Educational Sociology. Vol. 13, No. 3, Education Under Nazism (Nov. , 1939), pp. 148-163. American Sociological Association. Ramsey Library University of North Carolina. (Nov. 26 2008) .

HIPAA and Information Technology

A â€Å"standardized medical records database† can offer providers promptness in receiving pertinent materials from the patient’s chart. This documentation may entail access to the patient’s medical, family history, contact numbers, and any other relative to notify in case of an emergency. Electronic prescribing, and sharing of reports, test results, and public health alerts with other entities promotes coordination of care. Diagnostics and readings, such as blood pressure, and sugar, are just examples of the data that is immediately available through the â€Å"health information exchange (HIE).Physicians, hospitals, and clinics will enter these facts and figures into â€Å"patient vault,† the central database for the patient. Along with these recordings, patients can leave messages for the physician, and request medication refills. With the convenience of the automated charting format, the doctor, and patient does not have to wait while paper reports are sorted through because of misfiles, disorganized records, poor communication with staff, or typographical errors. The electronic system ensures that records are in chronological order, and that all reports are current, adequately preparing the provider for the appointment.The Detroit Medical Center, which purchased the equipment to convert its paper record format into electronic, as has been developing the process since, has produced some promising statistics. Chief Nursing Officer Patricia Natale, credits the automated application for reducing the length of prolonged admissions, and misjudgments in administering medications through the â€Å"EMR-enabled medication scanning† feature. The hospital’s management team affirms that the electronic filing â€Å"system† has already generated nearly $5 in â€Å"savings† for the facility, and has been upgrading security for â€Å"patients.†This feat is accomplished by effectively supervising imperative acti vities conducted daily, and diminishing the occurrences of prescription inaccuracies by â€Å"75 percent,† as per the current assessments, observes DMC Chief Medical Information Officer Leland Babitch, MD. Findings by The United States Institute of Medicine indicate that hospital blunders are responsible for approximately 100,000 of patient deaths a year. DMC Vice President for Quality and Safety Michelle Schreiber, MD claims that the automated charting format has proven to greatly assist providers with treating patients throughout the day.The HIPAA issues that could arise are as follows. In the article in GreenvilleOnline. com website, â€Å"Growing Medical Identity Theft Puts Patients at Risk,† Osby, (2013) cites a report issued by The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, (2010). As a concern, health care â€Å"identity theft,† is in competition with the â€Å"other† most prominent national â€Å"identity† crimes, claiming over â€Å"5 million â€Å" victims in the year Osby (2013) apprises. Mark Savage, a senior attorney for Consumers Union, announced that breaking into patient’s â€Å"personal information† via automated databases is a problem that is worsening in the medical office.He recognizes that â€Å"electronic medical records† are capable of offering advantages to the health care industry, and its patrons. However, he adds that quandary lies in the assurance of safeguarding patient’s sensitive materials (2012). Individually identifiable information, such as â€Å"birthdates,† demographics, â€Å"social security,† and contact numbers, provide an abundance of facts which prospective felons find extremely attractive to when attempting to extort funds from â€Å"hospitals, or for other monetary rewards.These illicit activities wreak havoc on the patient, in the form of erroneous invoices, which can compromise â€Å"their credit,† their employment, and even s ubject them to improper â€Å"treatments,† stemming from inaccurate â€Å"medical† documentation (Osby, 2013). The author also alerts that â€Å"security† measures fail to match the demand for electronic records, data sharing, and social media and mobile technology to manage patient data, or the new uses for digital health information.†Stealing is the primary offender in the â€Å"medical† field, impacting over â€Å"500 patients,† trailed only by â€Å"authorized â€Å"disclosure â€Å"to,† or with â€Å"health information,† and staff oversights, and misplacing automated, or â€Å"paper† files (The Department Health and Human Services, 2010) GreenvilleOnline interviewed Chad Lawson, a spokesman for â€Å"Spartanburg Regional,† (where an information security council was comprised in 2012, to guarantee that regulations put in place to shield â€Å"patient information are† resilient, and dependable).During t his conversation, Lawson advised that â€Å"as technology grows and changes and becomes even more vital to the continuing development of improved quality, we must promise that our efforts to keep information safe are adaptable to the fast growth of electronic medical records and other portals for speed and efficiency in patient care† (2012).I believe technology in the medical records management industry is so far behind other industries primarily because of affordability, and that the perception of cost can outweigh the value. Although the president has allocated nearly â€Å"$3 million Medicare/Medicaid bonuses† to various health care establishments, including â€Å"clinics,† and hospitals,† to aid in the transition, the expense of purchasing, and operations still hinder progress.Despite the positive reviews from current customers of the electronic system, less than â€Å"4 percent† of facilities have followed through with conversion, having alread y limiting funding of many IT projects, The University of Michigan School Of Medicine reported. A quarter of American â€Å"hospitals,† â€Å"already† fiscally impaired by the down-spiraling economy, have upgraded only partially to automated â€Å"records,† or have remained with paper. Healthcare reform in general has been a political â€Å"hotbed† of controversy throughout several presidencies.The nation’s failing economy, rising unemployment, terrorism, natural disasters are already on the forefront of many debates. The fiscal budget â€Å"puts the squeeze† on any other programs, particularly those which would most likely require enormous funding to proceed. I am of the opinion that these are some of the reasons that the push to incorporate a universal electronic records format has been delayed, and still continues lagging behind other industries.

Poverty is not a choice essays

Poverty is not a choice essays Recently, I had read an article in The New City newspaper entitled, Poverty is really a matter of choice. I found the article to be quite deceptive. Actually, I was dazed at the editors justification concerning that poverty was a matter of choice. Solomon, in his brief anecdotes about his poor deprived friends was in fact, far from living in poverty. Also, in his next argument using the U.S and Canadas statistics, were found by me to be misleading to the reader. One last thing I would like to mention is on his statement that, Lifestyle choices dictate income levels, not the other way around. But we dont choose to be poor. Solomons explanations on choosing to live in poverty were very ludicrous and very unconvincing. His antidotes and statistics didnt help in convincing, but did a great job of trying to mislead the reader. We human beings, without a doubt, make decisions to our advantage, and never the other way around. So why would we want choose to live a life of poverty w hen we can live a pleasant life of wealth? Since I do not agree with Solomons theory, I would not believe that people would choose to live in poverty. Rather, I believe that poverty is in some way controlled by the persons living environment, education, or maybe perhaps its in their genes ever since the day they were born. Hillary, a hotel chambermaid, was described as middle aged woman living in poverty, in the opinion of editor Solomon. Hillary is a woman who desires a life of simplicity, although not earning much as a chambermaid; she does live a stable and enjoyable life in one of British Columbias picture book valleys. She may not have money for restaurants and VCRs. But despite of those facts, she is not living in poverty. The correct definition of someone living in poverty would be that one does not have enough money for their basic necessitie...

Three Fairly New British Language References

Three Fairly New British Language References Three Fairly New British Language References Three Fairly New British Language References By Maeve Maddox Motivated by the lively debates about where to put commas, and the controversy over â€Å"gone missing,† I’ve added some up-to-date British references to my print reference library. The three newcomers to my shelves are: Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar by R. L. Trask, 2000. As the title implies, this guide arranges topics and terms in alphabetical order. It includes every permutation of terminology from the traditional ones I grew up with to the innovations born of transformational grammar and Quirk Grammar. Here one can find definitions of subject raising, subjuncts, adjuncts and conjuncts, along with more immediately useful terms as double negative, paradigm, relative pronoun and usage. A lot of the terms are, however, a bit esoteric. While it’s a great resource for me in my line of work, there’s probably nothing here you can’t find online at OWL or any of the other free references mentioned in Online Style Guides. Penguin Guide to Punctuation by R. L. Trask, 1997. Trask does more than present rules and made-up textbook examples. His personality comes through as he discusses badly punctuated passages, often speculating as to why certain errors are made. It’s extremely readable, whatever page you open to. Of the ten chapters, seven deal with specific punctuation marks: 2: The Full Stop, the Question Mark and the Exclamation Mark 3: The Comma 4: The Colon and the Semicolon 5: The Apostrophe 6: The Hyphen and the Dash 7 Capital Letters and Abbreviations 8 Quotation Marks Chapter 1 explains the practical importance of punctuation. Chapter 7 gives rules for capitalizing and abbreviating. Chapter 9 deals with typographical considerations and Chapter 10 discusses the punctuation of essays and letters. I’m still in the process of getting acquainted with it, but this punctuation guide promises to be a treasure. Having British usage all in one place will be a great help as I write future posts. Penguin Writer’s Manual by Martin H. Manser and Stephen Curtis, 2002. As might be expected, there’s some overlap with the other two books. This one book has everything a writer needs in a basic reference. Part One deals with the mechanics of writing: 1 Grammar 2 Usage 3 Vocabulary 4 Spelling 5 Punctuation 6 Abbreviations. Part Two gets into the specifics of style, revision, and types of writing. There’s also a generous glossary of grammatical terms. In case youre wondering: Quirk grammars: A series of grammars of English written by Randolph Quirk and his colleagues. Though rather traditional in orientation, these grammars are informed by contemporary linguistic research. They introduce a certain amount of novel terminology. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"75 Synonyms for â€Å"Talk†How to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications

Italianate Homes, Romantic and Picturesque

Italianate Homes, Romantic and Picturesque Of all the homes built in the United States during the Victorian era, the romantic Italianate style became the most popular for a short period of time. With their nearly-flat roofs, wide eaves, and massive brackets, these homes suggested the romantic villas of Renaissance Italy. The Italianate style is also known as Tuscan, Lombard, or bracketed. Italianate and the Picturesque Movement The historical roots of Italianate styles are in Italian Renaissance architecture. Some of the first Italian villas were designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in the 16th century. Palladio reinvented Classical architecture, melding the designs of a Roman temple into residential architecture. By the 19th century, English-speaking architects were reinventing Roman designs yet again, capturing the flavor of what they imagined to be the Italian villa look. The Italianate style began in England with the picturesque movement. For centuries English homes tended to be formal and classical in style. Neoclassical architecture was orderly and proportioned.  With the picturesque movement, however, the landscape gained importance. Architecture not only became integral to its surroundings, but also became a vehicle for experiencing the natural world and surrounding gardens. The pattern books of British-born landscape architect Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) and the American Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852) brought this concept to an American audience. Especially popular was A. J. Downings 1842 book Rural Cottages and Cottage-Villas and their Gardens and Grounds Adapted to North America. American architects and builders such as  Henry Austin (1804-1891) and Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892) began to design fanciful recreations of Italian Renaissance villas. Architects copied and reinterpreted the style for buildings in the United States, making Italianate architecture in the U.S. uniquely American in style. One of the finest examples of late Victorian Italianate architecture is owned by the National Park Service. The John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, California lays claim to the 17-room John Muir Mansion, built in 1882, and inherited by the famous American naturalist. Queen Victoria ruled England for a long, long time - from 1837 until her death in 1901 - so Victorian architecture is more a time frame than a specific style. During the Victorian era, emerging styles captured a large audience by the widely-published house pattern books packed with building plans and home building advice. Prominent designers and illustrators published many plans for Italianate and Gothic Revival style homes. By the late 1860s, the fashion had swept through North America. Why Builders Loved the Italianate Style Italianate architecture knew no class boundaries. The high square towers made the style a natural choice for upscale homes of the newly rich. However the brackets and other architecture details, made affordable by new methods for machine production, were easily applied to simple cottages. Historians say that Italianate became the favored style for two reasons: (1) Italianate homes could be constructed with many different building materials, and the style could be adapted to modest budgets; and (2) new technologies of the Victorian era made it possible to quickly and affordably produce cast-iron and press-metal decorations. Many 19th century commercial buildings, including urban rooming houses, were constructed with this practical yet elegant design. Italianate remained the preferred house style in the U.S. until the 1870s, when the Civil War curbed the progress of construction. Italianate was also a common style for modest structures like barns and for larger public buildings such as town halls, libraries, and train stations. You will find Italianate buildings in nearly every part of the United States except for the deep South. There are fewer Italianate buildings in the southern states because the style reached its peak during the Civil War, a time when the south was economically devastated. Italianate was an early form of Victorian architecture. After the 1870s, architectural fashion turned toward late Victorian styles such as Queen Anne. Italianate Features Italianate homes can be wood-sided or brick, with commercial and public properties often being masonry. The most common Italianate styles will often have many of these characteristics: a low-pitched or flat roof; a balanced, symmetrical rectangular shape; a tall appearance, with two, three, or four stories; wide, overhanging eaves with large brackets and cornices; a square cupola; a porch topped with balustraded balconies; tall, narrow, paired windows, often arched with hood moldings projecting above the windows; a side bay window, often two stories tall; heavily molded double doors; Roman or segmented arches above windows and doors; and rusticated quoins on masonry buildings. Italianate house styles in America can seem like a mix of characteristics from different eras, and sometimes they are. The Italian-inspired Renaissance Revival homes are more palatial but still often confused with the Victorian Italianate style. The French-inspired Second Empire, like houses in the Italianate style, often feature a high, square tower. Beaux Arts buildings are grand and elaborate, often embracing Italianate ideas along with Classical. Even Neo-Mediterranean builders of the 20th century re-visited Italianate themes. Victorian architecture encompasses a variety of popular styles, but ask yourself how picturesque each is. Examples of Italianate Houses Italiante houses can be found across the United States. often tucked away in unexpected places. The Lewis House built in 1871, is on a side road outside Ballston Spa, New York. Not named for the original owner, the Lewis family converted historic home near Saratoga Springs into a Bed Breakfast business. Italianate Lewis House, 1871, Ballston Spa, New York. Jackie Craven In Bloomington, Illinois you can visit Clover Lawn, built in 1872. Also known as the David Davis Mansion, the architecture combines Italianate and Second Empire stylings. David Davis Mansion, 1872, Illinois. Teemu08 via Wikimedia Commons, own work, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0) cropped The Andrew Low House in Savannah, Georgia was built in 1849. This historic house by New York architect John Norris has been described as Italianate, most notably because of its urban garden landscaping. To get the full sense of Italiante details, especially the roof, the observer must step back both physically and in time. Andrew Low House, 1849, Savannah, Georgia. Carol M. Highsmith/Getty Images (cropped) Sources Italianate Architecture and History, Old-House Journal, August 10, 2011, https://www.oldhouseonline.com/articles/all-about-italianates [accessed August 28, 2017]Italianate Villa/Italianate Style 1840 - 1885, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/italianate.html  [accessed August 28, 2017]A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Knopf, 1984, 2013American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home by Lester Walker, Overlook, 1998American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker, AIA, Norton, 2002Photo Credits: Clover Lawn, Teemu08 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) cropped; Andrew Low House, Carol M. Highsmith/Getty Images (cropped); Lewis House, Jackie CravenCOPYRIGHT: The articles you see on the pages of this website are copyrighted. You may link to them or print them for your own use, but do not copy them into a blog, web page, or print publication without permission.

Toy Watch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toy Watch - Essay Example As the discussion declares Toy Watch is basically a wrist watch company based in Italy. Its innovation lies in its plastic watchbands in bracelet style which gave stiff competition to luxury statement provided by Swatch watches. The company was founded in the year 2005 but in less than 2 years, it has reported mammoth profits because of its new product idea and a well-organized distribution and promotion policy intact with low prices that are affordable by any consumer group. Its heart throb features are its light weight, oversized dials and Italian designing marvel by Marco Mavilla, a Milan-based designer. The popularity and success of Toy Watch is also supplemented by its endorsements with celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, First Lady Michelle Obama, Katie Holmes and so on. This paper stresses that the strategies of a company are examined in terms of four features of namely the product, price, place and promotion. Also termed as four P’s model, the marketing mix determines how the strategy should be pursued in different markets with varying customer preferences, saturation and competition levels. Talking of Toy Watch product, its tactical features are its stylish designing and use of polycarbonate material which blends well with any kind of traditional watch material like steel, ceramic, plastic or crystal and gives the same Italian finish with light weight and unimaginable designs. Its color choices also reveal its product planning and development genius because wrist watches top the priority list of fashion accessories and every day a new design kicks off the older one. As such, with a plethora of color ranges, Toy Watch has targeted the teenage group very effectively when they go for individual dress matching with every single accessory. In te rms of pricing, this is again the competitive edge of Toy Watch whereby it uses penetration pricing to capture the new markets created and gained by this class of plastic band watches. Because of low pricing tactics, Toy Watch was able to garner more market share owing to the affordability its products offered to the various teenager and other groups. The luxury concept of Toy Watch products is applied in its distribution strategies too (Soller 2006). With endorsements from top notch celebs and presenting the watches in jewellery shops and exclusive retailers like Fifth Avenue, Selfridges and Harrods (Italia n.d). This keeps its quality and luxury image intact despite its low pricing. Promotion wise, Toy Watch makes use of not only charity shows but also female sizzling personalities and revolutionary technologies in advertising the distinctive factor of their products. For instance, it partnered with Keep A Child Alive Charity whereby half of the revenues coming from sale of its se lected watches would go towards this charity initiative. Such efforts link the social responsibility and ethical consciousness of the company with the customers and favor the brand image. With Miyota Quartz Movement (Howard n.d) and presentation of Toy watch products on Oprah Winfrey show (Green n.d), it has captured all segments of consumers ranging from most sought after personalities to common men. Factors adding to the customer value Theoretically, customer value propositions which aim to provide them the maximum returns on their investments and utilities of time, place

LCT Task 4 English Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LCT Task 4 English - Term Paper Example The book focuses on the social and economic pressures that were rampant in England at the time it was written. The story is set in a fictitious industrial town called Coketown, which is based on Preston during the 19th century. One of the main focuses of this novel was utilitarianism which holds that the ultimate objective of every individual is to promote general social welfare. The social struggle depicted in this novel is mostly centered on industrialists and workers. The story revolves around various characters including Thomas Gradgrind who is a wealthy ex-merchant living in Coketown. Gradgrind has devoted his life to rationalism, fact and self-interest, and this philosophy is the one that he uses in bringing up Louisa and Tom, two of his children. Tom grows up to be a sadistic hedonist while his sister Louisa constantly struggles with confusion. She later marries her father’s friend, Josiah Bounderby, a rich banker and industrialist who is thirty years her senior. In the meantime, an impoverished Stephen Blackpool, is in love with a poor factory worker but he cannot marry her as he already ahs a wife who is drunk and not loyal to him. However, he learns from Bounderby that he cannot get a divorce from his horrible wife since it is only the wealthy who are allowed to get divorced. In the end, Bounderby dies alone in Coketown’s streets while Gridgrind abandons his philosophy and decides to devote his political position to help the poor (Dickens, 1854). Persuasion by Jane Austen Persuasion was the last novel completed by Jane Austen in 1816 (Faye, 2003). This is one of the author’s novels that reflects the changes occurring in England’s social order at the time (Faye, 2003). This period was marked by many members of the peerage group losing their high places in society. The book begins with a scenario where the Elliots, an upper class family, is considering moving to a smaller residence. They want to rent out their big mansion to a navy man named Admiral Croft. Baronets such as Anne’s father were finding it difficult to maintain their spendthrift lifestyles. Anne’s family refuses her to get married to Wentworth, who they consider to be poor. However, in the end, Wentworth is able to gain wealth and finally marries Anne (Austen, 1934). How Does Plot Reveal Characters’ Social Struggle? The plot of Hard Times is divided into three sections: sowing, reaping and garnering. Sowing focuses on Mr. Gradgrind and the way that he brings up his children, especially Louisa and Tom. His high-class life philosophy is inculcated in the upbringing of the two and this later is shown to have a serious impact on their lives. Mr. Gradgrind is a strong believer that ample education based on facts and calculations is the only way to live a good life. However, later on in the book, Louisa and Tom do not benefit at all from this philosophy of the wealthy. Tom becomes a hedonist and a thief and Louisa is confused with her life and ends up making the mistake of marrying a man more than twice her age. The second part of the book introduces workers who work at the mills. Stephen Blackpool is one of the poor workers and he is presented as a â€Å"man of perfect integrity†. It is through the development of Stephen’s character in the second part of Hard Times that the morality of the nobility is contrasted with the so called morality of the lower class. Through Stephen’s character some of the issues faced by the poor workers such as not being allowed

Light and Telescopes and Gravity Research Paper

Light and Telescopes and Gravity - Research Paper Example Optics is a common term used to refer to the study of light and its interactions with matter. Reflection is the bouncing back of light on a surface, in most cases resulting in image formation. Refraction on the other hand denotes the bending of the rays of light when passing through one medium to another (124). The speed of light in different transparent materials with ordinary matter is lower than that in a vacuum. For instance, the velocity of light in water is 75% the speed of light in a vacuum. The behavior of light is dependent on its wavelength and like other electromagnetic radiations high frequencies translate into lower wavelengths and vice-versa. Light is made up of photons/ quanta of lower energy levels which evoke excitations (electronic) in the molecules it interacts with resulting in variations in the chemistry/ bonding of the molecule. In the lower portion of the spectrum of light, the radiation (infrared) is no longer visible as the quanta of these radiation lack energy sufficient to elicit variation in molecule retinal of the eye retina, hence no visibility (at least not via quantum absorption) (Walker, 418). Over the limit of visible light, UV radiation is not visible to human eyes because it is absorbed by the internal lens below 400nm and the cornea below 360nm. In addition, the human retina’s cones and rods cannot detect radiation of wavelength below 360nm and are destroyed by such radiation. The main source of light on earth is the sun with approximately half of the EMR from the sun in the visible light region. However, there are a plethora of other light sources and mechanisms of producing light such as bioluminescence, electroluminescence, sonoluminescence, scintillation, radioactive decay, triboluminescence, particle-antiparticle annihilation, chenkov radiation, and so on. Light is either measured via photometry or radiometry. Light applies physical pressure on objects along its path with its

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments - Essay Example For example, the collection of fees in advance will be recorded in GAAP when it earned while according to tax accounting it will be considered as rent taxable income automatically. Another example is the recording of depreciation of fixed assets. Under the GAAP it asset will depreciated using different methods such as straight-line while under the tax accounting only one method is allowed known as MACRS. Under both the depreciation methods, the effect is on the net income. The difference resulting from both the accounting methods may cause differed tax assets or liabilities which can be transferred from one accounting period to the other depending on the financial situation of the company. Another difference between GAAP and tax accounting is the recognition of other revenues or items. For example, the revenue earned from municipal bonds is recognized as interest earned in GAAP whereas such revenues are exempt from federal taxes accounting. The filing status depends on an individual’s marital status and his/her family situation. There are five possible filing statuses. These are married filing jointly, surviving spouse, head of household, single, and married filing separately. Although there are five filing statuses, only four rate schedules or tax tables are used because surviving spouse and married filing jointly usually use the same rate. The characteristics that distinguish each of the filing statuses are based on four factors which also determine how much tax rate is applied to each of them. These factors are maintenance of household, having any dependents, marital status, and citizenship. The characteristic of a surviving spouse is that he/she has to maintain a household, have dependents such as a daughter or a son, the marital status remains the same for atleast two years and is a citizen. The tax rate is that same as that of

HEALTH CARE POLICY Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HEALTH CARE POLICY - Research Paper Example The biggest blow on cost due to this legislative bill may be on small businesses such as restaurants and bars, in which the profits may reduce. In addition, smoking bill lowers the market value of the hospitality industry whereby owners would opt to transfer their businesses to other parts of the country without the ban. When it comes to benefits of this bill, empirical studies reveal a 17% fall on acute coronary problems and heart attacks, exemplified by Scotland after smoking was banned in public spaces (Pakko, 2006). Moreover, the studies suggest that smoking bans do not cause adverse economic effects on restaurants and bans, but rather studies suggest that they improve profitability of the hospitality industry (Pakko, 2006). Finally, ban on smoking would help the healthcare budget, as well as lessen risks of chronic diseases including COPD and heart disease, and obstructive lung diseases. Analyzing cost containment with regard to this bill, it is evident that costs related to chr onic diseases would go down. As such $90 million of healthcare costs could be saved from a smoking ban on public paces nationwide. In addition, there will be a reduction in hospitalization at an estimated number of 18,600 hear patients. Consequently, health costs will also likely reduce by $16 million as reported by a study, within the first one year of a smoking ban implementation (Pakko, 2006). Thus, the smoking ban is meant to reduce the state healthcare costs such as Medicaid. Chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease and lung related diseases among others put great demand on health resources. Furthermore, chronic diseases and fatal illness requires maximum and high intensity medical care, and all these have cost implications on healthcare budget (McConnachie & Sutton, 2004). As a result, much of the healthcare budget is allocated to care and management of these diseases. Healthcare equity requires that the distribution of health care based funds reflects the existing burd en of a particular disease(s). A ban on smoking bill if enacted would lead to decline in chronic diseases associated with smoking such as lung related diseases; as a result, it would ease on the healthcare budget. The money that would otherwise be used for management of such diseases will be allocated to other critical areas of healthcare. A smoking ban would impact positively on the administrative resources because much of the funds allocated to diseases associated with smoking are likely to be directed somewhere else. Enacting the legislative bill would also influence healthcare delivery by releasing a burden on the healthcare providers who have to manage cancer patients and other suffering from smoke related illnesses (Daniels, 1995). Similarly, legal cases related to smoking will drastically reduce. In the past, tobacco producing companies have had to compensate people billions of dollars to settle cases related to health effects of smoking. However, a ban on smoking would also impact the economy negatively because it is one of the major sources of tax for the government. The move to enact a smoking ban bill would see many individuals discontinue their smoking habits, and eventually overcome tobacco addiction. As such, nurses will assume the role of assisting such

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments - Essay Example For example, the collection of fees in advance will be recorded in GAAP when it earned while according to tax accounting it will be considered as rent taxable income automatically. Another example is the recording of depreciation of fixed assets. Under the GAAP it asset will depreciated using different methods such as straight-line while under the tax accounting only one method is allowed known as MACRS. Under both the depreciation methods, the effect is on the net income. The difference resulting from both the accounting methods may cause differed tax assets or liabilities which can be transferred from one accounting period to the other depending on the financial situation of the company. Another difference between GAAP and tax accounting is the recognition of other revenues or items. For example, the revenue earned from municipal bonds is recognized as interest earned in GAAP whereas such revenues are exempt from federal taxes accounting. The filing status depends on an individual’s marital status and his/her family situation. There are five possible filing statuses. These are married filing jointly, surviving spouse, head of household, single, and married filing separately. Although there are five filing statuses, only four rate schedules or tax tables are used because surviving spouse and married filing jointly usually use the same rate. The characteristics that distinguish each of the filing statuses are based on four factors which also determine how much tax rate is applied to each of them. These factors are maintenance of household, having any dependents, marital status, and citizenship. The characteristic of a surviving spouse is that he/she has to maintain a household, have dependents such as a daughter or a son, the marital status remains the same for atleast two years and is a citizen. The tax rate is that same as that of

Business environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business environment - Essay Example Organizational Mission Organizations are formed to pursue diverse aims depending on the values of the founders and the needs of the stakeholders. Hence, certain organizations may be formed to produce goods while others may be formed to provide services. Some organizations may also be formed with the explicit purpose of earning profits for their owners while others may not have the profit motive as their primary aim (Gaspar et al., 2005, p. 40). Charities such as The Asia Foundation and CARE International define the donations they receive as receipts rather than revenues; hence, their surplus is different from profit. Organizations such as the police force or fire department are public-sector organizations as opposed to private-sector organizations. These organizations are not formed with the intent of earning profits; rather, their purpose is to provide an essential service to citizens of the community (Gaspar et al., 2005, p. 40). The fact that they are owned by the state as opposed to private interests increases their credibility to provide essential goods or services without discrimination or bias to all citizens. Business organizations clearly exist to earn profits. At the same time, they address the needs of stakeholders who help them earn those profits. Therefore, their purpose is to identify a target market and develop goods and services to satisfy specific needs of the target segment. Organizations whose business activities extend the national boundaries are called international business organizations. Their purpose is to earn profits through efficiencies in supply chain and logistics while exploring new markets. However they may be described or categorized, organizations are influenced by their purpose or mission which defines the scope of their activities. The Influence of Stakeholders Due to the rapidly globalizing business environment, organizations have adopted a ‘stakeholder approach’ instead of the ‘shareholder approach’ (Hamilton and Webster, 2012, p. 100). The stakeholder approach encourages organizations to address the needs of those segments other than the owners whose interests are affected by the activities of the organization (Hamilton and Webster, 2012, p. 100). The stakeholders include such varied groups as customers, suppliers, competitors, media personnel, government authorities, regulators, the natural environment and the community. The manner in which the organization conducts its activities affects the interests of these segments. As organizations expand to international business, the number of stakeholders and their obligations increases substantially. Addressing the needs and interests of these stakeholders creates social capital and a positive reputation for the organization (Hamilton and Webster, 2012, p. 100). Some scholars argue that it is also economically sensible for organizations to pursue the stakeholder approach. With limited resources, organizations try to meet the needs of different stakeholders. Through its charitable causes, the Bill Gates Foundation established by the Microsoft founder helps the software giant develop a positive reputation marred by concerns about the competitive strategies pursued by the company. Another organization, British Petroleum (BP) regularly invests in green technology to protect the natural environment from pollution and destruction (BP, 2013). Nestle follows the stakeholder approach through its supply chain. The company supports sustainable

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the main character, Huck Finn, undergoes a variety of experiences that changes him as a man, relationships with other characters in the novel and we get to understand the author’s perspective through the characters. Huck Finn flourished in many ways through the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn grew up with the stereotype that all blacks are meaningless and do not deserve to live the same life style and have the same rights as any white man. His father brings these views to Huckleberry’s attention. During the novel, Huck travels the Mississippi river with a black male slave named Jim, throughout the journey Huck learns how to be selflessness and have empathy for others. By experiencing different obstacles and situations, Huckleberry gains an insight into others’ lives and how their experiences differ from his. He learns to be more open to new and different outlooks of life. He learns courage, empathy, compassion, and the differences between law and moral right and wrong. Because of these experiences, Huck gains courage and maturity. Huckleberry is a new and improved man by the end of the novel. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain illustrates the bond formed between Huck, the young white protagonist, and Jim, Hucks black companion. As time goes on Huck begins to realize and understand how black men have been treated throughout their lives and starts to respect Jim more and more by who he actually is. While Huck and Jim travel down the river it becomes apparent that Jim is more of a father figure to Huck than his biological father. Huck’s father, Pap, teaches the virtues of a life not worth living, while Jim gives Huck the proper fatherly support, compassion, and knowledge for Huck to become a man. While Pap acts as an anchor on Hucks heel, Jim opens up a new world for Huck, and becomes his companion and a resource of knowledge. He finds the ideal combination of respect, love, and protection in Jim. Although Jim is not book smart, he maintains the simple values that Huck needs. Although Huck and Jim come from separate racial backgrounds their time together allows them to surpass their ethnic segregation and become true friends, and family. Huck returns the respect and gratefulness to Jim by keeping his promise and helping him become a free man. At the end of the novel, Huck thinks of Jim as being no different from any white man and doesn’t deserve to be treated differently otherwise. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, readers can identify Mark Twain’s picture of Southern society through the characters. Mark Twain harshly undermines our society in his novel by satirizes religion, civilization, and human nature to expose the flaws and weaknesses behind American society. Twain criticizes religion in society through satirizing Miss Watson and Silas Phelps for being highly religious yet hypocritical figures. Twain states that religious people can be hypocrites in situations such as in his novel, where they purposely ignore certain teachings of their religion. The Bible encourages that people treat others they wish to be treated, and here Miss Watson blatantly ignores that by being a slave owner. Even though many schools and parents would prohibit reading this novel because of its language and maliciousness, Twain states that he writes the truth. Huck is critical of many things and people in this novel. He implies that humans understand and comprehend the world by different means and rely on different sources to provide the truth. People use their senses, reasoning, emotion, past experiences and what others have taught them to understand the world and how to make their own decisions. To understand something for what it is truly is you need to get a different perspective on it, which is what Huck did with Jim to find out the real meaning to slavery and to respect. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic story where readers learn about the true meaning of friendship and slavery just by a white man and a black man sailing down a river to find freedom.

Diversity, Learning and Progress

Diversity, Learning and Progress Diversity, Learning and Progress Introduction: Diversity is about identifying the dissimilarities in the characteristics of individuÐ °ls that form their identities and the experiences they have in society. Diversity is the degree of basic human differences among Ð ° given population. The modern-day learning environment faces many learning issues. Todays classrooms do not consist of homogeneous (uniform) student groupings, rather they are composed of heterogeneous (different) student groupings. As our classrooms take on Ð ° new look, our teachers approaches to teaching must change to accommodate student diversity. Ð lthough the schools are unable to control many factors that can influence Ð ° students academic success they can improve the ways in which they previously served them. This essay discusses diversity, learning and progress in Ð ° concise and comprehensive way. Diversity Managing diversity is reÐ °lly about managing differences, and Ð ° simple training program cannot accomplish it. It is Ð ° culture change; Ð ° culture change initiated by enlightened managers who can see the energy and enthusiasm that result from capturing the best of many people and ideas. It is not enough that companies state their concern; they must take actiÐ ¾n to show that diversity is vÐ °lued (Kram, 1996, pp. 90-98). Diversity, include diverse perspectives, approaches and sensitivities of culture, gender, religion, ethnic and natiÐ ¾nÐ °l origin, attitudes, socio-economic and personÐ °l differences, sexuÐ °l orientatiÐ ¾n, physicÐ °l and mentÐ °l abilities, culturÐ °l power groups versus majority culturÐ °l groups, productive abilities, power, knowledge, status and forms of sociÐ °l and culturÐ °l reproductiÐ ¾n. Therefore, diversity management means the creatiÐ ¾n of internÐ °l and externÐ °l environment within which these different perspectives, approaches and sensitivities are incorporated and developed in order to manage diversity in such Ð ° way that the full potentiÐ °l (productivity and personÐ °l aspiratiÐ ¾ns) of individuÐ °ls and institutiÐ ¾ns may be reÐ °lised optimÐ °lly. (Kram, 1996, pp. 90-98). Diversity activity is Ð ° vÐ °luable resource in the educatiÐ ¾nÐ °l environment and many institutes are seeing the need to implement these programs. Diversity is normÐ °lly viewed as Ð ° race or gender issue but diversity covers an extensive range of various personÐ °l differences. Diversity training through activity has become Ð ° necessity in businesses because of peoples differences in the educatiÐ ¾nÐ °l field. Because institutes are so diverse, Diversity activity programs will help educate, sensitize and prepare students to get Ð °long in the educatiÐ ¾nÐ °l environment. Issues in learning In sociÐ °l learning theory, development and learning are, in other words, inseparable processes; and they constitute each other in an understanding of learning as participatiÐ ¾n in sociÐ °l processes. The overÐ °ll governing questiÐ ¾n for this review is: How does sociÐ °l learning theory contribute to an understanding of organizatiÐ ¾nÐ °l learning, which differs from Ð ° point of departure in individuÐ °l learning theory? Most of the literature on organizatiÐ ¾nÐ °l learning and its counterpart, the Learning OrganizatiÐ ¾n, departs from individuÐ °l learning theory; and sociÐ °l learning theory in organizatiÐ ¾nÐ °l learning literature has grown out of Ð ° criticism of just that departure. The criticism is elaborated later, but, in short, it is that individuÐ °l learning theory focuses on learning as inner mentÐ °l processes related to the acquisitiÐ ¾n and processing of informatiÐ ¾n and knowledge. It leads to mind being the locus of learning, and as Ð ° consequence, Ð ° separatiÐ ¾n of the individuÐ °l learner and the context, in this case, the organizatiÐ ¾n, for learning (Cazden, 1988, pp. 20-26). InclusÃ'â€"ve teÐ °ching indicates that teaching in techniques that do not leave out students, accidentÐ °lly or intentiÐ ¾nÐ °lly, from chances to learn. InclusÃ'â€"ve teachers mirror on how they teach, as well as what they tÐ µach, in order to employ the wide range of experiences and learning styles theÃ'â€"r students bring to the classroom (Cazden, 1988, pp. 20-26). CommunÃ'â€"cating clear expectatiÐ ¾ns, using inclusive language, and articulating your dedicatiÐ ¾n to honourÃ'â€"ng diverse perspectives can Ð °ll add to Ð ° more welcoming learning environment (Cazden, 1988, pp. 20-26). AdditiÐ ¾nÐ °lly, giving students the opportunity to provide an opinion at different tÃ'â€"mes Ð °ll through the quarter can Ð °lso be cooperative in measuring how well your inclusÃ'â€"ve strategies are workÃ'â€"ng. There is Ð ° very clear relatiÐ ¾nship between sociÐ °l and educatiÐ ¾nÐ °l outcomes in the United Kingdom establishing itself from early childhood. Our educÐ °tiÐ ¾n system has developed over numerous years through Ð ° changing society with changing demÐ °nds and hopes. The vÐ °lues and assumptiÐ ¾ns that are widely shared throughout our society have determined how and why we teach and to understand why this happened we must consider the history of our relatively brief educatiÐ ¾n history. Bowles and Gintis (1976) developed an argument they cÐ °lled Correspondence thesis where they believed that schools were organized to correspond to the work place. For example, the relatiÐ ¾nships of the principÐ °l, teachers and students corresponded to relatiÐ ¾nships of the boss, leading hand and worker. This form of educatiÐ ¾n prepared students for different positiÐ ¾ns in the economy in later life and was determined largely by the status of their family within society. Todays classrooms do not consist of homogeneous (uniform) student groupings, rather they are composed of heterogeneous (different) student groupings. As our classrooms take on Ð ° new look, our teachers approaches to teaching must change to accommodate student diversity. Ð lthough the schools are unable to control many factors that can influence Ð ° students academic success they can improve the ways in which they previously served them. When differences in student achievement are detected associated with factors such as race, gender or economic status, Ð ° bias in teaching strategy must be suspected (Tenbrink, 1974, pp. 16-21). Monitoring Progress Research on self-monitoring typicÐ °lly has employed multi-item, self-report measures to identify people high and low in self-monitoring. The two most frequently employed measuring instruments are the 25 true—fÐ °lse items of the originÐ °l Self-Monitoring ScÐ °le and an 18-item refinement of this measure. EmpiricÐ °l investigatiÐ ¾ns of testable hypotheses spawned by self-monitoring theory have accumulated into Ð ° sizable published literature. Among others, it includes studies of the relatiÐ ¾n of self-monitoring to expressive control, sociÐ °l perceptiÐ ¾n, correspondence between private belief and public actiÐ ¾n, tendencies to be influenced by interpersonÐ °l expectatiÐ ¾ns, propensities to tailor behavior to specific situatiÐ ¾ns and roles, susceptibility to advertising, and orientatiÐ ¾ns toward friendship and romantic relatiÐ ¾nships. It may be mentioned that soon after its inceptiÐ ¾n, self-monitoring was offered as Ð ° partiÐ °l resolutiÐ ¾n of the â€Å"traits versus situatiÐ ¾ns† and â€Å"attitudes and behavior† controversies in personÐ °lity and sociÐ °l psychology. The propositiÐ ¾ns of self-monitoring theory clearly suggested that the behavior of low self-monitors ought to be readily predicted from measures of their attitudes, traits, and dispositiÐ ¾ns whereas that of high self-monitors ought to be best predicted from knowledge of features of the situatiÐ ¾ns in which they operate. Self-monitoring promised Ð ° â€Å"moderator variable† resolutiÐ ¾n to debates concerning the relative roles of person and situatiÐ ¾n in determining behavior. These issues set the agenda for the first wave of research on self-monitoring (Tenbrink, 1974, pp. 16-21). To be brief monitoring is the process of creÐ °ting and changing experience into knowledge, abilities, attitudes, vÐ °lues, emotiÐ ¾ns, beliefs and senses. It is the procedure through which individuÐ °ls become themselves. References Kram, K. E. and HÐ °ll, D. T. (1996). Mentoring in Ð ° context of diversity and turbulence . In S. Lobel and E. Kossek (eds.), Human Resource Strategies for Managing Diversity . Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 90-98. Cazden, C. B. (1988). Classroom discourse: The language of teaching and learning . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, pp. 30-35. Lindfors, J. W. (1987). Childrens language and learning . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-HÐ °ll, pp. 2026. Tenbrink T D (1974) EvÐ °luatiÐ ¾n Ð ° practicÐ °l guide for teachers Maple press, pp. 16-21.

Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay -- Stevenson Je

Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The novella ‘Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde’ was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in the Victorian era. The book was first published in 1886 in England and it brought high success to the author. The final chapter of the novella which is ‘Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement Of The Case’ explores the ways that the author presents Victorian attitudes to the nature of humans. Stevenson explains to the reader that humans have lots of different sides to each other and not just one. He also explains how duplicitous humans are. â€Å"I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life† Pg69 The text was written in the Victorian era which was around the 1800’s. In those days the Victorian culture was very different to today’s culture. They had strict moral codes to live under as middle class people. They argued that as Victorian values they should look after themselves and their family first and also they should not rely on outside help. Another Victorian value expected of them was to live a life without any sin. Even though the cultural context influences people, not every Victorian person obeyed the values outside the public. The Victorian people had paradoxical views because they would go out drinking and also the porn industry was famous out side public life. Beliefs in religion were having a turn point because of the introduction of science in to the Victorian era. Victorians were expected to live a life of Puritanism. The main characters in this text are Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield, Dr Lanyon and Poole the butler. Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield are both Victorian lawyers who are well respected from other people. ‘those who encountered them in th... ...orals are still relevant today because humans in today’s society all have a good and evil side in them like Dr Jekyll did. The nurture of all humans is always different because one day you can be good and the other day you can be full of evil. In my opinion our upbringing doesn’t mean we will be like that because what we learn form outside can influence our personality too. In Dr Jekyll’s case he was brought up to be a Victorian gentleman but he didn’t like the life of a Victorian gentleman as it was boring to him. So the change into Hyde that he had was his type of life as he got to do what he wanted to. Drugs in today’s society are the same as Victorian time but it is commonly known to the public. Where as in Victorian days it was illegal to take drugs. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ has a social moral to it which tells the reader how to behave in a society.

Safe Survivable and Effective Combat Systems for U.S. Military Personnel

The changes that are happening in the society have paved the way for different developments and threats to become observable in various countries. The advancement of science and technology, the advent of globalization, and other phenomena have created different advantageous effects to the everyday lives of people. However, development in various fields also come with it different threats, especially when it comes to the security and welfare of citizens. The dangers and risks to the security and welfare of citizens is greatly observable during the 9/11 terrorist attacks that caused destruction of different infrastructures and numerous casualties. Due to this incident and also other terrorist attacks that happen in different parts of the world, the importance of military personnel and other individuals that have the responsibility of protecting and safeguarding the welfare and safety of people have become more important than ever. Being the case, it is essential that the safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel are given due attention and importance. As methods of warfare and terrorism are developing in a rapid pace, it is also pivotal that safe survivable and effective combat systems for the United States military are also further developed. United States military personnel have to be properly equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to properly and effectively perform their duties and responsibilities. The facilities that will be given focused in the project will emphasize the development that need to be done in safe survivable and effective combat systems. The strength of military capabilities is recognized as the foundation of the political prominence of the United States. The prominent role of the United States in the international arena is brought about by the military strength of the country, which becomes observable starting the Cold War. The military capabilities of the United States are necessary in order to secure the welfare of Americans. The strength and development of the United States military are heavily dependent upon the advancement of science, technology, and economic resources (Bolt et al. , 2005). Being the case, focusing the project on safe survivable and effective combat systems for the United States is justified and appropriate because it gives due consideration to the political role of the country and the welfare of the people. The project will also give importance to the seven ASIS guidelines because it provides the consensus regarding the general practices when it comes to the performance of security risk assessment. The seven-step process is an outline, â€Å"which comprises system and assess identification, specification of vulnerabilities, determining risk probabilities and event impact, developing risk mitigation options, studying the feasibility of options, and performing a cost/benefit analysis† (Landoll, 2006, p. 22). Among the seven-step process, the most challenging to complete are the first parts of the ASIS guidelines, namely: identity assets, specify loss events, and frequency of events because it requires intensive research and the collection of related data. In addition, it is also difficult to properly identify and assess the impact of events because it needs the appropriate standard of measurement in order to examine the actually impacts of the events. Contrary to the usual perception that the cost/benefit analysis is the most difficult part of the seven-step ASIS guideline, it is actually the least demanding to complete because of the needed data in order to make a comprehensive and reliable analysis are already available. The advantages of focusing the project on safe survivable and effective combat systems are observable in the range of literature that can be used when it comes to the research of the topic. There are different researchers and authors who have also explored the subject of safe survivable and effective combat in relation to the United States military personnel. On the other hand, the there are also disadvantages in using the aforementioned topic, as the focus of the project. First, since military personnel are the main subjects of the study, it is very difficult to gain the actual perspective, opinion, and experiences of these people because of the strict military rule and conduct that they abide to. Second, the development of science and technological when it comes to the field of military is often done in strict confidentiality, which can make it difficult to actual identify and study the level of development of safe survivable and effective combat systems. Nevertheless, despite the disadvantages of the topics of the project, it is still beneficial to study the safe survivable and effective combats because of the purpose and advantages objectives in conducting the study. Moreover, there will always be a source of data even though there are difficulties in acquiring some of it. In order to complete the seven steps of ASIS General Security Assessment, the process of doing the project will largely rely on the acquisition of data through research. The sources of research that will be done includes studying related literature when it comes to the topic wherein other studies will be use in order to obtain the necessary data for the project. In addition, the participation of the military population will also become helpful wherein a sample population can be interviewed or survey in order to identify the perspective and opinion of United States military personnel, which can generalized a substantial portion of the of the population. In terms of determining the probability of loss risk, frequency of events, and impacts of events a mixed methodology of both qualitative and quantitative risk assessment will be used. The project will take into focus the safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel by performing document research through the use of policy papers, organizational articles, and other similar documents. In the same manner, quantitative risk assessment will be done wherein the surveyed perspective and experiences of military personnel will be used. The security solutions and the feasibility of implementation study will be identified through the use of data obtained from the other steps of the ASIS guidelines. The use of the gathered data will enable the project to clearly identify the problem and its corresponding solutions. Furthermore, the cost/benefit analysis of safe survivable and effective combat systems will be properly done through the accomplishment of the preceding steps of the ASIS guideline. The corresponding cost and benefits of the decision that would be done in order to develop the aforementioned area will properly done through the previous steps, which are accomplished through the use of research, document analysis, and survey. The use of the mixed methodology will give substantive data that will allow the proper analysis of cost and benefits of the project, which in turn, will help in making the appropriate decisions regarding the development of safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel.

Family Assessment Essay

As a nurse practicing in today’s health care environment it is always important to be very attentive for the needs of the patient and the patient’s family. In order to realize the needs of the patient and the patients loved ones it is often helpful to conduct a family assessment. This assessment was carried out on an urban family which is in the middle income group. Some of the factors which were inferred from the assessment were as follows. In terms of values, health and nutrition, it was found that the members paid much emphasis to this. As s matter of fact, the initial family expenditure was on these three. Health is taken as a vital requirement and all the individuals need to have it. This is the same case with rest. Since most of the members are quite busy all through the day, the family spends some time together in the evening before retiring to bed. Most of the free time is spent having the family together in a relaxed atmosphere (Ritchie, 2012). The family is very concerned for the patient’s needs and overall well-being. They are so concerned about elimination, though the need for exercise and activity is highly acknowledged. The members appreciate and know the need for physical fitness. As such, they try to make sure that they attain it. Nevertheless, they have such tight schedules that they do not get enough time to be engaged in these. This is quite unfortunate. On the cognitive factors, the family is highly receptive. The level attained in the family is based on the importance it attaches to the cognitive development. The children have gone through learning institutions and are still in pursuit of knowledge and education. This is the same case with the parents. They work with the notion that information is power. As it pertains to health care sometimes simple common sense comes into play. Sensory perception is taken as a defining factor of the common sense. However, there is a saying that common sense is not common to all. Nevertheless, this family has greatly attained this sensory perception. Everyone is aware of their surroundings and they are willing to work towards making the family even better. Their self-esteem is also quiet high. Based on the findings from the interview, they have high regard of each other due to the accomplishments they have seen in their lives. Their high esteem is based on the fact that they do not compare themselves with others. Rather, they believe in who they are. This also helps to streamline their roles relationship since everyone understands his/her position in the family and does as is appropriate to their role (IFNA, 2012). Sexuality is a very touchy issue for many people but it is something that often needs to be addressed. The issue of sexuality is a major concern for many, since people tend to have different sexual orientations. This family remains open to the issue of sexuality and everyone has the freedom to choose or decide the path he wants to follow. However, this has to fall in line with the family values which they hold dearly. Lastly, there is the aspect of coping. This family, just like many others, encounters daily challenges. However, it has managed to come through all of them. The reason cited by the members is because they believe in the harmony and unity of a family. Therefore, the problem of one is a problem for all. The family works with the philosophy of one for all and all for one. This is what has made the family stand all along besides the challenges they face (Ritchie, 2012). As it pertains to diagnosis assessment can be very helpful. In diagnosing this family, there are two main nursing diagnoses that can be reached at. These are in line with the International Family Nursing Organization (2012). These two are emotional readiness as well as the status and function. These two seem to be very consistent in this family. They are as indicated in the paragraphs below. The emotional well-being of a person goes a long way in terms of having good physical health. On the emotional status, IFNA (2012) talks of the emotional readiness where the people are ready to change or take up traits that can help the family to function normally. The emotional status has it that a family is ready to take up the health options available. On this aspect, the family proved to be ready for the changes that would benefit it. Most of the members agreed that they were ready to adopt healthier practices that could improve their health. For instance, they acknowledged that they needed to be more vigilant in exercising and physical activity. This was a good status of mind. Sometimes if a person displays destructive behavior there needs to be a willingness to improve and change. Despite the willingness to change, a challenge that faces this family is the status and function. According to the IFNA (2012), this diagnoses has it that a family or individual should have the will to change. However, the circumstances are not favorable. This is the same case that applies with the family. All the members are ready and willing to change and adopt the healthy options. However, they do not have the time in which they can undertake these activities. All they have is the willingness to change but the factors around them do not allow them to. In conclusion, this essay has looked at the family health assessment. It has defined how a family diagnosis can be done and the factors affecting it. This has been followed up by a case study looking at a real family and performing a health analysis on it. From the discussion, it has come out quiet clearly that family assessment should be based on the health and functionality of the family as a unit. For this reason, the family health model comes in handy as an assessment method. This was as seen in the case study which reveals the need for a comprehensive family assessment. It leads to the realization of all factors affecting a family’s health and functionality; hence coming up with proper intervention strategies.

Outsourcing: Is It Ethical Essay

Outsourcing has become a very hot topic in our country over the last few years. Many Americans view this topic as very controversial and unethical. Outsourcing is also known as the offshoring of American jobs. These jobs are being sent to foreign countries all over the world. Under George Bush’s administration the American economy lost 1.6 million jobs. Outsourcing to other countries is not limited to one business sector or profession; almost all professions are beginning to feel the effects of outsourcing. Many politicians, economists and business people are having very heated debates in regards to outsourcing. There are some who feel that outsourcing is good for the American economy. There are others who strongly disagree and argue that outsourcing is an action taken by greedy companies that disrupt the economic futures of many people and these actions are purely unethical. Outsourcing experienced in America is highly debatable because we have a moral responsibility to adhere to values in society, and to promote human development. Advancing capitalism, by cutting costs and increasing profits, comes at a cost to society when values and moral standards are neglected. Outsourcing in itself is not illegal or unethical, but the repercussions of outsourcing experienced in America are considered to be unethical for the following reasons: American citizens, educated in America for the purpose of employment in America, are displaced from jobs by foreign workers; outsourcing lacks regulation to protect personal and sensitive information; and the American government offers no effective solutions to address these repercussions by re-training and re-employing displaced workers, and by offering incentives for businesses not to outsource. Not only are Americans affected by outsourcing in career and future earnings, but their sense of security is affected too. Businesses that outsource American client information, to be stored and processed in a foreign country, often do so without disclosure to their clients. The foreign country adheres to a different set of regulations concerning data or information protection, and this puts American citizens at risk to identity theft or fraud. The actual long-term damage of job outsourcing on future innovation and individual earning power remains to be determined. Income levels are frozen and cannot compete with inflation. Workers lose leverage to negotiate fair wage  increases or promotion. Foreign employment policies, such as minimum wage, and working conditions differ. Businesses that are outsourcing can set a minimum wage in developing countries that would never be accepted as a minimum wage in America. When most of us think of outsourcing we immediately think of manufacturing jobs. The loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector has been publicized through the media, which has called upon the ethical issues involved. Ethical concerns for outsourcing manufacturing jobs range from human rights violations to standard of living issues. Even though manufacturing may be the highest sector affected by outsourcing, there are many more professions beginning to feel the effects such as engineering and design, High Tech Jobs and the Accounting Industry. Engineering and Design Some may believe that the jobs lost to foreign countries are those that are low paying and those that many would not want anyway. However, this is far from the truth. Highly skilled workers in the engineering and design fields are starting to feel the effects of outsourcing. The decision to outsource engineering services is driven by money and the need to cut costs. For example, â€Å"an office in India provides design and engineering capabilities such as finite element analysis, 2D drafting and 3D modeling, design sheet metal parts and complex molds, kinematics simulation along with other skills.† Engineering firms are beginning to see the benefits to outsourcing to foreign companies to do design work. Tom Epply, president of Continental Design and Engineering stated, â€Å"my view is that I’m trying to save a business for my customer. It’s either this or he can have his head stuck in the sand and possibly lose the business. I’m trying to look at the bigger picture. The engineers in India can do the routine work, while the engineers her can do the research.† Many engineering consultants feel the same way as Tom Epply, outsourcing is inevitable and we need it to survive. But does this make it ethical? Outsourcing engineering services can save companies money, however, there are many that disagree. The NSPE (National Society for Professional Engineers) has issued the following statement: â€Å"the outsourcing of engineering should be done only when the talent cannot be found in the US.  If outsourcing of engineering work is done, it should be done using the same rules, regulations, and laws that employers and employees are subject to in the US.† If a company outsources because of corporate greed and selfishness of top executives then this is very unethical but if outsourcing is done out of competitive necessity and the needs of the employees, it should be considered and viewed as ethical. There are some who believe that there is a shortage of American engineers and this might contribute to the haste in outsourcing engineering work. However, there are plenty of people here in the US who can do the work. There are few engineering firms around the country that are struggling with the issues of outsourcing work or keeping their work inside the US. These companies will be forced to weigh the pros and cons and decide what is ethical for their firm. High Tech Jobs The need for technology and IT (information technology) firms has grown rapidly and will continue to grow in the future. These firms have been hit hard with outsourcing to foreign countries. There was a time when someone with a degree in computer programming did not have to worry about having a job. Most everyone thought that computer programmers were in demand and would always have a job. In 2000, the unemployment rate for computer programmers was 2.0%. By 2004, this number rose to 9.5%. One company that US jobs are being sent to is India Web Developers. This company’s website has an entire section devoted to convincing companies of why they should outsource their web development needs to India. In the past America was seen as a global leader in regards to technology. Now the question is: Is the US losing their position as the technology leader by outsourcing these jobs? In order for the US to keep their high status, there will need to be more investment in education and teaching of math and science. Without education and a capable workforce, we will lose high-tech jobs and our place as innovators globally. The Accounting Industry The outsourcing of accounting functions, such as tax returns, book keeping and auditing, have become a multi-million dollar industry around the world.  Reports of the scope and size of the outsourcing market vary greatly, but the largest outsourcing companies claim that thousands of returns were processed during the 2003 tax season. Estimates indicate that totals now may be well into the hundreds of thousands. Accounting firms are feeling more and more pressure to outsource some of their work and lower their costs. On the website for SurePrep, which is an offshore provider for tax return services, they provide the following pitch to CPA’s and accounting firms: What if you could prepare a thousand more tax returns without adding even one more staff member? And what if you could prepare those returns for up to 50 percent less than what it costs you right now? You can with SurePrep. And with virtually unlimited ability to prepare and process returns, you can increase volume, multiply profits, and grow your practice. This proposal is definitely hard for any firm to pass on. What company would pass up increasing their volume and profits without adding staff? There are many additional benefits that an outsourcing firm may provide for accounting firms including : 1. Qualified part time help 2. Huge cost advantage to outsourcing 3. Faster turn- around time and increased productivity with returns coming back in less than 48 hours. 4. CPA firm freed up due to reduced tax preparation workloads. Leaving time for staff to find ways to offer clients new services. 5. Tax outsourcing can serve as a catalyst for business transformation, enabling a firm to outsource other accounting functions such as bookkeeping. Due to these benefits, many firms are beginning to outsource overseas. Although these benefits may seem great, there are still some risks and ethical concerns related to outsourcing. According to the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), the chief concern is the Code of Professional Conduct that CPA’s are required to follow. According to Richard Miller and Alan Anderson, â€Å"AICPA members have responsibilities related to the practice of using third parties to provide services in engagements for clients. Primary among them are security and confidentiality of information, due professional care and compliance with provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct. In addition, members must monitor security procedures that third-party providers have put into place to ensure they remain effective.† It will be difficult for accountants to  ensure that financial information of their clients remain confidential and secure. Also, firms will find it hard to ensure that the outsourcing companies are qualified to complete the job. According to the AICPA, firms need to â€Å"exercise due care† to make sure their clients information are handled correctly and securely. They also state that â€Å"there is no specific ethical requirement that the member disclose to the client that they are using the services of an outside provider.† Conclusion Outsourcing is a legal business activity affecting America. And it is an inevitable response to globalization and international trade. The outsourcing of American jobs will continue to be a great subject to debate here in the United States. Our politicians will continue to debate the topic and decide if there should be laws set to help or hinder companies from outsourcing jobs. There are many officials that believe that outsourcing will help our country and economy and that nothing bad could come from outsourcing. â€Å"It is a general rule in economics that in order for an economy to grow, old jobs must be destroyed so that new jobs can be created.† There are also those who believe we should at all cost protect our current jobs. High unemployment in America has renewed complaints that outsourcing to countries such as India hurts American workers. It seems that outsourcing American jobs is not going away and will only increase. Knowing this there are a few questions we should all ask ourselves, Is outsourcing an ethical practice, Is outsourcing for the sole purpose of reducing cost ethical and What responsibilities do US companies have to the employees they have laid off due to outsourcing? George Bush once said, â€Å"What do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who’s being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?† Good question! Works Cited (n.d.). Retrieved from SurePrep: Http://sureprep.com Anderson, A. W. (n.d.). Legal and Ethical Considerations. Retrieved 8 2011, August , from American Institute of Certified Public Accoutants: ttp://www.aicpa.org/download/ethics/outsourcing.pdf Boykin, D. (November, 12 2006). Offshore Outsourcing Stirs National Debate. Retrieved 5 2011, August , from http://www.nspe.org/etweb/10304feature.asp Bringham, N. (November, 12  2006). Outsourcing High-Tech Jobs:Why benign neglect isn’t working. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from Computer professional for Social Responsibility: http://www.cpsr.org/pubs/workingpapers/1/IToutsourcing Harrison, K. (n.d.). Machine Design. Retrieved 5 2011, August, from Machine Design: http://forums.machinedesign.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7000036462/m/6290025372 McGhee, B. W. (n.d.). Ethical Issues in Outsourcing Accounting and Tax Services. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from Social Science Research Network: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=648766 Mintz, S. (n.d.). The Ethical Dilemmas of Outsourcing. Retrieved 8 2011, August, from New York State Society of CPA’s: http://www.nyssacpa.org/cpajournal Torrance, F. (n.d.). Center for Management Communication. Retrieved 8 2011, August , from The Ethics of In-house vs. Outsourcing: http://www.usc.edu/org/InsightBusiness/archives/fall2005/TheEthicsofInhouse.htm