The importance of accounting information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The importance of accounting information - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of accounting as the process of â€Å"identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions† by the users of the information. Hence accounting information is very useful to its various users as it helps them to make informed and calculated decisions. All stakeholders of an organization including the shareholders are potential users of accounting information. Following are some of the user of this information: decision makers inside the organization (such as the directors, managers, etc.), employees, shareholders, customers, lenders, shareholders, suppliers, etc. Traditionally anybody who is interested in the activities and performance of an organization is a stakeholder. Accounting information is useful to different users in a different way. Accounting information such as cash inflows, expenses, fixed assets, liabilities, operating profits, can be used by decision makers inside an o rganization to make critical decisions such as future investments, pricing strategies, expansion plans, etc. Employees of an organization can use accounting information to analyze the financial and commercial success of a company and in turn understand the security with respect to the job that the organization promises. Lenders and suppliers can use the information to analyze the financial health of the company before lending loans and materials to the organizations.

Advantages of queuing theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advantages of queuing theory - Essay Example Reneging happens when a prospective client decides to leave and forgo that service he is queuing for mostly because the queue is too long. In this calculation the main principle is that the costs of waiting in queues are normally inversely proportional to the timely cost of service. Queuing theories are clearly known to be simple as they normally require less data and it is known to produce results that are generic. This is the advantage of using queuing theory over the use of simulation as models of queuing theory. The theory is widely used in service rendering sectors such health services area. Also in the same field of health care (Aaby et al. 575) describes the use of spreadsheets and spreadsheets software to implement the desired queuing network models of mass vaccination in the dispensing clinics. Another important example of software that forms part of such a system is found in an emergency department. (Broyles and Cochran, 615) say it is quite able to calculate the percentage number of patients who usually leave the emergency department without actually getting help. This can be done by assessing the arrival rate, utilization, service rate as well as the capacity of the health care. It is out of this percentage that they can be able to actually determine the revenue that has been lost from the patients who left without being served. Disadvantages of queuing method Since the queuing theory models are mostly based on what is referred to as the exponential distribution, they work through applying these traits of exponential distribution. The main problem that comes with this is that in that this exponential distribution normally has a coefficient with a variation of one. This fact has the effect of precluding the modelling of any other process that has a coefficient which is of variation significantly different from one. Therefore Because of the low likelihood that any of a random process will just be having a coefficient of variation that is just one, thi s queuing theory is considered to have the disadvantage of low applicability and practicality. While the number of assumptions for most of these applications of queueing models is normally few, they sometime tend to be quite irrational. This is clear especially when human queues are involved. From the theory, it is understood that human behaviour is uniform and can be determined. This is quite untrue because human character and behaviour vary from one human being to another. Thus from these assumption some critics have argued that the queuing theory cannot apply where human being are involved in the queue. The assumptions are not normally correct as human behaviour is not actually determinable. Where as one person shall behave in a certain manner, another person might act the actual opposite of what the other person did. For instance, one assumption can be that a person is likely not to enter a queue if he finds that there are too many people already ahead in the queue. In reality, this may not be true; otherwise, the situation would be that there would be no lines outside stores. Another point to discard the assumption there would no store opening on holidays for those maybe seeking to buy late gifts. The restrictive nature of the assumptions of the queuing theory is also another disadvantage that exposes the theory to criticism. The nature of the production lines is quite complex and cannot be fully explained by the simple models that are provided for by the queuing theory. Therefore in order to cure this there are specialized tools which have been developed in order to simulate, visualize, analyze, and finally

Arguments Of Placebo Effect Health And Social Care Essay

Arguments Of Placebo Effect Health And Social Care Essay The placebo effect may be described as a phenomenon where the symptom of a patient may be modified by ineffective treatment. Essentially the patient has been seen to receive some form of treatment that he or she believes will work. This is a psychological response that can reduce stress and panic thereby leaving the bodys true immune system with an improved chance of working. Placebos are not a cure but merely help to place the patient in a more relaxed and receptive state for treatment. In this regard all medicines essentially provide what is known as the placebo effect. In general terms the placebo has a positive impact if managed by physicians in a proper and responsible way. This is because stress and anxiety are known to affect the body in an adverse manner and possibly make the symptoms worse. Researchers have found that large dummy placebo pills that are coloured seem to stimulate a more positive response from the patients. The important point to emphasise is that the placebo effect is practiced in all medicines and whilst some consider it to be a bogus form of treatment, nevertheless, it accomplishes more good than harm. Counter arguments state that the feel good generation is purposely misleading and could create more serious conditions. The argument is somewhat flawed as very rarely is it ever used as a standalone form of treatment but more a precursor to getting a patient stabilized in a relaxed and more receptive state in order to receive proper medical attention. The arguments of the placebo effect Those arguing against the use of the placebos normally present the following arguments: [1] Introduction of the Nocebo effect whereby patients state that they experience side effects from the in ineffective treatment [placebo]. In most cases this is restricted to clinical trials where placebos are used to test against real medicines. [2] The placebo response of a pain reduction may obscure the real disease and lead towards misleading information to the physician and thus return an incorrect diagnosis of the problem. This can be serious as the wrong course of corrective treatment may be prescribed [3] the illusion effect where the patient is led to believe that the bogus remedy may have worked. This in turn may result in an incorrect or wrong course of treatment to deal with the problem. The medical journal The Lancet provided on an article that stated a new analysis of 110 placebo-controlled randomized trials of homeopathy, indicated there is no evidence that homeopathic tablets perform any better than placebos (Goldacre 2006)  [1]  . Modern medicine has moved towards better patient relationships keeping the patient informed and moved away from the old paternalistic placebo doctrine. Most doctors are uncomfortable with dishonesty and perhaps this is one of the key distinctions against that of the homeopathy practitioners. Adam Harrington stated in Hoboken that the placebo is much more ado about nothing the answer is NO because of the powerful therapeutic effects and YES because of the faddish exaggerations about placebo power. (Harrington 1999). The term placebo is Latin and originated from the Catholic vespers for the dead and translated means I shall please. They emanate from the early medical practices where medical practitioners were unable to diagnose a specific illness and used a placebo essentially to buy time in order to allow additional medical investigations to take place. It was Arthur Shapiro  [2]  who reminded everyone in the 1960s that the physicians themselves were important placebos in their own right i.e. people were comforted by the fact of having an experienced medical practitioner take control of their medical issues. Positive claims for placebos have been made by Dr. Robert Buchman  [3]  and Karl Salsbugh they seem to have effect on almost every symptom known to mankind, whereas Arthur Shapiro was much more sceptical stating placebos could have a permanent effect on medical disorders. (Evans 2004) One of the most convincing positive arguments for placebos resulted from the work of Dr. Henry Beecher  [4]  who was the American anaesthetist who treated US soldiers in a field hospital in World War 2. In one instance he was treating a soldier with bad injuries and was considering morphine as a pain killer but he was concerned about cardio vascular shock. Instead he put the soldier on saline solution and the result was the patient settled down, he felt less pain and the reaction was similar to morphine. It seemed that salt water could be as effective as morphing considered one of the most powerful painkillers at the disposed of the medical practitioners. Beecher later repeated the trick with the same results and after the war returned to Harvard University to continue his research. Similar studies were being carried out at Cornell University. The subsequent studies carried out by Beecher, gold and lasagne change the way the medical profession viewed placebos and by the mid-1950s doctors were thinking of this as their longer a fraudulent practice. (Evans 2004) Figure : Total Drug Concept by ClaridgeThe complementary practitioners of alternative medicines have advocated that mainstream medicine should become more inclusive and doctors need to incorporate some of these methods into the overall approach to healing. The placebo should no longer be considered as a fake treatment but used where it may influence possible positive outcome on patient care. A model developed by Claridge (Peters 2001). In 1970 required a useful insight into close examination of the placebo effect [Fig 1 refers]. Here he separated the drug out into its very opponents; [1] the drug itself color, shape, form, brand and attributes [2] the prescriber attitude, beliefs, competence, and authority. [3] The recipient the psychological side suggested intelligence, personality etc. [4] selling and clinical side hope, clinic, hospital [physical settings]. Hence the doors former placebo is that so these items without the pharm logical presence of the drug. The concept of beli ef is considered a vital component towards a positive outcome of all forms of medical treatment i.e. Belief in the success of the treatment towards a positive outcome and the expectations in the efficiency of that treatment. Belief lies very central to the persuasive ultimate for the use of placebos. The fact that placebos act on the mind creates an important psychological consideration in their applied use in medicine. Hence more studies in the use of the linkage to the neural system may be appropriate. The US government are taking placebos more seriously and recently the US Food and Drug Agency requires that all new drugs undergo a double-blind, placebo control trial. (Edin 2010). These testing different patient responses to the new drug with the controlled drug or placebo. Medical practitioners have stated that the placebo effect has already made significant contributions in the treatment of ulcers, postoperative pain, seasickness, headaches, colds, arthritis and hypertension. In the treatment of depression statistics have illustrated as high as 70% of relief has been achieved by the use of placebos. This would suggest that a lot more is going on here than pure deception. The belief concept may well i nfluence the chemical releases within the body that are controlled by functions of the brain. Tests with depressive patients were conducted by doctors using brain scans and where there was an expectation by the patient that the condition would improve there was a marked increase in biological changes to the brain. Hence the biological stimulation of the brain is strongly linked to the potency of placebos. People who have been suffering postoperative pain have reported considerable improvement in pain reduction after a simple saline injection. These analgesic effects suggests suggest some form of reception by the brain; this has been referred to as activation of the endogenous pain-relief system of the brain (Connors W 2007). The brain itself manufactures morphine like substances called endorphins the brain can trigger or send these to those parts of the body experiencing pain. Hence placebos may be able to stimulate this part of the brain in order to enhance that stimulation process . Placebo affects are not limited purely too chemical or drug treatments, they have also been included in both surgery and physiological therapies. A summary of the many literature works on placebos leads towards a number of preliminary conclusions:- [1] A significant number of patient show a therapeutic response from the administration of a placebo [2] There seems to be no uniform practice that sets itself out as a prescribed means of treatment in this area [ 3] It appears that any object with therapeutic intent can invoke similar circumstances [4] The mechanism of the effects remains relatively unknown and the conditions in which it operates are unclear. (Wickramsehera 1988) CONCLUSIONS The advantage that supports the use of placebos are essentially threefold: [1] the mind over matter concept whereby the placebo acts as an assist to the bodys natural defence mechanism [2] the provision of a psychological boost or stimulus to the brain which may prove to be an important contribution to the overall recovery of the patient [3] A support to the central concept of belief which is known to be a major contributing factor towards recovery. The main disadvantages might be summarised as [1] In the area of chronic pain the patient may show an immediate spontaneous improvement and as such give cause to a false diagnosis of the problem [2] The element of deception may provide the patient with false hope or expectations and give rise to medical ethical considerations [3] The patient may provide the Doctor with erroneous information believing that the placebo has resolved the problem. This loses valuable time in the determination of the correct prognosis and could prove serious in certain cases. There is also the strong argument that placebos can become habit forming. One example being the use of valium for strong headaches. These may essentially provide temporary relief but they are certainly not an ongoing solution. It is the unsettling notion that people are getting medical treatment from unqualified practitioners. The concept of non-medically trained people prescribing any form of placebo implies that the patient is ill and as such this can be a powerful message to the patient. The action of medication is not just controlled by the drug companies as the pharmaceutical companies have to undergo extensive clinical trials before they can release a product to the market place. A lot of the controversy with the applied use of placebos is around the use of these in clinical trials. Many consider that the use of these is unethical but it raises the question as to whether the trials could be successful without them Arguments against the use of placebo groups in clinical trials have been based on opinion rather than evidence. Ethical issues have been raised, but these are contentious. (Martin Tramer 1998). The ethical consideration will continue to be debated in the medical profession but the continued use in clinical trials is likely to proceed at least for the foreseeable future In clinical settings where no gold standard treatment exists and where event rates vary widely, trial designs without placebo controls are unlikely to yield sensible results (Martin Tramer 1998). The concept of Doctors saying the placebo is a nuisance variable has equally been contested by the medical profession There has been sharp disagreement on this point, due to the fact that medical literature includes a great deal of testimony that the placebo effect routinely works 30 percent of the time, with Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard stating that it may work up to 90 percent of the time. (World Research Foundation 2011). 2015

Analysis of Economies Based on Data Into Stage 1, 2 and 3

Analysis of Economies Based on Data Into Stage 1, 2 and 3 Indranil Dhar Analysis of economies based on data into Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 Based on World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014/2015[1]. And the data provided in the spread sheet, the countries can be divided into: Factor Driven Economies (Stage 1)[2] Efficiency Driven Economies (Stage 2)[3] Innovation Driven Economies (Stage 3)[4] This distinction is primarily based upon GDP per Capita as well as share of exports of mineral goods in total exports.[5] Stage 1 Factor Driven Economies: Vietnam Myanmar Nicaragua Transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2 Botswana Stage 2 Efficiency Driven Economies Thailand Tunisia Transition from Stage 2 to Stage 3 Croatia Mauritius Stage 3 Innovation Driven Economies Greece Hence Competitive index of a stage 1 economy can be calculated as follows: = 0.6(Factory Driven Economies) + 0.35(Efficiency Driven Economies) +0.05 K- which is a constant for Innovation Driven Economies) Hence Competitive index of a stage 2 economy can be calculated as follows: = 0.5(Factory Driven Economies) + 0.45(Efficiency Driven Economies) +0.05 K- which is a constant for Innovation Driven Economies) Hence Competitive index of a stage 3 economy can be calculated as follows: = 0.2(Factory Driven Economies) + 0.5(Efficiency Driven Economies) +0.3 K- which is a constant for Innovation Driven Economies) Here 1st Pillar: Institutions (25%) Intellectual property protection Burden of Government regulation Here 2nd Pillar: Infrastructure (25%) Quality of Overall Infrastructure Here 3rd pillar: Macroeconomic environment (25%) Gross National Savings as a % of GDP( Here since all the parameters are in range of 1-7 with 1 being worst and 7 being best, I have modified the data within excel to showcase this( please refer Appendix A) Here 4th pillar: Health and primary education (25%) Quality of primary education Hence Factor Driven Economies = (Intellectual property protection+ Burden of Government regulation)/2(25%) + Quality of Overall Infrastructure (25%) + Gross National Savings as a % of GDP (25%) + Quality of primary education (25%) Here 5th pillar: Higher education and training (17%) Quality of maths and science education Here 6th pillar: Goods Market efficiency (17%) Trade Tariffs(Here since all the parameters are in range of 1-7 with 1 being worst and 7 being best, I have modified the data within excel to showcase this( please refer Appendix A) Here 9th pillar: Technological Readiness (17%) FDI and technology transfer (17%) Here Efficiency Driven Economies = (Quality of maths and science education (17%) + Goods Market efficiency (17%) + Technological Readiness (17%)) (Since information about other pillars are not present) We will analyse the countries at each stage with regards to its short term growth (up to 10-15 years) and long term growth (15-20yrs +) on the basis of the competitive index at their respective stages and the competitive index of their next higher stage. If the competitive index of a country at its own stage is high it means that the country is away from its steady state and hence it will have short term growth prospects. Similarly if the competitive index of a country is higher at its next stage it means it is ready for the next level and hence it has long term growth prospects. This is off course subject to the condition that the current growth parameters at its current stage are at a satisfactory level. Analysis of Stage 1 economies Since these are stage 1 economy the assumption here is more or less they have a similar production function though convergence law may not apply as these countries are having different economic, cultural, geographical, historical backgrounds. As Stage 1 economies, the growth rate is heavily dependent upon capital accumulation which in turn is dependent on high investment (savings rate). It will also depend upon primary education, quality of infrastructure, labour, and health and primary institutions more than secondary education or trade barriers or technological innovation. It will also depend if the country has reached its steady state at that production function level and at what level of capital accumulation. Only if it shows sustained growth i.e. it is far away from its steady state and its primary factors( competitive index at stage 1) is high, it can be evaluated to check if can increase its production function to the next higher level for which more importance will then be gi ven onto secondary education, trade barriers and technological advances( Competitive index 2). Also GDP growth of previous years gives a trend. Considering the above factors we can conclude that Vietnam will grow the fastest within the next 10-15 years (short term). As it shows favourable stats it can progress to the next higher stage in the next 20 years. Myanmar on the other hand seems to have achieved steady state at a very less capital. Since the rate of investment is less and its primary factors such as education and infrastructure is less, its growth prospects are less. With a high trade barrier and less secondary education and lesser technological advances it cannot graduate itself to a stage 2 economy in the next 20 years. Nicaragua has similar statistics to that of Myanmar. However its primary education, quality of infrastructure is higher which suggests a higher growth prospect. Since its trade barriers are less and technological parameters are high, it has more chances of long term growth than Myanmar. Overall, the ranking on the basis of long term growth is as follows: Vietnam Nicaragua Myanmar Analysis of Stage 2 economies Since these are stage 2 economies, these will be more dependent on the next higher production function curve which is higher education, trade barriers, and technological advances. Off course investment in infrastructure, institutions, primary education and capital accumulation will still remain important though not as high as they were for stage 1 economies. Botswana seems to be leading the pack but because it is highly dependent upon minerals mainly diamond mining which have finite years and are subject to market speculations[10], it will be ranked lower to that of Thailand due to the fact that it is lesser in secondary education and technology transfer. Thailand in fact can graduate to the next higher level in the next 20 years. Tunisia on the other hand due to its high trade barrier will have consistent slow growth rate at its current productivity levels and will not progress to the next higher level. Overall, the ranking on the basis of long term growth is as follows: Thailand Botswana Tunisia Analysis of Stage 3 economies Since these are already stage 3 economies, the determinant factor will be their distance from steady state. And this will be dependant on high total factor productivity factors such as technological innovation, efficiency, human capital, trade barriers more than capital accumulation or primary education or quality of infrastructure unless there is a big issue with those parameters. The competitive index of stage 3 sums up the critical factors and based on that we can say Mauritius is having this highest growth prospect followed by Croatia and Greece. Greece is having a recession which can suggest in a way that it has reached its steady state. Since it’s technological and efficiency factors are not very high, it will struggle to grow in both short as well as long term. Overall, the ranking on the basis of long term growth is as follows: Mauritius Croatia Greece Conclusion: Based on the above analysis, we can conclude that Vietnam is the most growing country whereas Greece is the least. The rankings are as follows: Vietnam Thailand Botswana Nicaragua Mauritius Tunisia Myanmar Croatia Greece Iron Law of convergence Convergence can only happen when the countries are similar in terms of geography, culture, history and other related parameters. Countries that can be clubbed together Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar Croatia and Greece Mauritius and Botswana In the case of Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, Vietnam can catch up with Thailand in the next 20-30 years. Similarly, Croatia will catch up with Greece within the next 10 years. And finally Botswana will catch up with Mauritius within next 10 years. [1] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Competitiveness_Report [3] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Competitiveness_Report [4] http://www.scribd.com/doc/154276062/National-Competitiveness-Report [5] http://openaccesslibrary.org/images/ULV227_Mark_Loo.pdf [6] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf [7] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf [8] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf [9] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf [10] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf [11] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf [12] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf

HARLEY DAVIDSON Essay -- essays research papers

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harley-Davidson is the largest market share holder of motorcycles over 750cc in the United States. After the expansion of our production and distribution capacity, we will be in the position to meet the increasing demand for our motorcycles and other products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growth potential appears very good especially in the overseas market. Gaining a larger market share in these area may require a further increase in production and distribution capacities. We must plan for expansion now and continue to grow as a company. COMPANY DESCRIPTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Milwaukee, William Harley, 21, and Arthur Davidson, 20, began experiments on taking the work out of bicycling. They were soon joined by Arthur’s brothers, Walter and William. Many changes were made to the engine design before its builders were satisfied. After the new looped from was finalized, they were ready to begin production. In 1903 they produced three motorcycles. Harley-Davidson erected its first building the current Juneau avenue site in 1906 and incorporated in 1907. In 1907 Harley-Davidson produced 150 motorcycles. SITUATION ANALYSIS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The motorcycle market over 750cc has been increasing over the last five years. The Harley-Davidson 1996 model year production line, sold though a world wide network of more than 1,000 dealers, includes 20 cruiser, factory custom and touring motorcycles, as well as police motorcycles. Harley-Davidson benefits form having one of the world’s most recognized and respected brand names and our motorcycle model names are among the best known in the industry: The Competition and Market share   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This chart shows the competition and market share for 1995 in the United States: Current Market Situation Overall   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Net sales for 1995 of $1.4 billion were $191.6 million, or 16.5%, higher than net sales for 1994. Net income and earnings per share from continuing operations were $111.1 million and $1.48, for 1995 as compared with $96.2 million and $1.26, for 1994. Net income and earnings per share from discontinued operations were $1.4 million and $.02, for 1995 as compared with $8.0 million and $.11, for 1994, which included a $4.6 million, or $.06 per-share, one-time tax benefit related to the legal reorganizat... ...Harley-Davidson dealerships), bringing the year-end total to approximately 150. In 1996, the Buell team will complete its study of the European sport/performance market, which is four times larger than its U.S. counterpart, to prepare for a possible future launch there. Promotion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of our advertising comes from bike rallies and special events that are held that are held across the United States. Our Rallies draw between 5,000 and 200,000 people. The majority of the attendants are Harley owners. Harley Davidson as an organization does very little mainstream advertising. BUDGETS CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Standards should be specified in terms of sales, and production. Costs should be identified and target cost levels specified to facilitate their control. Standards should be established in terms of consumer’s attitudes. Attitude standards, in terms of perceptions, and desires should be specified. Controls should be implemented and monitored by appropriate administrators. The president, vice-president, administrators, and other individuals should be responsible for controlling the marketing mix implemented.

Primal Instinct :: Free Essay Writer

Primal Instinct In the Lord of the Flies William Golding has a group of schoolboys crash on an island and become barbaric. The reason why the boys turn wild is because of their primal instinct to hurt others. This behavior is inherited from early ancestors killing to stay alive. Mans tendency towards violence, how people take sides and divide into groups, and the struggle for power are three ways mans behavior will generally occur. Each of these suggests that violence is a key factor to getting what they want. Mans primal instinct towards violence really shows when they are living without rules or realize that there are no authority figures to enforce any rules. Without having consequences for any actions that might be taken then they primal instinct of the boys begins to take over. Even though the fact of no punishments may be known in the back of ones mind there is still the thought of what’s right. â€Å"Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry and back again.† (Page 67) This is an example of how Roger knows it is wrong to hit someone with a rock but also knows that there are no punishments for anything. â€Å"The madness came into his eyes again. â€Å"I thought I might kill.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 55) This is showing how he lets his primal side take over his thoughts when he is hunting. He forgets about everything he had ever been told about what’s right because of his primal instinct to kill. He had an urge to hunt, his instincts were teaching him how. Even thought he really did now know how to hunt mans primal instincts helped him learn quickly. How people take sides and form groups shows how majority rules. The majority that rules needs a leader. This leader has to hold the rules but when the children’s primal instincts take over the control is lost but the majority still rules. â€Å"Let him be the chief with the trumpet thing.† (Page 24) This quote shows how all of the children are agreeing on this. Once one mentions it, the rest agree. If there is not anyone brave enough to mention something then no one will because they are all afraid that no one else will agree with them. â€Å"Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t be chief?† – â€Å"he looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen.

How to Communicate Effectively

The topics we have discussed this week relates to the video in ways that demonstrate how to communicate effectively and keep the focus of the audience on what the writer or the speaker is talking about. It teaches how to become a talented speaker and how to line up thoughts in the right perspective to gain trustworthiness from the particular audience that is welcomed by the subject chosen to speak about.This video was design to give everyone who watched it an idea of how to motivate himself s a public speaker. It gives ideas on how to enhance the power of the abilities a public speaker has on influencing people that are listening and it gives inspiration to those who the message touch in a special way. These are things in which we have discussed and relate largely on the speakers' ability on how well these tips are used to impact the ears of the listener. The most relevant practice in the video to me is the one that provides insight on how to win over the audience.First a speaker mus t hose a topic that the people want to hear about rather than picking something that appeases him. To get the crowd involved the speaker should ask questions that will allow the audience to think about the message that is being conveyed to produce a desire to continue learning more about the topic. One to attract the audience when publicly speaking is the ability of knowing what to wear to attract the attention of the crowd. I believe that the combination of dress wear and appearance of the speaker plays a major role in acquiring the attention of the audience.My advice about delivering an effective speech begins with attracting your audience. A speaker can capture the audience attention by taking advantage of the audience by giving them what they want. The speaker should do the homework and research needed to provide accurate and dependable information to prove his findings on any given topic he decides to speak about. Accuracy will help influence the listeners and persuade them int o hearing the speaker deliver the entire message. How to Communicate Effectively Good evening everybody, I hope you enjoy my speech. My topic today is communication. My speech is titled â€Å"How to communicate effectively. † Because I am a poor communicator, especially to communicate in English. Today my purpose is to hope you all can become effective communicators. Let's discuss effective communication techniques. Getting your pointacross and letting people know how you feel is very important. Sometimes bad decisions are made and people come to the wrong conclusions because of poor communication. Therefore, good communication can help you succeed in life. Here's some advice on how to communicate effecively. First, communication is transmitting a message. Communication is a process of sharing information. It's the exchange of thoughts or ideas. Communication is a powerful tool. It's getting a message across. It's also receiving facts or inofrmation. Effective communication skills are essential. Effective communication leads to success. Good communicators are always in high deamand. Why good communicators are in high deamand, because many employers are willing to pay big salaries to good communicators. Second, the key to communication is clarity. We should always make communication clear and direct. We should never be fancy or verbose. Always keep the message simple. Keep it specific and to the point. Keep it very easy to understand. Say only what's important. Say what's relevant and practical. Keep your message detailed but brief. Third, the goal of communication is understanding. The message must be understood. The audience must comprehend. To do that , you need to know your audience. You must know your listerner's background. You must tailor your message and style to suit them. Choose your words carefully. Remember â€Å"less is more. Sometimes, less of something is much better. Remember â€Å"quality is more important than quantity. † Finally, follow these tips to communicate like a pro! Practice every chance you get. Practice is the key to learning. Good communicators repeat the main message to make it more understandable. They reinforce the meaning through repetition. They always ask for feedback to make sure and reconfirm to themselves that they wre understood. They repeat the main idea to make it more understandable. Good communicators also use body language. Every society has a unique physical language. I's important that you're aware of this. Most people use nonverval communication. Most of the time it's subconscious. Good communicators use hand gestures and emotional expressions. They use various speaking tones to get attention. Body language expresses what's really going on. You can learn a lot about a person. Just observe themany sinals they're sending you. The arms and legs are a telling source. We must be familiar with basic body language. In conclusion, organize your thoughts before you speak. Think twice before you open your mouth. Always keep the message simple and clear. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Never lie and never mislead anyone. Say it with style, confidence and enthusiasm. Make sure your're understonnd. Make sure you practice a lot and rehearse. You'll soon be anefficient communicator. In fact, to say is one thing to do is another. It's easy to say but uneasy to work. As you know I am a bad communicator, especially in English to commuicate. All of my friends and family member didn't know what I was saying. All the feedback I have are â€Å"Please say that again. I'm a little confused. Or I hope you can explain it more clearly to me. † How poor I am. That's why I think good communication is very important. Hope everyone become effective communicators.

Math Achievement Essay

Abstract This paper outlines the author’s purpose for reviewing literature on gender differences in mathematics education. An overview of research findings on gender and mathematics from industrial societies (USA, Australia, and UK) and from some developing countries in Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, and Botswana) is then presented. Some causal factors for the existence of gender differences in mathematics achievement are critiqued and the link between mathematics and social entities (democracy and power) are challenged. The implications of the above for research on girls learning mathematics in Botswana (and Africa) are finally suggested. Introduction Literature review should not be considered as merely part of the requirements in scholarly enterprises, but as a critical undertaking in which the investigator exercises a constant scepticism on an issue of interest. In this paper, literature review is used as a process to critique the conscious and unconscious assumptions of scholarly research on gender differentials in mathematics education. It serves as a qualitative analysis to determine how these assumptions force the definition of problems and findings of such scholarly research efforts. The paper examines literature on research studies which have dealt with gender differentials in mathematics classroom dynamics. The disenfranchisement of girls in mathematics learning discourses and girls’ motivational orientations in mathematics are important issues for the human development efforts in Botswana. The paper draws upon literature from  Western countries, specifically the USA, the UK and Australia where research on gender differences in mathematics has been considerable and influential. The socio-political, cultural and socioeconomic contexts in these countries, however, differ from those of Southern Africa in many aspects of development (education, technology, economic, etc.), but there are possibilities to draw parallels, albeit in a limited way. Through considering parallels and differences between Western industrial cultures and Africa, the paper examines issues pertinent to African girls affecting their education. The literature analysis is against the backdrop of problems such as HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies faced by girls within African communities. Botswana (like most of Africa) is grappling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic; high levels of unemployment and poverty (BIDPA, 2000). The African Economic Commission (1999:5) states that: Data from Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe indicate that girls 15 to 19 years old have an (HIV/AIDS) infection rate four to ten times that of boys in the same group. This is the age group within which research on gender and mathematics has tended to focus. According to Okojie (2001), the Botswana study, commissioned by the African Academy of Sciences Research Programme, indicated the rate of teenage pregnancy being higher than that of most other African countries. HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancies and lack of interest in mathematics are amongst real problems that girls in the developing world face which must be taken on board when embarking on a sociological research analysis involving gender differences. Notwithstanding these developments, the question of how to motivate students in the classroom is a leading concern for teachers of all disciplines. Student motivation becomes especially relevant to mathematics education in the light of recurring questions about how to get more students interested and involved in the subject. As we proceed in the new millennium, Botswana is plagued with significant high-school dropout rates and declining interest in mathematics among secondary school students. Educators and policy makers  need to understand the educational techniques that may ‘suffocate students’ interest in learning’ (Boggiano and Pittman, 1992), then work to rekindle that interest. This paper is concerned with the use of mathematics as a ‘filter’ for further education and career choices. This affects girls more as they tend to shy away from the study of higher level mathematics, science and engineering as reflected in the University of Botswana yearly intake (Fact Books 2002; 2003; 2004/5; 2005/6). The literature analysis proceeds from an articulation of girls’ reported achievement tendencies within mathematics learning discourses in the developed world and explores the situation in Africa, particularly Southern Africa, with a special focus on Botswana. Gender differences in mathematics education The developed world’s perspective on gender and mathematics Contemporary research studies reflect scholars’ maturing view of the complexity of causation of differences between males and females in mathematics education. As Fennema (2000) rightly points out, from around 1970, ‘sex differences’ index was used to imply that any differences found were biologically, and thus, genetically determined, immutable and not changeable. During the 70’s and 80’s ‘sex-related differences’ criterion was often used to indicate that while the behaviour of concern was clearly related to the sex of the subjects, it was not necessarily genetically determined. Latey, ‘gender differences’ refers to social or environmental causation of differences that are observed between the sexes. This paper critically reviews work by leading researchers in the era of this new understanding of gender differences. According to Leder (1996) there were probably more research studies published on gender and mathematics than any other area between 1970 and 1990. Fennema (1993, 2000) concluded that while many studies had been poorly analysed and/or included sexist interpretations, there was evidence to support the existence of differences between girls’ and boys’ learning of mathematics, particularly in activities that required complex reasoning; that the differences increased at about the onset of adolescence and were recognised by many leading mathematics  educators. Salmon (1998) concurred with the notion that gender differences increase at secondary school level, particularly in situations that require complex reasoning. In the absence of an African position disputing such views, it suffices to assume that similar differences might occur in the Southern African c ontexts. Studies by Fennema and Sherman (1977, 1978) documented sex-related differences in achievement and participation, and found gender differences in the election of advanced level mathematics courses. They hypothesised that if females participated in advanced mathematics classes at the same rate that males did, gender differences would disappear. Stanley and Benbow (1980) used interpretations of some of their studies as a refutation of this ‘differential course-taking hypothesis’. They argued that gender differences in mathematics were genetic, a claim which was widely attacked and disproved, but whose publication had unfortunate repercussions (Jacobs and Eccles, 1985). Fennema and Sherman (1977, 1978) identified as critical, beliefs about the usefulness of, and confidence in learning mathematics, with males providing evidence that they were more confident about learning mathematics and believed that mathematics was, and would be, more useful to them than did females. There was evidence that while young men did not strongly stereotype mathematics as a male domain, they did believe much more strongly than did young women that mathematics was more appropriate for males than for females. The importance of these variables (confidence, usefulness and male stereotyping), their long-term influence, and their differential impact on females and males was re-confirmed by many other studies (Hyde et al., 1990; Tartre and Fennema, 1991; Leder, 1992). Earlier, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) had reported differences between females and males in spatial skills, particularly spatial visualization or the ability to visualize movements of geometric figures in one’s mind. The Fennema-Sherman studies and the Fennema and Tartre (1985) longitudinal study investigated spatial skills or spatial visualisation. They found that while spatial visualisation was positively correlated with mathematics achievement  (that does not indicate causation), not all girls were handicapped by inadequate spatial skills, except those who scored very low on spatial tasks. Fennema (1993) suggested that an appropriate curriculum redesign could compensate for these weak skills. Other studies (Kerns and Berenbaum, 1991; Voyer, Voyer and Bryden, 1995) reported boys outperforming girls on tests of visual/spatial abilities: the ability, that is, to draw inferences about or to otherwise mentally manipulate pictorial information. The male advantage in spatial abilities was reportedly not large, but detectable by middle childhood and persisted across the life span. Casey, Nuttall and Pezaris (1997) concluded that sex differences in visual/spatial abilities and the problem-solving strategies they support contribute to sex differences in arithmetic reasoning. Although they were not particularly innovative nor offered insights that others were not suggesting, the Fennema-Sherman studies had a major impact since they were published when the concern with gender and mathematics was growing internationally. They were identified by Walberg & Haertel (1992) and others as among the most often quoted social science and educational research studies during the 80’s and 90’s. The problems of gender and mathematics were defined and documented in terms of the study of advanced mathematics courses, the learning of mathematics, and selected related variables that appeared relevant both to students’ selection of courses and learning of mathematics. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales have been widely used as guidelines for planning interventions and research studies. Campbell (1986) found that girls’ lack of confidence in themselves as mathematics learners, their perception of mathematics as difficult, and their view that mathematics is a male activity, all had impact on girls’ attitudes, achievement, and participation in advanced courses. In a longitudinal study of sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades, Tartre and Fennema (1991) found that, for girls, viewing mathematics as a male domain was correlated to mathematics achievement. Girls in single-sex schools or in out-of-school mathematics projects – who did not see mathematics as an exclusively male domain tended to have higher mathematics success. When this dynamic was changed to make mathematics accessible to both girls and boys, girls’ interest and involvement were found to rise. Reyes and Stanic (1988) and Secada (1992) have argued that socioeconomic status and ethnicity interact with gender to influence mathematics learning. Forgasz and Leder (1998) share the view that gender differentials in participation rates are associated with the interaction of positive attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and socioeconomic status. The transferability of these findings, based on Western cultural concepts, poses a problem for African contexts. Socioeconomic status indicators in Botswana for instance, somewhat differ from the UK model and need be appropriately contextualised. The question of ethnicity also becomes problematic in the Botswana context since about 85% of the population is of Tswana ethnic origin. Moreover, ethnic differences have never been of significance and might not necessarily affect gender differences in mathematics in the same way as in Western contexts. Trends of gender differences in mathematics from the United Kingdom The gender gap in performance throughout the subjects in the United Kingdom has been shifting in favour of girls since the early 1990s. In national curriculum tests and at higher level GCSE grades, girls outperform boys. For example, in 1997, 49% of girls achieved five or more higher grade GCSEs compared with 40% boys (DfEE, 1997). However, at the lower levels of GCSE attainment, the gender gap is smaller in percentage point terms. In 1997, 8.8% of boys and 6.5% of girls failed to gain GCSE qualifications (DfEE, 1997). These figures show some of the paradoxes in gender and attainment. Males gain most of the higher education top awards but the trend is for girls in general to do better in public examinations than boys – differences which are apparent in the earlier years of schooling. Consequently, current concerns about schooling are now more related to boys’ underachievement (as demonstrated in public examinations) than to that of girls. The question is whether such outcomes at school and higher education reflect approaches to assessment, methods of teaching, and/or expectations of society. The OfSTED (2003) report found that boys progress more than girls in mathematics throughout schools. Research indicated that in mathematics the gap between boys and girls attaining level 4 and above at the end of Key Stage 2 was only one percentage point, with boys at 73% and girls at 72%; however, 32% of boys achieved level 5 and above whilst only 26% girls did (OfSTED, 2003:13). According to OfSTED (2003:14) although the differences are smaller than those in English, it is a continuous trend and it is therefore still vital to understand why girls perform better in certain subjects such as literacy and underachieve in comparison to boys in mathematics. One key reason may be the perception girls have of this subject area. The 1998 OfSTED Report on ‘Recent Research on Gender and Education Performance’ stated that â€Å"science, mathematics, technology, ICT and PE are rated as ‘masculine’ by pupils and preferred by boys† (Arnot et al., 1998:31). Girls rated English, humanities, music, PSE and RE as feminine and preferred by girls. However, Archer and Macrae (1991) are cited in the same OfSTED report suggesting that mathematics has become more gender neutral perhaps reflected in the smaller gap between genders than that of literacy. The reason the gap has become smaller may be because girls are more prepared to tackle ‘masculine’ subjects. Public concern about the underperformance of boys has risen since the early 1990s as girls outstripped their male classmates academically. Although the proportion getting five C’s or better increased from 38% in 1996 to 46% in 2003, the gender gap remained steady at 10 percentage points in favour of girls. Both boys and girls in deprived areas got much lower grades than their more advantaged peers. But while girls in poor areas were improving faster than those in affluent areas, the gap between rich and poor boys remained constant. Dr. Deborah Wilson, Bristol University expert on the gender gap in schools, argued that the differences are likely to be a result of factors outside school: â€Å"The effect of poverty on exam results is greater than the effect of gender. If we focus more on the reasons for poverty affecting performance we might get better results for both boys and girls†Ã‚  (TES, 13 August 2004). According to Mendick (2002), in England, the evolving gendered patterns of attainment in mathematics need to be juxtaposed with the unchanging gendered patterns of participation in the subject. There are very few remaining differences between the attainment of male and female students in either GCSE, AS, or A-level mathematics examinations (taken at ages 16+, 17+ and 18 respectively) (Gorard et al., 2001; Guardian, 2002a, 2002b). Although boys are still more likely to secure the top A* and A grades at GCSE and A-level respectively, the differences are small and getting smaller. In contrast to these shifting patterns of attainment, the decision to continue with advanced mathematics remains highly gendered in favour of boys. This polarization persists despite decades of feminist intervention; as Shaw (1995:107) argues: â€Å"the most striking feature of subject choice is that the freer it is, the more gendered it is.† In fact, from 1994 to 2002, the proportion of the total number of 17 and 18 year-olds entered for A-level mathematics in England who are male showed little change, dropping only slightly from 65% to 63% (Government Statistical Service, 1995 to 2002; Guardian, 2002b). This greater participation of males in mathematics courses becomes more pronounced as you go up the levels from A-level, to undergraduate, and then to postgraduate, and is reflected in the larger number of men than women working in mathematically-oriented fields. Mendick (2002:1) argued: The gender gap in maths performance in this country, while still marginally in favour of boys, is continuing to narrow (Smithers, 2000; Gorard et al., 2001). However, the gender gap in participation in maths remains in spite of more than two decades of feminist initiatives for change. Moreover, maths becomes increasingly male dominated as we progress from sixth-form (ages 16 to 19) to undergraduate levels, and from undergraduate to postgraduate levels (Boaler, 2000)†¦ girls continue to disproportionately opt out of maths, a powerful area of the curriculum that provides a ‘critical filter’ (Sells, 1980) to high status areas of academia  and employment. The above suggests that although girls are doing better than boys overall across the subject areas in the UK, they still fall behind when choosing mathematics at higher levels of the education system. Mendick also portrays mathematics as a powerful subject, a signifier of intelligence that acts as a ‘critical filter’ controlling entry to higher status areas of academia and employment. Thus, for those concerned with social justice, it is pertinent to ask how it is that people come to choose mathematics and in what ways this process is gendered, which is the point of concern for this paper. According to Bevan (2005), the findings from the review of existing research included evidence that girls outperform boys in mathematics up to the beginning of A-level, but that the differences are small, and are not consistent across all components of the subject; attitudes to mathematics vary according to gender; there are significant differences in the expectations of boys and girls regarding their own performance in mathematics; boys and girls differ in their typical learning styles; and that ability grouping impacts differently on boys and girls. Bevan’s (2005) interviews revealed that teachers with very limited exposure to formal research were able to articulate judgments about gender differences in learning mathematics based solely on classroom experience; and that their intuitive judgments were often broadly correct, but tended to exaggerate the extent of any real differences. Presently there is no comparative research concerning Botswana teachers’ judgments on gender differences in the learning of mathematics. Sparkes (1999) pointed out that the gender gap in the UK was related to a variety of social issues including: parents’ educational attainment, growing up dependent on an income support recipient/eligible for free school meals, housing tenure and conditions, family structure (such as lone parent family), parental interest, involvement, practice, etc. These trends are different from the situation in Botswana and any comparisons need a contextual analysis of the situation. Perspectives from Africa with specific reference to Southern Africa Gender differences in mathematics education in developing countries are one critical area of research that needs further exploration. There is limited information about the status of contextual research on women and girls in those settings in relationship to their mathematical education. As Kitetu (2004:6-7) acknowledges from an African view: Unfortunately, while a lot of gender programmes have been carried out, not much research has been done within the classroom in the continent. Our understanding of gender in classroom practices is most often based on what has been studied in Western Europe and North America. I would like to argue that there is always a cultural angle in studies of social practices. Fortunately, there are emerging research efforts in the area of mathematics as the African continent begins to face up to the realities of gender differences in classroom practices. The persistent patriarchal attitudes in Africa tended to prevent researchers from problematising the gender issue. Investigating gender differences and Black South African learners’ attitudes towards mathematics, Mahlomaholo and Sematle (2004:4-5) reported that: The differences between boys and girls were very clear at all levels of analysis†¦ For example they (girls) said it was because of parental pressure/choice or because their friends were studying the discipline, or because their teachers instructed them to study mathematics. Others even went to the extent of citing chance or fate as responsible for them taking mathematics as an area of study†¦ They were apologetic and not taking responsibility on themselves†¦ They even expressed their embarrassment at not being good at mathematics, they also expressed the fear for their teachers whom they compared to lions†¦ they tended to agree that mathematics is for all and not for a particular gender. For the girls in Mahlomaholo and Sematle (2004:6-7), mathematics was â€Å"too  difficult† and  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦they were fed up with the subject and†¦ cannot be expected to continue with a subject that they were failing so dismally†¦ did not even have an interest in the subject as it demanded too much work and time to study while the boys saw much value in the discipline†¦There is no reason at all why some human beings do not have appropriate views regarding the study of mathematics, it is only because the views of a culture and a milieu that undermines women speak through them and have manifested themselves firmly in their minds. In their study of three successful women in mathematics related careers, Mahlomaholo and Mathamela (2004:3) reported the prevalence of a conventional patriarchal approach in the South African society. They argued that: It tends to privilege male interests and their privileged positions at the expense of women through the belief that the status quo where male dominate is natural and given†¦ Schools tend to operate in line with this approach. To underscore how the three women persevered in mathematics within the hostile cultural attitudes, Mahlomaholo and Mathamela (2004:7) argued that: †¦socialisation and upbringing, including home and family background, as well as parental support, were identified as factors that enabled the three women to go beyond the limitations of their situations. Mahlomaholo and Mathamela were convinced that beyond contextual and social factors the women had strong conceptions of themselves. They had self-belief in their abilities and a love for mathematics, which could not be dampened either by teachers’ negative remarks or the social structure’s negative stereotypes. The study identified social contextual factors and intra-psychic motivational factors as responsible for enabling female learners of mathematics to either excel or fail at the subject. Cassy (2004:5-6) reported from Mozambique that: â€Å"Although the main aim of the  education policy of the country is to promote, among others, gender equity in access to all education levels, there are more females than males, who do not benefit from this. This gender discrepancy increases over the education levels, being more at the tertiary level and particularly in mathematics and its related fields.† Cassy found significant differences between the patterns of attitudes towards mathematics expressed by boys and girls in which boys rated their attitudes more positively than girls did. Boys were more confident in working in mathematics than girls, and girls were more convinced that mathematics was a male domain than boys. Furthermore, girls were reported to believe much more than boys that mathematics is more appropriate for males than for females. Both girls and boys were found to agree that mathematics was useful. These findings are not different from what has been reported in Western research studies. Perhaps this was to be expected since the study used the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale with its robust Western cultural questioning style. Cassy (2004:6) acknowledges that: â€Å"the majority of girls did not like the connotation of the items.† This calls for a more contextualised itemisation of the scales adopted from Western research contexts. Chacko (2004) presented another study from a Southern African perspective on the problems of students in learning mathematics and the approaches used in teaching mathematics in South Africa. Chacko reported no differences between girls and boys in terms of liking the subject. Chacko (2004:4) wrote: †¦ they do like mathematics and would like to do well in it but for them it is a very difficult subject. This interest in doing mathematics came out more prominently in township schools where they considered it important for future jobs. The South African students’ belief that mathematics is difficult was found among secondary school students in Zimbabwe (Chacko, 2000). Chacko (2004:4-5) further argues that students were encouraged to do well in mathematics because â€Å"their goals in life are something that is urging them to like mathematics which according to Hannula (2002) is ‘the value of  mathematics – related goals in the student’s global goal structure.’† It seems, from Chacko’s arguments that the liking of mathematics was not intrinsic to the students, but driven by the urge to do well in the subject because of the need and importance it presented for their future trajectories. According to Chacko (2004:8), girls in township schools seemed to spend more of out of school time on household chores, which could affect their studies. The same could be said about Botswana girls as Chacko (2004:5-6) further argued: †¦ chores took most of their time while school work was at the end when they were already tired to concentrate. This is more a developing country problem where chores in the house are kept for girls, which could affect the time they spent on learning and their vision for the future. †¦ Some of the girls in the township schools said that when they do not find time to complete homework, due to the reprimand from teachers, they would rather miss school. Once they miss school, it becomes difficult to catch up, which eventually lead to failure and drop out. Some of these problems are unique to the African contexts, and cannot be ignored when embarking on research on gender and mathematics. Chacko (2004:8) reported that the majority of students wanted mathematics to be made fun and to be related to life where they can see its use. â€Å"Girls in particular would like to see the content related to situations in life where these could be applied.† Some reported being shy and afraid to tell teachers that they did not understand, to avoid being ridiculed in public (by fellow classmates or teachers). Some of these issues are distinctive features of gender differences in African contexts which distinguish them from those of Western industrial societies. From the researcher’s experiences of teaching in secondary schools in Botswana and Nottingham (UK), there seems to be common ground with Chacko’s arguments. Over the years there have been efforts to address the gender disparities in  education in Africa, with a particular concern on the enrolment of girls, which for years has been very low. As Kitetu (2004) put it: The imbalance in boys’ and girls’ participation in schooling was linked to the age-long belief in male superiority and female subordination. This situation was further explained as aggravated by patriarchal practices, which gave girls no traditional rights to succession†¦ encouraged preference to be given to the education of a boy rather than of a girl. These small-scale investigations are recent efforts towards a better understanding of gender differentials in mathematics from an African perspective.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 7

She emerged on the rooftop. There was a sort of roof garden here-anyway, a lot of scraggly plants in large wooden tubs. There was also some dirty patio furniture and other odds and ends. But the main feature was a small structure that sat on the roof the way a house sits on a street. Morgead's home. The penthouse. It was as stark and unlovely as the rest of the building, but it had a great view and it was completely private. There were no other tall buildings nearby to look down on it. Jez moved stealthily toward the door. Her feet made no noise on the pitted asphalt of the roof, and she was in a state of almost painfully heightened awareness. In the old days sneaking up on another gang member had been a game. You got to laugh at them if you could startle them, and they got to be furious and humiliated. Today it wasn't a game. Jez started toward the warped wooden door-then stopped. Doors were trouble. Morgead would have been an idiot not to have rigged it to alert him to intruders. Cat-quiet, she headed instead for a narrow metal ladder that led to the roof of the wooden structure. Now she was on the real top of the building. The only thing higher was a metal flagpole without a She moved noiselessly across the new roof. At the far edge she found herself looking four stories straight down. And directly below her there was a window. An open window. Jez smiled tightly. Then she hooked her toes over the four-inch lip at the edge of the roof and dropped gracefully forward. She grabbed the top of the window in mid-dive and hung suspended, defying gravity like a bat attached upside down. She looked inside. And there he was. Lying on a futon, asleep. He was sprawled on his back, fully clothed in jeans, high boots, and a leather jacket. He looked good. Just like the old days, Jez thought. When the gang would stay out all night riding their bikes and hunting or fighting or partying, and then come home in the morning to scramble into clothes for school. Except Morgead, who would smirk at them and then collapse. He didn't have parents or relatives to keep him from skipping. I'm surprised he's not wearing his helmet, too, she thought, pulling herself back up to the roof. She picked up the fighting stick, maneuvered it into the window, then let herself down again, this time hanging by her hands. She slid in without making a noise. Then she went to stand over him. He hadn't changed. He looked exactly as she remembered, except younger and more vulnerable because he was asleep. His face was pale, making his dark hair seem even darker. His lashes were black crescents on his cheeks. Evil and dangerous, Jez reminded herself. It annoyed her that she had to remind herself of what Morgead was. For some reason her mind was throwing pictures at her, scenes from her childhood while she was living here in San Francisco with her Uncle Bracken. A five-year-old Jez, with shorter red hair that looked as if it had never been combed, walking with a little grimy-faced Morgead, hand in hand. An eight-year-old Jez with two skinned knees, scowling as a businesslike Morgead pulled wood splinters out of her legs with rusty tweezers. A seven-year-old Morgead with his face lit up in astonishment as Jez persuaded him to try the human thing called ice cream†¦. Stop it, Jez told her brain flatly. You might as well give up, because it's no good. We were friends then-well, some of the time-but we're enemies now. He's changed. I've changed. He'd kill me in a second now if it would suit his purpose. And I'm going to do what has to be done. She backed up and poked him lightly with the stick. â€Å"Morgead.† His eyes flew open and he sat up. He was awake instantly, like any vampire, and he focused on her without a trace of confusion. Jez had changed her grip on the stick and was standing ready in case he went straight into an attack. But instead, a strange expression crossed his face. It went from startled recognition into something Jez didn't understand. For a moment he was simply staring at her, eyes big, chest heaving, looking as if he were caught in between pain and happiness. Then he said quietly, â€Å"Jez.† â€Å"Hi, Morgead.† â€Å"You came back.† Jez shifted the stick again. â€Å"Apparently.† He got up in one motion. â€Å"Where the hell have you been?† Now he just looked furious, Jez noted. Which was easier to deal with, because that was how she remembered him. â€Å"I can't tell you,† she said, which was perfectly true, and would also annoy the life out of him. It did. He shook his head to get dark hair out of his eyes-it was always disheveled in the morning, Jez remembered-and glared at her. He was standing easily: not in any attack posture, but with the relaxed readiness that meant he could go flying in any direction at any moment. Jez kept half her mind on watching his leg muscles. â€Å"You can't tell me? You disappear one day without any kind of warning, without even leaving a note†¦ you leave the gang and me and just completely vanish and nobody knows where to find you, not even your uncle .. . and now you reappear again and you can't tell me where you were?† He was working himself into one of his Extremely Excited States, Jez realized. She was surprised; she'd expected him to stay cooler and attack hard. â€Å"What did you think you were doing, just cutting out on everybody? Did it ever occur to you that people would be worried about you? That people would think you were dead?† It didn't occur to me that anyone would care, Jez thought, startled. Especially not you. But she couldn't say that. â€Å"Look, I didn't mean to hurt anybody. And I can't talk about why I went. But I'm back now-â€Å" â€Å"You can't just come back!† Jez was losing her calm. Nothing was going the way she'd expected; the things she'd scripted out to say weren't getting said. â€Å"I know I can't just come back-â€Å" â€Å"Because it doesn't work that way!† Morgead was pacing now, tossing hair out of his eyes again as he turned to glare at her. â€Å"Blood in, blood out. Since you're apparently not dead, you abandoned us. You're not allowed to do that! And you certainly can't expect to just walk back in and become my second again-â€Å" â€Å"I don't!† Jez yelled. She had to shut him up. â€Å"I have no intention of becoming your second-in-command!† she said when he finally paused. â€Å"I came to challenge you as leader.† Morgead's jaw dropped. Jez let her breath out. That wasn't exactly how she'd planned to say it. But now, seeing his shock, she felt more in control. She leaned casually against the wall, smiled at him, and said smoothly, ‘I was leader when I left, remember.† â€Å"You†¦ have got to be †¦ joking.† Morgead stared at her. â€Å"You expect to waltz back in here as leader?† â€Å"If I can beat you. I think I can. I did it once.† He stared for another minute, seeming beyond words. Then he threw back his head and laughed. It was a scary sound. When he looked at her again, his eyes were bright and hard. â€Å"Yeah, you did. I've gotten better since then.† Jez said three words. â€Å"So have I.† And with that, everything changed. Morgead shifted position-only slightly, but he was now in a fighting stance. Jez felt adrenaline flow through her own body. The challenge had been issued and accepted; there was nothing more to say. They were now facing each other ready to fight. And this she could deal with. She was much better at fighting than at playing with words. She knew Morgead in this mood; his pride and his skill had been questioned and he was now absolutely determined to win. This was very familiar. Without taking his eyes from her, he reached out and picked a fighting stick from the rack behind him. Japanese oak, Jez noted. Heavy, well-seasoned, resilient. Good choice. The fire-hardened end was very pointy. He wouldn't try to use that first, though. First, he would go for disarming her. The simplest way to do this was to break the wrist of her dominant hand. After that he'd go for critical points and nerve centers. He didn't play around at this. A minute change in Morgead's posture alerted her, and then they were both moving. He swung his stick up and down in a perfect arc, aiming for her right wrist. Jez blocked easily with her own stick and felt the shock as wood clashed with wood. She instantly changed her grip and tried for a trap, but he whipped his stick out of the way and was facing her again as if he'd never moved in the first place. He smiled at her. He's right. He's gotten better. A small chill went through Jez, and for the first time she worried about her ability to beat him. Because I have to do it without killing him, she thought. She wasn't at all sure he had the same concern about not killing her. â€Å"You're so predictable, Morgead,† she told him. â€Å"I could fight you in my sleep.† She feinted toward his wrist and then tried to sweep his legs out from underneath him. He blocked and tried for a trap. â€Å"Oh, yeah? And you hit like a four-year-old. You couldn't take me down if I stood here and let you.† They circled each other warily. The snakewood stick was warm in Jez's hands. It was funny, some distant part of her mind thought irrelevantly, how the most humble and lowly of human weapons was the most dangerous to vampires. But it was also the most versatile weapon in the world. With a stick, unlike a knife or gun or sword, you could fine-tune the degree of pain and injury you caused. You could disarm and control attackers, and-if the circumstances required it-you could inflict pain without permanently injuring them. Of course if they were vampires, you could also kill them, which you couldn't do with a knife or gun. Only wood could stop the vampire heart permanently, which was why the fighting stick was the weapon of choice for vampires who wanted to hurt each other†¦ and for vampire hunters. Jez grinned at Morgead, knowing it was not a particularly nice smile. Her feet whispered across the worn oak boards of the floor. She and Morgead had practiced here countless times, measuring themselves against each other, training themselves to be the best. And it had worked. They were both masters of this most deadly weapon. But no fight had ever mattered as much as this one. â€Å"Next you're going to try for a head strike,† she informed Morgead coolly. â€Å"Because you always do.† â€Å"You think you know everything. But you don't know me anymore. I've changed,† he told her, just as calmly-and went for a head strike. â€Å"Psyche,† he said as she blocked it and wood clashed with a sharp whack. â€Å"Wrong.† Jez twisted her stick sharply, got leverage on his, and whipped it down, holding it against his upper thighs. â€Å"Trap.† She grinned into his face. And was startled for a moment. She hadn't been this close to him in a long time. His eyes-they were so green, gem-colored, and full of strange light. For just an instant neither of them moved; then-weapons down, their gazes connected. Their faces were so close their breath mingled. Then Morgead slipped out of the trap. â€Å"Don't try that stuff,† he said nastily. â€Å"What stuff?† The moment her stick was free of his, she snapped it up again, reversing her grip and thrusting toward his eyes. â€Å"You know what stuff!† He deflected her thrust with unnecessary force. â€Å"That I'm Jez and I'm so wild and beautiful' stuff. That ‘Why don't you just drop your stick and let me hit you because it'll be fun' stuff.† â€Å"Morgead†¦ what are you†¦ talking about?† In between the words she attacked, a strike to his throat and then one to his temple. He blocked and evaded-which was just what she wanted. Evasion. Retreat. She was crowding him into a corner. â€Å"That's the only way you won before. Trying to play on people's feelings for you. Well, it won't work anymore!† He countered viciously, but it didn't matter. Jez blocked with a whirlwind of strikes of her own, pressing him, and then he had no choice but to retreat until his back was against the corner. She had him. She had no idea what he meant about playing on people's feelings, and she didn't have time to think about it. Morgead was dangerous as a wounded tiger when he was cornered. His eyes were glowing emerald green with sheer fury, and there was a hardness to his features that hadn't been there last year. He does hate me, Jez thought. Hugh was wrong. He's hurt and angry and he absolutely hates me. The textbook answer was to use that emotion against him, to provoke him and get him so mad that he gave her an opening. Some instinct deep inside Jez was worried about that, but she didn't listen. â€Å"Hey, all's fair, right?† she told him softly. â€Å"And what do you mean, it won't work? I've got you, haven't I?† She flashed out a couple of quick attacks, more to keep him occupied than anything else. â€Å"You're caught, and you're going to have to let down your guard sometime.† The green eyes that had been luminous with fury suddenly went cold. The color of glacier ice. â€Å"Unless I do something unexpected,† he said. â€Å"Nothing you do is unexpected,† she said sweetly. But her mind was telling her that provoking him had been a mistake. She had hit some nerve, and he was stronger than he'd been a year ago. He didn't lose his temper under pressure the way he'd used to. He just got more determined. Those green eyes unnerved her. Move in hard, she thought. All out. Go for a pressure point. Numb his arm- But before she could do anything, a wave of Power hit her. It sent her reeling. She'd never felt anything exactly like it. It came from Morgead, a Shockwave of telepathic energy that struck her like a physical thing. It knocked her back two steps and made her struggle for balance. It left the air crackling with electricity and a faint smell of ozone. Jez's mind spun. How had he done that? â€Å"It's not hard,† Morgead said in a calm, cold voice that went with his eyes. He was out of the corner by now, of course. For a moment Jez thought he was reading her thoughts, but then she realized her question must be written all over her face. ‘It's something I discovered after you left,† he went on. â€Å"All it takes is practice.† If you're telepathic, Jez thought. Which I'm not anymore. The Night People are getting stronger, developing more powers, she thought. Well, Hugh had been right on that one. And she was in trouble now. Whack! That was Morgead going for a side sweep. He'd noticed her lack of balance. Jez countered automatically, but her head wasn't clear and her body was ringing with pain. He'd shaken her, distracted her. â€Å"As you said, all's fair,† Morgead said, with a small, cold smile on his lips. â€Å"You have your weapons. I have mine.† And then he threw another of those Shockwaves at her. Jez was better braced for it now, but it still rocked her on her feet, took her attention off her weapon- Just long enough for her to screw up and let him in. He drove upward to catch her stick from below. Then he twisted, sweeping her stick in a circle, forcing her off balance again, trying to topple her backward. As Jez fought to recover, he struck to her elbow. Hard. Wham! It was a different sound from the crisp whack when wood hit wood. This was softer, duller, the sound of wood hitting flesh and bone. Jez heard her own involuntary gasp of pain. Fire shot up her arm, into her shoulder, and for a moment she lost her grip on the stick with her right hand. She forced her fingers to close on it again, but they were numb. She couldn't feel what she was holding. She couldn't block properly with one arm useless. And Morgead was advancing, that deadly cold light in his eyes. Absolutely merciless. His movements were relaxed and easy; he knew exactly what he was doing now. Two more whacks and he got through her guard again. The oak stick slammed into her ribs and she felt another wave of sickening pain. Gray dots danced in front of her eyes. Fractured? Jez wondered briefly. She hoped not. Vampires could break each other's ribs in fun and know that everything would heal in a day or two. But Jez wouldn't recover like that. Morgead might kill her without even meaning to. She couldn't let him keep striking her-but she couldn't retreat, either. If he got her into a corner, she'd be lost. Whack-wham. He got her on the knee. Pain sparked up and down her leg, lighting every nerve. She had no choice but to back up. He was crowding her relentlessly, forcing her to the wall. Morgead flashed a smile at her. Not the cold smile. This one was brilliant, and very familiar to Jez. It made him look devastatingly handsome, and it meant that he was in absolute command of the situation. â€Å"You can give up anytime, now,† he said. â€Å"Because I'm going to win and we both know it.†

An Integral Part Of A Democratic State Essay

Elections are an integral part of a democratic state. The argument is sometimes put forward that participatory democracy should be the basis for a whole political system, a replacement for parliamentary democracy. Representative institutions based on one person one vote determine the principles and general direction of an elected government. Participatory democracy can monitor the work of the executive and state apparatus. The importance of process Take waste. The same principles of daily and ongoing democratic processes could be applied to education, transport, and social services. Formally, representative democracy does have the final say. Participatory democracy, in a complementary relationship to electoral power, thus has the potential to move societies further towards the democratic ideals of popular control and political equality. I believe that a strong and aware civil society keeps their elected representatives on their toes, by asking questions through organized interest groups all of whom press their causes on government, sometimes through political parties and through independent lobbies. Participatory democracy provides a real alternative, or complement, to elected power: a distinct and organized public sphere in which the demands of the people can be articulated, developed and negotiated between each other, and finally negotiated with the local or other relevant state institutions. Conditions for participatory growth In order for participatory democracy to attain legitimacy and reinvigorate democratic politics as a whole, certain conditions need to be in place. The aim for participatory institutions is essentially to share decision-making power with government, to exercise some control over the work of state institutions and to monitor the implementation of government’s decisions. The process must get results; in the sense that these parties are able to use their electoral legitimacy to emphasize the importance of the participatory process. If participatory democracy spreads, the institutions of representative government may lose some power to the new participatory sphere. The new systems of managing public resources through a combination of electoral and participative democracy bring an overall gain in democratic legitimacy and as a result, potentially, in democratic power. I believe that participatory democracy and the election process should be in the forefront in advocating transparency among government officials and their constituents. It is also important that citizens should be more aware and involved because the main argument of a democracy is the constant participation of people with regards to political debates and decisions. Without the people’s involvement, government leaders will not hold positions of power in the first place. Grassroots parties that are well represented inside the halls of congress should not just advocate the things that they think are important, but they also should stand as role models for the people who do not have the chance everyday to sit in a position of power. It is inevitable in a democracy that sometimes elections become an issue in itself. With this in my mind, I believe that people who go out to vote and those who pass on the opportunity to vote must always respect the final verdict whether it favors them or not. Yes, it is an issue because sometimes it is very easy for people to point fingers and start up a rumor that an election is fixed. For me, the only solution for this issue is to improve the way elections are being held. As a voter myself, it would also help if we encourage our society to go out and vote. Apathy sometimes can backfire on us. We should take care of our rights as citizens and voters to be more aware of the situation and act accordingly. By doing so, we protect ourselves from being short changed by the very institution, which the sole purpose is to protect us.

Free Essays on CIA In Guatemala

In 1944, Guatemala entered their ‘ten years of springtime’ with the democratically elected president Juan Jose Arevalo. He began the institution of reforms that were aggressively continued by the socially aware president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. Guzman took office in 1951 with a list of planned programs, some of which being land, employment and social reforms. Under the auspice of communist infiltration, the United States and its corporations were concerned that Guatemala represented ‘†¦a serious threat to hemispheric solidarity and to our security in the Caribbean area.’ The National Security Act (NSA) of 1947, and the creation of the CIA because of that act, radically changed the direction and methods United States foreign policy would take. The NSA act helped create a secret government within a legitimate government willing to overthrow democratically elected leaders in favour of multinational U.S. corporations and puppet dictators. The situation in Guatemala in the early 1950s motivated the United States to use overt and covert action to destabilize and overthrow the government of Guatemala. The Central Intelligence Agency’s orchestrated coup in 1954 ended Guatemala’s fledgling democracy, making it the zenith of America’s Cold War foreign policies. In 1944, the ‘October Revolutionariries’, a group of dissident military officers, students, and liberal professionals, overthrew General Jorge Ubico’s Guatemalan dictatorship, thus, paving the way for the democratically elected leftist government of Juan Jose Arevalo. Arevalo quickly won broad support of the young liberal students and professionals alike, winning with 255,000 of 295,000 votes in the election of 1944. To them he personified ‘†¦all the civic virtues associated with democratic government†¦.’ Arevalo was clear that his government would not head in materialist directions but aim at ‘†¦liberating man psychologically and spiritually.’ ... Free Essays on CIA In Guatemala Free Essays on CIA In Guatemala In 1944, Guatemala entered their ‘ten years of springtime’ with the democratically elected president Juan Jose Arevalo. He began the institution of reforms that were aggressively continued by the socially aware president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. Guzman took office in 1951 with a list of planned programs, some of which being land, employment and social reforms. Under the auspice of communist infiltration, the United States and its corporations were concerned that Guatemala represented ‘†¦a serious threat to hemispheric solidarity and to our security in the Caribbean area.’ The National Security Act (NSA) of 1947, and the creation of the CIA because of that act, radically changed the direction and methods United States foreign policy would take. The NSA act helped create a secret government within a legitimate government willing to overthrow democratically elected leaders in favour of multinational U.S. corporations and puppet dictators. The situation in Guatemala in the early 1950s motivated the United States to use overt and covert action to destabilize and overthrow the government of Guatemala. The Central Intelligence Agency’s orchestrated coup in 1954 ended Guatemala’s fledgling democracy, making it the zenith of America’s Cold War foreign policies. In 1944, the ‘October Revolutionariries’, a group of dissident military officers, students, and liberal professionals, overthrew General Jorge Ubico’s Guatemalan dictatorship, thus, paving the way for the democratically elected leftist government of Juan Jose Arevalo. Arevalo quickly won broad support of the young liberal students and professionals alike, winning with 255,000 of 295,000 votes in the election of 1944. To them he personified ‘†¦all the civic virtues associated with democratic government†¦.’ Arevalo was clear that his government would not head in materialist directions but aim at ‘†¦liberating man psychologically and spiritually.’ ...

Solar Cells

Solar Cells Free Online Research Papers Solar cells today are mostly made of silicon, one of the most common elements on Earth. The crystalline silicon solar cell was one of the first types to be developed and it is still the most common type in use today. They do not pollute the atmosphere and they leave behind no harmful waste products. Photovoltaic cells work effectively even in cloudy weather and unlike solar heaters, are more efficient at low temperatures. They do their job silently and there are no moving parts to wear out. It is no wonder that one marvels on how such a device would function. To understand how a solar cell works, it is necessary to go back to some basic atomic concepts. In the simplest model of the atom, electrons orbit a central nucleus, composed of protons and neutrons. Each electron carries one negative charge and each proton one positive charge. Neutrons carry no charge. Every atom has the same number of electrons as there are protons, so, on the whole, it is electrically neutral. The electrons have discrete kinetic energy levels, which increase with the orbital radius. When atoms bond together to form a solid, the electron energy levels merge into bands. In electrical conductors, these bands are continuous but in insulators and semiconductors there is an energy gap, in which no electron orb its can exist, between the inner valence band and outer conduction band [Book 1]. Valence electrons help to bind together the atoms in a solid by orbiting 2 adjacent nucleii, while conduction electrons, being less closely bound to the nucleii, are free to move in response to an applied voltage or electric field. The fewer conduction electrons there are, the higher the electrical resistivity of the material. In semiconductors, the materials from which solar sells are made, the energy gap Eg is fairly small. Because of this, electrons in the valence band can easily be made to jump to the conduction band by the injection of energy, either in the form of heat or light [Book 4]. This explains why the high resistivity of semiconductors decreases as the temperature is raised or the material illuminated. The excitation of valence electrons to the conduction band is best accomplished when the semiconductor is in the crystalline state, i.e. when the atoms are arranged in a precise geometrical formation or lattice. At room temperature and low illumination, pure or so-called intrinsic semiconductors have a high resistivity. But the resistivity can be greatly reduced by doping, i.e. introducing a very small amount of impurity, of the order of one in a million atoms. There are 2 kinds of dopant. Those which have more valence electrons that the semiconductor itself are called donors and those which have fewer are termed acceptors [Book 2]. In a silicon crystal, each atom has 4 valence electrons, which are shared with a neighbouring atom to form a stable tetrahedral structure. Phosphorus, which has 5 valence electrons, is a donor and causes extra electrons to appear in the conduction band. Silicon so doped is called n-type [Book 5]. On the other hand, boron, with a valence of 3, is an acceptor, leaving so-called holes in the lattice, which act like positive charges and render the silicon p-type[Book 5]. The drawings in Figure 1.2 are 2-dimensional representations of n- and p-type silicon crystals, in which the atomic nucleii in the lattice are indicated by circles and the bonding valence electrons are shown as lines between the atoms. Holes, like electrons, will remove under the influence of an applied voltage but, as the mechanism of their movement is valence electron substitution from atom to atom, they are less mobile than the free conduction electrons [Book 2]. In a n-on-p crystalline silicon solar cell, a shadow junction is formed by diffusing phosphorus into a boron-based base. At the junction, conduction electrons from donor atoms in the n-region diffuse into the p-region and combine with holes in acceptor atoms, producing a layer of negatively-charged impurity atoms. The opposite action also takes place, holes from acceptor atoms in the p-region crossing into the n-region, combining with electrons and producing positively-charged impurity atoms [Book 4]. The net result of these movements is the disappearance of conduction electrons and holes from the vicinity of the junction and the establishment there of a reverse electric field, which is positive on the n-side and negative on the p-side. This reverse field plays a vital part in the functioning of the device. The area in which it is set up is called the depletion area or barrier layer[Book 4]. When light falls on the front surface, photons with energy in excess of the energy gap (1.1 e V in crystalline silicon) interact with valence electrons and lift them to the conduction band. This movement leaves behind holes, so each photon is said to generate an electron-hole pair [Book 2]. In the crystalline silicon, electron-hole generation takes place throughout the thickness of the cell, in concentrations depending on the irradiance and the spectral composition of the light. Photon energy is inversely proportional to wavelength. The highly energetic photons in the ultra-violet and blue part of the spectrum are absorbed very near the surface, while the less energetic longer wave photons in the red and infrared are absorbed deeper in the crystal and further from the junction [Book 4]. Most are absorbed within a thickness of 100 ÃÆ'Â ¦m. The electrons and holes diffuse through the crystal in an effort to produce an even distribution. Some recombine after a lifetime of the order of one millisecond, neutralizing their charges and giving up energy in the form of heat. Others reach the junction before their lifetime has expired. There they are separated by the reverse field, the electrons being accelerated towards the negative contact and the holes towards the positive [Book 5]. If the cell is connected to a load, electrons will be pushed from the negative contact through the load to the positive contact, where they will recombine with holes. This constitutes an electric current. In crystalline silicon cells, the current generated by radiation of a particular spectral composition is directly proportional to the irradiance [Book 2]. Some types of solar cell, however, do not exhibit this linear relationship. The silicon solar cell has many advantages such as high reliability, photovoltaic power plants can be put up easily and quickly, photovoltaic power plants are quite modular and can respond to sudden changes in solar input which occur when clouds pass by. However there are still some major problems with them. They still cost too much for mass use and are relatively inefficient with conversion efficiencies of 20% to 30%. With time, both of these problems will be solved through mass production and new technological advances in semiconductors. Research Papers on Solar CellsBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfGenetic EngineeringDefinition of Export QuotasThe Hockey GamePETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaOpen Architechture a white paperWhere Wild and West MeetResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

Free Essays on Business Communication

The management process is a diverse field that involves mutual understanding and desired objectives among all parties. The movie â€Å"Pretty Woman† is a good example of two parties trying to accomplish these goals. (1) â€Å"Pretty Woman† is about a high-powered businessman who initially hires a prostitute for personal favors. Eventually, this relationship leads to a business proposition. The businessman, Edward Lewis, decides to hire a prostitute, Vivian, as an employee. Vivian’s job is to accompany Edward to business events, meetings and outings. Their relationship intends to have mutual benefits between employer and employee. Edward Lewis is gaining a valuable employee to help his business ventures and Vivian is receiving monetary compensation and a valuable experience. All events, transactions and communications regarding Vivian’s employment take place between the two parties involved. (1) The business relationship founded between the two characters has its positive attributes but there are specific problems that do arise in the movie. One of the problems in the movie takes place in a social business setting where communication barriers place undue stress and anger on both characters. In this scene, Vivian accompanies Edward to a business event as his employee but Edward tells his lawyer that Vivian was initially hired as a prostitute. Vivian realizes this information was disclosed when Edward’s lawyer makes unwanted advances towards her. Vivian becomes angry, upset and irritated. This situation clearly shows that communication was not effective between the employer and the employee. (1) Effective communication is when â€Å"the intended meaning of the source and perceived meaning of the receiver are identical.† (3, p. 206) It is obvious that Edward did not receive information from Vivian correctly. Vivian did not want anyone to know the circumstances i n which she was hired because it made her feel cheap and embarrassed. She ... Free Essays on Business Communication Free Essays on Business Communication _Unemployment and it's effects _ By: Felix Hernandez Unemployment Ever think about what happens to people when they loose their job? Where do they go? What do they do? How do they provide for their family? These are everyday facts about unemployment, one of the largest measuring sticks for an economy. Unemployment is an important facet of every economy. Although it may seem logical to keep unemployment rates as low as possible, that is not the case. If unemployment rates drop to far down, this may lead to inflation. The reason being that if there is a low unemployment rate then there will be a shortage of skilled workers, thus pushing employers to raise wages and benefits which will in turn raise pricesOver the years, there have been really high highs and really low lows when it comes to unemployment. Currently the unemployment rate is at it’s lowest in twenty five years. The booming economy has helped drop the unemployment rate to below four percent, which is the lowest since 1970. These low rates have been caused by many factors. Some of which include growth in the industrial output of the United States, a booming stock market, and some natural elements such as recent hurricanesIn order to asses the affects of these different factors on the unemployment rates, economists must have some type of system to estimate the unemployment rate. One major system that is used deals with the number of â€Å"help wanted† ads that are published. This process is a compilation of the number of help wanted ads that are measured in fifty-one major newspapers across the United States. These counts are then converted into an unemployment percentage through the use of an indexIt is no secret that the goal of every country is to have a productive and stable economy. One which will allow it’s people to function and operate effectively. Currently in the United States, the economy is booming. This boom in the economy has lead to a ... Free Essays on Business Communication The management process is a diverse field that involves mutual understanding and desired objectives among all parties. The movie â€Å"Pretty Woman† is a good example of two parties trying to accomplish these goals. (1) â€Å"Pretty Woman† is about a high-powered businessman who initially hires a prostitute for personal favors. Eventually, this relationship leads to a business proposition. The businessman, Edward Lewis, decides to hire a prostitute, Vivian, as an employee. Vivian’s job is to accompany Edward to business events, meetings and outings. Their relationship intends to have mutual benefits between employer and employee. Edward Lewis is gaining a valuable employee to help his business ventures and Vivian is receiving monetary compensation and a valuable experience. All events, transactions and communications regarding Vivian’s employment take place between the two parties involved. (1) The business relationship founded between the two characters has its positive attributes but there are specific problems that do arise in the movie. One of the problems in the movie takes place in a social business setting where communication barriers place undue stress and anger on both characters. In this scene, Vivian accompanies Edward to a business event as his employee but Edward tells his lawyer that Vivian was initially hired as a prostitute. Vivian realizes this information was disclosed when Edward’s lawyer makes unwanted advances towards her. Vivian becomes angry, upset and irritated. This situation clearly shows that communication was not effective between the employer and the employee. (1) Effective communication is when â€Å"the intended meaning of the source and perceived meaning of the receiver are identical.† (3, p. 206) It is obvious that Edward did not receive information from Vivian correctly. Vivian did not want anyone to know the circumstances i n which she was hired because it made her feel cheap and embarrassed. She ...