Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions - Research Paper Example The above practice would help in enhancing the applicability of the human resources practices to help in meeting the needs of the personnel employed in different multinational organizations. The cultural dimensions as generated by the cultural scientist, Geert Hofstede are generated based on the cultural dimensions model which is elucidated as follows. The parameter of individualism or collectivism as generated by Hofstede evaluates the culture of a region based on individualistic and collectivist attributes. People dwelling in regions governed by collectivist approaches operate in a close cultural setting that reflects mutual care and understanding for each other. The collectivist countries also reflect honor for the existing cultural and social norms. On the other hand the regions governed or based on individualistic cultures reflect individuals that tend to take decisions in an independent fashion by not taking into consideration the needs and views of other members in a social group. Thus, decisions though taken by individuals based on social norms are loosely knit to each other thereby affecting the existing social fabric (Piepenburg, 2011). Uncertainty Avoidance tends to be the second dimension of culture as identified by Hofstede. This dimension tends to evaluate the level to which the individuals or groups relating to a specific region avoid the emergence of unforeseen events and unidentified situations. In that a certain level of risk or feelings of being threatened by the upcoming changes requires the individuals to operate based on specific code of conduct that would help in demarcating and governing their actions to achieve stated objectives. Thus, countries reflecting high uncertainty avoidance fail to considerably explore to identify new dimensions or areas of growth and opportunity (The Hofstede Centre , n.d. ). The Power Distance (PD) is identified as the third dimension in the cultural

Summary of Hbr Article Enemies of Trust Essay Example for Free

Summary of Hbr Article Enemies of Trust Essay Stressed situations in organizations such as merger, reorganization, or layoff are situations where people look for something that can provide partial answer to the question: â€Å"What does this mean for me?† * Snatches of remembered conversations. * Innocent statements can be assigned deep sinister meaning. – misinterpreted * Emails can be analyzed word by word Don’t speculate about the future. Treat employees like grown-ups (so:) * In case of layoff, share the performance data that makes reductions necessary. * Be extremely careful about making unequivocal statements such as * I have no hidden agenda * There won’t be any more layoffs * The time we’ve got it fixed * We will be stronger as a result * I have total faith in the senior management team * This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do It will come back to haunt you. All kinds of crisis like an episode of violence, accidents, and serious product flaws can have a profound impact on trust in the organization. Often the damage of the trust occurs not because of the incident itself but because of how it’s handled internally. Company leaders or crisis team members become so distracted by external pressures that they don’t address the crisis internally with attention. (dangerous, because employees feel unsafe during a crisis). * During crises it’s important to recover revenue, and moving the company out of the media spotlight. * But the employees can’t wait until the storm is over. The damage (of trust inside the company) may be beyond repair when you get to it. * Leadership is important (emloyees are under as much stress as the managers and need calm, visible leadership. When everyone worries, trust evaporates). * First lesson is to get yourself some help, a quick check in with an objective third party. (Or if you are directly affected by the crisis maybe you are not thinking clearly). * Lesson two is to not withdraw. Let it be known that you are aware of the situation and that you will keep everyone informed as events unfold and decisions are made. Set an update schedule and keep to it even if the update is that there will be no news until next week. Be accessible to people around you (physically and emotionally). You set the example and people will look to you to see that it is okay to have feelings at work. Taking the time to think it through, what happened, and then they will follow suit. Starting over: It will happen: trust will be badly damaged. This is what the article writers recommend: 1. Figure out what happened * How quickly or slowly did trust break down? (no rapid fix) * When did the violation of trust become known to you and to the larger organization? (if you knew about it for a long time and didn’t do anything about it, your employees will feel it like a betrayal). * Was there a single cause? (easier to address a one-time event, than a pattern of events) * Was the loss of trust reciprocal? (it might be deep seated if both you and the others feel that their trust was violated. No one will behave fairly. A formal process of conflict resolution might be in order). 2. When you have a reasonably good handle on what happened, ascertain the depth and breadth of the loss of trust. (Is it a severe impact or are only some of the regions/branches touched by the breach of trust?) 3. Own up to the loss quickly instead of ignoring or downplaying it. (acknowledge the situation, you don’t need all the answers, just let people know that you are aware of the issue and the impact on them and that you are commited to setting things right). 4. Identitfy as precisely as possible what you must accomplish in order to rebuild trust. (need to change a relationship between people in different departments). 5. Then list the changes you’ll make in organizational structure, systems, people and culture to achiee those outcomes. (which shifts in how decisions are made, how information flows and how it is measured, etc. Should some reporting relationships be changed? Competing areas rivalries dissolve, when they come under the control of a single person. ) 6. Keep an eye on practical issues: How will these valuable changes and initiatives happen? (what work will you do yourself, what will you delegate, what is a reasonable time frame to handle this problem). Working at: The Center for Leading Organizations (CLO) offers highly-tailored educational services, valuable advice, and the delivery and facilitation of offsites at the senior level of organizations. Robert Galford is a managing partner of the Center for Leading Organizations. He divides his time across teaching on Executive Education programs and working with senior executives at the worlds leading firms on the leadership issues that lie at the intersection of strategy and organization. They wrote the book the trusted leader Anne Seibold Drapeau is a managing partner of the Center for Leading Organizations. Her client work focuses on consulting with a wide range of clients on leadership development and frameworks and processes for strategic alignment. She is a leading voice on the leadership requirements of support functions within organizations, and how they are best organized, structured and managed. She also has particular interest in the leadership challenges of early stage businesses and in fostering leadership in women. Patrick Lencioni is the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a popular business fable that explores work team dynamics and offers solutions to help teams perform better.[1] In addition to the bestselling Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he has written eight other business books

Abortion is Bad :: essays research papers

Do you consider something with a beating heart a living creature? A babies heart forms and starts beating in the fifth week of pregnancy, therefor, that would make abortion murder. The baby that is growing inside of you is depending on you, so when you make the choice to end that life, you are making the choice to murder another person. Someone that believes in the pro-choice theory would say that the decision is up to the woman, but the person with the pro-life theory would say that it is murder no matter what the situation. Would you consider it murder to kill a baby the day after it is born? Then why would it not be murder to kill it before it is born? â€Å"If it is impossible to abort a baby in the ninth month, then what makes it ok to do in the fifth or sixth month.† (Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan). Many abortions are perormed each year in the United States. 75% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed on women over 20 years of age, but the lawmakers try to concentrate on the 186,000 teens that have an abortion each year. In 1990, there were nearly 400 abortion bills were introduced to 41 legislatures. So far, as many as 20 states have passed laws that requires a teenager to have a parents consent before having an abortion. This may help reduce the number of abortions each year, the people that passed these bills feel that maybe the parents will feel differently about the situation and be able to talk their child out of it. 20% of teens that are sexually active do not use any form of birth control, these are the teens that end up getting pregnant and getting an abortion. If these girls would use some kind of contraceptive it could stop a lot of the abortions performed each year. If you think about it, it is so much easier to take a pill then it is to be pregnant and have to de cide on the life of another person. When you feel that you are responsible enough to participate in sexual activity, you should also feel that you a resonsible enough to deal with the consequences that follow. Abortions are considered â€Å"the easy was out.† I feel that abortions are just selfish. There is no easy way out. I could not imagine living with the guilt of taking anothers life, especially the life of something that I created, and that is dependant of me.

Belonging – Romulus My Father

Belonging is a paradoxical concept illustrating an individual’s sense of inclusions and exclusion simultaneously. This is evident in Raimond Gaita’s memoir Romulus My father as the individuals Romulus, Raimond and Christine experience the dynamic changes evident in the concept of belong to place, society and community. Armin Greder also explores the fluid and dynamic nature of belonging through his picture book ‘The Island’ through the isolation of the protagonist within the confinements of the island. The inclusion or exclusion from a community is shaped by human prejudices and tolerances. The biographical examination of Romulus’ life with in the text RMF, illustrates his rejection and acceptance within the community of Baringhup. Romulus’ immigrant status shows the division between the new immigrants and the Australians, as the immigrants are forced into a camp. This camp offered shelter and food, though it also offered an opportunity for belonging through shared experiences and cultures, â€Å"He asked the man who greeted new arrivals whether there were any other Romanians†¦ He sought them out and they quickly greeted. Although unaccepted by the Australians, Romulus is able to find other immigrants who he is able to connect with and form relationships, creating a family society between them. Through Romulus’ adoption of the Australian name â€Å"Jack† he attempts to connect to the social milieu of Baringhup though impeded by his unfamiliar morals and values which are not accepted by the Australian community. The strong prejudices of the Australian community are evident in the event of the fire, when Romulus attempts to scare the snake out of the grass through setting alight of the grass. This event causes the exclusion of Romulus in the community â€Å"responding with the instinct of an immigrant†¦ he set fire to the stook†¦Ã¢â‚¬  showing the intolerance of the community and emphasising the belief that he (Romulus) will never be accepted in the Australian community. Yet through Romulus’ contribution to the community through his ironwork and hardworking mentality he is able to be accepted into the community, evidently showing the inconsistent nature of belonging. Similarly, Armin Grader’s picture book â€Å"The Island’ is a metaphorical account of the way prejudices and fear create artificial barriers between people, which are used to exclude others to ensure protection. Shown his lack of clothing the protagonist is identified as foreigner on the island. Through the 4 panelled images we see the foreigner attempt integrating into society by performing civilised jobs, such cooking, carpentry, and singing in the local church. Though in each of these images the man is portrayed in an obscure manner, such as a devil in the choir, showing his exclusion of the individual while performing average tasks of the community, illustrating how belonging to self, controls an individual’s sense of belonging to society, and emphasising the fluid nature of belonging. Due to the social convention the community on the island and the fear evoked by the foreigner, the islanders construct a wall. This wall symbolises the islander’s sense of inclusion to each other as a community and a group which protects and supports each other. It also prevents the islanders from receiving the resources from the ocean, which is one of the main sources of the island livelihood. This artificial wall acts as a barrier to the islands inclusions with the outer world, yet allows the sense of belonging within the confinements of the wall to strengthen. This symbolic use of the wall, illustrates the paradoxical concept of belonging and the dynamic changes within the concept. An individuals belonging to society and community is only achieved through a sense of belong to place. Throughout the memoir, Gaita utilises the surrounding environment as a vehicle to explore the concept of Romulus’ and Raimond’s belonging to the community. â€Å"He longed for the generous and soft European foliage, but the eucalypts of Baringhup†¦ seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness. The negative emotive language shows the negative feelings Romulus has towards the Australian landscape illustrating his lack of connection to the land, thus the lack of connection to the community. In contrast although Raimond is positioned as an outcast by Tom Lillie because of his un-Australian like action, Raimond is able to achieve a connection to the land through his lyrical description of the landscape â€Å"The scraggy shapes and sparse foliage a ctually became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place. This connection allows Raimond to feel a sense of inclusion within the community as they share a common love for the land. The dwelling at Frogmore served to shape Raimond’s sense of belonging by providing place in which his relationship which his father could grow and develop, it also provided him with a constant place where he knew he could feel accepted. Although to Christina the residence at Frogmore becomes a symbol of her unacceptance to the family society â€Å"she could not settle in a dilapidated farmhouse in a landscape that highlighted her isolation. She longed for company† The negative connotations surround the words dilapidated and isolated reinforce the misery that Frogmore and emphasis he disconnection to place, in the one location where she should belong, exemplifying how the ideal of belonging is fluid and dynamic. It is the essence of place that the islanders attempt to maintain during Armin Greder’s text The Island. The close knit community of the island are fearful when the foreigner lands on the shore of their land. Through the singular sentence on the first page â€Å"He wasn’t like them† it is evident that he foreigner was challenging their sense of identity. Through the silent image of the rough sea the foreigners isolation is emphasised. Shown through the protagonist’s lack of clothing the man’s disconnection to the land, his skeletal frame contrasted to the large well-nourished men of the island, emphasis his non-belonging and questions the islander’s fears towards the weak man. The challenge of their land over humanity ultimately results in the men, killing one of their own and sending the foreigner back into the ocean. This illustrates the negative effects of belonging and non-belong, and stress’s the paradoxical nature of belonging as the islanders belong to the community yet excluded themselves from the sea illustrating a consequence of belonging to community is loss of place. Within both texts RMF and The Island, Gaita and Greder present the concept of belonging as of a fluid and dynamic nature. This paradoxical nature of belonging illustrates an individual’s sense of inclusion and/or exclusion simultaneously, as the protagonists are faced with the challenge of not belonging within a society yet conflicted by the sense of belonging to place concurrently, evidently showing the concept of belonging within place, society and community.

Learning Style Preferences by Iranian students

IntroductionLearning manners influence acquisition and that larning result is higher for pupils who are able to utilize multiple acquisition manners ( Felder, 1995 ; Reid, 1987, Reid, 1998 ; Claxton and Murell, 1985 ; Mulalic, Mohd Shah and Ahmad, 2009 ) . Learning manners and penchants vary for each of us and in different state of affairss. Some scholars, for case, prefer to larn by reading text editions, while others prefer a verbal account ( Riazi and Riasati, 2007 ) . In add-on, people may differ in how they most efficaciously show their apprehension ; either orally or in authorship and through graphs or figures. In other words, scholars learn and show their apprehensions in assorted ways in different state of affairss. Learning manners refer to the cognitive, emotional, and psychological behavior which serve as comparatively fixed and unchangeable indexs of how scholars understand, interact with and answer to the acquisition environment ( Keefe, 1982 ) . Oxford ( 2003 ) asserted that acquisition manners are the general attacks that scholars utilize in geting a new linguistic communication or in larning any other topics. These manners are the overall forms that give larning behaviour a general way ( Cornett, 1983 ) . By understanding one ‘s learning manner ( s ) , one will be able to develop the accomplishments that help one learns in a assortment of ways to accomplish full potency. This apprehension is besides helpful for instructors and pedagogues because it enables instructors and pedagogues to fit their instruction manners, methodological analysiss, and class organisation with scholars ‘ acquisition manners to assist scholars better their acquisition ( Willing, 1988 ) . Surveies have shown that personality, life experiences, intent for larning and instructors ‘ outlooks affect scholars ‘ acquisition manners with the later being the most dominant influence ( Briggs-Myers, 1986 ; Kolb, 1984 ; Felder, 1996 ; Ballard and Clanchy 1997 ) . In Iran, nevertheless, scholars ‘ acquisition manners have been ignored and have been taken into history as an undistinguished constituent in the learning procedure among Persian EFL scholars in general and first-year university pupils in peculiar. Very small survey has been conducted to place Persian scholars ‘ acquisition manners that non merely would assist scholars ‘ acquisition but besides help better instructors ‘ instruction. Matching these two facets would take to greater success. Nevertheless, Riazi and Riasati ( 2007 ) conducted a survey on 219 Persian scholars of English in Shiraz to place their acquisition manners. The survey employed Brindley ‘s ( 1984 ) linguistic communication larning penchant questionnaire. The participants were from different degrees of direction and different ages. The findings show that the pupils favoured the communicative attack carried out in brace or group work and felt that it helped better their English linguisti c communication accomplishments. They besides preferred taking portion in schoolroom treatment and interaction in larning English. Although this survey found that scholars preferred a communicative attack, scholars at higher establishments in Iran ; peculiarly freshers, are still observed to be inactive scholars of English. Possibly they are incognizant of their acquisition manners and possibly the instruction manners at higher establishments do non fit scholars ‘ acquisition manners. Therefore, the survey presented in this paper was an effort to find Persian EFL fresher university pupils ‘ acquisition manner ( s ) to assist them understand how they learn and therefore increase their potencies. This survey besides aimed to detect whether there was a difference between male and female fresher university pupils ‘ acquisition manner ( s ) . However, this present survey employed the four types of larning manner penchants developed by Willing ( 1988 ) to look into Persian EFL fresher university pupils ‘ types of larning manner ( s ) .Learning Styles and Types of LearnersMost research surveies on larning manner penchants trace back to the past 30 old ages. Dunn ( 1993 ) asserted that lectors can non place pupil ‘s acquisition manners without using a multidimensional instrument. Without rating, even experienced teachers may misinterpret scholars ‘ behaviors such as hyperactivity or heedlessness ( Mulalic, Mohd Shah and Ahmad, 2009 ) . Reid ( 1987 ) investigated 1300 ESL pupils from three different civilizations ; viz. the Japanese, Malay, and Korean. The survey found that a big figure of these pupils strongly preferred tactile and kinesthetic acquisition manners. The survey besides found that the built-in differences in cultural or linguistic communication backgrounds and subjects ( technology and computing machine scientific discipline ) frequently play an of import function in placing types of cognitive manners. Meanwhile, Willing ( 1988 ) investigated a group of five 100s and 17 scholars from more than 30 cultural groups to analyze whether there is a relationship between larning manner penchants and biographical variables. However, merely five cultural groups were big plenty for statistical analysis ( Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, South Americans, and Polish/Czech talkers ) . The learning manner questionnaire included 30 acquisition manner points, 15 larning scheme points, and a several points on single biographical facets. The consequences indicated that there were cultural differences with respect to the scholars ‘ larning manner penchants. For case, although the agencies of the point ‘I like to analyze grammar ‘ was lower than expected, all scholars from the different civilizations responded that they liked analyzing grammar. The Arabic scholars preferred grammar where 65 % of them ranked this point as the â€Å" best † ( Willing 1988 ) . Meanwhile, the findings i ndicated that authority-oriented and analytical acquisition manners were extremely valued by the Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, South American, and Polish pupils. The largely preferable points were ‘practicing sounds and pronunciation in English ‘ and ‘everything explained by their instructor ‘ , and the least preferable ways of larning were ‘playing games ‘ and ‘watching movies ‘ ( Willing 1988, p. 130 ) . Willing ( 1988 ) further identified four types of scholars: concrete, analytical, communicative, and authority-oriented scholars. Nunan ( 1999 ) briefly summarized the definition of these four types of scholars: 1 ) Concrete scholars are those who employ really direct agencies of taking in and treating information ; 2 ) Analytic scholars are those whose cognitive strengths lead them non merely to analyse carefully and show great involvement in constructions but to set a great trade of value on uncovering their independency by executin g these things themselves, autonomously. In other words, they prefer to analyze grammar ( from particular to general ) , analyzing English books and reading newspapers, analyzing separately, happening their ain errors, and working on undertaking jobs assigned by their instructors ; 3 ) Authority-oriented scholars are those who are likely non predisposed to actively form information ; they would wish their instructor to explicate everything to them, tend to hold their ain text editions, to compose everything in a notebook, to analyze grammatical regulations, learn by reading, and larn new words by looking at them ; and 4 ) Communicative scholars are those who have a desire for a communicative and societal acquisition attack, likely because they feel that this would be most helpful to their demands in relation to linguistic communication acquisition. In other words, they like to larn by watching, listening to native talkers, speaking to friends in English and watching telecasting in E nglish, utilizing English out of category, larning new words by hearing them, and acquisition by conversations ( Willing, 1988 ; Nunan, 1999, p. 57 ) .The SurveyParticipantsA group of 92 ( 37 males and 55 females ) Persian EFL fresher university pupils majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language ( TEFL ) class at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in a university in South of Esfahan were indiscriminately selected from nine categories to take portion in this survey. As freshers, their mean age was 18 old ages old. They learn English linguistic communication for academic intents. Freshman university pupils were selected as participants of this survey because they were at the get downing degree of third instruction. Knowledge of their acquisition manner ( s ) would be utile in placing and geting larning accomplishments which would heighten their acquisition. Therefore, increase their public presentation in larning English.InstrumentThe instrument utilized in this survey was the Le arning Style Preferences Questionnaire adapted from Willing ( 1988 ) . The four-point Likert graduated table questionnaire consisted of 45 points on â€Å" How make you larn best † ; ranged from 1: Strongly Disagree to 4: Strongly Agree. It was piloted prior to the existent informations aggregation and the dependability Cronbach ‘s Alpha was 0.844. The questionnaire consisted of four classs ( Communicative, Concrete, Authority-Oriented, and Analytical scholars ) . A list of 20 four points out of 40 five points related to these four types were chosen and modified based on the Persian EFL fresher university pupils ‘ acquisition. Items one to six represented scholars who liked to larn through observation and or listening to native talkers, speaking to friends in English and watching telecasting in English, and learn through conversations ( Communicative Learners ) . Items seven to twelve represented scholars who liked to larn through games, movies, cassettes, speakin g in braces, and utilizing English outside of the schoolroom ( Concrete Learners ) . Items 13 to eighteen represented scholars who preferred their instructors to explicate everything to them, have their ain text editions, survey grammar, learn by reading, and larn new words by seeing the words ( Authority-Oriented Learners ) . Items 19 to twenty four represented scholars who liked analyzing the regulations of grammar, analyzing English books, reading newspapers, analyzing by themselves, happening their ain errors, and working on jobs set by the instructor ( Analytic Learners ) .Findingss and DiscussionsDescriptive analysis of the Learning Style Preferences ( 37 Males, 55 Females )In order to detect the types of larning manner penchants of the pupils, the descriptive statistics ( agencies and standard divergences ) of the four types of larning manner penchants ( communicative, concrete, authority-oriented, and analytical ) were computed ( see Table 1 ) . The one which indicated the h ighest average value was considered to be the pupils ‘ preferred acquisition manner. Table 1 shows the mean and standard divergences of the four distinguishable classs. Responses to the statements of type one ( communicative ) had the highest average value of 3.24 and a standard divergence of 0.35, while the responses to analytical type of larning manners had the lowest average mark of 3.02 and a standard divergence of 0.38 for both males and females. It is implied that the bulk of Persian EFL fresher university pupils in this sample considered themselves communicative types of acquisition manners. This is consistent with the consequences of Ho ‘s ( Undated ) survey on two groups of university twelvemonth one and four groups of twelvemonth two Computer Studies pupils across five academic old ages. The survey indicated that most pupils were communicative scholars ; contradictory to the consequences of Liu ‘s ( 2008 ) survey on pupils in Taipei. Liu reported that responses to the statements of authority-oriented type of larning manners were the highest with the average mark of 11.52 and a standard divergence of 3.13 and communicative type of larning manners had the lowest mean mark ( M=8.87 and a standard divergence of 3.55 ) . Table 1 Mean and Standard Deviation of Learning Styles ( by Category ) Learning Manners Mean South dakota Nitrogen Communicative 3.24 0.358 92 Concrete 3.07 0.381 92 Authority-Oriented 3.10 0.353 92 Analytic 3.02 0.381 92 N= Number of respondents ; SD= Std. Deviation In add-on to the mean scores for the four types of larning manners in general, Table 2, 3, 4, and 5 show the mean and standard divergences of the pupils ‘ usage of larning manners by class and points: communicative, concrete, authority-oriented, and analytical acquisition manners. Table 2 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students ‘ Communicative Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota1Communicative Learning StyleI like to larn by watching, listening to native talkers of English.3.243.320.350.755 2 I like to larn by speaking to friends in English. 3.24 0.732 3 If I have pick, I would wish to larn English by watching Television in English outside of the schoolroom. 3.17 0.735 4 I like to larn by talking in English with aliens when there is a opportunity. 3.27 0.757 5 I like to larn English words by hearing the words. 3.25 0.673 6 In English category, I like to larn through the usage of conversations. 3.22 0.739 Table 2 demonstrates that the overall average value of communicative acquisition manner was 3.24 with a standard divergence of 0.35. The highest average value of 3.32 with a standard divergence 0.75 was noted for the point â€Å" I like to larn by watching, listening to native talkers of English. † Meanwhile, the point â€Å" If I have pick, I would wish to larn English by watching Television in English outside of the schoolroom. † scored the lowest mean mean with the value of 3.17 and a standard divergence of 0.73. It is inferred that the Persian EFL fresher university pupils have strong desire to larn by watching and listening to native talkers of English in schoolrooms. In other words, they tend to watch pictures and listen to tapes in schoolrooms. They like to pass on with one another. This is in understanding with the consequences of Riazi and Riasati ‘s ( 2007 ) survey. Table 3 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students ‘ Concrete Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota7Concrete Learning StyleIn English category, I like to larn through game.3.073.270.370.757 8 In English category, I like to larn by utilizing images, movies, and pictures. 3.29 0.749 9 I like to analyze English by speaking with another schoolmate 3.23 0.743 10 I like to larn by utilizing cassettes at place. 2.65 0.733 11 In English category, I like to listen to and utilize cassettes. 2.80 0.829 12 Outside of the schoolroom, I like to utilize English. 3.17 0.735 With respect to concrete acquisition manners, Table 3 demonstrates the overall average value of 3.07 and a standard divergence of 0.37. The consequences related to concrete larning manner dimension indicate that the point â€Å" In English category, I like to larn by utilizing images, movies, and pictures. † scored the highest mean mean with the average value of 3.29 and a standard divergence of 0.74 ; while the lowest average value of 2.65 with standard divergence of 0.73 was noted for the point â€Å" I like to larn by utilizing cassettes at place † . It is concluded that these scholars like to larn by illustrations in schoolrooms. The common feature of concrete scholars harmonizing to willing ( 1988 ) is the development of insufficiency or an lower status composite. They disfavour larning monotonously and written work. They like assortment. They prefer verbal and ocular experiences. They have strong desire to be entertained by utilizing games, and be given to be invo lved in larning physically. Table 4 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students ‘ Authority-Oriented Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota13Authority-Oriented Learning StyleI like the instructor to explicate everything to me.3.103.320.350.755 14 I want to compose everything in my notebook. 2.91 0.751 15 I like to hold my ain text edition. 3.27 0.757 16 In English category, I like to larn by reading. 3.17 0.720 17 I like to analyze grammar from specific to general. 3.23 0.728 18 I like to larn English words by seeing them. 2.70 0.795 Sing the 3rd type of larning manners ( authority-oriented ) , Table 4 indicates that the overall mean value was 3.10 and a standard divergence of 0.35. Therefore, the point â€Å" I like the instructor to explicate everything to me † scored the highest average value of 3.32 and a standard divergence of 0.75. While the lowest average value of 2.70 and a standard divergence of 0.79 were noted for the point â€Å" I like to larn English words by seeing them † . It is inferred that authority-oriented scholars tend to be taught clearly. They have desire to larn from their instructors. They look for constructions and measure by measure patterned advance. In general, they consider their instructors as authorization in the category. Harmonizing to Willing ( 1988 ) they like to follow some forms. Table 5 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students ‘ Analytical Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota19Analytic Learning StyleI like to analyze grammar from general to specific.3.022.680.380.838 20 At place, I like to larn by analyzing English books. 3.24 0.732 21 I like to analyze English by myself. 3.32 0.755 22 I like the instructor to allow me happen my errors. 3.25 0.750 23 I like the instructor to give me exercises to work on. 3.15 0.725 24 At place, I like to larn by reading English newspaper. 2.49 0.791 Finally, for analytical acquisition manners Table 5 reveals that the overall mean value was 3.02 with a standard divergence of 0.38. Based on the consequences, the point â€Å" I like to analyze English by myself † scored as highest average value of 3.32 and a standard divergence of 0.75 whereas the lowest average value of 2.49 with a standard divergence of 0.79 was noted for the point â€Å" At place, I like to larn by reading English newspaper † . This means that analytical types of scholars are independent and tend to happen solutions for their jobs while larning. Analytic scholars ‘ cognitive strengths steer them non merely to analyse carefully and uncover great involvement in constructions, but besides to set a big sum of value on demoing their independency by making these things themselves, autonomously ( Willing, 1988 ) . In general, it can be inferred from the findings aforementioned types of acquisition manners that the mass media such as telecasting, pic ture, tape recording equipments are the most powerful devices for larning foreign linguistic communications in Iran since English is learned and spoken merely in academic categories and for academic intents. Harmonizing to Celec-Murcia ( 2001 ) , such media motivate scholars by conveying the existent life state of affairs into the schoolroom and showing linguistic communication in its more complete communicative context.Descriptive Analysis of the Learning Style Preferences by GenderIn order to detect whether there was a difference between males and females in using learning manner penchants, the Independent-sample T-test was conducted. Table 6 demonstrates that there was no statistically important difference in the mean tonss for male and female pupils in communicative ( M= 3.27, SD= 0.35 ; M=3.22, SD=0.36, T ( 90 ) =0.66, p= 0.51 ) ; concrete ( M=3.10, SD=0.36 ; M=3.05, SD=0.39, T ( 90 ) =0.67, p=0.49 ) , authority-oriented ( M=3.09, SD=0.37 ; M=3.11, SD=0.34, T ( 90 ) = -0.21, p= 0.83 ) , and analytical acquisition manners ( M=3.09, SD=0.38, M=2.98, SD=0.37, T ( 90 ) =1.32, p=0.18 ) . In other words, males and females apply larning manners in a similar manner. This is in understanding with the consequences of Yik, Hidayu, Bariyyah and Asyimah ‘s ( Undated ) survey ( hypertext transfer protocol: //apps.emoe.gov.my/ipba/rdipba/cd1/article152.pdf accessed 26 March 2010 ) . Table 6 T-test for gender differences in larning manner PreferencesLiterGramNitrogenMeanSouth dakotaTPCom Meter F 37 55 3.27 3.22 0.35 0.36 0.66 0.51 Con Meter F 37 55 3.10 3.05 0.36 0.39 0.67 0.49 A-O Meter F 37 55 3.09 3.11 0.37 0.34 -0.21 0.83 Anal Meter F 37 55 3.09 2.98 0.38 0.37 1.32 0.18 Note: N=Number of Subjects ; LS=Learning Styles ; G=Gender ; M=Male ; F=Female ; Com=Communicative ; Con=Concrete ; A-O=Authority-Oriented ; Anal=Analytical In other words, all of the values of significance values were above the value of significance value of P & lt ; 0.05. Harmonizing to Cohen ( 1988 ) , the magnitudes of the differences in the agencies were somewhat little. Cohen believes that 0.01 indicates little consequence, 0.06 shows moderate consequence, and 0.14 shows big consequence. Therefore the Basque Homeland and Freedom square for these four types of acquisition manners are as follows: communicative ( eta square= 0.004 ) , concrete ( eta square= 0.005 ) , authority-oriented ( eta squared=0.000 ) , and analytical acquisition manner ( eta square= 0.018 ) which are really little.DeductionsSing the consequences of this survey, some deductions are discussed with the position of text book designs, larning and learning English as a foreign linguistic communication in Iran. As it has been identified that many of the fresher university pupils are communicative type of scholars, there should be a moderately safe index for the genera l way to see in planing text books for Persian EFL fresher university scholars. Many research surveies such as Smith ( 1985 ) , Claxon and Murrell ( 1987 ) , Willing ( 1988 ) , and Riazi and Riasati ( 2007 ) claim that larning methods that match with learning manner penchants lead to academic accomplishments, more communicative undertakings need to be included in the class as most scholars in this sample prefer to larn in a communicative manner. Willing ( 1988 ) suggested the acquisition methods preferred by communicative scholars as: 1 ) Learning by watching and listening to native talkers of the mark linguistic communication. 2 ) Learning by talking in English with aliens when there is a opportunity. 3 ) Learning by speaking to friends in English. 4 ) Learning by conversations. 5 ) Learning by watching Television in English. 6 ) Learning English by hearing the words. Therefore, the text edition interior decorators may necessitate to take into history the aforesaid methods recommen ded by Willing ( 1988 ) while planing communicative text books for categories. They can besides see group treatments and teacher-students meetings as pupils prefer to speak with equals and instructors ( Riazi and Riasati, 2007 ) . In the visible radiation of acquisition, effectual tools to assist pupils listen to native talkers of the mark linguistic communication is to utilize movies and picture plans in categories. In this instance, pupils get familiar with the other contexts, state of affairss, and civilizations. Auxiliary stuffs such as short narratives should be utilized in categories ( Riazi and Mansoorian, 2008 ) . By and large, pupils need to be involved in synergistic accomplishments. In order to lend pupils to be cognizant of their ain acquisition manners and strengths, stock lists of larning manner and other procedures can be utilized ( Claxton and Murrell, 1987, p six ) . In add-on, lectors should assist scholars understand more about their ain penchants for larning. There are some promising schemes employed by lectors to lend their scholars to understand more about their penchants for larning and suggest ways to cover with more efficaciously in classs taught in ways inconsistent with their manners . This can besides assist scholars take increasing charge of their ain acquisition and to be more active in the procedure ( Claxton and Murrell 1987, p. four ) . In footings of instruction, by roll uping some information on scholars ‘ acquisition manners can assist lectors place scholars who learn comfortably via the types of undertakings designed for the class. For case, this survey recommends that lectors should make their best to carry first-year university scholars to work in groups and learn them how to pass on ( converse ) with one another in English. Lecturers should present types of larning manners to pupils in order to acquire familiar with their manner of larning a foreign linguistic communication in general and larning English in peculiar. In general, pupils should be encouraged to happen out their ain types of larning manner penchants in order to ease their acquisition.DecisionsThe intent of the current survey was to place Persian EFL fresher university pupils ‘ types of larning manner penchants and their deductions on the instruction and larning procedure every bit good as the designs of the text books. This survey be sides aimed to detect whether or non there was a important difference between male and female fresher university pupils using larning manner penchants. The dominant learning manner penchants of Persian EFL fresher university pupils revealed that the bulk of the Persian EFL fresher university pupils considered themselves as communicative scholars. They tend to larn English as a foreign linguistic communication by listening to native talkers of English likely because they feel that this would be most utile for their demands in relation to English linguistic communication acquisition. This can assist them in bettering their pronunciation and speech pattern. The receptive accomplishments such as speech production and hearing are appealing to the scholars of this sample. They have desire to utilize conversations in the schoolrooms and communicate in English. It is besides concluded that Persian male and female pupils have no different preferred acquisition manners as the findings of this survey demonstrated that there was no statistically important difference between them with respect to their learning manner penchants while larning English as a foreign linguistic communication. More significantly, this research survey suggests placing the scholars ‘ types of larning manners to lend their lectors to set in the proportion of undertaking types in text books to do acquisition easier for pupils.

The concept of public policy

The concept of public policy Introduction The concept of public policy is very critical and sensitive since it affects a majority of people who are ruled under the policies made. It entails the process taken by the government in addressing an issue that affects the public and the intentions of the government in taking the actions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The concept of public policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It can also be said to be the result of the government’s actions towards deciding on who gets what and who does not after some considerations. It comprises major components like regulations, laws, actions and decisions aimed at controlling a certain behavior or solving a problem that is either caused by or affects the public. Public opinion on the other hand is a set of people’s views and attitudes towards a specific topic or issue that affect them. It usually affects the process of public policy making as it tak es into consideration the public interests. This piece of work gives a critique of the article; Information Effects in Collective Preferences by Althaus looking into how the author tackles the topic and his efforts in making us understand the relationship between public opinion and public policy. The author starts of by showing us how information is essential in decision making especially in shaping public opinion which to a great extent affects the process of public policy since the public are a major element in the public policy making process thorough their various opinions. It is evident that uneven distribution of political information among the society members leads to different public opinions by the members as they have different levels of knowledge concerning the specific topic or problem and therefore the public policies that are made based on the collected opinions from the public are usually not complete as they do not comprehensively represent the public. This shows tha t the process of public policy making could only be effective if knowledge about particular issues of concern were evenly distributed among the citizens as this would make them make appropriate and informed decisions based on facts and the government would hence take effective actions and solve the public’s problems.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Public opinion is therefore influenced by information effect which is the information’s impact in shaping collective opinion as a result of low levels and uneven social distribution of knowledge regarding politics in the society. Political knowledge enhance proper decision making in regard to political issues as the informed citizens are able to understand the major components involved in public policy making for instance the policy itself, the participants or actors and the problems at stake. Although we can argue that being politically informed enhance the individual’s and collective opinion, some studies for instance in cognitive psychology also show that even the people who are poorly informed an political matters can make opinions that are in line with their political inclinations by relying on some political figures and other sources for instance online processing and other information shortcuts without necessarily having the specific factual knowledge. Aggregation of the opinions made by both the well informed and ill informed citizens will also allow coming up with an appropriate conclusion. This disputes the fact that the correct and meaningful collective opinion could only be attained if all the citizens were well informed. All in all information among the citizens influences their opinions by affecting the interaction between those collecting the data and those giving the responses for instance the poorly informed citizens who are usually the Blacks, the poor and women tend t o give vague response as compared to the knowledgeable audience leading to poor presentation of the public’s preferences as opposed to those from the knowledgeable citizens who are mostly, the Whites, the rich and men whose views tend to be greatly considered. The opinions of the well informed people also tend to be of high quality in terms of being consistent with the political predisposition regarding the particular problem in question. Public opinion and public policy are directly dependent on each other since public policy formulation and implementation is based on the public’s opinion about the particular topic or problem and it is usually made in response to a specific problem or issue facing the public with an aim of solving it.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The concept of public policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The citizens’ provision of information on the topic is usually usefu l in the policy formulation and implementation process as it brings forward their beliefs, attitudes which in the long run influence the cause and effects processes and what the government is likely to undertake and the expected outcomes of the actions taken. It is however difficult to determine how information or knowledge in the political field would affect an individual’s or group’s preference in regard to what is best for them. The political interests of the informed people may either be subjective or objective and in some instances they may not reflect what the public may prefer in relation to a particular issue. The knowledgeable citizens tend to be in a good position to argue or respond to different situations based on the knowledge they have previously acquired. They also have a certain degree of confidence due to their prior experience and can hence easily understand complex political issues and happenings that surround them as compared to the ill informed cit izens. The measure of how information affects preferences and opinions among citizens can be attained through taking of constant variables in the society in both the enlightened and the ill informed citizens in the community for instance education, age, race, religious affiliation, marital status, gender, region, financial status, type of community, region, parental status, partisanship, and occupation among others and presenting the same questions to them and then evaluating the responses. The author however recognizes that a political party affiliation is an essential element since it is also a relatively constant characteristic of the citizens and a major determinant of the citizen’s responses to political issues as it acts as a basis for the citizen’s responses and a shortcut as opposed to factual knowledge they would have concerning the topic of discussion. Although the author tries to tackle this issues comprehensively through application of various theories, mod els and methods and also by taking into consideration what has been said by other authors in regard to the same topic , it is still difficult to completely determine the exact influence of information on political interests and preferences among the enlightened and the ill informed citizens as the results from the conducted surveys are often almost the same since there are other determinants apart from information or knowledge exhibited by the respondents.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To understand the concept of the influence public opinion on public policy formulation and implementation, the author gives us an example on how information can affect people’s attitudes toward spousal notification law. The example tries to show how information can shape an individual’s or group’s collective preference. The question posed to the respondents is; ‘‘would you favor or oppose a law in your state that would require a married woman to notify her husband before she can have an abortion? ’’1 The responses were obtained and the logit coefficients evaluated and it is noted that the differences in the responses attained is relatively very low. The models used can however not perfectly represent individual opinions but can generally show the differences between those groups that are for the law and those that are against its enactment. The model also shows the effects of information or knowledge on an issue on policy preferences am ong various groups. From the above named question, two thirds of the respondents seemed to support the spousal notification law while a third was against it. The well informed citizens seem to be divided on the issue as 48% of them supported it and 52% opposed it and hence the problem lies in the unequal distribution of political knowledge among citizens. Men were more informed as compared to women because even after full provision of political knowledge, their responses did change much as compared to that of women. This shows that the difference in information available to both men and women affects the results obtained in opinion surveys and hence leads to inefficient public policy making by the governments as they base they actions on the opinion polls gathered. Different topics attract different public opinions according to how best the citizens are informed or interested in them for example issues of social, fiscal, and security wellbeing among others. A change in information o r knowledge on an issue also leads to changes in collective preferences as the people are subject to change their opinions with change in information. The deviation however varies depending on other elements for instance the Whites, the rich and men are less likely to change their opinions much as compared to the Blacks, the poor and women who are more susceptible to change of opinion due to prior lack of knowledge. This can be seen when taking varying responses of the citizens on different issues for instance foreign policy issues, fiscal issues, operative issues and social policy issues. Generally, fully informed citizens tend to give divided opinions on policies like foreign policy, they are more concerned on social and fiscal concepts and policies and more conservative on operative issues that take place around them. Correcting for information unevenness can however lead to notable shifts in individual and collective opinions. The authors argues that the only way out in understa nding collective preferences could be the balancing of political knowledge among the society members which will counter the low levels and uneven social distribution of information on politics and political issues. He also states that information level in an individual or group affects collective opinion greater that previous studies have shown. It is also clear that different levels of information brings about change in responses and therefore collective preferences of various people could change either with a less or great magnitude if everyone was equally informed in various aspects of concern in the political field. The author argues the topic in a very comprehensive manner by looking into various studies that have been done regarding the effects of information or knowledge among the citizens and its role in shaping their opinions which in the long run affects the public policy making process and the actions taken by the government in regard to the problems faced by the citizens . He then gives lots of models and informative examples from which the reader can draw his or her own conclusions and there after gives his point of view with specific reasons for making the decisions. From the information given by the author in his article, Information Effects in Collective Preferences, it is evident that the public is a very essential component or determinant in the process of public policy formulation and implementation. This is because the public opinions are used by the government and other bodies involved in the policy making process for instance legislative bodies, leadership, bureaucracy, interest groups, political parties and the justice system in decision making. Public policies are made out of the public’s interest which is expressed through public opinion. However, public opinion can sometimes be decisive and not representative of the reality for instance when the respondents that are contacted during the survey are not representative of the total community in terms of size and aggregate composition or characteristics. Knowledge of the people on the particular issue also affects the opinions given as people tend to give vague information when they are not conversant with the political issue while those who are well enlightened tend to give meaningful responses that are in line with the government’s expectations. In most cases the responses from the well informed citizens are usually used as the basis in making public policies hence their needs end up being catered for at the expense of those that are not well informed. This shows that the policies formulated and implemented by the government are usually not representative of all citizen’s views as they are not based on everybody’s opinion as it should be the case. Public opinion usually has limited influence on public policy since in most cases there are usually no clear public preferences for one policy over others as the citizens are not given the opti ons of choosing among policies that are available. The policy makers also do not necessarily follow the public preferences due to lack of adequate relevant information. This is because most people have no distinct preferences on most issues especially political related and in the few cases where preferences have been established, public opinion is usually much divided to a point where the bodies involved in public policy making cannot base their actions on it. For instance in the example on passage of the notification law of the spouse on abortion given earlier, the public seemed much divided and the government may be left with the final decision hence public opinion is overruled. In some instances the government may make advantage of a situation and go per its preference as opposed to the public preference as it has powers over the general public. The government may come up with an idea regarding a policy and persuade the public to support it for example through campaigns. This is a way of molding the public opinion where different bodies and institutions involved in public policy making process affect the public’s decisions on various aspects. Incases where the public opinion is well known and the preferences seem to be well defined, the policy makers may also not go in accordance to them for various reasons for example if the preferences are deemed to be based on ignorance on the issue, when it is not for the well being of the majority in the society or when the policy to be passed is susceptible to change completely in the event of enactment of an alternative policy in future. Although public policy is sometimes in line with public opinion, this is not an adequate justification that public opinion determines the actions taken in the public policy making policy. The public policy makers mostly make a generalization since they can gauge what the public would prefer and at the end of it all, they end up coming up with policies that are in favor with th e public preferences even without their consultation. It is however clear that public opinion and public policy are strongly related. Although public opinion is expected to be the basis of public policy in determining its formulation and implementation, it does not work out this way. In few instances, the public opinion matches with the policy makers preferences and hence it is adopted but in most case, it opposes the policy makers’ preferences and it is therefore ignored. This shows that despite the public being given a chance to voice their views and ideas the final decision lies in the public policy makers especially the government since the public has no power to force the government to act in a certain way. Bibliography Althaus, L. Scott. â€Å"Information Effects in Collective Preferences.† American Political Science Review. Vol. 92, No.3. 1998. Footnotes 1 Scott, L. Althaus. â€Å"Information Effects in Collective Preferences.† American Political Science Review. Vol. 92, No.3. 1998.

Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Essay Example

Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Essay Example Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Essay Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Essay Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Name: Course: Date: Organizational Diagnosis (OD) and Strategy Organizational diagnosis is part of the strategies implemented by an organization, to improve its effectiveness. It involves collecting information from different departments within the organization, using recorded data such as policies, mission and vision statements, and techniques such as interviews, observations, and questionnaires. This information is then evaluated and used to identify ways of making the organization more effective. Organizational diagnosis confirms the existence of a problem within the organization. Some of the problems that might exist in an organization include employee and customer dissatisfaction, low productivity, and the production of poor quality products among others. Diagnosis can also reveal the existence of positive attributes within the organization, and it can provide ways of improving and enhancing these attributes. It provides a way for organizations to determine the existence of any gaps between their current performance and their expectations. Strategy is the means by which the organization will use to achieve its objective. By identifying the problems that exist within the organization, the management can identify the appropriate strategies it will implement. Strategy determines how the organization will allocate the available resources to obtain maximum functioning within the organization (Burton et al., 2011). An organization’s structure has to fit with its strategy. A change in the organizations’ strategy creates a change in its structure. An organization’s strategic factors include leadership, style, climate, and technology among others (Burton Obel, 2004). The organization’s leadership determines the availability and allocation of resources. The culture of the organization determines the behavior of the employees, and the attitude they hold towards their work, and towards the organization. These factors influence the strategy that the organization will adopt. Lack of congruence or low congruence between strategy and structure will produce negative results and will result to low performance for the organization. Organizations might find it necessary to find new technologies to implement their strategies, after the organization’s diagnosis. The diagnosis may reveal the need for organizations to adopt new technologies and innovations as a way of increasi ng their effectiveness. Some organizations may find that they do not need to buy new technologies but that they need to refine the technologies they already have. They may use the existing technologies to do things differently. There are different organizational diagnosis models, which the organization can use to determine the existence of problems within the organization. Each of the models is different, and they utilize different variables within the organization. The results indicate different ways of solving problems. The technology available within the organization is implemented in different ways during organizational diagnosis and strategy implementation. The organization’s objectives and mission will determine the size, level, and choice of technology used. Employees are involved in the diagnosis process, as they are crucial in providing information. They are also involved in determining the strategies that the organization will implement. The organization’s resources, such as time and money, will determine the diagnosis to perform, and the strategies to implement. Organizations with few resources have limited options. Organizations, which do not have enough resources, will conduct a n arrow diagnosis, which might not reveal all the problems that the organization is facing. Just like a health problem, a wrong diagnosis leads to the wrong prescription, and treatment will not be effective. This is similar in organizations. Once the wrong diagnosis is performed, the management will not know the appropriate tools to implement (Cummings Worley, 2008). Performing narrow diagnosis might not be the best alternative, as problems will continue recurring in the organization. References: Burton, M. R., Obel, B., DeSanctis, G. (2011). Organizational design: A step-by-step approach. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Burton, M. R., Obel, B. (2004). Strategic organizational diagnosis and design: The dynamics fit. New York, NY: Springer. Cummings, G. T., Worley, G. C. (2008). Organization development change. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

The Efficient Markets Hypothesis

The Efficient Markets Hypothesis The efficient markets hypothesis has historically been one of the main cornerstones of academic finance research. Proposed by the University of Chicagos Eugene Fama in the 1960s, the general concept of the efficient markets hypothesis is that financial markets are informationally efficient- in other words, that asset prices in financial markets reflect all relevant information about an asset. One implication of this hypothesis is that, since there is no persistent mispricing of assets, it is virtually impossible to consistently predict asset prices in order to beat the market- i.e. generate returns that are higher than the overall market on average without incurring more risk than the market. The intuition behind the efficient markets hypothesis is pretty straightforward- if the market price of a stock or bond was lower than what available information would suggest it should be, investors could (and would) profit (generally via arbitrage strategies) by buying the asset. This increase in demand, however, would push up the price of the asset until it was no longer underpriced. Conversely, if the market price of a stock or bond was higher than what available information would suggest it should be, investors could (and would) profit by selling the asset (either selling the asset outright or short selling an asset that they dont own). In this case, the increase in the supply of the asset would push down the price of the asset until it was no longer overpriced. In either case, the profit motive of investors in these markets would lead to correct pricing of assets and no consistent opportunities for excess profit left on the table. Technically speaking, the efficient markets hypothesis comes in three forms. The first form, known as the weak form (or weak-form efficiency), postulates that future stock prices cannot be predicted from historical information about prices and returns. In other words, the weak form of the efficient markets hypothesis suggests that asset prices follow a random walk and that any information that could be used to predict future prices is independent of past prices. The second form, known as the semi-strong form (or semi-strong efficiency), suggests that stock prices react almost immediately to any new public information about an asset. In addition, the semi-strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis claims that markets dont overreact or underreact to new information. The third form, known as the strong form (or strong-form efficiency), states that asset prices adjust almost instantaneously not only to new public information but also to new private information. Put more simply, the weak form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market with a model that only uses historical prices and returns as inputs, the semi-strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market with a model that incorporates all publicly available information, and the strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market even if his model incorporates private information about an asset. One thing to keep in mind regarding the efficient markets hypothesis is that it doesnt imply that no one ever profits from adjustments in asset prices. By the logic stated above, profits go to those investors whose actions move the assets to their correct prices. Under the assumption that different investors get to the market first in each of these cases, however, no single investor is consistently able to profit from these price adjustments. (Those investors who were able to always get in on the action first would be doing so not because asset prices were predictable but because they had an informational or execution advantage, which is not really inconsistent with the concept of market efficiency.) The empirical evidence for the efficient markets hypothesis is somewhat mixed, though the strong-form hypothesis has pretty consistently been refuted. In particular, behavioral finance researchers aim to document ways in which financial markets are inefficient and situations in which asset prices are at least partially predictable. In addition, behavioral finance researchers challenge the efficient markets hypothesis on theoretical grounds by documenting both cognitive biases that drive investors behavior away from rationality and limits to arbitrage that prevent others from taking advantage of the cognitive biases (and, by doing so, keeping markets efficient).

Ornament and Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ornament and Architecture - Essay Example The origin of architectural ornamentation can be traced back to the 19th century when classical design is said to have reached its peak in the U.S in what is popularly known as the the American Renaissance. What was evident on the architectural pieces at the time is that they had a style that was commonly used by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio in the first century B.C. What is notable in Vitruvius work and those who heed to his records regarding the classical style, design and ornamentation is that they were based on imitations (Polio 56). Furthermore, the technology applied during this time followed strict rules, which did not give room for innovation since preconception hindered harmonious ornamentation. Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), like Vitruvius, is another architect who influenced a lot artwork during the American Renaissance. He considered ornament as something applied or added. In fact, he defined ornament as a type of additional light that was aimed at complementing beauty (Alberti 7). I believe, from this definition, that beauty is something inherent in property, which is supposed to be manifested in the body of a beautiful, whereas ornament instead of being inherent is added or attached to a piece. Alberti argues that beauty is found in nature and may be the main reason for building. Nevertheless, several questions arise from Alberti’s argument because ornamentation is done on the whole work and is part of the whole. Therefore, it is not reasonable for him to have thought that beauty and ornament were separate. Furthermore, it is not reasonable to say that an attached or added ornament is beautiful. Ornamentation of a building is supposed to enhance beauty. Louis Sullivan was the first architect to have understood that ornamentation of a building is essential in enhancing beauty. His works mainly centered on creating an architectural works dependent on context of the project, with integral ornamentation. Sullivan focused mainly on principle of design rather than preconceived rules. He mainly believed in the principle â€Å"form ever follows function† (Dorra 111). From this principle, Sullivan made attempts to fuse his naturalistic ornament with the building’s structure as was seen in Wainwright Building at Saint Louis, Missouri (1890-91) (Dor ra 112). The building is a classical example showing how Sullivan used naturalistic orna

Benefits of online classes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benefits of online classes - Essay Example Therefore, working professionals or recent high school graduates see many reasons to enrol for some or all of their courses online since the benefits are numerous. Online learning offers diverse programs that allow the learners various opportunities. Students have the option of taking the traditional four year degree courses or any other ones. Regardless of the course a student wishes to enrol for, whether nursing or business management, there is an online course or a degree program that they can find. All kinds of academic degrees can also be earned online, form a certificate all the way to a doctorate. The online classes are also comparatively low-priced than the conventional college classes. Nevertheless, not all the online classes are cheaper than the traditional college classes, the costs that are associated with these classes and usually far much cheaper. For instance, there are no costs incurred for commuting and in some cases there are required course materials like books since these are available free online. Colleges and institutes of higher education have started accepting credits that have been earned through massive open online co urses that are free which is the recent advance in online learning. Online classes that are offered in this courses can assist students achieve education requirements at minimal costs. The online classes also offer a comfortable learning environment for the students who enrol for them since physical class sessions do not exist. Materials that are used by the students in the course are sent electronically, after which they read them and work on their assignments. The students do not have to deal with traffic, look for parking spaces or leave their places of employment early to rush to class. The online classes allow students a chance to plan time for classes around their day instead of having to plan the day

Haydn's Baryton Trios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Haydn's Baryton Trios - Essay Example This instrument is related to the bass viol, and besides the six or seven strings over its fingerboard has another set of strings attached underneath. These serve a double function: they sound in sympathetic vibration with the upper strings and may also be played pizzicato by the performer's left thumb, the neck of the baryton being open at the back. A viola, replaced by a violin in three works, and a cello supply the remaining voices. These trios in three movements are carefully elaborated and prove that Haydn knew how to produce works of art, even when forced to something like mass production. Quotations and arrangements from the composer's own symphonies and operas, and even from Gluck, may have amused his august patron (Brandenburg, 1998, p. 27). Contemporary sources vary in their estimates of the merits of the instrument. Whereas Friedrich August Weber, a physician who was one of the most spirited musical writers of the time, praised it saying, "One seems to hear the gamba and harp at the same time," and confesses that he "was moved to tears" by its sounds, Dr. Burney, in discussing the performance of the baryton virtuoso, Andreas Lidl, who had been in the service of Prince Eszterhzy before going to London, writes: "Mr. Lidl played with exquisite taste and expression upon this ungrateful instrument, which has the additional embarrassment of base [sic] strings at the back of the neck and he accompanied himself with these; an admirable expedient in a desert, or even in a house, where there is but one musician, but to have the bother of accompanying yourself in a great concert, surrounded by idle per- formers who could take the trouble off your hands, and leave them more at liberty to execute, express, and embellish the princi ple melody, seemed at best a work of supererogation" (cited in Elson, 1927, p. 43). Modern listeners, for their part, admire the characteristic features in these remarkable works: the occasional derivation of subsidiary subjects from the main ideas, intricate contrapuntal devices, interesting harmonic progressions, and delightful sound effects achieved with the baryton's peculiar pizzicato (prescribed by numbers in the score): the frequent attempts to arrange baryton trios for conventional string trio have unfortunately proved a failure, as the pieces need the baryton's distinctive sound. And what a failure. Historically speaking, the instrument was the favorite of Prince Nikolaus Esterhzy who demanded that his musical servant compose zillions of pieces for it. Curiously, it isn't so much the presence of the baryton that has prevented greater exposure for these delightful octets (the part can be played on any suitable stringed instrument of similar range), but rather the atrocious difficultly of the two horn parts. Haydn demands that his wind players execute insanely acrobatic figurations at both the extreme top and bottom of their range, and this extraordinary wind sonority gives these works much of their sonic allure (Wellesz & Sternfeld, 1973, p. 129). Nevertheless because of restricted usage, the baryton music was usually unpublished originally. Haydn's twenty-one works in SS/- or SA/bass setting, four of which are now lost, stem from his earliest creative periods. Called "divertimento" and "trio" in the source MSS, those that were published appeared chiefly as "Sonates en trio" These "trios" are relatively slight and objective, but as

Implementing Quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Implementing Quality - Essay Example It has come to the notice of the management that sufficient headway has already been made in the quality control process and it is commendable that the quality issues have been taken seriously by all concerned. However since a quality audit by the clients AA of all the processes is due in the next four months, the process of ensuring a Total Quality Control should be given a top priority and hence this memorandum. The company should be fully equipped with its quality control measures not only to satisfy the Quality Audit by the client but also to ensure that our product meets the highest quality standards not to land the client in a disastrous situation as has been done by the previous supplier of the client. As first step to review the quality standards of the products and processes, the R& D conducted an analysis of the existing quality control measures and it is disheartening to note that several mistakes have been committed in the past by the various departments/processes of the company. Especially there were mistakes that happened in the packing, storing and shipping processes which were serious enough to make the product totally unusable in the hands of the client. Definitely we would have had serious troubles with the client even in the first shipment of our product had this study been not undertaken. Hence R&D has been advised to undertake similar studies in all the departments/processes to identify the inefficiencies/weaknesses associated with the processes. Past Mistakes and Improvements effected: To point out some of the mistakes, there were wrong labeling, spelling mistakes and incorrect expiration dates on labels; products were stored in wrong refrigerator, wrong warehouse and there were no proper records for the product locations; this led to shipping incorrect quantities to incorrect locations and products too close to expiration dates were shipped. Several quick steps like studying the staffing requirements of these processes and providing them with adequate education and training were taken immediately. In the packing process, various quality measures like random checking by the supervisor of the correctness of the labels, recording of the number of mistakes being committed by the worker to pull up the erring workers were implemented. To remove the problem of spelling mistakes in labels the company has procured a new software for printing labels and the company has organized a training programme for the executives, supervisors and staff of the various processes concerned with the labeling and packing. This training is being coordinated by Sharon from R&D. In the Storing process quality control measures like prominent display of stores and refrigerator locations, classification of warehouse locations and marking the locations on the store inward documents by the supervisor has already been implemented. In the shipping process, control measures like final inspection of the consignments before shipment for identifying the quality issues and making possible

HACCEP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HACCEP - Essay Example Use properly sanitized wash water (Chlorinated at least 0.1%) Food handlers must use properly sanitized mask, head gears, and gloves. All utensils must be properly sanitized with hot water. Monitor water chlorination level Monitor use of food handlers’ gears Monitor sanitization procedures ... Monitor use of food handlers' gears Monitor sanitization procedures Adjust chlorination level to desired concentration Require food handlers to use masks, caps, and gloves Require sanitization Step: Cooking Pathogen survival and growth Baking is at 180C for 45 minutes; Heating of liquid below 80C; Additional baking 180C for 5-10 minutes Check oven and heating temperatures using sanitized thermometers Record time and temperature settings Adjust to the desired temperature. If lower temperature is used extend time of cooking Discard if over-cooked Step: Holding Growth of pathogens Refrigerate not more than 10C Hold in chilled conditions up to 3 days Check temperature settings Record temperatures within storage duration If storage temp is higher than desired for extended period, Reheat in oven using reheating procedure. Discard after 3 reheating cycles. Step: Reheating Pathogen survival Heat in oven at 180 C for 5-10 minutes Maximum of 3 reheating is allowed Check temperature Record number of times of reheating Ensure right temperature and time Discard if not consumed after 3rd reheating Step: Serving Contamination Serve hot about 40 C Check serving temperature Reheat if product is cold or below 30

Home work 1 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Home work 1 - Article Example The contact method used was through online alternatives that could provide statistical data. The financial information and sales of both companies is available through investor information about the company. The research panel of Canalys was able to gather the information from this then find the statistical comparisons between the two companies to show how each is doing in the competitive arena. There were also other statistics gathered from the companies which had Smartphones but were not as competitive in the market. This allowed the same data to be collected with both companies and provided a specific set of answers to the overall competitiveness within the companies. The main data was then distributed to AFP to finish the study and to provide information to the general public. The information provided by the survey included several statistics related to both Smartphones. The comparison began with the fourth quarter results of 2010 with both Smartphones, which included sales of 32 .9 Androids and 31 million Symbians. The Google percentage of sales was also compared, which included 8.7% of sales in 2009 and 32.5% in 2010, compared to Nokia, which was 44% in 2009 to 30.6% in 2010.

HACCEP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HACCEP - Essay Example Use properly sanitized wash water (Chlorinated at least 0.1%) Food handlers must use properly sanitized mask, head gears, and gloves. All utensils must be properly sanitized with hot water. Monitor water chlorination level Monitor use of food handlers’ gears Monitor sanitization procedures ... Monitor use of food handlers' gears Monitor sanitization procedures Adjust chlorination level to desired concentration Require food handlers to use masks, caps, and gloves Require sanitization Step: Cooking Pathogen survival and growth Baking is at 180C for 45 minutes; Heating of liquid below 80C; Additional baking 180C for 5-10 minutes Check oven and heating temperatures using sanitized thermometers Record time and temperature settings Adjust to the desired temperature. If lower temperature is used extend time of cooking Discard if over-cooked Step: Holding Growth of pathogens Refrigerate not more than 10C Hold in chilled conditions up to 3 days Check temperature settings Record temperatures within storage duration If storage temp is higher than desired for extended period, Reheat in oven using reheating procedure. Discard after 3 reheating cycles. Step: Reheating Pathogen survival Heat in oven at 180 C for 5-10 minutes Maximum of 3 reheating is allowed Check temperature Record number of times of reheating Ensure right temperature and time Discard if not consumed after 3rd reheating Step: Serving Contamination Serve hot about 40 C Check serving temperature Reheat if product is cold or below 30

Tackling Childhood Obesity Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Tackling Childhood Obesity - Research Proposal Example When the behaviour is culminated in the community and family levels, the children also get to enter into these lifestyle cycles, sometimes inadvertently and sometimes due to lack of knowledge. It has been indicated in studies that dietary changes and schedules of daily activities lacking promotion of physical activities and lack of playtime activities are the reasons in cases of children (Edmunds et al., 2001). For example, in diets, fast foods have been included to a great extent. These contain items with high-fat and high-sugar contents. These mainly come from convenience items for family reasons. Work-roles in the families have led to a decrease in family meals. Outside the home environment, the patterns of dietary changes are also affecting food habits of the young. All studies have indicated the positive roles played by physical activity. Lack of physical activity has been implicated in children's weight gain in excess of what is ideal. Thus, there is a situation where the child ren are overweight or obese, and compounded to that there is a diminution of the physical activity in daily lives of the adolescents and the children (Reilly, 2006). Studies again indicated marked decline in schedules of physical activity in the middle school and high school schedules in children. This is more so in case of girls. This may be due to cutting down of physical education in school curricula. Additionally, there is increased use of television and computers, which decrease children's level of activities to a great extent leading to insufficient physical exercise (Brunt et al., 2008). The extent of obesity is assessed by classification in adults. However, it is difficult to assess the same in case of children by such classifications. For studies and research, given the problems in children, the prevalence is an important parameter to study. In research studies, classically this is measured in percentiles. Although there are legitimate criticisms, research literature has conventionally used body mass index. Consequently, there is a prescribed body mass index (BMI) for all ages, and 85th to 95th percentile of the standard BMI has been used as the landmark. This means children within this range will be considered at risk for being overweight. On the other hand, children who are beyond 95th percentile would be regarded overweight. It is evident that studies that involve at risk children as target population for intervention, would attempt to identify them, and in that context, these benchmarks could serve as effective identifiers. Once identified, these affected child ren may be intervened through designed public health measures with the objective and outcomes being prevention of future or existing obesity and reduction of complications and implications of obesity in them (Gibson et al., 2006). The global nature of this problem has already been mentioned, but the important parameter that this study attempts to address is launching the public health intervention at young age when the exposure to life style related risk

Love as Joyous Essay Example for Free

Love as Joyous Essay Both Plath and the Metaphysical Poets show love as joyous by suggesting a strong physical intimacy between themselves and their lovers. Donne, known for his hedonistic ways tried to seduce his lady in the poem To his mistress going to bed by relating her undressing to a holy analogy. Hallowed temple heaven paradise Angels gives a sense of purity about the relationship and emphasises the innocence in that the love they are about to share is purely between them. Along with this, in order to fortify the intimacy felt during love making Donne uses polysemic terms such as My mine of precious stones which not only displays mine as a first person possessive pronoun- perhaps showing pride in the possession he has over his mistress- but also the mine that is her genitals- the new land he is yet to discover. Similarly Plath uses polysemantic terms as a way of showing the exclusivity in her relationships in the poem Ariel , specifically referring to the apparent lesbian affair she had soon after her and Ted Hughes split The childs cry melts in the wall not only suggests that when with her alleged lesbian partner shes free for the burden of motherhood and can just focus on their passion but also that when being in a homosexual relationship the possibilities of conceiving a child are none an therefore there is no-one else to detract from the bond and overwhelming desire that the 2 have for each other. Plath also represents this intimacy by using metaphorical imagery such as White Godiva which indicates the female naked freedom while also subtly protesting against her husband by portraying this great female symbol. Plath also uses imagery to intensify the passion she feels in love making with another woman The brown arc of the neck and into the red eye suggest the vagina and feminists would argue that Plath portrays the orgasm as Foam to the wheat glitter of seas which exaggerates the intimacy experienced when the 2 are at their most vulnerable naked states. Along with this both Plath and the Metaphysicals display the joyous love by the overwhelming of emotions that it creates. In Donnes poem To his Mistress Going To Bed the whole poem is written in one stanza with its contents being ridden with enjambment we easily know By this these Angels from an evil sprite:. This shows the feelings Donne has as not being able to express them fast enough as, as hes seducing her, so many emotions are being created at the foremost frustration and lust. At the time, Donne was known for being debauched and this excitement and unable to contain his feeling emphasises how much he risked in order to sleep with the woman. The use of plosives such as Behind before, above, between, below represent the transactional and heightening strength of the emotion whilst the caesura in the line suggests Donne needs to pause after the words to try and calm himself down from all the overwhelming urges and desires he has for his mistress. As Donne was a child genius and was working in law by the time he was 17 he was popular with the ladies, and so when a woman such as the one hes addressing in the poem doesnt succumb to his epicurean ways so easily, his emotions flair and overwhelm him into an almost plea for her to make love with him. Plath also uses linguistic features in portraying the overbearing love and excitement she has for her first child to be born. Youre is a poem written during her pregnancy of her first child Frieda. She uses the phrase Vague as fog and looked for like mail to represent the anticipation and urgency she has to meet her new child. However, this is a homophone and mail could also mean male as in the absence of her husband Ted Hughes who was rarely around. At the time she was having relationship issues with Ted and building a new everlasting love bond with her new child and so the conflict in positive and negative emotions at the time would have certainly been overwhelming. The fog in this phrase represents the uncertainty and space between the mother and the gestating baby which may also be ironic of the disbelief she has that she can love a person so much without having met them yet. Finally both the metaphysical poets and Plath display love as joyous by seeing it as an opportunity for a new start. Donne sees this new start being one as starting from the pure naked state in the relationship to enter in these bonds is to be free is an oxymoron as the bond of marriage incarcerates two people in a relationship eternally. However Donne is expressing that by having this new start of marriage they will have a sense of freedom and self completion making love even more joyous. Whether Donne actually meant to marry the woman is questionable, after his strong womanising reputation however if he is then the new start he would have in actually committing himself in a marriage shows the strength of the love he feels. Plath, in Ariel sees the birth of her first child as a new start for herself. The metaphor of the last 2 lines Right, like a well-done sum. A clean slate, with your own face on shows the positivity she already sees in this new being well-done sum and clean slate. At the time she was going through hardships in her marriage with Ted Hughes and so the new child could be a source for a new start of optimistic love and a positive source to project happiness onto. The compound words in Thumbs-down on the dodos mode. Represents the new life and thus new beginning Plath will receive from the new baby whilst the assonance of the o sound fortifies this by showing certainty and stability she sees in that this undoubtedly will give her the release and new start that shes needed for so long

Christianity versus Evolution :: essays research papers

For over a hundred years now a battle has been raging over the origin of the Universe and man. Soldiers of Science have drawn the battle lines with each side using various scientific and non - scientific theories as their weapons. Who will ultimately win the war depends on who holds the most powerful weapons. On one side we have the Evolutionists. On the other side we have the Creationists. Evolutionists believe in spontaneous generation: This is the belief that life came from non-living matter. Creationists believe that life was created by an intelligent supernatural being ( God ). Evolution: - depends on current scientific theories to show the origin of man and the universe. There is a problem with this: Science is constantly changing. Newer and different theories are always being formed concerning our origin. When one theory is found to be false, another theory is quickly postulated to cover the first error. For instance: 1 - Concentric theory - 15th century - taught that sun, planets revolved around the earth. 2 - Phlogiston theory - 17th - 18th century - taught that every substance that burns contained a mysterious ingredient called "Phlogiston". It was later shown to be oxygen. 3 - It was once an accepted scientific fact that mice came from dirty underwear. Do you dare put your trust in a belief or a theory that is that fickle? You do if you believe in evolution! The Evolutionists continue to build on shaky, ever shifting ground. Sometimes the ground that they build on is not even there. As I was sitting in my chair I knew it had no bottom there No legs, no back, but I just sat Ignoring little things like that Evolution, creation and geology (the study of the physical nature, history, development of the earth) Man has believed, for most of his existence, that the earth was only a few thousand years old. But a new theory surfaced in the 19th century called "Uniformitarianism". This is the belief that nature can be explained by natural causes. In other words, the complex structure of life that we have today slowly occurred over a long period of time. This changed the belief that instead of the earth being only a few thousand years old, it is now several billion years old (5) for that is how long it would take for the earth to develop if the theory of Uniformitarianism is true. Evolution was built merely on a supposition, but it was offered as fact; all the while Evolutionists went hunting for proof.

Family and Church Essay -- essays research papers

Family and Church: Enduring Institutions I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Family Life As a result of myths of white family life, there has been much confusion over the nature of black families. One of the myths of the nineteenth century entails the close- knit white family, which was parallel to that of the European family. Also, as a result of these myths, scholars often ignored the differences of American and European life. For example, women in frontier areas had a much stronger voice in family affairs than most scholars realized, simply because of the shortage of women. Therefore, women exercised a large percentage of authority in the family. In the cities where family was of little importance as an economic unit and the father was often at work, the care of the children was primarily the responsibility of the mother. By 1880, the American family became more democratic. After the second half of the nineteenth century, changes in the nature and functions of the family occurred. For example, changes such as industrialization, improvements in transportation, the weakening of religious bonds, and increased knowledge of birth control, led to more working wives and more premarital sex, downgraded the importance of family. As a result of relaxed divorce laws and a greater emphasis on romantic love, there was an increase in the number of divorces. By the 1970’s, one in every three marriages ended in divorce, the failure rate for new marriages was thirty percent, nine million people were divorced or separated, and twelve million single individuals were heading households with children. There were so many divorces that a large number of whites were practicing serial monogamy, meaning one person having only one spouse at time, but more than one in his or her lifetime. Most often researchers speak of the pathological disorganization of the black family and imply that all black families are matriarchal, meaning the woman is the head of the household. The dangerous part of this myth was popularized by Daniel P. Moyhnihan, who asserted that the pathological weakness of the black family was,† capable of perpetuating itself without the assistance from the white world.† The weakness of the black family may be seen as a direct result of centuries of white oppression of blacks and not as inherent and immutable. The black family grew out of a complex combination o... ... black clergy felt that Afro Americans had a special duty to regenerate the land of their fathers. The African Methodist Episcopal Church established a mission in Haiti in 1827, for instance, to â€Å"aid in making the Haitian nationality and government, strong, powerful, and commanding among the civilized nations of the earth.† VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literary Praise for the Black Church Black poets, less critical of black religion than novelists, captured more of the essential spirit of the church than most scholars could. While occasionally complaining about the excessive humility of black Christians, the poets used the rhythm and message of sermons, prayers and services in celebration of God’s love and promise of deliverance. The black minister, portrayed sympathetically, was also a favorite subject of black poets. Like James Weldon Johnson, many of the poets reproduced the cadences and messages of the folk sermon. They portrayed the minister’s beautiful word pictures. Among the best of them was Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 1896 poem, â€Å"An Antebellum Sermon,† which demonstrates the black preacher’s attempt to correlate biblical messages with his flock’s hope of early rewards.