Each paper is on cultural relativism on the writings provided below Essay

Each paper is on cultural relativism on the writings provided below - Essay Example This fact cannot be denied that people believing in traditional healing systems will not go for biomedicine if they have firm believe in their culture and folk medicine procedures. Their beliefs should be respected and they should not be imposed that they must use the medicine that has no linkage with their culture. Even they should be facilitated with knowledge of their culture so that they can be provided with sufficient provision of needed support. AIDS is not a small or negligible disease as it keeps the capacity of killing a person. This disease is quite common in Africa and people make use of traditional or fold healing systems to get rid of this disease. It is essential for our researchers to make use of cultural herbal medicines and other ways of supporting people to get rid of their disease to facilitate the patients of AIDS with medicines that are not only biomedical but also traditional. Medical anthropologists have researched the topic of AIDS by keeping social and cultur al aspects in view and state that the disease cannot be understood well without understanding the environment and culture of people involved. The writers Singer and Baer (2007) use a term bioculturalism to define the linkage between biology and culture and according to their view, interaction between cultures and biology can be seen well by studying health and illness. AIDS as a disease can be well understood by gaining knowledge of the culture of the people as culture informs us about explaining, sensing and experiencing about pain. Biomedicine cannot be successful for any diseased person until and unless, the culture, political status and environment, all are not well understood. Sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS involves cultural beliefs and practices. According to Singer and Baer (2007), â€Å"disease expression is shaped by cultural values, beliefs and expectations† (12). Therefore, the notion cannot be negated AIDS as a disease in various parts of the world can be best understood, explained and cured by means of understanding the cultures of people. Culture plays a major part in giving value to its followers and also provides people with fighting against diseases in their own constructed and reliable manners. References Singer, Merrill and Baer, Hans A. (2007). Introducing medical anthropology: a discipline in action. Boulevard: Rowman Altamira. Ethnomedicine: The Worlds of treatment and Healing Ethnomedicine can be defined as a term that circulates all the kinds of traditional medicines and its study whether the medicinal procedures are well documented or not. However, the medicinal study and procedures that come under the title of ethnomedicine are well established and people rely on them from centuries due to which, they are well reputed. The writers, Singers and Baer in their book, â€Å"Introducing Medical Anthropology† give the description of ethnomedicine as something that has â€Å"transcended multiple cultural boundariesâ € , which means that ethnomedicine has got so much repute that culturally, it is well-liked in nearly all cultures. The writers use the term ethnomedicine against the term biomedicine, which can be defined as study of medicinal procedures and medicine that is adopted globally. Ethnomedicine also called

Nokia Strategic Plan

Nokia Strategic Plan In this project I have covered various topics of marketing which are strategic planning, strategic planning process, the domestic strategic planning while the international strategic planning and also the difference among them. For more clearly understanding this topic I have also briefly discussed the case study of NOKIA. I have deeply studied Nokias strategic planning in India that is what all measures it took to grow and capture the Indian market. For understanding its international strategic planning and the reason for its success by properly implementing its strategic planning globally. Even the PEST, porters five stage model and SWOT of the company also made the concept and analysis more clear. Table of contents (jump to) 1.Introduction: Definition of strategic planning Definition Strategic Planning Process International/global strategy Difference between domestic and global strategy planning 2. Nokia Case Study Domestic strategy 4 Ps Marketing Mix of Nokia Porters 5 Forces Analysis of Nokia SWOT Analysis of Nokia 3. Conclusion 4. Recommendation 5. References Introduction Definition of Strategic Planning: Strategic planning is the process by which it maintain its competitiveness within its work environment by determining where the organization is and where it want to go, and how it wish to get there. In other words examining what all strategies will enable the corporate or association to prosper in the future. This definition applies to the largest profit oriented as well as to the nonprofit organization. Definition Strategic Planning Process: The strategic planning process is a rational approach firms use to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above- average returns. Thus it is an essential most and foremost step in development of result based accountability system which is defined as the process of addressing the following questions: Where are we? What do we have to work with? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? These are the various steps involved in the strategic planning which has to be achieved or ensured one by one. The first step is to answer where are we? Thats where the company or the organization going to survey or conduct its activity. Then the next step is making themselves clear about on what they have to work thats their product or services. Then future knowing what is their future goal, where they want to reach and lastly planning that how they will achieve their goals. The Strategic Planning Process Mission and Objectives: Mission and objective of the business describes about the companies values and beliefs. They show what is the goal of the business for which it is working. The objective can also be in financial term as well. Environmental Scan: This includes the internal analysis of the firm itself which is done by SWOT analysis of the firm. While the second is analysis of the firms industry which is done by porters five forces model and third is microenvironment analysis which is done through PEST analysis. Strategy formulation: From the above scan the firm will get to know where it stands among the other firm. And then accordingly they have to make their strength into opportunity and also reduce their weakness and threat which can give them competitive advantage. This competitive advantage can be in form of low cost as well as differentiation. Strategy implementation: As and now the strategy is been prepared for the firm, so now its time to implement it. As and when it is implemented then only company can know how much successful is the strategy for the firm. Evaluation and control: The implementation of strategy must be monitored and tested and whatever necessary changes required should be made. Thus this process is done in following steps: Define the parameters that is to be measured Define target values for those parameters Then the performance measurement Compare the results from the targeted result Make necessary changes required in it. International/global strategy: An international strategy is a strategy through which the firm sells its goods and services outside its domestic market. The steps in international strategy are: Identify international opportunities Explore resources and capabilities Use core competences Strategic competitiveness outcome. The international strategy has two basic types: business level, corporate level international strategy. There are three corporate level strategies which are -multidomestic, global and transnational. Global strategy: is the strategy which assumes more standardization of product across country market. Thus global strategy is centralized and controlled by the home office. Difference between domestic and global strategy planning: Domestic strategy is basically defined when the company is been formed while the global strategy is defined when the company enters into the new market. Domestic strategy are the goal or the vision mission through which the company was been formed. While the global strategy are been decided according to the customers need, preference and the countries suitability. Domestic strategy is been fixed and rarely changes while the global strategy changes according to the need of that country. There are chances that the domestic strategy is similarly to global strategy while it can differ also. ( strategic management-ireland.hoskisson.hitt) The major challenges that international managers/marketer faces when strategic planning for the global markets:- The greater geographical dispersion across country border increases the cost of coordination between unit and distribution of product. Trade barrier of the global country also a major challenges for the managers. Even the cultural diversification and other differences by country like (access to raw material and different employee skill levels) greatly complicate the implementation of strategy planning for global market. Differences in consumer needs, wants, and usage patterns for products is also one of the major challenges for the manager during their strategy planning. Some time the religion of the particular country also affects the strategy planning of the company. This is also one the important challenge for the manager to understand. Nokia Case Study Domestic strategy: Vision for future: The main vision as stated on website and an punch line of Nokia Connecting people is now connecting people to what matters whatever that means for each person giving them the power to make the most of every moment, everywhere, any time. Connecting the we is more powerful than just the individual. Thats how Nokia is needed to help make the world a better place for everyone. (http://www.nokia.com) Strategy of company: The Nokia website states on its blog that To do this we will become the leading provider of mobile solutions. Our solutions strategy leverages one of our greatest assets a portfolio of outstanding devices, with unmatched scale and geographic reach. We couple them with smart services, integrated via an intuitive and seamless user experience. We differentiate these solutions offerings based on our in-depth consumer understanding, with a strong focus on social location (people and places). (http://www.nokia.com) Now NOKIA in India: The Indian market is huge and diverse and also undraped. As the rural India is the main unexploited which could be captured. But these rural markets have its own challenges in it. This brought Nokia to India and captures its huge market. Nokias marketing strategy planning in India- MISSION: The mission of NOKIA in INDIA is to provide the customer with the best durable, economical stylish and low cost cell phone with best feature for the common use of customers. MARKETING OBJECTIVES Maintain positive, strong growth every quarter by selling more and more no. of cell phone. Achieve a steady increase in market penetration To maintain its position of Indias no. 1 cell phone producing company. Maintaining its reputation. 4ps of marketing mix: 1. Product: Domestic strategy: Nokia in its domestic strategy had developed many model of cell which been updated time to time. Global strategy: The product Nokia brought for Indian market was more of user friendly and very durable product. As Indian market always demanded more of rough and tough mobiles which could be used and handled by every person. Even one of the main product features for India was that Nokia came out with the cell phone with torch in it. Which was a good strategy to attract the Indian rural market. As after the analysis Nokia came to know that 60percent of Indian population stays in India. And rural India is facing big problem of electricity. Thus this kind of torch in cell phones attracted the rural India So Nokia came with the product which was desirable by the market. 2. Price: Domestic strategy: The prices of mobile phones are comparatively according to the economy of the country. So the call rates in Finland are also comparatively high. But as there are very less competition so price of cell phone is high. Global strategy: The Indian mobile market has an over 170million subscribers making it the most cost effective player in this industry worldwide. More over India has the most lowest call rates and apart from this mobile phone calling from anywhere around the world is just two cents per minute, as in front of China it is four cents. The market is also aiming at immense growth. But so far Nokia is aiming at its Penetration-Led strategy which means having a mobile phone with every single person of the world. They are targeting at retaining their costumser which they have termed as replacement-Led. From a survey its been known that costumers in India tend to change their mobile phones very frequently. And whenever they come to change their phone are willing to pay an extra penny for a new upgraded handset. Thus in this way Nokia have managed to keep their price change as per the demand of its customers In India. 3. Promotion: Domestic strategy: Nokia is already a Finland company. So it is already a famous brand. Thus it does not require much of promotional activities to be done. Global strategy: Nokia made its promotion in various ways to capture Indian market. Among this the main focus was the rural market which was huge. Various film stars were been hired to promote Nokia. Even Nokia sponsored various cultural activities and sports activities and sports teams. 4. Place: Domestic strategy: In its domestic strategy it is already defined the places it has to cover. Which include whole of the country? Global strategy: For Nokia it was very important to keep a strong distribution channel so that the customer gets a product at right time and at a right place. Thus for this Nokia started its website, showrooms, marts and etc. Main strategy: The most foremost strategy for the company was to maintain the No 1 position in India among the cellular companies. This could be achieved if the firm keep on surveying the huge rural as well as the urban market. For the rural India Nokia adopted low cost strategy while for urban it adopted differentiations. Nokia external analysis | Porters 5 Forces Nokia a. Threat of New Entrant: Domestic strategy: there is low threat of new entrant. Because it is the first company of Finland with its big brand name. Global strategy: As Nokia has already built a good brand image in the Indian market. Thus it has a very weak effect of new entrants if any enters the market. Because Nokia has become number 1 as well as most reliable brand in the market now. So it will not be affected by any new players. b. Threat of the Substitutes: Domestic strategy: even in the domestic field there is no proper or exact substitute for Nokia cell phone. Global strategy: As in now there is no direct substitute available for the mobile phones and especially Nokias advanced feature mobile phone. c. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Domestic strategy: the bargaining power of substitute is low. Global strategy: As in now Nokia is been No 1 brand thus it holds a strong position in the market. So bargaining power of supplier is very low. d. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Domestic strategy: the bargaining power of consumer is moderate. When a new model is been manufactured it is thrown in the market. Thus consumer has less influence on it. Global strategy: As in mobile phone market is very price sensitive. Thus in that case the buyers demand and supply pattern matters a lot for the company. As it is been working under the assumptions of the buyers demand. Thus they have a stronger influence. e. Rivalry among Competitors: Domestic strategy: there is less competition. So rivalry among competitor is also low in this case. Global strategy: There is a high competition in this industry. There are many competitors like: Motorola, Samsung, LG and etc. thus it can be a problem for the company in the long run. SWOT analysis of Nokia: Strength: Nokia has the largest selling and distribution network compare to other mobile phone companies. It is backed with high quality HR and IT professional as compare to others. The financial part is very strong as it has much more profitable business. Wide range of product for all class. The re-sell value of its hand set is more compare to any other company. People trust it more compare to others. Weakness: Price offered by the company for few handsets is high. So products are not user friendly. Not concern about the demand of lower class people. Service center are very less and scare. After sales service is not good. Opportunity: It has a great opportunity in this huge. Opportunity to capture the rural Indian market. Most reliable company so people trust it more compare to others. India standard of living is also increases, so people are becoming more and more trend oriented. Threat: New players are entering with new features to attract the customers. Previously other companies were not providing user friendly mobile but now they have started meeting customers need. Conclusion Thus at the last I want to conclude the following points: The domestic strategy should always consist of future oriented goals. They should also have some or few global strategy also. When a firm enters a new market, its global strategy should be such that it should suit to the customers needs and requirement. Nokia case study helped to understand the global strategy. It also helped me to understand the various reasons and strategy Nokia adopted due to which it become no 1 in India. The main and the most important thing which Nokia kept in mind while entering the Indian market was its culture and values. Which any company should take care when it is entering into global market with its global strategy. Recommendation: When firm is going to enter a new market it should first study the global market. Proper analysis of the market should be done. The perception of the customer, their religion, there values all should be studied very well before entering into global market and before preparing global strategy. Thus manager good strategy can make firm earn more profit and vice versa.

The Global Epidemic of Cesarean Surgery and the Feminist Movement :: Essays Papers

The Global Epidemic of Cesarean Surgery and the Feminist Movement Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland writes in a 2002 paper she presented to the XVIII European Congress of Perinatal Medicine, â€Å"There is an ongoing â€Å"epidemic† of cesarean sections in Asia and Latin America. This worldwide fad of obstetrical interventions may have a serious negative health impact on women. In contrast, the low rates observed in Africa reflect a lack of resources more than a consensus of providers. The commercial and litigation pressures that drive this ‘epidemic’ need to be countered.† Her medical metaphor notwithstanding, this is a serious wake-up call for women to be asking the question, â€Å"What is going on that this phenomenon of major surgery on women is happening on such a wide scale?† We are here faced with the polar opposite extremes in birthing. Seemingly, if a woman has too little prenatal care and education regarding birthing (as in Africa) she may not have the access to a Cesarean when she truly needs it; and at the other end of the spectrum if a woman has enveloped herself in a system that relies too heavily on birthing technologies she may end up with an unnecessary Cesarean surgery. Other paradigms exist for birthing such as in Holland where every woman is provided with a midwife for her birth, and Brazil where the C-section rate tops 80 percent. Yet another microcosmic pocket of birth in the U.S. shows us that C-section rates can be achieved at below 2%. Such are the ranges of Cesarean birthing experiences and corresponding women’s movements that will be explored alongside the politics of birth in this Birthquake research project. Literary Review In doing this project the literature drawn from is largely non-scholarly for the reason that I am prevailing upon the reader to think outside the box about birth. Most of the â€Å"scholarly† research that is available was written by doctors or nurses/nurse midwives who were trained in the medical model of birth. Since part of my premise is that the high rate of Cesarean sections is caused in part by viewing birth as a medical and therefore pathological event, and in part for its emergence as a capitalistic industry, it was then necessary to find literature written by people who have expertise in birthing though not from the traditional obstetrical/medical school approach.

Trade blocs: Economics and politics Essay

Trading BlocsThe key term in this essay is â€Å"Trading bloc† and my interest in this term has been as a result of the major economic changes that have taken place across the world. I have been able to note that there have been great developments in international trading and business (Haftel, 2004). Economic integration is considered as the new form of reality in carrying out international business (Macho-Stadler, & Xue, 2007). Business institutions as well as governments have formulated various institutions, agreements and treaties which help in dealing with trade differences, allow and boost the movement of goods, services and trade across boundaries of countries involved (Chase, 2005). Furthermore, my interest is as a result of the business relationships that I have noted between my country and that of the other nations. A â€Å"Trading bloc† can be defined as countries that have come together to form a set that is closely involved in business and international trade with each other. The countries that form the trading blocs are often related to each other through a mutual agreement known as â€Å"free trade agreement or even other form of association which promotes trade within those countries and among the countries involved (Macho-Stadler, & Xue, 2007). The trading blocs often have rules and regulations which have been set to govern how the member countries relate with each other on business and international trade matters while separate rules and regulations set for non-members that want to trade with the member countries (Egger, 2004). The purpose of the trading blocs’ formation is to help eliminate trade barriers as well as help improve coordination and cooperation among member countries in terms of international trade. The different types include Free Trade Areas, Common Market, Customs Union, Economic Union and Political Union (Krishna, 2005). Article Summary             The article â€Å"From the Outside Looking In: The Effect of Trading Blocs on Trade Disputes in the GATT/WTO†, written by Haftel, Y. Z. (2004) is a journal that discusses the effect of trading blocs on resolution of trade disputes between member countries. There have been major expansion and increase in the number of trading blocs in international trade, which have become part of the economies across the world (Haftel, 2004). Trading blocs have negative effects on third parties whereby there is multilateral trade taking place between countries and non-member countries. Non-member countries are often affected negatively as a result of the trading blocs as compared to the way the member countries are affected. The non-member states often tend to take political action against the trading blocs, which in turn results in to negative effects and fails to assist in the resolution of trade disputes (Haftel, 2004). From this article, the author notes that WTO (World Trade Organization) has become one of the major organizations that help in enhancing international or multilateral trade between countries across the world. The WTO has a system through which disputes can be settled between countries that are in disagreement on trade issues (Haftel, 2004). Furthermore, the author notes that there has been a lot of concentration by scholars on the effects that trading blocs have on the members and on the other hand they have paid very little, if any, attention to the effects that those trading blocs have on third parties or the non-member states. Trading blocs affect the prices of products from non-member states whereby the member states enjoy better prices for their produce as compared to the non-members, despite producing similar products (Haftel, 2004). The third parties often suffer since the members of the trading blocs change trade the products of the member countries, which in some cases are often cheap (Haftel, 2004). This in turn affects their production since the market share that their products command is overtaken by the trading blocs’ members. Formation of trading blocs has been part of international trade and nearly every country across the world has engaged in trading blocs (Haftel, 2004). However, despite the fact that trading blocs attract a lot of attention, scholars as well as policymakers have failed to fully define and appreciate the fact that these trading blocs have negative impacts on third parties and other multilateral institutions. Non-Member states often feel short-changed hence resulting in a lot of disputes brought by the non-member states (Haftel, 2004). Discussion             The primary reason that brought about the formation of trading blocs by countries across the world was to help improve on international trade between members by eliminating trade barriers (Macho-Stadler, & Xue, 2007). The members of a trading bloc enjoy several benefits which include free movement of goods and services between member states, reduction of trade tariffs on their products, and improvement of economic standards of the member countries. Furthermore, trading blocs also help in the improvement of cooperation and collaboration between member states hence political and economic stability in the member states (Krishna, 2005). Furthermore, trading blocs helps improve on competition, increase in productivity as well as affordability in price of products. In addition, it has also been seen that trading blocs helps in creation of employment in the member countries as a result of the increase in trade within the region hence better living standards for the citiz ens of the member countries. However, as noted by Haftel, (2004), trading bloc benefits the members while on the other hand, causes a lot of negative economic impacts on the non-member states. The formation of trading blocs often endangers firms that are less efficient in the non-member states since they lack the market for their products (Haftel, 2004). There is also the danger of over-exploitation of the countries that are less efficient by countries that are efficient, hence causing an increase the wealth-gap whereby the advanced countries continue to become richer while countries that are less developed become poorer. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance on how member states and the non-member countries can continue to trade (Egger, 2004). Despite trading blocs being important in international trade, disputes will continue to arise from the non-member countries since there is no uniformity in trade regulations. References Chase, K. A. (2005). Trading blocs: States, firms, and regions in the world economy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Egger, P. (2004). Estimating Regional Trading Bloc Effects with Panel Data. Review Of World Economics, 140(1), 151-166. Haftel, Y. Z. (2004). From the Outside Looking In: The Effect of Trading Blocs on Trade Disputes in the GATT/WTO. International Studies Quarterly, 48(1), 121-142. doi:10.1111/j.0020-8833.2004.00294.x Krishna, P. (2005). Trade blocs: Economics and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Macho-Stadler, I., & Xue, L. (2007). Winners and Losers from the Gradual Formation of Trading Blocs. Economica, 74(296), 664-681. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00589.x Source document

Children and Young People’s Workforce Essay

001.1.1-What are the different reasons people communicate? There are many reasons for people to communicate these could include, giving or receiving information in my setting with co workers for daily activites.This also could be used for receiving instructions. I would also need communication if I had concerns over a child or if I was unsure how to do a certain task. Communication is also vital for giving feedback to parents about what their child has done during their time in the nursery. This could be face to face or by the telephone, either way my communication must be positive. Non-verbal communication is sometimes greater than the spoken word. We use non verbal 65% of the time can be effective when communicating with any individual or persons in the child setting.Non-verbal communication can be effective if trying to explain shapes,directions,inner feelings and personality’s. Eye contact plays a big part when communicating with anyone. Its part of your facial expressions and body movements. eyes can be trusting and never lie; Children and co workers will need eye contact for good communication. Read more:  Identify the different reasons people communicate  essay Communicating with children in my setting could involve giving instructions, reading books, engaging with the children. Listening to what the children have to say. Facial expressions, tone of voice and posture will project how you are engaging in the conversation with the child. Using signs/pictures with children can be a form of communication, Talking at the child’s level will encourage them to feel confident and develop trust, which will lead to a healthy, happy relationship between us. Having the ability to sometimes use non verbal communication alongside verbal can help connect with children and co workers or parents. Sometimes bad behaviour will need good communication skills. Shouting should always be a LAST resort. Having time out or withdrawal from a activity may help. Sometimes we may need to ignore bad behaviour, This could be to get control back if a child is being disruptive and distracting other children. I think overall communication is vital in any setting. 001.2.3- Give some examples of when you might need to seek advice about communication. How would you go about this? Seeking advice is sometimes needed for support. If we didn’t seek advice then how would we know what to do? We should always ask for advice and help if needed.  This would cover a number of scenarios in the childcare setting some could include: Noticing if a child is acting differently or seems not their selves, I would have to seek advice with my co workers about how to look after the child or if they have noticed the child is behaving differently. I would ask questions about the child’s behaviour the day before to confirm that they are not themselves I’d possibly have to inform the child’s parents, if the child is unwell or has a injury at nursery. Also I may need advice if a child has a disability and I’m unsure how to look after the child, they may need special care and I may not know how to give it. I f we know all the things we need to know about the children we can work better together in the setting. This could be something simple as to if the child has an allergy to a certain food, or is on medication and needs it at specific times. I will need to seek advice on what to give and when and what foods they cannot have. Incase of an emergency I would need to seek advice regarding first aid and find the appropriate first aider in the setting. The more information we know the better we can be in our roles. It will increase confidence and your co workers will feel they can rely on you to do the task in hand. 001.3.1 What are the possible barriers to effective communication? I think there are many possible barriers that could affect communication some include: * Language. speaking in different languages or were a English is not a first language it can cause communication breakdown as its difficult to understand one another. To overcome the barriers we could speak slowly  and politely. We could try and get a translator in the setting, if there isn’t a translator then we would have to see what we can understand with the limited vocabulary. * Hearing difficulties. If a person is deaf or hard of hearing. The communication can be difficult. This is when seeking advice would come into play with co workers. Bringing in a signer would help; this would put you and the other individual at ease and make communicating a lot easier. * Noise. If the setting is noisy if someone or something is making loud noises when you’re trying to talk, then communication will fail. We could go into a quieter environment or if not ask the persons to possibly be abit quieter so you can speak, so the communication between myself and another person won’t be broken or interrupted. * Personality/interests .Personal likes and dislikes can cause barriers in conversation, people may have selective hearing if they think a certain subject is boring. It could make people feel ignored or not welcome if they don’t seem interested. Trying to reason with disagreements or different points of view and if not agree to disagree. Sometimes aggression can make people not want to communicate and push them out. They would not want to be in the same environment and would feel uncomfortable so I doubt they would want to have a conversation with any angry person. * Culture. Different cultures regulate the display of their emotions differently, some people display emotions in a debate, eg cry shout get angry or frustrated. They can show fear. Others may hide their emotions. To overcome any barriers or issues I would try to listen and understand and reason with the other person, and treat them how I would like to be treated. 001.3.4 What support and information services are available to enable more effective communication? I have had a look on the web for information services and support groups for effective communication. These are the ones I have found which would probably be more beneficial. * Braille. It is used by those who have visual impairments or blind. Braille is read by fingers touching raised dots containing two columns each with three dots. There are two types of Braille- grade 1 and grade 2. Grade 1 is letter by letter, which takes a lot of time to read. Grade 2 is faster as it combines letters commonly used together. The Braille system is a method that is widely used. It helps people to communicate, read and write. It is seen as a  alternative form of communication.(www.wikipedia.org 12/05/12)www.RNIB.org.uk 12/05/12 * BSL is another form of alternative communication. British sign language is a form of communication used by people who are hard of hearing or deaf. Sign language involves movement of the hands, body and head. It helps the deaf to communicate and connect with others around them. It is a visual mean of communication which uses gestures, facial expression and body language.(www.britishsignlanguage.com 12/05/12)www.asli.org.uk12/05/12 * Lip reading. Is used as communication. It is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue. Lip readers who have grown up deaf may never have heard the spoken language and are unlikely to be fluent users of it. (www.lipreading.org.uk/lipreading 12/05/12) 001.4.1 What is meant by the term confidentiality? Confidentiality is a term used widely in a childcare setting. It means secret, private. It can be a meaning of trust. It can be any information regarding a child’s development. All the information about the children will be kept in a child’s record which will be kept in a secure place. All staff must be aware of the confidentiality policy and it must be enforced in the workplace. The nursery retains a copy of the information and the parents always keep originals. Confidentiality within a child setting means at no time must staff speak about outside of school. I could use a child’s information as part of proof for my college work but would have to use a different name and use them as a case study to help my studies. I would have to seek permission from school to gain access to this information 001.4.3 Describe situations where information normally considered to be confidential, might need to be passed on. Confidential information must remain confidential unless a child’ safety is a t risk or for development purposes. By keeping things confidential you will gain a bond of trust between yourselves and parents and co workers. It protects staff aswell as children and their families. Another reason for sharing information could be to support learning, to check what level a child is at, also offering support from transition from pre-school to school, may need to speak to teacher regarding behaviour and also to ask previous staff about the child’s  behaviour so you can be in the know if any behavioural problems or background problem have been apparent. There could be something happening at home that possibly affecting a child at school†¦ ‘new baby, just moved house, mum and dad not getting on’ can all affect a child’s behaviour and may go un noticed to the parent but become noticeable in the childcare setting. This would be when confidentiality would be broken, as we would have to put the child’s interest first by speaking about it to a co worker for advice or support in dealing with the information you have found out. Everyone will be working together in best interest for the child. Sharing information maybe needed incase of emergency, for the welfare of the children. I may need to ask another teacher about a child’s medical condition or possibly a disability. The I am made aware of the procedures if a accident should occur and medical help or any other assistance is need from me. Research to prepare for verbal questions 001.1.2 Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of your work. If you have effective communication in your work it will give your more confidence to ask for help/support. More confidence in your job, towards looking after children and it will put more confidence in your co workers as you will be punctual and competent at your job. You will know what is in place in your setting, which means you will know what’s safe and what’s not. 001.1.3 Why is it important to observe reactions when communicating? It is important to observe people when speaking to them to see if they are understanding and taking interest in what you are saying, you can do this by watching facial impressions, eye contact body language. These all play apart in communication.

Revisiting that question - Emphasis

Revisiting that question Revisiting that question Write Now reader Simon Lewis joins the great that debate: Definitely one of my bugbears, that. Take this example: The teaching medical students receive also leaves them with an incomplete picture. I started interpreting this as The medical students who teach and then obviously realised [that] it was supposed to be interpreted The teaching *that* medical students receive. Im all for brevity, but not at the expense of clarity, and definitely not at the expense of causing the reader to re-start the sentence! Thanks, Simon. So it looks like there needs to be a context-specific clause added to our rule. If the that doesnt add any clarity to the sentence, as in the watch [that] my father gave me, then cutting it is fine. But if the that distinguishes the word preceding it as, for example, a noun (as it does for the word teaching in Simons example) rather than an adjective (which is how Simon interpreted the word to begin with, as a way of defining the medical students) then for goodness sake leave it in. This does, at least, reinforce the importance of another thing we stand for: proofreading!

Abortion Ethics essays

Abortion Ethics essays Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably many years to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mothers womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions by clinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to this abortion topic the PRO-LIFE which is those who are against abortion altogether and the PRO-CHOICE or those who believe it is the womans right to choose if she wants to have an abortion. These two groups offer different solutions to problem. The pro-life solution is to have the child and basically live with it. They believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solution is abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate. Although abortion is morally and ethically wrong should it be legal for victims of rape or incest who have no other alternative? There is no real answer to this controversy, there are two sides to it though which have been arguing for many years over the subject. The first is the pro-life group. This group does not believe in the abortion factor. To understand where the pro-life stands we must first understand its beliefs and reasons for its beliefs. Then we can discuss what their solution to the Pro-life believes that rape and incest are very emotional topics. "They often elicit throughout the population feelings of revulsion; people draw back from the issue of rape and incest. People don't know how to handle a person who is in that much pain. There is no quick fix. That is why it is difficult for even pro-life people to come to grips with the argume...

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC)

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC) El Centro Nacional de Visas –NVC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– tiene un papel esencial cuando se solicita una tarjeta de residencia permanente por razà ³n de familia o de trabajo para un extranjero que se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos y, por esa razà ³n, necesita una visa de inmigrante para ingresar al paà ­s. Y es que el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a –USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– aprueba una peticià ³n de tarjeta de residencia hasta que la oficina consular procesa la visa de inmigrante, la solicitud se encuentra en el NVC. Quà © hace el Centro Nacional de Visas: formularios y tarifas El NVC tiene varias tareas. En primer lugar, actualiza cada mes las fechas de prioridad que determinan quà © visas de inmigrante pueden procesarse o, por el contrario, quà © solicitudes deben esperar. En este artà ­culo ms abajo se explica en detalle cunto se tarda para la cita para la entrevista en el consulado. Adems, el CNV es el organismo encargado de comunicarse con el solicitante del la tarjeta de residencia, con el beneficiario o con su abogado o agente para solicitarle que rellene ms formularios, envà ­e documentacià ³n financiera de apoyo y pague nuevas tarifas. Para ello es esencial que el CNV tenga actualizados los datos del correo electrà ³nico de al menos una de las siguientes personas: abogado del caso, si se tiene, solicitante o beneficiario. Debe comunicarse en la pgina del CEAC cualquier cambio en dicha direccià ³n para evitar demoras innecesarias. Entre los formularios que deben rellenarse en este momento a peticià ³n de CNV estn el DS-260, que es la aplicacià ³n electrà ³nica de la visa de inmigrante y el correspondiente a la declaracià ³n jurada de sostenimiento econà ³mico, tambià ©n conocido como affidavit of support, y que puede requerir una o varias planillas, segà ºn las circunstancias de cada caso. Asimismo, el CNV requiere el pago de dos tarifas: Visa de inmigrante por familia (I-130): $325 o visa de inmigrante por trabajo (I-140): $345Affidavit of support: $120 Los pagos deben hacerse digitalmente en la pgina de CEAC y contra una cuenta corriente o de ahorro de un banco en Estados Unidos. Para realizar el pago seguir las instrucciones del NVC e incluir los datos de nà ºmero de factura aportados por el mismo. Una vez que los pagos estn hechos y los formularios y documentacià ³n enviados, el NVC enviar la informacià ³n para la entrevista en el consulado para obtener la visa de inmigrante.  ¿Cunto tarda el Centro Nacional de Visas en enviar la cita para la entrevista en la oficina consular? La respuesta varà ­a desde apenas unas semanas a aà ±os, incluso ms de 20. Todo depende de la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la solicitud de la visa de inmigrante y, en algunos casos, incluso la nacionalidad del beneficiario. Asà ­, por una parte los familiares inmediatos de ciudadanos no estn sujetos a cupos de esperas para que exista una visa de inmigrante disponible para ellos. Son familiares inmediatos los cà ³nyuges, el pap, la mam y los hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os. En estos casos, el CNV se comunica inmediatamente con el solicitante, beneficiario o abogado nada ms recibir de USCIS el envà ­o de la solicitud aprobada. Por el contrario, en todos los dems casos es necesario esperar a que existan visas disponibles en la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la persona solicitada. Por ejemplo, un hijo de ciudadano estadounidense que est soltero y es mayor de 21 aà ±os es un F1 se pueden aprobar un total de 23.400 visas de inmigrante por aà ±o fiscal. Como el nà ºmero de solicitudes es muy superior al de visas disponibles esto significa que cada aà ±o se acumulan retrasos y hay que esperar por estricto orden a que una visa de inmigrante està © disponible. El orden lo determina la fecha de prioridad y puede consultarse cada mes en el boletà ­n de visas quà © fechas se estn procesando en el CNV para cada categorà ­a de peticià ³n. Adems, hay que tener en cuenta que adems del là ­mite que existe dentro de categorà ­a por aà ±o fiscal existe otro que limita el porcentaje de visas sobre el total que pueden darse en cada paà ­s. Esto afecta negativamente a paà ­ses con altas tasas de migracià ³n hacia Estados Unidos, como por ejemplo, Mà ©xico, China, India o Filipinas, para los que las demoras en cada categorà ­a son ms grandes que para los ciudadanos del resto de paà ­ses.  ¿Se puede verificar el estado del caso mientras se encuentra en el NVC? En realidad no se puede verificar porque el NVC no decide si se aprueba la solicitud. El primer paso que es determinar si la solicitud cumple los requisitos bsicos, lo realiza USCIS y la à ºltima decisià ³n corresponde a la oficina consular. Mientras el caso est paralizado en el NVC esperando por una visa disponible en la categorà ­a que se ha solicitado no se le hace nada al expediente. Es decir, est como dormido y no hay nada que verificar. Cà ³mo contactar con el NVC: telà ©fono, fax, correo Si fuera necesario contactar con el NVC, estas son las opciones Telà ©fono: Marcando al 603-334-0700. Es un sistema automatizado que opera las 24 horas del dà ­a los siete dà ­as de la semana. Se necesita introducir los dà ­gitos del caso segà ºn el NVC o el nà ºmero de recibo que te envià ³ el USCIS en la carta que se conoce como NOA. Para hablar con una persona, marcar al mismo nà ºmero entre las 9:00 am y las 9:00 pm hora de la Costa Este de Estados Unidos, de lunes a viernes, excluyendo festivos federales. En la actualidad la demora de un representante del NVC en contestar el telà ©fono puede alcanzar los 30 minutos. Fax Marcando al 603-334-0791 Correo ordinario Para solicitar informacià ³n sobre caso; National Visa CenterATTN: WC31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 200Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915USA Para enviar documentacià ³n, fotografà ­as o planillas (formas): NVCATTN: DR31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 100Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914USA Incluir siempre el nà ºmero de caso y los nombres completos y fechas de nacimiento de beneficiario y de la persona que realiza la peticià ³n o de la empresa, si se trata de una peticià ³n por trabajo. Correo electrà ³nico Escribir a: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Escribir en asunto el nà ºmero de caso segà ºn el NVC.En el texto incluir el nombre del beneficiario y el del solicitanteIncluir las fechas de nacimiento de ambos.Si se trata de una peticià ³n realizada por una empresa, incluir su nombre. Si el correo lo escribe el abogado a cargo del caso, hacerlo constar asà ­ e incluir una copia escaneada de la planilla G-28 y el nombre de la oficina de abogados para la que se trabaja y la direccià ³n de la misma. Finalmente destacar que el email debe escribirse en inglà ©s. El NVC considera que à ©sta es la mejor forma de contacto y la prefiere sobre las otras. En la actualidad, la media de tiempo que NVC se demora en contestar es de 15 dà ­as. La razà ³n por la que no se debe viajar a las oficinas del NVC El NVC est ubicado fà ­sicamente en Portsmouth, Nuevo Hampshire. Sin embargo, sus puertas no estn abiertas al pà ºblico. Es inà ºtil que viajes hasta allà ­, ni te van a dar informacià ³n ni van a aceptar que entregues documentacià ³n en mano. Simplemente te van a recordar las formas enumeradas en este artà ­culo para que contactes asà ­ con ellos. De NVC a consulado Una vez que se recibe la notificacià ³n del NVC sobre la entrevista en el consulado, el beneficiario de la solicitud debe seguir las instrucciones que se le dan. Entre otros asuntos deber: agendar y realizar un examen mà ©dicoregistrarse con el servicio de mensajerà ­a que utilice el consuladoreunir documentos originales y copias y traducirlos al inglà ©s, si fuera necesarioObtener fotografà ­as recientesasegurarse de tener un pasaporte con al menos 6 meses de validezpresentarse en la oficina consular el dà ­a y la hora seà ±alados En la entrevista el oficial consular decidir si aprueba la visa de inmigrante, la cual puede negarse por un nà ºmero amplio de razones, con carcter temporal o definitivo. En algunos casos, ser posible solicitar un waiver, tambià ©n conocido como permiso o perdà ³n. En la mayorà ­a de los casos, la visa de inmigrante es aprobada. El beneficiario tiene 6 meses para ingresar a Estados Unidos. En el momento de ingresar su pasaporte se sellar y dicho sello puede utilizarse como tarjeta de residencia permanente mientras no se recibe la de plstico. Contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas Telà ©fono: 603-334-0700Fax: 603-334-0791Correo electrà ³nico: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. Non es asesorà ­a legal.

Leadership style in the organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Leadership style in the organization - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the increased international marketing and business activities have made it necessary for the organizations to work in unification with each other, employees and government. The present research has identified that globalization has compelled the employees of the organization belonging to various cultures and religion, to work together in synchronization with each other. It has been observed that the managers in my current organization have adopted the situational leadership theory. Although the impacts of the situational leadership theory are different from the perspective of varied theorists, most of the managers in my organization follow two or three leadership theories.  The author has rightly presented that these situational theories are highly dependent upon factors like the particular situation, task, people, environmental variables, and organization.   Fiedler had proposed a situational theory, which proposed that there is n o singular way of handling the particular situation. The different leadership approaches adopted by the managers in varied situations have a different impact on the employee morale and performance.   When a leader adopts the autocratic approach, there is a negative impact on the employees’ performance and outcome. When a leader adopts transformational and goal setting leadership, there is an increase in the employee performance and morale.  ... The employee morale and performance is also dependent on the way the manager conducts themselves and motivate the employees of the organization. The organizational outcome is also directly related and proportional to the motivation and the guidance of the leaders (Fontaine 125-135). The development plan would be to implement leadership program, which would highlight the basic leadership approaches like transformational, goal setting theories, which can improve employee morale and performance. Opportunities & Barriers for Implementation The basic opportunity for employees of the organization would be the leadership program, which would highlight the leadership approaches. Certain generic situation and leadership approaches would be highlighted, which would act as a remedy for varied managerial crisis. The program would make the employees understand that, active participation is not limited to the creative and independent thinking, but it is also motivated towards providing a suitable technological environment, incentives and cultural network. The leadership program would have a positive impact on the attitude of the employees, managers and technical staff. This would help the employees in aligning the personal and professional interest of the employees. Employees would be able to attach personal values to the objectives of the organization that can help in goal and objective achievement. The motivational effect of the employees is a continual process and requires regular monitoring of the employee performance and the behavior (Harry, Desai and Burt 11-18). Among the disadvantages, it would be difficult to be selective about a particular leadership theory which is universally applicable for all

Economic Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic Report - Essay Example Presidents’ economic performance based on the real Gross Domestic Products The two presidential terms, the first term of president Barrack Obama and the last term of President George W. Bush were characterized by the worst economic performance since World War II. The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by only 4% during the second term of President George W. Bush’s tenure, which was the weakest since World War II. During the first term of Obama’s tenure, the real GDP grew by 5.9%, the second weakest since World War II. According to NBER (National Bureau of economic research), the most recent recession began in 2007 and ended in 2009. NBER states that economic recession starts when growth is at the peak, and then the nation begins to experience slow economic activity. A recession comes to an end and economic expansion begins after the economic activities hit the economic trough and start to grow again. It can be concluded that the most recent economic growth wa s lowest during the last term of George W. Bush and started to peak during Barrack Obama’s first term. ... W. Bush, and through superb economic policies, he managed to transform it into a surplus of 2.4% of the GDP in 2000. In addition, federal spending dropped from 22% of GDP in 1992 to 18.4% in 2000. It can be concluded that during Clinton’s era, the economy experienced the highest growth of GDP at 14% due to sound economic policies, low interest rates, and reduced spending that resulted in a relatively low deficient rate. However, some critics state that Bill Clinton’s economic policies encouraged subprime lending, housing bubble, and economic boom, which were instrumental in starting the great recession (Tanzi 58). George H. W. Bush can be remembered for spurring the economy that buoyed Clinton’s economic prosperity. He inherited from Reagan an economy that had started to enter the recession phase after experiencing a considerable economic prosperity. During his era, the GDP grew by 8.8%, which was a bit higher than those posted by Barrack Obama and George W. Bush . Although his presidency was marked by excessive spending on wars, such as the Gulf War, he managed to contain inflation and provided a good economic pathway for the prosperity of the economy during Bill Clinton’s era (Grabowski, Self, and Shields 71). Presidents’ economic performance based on civilian unemployment rate The United States of America has experienced eleven recessions since 1948. The federal and state governments have applied several measures to combat recession and minimize civilian unemployment through tax cuts and stimulus spending. In the early 1980s, the economy endured a recession, and the rate of unemployment was at double digits. The main reason was that the federal government was trying to minimize the inflation that was affecting

Who was the best secretary of state and why Research Paper

Who was the best secretary of state and why - Research Paper Example It is difficult to rate any one above others because of the diversity of problems faced and managed by these secretaries in the past. John Quincy Adams, William Seward John Hay, Henry Kissinger, Collin Powel and Medline Albright were some of the most famous American state secretaries in the past. However, in my opinion, current American state secretary Hillary Clinton seems to be the best secretaries of all time. This paper analyses the capabilities of Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state. â€Å"There is a growing bipartisan consensus that Hillary Clinton is the best ever Secretary of State, US President Barack Obama has said. His decision to appoint Clinton as the Secretary of State was one of his better decisions† (Clinton best ever Secretary of State: Obama). Obama’s opinion about Mrs Clinton’s performance as secretary of state cannot be taken lightly. It should be noted that Hillary Clinton was the major rival for Obama when he competed for the Democrati c Party candidature for president ship. I rate Hillary Clinton as the best ever secretary of state because of the fact that no other state secretaries in American history were faced such challenging situations as Hillary did. It should be noted that terrorism and global recession are some of the most challenging situations for America at present. ... As a secretary of state, it was the duty of Hillary to convince Arab world about the necessities of war on terror and she did succeed in doing so. Moreover, some kind of revolutions are taking place at Arab world now, especially in countries like Libya, Egypt, Tunisia etc. Moreover, agitations already started in countries like Bahrain, Syria and Saudi Arabia. America has a significant role to play in the political developments in these countries. It should be noted that Libyan revolution was successful only because of NATO’s involvement. Same way, America has to decide whether to support or oppose the democratic movements in countries like Bahrain, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain and Saudi are some of the closest allies of America in the Middle East and therefore, it is difficult for America either to support or oppose agitations in these countries. Hillary Clinton has a major role to play in shaping America’s policies towards these countries. Iran’s ambition to become a nuclear power was another challenging situation for Hillary. Iran is the country in Middle East which raises strong challenges to America’s interest in this region. Allowing Iran to become a nuclear power is not good for the interests of America and Hillary had a major role to play in preventing Iran from developing nuclear arsenal. At the time of writing this paper, Iran has threatened that they are going to close Hormuz gulf and disallow the passage of oil tankers through this region. â€Å"Iran threatened to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if it became the target of an oil export embargo over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger

Major Obstacles in the Economic Development of Iraq Essay

Major Obstacles in the Economic Development of Iraq - Essay Example Thirty years of economic destruction has left the country devastated. Iraq is very rich in the energy sector and it also benefits from having amongst the lowest production costs in the world (Grose, 2012). However, obstacles in the economic development are many and include a tenuous political system, concerns about security and societal stability, rampant corruption, outdated infrastructure, insufficient essential services, skilled labor shortages, and outdated commercial laws (Index Mundi, 2013). All of these factors have continued to stifle growth even in the non-oil private sectors. In fact, if the situation does not improve and if Iraq fails to overcome the obstacles in its path, the world economy may suffer, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an independent organization that was founded during the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s (Grose, 2012). The country is currently undergoing widespread uncoordinated institutional change. The pre-war socialist structure is turn ing into a market economy but the progress and planning is uneven (Gunter, 2012). However, the obstacles to the economic growth of Iraq is linked to its past and a review of the past occurrences would help evaluate the obstacles to economic development. Iraq has been suffering for decades as a result of long war with Iran (1980-88), two Gulf wars with the United States (1991 and 2003), and almost a decade of harsh international sanctions between these two wars which resulted on economic toll. Prior to this, the British forces had invaded Iraq in 1918 but a rebellion in June 1920 against the colonial power resulted in a new political project for the country when a new Iraqi cabinet was formed under the leadership of Faisal (Alnasrawi, 2000). The early nationalists continued to be under the patronage of Britain and France. The colonial power created a new class of landowners aimed at harnessing backing for the monarchy. However, the social classes had undergone major changes by the ti me the World War II came to an end. Saddam Hussein assumed offices as the President of Iraq and as the Chairman of Revolutionary Command Council in 1979. Following this, the Iran-Iraq war from 1980-88 severely devastated the economy of Iraq (Infoplease, 2013). While the country took pride in having the largest military establishment in the Gulf region, Iraq was left with huge debts and opposition from the Kurdish from the northern provinces of Iraq. Covert action from the US such as support for a Kurdish rebellion in Northern Iraq and supplies of arms to Iran during the Iraq-Iran war changed Saddam’s perception of the world and Brands (2011) argues that perhaps that led Saddam towards conspiratorial thinking. Covert initiatives from the US occurred at a time of great vulnerability for Iraq which posed a threat to its government. US aid during the 1970s helped sustain a separatist movement against the Baathist regime. In the 1980s, the US empowered Iran in trying to ouster the Saddam government in Iraq. Such covert actions led to a hostile perception of the United States as far as Saddam was concerned (Brands, 2011). The government used weapons of mass destruction on civilian targets, which only worsened the situation. Iraq was expelled from Kuwait in 1991 by a US led coalition under the UN’s resolution. Whenever the Kurds from the north and the Shi’a Muslims from the south rebelled, the government retaliated by killing thousands. The UN Security Council prevailed upon Iraq to surrender its weapons of mass destruction for UN inspections. Another US led coalition in 2003 ended the regime of Saddam Hussein, thereby bringing to an end decades of defiance of UN Security Council resolutions (Infoplease, 2013

Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public Administration - Essay Example Other contract based facilities housed a total of 12,558 inmates according to the latest statistics (BOP, 2012). A majority of the offenders are confined in correctional facilities and detention centers run by the Bureau while the rest are confined in local and private correctional facilities in accordance with the agreements entered into by these institutions with the BOP. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) aims to safeguard the interests of the society by confining offenders in controlled environments of prisons and other correctional facilities which are safe, cost-effective and secure and which offer the inmates an opportunity to strive for self-improvement and become law-abiding citizens post their term. However, the prison system in the U.S. despite its noble mission is plagued with several setbacks such as overcrowding, racial and ethnic disparities, persistence of unhealthy living environment of the inmates, issues related to health and inmate care, insufficient staffing, et c among others (Department of Justice, 2012). Key Policy Issues: The American Prison system has persistently faced the problem of overcrowding resulting in a rapid deterioration of conditions of confinement for the prisoners, rise in staffing issues, and a significant negative impact on the state budget. According to Sidlow and Henschen (2008) one of the key causes responsible for overcrowding in American prisons is the war on drugs and the legislations following the same. In a desperate move by the government to curb illegal substance abuse laws regarding incarceration of the offenders were strengthened, which ultimately resulted in a rapid rise in number of inmates arrested for the said offence. The rise in number of inmates in turn lead to a subsequent rise in budget spending required for construction and maintenance of correctional facilities as well as staffing. According to latest statistics America holds the record for housing the world’s largest number of inmates and the highest per capita rate of incarceration (The Economist, 2012). The excessive incarceration rates in the country triggered a humanitarian crisis due to ever increasing prisoners and shortage of space. Another persistent problem faced by the prison system is the racial and ethnic disparity in incarceration. The wide racial divide is far more apparent in the American justice system with African Americans having the largest incarceration rates and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as the lowest (Hartney & Vuong, 2009; Mauer, 2009). Comprehensive Review: For the purpose of this study three articles are reviewed which are discussed below: 1. Dead or Alive? The Federalism Revolution and Its Meaning for Public Administration by Robert K. Christensen, Charles R. Wise Prisons in the United States operate under laws framed by the respective states and the offenders are punished and incarcerated in accordance with the laws applicable under their jurisprudence. However, a clash between state and federal laws, may significantly influence the decision making by the public managers and affect the system of public administration in general. The authors have cited the historical 2005 Raich decision whereby the court held that "federal controlled Substances Act did not exceed the Congress's power to prohibit the use of medicinal marijuana, which was otherwise legal under the California law" (Christensen & Wise,

American me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American me - Essay Example It usually comes to the aid of developing and under-developed countries when disasters such as war, hunger and terrorist attacks happen. The people of America come from different origins; we do not look at ethnical backgrounds of people but their nationality (Swirski). Our culture is described as mainstream American culture which combines a number of cultures for example, the European, and African-American. As an American citizen by birth, I am patriotic to my country, ready to serve whenever called upon. I love hiking and sea sports which Americans are well known for. Every summer holiday we go for camping and skiing with my family and sometimes my friends too. Being the tourists that we are I have visited a lot of places and different states, and interacted with different people. The American people are usually givers and this characteristic is a foundation passed on from one generation to another. My parents taught me to give at a tender age; we used to carry the things we do not need to church where they were then distributed to the less fortunate in the community. Sometimes they were sent to Africa to war tone countries where there are no resources. I travelled to Africa once, not on a welfare journey but on safari, I was astonished at the rich culture the people had, they were welcoming living as brothers and sisters. They share what they have however little it may be, one time I thanked God for all I have. They had animals which I only used to see in the Zoo and others in books only, For example the lion king of the jungle, the antelopes, gazelles and hyenas animals that can only survive in savannah areas. I love to enjoy life, I believe that we only live once and so we should enjoy life. That is what I do by sharing time with my friends and appreciating them, spending time with my family and partying. Americans are known for hosting the best parties and staying till dawn. This is the best way to

Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public Administration - Essay Example Other contract based facilities housed a total of 12,558 inmates according to the latest statistics (BOP, 2012). A majority of the offenders are confined in correctional facilities and detention centers run by the Bureau while the rest are confined in local and private correctional facilities in accordance with the agreements entered into by these institutions with the BOP. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) aims to safeguard the interests of the society by confining offenders in controlled environments of prisons and other correctional facilities which are safe, cost-effective and secure and which offer the inmates an opportunity to strive for self-improvement and become law-abiding citizens post their term. However, the prison system in the U.S. despite its noble mission is plagued with several setbacks such as overcrowding, racial and ethnic disparities, persistence of unhealthy living environment of the inmates, issues related to health and inmate care, insufficient staffing, et c among others (Department of Justice, 2012). Key Policy Issues: The American Prison system has persistently faced the problem of overcrowding resulting in a rapid deterioration of conditions of confinement for the prisoners, rise in staffing issues, and a significant negative impact on the state budget. According to Sidlow and Henschen (2008) one of the key causes responsible for overcrowding in American prisons is the war on drugs and the legislations following the same. In a desperate move by the government to curb illegal substance abuse laws regarding incarceration of the offenders were strengthened, which ultimately resulted in a rapid rise in number of inmates arrested for the said offence. The rise in number of inmates in turn lead to a subsequent rise in budget spending required for construction and maintenance of correctional facilities as well as staffing. According to latest statistics America holds the record for housing the world’s largest number of inmates and the highest per capita rate of incarceration (The Economist, 2012). The excessive incarceration rates in the country triggered a humanitarian crisis due to ever increasing prisoners and shortage of space. Another persistent problem faced by the prison system is the racial and ethnic disparity in incarceration. The wide racial divide is far more apparent in the American justice system with African Americans having the largest incarceration rates and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as the lowest (Hartney & Vuong, 2009; Mauer, 2009). Comprehensive Review: For the purpose of this study three articles are reviewed which are discussed below: 1. Dead or Alive? The Federalism Revolution and Its Meaning for Public Administration by Robert K. Christensen, Charles R. Wise Prisons in the United States operate under laws framed by the respective states and the offenders are punished and incarcerated in accordance with the laws applicable under their jurisprudence. However, a clash between state and federal laws, may significantly influence the decision making by the public managers and affect the system of public administration in general. The authors have cited the historical 2005 Raich decision whereby the court held that "federal controlled Substances Act did not exceed the Congress's power to prohibit the use of medicinal marijuana, which was otherwise legal under the California law" (Christensen & Wise,

Manuscript Submission Instructions to Authors Essay

Manuscript Submission Instructions to Authors - Essay Example Hard wheat utilized as a part of making bread in light of the fact that it has a protein substance of up to 16%, and it hashigh gluten. In Iraq, agriculture is hard to practice given the climatic conditions of the country. This means that wheat farming is done in large plantations and supplemented by irrigation. The country is also one of the earliest regions in which wheat farming was a main source of staple food. Therefore, it is important to understand the criteria that is in place within the country that can aid in the understanding of the type of wheat that is most favorable in Iraq. The research thus involves statistical analysis of the wheat present within the country and the criteria determining their inclusion in granaries. The wheat plant is one of the staple food in Iraq. This is because Iraq’s climate is not favorable to agriculture. Plantations exist mainly along the river beds especially in the uplands and the delta regions. According to historical and archeological find, there is evidence of wheat farming from the period dating the third century. Thus, this supplements the idea that the people of Iraq are excellent wheat farmers. The earliest form of wheat application from the region includes baking cakes. In modern days, baking cakes is a delicate procedure and so is the preservation of the cakes. One needs to have a refrigerator in order to prolong the shelf life of a cake. In addition, the storage of wheat also demands proper storage facilities that will hinder the growth of fungi as well as contamination by weevil. This raises the questions as to how historical civilization would store there wheat to prevent contamination as well as process the wheat and ready it for baking. The research will thus focus on determining the criteria which the people of Iraq use to receive wheat in their granaries. Studying the

Business Plans For Entrepreneurs

Business Plans For Entrepreneurs Introduction In todays environment, the business plan is the entrepreneurs most important document when setting up a new business. Without the help of a well-designed and well- presented business plan the entrepreneur will find it very difficult to express its business goals or secure financing. Without a business plan, it is almost impossible for someone to take your business idea seriously or even consider investing in it. Because this thesis is about setting up a business plan for the start-up of a new kind of social network, we will first start with an overview about the concept business plan throughout the literature. In this literature study the term business plan is defined as well as the main functions of the business plan followed by an overview of the typical structure of the business plan. Furthermore, a problem discussion on the topic business plan in the literature is displayed. In the next part the main focus will lay on the composition of the financial plan. Subsequently, in the section Location Based Social Network a brief explanation is given about LBSN to give the reader an idea about what the business idea is all about. An entrepreneur willing to start his own enterprise stands before a lot of obstacles. Building up a company does not happen over one night. Theoretical framework Introduction There was a time that entrepreneurs only had to write a letter to propose their business idea and send it to some investors to secure funding. Nowadays, investors are far more demanding and expect a higher level of expertise and preparation from the entrepreneurs they choose to fund. Kleiner (2007), a legendary venture capitalist states that when examining a proposal, investors want to see much more than just a good idea and a bright young man or woman: they want to see a business plan showing that the concept has been thoroughly assessed and that the entrepreneur has carefully thought through the issues for taking the necessary steps of taking the idea and transform it into a successful company.  [1]   The emergence of the business plan The term business plan is a word that found its origin during the Second World War period. Back then it was mostly used to define the long term strategies of big firms. The Business Plan was a highly confidential document and was only exposed to a very limited audience. During the 80s the term business plan became more popular and it was then that the first articles appeared discussing the issues behind the business plan. From that decade on, the term business plan was mainly used to indicate the start-up of new and emerging companies. (Karlsson, 2005)  [2]. This may be the reason that when the term business plan is mentioned the first image that crosses peoples minds is the start-up business, which has not to be especially so because The Ernst and Young Business Guide (1987) points out that even established firms can have formal written business plans to determine or evaluate the accomplishment of business goals. Definition of a Business Plan The literature on the topic business plans is awash with information and offers a lot of definitions.. Essentially these definitions have all the same meanings. Abrams Barrow (2005) define the business plan as a roadmap to the companys targeted destination. Ideally, it enables the entrepreneur to get from the basic business concepts to a healthy, successful business. Barringer (2009) describe it as a written document that carefully explains every internal and external aspects of a new venture (Barringer, 2009, p. 1) The format of the business plan We can distinct three main factors throughout literature from which the BP structure will manly depend. To begin with, the format of the business plan will mainly depend on the purpose for which the BP is elaborated. For instance Barringer (2008) states that a BP established for a start-up company to investigate the feasibility of the venture may somewhat differ from that of a business in expansion that wants to evaluate the accomplishment of the business goals. For example, a start-up firm will not be able to dwell much about the companys history or past successes. Further, Mason and Stark (2004) argue that whether the entrepreneur is pursuing capital from a bank, a business angel or even a venture capitalist, the format of the business plan should be adapted accordingly. So we can conclude that depending on the firms level of development or on what purpose the business plan serves, i.e. to raise capital or for internal purposes, the emphasis on the topics will be different and the format of BP will vary accordingly. Functions of the BP The academic literature provides an abundance of information on the topic: functions of the BP. A single search with GoogleTM Scholar found 2.3 million hits for terms function* AND business plan*. After going through books and relevant literature we can differentiate internal as well external uses for the business plan. External purposes Raising finance: Most of the time when people think about the reason why a business plan is written, the first thing that pops up in their head is to raise money. It is a fact that most lenders or investors will not put money into a business without first seeing the actual business plan self. If the purpose of the bp is indeed to raise finance, its test will be how much interest it can generate from reviewers in as little time as possible and ultimately how much money it can attract from investors. Attracting Human Capital Zetterberg (2004) assigns another interesting external function to the business plan: it can also be used as a tool for attracting human capital. It is not uncommon that a potential employee wants to see the companys business plan before making a decision whether joining or not. Internal purposes It seems very unlikely that the sole purpose of a business plan is only that of a fund raising device. Instead, Abrams and Barrow (2005) argue that the business plan has a lot of intrinsic value. The authors of the Business Plan Guide Plan for start-up companies also support this theorem that while developing the business plan has chance to take advantage of two big opportunities: Marketing plan First of all, it gives the entrepreneur the opportunity to learn about the industry and the market. When writing a business plan the entrepreneur will have to go to the process of writing a marketing plan. This should give the entrepreneur some valuable insights in who the most important competitors are, who will be his main customer, and also facts about the industry like for example, the market restrictions, market size, and so on. Internal planning doc. Secondly it can be used as an internal planning document. Developing a business plan enables the entrepreneur to make the vital business decisions that enable the entrepreneur to focus on his activities and maximize his resources. Immers, while developing the business plan, one will increase the understanding of the many forces that have an impact on your businesss success, which in turn will give a stronger sense of control. Like for example understanding the financial aspects of the business including break-even and cash flow requirements. It is also interesting to note that a business plan can be used within different timeframes. First of all it can be used to determine the Viability of a Future Business Allen et al. (2006) describe the BP as a plan which can be used to develop ideas about how the business should be conducted. According to the authors, the entrepreneurs have, by investigating all the different aspects of the venture, such as finance and marketing,  the chance to make mistakes on paper rather than making them in the real world and refine their strategies accordingly. Determine/Evaluate the Accomplishment of the Business Goals Secondly, Schultz et al. (1987) point out that a business plan can be a retrospective tool, against which a businessperson can assess a companys actual performance over time. For example, the financial part of a business plan can be used as the basis for an operating budget, and can be monitored carefully to see how closely the business is sticking to that budget. In this point of view, the plan should be used as the basis for a new plan. After some time has elapsed, the business plan should be re-examined to see if the company has accomplished its business goals and if necessary needs redirection. To write or not to write a business plan / The relationship between Pre-start-up Formal Business Plans and Post-start-up Performance The opinions on the topic whether a business plan is a useful document or whether it is more a waste of time are not unanimous throughout the literature. Despite a lot of researches that have been conducted within this field, the findings from studies that examined whether there is a relationship between the pre-start-up formal business plan and the post-start-up efficiency of the company are not consistent throughout the literature. The word efficiency in this particular circumstance means that it has not been proved that the Business Plan will help a new venture in succeeding. Some studies claim that they found no relationship between a formal written BP and performance. For example: Does formal business planning enhance the performance of new ventures? (Lumpkin et al. 1998) This study examined the relation between planning and performance among 94 firms of which 54 new entrants. Results suggest that new startup companies who use formal written business plans fail to outperform those who dont. Of course there are a lot more factors outside writing a business plan playing a role in the future success of the firm. Initially raised capital, experience of the entrepreneurs, used business model, the age of the venture, are just a few to be named. Recent studies conducted by Lange et al. (2007) took all these factors into account and examined whether pre-start up business planning affects the subsequent post-start-up performance of the new enterprise. Their dataset contained 116 Babson College alums graduated between 1985 and 2003 that started a new business since graduating. From the results of the study it appeared that there is no difference in performance between new ventures that started with a written business plan and those who chose not to write one. Of course one could argue that the studied dataset has a few limitations. First of all the dataset only comprises ventures started by Babson College which is somewhat limited and will compromise the external validity. It will be difficult to generalize the findings of this study to the rest of the start-up ventures in business world. However, there are benefits at this bounded dataset: the respondents have similar educations. This will limit and take into account the influence from the independent variable, education. On the other hand the taken sample frame is randomized and longitudinal which will benefit the internal validity. This means that the research design allows to formulate a correct answer to the proposed hypothesis. From their findings Lange et al.(2007) suggest that unless a would-be entrepreneur needs to raise substantial start-up capital from institutional investors or business angels, there is no compelling reason to write a detailed business plan before opening a new business. Instead, the authors suggest that entrepreneurs should make financial projections, especially cash flow. It means that they should look at expected sales revenue and operating costs including material, labor and capital assets and open their business. That advice implies that they should do business planning but not write formal plans before starting their businesses. Then, if their business grows and needs external funding, they will be able to write a business plan that is more persuasive. In contrast to the studies from Lumpkin et al. and Lange et al. , some studies have shown that planning does go together with the success and growth of new ventures. Ford et al. (2003) conducted a study of 800 randomly selected American nascent companies and found a significant positive correlation between the degree of business planning formality and financial results in year 1 and 2. Liang and Gartner (2005) found, they found that the chances for survival of ventures in an uncertain financial and competitive environment was more likely when they engaged in planning in the early stage of the start-up activities. And that ventures were more likely to continue their activities if they started to plan late in the stage of start-up activities in a certain financial and competitive environment. For now, we will leave the discussion aside whether causality exists between writing a BP and the success of the venture and move on to asking ourselves why so many entrepreneurs bother to write the business plan. Many business people or entrepreneurs defend that the time that is needed to produce a formal written BP, would be better spent on pushing the new venture forward instead of writing a plan that no one will read. (Allen 2006) This might be true if we take into consideration that the venture capitalist or the firms that provide finance to businesses receive piles and piles of business plans and have no time to read them all. In fact, very few entrepreneurs have access to formal venture capital at the moment they launch their businesses. Bygrave and Hunt (2004), for example, estimate that in the US, fewer than one in ten thousand new ventures has the privilege to receive their financial funds of a venture capitalist. This is very rare, especially for the USA which has more than two-thirds of the total venture capital in the entire world. This means that receiving capital from VCs is by far the rarest form of funding. So why then go so many entrepreneurs through the process of writing business plans if the main objective of their plan is to secure funding from a venture capitalist and they know that they will almost always come up empty handed? One of the reasons may be that other sources of financial funding such as banks, business angels, equity investors require written business plans too. Another explanation could be that they write the plan for internal reasons. Although writing a business plan is a very laborious task and it takes typically several weeks to finish it could avoid costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later thanks to the planning process that helps the entrepreneur think through things thoroughly. (business plan guide 4 start ups) Furthermore, it is a fact that if you want your BP to be noticed by investors, the chance is greater if you get a personal introduction, instead of approaching them on your own (Barringer, 2008). This is definitely the case for all businesses in China. If you want to look for capital, or even if you just want to do business, you will need Guanxi. Guanxi literally means relationships. Since Confucius set-out the basic relationship rules 2000 years ago this has become the basis for conducting succesfull business in China. The reality is that the majority of Chinese people wont trust and will not do business with people that are not part of their Guanxi. If you win the confidence of a chinese business relation, he will be part of your Guaxi network and will be happy to do business or introduce you to other acquintances or information sources, thus expanding your Guanxi network. Seligman (2005) points out that it has been generally known for centuries that businesses in China with a widely developed Guanxi network are more succesful than those with a limited or no network. We conclude that is not about having a good or a bad business plan per se to secure finance but more about knowing the right people. This is why startup businesses have the disadvantage over established firms because they may not have such contacts. Anyway, a lot of authors recommend to do write the business plan because for the internal and external value that lies within the plan. Abrams and Barrow (2005) state that a good business plan for a sound business concept not only helps achieving the business goals, it also lets you save time and money by focusing on your business activities, giving you more control over your finances, marketing, and daily operations, and helps you raise the capital you need. Or as Kleiner (2004), a legendary venture capitalist states: Even if you have all the money you need, you still need a business plan. A plan shows how youll run a business. Without a plan, you dont know where youre going, and you cant measure your progress.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening everyone. My name is Toyota Moko, and I am an international student from Japan. As the first-ever international student speaker on commencement, I am very honored to be here tonight to be given this opportunity to speak on behalf of the graduating class of the 2003. Born and grew up in Tokyo where speaking English was absolutely absent in my eighteen years of life, one day the life-changing experience came to me. When I was fifteen-years-old, the summer of 1998, I came to America for the very first time for the home stay program through my high school. The three weeks I spent in Snohomish have brought me a wonderful encounter with my American family. John, Margo and Jennifer Turner have truly become my second family away from home. Despite the fact that I was a stranger from Japan, the Turner family treated me as if I was a part of their family, even though I had spoken broken English. During these three weeks, I was exposed to many cultural differences between America and Japan, and I was especially moved by the American people and its society where one is able to not only accept, but mutually respect and honor multicultural background and heritage. Coming from homogeneous country of Japan, this to me was a very fresh insight, and I still remem ber how it struck me. After I came back to Japan, I kept in touch with my American family via e-mail. And they invited me to stay with them if I were to study at the college. I spent years preparing for my study abroad, and with the great help of the Turner family, Ms. Joy Fitzpatrick who is the international student program coordinator, and my parents, I entered America as an international student on March 11, 2001, only one week after my high school graduation in Japa... ...y just few weeks ago on May 17. My grandfather was full of ambition and care for his family, and he especially loved me as his granddaughter. I was able to make this speech because I do believe that my grandfather will be sitting in the first row and listening to my speech at this very moment. He kept his promise to be alive until I have become twenty years old, so it is now my turn to promise him to carry on his spirit and all the knowledge and wisdom he had taught me. And more than anybody else, this honor goes to my dearest Turner family and my parents and family in Japan for making it possible for me to experience this incredibly astounding journey in America. Congratulations class of 2012! From the bottom of my heart, I wish all of you a shining future! Thank you for having me this special moment. Arigatougozaimasita! (Japanese: "Thank you very much.")

Language Settings and Social Classes in Blood Brothers :: Blood Brothers Willy Russell Social Class Essays

Mickeys first line in the scene is "mother are you going to open the bleeding door or what" he is only seven and is swearing already which indicates that he could have had a rough upbringing and we already know that the mother is not very well off. The mother replies "Mickey?" questioning who it is Mickey then replies "whats up mam did you think I was the rent man." the mother is obviously avoiding the rent man due to financial struggle. He explains how he has been playing cow boys and Indians which shows he must not have many tows and has learnt to use his imagination. His mother asks where had he been playing "not down the rough end I hope" which shows she doesn't consider herself to be of a lower class. he tells her he was up near the big houses she tells him how she doesn't like him up there but she doesn't give him a reason he questions her and she tells him to shut up which is a lower class word (lower standard English) then they goon to talk about how his mum used to work up there and she cuts the conversation short as if she doesn't want to talk about it. Mickey then goes back out and starts to play again then Mickey breaks in rhyme The poem is indicating that he wants to be just like his brother he looks to him like the farther he never had. The way he says the poem seems like he actually wants to be able to spit in someone's eye form 20 yards he thinks its acceptable and it seems like Sammy has been practicing. Sammy has a den which shows he could be escaping the reality of his life. Sammy draws pornographic pictures of ladies in the swimming pool which shows he is aware of sex and the male and female anatomy. Mickey swears in the poem "bleeding" again is the typical language because of his class and the area he is living in. at the end he shoots an imaginary Sammy which could show signs of jealousy or he could just be shooting Sammy as the unfairness. The fact that in the poem Mickey mentions how Sammy is allowed to play with matches and goes to bed late which shows that there mother doesn't really have control over what her children do. All the things Sammy did seemed acceptable by the young people in the working class area. Act 2 scene 2 Eddie approaches Mickey first in the scene confident and forth coming and says "hellow" the w is elongating the vowel so he is using

A character study of Nick Bottom Essay

The play † Midsummer night’s Dream† was written by William Shakespeare in 1595 and is set in Athens, Greece. The play features four main groups of people, the court, the lovers, the rude mechanicals and the fairies, all of which are linked by love, marriage, the night and the natural world. The title is paradoxical as, when the compound word â€Å"midsummer† is used it conjures a picture of the play taking place during a joyful and enjoyable time, whereas the word â€Å"night† implies that the play occurs during a dark and frightening time. The oxymoronic title gives the impression that the play is unreal and magical. Nick Bottom is a lower class weaver who considers himself to be a very important and professional person, as he dresses very smartly in the modern film version of the play. This gives us the impression that he is very conceited about himself as well as his appearance. In Act I Scene (ii) Bottom is introduced to the play as the mechanicals gather to determine the roles of each character. Immediately Bottom tries to take control of the situation, as he says † First, good Peter Quince, say what the play treats on; then read the name of the actors; and so grow to a point†. This shows that Bottom is very bossy, and that he thinks that he is the leader, as he gives Quince precise orders to follow. This also shows that he is a very committed actor as he is very eager to know his role in the play. Bottom becomes full of himself and very pompous as he begins to beseech for various parts of the play, as he says, † let me play Thisbe too. I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice†. In my opinion this shows how ardent and desperate he is for glory, as he searches for more parts to play. Bottom then asks to act the part of the lion, but is refused by Quince, as he feels that Nick’s acting is of such a high quality that he may frighten the ladies. Bottom says â€Å"I will roar that I will make the duke say let him roar again, let him roar again†, which shows how self-centred and ambitious he is. Quince then replies by saying â€Å"And you should do it too, terribly, you would frighten the duchess and the ladies that they would shriek; and that were enough to hang us all†. This shows that Quince looks up to Bottom as a great actor and a leader, as he is very go-getting and Quince believes that he is so good he will actually scare the ladies. In the modern film of â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream†, Bottom is also very dramatic and emotional, as he appears to be very prestigious and egotistical. He is very dramatic as he suddenly feels an urge to act, and becomes inspired by himself, as he shouts phrases such as â€Å"The raging rocks and shivering shocks shall break the locks of prison gates, and Phibbus’ car shall shine from far, and make and mar the foolish fates†, which are out of his own inspiration and imagination. Bottom is also very prestigious and egotistical in the sense that he only cares about himself, as he wants to act all of the parts in the play. Bottom also appears to be very emotional, as during one point in the play he is very excited and joyous, whereas he suddenly becomes sad and unhappy. This occurs when Bottom tries to act various parts of the play and someone throws a bucket of water on him. This not only shows what other people think of him, but how foolish he is to actually think that hi is a good actor. As the mechanicals go to the woods to rehearse, Bottom makes himself seem even more foolish as he says, â€Å"First, Pyramus must draw a sword and kill himself, whom the ladies cannot abide. How answer you that? â€Å". This implies that Bottom is so confident that their acting is good that they will scare the ladies. Shortly after Bottom suggests an idea of a prologue to inform the women that Pyramus is not really dead. He says â€Å"Not a whit; I have a device to make all well. Write me a prologue, and let the prologue seem to say we will do no harm with our swords, and that Pyramus is not killed indeed†. At this point Shakespeare is expressing how silly the mechanicals were becoming, as they were thinking that they were so good that they needed a prologue, so that they do not frighten the audience. Throughout the play Bottom really thinks he’s something really special for a number of the following reasons. Firstly, he comes up with ideas such as the prologue and thinks that he is such a good actor. Secondly, he actually deems that Titania is in love with him and that he is so handsome and good looking, but wakes up and wonders if it is all a dream. Thirdly, Bottom sees a statue that reminds him of his ‘dream’ and requests a ballad thinking that it was his destiny to perform his dream. He thinks that God has sent him a message to perform the dream and name it â€Å"Bottom’s Dream†. This tells us that Bottom is very imprudent, as he is silly enough to think that God has sent him a message just to perform his dream. Bottom seems more foolish and stupid, as the play continues as he makes continual malapropisms, by mistaking the words ‘devourer’ for ‘deflower’ and also ‘ninny’ instead of ‘ninus tonb’. Another way is when his head is turned into an ass’s head, which matches his behaviour and attitude and makes the play seem more and more surreal. Before the entrance to the wedding, the mechanicals were waiting for Bottom and when he arrived there was a big cheer, which shows that they really looked up to Bottom, as he was an inspiration to them. When the mechanicals are selected to perform, they are delighted, not knowing that they are only being chosen for the Duke’s and Duchess’s amusement. They begin to perform and are laughed at when the wall is seen, as there is a man standing with his arms spread out, covered with a sheet of paper with bricks painted on it but still continue to amuse the guests. Then poor vocabulary is used, which shows that they are uneducated when they say, â€Å"I see a voice† â€Å"hear his face†. At the end Bottom steps in and kills himself, which ends the play and pleases the crowd. Bottom thinks that he is the hero but does not know that everyone was clapping because they were amused. Overall I think that Bottom is a very self-absorbed and shameless person, as he only cares about himself and is very unabashed as seen when their play was acted. Nick Bottom is also a fool as he is always the last one to understand the joke, and he does not know when people are laughing at him. He is also very foolish and big-headed as he thinks that he is supposed to perform his dream, as a message from God. In synopsis I think that Shakespeare is trying to show how lower class people were treated, and how foolish, nai ve and over-ambitious people like Nick Bottom were. However, Shakespeare could have also meant that if you have a dream or an ambition that you should go for it and try to achieve something, like Bottom did.