Two Different Regulatory Models That Can Be Adopted In the Financial S Assignment

Two Different Regulatory Models That Can Be Adopted In the Financial Sector - Assignment Example In order to effectively identify the best models to address future financial crises, it is important to go back to the specific cause of the crisis. According to George Soros (2008), â€Å"the salient feature of the current financial crisis is that it was not caused by some external shock†¦ the crisis was generated by the system itself.† Specifically, it was the housing bubble the eventual drove the financial meltdown as excesses became evident when people could borrow money easily to buy houses with inflated prices. Mortgage lenders started to declare bankruptcy and reached crisis proportions, with effects spilling over other markets – from hedge funds to financial institutions. If there is a tight financial regulation in place the housing bubble could not have happened or, at least, the crisis has been confined to the industry. In this regard, two regulatory models are proposed: the centralized financial regulation and supervision used by United Kingdom’s FSA and the Basel II/domestic regulatory model. In the centralized regulatory and supervisory model, all financial policies – for banks, securities firms, other financial institutions, insurance companies, and so on – are under one umbrella. (Schwab, Roubini and Bilodeau, p. 44) The model is seen as a more superior framework than those models wherein powers are fragmented among many and different institutions, as with the case of the model adopted by the US. The recent subprime financial crisis has confirmed the mismatch between regulation and supervision as well as global banking and financial activities. The general consensus today is that it is too late to continue with different national (or state) regulators and supervisors. (Alessandrini, Fratianni and Zazzaro 2009, p. 8) An integrated regulatory agency as proposed by the centralized model would be able to monitor the activities of integrated firms and markets more effectively than separate agencies as well as effectively develop and implement appropriate resp onses to financial threats.  

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay Example for Free

A Semiotic Analysis of a Newspaper Story Essay A logical place to start may be to ask ‘what is news?’ Professor Jonathan Bignell suggests that ‘news is not just facts, but representations produced in language and other signs like photographs.’ The newspaper is just one medium of news communication; other media include television, radio, magazines, and the Internet. We will concentrate on a particular news item as covered in three different British daily newspapers, namely The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times. The story which is being covered is that of the death of a female police officer who was stabbed by a man whilst she was on duty. The medium of the newspaper is particularly interesting as signifiers are presented simultaneously thus offering a concrete display of signs which the reader can consume at their own pace and can also be re-read, as opposed to television or radio news which can only be watched or listened to at particular times. The process of selection is central to the production of all newspapers. This involves selecting events which are considered to be worthy of being printed as news, and excluding news which is considered to be irrelevant, insignificant or unworthy of news coverage. Thus news is a social construct dependent on what is deemed to be important by those who work in the ‘news industry’ based on certain codes of behaviour which have been learned by news workers in order to do their job. The codes of behaviour which have been learnt by news workers undoubtedly depend on the particular newspaper for which they are working. It could be suggested that in British society most adults would be aware of the conventions of different newspapers. We will attempt to examine the types of sign systems within which a particular news story is encoded in a selection of newspapers, and how these different sign systems may affect meaning. It is clear when looking at The Sun, The Telegraph, and The Times articles, which were all published on Saturday, April 18th, 1998 that each newspaper attaches significance to different news items. This is made clear by looking at the front pages of each newspaper, with The Suns main front page story concentrating on the relationship of Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher, compared to The Telegraphs main story which concentrates on a ‘shake-up’ of scientific committees that advise government ministers on food safety; and The Times main front page story which covers the story of the new National Lottery Big Ticket show which is facing the BBC ‘axe’. Although we will not be concentrating on the comparison of the front pages of the newspapers in this term paper, these examples demonstrate how drastically the different newspapers differ in what constitutes front-page news. The examples also demonstrate the interpretation of newspaper conventions, as we analyse the stories which are considered to be the intended main news of the front-page. As can be seen with the front page of The Sun the main story is clear as it dominates most of the available space on the front-page. However, with the other newspapers the distinction is not quite as clear. The main criteria when deciding on which was the main story of the front-pages of The Telegraph and The Times was the size of the typeface of the headline. This emphasises that the reader comes to the newspaper with a set of codes with which to decode the text, and these codes may differ from individual to individual. This leads to the point that the text is open to a variety of interpretations depending on the ideological standpoint of the reader, and whether the reader is familiar with the newspaper and the codes which. it employs to communicate the ‘news’ which it has selected. Connotations of the linguistic and visual signs which are presented by newspapers are central to the meaning of the news item to the reader. The connotations of the news item are perceived within a coded framework and there are recognisable codes within different newspapers. It is clear that different newspapers use particular narrative codes when representing the same item of news. This can be seen in the three headlines which refer to the particular news item which I have chosen to examine. The Sun headline states ‘SCANDAL OF PSYCHO FREED TO KILL HERO COP NINN, The Telegraph ‘WPc was knifed to death after removing armour’, and The Times ‘WPc paid with her life for dedication to duty.’ Each of these narrative codes used in the headlines instantly provide a framework on which to build the meaning of the news item. The headlines are linguistic syntagms which aim to attract the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story, and the linguistic signs which are employed in the headline suggest to the reader the appropriate codes which are needed to understand or decode the news item. It is clear that the newspapers use different linguistic codes as a means of representing the news item. The Times and The Telegraph are similar in their use of language. However, both differ dramatically with The Sun. It is clear that The Sun uses orally based vocabulary, and dramatic and sensational language. This can be seen in the first sentence of the news item, which reads ‘A. violent cop-hating nut killed brave WPC Nina Mackay after a catastrophic catalogue of blunders by Crown prosecutors and police allowed him to roam free.’ The article also employs alliteration for emphasis , as in ‘catastrophic catalogue’ and ‘scandal of psycho’. The linguistic codes of the news item certainly connote speech which in turn connotes familiarity, informality, and camaraderie. The article also implies familiarity with the victim (We Nina Mackay) who is referred to throughout as ‘Nina’ where as a distance is created between the reader and the offender who is referred to throughout by his surname, Elgizouli. This code of familiarity is significantly different to that which is employed by The Telegraph and The Times who refer to the victim either in her professional capacity (WPc Nina Mackay) or by her full name. However, it is perhaps significant that the offender is referred to by his surname in all of the different representations of the news items. This strategy of distancing the reader from the criminal is blatantly employed by all three of the newspapers, clearly suggesting that the preferred reading of the texts should involve no sympathy with the offender. Another drastic difference between the newspaper representations of the news item are the typographic devices used to break up the text. Again, The Sun differs dramatically to The Telegraph and The Times using bold text to start the article, serving to extend the role of the headline in attracting the attention of the reader to the topic of the news story. The use of bold and one word sub-headings which are employed throughout the text serve to direct the reader in making meaning of the text and make blatantly obvious the points which the newspaper deem to be of particular significance to the understanding of the news item. The Telegraph and The Times do not employ the same typographic codes as The Sun, apart from bold type which is used for the headline, and the bold type used to name the journalist/s of the article. The narrative of the news story uses the same type and size of font throughout the item. Arguably, this connotes authority and formality to the reader which is also demonstrated by the fairly long sentences, the correct spellings and the lack of colloquial language such as ‘cop’ which is used in The Sun. This perhaps implies that the ‘quality’ press such as The Times and The Telegraph provide better news than tabloids such as The Sun. However, this kind of value judgement is inappropriate as both types of newspaper are constructions of the news with the ‘quality’ newspapers aiming to connote authority and formality and the ‘popular’ tabloids aiming to connote an attitude of ‘telling it how it is.’ Thus both types of representation of the news items present mythic meanings. Linguistic and typographic codes are not the only codes employed in news discourse. Graphic codes must also be considered. The photographs used in the press have also undergone a process of selection. One image will be chosen over another as it connotes a message that the selectors of the photograph want to communicate. Barthes (cited in Bagnell, 1977:98) suggests that the newspaper photograph is ‘an object that has been worked on, chosen, composed, constructed, treated according to professional, aesthetic or ideological norms which are so many factors of connotation.’ The ‘treatment’ of photographs which is referred to by Barthes can be seen in the different newspapers which I have chosen. Interestingly, each version of the news item has used the same photographs, but treated them differently according to the required connotation. Each representation uses the same picture of the victim in her police uniform looking directly at the camera, and the same pictu re of the offender looking vacant and away from the camera. Again, The Times and The Telegraph use similar codes, and The Sun employs a drastically different strategy despite using the same original photographs. The most drastic difference is that The Sun presents the photographs in colour, connoting realism and the dangerousness of the offender. This is also connoted by the size of the photographs, with the graphic representation dominating a large proportion of the overall available space on the page, which is another drastic difference between The Suns representation of the news item and the other two newspapers. Despite these major differences it is significant that the newspapers have all used the same photographs, and it is interesting to look at why these particular photographs might have been chosen. Paradigmatically, photographs involve connotations, and thus the significance of the particular photographs which have been chosen can be seen more clearly when considering what other paradigmatic connotations might have appeared in their place. For example the connotations of the picture of the police officer would change considerably if she was not in uniform. Likewise, the connotations of the picture would change if the offender was looking directly at the camera and smiling, instead he is pictured looking away from the camera with a blank expression, connoting lack of emotion. The contrasted pairs which seem to be involved in the paradigms are innocence and guilt, justice and injustice. These contrasted pairs are made more clear by the way in which the meanings of the photographs are anchored in a small amount of text beneath the photographs. The Times offers its own contrasted pair in the text beneath the pictures, namely ‘killer’ and ‘killed’. As Bignell (1997:99) suggests, the caption underneath the picture enables the reader to ‘load down the image with particular cultural meanings and the photograph functions as the proof that the texts message is true.’ The pictures are also shown in different contexts in the three newspapers with The Sun using a different strategy to The Telegraph and The Times. The Telegraph and The Times use similar sized pictures of the individuals involved. In The Sun the size of the photographs of the individuals differ considerably with the ‘killer’ being represented as significantly bigger than the ‘killed’. Also, the photograph of the police officer is presented in a photograph-like frame connoting sentimentality, and elevating her position in comparison to the ‘killer’. This emotionalism is carried over into the other picture which The Sun represents which shows the coffin of the police officer being carried by her colleagues. This is a cultural sign which most readers will be able to relate to, and connotes sympathy, tragedy and injustice. This discussion of several newspapers representations of the same news item show how semiotic analysis can determine the meanings of such news items, as a result of the linguistic and visual signs used within the texts. However, semiotic analysis cannot determine how an individual reader might interpret the representations of the news items in a real social context. Semiotic analysis does offer an insight into the factors at work in the production of a news item and distinguishes the various codes which are employed by different types of newspaper when representing a particular news item.

A Computer For All Students :: essays research papers

SOUNDOFF--A Computer for All Students--Revisited The introduction of the graphing calculator has changed the structure of teaching and learning mathematics. This made it possible for everybody to receive the benefits of a computer-generated visualization without the high cost of a computer. These graphing calculators over the years have lowered in cost, became easier to use, and are more portable. The next generation of graphing computers has arrived with the recent introduction of the Texas Instrument TI-92. This relative inexpensive calculator will allow more high school teachers to teach an area mostly untouched, computer symbolic algebra and computer interactive geometry, because it has not been practical or possible. The TI-92 is merely the beginning of the new revolution of hand-held computing tools. The next challenge mathematics teachers are facing is the teaching of traditional paper-and-pencil symbolic algebra skills. This task has been made obsolete by the more accurate and faster computer symbolic algebra algorithms. Students can get a far better illustration of important concepts and applications of mathematics with these new hand-held tools than with the traditional paper-and-pencil task. The paper-and-pencil task and other traditional skills must still be acquired, but students should spend less time acquiring it. More emphasize must be put on computing tools. Students should take advantage of the computer technology to become powerful and thoughtful "problem solvers." The process of changing from traditional methods to a more computer-oriented environment has to be met by the education and mathematics community. Educators should have textbooks that better represents the new technology. Teachers need to be more technology literate. The mathematics community must dispel the image of "doing mathematics" with the traditional paper-and-pencil method. These reforms can better teach students important skills needed for the future. The use of technology in mathematics will give students an advantage mathematics and related technology. Students will need that advantage if they wish to compete in the twenty-first century. Opinion This article stressed very important issues educators, teachers, and the mathematics community must face. The reform will change the course of mathematics in school and elsewhere. As a student, I am very concern about the future of mathematics.

Human Resources Management and Training Essay

A writing audit contains some basic rundown of key sources, yet it, for the most part, has a hierarchical example and joins both outline and mix, regularly inside particular reasonable sorts. A synopsis is an audit of the fundamental data of the source, however, a union is an improvement, or a rebuild, of that data in a way that illuminates how you are wanting to examine an exploration issue. The systematic highlights of a writing audit may: †¢ Give another clarification of old material or blend of new with old understandings, †¢ Trace the subjective improvement of the field, including principle talks about, †¢ Based on the circumstance, asses the sources and guide the peruser on the most reasonable or pertinent, or †¢ Usually, in the consummation of a writing survey, distinguish where defects exist in how an issue has been looked into to date. The reason for a writing survey is to: †¢ Place each work in the encompassing of its presentation to the comprehension of the exploration issue being considered, †¢ Describe the association of each work to the others under survey, †¢ Identify better approaches to clarify, and shed light on any defects in past research, †¢ Solving issues among as far as anyone knows nullification of past examinations, †¢ Point the path in dealing with a requirement for additional examination, and †¢ Discover your own particular discoveries inside the setting of existing writing. The writing survey which was utilized: †¢ Methodological Survey : This approach gives a structure of comprehension at various levels (i.e. those of hypothesis, substantive fields, investigate methodologies and information accumulation and examination strategies), empowers specialists to draw on a wide variety of understanding going from the applied level to useful archives for use in hands on work in the zones of ontological and epistemological thought, quantitative and subjective reconciliation, testing, talking with, information gathering and information examination, and helps feature numerous moral issues which we ought to know about and consider as we experience our examination. †¢ Argumentative Audit This shape analyzes writing specifically so as to help or disprove a contention, profoundly embedded figure, or philosophical blemishes effectively settled in the writing. The design is to build up a group of writing that sets up a contrarian perspective. Given the esteem loaded nature of some sociology inquire about [e.g., instructive change; migration control], contentious ways to deal with dissecting the writing can be honest to goodness and essential type of talk. Nonetheless, take note of that they can likewise present issues of predisposition when they are utilized to make rundown cases of the sort found inefficient surveys. †¢ Theoretical Audit The target of this frame is to inspect the corpus of the hypothesis that has aggregated with respect to an issue, idea, hypothesis, wonders. The hypothetical writing audit help builds up what speculations as of now exist, the connections between them, to what degree the current speculations have been explored, and to grow new theories to be tried. Regularly this shape is utilized to help set up an absence of suitable speculations or uncover that momentum hypotheses are insufficient for clarifying new or developing examination issues. The unit of examination can concentrate on a hypothetical idea or an entire hypothesis or structure.

Memory

Three participants ages 19, 19, and 20 were asked to listen to three lists of words whose contents ranged from low to high association. The low-association list was defined by words that had no particular relation to each other. Conversely, the high-association list was characterized by words that had very close relationships with each other, whereas the in-between list of medium association contained words among which loose relationships existed. Each list contained ten words. The three lists were read to each participant in a slow and systematic way, leaving an interval of approximately one second between the calling of each word. Each participant was then given a minute to write down as many words as they could recall. The average number of words remembered from the low-association list was three (3), which represents a low level of recall for short term memory. This is consistent with the idea that the brain employs a short-term memory system that is able to hold limited information, and this can be done for only a short time without the aid of semantic prompters (Brown et al., 1985). The group of words on the low-association list contained almost no semantic prompters, as these words belonged to no specific category that could have been called up in the schema of the persons involved in the experiment.    As a result, the first few words called in each list allowed the participants no leeway to use schema as a mnemonic device for recalling them. Relying therefore only on short-term memory, the participants were able only to remember a small portion of the words. It is also important to note that those which were remembered were the ones located near the end of the list. This indicates that the effort to remember those later words nullified any earlier efforts made at memorization, and consequently removed the earlier words from the participants’ short-term memory. The second list of words containing a limited number of related words (medium association) showed a recall level for the participants of approximately six (6) words. The final two words on the list were recalled by two of the participants, and the other recalled the last word. However, the few words on the list that were related were universally recalled by the participants. The experiment apparently enabled them to make connections among the related words and to further connect them to a category in their schemata. This occurrence points to the tendency of the mind to categorize the information it receives, and the long-term memory of these participants appears to have been activated by associating the related words to their appropriate category. This categorization is most likely the factor that aided the short term memory of the participants, allowing them to recall a greater percentage of the words (almost twice as many) than they were able to recall from the first list. The third list contained words that were all highly related to each other. The experiment demonstrated even more the extent to which semantic categorization has the ability to aid short-term memory. The participants remembered an average of approximately nine (9) words on the list. This represents a vast increase over the previous two tries. This part of the experiment indicates the participants appeal to their long term memory as an aid in memorizing the contents of this list. For instance, despite the fact that the words on the low-association list were familiar words, their ability to remember them was compromised by the fact that they had no method of selecting them from all the other things that reside in their memories. Conversely, the fact that the words from the third experiment were all members of a particular category allowed these participants to use the taxonomic feature of long-term memory to aid recall in this memory experiment (Brown et al., 1985). The parallel trend of increased remembrance alongside increased association therefore underlines the importance of schema in the enhancement of memory. Reference Brown, A. S., S. L. Whiteman, R. J. Cattoi & C. K. Bradley. (1985). â€Å"Associative strength level   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and retrieval inhibition in semantic memory.† The American Journal of Psychology.    98(3):   421-432.   

How Technological changes affected industry workers in the 19th Century (timed)

How Technological changes affected industry workers in the 19th Century (timed) The 19th Century Industrial WorkerThe late 19th century was a time of great economic advancement in the United States. The United States was out-producing Europe, including Great Britain, France and Germany by overwhelming margins. This capitalist economic machine was powered by thousands of industrial workers. The atmosphere and working conditions that these industrial workers worked in were constantly changing. Technological changes resulted in different working conditions and sparked industrial workers to join labor unions.In the late 19th century, a change slowly occurred in the way in which products were manufactured. No longer were workers themselves making a complete individual product, but rather constructing a small portion of a product. For example, a worker would not build an entire car; instead he would merely put a windshield in. This resulted in monotonous working conditions. In addition to these tedious working conditions, the new automated machines offered a high inju ry risk to workers whose hands or feet might slip into a gear of some sort.English: American Federation of Labor charter for ...Both of these conditions combined with long work hours resulted in a repetitive, life-threatening job. While most eventually ended up quitting their jobs, others searched for a more drastic solution.These workers found their answer in labor unions. These groups of disgruntled workers could (in theory) have power over their employers by being able to organize strikes against their employers. However, in actuality, labor union strikes and protests were often unsuccessful and led to violence. Many times strike-breakers (scabs) were called in by employers to get around any negative economic effects that would normally be imposed upon strikers. So many new immigrants and those without jobs were moving to the city, however, so strikers were often quickly replaced by employers. While labor unions were generally regarded as unsuccessful they did revolutionized the industry. Small...

Free Essays on Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Support the Country Smoked in cigarettes or pipes, mixed with food and beverages is marijuana, a Schedule one drug. Ever since the early 1900’s, the possession or intoxication of marijuana is prohibited in the United States. The popularity of marijuana began in the 1960’s. Marijuana’s usage declined in the mid 1970’s, although its usage has been rising since the mid 1990’s. Marinol, a capsule containing THC, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985. Marinol helps people with serious medical conditions, such as AIDS and cancer. Some states have passed laws allowing the usage of marijuana for medical purposes. The usage of medical marijuana is illegal in the United States. People in the states who use medical marijuana legally, are still illegal drug offenders in the U.S. Even though illegal, one out of three American adults admits to smoking marijuana (Hightimes 73). Made from dried leaves and flowering hemp plant tops, marijuana’s usage is widespread in the U.S. Grass, weed, pot, Mary Jane, hash, dope and reefer all refer to the drug marijuana. Pot creates a different type of high for every user. A person high from pot experiences a type of dreamy relaxed state, in which the user is more aware of senses. A high created from pot neither affects a person’s life nor lasts long, but the numerous uses for marijuana change people’s lives and will continue on forever. Marijuana should be legalized. Admittedly, smoking marijuana long term is unhealthy. Marijuana decreases a person’s concentration and short-term memory. A study, researched by The Canadian Medical Association, proved dope lowers IQ scores by an average of 4.1 points (Branswell 2). Stoners face loss of motivation and interest in activities that used to appeal to them, because pot affects emotions. In extreme cases, pot usage before the age of eighteen increases the risk of developing schizophrenia (Choi 1). Possibly marijuana in cases ... Free Essays on Marijuana Should Be Legalized Free Essays on Marijuana Should Be Legalized Support the Country Smoked in cigarettes or pipes, mixed with food and beverages is marijuana, a Schedule one drug. Ever since the early 1900’s, the possession or intoxication of marijuana is prohibited in the United States. The popularity of marijuana began in the 1960’s. Marijuana’s usage declined in the mid 1970’s, although its usage has been rising since the mid 1990’s. Marinol, a capsule containing THC, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985. Marinol helps people with serious medical conditions, such as AIDS and cancer. Some states have passed laws allowing the usage of marijuana for medical purposes. The usage of medical marijuana is illegal in the United States. People in the states who use medical marijuana legally, are still illegal drug offenders in the U.S. Even though illegal, one out of three American adults admits to smoking marijuana (Hightimes 73). Made from dried leaves and flowering hemp plant tops, marijuana’s usage is widespread in the U.S. Grass, weed, pot, Mary Jane, hash, dope and reefer all refer to the drug marijuana. Pot creates a different type of high for every user. A person high from pot experiences a type of dreamy relaxed state, in which the user is more aware of senses. A high created from pot neither affects a person’s life nor lasts long, but the numerous uses for marijuana change people’s lives and will continue on forever. Marijuana should be legalized. Admittedly, smoking marijuana long term is unhealthy. Marijuana decreases a person’s concentration and short-term memory. A study, researched by The Canadian Medical Association, proved dope lowers IQ scores by an average of 4.1 points (Branswell 2). Stoners face loss of motivation and interest in activities that used to appeal to them, because pot affects emotions. In extreme cases, pot usage before the age of eighteen increases the risk of developing schizophrenia (Choi 1). Possibly marijuana in cases ...

Natives (or Black) Land Act No. 27 Law of 1913

Natives (or Black) Land Act No. 27 Law of 1913 The Natives Land Act (No. 27 of 1913), which was later known as the Bantu Land Act or Black Land Act, was one of the many laws that ensured the economic and social dominance of whites prior to Apartheid. Under the Black Land Act, which came into force 19 June 1913, black South Africans were no longer be able to own, or even rent, land outside of designated reserves. These reserves not only amounted to just 7-8% of South Africas land but were also less fertile than lands set aside for white owners. Impact of the Natives Land Act The Natives Land Act dispossessed black South Africans and prevented them from competing with white farm workers for jobs. As Sol Plaatje wrote in the opening lines of Native Life in South Africa, â€Å"Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.† The Natives Land Act was by no means the beginning of dispossession. White South Africans had already appropriated much of the land through colonial conquest and legislation, and this would become a vital point in the post-Apartheid era. There were also several exceptions to the Act. Cape province was initially excluded from the act as a result of the existing Black franchise rights, which were enshrined in the South Africa Act, and a few black South Africans successfully petitioned for exceptions to the law. The Land Act of 1913, however, legally established the idea that black South Africans did not belong in much of South Africa, and later legislation and policies were built around this law. In 1959, these reserves were converted to Bantustans, and in 1976, four of them were actually declared independent states within South Africa, a move that stripped those born in those 4 territories of their South African citizenship. The 1913 Act, while not the first act to dispossess black South Africans, became the basis of subsequent land legislation and evictions that ensured the segregation and destitution of much of South Africas population. Repeal of the Act There were immediate efforts to repeal the Natives Land Act. A deputation traveled to London to petition the British government to intervene since South Africa was one of the Dominions in the British Empire. The British government refused to intervene, and efforts to repeal the law came to nothing until the ending of Apartheid. In 1991, the South African legislature passed the Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures, which repealed the Natives Land Act and many of the laws that followed it. In 1994, the new, post-Apartheid parliament also passed the Restitution of Native Land Act. Restitution, however, only applied to lands taken through policies explicitly designed to ensure racial segregation. It, thus, applied to lands taken under the Natives Land Act, but not the vast territories taken prior to the act during the era of conquest and colonization. Legacies of the Act In the decades since the end of Apartheid, black ownership of South African land has improved, but the effects of the 1913 act and other moments of appropriation are still evident in the landscape and map of South Africa. Resources: Braun, Lindsay Frederick. (2014) Colonial Survey and Native Landscapes in Rural South Africa, 1850 - 1913: The Politics of Divided Space in the Cape and Transvaal. Brill. Gibson, James L. (2009). Overcoming Historical Injustices: Land Reconciliation in South Africa.   Cambridge University Press. Plaatje, Sol. (1915) Native Life in South Africa.

Self-Reflection on Working at a Group Presentation Essay

Self-Reflection on Working at a Group Presentation - Essay Example Preferably the group aimed a postcode with numerous cases of crimes and an equal presentation of all forms of crimes. Hanger hill was selected as a collaborative decision. All members supported the decision since the postcode was known for its crime rates and it presented numerous talking points that would increase the creativity in the project. In addition, the location was researched friendly since most of our group members have visited the place which minimized the challenges that may be presented. After the creation of the group, we embraced the assumption that the arrangement provided us with an opportunity to exploit the abilities of each member(Finch & Fafinski, 2012). For this reason, each group member was provided with specific responsibility and a time framework before they could present their works. However, the activities were conducted in a collaborative manner. For instance, the group member in charge of coming up with online data on the selected postcode requested for website suggestion and all group members obliged to the request. After all, responsibilities were presented, the croup would then convene and discuss the results and date collected. At this time, presentation ideas were presented as a collective selection on the idea was reached. However, minor differences were experienced as group members disagreed on the ways of collecting data, the time margin provided and the mode of presentation. In addition, the group lacked motivation and this was a major hindra nce to the quality and completion of the project. The group dynamic makes it easy to complete projects since one is able to specialize in one activity and the rest of the members handled other requirements. Research for the presentation was conducted mainly from online sources. Through online sources, updated data could be easily obtained (Finch & Fafinski, 2012).

Criminal Justice Research Methodology Term Paper

Criminal Justice Research Methodology - Term Paper Example It is also practical in the sense that it covers a long process over determining what a research needs in particular as it can be modified and take the form of interviews, questionnaires, or a combination of both. In a survey-interview, for example, it allows a researcher to observe the subject and modify questions if the subject seems confused by them. Survey is a good method to consider specially if there is a long range of respondents involved and the researcher needs to collate more uniformed answers in a given period of time (example, respondent-reactions due to the changes brought about by a recent ordinance created). Unlike plain interview that answers brought about by open-ended or close ended questions may vary and sometimes complex in their meaning, survey-questionnaires can eliminate the possibility that the researcher can influence the subject by is or her facial expressions, e.g., unconsciously frowning at an answer making unnecessary body language. Of course, there is a lways a danger that subjects may give misleading answers in order to make themselves â€Å"look good† but the researcher can always modify the questions in several different ways to detect this as well. Surveys are also ideal to use when concerns for safety is involved. It has been tested and experience through time that when safety is concerned, it is highly difficult to get willing respondents that will be open for research. There are two ways to ham ­per successful data gathering through face-to-face interviews. First, potential re ­spondents may refuse to be interviewed because they fear the stranger-interviewer specially if the subject for the research is a sensitive one. Second, the interviewers themselves may be in danger given that in some studies to be conducted, a need to expose researchers in a dangerous situation is inevitable (Maxfield, and Babbie, 2008). Social desirability is known to be one of the common problems that plague self-report crime questions in

How Teachers use language Strategies in Schools to Control Behaviour Essay

How Teachers use language Strategies in Schools to Control Behaviour Increase Pupil Participation and to Facilitate Learning - Essay Example This paper stresses that a separate discipline, that centers on prioritising verbal communication, has become an increasingly focus of research. Thus, from a different set of perspectives, the focus of learning language usage is currently being understood as a necessity and not a luxury. Since language is the major symbolic code implemented in the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver, pragmatic teaching strategies could be usefully implemented to the research of communicative processes. It is suggested that pragmatics be explained as the study of the important basic principles of meaningful language use - that is, a research on how verbal communication works and how to enhance the verbal communication activity. The study of how the students and the classroom lecturer maximize language to discover how the teacher and the students converse in oral fashion. The research centers on the use of language as a medium of increasing learning in the classroom environment. Cul ture and other inputs are important to enhance the classroom learning environment. Indeed, teachers use language strategies in the classroom scenes to control student behavior, increase pupil participation, and to Facilitate Learning. This paper makes a concluison that learning will increase if the person develops one’s speech and its relation to thought. The child relies on one’s own perception to make sense of objects that appear to them to be unrelated. For example, the child creates one’s subjective relationship between objects and then mistakes one’s egocentric perspective for reality. This falls under incoherent coherence. Thus, the child learns by committing mistakes along the way. The child corrects one’s mistake until the goal or objective is finally achieved. The child includes all inputs, both successful and unsuccessful, are gathered and used to determine the proper way of doing or seeing things. Thus, the teachers must accept mistakes as part of the child’s learning process. The child’s mistakes are used as a stepping stone to generating the proper result in any activity. Social interaction plays a major role in transforming prior knowledge. Thus, speci fic functions are not given to a person at birth but given as cultural and social patterns. Lev Vygotsky believes that it is human nature for a person to learn best with the cooperation of other human beings. The child’s learning is grounded on one’s reaction to environmental inputs. Thus, the child’s and the teacher’

PhD research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PhD research proposal - Essay Example common in most communications resulting to children whose parents use English as a second language communicating to them while young in both English and their primary language. This case is common among most Arabic children in Britain who are able to communicate in both Arabic and English languages effectively. After a thorough search at the literature, especially the one discussing issues related to interaction between first and second languages, it has been observed that most of these studies point to the effect of the first language on a second language, in terms of; phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and many other aspects of linguistics, but there have been much fewer studies done on the effect of a second language on the first one with respect to phonology in bilingual children. This provides a perfect opportunity to analyse the impact of a second language on the phonological skills of the first language in bilingual children. On an anecdotal level, I have seen that some Arabic-English bilingual children’s mother tongue, which is Arabic, is affected phonologically by English which they learn at school. Children gradually lose the right pronunciation of unshared sounds in their first language, as a result, of the interaction between the two languages they master. This study proposes two hypotheses: 1- The phonological characteristics of children’s second language will affect their pronunciation of unshared sounds in their first language, in the same way; the first language influences a second language. Numerous studies have examined the issue of phonological interaction in children, especially in cases where children are taught to communicate in more than one language (Goldstein, 2004). Some of these studies are listed in the reference section of this proposal. This study will examine previous studies on this topic and hence develop a gap analysis that will culminate to the development of a problem statement. Currently, this study is fully aware

The future status of English as the global language is assured Essay - 1

The future status of English as the global language is assured - Essay Example This means that it is a language that is not going to disappear anytime soon because it is deeply rooted among many cultures. The same could be said of Mandarin. However, Mandarin has historically never had the same global appeal of English due to one thing—colonization. The English language originated from England and was exported around the world the England’s colonies. Countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have all had their cultures and language shaped due to the influence of England. Mandarin was never allowed to expand like this because China never ventured far outside its own borders. In addition to England, the United States of America also became a great exporter of the English language. After the United States won independence from England, it did contribute much to world affairs. It was only after the Second World War that America started to influence many different countries around the globe. Because they speak the English language, the United States was, and still does, influence they way people talk. Over the centuries, English has long been the language of trade between countries. Although English is only the native language in a few countries, there are considerably more nations that have established English as their second language. The reason for this is simple—trade. Because many of the native English speaking countries are considered to be first world, it is advantageous for poorer nations to do business with them. To accomplish this, it makes sense to learn English in order to be able to communicate effectively with them. It would be unrealistic for an English speaker to learn a language of another country that wants to engage in trade—because the developing country wants to grow, it must learn to speak the language that will help to get them there. Although English will surely be threatened by other upcoming languages, particularly Mandarin, the future status of the English language as

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example George. W. Merck a formal chairman of the company always tried to project his founding father’s mission that the corporation will always â€Å"work for the people and not for profits†. On this regard it can be said, that the company is more deliberate to act with high social responsibility rather than just focusing on profitability or revenues (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Organization Values of Merck & Corporation In respect of Merck’s company’s mission and vision which is to serve public at all means, profit is not the first priority as the organization is with deeper social grounds at the time of service or operation. As company’s vision is set on high moral grounds, it becomes mandatory for the system of the company to follow the similar track in which social responsibility is on highest node of consideration. In such ethical frame of work, the decision of developing a drug which is specifically for small population is hard to make, as it has to imi tate company’s vision and fit in the interest of internal and external stakeholders (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). It was the period of 1970s when the case of â€Å"River blindness† came on the front to Merck & Corporation. ... ion like Merck’s & Corporation, whose idea is to serve mankind and provide people with effective remedies on such chronic diseases (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Stakeholder Impact and Interest Merck & Corporation is one of the largest medication providers in the world. It is having a thorough background in serving people genuinely with high effective cures and remedies. The case of river blindness required an ethical decision in which Merck & Corporation was being expected to make a decision in favor of the affected population (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). The case brought attention of stakeholders who were actively part of the organization at that time. Scientists were internal stakeholders who projected their deep interest in researching for the case. This was all in the context of company’s mission and vision, which is to serve public who is facing influence of such chronic disease â€Å"River blindness† (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Risk in Development of the Drug In the case of River-blindness disease, Merck & Corporation was carrying high amount of risk especially if the company owners look at the profitability aspect (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). If the company goes with its research, it would require high investments plus a lot of time to get with a probable solution. The profit generation is on the lesser side even the investments are hard to recover on the drug as the affected people requiring the drug are located in poor regions, who cannot afford such high profitability ratios for the company (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). The Final Decision In respect of the following risk factors, it is hard to make a decision that whether a company should go or not for developing the drug. If a company decides to proceed with the drug development, it could compromise the principles of

The future status of English as the global language is assured Essay - 1

The future status of English as the global language is assured - Essay Example This means that it is a language that is not going to disappear anytime soon because it is deeply rooted among many cultures. The same could be said of Mandarin. However, Mandarin has historically never had the same global appeal of English due to one thing—colonization. The English language originated from England and was exported around the world the England’s colonies. Countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have all had their cultures and language shaped due to the influence of England. Mandarin was never allowed to expand like this because China never ventured far outside its own borders. In addition to England, the United States of America also became a great exporter of the English language. After the United States won independence from England, it did contribute much to world affairs. It was only after the Second World War that America started to influence many different countries around the globe. Because they speak the English language, the United States was, and still does, influence they way people talk. Over the centuries, English has long been the language of trade between countries. Although English is only the native language in a few countries, there are considerably more nations that have established English as their second language. The reason for this is simple—trade. Because many of the native English speaking countries are considered to be first world, it is advantageous for poorer nations to do business with them. To accomplish this, it makes sense to learn English in order to be able to communicate effectively with them. It would be unrealistic for an English speaker to learn a language of another country that wants to engage in trade—because the developing country wants to grow, it must learn to speak the language that will help to get them there. Although English will surely be threatened by other upcoming languages, particularly Mandarin, the future status of the English language as

Successor in family Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9250 words

Successor in family - Article Example This could be answered using an empirical research designed to involve business owner-managers and successors from some Chinese family businesses. These respondents could then be asked to help return usable questionnaires. The perceived success of the succession process is measured by two underlying dimensions: The empirical results will indicate whether the successor-related factors that influence satisfaction with the process are, on the one hand, the willingness of the successor to take over, and the relationship between the owner-manager and successor, on the other hand. The study should also be able to elucidate whether the continued profitability of the business is influenced by the willingness of the successor to take over the business, the preparation level of the successor, and the relationship between the successor and owner-manager. The relationship between the owner-manager and successor is influenced by the extent to which interpersonal relationships in the family can be described as harmonious. Based on these findings recommendations for successful succession are offered. When man began to venture into trade and commerce, little did it strike him that business was a means of being together and a factor that contributed to happiness and growth. Gradually members of a family would get together and share responsibilities to ease the workload on a single person. The most influential person of the family would normally be the business head. Family businesses are among the most important contributors to wealth and employment in virtually every country in the world, and this was no exception with the Chinese (IFERA, 2003; Sharma, 1997; Tan & Fock, 2001; Ward, 2004). So influential is family business, that many countries now have more and more family businesses contributing to the national economy through tax payments. What does one mean by the term family business' Following Chua, Sharma, and Chrisman (1996), family business is the business governed and/or managed on a sustainable, and potentially cross-generational, basis that shapes and perhaps pursues the formal or implicit vision of the business held by members of the same family or a small number of

Personal Ethics Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Ethics Statement Essay The ethics that I am personally living with revolves on how I deal with my life, with other people and with the world per se. Some of them are anchored on my childhood years and learning which definitely reveals my becoming and upbringing. Some have developed and came up during my college years due to the fact that my eyes have become open towards different perspectives. Ethics deals with personal philosophies in life. What I believe in certainly reflects the ethics that I am living with and upholding. For me, if a person is to make one lie to me, he or she needs to add ten more. He or she needs to add more lies in order for his or her lie to be consistent. That reality has something to do on how I trust a person; it has something to do with relationship and friendship because trust is one of the vital components of establishing ties and relationships. â€Å"To refuse an offer is more than an insult. † I usually state and utter these words among my friends whenever they refuse something that I have given them because for me, it is unethical to decline one’s offer especially if it comes from the bottom of the giver’s heart. However, everything still depends on the circumstance because some offers are worth refusing especially if it is beyond your limit or beyond your belief. There are also things to consider when declining one’s offer. â€Å"Love is universal. † And I strongly grasped this philosophy. I do not believe that it is wrong to love a person of the same sex or to discriminate those persons who are involved in homosexuality. I am not gay but I believe in human rights and equality. If it is unethical for the church and for the society, for me it is not. I may evolve as a deviant on that but certainly, I, definitely, am not alone. Some of my personal ethics that are indeed of great help to my life, how I live with it and how I fight and struggle on life’s challenges focus on the following: (1) positive vibrations, which means that I have to get away with negative thoughts; (2) never manipulate a person, instead motivate them; (3) learn to fight; (4) be aware and sensitive of other’s feelings; (5) if a person or thing is not meant for you, it is not really meant for you; (6) forgive; (7) do not hold back and cling on to the past and; (8) if a thing is needed to be done, it should be done.

Development of the Quantity Surveying Role

Development of the Quantity Surveying Role The report within analyses and documents the historical development of the Quantity Surveying role from inception to modern day practice, the roles and responsibilities of the Professional Quantity Surveyor and Contractors Quantity Surveyor, along with the importance and relevance of key skills to the role of the QS. The Quantity Surveyor role was born in the United Kingdom, shortly after the birth of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1834, due to the fact that Architects wanted to distance themselves from the surveying profession. The report goes on to talk about the many reports published by The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which identify the Quantity Surveying roles and how the future QS role will adapt to change. Both the Professional and Contractors QS have roles and responsibilities in the Pre-construction, Construction and Post-construction phases on any given construction project. Both sides have similar responsibilities during the pre-construction phase for example, each side will have a duty to carry out a form of estimation regarding the price of the works, which will require measurement/quantification. During Construction, the Contractors QS will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the project, including procuring subcontractors and submitting valuations to the client, whilst the Professional QS will be working with the client to ensure the Contractors QS valuations are factual and that they are certified in line with the contract terms. Post-construction activities on both sides would include activities such as Final Account procedures. Finally, the last section of the report details the six key skills required by a Quantity Surveyor in order for a successful career; Numeracy, Verbal Communication, Written Communication, ICT Skills, Problem Solving and Self-management. It is important that an aspiring Quantity Surveyor/Project Manager is continually developing these skills, as they will play a large part of their working careers for the rest of their lives. The purpose of this report is to write about the functions of the Quantity Surveyors and the roles each has within the Construction Industry. The team intends to accomplish the roles and responsibilities of the Quantity Surveyors (QS), Professional Quantity Surveyors (PQS), and Contractors Quantity Surveyors (CQS). The content of the report will consider the importance of key skills such as, Problem Solving, Numeracy, Self-Management, Written, and Verbal Communication and IT Skills. To accomplish this the team will meet up and communicate with each other, plus research the subjects for the report. All three team members will be involved with the evaluation of the report, once the report has a structure the team should meet-up to go over the order that each member will completing, after each of the members have finished the sections there should be another meet-up to check the work each as done and update the contents, once this is finished the report should be edited and completed. The resources for the report will come from the research in secondary published literature, and from sources based on the internet. 1.1 Introduction This qualitative team research report will analyse and make use of secondary published literature to discuss the fundamental roles and responsibilities of a Quantity Surveyor. The report will highlight the key skills required to conduct the roles and responsibilities of a Quantity Surveyor. Quantity Surveying is an occupation that dates back as far as the 17th Century in Britain, when construction enterprises were measured and valued after they were designed and built. The definition of a Quantity Surveyor according to the renowned author Seeley (1997, p. 40), whose work is well documented in many books that cover all aspects of Quantity Surveying, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦A quantity surveyor is a professionally trained, qualified and experienced in dealing with these problems on behalf of the employer. He is essentially a cost expert whose prime task is to ensure that the project is kept within the agreed budget and that the employer obtains value for money. 1.2 Constraints or limitations on the work There have been several limitations on this report, the most important limitations being that the word count of the report has a maximum limit of 3000 words. Another was that group members did not always all come to the same conclusions, with differing opinions on subjects which could have led to opposing or contradicting views. Another constraint was that with it being a group task, on occasions there were individuals that were not able to meet due to busy lifestyles and other plans. Other instances of this was when work schedules clashed with meetings, or that long distances meant the meeting was unviable, or the venue for the meeting was too small for everyone to sit and engage. 1.3 Any assumptions made No assumptions have been made for the basis of this report. 2.1 Introduction This section will document and cover a brief history of the Construction industry, the inception of the QS role in the industry, the historical development of the QS, along with the roles and responsibilities of the QS on both the private and contractors side. 2.2 Historical development of the QS role The Construction Industry within the UK in the past was very different to the modern industry we know of today. The industry back then saw a Project Manager individually tender, procure and co-ordinate each discipline on site himself. However, the Napoleonic Wars of 1803 to 1815 would see the revolution of the Construction Industry in the United Kingdom. Cartlidge (2013) indicated that the government in power during the war were required to construct barracks to house the large amounts of soldiers that were to be crossing the English Channel. Due to time being of the essence, contracts were required to be let on settlement by fair valuation based on measurement after completion of the works. The many years that followed on from this saw the amount of projects in similar scenarios magnify, leading to the inception of the general contractor in the United Kingdom. The year of 1834 saw the birth of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This professional association exclusively for architects, was formed on the basis that architects wished to distance themselves from surveyors and their perceived obnoxious commercvial interest in construction' (Cartlidge, 2013, p. 7). This in turn led to the inauguration of the Quantity Surveyor in the UK. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) report published in 1971 clearly defines the role of the Quantity Surveyor (RICS, 1971). The report seeks to acclaim the profession as specialists in the measurement and valuation of construction works (Perera, Pearson and Dodds, n.d.). The trio go on to state that the follow-up report also produced by the RICS, The Future Role of the Chartered Quantity Surveyor (RICS, 1983), identifies the skills and knowledge base of the QS while identifying the scope for expansion and diversification of services (Perera, Pearson and Dodds, n.d., p. 2). 2.3 The duties of the QS According to Willmott Dixon (2016), the duties of Quantity Surveyors are to carry out a feasibility study, advise on potential sites and working out what a client can afford to build. They will present detailed valuations on information of costs for elements of work on an intermittent basis to aid payment for those works carried out to date. They will be responsible for organising the division of a project into component work packages, and awarding these work packages to smaller, more specialised construction companies such as the subcontractors and, in that process, finding the best deals. They are also responsible for dealing with contracts and legal matters. Managing costs to ensure the initial budget is not surpassed. Arranging the staff payments and, settling the final accounts. Plus, act as the financial advisors while monitoring progress for the client. 2.3.1 The roles of the Professional Quantity Surveyor The Professional Quantity Surveyor (PQS), which is a quantity surveyor employed in private practice, has been prevalent in the Construction industry since the 1960s where cost planning services were introduced into their repertoire of duties in order to avoid tenders being returned over budget (Ashworth, Hogg and Higgs, 2013, p. 8). It is the PQS responsibility to give advice on all financial and contractual issues to all relevant parties, from pre-tender to completion of the project. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1998) published a set of competencies, titled Table 1, in which the assessment of professional competence would be measured against. The competencies are split into three different categories; basic, core and optional. PQS would need to fundamentally prove that they meet these competencies in order to reach chartered status. 2.3.1.1 Pre-Construction The pre-construction roles and responsibilities would include functions such as initial budget setting with the client, quantification/measurement and possibly preparation of bills of quantities, dependant on the contract. The PQS would also have an input into the design stage of the project, and would work with the Project Manager (PM), architects/structural engineers and public authorities, as he/she would be involved from a very early stage. Following this, they would then work with the PM directly to give sound commercial advice to ensure the contract is awarded to the most favourable and most cost effective contractor. 2.3.1.2 Construction Phase During the Construction phase, the PQS would still be expected to analyse and provide cost/commercial advice to the PM where needed, but he would mainly be working with the Contractors QS now to ensure that monthly valuations are submitted and valued correctly. Not only this, he/she would be responsible for attending site to review the applications submitted to confirm the values applied for. The term for this generally is Cost Control. 2.3.1.3 Post-Construction After the Construction phase, has been completed, the PQS would endeavour to complete and settle the Final Account with the Contractor to ensure all monies, where due, are paid and all disputes settled. If its necessary, the PQS will also conduct and participate in arbitration or court proceedings to settle disputes that couldnt be resolved previously. Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS, 2016) 2.3.2 The roles of the Contractors Quantity Surveyor The Contractors QS is responsible for the performance of operations similar to those of the PQS, i.e., the measurement and pricing of construction work, utilising certain mechanisms for pricing such as Bill of Quantities. The Contractors QS handles the day to day running of the building/construction project. The construction programme is handled in three distinct sections. These are Pre-Construction, Construction Phase and Post-Construction. Within these phases the Contractors QS plays a major role. 2.3.2.1 Pre- Construction The Contractors QS will be required to carry out a Feasibility study for the project. They will also estimate the cost and whats involved in the project based on measurements of the designer or clients sketches. The Contractors QS can compare the project with historical projects that his/her company has completed, and potentially gain an insight into how much the build may cost. The final part of the phase will lead to the final detailed estimate which is prepared by the QS and the Architect of the project which will lead to the evaluating tenders. 2.3.2.2 Construction Phase The role of the Contractors QS will be to provide cash flow data so the client can start to arrange the finances needed to execute each stages of the project. They will also provide assessments on the cost effect so they can be ready for any changes that will appear during the Construction phase. During this time they can provide a project report. They can also manage disputes within the organisation (Clients, Designers and Building Contractors). 2.3.2.3 Post-Construction The Contractors QS will be preparing and carrying out Final Accounts with subcontractors that have worked on site, as well as preparing their Final Account submission to submit to the client. The QS will liaise with the site team to ensure that all snags/defects are carried out in a timely manner. Once the defects liability period has expired within the Main Contract, generally 12 months after practical completion, the QS will be responsible for releasing any retention monies owed to the subcontractors. 3.1 Numeracy Numeracy skills are one of the largest of the key skills within the QSs repertoire, as they assist with the majority of the tasks a Quantity Surveyor carries out. For example, a Quantity Surveyor would be required to carry out numerous calculations for tasks, such as when he/she is required to produce tender documentation, i.e., Bills of Quantities etc. Measurement, or Quantification, would also require extensive numerical knowledge, as the task of producing a Bill of Quantities would require the QS to measure quantities from a drawing and implement the measurements into a suitable method of measurement, such as SMM7 or NRM2. The QS would also require handy numeracy skills when producing a valuation, or application for payment, as he/she will need to devise a document that can be used to apply for monies against particular activities, which would generally be against an Activity Schedule. 3.2 Verbal communication Verbal communication is a very important skill for the Quantity Surveyor to have because they have to interact with the internal and external employees which are working on the project. For example, the QS has to have a formal relationship with the client and the architect whilst managing affairs on site. It is imperative that a positive rapport is built up using verbal communication with suppliers, as this will help to ensure materials are delivered on time, which in turn will assist in the overall project completion. Communication with all parties involved in a contract will be required, as the different parties involved all have the same end-goal; to complete the project. Verbal communication is essential in the day to day life of the QS, speaking face to face with clients, Project Managers and other key figures involved in the project. The QS will also be required to demonstrate his/her verbal communication skills in meetings, interviews and conferences. 3.3 Written communication The written communication will be important from the beginning to the end of any work that need to be carried out and can be either: Email Letter Proposals Contracts Brochures This will begin when a team has been assembled when minutes of the meetings will be taken. Once these notes have been written up into a report they will allow the team to get the relevant information. By having these written down will allow anyone who needs to see the information they will be able to request them. They will also become a permanent record to reference information from. 3.4 IT Skills ICT skills are quickly becoming the foreground of a Quantity Surveyors key skill inventory. The need for computer literacy and a high level of ICT skills has stemmed from the fact that computers are now a large part of how a QS operates. Generally, a QS will produce Bills of Quantities, send emails, write letters and even now, gain measurements from drawings using a computer. Most of these tasks require a satisfactory level of capability regarding ICT, and more of the complex tasks require further extensive knowledge. Ashworth, Hogg and Higgs (2013, p. 14-15) identify and backup the idea for the need of strong ICT skills, by stating that process skills include computer literacy. 3.5 Problem Solving Problem solving is a very important skill required in the role of the QS. Due to the unpredictability of the Construction industry and the works that are carried out on site, the QS will be required to use his knowledge and devise an innovative solution to a problem which arises on site. The QS would be required to sufficiently and effectively identify and examine the problem to find a possible resolution to overcome the situation in order for works on the site to continue to progress towards completion. Demonstrating this skill will help the QS to achieve productivity and targets, as well as meeting key dates within a contract, i.e., Practical Completion, otherwise known as PC. 3.6 Self-management To be successful in the management of yourself, Valchev (2016) states you should be self-confident. The best way to achieve self-confidence is being positive by getting rid of negativity, and be happy with every achievement whether they are big or small, State that you are smart and intelligent and finally talk with other positive people. Valchev (2016) also states that you should be able to manage stress. To achieve your stress levels, you should relax, enjoy yourself, take holidays with people you love, take long walks and have hobbies or do activities you like. You should have excellent organisational skills and can manage your time, which can be achieved by writing lists, make a schedule, prioritize and setting goals, break down large tasks into smaller tasks and balance work and rest and recreation. You should be self-motivated, to achieve this you should make a list of your needs and desires listen to music when working on them and look at different books for inspiration this can expand your thoughts, and you should also have big dreams, live in the present moment, have dreams often and remember everything can be achieved. Lastly you should also have a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. With all of this will help productivity which will make the work go easily.   4.1 On roles and responsibilities of the QS To conclude, Quantity Surveyors, have a vital part to producing efficient work in construction to reduce conflict by securing the most suitable procurement technique is selected, providing effective cost control procedure and ensuring value for money constantly. They minimise the potential lapse by distribution of risk and identifying the value-adding activities in the project. Quantity Surveyors run an extensive choice of skills outside the traditional quantity surveying actions. The extended skills of quantity surveyors will help clients to achieve their needs and expectations. In the current financial predicament, where cash flow and credit are paramount for clients, thus completion of project on specified time and within budget is important especially in the public sector which deal with the large projects and intensive capital. Quantity Surveyors can secure success for projects by the current technical and financial information and hence have vital influence in economic recovery. 4.2 On the importance of key skills development as aspirant quantity surveyors or project managers and future specific recommendations you have for your key skills acquisition and development The key skills that have been identified above; numeracy, verbal communication, written communication, IT skills, problem solving skills and self-management skills are all critical to an aspiring Quantity Surveyor/Project Manager. They are the necessary foundations to a successful career in the Construction industry, as without these crucial skills, a Quantity Surveyor/Project Manager would struggle to perform his or her day-to-day tasks. The development of these key skills is necessary in order to progress and enhance the opportunities available to you throughout your working career. Without the development of these skills, you will not be able to achieve your life goals, which will decrease your confidence and will lead to you having a poorer quality of life. However, if these skills are developed and maintained, your confidence would be boosted and you would live a far more comfortable, fulfilled and higher quality life. References   Ashworth, A., Hogg, K., Higgs, C. (2013) Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor. 13th edn. Chichester: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Brandon, P. (1990) Quantity Surveying Techniques: New Directions. Oxford. Blackwell Scientific Publications Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (2016) Professional Quantity Surveyor. Available at: http://www.ciqs.org/english/designations-defined-professional-quantity-surveyor (Accessed 16 November 2016). Cartlidge, D. (2013) Quantity Surveyors Pocket Book. 2nd edn. Oxfordshire: Routledge. Manker, A. D. (2016) What Is Written Communication in Business? Definition, Types Examples. Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-written-communication-in-business-definition-types-examples.html (Accessed 19 November 2016). Perera, S., Pearson, J., Dodds, L. (n.d.) Alignment of Professional, Academic and Industrial Development Needs for Quantity Surveyors. Northumbria: Northumbria University. Rahmani, F. (n.d.) Importance of Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations in the prevaling recession. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/466357/Importance_of_Quantity_Surveyors_for_public_sector_organisations_in_the_prevaling_recession (Accessed 19 November 2016). Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1998) The APC Requirements and Competencies. London: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Seeley, I. H. (1997) Quantity Surveying Practice. 2nd edn. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Valchev, M. (n.d.) Self-Management Skills | List, Definition, Tips Techniques. Available at: http://www.businessphrases.net/self-management-skills/ (Accessed 19 November 2016). Willmott Dixon (2016) The role of a Quantity Surveyor | Willmott Dixon. Available at: http://www.willmottdixon.co.uk/careers/working-for-us/the-role-of-a-quantity-surveyor (Accessed 16 November 2016). Ashworth, A., Hogg, K., Higgs, C. (2013) Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor. 13th edn. Chichester: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Brandon, P. (1990) Quantity Surveying Techniques: New Directions. Oxford. Blackwell Scientific Publications Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (2016) Professional Quantity Surveyor. Available at: http://www.ciqs.org/english/designations-defined-professional-quantity-surveyor (Accessed 16 November 2016). Cartlidge, D. (2013) Quantity Surveyors Pocket Book. 2nd edn. Oxfordshire: Routledge. Manker, A. D. (2016) What Is Written Communication in Business? Definition, Types Examples. Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-written-communication-in-business-definition-types-examples.html (Accessed 19 November 2016). Perera, S., Pearson, J., Dodds, L. (n.d.) Alignment of Professional, Academic and Industrial Development Needs for Quantity Surveyors. Northumbria: Northumbria University. Rahmani, F. (n.d.) Importance of Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations in the prevaling recession. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/466357/Importance_of_Quantity_Surveyors_for_public_sector_organisations_in_the_prevaling_recession (Accessed 19 November 2016). Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1998) The APC Requirements and Competencies. London: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Seeley, I. H. (1997) Quantity Surveying Practice. 2nd edn. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Valchev, M. (n.d.) Self-Management Skills | List, Definition, Tips Techniques. Available at: http://www.businessphrases.net/self-management-skills/ (Accessed 19 November 2016). Willmott Dixon (2016) The role of a Quantity Surveyor | Willmott Dixon. Available at: http://www.willmottdixon.co.uk/careers/working-for-us/the-role-of-a-quantity-surveyor (Accessed 16 November 2016). List of appendices Group Diary Evidence Group Diary Date Activity Actions agreed Type of evidence 21 Oct 2016 Message from Matt Meeting Message print-out (see Figure 1 in Appendix 2) 27 Oct 2016 Email to the two members Template of the report Screenshot (see Figure 2 in Appendix 2) 01 Nov 2016 Email to Jeannette from Matt Revised template Screenshot (see Figure 3 in Appendix 2) 15 Nov 2016 Message from Matt Rearranging some of the report and organise a meet-up for the next day Screenshot (see Figure 4 in Appendix 2) 24 Nov 2016 Message to Mo Requesting work Screenshot (see Figure 5 in Appendix 2) 30 Nov 2016 Email to Matt Dropbox invite with the assignment Screenshot (see Figure 6 in Appendix 2) Evidence Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 (snippet of conversation from WhatsApp) Figure 5 Figure 6 (emails to Matt)

Aunt Jennifers Tigers by Adrienne Rich Essay -- Aunt Jennifers Tiger

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich Who is Aunt Jennifer? Does she even exist? I had to ask myself these questions before even going further into the poem. The answers opened the door to a deeper meaning behind Aunt Jennifer's Tigers. Based on Adrienne Rich's background I believe Aunt Jennifer did exist. However, Aunt Jennifer was not Rich's aunt. Aunt Jennifer represented women all over the world, particularly women in American, who were caught under the oppressive hand of a patriarchal society. Adrienne Rich was perhaps one of those women. Rich, one of the most influential poets of her time, dealt with controversial issues such as sexuality, race, language, power, and women's culture. Her passion in this area forced her to look and challenge the standard and the norm. The popular clichà © that refers to marriage as that old "ball and chain" takes on a more serious meaning with Rich as she reveals, through the simple lines of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers, a woman's struggles with expression, rebellion, and a society where power is defined as masculine. Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich Aunt Jennifer's Tigers prance across a screen, Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; They pace in sleek chivalric certainty. Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band Sit's heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand. When Aunt Jennifer is dead, her terrified hands will lie Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by. The tigers in the panel that she made Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. Rich begins her poem with a beautiful picture, setting the scene for the dream wo... ...it through masculine images. Those images were all she had ever known. Aunt Jennifer never got to see women standing strong and proud because they were simply women. She missed out on watching women become astronauts, businesswomen, artists, and policemen. The reason her needlepoint went "on prancing and proud and unafraid" was because the needlepoint represented all things masculine and therefore, had nothing to fear. In the end, Adrienne Rich showed that Aunt Jennifer represented every woman of her time. Ironically enough, she rebels using the oppressor's own language to feel a sense of triumph. Overwhelmed by gender roles, unable to communicate firsthand how they really felt, and torn between rebellion, expression, and society, Aunt Jennifer represses her fears and desires into the exotic tigers which go on living even after the weight of her world buries her.

Cosmology in Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay

The Oxford English Dictionary defines â€Å"cosmos† as â€Å"the world or universe as an ordered and harmonious system,† from the Greek, â€Å"kosmos,† referring to an ordered and/or ornamental thing. When God created the world he had this in mind. To have a harmonious system in the universe where everything can live in peace and free of all worry. God was on top and everything was peaceful. Until the angles in Milton’s Paradise Lost had a fight. After the fight God banished these bad angels and had the last part of his universe created, hell. This completed a very complex picture of Milton’s vision of the universe in the beginning. The encyclopedic writers of the early Middle Ages communicated a modest assortment of basic cosmological information, drawn from a variety of ancient sources, especially Platonic and Stoic. These writers proclaimed the sphericity of the earth, discussed its circumference, and defined its climatic zones and division into continents. They described the celestial sphere and the circles used to map it; many revealed at least an elementary understanding of the solar, lunar and other planetary motions. They discussed the nature and size of the sun and moon, the cause of eclipses, and a variety of metrological phenomena. Another novelty was the frequent argument of the twelfth-century authors that God limited His creative activity to the moment of creation; thereafter, they held, the natural causes that He had created directed the course of things. Twelfth-century cosmologists stressed the unified, organic character of the cosmos, ruled by a world soul and bound together by astrological forces and the macrocosm-microcosm relationship. In an important continuation of early medieval thought, twelfth-century scholars described a cosmos that was fundamentally homogeneous, composed of the same elements from top to bottom: Aristotle’s quintessence or aether and his radical dichotomy between the celestial and terrestrial regions had not yet made their presence felt. Cosmology, like so many other subjects, was transformed by the wholesale translation of Greek and Arabic sources in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Specifically, the Aristotelian tradition gained center stage in the thirteenth century and gradually substituted its conception of the cosmos for that of Plato and the early Middle Ages. This is not to suggest that Aristotle and Plato disagreed on all the important issues; on many of the basics they were in full accord. Aristotelians, like Platonists, conceived the cosmos to be a great (but unquestionably finite) sphere, with the havens above and the earth at the center. All agreed that it had a beginning in time – although some Aristotelians of the thirteenth century were prepared to argue that this could not be established by philosophical arguments. Nobody representing either school of thought doubted that the cosmos was unique: although nearly everybody acknowledged that God could have created multiple worlds, it is difficult to assume that anybody seriously believed He had done so. However, where Aristotle and Plato disagreed, the Aristotelian world picture gradually displaced the Platonic. One of the major differences concerned the issue of homogeneity. Aristotle divided the cosmic sphere into two distinct regions, made of different stuff and operating according to different principles. Below the moon is the terrestrial region, formed out of the four elements. This region is the scene of generation and corruption, of birth and death, and of transient (typically rectilinear) motions. Above the moon are the celestial spheres, to which the fixed stars, the sun and the remaining planets are attached. This celestial region, composed of aether or the quintessence (the fifth element), is characterized by unchanging perfection and uniform circular motion. Other Aristotelian contributions to the cosmological picture were his elaborate system of planetary spheres and the principles of causation by which the celestial motions produced generation and corruption in the terrestrial realm. A variety of Aristotelian features, then, merged with traditional cosmological beliefs to define the essentials of late medieval cosmology – a cosmology that became the shared intellectual property of educated Europeans in the course of the thirteenth century. Universal agreement of such magnitude emerged not because the educated felt compelled to yield to the authority of Aristotle, but because his cosmological picture offered a persuasive and satisfying account of the world as they perceived it. Nonetheless, certain elements of Aristotelian cosmology quickly became the objects of criticism and debate, and it is here, in the attempt to flesh out and fine-tine Aristotelian cosmology and bring it into harmony with the opinions of other authorities and with biblical teaching, that medieval scholars made their cosmological contribution. But the most interesting point about Milton? s cosmology is this: why, when he knew of the discoveries Galileo had made with his telescope-as Book VIII clearly proves-and must have accepted the validity of the Copernican cosmology, wich our planetary system revolves, did Milton base his universe upon the Ptolematic pattern? The answer lies in the literary advantages of accepting the older though erreoneous concept: it was known, and Copernicanism was strongly resisted and only slowly accepted; the Ptolematic system was orderly, it laid down limits within wich Milton found it easier to work, and it made God and man the two ends of a chain-man can ascend, onward and ever upward, to union with the divinity, and this could never have happened in an open-ended Copernican universe. From the early through the late Middle Ages, Europeans moved from a disorganized, almost mystical way of thinking about the universe to an acceptance of a well-ordered, geocentric universe based upon the ideas of Greek philosophers such as Ptolemy and Aristotle. In this universe, the Earth was at the center and other heavenly bodies rotated around it in a series of concentric spheres . The entire system was powered by the primum mobile, or â€Å"Prime Mover,† which was the outermost sphere set in motion directly by God. This Primum Mobile trasformed the love of God for mankind into energy and provided the impetus that made the whole universe rotate; It took some very creative thinking to make this universe work well. For example, the retrograde motion of the planets in which they sometimes seemed to be changing directions and moving backwards was explained by way of â€Å"epicycles† (see the diagram on the right below). Specifically, it was proposed that the planets rotated around a center point fixed in place on the sphere of that planet, causing the apparent change in the direction of planetary motion. The seven known planets orbited the Earth, each one? atmosphere pushing round the one next inside it by friction ; all of this motion created a beautiful â€Å"music of the spheres† which could not be detected by humans (at least not until after they died and went to heaven), but which provided pleasure for angels and other supernatural beings. The outermost orbit, that of the planet Saturn, was itself surrounnded by the spere of the fixed stars (Book III,481) and outside that again was the vast expanse of the waters of firmament, also called by Milton the Crystalline firmament, as distinct from the waters on the earth and under the earth, had been used by God as an insulating jacket esigned to protect His Chaos through wich Satan flies at the end of Book II. The whole universe was suspended from Heaven (also frequently called the Empyrean) by a golden chain. Since medieval Europeans had no conception of a vacuum, it was believed that the heavens were filled with a celestial fluid that flowed as the spheres of the universe rotated, thus sustaining the motion of the planets. In Heaven, God sits on His throne supported by four seraphim, the most powerful of the nine orders of angels wich had remained loyal. he middle Ages believed literally that it was Divine Love that made the world go round. The rebel tenth who had revolted under Satan had been hurled down into another dread realm, Hell, created for them to occupy beyond the domain of Chaos and Old Night to the outer surface of our universe. Deceiving Uriel, regent of the sun, he flies down to Eden. The subsequent movements of both Satan and the guardians of Paradise are explained in Books IV and IX with detailed astronomical references. Just as the physical universe was thought to be centered around the Earth, the psychological universe of Medieval Europeans revolved around humans. Any understanding of the psychology and behavior of individuals at that time requires a consideration of the person’s desire for eternal salvation. For Medieval European Christians, time had essentially two divisions: The brief and insignificant one in which they lived out their sinful lives, and the cosmically enduring one in which the suffering or joy of their souls would occur. In Medieval Europe, there was no room for abnormality or nonconformity, as ANY deviation was considered to be the work of the devil. A hierarchy was everywhere in all things. People accepted their place in the social order no matter how lowly it might have been, and everything in the world had the potential for symbolizing something supernatural. People perceived messages from God in virtually every natural and human event. However, By the 17th century, the Copernican and Galilean models gained ground, and replaced this worldview. It was still an attractive philosophical construction and one that persisted for a long time in the collective Renaissance consciousness. Milton, who chose to use the Ptolemaic cosmology for his Paradise Lost, was not alone in Renaissance literature to hold on to the Medieval worldview, if not in scientific earnest, as a poetical conceit (cf. Donne’s â€Å"The First Anniversary† and â€Å"Good Friday, 1613†). Nothing less than the creation and ordering of the universe defines the scope of Paradise Lost. The epic explores its cosmological theme in theoretical discussions between Adam and Raphael and in the narrator’s descriptions and metaphors. Further, Milton imagines Satan surveying the universe in an expedition of discovery through a new world in his fall from Heaven and his passage through Chaos to Earth. Adam tries to understand the earth’s physical place in the universe and its associated ontological and theological value as the home of man. He wonders aloud about â€Å"this Earth a spot, a grain,/ An Atom, with the Firmament compar’d/ And all her numbered Starrs, that seem to rowl /Spaces incomprehensible† (PL8. 17-21). Milton asks us to imagine the first man struggling with many of the same questions a Renaissance thinker, contemplating new models of the universe, must have considered. In response to the theory that everything revolves around the sun and not the earth, philosophers were forced to question the importance of man’s role in the universal order. Raphael, responding to Adam’s concerns, suggests there is no reason â€Å"bodies bright and greater should not serve / The less not bright, nor Heav’n such journies run / Earth sitting still† (PL8. 87-9). Yet, the poem does not answer all such questions directly, and scholars often find it difficult to determine Milton’s attitude toward science. In these debates, it is helpful to remember that Milton was not a scientist but a theorist. He did not contribute to scientific knowledge so much as to an understanding of what new scientific ideas might mean to traditional Christian cosmology. He meditates on this in conditional modes, as does Raphael in his description of the universe: â€Å"What if the Sun/ Be Centre to the World† (PL 8. 122-3). In the mid-sixteenth century, Nicolaus Copernicus and his followers, most notably Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, disturbed the entire Christian world by proposing a heliocentric model of the universe that displaced the earth, and by extension humanity, from the center. As the Reformation progressed, resulting theological debates acquired political importance and Milton, as a politically conscious theologian, addressed these issues in Paradise Lost. Critics debate the extent of Milton’s interest in the advancement of science. Catherine Gimelli Martin notes that many find â€Å"his cosmology stands on the wrong side of the great scientific revolution initiated by Copernicus, furthered by Galileo, and completed by Newton† (â€Å"What If the Sun Be Centre† 233). However, Martin argues that classifying Milton as scientifically backward is a mistake resulting from our modern society: â€Å"we too easily forget that during this formative period, no ‘advancement of learning,’ scientific or otherwise, could yet be conceived as succeeding apart from the requisite disclaimers about the folly of seeking superhuman knowledge and the proper assurances of humility before heights of Divine Wisdom† (Martin 231-2). Modern readers tend to treat scientific knowledge as inevitably progressive and therefore expect in Milton an appreciation of our modern scientific values and knowledge. As a rationalist, Milton must have admired the new sciences but, as a classicist and a Christian theologian, he had not yet placed scientific knowledge ahead of piety or biblical knowledge. William Poole notes the danger of seeing in Milton an advanced scientific philosopher and warns: â€Å"we should be extremely wary forcing Milton into clothes he does not fit† (â€Å"Milton and Science: A Caveat† 18). However, within the middle ground, scholars agree with Martin that Milton appreciated the value of scientific thought and development, although he may have doubted the reach of this branch of human knowledge. Cosmology appears in Paradise Lost through direct scientific references, incorporation of new scientific theories into various characters’ worldviews, and warnings against seeking beyond the limits of human knowledge. Martin observes: â€Å"Galileo or his telescope is approvingly cited on five separate occasions in Milton’s epic (the only contemporary reference to appear at all)† (Martin 238).

Model Summary “Computers and the Pursuit of Happiness” Essay

In his article â€Å"Computers and the Pursuit of Happiness,† David Gelernter examines the impact of computers in the life of mankind. He addresses three questions: whether computers and the internet started a new information age, whether computers have been good for the human race, and whether they will have a positive impact in the next half century. For the first question, Gelernter’s answer is â€Å"no’ because, according to him, computers haven’t reduced our basic needs for things such as food, clothing, shelter and one another, nor has it decreased our need for physical stuff. He looks at the three arguments that people who claim that we are in a new information age make: we have new machines that can create, store and deliver information, that computer networks have conquered geography and that these are intelligent machines. He contradicts all three claims. First, he says computers are only the latest in a series of inventions that started us in the information age in the early 20th century. Second, mankind had already started to conquer distance through infrastructure and technology. Finally, there had been many other intelligent machines before computers such as the thermostat, the electrical system in a car, flying machines, radio, TV, electricity and so on. However, he concedes that computers have had a big impact in science and engineering since it is cheaper and more efficient to use computational models in research in those fields. Next, Gelernter addresses the question whether computers have been good for mankind. He contends that if human beings are poor or ignorant, they need more wealth and information. In this country, most people are above the threshold of poverty and ignorance; hence, what computers bring into their life doesn’t matter much except while people are in the process of acquiring more wealth and information. Despite the wealth and information computers have generated, human happiness hasn’t increased on the whole. Although technology does change social structures, the important question is whether those new social structures are better than the old ones. Gelernter says it is impossible to compare the two because the new ones have more â€Å"machine ingredients† whereas the old ones had more â€Å"human ingredients†. Finally, to the question whether computers will benefit human race in the next half-century, Gelernter responds by saying that computers and software are bringing in new possibilities and structures. Online schools make it possible for lessons to be presented and learned in ways that would not be possible otherwise. Although he would prefer face-to-face teaching by live teachers, he thinks due to the state of affairs in the American school system, software based teaching seems like the best hope. Gelernter concludes the article by saying that computers may be stronger, faster and more intelligent than humans, but the uniqueness of mankind â€Å"lie beyond strength, speed and intellect† and he hopes in the future computer technology will show us how human beings can build extraordinary machines and, ultimately, how meaningless these machines are.