Saturday, December 28, 2019

Analysis of William Hobbs Bearstone - 652 Words

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is widely credited with initiating the phrase that which does not kill me can only make me stronger. This sentiment is echoed within Will Hobbs young adult novel Bearstone by the deceased wife of one of the major characters in the book, Walter. Walters wife Marthas variation on Nietzsches mantra is that the hurt will make you stronger. Hobbs book is fialry demonstrative of this fact, especially when Walter is joined by a young man, Cloyd Attcitty. Both of these characters are striving to get over severe personal losses, and are able to help one another do so by fostering a bond out of their common hurt that transcends their pain and effectively allows them to overcome it. Cloyd initially comes to live with Walter after discovering that his father, whom he spent quite a time looking for, is living in a permanent vegetative state that is fairly close to death. The young man was crushed by this revelation, and was able to find solace in the com pany of Walter and in his surrounding environs his farm in Colorado. Although Walters presence and the work he provides for Cloyd produces a therapeutic effect, it is the latters assent to take Cloyd with him into the mountains to mine that allows Cloyd to find a a talisman that gives him incredible strength and powers. The following quotation readily proves this point. He wished the old man could have stood here with him. He wanted to tell him this is the heart of the mountains,

Friday, December 20, 2019

Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter - 1896 Words

In a surface examination of the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is quickly evident that no good things come from the wilderness. Therein, the wilderness is often associated with the savages and the devil. In his work The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne finds herself exiled by society for having an adulterous affair with the town reverend which brought forth the child known as Pearl. Pearl is quickly established as the child of the wilderness: wild, capricious, and thought by the town to be a demon-child. She represents several entities in the novel just by her being, but when her morality is delved into, much more of the nature of the story can be revealed. Pearl’s role is often overlooked as a formative force in the novel. Some scholars have gone as far as to denounce her as unnecessary to the story’s makeup. Upon close examination, it can be determined that Pearl is indeed a necessary element. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Pearl presents themes of morality, both personal and cultural, as well as the divide between society and nature, through her interactions with Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and the scarlet letter itself. Pearl’s existence reminds Hester of her act of passion, which the cultural morality of Boston dictates as sinful. This is evident not only because Pearl is the product of Dimmesdale and Hester’s action, but because of who Pearl is at heart. Pearl’s personality is as stated, Imbued with a spell of infinite variety, in this one child, thereShow MoreRelatedNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1187 Words   |  5 PagesPuritanism in Red Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter shows the early view of Puritanism by concentrating on sin, guilt, and its effects on society. Nathaniel Hawthorne conveyed a dark and romantic style of writing in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, impacting the society by focusing on the concepts of romanticism. The Scarlet Letter is considered a classic book and is still read today. Nathaniel Hathorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth ClarkRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1631 Words   |  7 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s personal isolation originated in his early childhood and later developed the theme for his most renowned literary novel, The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne emphasized the impact that societal isolation can have on individuals. Several of the victims inflicted with isolation throughout the novel were ultimately met with their inevitable downfalls. One particular character, Hester Prynne, was selected to undergo a struggle comparable to Hawthorne’sRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1944 Words   |  8 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne adds a satirical twist throughout his novel The Scarlet Letter which manifests his perception of the Puritanism. The novel portrays the strictness and impact of Puritanism on human lives. Hawthor ne’s usage of Puritan characters and outcasts also demonstrate Hawthorne’s position on Puritanism. Throughout Hawthorne’s novel, all of the characters in this novel represent strong Puritan belief, Puritan lifestyle, strong resistance to Puritanism, and satirical Puritan lifestyles. HawthorneRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter869 Words   |  4 Pagesview of human life. The most famous Dark Romantic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, emphasizes human proneness to sin and self-destruction, uses symbols that are considered dark, and believes that evil can overtake good. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne employs elements of Romanticism and symbolism to communicate the idea that sin and guilt have psychological effects which can turn into physical and mental manifestations. Hawthorne utilizes the romantic element of the focus on the individualRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1193 Words   |  5 PagesThe Scarlet Letter, is most often referred to as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s best work. It gives a detailed image of life in a Puritan society. The heroine of the book-Hester Prynne, defies power, and rebels against colonial rule. Laws composed of religious convictions and individual beliefs. Through Hester’s action, you can depict a feminist consciousness. She differs from traditional colonial woman who s sole purpose it to be obedient, despite the unfair rules carried out by puritan men. Hester representsRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1850 Words   |  8 PagesShe s an archetype. She is Eve. She s Juno. She the good woman gone bad. She is Hester Prynne. As part of NPR s series, In Character, my colleague, Andrea Seabrook, shows how this Puritan woman is still very much alive today. ANDREA SEABROOK: Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne s magnum opus The Scarlet Letter. Any serious literary scholar will tell you that she is one of the first strong women in American literature and is still among the most important. She s veiled(ph)Read MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter2106 Words   |  9 Pagespeople of other religions. Because they â€Å"deeply and fervently believed that they were doing the work of God†, Puritans often punished and shunned those who did not follow their rules or share their same views (Collier 62). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents these popular ideas and truths about the Puritan way of living in a symbolic story of submissive defiance. He creates a strong feminist that contradicts the majority of the Puritan views on feminism. This rebelliousRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter2174 Words   |  9 PagesChildren encompass parents’ lives from the day t hey are born into this world, often altering their plans for the future and their desired outcomes for life. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the most seemingly complex and misinterpreted of characters is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The deviations in Pearl’s temperament, conduct, and character in the progression of the plot are a guide to the varying moral statuses of Hester and DimmesdaleRead MoreAnalysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter 1606 Words   |  7 PagesMarin Fallon Mrs. Janosy English 2H 23 November 2015 Sin in the The Scarlet Letter The story of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one with many twists and turns. A young woman moves to Boston, Massachusetts while her husband takes care of affairs in England. After two years pass she secretly has an affair with the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. When she becomes pregnant and gives birth to her daughter Pearl, the town punishes her for committing the act of adultery. She is sentenced to standRead MoreSymbolism Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter882 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter was a novel written in the 1850 s by a man named Nathaniel Hawthorne. Throughout the Scarlet Letter he uses scads of literary devices. The literary devices are there to give the novel more depth. The main device he uses in the novel is symbolism. Hawthorne uses the symbolism to make an object have more than one meaning. Three of the elements he uses as symbols are the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the forest. These symbols are seen differently by the

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Manage Innovation of The Mysto Manufacturing Company

Question: Discribe about manage innovation and continuous improvement of The Mysto Manufacturing Company? Answer: 1. Scenario of the company This report has been prepared on The Mysto Manufacturing Company. The company was formed in the year 1916 and manufactured toys for children. Alfred Carlton Gilbert had originally formed the company. By 1950, the company had gained reputation and it became one of the leading companies in the United States of America. The company had earned fame despite of selling expensive toys. However, there was no match to the quality and designs that were manufactured by the company. The toys were manufactured by small group and the designs were implemented for sales. Planning formed an important part for the sales for the product. In this process the raw material requirements and other factors were taken into consideration. Information was collected from different resources and the same was used for manufacturing the goods or toys that were intended to be sold to the clients. The toys were manufactured and it was transferred to the storehouse. In this process, the company concentrate on few desi gns, and manufacturing toys on a limited number. During the year 1960, there were huge changes in terms of cultural factors and customers demanded for unique products. The cultural changes included introducing of new toys by different companies like Barbie and others (Augier, and Teece, 2006). 2. Continuous improvement Continuous improvement is one of the prime requirements that would contribute towards the success of the operational activities of the companies. The process needs to be customised as a particular plan wouldnt be cater the needs of another company. There has to be space for creativity, as it would encourage the staffs to perform better at the workplace. The company need to highlight the areas or the departments that needs to be improved. It wouldnt be possible to introduce continuous improvement process for every department at the same time. The changes intended to be introduced by the company, needs to be communicated with various departments (Bateman, 2005). Team members and the managers need to be encouraged to work towards the goal achievement. For introducing changes with the improvement plan, the management need to collect essential information from various departments. The reliability of the information and the process that would be followed to execute the plan needs to be ana lysed. In the toy industry, cultural factors majority affects the performance of the company. The factors that could affect the culture and the performance of the staffs can be included in the continuous improvement process (Bendoly, and Swink, 2007). 3. Continuous improvement strategies 1. Strategic goals - Continuous improvement has to be included into the strategic goals of the company. The designs and the process required for implementing changes in the production process has to be analysed (Benner and Tushman, 2002)2. Proposed process or amendment to current process The current process for the company is simple. Management of the company draft policies for designing limited toys and sell the same to the customers. In order to attract the clients, it is essential to introduce more designs, as this will increase the sales (Choo, Linderman, and Schroeder, 2007).3. Performance will improve production - Plan for improvement can be associated with the technology change and production activities. The changes can be introduced after analysing the changing needs of the clients. Such factors would improve the sales and performance for the company.4. KRA and KPI targets - Key responsible areas are the ones that would help the management to increase on the production activ ities and sales for the company. It includes RD, marketing, and production departments. Key performance indicators are determined on the basis of the performance of the company (Crossan and Berdrow, 2003). 4. Consultation Proposed strategies The proposed strategies include changes that would help the management in increasing the sales, goodwill, and production activities for the company. In this case, the changes are intended to be included for the below mentioned departments Production Sales Marketing RD The changes for improvement with such departments would help the management to introduce new methods for production and manufacturing of the goods and services. In this case, the improvement process needs to be planned and introduced by the company y after analysing the time, budget, and customer needs (Cua, McKonen and Schroeder, 2001). Pros and cons Pros Improve production activities Enable the company to introduce variety of products Increase the brand image (Davenport, 2006) Cons Expensive, Require experienced and efferent staffs for performing the changed tasks. Changes to the improvement strategies The changes intended to be introduced by the company, has to be planned and introduced in an effective manner. For this, the staffs and the managers have to be trained for carrying out the new tasks. The time required for increasing the performance and introducing the changes has to be analysed. This would help in increasing the sales for the company (Delbridge and Barton, 2002). 5. Lead session Options for communicating The proposed changes for production and others have to be planned and implemented in an effective manner. For this, the management need to discuss the proposed changes with the group members or the team. At the time of discussion, it is essential to review the views of the managers and the team members. This would help in finding more options through which the changes in the production process can be introduced. Creative techniques for generating ideas Management can introduce changes in the research and development process. For this, six sigma standards can be introduced by the company. Through such standards the quality can be analysed and the changes can be implemented without losing much time (Dyer, and Ericksen, 2005) Issues The process that needs to be followed for introducing the changes with the continuous improvement method can be a challenge. In order to overpower the issue, the management has to plan the areas that need to be worked upon, and analyse the risks involved with the areas. Implications of the suggestions The suggestions provided by the staffs and the managers, can be analysed. This would help in introducing the changes that would benefit the company, clients, stakeholders, and the staffs (Emden, Calantone, and Droge, 2006). Acceptance of ideas and generating new ones New ideas can be generated after analysing the cultural changes in the industry. Through this process, the expectations of the customers and the offer of the rival companies can be analysed. This would help in introducing changes in the concerned areas, where the management would benefit (Evans, 2004). 6. Group approval for amending the strategy Group approval can be gained by discussing the changes that are intended to be introduced by the company. For this the list of changes that has been proposed to be introduced by the company and the steps that are intended to be followed for the same would be analyse. Through this method, the challenges are analysed, and the corrective changes can be introduced by the management. Changes in the technology and the process have to be analysed. For this the approval is required from the staffs to introduce the changes. If employees are not informed about the changes, then the process that would have to be followed wouldnt be known to the staffs. This can affect the affect the productivity and the process for the sales of the company. It is essential for the company to get an approval of the willingness of the staffs to perform the tasks elated to the changes (Jansen, Van Den Bosch, and Volberda, 2006). 7. Incorporate the changes for changes in the strategies The changes proposed to be introduced by the company have to be introduced in the best possible manner. For this, the area that needs to be worked upon for introducing the continuous improvement has to be highlighted. This includes production department and marketing process. Changes in such departments would help the management in introducing the changes that is required for improving the production and sales for the company. However, the challenges related to the budget and delay in the process for introducing the changes that would uplift the production activities. The steps that would have to be followed for introducing the changes have to be highlighted, as the management would be able to analyse the performance (Kraatz, and Zajac, 2001). 8. Risk analysis for strategies Through the risk management process, the management of the company identify the risks or the areas that are a concern for the performance. In this method, the assessment of the factors that causes or increases risk is analysed. It would help in improving the performance and preparing a back-up plan that would enable the company to continue with the production activities. The strategies include introducing better strategies for ISO certifications and improving the quality of the production activities. This would require coordination of the tasks and effective communication. The challenges included in the process of improving the performance has to be planned and the issues have to be analysed (Linderman et al., 2003). The areas of the concerns have to be analysed, and the corrective steps needs to be implemented. Changes in the staffs and production process have to be analysed and the changes has to be introduced. 9. Cost benefit analysis for strategies Through this process, the management attempts to introduce effective strategies that would control or reduce the operational expenses. The charges involved in the process of production can be controlled by reducing the wastages and introducing better technology. Such changes will enable the company to introduce better changes that will benefit the company. Strategies include analysing the present system and analysing the changes that needs to be introduced by the company. Through this process, the benefits associated with the costs are analysed and it is interacted with the staffs (Kraatz, and Zajac, 2001). 10. Discussion of the risk and cost benefit factors The factors related to risks and costs have to be analysed. This would help in improving the production activities and introducing the changes that would benefit the company. Through risk factor, the company identic the risks associated with the new product introductions, marketing, and other factors. Such an analysis will enable the company to identify the key areas that needs to be worked upon. With the help of the cost benefit factors, the company introduce better methods through which the expenses related to the production can be reduced. This is one of the most important factors that would contribute towards the successful business operational activities. References Augier M, and Teece D, 2006. Understanding complex organization: the role of know-how, internal structure, and human behavior in the evolution of capabilities. Industrial and Corporate Change: Sidney G. Winter Special Section, Part II 15 (2), 395416. Bateman N, 2005. Sustainability: the elusive element of process improvement. International Journal of Operations Production Management 25 (3), 261276. Bendoly E, and Swink M, 2007. Moderating effects of information access on project management behavior, performance and perceptions. Journal of Operations Management 25 (3), 604622. Benner M and Tushman, M, 2002. Process management and technological innovation: a longitudinal study of the photography and paint industries. Administrative Science Quarterly 47, 676706. Choo A, Linderman K, and Schroeder R, 2007. Method and context perspectives on learning and knowledge creation in quality management. Journal of Operations Management 25 (4), 918931 Crossan M and Berdrow, I, 2003. Organizational learning and strategic renewal. Strategic Management Journal 24, 10871105. Cua K, McKone K, and Schroeder R, 2001. Relationships between implementation of TQM, JIT, and TPM and manufacturing performance. Journal of Operations Management 19 (6), 675694. Davenport T, 2006. Competing on analytics. Harvard Business Review 84 (1), 98107. Delbridge R and Barton H, 2002. Organizing for continuous improvement: structures and roles in automotive components plants. International Journal of Operations Production Management 22 (5), 680692. Dyer L, and Ericksen J, 2005. In pursuit of marketplace agility: applying precepts of self-organizing systems to optimize human resource scalability. Human Resource Management 44 (2), 183188. Emden Z, Calantone R, and Droge C, 2006. Collaborating for new product development: selecting the partner with maximum potential to create value. Journal of Product Innovation Management 23 (4), 330341 Evans J, 2004. An exploratory study of performance measurement systems and relationships with performance results. Journal of Operations Management 22 (3), 219232. Jansen J, Van Den Bosch F, and Volberda H, 2006. Exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, and performance: effects of organizational antecedents and environmental moderators. Management Science 52 (11), 16611674 Kraatz M, and Zajac E, 2001. How organizational resources affect strategic change and performance in turbulent environments: theory and evidence. Organization Science 12 (5), 632657. Linderman K, Schroeder R, Zaheer S, and Choo A, 2003. Six Sigma: a goal-theoretic perspective. Journal of Operations Management 21 (2), 193204.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Favorite band free essay sample

I have always loved music since i was young. My favorite band is the wanted. I love the wanted because they are the most amazing band in the world. When i first heard their music, i knew that they were always going to be one of my favorite bands. Their songs made me want to get up, dance, and sing. Their music is catchy, fun to listen to and over all great. The wanted are an english Irish boy band consisting of members max, nathan, tom, jay, and Siva. The cutest guys you could imagine. I like the wanted because their voices are so nice and when the sing their voices comes from the heart and which is ery touchy and tends the song to listen to many times. The first song of the wanted that makes me feel crazy is all time low. A catchy tone began to play, it makes not only my body dance, but my heart too. We will write a custom essay sample on Favorite band or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A deep and sweet voice begins to sing meaningful lyrics that made me smile so much it hurts my cheeks. The wanteds voices are the reason why i love them do much. Their singings and talking voices can catch anyone speechless. Their voices are so beautiful, in every single way possible. I mostly like max and Jays voices. Each member has a beautiful personality as well. Another reason i love them very much. Nathan has a sweet and caring personality. Tom believes he will never grow up and thinks everything needs to be fun in a way. Max is sweet, over protective, bad boy personality. Siva has an adorable, carefree, special personality that makes everyone love him. Jay has the perfect kind of personality, he can by shy, but at the same time completly friendly. As a conclusion, the wanted is the best. I enjoy while listening to their amazing songs. Ive always wanted to see them but theyVe never come to my country but i bet they will and i will see them.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Shelley Niros Vision of Stories of Women

There is an increasing tendency to discuss the peculiarities of definite social phenomena with the help of the art devices, which are necessary for expressing of the people’s individual viewpoints. Shelley Niro is one of the most famous Canadian photographers, painters, sculptors and filmmakers, and she always presents her own vision of social issues with the help of her outstanding works.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Shelley Niro’s Vision of Stories of Women specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Shelley Niro graduated from the Ontario College of Art with honours in visual arts and received her MFA from the University of Western Ontario (Photography. M: Stories of Women). Nevertheless, she is constantly improving of her skills and trying to discover new possibilities of the art. The most significant problem on which she focuses in her works is the woman question in the context of the problems of First Nations in Canada. Her works from the latest exhibition M: Stories of Women in Gallery 44 have added some more touches to the whole picture of her unique vision of a woman of First Nations. The works from M: Stories of Women attract your attention immediately when you decide to enter the gallery. Bright colours of the large-scale works impress the visitors with their depth and intensity. You become to be involved in a magnificent world of the women’s images which are definitely individual. â€Å"These large-scale works by First Nations artist Shelley Niro challenge the myth of native degradation and explore the many ways in which native females are viewed† (M: Stories of Women). It is important that the author depicts these women with the help of using of many interesting multimedia techniques. The peculiarities of combining of the elements of photography and painting can add some more special strength to the pictures. It is interesting that the notion of ‘formà ¢â‚¬â„¢ requires a specific meaning in Niro’s works. There is no stability of the form in the works. The pictures give the impression of some dynamics. This effect is the result of using of a special colour scheme in the works. Bright red, yellow and blue colors provide you with the feeling of some magnetism of the women’s images.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Shelley Niro always insisted on the individuality of every woman and expressed this attitude in her works. The problem of the image of a woman is also depicted in the title of the exhibition. â€Å"The letter M in the title references the myriad characterizations of First Nations women. It could be taken to reference the earlier title and incarnation of the work (Monster) or it could reference other traits or roles such as Maternal or Mother† (Photography. M: Stories of Women). The possibility to inte rpret the title in different ways is closely connected with the possibility of various interpretations of the works from the exhibition. â€Å"The ambiguity of the title affords Niro the ability to explore several issues in and outside the context of gender† (Photography. M: Stories of Women). There are many challenges in our modern society which women can face every day. These challenges can influence the lives not only of the women of First Nations but also of women from all over the world. Nevertheless, the images of the women who are depicted in the pictures can surprise you with their strong feeling of self-confidence. Moreover, there is something magical in Shelley Niro’s vision of a woman and of her position in the society as a representative of First Nations. The ways of the depiction of the reality in the pictures can surprise and even shock the public. â€Å"Niro’s exhilarating pieces incorporate found imagery, portraiture and landscape into a rich ta pestry of women’s lives† (M: Stories of Women). M: Stories of Women in Gallery 44 is an example of an exciting exhibition where the visitors can be impressed not only with the art peculiarities of the works by Shelley Niro but also with the peculiarities of the author’s unique vision of definite social issues. Works Cited M: Stories of Women, torontolife.com. n.d. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Shelley Niro’s Vision of Stories of Women specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Photography. M: Stories of Women, imaginenative.org. 19 Oct. 2011. Web. This essay on Shelley Niro’s Vision of Stories of Women was written and submitted by user Johnny Harris to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

College Admissions - My Personal Statement essays

College Admissions - My Personal Statement essays My intended major is Economics. I believe studying economics will not only help me to develop my professional business skills, but it will also help me to understand how the economy affects society. Besides pursuing my collegiate career, I have gained experiences from fulfilling my family obligation of working in my aunt ¡Ã‚ ¯s liquor store. In this position, I apply supply and demand concepts in running a business in order to maximize profit. I give suggestions regarding merchandise selection based on customers ¡Ã‚ ¯ economic status. I advise my aunt how much to offer for sale and how to cut overhead costs. In the recent economic recession, I suggested shifting merchandise categories to lower quality goods because the unemployment rate had increased and income levels had decreased. Also, some of my work entails daily accounting practices, such as tallying receipts, delivering money to the bank and making sure the receipts and inventory are kept in balance. I feel these experiences have helped me become more familiar with the application of abstract and bookish economic concepts that I am studying in my classes. Moreover, I have learned how to enhance my communication skills with people, which is another asset in the economics field. Talents I am passionate about writing. I have an interest in understanding human instincts, relationships, and spiritualities within this material world that we live in. This interest has shaped my creative sensitivities. When I attended one of the best high schools in Guizhou Province, China, I was actively involved in writing essays and poems for the school newspaper. I received the Student Writing Pioneer Award from my school because my work in literature represented imagery and symbolism. School seminars held every month treated my essays as models of good writing and used them for discussions. For this reason, I was voted president of the literature club at school. Or...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Financial Markets Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Markets Master - Essay Example In comparison to their peaks at the end of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index and the DAX index have dropped almost 50% in value. Considering recent events many investors have reconsidered the concept of fair value of a stock and the efficiency of techniques used. In addition to this, the approach applied by many academics on Technical and Fundamental Analysis1 and of Efficient Market Hypothesis theory, rather than on how to forecast, has induced us to base the structure of this essay on a similar approach. Therefore in Section 1, 2 and 3 after providing a brief overview of FA and of TA the EMH theory, we have explored alternative views and discussed the validity of the statement in object. After illustrating the need for analysts to create efficiency in Section 4 we have explored the extent to which FA, TA or EMH may be essential to achieve market efficiency. Finally, after examining in Section 5 the Stiglitz-Grossman paradox, in Section 6, we have explored anomalies and i nvalidities of EMH and presented our conclusions. FA found its existence in the firm-foundation theory developed in the 1930s though it was later popularised by Graham. Its purpose is to find and explore all economic variables measuring different economic circumstances and influencing the future earnings of an economic asset. Clearly the philosophy behind FA is that in the end, when enough traders realize that the market is not correctly pricing the asset, the market mechanism of demand/supply, will force the price of the asset to converge to its fundamental value. Early writers on the subject of security analysis assumed that the essence of investing was to determine the "true," "intrinsic," or "fundamental" value of a security and that this value could differ from the current market price. Graham and Dodd (1934) first highlighted the concept of the intrinsic value of a security as a function of the future earnings of a company, rather than "book value". Implicit in their approach to the evaluation of securities was the assumption that some investors have better information than others and therefore can accumulate underpriced securities without a significant and self-defeating impact on the market price of the stock. This assumption turned out to be critical in understanding both the development of the EMH and the recent literature on market-making mechanisms. This approach tries to generate an abnormal return by analyzing fundamental factors of a company to be able to draw a comparison between the theoretically justified fair value and the actual stock market price2. These fundamental factors are derived by analysing public information, on the ground of which the FA can generate an abnormal return, because all public information is already correctly processed by the stock market and therefore correctly reflected by the actual stock market prices3. 2. TA: theory overview and statement assessment A second approach to choosing securities is termed TA or "charting", which plots the history of past prices and tries to discern some predictive pattern for future price movements as illustrated by Exhibit 1. This theory, developed at beginning of the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Re-write an old report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Re-write an old report - Essay Example An electronic chart is ECIDIS only if it adheres to the performance standards authorized by International Maritime Organization (IMO).Basic measure of IMO standard is; feature assessment, and functions for a safe utility to serve the navigation purpose (IMO, 1995).With integrated Global Positioning System (GPS), ECDIS assist and enhance navigation performance by automatically determining the position (Gould et al.2009).In this way locating position becomes a simplified task, however, according to Sauer et al. (2002)the system monitoring requirement increases with ECDIS. But ECDIS has got edge which can not be ignored. Its most important advantage is designing and monitoring. Route designing was manually done in past, ECDIS made it much easier and the process more efficient. Moreover, manual designing can damage the chart and can hide important description on the chart (Yu-xin et al. 2004). 2.1.The basic purpose of Transas Navi-Sailor 3000 ECDIS Navi-Sailor 3000 provides the navigator with all the information from different navigational sensors presented in electronic navigational chart. All the information provided at on chart assist in ensuring a safe passage. Route planning functionality is enhanced by different functions and integrations (ZORA, 2009).According to TRANSAS (2009), Navi-Sailor 3000 is developed to not only meet SOLAS convention but also to meet the requirement of IMO resolution to be implemented in all commercial vessels and Military ships. 2.2. Feature Appraisal of Navi-Sailor 3000 Software Navi-Sailor 3000 ECDIS assist the navigator in understanding marine environment by numerous functions and features. Nearly all the features that ensure safe navigation are available by the software, for instance, beacons, buoys, lighthouses, areas, and dangerous objects. Some of the functions used are: Positioning Route planning and monitoring Alarms Electronic log and Playback Function ECDIS and Navi-Sailor 3000 Integration 2.2.1. Positioning The system is fully prepared to assist the navigator by providing all the essential information. Current ship position and motion vector is displayed at top position as shown in figure 1.In addition, radar/ARPA information and AIS data is also obtained from this system. Furthermore, Navi-Sailor 3000 also provides a feature of ship contour display according to parameters and chart scale. Additional date is obtained from system’s navigational sensors. Figure 1: Current ship position (TRANSAS, 2009) 2.2.2 Route planning and monitoring Through route planning feature, Navi-Sailor 3000 ECDIS provide; geographical data, such as course and waypoints, scheduled information, such as, estimated time of arrival and departure, and average speed, weather calculations and other updated information. In addition to route planning function, ‘Check Route’ function is also available. It enables route checking from threats to navigation. There are customization options to set the mode by user acc ording to varying safety contours and depth. Planned route can also be checked and amended simultaneously. In addition to route planning and checking, planned route can also be monitored by Navi-Sailor 3000

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Training and Development in Proctor & Gamble Assignment

Training and Development in Proctor & Gamble - Assignment Example From this discussion it is clear that performance management theories will be used to create a theoretical background for this report.This study outlines that  training and development plays cordial role on aligning strategic objectives of management with human resource pool of organization. There are four basic pillars of training & development and they can be summarized in the following manner. Training- Increasing the performance standard of employees by giving them proper instruction and practice. Develop- This technique creates bigger impact on human resource pool and systematically increases their skill level to perform the work. Educate- Giving instruction to employees in terms of social, intellectual and moral responsibility.  Learn- Employees gain knowledge from their past mistake or they can get experience from ongoing management activity. In 1984, Farnham has indicated that training and development are more relevant to organization’s point of view but education and learning are more relevant to education and academic industry.  Performance management has three discrete components, 1- performance definition, 2- measurement of performance and 3- communication between supervisor and employees.  They have stated that performance appraisal is more closely related to second component of performance management.  Nature of the strategy depends on business objectives of the organization.... In 1989, Harrison defined development as primary activity helping employees and organization to grow in terms of achieving potential up to highest standard (Lundy & Cowling, 1996, p. 243). 2.0 Performance Management Performance management has three discrete components, 1- performance definition, 2- measurement of performance and 3- communication between supervisor and employees. In 1999, Banks & May have clearly segregated performance management from performance appraisal. They have stated that performance appraisal is more closely related to second component of performance management (Landy & Conte, 2009, p. 234). In 1992, Institute of Personnel Management has defined performance management as strategy related to every functional department of organization and designed to co relate with various aspects of organization like culture, style, human resource capital and communication system. Nature of the strategy depends on business objectives of the organization (Armstrong & Baron, 200 5, P.7). One of the fundamental tasks of the performance management department is to look after the performance of employees. Furthermore it ensures effective and efficient performance from the employees. Some of the modern techniques include feedbacks from the supervisors and subordinates, setting benchmarks and comparing with that, 360 degree appraisal method and most importantly applying the concept of Balance scorecard. Balance scorecard gives importance on maintaining coordination between various departments of large organizational structure. Interlinked network of the departments help management to implement balance scorecard concept in two ways. 1- It helps every employee to understand organizational objectives and

Friday, November 15, 2019

Leadership Capabilities Of Steve Jobs Commerce Essay

Leadership Capabilities Of Steve Jobs Commerce Essay The main goal of this report is to examine and evaluate leadership capabilities of Steve Jobs. Jobs is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apple and nowadays possibly one of the most successful businessman on the world. Despite of many critics about his leadership. The fact that he is an effective leader is not contestable. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine the leadership qualities that have brought Jobs to the top of business World. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND OF STEVE JOBS Steve Jobs was born on 24 February 1955, in San Francisco, California, United Sates. Clara and Paul Jobs adopted him shortly after birth. He was growing up in two with his sister Patty. In 1961, whole Jobs family relocated from San Francisco to Mountain View in California, which, was at that time the heart of electronics industry called Silicon Valley (Butcher, 1987). During his childhood, he was an individual who liked making things alone. He liked to compete with others, but definitely, he was not attracted in group sports or other team games. However, from the early age he demonstrated an intensive interest towards electronics field. He devoted all of his spare time observing and working together with neighbor who was employed at Hewlett-Packard (HP) that was an electronics producer. Moreover, at that time young Jobs joined to HP Explorer Club. This gave him possibility to observe engineers working on new products. When he was twelve, he could see and touch HPs first computer. Th is was huge milestone in his life, because then he thought that he wanted to work on this field (Stross Randall, 1993). While in high school, Jobs participated lecture at the HP factory. Once he asked directly William Hewlett CEO of HP, for some specific part, which, he required to finish a school project. Therefore, Hewlett was so dazzled he not only donated Jobs the parts, but most of all he proposed him a holiday job at HP. After High school, in 1972, Jobs joined to Reed College in Portland, Oregon. However, after one semester, he left and in summer, he decided to go to India and take a course of eastern religions. This is because Jobs was a contradictory, trifler young recluse with an inclination for problems. He liked hippie way of life, narcotics and Zen philosophy (Butcher Lee, 1987). After a few months in India, he came back. In 1975, Steve Jobs enrolled to the Homebrew Computer Club. There he met Steve Wozniak, a technical maniac who was designing a small sized computer. Steve fell in love in this idea and started exploring marketing possibility of such a product. Therefore, in 1976 together with Wozniak established their own company, which they named Apple. Initially they had no money to invest, thus to gain same resources for a startup Jobs sold his microbus and Wozniak his calculator which gave them $1,300. The first products they sold were circuit boards, which keep the inner parts of a computer. However, while selling these boards they were working on their core products that were personal computers (Norman, 2009). While doing marketing research Jobs realized that there is huge opportunity for them to expand on the market. This is because in that period time all computers available on the market were huge size that could hardly fit in the large room. What is more, at that time computers were so expensive that potential customers were not able to afford to purchase them. In response to the market needs, Apple designed its computers in this way in order to be able to sell its products to large number of users. Finally, in 1977 Apple II released to the market personal computer (PC) which in first year generated extraordinary sales of $2,7 million. The Apples sales rose to $200million within following three years. Apples example became the most unusual situation of corporate development in whole United States history. Throughout this implementation of PC Steve Jobs and its Apple permanently inscribed on the pages of history, because initiated completely new era era of personal computers (www.referenceforbusiness.com). In eighties, era of PC was progressing rapidly. Because of appearing competition on the market, Jobss and Wozniaks company was constantly pressed to develop its computers to remain a market leader. Jobs as a head of marketing of Apple in 1983 officially presented new computer called Lisa. That was created for users having smallest computer knowledge. However, mostly because of its high price this PC was not to o successful. For example, IBM, Apples biggest competitors (50% of PC market share) sold its PC at the lower price (Landrum Gene, 1993). In 1984, Jobss company issued pioneering model of computer on the market, called Macintosh (Mac). This PC differs from others in term of its usability (very easy to use). However, once again the sales level of Mac was poor. This is because; it did not have attributes that competitors had, for instance an adequate high tech printer. The catastrophe of the Mac initiated the start of Jobss collapse at Apple. Jobs retreated in 1985 from the company he had established; however, he kept the title of Chairman of the board (Norman, 2009). Short after this, Job employed several of his previous workers to establish another computer company named NeXT. Then in San Francisco in 1988, Jobs presented his new company. Preliminary feedback was good, because new PC was very easy to use, equipped in very fast processor, had great graphics, and an excellent sound sy stem. Unfortunately, no matters on the initial response from the users, the NeXTs PCs had never been released on the market. This was because once again these new computers were too expensive, possessed a black-and-white display, and were no compatible with other computers or could not work on universal software (Stross Randall, 1993). Definitely, NeXT was not the last one word of Jobs. Because in 1986 Steve bought from moviemaker, George Lukas a small-sized firm named Pixar. The core activity of Pixar was computer animation. Consequently, in 1995 this company issued famous Toy Story, which was a huge success of Pixar. Furthermore, in following years they released most successful animation movies ever such as Toy Story 2, A Bugs Life, and Monsters. After long time of failures, Pixars success was not the only one. Jobs privet life got better as well. Because in the same year, he got married and shortly he had, a baby girl named Lisa (www.referenceforbusiness.com). In the meantime, A pple wrestled below a sequence of six CEOs that had no vision and were not able to inspire the firms unmotivated engineers. Morale was down and so Apple was facing profit lose and poor financial liquidity. Then in following year, Jobs came back to Apple as consultant to the CEO. Right after this Apple bought NeXT Software. In 1997, Apple and its main competitor Microsoft became partners. In the same year, Apple started selling its products directly to customers both by internet but as well by telephone. Right after this, Apples web store went into the top three most successful e-shops worldwide (Butcher Lee, 1987). In following year, Steve publicly declared the issuing of the iMac that possessed great computing capability at the reasonable price. Additionally, in 1999 Apple released laptop available on whole plateau of colors called iBook. In 2000, Steve Jobs became once again permanent CEO of Apple (Norman, 2009). After 2001 has came a period of splendor for Apple and for Jobs tha t continues to these days. Consequently, in 2009 Forbes listed Jobs on the 43 position wealthiest people on the globe, with $5,100 million fortune. LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY OF STEVE JOBS Numerous academics have claimed that proper management of knowledge can bring to organizations crucial and essential competitive advantage. Leadership is foundation of the process of managing information efficiently and effectively (Bryant, 2003). The recent studies show that most successful managers, uses a set of different styles of leadership (Goleman, 2008). What is more Golemans survey identified the following role: leaders who have mastered at least four styles of the leadership especially the authoritative, democratic, unifying and coaching create the best atmosphere at work and have the best results. (quotation translated, 2008). Based on the leadership theories, in term of specific traits the most effective leaders are calm, innovative, confident and challenging (Belbin, 2008). They have a vision and charisma (Goleman, 2008). They have ability to convince and motivate others to act effectively, while encouraging personal development (Kouzes Posner, 2002). They uphold wid e picture, while delegating details to the others (Coutu, 2008). In case of Steve Deutschman stated (2001) that his most significant leadership feature was creativity and being innovative. We could easily state that innovation was a base on which he built his empire. Until these days, we can observe that innovation is still key factor, which brought Apple to the market leader position in information technology industry. Jobs understood that being innovative and providing permanently new ideas to meet customers needs is essence in effective leadership (Quittner, 2004). Some of us can joke that Jobs has no education background, because he has not finished any college. However, undoubted fact is that devoting his life to his passion, new solutions in IT branch achieved more than almost every human being could ever dream about. Despite of many critics towards his behavior and styles of leadership such as Jobs is perfectionist with tendency to intimidate others (Harvey, 2005), there are a few important facts: In 1976, he co-founded Apple, and until n owadays, he has successfully led company, which now has 15K employees. This can prove that Jobs possesses great leadership qualities. In period, from 1977 to 1985, Apple had in total six CEOs. Within this time company was losing money, management had not vision for the future and stuff was not motivated. Right after this, Jobs came back as a CEO and by implementation of a few innovative products in very short time Apple returned to the prosperity (Young, 2005). Moreover, additional capability of Jobss leadership is product passion and deep-seated consumer orientation. Jobs was judged for his approach to leadership, however his accomplishments were never negated, because all of these were world shattering. Another important of trait of Jobs leadership is ability to see big picture, thus not only PCs, but also long distance ahead (Landrum Gene, 1993). Consequently, many times people working with him did not understand choices of Jobs concerning new products implementation, or his lon g-term vision. For instance, shortly after he came back to Apple, he decided to stop most of running production lines. Instead of this, he focused only on four products. This soon after turned out to be a huge success (Deutchman, 2001). Steve is very challenging both his towards his employees, but first of all for himself. Thus, tasks he delegates to workers are very likely not fully SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-framed). However, from the other hand, which is good thing, Jobs is permanently working to improve all fields of his job (Erve, 2004). Furthermore, there is crucial feature of Jobs leadership style that is his capability to connect passion and respects of his workers. Business Week (1997) argued that Jobs is a great example of transformational leadership (TL). This is leadership, which causes that workers devote all their energy in the companys strategy. TL takes place when, employees interact one on another, by which increase their morality a nd motivation (Kouzes Posner, 2002). Jobs as a transformational leader, was able to make its employees to do things that were in line with his vision of the companys development. Jobss best-known gift is his capability to charm and convince others. That is an extremely powerful trait, which, he uses often to persuade anyone of everything (Siracusa, 2007). Bennis and Thomas posted in their article that great leaders are born in the crucible of harsh experience (quotation translated, 2007). Furthermore, they added that: what makes a great leader is a resistance to adversity, and perseverance in the pursuit of goals. This is definitely significant capability of Jobs as a leader. As demonstrated above (leaving Apple in1985) Jobs life was full of failures. Most of the people in a similar situation would leave for good. However He did differently. Having a look on the Steves biography, we can also state that he has additional trait which good leader need to have, to perform effectively. Namely, this is self-confidence and ability to experiment and take a risk. These, according Kouzes and Posner are necessary (2002). All his live Jobs was confident, he deeply believed in all what he has been doing. He profoundly believed in his success, in success of companys strategy and so success of its products (Erve, 2004). This self-confidence and courage led him on the top. Many Journalists suggest that Jobs is egoist (Norman, 2009). Very likely he is indeed. However, this could be perceived also as crucial trait of effective leader, especially here in this case of company founder. Possibly Jobs has dreamed to be billionaire, and so egoism helped him to make this dream come true. Possibly egoism was a driving force which convinced him to create successful teams of employees that were able to develop such a revolutionary products. Jobs possesses also ability to create and develop great teams, consisted of star talents (Young, 2005). This is crucial trait, which is essential i n effective leadership (Kouzes Posner, 2002). This skill combined with great ideas, its vision and capability to manage and motivate his team could be key factors of his overall success. Summarizing the core features of Jobs success as leader are the following: being visionary, innovative and charismatic confidence and trust in: himself, success, his strategy capability to recruit, develop and motivate effective teams built of star talents persistence and resistance for defeats product zeal huge consumer devotion skill to transmit his ideas to the teams for realization; LEADERSHIP WEAKNESSES OF STEVE JOBS There is undoubted fact that overall performance Jobs has to be considered as a successful, because numbers on his bank account do not lie. He is extremely victorious businessman who achieved great financial status. However, there are also numerous of weaknesses, which, Steve Jobs possesses. Here based on the statements of people who have had direct contact with him, we could have a feelings Jobs represents typical for Belbins Shaper weaknesses, such as emotionality, the tendency to irritation or aggressive behavior (Belbin, 2004). Moreover, research performed by Belbin in 2004 to identify behavior of most effective manager indicated shaper team role as a least effective. Jobs represents also autocratic style of leadership. This approach has a tendency to weak decision-making process on the middle management level. Recently Apples management team gives the impression of being more motivated by dread of Steve than by their own inherent aspects (Siracusa, 2007). Webber from Washington Post said (2009) that Jobs had became a living legend in term of leadership style. Since his behavior discredits all existing best practices of leadership. He demonstrated long list of less than advisable behaviors, from public rebuking his employees to disrupting practices within meetings to the time consuming overview of every detail in product designing process. However in contrary experts and academics from leadership area state: Never reprimand your subordinate publicly! Rather, If necessary do it face to face (Walasek, 2010) The most effective leaders maintain wide focus, while leaving details to the others (Belbin, 2004) The most effective managers are calm and they are able to control their emotions (Rzyska, 2010) CONCLUSIONS This hard task to indicate weaknesses of the one of the biggest leaders ever CEO of decades (Fortune Magazine, 2009), whether to indicate the room for improvement in his leadership. Numbers do not lie he had no money when he started making business. Now he is billionaire. In 2009, Forbes magazine listed him on the 43 position wealthiest people on the globe, with $5,100 million fortune. Many traits that Jobs possesses seems to be completely opposite in relations to these indicated by leadership experts as an essential in order to be effective. However, those that he has, such as being innovative, self-confident, persistent for defeats or capability to make its ideas come true seem to be sufficient.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is a person to be admired. His caring attitudes and blunt honesty prove that he is a great person. Although Huck can be seen lying, cheating and stealing, he does these things out of necessity and as a result of his poor upbringing. These negative attributes don’t affect his overall high character. Huck Finn has many great aspects, but he is fallible and capable of doing wrong. He often lies, cheats, and steals simply to survive and get out of trouble. Huck also displays this bad behavior as a result of his poor upbringing. Much of this behavior was learned from his father, as evidenced in the following passage. â€Å"Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it† (65). It is this learned behavior, his desire to survive and â€Å"get out of jams,† and society’s negative influences, such as its view that slavery is right, that motivates him in doing wrong. Although Huck can sometimes be labeled as a miscreant, he is actually a very honest person. In a literal sense, Huck doesn’t always exhibit honest behavior. However, it is Huck’s realistic and slightly naive view of society that is honest--he sees things for what they truly are. One example of this honesty occurs when Huck helps Jim to freedom. While he doesn’t view his own actions as honorable, the reader can infer that they are. Huck feels guilty for his role in Jim’s escape, knowing that he was doing something society would have scorned. He says, "I couldn’t get it out of my conscience, no how nor no way. It got to troubling me so I couldn’t rest; I couldn’t stay still in one place. It hadn’t ever come home to me before, what this thing was that I was doing. But now it did; and it stayed with me, and scorched me more and more...I got to feeling so mean and miserable I most wished I was dead" (88). Huck is honest with himself and his feelings.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

It Doesn’t Matter Case Study Essay

This is information era. The evolution of human society from agricultural society to industrial society, and to today’s information technology society, shows that information technology is playing a more and more important role. People who can access to information the most quickly would be the winners in the market. With the continuous development of consumer demand, and the progress of information technology industry, IT has been widely existed in every corner of the modern commercial society. We use computers to work, use software to improve the efficiency of information processing, use the Internet to transfer information, use E-mail and other technics to achieve efficient communication. We can say that the development of information technology promotes the development of the whole industry. According to Carr that information technology’s power and ubiquity grows, its strategic importance diminishes. I agree with this statement to some extends.   Like electric power in the past: the discovery of electric brought the second industrial revolution to the world. Nowadays, people cannot imagine life without electric. Electricity is everywhere and it is easily available. But it doesn’t mean that electricity is no longer important. It means that the market value of electric has changed tremendously. The market of infrastructure construction of electric is saturated. People are charging for using electric which was offered by electric power companies. IT is on the same way. Nowadays, people are building their own â€Å"electric plants† in their companies. The trend of the market is that there will be professional â€Å"IT plant companies† who can provide the techniques to every industry. Different kinds of industry are more and more relying on information technology. What people really need in the IT-era is not super computer and software, but the information. Companies invest in IT infrastructure to achieve the information, process the information and improve the efficiency eventually. With the development of the IT technology, there are many companies to provide professional technology service for the enterprises. Enterprises do not need to set up information technology team to develop their own software and system. They can obtain information technology support in the same way of calling ATT to set up homophone: professional workers will come to install equipment and provide service support. Cloud computing makes IT technology go from every computer CPU to the clouds. People don’t need to update their computer processing speed since that cloud computing makes information processing completed in the clouds. People’s computer becomes the information receiving window. The software in those computers also becomes less important. Software in the clouds can also obtain. Data is processing and storing in the clouds, so that special large memory in the computer is no longer necessary. Computers only need to get results from the clouds to show. There will be great advance in cloud computing in the in the near future. Software in the cloud will replace the software in the computers. The high-speed information transmission technology will have to improve as premise. For example, company can use the inventory management software in the cloud to manage their stock. Workers update the data online through a website where different kinds of database management strategies can be chosen.. The order information will be transferred to the suppliers online automatically. I consider Carr’s arguments in the article to be hold just for infrastructure investments. Today’s investment in IT industry should be focused on for example cloud instead of infrastructure. With the progress of cloud computing technology, the market demand of hardware and infrastructure will shrink.

Friday, November 8, 2019

About Korea

About Korea Free Online Research Papers Learning about Korea was quite of a culture shock at first, but then I felt more at ease. Interviewing people for me was the most challenging aspect of the whole project. When asking people off the street to answer a few questions, I would get all kinds of reactions. Some people seemed to be scared, and others thought I was trying to sell them something. At the end being persistent paid off nicely because I ran into a few people, who were not only knowledgeable, but also were more than happy to answer questions. Now, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the information I learned during the field interviewing process. First, I will talk about some of the history and background of Korea. Next, I will talk about the major values and attitudes that Koreans practice everyday. Lastly, I will share with you the wonderful experience I had in my first visit to a Korean restaurant. The Korean’s background can be traced back to the Neolithic age, when the half-human, half-divine Tan’gun founded the Korean State. Tan’gun, supposedly, â€Å"the ancestor of all Koreans is said to have flourished, marking a beginning to the Korean Legacy† (Wyte, R., 2001). Through an interviewee, I found out that the dominant religion in Korea before was Buddhism, but over the years it had been replaced by a new religion called, Confucianism. When I asked the interviewee what kind of impact it had on the society as a whole, he responded that there wasn’t much of an impact since most of the Buddhism teachings were adapted by the new religion. The interviewee described Confucianism to have a strong emphasis on family, education, and group behavior. It is important to know the different customs and attitudes people from different countries have in order to build strong bonds. From an interviewee perspective Koreans are said to have two different roles, one for when their in public and another for when their at home. For example, in public Koreans normally will not greet or act kindly to strangers. Normally, Koreans do not feel obligated to greet in a friendly fashion strangers they run into in public. The interviewee commented that when visitors visit his country they are quick to label Koreans as being self centered, because they are unaware of the different roles. Visitors form a stereotype, by seeing â€Å"behavior that confirms to their expectations even when it is absent and ignoring vital information such as knowledge when it is incongruous with their expectations† (Ting-Toomey, S., Chung L. C., 2005). Unlike in public, Koreans will be most courteous to guest or strangers in their home environment. An interv iewee told me that whenever families in Korea have visitors over, they will try to find something in common, in order to feel connected in some way. The common grounds the interviewee mentioned were; marital status, education, religion, and career. Confucianism has provided Koreans culture many widespread teachings, such as to have respect and obedience toward seniors at all times. Korea is known to have a large power distance where â€Å"the acceptance of unequal power distributions, and hierarchical rights based on the basis of age, rank, and seniority play a strong role† (Ting-Toomey, S., Chung L. C., 2005). An interviewee said that usually when an elder enters a room it is customary for everyone to stand and remain standing until the elder has taken their seat. I was also told that in the interviewees’ family, it is considered inappropriate for young people to eat, drink alcohol, or smoke in the presence of parents and teachers. Another â€Å"Confusion teaching, which has been implemented in the Korean culture is the attitude towards women† (Robinson, M., 2004). An interviewee, who grew up in Korea told me, that in the past, women were taught to be obedient to her parents; when married, to her hus band; and in old age, to her son. I also discovered, that today much of the old traditions in Korea have changed for the better. Just like in America today women are starting to take predominant roles in the educational and professional fields. Today it seems, that in both countries the feminism and masculinity roles are not predominant as before, but still exist in some parts. As each culture is unique in their own way, so are the different food choices they make. Some cultures enjoy food for the taste and others for the nutrients. For example, when I asked an interviewee what was special about their food he said, â€Å"Every plant and animal in their diet has either, some herbal or medicinal quality†. Some of the many wild and exotic plants, that make up a Korean diet are â€Å"wild aster, royal fern bracken, marsh plant, day lily, aralia shoots and broad bellflowers† (Robinson, M., 2004). A very popular and traditional dish for the Koreans is dogs. Koreans believe â€Å"dog to be a special kind of meat, which gives the body energy, stamina, and protein† (Wyte, R., 2001). An interviewee told me, that dogs is prepared in a type of soup they call poshinintang, which means body strengthening soup. Dog soup is usually served in a very hot bowl with vegetables and spices. The dog meat is prepared in thick slices with a generous he lping of red pepper and soybean paste. The interviewee said he had never tried the soup, but heard the meat tasted almost like roast. For our group class project we all decided to eat at a nice elegant Korean restaurant. This was my first experience eating at a Korean restaurant, so I was exited and nervous. At the table we sat in, I noticed some wet moist tolls and also a gas grill in the middle. The only eating utensils we had were a spoon and some chopsticks, no knife was included. I later discovered that everything would be cut into little bite size pieces so no knife was necessary. Glancing at the menu I noticed many different types of dishes, which consisted primarily of beef and seafood. A popular dish that I noticed on the menu was bulgogi, also known as â€Å"Korean barbecue†. Bulgogi was described to be strips of beef marinated in sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and then cooked over a gas grill at the table. I was very delighted to also find ribs; another popular dish prepared and cooked the same way as the bulgogi. The rest of the menu consisted mostly of fish and different assortm ent of seafood. After, we all made up our minds and ordered our meals the waitress brought out tableware. The tableware consisted of one soup bowl for each person along with various small and large plates, which were side dishes. One side bowl in particular I remember is a small bowl of what looked like grey string noodles. When I picked up the bowl to examine it closer I noticed little eyes, quickly discovering, that it was little string fishes. I myself was not daring enough to try the string fishes, nor were any one of my group members. A dish with fish that I did try was a special type of broth, which was almost clear and smelled extremely fishy. The broth had different spices floating on top and also small square pieces of fish at the bottom. A group member at the table decided to try it first and by the look on her face was not too satisfied with the bold fishy taste. At first, I was reluctant to try it myself but I built up enough courage to try it anyways. The broth had a very str ong garlic taste combined with a very strong fishy taste, which did not taste great at all. After waiting for about half an hour our main dishes were finally brought out in giant size bowls. If I was asked to sum up what Korean food tasted like in three simple words, I would have to say â€Å"spicy, fiery, and earthy.† The ribs that I ordered had a very strong bold taste of garlic and red chili. The different types of foods the waiter brought out were unique, each having its very own texture and aroma. Some aromas were pleasant and others smelled like ocean sea weed. Each one of us had our own healthy serving of vegetables, along with purple sticky rice. The rice was of a purple color and of a sticky texture. I thought, since the rice was of a different color it would taste different but the taste was no different than, that of regular white rice. In the Korean culture rice is a big part of every meal. The rice is served in a metal chrome plated rice bowl covered with a lid to keep the steam trapped inside. As part of the Korean culture it is customary to only eat the rice with a spoon and never with chopsticks (Wyte, R., 2001). Soon after learning the customs with rice I recalled haven used my chopsticks to eat my rice. I also thought this incident was a great example of a one-sided attention mishap. A perfect definition of one-sided attention is when â€Å"only one person is aware of the intercultural l mistake, and the other person has no sense, that a cultural mistake has been committed† (Ting-Toomey, S., Chung L. C., 2005). It is now clear to me the importance of being familiar with the customs and traditions of other cultures. In the future if I ever decide to go into a Korean restaurant again I will be sure not to make the same mistake again. In my report I have covered a great deal of information on the truly unique and remarkable Korean Culture. First, I walked you through the Korean history and explained where some of the customs came from. Next, I touched a bit on the different traditions and attitudes, which today make up the Korean culture. Lastly, I shared with you my very own personal experience in a Korean restaurant and explained a bit about the popular dishes. I believe through learning about the Korean culture I have developed a greater appreciation for a different culture other than my own. Learning about a different culture has also changed my perspective about my own culture. I learned that even though people may be from two very distant continents they can still have lots of the same customs and values. I hope you have enjoyed reading my paper and have learned a bit of useful information that you may take with you. This has truly been an experience I will never forget and will take from it many val uable lessons. References Baggett, C. (1998, September). The Pluralism Project. Retrieved August 14, 2006 from, Korean Society Web site: www.pluralism.org Cheil, J. (2000, January). Food in Korea. Retrieved August 15, 2006 from , Asian info organization Web site: asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/food.htm Robinson, Markus (2004). Korea. Springfield, IL: Holt, Rinehart Publishing Ting-Toomey, S., Chung L. C. (2005). Understanding Intercultural Comm. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company Wyte, R. (2001). Living in South Korea. Thousand Oaks, CA: P J Publishing Company. Research Papers on About KoreaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Project Managment Office SystemQuebec and CanadaHip-Hop is Art

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Boston Massacre Essays - Boston Massacre, Free Essays, Term Papers

Boston Massacre Essays - Boston Massacre, Free Essays, Term Papers Boston Massacre The British had decided in 1763 to keep an army in the colonies and to tax the colonists to pay for it. Then the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act in 1765. Colonists had to house British soldiers and give each one candle and five pints of beer a day. Go back to England!! the townspeople yelled as 4,000 Redcoats got off their ships, and marched through the streets of Boston. It was 1768 and the Redcoats moved to Boston to make sure the people there paid their taxes. For two years the Redcoats were there, they threatened each other, fist fights broke out, townspeople threw eggs at the Redcoats, people trained their dogs to bite the Redcoats, and people also called them names.For instance, kids called them lobster backs and bloody backs. Also, it was very crowded onthe streets, because there was about 20,000 people in Boston. By Sunday night, March 4th, 1770, Boston was boiling..... A little after eight, soldiers, armed with cudgels and tongs, emerged from Murray's Barracks near the center of the town. To the surprise of almost no one, a crowd composed largely, a hostile witness said, 'of saucy boys, Negroes, and mulattoes, Irish Teagues and outlandish Jack Tars' Gathered and traded insults with the soldiers. In the center of this crowd an imposing man who was no stranger to 'white people's quarrels.' His name was Crispus Attucks, and he was a Massachusetts native who had escaped from slavery ans sailed the seas. Tall, brawny, with a look that 'was enough to terrify any person,' Attucks was well known around the docks in lower Boston. Needless to say, he was not a proper Bostonian, a fact that has pained innumerable historians. He was instead a proper rebel, a drifter, a man who loved freedom and knew what it was worth. He was about forty-seven on this memorable night, and he had that undefinable quality called presence. When he spoke, men listened. Where he commanded, men acted..... It was Attucks, according to eyewitnesses, who shaped and dominated the action on the night of the event known to history as the Boston Massacre. And when the people faltered, it was Attucks, according to almost all contemporary reports, who rallied them and urged them to stand their ground. The people, responding to his leadership, stood firm; so did the soldiers. The two sides exchanged insults, and a fight flared. Attucks, who seems to have been everywhere on this night, led a group of citizens who drove the soldiers back to the gate of the barracks. The soldiers rallied and drove the Boston crowd back. On March 5th, British troops were quartered in the city to discourage demonstrations against the Townshend Acts which imposed duties on imports to the colonies. As a result of the constant harassment and some boys in their teens who began throwing snowballs(some with rocks in them), the Redcoats had to start defending themselves. They began to fire at the colonists. Once the smoke cleared from the guns, five townspeople were dead, and others were hurt. The people who died were: Crispus Attucks, killed by two snowballs entering his head, Samuel Gray, a worker at a rope walk was killed also by two snowballs entering his head, James Coldwell, a mate on an American ship was killed instantly when two snowballs entered his back, Samuel Maverick, who was a young seventeen year old male was mortally wounded and died the next morning, and Patrick Carr, a feather maker died as well. Paul Revere created a woodcut of the massacre. The woodcut was a Masterpiece of Propaganda meaning it was a lie. The woodcut was copied and sent throughout the colonies. Attached was this poem: Unhappy Boston! See thy sons deplore. Thy hallowed walk besmear'd with guiltless give! The woodcut caused colonists to want independene. The eight soldiers and their commanding officer, were tried for murder, and were defended by the American lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincey. Two were declared guilty of manslaughter and after claiming benefit of clergy were branded on the thumb; the others including the officer, were acquited. The funny thing about the Boston Massacre was that there was not a massacre at all, but a street fight between a Boston mob and a squad of British soldiers. It was called a 'massacre' because several colonists were killed by the soldiers. The name was invented by speechmakers and used tohelp stir the anger of the crowds. The Boston Massacre was one of the events which led up to the Revolutionary War.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Company analysis - Bancolombia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Company analysis - Bancolombia - Essay Example The different culture and characteristics of the three banks participated in the merger were not easy to be managed. The recent retirement of the firm’s CEO would set the future of Bancolombia in risk, if the new CEO would not be able to understand the firm’s culture but also the employees’ needs. Table of contents Executive Summary 2 Problem Statement 4 Supporting Evidence 4 Key decision criteria 7 Recommendations 8 References 11 Appendices 12 Problem Statement The development of the problem statement in regard to this study requires the reference to a series of events that led to the formation of Bancolombia, as in its current form. Bancolombia is an organization resulted from two mergers. In its initial form, Bancolombia resulted by the merge between the Banco Industrial Colombiano (BIC) and the Banco de Colombia. The above merger took place in 1998 and led to the establishment of Colombia’s most powerful firm in the banking industry (case study, p.3). Bancolombia, the firm resulted by the above merger, reached a market share of 11.5% (case study, p.3). ... The identification of effective HR management practices was of critical importance in Bancolombia, as a business entity established in 1998. In the context of the second merger, a similar issue has appeared. The second merger took place between three firms of the Colombian banking industry: Bancolombia, Conavi and Corfinsura. These firms used different approaches in regard to the management of their HR: a) in Bancolombia, emphasis was given on cooperation for ensuring that organizational targets in regard to profitability are met; the ‘Added Value System, (ADV), a customer profiting strategy’ (case study p.4) was used in Bancolombia to achieve this target. In addition, managers in Bancolombia have promoted a scheme called ‘Cultural Transformation Workshops’ (case study p.3) for ensuring that employees in Bancolombia are fully aware of the culture of the firm; b) in Conavi, employees’ needs were highly valued; in fact, ‘high job stability and con tinuous interaction between employees and managers’ (case study p.5) have been the key characteristics of the firm’s HR strategy; c) in Corfinsura employees had to deal mostly with ‘large corporate clients’ (case study p.5); therefore, most of the firm’s employees were experts in investment banking services (case study p.5); Bancolombia, in its final form, had to deal not only with investment banking services but also to retail services. This problem has been highlighted by managers in Bancolombia, after the firm’s merger with Corfinsura. According to the above, this study’s research problem could be described as follows: would Bancolombia be able to secure high employee performance taking into consideration the important differences in the HR strategies of the three firms participated in the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Does Having a Strong Defense Make you an NBA Playoff Teams Essay

Does Having a Strong Defense Make you an NBA Playoff Teams - Essay Example Data have been obtained from the website, EPSN.com (http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/year/2010). According to this paper, a strong defense is equated to registering lower scores against for the respective teams, while entering the NBA playoffs is measured based on the percentage of wins registered by a team. For the purposes of this research, it will be assumed that a team qualifying for the play is supposed to win at least 60% of its games. However, this assumption will only be used for the purpose of developing descriptive statistics to use in this research. The descriptive statistics in relation to the percentage of wins registered by the respective teams are provided below. Although the table provides descriptive statistics for both variables, this section will focus on the variables relating to percentage of wins registered by the respective teams. This is considered a key determinant of any team that managed to make the playoffs. See the table below for the descriptive stat istics on this matter. Descriptive statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Dev. Variance Skewness Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. ... Considering that the results used in this study came from one season, they cannot be conclusively said to represent all seasons. For this reason, a t-test is performed to evaluate the results of a larger sample at various confidence intervals. One-Sample Test (95% confidence) Test Value = 0 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Percentage wins by the teams 17.046 29 .000 .50000 .4400 .5600 From the table above, at a 95% confidence level, the average percentage of wins is expected to be within .4400 and .5600. One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 90% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Percentage wins by the teams 17.046 29 .000 .50000 .4502 .5498 At a 90% confidence level, it is expected that the mean will be within the range of .4502 to .5498. One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 99.9% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Percentage wins by the teams 17.046 29 .000 .50000 .3927 .6073 At a 99.9% confidence level, it is expected that the mean will be located between .3927 and .6073. One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 99% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Percentage wins by the teams 17.046 29 .000 .50000 .4191 .5809 At a 99% confidence level, it is expected that the mean will fall within .4191 and .5809 Testing hypothesis At the hypothesis stage, it was presumed that teams that made the playoffs recorded at least a winning percentage of 60% within a season. The hypotheses described below are therefore based on this assumption. These include:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   H0: 40     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   H1: 40   The test for this hypothesis is based on 30 teams. According to the findings, the mean

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Volcano Probe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Volcano Probe - Essay Example Pressure and temperature changes in a volcano leads to its structure and its overall behavior in regard to the period of formation to the eruption period. It is pressure and temperature that explains how a volcano is formed and how it erupts on to the earth surface in the long run (Beatty, 1998, p. 67). In general volcanoes normally occur in areas where tectonic plates diverge or converge or where the earth crust stretch or thin as in the case of African Rift Valley. Similarly, volcanoes can arise as a result of mantle plumes or hotspots which may occur far from the platonic plate's boundaries. Where volcanoes occur due to divergence of platonic plates, new oceanic crust is formed by hot molten lock or the magma which slowly cool and solidify. In essence, the crust is very thin at these ridges as a result of tectonic plates pull. Pressure resulting from the crust thinning gives rise to adiabatic expansion with a new oceanic crust forming as a result of partial melting of the mantle. In regard to converging platonic plates, the collision of a continental plate and an oceanic plate results into a subduction zone which by extension results into the submersion of the oceanic plate under the continental plate. The subducting layer releases water which lowers the temperature of the mantl e wedge above the result of which is magma creation. On the other hand, hotspots which are commonly located above mantle plumes where there is convection of the mantle of the earth results into a column of hot material that rises up to the earth crust. Plume temperature causes the crust to melt forming pipes useful in venting magma (Beatty, 1998, p. 98). Following the above discussion, designing a volcano probe would require one to properly analyse the factors and forces behind volcano formation. In essence, one would be required to put into consideration the thermal forces involved and it is at this point that knowledge of thermal physics becomes essential. In this case, one would be required to design a temperature and pressure measuring system that is compatible with changes in the two parameters and which can withstand huge changes for that matter. As such, one would be required to consider the materials with which the pressure and temperature measuring system is built from as some materials may not be able to withstand huge changes in these two parameters. For example, metals are known to melt under different temperatures with some melting at lower temperatures than the others. Still, some of these metals when exposed to high pressures react or behave differently from the others (A.I.P. 2000, p. 56). Any component designed to study the behavior of a volcano will have to put into consideration all the thermal physics aspects of pressure and temperature among other things. Such things include the permissible pressure range of the pressure sensor and the temperature range of the temperature sensor to be used in the measuring instrument. Equally important is the pressure and temperature range of the outer structure inhibiting the sensors. Moreover, the data collected by these sensors will need to be transmitted to a receiver through a transmitter.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Internet Addiction Essay Example for Free

Internet Addiction Essay Abstract Problematic computer use is a growing social issue which is being debated worldwide. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) ruins lives by causing neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and social problems. Surveys in the United States and Europe have indicated alarming prevalence rates between 1.5 and 8.2% [1]. There are several reviews addressing the definition, classification, assessment, epidemiology, and co-morbidity of IAD [2-5], and some reviews [6-8] addressing the treatment of IAD. The aim of this paper is to give a preferably brief overview of research on IAD and theoretical considerations from a practical perspective based on years of daily work with clients suffering from Internet addiction. Furthermore, with this paper we intend to bring in practical experience in the debate about the eventual inclusion of IAD in the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).Problematic computer use is a growing social issue which is being debated worldwide. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) ruins lives by causing neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and social problems. Surveys in the United States and Europe have indicated alarming prevalence rates between 1.5 and 8.2% [1]. There are several reviews addressing the definition, classification, assessment, epidemiology, and co-morbidity of IAD [2-5], and some reviews [6-8] addressing the treatment of IAD. The aim of this paper is to give a preferably brief overview of research on IAD and theoretical considerations from a practical perspective based on years of daily work with clients suffering from Internet addiction. Furthermore, with this paper we intend to bring in practical experience in the debate about the eventual inclusion of IAD in the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Keywords: Addiction, Computer, Internet, reSTART, Treatment. INTRODUCTION The idea that problematic computer use meets criteria for an addiction, and therefore should be included in the next iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), 4th ed. Text Revision [9] was first proposed by Kimberly Young, PhD in her seminal 1996 paper [10]. Since  that time IAD has been extensively studied and is indeed, currently under consideration for inclusion in the DSM-V [11]. Meanwhile, both China and South Korea have identified Internet addiction as a significant public health threat and both countries support education, research and treatment [12]. In the United States, despite a growing body of research, and treatment for the disorder available in out-patient and in-patient settings, there has been no formal governmental response to the issue of Internet addiction. While the debate goes on about whether or not the DSM-V should designate Internet addiction a mental disorder [12-14] people currently suffering from Internet addiction are seeking treatment. Because of our experience we support the development of uniform diagnostic criteria and the inclusion of IAD in the DSM-V [11] in order to advance public education, diagnosis and treatment of this important disorder. CLASSIFICATION There is ongoing debate about how best to classify the behavior which is characterized by many hours spent in non-work technology-related computer/Internet/video game activities [15]. It is accompanied by changes in mood, preoccupation with the Internet and digital media, the inability to control the amount of time spent interfacing with digital technology, the need for more time or a new game to achieve a desired mood, withdrawal symptoms when not engaged, and a continuation of the behavior despite family conflict, a diminishing social life and adverse work or academic consequences [2, 16, 17]. Some researchers and mental health practitioners see excessive Internet use as a symptom of another disorder such as anxiety or depression rather than a separate entity [e.g. 18]. Internet addiction could be considered an Impulse control disorder (not otherwise specified). Yet there is a growing consensus that this constellation of symptoms is an addiction [e.g. 19]. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recently released a new definition of addiction as a chronic brain disorder, officially proposing for the first time that addiction is not limited to substance use [20]. All addictions, whether chemical or behavioral, share certain characteristics including salience, compulsive use (loss of control), mood modification and the alleviation of distress, tolerance and withdrawal, and the continuation despite negative consequences. DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR IAD The first serious proposal for diagnostic criteria was advanced in 1996 by Dr. Young, modifying the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling [10]. Since then variations in both name and criteria have been put forward to capture the problem, which is now most popularly known as Internet Addiction Disorder. Problematic Internet Use (PIU) [21], computer addiction, Internet dependence [22], compulsive Internet use, pathological Internet use [23], and many other labels can be found in the literature. Likewise a variety of often overlapping criteria have been proposed and studied, some of which have been validated. However, empirical studies provide an inconsistent set of criteria to define Internet addiction [24]. For an overview see Byun et al. [25]. Beard [2] recommends that the following five diagnostic criteria are required for a diagnosis of Internet addiction: (1) Is preoccupied with the Internet (thinks about previous online activity or anticipate next online session); (2) Needs t o use the Internet with increased amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction; (3) Has made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use; (4) Is restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use; (5) Has stayed online longer than originally intended. Additionally, at least one of the following must be present: (6) Has jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet; (7) Has lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet; (8) Uses the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression) [2]. There has been also been a variety of assessment tools used in evaluation. Young’s Internet Addiction Test [16], the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ) developed by Demetrovics, Szeredi, and Pozsa [26] and the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) [27] are all examples of instruments to assess for this disorder. PREVALENCE The considerable variance of the prevalence rates reported for IAD (between 0.3% and 38%) [28] may be attributable to the fact that diagnostic criteria and assessment questionnaires used for diagnosis vary between countries and studies often use highly selective samples of online surveys [7]. In their  review Weinstein and Lejoyeux [1] report that surveys in the United States and Europe have indicated prevalence rates varying between 1.5% and 8.2%. Other reports place the rates between 6% and 18.5% [29]. â€Å"Some obvious differences with respect to the methodologies, cultural factors, outcomes and assessment tools forming the basis for these prevalence rates notwithstanding, the rates we encountered were generally high and sometimes alarming.† [24] ETIOLOGY There are different models available for the development and maintenance of IAD like the cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use [21], the anonymity, convenience and escape (ACE) model [30], the access, affordability, anonymity (Triple-A) engine [31], a phases model of pathological Internet use by Grohol [32], and a comprehensive model of the development and maintenance of Internet addiction by Winkler Dà ¶rsing [24], which takes into account socio-cultural factors (e.g., demographic factors, access to and acceptance of the Internet), biological vulnerabilities (e.g., genetic factors, abnormalities in neurochemical processes), psychological predispositions (e.g., personality characteristics, negative affects), and specific attributes of the Internet to explain â€Å"excessive engagement in Internet activities† [24]. NEUROBIOLOGICAL VULNERABILITIES It is known that addictions activate a combination of sites in the brain associated with pleasure, known together as the â€Å"reward center† or â€Å"pleasure pathway† of the brain [33, 34]. When activated, dopamine release is increased, along with opiates and other neurochemicals. Over time, the associated receptors may be affected, producing tolerance or the need for increasing stimulation of the reward center to produce a â€Å"high† and the subsequent characteristic behavior patterns needed to avoid withdrawal. Internet use may also lead specifically to dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens [35, 36], one of the reward structures of the brain specifically involved in other addictions [20]. An example of the rewarding nature of digital technology use may be captured in the following statement by a 21 year-old male in treatment for IAD: â€Å"I feel technology has brought so much joy into my life. No other activity relaxes me or stimulates me like technolo gy. However, when depression hits, I tend to use technology as a way  of retreating and isolating.† REINFORCEMENT/REWARD What is so rewarding about Internet and video game use that it could become an addiction? The theory is that digital technology users experience multiple layers of reward when they use various computer applications. The Internet functions on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule (VRRS), as does gambling [29]. Whatever the application (general surfing, pornography, chat rooms, message boards, social networking sites, video games, email, texting, cloud applications and games, etc.), these activities support unpredictable and variable reward structures. The reward experienced is intensified when combined with mood enhancing/stimulating content. Examples of this would be pornography (sexual stimulation), video games (e.g. various social rewards, identification with a hero, immersive graphics), dating sites (romantic fantasy), online poker (financial) and special interest chat rooms or message boards (sense of belonging) [29, 37]. BIOLOGICAL PREDISPOSITION There is increasing evidence that there can be a genetic predisposition to addictive behaviors [38, 39]. The theory is that individuals with this predisposition do not have an adequate number of dopamine receptors or have an insufficient amount of serotonin/dopamine [2], thereby having difficulty experiencing normal levels of pleasure in activities that most people would find rewarding. To increase pleasure, these individuals are more likely to seek greater than average engagement in behaviors that stimulate an increase in dopamine, effectively giving them more reward but placing them at higher risk for addiction. MENTAL HEALTH VULNERABILITIES Many researchers and clinicians have noted that a variety of mental disorders co-occur with IAD. There is debate about which came first, the addiction or the co-occurring disorder [18, 40]. The study by Dong et al. [40] had at least the potential to clarify this question, reporting that higher scores for depression, anxiety, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychoticism were consequences of IAD. But due to the limitations of the study further research is necessary. THE TREATMENT OF INTERNET ADDICTION There is a general consensus that total abstinence from the Internet should not be the goal of the interventions and that instead, an abstinence from problematic applications and a controlled and balanced Internet usage should be achieved [6]. The following paragraphs illustrate the various treatment options for IAD that exist today. Unless studies examining the efficacy of the illustrated treatments are not available, findings on the efficacy of the presented treatments are also provided. Unfortunately, most of the treatment studies were of low methodological quality and used an intra-group design. The general lack of treatment studies notwithstanding, there are treatment guidelines reported by clinicians working in the field of IAD. In her book â€Å"Internet Addiction: Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment†, Young [41] offers some treatment strategies which are already known from the cognitive-behavioral approach: (a) practice opposite time of Internet use (discover patientâ €™s patterns of Internet use and disrupt these patterns by suggesting new schedules), (b) use external stoppers (real events or activities prompting the patient to log off), (c) set goals (with regard to the amount of time), (d) abstain from a particular application (that the client is unable to control), (e) use reminder cards (cues that remind the patient of the costs of IAD and benefits of breaking it), (f) develop a personal inventory (shows all the activities that the patient used to engage in or can’t find the time due to IAD), (g) enter a support group (compensates for a lack of social support), and (h) engage in family therapy (addresses relational problems in the family) [41]. Unfortunately, clinical evidence for the efficacy of these strategies is not mentioned. Non-psychological Approaches Some authors examine pharmacological interventions for IAD, perhaps due to the fact that clinicians use psychopharmacology to treat IAD despite the lack of treatment studies addressing the efficacy of pharmacological treatments. In particular, selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been used because of the co-morbid psychiatric symptoms of IAD (e.g. depression and anxiety) for which SSRIs have been found to be effective [42-46]. Escitalopram (a SSRI) was used by Dell’Osso et al. [47] to treat 14 subjects with impulsive-compulsive Internet usage disorder. Internet usage  decreased significantly from a mean of 36.8 hours/week to a baseline of 16.5 hours/week. In another study Han, Hwang, and Renshaw [48] used bupropion (a non-tricyclic antidepressant) and found a decrease of craving for Internet video game play, total game play time, and cue-induced brain activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after a six week period of bupropion sustained release treatment. Methylphenidate (a psycho stimulant drug) was used by Han et al. [49] to treat 62 Internet video game-playing children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. After eight weeks of treatment, the YIAS-K scores and Internet usage times were significantly reduced and the authors cautiously suggest that methylphenidate might be evaluated as a potential treatment of IAD. According to a study by Shapira et al. [50], mood stabilizers might also improve the symptoms of IAD. In addition to these studies, there are some case reports of patients treated with escitalopram [45], citalopram (SSRI)- quetiapine (antipsychotic) combination [43] and naltrexone (an opioid receptor antagonist) [51]. A few authors mentioned that physical exercise could compensate the decrease of the dopamine level due to decreased online usage [52]. In addition, sports exercise prescriptions used in the course of cognitive behavioral group therapy may enhance the effect of the intervention for IAD [53]. Psychological Approaches Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered yet directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving client ambivalence [54]. It was developed to help individuals give up addictive behaviors and learn new behavioral skills, using techniques such as open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmation, and summarization to help individuals express their concerns about change [55]. Unfortunately, there are currently no studies addressing the efficacy of MI in treating IAD, but MI seems to be moderately effective in the areas of alcohol, drug addiction, and diet/exercise problems [56]. Peukert et al. [7] suggest that interventions with family members or other relatives like â€Å"Community Reinforcement and Family Training† [57] could be useful in enhancing the motivation of an addict to cut back on Internet use, although the reviewers remark that control studies with relatives do not exist to date. Reality therapy (RT) is supposed t o encourage individuals to choose to improve their  lives by committing to change their behavior. It includes sessions to show clients that addiction is a choice and to give them training in time management; it also introduces alternative activities to the problematic behavior [58]. According to Kim [58], RT is a core addiction recovery tool that offers a wide variety of uses as a treatment for addictive disorders such as drugs, sex, food, and works as well for the Internet. In his RT group counseling program treatment study, Kim [59] found that the treatment program effectively reduced addiction level and improved self-esteem of 25 Internet-addicted university students in Korea. Twohig and Crosby [60] used an Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) protocol including several exercises adjusted to better fit the issues with which the sample struggles to treat six adult males suffering from problematic Internet pornography viewing. The treatment resulted in an 85% reduction in viewing at post-treatment with results being maintained at the three month follow-up (83% reduction in viewing pornography). Widyanto and Griffith [8] report that most of the treatments employed so far had utilized a cognitive-behavioral approach. The case for using cognitive-behavioral therap y (CBT) is justified due to the good results in the treatment of other behavioral addictions/impulse-control disorders, such as pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating-disorders [61]. Wà ¶lfling [5] described a predominantly behavioral group treatment including identification of sustaining conditions, establishing of intrinsic motivation to reduce the amount of time being online, learning alternative behaviors, engagement in new social real-life contacts, psycho-education and exposure therapy, but unfortunately clinical evidence for the efficacy of these strategies is not mentioned. In her study, Young [62] used CBT to treat 114 clients suffering from IAD and found that participants were better able to manage their presenting problems post-treatment, showing improved motivation to stop abusing the Internet, improved ability to control their computer use, improved ability to function in offline relationships, improved ability to abstain from sexually explicit online material, improved ability to engage in offline activities, and improved ability to achieve sobriety from problematic applications. Cao, Su and Gao [63] investigated the effect of group CBT on 29 middl e school students with IAD and found that IAD scores of the experimental group were lower than of the control group  after treatment. The authors also reported improvement in psychological function. Thirty-eight adolescents with IAD were treated with CBT designed particularly for addicted adolescents by Li and Dai [64]. They found that CBT has good effects on the adolescents with IAD (CIAS scores in the therapy group were significant lower than that in the control group). In the experimental group the scores of depression, anxiety, compulsiveness, self-blame, illusion, and retreat were significantly decreased after treatment. Zhu, Jin, and Zhong [65] compared CBT and electro acupuncture (EA) plus CBT assigning forty-seven patients with IAD to one of the two groups respectively. The authors found that CBT alone or combined with EA can significantly reduce the score of IAD and anxiety on a self-rating scale and improve self-conscious health status in patients with IAD, but the effect obtained by the combined therapy was better. Multimodal Treatments A multimodal treatment approach is characterized by the implementation of several different types of treatment in some cases even from different disciplines such as pharmacology, psychotherapy and family counseling simultaneously or sequentially. Orzack and Orzack [66] mentioned that treatments for IAD need to be multidisciplinary including CBT, psychotropic medication, family therapy, and case managers, because of the complexity of these patients’ problems. In their treatment study, Du, Jiang, and Vance [67] found that multimodal school-based group CBT (including parent training, teacher education, and group CBT) was effective for adolescents with IAD (n = 23), particularly in improving emotional state and regulation ability, behavioral and self-management style. The effect of another multimodal intervention consisting of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), family therapy, and CT was investigated among 52 adolescents with IAD in China. After three months of treatment, the scores on an IAD scale (IAD-DQ), the scores on the SCL-90, and the amount of time spent online decreased significantly [68]. Orzack et al. [69] used a psychoeducational program, which combines psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral theoretical perspectives, using a combination of Readiness to Change (RtC), CBT and MI interventions to treat a group of 35 men involved in problematic Internet-enabled sexual behavior (IESB). In this group treatment, the quality of life increased and the level of depressive symptoms decreased  after 16 (weekly) treatment sessions, but the level of problematic Internet use failed to decrease significantly [69]. Internet addiction related symptom scores significantly decreased after a group of 23 middle school students with IAD were treated with Behavioral Therapy (BT) or CT, detoxification treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation, personality modeling and parent training [70]. Therefore, the authors concluded that psychotherapy, in particular CT and BT were effective in treating middle school students with IAD. Shek, Tang, and Lo [71] described a multi-level counseling program designed for young people with IAD based on the responses of 59 clients. Findings of this study suggest this multi-level counseling program (including counseling, MI, family perspective, case work and group work) is promising to help young people with IAD. Internet addiction symptom scores significantly decreased, but the program failed to increase psychological well-being significantly. A six-week group counseling program (including CBT, social competence training, training of self-control strategies and training of communication skills) was shown to be effective on 24 Internet-addicted college students in China [72]. The authors reported that the adapted CIAS-R scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group post-treatment. The reSTART Program The authors of this article are currently, or have been, affiliated with the reSTART: Internet Addiction Recovery Program [73] in Fall City, Washington. The reSTART program is an inpatient Internet addiction recovery program which integrates technology detoxification (no technology for 45 to 90 days), drug and alcohol treatment, 12 step work, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), experiential adventure based therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), brain enhancing interventions, animal assisted therapy, motivational interviewing (MI), mindfulness based relapse prevention (MBRP), Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), interpersonal group psychotherapy, individual psychotherapy, individualized treatments for co-occurring disorders, psycho- educational groups (life visioning, addiction education, communication and assertiveness training, social skills, life skills, Life balance plan), aftercare treatments (monitoring of technology use, ongoing psychotherapy and group work), a nd continuing care (outpatient treatment) in an individualized, holistic approach. The first  results from an ongoing OQ45.2 [74] study (a self-reported measurement of subjective discomfort, interpersonal relationships and social role performance assessed on a weekly basis) of the short-term impact on 19 adults who complete the 45+ days program showed an improved score after treatment. Seventy-four percent of participants showed significant clinical improvement, 21% of participants showed no reliable change, and 5% deteriorated. The results have to be regarded as preliminary due to the small study sample, the self-report measurement and the lack of a control group. Despite these limitations, there is evidence that the program is responsible for most of the improvements demonstrated. CONCLUSION As can be seen from this brief review, the field of Internet addiction is advancing rapidly even without its official recognition as a separate and distinct behavioral addiction and with continuing disagreement over diagnostic criteria. The ongoing debate whether IAD should be classified as an (behavioral) addiction, an impulse-control disorder or even an obsessive compulsive disorder cannot be satisfactorily resolved in this paper. But the symptoms we observed in clinical practice show a great deal of overlap with the symptoms commonly associated with (behavioral) addictions. Also it remains unclear to this day whether the underlying mechanisms responsible for the addictive behavior are the same in different types of IAD (e.g., online sexual addiction, online gaming, and excessive surfing). From our practical perspective the different shapes of IAD fit in one category, due to various Internet specific commonalities (e.g., anonymity, riskless interaction), commonalities in the underlying behavior (e.g., avoidance, fear, pleasure, entertainment) and overlapping symptoms (e.g., the increased amount of time spent online, preoccupation and other signs of addiction). Nevertheless more research has to be done to substantiate our clinical impression. Despite several methodological limitations, the strength of this work in comparison to other reviews in the international body of literature addressing the definition, classification, assessment, epidemiology, and co-morbidity of IAD [2-5], and to reviews [6-8] addressing the treatment of IAD, is that it connects theoretical considerations with the clinical practice of interdisciplinary mental health experts working for years in the field of Internet addiction. Furthermore, the current work gives a good  overview of the current state of research in the field of internet addiction treatment. Despite the limitations stated above this work gives a brief overview of the current state of research on IAD from a practical perspective and can therefore be seen as an important and helpful paper for further research as well as for clinical practice in particular.