Ethical dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Ethical dilemma - Essay Example The International labor Organization (ILO) 2007 statistics â€Å"there are about 218 million working children globally and accounting for about 20% of India’s GDP† (Gupta et.al 291). The annual cost of ending child labor includes the cost for providing income lost by the children and providing education. On the other hand, the benefit of eliminating child labor is more than seven times of that cost due to gains from increased human capital, fewer deaths from accidents and improved health (Gupta et.al 300). Therefore, child labor is a huge loss to the economy at large. The Kantianism principle would suggest all MNCs to apply strict child labor standards in all nations across the globe in order to eliminate overexploitation of children (Gupta et.al 301). The method used for acquiring the child labor such as kidnapping and buying children are harmful to the children. It results to health issues, compromising working and living conditions, underpayment, denies adults an opportunity for employment (Gupta et.al 291). The businesses with higher ethical standards have chance for long-term operations even though their income may not be very high. The consumers in host overseas countries expect MNCs to apply higher ethical standards than local companies (Gupta et.al 301) In conclusion, MNCs should set high child labor standards both in home country and overseas host countries to promote corporate social responsibility. The elimination of child labor will increase the productivity of the economy and eliminate exploitation of children. Gupta, Shruti; Pirsch, Julie & Girard, Tulay. An Empirical Examination of Multinational Ethical Dilemma: The Issue of Child Labor. â€Å"A Journal of Global Marketing, 23.† Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, (2010):

Japanese Culture Essay Example for Free

Japanese Culture Essay Abstract It is important to understand that an individuals perspective of death and dying is greatly impacted by their culture. In this paper I will discuss how the Japanese culture approaches death and dying. I will also discuss the unique concept of organ transplantation that surrounds that Japanese culture. This paper presents the law of organ transplantation in Japan, which allows people to decide whether brain death can be used to determine their death in agreement with their family. Japan could become a unique example of individual choice in the definition of death if the law is revised to allow individuals choose definition of death independently of their family. The death and dying rituals involved in the Japanese culture will be discussed. Overview of the Japanese Culture In the latter half of the twentieth century, developed countries of the world have made remarkable strides in organ donation and transplantation. However, in this area of medicine, Japan has been slow to follow. Japanese ethics, deeply rooted in religion and tradition, have affected their outlook on life and death. The Japanese have only recently started to acknowledge the concept of brain death and transplantation of major organs has been hindered in that country. Currently, there is a dual definition of death in Japan, intended to satisfy both sides of the issue. This interesting paradox, which still stands to be fully resolved, illustrates the controversial conflict between medical ethics and medical progress in Japan. The Japanese culture considers a human being both alive and dead, an integrated body, mind, and spirit (Dennis, 2009, p.12). Therefore removing an organ from a brain-dead person involves a disturbance in this natural integrated unit. In the Japanese culture organ donation and organ transplantation are unpopular and rare (Dennis, 2009). According to Dennis (2009), the Japanese culture believes that a dead body must remain whole because if they are not whole, that dead person will be unhappy in the next world. Japanese Culture on Death and Dying It is crucial to understand that an individuals perspective of death and dying is greatly impacted by their culture. Japan is the only country, which permits individual choice in death definition for the purpose of organ transplantation, and in agreement with the persons family. The Japanese organ transplantation law of 1997 is a long debate on brain death and organ transplantation. Over almost three decades, medical, legal and public discussion has occurred; a lack of consensus on the definition of human death caused a long delay in adopting a law on organ procurement (Akabayashi, 1997). Finally, policy makers in Japan have adopted a law with unique features, such as giving an opportunity to individuals to choose the definition of death based on their own views. Therefore, in Japan individuals may choose either cessation of cardio†respiratory function or loss of entire brain function for their death pronouncement (Morioka, 2001). However, the choice is permitted in Japanese law only if organs can potentially be used for transplant with the agreement of the family, which means that although individuals can choose the definition of death based on their own views, the law gives power to the family to confirm or reject the choice. The law allows the family to override the individual choice in death definition (Akabayashi, 1997). The first effort to pass a law on organ transplantation following brain death failed in 1994. The main reason why the proposed law was rejected in 1994 is said to be because it stated that brain death is equal to death, and also because it approved surrogate decision making by the family. These issues raised serious arguments and concerns among some members, resulting in defeat of the legislation (Akabayashi, 1997). However, the situation has changed since then and, as public polls show, the number of people who accept the concept of brain death has increased from 29% to 60%. (Lock, 1996) . The current law states that for organ removal, the donors prior declaration and family agreement are both necessary requirements (Japan Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, 1997). The organ donation provisions of the law apply for brain dead donors as well as any cadaver. The law authorizes organ removal from a brain†dead person only if the donor has, during his life expressed in writing his consent to the diagnosis of brain death, as well as, his intention to donate his organ(s). Therefore, the law authorizes individuals to choose between the traditional definition or the alternative standard based on brain function by signing an â€Å"Organ Donation Decision Card†. Individuals can state their wishes at the back of this card by marking one of the following items: (1) I wish to be a donor based on the brain†oriented definition; (2) I want to be a donor after cardiac death; or (3) I refuse to donate organs (Bagheri, 2003). The law is not free of criticism, especially in terms of adopting a double standard regarding the role of the family. On the one hand, it gives the family the power to veto an individuals willingness to donate. On the other hand, it does not authorize the family to be a surrogate decision maker based on the interests of their beloved ones when they are in a brain†dead state and the organ donor card cannot be found. Nevertheless, the unbalanced role and power of veto of the family under the present law can be seen as a hindrance to organ procurement in Japan (Bagheri, 2003). The process of dying is regarded not as an individual event but as a family event in the Japanese culture (Kimura, 1998). There is no doubt that any transplant†related legislation should be concerned with inclusion of the opinion of the family in the decision†making process. This forms a basis for social acceptance of the legislation. However, in any culture a practical question arises: to what extent is the familys opinion to be taken into consideration? According to the law, family consent is required both for organ procurement and for declaration of death according to brain†based criteria. Therefore an individual can choose the definition of death with the agreement of her or his family, but not independently (Kimura, 1998). Japan is the only country that allows individuals to choose either the traditional definition or the brain†oriented definition of death, but individual choice must be confirmed by the family; therefore, it is a family based choice (Kimura, 1998). Death and Dying Rituals in the Japanese Culture A Japanese funeral includes a wake, the cremation of the deceased, a burial in a family grave, and a periodic memorial service. According to statistics, 99.82% of all deceased Japanese are cremated. While the ashes of many are buried in family graves, the scattering of ashes has become more common in recent years, including a burial at sea (Wakabayashi Sekiguchi, 2011). Many funeral services are carried out in the form of Buddhist ceremonies. After a person has died, their lips are moistened with water, in a ceremony referred to as Matsugo-no-mizu Water of the last moment (Wakabayashi, Sekiguchi, 2011). The household shrine is closed and covered with a white paper, to keep out impure spirits. This process is known as Kamidana-fuji. A small table placed beside the deceaseds bed is also decorated with flowers, incense, and a candle. A knife may placed on the chest of the deceased to drive away evil spirit (Wakabayashi Sekiguchi, 2011). Funeral arrangements are made and the body is washed and the orifices are blocked with cotton or gauze. The funeral clothing will consist of either a suit for a male or a kimono if the deceased is a female. Makeup may also be applied in order to improve the appearance of the body. The body is then put on dry ice and placed inside the casket with the head positioned towards the north or west, along with a white kimono, sandals and six coins for the crossing of the River of three hells. Items which the deceased was fond of will also be placed inside the casket as well, so long as they are flammable. The casket is then placed on the altar in preparation of the wake (Nakata, 2009). Guests who attend the funeral are expected to dress in black attire. The men usually wear black suits with a white shirt and a black tie, while women wear either a black dress or a black kimono. A Buddhist prayer bead called juzu may also be carried by guests. Guests are expected to bring condolence money in a special black and silver decorated envelope. At the funeral, the guests will be seated, with the next of kin closest to the front. The Buddhist priest will read a sutra. The family members will each in turn offer incense three times to the incense urn in front of the deceased. The closest relatives may stay and keep vigil with the deceased overnight in the same room (Nakata, 2009). Japanese funerals are usually performed on the day following the wake. The funeral service is similar to that of the wake service, the difference being that during the funeral service, the deceased will receive a new Buddhist name to prevent the return of the deceased if their name is called. At the end of the ceremony, flowers may be placed inside the casket before it is sealed and carried to an elaborately decorated hearse where it is transported to the crematorium. In some regions of Japan, the casket may be nailed shut by mourners using a stone (Wakabayashi Sekiguchi, 2011). Once the casket has arrived at the crematorium, the family witnesses the sliding of the body into the cremation chamber, then leave. After the cremation process is complete, the family returns to pick the bones out of the ashes and transfer them to an urn using chopsticks. In some instances, two family members will hold the same bone at the same time with their chopsticks or pass the bones from chopsticks to chopsticks. According to Japanese custom, this is the only time when it is proper for two people to hold the same item at the same time with chopsticks. The bones are picked up and transferred to the urn in a manner which ensures that the deceased is not placed upside down in the urn. Therefore the bones of the feet are picked up first, the bones of the head last (Nakata, 2009). A typical Japanese grave is usually a family grave consisting of a stone monument with a place for flowers, incense, and water in front of the monument and a chamber underneath for the ashes. The date of the formation of the grave and the name of the person who purchased it may be engraved on the side of the monument. The names of the deceased may or may not be engraved on the front or left side of the monument or on a separate stone in front of the grave Nakata, 2009). The Japanese honor the dead with shrines in their homes and tending to the gravesite (Dennis, 2009). During three days in August, the Japanese Buddhist celebrate at The Bons Festival in honor of the departed spirits of ones’ ancestors (Dennis, 2009). Until the early twentieth century most bodies were buried and cremation was limited to the wealthy. Cremation became more common after World War II due to its efficiency and cleanliness. In 2009, 99.9% of Japanese bodies were cremated, and some local governments ban burials (Wakabayashi Sekiguchi, 2011). Conclusion I learned a lot about the Japanese culture while researching my paper. One of the things that I found surprising was that the majority of Japanese bodies are cremated. The similarities that I found between the American and the Japanese culture are that both cultures were black to funerals. In both cultures items that are valuable are placed in the caskets and funerals are followed by the wake. While cremation is popular in Japan, I was surprised to learn that cremation is on the rise in the United States; however, not everyone approves of it (Dennis, 2009). References Akabayashi A (1997). Japans parliament passes brain death law. The Lancet, 349 (9069). Retrieved from http://www.lancet.com. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)63895-0. Bagheri A. (2003). A criticism of brain death policy in Japan. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 13 (4), 359-372. Dennis, D. (2009) Living, Dying, Grieving. Sandbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Publislhers. Japan Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, The law concerning human organ transplants The law no. 104 1997. Translation 1999. Kimura R. (1998). Death, dying and advance directives in Japan: socio†cultural and legal points of view. In: Sass HM, Veatch RM, Rihito K, eds. Advance directives and surrogate decision making in health care. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Lock M. (1996). Deadly dispute: ideologies and brain death in Japan. In: Stuart J, Youngner Laurence J, OConnell Renee C, eds. Organ transplantation meaning and realities. Fox. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Morioka M. (2001). Reconsidering brain death: a lesson from Japans fifteen years experience. Hastings Center Report 31, (4), 41-46. Nakata, H. (2009). The Japan Times. Japan’s funerals deep-rotted mix of ritual, form. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20090728i1.html. Wakabayashi, D., Sekiguchi, T. (2011). After Flood, Deaths Overpower Ritual. Wall Street Journal.

Role Of Social Networking In Education Systems Information Technology Essay

Role Of Social Networking In Education Systems Information Technology Essay In current days the usage of social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on is very common. These social networking sites are used by millions of people throughout the world. The emergence of social networking creates a revolution among people for easy communication and knowledge sharing. In this essay we are going to discuss about the usage of social media in modernization of education system and the advantage of implementing social networking in modernization of education system in India. Modernization of education system: In India, education system currently present is mostly based on books and paper. I have a business idea regarding modernization of education system in India. Nowadays the lecturers in colleges teach using board and books for taking classes. According to my idea the concept of book based teaching is modified to e-resource usage in teaching and testing students. This process of conversion of books into e-resource will help the student to learn easily and quickly. This a powerful tool to disseminate the theories and formulas in books to students with proper examples. Current system: In India, all the colleges must be affiliated to some university. In that manner a single university controls over many colleges with same syllabus. All colleges under same university will follow the same syllabus for same subject. So all the students from different colleges have the same syllabus. But the way of teaching is different from college to college for the same subject. There is no common method of teaching for all colleges under same university. There is no communication among the students of different colleges. So socialization among the students gets affected. Assessment system: The syllabus for all colleges being same the exams are also conducted at same day in colleges with same questions to all students taking that subject. But the way of teaching and learning differs. They follow different materials for preparation for exams. As the core material would be text book prescribed by university, but the reference material will be entirely different. So the way of presenting answers different from student of one college to other college. Likewise the assignment also varies from college to college for same subject. There is no particular assessment for assignment. To neutralize this problem, our proposed system will be much better option. In our system the assessment will have common criteria and assignment must be framed by university which should be assessed properly as like exam. Proposed system: To establish a communication medium between students and enhance their opportunity of knowledge sharing we are planning a system. In our system, we need to convert all the teaching hints into PowerPoint presentations. We are going to prepare a general presentation for each subject which will be based on prescribed text book recommended by the university. All the students will be given handouts of teaching materials which will enhance their observation capacity and improve the understandability of concepts. For preparing that presentation we are going to hire professors from many universities. Each topic must have presentation which will be prepared by group of professors and approved by some experts in that area. All the student in all colleges must given access to all materials related to their subject (similar to Moodle in our university).The main thing is many colleges affiliated to same university must be connected under a network which will be maintained by our system. Because o f this connectivity all the students are able to communicate with one another to share their knowledge. Usage of software in the proposed system: The proposed system for universities in India will requires a good software system to run this system. The basic idea for this software is implementing social networking among the colleges which are come under same university. This also unique for all the colleges under same university. The basic reason behind this is just to connect student among different colleges who all are studying the same subject can share their ideas and knowledge learned in the subject. To get some practical ideas related to subject, students will use our system as medium of communication with external system which means students from other colleges. The reason which forces me to think in bringing social networking among students is increase in usage of social media websites by university students. As per the result of survey conducted by university students in social media usage shows that in overall 93% of college students are using social networking sites. Among the social networking sites, Facebook users are majority which occupies 96% of students, You Tube holds second among them which comprises of 84% of students. Blogs (14%), Twitter (14%), MySpace (12%), and LinkedIn (10%) respectively. In initial dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s students who used the social networking sites just for entertainment purpose. But in current situation the awareness of social media to the students is bit higher, so the usage of social networking sites by the students for education purpose gets increased. So in future the rate will get increased further so that knowledge sharing will get expanded in student level. General use of implementing social networking in business: The main advantage of using social networking in any business are listed Establish communication among the employees at all levels which makes the degree of transparency between management and employees to become high Easy and cost effective tool for marketing a product Possibility to attract people of a particular group Effective and efficient way to improve the contacts around the world Faster way to reach people in cheapest way Easy to know about consumer realistic reviews by joining in consumer community Helps to analyze about competitors currently available in the market Advantages of social networking sites: Most of the students in the educational institution have been using the internet quite often. Social networking has become a revelation among the young generations by which it is easier for them to communicate between each other. Will social networking sites will be helpful if it is implemented along with educational forum like Moodle? There has been a big debate over this topic in the past. Many educational experts express their interest in changing current education system in India. Many researches are going on in the current system of education in universities. The advantages of implementing social media in modernization of education system are as follows Role of social networking sites in education: Social networking sites are related to web-based services that offer us an opportunity to socialize with others peers in the network It will be helpful in making new friends and importantly to meet new people through their general interest The new development in social networking sites are the developed and sustainable relationship between teachers and students in learning and sharing content Most of the students studying in colleges communicate to their peers regarding education through text messages or phone calls, nowadays mobile phones are prohibited in many colleges by the management. So they are in need for some other mode of communication. With the introduction of the social networking sites the students can have live interactions and chats to their peers which will largely benefit the students How the students will be benefitted out of this Social networking sites are web-based services that offer us an opportunity to socialize with others Increased exposure to varied views Utilizing all the study resources properly Increased skill in technology Development of communication skills Increased talent to work on group projects Many students already use these forms of technology, so they may be more engaged in learning if they utilize it They will get chance to share the ideas which they have learned in their subject How it is benefitted for the teachers Increased access to resources Can form partnerships with lecturers in other states or countries Exchange lesson plans and information with students Cheap and effective way to convey details to students Easy to give lecturers in class by having proper resource Organized structure of classes will help them to plan accordingly to cover syllabus in particular period of time Easy to clear doubts of students by creating a forum to their subject Role of social networking in staff recruitment: As per our idea, for the preparation of common materials we need to recruit experts for each subject. For selecting experts from all areas social networking plays a major role. LinkedIn is a major social networking site contains profiles of millions of experts which allow the recruiter to choose the effective and suitable person for each subject. LinkedIn proves to be first social networking sites with lot of profiles with experience in all areas. It paves way for searching experts for all the subjects. Overall benefits of social networking to our system: In overall, the benefits of implementing social networking in our system are as follows Cheap and effective ways of communication from different level of users like students, lecturers, and so on Improve the socialization among students as well as other users of the system Tend to increase the knowledge of students by improve the knowledge sharing Fast method to convey message to all students Improvise the standard of student in whole country Creates opportunity to know about latest technology and current events To get quick access to study resources any time and any where Lot of time consumed by preparing common material Lecturers will maintain records of all the students easily It will reduce the cost of communication to colleges It improves the result of students by having proper material which suits for students at all level Examples with Facebooks, blogs and forums: At Penn State University the library service has been using Facebook as one method of allowing students to contact the librarians with enquiries A survey conducted in 2006 found that more students were using Facebook to contact the librarians than any other method Forums are also a part of Social Software that can be a useful tool in education Forums are also related to Blogs, though a blog is centered around an individual, whereas a forum is centered more around an area of interest The major usage of the forum and blogs are the students can post their blogs and works so that others can comment and advise on it There may be a positive impact on climate within the classroom when students see staff as approachable

othello review Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeare has produced an incredibly large library of work, including 38 plays and countless sonnets. His plays are divided into four main sections: the Histories, the Tragedies, the Comedies, and the Romances. Othello falls under Tragedy, as it ends with the death of numerous characters, including the principals. Shakespeare's work has been produced since the Renaissance in all artistic mediums from the original theater to opera, symphony, film, and ballet. It has also been consistently revisited countless times by the same artistic medium because it is said to be timeless. Othello's main topics are love, murder, jealousy, miscommunication, chastity, history, and even magic. The play encompasses the classic elements of Shakespeare's tragedies, pulling in a bit of history and military strategy. It opens in Venice, a widely known city of artistic and military strength and moves to Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean. The majority of the play takes place in Cyprus, where the typical Shakespearean motifs of miscommunication and vengeance for disloyalty are explored. Many of Shakespeare's comedies and romances focus around this problem of communication between lovers and friends. Othello, however, takes this quandary to the tragic level, as he presents intricate plots of revenge and primitive murder on the basis of unfaithfulness. This play attacks many serious issues, often ignored during the times. The title character is a Moor, an outsider, someone differentiated b...

Philosophy Meaning Essay

PHILOSOPHY greek meaning â€Å"love of wisdom†, encompassed the love of all wisdom, but only in recent centuries came to refer to a special branch of enquiry, separate from other sciences, such as â€Å"natural philosophy†. * is universally defined as â€Å"the study of the wisdom or knowledge about the general problems, facts, and situations connected with human existence, values, reasons, and general reality. † It seeks reasons, answers, and general explanations to life and its factors. Thus, if we talk about philosophy, we talk about a school of thoughts. â€Å"philosophers† which makes a profession of studying things in their separation from human life and practice. The main branches of Philosophy are Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics. Western philosophy is referred to as the school of thought from Greek philosophy that influenced the greater part of Western civilization. * takes its roots from Rome and Christianity, specifically Judeo-Christianity. * Latin * Rational, Scientific, Logical schools. Western civilization is more individualistic, trying to find the meaning of life here and now with self at the center as it is already given and part of the divine. Eastern philosophy is based mainly in Asia, more specifically the Chinese philosophy. * Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Taoism. Chinese. Hinduism, Integral Yoga, Islam, Zen * Relationship with religion; Integration Search for absolute truth: * Systemic approach – all events in the universe are interconnected * Searching inside yourself – by becoming a part of the universe through meditation and right living. Eastern philosophy is drawn much more into groups or society or people’s actions and thoughts as one in order to find meaning in life as they try to get rid of the false â€Å"me† concept and find meaning in discovering the true â€Å"me† in relation to everything around them, or as part of a bigger scheme. Summary: * Western philosophy is mainly used in the Western parts of the world, such as in the European countries, while the Eastern philosophy is prevalent in Asian countries. * Both philosophies center on virtues. * West’s Individualism ( and the East’s Collectivism (A human being is an integral part of the universe and the society. People are fundamentally connected. Duty towards all others is a very important matter. Collectivism is stronger. ) * Eastern philosophy takes more of a spiritual approach while Western philosophy is more hands-on. The Ionian Philosophers * comes from Aristotle; first source to attempt systematic exposition of their doctrines. Thales * Prediction of the eclipse, and other astronomical activities. * Prediction of solstices * Mathematical discoveries (geometry ) * Cosmology * Natural phenomena – including the heavens – could be discussed as processes governed by natural laws. * Believed that the Earth was a large (? at) disk ? oating on an in? nite ocean of water, and that earthquakes resulted from disturbances in this ocean that shook and cracked the Earth. * concept of â€Å"unity underlying diversity† – some fundamental principles tying together all the multitude of things we see on Earth * water was the fundamental element from which all things were derived. Anaximander * Zoogony and anthropogony * thought the Universe formed out of an in? nite chaos he called the â€Å"boundless† due to a â€Å"separating out† of opposites (such as hot and cold, wet and dry). * ? rst recorded attempt to model the Universe. (the Earth was a cylinder and that the Sun, Moon and stars were all located on concentric cylinders, or hoops, rotating about the Earth. ) Anaximenes * one ruling material principle is air; imperceptible. * Air was the fundamental material of all things. * ? rst attempt to explain the diversity of the world with qualitative differences in terms of quantitative differences. Babylonians and Egyptians were excellent at mathematics. Greeks began to move away from their mythical view of the world and started to seek explanations of natural phenomena; later called science. * All questioned the origin of the Universe, what was here in the beginning, and what things are made from. They all believed that material substance (rather than some spiritual or supernatural substance; thus the name materialists) made up the Universe. In other words, matter is the only substance, and reality is identical with the actually occurring states of energy and matter. * ‘physicalism’. to distance oneself from what seems a historically important but no longer scientifically relevant thesis of materialism.

Wild Turkey Essays - Game Birds, Poultry, Bird Anatomy, Free Essays

Wild Turkey Essays - Game Birds, Poultry, Bird Anatomy, Free Essays Wild Turkey The wild turkey, the largest game bird in North America, is related to pheasants, quail, and grouse. It is found throughout the United States, except for Alaska, and in parts of Canada and Mexico. There are five recognized sub-species, which vary slightly, in color and size. The male wild turkey, called the tom or the gobbler, is a large robust bird weighing upt o 30 pounds and standing as high as four feet tall. His body color is brownish black with a metallic, iridescent sheen. The head and neck, nearly bald, vary from white to blue to red. Bright red, fleshy bumps, called carnucles, droop from the front and sides of the neck, and a fleshy flap of skin, called a dewlap, is attached to the throat and neck. A fingerlike protrusion called a snood hangs over the front of the beak. When the tom is alert, the snood constricts and projects vertically as a fleshy bump at the top rear of the beak. A clump of long, coarse hairs, called a beard, protrudesfrom the front of the tom's breast and may grow as long as 12 inches on older birds. Each leg has a spur on it; these spurs are small and rounded on young birds; long, pointed and usually very sharp on older birds. The male is called a gobbler for a good reason:his rattling, deep-toned call is one of the most recognizable sounds in all of nature. At mating time, toms gobble with full-volume gusto, attempting to attract hens for breeding. Adult males display for hens by fanning their tail feathers, puffing up their body feathers and dragging their wings as they strut. Their heads and neck turn bright red during breeding season or when the tom is otherwise excited. Adult females, or hens, are considerably smaller than toms, rarely weighing more than 10 to 12 pounds. Their overall body color is duller than themale's and lacks his metallic, iridescent sheen. The hen's head and neck are usually blue-grey color and sparsely covered with small, dark feathers. Caruncles are sometimes present, but smaller than those on toms. Some hens grow small beards and spurs. Although they dont gobble, hens make a variety of cluck, purr, cutt and yelp sounds. Dominant hens may assert thenselves with a display resembling that of a male, though they do not strut. Juvenile birds mature quickly. By their fifth month, the juvenile male(jake) and juvenile female(jenny) closely resemble adult birds. However, juveniles have dark legs, which turn pink as the birds age. Jakes make feeble gobbles, higher pitch than the calls of mature toms. Their beards are shorter in length and usually have amber colored tips. With its powerful legs, the wild turkey is and exceptional runner, and has been clocked at speeds up to 12 mph. Although strong short- distance flier, turkeys usually run when threatened. When necessary for escape, turkeys launch thenselves with a standing leap or a running start to accelerateto 35 mph in a matter of seconds. They cannot remain in the air for more than a few hundred yards, but can glide for half a mile or more when coasting down from a ridge. Regardless of region, wild turkeys require three elements if they are to survive, water, trees, and open grassy areas, Turkeys may be found in areas where one or more of these elements is in short supply, but the population is unlikly to flourish. Throughout most of their range

An Introduction to the Human Services essayEssay Writing Service

An Introduction to the Human Services essayEssay Writing Service An Introduction to the Human Services essay An Introduction to the Human Services essayThe human services field requires special education and training as this professional approach is focused on providing assistance to individuals, families and communities. It is not a secret that the growing number of human problems faced by individuals in modern society requires adequate response. According to researchers, â€Å"a growing number of people feel alienated and isolated from their neighborhoods and communities†(Woodside McClam, 2014, p.7). Human services is aimed at providing individuals and groups of individuals sufficient support and assistance to allow them to help themselves (Neukrug, 2012). Human services helper encourages clients to be self-confident and independent in order to gain control of their lives as soon as possible. Helpers use the proper strategies to assist their clients gain belief in themselves.I have learned much throughout this course about myself as a helper. I realize that if I want to become a h uman service professional, I should be self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency enhances the individual’s self-esteem (Corey Corey, 2010).   I realize that my clients should feel that they are understood. As a helper, I should demonstrate empathy, be focused on collaboration and consensus, and develop an effective therapeutic assistance. I have developed effective listening skills in order to provide high quality communication, addressing the needs of my clients. Within my role as a helper, it is not acceptable to give advice. I will be able to use the technique â€Å"reflection of feelings† in order to explain my clients their feelings and help them to find the right solution. In addition, I have improved my non-verbal communication skills, which help to better understand the problems of other people.I believe that human services management skills could help me to become a professional in human services field. I have the following qualities that would make me an effective manager or supervisor: good communication skills, leadership skills, the ability to adapt to changing environments, honesty, self-confidence, patience, self-control, persistence, goal-orientation, responsibility and other skills. As a helper, I should be focused on moral conduct and ethical decision making. I know that human services professional code of ethics will help me to become an effective human services helper (Poindexter Valentine, 2010). An According to researchers, â€Å"many proponents of the humanistic perspective believe that effective helpers have a deep interest in other people and a desire to help, which allows them to receive satisfaction in promoting the growth and development of others† (Burger, 2013, p.200). I have enough skills and abilities to demonstrate the best traits of my character as a helper. I believe that people should help one another. I am ready to devote my time and energy to helping other people improve their lives. Moreover, I have the b asic helping skills, including â€Å"listening, communicating, the ability to give feedback, observing, confronting, clarifying, problem solving, interviewing, and report writing† (Burger, 2013, p.200).Thus, my thoughts and feelings about entering the human services field are positive. I hope that my desire to help other people and my belief that people can change their lives are two major characteristics while entering the human services field. As a helper, I have the proper skills and abilities to provide my clients’ development and personal growth.

National Sales Tax vs Income Tax1 essays

National Sales Tax vs Income Tax1 essays The National Sales Tax vs. The Income Tax Only days after the last elections for Congress in November of 1994, Congressman Bill Archer declared his strong desire to tear out the income tax by its roots. After that, Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole formed a commission to consider new alternatives to the income tax. That lead to more than a half dozen congressional panels holding hearings on that subject. So there is no longer a question of whether the income tax system will be replaced or not, the question now is, what should it be replaced with? Well, a national sales tax is an option that cannot be ignored, even though it may not be the best solution. The case for a national sales tax begins with one greatly appealing line. It will allow us to completely eliminate the income tax, possibly even repealing the 16th Amendment, an amendment that authorized the income tax and made it a part of the government in the first place. However, the change would come at a cost greater than seems fair: we would give up the income tax for a sales tax system that is more If the government sets out to collect a new tax at the register when something is bought, it will then have to extend that tax beyond the retailer to every single layer of production as well. The government would absolutely have to do this because a great amount of tax evasion would certainly take place. Soon enough, the national sales tax would become a very complex, multi-rate, value-added tax, or VAT. To generate enough revenue by taxing goods at the retail level only, a sales tax of at least 20 percent would have to be put into place. Suddenly, consumers will be seeing that everything they buy has been increased in price by that 20 percent. However, the people will not want to pay that high of a tax, so they will find ways to say that the products they buy are tax-exempt goods, they will buy the goods on the bla...

Methods on muslim arrange marriages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Methods on muslim arrange marriages - Essay Example This essay discusses that a majority of the persons questioned disagreed with the institution of arranged marriages. Arranged marriages could possibly be a better institution of marriage because it creates stability of families and therefore better protection of children. The main problem with arranged marriages is that it devalues the equality and the role of women. In the Western world where women’s equality is paramount then this makes it a negative institution in the eyes of the West. Yet is it possible that their views are distorted by Westernized beliefs that arranged marriages are in the interests of connections and affluence, i.e. selling their daughter on the basis of gaining a better status or money? The main positive that arranged marriages do have is that they last longer, therefore promoting more stability within the family home. This is the main positive that the questionnaire and the literature bore out, whilst the main negatives are the fact that the women†™s status is devalued. This is not agreed to by the older Western and Muslim generations because up until just the last 50 years arranged marriages were still present in the UK. Therefore not a wholly Muslim practice, which illustrates the current ignorance of youths today in the history and benefits of the practice. Rather, this paper would argue that the benefits and negatives have to be properly balanced and possibly and compromise be met where there a practice of bringing suitable suitors for sons and daughters together and allowing a free choice to be made.

Military attack strategies in Singapore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Military attack strategies in Singapore - Essay Example Singapore’s military force (Singapore Armed Forces) was actually formed with the help of Israel. The state then adopted â€Å"the Israeli model of a national conscript defense† (Singh 16). Conscription was done by requiring the male citizens who were able-bodied and at least eighteen years of age to serve a term in the armed forces of the country (â€Å"Conscription†). During this period, they were taught the basics of military training, the laws of war and the commitment to defend the country in case of invasion. For the following years, Singapore has successfully built â€Å"an impressive defense capability† (Singh 16). However, this defense concept was changed, the â€Å"poisonous shrimp† strategy was transformed into â€Å"porcupine strategy† (Singh 16). Accordingly, the former Chief of Operations, Singapore Armed Forces, Lee Hsien Loong justified such change by contending that â€Å"the Republic needed to adopt a defense posture that wa s capable of inflicting intolerable costs on potential enemies as well as to outlast attacks in actual combat† (qtd. in Singh 16). He said: â€Å"So we need a policy which says, if you come, I’ll whack you, and I’ll survive / This is a workable strategy / I may not completely destroy you, but you will have to pay a high price for trying to subdue me and you may still not succeed† (Loong, qtd. in Singh 16). Obviously, this statement is practically a warning to any group or country which has a plan to invade Singapore. It is violent indeed but is strong enough to erase plans of attack by invaders.

Leadership and Management Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Leadership and Management Theories - Essay Example A person through learning acquires exemplary leadership; leadership skills and knowledge, however, processed by a leader. These leadership skills and knowledge mainly influenced by beliefs, character, values, and ethics; these factors contribute to leadership process. Leadership process has four principal factors that are the leader, situation, communication, and followers. These factors form the basis of outstanding leadership in an organization, hence the organization’s success while undertaking organizational operations. Several theories of leadership have been produced by students of leadership these theories include Trait, Skills, Styles, Situational, Contingency, Path-Goal, Leader-Member Exchange, Transformational, Servant, Authentic, Team and Psychodynamic theories (Chemers, 1997). These theories are vital in maintaining a sound leadership in an organization, the most common theories in an organization, which will be dealt with in this paper are the transformational the ory, situational theory, and contingency theory. According to transformational theory, leadership is a process through which a person’s engagement with others establishes a connection, which normally results in encouragement of morality and increased motivation for leaders and its followers. The theory attributes leaders with qualities such as confidence, extroversion, and the values stated; with these qualities, the leaders are able to motivate followers (Chemers, 1997). Under transformational leadership, the leader needs to pay attention to the follower’s needs and motives if their potential is to be attained. Transformational leadership does attempt to explain leader’s efforts to implement initiatives and develop crucial and significant changes in any given organization.

Company Law - Capital Dividend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Company Law - Capital Dividend - Essay Example In this regard, directors should be considering the issue of shareholders as well as their interest should also be considered carefully1. Furthermore, apart from framing strategies for the obtainment of greater value, they should also consider how this value is to be distributed among the investors and other stakeholders possessing a certain degree of interests in the company profits. Consequently, while a company intends to generate profits and share it partially among the shareholders, one of the important issues that need to be considered by the directors is whether the distribution of dividends or payments to shareholders are made in accordance to Companies Act practiced within the region2. In recent times, there has been a strict line established in the UK in relation to compliance with legal requirements for distributions. In this regard, directors may find themselves at risk of liability if they grant dividends in breach of the rules; even if the breach tends to be technical o ther than substantive. The laws governing distributions of dividends in the UK are particularly incorporated in the Part 23 of Companies Act 2006. The law is applicable in both the contexts where accounts are prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)3. The Companies Act 2006 makes it mandatory for all the companies to follow the rules and regulations prescribed in the Act owing to which, any sort of non-compliance tends to generate legal actions against the company. With this concern, the paper intends to provide a clear understanding of dividend sharing laws, governing in the context of UK Companies and further makes analysis of issues that need to be considered by both private and public companies in the course of making payments to shareholders. Understanding the Laws Relating To Dividends in UK According to Part 23 of Companies Act 2006, distribution to shareholders means â€Å"every description o f a company assets to its members, whether in cash or otherwise, subject to certain exceptions†4. The key aspects that Companies Act 2006 states affirms any company in the UK to be eligible to make distributions only out of their profits earned. Accordingly, the profits available for the distribution is determined as total accumulated realised profits less total accumulated realised losses5. It is worth mentioning on this ground that not everything documented as profits is realised in certain circumstances, where the accounts are prepared under the standards of IFRS. For instance, a gain on revaluation of companies’ investment property can be documented as profit under the rules prescribed by IFRS; but it cannot be referred as a realised profit6. In addition to this, public companies are required to decipher extra cautious attitude and check that their available net assets, after making distribution, do not fall less than the aggregate called-up share capital as well as reserves which are not assigned for distribution, such as share premium accounts, revaluation reserves and capital redemption reserves. Furthermore, the Act also prescribes those directors of the companies to consider their fiduciary duties prior to

Debate on Rousseau's Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Debate on Rousseau's Statement - Essay Example One of the answers to Jean Jacques Rousseau’s thinking is elated to his ideology of how necessary freedom is to the lives of people. Jean Jacques Rousseau uses nature to explain how much freedom is valued in the field of politics. He talks about how physically the free man is, nit bound y any repressive state of other men. He also talks about how man is spiritually and psychologically free (Christopher, 18). Man is not forced to live with artificial needs. If anything, it is these artificial needs that have brought societal injustices such as exploitation, domination of the poor, depression and low self-esteem. Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that an effective government only comes into existence when its citizens are guaranteed freedom. Property and law are what constrain the freedom of people (Cladis, 22). Nature for Jean Jacques Rousseau was a focal point in determining the independence of an individual and the unity of many. According to Rousseau, the â€Å"state of nature† has been made impure in modern society due to creations of law, property and moral inequality (Cladis, 26). Rousseau acknowledges that mankind cannot return to the original state of nature that he was once born in. However, humanity can try to understand how essential the state of nature is so as to bring out more natural goodness (Christopher, 23). The state of nature is compared by Rousseau to modern society by the use of human need as an element of human life. The state of nature requires that man desires the basic necessities that ensure survival such as sleep, food and sex. However, modern society has constantly grown incorporation and division of labour (Christopher, 35). The result is an increase in the needs of men to include many unnecessary requirements such as entertainment, friends and luxury goods. Such needs may be gratifying and pleasurable but have had the effect of making men slaves to such superfluous needs (Cladis, 29).

Electronic health record Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electronic health record - Essay Example Although transfer of records into electronic forms began in 1960s, however, since last few years, governments and healthcare organizations are putting efforts to ensure a standardized implementation of electronic health records that has resulted in debates and discussions regarding their benefits and possibilities. In this regard, this paper is an attempt to contribute in the same stream that will include discussion on electronic health records. Specifically, analysis (Green & Bowie, pp. 107-116) has indicated that a number of healthcare organizations have records of their patients in electronic form; however, experts have identified that few specific components should be present, in order to provide a legal status to the EHR, and thus, absence of any essential component may result in its illegality. In this regard, experts believe that it calls for an initiative on national or state level to promote such practice of maintaining electronic health records that although will be a chall enging process but will result in long-term benefits. However, studies (Green & Bowie, pp. ... Thus, it is imperative that authorities should take steps to provide awareness to stakeholders regarding the importance of EHR in research, legal, and financial matters besides its significance in patient care. In other words, there is a need for healthcare organizations to acquire an understanding of EHR as an opportunity rather than a requisite to enhance quality of care. In particular, provision of inclusive, consistent, important, and reachable information is one of the major factors of success in healthcare industry, and EHR can play a pivotal role in allowing the organizations to fulfill this requisite in their capacities (Busch, pp. 23-46). In addition, it is observation that EHR indicates huge potential for organizational savings and experts have already indicated its potential for reducing or even eliminating inefficiency on the workplace level, as studies have indicated a huge number of issues due to dependence of clinicians on paper-based health records. However, as paper- based health record maintenance has benefits and loopholes, it is the same in case of EHR. The major issue in transitioning from manual to electronic is lack of awareness, especially technological awareness that is the foremost requisite for EHR that has been the major barrier in successful transition to EHR automated environment. Reports have pointed out that electronic health record systems require continued updating in terms of its technology, as well as in terms of its users’ awareness. However, besides this barrier, EHR has a number of different benefits that dominate it over manual health records. In case of ‘manual health record’, healthcare organizations and providers

Company Law - Capital Dividend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Company Law - Capital Dividend - Essay Example In this regard, directors should be considering the issue of shareholders as well as their interest should also be considered carefully1. Furthermore, apart from framing strategies for the obtainment of greater value, they should also consider how this value is to be distributed among the investors and other stakeholders possessing a certain degree of interests in the company profits. Consequently, while a company intends to generate profits and share it partially among the shareholders, one of the important issues that need to be considered by the directors is whether the distribution of dividends or payments to shareholders are made in accordance to Companies Act practiced within the region2. In recent times, there has been a strict line established in the UK in relation to compliance with legal requirements for distributions. In this regard, directors may find themselves at risk of liability if they grant dividends in breach of the rules; even if the breach tends to be technical o ther than substantive. The laws governing distributions of dividends in the UK are particularly incorporated in the Part 23 of Companies Act 2006. The law is applicable in both the contexts where accounts are prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)3. The Companies Act 2006 makes it mandatory for all the companies to follow the rules and regulations prescribed in the Act owing to which, any sort of non-compliance tends to generate legal actions against the company. With this concern, the paper intends to provide a clear understanding of dividend sharing laws, governing in the context of UK Companies and further makes analysis of issues that need to be considered by both private and public companies in the course of making payments to shareholders. Understanding the Laws Relating To Dividends in UK According to Part 23 of Companies Act 2006, distribution to shareholders means â€Å"every description o f a company assets to its members, whether in cash or otherwise, subject to certain exceptions†4. The key aspects that Companies Act 2006 states affirms any company in the UK to be eligible to make distributions only out of their profits earned. Accordingly, the profits available for the distribution is determined as total accumulated realised profits less total accumulated realised losses5. It is worth mentioning on this ground that not everything documented as profits is realised in certain circumstances, where the accounts are prepared under the standards of IFRS. For instance, a gain on revaluation of companies’ investment property can be documented as profit under the rules prescribed by IFRS; but it cannot be referred as a realised profit6. In addition to this, public companies are required to decipher extra cautious attitude and check that their available net assets, after making distribution, do not fall less than the aggregate called-up share capital as well as reserves which are not assigned for distribution, such as share premium accounts, revaluation reserves and capital redemption reserves. Furthermore, the Act also prescribes those directors of the companies to consider their fiduciary duties prior to

Electronic health record Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electronic health record - Essay Example Although transfer of records into electronic forms began in 1960s, however, since last few years, governments and healthcare organizations are putting efforts to ensure a standardized implementation of electronic health records that has resulted in debates and discussions regarding their benefits and possibilities. In this regard, this paper is an attempt to contribute in the same stream that will include discussion on electronic health records. Specifically, analysis (Green & Bowie, pp. 107-116) has indicated that a number of healthcare organizations have records of their patients in electronic form; however, experts have identified that few specific components should be present, in order to provide a legal status to the EHR, and thus, absence of any essential component may result in its illegality. In this regard, experts believe that it calls for an initiative on national or state level to promote such practice of maintaining electronic health records that although will be a chall enging process but will result in long-term benefits. However, studies (Green & Bowie, pp. ... Thus, it is imperative that authorities should take steps to provide awareness to stakeholders regarding the importance of EHR in research, legal, and financial matters besides its significance in patient care. In other words, there is a need for healthcare organizations to acquire an understanding of EHR as an opportunity rather than a requisite to enhance quality of care. In particular, provision of inclusive, consistent, important, and reachable information is one of the major factors of success in healthcare industry, and EHR can play a pivotal role in allowing the organizations to fulfill this requisite in their capacities (Busch, pp. 23-46). In addition, it is observation that EHR indicates huge potential for organizational savings and experts have already indicated its potential for reducing or even eliminating inefficiency on the workplace level, as studies have indicated a huge number of issues due to dependence of clinicians on paper-based health records. However, as paper- based health record maintenance has benefits and loopholes, it is the same in case of EHR. The major issue in transitioning from manual to electronic is lack of awareness, especially technological awareness that is the foremost requisite for EHR that has been the major barrier in successful transition to EHR automated environment. Reports have pointed out that electronic health record systems require continued updating in terms of its technology, as well as in terms of its users’ awareness. However, besides this barrier, EHR has a number of different benefits that dominate it over manual health records. In case of ‘manual health record’, healthcare organizations and providers

The issue of a “culture of life” Essay Example for Free

The issue of a â€Å"culture of life† Essay Issues on Ethics and Science have always been arguable and debatable, much more so when highly- skilled professionals get involved in the issues. In medical practice and health care delivery, ethics takes center stage. If I were the queen of the United States and had the absolute power to rule and decide everything in the country, I would be very strict in such a way that I will not tolerate any ethical and social issues like abortions, physician assisted suicides, human cloning, and Stem cell research using human embryos. Aside from their medical and scientific implications, the â€Å"legality† and â€Å"morality† of such practices are so delicate that I should be keeping track of. I will emphasize one vital issue in health care for clients, and it is the discernment of the risks involved in the application of medical breakthroughs and execution of research and experimentation like in the case of Stem cell research using human embryos and human cloning. I would warn all health care professionals to not ever do it because I would not want humans to become subjects of it and be exploited. As the mother of the United States, I would not want my countrymen to be experimented. The moment that they will do it either secretly or not, then I will have their license revoked. In the case of abortion, I would not tolerate it. Human life is sacred because conception, from the beginning, already involves the creative action of God. We owe human life respect and reverence. Human life should be protected and preserved. The sanctity of human life demands that it must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. I would create educational programs that could teach and educate the concern citizens about the disadvantages of abortion. I will emphasize that abortion destroys life and violates the right to life. As such it is morally evil and it should not be in any way legalized and liberally permitted in the laws and constitution of a nation, like in the United States. I would order to spontaneously check each birth centers to see if they are doing abortion in secret or not. I would punish every health professional who will do it, and even imprison them at some point. Legalizing assisted suicide only legitimizes the use of plastic bags and carbon monoxide to kill vulnerable people. It will only make the health care professionals as â€Å"killers† and not as â€Å"life savers†.   Assisted suicide is not the only way to relive excruciating pain. It is really quite the contrary! Assisted suicide exploits people’s natural fear of suffering and dying. They often claim that without it people will be forced to endure â€Å"unbearable pain†. Such claims fail to recognize that virtually all pain can be eliminated or that in those rare cases where it cannot be totally eliminated, it can be reduced significantly if proper treatment is provided.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is a national and international scandal that so many people do not get adequate pain control. But killing is not the answer to that scandal. The solution is to mandate better education of health care professionals on these crucial issues to expand access to health care, and to inform patients about their rights as consumers.

Business Environment Analysis For Marks And Spencer Economics Essay

Business Environment Analysis For Marks And Spencer Economics Essay My chosen organisation is Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer has six main objectives. The main goal of any business is to increase profit. This is done by working out the total revenue that the business has made from selling and costs of its product. For any business to survive, profit must be earned. Like any other business Marks and Spencer needs to increase its sales. To do this they must fulfill what the customer needs and desires. To increase their sales Marks and Spencer needs to attract new customers by for instance aiming for the younger market whilst at the same time ensure that its loyal customers are kept satisfied with a supply of products which cater for their needs. Marks and Spencer also have the objective of earning market leadership. In order to do this, they must become more competitive. By meeting the wants and needs of more customers as well as by attracting more potential customers and offering better quality for affordable prices, Marks and Spencer can oust the competition and achieve a high standing status in the market. Offering a high quality service is also one of Marks and Spencers objectives. In their annual report they claimed that no one cares more about quality than they do and in fact Marks and Spencer are well known for this. Like other businesses another objective for Marks and Spencer is growth. For Marks and Spencer to survive and to be competitive, the issue of growth must be attended to. By growing, the business is expanding globally and thus achieves recognition in different countries attracting different pools of clientele. The last objective of Marks and Spencer is rewarding shareholders. It is important for a business to keep the shareholders content since they are a fundamental source of investment. Marks and Spencer needs to make profit in order to maintain share holders as well as attract further investment. Each of these objectives has its own importance, neglecting either one of them would surely bring the organisation to a halt. Marks and Spencer has created a set of six priorities in order to better meet the objectives it has set out. The organization aims to retain their leading position in the market whilst improving their performance in certain sectors which do not make as much profit as other areas, such as for instance the food sector. In this way they can continue to satisfy the current customers they hold whilst attracting potential customers by focusing on better promoting one of the branches of their business. Through the optimization of margins, controlling costs and expenditure and maintaining a strong balance sheet, Marks and Spencer can ensure a better calculation of its profits and losses and thus have a better chance of securing its place in the market through the composition of a well-planned market strategy. Finally and by no means as a last priority, Marks and Spenc er deems it necessary to enforce high ethical standards. Essentially the organization has to increase its sales since this is the only way in which it will be able to make a profit. It therefore has to invest in its products and ensure that these are marketed well as its ultimate goal is to attract customers and keep them from going to their competitor. It is of no surprise that driving their international business is not a first priority since ultimately I think they would be better off ensuring that the organization is functioning with utmost profitability before seeking to expand to other areas. 1b) External stakeholders play an important part in the achievement of the business, this is because they sell to and purchase from the company, but they are not employed by the company. They are considered stakeholders as they stand to gain from the company. Some external stakeholders of Marks and Spencer are customers, suppliers and the general public. One of the most essential stakeholders of a business is the customer. The customers of Marks and Spencer purchase the products marketed by the company resulting in a profit for the organization. Without customers the business would not survive. Suppliers are external stakeholders as they sell their products to Marks and Spencer in exchange for a price; thus both parties benefit from this relationship. Marks and Spencer need to take care of their suppliers to ensure that the suppliers continue to provide them with good quality products for a reasonable price, so that in turn Marks and Spencer provides its customers with the same good quality products at competitive prices. Another important stakeholder is the general public. The organization must take into consideration various factors when developing products as well as their production processes. The reason for this is the impact and influence which such process or product may have on potential and actual customers. Marks and Spencer have to ensure that their goods are environmentally friendly and are produced in an environmentally friendly way. Having a means of production which creates high health or environment hazards will result in a decline of people purchasing the product, or potentially purchasing from that organization, therefore, a lower amount of sales and consequently a reduction in profits. 2) There are several conditions that affect demand in an organization. A change in a customers income is one such condition. If the purchaser does not have a good income to maintain himself or his family, then he will definitely not have enough money to treat himself to something that he wants, conversely, if the buyer earns a good income, he would be more likely to spend. Thus the rise in income is directly proportionate to the demand and affects it in such a way that with an increase in income, the consumer will tend to purchase more products than he would if he earned a lesser amount. Marks and Spencers offers high quality products with good value, thus people earning an average wage would definitely afford their products. A second condition is when a substitute product changes its price. The increase in the price of one good will direct to an increase in demand for the competing product. Another condition is when a price of a complementary product changes. Here one considers supplies that are in complementary demand, such as the demand for video players and video films. If Marks and Spencer sells DVD players at a cheaper price, the likelihood is that more DVD players will be bought. This will lead to a growth in market demand for DVD films. The changes in weather also condition demand. The price of a product fluctuates when either demand or supply changes. For example in good weather the supply of grains and oil normally increases. Customers will tend to purchase more when products are more readily available and are at a lower price. One can also consider the scenario where the change in climate or weather increases the demand as is the case in the sale of umbrellas when rain is expected. Another condition is the changes in taxation on the product. The implementation of a tax by the government affects product prices in such a way that the organization will have to raise its price in order to be able to meet the tax requirement, cater for the expenditure incurred for the purchase of the product as well as keep a percentage of profit from the sale. Thus one must assess whether the business can pass some or all of the tax onto the customer through a higher price without negatively affecting the demand. Clothes and accessories are essential products in todays world and affect all levels of society indiscriminately. A condition that relates to their demand is changes to tastes and fashions. Companies try to influence the varying tastes and preferences of households in favor of their products with the help of a good marketing and advertising strategy. The influence which these advertisements have on the public brings about an increase in demand for their products. Marks and Spencer offers a wide range of variety in clothes. They offer a selection of inexpensive to extravagant and luxurious products that cater for every pocket. Another condition is a change in the population, such as growth. Due to the inelasticity of demand of a product such as food; which will continue to sell despite any increase in price; as the population grows so does the demand. Consequently this leads to growth in agriculture and the expansion of cultivated land. I think in this type of situation the only thing that Marks and Spencer can do is generate more products so as to cater for a bigger demand by the growing population. Marketing in itself is a condition which affects demand. Marketers must pursue constant research and should not rely solely on their own judgment to determine whether marketing decisions need to be adjusted. When considering price adjustment, the marketer must investigate the effects which a change in price is likely to have on target market demand for a product. Understanding how changes in price affect the market requires the marketer have a firm understanding of the concept of elasticity of demand. This entails an evaluation of the price and how it alone affects the overall demand. This assessment necessarily requires one to consider the manner in which competitors may react to the marketers price change by changing the price of their product. Thus one here anticipates the market reaction and how this will affect company revenue. Marks and Spencer continue to strive to meet customer demand; the expansion of their websites offering free delivery and online deals clearly illustrates this. Marks and Spencer have continued to endeavor to provide a better service by increasing the number of people in their trading teams in order to focus on bringing the right products to the right stores, to meet the ever-growing demands of the customer. 3a) A mixed economy is when both the private and the public sector take part in the production, distribution and all other economic activities within a state. The mixed economy permits the inclusion of private contribution in the field of production in a situation of competition with an aim of achieving profit. This mixture of free enterprise and government control has been looked upon from varying perceptions; some claim it is beneficial whilst others believe it has no impact or is detrimental to the economy of that state. An advantage of a mixed economy is that it assists in increasing over-all production in the nation.  Private and public segments work hard in order to bring about more production. People can take the initiative to start companies on their own, whilst deciding what to produce and the prices they will charge for the goods or services that they offer.  Ã‚  Another advantage is the use of government revenue through the payment of taxes, these organisations obtain benefits such as those provided by government services like social programs, subsidies and other government incentive programs. The benefits of mixed economies have been witnessed by the growth of some states into some of the leading markets in the world such as those of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Some disadvantages of a mixed economy are that businesses have to find their own niche in the marketplace for products, and that they have no control over the taxes they pay.  Companies often complain of tax rates being too high for the services and products they offer. Certain economists opine that in fact, mixed economies hardly ever accomplish the growth at which they are aimed. They also criticize the fact that the mixed economies do not make proper use of national resources. 3b) The current economic climate of the USA is a recession, as seen in the figure below. A recession is a phase of general economic turn down. This comes with a fall in the stock market, an increase in unemployment and a turn down in the property market. If a recession persists long enough it is often then classified as a depression. The last two depressions of the USA occurred in 1990-1991 and 2001, lasting eight months each and only two of the ten previous post-depression downturns lasted as long as a full year according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Tony Fratto, the Deputy Press Secretary for the White House emphasized on the need for the American Government to take the necessary steps to bring the economy back to its full force. He propounded on the importance of returning the financial and credit markets back to their normal state, and to try to re-establish the housing market. Mr. Fratto also held that in order to reach stability the states must necessarily take cognizance of the current unemployment situation. Although there is no singular cause, one of the principal reasons given to explain the current economic recession was the housing downturn that resulted in losses of multibillion dollars for one of the nations leading banks as early as 2006. Furthermore, June 2007 was recorded as a period with the lowest rate of home sales and in December of the same year, the recession was deemed to have started. In 2008 due to a reduction in the labour market, the costs of living rose along with the unemployment rate, leading to a reduction in the peoples savings. In 2009/2010 the global markets continued to shift, unemployment increased whilst profits, interest rates, expenditure and investment continued to descend rapidly. Various commentators have stated that the present recession is one of the extended downturns since the Great Depression of the 1930s. What is President Obama doing to try to get out of the recession? President Obama requested Congress to provide him with an economic package the value of which amounted to more than 800 Billion Dollars in order to be able to cope with the current economic crisis. As part of his economic policy the President engaged in a series of talks with the banking sector to introduce new banking policies for the benefit of its customers. Monetary and fiscal policies are being updated, special care being taken so as to reduce the present economic crisis. Many US economic policies are being promulgated by government to stabilize the financial sector. A motion was put forward for the modification of health insurance in order to ensure better health for residents and counteract the repercussions that poverty might bring upon the American citizens. The introduction of new inventions and ideas would help in the economic development of the continent and generate a new source of investment and income. Currently, one can see an immense expansion being demonstrated in the area of computing, aerospace, medical and military equipment. 4a) Price intervention in the context of the European Community refers to a point when the world market price falls below the EU price, the EU interferes to buy the surplus product, in order to keep the price high. Fifty years ago, the importance of the EU agricultural policy was to supply enough food to a Europe coming from a time of shortages, due to war. The EU policy seeks to facilitate the route for producers of all forms of food; such as crops, fruit and vegetables; in order to enable them to compete with other producers on both a European and a global scale. The EU nowadays helps farmers by giving them payments to keep their lands in good condition and to meet the environmental and animal welfare standards, as an alternative to paying famers to produce more. The Common Agricultural Policy with the help of the Community, purchases farm products after the market price falls below the agreed level so as keep itself from the accumulation of Butter Mountains and Wine Lakes. The advantages of price intervention in the EU through the Common Agricultural Policy are that it provides incentives and measures to raise productivity and ensure reasonable living standards for the agricultural society. It also promotes the stabilization of the market whilst ensuring availability of food products at reasonable and realistic prices. The disadvantages are that due to an increase in productivity leading to a surplus which can result in Butter Mountains. These cause an increase in the tax load on EU Member States due to a rise in the contributions each must make to the budget. I think that the European Unions Agricultural policy is a necessary tool which allows farmers to maintain their jobs whilst keeping agricultural produce at a stable price for everyone to afford and thus minimalising waste and expenditure. http://europa.eu/pol/agr/index_en.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4407792.stm 4b) Introduced in 1999, the European Economic and Monetary policy aimed to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. Full integration necessitates the harmonization of member states in certain sectors in order to achieve greater unity and symmetry. EMU in conjunction with other policies implemented by the European Community seeks to achieve this objective. Having the euro as a common currency has proved particularly useful during the recession because it provided more stability for countries within the Union by allowing them to deal with the economic crises in a strategic and co-ordinated manner. The benefits of being in the Euro-Zone are that goods, services and profits are easily moved across the national borders of the Unions member states. The Euro has gained strength over the years and now competes with strong-standing currencies such as the American Dollar. An additional benefit of the adoption of the EMU is that it is now becoming far easier to trade, travel and invest within the Union itself. However, in order to join the EMU, EU member states need to meet certain criteria. Every governments debt must be not exceed 60% of a countrys gross domestic product, the deficit must not be greater than 3% of the nations gross domestic product and the inflation rate must be reduced to below 3.2% and conversely government bonds producing 7.7%. Member States encounter certain additional problems when considering full integration with the European Union; these include dealing with tax, the application and transposition of different regulations affecting financial intermediaries along with security trading systems. In conclusion I would like to speak from my own personal experience as the citizen of one of the smallest member states in the Union. Malta adopted the Euro in 2008; the process of adjusting our economic and financial institutions to meet the established criteria was no easy one. The strive towards full integration is no easy task but so far has reaped many benefits, the only hope for the future is that it will continue to do so. http://lexicon.ft.com/term.asp?t=Economic-and-Monetary-UnionEMU http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication_summary12325_en.htm http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LZQpGtQWjRL2yvLcRhXHT5tv3vQhW31Mcq3jhc1qYn14HWcGPT4g!631636653!610724718?docId=5001841397 Bibliography 123helpme, (2010) Marks and Spencer objectives, [Online] Available: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=149330 [Accessed 2/1/10] Blurit, (2010) Mixed Economy [Online] Available: http://www.blurtit.com/q917361.html [Accessed 20/1/10] Economy Watch, (2010) Mixed economy, [Online] Available: http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/world-economic-indicators/mixed-economy.html [Accessed 20/1/10] HNC/D Module 1 Course Notes, RDI, 2005. MS Full Annual report and financial statements 2009 Directors report [Accessed 2/1/10] Net MBA Business Knowledge Centre, (2010) Price elasticity of demand, [Online] Available: http://www.netmba.com/econ/micro/demand/elasticity/price/ [Accessed 10/1/10] Trading Charts, (2010) How Supply and Demand Determine Commodities Market Prices, [Online] Available: http://futures.tradingcharts.com/learning/supply_and_demand.html [Accessed 15/1/10] Kevin Colby, News. Politics. Liberty, (2010) Americas Current Economic Condition, [Online] Available: http://kevincolby.com/2008/10/26/americas-current-economic-condition/ [Accessed 21/1/10] Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer, (2010) http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/recession/index.htm http://www.economywatch.com/economic-policy/us.html http://www.economywatch.com/finance/public-finance/public-finance-and-public-policy.html http://www.unb.ca/news/view.cgi?id=1715 http://www.investorwords.com/4086/recession.html

Applying the Hot Stove Rule of Discipline in the Workplace Essay

Applying the Hot Stove Rule of Discipline in the Workplace "Spare the rod and spoil the child". This is the moral to Aesop's fable The Thief and his Mother. He proves that discipline is imperative. It emphasizes that if we do not take action in our children's wrong doings we will hurt them in the longer run. Children need discipline in their lives. It is their only way of learning the difference between right and wrong. As parents, it is our duty to mold our children in the right direction. The rewards of implementing discipline are endless, for knowing that they will make the right decision even when you are not there is comforting, and it pleases you. Discipline is fair, and open disciplinary procedures are essential to maintain harmony. Therefore, discipline is an important action taken to encourage compliance with organizational standards and regulations; whether in the home or at the work place. A popular and effective disciplinary rule used today by many managers is known as the "Hot Stove Rule of Discipline." This rule can be defined as the concept that disciplinary action should have the same characteristics as the penalty a person receives from touching a hot stove; that is, the discipline should be immediate, consistent, and impersonal (Gardner 1). Before any disciplinary action can be implemented, a manager must first give advanced warning. Employees must be informed clearly that certain actions will result in disciplinary actions. This is a very important step. It is not the employee's fault if he is not informed of the company's rules, ethics and standards. It is management's responsibility to educate and inform all employees. It is easier to accept discipline if the rules and standards are clearly stated befo... ...equence that follows a rule infraction. The hot stove provides warning. Disciplinary rules should inform employees of the consequences of breaking the rules. A hot stove is consistent in administering pain. In conclusion, a Hot Stove is a vital instrument in taking management action. It assists in encouraging compliance with organizational standards and regulations. The Hot Stove Rule of Discipline is effective and continues to prove efficiency. Bibliography Sixth Edition, Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter. Upper Saddle River New Jersey, 1996. www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists-k-o/management-history/1998-02/0001.html http://business.clayton.edu/jbogert/mgmt3101/robbin20.txt http://www.siu.edu/departments/coe/ras1/474/discipline/sld001.htm http://www.acad.polyu.edu.hk/~mstpoon/discipli.htm http://ost.wc.edu/On-Line%20Courses/Hrpo2301/asgns/asgn11.htm

Customer Loyalty Essay -- Business, Customer Relationship Management

The Customer loyalty has been a major and unanimously acknowledged as a valuable asset in competitive markets according to Srivastava, Shervani, & Fahey, 2000. As a result, it becomes more important to give power to in loyalty panel particularly when the consumers faces very low switching or moving cost to other product or service, because they are not locked in by a contract (Shapiro & Vivian, 2000). It is also become important in competitive markets due to availability of more lucrative and easily available options. The concept of customer loyalty has been around and present throughout in all parts/activities of numerous industries in the past decade (Lewis, 1997). The development of loyalty includes building and supporting a relationship with a customer, which leads to the repetitive purchase of products or services over a given period of time. A loyal customer base also permits companies to offer their expertise and skills to other business matters (Gefen, 2002; Rowley & Dawes, 2 000). In order to understand what drives customer loyalty or how your business defines customer loyalty we can look at the behavioral aspect of it. Customers can show their loyalty in a number of ways. They can prefer to stay with a firm, whether this persistence is distinct as a relationship or not, or they can increase the number of purchases, or they can do both (Reinartz & Kumar, 2003; Rowley & Dawes, 2000). The purpose of this research is to link loyalty to the up-and-coming theories of CRM (Macintosh & Lockshin, 1997) or as the key element, of effective CRM. Although some authors, such as Dick & Basu (1994), have different view of each element of it and make a distinction between brand loyalty, store loyalty, sales people loyalty, product and ser... ...ection of cognitive and affective elements was analyzed by Oliver (1999). Attitudinal loyalty can at times lead customers to provide exceptional value to the company through positive word of mouth researched by Dick & Basu, 1994; Hagel & Armstrong, 1997; Reichheld, 2003. Letdown to relation for attitudinal loyalty could lead to false loyalty (Dick & Basu, 1994). Thus, to attain true loyalty, firms should in tandem focus on building both behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. So if we look at both the service management and the marketing literatures both suggest that there is a well-built theoretical foundation for an experiential examination of the linkages among customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability. Storbacka argues that there is comparatively little amount of empirical research performed on these relationships to date (Storbacka et al., 1994)

Person Centered Theory by Carl Rogers Essay

Person-centered theory is regarded as one of the most popular theories of counseling and therapy since its development in the 1940s. Its originator, Carl Rogers originally labeled it as nondirective. The theory was intended to offer a distinctive option to the behavioral and psychoanalytic theories that subjugated psychology during the period. At a later time, Rogers expanded the concepts of the process and renamed it client-centered to de-emphasize the nondirective nature and emphasize a full understanding of all the client’s dimensions. The person-centered concept evolved as issues relating to equality of participants in the relationship and a focus on the positive health of people became significant issues as opposed to unhealthier client status. Person-centered theory makes possible the expansion of helping situations. Originally developed as an individual process, it has since become a major group theory. This group focus has expanded into concepts popular in education. Rogers’ most recent work emphasized the same concepts as ways of dealing with international conflict resolution in an emphasis on promoting world peace. Person-centered theory places great emphasis on the individual’s ability to move in positive directions. Practitioners of the theory have a belief in the trustworthiness of individuals and in their innate ability to move toward self-actualization and health when the proper conditions are in place. Tied to these beliefs is the confidence that individuals also have the inner resources to move themselves in such positive directions. Finally, a core concept in the theory states that individuals perceive the world in a unique phenomenological way so that no two people’s perceptions of the world are the same. The perception of clients as competent, trustworthy, and forward-moving people who have their own unique view of the world places great confidence in the individual’s ability to control his/her own positive change. This confidence in the client directs the counselor to provide the conditions for that change. Specifically, there are three basic conditions needed to support an individual’s natural inclination for positive growth: a genuine relationship with a relatively congruent individual, acceptance and caring from the counselor, and an accurate understanding on the part of the counselor of the client’s phenomenological world. Clients who are provided with these growth conditions will realize their actualizing tendencies for growth. They will explore their difficulties and natural competencies in this productive environment, which will then lead to a clearer picture of themselves and their potential. As clients’ pictures of themselves become more accurate, they become better able to act in ways that are most in line with their true self (congruence). This in turn will lead to more self-confidence, self-understanding, and better choices. The role of the counselor in person-centered theory is primarily to promote the conditions for change rather than do things to bring about specific changes. Counselors and therapists are expected to maintain a genuine human relationship in which they provide unconditional positive regard to their clients. This demonstrates their faith in clients and support of the process. Much of the work of the person-centered counselor revolves around developing an accurate empathic understanding of a client, conveying that understanding to the person, and working with him/her to expand and clarify the understanding and its impact on the client’s choices and actions. Rogers’ work initiated much research on the helping relationship and client gain. The use of taping and transcriptions to evaluate the necessary conditions of counseling and psychotherapy received emphasis from research on this theory. A great deal of innovative research in the area of clinical growth was also produced in the development of this theory. However, much of this theory has been integrated into the overall body of the theory, and relatively little research is currently being done in the area. Calls are being made for potential expansion of the theory and research into its future development. Person-centered counseling and psychotherapy has given much to the field, and professionals continue to emphasize the need for growth of the theory rather than a stagnant use of the theory’s many positive contributions.

Hamlet Essay

What have you come to understand about the intense human relationships of Hamlet? How has this understanding been affected by the perspectives of others? In you response you should focus on 3 scenes in the play and a range of perspectives. The intense human relationships of Hamlet have been viewed through numerous perspectives yet all have reached the same conclusions. With the exception of just one, the friendship of Hamlet and Horatio, all the relationships are dishonourable, dysfunctional and destined to fail. Being a revenge tragedy it is immediately clear this play is filled with lies, deceit and treachery. The exact time of Hamlet’s composition is unknown, however it is assumed to be between 1599 and 1602. This was a dark, melancholy time in Shakespeare’s life with the death of his father in 1601 and the death of his only son, Hamnet aged 11, in 1596. It is believed that these events had a significant impact on the writing of Hamlet as the play is heavy with death and has a great similarity with this son’s name. Some perspectives that have been adopted to view and understand the intense human relationships of Hamlet are a religious, psychoanalytic and feminist perspective. When Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet he lived in a strongly religious society where people could be fined for not attending church. Therefore, at this time in history many people had a religious attitude and perspective on the play. The psychoanalytical perspective focuses on the unconscious mind and how it dictates behaviour. This perspective became popular when Sigmund Freud, a well-known psychologist, began developing his psychoanalytic theory, The Oedipus Complex, in 1897. The feminist perspective is often centred around strong women and became particularly popular in the 1950’s being a post world war 2 period. Women were involved in many aspects of the war and made ground in their equality with men. However, when the war ended, women were encouraged to return to their household duties and this sparked much controversy. The family relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is one of the most intense in the entire play. Their relationship reaches a climax in act 3 scene 4 when Hamlet confronts his mother about her relationship with Claudius and her involvement in the murder of King Hamlet, â€Å"mother, you have my father much offended†. Hamlet sees Gertrude as an adulteress for marrying her husband’s brother two months after his death and believes she is aware that Claudius killed King Hamlet, â€Å"Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother†. When exploring this scene from a feminist perspective it can be seen that Gertrude cares deeply for her son yet he scorns her for her recent actions, â€Å"You go not till I set you up a glass where you may see the inmost part of you†. Despite there being no evidence that Gertrude is aware of Claudius’s deed, Hamlet does not trust his mother and this consequently results in his inability to trust other women. The Oedipus Complex comes to the fore when the relationship of these two characters is examined with a psychoanalytical perspective. Freud’s complex suggests that every boy from the age of 3-4 years begins to have unconscious sexual desires for his mother and regards his father as his rival. Through studying this scene from a psychoanalytical perspective it is prominent that Hamlet has an obsession with his mothers sexual relationship with Claudius. He claims that she lives â€Å"In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed†. The scene takes place in Gertrude’s bedroom, which is important as its privacy and intimacy allows Hamlet to express himself fully to his mother and being a place where sexual activity occurs, suggests Hamlets repressed sexual desires. The scene ends with Hamlet possessively demanding her â€Å"but go not to my uncle’s bed† and uses multiple sexual references when he tells her to not let Claudius â€Å"Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mouse†. Relating this to the Oedipus complex, Hamlet appears to be more like a jealous lover than a concerned son. Examining act 3 scene 4 from different perspectives gives varied insights into Gertrude and Hamlet’s relationship, yet each perspective deduces that it is a dishonourable relationship with no mutual trust or respect. Another dishonourable family relationship in Hamlet is that between Ophelia and her father Polonius. Polonius manipulates Ophelia for his own benefit, treating her like a tool rather than a person. Their relationships becomes pitiful when she receives orders from her father and responds with â€Å"I shall bey, my lord†, implying that she is at the service of her father. Through the analysis of act 4 scene 5 a deeper understanding can be reached about Ophelia’s relationship with her late father. Following the death of Polonius, Ophelia’s mind becomes unhinged as she drifts into insanity, speaking in songs and rhymes. Considering this scene from a feminists perspective it can be thought that Ophelia went mad with guilt having her desire for Hamlet to kill her father so that they can be together fulfilled. This theory strongly supports the idea that the relationship between Ophelia and Polonius was dysfunctional as she felt she’d never be free to make her own choices until her father was dead. The friendship between Hamlet and Horatio is the only admirable one. Horatio is the one character that Hamlet speaks to openly and confides in. He remains loyal and swears himself to secrecy about the ghost and the pretence of Hamlets madness. He conspires with Hamlet to prove Claudius killed King Hamlet and he stands by him through Ophelia’s death. It is the final scene of the play when the true extent of their friendship is confirmed. Act 5 scene 2 begins with Hamlet confiding in Horatio and reciting the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to him. This further validates their friendship and Hamlets trust in his loyal friend. The scene draws to a close with Horatio wishing to join Hamlet in death. This selfless declaration and his final words to Hamlet before he dies â€Å"good night sweet Prince, and flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest† convey his everlasting faithfulness to Hamlet. Through examining the friendship of Hamlet and Horatio from the beginning of the play to the end, it is clear that, unlike all the other relationships, there is never a doubt about the sincerity of their friendship. Through the close and critical analysis of Hamlet, you can come to the understanding that all but one of the intense human relationships within the play are dishonourable, dysfunctional and destined to fail. Considering this interpretation in the light of other perspectives the same conclusion can be drawn about the relationships.