Aging and the Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aging and the Family - Essay Example The book emphasizes upon the issue that is often overlooked in the sociology and anthropological research studies. The family life related studies mostly focuses upon the responsibilities and problems of the people while managing their family lives however, the problems of lonely males are often not given much importance in the research studies. The author realized that there is a big gap in the literature that must be filled with the help of a detailed research work focusing upon the lives and experiences of the elderly males. The book strives to present the individuals’ views about their own life and life patterns. Their activities and feelings are basically described in the book to let the readers feel the meanings of living alone in the elderly phase of the live and the problems the people have to bear in making their lives busy, interesting and exciting. The book also provides information that is necessary for running the senior centres. The book also lists out 16 pages long recommendations meant to the senior centres in which the author has attempted to suggest different activities that the senior centres should provide to the elderly alone people in order to keep them busy and satisfy with the lives. The book has been written with the help of information collected from the interviews of 47 live alone elderly males in Philadelphia. The participants belong to the ages from 60 to 92. The book is based upon qualitative research approach and the author has conducted primary research to collect the information for writing the book. The book uses the interviews as research method and 47 out of 15,000 alone elderly males have been approaches and interviewed to have an insight over their problems and experienced that they faced while living alone in the elderly phase of their lives. The people were approached for the interviews using different methods. 26 old

Mental Health Issues among University Students

Mental Health Issues among University Students Introduction Mental health issue among university students is a major growing health concern. Research conducted in recent years has established that cases of students diagnosed with mental health issues are on the rise. A study conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found out that one in four students in the US suffers from a mental-related health issue. In the UK, university counselors have reported increased cases of students dealing with mental-related issues. A survey conducted by NUS in 2014 established that 75% of the students suffered from a mental health issues (Winrow, 2017).   There are also increased cases of university students dropping out of school because of being overwhelmed by mental health issues. Mental health status of a university student is of uttermost importance because it plays a critical role in shaping the education life. In the UK, about 15,000 first year students reported dealing with mental health issues (Burns, 2017). The figures are a sharp contrast to about 3000 students in 2006 that were diagnosed with mental health issues. Surveys conducted by different companies have also established that females are more likely to report a mental health issue than males. Mental health issues affecting university students There are numerous mental health issues that affect university students. Depression is among the prevalent mental health issues among students. A survey conducted by YouGov found that 77% of students with mental health issue had depression (Aronin and Smith, 2016). Anxiety is another mental health issue facing university students. Anxiety is largely caused by divergent issues like exam fear and experiencing difficulties while studying. University education is quite demanding and may prove a high-energy consuming activity for some students. Students are also expected to attain a certain score to guarantee them a pass in a certain class. Resultantly, some students may become anxious about their performance, which may affect their mental status. Stress among university students is another major mental health issue. Stress among university students is influenced by different factors. The highly demanding university studies are a leading cause of stress among the university students. Othe r causes of stress include examinations, deadlines, managing debts and demand coursework. Other mental health issues facing university students in the UK include self-harm, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, and addiction. Causes of mental health issues There are numerous and divergent students pressures that may cause mental health issues. They include; Living independently for the first time Some university students are compelled to live independently depending on the location of the university they study. Living away from their homes may result to loneliness. Students living alone may feel overwhelmed by responsibilities, which they are expected to do on their own. At times, they may also feel scared. Such situations may lead to mental health issues. Managing an increased workload Students are expected to go through a large amount of workload during their university education. Students are expected to bear the amount of workload expected in a university. However, some students find it a tall order, which may make them uncomfortable and unhappy. Failing to manage increased workload can result in poor performance. Such students may fail to complete assignment and fail to meet deadlines set for different academic activities. As a result, such students may develop stress, which affects their mental health status. Additional work responsibilities Some students may be in engaged in other responsibilities like working on a part-time basis. They may engage in such activities to raise income that will help them to sustain their university education. Balancing between education and part-time job is at times a challenge that may bring health mental issues. Culture shock, language barriers, and homesickness International students studying in different UK universities suffer from culture shock, language barrier, and homesickness. These students are compelled to leave their families and countries and embark on education in the UK.   They are compelled to go through a difficult period of learning a new culture feel like strangers. Cultural differences may at times feel strange and difficult to adopt. International students also experience language barrier, which may make it difficult for them to comprehend what the professors are saying. Language barrier may also make it difficult for such students to interact with local students. International students experience homesickness because they are separated from their family and loved ones. Such issues lead to substantial levels of stress, which affect their mental health status. Increased study costs The cost of funding university education is on the rise. Resultantly, students are increasing a difficult situation of dealing with the soaring expenses to fund their education. A research conducted among 2000 students by NUS established that a third of them report of having mental health issues because of financial problems (Minsky, 2016). The students stated credit cards and payday loans as some of the financial problems that contributed to mental health issues. Maintenance loans given to students results in increased stress because students are worried about their debts. Increasingly competitive job market The job market is getting increasingly competitive, which results in increased pressure among university students. New grads looking for jobs are compelled to cope with increased competition. Employers have increased the competitiveness of the job market because they are looking for grads that possess hard and STEM skills. Universities are churning out students, who do not have employability skills that can match the fast-changing skills that characterize the competitive job market. Curbing health mental issues Besides relying on health authorities to monitor mental health issues among students, universities need to increase support services that should look after their own students to help them deal with mental health issues. The already established support services that deal with mental health issues are overwhelmed by the increasing number of students affected. A study conducted by IPPR found out that one in four students is using or waiting to use counseling services. In Leeds University, the study found out that there was a 50% increase in demand of mental health services, while the University of Birmingham there has been an annual increase of 5-6% for the past 10 years in need of the services (Burns, 2017).   Universities need to prioritize mental health issues and channel more resources and effort towards curbing the issues. Additionally, universities need to improve students’ access to National Health Service (NHS) In summary, it is evident from the above discussion that mental health issues among university is a major concern that should be taken more seriously given the rising cases of the affected students. Mental health issues stem from different student pressures like living independently for the first time, managing an increased workload, additional work responsibilities, and soaring university cost. Students may experience different mental health issues like depression, stress, anxiety, and eating disorders. Universities need to increase their efforts towards establishing the right support services to handle increasing cases of students experiencing mental health issues. References Aronin, S. and Smith, M. (2016). YouGov | One in four students suffer from mental health problems. [online] YouGov: What the world thinks. Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/08/09/quarter-britains-students-are-afflicted-mental-hea/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018]. Burns, J. (2017). Sharp rise in student mental illness. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-41148704 [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018]. Minsky, C. (2016). UK students’ mental health affected by financial worries. [online] Times Higher Education (THE). Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/uk-students-mental-health-affected-financial-worries [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018]. Winrow, L. (2017). More students are dropping out of university because of mental health. [online] The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/more-students-are-dropping-out-of-university-because-of-mental-health-problems-a7788901.html [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018].

English Immersion Programs Essay -- Language Education School Essays

English Immersion Programs Imagine a world where there is only one language, and people are able to converse with no problems. You wouldn’t need to be a linguist in order to understand another’s language, or culture. Now, think again about what that language should be. Most people would agree that English should become the next â€Å"Mother Tongue†, the language that everyone knows and everyone converses in worldwide. When people choose to speak using there own languages is when division among cultures is created, resulting in superiority complexes. Similarly, in the classroom, Spanish and all other languages that are not English should be prohibited. Spanish and other languages need to be forbidden from the classroom in order to maintain a balance between the students academically as well as personally and to add consistency to their lives; moreover, English immersion programs better prepares students to be successful in their lives ahead of them. In order to be productive in the American school system, most instructors would agree that knowing the English language is the best way guarantee success. By allowing the student to use only English in the classroom the instructor is guaranteeing that their pupil will know English well enough to survive in America, given they were provided with at most a year of immersion into English. This is the best way to ensure success because even after a year in the English as a Second Language program studies have found that â€Å"students are only performing academically ‘average’ and only adequately prepared for the next year†(Toohey 63). Which in comparison to those who have had to face English head on, they appear to be more likely to succeed. This is d... ...ss, peer to peer interaction leads to the best forms of success† (Day 61). Through immersion second-language learners stand a greater chance at happiness and accomplishment within their schools, resulting in more students entering and staying in the school system. Through this and other programs a â€Å"Mother Tongue† might not only be something of the past anymore. Works Cited Day, Elaine Mellen. Identity and the Young English Language Learner. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters LTD, 2002. Rodriguez, Richard. â€Å"Learning the Language†. Constructing Others, Constructing Ourselves. Ed. Sibylle Gruber. Dubuque, Iowa: 2002. 89-97. Tabors, Patton O. One Child, Two Languages. Baltimore: Paul Brookes Publishing Co., 2003 Toohey, Kathleen. Learning English at School: Identity, Social Relationships and Classroom Practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters LTD, 2000.

Children Youth and Environments Journal Essay

The Role of the Youth in Establishing Unity in a Diversified Multicultural Society Years passed, adults have tried to control youth because they represent the future. Young people often fight back, trying to create their own world that is separate from their parents. At the end of World War II they were finally given a name: â€Å"teen-agers,† an ideal of young people as consumers. That model for youth spread around the world, and still exists today. Throughout history, young people have played an active role in shaping major social and political advancements. Today’s growing globalization and cross-border movements create an environment, which is increasingly diverse in terms of culture and religion. Young people’s contribution to understanding the impact of this diversity on everyday life as well as politics is now more crucial than ever. Moreover, as they constitute the largest segment of population in many regions, the role of youth in shaping their country’s response to cultural and religious diversity is vital. We clearly see youth as an essential asset – a crucial pool of talent, ideas and energy – that plays a critical role in addressing the challenges related to global and local instability. We must get control of this. We must motivate our youth. We must teach responsibility and goal setting. I fear if we do not we will soon be supporting an entire generation of homeless and needlessly on welfare families. Things have to change, with our schools, with the older generation being good role models, with the older generation being mentors, and with the youth who are right now doing nothing. We believe that it is important to recognize young people’s own contribution to promoting respect and understanding and fostering dialogue among people of different backgrounds. With teenage unemployment soaring, young people can no longer influence the world with their wallets. As student protests began exploding across the globe this fall, we felt compelled to†¦ [continues]

“Optimal Versus Naive Diversification: How Inefficient Is the 1/N Portfolio Strategy” †a Critique

â€Å"Optimal Versus Naive Diversification: How Inefficient Is The 1/N Portfolio Strategy† – A Critique Title: The title of the paper â€Å"Optimal Versus Naive Diversification: How Inefficient Is The 1/N Portfolio Strategy† has been reasonably well phrased.However, it can be argued that the title is a little misleading as the principal objective of the paper is to test how efficient different optimal diversification strategies are using the 1/N portfolio strategy as the benchmark and not to try and elucidate the merits of the 1/N strategy, which the authors are certainly neither advocating for practical purposes nor seemingly seeking to foster greater intellectual attention on the simplistic strategy. The title could have simply been â€Å"How Efficient Really Are Today’s ‘Optimal’ Diversification Strategies? But, care has to be taken before coming to the above conclusion that the authors might have appreciably so, intentionally used the tit le they have in order to attract further attention to their paper by stressing the obvious irony and possible iconoclasm in their conclusions. Abstract: The abstract has been very well written. It captures the essence of the study and conveys the crux of it lucidly to the reader. However, it would have augured better to start the abstract by stating the objective of the study in addition to it being mentioned in the text of the article just as the authors have.That way, the abstract would have had greater clarity. Motivation: The inherent motivation behind the study is laudable and the implied motivation derived from the conclusion is obvious. However, the motivation itself has unfortunately not been sufficiently expressed. Apart from a one-sentence objective, nothing else has been explicitly written about why the study was undertaken. There is one other sentence, which could be construed as the motivation. But, the authors themselves have not given the sentence the same attribute. The sentence itself is a reference to a revious study that found that many investors used the 1/N diversification strategy ignoring several other sophisticated theoretical models and is stated to only justify their usage of the 1/N diversification strategy as the benchmark. It could have been elaborated upon with additional related facts and further evidence supported by literature. Also, a separate paragraph with a heading called â€Å"Motivation† would be desirable to the readers. Introduction: The topic covered by the article has been adequately introduced. The brief description of the various asset allocation models and how they are related to each other is commendable.The introduction has also carefully introduced the methodology, the observations and the results and the conclusions in a logical and concise manner such that readers might understand the study by just reading this part. However, the literature on the Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches has only been brief ly mentioned in one paragraph. Considering how significant the contribution of the stated articles to the current study might be, it would have only been fitting to include a section called ‘Literature Review’ elaborating on them substantially more than the authors have.That way, they could have been able to make a clearer connection on how the previous studies relate to the motivation and methodology of their study. However, it should be noted that word limits might have been a constraint. In addition, the introduction must be a definite section that is called ‘Introduction’. Methodology: The authors have adopted a robust methodology to evaluate the performance of the diversification strategies discussed. They have been explained in great detail with sufficient appendices in an easily understandable format.There is not much scope for improvement in the methodology and the authors must be greatly appreciated for it. Data: The data has been obtained from hig hly reliable sources, thereby implying that there is hardly any margin for error in the data. No bias or subjectivity is evident. The data has been properly classified and well presented. Results: With well-defined methodology and credible sources, the results of the study are factually accurate even though it can be argued that conclusions from the same are a function of their interpretation just as in every other study. However, there is a drawback concerning the same.The authors have only limited themselves to comparing the performance of models of optimal asset allocation that consider moments of asset returns and not other characteristics of the assets. The authors could have included a section within the discussion of their results in which they could have compared their results with that of other similar studies, even if they involved the analysis of fewer diversification strategies, and sought to establish a reasoning behind how the possible differences between the results o f the studies might be related to variations in their respective methodologies or data.They could have also sought to describe how their study and the underlying methodology have helped overcome previous voids in relevant literature. It might have even been advisable to express why their study is more accurate and hence superior to the others if they did think so. In case the study was known, to their knowledge to be unprecedented and unrelated to any comparative study of portfolio diversification strategies, it should have been explicitly stated as the reason why the above-said was not done.But, it has to be noted that the authors have indeed done the above-said, but only with respect to two of their important assumptions, i. e. , Brandt et al (2007)’s approach to constructing the optimal portfolio using cross-sectional characteristics of equity returns and the dynamic asset allocation models of Campbell and Viciera (1999; 2001) and Campbell et al (2003). Conclusions: The co nclusions of the study are definitely iconoclastic and have huge repercussions for the research community.It points out how inefficient the numerous theoretical models that have been developed on portfolio diversification are clearly indicates that an enormous amount of research has to be undertaken to address this serious shortcoming. The conclusions have been expressed concisely and the limitations of the study have been stated. Their recommendation on the direction for further research is well thought out and justified by their findings and is hence highly commendable.

Why Animal Rights Activist Are Against the AKC

Why Animal Rights Activist Are Against the AKC The Purina Dog Food Company lists two major dog shows on their website: The Westminster Dog Show and The National Dog Show. In addition to these shows, The American Kennel Club, the AKC, also lists conformation events under their supervision. These shows are about finding a member of each pure breed who conforms to the AKC standard of what they consider the perfect specimen of a breed. Animal rights activists don’t discriminate against the animals they seek to protect.  Their clarion call has always been that they don’t only fight for the rights of the cute and fluffy, but any animal of any species because they believe all animals have a right to exist unimpaired and unencumbered by humans. So why then, would animal rights activists target the AKC? This organization appears to care deeply for the welfare of dogs. For one, the AKC issues â€Å"papers† on any purebred dog, which is a big problem for animal rights activists seeking to stop the sale of puppies from puppy mills. When the retailer shrieks about how their puppies are all â€Å"AKC Purebreds† it makes it difficult to convince consumers that any puppy, no matter where s/he was born, will get an AKC pedigree. That doesnt make the puppy any healthier or more desirable, especially if the puppy is purchased at a pet store. What is a Dog Show? Dog shows are organized around the world by various clubs. In the United States, the most prestigious dog shows are organized by the American Kennel Club. At an AKC dog show, dogs are judged by a set of criteria called  a standard  that is unique to each recognized breed. A dog can be disqualified completely for certain deviations from the standard. For example, the standard for an Afghan Hound includes a height requirement of â€Å"27 inches, plus or minus one inch; bitches, 25 inches, plus or minus one inch, and a weight requirement of â€Å"About 60 pounds; bitches, about 50 pounds. There are also precise requirements for their gait, coat, and the size and shape of the head, tail, and body. As for temperament, an Afghan Hound found with â€Å"sharpness or shyness† is faulted and loses points because they should be â€Å"aloof and dignified, yet gay.† The dog does not even have the liberty to choose his own personality. Some standards even require certain breeds to be mutilated in order to compete. Their tails must be docked and their ear carriage surgically reconstructed. Ribbons, trophies, and points are awarded to the dogs who most closely match the standard for their breed. As dogs  accumulate  points, they can attain champion status and qualify for higher level shows, culminating in the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Only purebred, intact (not spayed or neutered) dogs are allowed to compete. The purpose of these points and shows is to ensure that only the finest specimens of the breeds be allowed to procreate, thereby bettering the breed with each new generation.   The Breeding Problem The most obvious problem with dog shows is that they encourage breeding, both directly and indirectly. As explained on the American Kennel Clubs  website, Spayed or neutered dogs are not eligible to compete in conformation classes at a dog show, because the purpose of a dog show is to evaluate breeding stock. The shows create a culture based on breeding, showing and selling dogs, in the pursuit of a champion. With  three to four million  cats and dogs killed in shelters every year, the last thing we need is more breeding. The more reputable or responsible breeders will take back any dog the purchaser does not want, at any time during the dogs life, and some argue that they do not contribute to overpopulation because all of their dogs are wanted. To animal rights activists, a responsible breeder is a contradiction because anyone breeding is not responsible enough to help keep the population in check and is, in fact, responsible for the births and deaths of unwanted dogs. If  fewer people bred their dogs, there would be fewer dogs for sale and more people would adopt from shelters. Breeders also create a demand for the dogs and their breed through advertising and by simply by putting them on the market. Furthermore, not everyone who wants to surrender a purebred dog will return to the breeder. Approximately  25 percent of shelter dogs are purebred. The AKC website listing breed rescue groups  is not about adopting or rescuing a dog, but about information about the purebred rescue. Nothing on the page promotes adopting or rescuing dogs. Instead of encouraging adoption and rescue, their page on rescue groups tries to redirect the public to their breeder search page, breeder referral page, and online breeder classifieds. Every dog purchased from a breeder or pet store is a vote for more breeding and a death sentence for a dog in a shelter. While dog show participants care about the welfare of their dogs, they seem to care little about the millions of dogs who are not theirs. As one AKC judge stated, â€Å"If it’s not a purebred dog, it’s a mutt, and mutts are worthless.† Purebred Dogs Animal rights activists object to promoting purebred dogs, not only  because it encourages breeding and inbreeding, but also because it implies these dogs are more desirable than others. Without dog shows, there would be less of a demand for dogs who have a certain pedigree or conform to an artificial set of physical specifications that are considered ideal for each breed. As breeders strive to meet the standard for their breed, inbreeding is common and expected. Breeders know that if a certain desirable trait runs through a bloodline, breeding two blood relatives who have that trait will bring out that trait. However, inbreeding also amplifies other traits, including health problems. One study suggests that mutts are considered the healthiest of all. Purebreds, however,  are known to have  health issues, either due to inbreeding or due to the very standards of the breed. Brachycephalic breeds such as bulldogs cannot mate or give birth naturally because of breathing issues. Female bulldogs must be artificially inseminated and give birth via C-section. Flat-Coated Retrievers are prone to cancer, and half of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels suffer from mitral valve disease. Because of their breed standards and the need to categorize dogs into different breeds and groups, dog shows give the impression that purebred dogs are more desirable than mixed-breed dogs. Even the word pure in purebred implies something disturbing, and some activists have equated breed standards with racism and  eugenics  in humans. Animal rights activists believe that every dog, no matter their breed or health issues, should be valued and cared for. No animal is worthless. All animals have worth. This article was updated and re-written in part by Animal Rights Expert, Michelle A. Rivera.

Kants Thoughts On Human Dignity †Philosophy Essay

Kants Thoughts On Human Dignity – Philosophy Essay Free Online Research Papers Kant’s Thoughts On Human Dignity Philosophy Essay Determinism is a philosophical concept relating to human freedom. This concept declares that every action (including human behavior) is believed to have a cause. Every situation is therefore the outcome of a preceding situation. Determinism can be further defined as hard or soft based on causality and action. On the other hand belief in free will is one’s ability to make rationale choices based ones motivation and desire. These actions are not determined by external causes. Philosophers of hard determinism declare that there is no such thing as free will. They assert that every event has a cause and that there is a chain of causality that extends back to ones birth or even before one was born. It is believed that each link of the chain determines what will happen with the next link. Therefore, human beings actions are based on a chain of event that cause them to react in a particular way. This is because there is no free will and individuals’ behaviors are predetermined. Everything that happens to an individual is based on the effect of some set cause. A person’s thoughts, actions and beliefs are all determined by preceding events. Therefore, the choices that individuals make in life are predictable and cannot be avoided. So, individuals should not be held accountable for their actions since, they are not acts of free will. The action to make choices is determined by an individual wants, wishes, desires, feelings and motivations. So, unive rsal causality is incompatible with human freedom. Soft determinism supports the idea that every action has a cause, but every action is not compelled or forced. Therefore, actions that are voluntary are considered to be of free will. Subsequently, individuals should be accountable for these actions and their consequences. Philosophers of soft determinism redefined freedom as been both positive and negative. The positive connotation of soft determinism suggested that if an individual is the cause of their actions then they are thought to be acting freely and are therefore responsible for their behavior and its consequences. In addition, if an individual acted voluntarily to fulfill ones desire then that individual is believed to have free will. Secondly, the negative connotation suggest that if individuals are forced, coerced, or compelled to function in a manner that they normally would not do, the individual is not free or have human freedom. Such individuals has no control over their behaviors and therefore have no act of free w ill. Soft determinism believes that universal causation is compatible with freedom Belief in free will is the idea that human behaviors is not just based on external causes but is the result of the individuals ability to make choices bases on their motive, and intensions, which is not determined by external causes. To have free will is been able to make alternative choices. Therefore, ones actions are not predetermined. One is free to make choices based on what is most appropriate to him or her without being influenced by external stimulus. Human beings having free will are the cause of some of their own actions based on the choices that they make. All three philosophical concepts, hard determinism, soft determinism and belief in free will share differences on the idea of freedom. Hard determinism argues that if all events in someone’s life are dependent on prior events then there is no such thing as free will. They believe that human actions are predictable and predetermined. As a result an individual could not possibly do anything other than what he would have always done, so individuals do not have any control over their actions. Philosophers of soft determinism support the concept of hard determinism in that every action has a cause. However, they believe that some actions are of free will, while others are forced. They do not believe that all behaviors are predetermined. Soft determinist believes individuals have free will to make choices voluntary. These choices are based on their prior exposures. Research Papers on Kant’s Thoughts On Human Dignity - Philosophy EssayEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCapital PunishmentThree Concepts of PsychodynamicComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume is now in print!

How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume is now in print! As you may have read in my blog last week, my book How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume has now been published by Skyhorse Publishing – in first-time print and newly designed e-book formats! Even with the support of the editors at Skyhorse, revising the book was a huge project, and I’m excited to see its fruition. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume: 1. How to create a compelling format Format your resume professionally and cleanly to speak to an executive audience. If you’re planning to write your resume yourself, you’ll need some Word skills that you might not have picked up in your travels. The book will teach you some important basics. Use a format appropriate to your profession. For example, if you’re a marketing or sales executive, you can be more daring with your graphic design than if you are an insurance or finance executive. Create something that â€Å"pops† without going overboard. Include plenty of white space. Too much text will turn your readers off. You might insert a bit of smart art or a chart or graph into your executive resume. An easy way to insert graphics is to create a chart in Excel and paste that into the document. Most important, print out your executive resume before sending to make sure everything looks okay, and run it by some colleagues in your industry for their opinion. If anyone is squinting to read your tiny print, increase your font size. A two to three-page resume is okay for executive resumes! 2. How to make powerful word choices Smart word choices, dynamic and varied verbs, and good sentence structure are essential to a successful executive resume. Check your spelling and grammar, and have three other people check your spelling and grammar. Many hiring managers will immediately reject an executive resume based on a single spelling or grammatical error. Remember that the past tense of â€Å"lead† is â€Å"led† – and don’t bore them by starting every bullet with the verb â€Å"Led†! Mix your language up as much as possible without sounding flowery. 3. How to deliver â€Å"power and punch† Pack your executive resume with measurable achievements – metrics and concrete/tangible outcomes. These quantitative results are what keep your reader engaged and demonstrate your value to the organization. You need to show them that you will deliver 5x the amount they are paying you in revenue generations and/or savings. Put your achievements in context. A $5M increase in revenue is more notable on top of $10M than it is on top of $1B. Achievements are also more impressive in the face of challenge. So share your CAR (Challenge/Action/Result), PAR (Problem/Action/Result) or STAR (Situation/Task/Action/Result) stories to demonstrate how you have tackled challenges and what results you have generated. These accomplishments will demonstrate what you’re capable of creating for your next company. Be careful! While you want to provide a sense of the challenge you faced, you want to do that without making your company look bad. This balance requires some finesse. 4.  How to convey your unique selling proposition (USP) You absolutely must make yourself stand out amongst all the other people applying for the position. Learn how to do this in the first few lines of your resume, with the â€Å"New York, New York† principle! 5. Why it’s important to put yourself in the employee’s shoes Imagine yourself reading your resume as your future employer. What would you be looking for? Would you hire you? As someone reading a resume, you would of course want to see some of the keywords that are essential to the position. That’s just the basics. Once that threshold is passed, is the content of this resume enjoyable to read? Is it pleasant visually? Or are you bored? Do you really get who this person is and the difference they could make for your company? Be rigorous in asking – and answering –   these questions. 6. What homework you should be doing You’re a rare person if you can just sit down without preparation and write your resume. This is a big project and it takes doing your homework! Take some time to think through your accomplishments. My resume questionnaire is a great tool for doing that. And choose a format you like, appropriate to your profession. How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume is a great place to start as you’re getting serious about writing your resume yourself. Overall, your resume or executive resume requires high-level storytelling that knocks the reader’s socks off with both an appealing format and impressive language. If you follow the advice in How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume, you might get feedback like some others who have followed its principles: â€Å"This is the best resume I’ve ever seen.† Then all you have to do is back up the resume with your interview skills. This winning combo is what will get you your dream job. Want a copy for yourself? Find How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume at Amazon Google Barnes Noble Kobo

ETHICAL DECISIONS IN LEADERSHIP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ETHICAL DECISIONS IN LEADERSHIP - Research Paper Example In her present job Lael Mathews faces this glass ceiling, people higher up the hierarchy are trying to interfere with her job. She must promote one of three managers, and all of her choices have disadvantages and advantages. She must decide from Liz, Roy, or Quang. Although she has a soft spot for Liz and knows that Liz can really use the money provided by the promotion but also knows that being a single mother she can not show full commitment and an above average performance. Promoting Liz will however bring positive PR to the company as she is an African American. Lael’s boss is also favoring Liz for the job. The other choice Roy although old, has been up for a promotion for a long time, and many employees think that he deserves it. Further more a senior manager had made a personal request for his promotion. The final candidate for the job is Quang. She is an intensive hardworking Asian. Always among the top students of her class she has provided the company with record perf ormances in the past. Moreover she is engaged to an upper management person’s son, who is intent on getting her promoted. Narrowing it down, the problem that Lael faces is: As Lael is a woman she is pressurized by everyone with power. The main reason upper management employees keep pushing her for their respective favorites in case of this promotion, is because they all think they can bend her according to their will, as she is a woman. If she goes against their will, they can do great harm to her career in the future. The greatest threat can be from her supervisor who wants Liz to be promoted. His request is though of a less personal nature as compared to the supporter of Quang. He is much more intense in his support as she is a relative to him. Lael as a human being is also effected by her personal emotions. Her association with Liz can severely impact her promotion decision. Moreover in light of the recent accident

Introduction to fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to fiction - Essay Example Impression of such conflict becomes quite clear from very initial level of the story, â€Å"I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again† (Welty). Quite in contrast to her younger sister Stella-Rondo, the protagonist has always been marginalized and her conflict with such discriminative approaches actually constructs the very theme of the story. Her continuous conflict with rest of her family members has compelled her to live her own household and take residence in the P.O and this very aspect explains the actual reason behind title of the story. Being an individual, the protagonist has certain self-respect and she is completely resolute on not to compromise over the very factor, even at the cost of staying away from her own family, â€Å"Its too late to stop me now",... "You should have tried that yesterday. Im going to the P.O. and the only way you can possibly see me is to visit me there† (Welty). Being a Southern Writer, as Eudora Welty has often been referred as, she constructs her protagonist with her typical southern tone, vocabulary and conversational style but essentially spirit of the characters is that of an indomitable human will that remains resolute on this aspect that preservation of self-dignity and fighting for individual happiness are greatest virtues and under no circumstance this basic human quality can be compromised, â€Å"But here I am, and here Ill stay. I want the world to know Im happy† (Welty). Proper depiction of this quality by the author and struggle of the protagonist to retain her individual identity makes a critic believe that the character is perfectly unpretentious and knows how to fight for her own happiness even going beyond a determined rule of social construction. â€Å"And of Clay Are We Created† by Isabel Allende is an excellent piece of modern

Buddhism' s Success in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism' s Success in China - Essay Example To support this answer, this paper will compare and contrast Buddhism to Confucianism/Legalism and Daoism. Buddhism was originated in northern India, near the Himalayan Mountains, by Prince Gautama, during the sixth century B.C. Stearns summarized that the system advocated by the prince taught that enlightenment - and therefore contentment and peace in life - was achievable only through abstinence from things that promoted misery, such as sensations, perceptions, thinking, reasoning and desire for things which men find agreeable - anything that appealed to the delight of men (75-77). Because of this abstinence and its reflection on Buddhist priests and adherents, Buddhism at its early stages could be seen as emblematic of the simplicity of the Four Truths, and how each and every individual, from the lowly workers to the exalted royals, could hold to its precepts. According to Stearns, the 'Divine Sage' Confucius (Kong Fuzi) proposed a system of harmony and keeping to the Way as "a social and political ethos derived from idealized values of the past" (36). As a system it was rooted in morality and ethics, providing reason and regulations, down to the smallest measure of a 'gentleman's' conduct in a very systematic, measured and precise way. Comparing Confucianism to Buddhism puts two things into perspective: one, Confucianism focused on conduct and propriety, a worldlier set of functions, whereas Buddhism focused on abstaining from worldly matters in general. Two, Confucianism was seen as something of an appointment, an elevation to and reward of power above the rest, and therefore not suited to the common people. This level of classism was not apparent in Buddhism. Legalism The primary advocate of Legalism was Han Feizi, who advanced Confucianism into a more pragmatic viewpoint. As Stearns stated, "this harsh but effective solution for resolving the chaotic conditions that plagued the Zhou dynasty included the introduction of new managerial techniques, improved bureaucracy, enhanced communication, land reforms and standardization of weights, measures and coinage" (43). Legalism was a law-driven approach to government, and as such dealt mostly with an ancient notion of cause and effect and consequently dealing effectively with the criteria that drove and defined such polarities. Again, in the contrast of Legalism with Buddhism, we draw the conclusion that Legalism was a more restrictive approach to government, focusing on controlling and compelling the masses rather than catering to the individual's needs. Legalism can be equated to a top-down method, whereas Buddhism could be seen as a bottom-up method; individual contentment begets collective contentme nt, as opposed to informed manipulation by a few to drive the collective towards restrictive unity. Legalism was more a political system rather than a religious one. Daoism Like Confucianism, Daoism proposed adherence to a 'Way', holding a similarity to Confucianism in this. Proposed by

ECMT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ECMT - Assignment Example From table 1 we find that the computed t-statistic is 0.275, and the p-value is 0.78. Recall that the critical t-value at the 5% level is 1.96. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Thus, we fail to reject that the coefficient of D2 is statistically significantly not different from zero. Yes, there is evidence to support that inclusion of central air conditioning leads to higher prices. This is evident from the fact that the estimated coefficient on the variable â€Å"central air† is positive and significant. The dummy variables for coastal proximity are D1 and D2. If the coefficients of these turn out to be significantly different from zero, we can conclude that coastal proximity does indeed lead to differences in prices. We have already tested for significance of the coefficient on D2 in part (e). Using the same methodology of a t-test of = 0 against the alternative of 0, we find that the calculated t-value is 1.714 which is significant only at the 10% level but not at the 5% level (p-value = 0.09). Thus we conclude the coefficient is statistically insignificant as well at the 5% level. Thus, since neither coefficient turns out to be significant, we conclude that we do not have any evidence to suggest that proximity to coast makes any differences to the prices with 95% or higher

Latin America and the Catholic Church Case Study - 2

Latin America and the Catholic Church - Case Study Example At the conclusion of the lackluster oration, a BBC reporter stated, that the Pope gave,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the most unusual mass of his career.†(qtd in Hoyt,1983) Why were so many Catholics so disappointed? What were the reasons for the Pope’s behaviors? What were the consequences in Nicaragua after the papal visit? These are all issues that will be discussed in the course of this essay. Nicaragua in the late 1970s and 1980s was a land of revolution. Many citizens felt that their existing leader, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was a tyrant. They saw the immense poverty, the hunger, the poor living conditions, the lack of employment available was directly related to the exploitation and oppression by their government; that this is the reason the poor suffered without relief. The plight of the poor Christians brought them to the rebel militias formed by the Sandinistas, who opposed Somoza, encouraged rebellion, and promoted the teaching of â€Å"liberation theology.†(Dillon,1999) This, sometimes, controversial interpretation of Christianity, relies heavily on the need to care for the poor and heavily rebukes traditional capitalist economic systems. These differing spiritual interpretations and differing political perspectives left Nicaragua, as a whole, at odds. Many, likely, thought that the Pope’s visit would aid in resolution and more potential peaceful ou tcomes. Just one day before the Pope’s arrival in the country 17 members of a Sandinistas Youth Group riding a bus were ambushed and killed. Many people cried out for him to say something in regards to the young lives lost, but he did not. Generally speaking whenever a foreign head of state visits another country, where youths have been tragically killed, regardless of the reasons,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦he is expected to say SOME sympathetic remarks.†(Hoyt,1983) Not only did he refrain from such condolences, he, in fact, had scolded members of the clergy for participating in the

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown Essay

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown - Essay Example High interest rates in mortgage had increased the lending operations of the commercial banks. The quality of credit started to fall drastically. This had resulted in the collapse of many financial institutions. However, the Canadian banking system had managed to survive these critical conditions. Thus, it is highly rational to realize the underlying cases for this success. The following essay would consider the background, methodology and analysis regarding the topic of discussion (Brender & Pisani, 2010). The goals of the essay are as follows: To understand the nature of Canadian Banking System. To interpret empirical data explaining the various types of banking economic indicators. To analyze the models or the policies those were used by the banking institutions of Canada to protect their economy from the impending danger. To conclude on the overall performance of the Canadian banks in the context of the matter of discussion. Background It was found that during the subprime meltdow n, the nation of Canada did not encounter an absolute collapse of its financial institutions. The five commercial banks in Canada had experienced profit during the financial crisis in the money markets of other economies. ... There are three characteristics of the monetary authorities in Canada: The different monetary policies which are undertaken by the commercial banks in Canada are introduced by the Bank of Canada. This banking organization is owned by the government of the country and is highly interlinked with the Federal government. However, it should be observed that the federal government is not allowed to interfere in the monetary affairs of the country. The rates of interests charged on different assets in Canada are the same for similar assets in the other regions of the country. The Bank of Canada is the primary organization that engages in the function of issuing money to the economy. There is only a single policy instrument that is adopted by the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada often charges the overnight interest rates for the country. By changing the level of overnight interest rates, the bank introduces various changes in the different interest rates in the market. Reasons for the Succ ess Many analysts and economists believe that the strong regulations which are implemented by the commercial banks of Canada were responsible for their successful performance even at the critical situations. Moreover, the commercial banks in Canada were highly united with each other, which in turn had helped them to coordinate and take business decisions jointly. In Canada, if the commercial banks had offered credit to the individuals on 80% of the value of a house loan, then they ensured that the debtor had insurance for the mortgage. The banks only issued loans to those individuals, with a worth of 80% (mortgage value), who could offer the mortgage insurance against the loan. Moreover, the commercial banks also

Latin America and the Catholic Church Case Study - 2

Latin America and the Catholic Church - Case Study Example At the conclusion of the lackluster oration, a BBC reporter stated, that the Pope gave,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the most unusual mass of his career.†(qtd in Hoyt,1983) Why were so many Catholics so disappointed? What were the reasons for the Pope’s behaviors? What were the consequences in Nicaragua after the papal visit? These are all issues that will be discussed in the course of this essay. Nicaragua in the late 1970s and 1980s was a land of revolution. Many citizens felt that their existing leader, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was a tyrant. They saw the immense poverty, the hunger, the poor living conditions, the lack of employment available was directly related to the exploitation and oppression by their government; that this is the reason the poor suffered without relief. The plight of the poor Christians brought them to the rebel militias formed by the Sandinistas, who opposed Somoza, encouraged rebellion, and promoted the teaching of â€Å"liberation theology.†(Dillon,1999) This, sometimes, controversial interpretation of Christianity, relies heavily on the need to care for the poor and heavily rebukes traditional capitalist economic systems. These differing spiritual interpretations and differing political perspectives left Nicaragua, as a whole, at odds. Many, likely, thought that the Pope’s visit would aid in resolution and more potential peaceful ou tcomes. Just one day before the Pope’s arrival in the country 17 members of a Sandinistas Youth Group riding a bus were ambushed and killed. Many people cried out for him to say something in regards to the young lives lost, but he did not. Generally speaking whenever a foreign head of state visits another country, where youths have been tragically killed, regardless of the reasons,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦he is expected to say SOME sympathetic remarks.†(Hoyt,1983) Not only did he refrain from such condolences, he, in fact, had scolded members of the clergy for participating in the

Vascular Dementia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Vascular Dementia - Research Paper Example The patient is undergoing transient ischemic attack commonly referred to as TIA, usually, lasts for twenty-four hours. It is a neurologic dysfunction which results from blood deprivation of one or more parts of the brain. It causes blurred or loss of vision, dysarthria, aphasia and mental confusion associated with loss of memory. The formation of thrombus or clot in the blood supply and alarming rate of vasoconstriction may lead to Ischemia. The patient was diagnosed with heart disease six months previously and presently with vascular dementia which is the loss of memory caused by many minor strokes.TIA and Vascular Dementia both are associated with diseases of the heart like hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Males aged above 55 years of age and having a family history of stroke are at a greater risk.The cause should be diagnosed by the imaging of the brain and an electrocardiogram. Sometimes surgery endarterectomy is requisite for removing the plaque, thrombus or clot from the carotid arteries. However, a stroke can occur during the procedure. In case of emergency situations, medication such as anticoagulants is given. Heparin, warfarin or the antiplatelet medication such as aspirin are prominently used. These drugs help in thinning the blood thereby minimizing the probability of thrombus formation and the travel of clot towards the brain. The patient should take care and bring a clear change in their life styles by quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, weight loss, and regular exercise.

Key Drivers Of Business Process Changes Commerce Essay

Key Drivers Of Business Process Changes Commerce Essay Harmon (2007) explains about key drivers of business process change. He argues that in economically bad times, companies seek to make their processes more efficient and in good times, companies seek to expand their production and enter into new markets. There is much emphasis on improvement of processes to attract new customers and enter into new markets. Another factor which led to improvement of process is the impact of globalisation on the organisation performance especially to those companies that are engaged in the world trade. In order to compete in the global environment, companies are focusing on mergers and acquisitions to acquire new knowledge and technology. In the same vein, due to advancement of the information technology, it is easier for companies to approach customers and suppliers around the world. The breakthrough development in the information technology is the advent of internet; companies are changing their process to go online. When the buyer and seller are avai lable on one click so there is need to consider the process for redesigning. Levels of process change: To carry out the process change, it is necessary identify the levels of changes that are required for each of the process. Process re-engineering This is strategic level change, when major threats or opportunities in the businesss external environment prompt a fundamental rethinking of the large scale processes critical to the operation of the value chain. Process redesign This is intermediate scale of change in operations, appropriate for medium sized processes that require extensive change or improvement. It results in changes in job description or automation of processes.. Process improvement Appropriate for smaller, stable and existing processes which are tactical in nature and require incremental change (ACCA Student Accountant, Business Process Change, Edition 2008, p66-67) Process identification and Evaluation: Process identification is the way to identify the processes which are required to be reengineered. There are many ways in which process that need to be reengineered is determined. Process evaluation: Peter Keen (1997) explains mechanism by which an organisation evaluates the process. He suggests that by asking questions about the process, the identification of processes is possible which are required to be reengineered. First, Does the process represent an organisation to customers, employees and investors? If the answer is yes then that process is important. But if the answer is no then another question needs to be asked. Is the excellency of the process important for the performance of the company? If the answer is yes then we give priority to this process that dose need to be considered. If the answer is no then another question is asked. Does the process is necessary to support other business process? If the answer is yes then again process need to be considered but the importance is supporting process. But if the answer is no then final question is asked whether there is legal conditions apply for this process? If the answer is yes then that process is mandatory and again ne ed to be considered. Again if the answer is no then its management decision whether to continue to operate or abandoned the process. Rosemann (2001) proposes identification of the processes that need to be change or reengineered. There are two dimension proposes by the Rosemann. First, need to reorganise and second dimension is value of process. If the values of the processes are high and recognise needs are also high then process has high priority. If the process value is low but reorganise need is high then that is the second choice that we need to consider. Third set of process that we need to consider is the low value and low need for organising. If the process value is high and need to reorganise is low then reengineer is required to be carefully planned because it has impact on the other process if problem arises. Hammer and Champy (1993) suggest way to improve the process on the basis of dysfunction, importance and feasibility. Dysfunctional is where the process is in deep trouble. If the process is crucial for the customer satisfaction then it is important and feasibility in terms of that is most ready to successful redesign. Porter value chain: Porter value chain also provides the valuable analysis of the activities or processes that need to be changed or where improvement is required. In the business process reengineering, Porter (1985) is considered one of the most important mechanisms. x larger Size: 500  ÃƒÆ'-  500 Type: 13KB GIF http://www.provenmodels.com/files/2825c320f5910a4647fd289cdcf5a780/value_chain_analysis.gif (Porter Value chain Analysis Diagram- source www.google.co.uk) Porter value chain consists of primary activities and secondary activities. As shown in diagram, primary activities are inbound activities, operations, outbound logistics, sales and services. Whereas, secondary activities consist of the procurement, human resources, technology and infrastructure. When the organisation plan for reengineering, it is important to start from the primary activities because these activities are crucial for the success of the company. Business Process Reengineering: The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed. (Hammer-1990) A strategy driven organisational initiative to (re) design of business process to achieve competitive breakthroughs performance, differing in scope from process improvement to radical new process design, contingent upon the degree of socio-technical change required. (Grover and Kettinger1995) Goals of BPR: The rapid adoption and radical change by BPR, despite its failure, is fuelled by promise to make drastic improvement in business performance. The improvement results from: Improved customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is one of most important benefits of reengineering. Its results are high level customers satisfaction. Customers are internal and external to the organisation. Reengineering achieves this by making organisational structure that serves through the organisation rather than department. Cost reduction: In the current dynamic environment, cost effective is considered as core competences. Many companies are focusing on how to improve the cost efficiencies. On the other hand, big cost also effects the customers satisfactions. If the companies try to reduce cost then have to compromise on the quality. Reengineering aims to produce leaner and fitter companies which can easily adapt to new product and circumstances. Gover et al (1997), addressed in their journal, Wal-Mart has been reduced restocking time from six weeks to thirty-six hours. Hewlett Packards assembly time for server computers touches new low- four minutes. Taco Bells sales soar from $500 million to $3 billion. The whole credit goes to reengineering for these breakthrough changes. Improved product and service quality: Quality is one of key determinants in making product or services offerings. In the current competitive environment, sales are made on quality rather than price. Sometimes sales are made on the basis of quality rather than price. Reengineering accomplishes this by breaking organisational structure consisting of functions where the work is passed from one function to another as a package. The responsibilities are centralised in one group rather than splitting over different departments. Harnessing skill: The success of the company depends upon the utilising the skills, knowledge and expertise of the workers. In function based, individuals work in their hierarchical layer rather than contributing their knowledge and expertise. Reengineering breaks this barrier by allowing individuals to share their knowledge and empowering them for their tasks. This enables the company to fully exploit workforce skills. Reduced times: By making work flow through and between different departments in functional structure, the business performance wasting time is quite high. The reengineering approach eliminates this wasting time by bringing together those parts of the disparate organisation working on the same task into one group. The whole process is then considered as in one domain allowing everybody in that domain to focus on the effective operations and improvement of the process. Improving value-added: Business reengineering is an effective way to identify and remove those tasks and activities which result in inefficiencies and repetition factors. This allows focusing on the value adding activities that result in creating high value for the organisation and satisfying customers needs. Faster responsiveness: Business success in todays environment depends upon responding to changes. Horton believed that his major management concern for 90s to create company that can manage surprise (Horton-1989). Functional management structures slow down the decision making procedures and hence reduce the ability of managers to deal with surprises. Reengineering encourages empowering business units to take decisions and thus increase the speed with which they react to events. It also increases the speed by the removal of the time-wasting across functional transaction in the production process. Principles of BPR: The principles of BPR are agreed upon and are reviewed to get familiar with Business Process Reengineering: Achieving step change in performance: One common principle that in favour of pioneers of the reengineering is that incremental improvement is not enough in the global competition. Global competition calls for radical improvement in the quality, services, faster response and lower cost. . Davenport points out that reengineering is all about shifting from 5 to 10m percent annual improvement to 50 percent or even higher improvement in few key processes. Firms strive for multiplicative levels of improvements rather than fractional level. (Davenport- 1993). Function vs. Process oriented organisational Structure: Holtham (2001) suggests that careful thinking is required when the company plans to change business process and especially implementing the reengineering approach to improvement. BPR is used where required and when the management has sufficient potential to follow it. Because BPR is not just process change but it results in the radical redesign of the organisation structure. Normally, process improvement changes results in a change from functional structure to the process oriented structure. People who work in the functional structure also support the process orientated structure. Many organisation try to intervened their processes with the functional structure because dont want to lose benefits of the functional specialization. Thus there is move of flexible organisational structure that has both functional and process orientation. The process improvement enables organisation to think through processes and come up with design which are more efficient and effective. It results in wee ding out of the unnecessary steps within the systems. Create customer focus: Reengineering philosophy believes that the customer is key driver behind process improvement. Hammer indicates that the seller has low bargaining power and the customer now tells the supplier where they need, what they want, how they want it and what they are willing to pay (Hammer-1993). This concept also applies to internal processes where the customer is another person, or group within the organisation. Integrating work: The philosophy of reengineering is to eliminate inefficiencies from the processes by eliminating non value- added activities. The remaining activities are simplified and integrated to create new ways of working. Sometimes the solution is achieved by giving one person the authority to handle a spectrum of operations or solution is to create multidisciplinary teams. The solution achieved by giving one person the ability to handle a spectrum of operations or the solution is to create multidisciplinary teams. The overall emphasis is on giving responsibilities for processes in few hands. Developing a process management culture: The functional management based structure is incompatible with the process culture. The working practices, skills and management responsibilities need to be redefined and more productive ways are found for harnessing the expertise of every individual within company. IT and BPR: IT and BPR have no clear relationship. There is emphasise on technological innovations rather than the organisation itself when BPR was not developed (George-1991). These innovations bring reduction in time, processing, information system and storage cost. This makes the technology as independent variable to determine changes in organisation. This researchers group have been used the technology to automate the complicated as is situation of organisations which, as reported earlier, did not have significant improvements in productivity. Parnaby 1991 states that this time, failure is partly because of wrong use of IT to automate over-complex corporate process. However, it is partly fault of IT directors who have failed to raise the importance of IT to senior executive that IT plays in transforming a business. Other researchers emphasis on organisation and BPR, and believe that people deliberately design IT for intended objectives. Kim defines BPR as that an organisation uses the IT to change the way work is being done (Kim-1994). Renkema (1995) implies that A BPR investment is regarded as long term commitment of organisational resources to achieve ambitious business goals through transformation of business processes with IT as an enabling technology. There are many successful cases of major performance improvement of IT enabled BPR in the industry (Alter et al, 1990). This group of researchers believe that IT is depended variable that is planned for and configured by managers. Role of IT in BPR: The role of IT in business process reengineering is two-way: as an Implementer or an Enabler, Lyons (1995). For the first role, it is used to support the mapping, analysis and modelling aspects of BPR and helps in transformation process. The second role is to develop major communication and system infrastructure to support the integration and automation of redesigned work process. There are some technologies which are used as enablers of BPR. Technologies such as: Local Area Networks (LANs) and Electronic Mail (Email), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Executive Information Systems (EIS), Document Image Processing (DIP). BPR Methodologies: Lucas methodology: Lucas Engineering and Systems talk about manufacturing system redesign. Their argument is that to survive in todays market, it is necessary to set high targets in current competitive market and think for radical change. In their methodology, emphasise on eliminating the non-value added activities which do not add value to the customers and result in bad system operations. Four-step approaches for waste elimination are suggested by them, namely (Lucas-1991): Simplify the systems Eliminate waste Re-organise into Natural Groups Technology improvements Another idea which is introduced here by Lucas is Natural Group. Natural group is defined in their mini guides. A Natural grouping is a multiskilled group or team who hold a whole flow chart and then sit together in one office, area or cell Davenport and Short methodology Davenport addresses five stage approaches to redesign business process by using information technology capabilities (Davenport-1990). Develop Business Vision and Process Objectives- Organisation develops the vision which leads to the redesign objective and in turn results in improvement of process. Some objectives need to be related to the specified business vision like; cost reduction, time reduction and quality. Identify Processes to Be Redesigned- In this stage; there are two major approaches; the exhaustive approach and high impact approach. In the exhaustive approach, attempts are made to identify all processes within the organisations and then priorities depending upon their urgency. In high impact approach, process is redesign which has great impact on the organisation. Understand and Measure Existing Processes- Before redesigning the process, problems are well understood so that there is no chance of repetition. Secondly, accurate measures are used as basis for future improvement. Identify IT Levers- The major role of IT is to improve coordination and information access across the organisational units. The best approach is to use the IT in the early stages of process redesign rather than developing an IT system and matching with an existing system. Design and Build a Prototype of the Process- Final stage is not final design of the process though it is based on the prototype of the design. It is suggested that the redesigned process after agreement by the process owner be implemented on pilot basis and also examined regularly for problems and objectives. The key factors in process redesign and prototype create include IT design tools and understanding generic design criteria. The redesign is fully implemented after final acceptance of the process Rummler- Brenche methodology: Rummeler- Brache (1990) wrote in their book, Improve Performance: How to manage the White Space on the organisation chart. They explained that the organisation as system and worked down from top down to develop a comprehensive picture of how organisations are defined by processes and how people define that process help in accomplishing the activities. Rummler-Brenche (1990), define three level of performance: organisational level, process level and a job or performance level. They introduce the matrix that they obtain by crossing levels with three perspectives. There are nine different concerns that managers need to consider when changing or improving processes they emphasise that approaches that only focus on process or performance level or process management are limited perspective. Goals and Measure Design and Implementation Management Organisation Level Organisational gaols measures of organisational success Organisational and implementation Organisational management Process Level Process goals and measures of process success Process design and implementation Process management Activity or performance level Activity goals and measures of activity success Activity design and implementation Activity management (Rummeler and Braches Performance framework) Process Redesign Patterns: Paul Harmon (2003) describes four basic process redesign patterns: reà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœengineering, simplification, value-added analysis, and gaps and disconnects. Business Process Re-engineering: Re-engineering pattern relates to a fundamental rethinking of existing processes to achieve major dramatic improvements. To achieve radical improvements in efficiency, it starts from scratch without considering the current situation. This approach ignores the existing processes and emphasises starting by asking what the goals of processes to be achieved are and work is carried out to achieve best outcome using the latest technology.BPR is large scale change and therefore high risk of disruption is involved. Re-engineering is best suited when large scales of changes are required. However, the other three can all be applied on a more modest scale, and could therefore be more relevant to the type of practical situation presented on. Simplification: The simplification pattern assumes that most established processes are likely to have developed elements of duplication or redundancy. Process efficiency is only possible by removing these. This approach is useful on large scale business process or more limited business processes. The best starting point for this approach is to identify the process, sub processes or activities in the existing processes and challenging each activity or sub process in the sequence. This process highlights where there is tendency of duplication or redundancy. Many organisations employ simplification for the process redesign because it is less disruptive and risky in nature. Value-added analysis: Value added analysis looks at the processes from the customer point of view identifies the value adding activities which are perceived to be valued by the customers. Customers may be internal or external. This pattern looks at the process (or sub-process) from a customers perspective. A process or activity is said to add value if it meets three criteria: 1: the customer is willing to pay for the output 2: it physically changes or transforms the output 3: it is performed correctly at the first attempt. The process or activities is said to be non value adding if: 1: preparation and set-up 2: control and inspection 3: simply moving a product from one place to another without physically changing it activities that result from delays or failures of any kind. Harmon (2003) suggests that non-value-adding activities are needed to be eliminated as far as possible. Some of these activities are essential (for example set-up activities) for the value-added activity to take place. These essential support activities are value enabling activities and need to be kept. However, these activities are expected to undertaken if these are simple and cost effective which means allowing resources for the value enabling activities to be employed. Gaps and disconnects This pattern was introduced by the Geary Rummler ad Allen Brache in1990. They argue that many of the problems arise because of failure of communication between the business functions. Manufacturing makes some new product economically but marketing and sales are not aware result in failure of whole system. The gaps and disconnects put an emphasis on the careful analysis of how existing processes are being done and before thinking for its improvement. Process improvement by Six Sigma: Yang and EI-Haik(2009) in their book explain six sigma. They argue that six sigma is best approach to bring improvement in the sub processes or activities rather than large scale processes. This approach helps the management to develop the process architecture. If architecture is already in place it helps in manager in identifying the projects which have potential of success by improving process. Six Sigma emphasises that measures at any level should be tied back to higher level process and to the strategic goals as well. There are some phases in a six sigma process improvement project: Define customers requirement for the process or services Measure existing performance and compare with customer requirements Analysis existing process Improve the process design and implement it Control the results and maintain the new performance Absecon Textile-New Jersey based company: One supplier of the contract upholstery fabric has found new ways of manufacturing process which make its efforts more efficient, more profitable and more competitive. Absecon textile based in southern New Jersey implements the lean manufacturing system. After one month implementation of lean manufacture systems processes are getting changed and there is seeing 70 percent reduction in the waste material it needlessly stored. I have heard people say lean manufacturing is applicable to every industry but textile says David Adair, Vice President of the Absecon. We dont believe that. We fully expect that lean manufacturing can give us competitive advantage . (Manufacturing Journal 2003) Marketing: Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers requirements profitably. (Chartered Institute of Marketing cited in Rowson Pauline 2009) Levison (2007), author of Gurialla Marketing noted: Marketing is not an event, but a process.. It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it a process. You improve it, perfect it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely. Importance of marketing: Marketing has strategic importance in todays competitive environment even the finance department not able to work without integration with the marketing department. The key to success in the current environment is to satisfy the customer needs and business trends by using marketing skills. Due to its importance, different companies employ marketing at different levels depending upon their need but consider it as essential element for business success. The Conference Board (2007) survey of the top CEO Challenge acknowledges the importance of the marketing. The report highlights the marketing challenges that are different at global level. CEO in Europe focuses on more new and responsive ideas. Due to this reason adoption and flexibility to change is more dominant in the Europe rather than Asia and America. The importance of the marketing for building brands and customers loyalty are accepted by all CEOs. Marketing Practices: Coveille et al (2002) in Contemporary marketing Practice Framework addresses five marketing approaches which the company adopts depending upon the customers and industry: Transactional marketing: is based on management of marketing mix to attract and satisfy customers needs and active communications to buyers in the mass market in order to create an arms length transaction. Database marketing: It involves using database technology to create relationship, thus allowing firms to compete differently from the mass market. E-marketing: It involves the use of internet and other technologies to create and settle dialogue between the company and customers. Interaction marketing: It is based on face to face interaction between individuals. This approach is highly practical because both parties customer and market invest resources to develop mutual relationship with each others. Marketing strategy: Marketing strategy is the process by which an organisation communicate its business objectives and strategy into market activity (Paul Field, 2006) Marketing strategy helps to identify the target market, what directions need to be taken and what actions need to be taken to create dependable position in the market. To this end, the core objectives of the marketing strategy are focused on the buyer behaviour and identifying the market that needs to be target and marketing programme moves around the marketing strategy. Weitz and Wensley (1998) defines marketing strategy as, it is an indicator that is specific towards which activities to be targeted and how to develop and exploit the competitive advantage. In order to get the best outcome, strategy requires clear objectives and focus on the organisation corporate goals; it also involves selecting the right customers and developing the marketing mix to implement the marketing strategy successfully. (Varadarajan 1999) A strategic market plan layouts the methods and resources required to achieve organisation goals within a specific market. Marketing department has responsibility to adopt those policies and procedure which can fulfil the customers needs. It takes into account not only marketing but also involves finance, human resources, research and development and production. The concept of strategic business units is used to define areas of consideration in specific marketing plan. Strategic business unit is a division, product line or other profit centre within a parent company. (Dibb et al 2001) Vass 2006 explains some strategies which the textile companies adopts to improve the growth and prosperity of the business. He also believes that marketing is not just about the sales. It is ongoing process of creating and maintaining relationships and measuring results. Marketing managers are required to implement strategy that helps in satisfying customer need and market targets. Market share strategy: Market share strategy is based on gaining the large share in the operating market. The success of this strategy depends upon the market penetration and the customer has to perceive that your offerings are unique. Before implementing this strategy, target market is defined? How the customers perceive your offering in relation to competitors. This information is helpful in targeting the right customers and develops communication links with the existing and potential customers. Market expansion: Seeks to expand the market size. To implement this strategy, markers are sure about the potential customers in the target market and competitors action. Market segmentation: Market segmentation concentrates on segmenting the market according to their homogenous needs and wants. Position strategy: A positioning strategy is psychological. It is designed to create and maintain a specific image in the customers mind. Its all about how the customers think and feel. Product life cycle strategy: The product life cycle strategy is driven by innovation and can apply to brand or to a product category. Its duration may be only for few months or century. Product life has four stages such as introduction, growth, maturity and decline. At the introduction stage, advertising cost is normally highly for making people aware of company offerings Quality: To implement the quality strategy, it is necessary to have better design or offering more durable product or more reliable services or faster delivery. Vass (2006) suggests that marketer should select one or two areas where they are superior to the competition and implement marketing strategy that identifies these specific attributes. Reminder strategy: Strategy is communication based. It targets regular and loyal customers to remind them to make an additional or replacement order. Simplicity strategy: Simplicity emphasis on the customer convenience. Businesses and customers are overwhelmed with the complexity and choices of goods and services available to them, with the product fully functional and features that only a small number of the users ever use. Strategic Marketing Plan and Planning: Planning: Planning is a process for accomplishing purposes. It is a blue print of business growth and a road map of development. It helps in deciding objectives both in quantitative and qualitative terms. It is setting of goals on the basis of objectives and keeping in the resources. A plan helps to avoid losing direction and to uncover the hidden opportunities. An organisational success depends upon careful planning. So preparing a satisfactory plan of the organization is essential because it helps the business in terms of products, management, finance, market and competitions. If appropriate intention is given to the planning then

Lab Protocols :: essays research papers

Lab Protocols Through trial and error my class and I have learned that screwing around and misbehaveing in lab not only results in multiple page papers, but can also be harmful, dangerous, and costly to our teacher and school. There are many rules or "protocols" that should be followed in a lab enviroment. In this situation there are ten basic rules that must be followed at all times while participating in lab experiments. These are here for our own safety and should be followed for this reason. The first rule is that everyone in the lab should wear eye protection. In a lab enviroment eye injury is very common. Eye protection greatly reduces this risk of injury. The second is no horseplay. Horseplay can cause injury to yourself others and can cause damage to the laboraty. The third rule is that you should only interact with your partner and the teacher. This will prevent distraction from your set experiment. The fourth rule is that you should not leave your experiment unattended whether you think it is dangerous or not. This rule is completely self explanatory for safety purposes. The fifth rule is to be extremely careful with equipment. Not only for money purposes but also for your own personal safety. The sixth rule is to not touch anything that the teacher or the lab specifically instructs you to. Because you don't need to. The seventh rule states that activities should only be done if they are specifically discussed in your lab. This is for safety purposes and for the liability of the school. The eighth rule is that you are not to contaminate chemicals by using equipment in more than one substance without washing it thoroughly. Doing this can cause explosion, fire, bodily harm, poisonous gasses, or possibly death. Also do not return chemicals to the original container after they have been used. The ninth rule is that you must read your lab handout thoroughly before experimenting in a lab environment. It is a good idea to ask any necessary pertinent questions prior to partaking in your lab. Follow directions exactly. This is to prevent possible harmful mistakes that may result in death, poisonous gasses, bodily harm , explosion , or fire. Last but not least the tenth rule is that before taking leave of the

Female Circumcision in African Countries :: Female Circumcision Culture Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Female circumcision is a horrifying procedure that can be defined as the removal of the clitoris on the body of a female. The surgery is often accompanied by ceremonies intended to honor and welcome the girls into their communities. It can be observed in parts of Northern Africa and Southern Arabia where many girls undergo ritual surgery involving removal of parts of their external genitalia. About eighty million living women have had this surgery, and an additional four or five million girls undergo it each year (Kouba and Muasher). This tradition is prevalent and deeply embedded in many countries, including Ethiopia, the Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Mauritania, Nigeria, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, and Egypt (Abdalla). It is usually performed between infancy and puberty. From a Western point of view, it may seem unnecessary and vulgar. However, these ancient practices hold significant meaning to the people who practice it. They are supposed to promote chastity, religion, group identity, cleanliness, health, family values, and marriage goals. Although it is conducted with good intentions, tragically, the usual ways of performing these surgeries deny women sexual orgasms, cause significant morbidity or mortality among women and children, and strain the over-burdened health care systems in these developing countries. These practices are often referred to as ‘female circumcision’, but those who wish to stop them increasingly use the description ‘female genital mutilation’. My paper will explore the various forms of female genital mutilation, it’s deep association with the patrilineal system in Africa, and the efforts to stop this tragedy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Impalpable cultural clashes explode when people from societies practicing genital mutilation settle in other parts of the world and bring these rites with them. For example, it is practiced by Muslim groups in the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Europe, and North America (Kluge). It is obvious that when different cultures are forced to live a similar life side by side, differences will occur. However, it is difficult to observe and accept any form of physical, mental or emotional abuse. In this particular case, the issue is addressed towards female genital mutilation which is strongly involved with all the forms of abuse. It is most common for parents to use traditional practitioners but there are some who seek medical facilities to reduce the morbidity or mortality of this genital surgery.

Someone I Admire

Among the teachers I have encountered through my school life, Mrs. Smith is the one that I most admire. She was one of my English teachers in junior high. In contrast to other teacher's apathy, her vitality always refreshed the atmosphere in our classroom. Moreover, her enthusiasm and thoughtfulness warms my heart to this day. Mrs. Smith's charisma won everyone's appreciation soon after she began teaching us. Since she was not our first English teacher, everyone had a skeptical eye on her in our very first class. Sensing our doubts, she began the class with a guessing-people game. She asked us to write down characteristics about ourselves on a small piece of paper, which was read aloud to the class as a clue to identify the person. We had great fun that day due to her ingenuity to grasp what we wanted. Afterwards, the contempt students used to hold toward her was nowhere to be found. The energy and passion Mrs. Smith possessed when teaching was unbelievable. The more days she spent with us, the more I noticed a distinctive quality of hers that truly amazed me. No matter what the weather was like and how she was feeling, she was always in high spirits when she entered the classroom, as if she was ecstatic to see us. Besides, she encouraged us to interact with her; therefore, the class was by no means serious and tense, but very enjoyable and inspiring. Mrs. Smith used clever techniques to arouse our interest in learning English. Quizzes are an indispensable element of a class, but Mrs. Smith added them with her own illustrations to make them more fascinating. She also printed many handouts, adorned with her amusing drawings, to provide the information missing in the textbook for us. In short, she had the magic to transform something painstaking into something pleasurable. Furthermore; she introduced lots of English songs to us in her class. Whenever we started a new lesson, she would come up with songs whose themes or lyrics were related to what we were learning. The songs were so fantastic that everyone took delight in listening to them and enhancing our vocabulary from the lyrics. Through her instruction, my love for English that year was resurrected. The consideration Mrs. Smith showed us outside of the classroom was moving. The third year of junior high was difficult to most of us, for studying was the only proper thing we could in order to prepare ourselves for high school. Exhausted from the schoolwork, some students were extremely depressed. Mrs. Smith perceived their low spirits and encouraged students to go to her office and talk about their problems. Incredibly, she became the spiritual pillar of the class. Moreover, she intervened in disputes among students and cheered for us in every tournament at sports meets. Another unforgettable thing she did was write a card for every student at Christmas. I was close to tears when she handed the card to me, for no other teacher had ever treated me with the consideration that she did. Mrs. Smith has created the model of an excellent teacher to me. Her teaching skills and attentiveness are etched eternally in my mind. Now when I teach students, I strive for devoting the best of my patience and effort in honor of her. Someone I Admire Among the teachers I have encountered through my school life, Mrs. Smith is the one that I most admire. She was one of my English teachers in junior high. In contrast to other teacher's apathy, her vitality always refreshed the atmosphere in our classroom. Moreover, her enthusiasm and thoughtfulness warms my heart to this day. Mrs. Smith's charisma won everyone's appreciation soon after she began teaching us. Since she was not our first English teacher, everyone had a skeptical eye on her in our very first class. Sensing our doubts, she began the class with a guessing-people game. She asked us to write down characteristics about ourselves on a small piece of paper, which was read aloud to the class as a clue to identify the person. We had great fun that day due to her ingenuity to grasp what we wanted. Afterwards, the contempt students used to hold toward her was nowhere to be found. The energy and passion Mrs. Smith possessed when teaching was unbelievable. The more days she spent with us, the more I noticed a distinctive quality of hers that truly amazed me. No matter what the weather was like and how she was feeling, she was always in high spirits when she entered the classroom, as if she was ecstatic to see us. Besides, she encouraged us to interact with her; therefore, the class was by no means serious and tense, but very enjoyable and inspiring. Mrs. Smith used clever techniques to arouse our interest in learning English. Quizzes are an indispensable element of a class, but Mrs. Smith added them with her own illustrations to make them more fascinating. She also printed many handouts, adorned with her amusing drawings, to provide the information missing in the textbook for us. In short, she had the magic to transform something painstaking into something pleasurable. Furthermore; she introduced lots of English songs to us in her class. Whenever we started a new lesson, she would come up with songs whose themes or lyrics were related to what we were learning. The songs were so fantastic that everyone took delight in listening to them and enhancing our vocabulary from the lyrics. Through her instruction, my love for English that year was resurrected. The consideration Mrs. Smith showed us outside of the classroom was moving. The third year of junior high was difficult to most of us, for studying was the only proper thing we could in order to prepare ourselves for high school. Exhausted from the schoolwork, some students were extremely depressed. Mrs. Smith perceived their low spirits and encouraged students to go to her office and talk about their problems. Incredibly, she became the spiritual pillar of the class. Moreover, she intervened in disputes among students and cheered for us in every tournament at sports meets. Another unforgettable thing she did was write a card for every student at Christmas. I was close to tears when she handed the card to me, for no other teacher had ever treated me with the consideration that she did. Mrs. Smith has created the model of an excellent teacher to me. Her teaching skills and attentiveness are etched eternally in my mind. Now when I teach students, I strive for devoting the best of my patience and effort in honor of her.

Analysis of Fire and Ice by Robert Forst Essay

This article tries to analyze the unique features in structure, words, phonology, syntax and rhetoric in the poem of 40-Love by British poet Roger McGough in order to have a deeper understanding of the content and form of a poem. Keywords: McGough, 40-Love, Love, Style 1. Introduction It is well known that in a variety of literary genres, the form of poetry has been stressed most. Efforts have been exerted on the skillful combination of rhythm and structure to create numerous great works all over the world. Modern American poet E. E. Cummings (1884-1962) is a good case in point. He is famous for odd style, novel and unique form in the poetic world. His â€Å"l (a† has been regarded as the â€Å"the most elegant and beautiful structure of the literature created by Cummings†. (Kennedy, 1980). Therefore, his poems are renowned as â€Å"poem picture† or â€Å"visual poetry†, or the concrete poetry that we are quite familiar with. The features of it is that vivid visual images of words coming from irregular syllables, letters, punctuation, syntax, format and print strengthen the internal imagination of poetry, deepen the artistic conception, convey and enrich the connotation. (Abrams, 2005). Coincidentally, besides E. E. Cummings, contemporary British poet Roger McGough (1937- ) is another master in writing concrete poems. His 40-Love can be considered as one of the greatest concrete poems. McGough is the second of the three in Liverpool Group. The other two are Henry Adrian Henri and Patan Brian Patten. McGough, born in 1937, 5 years younger than Henry, is always in naughty mentality. His poems are full of secular fun and display more profound life from the perspective of a child. This article, from the viewpoint of stylistics, analyzes the features of structure, words, phonology, syntax and rhetoric in the poem of â€Å"40-Love† in order to gain a eeper understanding of this poem. 2. Stylistic Analysis Greek poet Simonides once said, â€Å"Poetry is the picture with sound while the pictures are the silent poems. † (Zhu, 2005). That is to say, the content of a poem must be combined with its form to achieve its perfection, namely, the combination of form and spirit, what we often cheris h. Here we will try to find how Mcgough do it in his â€Å"40-Love†. The poem tells that a middle-aged couple is playing tennis. Then they go home. But the net is still between them. It reflects the gap between middle-aged couples. I will quote the poem here to help to explain my opinion. 40-Love (Peng, 2000) middle couple tenwhen game and go the 118 aged playing nis the ends they home net Asian Social Science will be tween 2. 1 Structure still be – them June, 2009 As a whole, the poem has a total of 20 words. But the two words â€Å"tennis† and â€Å"between† are separated by hyphens to be symmetric in structure. The words in the poem are set in two sequences, like two sides of the couple. The middle blank or empty is like a net to separate the two. There are only two words in each line to symbolize the bouts of the ball. The title of 40-love, the top of the net, is right on the top of the poem, signifying the scoreboard. This poem looks like a tennis court with a net being used to separate the words. It is like a tennis game. This side serves and the other side hits back. Many bouts form the poem. The invisible net is like the barrier between the middle-aged couple. Even if they finish the tennis game, they still have the net, which still exists invisibly. However, it is this net that they can depend on to handle their marriage and have the responsibilities not to break the rules. There is a net in tennis and there are rules to obey. With the net, there are more difficulty and more interests. So, accordingly, more training and attention is a must. Imagining that, when playing tennis with no net or rules, people would feel difficult to last their games for longer period. In addition, only the letter of â€Å"L† of â€Å"Love† in the title is capitalized and the rest is de-capitalized, which shows that, to some extent, the couple has not been in the pursuit of the perfect details again, because love between the middle-aged couple has faded away. Furthermore, there is no punctuation in the whole poem, indicating that life of marriage is closed and uninteresting. Since there is no end, gap appears. 2. 2 Words The poet pays special attention to the words in the poem. First of all, the title â€Å"40-Love† one of interests embodied in the poem. The figure of 40 stands for the age of middle-aged people. And 40-Love is a scoring term in tennis. Tennis scoring is love, 15, 30 and 45 in sequence. Love here means zero. Three goals scores 40. No goals, no score. Thus, the title is of pun with two meanings. One refers to be 40-year-old love and the other is 3:0. Whether 40-year-old love is vain or not depends on attitudes of the two parties. Let come to two words of â€Å"middle† and â€Å"aged† in the first line. â€Å"Middle-aged† means people are in their midlife. The poet deliberately separates it to achieve the reunification of form and others. It also symbolizes that middle-aged husband and wife can not be integrated again. The two important words of â€Å"tennis† and â€Å"between† are placed in two vertical columns to get a metaphorical meaning that there is an invisible net in the emotional world of the man and the woman. They are not intimate any longer. Game† in the fifth line can be referred as either play game or sport. The scoring in tennis competition is more complex. Tennis game has games and sets. In a game, those who win 15, 30 and 45 will get one point. And the player who gets 6 points will win one set. In the poem, the couple does not finish even one game and go home since they hav e a deep estrangement. â€Å"Still† in the ninth line shows that the middle-aged husband and wife have ineffable anguish and can not get rid of their unpleasantness and gain relaxed though they make concessions as far as possible. 2. Phonology Words in the poem are basically monosyllabic. They are mechanical and boring to read and easy to suggest that the life of the couple is dull and lack of amenities. From the perspective of phonology, the short vowel such as /i/, is used for many times in the poem to leave the pressing impression to the readers to realize the urgent emotional crisis of the middle-aged couple. But there is slowness in the urgency. The diphthong /ei/ and / u/ are employed to slow down the speech rate and demonstrate that the middle-aged people have become calm and unhurried when dealing with things. Especially, the long vowel / i: / in â€Å"tween† in the last line leaves enough time for the middle-aged couple in crisis to think over the issue. In addition, there are rhymes in the poem, such as, middle and couple, ten and when, game and they, go and home, will and still. Rhymes here give the readers boredom, and symbolize the dull life of the middle-aged couple. Moreover, the alliterations of be and be-, tween and them, make the two words close and imply that the middle-aged husband and wife still have the ties that can not be cut off although there is a gap between them. 2. Syntax For the convenience of analysis, I rearrange the order of the whole poem: middle aged couple playing ten-nis when the game ends and they go home the net will still be be-tween them. First of all, from the angle of tense, the plain and flat present tense, used from the beginning to the right end of the poem, indicates the dull or prosaic marriage life of the middle-aged couple. Nevertheless, â⠂¬Å"playing† is used unconventionally. If â€Å"plays† is used here, readers will know that the couple play tennis often rather than occasionally. There will be not much gap between them. Playing† indicates that there is absence of regular communication between the husband and wife. It stresses that it is just at this moment that they are playing tennis. In sentence structure, there is a time adverb â€Å"when† to combine the sentence. As usual, however, there is no conjunction of â€Å"and† between the main clause and the subordinate clause. Thus â€Å"and† is added here to deliberately create a loose state, suggesting that there is no close contact between the husband and wife. And there should be an adversative conjunction of â€Å"but† in front of the next sentence â€Å"the net will still be be-tween them†. As we 119 Vol. 5, No. 6 Asian Social Science all know, an adversative conjunction word usually give people an unexpected, rising and falling impression. The word â€Å"but† is omitted here to inevitably imply that life of the middle-aged couple is no longer full of ups and downs, great happiness or sadness. 2. 5 figure of speech Poets often use figure of speech because, as Emily Dickinson once said, the mission of a poet is to â€Å"speak the truth, but to put it in an implicit way† in order to seize the readers’ interest and stimulate their imagination. In the poem of â€Å"40-love†, the poet employs the figure of speech, e. g. metaphor. On the one hand, in form, the blank along the net is like a net to suggest the gap between the middle-aged couple. On the other hand, everyday life is like playing games. Everybody hit the ball to the others. Such routine game results in no passion at last. Moreover, in my opinion, the writing technique of understatement is employed in this poem. The tone of the whole poem is calm, without any fluctuating. However, it is the deliberate understatement that discloses the theme of the poem incisively and vividly. . Conclusion This poem written by McGouph with unique style has rich connotation in its unique form. In this poem with perfect combination of the spirit and form, the emotional gap of the middle-aged couple can be discerned and expressed by the stylistic techniques in the structure, words, phonology, syntax and figure of speech. In Mending Wall, a poem written by American poet Robert Fr ost, the neighbor is intransigence and stubborn. Even at the last line of the poem, he still murmurs that â€Å"good fences make good neighbors† (GU, 2005). Every couple, therefore, especially the middle-aged couples, should pull the fence between them down, believing â€Å"good communication makes good couples†. References Abrams, M H. (2005). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Beijing: Foreign language Teaching and Reasearch Press. Gu, Zhengkun. (2005). Treasury of Appreciating English Poems, Volume of Poetry. Kennedy, Richard S. (1980). Dreams in the Mirror: A Biography of EE Cummings. New York: Liveright. Peng, Yu. (2000). Two Concrete Poems. College English. Zhu, Guangqian. (2005). Poetics. Shanghai Century Publishing Group. 120