Happy Endings Margaret Atwood Essay

‘Happy Endings’ is one of Margaret Atwood’s most frequently-anthologized stories because it is so unusual. In form, it isn’t so much a story as an instruction manual on how to write one. In content, it is a powerful observation on life. The story is broken up into six possible life scenarios plus some concluding remarks. In scenario A, John meets Mary and they have a perfect life, living together devotedly until they die. In scenario B, John sleeps with Mary, whom he doesn’t love; he treats her abysmally, she commits suicide, and he marries Madge, whom he does love, and ‘everything continues as in A.’ In scenario C, Mary sleeps with John, who is married to Madge, who has become boring. Mary only sleeps with John because she pities him, and she is really in love with James, who rides a motorcycle. John discovers Mary and James in bed together and shoots them before turning the gun on himself. Madge goes on to marry a nice man named Fred, and we continue as in A. In scenario D, Fred and Madge have no interpersonal problems at all, but their house is swept away by a tidal wave. They emerge ‘wet and dripping and grateful, and continue as in A.’ In scenario E, Fred is found to have heart problems. Madge nurses him until he dies, after which she selflessly devotes herself to volunteer work for the rest of her life. It is in this scenario, incidentally, that Atwood begins to break down this encapsulated version of ‘fifty ways to write a story.’ Maybe it’s not Fred with the heart problems, she suggests; maybe it’s Madge who has cancer. Maybe she’s not kind and understanding; maybe she’s guilty and confused. Or maybe Fred is. Maybe Fred, after Madge’s death, devotes himself to bird watching rather than volunteer work. We are obviously getting the point that none of this really matters. In scenario F, Atwood hammers this point home. ‘If you think this is all too bourgeois, make John a revolutionary and Mary a counterespionage agent and see how far that gets you. . . . You’ll still end up with A.’ What is the common denominator between all these scenarios? In case you missed it, Atwood sums it up in her concluding remarks. ‘John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.’ As in ‘The Age of Lead,’ ‘Happy Endings’  forces us to question the point of life. Every story, carried to its ultimate logical conclusion, has the same ending, because all lives have the same ending. We may die in the heat of battle; we may die in our sleep. We may die in infancy, in a gang war, in a nursing home. But we’re going to die. The story isn’t in the ending — it’s in what we do on the way there. Margaret Atwood Happy Endings So you may have found that this week’s reading left you with quite a few questions, such as, â€Å"What did I just read?† Margaret Atwood’s â€Å"Happy Endings† is not a typical short story. In fact, we could even raise the question of whether it actually is a short story or not. â€Å"Happy Endings† is an example of metafiction. You may want to think of metafiction this way: it is a writer writing about writing. To clarify, in metafiction, an author writes a story in order make the reader think about the nature of a story. With metafiction, the author becomes self-reflective about the act of writing. Did you notice those moments in â€Å"Happy Endings† when Atwood comments on the story she is writing? (For example, in plot C, the voice of the author mentions, â€Å"†¦this is the thin part of the plot, but it can be dealt with later† [767].) Atwood’s goal is for the reader to contemplate what is the essence of a story. â₠¬Å"If you want a happy ending, try A.† â€Å"Happy Endings† primarily consists of 6 different bare-bone plots stemming from the very basic catalyst: â€Å"John and Mary meet.† Plot A – the one recommended it we want a â€Å"happy ending† – presents the ideal married life of Mary and John: they enjoy well-paying, fulfilling careers;the value of their house skyrockets, their children â€Å"turn out well;† they go one vacation;and even get to retire. (Heck, their sex-life together doesn’t even fade!) Atwood offers Plot A as the stereotypical, cliched â€Å"happy ending.† The problem with Plot A, at least as far as storytelling goes, there’s no drama. Here the couple does not face any conflict, crisis, or tension. Without crisis, there’s no character development. John and Mary become merely empty names; there’s no reason to care for them. While a â€Å"happy ending,† Plot A falls completely flat. (Plot A reminds me of a quotation from Leo Tols toy: â€Å"All families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its  own way.†) Plots B through F test out different directions that events can go after â€Å"John and Mary meet.† Each of these plots are remarkably predictable, mainly since they are based on cliched, stock characters. Plot B places Mary in the role of the unrequited lover, just hoping that John, the insensitive male, will come to see how much she truly cares for him. (The terms that Mary’s friends use to describe John – â€Å"a rat, a pig, a dog† – are unimaginative.) In Plot C, John takes on the part of the insecure, middle-aged man seeking assurance from a much younger woman, Mary. Plot D is the well recognizable disaster story, like last year’s film â€Å"The Impossible†. If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks’ â€Å"The Notebook,† you are already familiar with Plot E. Finally, Plot F resembles that of the story of lovers caught up in the political turmoils of their time. However, whatever the plot maybe, we always end with Plot A. The names of the characters may change and â€Å"in between you may get a lustful, brawling saga of passionate involvement, a chronicle of our times, sort of† but the ending to the story will always be the s ame (767). Is this because, according to Atwood, readers will only accept this idealized ending for tales of romance? Could Atwood be commenting on readers’ expectations for how the story will end when two lovers meet? Moreover, is Atwood claiming there is something false about Plot A? Atwood emphatically states near the end of â€Å"Happy Endings† is that â€Å"the only authentic ending† is: â€Å"John and May die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.† Adopting a bleak outlook, Atwood argues that the one ending that we all will share in and so rings true is death. Now rather than leave us on that depressing note, Atwood offers a bit of hope, â€Å"So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun† (676). If you consider this statement, Atwood is right. Generally, romantic tales don’t open with the couple being married, with a home and children. Instead, the story of a couple centers on how they get together – what are the obstacles, the emotional turmoil, they face to reach their Plot A? From William Shakespeare to Jane Austen to Nicholas Sparks, marriage is a conclusion not a beginning. The drama lies in everything the lovers have to do to reach that p oint. â€Å"Now try How and Why† In the final three paragraphs, Atwood identifies where the essence of a story lies. No surprise at all that she dismisses plot as formulaic, just a mere  sequence of events – â€Å"a what and a what and a what† (676). Looking back on over Plots A through F, that is all she gives us. John and Mary’s characters are left undeveloped; again, we could interchange their names with those of Madge and Fred, while leaving the plot the same. We don’t care about John and Mary because we don’t have the chance to get to know them. Also, at the end of each plot Atwood leaves us with the question of what is the point of the story. There’s an emptiness felt after reading each plot. Why tell us the story? Generally, we, as readers, look for authors through their writings to give us some insight into our world. Stories have themes, morals, profound messages that go beyond just the bones of the plot. Consider some of the short stories that we have read so far this term. Is it just that Chopin gives us the story of Louise Mallard’s dying after learning her husband is still alive? Is the importance of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† limited to just Gilman’s narrator’s going mad through seeing a woman trapped within the wallpaper? Why does the story of Emily Grierson’s keeping the body of her murder lover in bed with her matter? For Atwood, the plot becomes the vehicle for the author to shows us a new truth. †¦ Happy Endings Margaret Atwood Analysis This detailed literature summary also contains Further Reading on Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood’s â€Å"Happy Endings† first appeared in the 1983 Canadian collection, Murder in the Dark, and it was published in 1994 for American audiences in Good Bones and Simple Murders. Subtitled â€Å"Short Fiction and Prose Poems,† Murder in the Dark featured four types of works: autobiographical sketches, travel notes, experimental pieces addressing the nature of writing, and short pieces dealing with typical Atwood themes, notably the relationship between the sexes. â€Å"Happy Endings,† which is essentially a self-referential story framework, falls into the third category. In several thumbnail sketches of different marriages, all of which achieve a traditional â€Å"happy ending,† Atwood references both the mechanics of writing, most particularly plot, and the effects of gender stereotyping. In earlier works, including the novel Bodily Harm, as well as speeches, Atwood discusses the writer’s relationship to society. She defined the artist, in part, as â€Å"the guardian of the moral and ethical sense of the community.† In â€Å"Happy Endings,† Atwood fulfills this role with a challenge  that she throws out to those writers who rely on the stereotypical characterization of men and women and to the reader who accepts such gender typing. At the same time, she challenges other writers to more closely examine typical literary convention. Theme the â€Å"happy† couple in â€Å"Happy Endings,† whether comprised of John and Mary, John and Madge, or Madge and Fred, enjoys the trappings of middle-class values and represents this element of society. The husband and wife hold professional jobs, earn good money, and make sound investments that afford them some of life’s luxuries, such as nice vacations and a relaxing retirement. Even in the more troublesome aspects of these stories, the couples manifest their middle-class values. In version C, John’s marital crisis is brought on by the fact that he feels his life is settled and dull. This mid-life angst drives him to attempt to boost his self-esteem through an affair with a much-younger woman. Despite the middle-class values that permeate the piece, only in version F does Atwood frankly address them. Style â€Å"Happy Endings† is satirical in the way that it makes fun of the naive conception that a person’s, or a couple’s, life can have a simple happy ending. In version A, John and Mary build a life based on their nice home, rewarding jobs, beloved children, enjoyable vacations, and post-retirement hobbies. They experience one success after another. No problems or difficulties—major let alone minor— are mentioned; as such, their life is completely unreal. Such unreality is emphasized by the events of version B. While John and Mary do not achieve this happy ending, John does achieve it—but with Madge. And in yet another version, Madge achieves this happy ending with Fred. Although all the individuals bring to their relationships a unique past and set of experiences, each couple eventually achieves the exact same ending described in version A. †¦ Margaret Atwood uses her short story Happy Endings to show that it is not the end of a story that is important it is the middle. She seems to say that the endings are all clichÃÆ' © that the middle is the part that is unique. This holds true with literature versus a beach novel although a beach novel and piece of literature may end the same way it is the rest of the book that  makes one different from the other. As she says the true ending is â€Å"John and Mary die† the only guarantee in life is death. So since the ending is already known why does it have the tendency to â€Å"steal† the spotlight from the rest of the story? Sure in some cases people can guess the middle of a story from the ending, if they find someone died in an electric chair they can assume he committed a crime. However if someone dies from heart failure no one can know anything about his life, they may guess the person ate too much junk food, or drank too much but if they don’t know any thing else they can’t guess the middle. However if someone knows the middle they can guess the ending, if they are told that person â€Å"A† had to have triple bypass surgery and that person â€Å"B† murdered a few people they can make an educated guess how each story ends. But even the middle of the story is only part of a greater whole, without the beginning of the story no one can tell why certain events happened and what lead to person â€Å"A† to doing â€Å"action z†. Atwood also says that what happens is not all-important but how it happens and why it happens. According to Atwood, all the whats are just the plot, one thing that happens after another, however the how and the whys are what really make a story more than a story. This is the important part, the hows and the whys are what makes a story literature with out them it makes no difference if the prose is expertly laid out or not it is all still a story nothing more. The step from story to literature is a gray line and is based on pe rsonal taste, as Justice Stewart said â€Å"I know it when I see it† although he was referring to obscenity it is just as applicable here. The use of story like this to portray the differences in opinion on what makes a story is pure genius on the part of Atwood, what is even more interesting is the fact that it is also considered literature. The main theme in most literature that divides it from the rest of the stories is that literature tries to make a specific point, and in doing so forces the reader to think about the point that the author is trying to make. In this way it is easy to decide what is literature and what is not, if at the end of a story if the reader’s only thought is â€Å"Gee, what a nice story† then it is most definitely not literature, but if instead if the thought is more along the lines of â€Å"The author said A, B and C but were they really trying to make a point about D?† it is literature. Although even this test has it’s holes because literature for one person is just a nice story for someone else. As Flannery  O’Connor said, â€Å"[if you don’t ge t the enlightenment] just sit back and enjoy the story.† What Does Happy Ending Mean â€Å"Happy Endings† is a short story by Margaret Atwood. It was first published in a 1983 Canadian collection, Murder in the Dark. It includes six stories in one, each ending with death. The author believes that this is the only sure ending to anything. The stories are all inter-related, containing the same characters and similar actions. Behind the obvious meaning of these seemingly pointless stories lies multiple deeper and more profound meanings; exploring, for example, themes of domesticity, welfare, and success. It all ends up with John and Mary dying at the end of the story. Characters John – He is one of the main characters of the short story. In A, he is in love with Mary and is happily married to her. In B, he doesn’t feel the same way Mary does for him as he only uses her for her body. He eventually takes a woman named Madge to a restaurant. In the end, he marries her. In C, he is a middle-aged man married to Madge but is in love with twenty-two year old Mary. One day he sees Mary with another man and shoots both of them before shooting himself. Mary – She is the main character of the short story. In A, she is happily married to John and had children with him. In B, Mary is in love with John but is saddened with the fact that he doesn’t love her. In C, she is a twenty-two-year old who is in love with James. She is shot by John. James – He is a twenty-two year old whom Mary has feelings for. He isn’t ready to settle down and prefers to ride his motorcycle. He wants to be free while he’s still young. One day, he an d Mary have sex. He is shot by John towards the end. He doesn’t appear anywhere else. Madge – In B, Madge is John’s love interest. She is taken to a restaurant and eventually, they get married. In C, she is John’s wife. In D, she meets a man named Fred. Fred – He is the man Madge meets. In her short story â€Å"Happy Endings†, Margaret Atwood simultaneously displays her feelings about not only the art of creative writing, but also the equally artistic act of living one’s life to the fullest. The story, if it  can really be called a â€Å"story† in the traditional sense of the word, immediately breaks the thin wall of author/audience by presenting a completely unique structure: that of an outline or a jumbled notebook. By asking the reader, â€Å"If you want a happy ending, try A,† Atwood is seemingly giving the reader a choice. Since A must be the happy ending, it implies that there are other, more sinister endings yet to be discovered. Appropriately, after the happy ending has completed, there follows five more endings, all of which seem to be quite depressing, but nevertheless end in â€Å"everything continues as in A.† Why would Atwood do this? In each of her scenarios, she creates two main characters, John and Mary appropriat ely boring names for characters that are so underdeveloped and stereotyped as to be almost comedic. It would be possible to call them each protagonists, but they are the very definition of flat characters: dull and undeveloped. In fact, the reader is informed of their personality traits not because Atwood shows them through a conflict or a plot rather, she simply tells them. Lines such as, â€Å"She sleeps with him even though she’s not in love with him,† present the type of stock character that Mary or John will assume for said scenario without any mystery involved. By creating such flat characters that differ between scenarios, but still coming back with â€Å"everything continues as in A,† Atwood brings up an interesting point: it’s not the destination that matters it’s all the same for everyone it’s the journey. In fact, after presenting all of her mock scenarios for the characters, Atwood abruptly changes tone to tell the reader an important fact: â€Å"The only authentic ending is the one presented here: John and Mary die. John and M ary die. John and Mary die.† After all, at the end of every person’s life, regardless of how they lived it or what they experienced, they will encounter death. This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers. Order a custom essay on Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood written by an expert online.    Atwood notices that people tend to not think quite like this, if only because it is not the most comforting of thoughts, and she uses â€Å"Happy Endings† to allow people a chance to be a bit introspective. â€Å"So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it’s the hardest to do anything with.† Such is true for writing; such is true for life. With her unconventional structure, caricatures for characters, and sometimes sarcastic tone, Atwood manages to convey one of the most important concepts about life of all. Do not let life become â€Å"a what and a what and a what.†Ã‚  Learn to favor the stretch between beginning and end, and then, perhaps, you can make your own happy ending. Sources Margaret Atwood Official   website Happy Endings Reviews Happy Endings Wiki

Legitimacy Crisis Essay

I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that it is one’s own. 2. I have used the â€Å"Harvard† convention for citation and referencing. Each contribution to, and quotation in, this essay/report/project from the work(s) of other people has been attributed, and has been cited and referenced. 3. This essay/report/project is my own work. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. Signature: Jvanrooyn Word Count: 308 excluding in-text citations Jihad Van Rooyen. Introduction to Politics, Tutorial Group #11 12 March 2014 Assignment #3 Legitimacy Crisis Revolutions result in a ubiquitous change in society. This essay ascertains themes throwing legitimacy into crisis through an evaluation of the sources of the French, Russian and Iranian revolutions. As stipulated by Max Weber in his legitimacy crisis ideals, society functions on a moral relationship between the ruler and the ruled (Hague, Harrop & Breslin, 1992:19). Non-acceptance by the ruled would result in a regime losing its legitimacy and pave way for a political break-down. This is emphasized by John Locke in the Social Contract, where he deemed that society has no moral obligation to the regime when the contract is breached (Spragens, 1997:34). Thus, legitimacy certifies political stability and must be lost before any revolution can transpire. The French Revolution was based on the constitutional and monetary crises, which lead to instability. Thus through the failure of the regime to meet demands, legitimacy was lost and a secular revolution followed (Hague, Harrop & Breslin, 1992:72). Relative deprivation was an immediate by-factor, clearly evident through the revolts against the structural conditions, which ultimately abolished absolute monarchy in France (Hague, Harrop & Breslin, 1992:74). Similarly to the French revolution, the Russian overthrowing of the old political system proved easier than consolidating power (Hague, Harrop & Breslin, 1992:79), especially after both revolutions were influenced by the regime’s spending on warfare. Both revolutions involved peasants uprising, owing to hunger, poverty and social inequality. The Tsar was not able to meet the demands of the citizens and in so doing lost credibility. In contrast, Iran’s old regime had not been ravaged by warfare nor had it suffered monetary failure, prior to its revolution (Hague, Harrop & Breslin, 1992:79). The revolution was a religious affair against the regime. Like the previous two revolutions, expectations amongst the people were not met by the regime. In conclusion, when a regime doesn’t fulfill its moral obligation to the people or if they do not meet the expectation of the citizens, relative deprivation could occur which could ultimately result in illegitimacy and a revolution.

Bessrawl Corporation Essay

1). Inventory: – Under U. S. GAAP, Bessrawl Corporation is allowed to report inventory on its balance sheet at lower of cost or market. Market in this case is defined as replacement cost ($180,000) with net realizable value ($190,000) as ceiling and net realizable value minus a normal profit ($190,000 – $38,000 = $152,000) as a floor. Cost of inventory is $250,000. Since market is lower than cost, inventory is written down to replacement cost of $180,000 and reported on the company’s balance sheet at December 31, 2011. This also led to a loss of $70,000 reported on the company’s income statement for December 31, 2011. However, under IFRS, Bessrawl Corporation had the option to report inventory on its December 31, 2011 balance sheet at lower of cost of $250,000 and net realizable value of $190,000. Since the net realizable value is lower than the cost, the company would have reported $190,000 on its balance sheet for December 31, 2011 and a loss of $60,000 on its income statement for the same period. Thus, under IFRS, Bessrawl Corporation income would be $10,000 larger than reporting under U. S. GAAP, stockholder equity will also be $10,000 larger under IFRS than under U. S. GAAP. 2). Building: – Under U. S. GAAP, Bessrawl Corporation reported depreciation expense of $100,000 each on 2010 and 2011 financial statements. Depreciation expense = ($2,750,000 – $250,000)/25 yrs = $100,000/yr. Under IFRS revaluation model, the depreciation expense on the building was $100,000 in 2010 and the carrying value was $2,650,000 beginning 2011. The building was then revalued to $3,250,000, at the beginning of 2011 resulting in revaluation surplus of $600,000. The depreciation expense for 2011 would be ($3,250,000 – $250,000)/24 yrs = $125,000. So, under IFRS, Bessrawl Corporation would incur additional depreciation expense of $25,000 in 2011, leading to smaller income than under U. S. GAAP. Stockholders’ equity in 2011 will be $575,000 larger under IFRS than under U. S. GAAP. This is equal to the revaluation surplus of $600,000 less the additional depreciation expense of $25,000 in 2011 under IFRS, which will reduce retained earnings. 3). Intangible Assets: – Under U. S. GAAP, an asset is impaired when its carrying amount exceeds the future cash flows (undiscounted) expected to arise from its continued use and disposal of the asset. The brand acquired in 2011 has a carrying amount of $40,000 and future expected cash flows are $42,000, so it is not impaired under U. S. GAAP. Under IFRS, an asset is impaired when its carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, which is the greater of net selling price and value in use. The brand’s recoverable amount is $35,000; the greater of net selling price of $35,000 and value in use (present value of future cash flows) of $34,000. As a result, an impairment loss of $5,000 would be recognized under IFRS. IFRS income and retained earnings would be $5,000 less than U. S. GAAP income and retained earnings. 4). Research and Development Costs: – Under U. S. GAAP, research and development costs in the amount of $200,000 would be expense and recognized in determining 2011 income. Under IFRS, $120,000 (60% of $200,000) of research and development costs would be expensed in 2011, and $80,000 (40% of $200,000) of research and development costs would be capitalized as an intangible asset (deferred research and development costs). So the IFRS-based income at December 31, 2011would be $80,000 larger than under U. S. GAAP income. And since the new product has not been brought to market, there is no amortization of the deferred research and development costs under IFRS in 2011. 5). Sale-and-Leaseback: – Under U. S. GAAP, the gain on the sale-and-leaseback (operating lease) is deferred and amortized in income over the life of the lease. With a lease term of five years, $30,000 of the $150,000 gain would be recognized at December 31, 2011 and $30,000 each would be recognized in 2009 and 2010, resulting in a cumulative amount of $90,000 retained earnings at December 31, 2011. Meanwhile, under IFRS, the entire gain on the sale-and-leaseback of $150,000 accounted as an operating lease was recognized immediately in income in 2009. This will result in an increase in retained earnings of $150,000 in that year. No gain would be recognized in 2011. As a result, IFRS income at December 31, 2011 would be $30,000 smaller than under U. S. GAAP income, but stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2011 under IFRS would be $60,000 larger than under U. S. GAAP.

Williamson Mortgage Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Williamson Mortgage Inc - Case Study Example The fact that the president has accepted to buy the mortgage at the market price that will prevail at that time exposes Jennifer to risk of losing if the interest rate at that time goes beyond 5.5%. An increase in the interest rate with even a 0.5% to 6.0% on the market prices will mean that Jennifer will have to sell the bonds and earn a profit but a decrease will mean the reverse. Jennifer may have to pay in to cater for the drop in rates. It is therefore the uncertainty of the market on aspects of risk on the interest rates that could affect Jennifer’s business prospects (Billingsley, Gitman & Joehnk, 2013). This uncertainty may either bring loss or profit to her business especially considering a rise or a fall in the future value of money, owing to affecting factors such as inflation as well as rates of interest. For the purposes of hedging this risk, Jennifer needs o consider the history of the market rates and their fluctuation levels, considering these, she should be in position to establish an average that can help her have the market fluctuations taken care of (Billingsley, Gitman & Joehnk, 2013). The interest rate that she offers to the cousin could also remain unaffected if it is placed among a margin that will prevent her from burning her capital. Considering the interest of the Treasury bond, she can also make the Treasury bond and consider the fluctuations and see if they can help her cover her interest and profit. The use of treasury bonds could provide an option for Jennifer to explore. The treasury bonds can help her raise the money to facilitate her mortgage business but the uncertainty of the markets too could affect them. Unless if the interest rate specified ensures that at that time Jennifer will remain in position to facilitate the mortgage to the cousin and still make, some profit on the interest then

Magic, Superstition, and Fetishism in the Movie The Natural Essay

Magic, Superstition, and Fetishism in the Movie The Natural - Essay Example The researcher states that fetishism is clearly depicted right from the start of the movie. As such, this character has a craze for success in baseball. This is evidenced by Hobbs designing a wooden bat and naming it â€Å"WonderBoy†. He ensures that he carries it with him to the city. Despite the mysterious shooting by the woman, Hobbs goes under and according to the events; he re-emerges, from baseball leagues unknown to anyone, and surprisingly, appear in the lineup of a fictional baseball team in the name New York Knights. It happens that he turns up with his boyhood â€Å"Wonderboy† This is a clear evidence of fetishism and as such, it is undeniable. Furthermore, he has an obsession with women. This starts from the point where he decided to pursue his dreams. He first fell for a mysterious woman, Harriet Bird, who sidetracks his dream. A further manifestation of the craze for women is where, after becoming a star player, he is attracted to a beautiful woman called Memo Paris, and a niece to the manager of the team he plays for. He is aware that, the woman is a mistress to a character acting as a gambler. Once again, the crave attempts to destroy his career. This introduces another character of whom we come to know that he had a relationship with since his boyhood. There are events entailed in this movie that a critic can consider as superstitious. For instance, Hobbs falls in love with Memo. As such, he puts more concentration on this woman in an effort to solidify and further this relationship. In response to this, Memo’s Uncle, guided by an aspect of superstition, issues a warning statement to Hobbs that, Memo imparts a bad luck on any person who seems to associate with her. In reality, a belief is a subject to superstition and if taken into account, it is deemed to happen. This is evident as this belief by Pop resulted in a slump hit. As such, after ignoring this warning, he tried to resolve this slump and no matter how many instanc es he tried to do so, none of his efforts succeeded.

Syngenta and GM crops Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Syngenta and GM crops - Article Example The corn seed in question is named Agrisure Viptera which had not been previously approved by China back in November 2013. The corn shipments were found to contain a genetically-altered protein designed to act as deterrent against corn-eating bugs like earworms and cutworms.2 China has always been very careful regarding its approval for importation any genetically-modified seeds or crops if they had not yet completed their own laboratory tests. China is strict about their agricultural standards and always reserved unqualified right to reject any shipments for their safety. Biotechnology - GMO crops are termed as biotech crops because these were modified using genetic engineering to boost their yield, acquire better immunity against plant diseases or any plant bugs, and make these plants adapt better to adverse environmental conditions. GMO has been a controversial technology as some sectors are rightly or wrongly concerned about the potential harmful effects of using science to alter or modify the genes of any plant. But there are also advocates who claim this scientific technology holds the bright promise to help eradicate hunger, malnutrition, starvation, and even death by preventing famines in the developing world. Genetic engineering of agricultural plants and crops, in the same way that mechanized farming and the Green Revolution before, allows food production to be increased considerably and avoid the Malthusian theory of hunger resulting from overpopulation. Key solution - agricultural farming using GMO crops is seen as the solution to most of the problems associated with a growing global population. Moreover, GMO technology can mitigate the adverse effects of environmental degradation, global warming, and increasing pollution. GMO is applicable to all types of living organisms from bacteria, fungi, and yeast and to all larger and more complex organisms like insects, birds, fishes, and even mammals. The GMO

Gender In The Media Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender In The Media - Movie Review Example The main focus of the paper rests on presentation of female characters relative to male characters. The analysis demonstrates how the female characters adapt the lead roles within Television series, as well as male characters. Television shows adopts several perceptions on society and can be employed as a reflection of reality, depicting the world as external to the text meaning. Introduction Sociologists assert that gender is more of a social performance rather than a biological fact. The sitcom Big Bang Theory relies on individual choice as the possible explanation of the shortage of women within science rather than highlighting institutionalized sexism among scientists. The show largely draws from general stereotypes found in the Sci-fi/fantasy genre in which men are perceived as heroes and women depicted as skimpily dressed and depicted as helpless (Gauntlett, 2008). The show projects the assumption that women do not subscribe to nerd culture and that the cultural stereotypes of the desperate, antisocial, Sci-Fi obsessed video game addicted hacker is unappealing to women’s feminine sensitivities. Role of the Media in Socially Constructing Gender The media mirror and construct the social world. The media that people consume including movies, news stories, music, videogames, and TV shows deliver subtle (and no-so-subtle) messages that largely shape and inform people’s attitudes on race, gender, and class. Comprehension on the impact of the messages on the audience is essential to developing supportive media and industry practices (Gauntlett, 2008). Past studies have demonstrated that representation of women within media tends to reinforce the patriarchal hegemony with the portrayal of women as subordinate to men. Being born a man or a woman within any society is bigger than a simple biological fact bearing social implications. Women can be considered as a creation of the masculine gaze, whereby masculine conception of woman gave rise to idealiza tions and norms, which strongly impacted on the behaviors of women lacking power to challenge the male views of their sex. The social construction framework highlights that there is no essential, universally distinct character which is feminine or masculine behaviors impacted by a broad range of factors such as ability, religion, class, body shape, and sexual preference (Ross, 2012). Gender theory argues that both men and women actively engage in constructing their gendered identities. The construction of gender identities can be perceived as dynamic, changeable, and ongoing rather than fixed or static (Campbell & Carilli, 2005. How Television Shows Construct Gender The concept of gender identity is diverse from gender stereotypes influencing perceptions of personality traits frequently tied to one’s gender, such as expressiveness in women and instrumentality, in men. In most cases, the products of narration of popular culture emanate from the collective and inscribed in it, whereby their deconstruction and analysis uncover the ideological background of gender and social hierarchies overriding the period of creation. Gender norms have been undergoing changes within the last three decades with an unprecedented reach and speed. The boundaries of gender as a social structure may be shaped by taboos that define social power relationships via prohibition on transgressions and violations of the binary gender code, or heterosexist gender discourse. Patriarchal gaze is at the

Financial analysis of the performance of burberry Essay

Financial analysis of the performance of burberry - Essay Example Additionally, the company is buoyed by the platforms in the emerging countries to drive their earnings both in growth and volume. We will base our strategic analysis of the company on four distinct factors. These are; the existing strengths, the existing weaknesses, the existing opportunities and the existing threat. From a review of the previous performance of the company, the focus that is currently being given to the distribution on licensing in countries like Japan, Spain and the United States has left the company with a low gearing ratio (Proctor, 2012). However, through the current strategy of expansion of sales of Burberry brand and the seizure of opportunities aimed at capturing a greater share of the brand value chain presents numerous opportunities enhancing future value creation. To this end, it would be worth noting that the business model employed by the company possess characteristics of both retail and luxury goods companies. Created in 1956, Burberry Group plc continues to be a global luxury fashion brand and boasts of a history of 158 years. The company specializes in manufacturing a wide variety of products which include accessories, beauty for men, luxury apparel, with men and children being a major business item of the company. The market for the company’s products is spread out to regions including Americas, Asia pacific and Europe with its stock being listed on the London Stock Exchange with the principle business being investment. This report will be applying the appropriate accounting techniques to critically analyzing financial data in the context of a variety of business decision making instances while at the same time making informal judgments from such accounting analyses. The group strategy of Burberry is marked by a combination of both leading market position and a strong franchise in the established

Using Accelerated Learning Approach in teaching English; teaching Essay

Using Accelerated Learning Approach in teaching English; teaching foreign elementary students how to write good grammatical sentences - Essay Example The accelerated learning techniques include â€Å"relaxation and concentration techniques (such as those originally part of Suggestopedia)† that â€Å"can greatly alleviate stress and fatigue and improve student’s confidence, concentration and memorization capabilities† (Bancroft, 1995). Bancroft identified the techniques that are found to be effective; relaxation and visualization exercises, TPR strategies, choral chanting and role-playing for regular language classes and listening to relaxation tapes, specially prepared vocabulary tape for home study. All these exercises involves preliminary trainings such as â€Å"physical and mental exercises, breathing exercises, outer and inner concentration (or visualization) exercises, the Sophrology memory training system and as adaptation of the original session in Suggestopedia† (Bancroft, 1995). The author believes that it is the student’s concentration which is in dire need of attention. With this realization, the yogic memory training elements should be incorporated into the language class whenever possible. This will be most effective is done together with elements of communication-based or language-acquisition approaches. Baenan, Yaman and Lindblad conducted study, â€Å"The Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) 2000-01: Student Participation and Effectiveness† to study the outcome of Accelerated Learning Approach in the teaching of reading and Math in Wake County Public School. The program was separately administered to grades 3-8 to K-12. For grades 3-8, the program was administered so that â€Å"95% of the WCPSS students will score at or above grade level† in reading and Mathematics (Nancy Baenan, 2002). On the other hand, â€Å"the high school program was designed to support students at risk of not meeting graduation requirements† (Nancy Baenan, 2002). The study employed both quantitative and qualitative analyses although bulk of the study is descriptive in nature. The study used

Reflecting writings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflecting writings - Essay Example One such example was the creation of Voki in the Turkish language. I found the uploaded compositions interesting and challenging. II. This assignment greatly expanded my knowledge about the implementation of blogs in learning communities. In terms of the articles and the uploading of my own personal blog, I came to believe that some of the most important elements of blogging in the professional learning environment are the question and answer options that exist so that colleagues can aid each other if problems arise. In addition to this this module opened my eyes to the broader possibilities of blogging within education. For educators blogging can represent a sort of self-reflective practice where daily or weekly occurrences are noted and professional colleagues and thinkers can contribute to possible solution criteria. In this way professional development is not limited to administrative at the particular institution but can be extended to a broad range of learning and intellectual communities. Within the contemporary world, where social-networking dominates, it’s clear that such professional development opportunities are becoming increasingly necessary; without extending beyond these traditional barriers the educator and subsequently their students will not be able to remain on-top of the curve in terms of national trends and insight. Another clear function of blogging is for the students themselves. While in-class writing assignments have long been a core part of the curriculum, blogging offers a relatively new and convenient means for students to chart their reflections and insights in a format that is apt for feedback from other students and educators. This is just another tool for educators to develop and improve student intellect. III. I found this task to be highly relevant as it allowed me to become a large amount more familiar with the podcast format. In this task I was assigned the group C, wherein I acted as the enquirer – reading and sharing three articles and questions with the group. In large part this module functioned to demonstrate to me the practical aspects of podcast creation. For instance, I learned how to create a podcast and how to demonstrate this ability to students. In addition to the practical aspects, I came to understand how the podcast form is particularly applicable in foreign language learning where pronunciation and audible understanding are essential elements of learning. Within this specific module I recognized this through the implementation of our own podcast, as we used the English-Turkish song I Will Survive. In terms of podcasts the application for language learning is truly endless as students can engage in interactive forms of learning through listening exercises, as well as be required to go beyond traditional forms of written homework; instead being required to participate in listening and pronunciation exercises in the off-school environment. IV. In this module I became familiar with the wiki format. While I had already been acquainted with major such features, for example Wikipedia, in this section I came to understand that wikis exist in a broad variety of subject area formats. The first wiki I examined was the 18000 Campus Way wiki, wherein it was predominantly utilized as an extra-curricular means of promoting school meetings and outside activites. The next wiki –

Operation and Strategy management for Ryanair Essay Example for Free

Operation and Strategy management for Ryanair Essay Introduction The company chosen in this report is Ryanair in the airline industry. Ryanair is a low cost budget airline travelling across 1600 routes from 57 bases connecting 180 destinations in 29 different countries (Ryanair.com). Ryanair first started its operations in 1985 between Ireland and London. The first year it commuted around 5000 customers but the company really took off in 1990 when Michael O’ Leary was appointed the CEO of the company. The company was envisaged by its CEO Michael O’ Leary and adapted the Southwest airline model from America and brought it to Europe and since then the company has also embraced a no frills, low cost model where it plans to get their customers from A to B at the cheapest rate possible. This has revolutionised the travel industry and made travel cheaper and reliable within Europe. Ryanair has a strong hold on market in most of the countries Europe with 44% in Ireland where its headquarters are, followed by 23% to 21% in Poland, Italy and Spain (centreofavaiation.com). In the UK the company holds a modest 16% of the market with its overall customers estimated at 81.5 million for the year 2014. The company gets a stiff competition from Easyjet, Lufthansa, Aerlingus and Alitalia. These airlines try to follow the same model as well but Ryanair has been the leader by far  generating revenues of â‚ ¬3.789 billion for the fiscal year 2013 with profits of â‚ ¬374.6 million. Figure 1: Market share of different airlines ( Source: Centreofaviation.com) PEST Analysis Political Factors: The political factors tend to affect the airline industry the most if they are flying from one country to another. In case of Ryanair, it only flies within the EU, thus there is no question of arising uncertainties. One factor which has helped the airline sector grow is deregulation. In 1978 the United States removed government control over many aspects of air travel, including fares and routes, in the Airline Deregulation Act (Liberty of Economics and Liberty). This shifted the power to the market sphere. Following the success of this, Europe completed their own faze of deregulation by April 1997. This allowed passenger planes to fly between member states freely. Ryanair added several new routes to their repertoire after deregulation, taking the opportunity to add routes to new parts of Europe and Scandinavia. A further form of deregulation came in March of 2008 when the EU and United States agreed to let any city within each other’s territory fly between each other. This was called the Open Skies Agreement. Although Ryanair have still to take full advantage of this, they have announced their desire to start transatlantic flights at a very low cost to the consumer (RTE, 2007). This unprecedented step could shake the air flight market, increasing the volume of passengers able to fly more freely across the Atlantic and could have a knock on effect with Ryanair’s transatlantic competitors, forcing a change in the market. In 2012 a new law was introduced where all flights coming to and from the EU had to buy their CO2 emission allowances, whereas before they were exempt from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Many airlines have expressed their anger at their inclusion in the scheme, pointing to the fact that only 2% of global CO2 emissions are caused directly by air traffic. Many airlines have increased ticket prices to cope with the extra costs incurred. Ryanair have passed on the cost to customers in the form of a 25c charge (Irishtimes.com) Economical: During a deep recession Ryanair has flourished, recording a +18.71% 1 year return in 2012 ( Bloomberg, 2014) and announcing that it is Europe’s leading scheduled airline. In comparison to other airlines that are cutting jobs and have planes grounded, Ryanair are experiencing high demand and adding extra flights, creating new jobs for many sectors in their business, from pilots to sales and marketing people (RTE, 2007) One of the upmost problems facing the airline industry is the fluctuating oil prices. To compensate the rising oil prices most airlines have to put ticket prices up, which directly affects their customers. However, under the exceptional leadership of Michael O’Leary, Ryanair has addressed the problem through hedging. Hedging could be termed as an agreement between the oil companies and the airlines where oil prices are agreed in advance. In Ryanair’s case they have increased its fuel hedging capacity to 90% of its requirements (Centre of Aviation). This exceptional thinking by Ryanair gives them a cost cutting advantage over its competitors and thus still being able to offer its customers the same low fares which have been Ryanair’s forte. Social: The airline industry as per any other industry has to comply with the customer’s requirement to sustain in the market. A very god example that could be stated in this case is that of Ryanair, whereby, during the recession times when the unemployment grew to almost 15% and thus people did not have much money to spend, Ryanair gave its customers cheap flights to commute from one place to another taking away all the inflight luxuries. This has helped the airline grow even in the toughest times the economy has faced and thus also creating new jobs. But also to with stand the competition by other luxury airliners, Ryanair would offer its customers to book their cars and train tickets while booking their flights as it mostly flies to secondary airports. This, therefore not only attracted middle class customers but also people on business. The airline industry especially in Europe has had a last few troublesome years due to natural disasters that have cost the company extensive amoun ts. To point out a few, the ash cloud in 2010 cost the company 29.7 million Euros (Irish times, 2011) and these are huge costs for the airline to bear and thus, to compensate these compensation chargers Ryanair now chargers a â‚ ¬2 levy to compensate these claims in the future (Irish times, 2011). Technological: In the current climate technology plays an important part in the airline industry. Firstly, with the increasing fuels costs, fuel efficient aircrafts can save the companies a substantial amount of money. Another way is the internet; with the growth of internet all the companies’ use online advertising to push the sales and television advertising is also second to none. The internet is also a medium where people look for cheap airline tickets. In the case of Ryanair, the company makes the utmost use of technology to cut the human involvement out and thus keeping the costs down. It has a very good online ticket booking system where 85% of its tickets are booked (Ryanair.com). In 2009, Ryanair introduces the self-service kiosks whereby the passengers can check in using the machine and thus taking the human element out of the equation. This service was already available for passengers travelling without luggage but it was now developed for the customers travelling with check-in lu ggage. This was a chip and pin service developed in collaboration with Ingenico and thus gave the company a competitive advantage over its competitors and thus delivering low price flights for its customers (BBC News, 2009). Value Chain Analysis: A firm’s competitive advantage could be determined by the value chain analysis. The value chain consists of primary and support activities. Understanding the company’s linkage between the primary and secondary activities gives the company’s business model and helps one understand the secret of withstanding the competitive advantage. Figure 2: Value Chain Analysis model In the case of Ryanair, a clear linkage could be made between the inbound and outbound logistics in the primary activities to the Technology development in the support activity. Now, to obtain a clear understanding of this model, inbound logistics are the deals that the company is able to acquire from its suppliers on the promise of higher volumes. These include food, drinks, duty free goods, fuel which have to be delivered, stored and controlled on time as to avoid any delays for the aircraft. Ryanair, also puts a great deal of  effort in its operations as it promises its customers a 25 minute turnaround period which could be one of its core competencies and for the company to do so all the inbound logistics should be delivered on time. This 25 minute turnaround period also, gives the company the advantage of flying two extra flights on the same route compared to its competitors and enables high aircraft utilisation. The company also offers nonstop direct services to its destinati ons and does not link with any other airline, thus giving them a timely departure from the airport and also avoiding the costs for through services for its passengers and does not have to rely on other flights coming on time to schedule their departures. This has helped them gain a competitive advantage over its competitors as 95% of Ryanair’s flights are on time compared to 88% that of EasyJet. Ryanair also uses the standard Boeing 737 model of aircraft and thus, the company manages to get maintenance services and spares at a very minimum cost. This also reduces the cost of staff training and offers flexibility in scheduling aircrafts and crew assignments. On the outbound logistics, Ryanair operates to the secondary airports and thus have to arrange onward journey for their customers. They have teamed up with certain vehicle companies to give its business customers the advantage of that service however some of the routes are so obscure that these services cannot be provided constantly, a prime example are some of the Scandinavian routes. Thus, Ryanair has certain limits when acquiring the market share. On the contrary, Ryanair’s competitor EasyJet does the opposite and flies to major airports and cities and thus paying higher landing charges which are then reflected in the fares for their customers. The advantage of flying to secondary airports is that Ryanair pay fewer chargers and they are also in a position to bargain with the airport authority and get a deal that favours them and the secondary airports are less congested and thus turnaround times are much faster (Centre of Aviation), 2014). The inbound and the outbound logistics are coupled nicely with the technology to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Ryanair has tried to eliminate the human element as much as they can. They have introduced kiosks at the check-in desks for customers to check-in themselves at their own leisure. Thus, reducing staffing costs which is then reflected in the prices they charge their customers. The company doe s not invest much in advertising as well, the main advertising is  done through its very own website and 90% of the tickets are booked through the website as well( Ryanair.com). It only uses ticketing agents when they’re opening new routes and trying to venture into unknown markets; otherwise it is the website that people book their tickets through. The company constantly monitors its planes minute by minute through its own website and thus, keeping the human element out and using its website for mainly everything saves them on an average â‚ ¬6 million a year (BBC news, 2014). Amongst all the competitive advantage the company have, the one that has not been mentioned is the good leadership of Michael O’ Leary and his ability to create a vision for the company. He has successfully managed to adapt to the change as and when required and adopt different model to envisage the change for the betterment of the company which has helped the business to grow. Conclusion: To conclude this report, Ryanair has emerged as a successful company since it was established in 1985. It had a few hiccups on the way for the first 5 years but since Michael O’ Leary took the reigns over in 1990 as the CEO the company has gone from strength to strength. Its success has been helped by the conducive nature of the industry and the external elements within the airline industry. This industry has its threats but since the de regulation act and the expansion of EU, there have been a lot of commuters within these countries for business and leisure, thus this higher demand and low costs have helped Ryanair emerge as a low cost budget airline. Just because the company operates all its routes within the EU, it does not really have to deal with changing political factors and that it has always used them to their advantage. Ex. De regulation act and the open skies act even though the company has not started its flights to the US as of yet. The changing oil prices are a c oncern for every airliner but Ryanair counteracts through a process call hedging and uses the most advanced technology to remove the human element to curb the costs down for its customers and another reason for its success even during recession is because it gave the customers cheap flights to commute taking the luxuries out which were the demands at that time. Ryanair has a competitive advantage by the virtue of its inbound activities and the outbound activities combined with the technological  aspect of it. It uses the same standard Boeing so the costs are less and also, flying at secondary airports mean less landing charges and they’re also in a position to get a favourable deal for themselves from the airport authorities. The turnaround time is only 25 minutes as well and thus giving their customers more daily flights from the same destinations compared to its competitors. Refrences: Belobaba, P., Odoni, A., Barnhart, C. (2009). The global airline industry. Hoboken: AIAA, Inc Helm, C., Jones, R. (2010). Extending the value chain: A conceptual framework for managing the governance of co-created brand equity. The Journal of Brand Management, 17(8), 579-589. McCormick, T. (2010). Understanding costs using the value chain a ryanair example. Dublin: Institute of Chartered Accountants In Ireland. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: PEST analysis.(2003, M2 Presswire, pp. 1. RTE 2007. http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2012/q1_2012_doc.pdf[Accessed 20 March 2014]. http://www.ryanair.com/en/about/ryanair-and-the-environment[Accessed 20 March 2014]. Aviation, C. C. (2011, May 25). CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from Ryanairearnings up 26% but change in tack for 2012: http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/ryanair-earnings-up-26-but-change-in-tack-for-2012- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0112/breaking26.htmlEdwards, N. (2012). http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=27620789 accessed on 2/04/14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22659822 accessed on 1/04/2014 http://www.air-passenger-rights.co.uk/tag/the-irish-times/ accessed on 5/04/14 http://wwwnews.live.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23487106 accessed on 10/04/14

Principles of Marketing Essay Example for Free

Principles of Marketing Essay The course content includes a study of the relationship between marketing and society, nature and functions of marketing, marketing management processes, marketing tools, the markets, and the consumers. Course Objectives The main goal of the course is to provide an overview of the basic principles underlying modern marketing theory and practice. It will provide participants with an understanding of the analysis that is necessary for taking marketing decisions, and the wide range of factors (and interactions of those factors) that need to be considered in the design of a marketing program. Students should come away with this course with an understanding of the marketing system and its role within the Malaysian economy and within an individual firm by studying how products and services are planned, priced, promoted, and distributed in order to satisfy consumers wants. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: ? define and apply knowledge of the key marketing concepts. ? explain how marketing decisions are influenced by environment, trends and developments. ? discuss the factors influencing consumer behavior. Please dress decently and appropriately (according to university’s dress codes) when attending classes. ? Group projects ; Assignments There will be group projects and assignments. For group project, work together with your group members and at the end of the project your group members will assess your contribution to the project. You are expected to do a group presentation before submission of written copy during the semester. Assignments will be uploaded in UNIEC. In class assignments must be submitted on the specified date otherwise you may be penalized for late submission. If you encounter any problem to submit assignments on the specific date, you are required to inform the lecturer within 2 days of the specified date. For any type written assignments given, the format of the paper should be as follows: ? A cover page with your details – Name, Student ID and Sections ( as registered in CMS) ? Font: Time New Roman , size 12 with 1. 5 spacing ? Include a reference page for every assignment that you submitted. ? Forums Students are required to participate in ALL 3 forums posted by the Course Leader and marks will be assigned based on the quality of the discussion. ? Accessing/ Checking UNIEC Virtual It is utmost important for students to access and check their UNIEC Virtual for any updates and information pertaining to the course regularly throughout the semester. Ignorance is NO EXCUSE. Examination Format Final examination will be a three hours-examination. The exam will evaluate your level of understanding and knowledge acquired in this course. The question formats may consist of multiple choice, true-false, short essays, and case-based problems. Week Topics Covered Overview 1 2 3 4 Topic 1: Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationship Topic 2: The Marketing Environment and the Marketing Information Topic 3: Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior Topics/Activities Remarks/ Deadlines Introduction. Class activities: Getting to know. Overview of course plan. Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationship ? Definitions of marketing ? Basic concepts of marketing ? Evolutions of marketing ? Relationship marketing ? Marketing strategy and the marketing mix ? Marketing Challenges in the future Read. The Marketing Environment and Marketing Information ? Company’s Microenvironments ? Company’s Macroenvironments ? Marketing research process Read: Forum 1 ? Kotler: Chapter 3 ; 4 ? Real Marketing 4. 2 ‘Tracking consumers on the Web: Smart targeting or a little creepy’. p 151 Class activities: ? Discuss reading materials Topic 2 ? Discuss ‘Prius: Leading a Wave of Hybrids’ case Consumer Markets and Business Market ? Consumer Buying Behavior ? Consumer Decision-making Process ? Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior ? The Organizational Market ? The Organizational Buying Process.

Changing A Tyre Risk Assessment Information Technology Essay

Changing A Tyre Risk Assessment Information Technology Essay A Risk Assessment is a thorough look at the workplace to identify those things, processes, situations, etc that may cause harm or loss to people, property and environment. After identifying these hazards you must now evaluate the likelihood and the severity of these risks and then implement measures that can be put in place to effectively prevent or control these hazards from causing harm. The purpose of conducting a risk assessment is to take the necessary measures to safe guard employees and also to prevent occupational risks, but this cannot always be practicable. Where it is not possible, these risks should be reduced and the residual risk controlled. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment should include suitable and relevant information that is useful to employees to understand the hazards they are exposed to during their daily working activities and must be undertaken by person(s) who are competent, well trained, experience and knowledgeable about the job. There is no right or wrong way in conducting a risk assessment and you cannot eliminate all the risks in your workplace. A risk assessment does not need to be overcomplicated; it should be simple and clear so that employees will find it easy to follow. MAIN BODY 2.1 Five Steps to Risk Assessment These five (5) steps can be taken into account when doing a risk assessment. Step 1 What are the hazards? Spot hazards by: Walking around your workplace. Asking your employees what they think. Checking manufacturers instructions. Step 2 Who might be harmed and how? Identify groups of people. Remember: Some workers have particular needs. People who may not be in the workplace all the time. Members of the public. If you share your workplace think about how your work affects others present. Say how the hazard could cause harm. Step 3 What are you already doing? List what is already in place to reduce the likelihood of harm or make any harm less serious. What further action is necessary? You need to make sure that you have reduced risks so far as is reasonably practicable. An easy way of doing this is to compare what you are already doing with good practice. If there is a difference, list what needs to be done. Step 4 How will you put the assessment into action? Remember to priorities. Deal with those hazards that are high-risk and have serious consequences first. Action Done by whom by when Step 5 Review date: Review your assessment to make sure you are still improving, or at least not sliding back. If there is a significant change in your workplace, remember to check your risk assessment and, where necessary, amend it. 2.2 Hierarchy of Risk Controls The risks must be minimised to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking the following measures in the following order and as determined by the risk assessment.   Elimination The job is redesigned to remove the hazard. The alternative should produce the same end result but by not using a less effective process. Substitution Replace the material or process with a less hazardous one. For example, replace mercury thermometers with spirit thermometers. Engineering Controls Separating the hazard from workers by enclosing or guarding dangerous items of machinery. For example, use guards on compression testing machines. Administrative Controls Reducing the time the worker is exposed to the hazard. Prohibit the eating, drinking and smoking in laboratory areas. Provide training. Perform risk assessments. Increase safety awareness signage. Etc. Personal Protective  Equipment Only after all other measures have been tried and found to be ineffective in controlling the risks should Personal Protective Equipment be considered. PPE should be selected and fitted to the person who uses it, and training in the function and limitation of each item. For example, an operator should know how long the compressed supply in a self-contained breathing apparatus will last. PPE should be used as a temporary control measure until other alternatives can be installed. A combination of engineering controls, administrative controls and PPE can be use to effectively control the risks. 2.3 Risk Analysis Risk analysis is the process of defining and examining the dangers to people, property and the environment, that may be caused by the release of hazards. A risk analysis can either be qualitative or quantitative and others can sometimes be both. 2.4 Quantitative risk analysis A numerical value is sort to determine the probability of each risk factor and the adverse effects of a particular event-taking place. It involves analysis of data (pictures or objects) and it is done in the later phases of research projects. Data that is correlated are in the form of numbers and statistics. This form of risk analysis is objective. Some advantages of using a quantitative approach are that the risks are prioritized by financial impact while assets are prioritized by financial values. The results can be expressed as monetary value and probability as a specific percentage. Accuracy tends to increase over time. Historic records of data are built by the organization while gaining experience. Some disadvantages of using a quantitative approach are that calculations can be complex and time consuming, the process to reach consensus and results can be time consuming. Results can be difficult for non-technical persons to understand and it is presented in monetary terms. The values assigned to risks are based on participants opinions and this process requires expertise and cannot be easily coached to participants. 2.5Qualitative risk analysis It involves the analysis of data such as words, pictures or objects. It is an inductive process that measures risk or asset value based on a ranking or separation into descriptive categories such as low, medium, high; not important, important, very important. It also deals with descriptions; data can be observed but not measured. Some advantages of using a Qualitative approach are that it is easier to reach a consensus among participants; financial values do not have to be determined for assets. It does not require experts and anyone can be involved. There is visibility and understanding of risk ranking and quantifying threat frequencies are not necessary. Some disadvantages of using a Qualitative approach are that results are dependent upon the quality of participants; there is not sufficient differentiation between important risks. You cannot justify investing in control measures because there is no basis for a cost benefit analysis. Process of changing a tyre: The operator would loosen the nuts on the wheel by using an air gun, he would then proceed to jack up the car and take the wheel off the hub. He would then retrieve the spare tyre from the trunk of the vehicle and proceed to install the spare tyre onto the hub of the vehicle, and then he would tighten the nuts of the wheel using the air gun. Finally the operator would jack down the vehicle with the new tyre installed. The flat tyre would be checked for holes and repaired. Utilising the five step method to risk assessment produced by Health and Safety Executive and Job Safety Analysis, I have undertaken two (2) risk assessments on changing a tyre in a tyre shop. 2.6RISK ASSESSMENT ON CHANGING A TYRE USING THE FIVE STEP METHOD COMPANY NAME: JACKS TYRE SHOP DATE OF RISK ASSESSMENT: 15/02/2011 STEP 1 WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS? STEP 2 WHO MIGHT BE HARMED AND HOW? STEP 3 WHAT ARE YOU ALREADY DOING? WHAT FURTHER ACTION IS NECESSARY? ACTION BY WHOM ACTION BY WHEN ACTION WAS DONE Equipment under pressures (impact wrench) It can explode and cause harm to both operator and customers Making sure air gun is certified. Monitor pressure being used. Workers trained in safe working procedures. Making sure that bursting disc and pressure safety value are working properly on equipment. Owner Noise (impact wrench) Prolong exposure could lead to hearing loss or deafness to operator. Minor irritancy to customers. Warning signs. Work patterns. Owner Vibration (impact wrench) Causes whole body vibration and white finger to operator. Work patterns No further action required. Owner Manual Handling When the operator lifts the tyre of the hub and takes the spare out the trunk, he can develop a hernia or back injury. Operators made aware of proper lifting techniques. No further action required. Owner Slips and Trips Operators and customers can suffer sprains or strains from tripping over the air gun or poor house keeping of shop form other activities. Practice good house keeping methods. Proper care around hose to prevent tripping hazards. No further action required. Operators 2.7JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS FOR CHNAGING A TYRE JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS WORKSHEET JOB: Changing a car tyre in a Tyre Shop. (JACKS TYRE SHOP) APPROVED BY: A. JACK (Owner) DATE: 15/02/2011 STEP PROCEDURE POTENTIAL HAZARDS SAFETY MEASURES 1 Remove spare tyre from trunk of car and place on ground. Manual handling Practice correct lifting techniques 2 Break and loosen wheel nuts. Lug wrench may slip Use proper lug wrench and apply steady pressure slowly. 3 Jack up car to remove weight of tyre. Crush Block wheels of car to stabilise it. 4 Using impact wrench remove wheel nuts off the wheel. Explosion Monitor air pressure being used. 5 Remove tyre off hub and place on ground. Manual handling Practice correct lifting techniques 6 Remove spare tyre from ground and place on hub of car. Manual handling Practice correct lifting techniques 7 Loosely tighten wheel nuts on wheel and jack down car slowly. Explosion Monitor air pressure being used. 8 Tighten wheel nuts fully. Lug wrench may slip Use impact wrench. REPORT Five Steps to Risk Assessment model is a working model that aids in the identification of hazards, who might be at risk and the safety measures required to protect those who might be harmed by such hazards. It is easy to use and can be tailored to suit any organisations needs and sets the foundation to develop their own risk assessment. It is suitable for most hazard identification but can be limited to those areas that are more hazardous. Most of the other risk assessment models follow the five steps method, the difference is at the stage of evaluating the risk. At this stage a risk matrix is introduced by categorising the likelihood by the severity of harm, this will determine which risk should be dealt with first. Task Analysis breaks down a complex task into its components. Example of Task Analysis Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is used to identify, analyse and record steps involved in performing a specific task, the health and safety hazards associated with each step and recommendations for actions or procedures to eliminate such hazards and the risks associated with them. This method does not rely on individual memory because you can observe the worker while he is performing his job, doing it in this way induced recognition of hazards and identifies prior unnoticed hazards. It also helps in increasing ones knowledge of the job. Some advantages of using a JSA is that it helps to train new employees and promotes consistency in said training, helps in the reduction of injuries, is a good investigation tool, it identifies unsafe work practices before an accident take place and it serves as a evaluation tool for supervisors. Some disadvantages of using a JSA are that it does not identify all the hazards present so that no action can be taken to control the risk from these hazards and it can be too general. This form of risk assessment (JSA) is more suited for this type of work because it is based on the daily operations of the operators in the tyre shop. Each task involved in the changing of the tyre is examined and the associated hazards and risks are identified and recommendations can be made to control or eliminate these hazards. The five step model was also useful because of the simplicity of the task undertaken for the risk assessments. SUMMARY Every employer is required by law to assess the risks to his employees and anyone who may be affected by the daily operations of their business. By doing this, risk assessment helps to develop a safety culture. It helps to identify potential accidents and to increase managements awareness to hazards and incident in the workplace. Risk assessments also help to prioritise incidents that require a deeper review or investigation. The five steps to risk assessment is both easy to use and understand, it efficiently covers the basics to risk assessment and can be modified to form the foundation for a company to develop their own risk assessment. Job Safety Analysis method is also easy to use and understand; it is an accident prevention technique employed in safety programs in many companies. JSA breaks down each task into steps and evaluates each hazard. As mention earlier risk assessments does not have to be overly complicated it should be easy to use and understand. There will be risks that you cannot eliminate all together but it is advised to minimize it to as low as reasonable possible. Both risk assessment methods were useful in undertaking the task of changing a car tyre and can be used for many other tasks. WORD COUNT 1800 WORDS

How To Writing A Research Essay :: essays research papers

How To Writing A Research Essay The toughest part of the essay, for me, was taking all the information I had gained and reduce it to a mere few pages essay. After all, quality is better than quantity. I feel that if I shortened my essay, it would be weaker because I couldn't include everything that I had researched. This would mean that much of the time I spent and the information I had gathered in my research was going to waste. Reviewing the finished product, I realized that my shortened essay did in by half the pages did what my old one could not do in a few hundred -- it made a concise, focused argument. By focusing my essay, I was able to include only the best and most important points from my research, while discarding more extraneous ones. I learned that a research writer is like a funnel; he or she must take in a wide range of information at the beginning, and turn it into a narrow argument in the end. An essay is more than just uniting facts from your research, it is an opportunity for you to voice your own opinion. An essay with just facts is informative, but not very interesting and get boring. It tends to lose your audience.. A strong essay is one that uses facts to support an argument based on the writer's analysis of the topic. Even though this is easier said then done. Always keep the essay question in mind during your research. Ask yourself: "What do I need to know in order to answer the question?" Have a system of how you are going to answer that question. Find plenty of information to support your argument. Throughout your research you will surely find challenges.

State and Federal Authority in Screws v. United States Essay -- Suprem

State and Federal Authority in Screws v. United States Outside the courthouse in Newton, Georgia, in the early hours of January 30, 1943, Robert â€Å"Bobby† Hall was beaten unconscious by M. Claude Screws, Frank Edward Jones, and Jim Bob Kelley[1] while in their custody for the alleged theft of a tire;[2] Screws, Jones and Kelley were, respectively, Baker county sheriff, night policeman, and a civilian deputized specifically for the arrest.[3] Without ever recovering consciousness, Hall died as a result of a fractured skull shortly after his arrival at an Albany hospital that morning.[4] The NAACP and FBI investigated Hall’s death in the following months and federal charges were brought against Screws, Jones, and Kelley for violation of Section 20 of the Federal Criminal Code, which stipulates that no person may â€Å"under color of any law †¦ willfully† deprive a person of â€Å"any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.†[5] After bei ng found guilty in the lower courts, the defendants brought their case to the Supreme Court on appeal, alleging that they had violated a state rather than federal law and, consequently, could not be held liable under Section 20. The Supreme Court’s central concern in Screws et al. v. United States was to interpret the intent and breadth of Section 20 in order to judge its constitutionality; in doing so, the Court struggled to reach a consensus regarding the definition of state action and the indefinite nature of the rights protected by the statute. Such consensus proved difficult, indeed, as the case was narrowly decided and divided the Court along deep constitutional lines; while a majority of the Court advocated reversal of the lower co... ... [41] Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 151-152 (1945). [42] Ibid., 143. [43] Ibid., 111. [44] Ibid., 145-146. [45] Ibid., 149. [46] Memorandum by Mr. Justice Jackson, February 2, 1945, Jackson Papers, 5. [47] See Justice Murphy’s dissent, wherein he insists that â€Å"it is idle to speculate on other situations that might involve  § 20 which are not now before us.† Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 136 (1945). [48] Felix Frankfurter to Chief Justice Stone, November 30, 1944, Harlan Fiske Stone Papers. [49] Justice Frank Murphy’s Notes on Screws et al. v. United States, Frank Murphy Papers. [50] Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 139 (1945). [51] Memorandum by Mr. Justice Jackson, February 2, 1945, Jackson Papers, 6. [52] Harlan Fiske Stone to William O. Douglas, November 25, 1944, Harlan Fiske Stone Papers. State and Federal Authority in Screws v. United States Essay -- Suprem State and Federal Authority in Screws v. United States Outside the courthouse in Newton, Georgia, in the early hours of January 30, 1943, Robert â€Å"Bobby† Hall was beaten unconscious by M. Claude Screws, Frank Edward Jones, and Jim Bob Kelley[1] while in their custody for the alleged theft of a tire;[2] Screws, Jones and Kelley were, respectively, Baker county sheriff, night policeman, and a civilian deputized specifically for the arrest.[3] Without ever recovering consciousness, Hall died as a result of a fractured skull shortly after his arrival at an Albany hospital that morning.[4] The NAACP and FBI investigated Hall’s death in the following months and federal charges were brought against Screws, Jones, and Kelley for violation of Section 20 of the Federal Criminal Code, which stipulates that no person may â€Å"under color of any law †¦ willfully† deprive a person of â€Å"any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.†[5] After bei ng found guilty in the lower courts, the defendants brought their case to the Supreme Court on appeal, alleging that they had violated a state rather than federal law and, consequently, could not be held liable under Section 20. The Supreme Court’s central concern in Screws et al. v. United States was to interpret the intent and breadth of Section 20 in order to judge its constitutionality; in doing so, the Court struggled to reach a consensus regarding the definition of state action and the indefinite nature of the rights protected by the statute. Such consensus proved difficult, indeed, as the case was narrowly decided and divided the Court along deep constitutional lines; while a majority of the Court advocated reversal of the lower co... ... [41] Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 151-152 (1945). [42] Ibid., 143. [43] Ibid., 111. [44] Ibid., 145-146. [45] Ibid., 149. [46] Memorandum by Mr. Justice Jackson, February 2, 1945, Jackson Papers, 5. [47] See Justice Murphy’s dissent, wherein he insists that â€Å"it is idle to speculate on other situations that might involve  § 20 which are not now before us.† Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 136 (1945). [48] Felix Frankfurter to Chief Justice Stone, November 30, 1944, Harlan Fiske Stone Papers. [49] Justice Frank Murphy’s Notes on Screws et al. v. United States, Frank Murphy Papers. [50] Screws et al. v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 139 (1945). [51] Memorandum by Mr. Justice Jackson, February 2, 1945, Jackson Papers, 6. [52] Harlan Fiske Stone to William O. Douglas, November 25, 1944, Harlan Fiske Stone Papers.

America: Myth Of Equality Essay -- essays research papers

America: Myth of Equality To many, the Unites States serves as the ideal model of democracy for the modern world. Yet, how truly worthy is America of this status? Although it has been said that, â€Å"Equality is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie,† one must be extremely critical when analyzing such a statement. By taking a historical perspective to the question of how â€Å"equal† American equality actually is, it is simple to recognize how problematic the â€Å"Land of the Free† mentality can be. The early America’s most prominent thinkers have been sensationalized and given credit for developing a free and equal system. However, one can recognize that their manner of thinking was far from this idea of â€Å"all men are created equal† by critical examination of their literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When analyzing equality, a sociological and legal approach must be made. In the case of the United States, the sociological stratification, or division of power, of minority groups had adversely affected the development of the legal system. Especially in the 1600s and 1700s, legal and social equality of those not of the Caucasian persuasion, the less fortunate, and of the female gender was almost nonexistent. This inequality is a direct result of the early American society’s ranking system. Equality was not perceived in the minds of such individuals as John Winthrop, John Adams, and James Madison, and as a result, their significant accomplishments towards the development of the American system have tainted the institution itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the earliest American social groups was the 17th Century Puritans. This society had an extremely unique and strict manner of thinking that was entirely based on inequality. This is clearly represented by the writings of the Puritan leader John Winthrop. In â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity,† Winthrop outlines the societal rationale, and in turn, the disparity of equality in his society. The gist of the Puritan way of life is that, by the grace of God, certain individuals were empowered with the ability to be enlightened and the capability of achieving much within the society itself. However, by the same reasoning, some individuals were also destined to take the lesser roles in society, and as a result, had no power to move up within the ranks because of this inescapable predetermination. Thi... ...the initial American system. The factions that Madison concerns himself with were the population’s majority, otherwise known as the lesser classes. As a result, the establishment of division of power and checks and balances clauses would give the populace a lesser chance of gaining much authority over the already established aristocracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If this is the case, why is America perceived to be relatively fair and equal today? Fortunately the early American politicians did develop framework to allow the Constitution to evolve, and combined with the political movements in both minority and women’s rights of the end of this century, much of this unjust stigma has been eliminated from the system. Still, racial discrepancies in the courts occur more frequently then not, and the social makeup of American politicians continues to follow a predetermined â€Å"mold.† Is this a direct result of the discrepancies formed in the earlier stages of American history? It is hard for anyone to tell. What is indisputable is that the Declaration of Independence’s statement, â€Å"All men are created equal,† was far from the truth during early American history. Word Count: 1,323

Review on Rosewood

It's something taught from generation to generation, as we can see in the scene where the father of Everett, a white young boy, ask for people to make way for his son to look in a grave full of dead bodies of African Americans, as if he had to be proud of it. The father keeps trying to teach the little boy how to hate and how to mistreat black people, as we see In the part where he teaches his son to tie a hangman's knot and when he forbids the kid to play with his little friend, who Is black.If the racism shown In the movie had an rolling, It could be the Jealousy the white people had of the things the black females owned. In Rosewood, they would run their own business and live In ace, not only with each other but also with some of the white people who also lived there, such as Mr.. Wright, the white grocer, who seemed to like his neighbors. At one point of the movie, a black traveler arrives in town on a horse, and he is considered a key element to the story. Mr..Mann is rich, and bids at the auction by Mr.. Wright, who owns lots of land. At the same time, the population hears something about a black guy who had just escaped prison, so they start wondering if Mr.. Mann is the refugee. He could also be the man who is known to be the one that violated the white woman. The mall scene of the movie shows the part where the white woman Is beaten by her lover. She tells everyone she was violated by a black guy who would have Invaded her house.And she does that, lying to everyone In town, In order to hide her affair from her husband, who was really violent, too. It is clear that it was much easier and convincing for her to make up a story blaming a black guy than just telling the truth and ending up being judged. This attitude made the racist white population search for the invader and, under the excuse of putting an end to any chance of it appending again, they start killing lots of African Americans, starting a massacre.The oppression had taken such a big proportio n that two black women, who were working near the house of the white woman and had also seen it all happening, did not have the courage to tell the truth, afraid of being attacked, and thus they believed they were protecting their families. Although the Information they had was useful, It was already too late for they to tell the truth and save everyone from the butchery. Another Important element in the story are the attitudes of the sheriff of the town, ho was white, and tried Ineffectively to show that he had an Idea of what may have happened, but he wasn't being heard by anyone.Even though he knew that the white of the community, which objective was finding and killing the black invader (and as many black people they could kill). However, there was still hope. Mr.. Mann, who had just arrived in town, was the man who would try and be able to defend the black community, becoming a kind of leader. As he was accused by attacking the white woman, he was hanged. But, somehow, he manag ed to escape from the gibbet, even Hough he was already being hung.After that, he runs to meet the families he left waiting so they could actually run to another place where they would be free. He could, then, be considered a hero, once he managed to save women and children by helping them escape from Rosewood and that is why there was someone left to tell us the real version of the story. The movie is about a important story told in a quite depressive way, not only because it portraits the reality in a sad way, but mainly because it is the reality of a town that was devastated by the violence and inhumanity caused by the racism.

Culture of the University of Phoenix Essay

University of Phoenix is a centre of excellence, which has served thousands of students from all over the world since it inception. The university’s culture is its personality, and it holds the university’s community by encouraging adherence to the university’s values, norms and assumptions all of which makes the university to behave in a way likely to promote the university’s cause. The culture of University of Phoenix is demonstrated in the things, which the University of Phoenix takes pride in such as its multinational students as well as warm relations with the local community. Like many learning institutions the culture of University of Phoenix can be referred to as an â€Å"Academy culture†. This is mainly the case considering the fact that in the University of Phoenix, there is little movement of staff and the staff turnover is quite low. It is likely that, most of the staff members at the university have served in the university for close to a decade or longer. There is also a blend of â€Å"club culture† in the organization given the fact that employees in the organization are recruited as junior employees but end up rising through the ranks to top management. Usually those who begin at the bottom of the organization but enroll in part time courses end up gaining skills and at the same time experience. This puts them at a very good position to enhance as the university supports career growth and development of its employees. The leaders in the university do not exercise unregulated authority characteristic in organizations such as military organizations which operate under a bureaucratic leadership style. The culture at University of Phoenix is that of unity and collaboration amongst the university community members. The University of Phoenix pursues a culture of integrity, honesty, excellence, racial tolerance, devotion to studies, creativeness as well as positive attitude towards success. The culture also calls for high belief in achievement and being goal oriented. The University of Phoenix promotes a culture of high values in everything the community members undertake. As a result of the cultural beliefs, the organization upholds, the University of Phoenix encourages total commitment to zero tolerance against racial discrimination, discrimination on basis of colour or nationality as well as zero tolerance towards gender discrimination. As a result of adherence to high values, the University of Phoenix continues to attract some of the best scholars in the world. People feel free to participate in the University’s growth in terms of continually being a centre for excellence. Therefore the University of Phoenix can be said to have a strong culture because every function of the university in terms of academic excellence and research activities is aligned to organizational values. This is what defines the strength of a culture and how well it is aligned to the organizational values. At the University of Phoenix there is a high sense of belonging amongst the students who always want to be associated with the organization, are proud to be associated with the university and wherever they go they carry themselves in a way in which they make good ambassadors of the university. Conclusion In a summary the culture of University of Phoenix mix can be said to be ideal in that it promotes participation of all members of the University in the promotion of the University’s values. The university’s culture allows for an easy introduction of change and therefore whenever there are any changes to be done it is never hard for the administration to institute nor the students to implement. There are rarely challenges so very hard for the university community to overcome as the culture allows for functioning as teams. Finally the culture allows for easy conflict resolution whenever conflicts arise. Reference http://www. insidehighered. com/workplace/2005/03/28/phoenix. Accessed on 6/04/2001. www. intuitive. com/blog/university_of_phoenix_apollo_group_releases_free_speech_policy. html Accessed on 6/04/2001.

Divorce: Marriage and School Aged School

Divorce's Impact on Preschool, School-Age, and Adolescent Children Abstract This writing reviews current literature examining the impact of divorce on children in the context of family. The review encompasses ways divorce can be prevented and how un-prevented divorce can affect children of the specified ages. The ages of the children are outlined as preschool, school aged and adolescence. The impact on each group is different and considered. Ways to minimize the number of divorces is examined by outlining preventions on a state level.Recommendations for state established programs are made that would occur prior to marriage to prevent later iscommunications. In the face of unstoppable divorce it is important to understand how children can be helped to cope more effectively with divorce in context of future development. Divorce's impact on preschool, school-age, and adolescent children As divorce continues to be an option for marriage resolution it is important to take a look at how di vorce affects young children. Numerous studies have been done to prove the negative effects of divorce on children.This writing will examine those effects upon children of preschool, school, and adolescent aged children. It is mportant to understand the effects on children in terms of later development. Divorce affects both the custodial and non-custodial parent and their relationship with the child (ren). It effects how parents discipline their children and bond with their children. The negative effects of divorce could be avoided if divorce could be minimized. Minimizing divorce could prevent the negative long term effects of divorce on children.This writing will also take a look at how divorce can be minimized in order to circumvent negative effects on preschool, school and adolescent aged children. The impact of divorce on preschool, school aged and adolescent children needs to be understood in order to prevent long term emotional, mental, social and psychological issues later i n life. Preschool Preschool aged children generally marked from ages 4 to 5 years old have been found to have negative effects from divorce. Studies have engaged the personality traits of preschoolers to determine the impact of divorce . The main reference has been made to the attachment theory.This theory supports the idea that preschool children are affected by divorce emotionally . Attachment theory developed by John Bowlby is the bond between the child and the caregiver and plays a serious role in the developmental stages of growth. Preschoolers use their attachments as safety nets to depend on when exploring the world outside them. During the preschool years children will be attached to one or both parents and divorce causes an upset in that attachment. It has been documented that the attachment security is negatively impacted by divorce (Nair & Murray, 2005).The impact reflects mostly on the security of attachment. The preschool aged child exhibits behaviors of separation anxi ety and insecurity. It has been determined that negative effects to attachment will later become issues for older children . The preschool age children do not understand divorce but do understand that upset and the separation and may carry feelings of abandonment and fear of abandonment. Preschool children may feel if parents can divorce, then parents can divorce children. Preschool children are likely to feel responsible for the divorce and for the separated parents .Preschool children are effected by the custodial parents form of discipline, other children in the home, interaction with other children at school, relationships with teachers, and identifying ith self . All issues could develop into other negative elements later in growth. School Aged School aged children will handle divorce differently than preschoolers and will progress through successful with guidance. However, there are a few behaviors or effects that are characteristic and common of school aged children. Children at this age are affected behaviorally and psychological .These children tend to internalize the effects of divorce and think that the situation is caused by them. In turn they will think and act as if they have control over the situation. They will blame themselves or the divorce and will think they can get the parents back together if they behave. They will misbehave to get attention. They will act sick or experience true sickness in order to unite their parents. This stage is burdened with the responsibility of getting parents back together and will respond in ways to accomplish this mission . School aged children harbor fear of abandonment.The greatest effect on school aged children is not being able to see life past divorce. They are uncertain of the future and are confused about the roles to be played. This confusion will cause them o not want to participate at school and make up stories and act out Just to get attention. The combination of the change in parental separation, p arenting style, and parental coping skills leads them to behave in unexpected and uncharacteristic ways . These behaviors left unaddressed can lead into greater issues in adolescence. Adolescent The impact of divorce on adolescence can run deep and wide.Adolescence is affected behaviorally, socially, and psychologically. Children at this age are already experiencing socio-emotional changes and hormonal changes adding divorce can be a recipe for disaster. Since these children are more independent and self-functional the risk are higher for negative behaviors. Adolescence is a time for individualism and self-expression. The negative effects are displayed outwardly. Examples of adolescent behaviors include disobedience, failing school, and legal activities. During the time of divorce adolescence are confused, upset and angry.The anger drives the adolescent to participate in negative behaviors. They will be more upset with one parent over the other. The way they relate to others and get along with others will be dramatically attected The entire socialization process can be damaged nd without proper guidance could last well into the adult years . Divorce The negative effects of divorce become obvious after discussion. The greatest effects fall upon the children. Divorce is seen as a resolution to a bad marriage. Divorce is occurring more often and with the involvement of children. Preschool, school aged, and adolescence children can be more affected than adults.The emotional, behavioral, social and psychological effects of divorce are factors of development in life. Taking a proactive approach to divorce could alleviate and circumvent the negative effects on children. With divorce being the number one resolution to a bad marriage coming up with innovative and creative ways to prevent divorce can be difficult. Preventing divorce falls can be done with extending the process of marriage and educating the public before and during the marriage. In order to prevent divor ce the state could become more involved with the process of marriage .In the majority of states the process of marriage involves purchasing a marriage license and standing before a clerk or planning a wedding. It does not take much to get married. If the state were to take more interest in those who are equesting a marriage license and provide mandatory education to those apply, it could decrease the number of divorces. Greater involvement could go as far as outlining the marriage and discussing issues like parenting, education, work and career as well as sexual expectations . These are elements of a marriage that are not always discussed but could be the primary targets for divorce.In order to prevent divorce the state could mandate education and mentoring at various levels of a marriage. Prior to getting the state license for marriage the state could required counseling and educational classes about what to expect in marriage ife. Couples could discuss expectations and needs. Coup les could be mentored by other couples in order to learn healthy ways of communicating and resolving conflict. If a marriage is seemingly in trouble and headed for divorce, the state could mandate marriage counseling and education on healthier ways of resolving conflict.If the marriage is not salvageable then pre-counseling could be provided for divorce. The process of divorce could be discussed and when children are involved they could be included in the counseling in order to help them adjust prior to the change . Coping Until such measures could be mandated or implemented helping children to cope positively with the changes of divorce is a necessity. The social, emotional, behavioral and psychological effects of divorce despite the age of impact could affect the remaining stages of development when not positively adjusted.This writer is of the opinion that in order to help children cope they need to be involved in the process. Counseling the children about what divorce means, wha t to expect, and how things will change is an important element in divorce. Helping children to understand what is going on and what to expect. Children would have a better understanding of how divorce should affect them. It is important for children to know they are not responsible for the divorce and that parents still love them.It would also be helpful to have the children attend a group with other similar aged children to discuss the effects of divorce and how each one is coping. This would allow the chi Idren to gain support and realize they are not alone in the way that they feel. This would be a facilitated group where the facilitator could direct the discussion and help the children to identify with how they are feeling and work hrough the emotions and ideas. As a professional counselor I would be able to help each party involved by being available for open discussion as well as education. I would meet with the parties individually and as a group.I would inform the parents a bout the well-being of the children and make suggestions for family discussion. I would encourage both parents to have discussion with the child(ren) outside of counseling in order to gain the child's trust and help them to see that because the family is splitting up it is all about the parents and not the child(ren). Conclusion The impact of divorce on preschool, school aged and adolescence is emotional, behavioral, social and psychological. These effects cause issues involving healthy separation, self-esteem, and the development through the stages of growth.In younger children the effects of divorce are more psychological and effect the attachment of the child and the primary caregiver as well as self confidence to explore the world beyond self. The school aged children internalize the process and the conflict and seemingly take on the responsibility of putting the parents back together. Adolescents can fall into negative and illegal behaviors. These issues can be avoided by minim izing the number of divorces. This could be done with state involvement to mandate the process and the education of marriage.The mandates should take place before certification for marriage is approved and if necessary during the divorce process. As a counselor this writer would be available to see families through the process of education during conflict and counseling for family and individual children if entering the divorce process. Ulitimately understanding the impact of divorce on children is necessary in order to help children to cope and move ast emotions related to the process of divorce so they do not interfere in the stage development of the child.