Technology Education, Software Piracy, and the L Essay Example For Students

Technology Education, Software Piracy, and the L Essay aw Exploratory Essays Research Papers Education, Software Piracy, and the Law Abstract This paper is intended as a primer for copyright law in the form of a short story. An elementary school teacher illegitimately copies a piece of software for educational purposes and is discovered. Issues such as the fair use doctrine, copyright law, and cyberlaw are covered. The analytical section provides a realistic legal defense for the fictional situation that drives the paper. We will write a custom essay on Technology Education, Software Piracy, and the L specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now My name is Jason Lee and I teach 6th grade mathematics at Hightstown Middle School in Hightstown, New Jersey. I cant say I particularly enjoy my job, but I still give it my best. I do enjoy spending time with my students, and any occasion when we can all laugh together is a good one. Most students who pass through school here will go on to work at low-income jobs for the rest of their lives. The few students who do seem to have potential for a bright future rarely achieve one. About five years ago, our school received a number of outdated computers and a small grant to install Internet access from the nearby Armand Hammer Corporation. We converted a classroom downstairs into our first-ever computer laboratory, and the kids couldnt get enough. Very few of them had used a computer before, and of those, few actually owned one. Even today, a lot of kids know what a computer is but lack basic knowledge about its use. Six months ago, one of our outstanding students, Jake Meyers, told me that he wanted to make websites for a living. I was enamored, and decided to help him as best as I could. We spent our after school hours for the next month learning HTML together. Jakes first website was about Pokemon cards, one of his many passions. Jake and I made a page for each of his favorite characters, found pictures of them on the Internet, and posted the site to a free server. His next idea was to create original pictures depicting battles between the Pokemon, but because our district could not afford any drawing software, we were unable to do it. When Jake began to feel discouraged, I resolved to get my hands on a professional quality program. My wife, who is a secretary at an advertising firm, was able to get a copy of Adobe Illustrator for me. I installed the program on one of the lab computers, and Jake and I once again spent hours designing his imaginary Pokemon haven. Unfortunately, the action came back to haunt me when one of my colleagues, Maureen Shea, dropped in on one of our sessions about two months ago. She asked if the school had finally allocated enough money to start upgrading the lab. I responded that no, I had borrowed the software from my wife and installed it on one computer. I didnt think much of telling Maureen, but she took the event more seriously than I imagined. As part of the hiring process, teachers are required to report any legal transgressions they observe. If the event had been ignored, Maureen was equally liable for the infraction. Acting on this fear, she reported the illegitimate software to the School Board. Within a week, I received a letter requesting a period of voluntary leave while the Board could investigate. In my initial testimony before the seven members, I related the exact story recounted here. Though they did not disagree with my actions from a practical standpoint, they asked me to prepare a legal defense. Apparently, they were legally bound to report the incident to Adobe, and I was to research copyright law for a possible hearing with the company. All of a sudden, I had a new project to work on. I spent most of my days in front of a computer in the basement after school hours. .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .postImageUrl , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:hover , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:visited , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:active { border:0!important; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:active , .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45 .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u25f9610d4744018023216dc03c7afa45:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Vegetarianism Essay As for Jake, I only saw him once over the next two weeks; it seemed like I had let him down. There was nothing I could do, because I could not help him without first helping myself. After only a few minutes of research, .

5 Terrible Tattoo Typos

5 Terrible Tattoo Typos 5 Terrible Tattoo Typos 5 Terrible Tattoo Typos By Mark Nichol It’s one thing to introduce a spelling or punctuation error when icing a message on a birthday cake or a similar confection such mistakes are easily disposed of but when it comes to getting a tattoo, think before you ink, because it’s difficult to render a correction. These tattoo typos are the responsibility of the tattoo artist, not the human canvases, but if you choose to have words printed on your body, you might want to hand the artist a neatly printed transcription and to monitor the inscription of the tracing draft and revise the draft as necessary. (My daughter, normally the sensible sort except, of course, for the whole tattoo thing was prevented from possible inclusion in this Hall of Shame when her best friend, fortunately in attendance during an inking procedure, pointed out the omission of a letter in a word the artist had preliminarily inscribed on her arm with a pen.) The Internet-o-sphere abounds with images of tattoo tragedies, and it was difficult to pare the possibilities to a manageable number for this post. But here, in order of egregiousness, are the five most boneheaded blunders: No, you’re not. Oh, it’s not a misspelling of handsome? It’s supposed to be awesome. No, you’re not. But you would be if you returned to the tattoo artist and free of charge, of course had a red caret and a matching e inscribed. What an honor is must have been for the person bearing this tattoo to be a bearer of the Oylmpic torch though that’s not as memorable as being a torchbearer for the Olympics. As is probably true in many such cases, she reportedly didn’t know about the error until someone pointed it out to her. Even then, she turned down the tattoo artist’s offer to correct it. She says it’s unique like she is. Yes, that’s one word for it. Um, the biblical verse, as usually translated into English, is, â€Å"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die† the statement elegantly terminates with the key word. This fellow’s artistic license in altering the wording and word order is excusable, but the misspelling of fore not likely a pun on forearm is not. I would have recommended the standard version, broken after drink but â€Å"broken after drink† is probably the reason for the mistake in the first place. This isn’t the only tragedy tattoo typo one can find (and you might be surprised by how many ways tattoo artists can render regret/regrets), but it’s the most prominent and therefore the most tragic. This misbegotten masterpiece wins the prize for sheer spectacle, and for lasting significance. My surmise is that this fellow has a spot in his heart for his alma mater. Unfortunately, there’s no Clemons University it’s Clemson. (I hope he got his money back that looks like a four-figure flub.) Image credits: YTMND.com, BBC.com, HuffingtonPost.com, EnglishFailBlog.org Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About Hands50 Nautical Terms in General Useâ€Å"Least,† â€Å"Less,† â€Å"More,† and â€Å"Most†

Accounting Sustainability and Reporting.

Sustainability refers to striking out a balance between present needs and the future needs and accordingly making out a decision for consumption of the resources. In the context of development or consumption of resources, the sustainability means consuming resources responsibly by taking the future needs into consideration (Schaltegger, Bennett, & Burritt, 2006). The business organizations consume scarce environmental resource, few of which are difficult to be restored. Therefore, these organizations should assume a sense of responsibility to use the scarce environmental resources in an effective and efficient manner. The regulators around the world are now being actively engaged in framing the rules and regulations to achieve sustainability in the developments. Major steps at the global level are being taken to enhance the sustainable business developments. In this regard, one of the major steps taken by the regulators is compelling the business organizations to adopt sustainability accounting and reporting practices (Schaltegger, Bennett, & Burritt, 2006). Sustainability accounting and reporting practices are directed to report the steps taken by the companies towards sustainability issues. The companies have been mandated by the government regulations to contribute towards the environment and society for promoting sustainability (Brockett & Rezaee, 2012). The concept of corporate social responsibility emerged which requires the companies to contribute towards the development of society and the environment. The sustainability accounting is a broad concept that provide for aligning the sustainability initiatives with the organizational strategies. Sustainability accounting not only involves reporting on the sustainability initiatives, but it also involves evaluation of the risks and threats to the environment and measurement of the company’s performance from environmental perspective. The issues of sustainability are being considered at the international level requiring the firms to adopt these practices. The adoption of sustaina ble business practices is considered beneficial not for a firm only but for the overall economic environment at the global level (Brockett & Rezaee, 2012). The report presented here is aimed at exploring the significance of sustainability accounting and reporting practices in the overall economic development of a country. In order to achieve this aim, the report will address the following objectives: This research report covers a comprehensive literature review to gather the views of existing literatures on sustainability accounting and reporting. Further, the report takes on data analysis on the subject matter of the research to find out actual impact on the corporations and economy. In this regard, the report precisely describes the methodology used to collect and analyze the data. Further, a discussion taking the view of existing literatures and the findings of the data analysis has been carried out followed by a concise conclusion being drawn.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The literature review section of the entire research report is very crucial. In this section, the researcher gets the knowledge of existing literatures on the subject matter of research, which is necessary to understand the foundation of the research (Jesson, 2011). Further, the review of literature also boosts up the confidence of the researcher by providing a strong foundation for data collection and analysis. The current research focuses on sustainability accounting and reporting, thus, the review of existing literatures focuses around this topic. In order to carry out the review of literatures appropriately, the entire subject matter has been bifurcated into different heads as discussed below. According to Soderstrom (2013), traditionally, the accounting and reporting practices in the firms could be found to be focusing on communicating the financial information and operational data to the stakeholders. However, the process of accounting and reporting has undergone a severe change to include the reporting on the sustainability issues. Over the last two decades, a drastic change in the approaches of reporting to the stakeholders has been witnessed (Soderstrom, 2013). The government regulations made it compulsory for the corporations to report on the corporate sustainability in their annual reports. The origin of sustainability reporting can be traced in way back 1960s and 1970s; however, the popularity was very less. As per the survey conducted by one of the world’s largest accounting firms, â€Å"Earns & Young†, only 1% of the 500 fortune companies were found to be reporting on the social and environmental sustainability in the mid 1970s in the United States (Soderstrom, 2013). According to Zu (2008), in the mid 1990s, triple bottom line reporting was introduced to promote sustainability (Zu, 2008). The triple bottom line model of reporting was primarily aimed at balancing the three crucial aspects of the business such as society, environment, and profitability. This model provided that the business should not only concentrate on the profits, but equal emphasis should also be given to the social and environmental aspects. Further, the triple bottom line reporting model also claims that the profitability of the company automatically increases when proper balance between the needs of shareholders, society, and the environment is maintained. This model greatly emphasized the role of society and environment in building the firm’s business and enhancing the firm’s value in the long run (Zu, 2008). Further, in the year 1997, the Global Reporting Initiative, a non-profit organization was founded, which provided for guidelines in regard to sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms (GRI, 2008). It was the increased need for sustainability that laid the establishment of Global Reporting Initiative in the last 1990s. According to Gupta & Mason (2014), the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) provides reporting frameworks which assist the corporations in complying with the legal reporting requirements in regard to sustainability. Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) has issued G3 guidelines which cover three core areas of sustainability such as economic, social, and environment. Gupta & Mason (2014), further state that reporting under the G3 guidelines helps the corporations enhance transparency and goodwill in the market which ultimately affects the worth of the company positively (Gupta & Mason, 2014).  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Daizy & Das (2014), Sustainability reporting has become part of the strategic decision making in the firms. Both, management as well as other stakeholders such as shareholders, society, and the government are benefited in some or other way by the sustainability reporting practices. The primary reason for sustainability reporting is to ensure that the efforts made by the corporations towards sustainability are measured and communicated to the stakeholders (Daizy & Das, 2014). Further, in the views of Daizy & Das (2014), the companies can improve their operational efficiency and ensure growth in the shareholder’s value in the long run by implementing and maintaining the sustainability reporting practices. Thus, apart from being a regulatory requirement, the sustainability reporting is also crucial for the long term growth (Daizy & Das, 2014). Further, sustainability reporting assists the management in analyzing the non financial factors and finding out impact of those factors on the firm’s profitability. In the present scenario, it has been really pertinent to measure and evaluate the impact of non financial factors such as society and environment on the financial performance of the firm (Daizy & Das, 2014). It is compulsory for the firms to continually contribute towards the social and environmental sustainability and assess its impact on the firm’s financial performance. This assessment can be carried out with the help of structured data which is prepared through the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Therefore, sustainability accounting and reporting plays a crucial role in analysis and decision making, whether it is being done by the management for internal purposes or by the shareholders (Daizy & Das, 2014).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The sustainability reporting has become part and parcel of financial reporting for most of the corporations in the 21 st century (CPA, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting has been promoted not only because regulators made is obligatory, but more due to its enduring advantages. The sustainability reporting provides benefits to all type of companies and in particular the large corporations are benefited in the form of enhanced shareholder’s confidence, improved goodwill in the market, and improved operational efficiency. Further, there are many other indirect advantages of adopting the sustainability reporting practices, for example, savings in resource consumption, cost reduction, waste reduction, and improved relationship with regulatory bodies (CPA, 2013).   As per Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012), about 250 companies from all over the world have adopted the corporate sustainability reporting practices and providing a separate report on the social and environmental initiatives (Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin, 2012). The large corporations and particularly the companies listed on the stock exchanges are being more complaint in regard to sustainability reporting than the smaller companies. The authors further state that though the sustainability reporting is increasing at the global level, but it is still imbalanced. It is perceived that the adoption of sustainability reporting adds additional burden on the smaller firms and thus, it has not been made obligatory for them in most of the countries. However, the bigger firms (listed companies) are quite capable to bear that additional burden and also the fact that these firms consume the environmental and economic resources at the large scale and affect the bigger part of the society, leads to making the adoption of sustainability reporting practices compulsory for them (Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin, 2012). Though adoption of sustainability reporting practices is advantageous for the firms but at the same it is challenging also. According to Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012), the first key challenge in implanting the sustainability reporting effectively is identification of the needs of target audience. The sustainability reports are prepared to provide information on the approach followed by the company towards the social and environmental issues. The key challenge is to decide a standard format so that the information is communicated to the target audience in the best manner. However, challenges in this area are to some extent lessened by the guidelines provided by GRI. Further, the firms also struggle in measuring and evaluating the impact of its activities on the society and the environment precisely. It is quite a subjective matter to measure and evaluate the impact of firm’s activities on the social lives and the environment Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012). Despite these challenges, the firms are adopting the sustainability reporting practices all over the world. According to OECD (2008), 120 companies out of total 500 have adopted the sustainability reporting and these numbers are expected to increase further in future. However, the popularity of sustainability reporting is increasing rapidly in Australia, but comparing it at the global level, it seems that improvements are still needed (OECD, 2008). There is a need to make strong efforts by the regulators, government, and the corporations to make sustainability reporting widespread in the country. The regulator has to consider that making the sustainability reporting obligatory for only listed companies would not be enough. The small and medium sized firms should also be encouraged to come forward and adopt the best sustainability reporting practices (OECD, 2008).  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Vasile et al. (2016), the sustainability reporting fixes responsibility on the companies to make legitimate efforts towards development of society, environment, and the overall economy. There are various aspects which could be put into discussion to assess the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy. These aspects are improvement in living standards of the people, savings in the consumption of scarce natural resources, and improvement in firm’s long term profitability. Vasile et al. (2016), further state that development of the society and environment are the elements of economy development, thus, if the efforts are made to improve the society or the environment, the economy will automatically be affected positively (Vasile et al., 2016). According to Higgins (2013), the sustainability and economic development are interdependent on each other. The gross domestic product indicates economic growth. If a country chases high growth in the GDP, it would require increasing the production quantities at a large scale (Higgins, 2013). The increase in production of goods would entail consumption of resources at the large scale. The consumption of resources at a rapid pace is dangerous for the sustainability. Therefore, the need to strike out a balance between the desired economic growth and the consumption of resources in a sustainable manner is essential. Further states that balancing the current economic growth and the consumption of the resources is crucial for long run survival of the economy (Higgins, 2013).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reporting on sustainability issues has raised awareness in the business firms to save wastage of resources. The reduction in wastage of resources enhances the profitability of the firms which in turn increases the economic growth positively (Higgins, 2013). Further, as part of the sustainability efforts, the business firms are also contributing significantly for improving the societies. The contribution of the firms in this direction is critical to rise up the living standard of the people. Further, the improvement in the living standard is crucial for the overall economic growth. Thus, it could be said that the sustainability efforts made by the firms are essential for the overall improvement in the economic conditions of not only a country but at the global level (Higgins, 2013). In the views of Daly (2014), the economic development in the sustainable manner could be slow but it will be study and long last. The sustainability gives an impression that the resources are not to be used heedlessly (Daly, 2014). The firms are required to keep the needs of future in mind while consuming environmental resources. The consideration of future needs leads to consumption of the resources in a responsible manner which might lead to slow growth. However, the growth may be slow but it would be study. Consuming resources in this manner, the firm will be able to sustain its business for longer term which would ultimately affect its value positively (Daly, 2014).     Ã‚   The views of authors on sustainability accounting and reporting have been analyzed in this section. The literatures were reviewed with the objective of finding out the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting practices on the overall economic development of a country. In this regard, many authors provided their views on the reasons for evolution of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Some of the authors stated that it has become a mandatory requirement and few of them stated that sustainability accounting and reporting practices affects the value of the firm positively in the long run. Further, review of literatures reveal that though the adoption of sustainability reporting benefits the firm but it is quite a challenging task. However, the implantation of sustainability reporting could be vital for the overall economic development sustainability.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   A systematic approach is adopted in conducting a research which involves application of appropriate methodology to collect the required data and apply the data analysis tools. The tools and techniques applied in the research for data collection could be scientific requiring application of principles of statics (Olsen, 2011). The selection of appropriate data collection methods and the analytical tools is critical for completing the research in an effective manner. There are two main categories of data collection methods such as primary and secondary. The primary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as survey and interview. Further, the secondary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as review of the documents and observations (Olsen, 2011). It has been observed that the secondary data collection methods are suited the best in the case of qualitative researches. The research carried out in this report aims at exploring the impact of accounting sustainability and reporting practices on the overall economic development (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The research is qualitative in nature, thus, the secondary data collection methods have been applied. For the purpose of this research, the data has been collected through study of books, journal, reports of regulatory authorities and the government. In this regard, it has been ensured that the data collected is latest; therefore, the books, journals, and the reports of the regulatory authorities of the latest years have been referred for data collection (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The data collection was organized in three categories such as reasons for adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms, impact on the firm’s value of sustainability reporting, and its impact on the overall economy (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The data collected in regard to reasons for adoption of sustainability reporting practices relates to identification of the key drivers of sustainability. Further, the data collected in regard to impact on the firm’s value covers the profitability and net worth of the firm’s before and after the adoption of sustainability reporting. Further, in regard to evaluation of impact on the overall economy, the data relates to macro economic factors such as gross domestic product, standard of living, poverty levels, and reductions in the carbon emissions (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The data collection process has been carried out ethically and in an effective manner so that all the required information could be gathered. There certain limitations of the secondary data, which are required to be made explicit so as to assist the readers in drawing conclusions (Ary et al., 2013). The secondary data is prone to the risk of inappropriateness and there exists lack of control on preparation of the secondary data. Thus, effectiveness of the research carried out based on the secondary data depends upon the accuracy of the data. Further, the ethical concerns in regard to the use of secondary have been adhered to carefully. Proper referencing and citations have been given in the report wherever considered necessary to give credit to the authors whose data is used (Ary et al., 2013).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research report presented here has main goal of finding out the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy of a country. In order to achieve this goal, it has been considered pertinent to find out the reasons for adoption of the sustainability reporting practices. The sustainability reporting provides value addition to the firm in various ways .There are countless parameters which can be used to assess the value added by sustainability reporting as shown in the figure given below: Figure 1: Value Added by Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the figure show above, it could be observed that there are various areas which are positively affected by adoption of sustainability reporting practices. It could be observed that more than 40% of the total surveyed companies consider that improved reputation is the major factor which drives the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting practices enhances the confidence of investors and consumers which helps in building reputation in the market. Further, there were more than 35% companies which claimed that sustainability reporting is crucial in increasing the employee loyalty. Employee’s loyalty is very important for the firms to achieve the targets on time and succeed in the market. Further, few companies also found increase in the consumer loyalty due to adoption of the sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). Further, the sustainability reporting also helped the firms to make their strategies stronger in terms of long run business and refine their visions. Further, there were observed around 25% companies which claimed that achieving reduction in wastage of the natural resources was one of the primary reasons for promotion of sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). The other commonly accepted factors which laid the adoption of sustainability reporting were improved relationship with the regulatory bodies, reduced long term risk, enhanced long term profitability (EY, 2013). Due the above discussed factors, the sustainability reporting has been adopted by various firms world-wide. The following chart shows the growth in sustainability reporting adoption from to year 2000 to 2011: Figure 2: Growth in Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the chart presented above, it could be observed that there has been a complete transformation since the year 2008. The increase in the number of companies adopting sustainability reporting practices has been enormous from the year 2008 to 2011. Within a period of 3-4 years, the number of companies complying with the sustainability reporting guidelines (issued by GRI) has increased to a significant level (EY, 2013). Further, data has been collected and analyzed to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on the firm’s profitability and its value. The firms perceive that consuming resources optimally keeping the future needs in mind will help them build better tomorrow. Further, the reduction in cost and risk and increase in reputation and quality are expected to lead the firm on the path of high profitability in the long run. The implementation of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices increases the legal compliances and it also put additional burden on the firm in terms of new manpower. Further, the benefits of sustainability reporting accrue over the years in the long run. Therefore, in the short run, the impact on profitability of the firm employing sustainability reporting practices may be adverse, but it would be positive in the long run.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The data analysis conducted NWOBU (2015) reveals that there exists a positive correlation between the profit after tax and sustainability reporting index. The profit after tax depicts profitability of the company while the score on sustainability index indicates the compliance level of the firm with sustainability reporting requirements. Thus, a positive correlation between profit after tax and sustainability index is the indicative of the fact that with the increased compliance of sustainability reporting, the firm’s experience increase in their profitability. The research of NWOBU (2015) reveals that correlation between profit after tax and the sustainability index is 0.281, which is low positive correlation. The correlation of 0.281 implies that increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the profit after tax, but the increase in profitability might at the low rate (NWOBU, 2015). Further, the correlation between shareholder’s fund and sustainability index was also analyzed. The correlation between these two factors was found to be 0.183, which can again be categorized as positive and low (NWOBU, 2015). Thus, the interpretation would remain as it was before in case of profit after tax. Therefore, the increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the shareholder’s fund. It is to be noted that the shareholder’s fund represents the value of a firm. Thus, it could be articulated that with the increase in sustainability index, the value of the firm increases. However, the increase might be at very slow rate (NWOBU, 2015). After analyzing the impact of sustainability reporting on the firm’s profitability and its value, it is essential to observe the changes in the macro economic factors due to adoption of sustainability reporting practices (Talberth, 2010). In this regard, it is considered crucial to analyze the gross domestic product, standards living of the people, and poverty level. It is argued that sustainable business practices may cause reduction in the overall gross domestic product of the country. The reduction in GDP may be caused due to reduction the production level caused by decrease in the consumption of the environmental resources. For example, if the mining companies decrease the exploration of minerals, the production level of commodities will go down affecting the gross domestic product adversely. However, due to recent shift in the economic and environmental conditions, the gross domestic product is no longer considered to be reliable measure of well being of an economy. The p erformance on sustainability indices is taking place of gross domestic product now a day (Talberth, 2010). Further, the improvement in the sustainability practices also implies contribution to the society at a large scale. The firms working in the economy make combined efforts to raise the living standard of the people. Further, with the rise in the living standard of the people, the poverty level automatically goes down. Therefore, it could be inferred that the improvements in the sustainability reporting enable the economy to stabilize and grow in a sustainable manner (Talberth, 2010).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research carried out in this report addresses the crucial matter which relates to adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting practices by the firms operating in the economy. The aim of this research is to explore that whether the sustainability accounting and reporting is essential for the economy or not. In order to achieve the aim, the activities of the research are bounded by three objectives. The literature review has been carried out around these three objectives and the data analysis has also been conducted by keeping the three identified objectives in the centerfield. The articulation of the reviews of various authors reveals that promotion of sustainability accounting and reporting is really important for the well being of the overall economy (Daly, 2014). The authors state that there are various factors which make the firms to adopt the sustainability reporting. The improvement in the market reputation of the firm is one of the most crucial factors in that regard. The views of the authors reveal that firm’s reputation is improved to a great extent when it complies with the sustainability reporting guidelines. Further, the data analysis also supports this view of the authors. The analysis of data findings reveals that most of the companies consider the market reputation as one of the essential factor in adoption of the sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). Further, there have been identified few other factors as well such as customer loyalty, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliances. These factors also make the firm to comply with the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. In regard to the impact on firm’s financial performance, the authors state that the adoption of the sustainability reporting affects it positively in the long run. However, in the short run there may be adverse effect due to high compliance cost at the beginning. Further, the findings of the data analysis also support this view of the authors. The data analysis depicts that the sustainability reporting and the firm’s financial performance are positively correlated. This implies that the financial performance of the firms which comply with the sustainability reporting practices is found to be better than the firms not complying with it. Further, it has also been explored that the firm’s value (shareholder’s equity) is also affected positively by the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). In regard to impact on the overall economy, the authors have stated that sustainability accounting and reporting is necessary to achieve economic development in a sustainable manner (Higgins, 2013). Further, the data gathered from the secondary sources also supports this view of the authors. The findings of the data analysis reveal that adoption of sustainability in the operations leads to contribution by the firms towards social and environmental causes. The firms contribute at the large scale to save the scarce environmental resources and to raise the living standard of the people. Further, the protection of the natural resources is very critical from the view point of sustainability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The report presented here presents a research study on the sustainability accounting and reporting. The primary aim of the research is to explore the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting on the overall economy of a country. In this regard, it has been considered essential to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on a particular company and then on the overall economy. Based on the findings of the report, it can be concluded that the sustainability reporting is essential for the long term economic development. The articulations drawn from the literature review bring out the fact that sustainability reporting has become crucial for the firms to survive and thrive in the market. The recent developments in the areas of social and environmental sustainability are admirable. The regulators from all over the world are making collective efforts to make the business sustainable and futuristic. The survey report of EY discloses that there has been observed a significant increase in the number of firms adopting the sustainability reporting practices since the year 2008. From the findings of data analysis, it could be articulated that the increased awareness and the enduring advantages of sustainability is pushing the firms to opt for the best sustainability accounting and reporting practices. The major advantages of sustainability reporting have been identified as the improvements in the firm’s reputation, enhancement in the investor’s confidence, employee’s loyalty, and consumers trust. Further, the company is also able build a good rapport with the governmental regulatory authorities. However, there certain challenges which the firms have to while implementing the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Among various such challenges, the high operating cost and administrative problems are the major ones. Though, there are challenges, but the benefits of sustainability accounting and reporting are enduring, therefore, the firms have to make effort to implement it. Further, it was observed that sustainability reporting is also essential to raise the standard of living of the society and the maintaining a proper balance between the present and future needs. From the findings of the research, it could be inferred that maintaining a proper balance is crucial for long term economic developments. The sustainability in operations not only improves the financial performance of the firm but it also enhances its value. Further, the overall economy is affected in a positive manner which is the center point of the sustainability accounting and reporting. Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M., & Burritt, R. 2006. Sustainability Accounting and Reporting. Springer Science & Business Media. Brockett, A. & Rezaee, Z. 2012. Corporate Sustainability: Integrating Performance and Reporting. John Wiley & Sons. Jesson, J. 2011. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. London: SAGE. Soderstrom, N. 2013. Sustainability reporting: past, present, and trends for the future. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.insights.unimelb.edu.au/vol13/04_Soderstrom.html Zu, L. 2008. Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Enterprises. Springer Science & Business Media. GRI. 2008. Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Report. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Sustainability-Report-2007-2008.pdf Gupta, A. & Mason, M. 2014. Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: Critical Perspectives. MIT Press. Daizy & Das, N. 2014. Sustainability reporting framework: comparative analysis of global reporting initiatives and Dow Jones sustainability index. International Journal of Science, Environment, 3(1), pp. 55-66. Faisal, F., Tower, G., & Rusmin, R. 2012. Legitimizing Corporate Sustainability Reporting Throughout the World. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 6(2), pp. 19-34. CPA. 2013. Sustainability Reporting: Practices, Performance, and Potential. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/sustainability/sustainability-reporting-practice-performance-potential.pdf OECD. 2008. OECD Environmental Performance Reviews OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Australia 2007. OECD Publishing. Vasile, J., Andrei, Nicolo, & Domenico. 2016. Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Investments in the Green Economy. IGI Global. Higgins, K.L. 2013. Economic growth and sustainability – are they mutually exclusive? Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.elsevier.com/connect/economic-growth-and-sustainability-are-they-mutually-exclusive Daly, H.E. 2014. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Beacon Press. Olsen, W. 2011. Data collection: key debates and methods in social research. SAGE. Ary, D., Jacobs, L.C., Sorensen, C.K., and Walker, D. 2013. Introduction to research in education. Cengage Learning. Lapan, S.D., Quartaroli, M.T. &Riemer, F.J. 2011. Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs. John Wiley & Sons. NWOBU, O. 2015. The Relationship between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Profitability and Shareholders Fund in Nigerian Banks. The Journal of Accounting and Management, 5(3). Talberth, J. 2010. Measuring What Matters: GDP, Ecosystems and the Environment. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.wri.org/blog/2010/04/measuring-what-matters-gdp-ecosystems-and-environment

Avivas Leadership Power and Motivation Lab Report

Avivas Leadership Power and Motivation - Lab Report Example Aviva is the largest general insurer in the UK and has close to 31.5 million customers spread across the 16 countries. According to the company website, the company attained 2.2 billion UK pounds in profits after tax in 2013 compared to 2.9 billion pounds reported in 2012 (Aviva 2014). The cash remittances grew by 40 percent to reach 1.3 billion UK pounds while the new business increased by 13 percent to 835 million during the year 2013. In the current 2014 financial year, Aviva is focused on improving the cash remittances while improving the life insurance business segment through differentiated pricing and building strategic partnerships in emerging markets (Aviva 2014). Aviva’s strategic framework is focused on investment, customer, distribution, and people Aviva has attained excellent performance in five metrics that include cash flow management, operating profits, a value of new business, expenses and combined operating ratio due to excellent leadership and people management. Aviva has a diverse product portfolio and highly talented employees that cater to the changing financial planning and insurance needs of both rural and urban customers (Aviva 2014). Leadership is a critical aspect of Aviva’s success since the management is committed to the organizational goals and has outlined a clear vision that is focused on increasing returns to the fund investors and satisfying the insurance customers. Another key aspect that has fostered Aviva’s growth and profitability is motivation since the employees are committed to higher performance in their jobs. The report will discuss the success of Aviva using organizational theories and c oncepts of leadership and power. The second element of organizational design and management of people that will be the motivational strategies that have been used by the company to ensure high employee performance.

Protecting the natural environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Protecting the natural environment - Essay Example Catriona Mortimer aptly states that there should be a balance between Cronon’s wilderness-based environment view and Deluca’s human conservation-based environment concept. The key issue is whether to prioritize preserving or protecting the natural environment or filling the people’s need for wood, animal, and other natural environment needs. In Will Cronon's â€Å"The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature," the author insists that ''only by exploring the middle ground will we learn ways of imaging a better world for all of us†¦ (85).† The quote clearly shows that environmentalism should include caring for both humans and nonhumans. Environmentalism should focus on helping both the poor and the rich, men and women, all individuals (without discrimination). The quote clearly shows that Cronon’s concern for the environment includes preserving the forests, plants, and animals. Further, Will Cronon insists that the natural en vironment includes the presence of freely roaming animals and abundant plant growth by indicating that the romantic legacy defines wilderness as a wonder topic (88). People should not abuse burning or cutting the forest in order to make homes or communities. The garden tree reminds the people that there are other trees living in the far distant natural forest environment. As proof, Cronon (73) insists that Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, William Gilpin postulated that sublime landscapes gives one more chances to have a personally commune with God. In addition, Will Cronon(85) emphasizes that humans should preserve the natural environment. Cronon insists without trees, people will no longer be able to have forest camping trips. Cronon defined people as having the selfish interest to destroy the natural environment. Cronon prefers that the forests and national parks should be preserved instead of hiring a jobless resident to cut down the trees. Cronon desires that it is preferable for th e jobless tree cutter resident to be jobless when compared to the cutting of trees. The jobless resident’s life is secondary when compared to the preservation of the natural forest and wildlife environment. In terms of survival, Will Cronon (85) puts the human needs behind the need to preserve our natural forest covers. Cronon (85) goes to state that cutting down trees is described as environmental abuse and irresponsibility. Norton further reiterates that people have a worst impression that people live the comforts of the urban industrial civilization and pretentiously create a beautiful image that the individual’s real home should be in the wilderness, working on a nine-to-five hectic job. Cronon (81) proposes that the defenders of biological diversity balance should appeal others to ensure the untouched virginal ecosystems should be retained at all costs. Consequently, people can retain the beauty and existence of the richest and most abundant animals and plants. Cr onon (69) insists that man’s last cure his too-muchness is the wilderness. The wilderness is an unexplored place where human touch has never infected (touched or encroached).Cronon further states that the wilderness will is the only antidote to the environment-debilitating human disease. Clearly, Cronon persuades that both people and the wilderness must live on equal terms, preserving the plants, animals, and humans. On the other hand, Kevin DeLuca's â€Å"A Wilderness Environmentalism Manifesto: Contesting the Infinite Self-Absorption of Humans† directly criticize Cronon's insistence that people should prioritize saving the forests, plants and animals. Kevin DeLuca opposes Cronon’s belief that the survival of the forest should higher than preservation of human life

Social Networking Essay Example for Free

Social Networking Essay Social networking sites such as Friendster, Linkedin, Spoke, Face book, MySpace and Twitter all vary slightly, yet the one main feature they have is that they enable users to create a profile within the website to represent themselves and allows uses to interact through email, instant messaging and other integrated communication channels within the site (Papacharissi, 2009). The popularity and growth of social networking sites over the past five years has been colossal, as many people from all over the world join up to this social phenomenon for varied reasons. Today, there are more than 500 million active users on face book and users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on this social networking site (Facebook, 2011). As the technology of Web 2. 0 improves and advances, social networking sites have an even bigger impact on society and human relationships, both positive and negative. This paper argues that social networking sites have a negative influence on children, teenagers and adults, increase the ease and prominence of cyber bullying, increase personal insecurities and feed addictions and weaken strong personal ties. This paper also argues that social networks create distraction and decrease productivity and profits within the workplace and can also can jeopardise a company’s reputation. Social networks also increase the ease of identity theft and bring to light other privacy issues as well as lead to an overall decrease in our face to face social skills and confidence. This paper will demonstrate that social networking sites do cause more harm than good. Identity Theft Identity theft is a huge problem in today’s society and has come about as a result of the rapid expansion and availability of internet technology and the increase in personal data found on social networking sites. In fact â€Å"A total of 806,000 Australians aged 15 years and over were victims of at least one incident of personal fraud in or identity theft in 2008† (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). Sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter facilate identity theft in two mains ways. The first being is that sites encourage you to ‘edit your profile’ this includes adding your interests, full name, where you live, who your top friends are, your email address and even personal details like your phone number an relationship status. â€Å"Users share a variety of information about themselves on their Facebook profiles, including photos, contact information, and tastes in movies and books. †(Jones amp; Soltren, 2005). This information disclosure causes a huge problem as the more information you have on your profile the easier it is for identity thieves to verify themselves as being you. The second main issue is the privacy settings on these social networking sites also help faccilate personal fraud. Whilst there are built in features that allow users to change their privacy settings and not allow other users to view such personal details, these settings are never default, so that users are usually unaware how much information they are sharing not only with their friends, but with the rest of the world â€Å"By default, profiles on Friendster and Tribe. net are crawled by search engines, making them visible to anyone, regardless of whether or not the viewer has an account† (Boyd amp; Ellison, 2007). A general lack of awareness amongst users and the fact that digital identity can be easily hacked makes social networking sites a hub for identity theft which results in unwanted legal hassles, loss of money and years of trying to re-establish a victim’s credit and good name (Acquisti amp; Gross, 2006). This is why it is important for â€Å"users of social network systems to be aware of the value of the data they are making available online and of the ways that is can pote3nitally be used† (Donath amp; Boyd 2004). Furthermore another privacy issue that social networking sites face is that they encourage users to overshare very private information that can easily be used against them. For example the location based social networking site Foursquare encourages users to ‘check in’ at various locations to win points and earn badges and discounts. However these ‘check ins’ are in real time and essentially users notify others where they are, but more importantly when they aren’t home. For strangers and thieves this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of such knowledge and rob someone’s house while they are out. A web site called â€Å"Please rob me† has been set up to raise awareness about over-sharing and highlights these kinds of privacy issues that social networks create â€Å"Location based services also raise myriads of privacy issues due to the ability to collect, store, use and disclose the locations of users. † (Anuar amp; Gretzel, 2010). In this respect social networks like these pose serious privacy concerns. Cyber bullying Cyber bullying refers to â€Å"bullying through information and communication technologies† (Webster, n. ), mediums such as, emails, mobile phone text messages, phone calls, internet chat rooms, instant messaging and most importantly and recently, social networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo (Webster, n. d). Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja amp; Patchin, 2010). Cyber bulling in terms of s ocial networks is a huge issue as more than 50% of American teenagers aged from 12 to 17 use social networking sites (Hall, 2010). Online bullying is often seen as the easy way out. Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumours that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims any time, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al. , 2008). For example in 2009 a 14 year old girl committed suicide as a direct result of cyber bulling. The daughter’s mother spoke out in an ABC news report and explained that â€Å"Friday night she was on the internet and told me about some message that had come through, and she wanted to die because of the message. I laid in bed with her and we discussed it for about an hour and she left me fairly happy. I can guarantee you if she didn’t go on the internet Friday night she’d be alive today. † (Dikeos, 2009). Additionally another well know case of cyber bulling that resulted in suicide was the case of Megan Meier who was constantly teased tormented and riven to her death from intense cyber bulling. â€Å"13 year old Megan began receiving nasty messages from a boy after a few weeks of an online flirtation with him, via her MySpace account, ending with one that suggested ‘the world would be a better place’ without her. Megan, believing she had been rejected by â€Å"Josh,† committed suicide in her home. † Times Topics, Megan Meier. (2011). The sad part was that Josh was ust a fictional character, created by a mother of one of Megan’s former friends. These two case studies bring to light the fact that cyber bulling is a massive problem that is not only exists all over the world, but is only made possible by the use of social networking sites. Without such platforms for bullies to target their victims the rate of teen suicide and depression would most likely drop. Groups on facebook can be created to make fun of or abuse particular people or ideas. On facebook I found groups titled â€Å"I hate Kevin Rudd† and on their wall things like â€Å" F**k you Kevin! and â€Å"I can’t believe they let this di***ead become foreign minister†. Also a recent incident that was covered on the news showed the negative comments towards babies and their parents over facebook surrounding the ‘Bonds Baby Search’. Some comments under a photos said â€Å"A child only a mother could love† and another baby was called an â€Å"ugly duckling† (Cute baby competition turns ugly, 2011). Comments like these are spiteful not only to the babies, but for their parents as well. This in itself is another form of cyber bullying that has been made possible via the increased use of social networking sites. It is clear that social networking sites aid in the prominence of cyber bulling which is just one of the negative impacts that social working sites has on society today. The weakening of strong ties amp; isolation The way we communicate with our peers and with strangers over the internet is changing. Another negative impact that social networks have on our relationships is the fact that whilst they might strengthen our weak ties we have with acquaintances and people we don’t see often, they are in fact weakening our strong ties and also bring about physical social isolation. The term ‘social networking’ misleads people into believing they are being social, â€Å"Facebook isn’t considered a social network but more a public phone book or search engine. Contact is minimal and impersonal (Carr, 2010). The news feed feature on facebook and twitter keeps us in the loop with everything that our close friends and family are doing. Why would one call their friend to ask them what they got up to on the weekend, when clearly all they have to do is look at their news feed and find all the details along with pictures entailing their lives. Traditionally we would regularly call each other, or go out of the way to catch up. Nowadays the urge to contact each other over the phone or even face to face isn’t as important because we feel like we are still connected via social networks ( Thomas, 2007). This idea of constantly being connected is awful in the way that personal interactions between friends are more superficial than they were before Facebook and other social networking sites. Users are also more likely to let more time pass between face to face encounters because they still feel like they are in contact as they constantly have tabs on all of their friends. A case study that was done in America revealed that â€Å" twenty-five percent of the respondents in the 2004 survey appear to have no close ties, up from ten percent in 1984. Additionally a similar study amongst college student found that â€Å"1 in 7 say that social networking sites increase feelings of isolation† (Katonda News Network, 2010) As well as â€Å"Nearly 70% report reading posts from someone close to them that seemed like a cry for emotional help, and while most students would offer support in some way, fewer than half would make a personal visit† (Katonda News Network , 2010). It is clear that the rise of social networks has increased social and emotional isolation and diluted the strength our human relationships. Workplace interference Social networking sites can have a negative impact in the workplace, for both employers for employees and future employees. They create distraction, decrease productivity, cost companies money, can jeopardise a company’s reputation and legal liability and for those users who don’t have their profiles set to private can often result in unemployment. If every employee in a 50-strong workforce spent 30 minutes on a social networking site every day, that would work out to a loss of 6,500 hours of productivity in one year! † (Kelleher, 2009). Social networking sites can also be damaging for prospective employees looking for work ,as facebook and MySpace are fantastic resources for companies as they offer revealing information about a candidate’s true colours. Several profiles often contain awkward and embarrassing information that job seekers would not want their future managers to know about themselves. According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder. com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates† (Wortham, 2009).. Moreover, there have been many instances where personal status updates or blog posts have hurt or damaged a companies reputation, thus seeing many employees loose their jobs over mindless updates that they didn’t think twice about. For example in 2010, Jaguar ambassador and swimmer Stephanie Rice tweeted â€Å"Suck on that f**gots,† (Robertson, 2010) after a rugby game the Wallabies had won. Many twitter users and public figures referred to it as a gay slur and even after a public apology, Jaguar Australia general manager Kevin Goult announced that â€Å"Jaguar Australia today terminated its relationship with Stephanie Rice, who has been an ambassador for the Jaguar brand in Australia since the start of 2010. †(Robertson, 2010). Another fine example of one employee who damaged his reputation before he even stared at his new job was a Cisco employee who tweeted â€Å"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty pay check against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work† It wasn’t long before Tim Levad, a channel partner advocate for Cisco Alert, shared this open response, â€Å"Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web. †( Popkin, 2009)It is clear that social networking sites can have a damaging effect on not only employees but the companies themselves. Users are unfortunately unaware that everything they post on their profile is public information and even if your profile is set to private your boss or work colleagues may still be fronted with this information at some stage in the future. As social networking sites become more popular by the day, the rise of negative social effects within our society also greaten. We have and will see further instances of cyber bullying; more cases of identity theft and additional privacy breaches. We will also see our strong relationships diluted to a more superficial and ‘convenient’ type of relationship. We will continue to see a further decrease in productivity within workplace and also more instances of company’s reputations and names being brought into disrepute. Social networking sites have had a huge negative impact on our mental and social health and will continue to do so into the future. It is also now evident that social networking sites facilitate all these problems, and without them they would cease to exist. Therefore it is undeniably true that Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and the like do in fact cause more harm than good. References: Acquisti, A amp; R, Gross. (2006).

herody The Imperfect Hero of Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

The Imperfect Hero of The Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In literature, a bold character or hero is often the principle character. In the epic poem The Odyssey there are many immortals, but only one hero, Odysseus. The differences between the immortals and the hero are few. The god-like Odysseus is plagued with the human weaknesses of pettiness, self-doubt, and dependence on the pity of others. Odysseus reveals his pettiness when he amuses himself with humorous guile. Odysseus not only uses his cunning at the expense of his enemies, but he also uses his cunning and guile as a way of entertaining himself. After Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is "Noman," Odysseus stabs Polyphemus in the eye and Polyphemus cries for help saying, "Friends, Noman is murdering me be craft" (87). Odysseus’ power over his enemy is once again confirmed by his wit more than by his physical force. Although Odysseus is a wise man, this wit is only useful in the short picture. After he and his men get away from Polyphemus, Polyphemus’ father, Poseidon, causes the mortal men trouble. To avoid such trouble, Odysseus could have choose not to amuse himself. Odysseus often loses sight of the greater vision, which is returning to his family. Odysseus risks his return by a moment of testosterone-driven pettiness. The moment comes when Odysseus challenges Irus by saying, "†¦do not challenge me too far with show of fists, or you may rouse my rage; and old as I am, I still might stain your beast and lips with blood" (174). When the beggar/Odysseus fights and wins against Irus it is a miracle that no one became suspicious of Odysseus. The suitors were shocked that an old beggar, as Odysseus appeared to be, would be that strong. If anyone put two and two together then Od... ...One thing that can be learned from Odysseus is: no matter how good one is, one is still a human; and part of being a human is to learn to overcome one’s flaws Works Cited and Consulted Griffin, Jasper, Homer: The Odyssey   Cambridge UP 1987 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Jones, Peter V. Homer's Odyssey : a companion to the translation   of Richmond Lattimore.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carbondale, IL : Southern Illinois University Press, c1988. PA4167 .J66 1988 Murnaghan, Sheila,   Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1987 Peradotto, John , Man in the Middle Voice: Name and Narration in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1990 Stanford, William Bedell. Homer's Odyssey. 2 Vols. Macmillan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thalmann, William G., The Odyssey : an epic of return. New York : Twayne Publishers. PA4167 .T45 1992

Jane Eyre compares to The Eyre Affiar

The maln protagonist from both Jane Eyre and The Eyre Affair both deal with the struggles of achieving honest love with their respective love interest due to the unusual circumstances of the relationships. For Jane, her and Rochester's relationship is not normal in any sense of the word. For Thursday, the issues she has with Landen are much more realistic, but they sting just the same. Both Jane and Thursday have their fair share of Issues with their men, but some of them are not that far off from each other. Quite a few of their relationship problems are the same, however varying In some degree.The want to no longer love but know deep Inside you always will, the surprise wife that springs up out of nowhere, and a purposeful distancing because of differences in ideal. Both Jane and Thursday understand what it feels like to love even though you wish you didnt. For Jane, she has felt this way about Rochester a few times throughout the book. One of them is when Rochester leaves Thornfie ld for a few days on business. This where Jane starts to become confused about how she really felt about Rochester, what exactly does she want to happen between the two of them? l had not intended to love him; the reader knows I ad wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, great and strong! He made me love him without looking at me† (Bronte 128). This shows that the feeling are definitely there and, apparently, stronger than ever. This is an example of how Jane's feelings snuck up on her and that they are not what she Intended to happen at all. No matter how much she desires to not feel this way, It Is out of her control.Even though she may think that she is able to repress her feelings, they can never truly isappear, they may only be momentarily hidden. For Thursday, her feeling for Landen are there from when the book begins. She has her personal reasons for wishing that she no longer loved him. Whenever his name comes up, mostly by her family, she does her best to completely ignore it and quickly move past it. She hopes that the distance will take away her feelings but It only makes her heart grow fonder. During her first meeung with Landen, when she Is finally able to bring herself to look at him, her emotions hit her. The warmth and sensitivity I had once known so well as still there. I looked up at him, caught his gaze and looked away quickly. I had felt my eyes moisten. I was embarrassed by my feelings and scratched my nose nervously† (Fforde 114). Without warning, they come back and she does he best to try and hide them. She doesnt want to show how she feels in hope that she will start to believe the Ile that she Is telling herself. It Is obvious that she does not want Landen to know that she still loves him, she wants to keep up the act that she is angry with him.She is fighting a losing battle on the inside that shows on the outside, evide nt by er eyes starting to tear up. Both Jane and Thursday know too well the feeling of love and wishing it away with little success. One thing that makes these two situations different is that Jane is allowed to feel however she wants, she Just thinks it would be better to hide It. Thursday on the other hand Is not allowing herself to feel the love tnat Dotn ner ana Landen Know sne nas. sne nas Dullt up tnls wall towards nlm, wanting to keep him out but still close enough.A rather surprising similarity between these two novels is that the concept of the surprise wife appearing in both. In Jane's case, Jane finds out on the day of her planned wedding to Rochester that he is actually a taken man. He is technically married to a woman by the name of Bertha who he keeps locked away in the attic because she is not fit to wander the manor. She mentally sick and unstable, prone to violent outburst, especially to Rochester. When Rochester reveals Bertha, he compares her to Jane. â€Å"Compa re these clear eyes with the red balls yonder- this face with that mask- this form with that bulk† (Bronte 213).Rochester is basically calling Bertha a beast, trying to Justify his wrong actions. He is trying to reason his actions to Jane by saying Bertha should not even be considered a person worth making such a fuss over. His argument however is not the best, despite his true feelings for Jane, she can not look past it. For Thursday, the situation is a little more practical but actually hurts instead of shocks. During Thursdays second meet up with Landen, Right after they argue about the Crimea and her brother, Landen tries to end the fghting. Can we ever get over this Thursday? I need to know as a matter of urgency' (Fforde 188). This one line, seemingly somewhat unimportant, sets the hole scene for Daisy Mutlar, Landen's fianc ©. This information is revealed later on when Thursday calls Landen, only to end up talking to Daisy. Right off the bat, Daisy seems like a nasty women whose only goal is to get married, and it doesn't really matter to who as made clear in her remark to Thursday: mfou listen. If you try anything at all to interfere with my happiness I'll wring your stupid little neck! † (Fforde 214).Later on, Landen tries to Justify what he did by explaining to Thursday that he tried with her, but she made it clear to him that she couldn't let go of the past. It was time for him to move on with his life. For Jane and Thursday, this idea of the â€Å"other woman† really hurts and send both of them on an emotional rollercoaster. The unexpectedness of the situation creates the shock value that simply adds fuel to the fire. However, a key difference to notice is that Rochester is completely in the wrong while Landen technically had every right to do what he did, whether he should have done it is a different question.He had no actual commitment to Thursday, she is the one who broke thing off and she is the one who constantly pushes hi m away. Everyone has that point where they are done and accept reality. To him, finally ending thinks for Thursday was the right thing to do because that's what he thought she wanted. Both Jane and Thursday come to a critical point in their relationships where they are faced with the choice to stay or walk away. Their desire to stay is overcome by the flood of hurt feelings along with the instinctive intuition that leaving is best.For Thursday, this conflict happens before the book actually starts. It is later revealed to the reader that Landen Parke- Laine is an ex-boyfriend that Thursday was very much in love with. Both of them fought in the Crimea, where Landen lost one of his legs and also Thursday. Thursdays brother, Anton, also fought but sadly didn't make it, along with practically all of the Light Armored Brigade. This tragedy of war was devastating and because there were few survivors; the story of what actually happened is unclear.Landen, nowever, 010 survive, ana accor01n g to nlm, tne reason tnat all tnose llves were lost that day was because of a mistake made by Anton. Because Landen was the only one able to make the report, his word became the truth. This is where the ten year long eparation started. Thursdays anger toward Landen is so powerful hat even after all this time, she still refused to look at him when she finally saw him again. â€Å"We played like this for perhaps ten minutes, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.I knew that if I did I would smile and I didn't want to do that. I wanted him to known I was still pissed off' (Fforde 114). Thursdays active attempts to show her anger shows Just how deeply what he did hurt her. It is clear that she still loves him but can't simply won't allow herself to. Thursday is pushing Landen away but is also holding on to the ope that he will stay. For Jane's situation, her and Rochester's critical moment is after Jane finds out about Bertha, a mentally ill women whom Rochester was tricked into m arrying and is still considered his wife.This is the last straw for Jane as she had previously put up with Rochester's harmless deceitful ways, but this time, it was too significant to overlook. Jane's anger stewed up inside her until she couldn't hold it any longer, and she and Rochester get into a heated argument the night Jane decides to leave. The argument reaches its climax when Jane pronounces, â€Å"Mr. Rochester, I will not be yours† (Bronte 227). It is here where Jane takes her final stand and factually states her view of the situation.A statement as clear and direct as this plainly conveys Jane's emotions, leaving no room for any other interpretation other than the one that it means, that she is done. She does not leave Rochester with any sense of hope that she still has the intention of being with him. The argument comes to a close and later that night, Jane leaves, without any notice. Both Jane and Thursday make this rash decisions but with every right to do so. T hey are extremely urt by what has happened to them and they can no longer bare to be around these men, so they remove themselves from the situation.It was an not an easy thing for either of them to do; leaving the one you love is not a happy experience, in any sense, but both of them knew it was what needed to be done. Love is only one of the things that these two women have to deal with throughout their stories, but it may be the most important. In both cases, the book ends with the evident marriage of the unusual couple, forgetting all the problems they had along the way. In the personal lives of these characters, love is what matters to them.No matter what they are experiencing on the outside, the subject still stays somewhere in their head, it never fully leaves. That is why happy endings tend to wrap up with the wedding that could be seen practically from the start. Jane and Thursday, though they both had great struggles with love, some of them not too different from each other , both managed to get what they wanted in the end, even though they spent so much time wishing they didn't want it. They were able to but all of the deceit in their relationships behind them and focus on the truth, that they are in love.

Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm Essay

1. At the end of the case if you were Palmer, how would you respond? It was clear from the beginning everyone involved could have handled things more professionally in order to maximize time, and resources while maintaining a healthy and productive work environment for all employees. From the start of the project it was evident that Olds knowledge and skills were definitely in demand. Because his expertise was so in demand, when met with an organizational structure that had an obvious weak matrix structure, it caused great adversity. In this case we learn Ruby Sands had the role of functional manager and therefore ultimately made a decision that affected Palmer’s account. As soon as Palmer recognized the problems he should have addressed the issue then and presented the possible risk, moving forward the best option for Palmer is to find a suitable replacement for Olds. And accept the fact that valuable employees leave projects all the time for one reason or another. Also, Palmer should address his concerns regarding the situation on a whole to include Crosby’s unwillingness to be a team player as a way to avoid similar situations happening in the firm’s future. In conclusion, Palmer is the project manager; it is his responsibility to handle all aspects of the project to include communication. Effective communication would have lead to a better outcome. 2. Discuss what Palmer could do, if anything, to avoid losing Olds: Project managers are ultimately responsible for performance. Therefore it is Palmer’s responsibility to ensure that appropriate protocol is made between the time, cost and performance requirements of the project. In addition, the project manager is also responsible for the aspects of Leadership, such as problem solving, teamwork, negative politics and customer expectations. To avoid losing Olds, Palmer should have realized the struggles Olds was faced with, such as working extra hours to accommodate both projects and accounts, as a result the impact that it had on work-life balance took its toll on Olds and put him in a difficult position.

Canadian Mosaic

Canadian Mosaic Free Online Research Papers When I arrived in Canada last year, I saw different people of different skin colors. There were white, yellow, black and brown. I got surprised cause I never thought about Canada like this. I never thought of Europeans, Americans, Latinos, Africans and Asians will ever settle in one place. But it is happening, right here where I immigrated to. It is a fact that Canada is racially diverse. The 250,000 to 300,000 residents of Canada are composing of about 50 societies belonging to twelve linguistic groups. Aside from the two prevailing groups co-existing inside Canada (Anglophones and Francophones), the presence of the minorities contributes in its culture, language and values (Burnet 66 and Bibby 158, 162-169). This gives out to a mosaic idea of Canada (Bibby 158, Burnet 71). The mosaic means putting together distinctive characteristics among the people leaving in Canada. This means every ethnicity, including English and French, must preserve their own culture and language in particular. For me, this impression is not a hindrance in developing distinctive Canadian identity. In fact speakers and writers never get tired of praising the condition in which ethnic groups can preserve their uniqueness and yet live as a Canadian (Burnett 66). This mosaic idea will be distinctively Canadian as long as its two components, bilingualism and multiculturalism, will be accepted and appreciated by most Canadians. Every move must start on the huge part of the mosaic- the Anglophones and Francophones. The conflict between them must be resolved first before anything else. According to Wardhaugh, the English- French conflict is an enduring trademark of Canadian history (Wardhaugh 13). Apart from their language difference, each group is tied up with different culture and values (Richer and Laporte 75). This may affect the relationship between the two groups. These two countrywide mindful individuals have to gain knowledge of co-existence inside a federal system which can provide that opportunity (Wardhaugh 16). Just what the late Prime Minister Trudeau visualized about Canada before he became the Prime Minister: The die is cast in Canada: there are two main ethnic and linguistic groups; each is too strong and too deeply rooted in the past, too firmly bound to a mother-culture, to be able to engulf the other. But if the two will collaborate at the hub of a truly pluralistic state, Canada could become the envied seat of a form of federalism that belongs to tomorrows world? (Wardhaugh 18) As the original immigrant-groups, as they claim themselves, these cultural differences is only a minor problem but it seems like language difference is still a big deal. Indeed the government wants to end this divergence and to fill in a puzzle piece on the mosaic. The government passed The Official Languages Act of 1969 which reserves bilingualism as an official government rule (Wardhaugh 15, Breton 51 and Dasko). French and English becomes the official language of Canada. The new act did not bring peace between the majorities instead it remains disrupted because of the Bill 101 of 1977 under the said languages act which forced a diminution of English language in Quebec. The bill infuriated most of the English (Wardhaugh 14-15). It even gets worst as French Canadians began to identify themselves as Quà ©bà ©cois. The incident was marked by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism as the greatest crisis in Canadian history (Burnett 67). There are also records of low approval of the law among the Canadians almost twenty years after passing the Official Languages Act. Outside Quebec a little less than 50 percent Canadians agree with the policy. The statistics range at about 50 percent in Ontario and the Atlantic Region, through 41 percent in British Columbia to a low of 36 percent on the Prairies. Certainly, most of western Ontarians consistently favour English as the only language they want (Bibby 159). However, more and more Quebeckers has supported bilingualism (Bibby 161). As Bibby concludes, bilingualism will continue to have a dawdling but consistent growing level of recognition (161). But Bibbys hypothesis is wrong. After two decades, the inclination towards bilingualism is still the same. It is even declining. According to Dugas and Cheadles article, the significance of bilingualism to Canadian identity declines dramatically past childhood. From 75 percent of 12- 15 years old agreed that bilingualism was vital to them as being Canadian, the popularity declines to 49 percent among ages 22 to 30 (Dugas and Cheadle). In the same article, Jack Jebwab, executive director of the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies is frustrated about the results because they put so much effort on getting the country back on bilingual trail. This situation is a hindrance in progress of any type of unified Canadian identity and even consistency in creating a strong and distinguishing policy (Wardhaugh 17). However, according to another study conducted by Dasko, the approval rating is increasing towards the end of decade. The results are contradictory to each other but as what Dasko states, opinions vary from person to person and varying events and phenomena. Though there is still a gap between the English and French when it comes to bilingualism law, the smaller part of the mosaic, the immigrants and different people of different culture and race collectively known as the ethnic minorities, is not taking the same difficulty. Hypothetically, this must be more difficult because it deals with more different culture and more misunderstanding because of different languages. Two years after approving Official Language Act, the Multiculturalism Policy of 1971 is presented to the people (Dasko and Wardhaugh 199). This is in accordance to the governments multiculturalism within a bilingual framework (Wardhaugh 199). Included in this policy are the English and French so therefore all the residents have their minority group for all of us to remain equal though bilingualism is at work. This policy aims to do four things according to the governments compliance to the fourth volume of the Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalis m. First, it would provide support on cultures, provided the resources are available, that want to continue to develop and participate in development of Canada. Second, it would provide assistance for every cultural group to trounce cultural barricades to participate properly in Canadian society. Third, it would encourage creative activities to unite all Canadian cultural groups. Finally, it would provide ways and facilities for the immigrants to know any of Canadas official languages (Wardhaugh 199). As a member of the minorities, I am greatly convinced that our government is doing everything they can to meet the goals of the policy. One concrete example is the Folklorama Festival which enables every ethnic group in Winnipeg to showcase their own cultures and literature. This is also a way to unite all ethnic groups. Also recently, a cultural building for Filipinos (Philippine Cultural Center of Manitoba) was recently opened. I believe there are also cultural centers for other ethn ic groups of still being planned. Public acceptance on this policy is not a major problem for it increases its supporters as the years pass by. According to a statistics conducted by the Environics, they asked Canadians about their awareness of the multicultural policy (Dasko). It is growing until the 1990s when it fell and started to increase again at the last part of the 90s, and in 2002, 79 percent of Canadians are aware of the policy (Dasko). Then another survey is conducted if the Canadians approve or disapprove the multicultural policy. In the year 1989, the first time it was carried out, it is approved by 63 percent of people they asked. It then goes down during the early 1990s and going up again from mid 90s to 2002 (Dasko). It said on 2002, 74 percent of Canadians say they back up the policy of multiculturalism. These statistics shows that Canadians becomes more and more favourable of multiculturalism during the 1989- 2002 time frame (Dasko). The next questions asked concerns about the effects of the multiculturalism policy. The first one is Will the multicultural policy cause degradation on Canadian identity? 59 percent say it does not lead to deprivation of Canadian identity (Dasko). The second is Will the multicultural policy bring out more conflict involving racial and ethnic groups in Canada? 59 percent of the people asked say it will not bring out conflict among the racial and ethnic groups compared to 47 percent in 1997 and 41 percent in 1989. Only a third of Canadians say it will direct more conflict between groups (Dasko). The third one is not significant to this paper so I will jump into the fourth question which is Will the multicultural policy lead to greater national unity? (Dasko). The percentage increased from 46 percent to 65 percent from 1997 to 2002. The next significant question is Will multicultural policy contribute to a greater understanding between different groups in Canada? (Dasko). Again, the ma jority (77 percent) of Canadians say it does contribute to a better understanding between each groups. This is a giant leap for the Canadians who are still in search of their true identity because they show unity over approval of multiculturalism and sooner totally accept it as a part of their whole being. When the bilingualism and multiculturalism are put on together to form a mosaic, a true identity is formed. But for the past few decades, the French Canadians and English Canadians seem not aware of ethnic features they share together and assessment between their arguments and of those of other racial groups (Burnet 74). They do not know that they contribute on the cultural fortification of Canada (Burnet 67). The people must become aware of this and take this into safe keeping before it is too late (Burnet 67). However, there is a progress on this issue. In a survey conducted by Daskos party shows that most Canadians think bilingualism and multiculturalism collectively is significant for the Canadian identity. It is maybe due to improving relationships amongst the residents of Canada. The uneasiness towards the Indo-Pakistanis, Canadian Indians, Jews, Blacks and Orientals are declining according to a survey conducted during 1980s and also supported by the surveys about multicultural ism conducted recently as shown on previous paragraphs. It is also due to the increasing number of inter-racial marriage which results into sharing of cultures. Therefore, its outcome is a better understanding and appreciation of different cultures (Bibby 162- 169). When it comes to English- French relations as a huge and serious problem, in 1980s survey, it declined from 16 percent to 13 percent in Quebec and 12 percent outside Quebec (Bibby 162). The question now is why the result is not parallel to the popularity of bilingualism among the Canadians. Well, different people have different perspectives so we will not be able to know as long as we ask each Canadian. In conclusion, there is still a slight complexity about bilingualism in contrast to multiculturalism which has an increasing support among the Canadians. So Canada is still in process of making the mosaic. But the picture is becoming clear now as the government is trying its best to make the mosaic identity a reality with the help of the policies they are conducting. Thru these policies, each component is increasingly developing throughout the time. The only thing missing is the total support of all Canadians. Also, having different cultures and languages is not a hindrance on building a true identity. Instead, developing and preserving individual traits and cultures will serve as one of building blocks of Canadian identity. Here is a great passage concerning this by Sir Wilfrid Laurier: I want the marble to remain the marble; the granite to remain granite; the oak to remain the oak; and out of all these elements I would build a nation great among the nations of the world. (Burnet 71) This will not happen without the Canadians cooperation. Though the bilingualism issues slows down the process of making the mosaic, still the optimism among the Canadians on finding their true identity is on the mosaic idea. Let me state what Bibby says about Canada: One Canada, two languages and many cultures, complete with acceptance and respect of differences, comprise the national ideals (Bibby 159). This is already at hand; it only waits for the people to acquire. Bibby, Reginald W. Bilingualism and Multiculturalism: A National Reading. Ethnic Canada: Identities and Inequalities. Ed Leo Driedger. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, c1987. 158- 169. Breton, Raymond. Symbolic Dimensions of Linguistic and Ethnological Realities. Ethnic Canada: Identities and Inequalities. Ed Leo Driedger. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, c1987. 44- 63. Burnet, Jean. Multiculturalism in Canada. Ethnic Canada: Identities and Inequalities. Ed Leo Driedger. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, c1987. 65- 79. Cheadle, Bruce and Dan Dugas. Ideal of a Bilingual Canada Becoming Frayed by Ambivalence, Indifference. Canadian Press NewsWire Dec. 2004. Multiple Databases. ProQuest. University of Winnipeg Library, MB. 23 November 2005 Dasko, Donna. Public Attitude Towards Multiculturalism in Canada. Canadian Issues Summer 2004: 30. Multiple Databases. ProQuest. University of Winnipeg Library, MB. 23 November 2005 Elliott, J.L. Introduction Canada: Two Nations, Many Cultures?. Two Nations, Many Cultures: Ethnic Groups in Canada. Ed Jean Leonard Elliott. Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall of Canada, c1979. 1- 6. Laporte, Pierre E. and Stephen Richer. Culture, Cognition, and English-French Competition. Two Nations, Many Cultures: Ethnic Groups in Canada. Ed Jean Leonard Elliott. Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall of Canada, c1979. 75- 83. Wardhaugh, Ronald. Language and Nationhood: The Canadian Experience. Vancouver: New Star Books Ltd, 1983. Research Papers on Canadian MosaicQuebec and CanadaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaWhere Wild and West MeetEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Response to Nelson Mandelas Freedom Speech Essay

Response to Nelson Mandelas Freedom Speech - Essay Example The speech has been written from a South African perspective and it has some cultural connotations about the aspect of togetherness which is treated as a very important aspect towards achievement of freedom. Contextually, the speech tries to portray the idea that united people are likely to emerge victors in the fight against oppression. For instance, young people are referred to as ‘young lions’ in the speech. In this case, the imagery is meant to emphasize the essence of unity given that the lions thrive on this unity in the jungle. This speech is written in the context of promoting peace and freedom among South Africans. This is reflected by the following statement: â€Å"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination.† Ladies and gentlemen, friends, comrades and fellow South Africans here present, I greet you all and I wish peace for all. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to you about Nelson Mandela’s Free From Jail Speech. I am AntjieKrog, many of you know me as a reporter and poet in both English and Afrikaans. To those who know me, you may recall how Nelson Mandela is a dear friend to me and how he has influenced my life in different ways. Therefore, I would like to pay tribute to this legendary hero through presenting a speech dedicated to Mr. Nelson Mandela. Friends, colleagues and fellow South Africans, may I draw your attention to the words of Nelson Mandela which he said during his trial in 1964: â€Å"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal that I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die†. For years, Mandela was banned from participating in social and political gatherings and was kept under strict police surveillance just because he had the courage

Discuss what you understand by physical ,scientific and creative ways Essay

Discuss what you understand by physical ,scientific and creative ways of learning and consider wether relating these elements en - Essay Example   It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events.   The learner, therefore, constructs his/her own conceptualizations and solutions to problems.   Learner autonomy and initiative is accepted and encouraged.† (Van Ryneveld, n.d.). Teachers come up with several strategies in capturing their students’ attention, and courses are offered in helping educators become more efficient in imparting knowledge and skills to their pupils. No longer do they limit their teaching strategies to boring lectures, dizzying written and oral examinations and students’ delivery of memorized answers to expected questions. Teaching aids have likewise expanded from using flashcards, blackboard demonstrations and textbooks to more concrete materials like actual 3-dimensional objects, dioramas and multimedia materials. Activities are likewise evolving to be more learner-centered, as teachers are c oming to terms that their students have a hand in directing their own learning. This is not to say that teachers are slowly losing their hold on the learning of their students. In fact, they are important figures in stimulating and encouraging their students’ pursuit of knowledge. ... e rigorous intellectual commitment and perseverance, and teachers must continually connect student’s previous and current knowledge to the emerging curriculum. The relevance of curriculum to student interests therefore cannot be planned, because the learners’ interests and experience cannot be assumed nor completely evaluated in advance.† This gives the students more power in the acquisition of learning. Using prior knowledge, they are encouraged to invent their own solutions and try out their own ideas and hypotheses with the able support of their teachers. This way, they can indulge in concrete experiences that focus on their interests. Science is a subject that encourages constructive learning. The very nature of the scientific method supports it. Teachers may discuss theories in their lessons and encourage children to try them out in practice. Traditional classroom activities such as reporting in front of the class, showing pictures related to the lesson or fi lling out textbooks pale in comparison to concrete experiences such as touching a real, live dog, conducting plant experiments or cooking activities. The concrete interactions and experiences with the real world helps children retain learning better because they have actually experienced learning using most, if not all their senses. To illustrate, the following activities are designed to teach three scientific concepts, namely: 1. the gravitational pull of the sun. 2. the sun as the only source of light for the earth. 3. the formation of shadows This essay would illustrate how a child would learn these concepts through traditional scientific methods and in addition through the medium of art, dance and music as more constructivist methods of teaching-learning. 1. The Gravitational Pull of the Sun A.