Management Maturity Model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management Maturity Model - Research Paper Example Killen and Hunt (2013) stressed the maturity level of any project and argued that the project maturity level is directly linked to the long term value of the project portfolio and resource allocation. Apart from Killen and Hunt (2013), other research scholars such as Rad and Levin (2006) and Pellegrinelli and Garangna (2009) have also stressed that project management maturity model is one of the crucial factors for any project management team. In the context of theoretical arguments of research scholars and project managers, the researcher has decided to shed light on project management maturity model with the help of both practical examples and theoretical hypotheses. Although the researcher is a project manager, throughout the paper the researcher will take a conjectural view in order to address the research problem in a fact-driven manner. Project Management Maturity Model Korbel and Benedict defined a project management maturity model (PMMM) as the systematic framework for a project management team to perform benchmarking and deliver value to the modern organization. A maturity model is basically an assessment approach by which an organization compares its project performance with the industry’s best practices and prepares a structured pathway to improve the existing processes. Korbel and Benedict pointed out a number of benefits associated with project management maturity models (PMMM) such as cost saving, an increase in the preciseness of project schedules and improvement of the quality of the project. ... f research scholars and project managers, the researcher has decided to shed light on project management maturity model with the help of both practical examples and theoretical hypotheses. Although the researcher is a project manager, throughout the paper the researcher will take a conjectural view in order to address the research problem in a fact-driven manner. Project Management Maturity Model Korbel and Benedict (2007) defined a project management maturity model (PMMM) as the systematic framework for a project management team to perform benchmarking and deliver value to the modern organization. The maturity model is basically an assessment approach by which an organization compares its project performance with the industry’s best practices and prepares a structured pathway to improve the existing processes. Korbel and Benedict (2007) pointed out a number of benefits associated with project management maturity models (PMMM) such as cost saving, increase in preciseness of pr oject schedules and improvement of quality of the project. Research scholars have found a positive relationship between project performance and project maturity level. The relationship can be depicted in the following manner; Figure 1: Relationship Between Project Maturity Level & Project Performance (Source: Korbel & Benedict, 2007) The above mentioned model is showing that the performance of a project increases as its maturity level increases. The researcher believes that there cannot be one PMM model which can be used in all projects. As a project manager, the researcher has recalibrated the PMM model in order to satisfy the interests of the stakeholders of the project. For example, a PMM model for a health and safety project differs significantly from that for a construction project.

Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem Essay Example for Free

Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem Essay Following the Geneva conference in1954, an agreement was signed to end the First Indochina war. The agreements also lead to the temporary division of the Democratic of Vietnam into two sub- countries separated along the Laotian border next to the 17th parallel. To the north was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its capital in Hanoi and to the south was the Republic of Vietnam and its capital was in Saigon. The leader of the north was Ho Chi Minh and the south was lead by Ngo Dihn Diem. The two leaders possess different skills and ideologies, however with the common target of uniting Vietnam, leading it to freedom. In this paper, an evaluation of the two leaders basing on the context of the Vietnam society will be made, about their leadership styles that lead them to win the hearts and minds of their subjects and consequently support for their initiatives (Schandler, 2009). Ho Chi Minh is a political genius. He fools the people of Vietnam to support his cause through propaganda, terror and betraying even his close friends to form the Communist movement in Vietnam. He even tricks the patriotic solders and makes them to rebel, thinking that they are doing it for the benefit of Vietnam. A good example is the Hue Massacre in 1968. They seize the city of central Vietnam, killing thousands of innocent people, due to them inhabiting the southern Vietnam (Moss, 1990). Even though he commits all these, he is capable of creating good impression to the people of Vietnam and the whole world at large. He manages to mobilize the people in the west through his propagandas. As a result, the person protests the south and praised the north. They are not able to discover his ill motives, but mistook him as good leader with good morals vision (Catino, 2010). He is deceptive and canning. He always wore a smiley face that could easily deceive the masses to think that he has the interest of Vietnam in his mind. He even insinuates that is major aim is to free the people of Vietnam from  the colonial chains of The French. However, his only major aim is to liberate t he nation and leads it to prosperity and development. In 1945, when he returns to Vietnam, he is chosen to lead Viet Minh. Here he convinces many of the leaders by claiming that it is the revolutionary group whose intention is to end the French invaders. He has massive support, and when they win the French at Dien Binh in 1954, Ho Chi Minh is accorded all the praises and seen as a hero (Catino, 2010). Ngo Dinh Diem portrays himself as an honest and courageous leader. He shows his prowess in blocking the French from dominating his homeland. Ngo is equipped with genuine liabilities and his political base is developed through his own family that has high esteem and reputation (Moss, 1990). Also, Ngo Dinh Diem having stayed in the US, has gained him personality and experience from the influential politicians and reputable church leaders like senator Mike Mansfield and the cardinal of catholic church by the name Francis Spellman. This has made him the prime minister and also enjoys the massive support from the Vietnamese people (Moss, 1990). Ngo Dinh Diem is a determined and hardworking leader. He is very muc h focused in closely working with The United States military to in building the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces. The chief reason for this is to create a strong defense at the northern border, against the inversion North Vietnamese. Initiating the creation of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) in 1963 and also providing the United States for the South Vietnamese is a good indication of his effort and hard work (Moss, 1990). Although he is challenged with the political instability, his determination won the hearts of many people in not only the Southern Vietnam and the entire Vietnam community. Personal leadership was a major factor in reuniting the country following the war. Ngo Dinh Diem and Ho Chi Minh were able to achieve growth and transformational processes as indicated by the conscious decisions they made in uniting the country (Schandler, 2009). Through personal change the leaders played a major role in developing and ensuring an enlightened life that was more meaningful, full of self-awareness, purpose-driven as well as being socially responsible. Overall the leaders embraced vital lessons of personal leadership, which inspired the people to have deep reflection and indoctrination of positive aspects into everyday lives. The personal leadership had positive transformation of the Vietnamese society and had  positive implications on the world around (Moss, 1990). It is clear from the discussion above that various skills and ideologies of the two discussed leaders contributed greatly to the reunion of Vietnam. Though their policies differed, their creativity and diligent leadership styles won the hearts of Vietnamese people, and the entire Continent of Asia. The Vietnamese embraced their leadership and consequently support for their leadership initiatives. They maintained political stability and achieved their dream of uniting the people of Vietnam (Catino, 2010). References Catino, M. S. (2010). Peaceful ActivitiesNorth VietnamsInverson of the South. The Aggressors: Ho Chi Minh, North Vietnam, and the Communist Bloc (p. 86 87). WashingtonD.C: Dog Ear Publishing, . Moss, G. (1990). America’s Diem Experiment The Formation of Seato, . Vietnam, an American ordeal (6th edition ed., p. 24). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall Schandler, H. Y. (2009). The enemy. America in Vietnam: the war that couldnt be won (p. 14). Lanham, Md.: Rowman Littlefield Publishers.

Creativity And Imagination In Arts

Creativity And Imagination In Arts Three Little Pigs was chosen because children are familiar with the classic story. It is engaging for both girls and boys and allows a strong context for a range of arts activities in drama, puppetry, musical movement as well as a small world play of a series of arts activities. Activities are planned for five-year-old children as children by age 5 would have attained the basic developmental milestones of language development (Conti-Ramsden Durkin, 2011). The story of Three Little Pigs has patterns of structure. The first little pig met a man carrying straw and built his house with straw. The second little pig met a man carrying sticks and built his house with sticks. The third little pig met a man with bricks and built his house with bricks. A wolf came and said the line Little pig, little pig, let me in three times. The wolf huffed and puffed three times. The story carries repetitive catchy phrases, Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin! Ill huff and Ill puff and Ill blow your house down! So the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down! The moral of the story teaches children not to open door to strangers and let strangers in. The Three Little Pigs is told through dramatization and role-play using finger puppets, props and tone of voice. This paper highlights the aims and values of the activities and explains how learning is being structured and the skills that can be developed in drama. Creativity and Imagination in Arts Education We live in a culture where children are raised with passive life experiences. Their toys are highly functional and commercially constructed. But children are by nature imaginative and curious. Their imagination and creation are not nurtured and developed. Childrens play is losing significance to paper and pencil type of education that adults have come to view as important (Hendy Toon, 2001). Society needs people who are creative and imaginative to enable problem solving and make connections. Society then has to start with its youngest members to encourage their creativity and imagination. Children should be motivated and given opportunities to express their creativity. Society needs to nurture children to think creatively, play with ideas and materials, deal with changes and the unexpected, respond to such changes, take risks, learn empathy and be sociable. Creativity and imagination make us human (Duffy, 1998). Adult attitude is important in promoting creativity and imagination. Such attitudes create the right emotional environment. Equally important are physical settings and time set aside to allow opportunities for creativity and imagination (Duffy, 1998). Arts and the curriculum The arts have long been associated with a private experience of feeling good, living in a dream world, and an escape from reality. Swanwick (1988) argues that we become more conscious through the arts. Teaching the arts well promotes development in other learning areas. In drama there is physical education and language development. Music has its own vocabulary as in tempo, pulse and dynamics. Drawing is about line, texture and shape. If the arts can become part of the curriculum children have learning opportunities for personal and social-emotional development (Arts in Schools Project, 1990). According to Swanwick (1988) the arts are naturally playful and playfulness is an important part of being human. Children play. Play is what children do. In play, there are elements which promote learning through the arts. Children gain mastery of skills, enhanced their imitation and are engaged in imaginative play. Drama When young children engage in dramatic play, they take on a different identity and manipulate the character. They develop their ability to understand and make sense of the world around them by making connections (Hendy Toon, 2001). Games are adapted to the Three Little Pigs. Children listen to the name called for straw, stick, brick and house. They are told rules of the games. Children play and learn to play by the rules. When children are invited to make images from the story with their body and facial expression they step into the role of the character. They imitate the teacher in role and friends or stretch their creativity and imagination with their own body movement and facial expression. The other children in the circle make sound effects with their vocals. The simple act of dramatization allows children to master the skills of speaking to sound like another self. They learn to take turns and respect the others voice and body movement. Together and being together children make dramatic meaning (Swanwick, 1998). The teacher uses another approach of dramatization by getting children to make music and use instruments for making sound effects. Music is incorporated in the drama play. With the teachers guidance children experiment with the musical instruments until they get the sound that makes one think of the wolf blowing down the houses. For a different outcome, the teacher in role selects the instruments and guides children to listen to the tempo and act out the mood of the scene of the wolf puffing, huffing and blowing down the houses. Blowing down the house of straw is easy for the wolf so the mood is soft. The easy and soft mood changes with the house of straw and becomes heavy, angry and even dangerous when the wolf tries to blow down the house of brick. This activity is a learning point for children to take instructions, keep a consistent rhythm and work with others. It encourages children to enjoy making music and listening to music. Children are exposed to music and can develop musica l ability through their active engagement. Children delight in sound and rhythm (Sanwick, 1988). Drama should not be boring (Duffy, 1998). To add a sense of excitement the teacher tells an imaginative story that Mother Pig receives a letter from one of the little pigs. She has lost her reading glasses. Children are invited to read out the letter for her through role-play as the little pig. They decide for themselves and create their own story. Childrens imagination is further stretched when they discuss the character of the wolf. They compare the wolf to other wolves in Red Riding Hood and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. This activity promotes language and cognitive thinking as children learn to identify the animated characteristics of the wolf and compare one to the other and another. The original version of the story is told through a drama play. The teacher in role becomes the wolf who is brought to trial for blowing down the houses and eating the little pigs. Children field questions and demand explanations from the wolf to account for his crimes. Teacher and children work together to make a new story. This activity brings about a sense of tension and excitement. The teacher creates space for children to make their own small world play area. A number of skills can be developed in this play area. Children learn to make a finger puppet. They choose and pick materials to make their own puppets. They compare, contrast and experiment with colour, texture, lines and shapes. They acquire the skill by trial and error or copy the teachers puppets. Such mastery of judgement gives children a sense of achievement. When children play with finger puppet, the puppet becomes alive. They talk to the puppet and say what they feel. In imaginative play they experiment with the different cries the wolf make to blow down the three different houses. They become the little pigs and experiment with the different emotions the pig experience when the wolf calls. Children learn to be sociable as they listen to each other and take turns. They learn about cooperation and accepting ideas and wishes of another. Emotions are released in a healthy way as children use finger puppets to express their feelings and concerns. Language development is enhanced as they experiment with different voices and characters. We live in a time where learning is measured and tested in paper and pencil with emphasis in basic literacy and numeracy skills. We should bear in mind the importance of creativity and imagination in its own right and the positive impact of creativity and imagination on other learning areas. A curriculum that is enriched with creativity and imagination opens up avenues for children to develop skills, knowledge, attitudes and aptitudes in the present and for the future (Duffy, 1998). Children become the adults we want them to be resourceful, innovative and confident. As cited by Duffy (1998) quoting Oscar Wilde, we are raising a generation who know the price of everything and the value of nothing (p.14). (1469 words)

Relationship between Caliban and Prospero in Act I of The Tempest Essay

The short extract taken from â€Å"The Tempest† helps us learn a lot about the characters Prospero and Caliban and their relationship within the play. Prospero, when we first meet him, emerges as a very controlling and dominant figure on the island, mainly because he refers to the character Caliban as his â€Å"slave†. This shows us that Prospero must be a powerful man and that he has authority over the island and its people. Prospero uses his power to abuse Caliban, and he threatens him with phrases such as â€Å"thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches...† if he does not comply with his orders. But when Caliban refuses to obey him, Prospero resorts to insults in order to control him because he tells Miranda, his daughter, â€Å"But, as ‘tis/We cannot miss him† meaning that they cannot survive on the island themselves. Through the language used, we quickly learn how Prospero believe that he is â€Å"above† Caliban, because he calls him names like â€Å"savage†, â€Å"hag-seed† and â€Å"poisonous†. Caliban, however, is not a weak and passive slave as one might expect. Instead he threatens both Prospero and his daughter, â€Å"...

Horizontal Violence Experienced During Orientation in the Intensive Care Units Essay

Looking back at the literature review, evidences from several studies have shown how nurses over the past several years have continued a trend of horizontal violence that began decades ago. These nurses felt that to prove that before a novice nurse will be ready to enter the profession, there must be a test or rite of passage that they should pass and be able to get through. The said rite of passage was formerly practiced from one generation of nurses and passed it on to the next generation. This creates an atmosphere of bullying by condoning the practice of such rites or hazing practices that happen to novice nurses in return to prove their ability to perform in the pressure intense environment. Given the above premise, it is the purpose of this study to look into the novice nurse and the type of horizontal violence they may be experiencing in different types of intensive care units (ICU) during the orientation process. Through this study, there can be a validation of whether or not horizontal violence does occur in the ICU during nurse orientation. If it does, by looking at horizontal violence in various ICU’s, an understanding of such type of violence among new novice nurses may be developed. It is also the purpose of this study to provide the most accurate answers possible to this paper’s research questions. To reiterate, the questions are as follows: (1) While in orientation, do novice nurses experience horizontal violence in the ICU’s in a Midwestern magnet status hospital? ; (2) Is bullying present during the orientation process in the ICU? (3) Do the novice nurses experience sabotage while in orientation? ; and (4) Has the novice nurses experienced feeling like an outcast or have they experienced name-calling during their orientation in the cardiovascular ICU? One theory that stands out when discussions on the theoretical framework with regard to horizontal violence is Paulo Freire’s oppression theory. Theorist Paulo Freire first presented the oppression theory in 1972 when explaining the confl ict of the colonized African populations. This theory discusses the observance of the imbalance of power due to dominate and subordinate groups. The oppression theory discusses how two groups are involved and the dominate group maintains higher power than the subordinate group. The oppression occurs when the subordinate group’s culture is repressed by the dominant group. Due to the subordinate group feeling repressed, the subordinate group begins to act out their self-hatred on each other. By doing this, the values and beliefs that were held by the subordinate group are soon lost and self-hatred settles in. In 1983, Sandra Roberts, applied the oppression theory to nursing and argued that an â€Å"understanding of the dynamics underlying leadership of an oppressed group is an important strategy to develop more effective leaders in nursing to be successful. † (Bartholomew, 2006). Roberts noted that nursing had displayed the dominate group along with the subordinate group referring to the leadership in the nursing profession. The dominate group makes various decisions without respecting the values of the subordinate group the nurses working on the floor with the patients. Through this process, the subordinate group loses respect for the dominate groups value system and become oppressed with feelings of low self-esteem, self-hatred, and powerlessness. With the oppression theory there is a sub-subordinate group that feels the results of the oppression theory and this is the novice nurses being hired into the nursing profession. During the orientation phase the novice nurses fall into a subgroup resulting in oppression trying to bring the novice nurses through the rite of passage to be a nurse in the unit that the orientation is occurring. Organizations fashioned to be hierarchical have not fostered a culture of professional collegiality, nor have they advanced the role of nursing. Too often, nurses have acquiesced to a victim mentality that only facilitates a sense of powerlessness. Nurses have reported concern about the lack of action taken by supervisors in addressing horizontal violence in the workplace (Farrell, 1997; Stanley et al. , 2007). While not directly addressing bullying or horizontal violence, Kramer (1974) described the â€Å"reality shock† occurring for new graduates when they encountered differences in their perception of what nursing could be and the actual reality of the workplace. Kramer suggested that â€Å"reality shock† can manifest as hopelessness and dissatisfaction, which is a prelude to conflict in the workplace (p. ). Today, bullying is an international phenomenon not limited to the healthcare arena, and abuse can also occur between professions. The phrase â€Å"nurses eat their young,† has been used to describe the negative behaviors directed toward new nurses (Rowe & Sherlock, 2005). Griffin (2004) described the vulnerability of newly licensed nurses as they are socialized into the nursing workforce; lateral violence affected their perception of whether to remain in their current position. Sofield and Salmond (2003) found that primarily physicians, then patients, and patients’ families were responsible for most of the verbal abuse towards nurses. One-third of respondents expressed they would consider resignation in response to verbal abuse; it was concluded that nurses lacked the skills to deal with the verbal abuse and perceived themselves as powerless to change organizational response (Sofield & Salmond, 2003). Cox found the most frequent source of verbal abuse was physicians, and in descending order patients, families and peers, supervisors and subordinates (1991). The turn-over attributed to verbal abuse was 24 percent for staff nurses and 25 percent for nurse managers (Cox, 1991) Cook, Green and Topp (2001) found that perioperative nurses encountered verbal abuse by physicians. However, Rowe and Sherlock (2005) reported that nurses in particular were the most frequent source of verbal abuse towards other nurses. Patients’ families were the second most frequent source, followed by physicians and then patients (Rowe & Sherlock, 2005). In 2004, The Institute for Safe Medication Practices published a survey on workplace intimidation. Almost half of the 2,095 respondents, which included nurses, pharmacists and other providers, recalled being verbally abused when contacting physicians to question or clarify medication prescriptions; intimidation had played a role in either not questioning a concerning order or seeking ways not to directly confront the prescribers. While physicians and prescribers used intimidating behaviors, however they were not the only intimidating healthcare providers (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2004). In a hostile environment, communication is hindered and this can affect quality of care and patient safety (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002). Healthcare providers report intimidation does alter communication and negatively impacts patient care and safety (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2004). Healthcare professionals facing intimidation may sometimes choose to abdicate their advocacy role to avoid intimidating behaviors, impacting patient safety. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices survey (2004) revealed that more experienced nurses are more likely to encounter intimidating behaviors; differences in intimidating encounters were not appreciably different in terms of gender but females were more likely to ask another colleague to talk with the intimidator for them. The organization’s effectiveness in handling intimidation was viewed less favorably by those nurses and pharmacists with more years of practice in that facility (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2004). To add strength to this study, more literature that points to the ICU being one of the top places in the healthcare setting to be the venue for horizontal violence. Bullying in the medical setting is said to happen most of the time in the top three areas, i. e. , medical or surgical units, intensive care units (ICU) and the emergency department (ER). The occurrences of horizontal violence are lesser in the areas such as child health and maternal health areas, psychiatry and operating rooms. This is the result of findings such as those made by WHO. The World Health Organization has been showing concern with the horizontal violence happening in healthcare settings and has been aware of the problem becoming an epidemic already and has started to think of solutions by first producing guidelines in dealing with the violence when it happens. WHO touched on the patient to nurse type of violence as well and the effects it has on the emotions of the nurses. The results of the survey made by WHO also made a significant finding, that the highest rating for workplace violence was in the areas of highest acuity like the intensive care units. This made even stronger the need to find out the prevalence of horizontal violence in the ICU. With all the above literature taken from scholarly journals and books, it is quite apparent that horizontal violence is indeed present in the healthcare industry today. There are even some studies held that have proven its existence in the intensive care unit. Most of the studies made point to the new or novice nurses as the main victim, with other more superior nurses being their main predators. To get concrete evidence of its existence in the ICU during orientation in a Midwestern magnet status hospital and to get further evidence on horizontal violence in the ICU, a study about it based on a cross sectional non-experimental explanatory research model and the Likert Scale which will further be discussed in the next topics. Design  Novice nurses that have been in orientation in various types of ICU for the past three to six months were asked to participate in the survey. Those that participated were nurses that have attended orientation in any of the intensive care units, i. e. , surgical ICU, cardiovascular ICU, coronary ICU or general ICU. All these novice nurses were given the same survey questions in relation to understanding whether they have experienced horizontal violence while they were in orientation. With looking at several different ICUs, there are varying variables that are influenced. Firstly, each participating intensive care unit has different formats for their orientation process. There are also different educators for each of the ICUs and varying preceptors orienting each of the novice nurses. A cross sectional non-experimental explanatory research model will be used to conduct the survey of novice nurses in different types of ICU’s. The survey will be given to novice nurses that have been in orientation in the ICU’s for the past three to six months. Out of the novice, nurses that are surveyed there will be varying educational backgrounds along with different work experience. The common thread among the novice nurses will be that they are novice nurses in the area they are orienting in at the time the survey is administered. Strengths of this study will look at a cross section of the novice nurses in orientation in a Midwestern hospital to investigate the occurrences of horizontal violence during orientation. Due to the cross section, this study will also give illumination to the working relationship between novice nurses and expert nurses during orientation in the intensive care units. This study will provide a base for educational purposes on how to improve the relationships between the novice nurses and expert nurses during orientation in the intensive care units. Another benefit from the study, there will be a study that has looked at the type of horizontal violence that is occurring during the orientation process in the intensive care units. This will give the building blocks to educating the expert nurses in how to be more encouraging towards the novice nurses during the orientation process. The reason in using this non-experimental quantitative research model is due to the fact that many of the most vital variables of interest in this study are not manipulable. This is however not indicative of any less methodology employed. Many researchers actually make use of non-experimental research since it is highly descriptive and it allows effective communications in an interdisciplinary research environment. Non-experimental quantitative research is an essential area of research due to its many vital though non-manipulable independent variables that may need further study. Some known methodologists even say that non-experimental research (Kerlinger, 1986) is more important that experimental research in such as way that educational and social research problems may not lend themselves to experimentation but lend themselves to controlled inquiry that is of the non-experimental type. The mentioned characteristics of this kind of research model make it a good choice for this particular study.

How to Write an Outline for a Research Paper - Paperell.com

How to Write an Outline for a Research Paper How to Write an Outline for a Research Paper The basis of the proposed method is the logic of writing a scientific article, which highlights the main elements that are universal for most scientific works in a high school or a college. So, how to write a good outline for a research paper?Getting started, the author must answer several important questions:What is the general problem of the study?What conclusions did the previous researchers come to?What sources should be studied, what is new to know and why, how to apply the results?Answers to these questions allow the author to get an idea about the topic of upcoming work, to build its general concept, to determine the object, subject, purpose, and hypothesis of the study.Below is the most common algorithm for planning the process of writing a scientific text.Preparing For Making An OutlineWhen you have selected a topic, try to figure out what kind of argument you would like to support. It is important to understand why it may be important to you and the readers. It will be bett er if you ask yourself – what is the purpose of my thesis? Could it trigger a meaningful debate that will bring some changes and can I use this thesis to build a whole research work on it? When you will answer these questions, you will be prepared to start writing an outline for your research paper. This will have you clarify the purpose.Your professor will be the only person who will read (most of the time) your research paper when it’s completed. But it’s better to try to define your audience. Will the professor support your thesis, or he/she will discuss it and will have a counterargument? When you will understand your readers you will know what language you can use in your paper: whether the use of slang is appropriate or best to stick with formal language? The overall style and tone of your research work depend on the target audience.Research work wouldn’t be called so without meaning a proper and thorough research. You will be required to explore ma ny resources in order to find effective evidence to support your thesis. In the beginning, you will have to investigate the general information about your thesis and then get deeper into it. But make sure you don’t forget about all possible counterarguments and evidence. It is important for you to study your arguments and comprehend all the pitfalls of your thesis in order to have a clear idea of what is missing.The links and references are proof of each of your arguments and studies that you have conducted. You need to arrange them according to the importance and relevance of your thesis.After the finding out the topic, thesis statement, completing all the pre-writing activities are done, you must outline the plan and methodology of the research paper.Research paper outline is its content, built logically in the following sections: introduction, the main part, conclusion/conclusions. In a research paper, sections are allocated conditionally. In larger works, it can be parts, chapters, paragraphs. The structure of the research paper may also include an abstract, a list of sources and, if necessary, an Appendix.Constituents Of Research Paper OutlineSo, basic and classic, the structure of research paper outline looks like this:IntroductionHookDefine the audienceThesis statementBodyA few arguments to support the thesisConclusionSummary of argumentsCall to actionThe introductionStates the general thesis of the research, substantiates its relevance, describes the purpose, problem, objectives, and methods of research, theoretical and practical significance. In this part should be informative, intriguing and engaging.The main bodyThis is the most important part of your research paper, here you will be presenting your evidence and arguments to support your thesis and, in accordance with the rule of â€Å"3†, you will have to provide three arguments to support your position/thesis. It’s better to start with the strong evidence and continue with str onger and strongest ones.ConclusionIn this part you will be summarizing the arguments you have provided in the main body and arriving at the final position, providing solutions to the issues mentioned in the whole paper.That is how the work should look. Although this task is much more complex than an argumentative essay or other academic works, following a good template should make it a bit easier!Here’s the example of a good research paper outlineTitle: Frederick DouglassThesis: Frederick Douglass played a crucial role in securing the abolition of slavery and equality of African-American rights through his actions, ideas, and efforts as a lecturer, author/publisher, and politician.Below is a sample structure.Introduction:Thesis;Roles/Arguments;Douglass as Lecturer:History as slave and acquisition of education;He â€Å"experienced slavery†;Literacy allowed expression;Early lectures, including initial speech before Garrison;Success of initial speech;Goals for future spe eches;Effect of lectures on society;Open eyes;Encourage activism;Douglass as Author/Publisher:Narrative’s success and effect;Springboard for paper;Goals/hopes for paper;Garrison set-back and significance;Significance of Paper;Douglass as Politician:Key trait for success;Goal of political activism;Efforts for Republican party;Significance of efforts;Black soldier enlistment crusade;Joining of Republican party;Significance of efforts;Conclusion:Summarize arguments and efforts.Some Useful AdvicesPlan your speech and distribute it by minutes.The appearance and overall style of the paper plays an important role - it promotes not only the aesthetic pleasure of the reader but the correct understanding is written.The essence of any work is determined by the degree of originality – the more a new book, textbook or article is similar to the pre-existing, the less interest will be experienced by the reader.

AIDS in Ghana The WritePass Journal

The Role of NGOs in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS in Ghana Introduction The Role of NGOs in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS in Ghana Introduction This dissertation will focus on the role of NGO in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Ghana. The Republic of Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa and is bordered by Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo. Ghana has an estimated population of 24 million people, with Accra Ghana’s capital city having the estimated highest population of over two million people.[1] The Human Immunodeficiency Deficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemics continue to devastate the lives of individuals globally. HIV/AIDS is proven to be a great developmental challenge for states, with many initiatives to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS proving difficult. With HIV/AIDS mainly affecting adults in their industrious years, the infections are having a detrimental effect on health care systems across the world. The high cost attributed to treatment and prevention programmes have averted resources away from productive investments. Empirical evidence reveals a relationshi p between HIV/AIDS and poverty. Since its discovery, HIV/AIDS has ravaged communities, assisted with the creation of poverty and deepened the opportunities to escape it. HIV/AIDS constitutes as one of the most serious health concerns destructing human development. HIV/AIDS also threatens to reverse the progress in the most severely affected countries for decades.[2] Of the global total of people living with HIV/AIDS, 95% live in developing countries.[3] Since its existence, HIV/AIDS has continued to evolve in communities where poverty facilitates the spread of the viruses. Weak healthcare infrastructures and social inequalities have increased the potential risk of HIV/AIDS, while factors such as migration, drug use and economic instability have also enhanced the spread of transmission. The impact of HIV/AIDS has been severe on the African continent, which has some of the poorest countries in the world, meaning large populations have been affected by the epidemic. Whilst   the   number   of   people   living   with   HIV   remains   high in sub-Saharan Africa, the availability of ACT treatments has been   associated with a momentous decline of HIV/AIDS related deaths. It has been   argued that the rise of HIV/AIDS in Africa is a result of a sexual   culture[4] and that Africanswere conducting hyper-sexualised behaviour.[5] Strong prevention campaigns have also played a key role in the decrease in recent HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. After Ghana’s first case of HIV was reported in 1986[6], the disease spread gradually but stea dily until 2003, when prevalence peaked at 3.1%.[7] In 2011, the estimated adult HIV/AIDS prevalence was 2.1%, with an estimated 225478 people were living with HIV/AIDS in the country.[8] HIV prevalence differs between age, gender, residence and geographical areas. Ghanas’ Aids Commision key strategic priorities are preventing HIV/AIDS in high-risk populations such as female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), and discordant couples, reducing HIV/AIDS transmission from high-risk individuals to the general population, addressing stigma and discrimination, and providing comprehensive prevention and care and access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), their partners, and families. The GAC has developed multiple evidence-based, comprehensive behaviour change support materials for FSW, their clients and partners, MSM, and PLWHA. The growing complexity of HIV/AIDS has led to a number of initiatives involving the skills of NGO’s. With good health care systems a commodity in some countries, NGO’s have developed programmes to assist with the demands on the state. For instance, Charity AID Africa has implemented a community testing and care unit in Kumasi to minimise the risk of future infections. Amid the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, NGOs were used as a global trend to compensate for the short comings of the state. With HIV/AIDS being in existence for over 30 years, the relevance, efficiency and sustainability of NGO’s are all in question, now more than ever. Similar to states, NGOs face allegations of corruption, mismanagement in addition to funding cuts and state sanctions. NGO’s currently face not only the practical challenge of tackling HIV/AIDS but also the political challenge of influencing policy.   In this respect, the epidemic of HIV/AIDS and the challenge of the political economy are mutually constitutive. While some NGO’s have been successful to some degree in helping to reshape policy agendas, doubts still remain about the potential of NGO’s to reshape society. Dilemmas persist on the effectiveness of NGOS with questions asking whether they are efficient and have the agency to bring about long-term sustainable change.[9] NGO’s, such as Oxfam, have been productive in conducting programmes to tackle poverty and gaining International recognition. By way of comparison the majority of NGO’s haven’t been able to make a significant change to policy due to ideological parameters. The role of the state is important to NGO’s because the state has the power to determine the institutional nature, agenda and political relationship. The potential for NGO’s to bring about substantial change to HIV/AIDS is undiminished while the limitations of NGO practices will be explored with this paper. Despite amplified focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, initiatives by the Ghanaian government and NGOs have failed to eradicate the virus. Many businesses, communities, and private and religious organisations have also tried to work towards eradicating HIV/AIDS with varying results. The work carried out by those concerned with HIV/AIDS has provided vital information about the biological, behavioural and environmental factors that influence HIV/AIDS transmission. HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in Ghana and the challenge of implementing effective prevention programmes is a national priority. This study focuses on the potential role of NGOs in the significant reduction of HIV/AIDS in Ghana. The thesis is framed within wider debates concerning the impact of NGOs, with particular attention to the role of NGOs and their efforts to reduce the number of HIV/AIDS infections. This study will seek to examine the power of NGOs preventatives methods in Ghana and contribute to the theoretical framework of the role of NGOs in HIV/AIDS prevention. Specifically the aim of the study is to explore and describe the service’s NGO’s provide and how those services influence the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The study will also review the effect of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) funded policies and explore the possibility for further NGO involvement in decisio n making. The study is comprised of five chapters; in this introduction I provide a thumbnail overview of my research question and highlight the contribution I seek to make to HIV/AIDS literature. The introduction will also provide a brief account of the general background of the research, both in relation to the HIV/AIDS rates in Ghana and the number of NGO’s fighting the epidemic in the country. Chapter one and two provide a board historical perspective on the subject matter. Critical claims about the roles of NGO’s not only invoke historical views but also functions as a means by which NGO’s construct their programmes to seek political and economic interests. In chapter two I provide an outline of the theoretical outline that informs the research with particular reference to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. I will also provide an examination of the empirical literature on NGO’s HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. In chapter two, I will also illustrate how various scholars have discussed the role of NGO’s relationship with HIV/AIDS. It also permits an appraisal of the ways in which the history of HIV/AIDS in Africa evolves and transforms states. I argue that NGO’s in some cases have had to serve the interests of their funders and consolidate to capitalist nature. This point becomes apparent when one considers from a historical perspective the obligation put on external funding from the GFATM. This study will also explain NGO’s adapting strategy to shift towards external funding objectives. Chapter three provides an outline of the methodological rationale of the study. I introduce the number of individual interviews that took place and justify why they were the most appropriate approach to pursue my research question. The methodology focuses on the role of NGO’s in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, drawing on primary and secondary sources. Ten organisations have been selected to illustrate the links between NGO’s and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ghana, and this study will look at what will distinguish the chosen organisations and what will be their opinions of HIV/AIDS in Ghana. The methodology will be presented in three stages, firstly providing details of the research informant, secondly an exploration into the methods chosen for data collection, finally the analysis of the data will be explained. Chapter four will discuss the results of the research and consider them in relation to the research question. The methodological considerations will also be explored in chapter four, seeking out the strength and limitations of the study. Chapter five will conclude the study with a summary of the main body of the research. The conclusion will also make comparisons with other studies and make suggestions for further research. Finally the implications of the dissertation will be speculated.

Saying Hello in French

Saying Hello in French Greetings are an essential part of French social etiquette. The most important and common greeting is  bonjour, which means hello, good day, or even hi. There are also other ways to say hello or greet someone in French, but its important to understand what greetings are acceptable in various social contexts. Youll also need to familiarize yourself with greetings that are considered informal versus those that you would use in more formal settings. Bonjour- The Most Common Greeting Saying bonjour is the most common way to greet someone in French. Its a flexible, all-purpose term: You use it to greet people in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Bonjour is always polite, and it works in any situation. In France, you need to say  bonjour  when entering a place.  Whether you are talking to a single salesperson  or entering a crowded bakery, greet them by saying  bonjour. For example, if there are a few people sitting at a table you are approaching or several acquaintances are drinking  un expresso  at the bar as you walk up to them,  greet them with a friendly  bonjour.   If you are talking to one person, it is polite in French to use courtesy titles when you say hello, as in:   Bonjour, madame  (Mrs.)Bonjour, monsieur  (Mr.)Bonjour,  mademoiselle  (Miss) Its acceptable to say bonjour by itself- without using courtesy titles- if you are greeting several people, such as when you enter une boulangerie  (a bakery) packed with a line of customers. Bonsoir- The Evening Hello Use bonsoir  to say hello in the evening. Since the  hour that nighttime arrives in France can vary greatly  depending on the season, generally start saying bonsoir around 6 p.m. You can also use bonsoir when you leave- so long as its still evening. Beware of Salut Salut (pronounced with a silent t) is commonly used in France, although it is extremely informal: Its the equivalent of saying hey in English.  Avoid using salut  with people you dont know unless you are a teenager. If you are in doubt, stick with bonjour, which- as noted- is always an acceptable form of greeting. You can also use salut  to say goodbye  in an informal setting among close friends, but there are better ways to  say goodbye in French. Gestures Associated With Bonjour If you say bonjour to a group of strangers- such as when you are  entering a shop- you need not add any gestures, though you may nod your head a bit, and of course smile. If you know the person you are greeting with bonjour, you would either shake his hand- a frank, strong handshake is preferable- or kiss him on the cheek.  Light kisses  (rarely just one kiss on each cheek but usually three or four total) are extremely common in France among friends and acquaintances. Be aware, however, that the  French do not hug  upon greeting each other and saying  bonjour.

Ludwig von Bertalanffy Systems Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ludwig von Bertalanffy Systems Theory - Essay Example "It is frequently noticed that general aspects, view points as well as isomorphic laws exists in different fields, irrespective of the nature of entities involved. Thus, there appears to exist a general system law. Conventional physics define itself only as a closed system, i.e. systems which exist as isolated from their environment. But, systems by their nature and definition are not closed one, but an open one. Every living being is an open system and it maintains its life in a continuous inflow and outflow, a building up and breaking down. Only in recent years, to include open system into physics has been considered. Open system theory was advocated by this theory. Modern theory of communication is another development of the system theory. The main idea behind communication theory is information and in many cases the flow of information can be elicited by the reaction. Another way of measuring information is in terms of decisions. The second concept of theory of communication is that of feedback. Diffusion is the process which communicates innovation to members of social system through certain channels. Otherwise, diffusion of innovation studies how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology are spread through cultures. Everett M. Rogers theorized in his book, Diffusion of Innovation, 1962 that innovations would spread through society in an S curve. Roger was of opinion that people's attitude towards a new technology, idea, product, or practice will be accepted by society members. "Given that decisions are not authoritative or collective, each member of the social system faces his/her own innovation-decision that follows a 5-step process - Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation and Confirmation." (Orr G., 18 Mar 2003) The innovation-decision theory is based on a cost-benefit analysis. An individual's innovation-decision is largely depended on their personal characteristics. Diffusion scholars divided system member innovativeness into five divisions based on how early they adopt new changes than other members. They are: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. The innovators are easily excited by the possible benefits and their opinion regarding new idea helps the potential adopters. Here, the well informed leader communicates their acceptance or non acceptance based on their experiences to the rest of the society members. Mass media seems to be a powerful tool to have a direct and immediate effect on the mass audience. But, according to diffusion theory, since the opinion leaders are the direct encouraging agents of an innovation, a powerful way for changing the agents to affect the diffusion of an innovation is to affect

Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Plagiarism - Essay Example Plagiarism is a serious offence as it involves intellectual theft which is an offence against the original author. Plagiarism will entail not giving sufficient credit for another author’s ideas or words, claiming to be the author of some work without doing the work and claiming another author’s artistic or scholarly work as your own (Thompson, 2008). Plagiarism is wrong as it involves stealing another authors ideas which is morally not any better than stealing a car, or something else. It is also wrong because it represents information illiteracy as it shows that someone is not capable of researching and presenting one’s own ideas and thoughts, and this means that someone is not capable of handling their own information, which amounts to effective illiteracy. The Internet has made cheating or plagiarism easier than ever before as there are thousands of relevant sources in the Internet and students can simply copy and paste information and use it on their term pap ers or essays. Students may engage in plagiarism for various reasons and it can be intentional or unintentional. At times, students are overwhelmed by workload, and they may have deadlines being the first reason for the lack of understanding of the procedures for citing materials from other sources. Not understanding how to cite will make the student make mistakes while citing sources, and this amounts to unintentional plagiarism. Some students may have bad time management skills, which will result in plagiarizing their assignments or term papers because they do not have enough time to search for information and present it as their own through proper paraphrasing and citation. Deadlines and multiple assignments at the same time make other students plagiarize as they will have not enough time to research and present plagiarism free papers.in the event of trying to hand in assignments on time, students will search the Internet and copy paste information so as to beat the deadlines.

Monitoring Synaptic Function at the Neuromuscular Junction of a Essay

Monitoring Synaptic Function at the Neuromuscular Junction of a MouseExpressing SynaptopHluorin - Essay Example 5422). Selection of the neuromuscular junction of a mouse however came with a number of challenges for the researchers and this generally affected the tone of the research as the researchers were forced to â€Å"created a transgenic mouse (Bozza et al., 2004; Li et al., 2005; Wyatt and Balice-Gordon, 2005, 2006) that expresses spH at the NMJ† (Lucia et al., 2007, p. 5422). The researchers therefore based their work on the characterization of a number of hidden and unexpected properties of the phenotype of the synapse. Techniques used Four major techniques for data collection into the proof of the hypothesis set were used. These were vector construction, acute experimental conditions, generation transgenic of mouse and image analysis. Each of these techniques was used at different levels and for different purposes. This means that the techniques were not used simultaneously. With the vector constructions for instance, the transgenic vector known to be pThy1-SynaptopHluorin was obtained. The researchers used a method that had earlier been used by Ng et al., (2002), which subcloned a 1 kb EcoRI-SmaI fragment from pCiNeo-VAMP-superecliptic. This technique and the generation transgenic of mouse that followed it were important because it set the pace for the researchers to have an ideal clone that would perfectly fit the place of the transgenic mouse they created in terms of characteristics. Under the acute experimental conditions, the researchers made an attempt towards the actual goal by getting to the nerve-muscle of the mouse whereby they dissected the levator auris nerve–muscle (Lucas et al., 2007, p. 5424). The dissection was done based on the work of Katz et al., (1996). This particular technique was highly necessary in setting the pace for stimulus trains, which were delivered at 100 Hz. This was the work that had been previously done in conjunction with Bernard Katz. Through the work, they argued that ions became neutrally charged when combined with a lipid soluble carrier. This paradigm also predicted that any current that is incoming, has to be preceded by a flow of lipid carriers, which have to be outgoing. They therefore concluded that the justification of this is that the ions were being attracted through a charge-biased selective pathway, which, to overcome the membrane potential, had to perform work (Lucia et al. 5422). Data-base review of key findings The data collected from the experiment gave very new but equally important information on the neuromuscular junction of the mouse. This new information had to do with the fact that there is large size of the nerve terminals of the mouse that generally makes it possible to undertake spatial properties of exocytosis. A number of existing researches and findings were also confirmed in this research by Lucas et al (2007). For instance studies by Hodgkin-Huxley, which had earlier been conducted on the neurology of membrane current is largely confirms in the current resear ch. Scientifically, the Hodgkin-Huxley studies have been instrumental for the prediction of biological mechanisms, which would otherwise not have been detectable by the use of the contemporary techniques. Their original studies have triggered further research, as well as the development of simplified models of reaction diffusion. The studies by Hodgkin and Huxley awarded them a Nobel Prize in physiology in 1963. The study had both dependent and

Argentina Business Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argentina Business - Term Paper Example Most of the city’s population comprises of youth between the ages of 17 to 40 who form the majority of our target market in any environment because their high income levels produce high purchasing power (Brown, 1999). We note that the nation’s economy has a high nominal GDP per capita which provides for a high purchasing power of its citizens, which is suitable for our entrance into the market. Moreover, the nation boasts of the latest technology in infrastructure, in the world. The land, air and water transportation systems are well developed, even in the rural areas. This will enable safe and effective transportation of our exported vehicles to and within this nation. In addition, the country’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean presents an added advantage in transporting the exports to our customer(s). Argentina has some of the biggest and busiest ports and harbors in the world, these include Port of Mar del Plata, Port Belgrano and Port of San Antonio Oeste. All of these ports are located on the Atlantic Ocean, making shipping exports to the country our most effective option. Moreover, Buenos Aires serves as a key distribution hub for the South American continent thereby expanding our company’s market potential (Brown, 1999). Customs requirements in Argentina are different among different groups, such as citizens, diplomats and visitors. Seeing that our potential buyer is a resident of Argentina not only owns a national car dealership business, but Diplomatic Franchise as well; he is also involved in importing cars for his diplomatic clients. We should, therefore, meet the requirements of exporting diplomatic and conventional vehicles. Argentinian customs requirements for exportation of diplomatic vehicle maintain that any person importing diplomatic cars must be licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I have confirmed our potential client’s registration with the ministry, so this will not be a hindrance in doing busines s with him. The ministry is also mandated with ensuring that all imported diplomatic vehicles are brand new or less than 5 years old. Argentinian laws also require that the vehicles and all its documentation should be under the importer’s name; therefore, we must ensure that all the documentation pertaining the vehicle's registration is done under our client’s name. The requirements further stipulate that the vehicles should be shipped into the country six months after the arrival of the importer; thus, we cannot export vehicles to the nation if our client is out of the country. Moreover, the Argentinean government requires that the importer owns an original passport and at least two original bills of lading; he should also possess the original vehicle(s) purchase invoice and have the property title registered in his name. Vehicle taxation in Argentina is based on the Cost Insurance and freight (CIF) values of the vehicles. The rates are 80% of the CIF for conventional vehicles, 100% for diesel cars and 65% for motorcycles. Importation of vehicles that do not have local equivalents in Argentina attracts quotas to limit importation and encourage purchasing of locally manufactured vehicles (Rock, 2001). On the other hand, the UK customs requireme

Analyze Lucy in Disgrace by comparing her to Lucy in William Research Paper

Analyze Lucy in Disgrace by comparing her to Lucy in William Wordsworth's The Lucy Poems. Explain at least three signi - Research Paper Example The work also dwells on themes of violence and exploitation and the indelible and tormenting lacerations they leave on the victims as well as the perpetrators. David, a professor, teaching communication in a technical university in South Africa, makes sexual advances on a vulnerable female student. He refuses to apologize and is sacked by the college authorities and he comes to his daughter Lucy’s farm to live with her. As he begins to adapt to the farming life, a gang of three black men launch an attack on the farm, beats him up and rapes his daughter. Ironically, the same callous treatment that he metes out on the women in his life rebounds on his daughter and he remains helpless, unable even to protect his daughter’s honor. The story, through the depiction of the lead character Lucy, thus portrays women as hapless subjects of male prowess and domination, which reduce them to the status of emotional wrecks. On the other hand, â€Å"Lucy,† a set of five poems wr itten by Wordsworth, an acclaimed English poet, tells the story of an unrequited love of an anonymous narrator for Lucy, an anonymous and undefined character. Contrary to the Lucy in the novel, the poems view Lucy in an entirely different perspective by objectifying her as a symbol of beauty and innocence. She represents the deep yearning and longing of the young male narrator’s unquenched heart. ... On the other hand, in â€Å"Disgrace,† Coetzee clearly provides the idea as to who Lucy is, what her conflict is and how she perceives herself as a part of the South African society and the perspectives from which that society will view her problem. Similarly, in the novel, the audience gets to know Lucy and her feelings from her perspective, through her actions and dialogs, which renders it a certain form of emotional intensity to the character. On the other hand, in Lucy poems, the audience never sees or hears Lucy in person. Whatever information the author chooses to share with the readers derives from the narrator’s perspective and the perception that this anonymous person conceives and reveals about her. Thus, the author wraps his female character in a shroud of mystery and alludes to her traits by way of using distinct and vivid imageries but ambiguous attributes to her existence such as every day she looked â€Å"Fresh as a rose in June† and the narrator l amenting, â€Å"O mercy!† on the event that she is dead (Wordsworth Poem I Lines 6, 27). From these allusions, the audience is not able to make out whether Lucy is a person who actually has lived and died, or whether she just symbolizes some aspect of nature. In contrast, Coetzee’s Lucy comes alive on the pages through the straightforward narration of the stark realities of her existence and the depiction of her vivid emotions as can be evidenced from her denial of her father’s offer to send her to Holland saying that â€Å"There is nothing you can suggest that I haven’t been through a hundred times† (Coetzee 157). This dialog illustrates the emotional trauma of the character and the conflict she undergoes, through her own narration of it.

Strategy for Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategy for Sustainability - Essay Example Identified Area for Improvement 14 5. Conclusion 16 6. References 17 1. Overview of the Paper and Briefing of the Selected Company The research paper is concerned with the presentation of materialistic evaluation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of such a company that produces the particular report on the web. The objectives of the research paper will be fulfilled with reference to FirstGroup Plc. FirstGroup Plc is one of the top global operators of the transport services earning revenue of more than 6 billion pounds. The company began its operations in the north eastern part of Scotland twenty years ago. Along the UK and North America, FirstGroup is concerned with providing transport services to around 2.5 billion passengers per year. In these region, the total number of employees of the company stands at 125,000. FirstGroup operates with a collection of around 8,000 buses travelling in above 40 main cities and towns in the UK and North America. In Greyhound UK, the company also operates through the provision of regular services along London, Southampton and Portsmouth. FirstGroup proclaims itself to be the most popular transport service provider operating with complete safety, reliability, innovation and sustainable services. The company also presumes to be providing service with the mode of local approach but its presence can be experienced within the global environment (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 2. Critical Evaluation of the Content of FirstGroup Plc CSR Report 2011 The contents that are included within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report of a company are, to a considerable extent, dependent upon the size of the company and also upon the particular sector in which the company operates. These are also dependent upon the legal position of the particular company along with the market position held (Hurst, 2004). Notably, these facts can also be considered as obstacles to the CSR reporting activities executed by organizations (O’Rourke, 2004). It is for this reason that the larger companies operating with at least 250 workers are more likely to be conversant with the concept of CSR than the middle companies with not more than 250 workers (European Working Conditions Observatory, 2009). However, considering several aspects of each and every company, it can be inferred that importantly, the most essential environmental and social issues are definitely required to be included in the CSR reports of the companies (Corporatewatch, 2006). Comparing the completeness of the CSR report of FirstGroup of the year 2011, it is noteworthy to mention that the report is consisted of adequate social and environmental issues. In this section of the research paper, the issues will be critically evaluated in order to measure the effectiveness of the company’s report. The report has been started with the message from the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tim O’Toole. This is a justifiable beginning because the trustworthy mess age from the most important stakeholder of the company generate creates belief among the other stakeholders. However, messages from other important stakeholders could have also been added for enhancing the value of the Chief Executive’s proclamation. In the following section of the report, a brief introduction to the company has been provided briefing certain fundamental facts like that of revenue, number of employees, company’s spending on goods and services, transporting figures and costs of the employees. It is credible that the company has chosen to highlight these good facts that have strong implication towards

Argentina Business Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argentina Business - Term Paper Example Most of the city’s population comprises of youth between the ages of 17 to 40 who form the majority of our target market in any environment because their high income levels produce high purchasing power (Brown, 1999). We note that the nation’s economy has a high nominal GDP per capita which provides for a high purchasing power of its citizens, which is suitable for our entrance into the market. Moreover, the nation boasts of the latest technology in infrastructure, in the world. The land, air and water transportation systems are well developed, even in the rural areas. This will enable safe and effective transportation of our exported vehicles to and within this nation. In addition, the country’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean presents an added advantage in transporting the exports to our customer(s). Argentina has some of the biggest and busiest ports and harbors in the world, these include Port of Mar del Plata, Port Belgrano and Port of San Antonio Oeste. All of these ports are located on the Atlantic Ocean, making shipping exports to the country our most effective option. Moreover, Buenos Aires serves as a key distribution hub for the South American continent thereby expanding our company’s market potential (Brown, 1999). Customs requirements in Argentina are different among different groups, such as citizens, diplomats and visitors. Seeing that our potential buyer is a resident of Argentina not only owns a national car dealership business, but Diplomatic Franchise as well; he is also involved in importing cars for his diplomatic clients. We should, therefore, meet the requirements of exporting diplomatic and conventional vehicles. Argentinian customs requirements for exportation of diplomatic vehicle maintain that any person importing diplomatic cars must be licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I have confirmed our potential client’s registration with the ministry, so this will not be a hindrance in doing busines s with him. The ministry is also mandated with ensuring that all imported diplomatic vehicles are brand new or less than 5 years old. Argentinian laws also require that the vehicles and all its documentation should be under the importer’s name; therefore, we must ensure that all the documentation pertaining the vehicle's registration is done under our client’s name. The requirements further stipulate that the vehicles should be shipped into the country six months after the arrival of the importer; thus, we cannot export vehicles to the nation if our client is out of the country. Moreover, the Argentinean government requires that the importer owns an original passport and at least two original bills of lading; he should also possess the original vehicle(s) purchase invoice and have the property title registered in his name. Vehicle taxation in Argentina is based on the Cost Insurance and freight (CIF) values of the vehicles. The rates are 80% of the CIF for conventional vehicles, 100% for diesel cars and 65% for motorcycles. Importation of vehicles that do not have local equivalents in Argentina attracts quotas to limit importation and encourage purchasing of locally manufactured vehicles (Rock, 2001). On the other hand, the UK customs requireme

Strategy for Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategy for Sustainability - Essay Example Identified Area for Improvement 14 5. Conclusion 16 6. References 17 1. Overview of the Paper and Briefing of the Selected Company The research paper is concerned with the presentation of materialistic evaluation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of such a company that produces the particular report on the web. The objectives of the research paper will be fulfilled with reference to FirstGroup Plc. FirstGroup Plc is one of the top global operators of the transport services earning revenue of more than 6 billion pounds. The company began its operations in the north eastern part of Scotland twenty years ago. Along the UK and North America, FirstGroup is concerned with providing transport services to around 2.5 billion passengers per year. In these region, the total number of employees of the company stands at 125,000. FirstGroup operates with a collection of around 8,000 buses travelling in above 40 main cities and towns in the UK and North America. In Greyhound UK, the company also operates through the provision of regular services along London, Southampton and Portsmouth. FirstGroup proclaims itself to be the most popular transport service provider operating with complete safety, reliability, innovation and sustainable services. The company also presumes to be providing service with the mode of local approach but its presence can be experienced within the global environment (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 2. Critical Evaluation of the Content of FirstGroup Plc CSR Report 2011 The contents that are included within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report of a company are, to a considerable extent, dependent upon the size of the company and also upon the particular sector in which the company operates. These are also dependent upon the legal position of the particular company along with the market position held (Hurst, 2004). Notably, these facts can also be considered as obstacles to the CSR reporting activities executed by organizations (O’Rourke, 2004). It is for this reason that the larger companies operating with at least 250 workers are more likely to be conversant with the concept of CSR than the middle companies with not more than 250 workers (European Working Conditions Observatory, 2009). However, considering several aspects of each and every company, it can be inferred that importantly, the most essential environmental and social issues are definitely required to be included in the CSR reports of the companies (Corporatewatch, 2006). Comparing the completeness of the CSR report of FirstGroup of the year 2011, it is noteworthy to mention that the report is consisted of adequate social and environmental issues. In this section of the research paper, the issues will be critically evaluated in order to measure the effectiveness of the company’s report. The report has been started with the message from the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tim O’Toole. This is a justifiable beginning because the trustworthy mess age from the most important stakeholder of the company generate creates belief among the other stakeholders. However, messages from other important stakeholders could have also been added for enhancing the value of the Chief Executive’s proclamation. In the following section of the report, a brief introduction to the company has been provided briefing certain fundamental facts like that of revenue, number of employees, company’s spending on goods and services, transporting figures and costs of the employees. It is credible that the company has chosen to highlight these good facts that have strong implication towards

What Were the Effects of the Contact Between Europeans and North Americans Essay Example for Free

What Were the Effects of the Contact Between Europeans and North Americans Essay Ever since 1485, Christopher Columbus, an explorer from Italy, began to vigorously look for sponsor for his voyage. He presented his idea of sailing to the Atlantic and into mysterious Asia to John II, King of Portugal. Yet, he was interested in his plan. John II and the royalties thought the plan was unfavorable and unrealistic. When Columbus was about to give up, the queen of Spain, Queen Isabella, offered her assistance. Columbus and Queen Isabella later signed a treaty called Capitulations of Santa Fe, stating that the new lands Columbus could claim for Spain would belong to him. In return, he should bring back gold, pearls, and spice. In 1492,Christopher Columbus and his three ships- the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, arrived on the shores of San Salvador in the Caribbean. Lacking knowledge of geography, he believed that he had reached India but which was actually North America. (Livingston, 2010) However, after Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, the animal, plant, people, and bacterial life of these two worlds began to mix up. The arrival of Columbus brought wars, slavary and forced labor, the spreading of diseases caused at least 5 million deaths even worse. The contact between Europeans and North Americans brought Natives catastrophes and devastation that Europeans could never make up. Most importantly, the hidden disease brought by the Europeans caused massive amount of Natives to die. As the Spain, French, and English explorers came to America, diseases like small pox, malaria, chicken pox, influenza, measles, and yellow fever, the diseases that once killers that killed a great deal of Europeans, were brought to the new lands too. Walbert)Which were later called as â€Å" The gift from Old to New Worlds†. (Kincheloe, 2007) As time passed, the Europeans were used to these diseases and gained immunity against them. However, the natives had never confront of these disease before, therefore they had no resistance to these illness, and their traditional cures didn’t work. These diseases killed as much as 90 percent of the native population, which means that only one in ten natives survived. Diseases like malaria and yellow fever were passed down from person to person from mosquitoes. When a particular region was affected, the disease would usually spread out rapidly. Also, natives could easily get the diseases when traded with one another. Other diseases could be transmitted throught the livestocks brought by the Europeans. For example, cattle passes measles and small pox; pigs pass influenza; chicken pass malaria. Native hunters and gatherers could get the diseases when they were in touch with the animals. Thomas Harriot, an English explorer, witnessed the natives suffered from the diseases and wrote the following paragraph in his jornal, â€Å"Within a few days after our departure from every such [Indian] town, the people began to die very fast, and many in short space; in some towns about twenty, in some forty, in some sixty, in one six score [6 x 20 = 120], which in truth was very many in respect of their numbers. . . . The disease was also so strange that they neither knew what it was nor how to cure it. † (Kincheloe, 2007) Harriot’s paragraph clearly stated that the natives died in large amount everyday. Lostln Revery said in her article: The transmission of the diseases caused more devastation in the New World than the Black Death had done in Europe. In addition, the coming of European also brought up a new kind of trade-the slave trade, which cost hundreds and thousands of native men and women forced to be taken away. (Walbert)Dr. Calvin Lawrence Jr. wrote the following paragraph in Coloumbus Day 2012: Hero, Villain, or Both?. â€Å" Columbus is an obvious target of scorn and resentment for Native Americans whose fortunes declined precipitously in the aftermath of his journey to the New World. He and his men also brutalized people of the West Indies and enslaved others. † He interpeted how Columbus and his crew treated the native slaves. According to the passage, the settlers treated the native slaves ruthlessly and unfairly. As the number of settlers increased, more and more buildings like housings were needed. Settlers needed workers to do chores such as building the houses and working of planation. Settlers later found out that they could sell tools, firearms, metal knives, axes, ammunition, alchohol, furs and cloths to the natives. Kincheloe, 2007) In return, they would bring them other natives they captured in tribal wars. Those warslaves were sold to the settlers as slavery. The idea of slavery had already occur before Europeans arrived. The natives adopted the idea of holding slaves as chattel property. Those slaves were usually enslaved war captives and were used for small- scale labor or rutual sacrifices. Little records stated that the slave holders viewed the slavess racially inferior from other tribes. However, most slaves would slowly equalized into the tribes to replace dead warriors. After European marched in, it caused a change in Native American slavery, as they created a new market. At first, the settlers only bought slaves from other tribes and used them as workers. As time passed, the demand increased, colonists in the South began to capture natives. The natives were used as labors to cultivate tobacco, rice, or indigo, which is a type of dye. Therefore, the population of natives decreased swiftly due to forced labor. Settlers even encouraged natives to go against each other to triggered them into war, their objectives were to weaken the warring tribes and increase the number of slaves. Furthermore, the misunderstood and conflict between Europeans and Native Americans usaully lead to war that led to massacres of native villages. For example, the conflict between settlers and the Pequot tribe that was centered along the Pequot River, called The Pequot War. (Pequot War) The natives believed that the land were sacred and they were closely linked with the lands. The idea of â€Å"owning† land did not exit among the Native Americans. They lived on the land, but didn’t consider that they owned it. When European immigrated in their lands, the Native Americans welcomed them and were willing to share the lands with them. Nonetheless, the Europeans took advantages of the natives and started to take over their land. The points of anxiety included unfair trading, the sale of alcohol, and the destruction of Pequot crops. Eventually, it led to the first war between natives and Europeans on the continent. In 1636, European trader called John Oldham was killed by the Pequot. The incident triggered the leader of settlers, John Endicott, to seek retaliations. The Europeans then cooperated with the Narragansett, the rival of the Pequot. In May 1637, more than 500 Pequot people were burned down or hunted down, and the chief was the executed. The village was massacred. Historians considered this as a shameful period of history. The other example was the conflict between the Southern Tuscaroas tribe and the settlers in 1715. The war was later called The Tuscarora War. The European Setllers that lived in North Carolina had lived in peace with the natives for over 50 years. The chief of the Southern Tuscarora, Chief Hancock, later found his villages often assaulted and his people frequently kidnapped and sold as slaves. Chief Hancock felt that there were no alternative but to go against the settlers. Chief Hancock teamed up with other tribes and attakced the planters on the Roanoke River. Hundreds of settlers were killed. Governor force then attacked the Southern Tuscarora and other tribes in return. Hundrerd and thousands of Tuscarora were killed or made prisoners. As the result, the majority of Southern Tuscarora began migrating to New York to escape the setttlers. Due to the natives were mostly lack of armed force and resources, also weaken by diseases, they were nearly always unsucessful in wars. In conclusion, the contact between European and American caused the population of natives to reduce fastly. The Europeans thought they were the superior culture that brought civilization to the inferior culture. Since they were armed with better weapon, natives were in an inferior postion. Although the settlers did make progress for the natives, they still caused a great deal of native’s death. European imperialism of America changed the culture and lives of natives permanently and resulted in genocide of natives. The most deadly reason of native’s death is the disease they brought from the old world. The settlers brought in a number of kinds diseases that were fetal and took away a great deal of native’s life. As the settlers increased, more and more laborers were needed. Natives were captured and sold as slaves to work for the settlers. However,the settlers didn’t treat the natives well and overworked the natives. Lastly, the war between natives and settlers was also one of the reason that natives deceaded. Settlers from European countries armed with better weapons that natives couldn’t compete. As the result, the natives were mostly defeated in battles. To sum up, the contact between Europeans and Native Americans ked to a demographic disaster of unprecedented proportions. Some natives population became extinct in less than 100 years.

Pluralist Theories Of The Mass Media Media Essay

Pluralist Theories Of The Mass Media Media Essay Sociologists are interested in the mass media because of the powerful effect it has in peoples lives both politically and socially. Mass media is forms of communication directed to big mass audiences without any personal contact. This can be by radio, television, internet, billboards and so on. This essay is going to explain and critically evaluate the Marxist and pluralist theories of the mass media. An explanation of the media will also be included. Marxist theorists suggest that the media is dominated by the ruling class who are the major owners of the media corporations, which gives them total control and manipulation of media content and audiences in their own interest. In the view of the Marxist the media is seen as part of an ideal ground in which various class views are battled out. However, pluralists suggest that there is no dominant ruling class. They insist that the role of the media is to promote freedom of speech. In fact they see society as a multipart of rival groups and interests, of which none take the leading role all of the time. Pluralists believe that the government has a key position in regulating media content and ownership. Marxists view known as the instrumentalist approach makes several claims, of which the pluralists such as James Whale (1997) argue that Marxists case neglects important facts, and that it exaggerates the power of the media. Some of key claims are: That the owners of the mass media have direct control over the ideas communicated through the mass media, but the pluralists argue that it is not all owners who try to control media content. They actually do point out that there has been a witness of cases where top newspaper editors have disputes with owners over control of editorial content. Marxists continue to claim that mass media audiences are seen as passive consumers, of the distorted and partial accounts of news and the cheap distracting entertainment, which the media provides them with. As a result of this the mass audience just accepts whatever is presented to them, whereby a public opinion could be easily manipulated by the mass media. Pluralists criticise this point by arguing that the media owners and those who work for the media cant afford to ignore the views and interests of the public to buy or listen to what they want. Marxists claim that the capitalist owners of the mass media intentionally aim to promote ideas that give them huge massive benefits to their class of which they are members. But on the other hand pluralists call that an unhelpful concept. They go on to say that it is a ruling class ideology. Marxists point out that the reason why pluralists are very critical to Marxists instrumental accounts of the media is because pluralists themselves are often part of or funded by the media industries. Having to consider the above evaluation, now let us look at how sociologists explain the main ways in which the news is created by the media. Sociologists have argued that the process by which journalists create the news is a manufacturing process and that its production processes are quite predictable. Sociologist Phillip Schlesingers (1978) gave some results about the news study, by saying that journalists use a news diary to make their job easier, and that many articles can be prepared in advance due to tight deadlines. However, sociologist agree to a certain point that journalists are still controlled in what they present to the public because they are guided by news values, shared norms and values which makes them believe that it is essential to the public. Results drawn by researchers like Galting and Ruge (1981) showed that two key sets of factors involved in determining journalist news values are bureaucratic and cultural. This means that news items must be immediate and refer to current affairs, brief, simple and exiting. They insist that news must focus on elite decision makers and on personalities rather those issues. Overall, a conclusion can be drawn from the above to say that the whole process of making the news is socially constructed and that the media can have a considerable influence of public debate. The fact that the public respond a huge percentage to the media products, it has been proved that some reports are found to be misleading and over dramatised to give a good story. In a sense such stories are over exaggerated and they usually have a negative impact to the audience. Such reports cause moral panics and bring fear amongst society. After his research of gang fighting at the sea side, Stan Cohen argued that the media play a key role in creating moral panics. He drew a conclusion that the media over exaggerated in order to boost their sales and succeeded in attracting a huge number of readers. Another recent example of moral panic was about the Nigerian man who tried to blow up an American bound airline. The result of that event has brought on security changes at airports around the world. In fact at Heathrow airport a new security device which shows peoples nudity when they pass through, it was introduced shortly after the incident. If we look further into how groups of people are represented in the media either by gender or ethnicity background, we find that women and ethnic minorities are under- represented in position of power and influence in the management of the media industry. On the side of gender, sociologists say that the mass media is patriarchal; women appear less than men on television. Many adverts portray women as either house wives or sex figures in the media. For example in the sun news paper, they have dedicated a page three that shows half naked women on a daily basis. This definitely keeps the male audiences hooked on such news paper. There has been a great deal of research showing that media representations of men dominate the media and are more positive than that of women. For example, Dominick and Rauch (1972), Brelt and Cantor (1988), Cumberbatch (1990), found out that images of men were predominant in adverts, and that men are usually in more authoritative roles or in higher status occupation. They also claimed that the majority of voice -overs in adverts was male voices. Feminist sociologist Gaye Tuchman (1978) concluded that women are symbolically destroyed and marginalised in media representation. On the other hand, studies have showed that media representations of ethnic minorities are tremendously presented in terms of negative stereotypes. So many newspapers tend to represent ethnic minorities as a threat to the public. This ranges from being criminals, dangerous, pitied or illegal immigrants. On television, ethnic minorities tend to be in restricted range of roles. The broadcasting standards Commission (1999) found that ethnic minorities are more linked with arts, media, health and care roles than other roles such as legal professions. Researchers such as Sarita Malik (2002) believed that there is a racialised regime of representation within which black are portrayed as having different experiences from other groups. She concluded that Whiteness is portrayed as the norm. Karen Ross (2000) used focus groups of people from different ethnic minorities and she found out that each group was portrayed as homogeneous. Van Dijk (1991) used a hypodermic model and argued that newspapers have a major impact in developing a perception of immigration as a problem which may lead to racial attacks. In conclusion mass media indeed affects society in many ways. There some positive and negative attributes from the mass media that influence society in todays world. These are either political or social issues.

Charles Shults :: essays research papers

PEANUTS The comic strip PEANUTS has always been a favorite of mine, and most of America’s. It’s been a hit ever since the first PEANUTS comic strip was printed on October 2nd 1950 in seven U.S. daily newspapers. Charles Shultz, the inventor of this imaginative comic strip, still comes up with every PEANUTS strip for the Sunday papers. He leaped from job to job after completing his art’s program, he was even an art teacher for a while, but finally made it to the top. His original comic strip was called "Lil’ Folks" but because of political issues he was forced to change it to PEANUTS. It is now the longest running and most popular of all comics. It was also one of the first comics ever to have more than a few characters. In fact in Shultz’s strip there were about twelve actual reoccurring characters, of which I am about to share with you along with a brief description of each. First off, of course, is Charlie Brown. He wins your heart with his losing ways. It always rains on his parade, his baseball game, and his life. He’s an stong willed boy who is afraid of arguments. Although he is concerned with the true meaning of life, his friends sometimes call him "blockhead." Other than his knack for putting himself down, there are few sharp edges of wit in that head of his; usually he’s the butt of a joke, not the joker. He can be spotted a mile away in his sweater with the zig zag trim, head down, hands in pockets, headed for Lucy’s psychiatric booth. He is considerate, friendly and polite and we love him knowing that he’ll never win a baseball game, or the heart of the the little red-haired girl, kick the football Lucy is holding or fly a kite successfully. His friends call him "wishy-washy," but his spirit will never give up in his quest to be all that he can be. Next on the list of introductions should be none other that Lucy Van Pelt, since I mentioned her once before. Lucy works hard at being bossy, crabby and selfish. She is loud and yells a lot. Her smiles and motives are rarely pure. She’s a know-it-all who gives out advice whether you want it or not--and for Charlie Brown, there’s a charge. She’s a real grouch, with only one or two soft spots, and both of them may be Schroeder, who prefers Beethoven.

The Charity Organization Society Essay -- Sociology, Social Control

1. The Charity Organization Society was based in the scientific movement of organizations. Workers believed that charity work needed more definition and organization and that charity should be focused more on individual need rather than as a whole population. Focusing on individual need was intended to improve relief operations while making resources more efficient. They also intended to eliminate public outdoor relief. With the promotion of more organization and efficiency the new Charity Organization Societies were born. Trattner states that these new requirements for organization and efficiency spread so â€Å"rapidly that within 6 years 25 cities had such organizations and by the turn of the century there were some 138 of them in existence† (Trattner, 1999). The reformation of the Charity Organizations didn’t grant relief themselves however they served as a resource to simplify the transaction of relief to relief applicants by: maintaining relief applicant requests, records of the aid given to them, and referring those worthy or unworthy to the proper agencies (Trattner, 1999). Their goal was to eradicate fraud and duplicity of services while also maintaining efficiency and treating poverty. The charity organization movement intended to treat poverty by enacting â€Å"friendly visitors† to look into each case and define the cause of destitution while also watching for overlapping relief. These â€Å"friendly visitors† and their investigations were the cornerstone of the Charity Organization Society’s (C.O.S) treatment; granting aid without investigation was like giving medicine without diagnosis (Trattner, 1999). â€Å"Friendly visitors† were relied on heavily within the C.O.S in order to effectively assign services and determine which serv... ...mp in California a crowd of children crowded around Tommy’s mother while she was making soup and told all of them they could have some and to go get dishes. This was something that no one had really done for the Joads but it seemed they felt it was important to help those like themselves. Another scene that depicted cultural awareness was when they met the police officer at the gas station who explained to them he was from Indiana, where they had come from, and informed them to leave that town and go to the transient camp a few miles away so as they didn’t get a ticket. This was something that the officer may not have shared if they weren’t from the same region. After being dislocated from their home the Joads lost their home, their grandfather, their grandmother, and their son. Besides these things they also lost a part of their dignity but never their spirit.

Live Concert Essay

Throughout the history of time, music has changed, grown, and developed into many unique and different genres and broken off into many interesting directions. Among one of these rather recent and distinct groups comes the genre of psychedelic rock portrayed by groups like Dr. Dog and Wilco. Psychedelic rock is considered controversial simply because of its origin and the habits it produces, encourages, and signifies in present day culture. The genre of psychedelic rock uses ragas, which literally means â€Å"color† or â€Å"hue†, and the drones of Indian music to create its individual and mood enhancing sound. This genre is a style of rock that comes from the cultures of the United States as well as the United Kingdom in 1960’s in which the use of psychedelic or hallucinogenic drugs were popular. This music is meant to reflect the feeling and effects of the common drugs and to replicate the experience of a trip from certain drugs such as cannabis, peyote, mescaline, and LSD. This trend began in America first in San Francisco, California and slowly spread through the country. This genre of music still exists today and one form of that music is from the band Dr. Dog which originates from West Grove, Pennsylvania and consists of five members, Tony Leaman who plays the bass, Scott McMicken who is the lead guitar player, Frank McElroy who also plays the rhythm guitar, Zach Miller on the keyboard, and Eric Slide on the drums. Much of this music is relaxed and tranquil, not as much hype and energy as typical rock. To create something as unique as that of Psychedelic rock, or acid rock, there are certain instruments that are used to execute the sound. Commonly used instruments in these kinds of bands include the electric guitar, percussion, keyboards, and exotic instruments such as the tabla and the sitar. These exotic instruments add a new element that was never found in western culture before. These new types of foreign instruments create a new sound and sensation for the listener. Since the whole point of psychedelic rock is to reproduce the awareness of a high from certain drugs, it has many social issues that come along with it. Many of the songs of this genre allude to the use or effects of drugs and the music resembles that emotion. The dissonance of the tones within each song creates the feeling of a drug effect and adds to the large subculture of the twentieth century. Although the music did not necessarily encourage the use of drugs to listen to the music, it had a profound effect on people of that generation. The hippie subculture of the sixties and the seventies were some of the people that surrounded this type of music. That doesn’t mean that they had to do drugs, but it means they most likely did. These were the people who went against the societal norms and expectations of the era and were engaged in music like psychedelic rock. The lyrics to most of Dr. Dog’s songs are quite ambiguous. Each song has a meaning that’s personal to the individual who is hearing it. What the listener takes away is something of their own perception and thought process. Through my own interpretation of the lyrics, this part of a song called â€Å"The Breeze† refers directly to why this type of music is controversial.