Monday, September 30, 2019

Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory Essay

Psychology is now considered to be a branch of science that focused on the study of the human mind, making them men and women of science. As such, it would be assumed that the manner on how psychologists would conduct their therapy sessions would be following the scientific method that is commonly seen among scientists. However, George Kelly discovered that this was not the case. Because of this, he developed his Personal Construct Theory to be a method for psychologists to study and assist patients during their consultation and therapy sessions. This paper will discuss the circumstances surrounding the formulation of Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory as well as the key points regarding this theory. Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory Throughout his career, George Kelly (2007) had focused his studies on the issues of diagnostic testing and the training and provision of clinical psychological services. Based on his studies, he concluded that the use of dogmatic interpretations to address a patient’s psychological concern did more harm than good because he likened all individuals as scientists. He defined dogmatic approaches used by psychologists as the belief held by psychologists that only they held the truth regarding an individual’s behavior and personality based on their interpretations of the information provided to them by a patient. As such, dogmatic interpretations and approaches used by psychologists during consultation and therapy sessions would place the patient in a tight conclusion that is purely based on the interpretations of the psychologist. Kelly (2007) determined that the most effective approach that psychologists need to do in order to more effectively treat their patients was to allow the patient to channel the experiences of the patient and how the patient anticipates events that come into his or her life. This became the main premise of the development of his Personal Construct Theory, which became the foundation and establishment of cognitive psychology as a field of study within psychology and other social learning theories that have been developed by other psychologists. According to the Personal Construct Theory, an individual lives his or her life through the process of reaching out on upcoming events in his or her life through personal interactions based on the actual events. This means that an individual has a hold on the direction where his or her own life would go (Kelly 2007). With the development of the Personal Construct Theory, Kelly (2007) stated that in order for a patient to receive optimum therapy from consultation sessions with a psychologist, the consultation session should have an interactive communication between the patient and the psychologist in order for them to understand various issues that the patient was going through. From here, both the psychologist and the patient should develop hypotheses in order to address the issues. In the next session, the psychologist would then inquire from the patient as to whether when the patient experimented that the hypotheses developed met his or her expectations. Conclusion The Personal Construct Theory developed by George Kelly had provided psychologists a more effective method in psychotherapy given to patients. Up to this point in time, psychologists have developed theories regarding the human mind and human psyche based on definite factors such as society, the environment, the unconscious part of the human mind and childhood experiences. The development of these theories had caused both psychologists and patients to accept that certain anxieties felt and experienced by patients were brought about by events that the individual had no control of. This would lead psychologists and the patients to believe that the most logical approach that the patient would do in order to improve his or her psychological well-being was to accept these anxieties and that these are irreversible parts of their own behavior and personality. With the introduction of the Personal Construct Theory, Kelly had changed the role of the individual from a passive product of experiences and the unconscious into one who is able to actively have a control on how his or her personality develops. As such, the individual has the ability to change his or her personality for the better based on the suggestions presented by the psychologist, changing the role of the psychologist from a profession who enlightens the patient by analyzing and pinpointing the cause into one who would pinpoint the causes of one’s anxieties and fears and a mediator to assist the individual into reaching a possible solution to modify the behavior of the individual. The approach developed and presented by Kelly is now commonly seen during consultation and therapy sessions between psychologists and their patients. Nowadays, a psychologist would ask questions to the patient in order for them to come to terms with their issues. From here, the patient would be guided by the psychologist in order to reach a possible method in order to address the issues of the patient. The would explain as to why through consultation and therapy sessions, individuals are now able to alter their behavior for the better in spite of the individual having been known to possess deviant behaviors in the past.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Cyber Bullying Essay

Walking through the school door, she feels the sweat dripping down the side of her cheeks. Her stomach flips and flops, and her hands have an obvious tremble. The slamming lockers and running footsteps are enough to make her eyes swell with tears. The snickers behind her are all too familiar, but she is not prepared for the shove to the back and degrading names that follow. In a split second, her mind is made up. She turns around, heads out the door, and doesn’t look back. The computer, her cell phone, and now school. The cyber-bullies have stepped out of the screen and into face-to-face contact. With this new kind of bully on the rise and ruthless, is she the school’s responsibility? Schools should be held responsible for cyber bullying because the crime extends from the computer to the school setting. Studies indicate that cyber-bullying incidents have quadrupled in past five years (Ross). Cyber-bullying has become a huge issue recently. Every time you turn on the news there is another bullying, or a suicide related to bullying, incident being reported. Love is louder† has been a common phrase among celebrities and influential figures lately. They are trying to send out a message to their followers saying that bullying is not right and should not be tolerated. The expansion of communication technologies is widening the way bully’s can torture their victims. The fact of the matter is, technology is not going anywhere, so we need to figure out a way to put an end to cyber-bullies. Cyber-bullying is becoming a major problem and we all need to do our parts in figuring out what can be done to stop cyber-bullies in their tracks. Cyber-bullies will continue to be a threat to today’s youth until we take preventative measures against them. Before putting a stop to cyber-bullying we must understand why and how a cyber-bully works. After researching and analyzing informative articles on the topic, this research paper aims to inform and answer questions such as: what a cyber-bully is, how they work, whom they target, and how to stop them. By understanding how a cyber-bully works we will be able to better protect youth populations as technology grows. Approximately half of U. S. students are impacted by traditional bullying each school day (Ross). Cyber-bullying is technology powered and as technology expands it is getting harder and harder to see and prevent bullying from happening. Bullying over the Internet makes it easy for the tormenter to get away with their destructive behavior without any consequences. The article, â€Å"What is Cyberbullying: Bullying Comes Home† states, â€Å"Bullying is not new but thanks to the Internet teens are now being bullied at home. Online harassment is a serious problem† (Hardcaslte). Although the Internet has opened many doors to new opportunities, it has unfortunately taken bullying to another level. As the article, â€Å"Cyber Bullying Facts† states, â€Å"as the number of households with Internet access approaches saturation and cell phone ownership expands to the 100 million mark, so do the ways kids bully each other† (Ross). Anything sent out into cyberspace is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to remove. Therefore, being cyber-bullied can sometimes be much more severe than traditional bullying. Ann Frisen in the article, â€Å"Cyber-bullying: A Growing Problem† states, â€Å"This type of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends† (ScienceDaily). What exactly is ‘cyber-bulling’? The author of the article, â€Å"What is Cyberbullying: Bullying Comes Home† explains it as, â€Å"any harassment that occurs via the Internet† (Hardcastle). Cyber-bulling messages can be communicated through text, e-mails, instant messaging, web pages, blogs, chat rooms, or any other information communication technologies. For example, Michigan’s assistant attorney general, who is a grown adult, has been harassing the University of Michigan’s openly gay student body president. Andrew Shirvell, assistant Michigan attorney general, created a blog in April of 2010 targeting Chris Armstrong, University of Michigan’s student body president. On this blog he has posted many rude, untrue, and unnecessary comments towards Chris Armstrong, along with distorted pictures. According to the article, â€Å"Assistant Michigan AG targets openly gay college student† the author states, â€Å"Shirvell has published blog posts that accuse Armstrong of engaging in ‘flagrant sexual promiscuity’ with another male member of the student government; sexually seducing and influencing ‘a previously conservative male student’ so much so that the student, according to Shirvell, ‘morphed into a proponent of the radical homosexual agenda’† (Steward). Mr. Shirvell is clearly a first-hand example of a cyber-bully and this article goes to show that it’s not just kids bullying each other in school anymore; it’s much bigger than that. There have been at least three teen suicides in September after experiencing homophobic cyber-bullying. Who are the main victims targeted by cyber-bullies? According to the article, â€Å"Cyber-bullying Facts† Middle school and High school girls are twice as likely as boys to display cyber-bullying behaviors in the form of email, text, and chat, and only 20% of cyber-bullying victims tell their parents about the incident (Ross). Cyber-bullies target students, coworkers, neighbors, and even friends. Lately, there have been many reports of suicides related to bullying. For example, the recent death of Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, is an extreme case of cyber-bullying. The article, â€Å"Rutgers student death: Has Digital Age made students callous† informs, â€Å"Mr. Clementi killed himself on September 22nd, 2010. According to prosecutors, a few days earlier his roommate, Dharun Ravi, and another student, Molley Wei, used a Web cam to secretly transmit images of a sexual encounter between Clementi and another man. They intended to do so again on September 21† (Khadaroo). With cyber-bullying a bully can pick on people with less risk of being caught. People who you would not see bullying someone in school don’t have a problem using the Internet to bully their victims because you can’t see their initial reaction. Bullying cannot only hurt the victim emotionally it can also cause them to have frequent headaches, indigestion and vomiting, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, paranoia, and suicide. In Tyler Clementi’s case he was so overwhelmed by what had been done to him that he jumped off of the George-Washington Bridge. It is important for college campuses to promote tolerance for differences, including homosexuality. From the article, â€Å"Rutgers student death: Has Digital Age made students callous† the author states, â€Å"We are tempted to think that social-media technology drove the behavior, but as a truly ethical matter, the behavior has to be and should be considered human-driven, not technology driven† (Foulkrod). Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania recently blocked the use of social media for a week to prompt discussions about its role in everyday life. Nobody wants to see this happen again; therefore, we need to come up with a solution to the problem. Some observers of today’s youth and media culture believe that today’s media environment could be desensitizing young people to the hurtful effects of their actions. What can be done to prevent cyber-bullying? Parents can start by talking specifically about yber-bullying and explain that is harmful and unacceptable behavior. Talk regularly with your child about on-line activities he or she is involved in, keep your home computer in easily viewable places, such as a family room or kitchen, and consider installing a filtering or blocking system (Ross). Also, you can â€Å"outline your expectations for responsible online behavior and clearly explain the consequences for inappropriate behavior† (Ross). The most important thing that can be done to stop a cyber-bully harassing you is to just not respond to the bully. Do not play into the bully’s games. Ignore the bully and tell a parent or teacher. While ignoring the bullying make sure to save all of the evidence so that if police need to be involved you will have it ready. In the article, â€Å"What is Cyberbullying: Bullying Comes Home† states, â€Å"Repeated or excessive harassment via email, forums or chat rooms is harassment and should involve the police. Threats of violence should also be reported to the police. Try to save all messages as evidence† (Hardcastle). Treat a cyber-bully like you would any other bully and they will lose their power. Another important way to prevent cyber-bullying attacks is if you see something going on don’t just be a bystander and let it happen, report it before anyone gets hurt. In conclusion, with the expansion of the Internet and social networking technologies cyber-bullying is becoming more common and more severe. The information presented in this research paper should give people a better understanding of what a cyber-bully is, how harmful they can really be, and how to prevent cyber-bullying from happening. This paper can be used to help victims realize they are not alone and should not give into a bully’s dangerous behaviors. This research paper is to inform society about what has been going on lately and how unacceptable and dangerous it is. Kids are killing themselves over photos, web posts, and videos posted by bullies using the Internet. Cyber-bullying is technology powered and will only get worse as technology becomes more widespread. Hopefully, this paper will help to inform today’s youth and parents. If you see any kind of bullying happening in front of you, stop it if possible, and then report it. Conclusion Cyberbullying is a growing issue in schools. Students have been in fights, brought guns to school, and even committed suicide because of being cyberbullied. This is an issue which is a growing problem and must be addressed. It is serious. By helping students research the issues around cyberbullying, it raises awareness for both students and staff. A WebQuest like this can make a real difference in school climate and student relations. Take a stand against cyberbullying with your classmates. Students will listen to other students more quickly than they will listen to an adult.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Case Study Regency Grand Hotel Essay

Introduction: The Regency Grand was Thai owned and operated. It was a profitable and successful company during it 15 year existence with very high morale within the company. Employee’s worked according to management’s instructions. Employees were not allowed to be innovated and creative. All decisions were at management level. When Regency was bought out by a US Hotel chain, the general manager decided to retire early. The American based company then appointed John Becker as general manager. John has 10 years experience with the American company. John was appointed due to his previous success integrating newly acquired hotels in the US. In most previous acquisitions, Becker took over operation with poor profitability and low morale. After he implemented changes the employees morale decline, absenteeism increased, customer complaints increased, and poor ratings in the media. 1. Culture–The US based company failed to research or invested in any culture changes that might affect employees when they acquired the Regency Hotel. 2. Change–John made sweeping changes that once worked in the past for fledging acquired hotels. Becker failed to plan and implement change. He did not involve any staff in the change process nor did he have a change agent to help oversee the change process within the newly acquired hotel. John based his decisions off what was successful in the past in American style business. He failed to consider the Regency was already successful and profitable with high employee morale. 3. Communication–John empowered employees to make minor decisions while only elevating major decisions to management. John failed to communicate expectations of what are minor decisions and what are major decisions. He also encouraged employees to be innovative and creative. * Problem Statement: There are several issues with this case, but the three main problems in this case are Culture, Change, and Communication. The American based company provided no culture training to John Becker or the staff at the Regency. John Becker had no plan for changes he implemented.  Lastly, but most important was the poor communications within the entire company. Even with the best plan; if it is not communicated properly then it will fail. * Analysis and Evaluation: During his staff meeting with management John did not communicate his expectations, nor did he ensure every manager understood the tool empowerment. Using the MARS model under roles perception, if tasks such as John expectations, standards, rules, and definitions such as the difference between major and minor issues were properly communicated then managers would not over turn employees decisions. Employees would have job satisfaction, high morale and a sense of purpose. Employee’s decisions were over turn by management led to increases in absenteeism, turnover, and customer complaints resulting in the decline of service in the media’s eye. Using the Expectancy Theory of Motivation, provide role clarity and increase reward with desired outcomes. ABC of Behavior Modification can be use to set effective goals use the Specific, Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-frames Exciting Reviewed (SMARTER) Alternative actions to improve the performance are 1- Build a manager/employee guide to communicate the standards, rules, expectations, and define what major/minor decisions are. Hire a SIGMA 6 facilitator to oversee the process. Provide comment boxes for suggestions of improvement, feedback, and open communication. In addition to employees Performance appraisals, provide a 360 scoring of managers/employees such as online surveys. 2- In addition to the first choice, open lines of communication within the organization such as the open door policy. Get the whole team involved in the decision making process through meetings gear to meeting their needs both for management and the employees. Provide employees an avenue to voice concerns (anonymous if needed), and address issues on an individual bases. * Recommendation: The best of the alternatives listed above is 2. This alternative provides open communication, training to the entire staff, and both managers/employees handbooks that outlines expectations, rules, and standards. It also provides an expert to oversee the process. This  alternative also fights for feedback both from management and employees. You must communicate the change to the entire staff, listen to the concerns, and allow for anonymous feedback. After meeting with management to explain the change, have a facilitator oversee this process. After the management team is onboard. You should involve the employees with the same concept as the management. Get the whole team involved in the development ideas for the guide. Assign certain team both management and employees with the task of creating the guides. This should be implementing immediately.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Contemporary issues in management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Contemporary issues in management - Essay Example Business enterprises are primarily responsible for generating profit and creating wealth but being a social entity, it has certain responsibility towards the society. The societal responsibilities that are pursued by companies comprise development of social equity and taking measures for environment safety and sustainability. Another contribution of business towards the society is developing better quality of life and standard of living for people. However, in this regard, mass scale debate has been observed between social and economic benefits of a business (Weber, 2008). The paper discusses convergence of social and economic benefits with respect to various CSR theories. Alongside, the implication of CSR has been evaluated in organisational framework of Sainsbury. In the critical discussion, the social, ethical and environmental contribution of the company will be analysed and also the concept of ‘greenwashing’ will be explored and examined in perspective of Sainsbury. Sainsbury PLC is one of the leading retailers in the United Kingdom food industry and over the time, the company has diversified in other non-food sector such as banking and financial services as well. Sainsbury is presently a world renowned brand having more than 1200 stores. The company operates by means of its convenience stores, online stores and the UK based supermarkets. The food business of Sainsbury has been diversified to accommodate other offerings such as clothing and general merchandise. The company also operate in property development sector by means of joint ventures (Sainsbury, 2014a). Sainsbury is a renowned brand in the UK and conducts its operation through 592 supermarkets and 611 local convenience stores. It was determined that the corporation generates more than  £1 billion revenue from its online sales. The company operates with more than 2100 food suppliers and 1300 non-food suppliers for serving consumers with large variety of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The SWOT and the PESTLE Analysis of Morrison Plc Essay - 1

The SWOT and the PESTLE Analysis of Morrison Plc - Essay Example This paper illustrates that expanding the network of new stores is a unique opportunity for Morrison and the current discount policy and other incentives from competitors to the retail customers are the biggest threat to the company. In the PESTLE analysis, tax imbalance puts the unfavorable effect on Morrison’s performance. Inflation offers similar challenges. Socially, Morrison has signed ethical audit agreement and technologically it has replaced manual system with machines. Legally, it may face litigation cost whereas environmentally it has received an award for reducing carbon footprint. Organisations face numerous internal and external threats. For assessing and understanding the type and level of their impact on their financial performance, different macro analysis tools are used including the SWOT and the PESTLE analysis. The SWOT analysis is mostly used for assessing both internal and external capabilities and challenges in which strengths and weaknesses evaluate the internal capabilities whereas the opportunities and threats are used for investigating the external factors which directly or indirectly affect the financial and operational performance of organizations. Similarly, the PESTLE analysis is a typical external environment tool which is fundamentally used to highlight those factors which have the capability to affect the organizations. in this regard, it is important to point out that the PESTLE analysis reflects only those factors which are beyond the control of organizations and they are only required to adjust their strategic marketing for avoiding or gaining advantage from the effects of external factors. In this regard, Morrison has different internal strengths and weaknesses and there are some threats along with opportunities for the organizations. In the following parts of this report, first Morrison’s background is provided in which some basic information for the company has been given. It is followed by the SWOT analysis in which Morrison’s existing competence level has been evaluated. Subsequently, before the conclusion and recommendations part, the PESTLE analysis has been carried out.

A critical study of human resource management in a particular country Essay

A critical study of human resource management in a particular country - Essay Example These differences can be clearly noted and visualized in the fields pertaining to the management of any organization. This paper explores the reasons as to how human resource (HR) and employment practices reflect a distinct demarcation in the policies and the values adopted by organizations across geographical boundaries. India presents a diversified market and business economy and the country has proved to be a lucrative market to the entrepreneurs for investment in business. The human resource management (HRM) practices in the country assume interesting dimensions owing to its diversities and complexities existing in the business environment. The study presents an in-depth assessment of the HRM practices in this country. India is considered to be one of the robust and emerging economics in the world. Many companies overseas are considering India as an epicenter for outsourcing jobs. Indian firms are continuously expanding by adopting the corporate strategy, other financial and mana gement aspects in order to buy sell or merge two companies to form an entirely new entity. This is quite evident from the fact that in the year 1997, Indian companies as a whole had bought 34 foreign companies for about $11 billion dollars. This has been possible primarily because of the rise in capital investment and labor force. It is speculated that by the year 2020, India will add 18 million labors which is more than the entire labor population of Germany (Chatterjee, 2007). This huge labor population has called for an entirely new, reformed and an advanced version of HR concepts and practices in India. Institutional context in human resource management – an overview of theories According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2002), an institution is defined as â€Å"an official organization with an important role in a country† or â€Å"an organization founded for a religious, educational, or social purpose† (Hollinshead, 2009, p24). Globalization has tr iggered widespread changes in existing institutional structures within economies. The changes in institutional frameworks and governance practices on account of globalization have fuelled debates and controversies regarding the efficacy and viability of such changes. A number of economic theories and concepts have shaped the economic and social order of countries that provide an idealized platform for economic growth and development (Rodrik, 2007). Adam Smith in his works The Wealth of Nations outlined the doctrine of Neo-liberalism in the year 1776. According to this doctrine the market forces have an inherent capacity of allocating and utilizing the resources according to its own desired way which can restrict and endanger the distribution and usage of wealth. The capital and the labor forces should have a freedom of movement; they should have the flexibility to work anywhere (Hollinshead, 2009). Every individual should pursue their self –interest only in rightful way and i s accountable for his or her own action. Thus according to Adam Smith, the state should not interfere with the movement or the behavior of the labor or capital. There should be no restrictions on the trade and the economic transactions should be allowed to act freely without any resistance by the government (Abbott, 2008). Neo –corporatist ideology, whose ideas and views are quite contrary to the neo-liberalism focuses on the usage and the importance of the state with regards to meeting the interest of the major and influential social groups who are dealing with the human resources and the capital intensive products and services. According to the theory the uncontrolled and non restricted market forces may generate uneven and unpredictable results. This may give

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Study case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case Study Example Question on firm’s use of the services would help her to identify firms with opportunities for her proposed ventures while questions on who makes final decisions, criteria for selection of service provider, and evaluation criteria are important to identifying the most viable opportunities for Donna’s proposed enterprise. The research indicates that a majority of the studied firms, and by generalization, a majority of firms in the area, does not use consulting services. For those that use the services, the CEO, general manager, or the manager are the most influential decision makers. In addition, the firms have not been using consultancy services for marketing purposes and reputation, experience, and prices are the major decision making criteria. Further, large consulting organizations are preferred and performance is evaluated based on people’s acceptance of the rendered services. For the firms that had not used external consultancy services, they cited no need for such services. I were in Donna’s position, I would proceed with the intention to establish the marketing consultancy firm. I would target the companies that have not been using the services and awareness creation on the need for the services would be my marketing strategy. This would be my short-term strategy as the organization grows, as I would also be trying to capture large firms. I would also strive to develop professional relations with firm’s top executives such as CEOs, general managers and managers to understand their tastes and preferences for service providers and services. My actions would aim at entry into the market and expansion of market

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disease - Essay Example r of the chromosomes from either parent, a genetic malfunction can occur resulting in the development of an extra genetic material in chromosome number 21. Additional genetic material on chromosome 21, which is responsible for the features of the Down syndrome, can result from three primary genetic variations; trisomy 21, this is when a child is born with three copies of chromosome 21 in all the cells instead of the usual 2 copies. Mosaic Down syndrome, where the child is born with some cells having an extra copy of chromosome 21. Mosaic down syndrome is caused abnormal cell division after fertilization. Translocation Down syndrome occurs when part of chromosome 21 is attached (translocate) onto another chromosome, prior to or at conception (Sherman, 2007). Children born with Down syndrome often have intellectual and physical disabilities. At adult age, a person with Down syndrome present with an IQ equivalent of a nine-year-old. Often, people with Down syndrome presents with stunted growth, webbed neck, low muscle tone, narrow roof of the mouth and flat head. Additionally, they present with abnormal outer, large tongue, flattened nose as well as separation of the first and the second toes (Porth,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Clippermac Ltd Marketing Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Clippermac Ltd Marketing Strategy - Case Study Example This study was initiated to carry out a marketing analysis of Clippermac Ltd. Using certain analytical models such as Porters, generic strategy and competitive advantage, the company was diagnosed. There after the report examined the methods of market segmentation open to the management. Two methods were presented through which the divisions could be segmented. I suggested segmenting the market into geographical, demographical and time segment. This is because through these methods, the company is better placed to meet up with its objectives. The paper calls for, a value adding and marketing strategy for increasing yields to the company for the benefits of the entire European Community. It will take approximately five years for projected sales to reach about 1billion pounds per annum. The company expects to target not only high yielding niche market but low income household as well with the introduction of the new products. Key success factors within the market will be Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). ... Clippermac Ltd brand of innovative quality furniture and promotional gifts. Individualised customer services - tailor made custom design providing customers with what they want, when and how they want it. One of the market leading full service fashion distribution company in the UK. 1.0 Introduction Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). Globalisation has not only altered the nature and the intensity of competition but has had to dictate and shape organisations in terms of what consumers wants, how and when they want it and what they are prepared to pay for it (Hagan 1996:1). Kanter (1995:71) on his work on "Mastering Change" argues that success in the present day business is not for those companies that re-engineer the way they do things, or for those fixing the past. According to Kanter (1995) such an action will not constitute an adequate response. This is so because success is based on an organisation's ability to create, rather than predict the future by developing those products that will literally transform the way the world thinks and view it self and the needs (Kanter 1995:71). Within the context of today's global competition, businesses and firms no-longer compete as individual companies but try to corporate with other businesses in their activities (Wu & Chien 2007:2). These researchers went further to argue that, this strategy has become quite common in many businesses including the retail clothing chain stores. The conventional vertical integrated company based business model is gradually being replaced by collaborative relationship between many

Sunday, September 22, 2019

In the country of men Essay Example for Free

In the country of men Essay Hisham Matar presents In the Country of Men as a national allegory. This is done through metaphors, personification, and characters’ relationships. His purposes for writing this novel were political. A national allegory is any attribution of human characteristics to other animals, non-living things, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations or governments1 of a nation or its people. 2 Fredric Jameson, with ideas more suitable for the novel than Aijaz Ahmad, was first to think of national allegory. 3 Jameson states that third-world literature must be a national allegory because of the state of its embattled culture and society. A political dimension is always present from the nature of the third-world as opposed to capitalism in the first-world, which enables their public and government to focus on luxuries rather than survival. Ahmed argues that Jameson fails to recognize other third-world novels with different forms of literature because he only considers English written novels. 4 In times of war when the government controls the public’s lives, third-world writers can only search to write in a national allegory, otherwise, torture would be eminent. Political dimensions are always present from the nature of the third-world. National allegory writing emphasizes the political situation of the government. 5 Hisham Matar wrote In the Country of Men for a political purpose. The book may be fiction, but it seems to be drawn upon by real-life events. Writers then were tortured by the revolutionary committee and imprisoned, similar to Ustath Rashid. An interview with Matar reads â€Å"Because of the fear Gadhafi inspired in the intellectual community, many Libyan writers turned to allegory to make their work opaque to the regime. But Matars own writing is more forthright about political experiences — he says that when he decided to set his novel in Libya in the late 1970s, it seemed inauthentic and insincere to not include the extraordinary details of the time†. 6 Writers created allegories so that their ideas on the Libyan regime would not be transparent. Those who were caught were imprisoned. Books were gathered from bookshops and burned like Baba’s were, therefore representing a national allegory. The fact that Matar grew up in Cairo influences the ending of the novel and other aspects of the storyline. His father was kidnapped from his home in Cairo and taken back to Libya where he was tortured and imprisoned, corresponding with Baba’s capture. His uncle and two cousins were imprisoned as well. When they were finally released, his uncle would ask him if he remembered things they used to do together. 7 The child memories recounted inspired the innocence of having a child narrator to be an allegory of the younger generation of the nation, therefore representing a national allegory for a political purpose. The mother and son represent two generations of the country. Their intimate relationship and care for one another is a metaphor for how the country should care for their people and their people towards it. Both are inferior in society, Mama a woman and Suleiman a child. It seems that the title of the novel demonstrates that they are controlled by the men of society. They rely on one another to survive when Baba, the superior figure, is gone. Mama and Suleiman are the only functioning relationship from start to end. The mother cares for her son and compensates him if she does something wrong. Suleiman cares for her and watches after her while Baba is away. They can represent hope for a new and better government in Libya to come. Metaphors and imagery of water compare people and society to actions of the sea, exposing the novel as a national allegory. When Ustath Rashid was hung the crowd responded; â€Å"Like a wave rising, cheering became louder†. 8 The crowd flowed together in a solid movement, influenced by the revolutionary committee’s actions. Those who associated with writers against the revolution were suspected of treason. If the crowd of the hanging did not cheer, they may be hung next. Suleiman and Mama were not allowed to talk to Kareem’s family when his father was accused. The revolution moved as one and like a wave, gathering others as it moved forward. Suleiman finds a calming peace with the soft waves of the sea. It was the only hope he could find in the revolution. â€Å"I held the sea as my target, my paradise.. Low wavelets curled their white foamy edges across the turquoise face of the water†. 9 He uses the sea to escape from the heat of the day and the pressures of society. The edges are more subtle than the centre. He stays on the edge of society so he can escape the movement of the revolution. The motions of the sea can be unknown and dangerous, similar to the movement of the revolution. Matar uses personification to dehumanize characters. This shows that this novel is a national allegory. Baba becomes an object once the revolutionary committee release him. His eyes were described as â€Å"tomatoes†10 and his movements as â€Å"mechanical†. 11 He was nothing but a â€Å"figure†12 and a â€Å"monster†. 13 Suleiman did not believe the man was his father. This eliminates any human aspects he once had, being consumed by the revolution. The revolutionary committee controls the public by turning their lives into objects. Therefore, personification shows how Matar wrote this as a national allegory. By analyzing metaphors, personification, and characters’ relationships, it is evident that Matar wrote In the Country of Men as a national allegory. The interview with Matar provides evidence that his intentions behind the novel, personal and political, were to write it as a national allegory. Jameson’s ideas on the nature of third-world text hold for this novel. The objectifying and dehumanization of characters through metaphors and personification develop a meaning for the novel beyond a struggling family, but a national allegory. Bibliography Ahmad, Aijaz, ‘Jameson’s Rhtoric of Otherness and the â€Å"National Allegory†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Social Text, 17 (1987), 3-25. ‘Anthropomorphism’, Wikipedia (13 November 2012) [25 November 2012]. Jameson, Fredric, ‘Third World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism’, Social Text, 15 (1986), 65-88. Krishnan, Madhu. ‘Contemporary Fiction: Booker Prize,’ (Lecture 1 Given on 13 November 2012). Matar, Hisham, In the Country of Men (80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England: Penguin Books Ltd. , 2006). Montagne, Renee, ‘Hisham Matar On The Power Of Libyan Fiction’, NPR (April 28, 2011) , 23 November 2012. ‘National Personification’, Wikipedia (16 November 2012) [25 November 2012].

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Application of Wave Technology in Military Aspect

Application of Wave Technology in Military Aspect â€Å"Hide and Seek† in the World of Wave Student name: Choi Ho Lam Thank you for giving this valuable chance for me to investigate on this topic. As this topic involves military technology, it gives a deeper understanding of wave principle and usage in daily life. However, in normal settings, such kind of topic is not included, as it can be quite controversial. Fortunately, in this CCST course, I am allowed to choose this topic and enrich my engineering knowledge to a deeper extend. National geographic After watching the show â€Å"Hilter’s Stealth Fighter†, it gives me a clearer direction on starting the research on this topic. It enriches my knowledge on the use of RAM in relation with RF wave properties. Teaching assistants of the course The teaching assistants in the course are helpful. Their opinions help me to narrow my direction in investigating to specific topics like radar and specific technology related to radar. Without their help, I would still wonder in the wild world of military and aimlessly searching for a suitable topic. 2. Introduction Radar detection and stealth technology are like a game of â€Å"hide and seek† with the application of wave technology. They share the opposite aims, either finding one or avoid from being found. In the world of military, this is a game that changes the fate of the world and losing is not an option. During the World War II, the deployment of radar in British had changed the tide of battle in the English Channel. Fighting against 2550 German fighters and bombers, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was able to attack strategically and stopped German invasion with just 1963 planes. After this battle, British served as the last stand among European nations against Nazi Germany. With such important history, the military value for radar as well as its counterpart, stealth technology were deeply investigated. Nazi Germany had suffered from a direct defeat from this battle. Since then, Nazi Germany carried out various researches on stealth aircrafts. Just one month near the end of WWII, the first prototype stealth bomber, Horten Ho 229 was developed. Recent research from National Geographic show that such plane decreases the detection range of British radar by 37%, which is already enough for wiping out the entire RAF. It was so fortunate that the plane wasn’t in mass production or the course of history would have been change completely. This paper aims at studying the application of wave technology in the use of radar, as well as the principles in some of the counter radar measures. Since it is a CCST coursework, some of the complicated mathematical procedures and modern method of radar jamming would be omitted. Nevertheless, by studying such technology, we can establish a better understanding of different wave phenomena and know how they change our life. 3. Content 3.1 Radar Radar stands for Radio Detecting and Ranging. In general, radar detects a far object by sending a pulse of EM wave and measures the time and frequency for the reflected pulse. By analyzing these factors, the speed and the distance of the far object can be found. In a macroscopic view, radar consists of 3 basic parts, a transmitter, a duplexer and a receiver. The transmitter emits a short-duration high-power radio frequency (RF) pulse. The pulse will travel through the transmitter antenna and emit outwards. The antenna can give appreciate space for efficient distribution of RF pulse. When the RF pulse hit an obstacle, the RF pulse is reflected back to the receiver. The receiver antenna will receive the signal and analysis the time of travel as well as the frequency of reflected pulse. Since the receiver antenna is very sensitive as it is assumed to be receiving the small pulse reflected back from far distance, a duplexer is installed to switch the between two antenna. This can ensure only one antenna is in use and prevent receiver antenna receiving signal directly from the transmitter antenna, which can potentially damage the receiver antenna. In a microscopic view, an alternating current (AC) is supplied to the antenna. It then produces a perpendicular alternating magnetic field around the antenna. By Lenz’s Law, for a closed loop carrying a current, it would produce a magnetic field perpendicular to current around the loop. In reverse, for a closed loop experience a change in magnetic field, a current perpendicular to magnetic field is generated to oppose the change. The combination of alternating current and magnetic field produces the electromagnetic wave that used for detection. The frequency of the EM wave can be changed by modifying the AC frequency. The frequency of the electromagnetic wave is usually set to between 3 kHz to 300 GHz at radio frequency (RF). It varies depends on the usage. With a higher frequency, using relation with speed of light (C) and wavelength (ÃŽ ») C=FÃŽ », the wavelength of RF wave is shorten. This decreases the electrical length of the antenna to and makes it easier to build. In military use, the RF pulse would set to lower frequency portion in the RF spectrum, usually between 7 to 11.2 GHz, which is called the X band. Being in RF spectrum, the high frequency radar pulse can create a radar cross-section of aircraft with a higher resolution, which helps identify aircraft more accurately. In more advance use, a much lower frequency is used to reveal stealth aircraft since it can give a much more sensitive signal. With a low frequency, the wavelength of radar pulse is comparable to size of stealth fighter and creates a scattering in resonance region instead of optical region, turning it more visible on radar. However, the frequency of the radar pulse cannot be lower than 800 MHz, otherwise the EM pulse would have insufficient penetrating power and easily be absorbed by raindrops. Other than that, the resolution of low frequency radar is relatively poor, and gives a poor display. It is only effective against stealth aircraft of length comparable to wavelength . When the radar pulse is bound back to the radar, the antenna experience an alternating change in magnetic field. This will produce an alternating electrical field and thus an AC current to flow in circuit. Since the returning signal is weak, it would pass through an amplifying circuit to increase the amplitude. In analyzing the signal, the frequency and time of travel would be taken to find the speed and velocity of detection target. When the radar pulse reaches an object, it is reflected and the frequency is shifted by Doppler Effect. Since the speed of RF wave is always the speed of light (C), the distance (S) can be express as a time (t) function, S = Ct/2. It is divided by two since the radar pulse travel through the same distance twice. To calculate speed of moving object, we can find out the change in frequency (Doppler frequency) of the returning wave. If the far object is moving, the object would create a Doppler shift to the radar pulse. This Shifted frequency () can be expressed by original frequency (), the moving speed (V) and speed of light (C). , which gives us the Doppler frequency () . For convenience, one assume, such that, and simply the equation as . 3.2 Radar jamming and deception Radar jamming and deception usually refer to the intention of saturating the radar with noise and false information, lowering the detection range of radar as well as the accuracy of the radar. There mainly two types of jamming, either mechanical jamming or electronic jamming. Mechanical jamming Mechanical jamming usually refer to use of physically existed thing to reflect and re-reflect RF signal back to radar, causing the radar to be saturated with false return signal. The commonly used mechanical jamming methods that adopt wave principles are chaff and corner reflectors. Chaff is bundles of reflective aluminum strip of various lengths. The aircraft drops these strips in air. When radar pulse reaches these strips, the radar pulse is reflected and scattered in all direction, creating huge return signal to the receiver. This could deceive the radar as â€Å"seeing† huge plane and deplete enemy resources like ammunition on shooting down the false target. Corner reflector reflects incoming radar pulse at other angle. Corner reflector is composed of either two or three reflective planes, perpendicular to each other. This configuration allows the incoming radar ray fully reflected back to the source. Yet this also increases special occupation of corner reflector, making it harder to carry by aircraft. The tails of the stealth fighter are designed to be acute angle, such that it avoids forming corner reflector, allowing radar to identify the airplane. Electronic jamming Electronic jamming refers to the active emission of RF pulse to the radar, saturating the radar with false return and noises. It includes spot jamming, sweep jamming, barrage jamming, cover pulse jamming and digital radio frequency memory jamming. Spot jamming, sweep jamming, barrage jamming uses the same principle, occupying the radar with high energy pulse and causing destructive interference of the RF wave. Spot jamming refers to jamming one specific frequency with high energy signal. Sweep jamming refers to jamming one specific frequency with high energy signal when the radar is switching from one frequency to another. Barrage jamming refers to jamming all specific frequency with high energy signal, however since it cover full range of frequency, each frequency are partially jammed. Cover pulse jamming refers to false return signal as noise. As radar receives certain amount of ambient noise, for example, like scanning through eagle and other types of bird, so it could be used as disguise for fighter to hide from radar. With pulse jamming system installed, the aircraft analysis the incoming radar signal and find suitable frequency for false noise return. Digital radio frequency memory is a repeater technique that analysis the incoming radar pulse and changes the returning frequency as well as time of return. The signal would be delay and diminish. This gives a false sign of far distance between aircraft and radar. Moreover, the frequency would also be shifted and produce a false Doppler shift on radar signal. This returns with false information about the velocity of aircraft. 3.3 Use of RAM Besides of active jamming and deceiving radar, the military develop RAM to avoid radar detection from the enemy. RAM stands for the Radar-Absorbance Material. According to the detecting radar frequency, different types of RAM are used to build stealth aircrafts. Iron ball paint absorber Iron ball paint is one of the mostly used RAM. It contains tiny spheres coated with carbonyl iron and ferrite. As radar waves induce molecular oscillation in this paint, the energy would dissipate as heat. This can absorb the radar and reduce the reflection of radar wave. Re-entrant triangles The structures of re-entrant triangles in between the surface foam absorber layer help reduce reflection of radar ray back to radar transceiver. Inside the foam absorber layer, the foam was cut into tiny square pyramid. This structure reflect incoming wave several times and reduce the energy of the radar wave. In practice, the width and height would change according to the incoming radar wave. The main purpose of adjusting height and width ratio is to achieve maximum internal reflection within the plane surface as possible. Jaumann absorber The wave principle deployed by Jaumann absorber is destructive interference. Gerneally, Jaumann absorber consist of two equally spaced layer and a ground metal plate. It cancels out the incoming wave by producing destructive interference. When a radar signal strikes on to the surface of Jaumann absorber, the wave split in to two waves, one is reflected at glossy surface of the Jaumann absorber, while the other enters the layer. The ray will then reflect back by the metal ground plate. The two layers having a total spacing of ÃŽ »/4 will allow the wave reflected back to surface at anti-phrase compare to incoming ray, where the ray have travelled a total of ÃŽ »/2 distance. Conclusion Radar principle make use of various wave property in tracing the enemy. In engineering, there is a sub-discipline for radar analysis, for a more precise interpretation of radar signal. This paper includes only few example and it was just a corner of iceberg. However, in just a brief analysis, we can see advancement of technology as people know more about wave and using this knowledge to build stealth aircraft. This game of â€Å"hide and seek† can be devastating to world as it brings a much higher casualties in war, however this game has also proven to be saving life war and pushing the advancement of technology. Would this game be beneficial to human? It would be an unanswered question waiting for the people to decide. Reference Radar. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar ODonnell, Robert. RES.LL-001 Introduction to Radar Systems, Spring 2007. (MIT OpenCourseWare: Massachusetts Institute of Technology), http://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-ll-001-introduction-to-radar-systems-spring-2007 (Accessed 28 Nov, 2014). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA Wolff, C. (n.d.). Radar Principle. Retrieved from http://www.radartutorial.eu/01.basics/Radar Principle.en.html Toomay, J., Hannen, P. (2004). Radar Principle for the Non-Specialist (3rd ed.). SciTech Publishing. Hitlers Stealth Fighter [Motion picture]. (2009). United State of America: National Geographic. Garcia, L. (n.d.). How Waves Helped Win the War: Radar and sonar in WWII. Retrieved from http://www.ww2sci-tech.org/lessons/lesson3.pdf Deb, N.N. (2006). Telecommunication Engineering (1st ed.). New Age International. Bole, A., Wall, A., Norris, A. (2014). Radar and ARPA Manual Radar, AIS and Target Tracking for Marine Radar Users. Elsevier. Varshney, L. (2002). Technical Report Radar Principles (3rd revision.). NY: Syracuse Research Corporation. Lorell, M. (2003). The U.S. Combat Aircraft Industry, 1909-2000. National Defense Research Institute. Radar jamming and deception. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_jamming_and_deception Radar-absorbent material. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar-absorbent_material Zikidis, K., Skondras, A., Tokas, C. (2014). Low Observable Principles, Stealth Aircraft and Anti-Stealth Technologies. Journal of Computations Modelling, Vol.4(No.1, 2014), 129-165. Retrieved from http://www.scienpress.com/Upload/JCM/Vol 4_1_9.pdf Stealth Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=headerq=stealth technology

Friday, September 20, 2019

Strategies to Prevent Cyber Crime

Strategies to Prevent Cyber Crime Andrew Rayner Cyber Crime: Preventing the Horrific Crimes on the Internet In today’s society, there are many aspects of crime committed on a regular basis. Civilians take advantage of people using online resources such as a fraudulent website requiring credit card information to get a free monthly trial. Other venues that may contain a potential for cyber crimes are online chatting websites, full of predators or websites requiring a downloadable program that contains a hacking virus. Sadly, there are many cases of cyber crime populating the internet. Acts of cyber crimes are considered violent acts like any other. Every day, citizens are constantly losing money and being victimized due to a variety fraudulent activities. Cyber crime, including fraud, identity theft, stalking, and hacking, is a growing problem which can be prevented by taking the proper precautions. The biggest case of cyber crimes are cases of fraud. â€Å"Online fraud comes in many forms. It ranges from viruses that attack computers with the goal of retrieving personal information, to email schemes that lure victims into wiring money to fraudulent sources† (What is â€Å"online fraud†). When browsing the internet, people will stumble upon websites offering a free trial. Some of these websites are real, but many are fake. Real examples can include ones like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. A fake website, such as one offering too great of a deal often contains attempts of fraud, to gain access to credit card information. Another way of committing fraud is by sending fake emails to Craigslist advertisers make the victim think that he/she is getting a great deal. This type of fraud has to do with shipping. Criminals respond to Craigslist advertisements pretending to be a company such as PayPal, saying that the money is being held until the victim replies to the email with a valid tracking number. When the victims gives the requested information, the criminal ignores the victim and takes their money. Protection against offenders requires cautionary steps. â€Å"Perpetrators act as hackers who intercept personal information while victims are online, either through website entry or through phony [emails] in which they disguise themselves as legitimate firms attracting victims to do business with them† (Dyke 3). Keeping personal information secure on the internet is vital for any person’s safety. Never give out credit card information online to any company unless the company is verified. One way of checking for authenticity is to see if the websites has a verification certificate. These certificates cant be given to any website unless it is approved to take vital information. This is a safe way of making sure credit card information is not given to anyone who might steal it. Although they don’t take credit cards, when dealing on Craigslist, never ship anything, for any reason, as this is a scam; instead, the deal should be handled in person. There is no safe way on the internet to ship any item between private parties, so it is best to avoid anyone wanting to work with shipping or money shipments. Anyone can use a credit card number online without a tangible card. Keeping credit card details safe is important when dealing online. Only give credit card information to a website if that the website is certified to take a card. Almost any credit card will have bank protection when purchasing virtual goods, but it is important to make sure card information is not given to an unknown or untrusted website. Many scam websites will have a fake certification seal to verify that the website is real, the seal should link to a valid certification location. A form of cyber crime involving personal information is identity theft. When browsing the internet, people often come across ads that supposedly allow the user to win an iPad or other expensive device when completing a survey. This is a scam and is never a valid offer. These surveys require the user to input personal information such as an address, email, phone number, and name. This is a common method to steal identities. People may also come across a practice of identity theft such as Free-Credit-Score websites. These websites will ask for every bit of personal information including a social security number. A common victim pool is false advertising on Craigslist such as a fake job offer. Social engineers are predators who prey on victims to get personal information resulting in a scam, or even worse, identity theft. Do not deal with anyone on Craigslist when trying to find a friend to chat with. They often are cyber thieves wanting every bit of information to use to their advantage. To prevent identity theft, never give personal information to any website or any person unless that website can is trusted. Some common websites that are trustable are PayPal, Amazon, Squirll, and verified bank websites. These sites all have approved certifications seals. Normally this is checkable by looking to the left of the URL (Website Address) for a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) installation, which is indicated by a lock icon. Having stalkers outside of the web is dangerous, but because of advancements in technology, the internet is full of cyber stalkers as well. â€Å"A cyberstalker only needs access to a computer and a modem. Due to the enormous amount of personal information available through the internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a potential victim with a few mouse clicks or key stokes† (Cyberstalking). Many websites on the internet offer instant messaging. A few examples are Omegle, Craigslist, and teen chat rooms. These rooms are normally a hangout for predators. The predators will act as someone they arent to try and convince victims to like them, resulting in giving them personal details. Chatting sites are extremely dangerous, and it is imperative that chat rooms are avoided to prevent a perpetrator finding you outside of the internet. Social sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter are also websites that require caution when using. Creating an account on these websites require no identification possibly resulting in the predator disguising as someone they arent such as a relative or friend. Never give information to anyone online in a chatting program such as Skype or instant messaging system. Putting information online having to do with personal information is never a good idea even if it is Facebook or other websites such as Google+. Cyber stalkers are normally found on chat websites and social media websites. It is important to always exercise caution for protection when speaking to anyone online, no matter the situation because of the dangers. â€Å"Cyberstalking is just as frightening and potentially dangerous as a stalker at the victim’s front door† (Cyberstalking 2). The biggest form of cyber crime is hacking for malicious reasons or personal gain. â€Å"There are some career criminals who steal by electronic means. This small group poses a large problem for society, but it’s not a new one. Thieves are thieves† (Harvey 2). There are thousands of people on the internet trying to hack for gain on a daily basis. This is done through key loggers, Remote Administration Tools (R.A.T.S), and other types of malicious software. These are normally found within an executable file (.exe). These viruses will infect computers and try to steal information such as logins to websites, credit card information in files, or any type of person information. Many kids and some adults fall for this scam on a daily basis. When trying to find a premium code for a service such as Xbox Live or Spotify, people will come across a multitude of websites that give them instruction to complete a survey to unlock a premium code. These are not real. Do not download anything from a survey. Surveys will ask for permission to download a program to unlock the file which supposedly contains the free premium code for such service. Normally these programs are prone to contain an infected type of file, forcing advertisements and malicious software onto a computer. The last major type of virus is a phony antivirus program. When attempting to download a program to help fix an infected computer, normally the user results in having more remotely downloaded viruses. Instead of stealing information or logging computers, these viruses are typically used to force people to purchase the antivirus software to make the annoying virus go away. These are also used to lock ones computer and make him or her pay to have it unlocked. These viruses normally are the worst kind because they are so hard to remove from an infected machine, and scare the unknowing victim. Trustworthy programs are normally anything from trusted developers, such as Microsoft or Adobe. However, there are plenty of trustworthy ones on the internet. To determine if the websites/programs are trustworthy, check the SSL on the website from which the program is being downloaded, which means it is certified. If ever unsure about a program, websites such as Virus Total can scan the program for infections. These websites scan files for anything malicious. If any sort of malicious viruses are found, it will notify the user before the computer decides to run the file. Most of the time anything having to do with a bot, survey, free cracked program contains a virus. There is no reason to download any program having to do with a free item, which will completely prevent someone from being infected. These crimes are a few of the dangers on the internet. To provide full safety, never give personal information to dubious-looking website, download programs that are not trustworthy, speak to anybody on the internet unless positive of their identity, and never for any reason, try to get something for free that costs. These things are the most common type of cyber crimes people see on a daily basis. Although the internet is a great source for making money in legal ways, it can also be used for plenty of malicious black market money scams. It is imperative to carefully browse the internet when downloading programs, and talking to people online. Works Cited Cyberstalking. Marshall University. Marshall University, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. Dyke, Van, and Albrecht W. Identity Theft. U of NEBRASKA–LINCOLN. U of NEBRASKA–LINCOLN, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. Harvey, Brian.Computer Hacking and Ethics. Ed. Paul Goodman, P.G. Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. U of California, Berkeley, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. What is â€Å"online fraud†? National Crime Victim Law Institute. Lewis Clark, 27 July 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Raymond Chandlers Writing Style in The Big Sleep Essay -- Chandler Bi

Raymond Chandler's Writing Style in The Big Sleep      Ã‚   Unique writing style is definitely an essential element in any piece of writing, and Raymond Chandler uses his style efficiently in The Big Sleep. Chandler's style is one that seems to come easily to him and it also seems very natural to the reader, perhaps because there is not a lot of high, eloquent language. Rich in description and dialogue, the characters seem more realistic to the reader as a result of such details and natural speech. Chandler includes many descriptive words, similes, metaphors; yet they are not complicated or ambiguous which may lead to misinterpretations. He also tends to focus on a few major aspects of the characters, repeating those characteristics again each time the person appears in the scene. Writing about the characters in this way engages the reader and makes for a more realistic and interesting novel.    When examining each character, it is simple to pick out the key aspects which Chandler wishes the reader to grasp, often using Phillip Marlowe to do so showing how is extremely observant and detail-oriented. He is able to pick up on details right away and describe them perfectly. Introduced first is Carmen Sternwood. Chandler writes a paragraph about what Marlowe first notices about her. Chandler describes her hair, eyes, and body, yet it is her teeth which Chandler focuses on. He writes, "Shecame over near me and smiled with her mouth and she had little sharp predatory teeth, as white as fresh orange pith and as shiny as porcelain" (5). This description is a simple yet effective one because of the images used: images that are not complicated and the reader can relate to. They are common items which most people... ...each for the phone, and wave at the glassed-in shelves (24). These are not simply physical characteristics, they are part of who the blonde is.    The unique writing style of Chandler, especially description, is one that engages the reader to see the characters as more than simple stereotypes. By focusing on particular attributes and assets of each one, they take on a personality all their own. This style of description is one that is simple for the reader to understand and interpret, but does not produce a simple work. Instead, it is a work full of similes, metaphors, metanomies, and description which would probably not be found to be so effortless in any other work than The Big Sleep.    Works Cited Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. New York: Vintage Books, 1996. Kemp, William. The Writing Process: Chandler 202. January 14, 1999   

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Rate of Reaction Coursework Aim: To investigate how temperature affects rate of reaction. Introduction: I am going to investigate how temperature affects the rate of reaction of hydrochloric acid with calcium carbonate. This is the reaction that will take place: Hydrochloric acid + Calcium Carbonate à ¨ Calcium Carbonate + Water + Carbon Dioxide The rate of reaction can be measured in various different ways: * Using a balance you can check the mass before the reaction and then after the reaction has taken place. Then check the change in mass. * You can also use the method of obscuring a cross with sodium thiosulphate and time which cross becomes invisible first. I am going to use a syringe to measure the amount of carbon dioxide given of at regular intervals. This is because it is accurate as the smallest division on it is 1ml. The important variables are: * Temperature – if it is increased the reaction as the particles will have more energy. * Number of calcium carbonate chips – if there are a lot of chips more carbon dioxide will be formed. * Amount of acid – if there is more acid the rate of reaction will be faster. * Surface area – if the chips have a larger surface area then the rate of reaction will be faster. Prediction: I have chosen to investigate the affect of hydrochloric acid on calcium carbonate chips. I predict that as the temperature of the acid increases so will the rate of reaction. This is because for two substances to react they have to have a successful collision which means the have to collide with a minimum amount of energy which is called the activation energy. This diagram shows how the particles will react with each other with the minimum amount of energy (activation energy): The higher the temperature of the acid the faster the acid particles will be moving around as they’ll have more energy and there will more collisions. This energy will also allow there to be more successful collisions and so more carbon dioxide will be formed in smaller amount of time. Therefore the rate of reaction will be faster. This diagram shows the reaction of particles with more energy from the heat: I can also predict that the shape of my final graph of rate of reaction and temperature will look like this: From this graph I can predict that as I increase the temperature by 10 °C the rate of reaction will double. Apparatus: 1 Bunsen burner Calcium Carbonate chips Hydrochloric acid 1 Syringe 1 50ml measuring cylinder 1Heatproof mat 1 Wire gauze 1 Conical flask 1 Beaker filled with ice 1 Thermometer 1 Clamp I chose to use the syringe as it has small divisions to help me make Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Rate of Reaction Coursework Aim: To investigate how temperature affects rate of reaction. Introduction: I am going to investigate how temperature affects the rate of reaction of hydrochloric acid with calcium carbonate. This is the reaction that will take place: Hydrochloric acid + Calcium Carbonate à ¨ Calcium Carbonate + Water + Carbon Dioxide The rate of reaction can be measured in various different ways: * Using a balance you can check the mass before the reaction and then after the reaction has taken place. Then check the change in mass. * You can also use the method of obscuring a cross with sodium thiosulphate and time which cross becomes invisible first. I am going to use a syringe to measure the amount of carbon dioxide given of at regular intervals. This is because it is accurate as the smallest division on it is 1ml. The important variables are: * Temperature – if it is increased the reaction as the particles will have more energy. * Number of calcium carbonate chips – if there are a lot of chips more carbon dioxide will be formed. * Amount of acid – if there is more acid the rate of reaction will be faster. * Surface area – if the chips have a larger surface area then the rate of reaction will be faster. Prediction: I have chosen to investigate the affect of hydrochloric acid on calcium carbonate chips. I predict that as the temperature of the acid increases so will the rate of reaction. This is because for two substances to react they have to have a successful collision which means the have to collide with a minimum amount of energy which is called the activation energy. This diagram shows how the particles will react with each other with the minimum amount of energy (activation energy): The higher the temperature of the acid the faster the acid particles will be moving around as they’ll have more energy and there will more collisions. This energy will also allow there to be more successful collisions and so more carbon dioxide will be formed in smaller amount of time. Therefore the rate of reaction will be faster. This diagram shows the reaction of particles with more energy from the heat: I can also predict that the shape of my final graph of rate of reaction and temperature will look like this: From this graph I can predict that as I increase the temperature by 10 °C the rate of reaction will double. Apparatus: 1 Bunsen burner Calcium Carbonate chips Hydrochloric acid 1 Syringe 1 50ml measuring cylinder 1Heatproof mat 1 Wire gauze 1 Conical flask 1 Beaker filled with ice 1 Thermometer 1 Clamp I chose to use the syringe as it has small divisions to help me make

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Examining “Don’t Eat This Book” Essay

Morgan Spurlock’s book is an outstanding indictment on people’s eating habits and a marginally effective indictment of the big food industry. The reason for this â€Å"half and half† success is that while Spurlock does properly show that people are guilty of making poor decision that lead to obesity, he falters when he tries to place a large volume of the blame of the â€Å"Big Food† industry. While Big Food is definitely not the friend to people looking to lose weight as the Big Food industry places an amoral desire to boost profits at the risks of health, the bottom line is (and always will be) Big Food loses all its power when people cease to consume and people simply refuse to cease consuming. Spurlock does point out that there is only one method designed to lose weight: reduce calorie consumption either by reducing the amount that is eaten (a decent idea), increasing exercise (better idea), reducing food consumption and replace the bad food that is consumed with high quality food while increasing one’s activity level (the best plan of action). Spurlock confronts people with their decided lack of exercise and challenges people to get up and move! He also confronts people with their food choices. Where Spurlock succeeds magnificently is he enlightens people who may be somewhat confused as to why they cannot lose weight even though they follow fad diets and cut back on their consumption. By pointing out to people that most fad diets are designed to drop water weight and fool people into thinking they lost fat as well as pointing out that eating food high in sugar and fat means higher calories, Spurlock shifts people’s focus on where it belongs when it comes to diet. Their focus belongs on the basics: proper diet and exercise is the cure. Spurlock also successfully points out the reason why fast food is a surefire path to obesity because the processed nature of such food is a â€Å"recipe† for disaster. In a very interesting sidebar, Spurlock shows the sociological reasons why Big Food became as powerful as it is and how deceptive marketing leads to consumption. However, where Spurlock falters is in the silly belief that my regulating Big Food will yield results. To support his philosophy on this, he compares big tobacco to big food. On the surface, the comparison makes sense because emotionally we wish to see Big Food punished. When we think about the situation logically, we realize that the fault lies not in big food but in ourselves. The comparisons between Big Tobacco and Big Food are compelling on an emotional level, but there are some flaws in terms of the logic. Big tobacco was far more complicit in perpetrating a deadly fraud on the population as opposed to Big Food that merely cut corners that yield a higher fat and sugar content. That is, Big Tobacco knew full well that cigarettes were addictive and the tobacco companies also knew that cigarettes caused cancer, heart disease, etc. To make a bad situation worse, Big Tobacco companies increased and manipulated the levels of addictive nicotine in cigarettes in order to â€Å"hook† smokers. Eventually, the lie was exposed and the number of cigarette smokers in the United States has dropped from 54% of the population in 1964 to less than 25% today. When the truth about cigarettes was discovered, the sales of cigarettes declined dramatically. With Big Food, the truth was never hidden and when confronted with the truth, no one cared and the consumption continued. When it comes to Big Food, the problem of obesity not only lies in the fact that refined and artificial sugars, flavors and fats, all of which were designed to lower costs and increasing profits. The ancillary result of this is that calories will dramatically increase when natural products are replaced with refined products. This DOES NOT mean that the natural products are safe! Brown sugar and saturated fat are high in calories and will lead to obesity much in the same was as refined sugar and trans fat will. Furthermore, no one is so naive to believe that McDonald’s food will not make a person fat nor is anyone naive enough to believe it is healthy. Spurlock attempts to use the case of the two overweight girls in NYC as an example of how big food should be sued in the same way that big tobacco was sued due to complicity in the health problems of smokers. The case of the overweight girls was thrown out of court and for good reason: the girls were STILL overweight when the case was filed. They had never reeled in their food consumption habits and were looking to blame someone for their problems. Spurlock attempted to portray these girls as martyrs and it simply doesn’t work. As a sociological look at the over consumption of food and as a common sense approach to diet and weight loss, Spurlock’s tome is outstanding. As an indictment of the Big Food industry, it is only partially successful. Overall, it is a classic study of human nature that only comes along one in a generation. SPEECH There is an inherent problem that is part of human nature. That problem is the concept that if something brings pleasure, then it must be consumed. There is also another item that is part of human nature. That item is logic and reasoning. By logic and reasoning, we understand that something feels good because in our own minds, we make it feel good. We also understand that within our own minds, we define certain feelings as negative. The problem is that we accept things that feel good for the moment that lead to much misery and pain in the long run. Over consumption of food will make a person feel good for the 15 minutes that it takes to consume an abominable meal at a McDonald’s. When we over consume like this three times a day, seven days a week, we derive a combined amount of pleasure that equals less than four hours. The remaining hours in the weeks, months, years are left with the pain that comes from the obesity derived limitations on our social lives, our physical well being and our mental health. When a person stops to think about it, that isn’t pleasure at all. The consumed food is a mere diversion from a life that is ultimately limited and a limited life is a miserable one. What Mr. Spurlock points out is that if we stay away from the diet pills, stay away from the fad diets, refrain from feeding the Big Food machine with out dollars and cents, we can ultimately live a life that is free from the shackles of obesity. However, what we ask here is something that only a mature adult will understand and children are not mature adults. When a child grows up ingesting food that will ultimately make them sick, the adults who allow such things must be held accountable. Whether it is parents or school officials, there needs to be an external pressure designed to be sure that they place the welfare of the children taking the easy way out. As adults, as Mr. Spurlock shows, it is our responsibility to make the younger generation understand that the pleasure they receive from sugar rushes or the effect laboratory engineered trans fat has on the tastes buds is not real pleasure as it is a transitory gateway to a very limited and miserable life. We must educate and we must pressure and we must be successful at this or the negative cycle that has enveloped young children since the early 1970’s will be an unbroken cycle. Work Cited Morgan Spurlock, Don’t Eat This Book, New York: Putnam’s Sons, 2005.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Cleopatra Essay

The 1963 film presents extravagance, opulence. The costumes worn were lavish and the scene entering Rome portrays not the decadence of her life style, but that of the film production. Furthermore, the 1963 film compared to the 1917 film which showed more hieroglyphics on the walls and columns which was the stereotypic view of ancient egyptian life. The budget of later adaptations would have been a factor. Nowadays television provides a much easier and cost effective form of production. The other considerations for the films and television programs over this period of time is the view of the female in the world as a whole. What difference do we see in the power of the woman Theda Bara at a time when females in the early 1900 were campaigning for the vote? When they were taking the main role in factories, and on land in all forms of manufacturing, during the two world wars. We then come to the first of what can be called the modern women with Elizabeth Taylor. It could be argued that she is how we imagine Cleopatra to be. When you look at the dvd case and the book of reputations presented to us for the first assignment, are they not the eyes of Elizabeth Taylor? (AA100 Reputations Book). Then on to Xena in which we have a black Cleopatra in the television adaptation, we see the female turn warrior but still very feminine. – (AA100 DVD). The view in the 1917 film I feel shows her as a dippy, demure and in some ways subservient female. As time moves on to the 1960 we see her as a stronger, forceful and intelligent being, but still plays the role to some extent of wife and mother in mid-20th century society. The 21st century adaptation with Xena has had a great impact throughout the world on our view of Cleopatra. The use of television and the internet shows the power shift between male and females over the last 100 years in society shifting towards the female. In 1917 and 1963, Cleopatra appeared as a white Euro/American. Should she in fact have been played by somebody from Greece or North Africa? In conclusion to the comparison of Cleopatra over the the last 100 years on film and television, do we see her in a different light? With more data available it would be irresponsible not to take a more measured view of what we have learnt of her. She has changed from the â€Å"dippy† interpretation to the steely-eyed head of state.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Disney & Lucas Film

Table of Contents Executive Summary| i| Introduction | 1| Marvel Industry Analysis| 1| Disney Industry Analysis| 3| Marvel Company Analysis| 4| SWOT Analysis| 6| Valuation| 6| Disney Company Analysis | 7| Share Price Analysis| 10| Examination of the Premium| 12| Takeover Overview, Methods and Tactics| 14| Analyst, Media and Legal Reaction| 16| Recommendation and Conclusion| 17| References| 19| Appendices| 22| , increased pressure from eBook innovation and internet piracy. As such, this industry grew an estimated 2. 50% from 2008 to 2009 and maintained a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5. 4% from 2000-2009 (Jackson, 2011). Licensing Marvel’s second major unit of operation consist of its large licensing business. Marvel licenses the use of its various characters to gaming, movie, toy and television show producers alike. This market is primarily driven by trademark and character licensing. As of 2007, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing represented a $USD 30 Billion mark et in the United States (U. S. ) alone (IBISWorld Licensing, 2012). IP licensing exhibited constant growth. However, in 2008 it incurred a slight contraction of 3. 4% due to the global financial crisis.As well, from 2000-2008 it had a CAGR of 5. 09%. Further, character and trademark licensing represented more than 40. 0% of the total licensing market for 2012. The IP Licensing market is considered to be moderately aggregated with Disney acting as the industry leader (after its acquisition of Marvel) with just over 10. 50% of market share (IBISWorld Licensing, 2012). However, the industry did exhibit lacklustre performance in 2009, (down almost 10. 00%) from its 2007 high. Film Production Marvel’s final major operational segment consists of its film production operations.Generally, the industry has consistently outperformed the market (CAGR 5. 80% from 2000-2009) and as of 2009 represented a $USD 118 Billion dollar market in the U. S. (Thomson ONE, 2012). The industry is highl y consolidated with the top 10 studios (Disney being in second place), representing over 70. 00% of the market. (Nash, 2012). The changing nature of consumer entertainment consumption is gradually eroding various industry segments such as DVD sales and DVD rentals. However, this has been compensated for by the adoption of other viewing alternatives like: pay per view and direct broadcast television (Thomson ONE, 2012).Moreover, have managed to impose price increases on consumers. Thus, allowing them to earn $USD 2. 5 Billion more in 2009 than in 2001 despite lower ticket sale volume for the same comparable period. (Nash, 2012). The film industry has also proven to be resistant to the economic downturns with moderate growth during the recessionary slumps of: 2001, 2008 and 2009 (Thomson ONE, 2012). ————————————————- Disney Industry Analysis Disney operates in two major segm ents: licensing and entertainment. These segments are similar to the ones Marvel operates in.However, Disney also incorporates theme parks into its operations, thus differing from Marvel (Disney Financial Report, 2008). It should also be noted that Disney media services go well beyond simply producing children’s shows and films. They own several studios and until 2009 owned ABC (Thomson ONE, 2012). It can be stated that, the two corporations with regards to their fictional character businesses, target distinct customer bases with respect to gender, but target similar customer bases with respect to age. Disney primarily targets oung children and teenage girls, whereas Marvel targets young adult males and teenage boys. Theme Parks Disney is the leader in the theme-park market; with all of the top 5 theme parks in the world belonging to this company. In 2009, although most theme parks experienced significant decreases in customer presence, Disney managed to actually increase att endance through appealing to local market and offering loyalty programs (AECOM, 2009). Over 185 Million people attended one of the top 25 theme parks in the world in 2009 (119 Million in the U. S).Attendance showed remarkable resilience in America with the top 20 parks in the U. S only losing a fraction of their attendance from their 2007 high, despite the financial crisis. (AECOM, 2009). The $USD 10. 70 Billion change significantly over the 3 year period. Net income quadrupled from 2006 to 2008 reaching an all time high of $USD 205 Million in 2008. Further, diluted earnings per share (EPS) growth exhibited similar performance, indicating no extraordinary abnormalities in executive compensation or share issuance (Marvel Annual Report, 2008).The company managed to decrease its total liabilities by over $90 Million from 2007 to 2008. As well, Marvel significantly bolstered its cash reserves from $USD 30 Million to $USD 105 Million. There was also a large increase in accounts receivabl e (A/R) from $USD 28. 70 Million in 2007 to over $USD 144 Million in 2008. However, given the fast growth of A/R and consistent inventory levels, this large increase warrants little concern. As well goodwill, comprises over 30% of the corporation’s assets.It must be noted that this goodwill was not accumulated via a â€Å"momentum† acquiring strategy which was adopted by Tyco (Bruner, 2005). Thus, the goodwill was accumulated in a proper manner and not for the sole purpose of continually bolstering EPS and Price-to-Earnings ratios (Marvel Annual Report, 2008). Although the debt to equity (D/E) ratio is still moderately high (1. 36), the firm did manage to significantly decrease this ratio throughout the 2007-2008 period; this was achieved by decreasing its liabilities and doubling its retained earnings.Moreover, an exorbitant $USD 251 Million cash disbursement for film inventory in 2007 contributed to the company’s significant negative cash flow for the year. if the premium paid is too high as Disney does not expect any cost-reduction or revenue-enhancement synergies from the merger (Business Insider, 2009). Moreover, analysts see the acquisition as a valuable opportunity for Disney to secure future profitable movies and contemplate the possible outcomes of movies based on Marvel’s characters combined with the animation resources of espoused by Disney and Pixar.Finally, Disney’s previous acquisition of Pixar Animation Studio was incredibly successful, both in terms of revenue generation (each Pixar movie made post merger yielded large profits) and in terms of the integration of Pixar management into the Disney family (CNBC, 2009). By incorporating over 5,000 of Marvel’s characters into Disney’s library, the media expects this merger to follow the same path and prove to be another successful acquisition story for Disney. Two days after the merger announcement, an independent blog speculated that security law had been infringed upon as a result of the deal.The report suggested that Marvel’s chief executive; Mr. Perlmutter engaged in suspicious behaviour prior to the merger. The blog stated that in February 2009, a meeting took place between the chairman of Marvel’s film division and Disney’s CEO, where they â€Å"discuss[ed] ways in which the relationship between the two companies could be extended. † Two weeks following said meeting, Mr. Perlmutter was granted 514,354 options for Marvel shares with a strike price of $USD 25. 86 per share. Three weeks later, he was granted another 750,000 options at an exercise price of $USD 23. 5 per share. The representatives of the firms met again in the beginning of June and disclosed afterwards the possibility of a merger to the other managers (Wall Street Journal, September 2009). In essence, the proximity of the dates in which Mr. Perlmutter’s was granted options renders the transaction suspicious . Although it is no t unusual for Marvel’s employees to receive options as annual com APPENDIX A – VALUATION MODEL APPENDIX B – MARVEL 2008 ANNUAL REPORT (FINANCIALS) APPENDIX C – DISNEY 2008 ANNUAL REPORT (FINANCIALS) APPENDIX D – DISNEY 2010 ANNUAL REPORT (FINANCIALS)

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Since human individuals

Psychology has made great strides in the development of principles and methods and the discovery of facts which find useful application in various aspects of everyday life. The objectives of psychology are : (1) to understand human behavior; (2) to predict human behavior by means of observation and experiment; (3) to influence or alter the behavior of he individual or group in desirable ways so that he can achieve the goal he desires (McLeod, 1998). Psychology is the scientific of human behavior and mental processes; a study which is of considerable interest to almost all people.In the pursuit of this study is the important feature of understanding the goals or objectives. To describe, explain and predict behavior and if possible control or modify it, are the main objectives of this scientific discipline. These objectives confine as well as broaden student’s approach towards a deeper perspective of the field in the sense that he/she will have a grasp on the variety of subject matters that psychology provides, the advances or breakthroughs it has attained, its inadequacies and shortcomings, as well as forthcoming challenges the discipline faces.Since human individuals are complex and changing, the study is fascinating yet possesses a certain degree of difficulty. Fascinating because it explores all the facets of being human and possessing a certain degree of difficulty because of its multifarious sub-disciplines. Behavior is described and analyzed (McLeod, 1998). On this basis, an attempt to predict behavior is possible, and although this may not thoroughly and completely be accomplished in some endeavours, the basic understanding then is that there are certain expectations concerning how any person would act or decide upon things that are within his conscious awareness.Psychology is of great importance to man since psychological problems are common to group relations, in whatever framework a person or group of individuals come from (McLeod, 1998). The wo rk of a counsellor is a privilege since the counselee or client will be unfolding his life and makes himself vulnerable to a stranger. It is not an easy choice to make hence, all the training and knowledge would be indispensable to help the client reveal and trust himself to another. Counselling is not a very easy job.But it can be facilitated well when there is a clear vision of what and how it unfolds in the relationship that is established with the client (Nelson-Jones, 1988). A healthy personality does not mean it does not have any difficulties at all. It means that a person has the capabilities to withstand any turmoil or stress that come his way. He has learned the skills to make him adjust to the internal and external stresses; minimizing conflicts from within and without but in a healthy and normal functioning way.Personal growth occurs in the context of self-insights; insights concerning the workings of one’s mind in relation to the structures and stimuli around the person. The self-insight is very significant and crucial to the client for him to be able to work well with those who are there to assist in his recovery and eventual personal growth (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). The important thing is that of flexibility and resiliency on the counselor’s part when to apply or implement the theory (i. e., person-centred in this case) in the context of the client. It starts with the identification of specific problems and especially the root causes (Lishman, 1994). When this is confidently achieved, the therapist is actually midway to attaining his/her goals which includes not only the relief of the symptoms that the sufferer is currently experiencing but especially the reduction of the occurrence if not altogether eliminated. The specific treatment goals are likewise essential and it helps in the remaining aspects or levels of the process.The diagnostic part by itself in most cases is considered therapeutic since many clients have experi enced immediate relief. In addition, another important ingredient in the process is to identify effective reinforcers which help people in crisis for instance or those in acute and chronic mental and emotional anguish to sustain their plan for change and control of their disorders. Helping the client set up a kind of self-help management program is a very effective strategy to pursue within the relationship (Smith 1997, 2004). Nature of the therapeutic approachWithin the person-centred approach human nature is understood as that of the individual possessing to the innate capacity of man towards growth, health and fulfilment which means that man is basically good and equipped to face many obstacles in life. Client-centred therapy avoids the imposition of goals on the patient or client during therapy. It is the client who takes the lead in the session and of the conversation. It is the job of the therapist to create the conditions conducive to the client’s positive judgment of those experiences that are intrinsically satisfying to the client.The ‘goal’ then is to reach the point where the client desires to be a good and â€Å"civilized person. † Unconditional positive regard enhances this atmosphere however, and although the goal may be difficult to achieve, unconditional positive regard eventually, according to Rogers, encourages even the â€Å"`unbehaved† to conform or even transform (Corey, 2004; Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). Anchored on Carl Rogers’ theory on the person-centered approach of understanding behavior and applying such an understanding to the â€Å"healing† process, the concept of congruence is among the highlights of this renowned theorist’s perspective.It is understood as a concept which usually starts or initiated by the therapist or practitioner and modelled to the client whereby the former displays more of the real person that he/she is and reducing denial of the real struggles or fe elings that tend to be kept inside (Smith, 1997; Rogers, 1951; Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). In the process, the client learns to unveil the real self rather than assume a facade which not only masks the real problems, make the therapeutic relationship increasingly difficult (Rogers, 1959).Rogers probably in his long years of exposure to different clients or patients, found commonality in his interactions that help facilitate better recovery and congruence as modelled by a therapist eventually gained its place in his approach. Application or Action Point: Case study: â€Å"Mrs. Todd was admitted to an elder care home following the death of her husband and at the request of her daughter, aged 70, who could no longer manage. Six months after admission Mrs Todd refused to get out of bed for a week, saying that there was no point.During the sensitive questioning by the residential social worker revealed that Mrs Todd had never come to terms with the loss of her husband. On top of t his she had been unable to put into words her grief, plus the perception that she had lost control independence, despite high-quality care in the home, had resulted in confused thinking, distortion of grief and withdrawal. † There are some â€Å"steps† that had been coined by Rogers to put the theory in â€Å"action, so to speak. However, it is imperative that the progression of the helping relationship is not forced or hurried.The goal in this case is for Mrs, Todd to be â€Å"influenced† by the counsellor’s sense of optimism which means that these positive characteristics must somehow rob off on the client. Roger’s understanding is that helping someone can only be most effective when the person is encouraged or has moved on from a state of despondency to vitality regardless of her/his circumstances. This is the primary reason that Roger’s extensive discussion also revolves around the congruent self (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980).One imp ortant aspect of the person-centred approach is the empathy that should be exhibited by the counsellor/therapist. Carl Rogers (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980) initiated the model with the premise that within each person is the capacity to eventually surpass any obstacle with the help and support of critical people. The unconditional positive regard which when cultivated by a therapist is believed to be very crucial to the recovery and healing of the patient.There is curative value to the skills which, importantly, shall comprise the approach that the therapist takes in the course of their healing relationship. In the case of Mrs. Todd whose state of discouragement and grief had not been overcome will be a point of reference for the counselling setting. The person centred therapist is a believer that when given time, a patient-listening-ear and other skills, help for Mrs. Todd is to tap the inner strength that she possesses can be had.The goals of therapy include the readjustment of a person’s understanding of himself, becoming aware of the discrepancies of his real experiences and real self versus the projection of other’s viewpoints and rubbing these onto him, thereby affecting the person of the right attitude and perspective of what life is truly all about (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). Because the emphasis is on the uniqueness of the individual, it goes beyond the mere acceptance of the real worth of the self. It also accepts that there are realities in life that need to be accepted but the individual must transcend above these unwelcoming encounters.The importance is to accept as well that one’s choices and decisions are important and the person must accept his responsibility of the consequences of his actions (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). One important aspect of the person centered approach is the empathy that should be exhibited by the counsellor/therapist. Carl Rogers initiated the model with the premise that within each p erson is the capacity to eventually surpass any obstacle with the help and support of critical people. The unconditional positive regard which when cultivated by a therapist is believed to be very crucial to the recovery and healing of the patient.There is curative value to the skills which, importantly, shall comprise the approach that the therapist takes in the course of their healing relationship (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). The therapeutic nature of the person centred therapy to help this person get the insights, not only to the death and the sense of loneliness and seemingly abandoned feelings at this point in her life, but especially to the fact that other lives are affected as well is not easy as it may seem when one uses this approach. Mrs. Todd must wade through her confusions, her feelings of despondency and the sense of hopelessness.What is actually happening when there is a gradual realization of these issues and the hope that the future may hold for her, is that t he practitioner is more than a crutch and a pole that pulls the patient. The therapist with or without the conscious awareness of the patient is her source of strength and resolve to weather the seemingly heavy burden ahead of her. That is why for many, this approach has become widely used; it is to an extent a very successful model in the field of psychotherapy (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980).The client or person-centred therapy is persuaded that a person is only understood from the point of view of his or her own perception and emotionality or feelings, also known as the phenomenological world. It takes time to be able for the therapist to look into how Mrs. Todd, in this particular case, experience events not just at the events that Mrs. Todd is experiencing; i. e. , her problems and her seemingly hopeless outlook. Mrs. Todd‘s phenomenological world is a major determinant of behavior and what makes Mrs. Todd’s unique from other patients (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980)The person-centred therapeutic goals attempt to empower the patients or clients to increasingly be made aware and accepting of the real self’s true beliefs and worth and condition the person to realize these –worth and self-acceptance within the therapeutic relationship. The management then is not impossible but neither is this easy. Specifically, the counselee or patient must want to heal or believe that there is going to be curative effects in the process. It presupposes that he/she must learn to trust the therapist in his/her capabilities as well in leading or facilitating the changes or modifications.It is very much essential that (in the perspective of a cognitive-behaviourist) that the client understands ownership to the deeds and choices in thought patterns he/she made are crucial to the recurring or occurring condition that s/he experiences (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980)). Moreover, the identification of specific treatments or interventions according to the diagnosed issue will be accommodated and implemented based on the chosen treatment modalities fit with the therapeutic approach utilized.Another contention of this approach is that the therapist should never attempt to manipulate the circumstances for Mrs. Todd. What is important is that Mrs. Todd should create conditions that will empower her to make decisions of her own. The premise of this approach lies in the belief that when a person like Mrs. Todd is no longer concerned with the evaluations, preferences and demands that others make upon her, she will then be released to spur on and live according to the expected innate tendency to self-actualize or reach her potential self.Many of those who use this approach however, do not usually strictly use the pattern that Rogers indicated in his model. In this case, a counsellor’s personality and disposition must merge well with this approach. This is because, the skills needed are at times individual in nature; the crucial a spect then is how some of the strategies must be patient to put up plain unconditional positive regard (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). There is no hundred percent guarantee that Mrs.Todd will be able to fully heal in every aspect of her struggling life. Her problems can be real as she has to cope with the loss that can no longer be restored. So much so that it is not easy in the individualistic society that America is and become confined in a home or institution whose caregivers may be distant. When a therapist pursues the client with tenacious determination to enable and empower the patient, it is not impossible that the likes of Mrs. Todd will have her life back and find meaning even in the twilight of her years.Conclusions It is always worthwhile to spend ample time thinking and studying the many-faceted dimensions of human persona, from physical to moral and psychological areas among others. It has contributed a lot to my personal understanding of self-awareness and the devel opment of the consciousness and sensitivity of what other humans like me are going through. It caters to a deeper understanding as well as acceptance of people’s frailties, and also their strengths. ~Nature and Importance of therapyBehavior is described and analyzed. On this basis, an attempt to predict behavior is possible, and although this may not thoroughly and completely be accomplished in some endeavours, the basic understanding then is that there are certain expectations concerning how any person would act or decide upon things that are within his conscious awareness Psychology is of great importance to man since psychological problems are common to group relations, in whatever framework a person or group of individuals come from.Although an immediate relief is very helpful, this may not always be the case in most illnesses. The goal as mentioned is to provide long-term reduction of the symptoms and the occurrence of the disease altogether if possible. The management t hen is not impossible but neither is this easy. Specifically, the counselee or patient must want to heal or believe that there is going to be curative effects in the process. It presupposes that he/she must learn to trust the therapist in his/her capabilities as well in leading or facilitating the changes or modifications.It is very much essential that (in the perspective of a cognitive-behaviourist) that the client understands ownership to the deeds and choices in thought patterns he/she made are crucial to the recurring or occurring condition that s/he experiences (Seden, 1995). ~Promoting therapy Psychotherapists believe that therapy contributes a lot to the improvement of the psychological condition of the client (Seden, 1995). Therapy can come in many varied forms and the use of these or any of these has been proven to be of vital significance to clients from various walks of life and with myriads of problems or mental and emotional challenges.Therapy may be long-termed analyti cal experiences or encounters or brief problem-oriented treatment/intervention. Whatever the case, these consultations and in-depth interactions and activities between a practitioner therapist and the client in most cases, are beneficial (Burnard, 1992, 1994). The relationship here is that the therapist and client relate in a cordial and friendly manner and the therapist propels the conversation in an energized tone (Hough, 2002). This sets the pace for the client to talk about themselves, how the feel about anything and everything surrounding their lives.More to that, this intricate relationship and dialogue with the therapist assist the client to hear themselves and how they experience themselves, how the therapist experiences them, how they experience the therapist as an individual and friend and so on Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980) Needless to say this kind of therapy can be very tricky to use especially in the case of two opposite sex. It may yield a counter transference and the therapeutic distance. This may impede on the effectiveness of the therapy.It is therefore important that the therapist be very self aware of himself and objective through out the whole process of therapy. He should be in close monitoring of the evolution of the relationship with the client and on the look out for potential obstruction or abuse of power during the sessions of therapy (Smith, 1999, 2004; Rogers, 1980). This is not only a requirement in gestalt psychotherapy but basically in all psychotherapies. It is required by law that the therapist should always keep a therapeutic distance from the client because a breach in observing that distance is tantamount to abuse.This is because in therapy the client is usually vulnerable to the therapist and may feel pressured to please the authority (therapist) although in the real situation, this would be atrocious. This means that if not in the jurisdiction to the therapist to choose for the client what is morally right or wrong sin ce the foundational basic of this therapy is that the client is responsible and is capable of charting his/her own course and behavior. Basically, in this therapy it is not about the ‘should’ and ‘should nots’ so to speak since this impedes on spontaneity and the integration of wholesome self awareness (Brearley, 1996).Reference:Burnard, P. (1994) 2nd ed Counselling Skills for Health Professionals. London: Chapman & Hall. Burnard, P. (1992) Effective Communication Skills for Health Professionals. London: Chapman & Hall. Brearley, J. (1996) Counselling And Social Work. Buckingham: OU Press. Hough, M. (2002) A practical Approach to Counselling, 2nd edn. London: Prentice Hall. Lishman, J. (1994) Communication in Social Work. Macmillan. McLeod, J. (1998). Introduction to Counselling. Buckingham: OU Press. (Chpt 1) Nelson-Jones, R. (1988) Practical Counselling and Helping Skills (4th Ed).London Cassel Rogers, Carl . R. 1951. Client-Centred Counselling, Boston: H oughton-Mifflin. Rogers, Carl . R. 1959. A theory of therapy, personality and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (ed. ). Psychology: A study of science. (pp. 184-256). N. Y. : McGraw Hill. Smith, M. K. (1997, 2004) ‘Carl Rogers and informal education', the Encyclopaedia of informal education. [www. infed. org/thinkers/et-rogers. htm. Seden, J. (1999). Counselling Skills in Social Work Practice. Buckingham: OU Press.