Video Games Are Beneficial Essay - 1861 Words

Video Games Are Beneficial Video Games have come a long way since their first introduction into the main stream. With video games becoming more sophisticated and using advanced technology, it seems as if video games are closing in on the gap between games and reality. However, as video games become ever so life-like it brings up the question of if the violence associated with video games is having a negative consequence. There have been many accusations over the years over the harm video games are causing children and teenagers. Experiments have been conducted trying to associate a link between video games and aggressive behavior. Even the media has been known to point fingers at video games for the cause of children†¦show more content†¦In the 90’s there was even enough media attention to video game violence that the United States Congress had a hearing on issuing age appropriate labels, much like in movies, to video games to warn parents of the contents of a game. Each of these matt ers have only helped further tarnish the reputation of video games, and draw worse misconceptions about them. The advancement of media is one of the greatest accomplishments of our time, helping spread news globally at incredible speed; however, the media may not always prove such an unbiased or well-informed view on everything. Video games seem to be one topic the media tends to have a highly bias opinion against. The media tends to emphasis the connection of teenagers who commit crimes with playing violent video games yet, violent video games are highly played throughout the world. Ferguson, author of â€Å"The Good, The Bad and the Ugly â€Å" , says that â€Å"It is not hard to ‘link’ video game playing with violent acts if one wishes to do so, as one video game playing prevalence study indicated that 98.7% of adolescents play video games to some degree†. What Ferguson tries to explain is that for anyone trying to correlate teenagers committing violent crimes and the amount of time playing video games is hardly evidence of anything. Trying to prove that a behavior, such as video gamming, so highly common amongst teenagers is the cause of a rare behavioral incidence, as a school shooting, is highlyShow MoreRelatedIs Playing Video Games Beneficial?971 Words   |  4 Pagesmany adults are now turning to video gaming as their preferred pastime, because of its distinctive features from other competing interests. With many hobbies to choose from to help combat stress, playing video games is a worthwhile hobby because, the player has the freedom to choose games based on personal values, it can be don e indoors with or without company, it is inexpensive, and it keeps the body sufficiently active while guaranteeing fun. Today, for the video game hobbyist, there’ll be no disappointmentRead MorePlaying Video Games Is Beneficial To Children 1220 Words   |  5 Pagesare much more advanced regarding their choices of technology, relying on their smart phones, tablets, and game consoles to help them pass their free time. Todays youngest generation in particular, enjoys playing video games. Although parents may be concerned about the amount of time their children are spending on these video games, they should realize the numerous benefits to playing video games that have been identified, including increased problem solving skills and better grades, various healthRead MoreVideo Games: More Beneficial Than We Thought Essay1693 Words   |  7 Pagesprocess of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences according to Gabe Zichermann an educational gaming expert. Though its been said that video games cause laziness and violence in kids, we now know that video games can be a significant le arning tool in early child development. Research has shown that video games help children with multitasking skills and can also increase fluid intelligence, which is the intelligence we use to solve problems (Zichermann). Video games may be more beneficialRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Young Children891 Words   |  4 Pageshouseholds play video games (Video Game Ind.). It is not surprising that in the technical age we live in, people are playing video games more than ever. Inevitably, this brings into question the violent nature of some popular video games and their potentially dangerous and harmful impact on young children. â€Å"Video game addiction is without a doubt, becoming this century’s most increasingly worrisome epidemic comparable even to drug and alcohol abuse† (MAVAV). Many believe violent games are a main contributingRead MoreEssay Video Games Speech Outline728 Words   |  3 PagesPersuasive Speech Outline Matt King CMST 220 Video Game Speech 6-12-13 * Attention grabber/introduction - Slaying dragons, defending your planet from alien invasion, or bouncing on the heads of koopas and saving the same princess who gets caught every time? Sound Familiar? If you’re anything like me you have tried all of these. Of course not literally but I’m sure you have all played a video game that has let you do something crazy and exciting you couldn’t normally do. * Can I getRead MoreVideo Games And Youth Violence1181 Words   |  5 PagesOver the past few centuries,video games have become a great leisure and hobby among kids of all ages and cultures. With the advancement of technology, video games have advanced highly in its realism and genres. This high type of advancement brought the video game industry to a multi-billion dollar industry. However, with realism, comes negative effects as well. Ever since the creation of violent or â€Å"mature† video games, there has been a constant debate on whether it will increase violence in theRead MoreInformative Speech : Video Games And Violence1316 Words   |  6 PagesTopic: Video Games and Violence General Purpose: To Persuade Specific Purpose: My audiences will stop playing video games long enough not to cause people to exhibit aggressive behavior. Proposition: We should not play video games for long periods of time in order to avoid addiction and aggression Introduction: I. Attention Getter: * To start off how many of you guys play video games? (Video) Imagine you’re the person playing this video game. How do youRead MoreVideo Games Have A Negative Influence On Young People1600 Words   |  7 Pagessociety often depict video games to have a negative influence on young people. However, playing video games is more beneficial than people would think. Playing video games have many advantages, such as they help increase and develop cognitive functions, mental health, and more often than most they are educational. Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. This book looks at the educational level of what video games have to teach us. GeeRead MoreVideo Games Have A Negative Influence On Young People1376 Words   |  6 Pagessociety often depicts video games to have a negative influence on young people. However, playing video games is more beneficial than people would think. Playing video games has many advantages, such as they help increase and develop cognitive functions, mental health, and more often than most they are educational. Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. This book looks at the educational level of what video games have to teach us. GeeRead MoreThe Vs. World : Why Video Games Are A Good Thing1400 Words   |  6 Pages Redstone vs. World: Why Video Games are a Good Thing Video games have become a common pastime for children and adults of the modern world. However, there is widespread concern that children are becoming violent due to these virtual realities. There is a large amount of â€Å"grey area† in this subject, where the lines between right and wrong become blurred by confusion and misinformation mixed with uncertainty and big business marketing. The virtue of video games is being discredited or shunned by people

For four years the guilt still haunted my Mum Free Essays

As we sat down for dinner or ‘tea’ as it has come to be called in our small two up-two down house, 174, Lonsdale Street, there was that same ominous feeling in the air that all too often filled me with dread and a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. That would set the tone for the remainder of the evening and most probably continue late on in to the night and early hours. The hunger that now eluded my whole body had earlier been forced to become a mind over matter issue as I struggled fruitlessly with my maths homework, but now, tea was ready. We will write a custom essay sample on For four years the guilt still haunted my Mum or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unfortunately though, my hunger was no more satisfied even after I had ravenously finished off every last bite of my half – yes my whole half – of the gourmet dish of Heinz beans and sausage, so expertly cooked – or rather opened from the tin – by Paul. This was another tell-tale sign of what was to come in the next few hours. As per usual, the rather bland evening meal was complemented by certain happenings in our house that even I struggled to deal with as I maybe would have done in the past. By now, we had grown used to, and even begun to accept, the fact that Dad was no longer around to bring a sense of buoyancy and a friendly, smiling face to our home and our lives. Maths homework was left unfinished and certain D.I.Y jobs, such as the burst water pipe in the small dingy bathroom at the end of the landing, were left leaking. But we all understand that life must go on and we must stay strong – if not for our sake, for Mum’s. This was something we had done very well since Dad left. Just the two of us, until she found Paul. As soon as we finished our tea, Mum set about busily clearing the table as I put the kettle on, offering Paul a drink and anxiously awaiting his most-probable violent reaction. Much to my disbelief, he simply just declined the drink, but left the kitchen hurriedly, in a similar fashion to the one in which he had entered, irritably mumbling something about Janet and how he had had to put up with this for too long now and how he is not putting up with it for much longer. With this, my thoughts and fears were confirmed and my heart pounded once again. It had been plainly obvious from the second I awoke that morning that they had been arguing the night before and it would once again be Mum who came out worse off. The atmosphere was tense all too often in our house. It was impossible to tell when things would boil over, but it was obvious that the tension was always at a light simmer, biding its time and appearing to await the perfect moment. It was for exactly this reason that I never invited any of my friends round to sleep or even to watch a film or for tea. The whole environment and aura is too aggressive, too heated for others to understand. In fact, everything that happens in our house with regards to this situation is kept to myself. Just as the kettle boiled my mind jolted back into reality and I poured water in to each of the three mugs. I heard the front door close with a bang and the letter box swung backwards and forwards, probably hanging off even more than it had before. â€Å"We shan’t be seein’ ‘im again tonight,† said Mum softly in her ever-calming voice. â€Å"He’ll be back,† I replied tentatively. â€Å"Oh, he’ll be back all right. Drunk as a skunk, no doubt.† She even said this in a subtle tone, as if she had seen it all before and was now finding the whole scenario increasingly monotonous. I decided that the best reply, was no reply. We sat in the lounge in silence. No sound apart from Matthew Kelly on Stars in their Eyes gaily welcoming some middle aged house-wife from Wales as Christina Aguilera. I glanced across at Mum, still glaring at the television intently, steel-eyed. She did not even look up, not a second thought. Nothing. Perhaps all recent happenings had hardened her to such petty behaviour†¦ When Gillian had finished her piece as Christina, I drained the remainder of my mug, said good-night to Mum and proceeded up the stairs that creaked more and more with each processional step higher, and to my bedroom. The only place of sanctity I could find. After having only a wash due to the broken shower, I wearily clambered into bed and took out my football magazine from my bedside drawer. The last thing I remembered before dozing off to sleep was groggily reading an article about the demise of Spain on the World stage. The lines upon lines of text slowly transformed into horizontal lines in my mind and became wood, lots of wood all lined up neatly, now vertical, forming walls. Fence panels. My eyes came into focus as I gazed around what slowly materialized into a beautiful open space, lined with borders and rockeries immediately before the mahogany slats, containing amazingly colourful trees, plants and grasses that thrived in the gorgeous weather. Now my mind caught up with my vision and I recognised the setting as our old house. It was peaceful. Perfect. Birds chirruped in the trees and a plethora of insects busily went about their duties. Bees buzzed in and out of open petals and buds all around the garden. Ladybirds landed gracefully on emerald green leaves and butterflies parading stunning spectrums of colour fluttered aimlessly in the gentle breeze. Beyond a finely pruned hedge towards the opposite end of the garden was a ray of light that glared brilliantly in my eyes. It drew me towards it with an almost hypnotic supremacy as I felt the heat of the beating sun on my neck. I stood over the pool and watched tiny insignificant creatures skate on the water’s surface, backwards and forwards with no evident purpose. Gradually, large elegant petals floated down from an overhanging tree, landing on the surface of the water charmingly. One by one they came down in to the water. At first with grace, causing minuscule disturbances on the glistening mirror-like surface, but with each descent came a larger and more portentous landing until the pool was littered with petals that gave the water a mystical purple-red glow. At once – or so it seemed – the garden was silent. Insects and birds still seemed to buzz, sing and twitter contentedly in and around the garden, but no sound. Silence. I turned back to the pool to see its emptiness. No buds, no petals, not even a single solitary blade of grass. My eye lids opened with surprising ease to focus on the blankness of the familiar surroundings. Despite my disorientation, there were recognisable sounds from beyond my immediate surroundings. It took another moment for it to make sense. Mum? There was a loud, ear piercing smash, followed by a thud then an emotional cry of pain and torment! I was right. All my thoughts and fears were so damningly correct, but what could I do? Was I to go down? My mind wavered. Could I help her, or was it not worth it? Would it only worsen the situation? Could it only worsen the situation? It did on the previous occasion. Another loud scream later, followed by a familiar bang and it was over. He was home. Her haven. She whimpered in his arms, but he was oblivious. Immensely intoxicated by drink, he had fallen backwards onto the empty bottle on the table. Well, that was our version. Who would doubt it though? Her numerous breaks and bruises were plain for all to see. For four years the guilt still haunted my Mum. And Chloe, the result of that fateful night. How to cite For four years the guilt still haunted my Mum, Papers

Business Corporate Governance and Stakeholders

Question: Discuss about the Business Corporate Governance and Stakeholders. Answer: 1. Corporate Responsibilities Owed to the Stakeholders Stakeholder Group of James Hardie Corporate governance responsibilities owed Employees According to Section 20 under the 2004 OHS Act, the management has a duty of care towards its employees that eliminates risks to health and safety (Ohsrep.org.au 2016). According to Fair Work Act 2009, the employees must be provided with Workers compensation in the form of insurance payment for the health impact or injuries caused in work (Fairwork.gov.au 2016). Suppliers Contractors The management owes human rights such as being informed, ethical sourcing, labour relations practices and disclosure to the suppliers which is supported by Australian Government. The contractors performing mining activities for asbestos-based products must be informed about the health impacts (Ato.gov.au 2016). Society The management has moral obligations to the society and no misleading information must be provided. The health effects such as cancer and other lung diseases caused by asbestos must be communicated to the society or community as a whole (Hasnas 2013). Government James Hardie has responsibility towards the NSW government as they are responsible for handling claims of the entire community. They are liable for stopping any business that causes harm to the society (Hasnas 2013). Financial Investors The company owes to the financial investors as they make decisions looking at the overall business structure, revenue sources, profit patterns and compliance with corporate social responsibility. They look for the best return on investment (Hasnas 2013). Shareholders Shareholders are the owners in the company who have a right to obtain information. The management has a fiduciary responsibility for disclosing necessary information as they hold interest in the business (Hasnas 2013). Customers Customers consume the products manufactured by James Hardie and they have the right to information. The customers must know about the sourcing and the management must charge reasonable costs by them (Hasnas 2013). Union The Australian Union protects the rights, health and safety of the employees in Australia. The management has a responsibility towards them as they represent the interests of workers (Australianunions.org.au 2016). Legal Bodies The management has responsibility towards legal bodies as they are required to provide corrective justice by conducting in the correct manner and not harm under tort liability (Spender 2003). 2. Key Corporate Governance Issues ASX Principle Key corporate governance issue corresponding to that ASX Principle Lay solid foundations for management and oversight According to the James Hardies case, there is no balance in authority. The individual has unfettered powers because even after health warnings and potential impact of liabilities from compensation due to asbestos, the organization continued to manufacture products thereby jeopardizing lives. Structure the board to add value The business does not have a proper understanding of the current and potential issues of the business. The company does not have a strong board that are committed to their responsibilities and duties. Act ethically and responsibly Evidently, the organization does not act in favour of its stakeholders and harms the shareholders, employees, business partners, creditors, consumers, the environment and the broader community with their work practices. Safeguard integrity in corporate reporting The company does not present a truthful and factual representation of the financial position. The company formed Medical Research Compensation Foundation (MRCF) so that the fund could be used to pay the victims affected by asbestos. However, the MRCF was underfunded and the estimated liabilities rose up to $1044 million from $693 in 2000 (Haigh, 2006). Make timely and balanced disclosure Deed of Covenants between MRFC and JHIL were deliberately hidden by the organization. The information memorandum was misleading as it lacked disclosure about meeting future moral obligations. Respect the rights of security holders The company did not respect the rights of shareholders as the communications were misleading. There was an imbalance between the company and its proposals. Recognise and manage risk James Hardie had no risk management strategy. It does not take any measure to assess or manage the risk that would arise from asbestos mining. There was clear medical implication arising from exposure to asbestos but no mitigation strategies were adopted by the company. Remunerate fairly and responsibly As James Hardie did not stop manufacturing asbestos-based products, the remuneration was paid to the employees for their work. This payment cannot be termed responsible as there was no link between performance and remuneration. Source: (Asx.com.au 2016) 3 Actions to Comply with ASX Guidelines ASX Principle Actions company should have taken to comply with the ASX guideline Lay solid foundations for management and oversight The company must assess the leadership authority of James Hardie and the security holders must decide whether to elect a person or no. As the authority has unfettered powers, there is a need to change the directors so that there is proper functioning. Structure the board to add value There is a need for a board that has proper commitment, size and composition so that they are adequately discharged with roles and responsibilities. James Hardie must have a board that understands and deals with the existing and potential issues. Act ethically and responsibly James Hardie needs to address the interest of its stakeholders including employees, business partners, creditors, consumers, the environment and the broader community. The code of conduct must be established where the directors, employees and executives are expected to act honestly and in the best interest of the organization. Safeguard integrity in corporate reporting The organization must establish an audit committee who would ensure the adequacy of the reporting process. The committee must also obtain a declaration from the CEO that the financial statements are properly maintained and are accurate. Make timely and balanced disclosure The organization must have a written policy for disclosure about financial performance, governance and ownership. The information must not be misleading and media must be used as an appropriate channel. Respect the rights of security holders The website must be used for providing information about the company and its governance. The copies of annual reports, financial statements, current business pattern, structure and effective communication must be established with the security holder. Recognise and manage risk The board needs to establish an appropriate risk framework by identification and managing the risks. The management must oversee the risk involved in asbestos-based products and the compensation it needs to pay to the victims. The risks must be disclosed in every reporting period. Remunerate fairly and responsibly The management needs to disclose its remuneration policy for the non-executive directors, executive directors and other seniors. The compensation must be responsible and fair. James Hardie needs to set up a performance management system to ensure fair remuneration. Source: (Asx.com.au 2016) 4 Effect on Long Term Interests of Stakeholders between 1930s-1987 Stakeholder Group of James Hardie How long term interests of stakeholder groups were affected or exacerbated Employees The employees working for James Hardie were observed having asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer (Ramazzini 2016). Suppliers Contractors The health impact was not limited to the employees, but also the demolition contractors who worked in neighbouring manufacturing plants (Chen and Zorigt 2013). Society The community and environment was damaged due to asbestos-mining. Asbestos can easily travel through air into the water supply, settle at the soil surface and can be picked up by the wind. The entire society faced significant threat as asbestos as inhaled by the human lungs (Frank and Joshi 2014). Government As government is obligated to protect the rights, safety and security of the common public, the government reputation was affected as they let James Hardie conduct business while jeopardizing lives (Heenetigala and Lokuwaduge 2014). Financial Investors There were misleading statements presented regarding cash flow and cap percentage. The investors may have invested in the company while they were disclosing the social issues. Their money was used to conduct unethical business (Harrison and Smith 2015). Shareholders The shareholders were not informed about the working of the company. As the claim was stated as high as A$1.5 million, the money was decided to be taken from the shareholder fund of $30 million thereby affecting long-term interest of the shareholders (Haigh 2006). Customers As claims were being paid by the company, eventually it was added as cost paid by the customers. Due to unethical business practices, the customers had to bear the compensation paid to the victims (Frank and Joshi 2014). Union The union was affected as they are responsible to provide safety and security to the employees. However, the union could not provide security to the employees thereby causing harm to the Australian workers (Fooks et al. 2012). 5 Ethical Decision Making According to the legislative body Safe Work Australia, the Safe Work Australia Act 2008 defines a workers compensation as a form of insurance providing wage and medical benefits to the employees. The first case of providing the first workers compensation occurred in 1939 (Hills 2005). The disease related to asbestos exposure is termed as a deemed disease (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2015). Lung cancer is one of the common diseases caused to the workers due to asbestos exposure. However, the people may be exposed to asbestos as occupational or non-occupational reasons. The case-study clearly states that even back in 1930s, asbestos was known for giving harmful and deadly lung diseases. The actual discovery of health impact and liabilities was known in the 1960s (Spender 2003). Therefore, to continue manufacturing asbestos-based products after knowing its deadly impact on lung cannot be termed as ethical decision making by the board. The products continued to be manufactured till 1987 eve n after the liabilities arising from compensation was mentioned to the organization (Spender 2003). The main difference between moral and business ethics is that in case of moral ethics, a person makes decision knowingly or unknowingly based on own beliefs. However, in case of business ethics has normative elements when the business owners understand the impact of their decision on others. In this case, James Hardie ignored both moral and business ethics. The profit motive was prioritized at the expense of a social contract (Chell et al. 2014). The decision of continuing to manufacture asbestos-based products were made knowing the potential health impact. This questions the moral ethics of James Hardie as they decided to continue jeopardizing the lives of employees and entire community. Considering their stakeholders funds sufficient and significant enough to pay the victims affected by asbestos, argues the relevance of business ethics. All the employees and customers have different social and economic backgrounds. The facts regarding health impacts were hidden from the stakeholder s that question the business ethics. Misleading information was provided to the stakeholders that question the ethical principles followed by the company (Donaldson, Werhane and Cording 2012). 6. Actions of Stakeholders Threatening Corporate Sustainability Specific Stakeholder Group How did actions threaten James Hardies corporate sustainability Board of Directors and Senior Management The board of directors and senior management are responsible to set objectives for the employees and look after the organizational goals. There were health warnings and potential impact of liabilities from compensation. By continuing to manufacture asbestos-based products, the concept of corporate sustainability was ignored. The environmental concerns such as damaging land, air and water was continued. Further, the societal point of view was ignored in which the mining activities damaged the health of society (Moerman and Laan 2015). Not just the employees of the organization were affected, but the neighbouring communities and contractors were affected. Therefore, James Hardie could not achieve corporate sustainability as the moral obligations to the society were ignored deliberately (Mohrman and Shani, 2011). Shareholders The shareholders agreed for the fact that the victims of asbestos shall be paid from the funds agreed with the NSW state government (Spender 2003). Giving away the money from shareholders funds based on the formula on percentage of capital and free cash flow, led to economic viability. Such compensations dwindles the economic effectiveness of the company. It can be argued that the profit motive of the company was at the expense of a social contract and irresponsible practices were not a sign of economic or social sustainability (Davies 2014). References: Davies, S., 2014. The legal framework for corporate social responsibility.Governance Directions,66(11), p.693. Moerman, L. and van der Laan, S., 2015. Exploring Shadow Accountability: The Case of James Hardie and Asbestos. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 35(1), pp.32-48. Mohrman, S. and Shani, A., 2011. Organizing for sustainability. Bingley: Emerald Group Pub. Spender, P., 2003.Spender, Peta --- "Blue Asbestos and Golden Eggs: Evaluating Bankruptcy and Class Actions as Just Responses to Mass Tort Liability" [2003] SydLawRw 11; (2003) 25(2) Sydney Law Review 223. [online] Austlii.edu.au. Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SydLawRw/2003/11.html [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Ato.gov.au, 2016.Contractors and suppliers | Australian Taxation Office. [online] Ato.gov.au. Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Manage-your-invoices,-payments-and-records/Employees,-contractors-and-suppliers/Contractors-and-suppliers/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Australianunions.org.au, 2016.ACTU Australian Unions. [online] ACTU Australian Unions. Available at: https://www.australianunions.org.au/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Fairwork.gov.au, 2016.Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website. [online] Fair Work Ombudsman. Available at: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/legislation [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Hasnas, J., 2013. Whither stakeholder theory? A guide for the perplexed revisited.Journal of Business Ethics,112(1), pp.47-57. Ohsrep.org.au, 2016.Duties of Employers - OHS Reps. [online] Ohsrep.org.au. Available at: https://www.ohsrep.org.au/law-rights/ohs-legislation/the-ohs-act/duties-of-employers [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Spender, P., 2003.Spender, Peta --- "Blue Asbestos and Golden Eggs: Evaluating Bankruptcy and Class Actions as Just Responses to Mass Tort Liability" [2003] SydLawRw 11; (2003) 25(2) Sydney Law Review 223. [online] Austlii.edu.au. Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SydLawRw/2003/11.html [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Asx.com.au, 2016. Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. ASX Corporate Governance Council. [online] Melbourne, pp.8-31. Available at: https://www.asx.com.au/documents/asx-compliance/cgc-principles-and-recommendations-3rd-edn.pdf [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Haigh, G., 2005.Asbestos House. Carlton North, Vic.: Scribe Publications Asx.com.au, 2016. Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. ASX Corporate Governance Council. [online] Melbourne, pp.8-31. Available at: https://www.asx.com.au/documents/asx-compliance/cgc-principles-and-recommendations-3rd-edn.pdf [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]. Chen, J.K. and Zorigt, D., 2013. Managing occupational health and safety in the mining industry.Journal of Business Research,66(11), pp.2321-2331. Fooks, G., Gilmore, A., Collin, J., Holden, C. and Lee, K., 2012. The Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility: Techniques of Neutralization, Stakeholder Management and Political CSR.J Bus Ethics, 112(2), pp.283-299. Frank, A. and Joshi, T., 2014. The Global Spread of Asbestos.Annals of Global Health, 80(4), pp.257-262. Haigh, G., 2005.Asbestos House. Carlton North, Vic.: Scribe Publications. Harrison, J. and van der Laan Smith, J., 2015. Responsible Accounting for Stakeholders.Journal of Management Studies, 52(7), pp.935-960. Heenetigala, K. and Lokuwaduge, C., 2014. Directors Duties and Responsibilities towards other Stakeholders: A Discussion of Case Studies on Corporate Disasters.Journal of Business Systems, Governance Ethics, 8(1). Ramazzini, C., 2016. The global health dimensions of asbestos and asbestos-related diseases.Journal of Occupational Health, 58(2), pp.220-223. Chell, E., Spence, L., Perrini, F. and Harris, J., 2014. Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics: Does Social Equal Ethical?.J Bus Ethics, 133(4), pp.619-625. Donaldson, T., Werhane, P. and Cording, M., 2012.Ethical issues in business. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Hills, B., 2005. The James Hardie Story: Asbestos Victims' Claims Evaded by Manufacturer.International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 11(2), pp.212-214. Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2015.DEEMED DISEASES IN AUSTRALIA. [online] Safe Work Australia, p.12. Available at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents/931/deemed-diseases.pdf [Accessed 2 Sep. 2016]. Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2016.Workers' compensation - Safe Work Australia. [online] Safeworkaustralia.gov.au. Available at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/workers-compensation/pages/workers-compensation [Accessed 2 Sep. 2016]. Spender, P., 2003.Spender, Peta --- "Blue Asbestos and Golden Eggs: Evaluating Bankruptcy and Class Actions as Just Responses to Mass Tort Liability" [2003] SydLawRw 11; (2003) 25(2) Sydney Law Review 223. [online] Austlii.edu.au. Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SydLawRw/2003/11.html [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016].

Sales and Operations Planning

Research is consistent with the idea that sales and operations planning (SOP) is increasingly gaining repotation as one of the most important strategies that leading organizations are implementing to respond to contemporary business challenges and at the same time maintain their growth, profitability, competiveness and customer satisfaction (Muzumdar and Fontanella 1; Paganini and Kenny 2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sales and Operations Planning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the most salient issues that come across upon reading the articles is that contemporary SOP practices lead to firm competitiveness. This paper is a reaction to this critical issue.  Most of the readings confirm clear and direct relationship between contemporary SOP practices and the realization of competitive advantage. Organizations implementing modern SOP practices, according to one of the readings, are able to achieve and maintain competitive advantage reducing production costs, improving order lead time, identifying and addressing production overruns, developing a more accurate forecast and increasing forecasting accuracy, improving delivery performance and cost management, enhancing efficiency, increasing visibility into their supply chain, introducing cross-functional metrics, as well as aligning all areas with the view to making superior business decisions (Upton and Singh 6-7). These findings are consistent with the views of other researchers, who posit that contemporary SOP practices lead to firm competitiveness in terms of dramatic increase and consistency in forecasting accuracy (â€Å"Sales and Operations Planning† 10), alignment and execution of an overall corporate strategy (Bower 3), strategic planning and decision making aimed at enhancing profitability (Chopra and Meindi 252-253), as well as avoidance of margin loss and customer dissatisfaction (Paganini and Kenny 2). At a perso nal level, I agree with the claims made in the readings about the potential of SOP to leverage firm competitiveness. From theoretical, as well as practical experience, I am inclined to support the authors’ assertion that contemporary SOP practices lead to competitive advantage. The capacities of organizations to not only improve order lead times, but also to develop a more accurate forecast and increase forecasting accuracy are some of the most important factors that have been cited by business practitioners and mainstream commentators as leading to firm competitiveness, customer satisfaction and growth. These factors or outcomes are well documented in most of the readings (e.g., â€Å"Sales and Operations Planning† 10; Upton and Singh 6-7). Global retailers such as Wal-Mart and Tesco, in my view, have been able to achieve and sustain leading positions in the market due to deployment of effective SOP strategies, which ensure that they are able to plan their decisions t o serve customers with the best combination of products and markets.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At a personal level, I have had the opportunity to reade case studies on how automobile companies, such as Toyota and Isuzu, have successfully used SOP to leverage competitive advantage through enhancing responsiveness and increasing visibility. Consequently, I support the claims made by the authors of the readings regarding the critical role of SOP in achieving firm competitiveness. Overall, it is evident that SOP will play an instrumental role not only in actualizing my dream of being a professional business practitioner, but also in ensuring that the companies I work for are able to achieve and sustain competitive advantage by ensuring that I employ SOP strategies with the view of responding more effectively to demand and supply variability with deep insight into the most favorable market deployment and most cost-effective supply chain approaches. As has been suggested in the readings, effective implementation of contemporary SOP remains one of the most tenable approaches that companies could use to achieve competitive advantage as it enhances those critical factors that give enterprises sustainable competitiveness. Works Cited Bower, Patrick. â€Å"12 Most Common Threats to Sales and Operations Planning Process.† Journal of Business Forecasting. 24.3 (2005): 1-10. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. Chopra, Sunil and Peter Meindi. Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning and Operation. 5th ed. 2012. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Print. Muzumdar, Maha and John Fontanella. â€Å"The Secrets of SOP Success.† Supply Chain Management Review. 10.3 (2006): 34-41. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. Paganini, Bill and John Kenny. â€Å"The Supply Chain as Growth Driver.† Supply Chain Management Review. 11.4 (2007): 49-55. ABI/INFORM Complete. W eb.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sales and Operations Planning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sales and Operations Planning: Aligning Business Goals with Supply Chain Tactics 2008. PDF file. 7 Jul. 2015. https://www.adexa.com/. Upton, Harold and Harpal Singh. â€Å"Balanced SOP: Sunsweet Growers’ Story.† Supply Chain Management Review. 11.2 (2007): 51-59. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. This essay on Sales and Operations Planning was written and submitted by user Tenebrous to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Celta Language Analysis Assignment Essay Example

Celta Language Analysis Assignment Essay Example Celta Language Analysis Assignment Paper Celta Language Analysis Assignment Paper CELTA Language Analysis Written assignment 2 N. B. Please write legibly in black ink or type. Content carries the most weight, but you are also marked on clarity, accuracy (e. g. grammar, spelling, punctuation) and presentation (see CELTA criteria). Please read the shaded boxes to see the marking criteria. If your assignment does not meet the specified criteria, you will be asked to resubmit it. If the second submission is not satisfactory you will be awarded a fail grade. More than one fail grade will mean that you cannot pass the written component of the course and it is essential to pass this in order to pass the CELTA course itself. Except in extreme cases (illness etc), the deadlines given below must be observed. ASSIGNMENT 2 Language related tasks Candidates can demonstrate their learning by: a) analysing language correctly for teaching purposes b) correctly using terminology relating to form, meaning and phonology when analysing language c) accessing reference materials and referencing information they have learnt about language to an appropriate source d) using written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task The task: You are going to analyse three language items; a grammatical structure, a functional exponent some lexical items. Complete the boxes below. |Grammatical structure: I’m getting used to it. | |1 . Say at which level it is usually taught. | |Intermediate/Upper Intermediate | | | |2. Provide examples of how it is used in spoken written English. | |If you moved to Spain, you would need to get used to the heat. | |You need to get used to living on your own. | | | | | |3. Explain the meaning of the item – refer to a context if it helps. | |‘Get used to’ is used when you want to express that something is not normal for someone and they would need to become accustomed | |to it. For example, the sentence above ‘you need to get used to the heat’ means that the person they are talking to is not | |accustomed to hot weather and as they will be living in Spain, that would have to become a normal situation for them. | |4. Provide concept questions to check the meaning. |If I say, ‘you need to get used to the cold weather in England. Is cold weather something I am accustomed to? No | | | |If I say, ‘you need to get used to living on your own. ’ Do you feel comfortable living on your own? No. Is it a new experience | |for you? yes | | | |5. Describe how it is formed – the grammar. | | |Get +used to + gerund/noun | |I need to get used to jogging on Sundays | |I need to get used to the weather | | | | | | | | | |6. Highlight key pronunciation features such as word or sentence stress, weak forms, intonation we clearly haven’t covered all | |of these yet on the course – have a go – check out the dictionary. | | | |used to   ? ju? st t? [yoozd or, yoost] | |7. Explain briefly how you would teach it in a meaningful context. | |I would go through the grammar on the board then I would go through examples. I would then go through some concept questions to | |check they have understood the meaning. Finally I would ask them to come up with their own examples and go through them in the | |class. | | | | | |8. Discuss the kind of problems you anticipate that the item could cause with regard to form, meaning phonology for learners of| |English and suggest some solutions to these problems. | | | | |problem | |Action | | | |meaning: | | | | | |They may confuse it with ‘used to’ as in past habit or situation or ‘be used to’. | |I would go through them and explain the differences. | | |form: | | | | | |They may use the infinitive instead of the gerund. | |Elicit the correct form of the sentence then, I would get them to come up with other sentences using the gerund in every | |sentence. | | | |phonology: | | | | | |Possibly t hey would have trouble pronouncing ‘used’ | |Elicit the sound and drill. | | | | |9. Reference books used. | | | |www. dictionary. com | |www. longmansdictionary. com | | | Lexical items: trip, travel, journey, voyage | |1 . Say at which level they are usually taught. | | | |Pre-Intermediate | |2. Provide examples of how each item is used in spoken written English. | |trip: | | my first trip to the States. | | a business trip. | | Was it a good trip? | | | |travel: | | Air travel is becoming cheaper. | | Her work involves a lot of travelling! You do not say a travel. | | |journey: | |my journey to work takes 15 minutes. | | a long and difficult journey (NOT travel) through the mountains. | | I read during the train journey to work. | | Did you have a good journey? | | | |voyage: | | a voyage across the ocean. | |These are the voyages of The Star ship Enterprise. | | | |3. Explain the meaning of each item. | |trip: | |A trip is when you go on a short journey, or a journ ey you do not usually make, and come back again. Use this when the emphasis | |is on where you are going or why you are going there | | | |travel: | |Travel (uncountable noun) and travelling are used to mean the general activity of moving from place to place | | | |journey: | |Use journey to talk about travelling a long distance or travelling regularly, when the emphasis is on the travelling itself | | | | | |voyage: | |Voyage is used for a long journey in a ship or spacecraft. | | | |4. Provide concept questions to check the meaning of each word. | |trip: | |‘I’m going on a trip to Paris’ for a long time or short time? ’ Short time | | | |travel: | |‘I’m going travelling through South America’ is there one destination or more? Will she go from ‘A’ to ‘B’ or from ‘A’ to ‘B’ to | |C etc? | | | | |journey: ‘It’s going to be a long journey’ what is going to take long? The time it takes to get to from ‘A’ to ‘B’ or the | |amount of time I spend at my destination? | | | | | |voyage: | |The voyage from England to India used to take six months. Are they travelling by plane or by boat? trip, travel, journey or voyage. | | This would be followed by a speaking activity, which would involve a discussion using the language taught. which have slightly different meanings and give examples, comparing both | |sentences. | | | |form: | | | | | | | |Students may say I am going in a journey. | |I would explain the correct preposition in this case is ‘on’. | | |phonology: | | | | | | They might pronounce it how is spelt instead of [jur-nee] (? d n? ) | |Some may also pronounce the ’j‘ like a ’y’. | | | |Elicit and drill correct pronunciation. | | | | | | | | | | |voyage | |problem | |action | | | |meaning: | | | | | |Voyage may be confused with journey. | |I would explain the differences and give examples also using concept questions. | | |form: | | | | | |They may say ‘I’m going to voyage for Ibiza’ | |I would explain it should be to Ibiza | | | |phonology: | | | | | |They might pronounce ‘age’ incorrectly | |I would elicit and drill pronunciation. | | | | | | | | | | |9. Reference books used. | |The Practice of English Language Teaching. Jeremy Harmer | |www. dictionary. com | |www. longmansdictionary. com | |Functional exponent: You should stay off the booze. | |1 . Say at which level it is usually taught. |Pre Intermediate | | | |2. Provide examples of how it is used in spoken written English. | |Yo u should wear a jacket, it’s cold outside | |You should start a band | |You should do your home work | |3. Explain the meaning of the item – refer to a context if it helps. ‘Should’ is used to give advice or if you think something is| |a good idea or the right thing to do. | | | | |4. Provide concept questions to check the meaning. If I say ‘you should wear a jacket, it’s cold outside. ’ Are you obligated to| |do it? No | |Am I giving you advice? Yes | | | | | | | |5. Describe how it is formed – the grammar. |Subject + should/n’t + infinitive | | | |You should eat more fruit | |6. Highlight key pronunciation features such as word or sentence stress, weak forms, intonation we clearly haven’t covered all | |of these yet on the course – have a go – check out the dictionary. | | | |should   ( d) [shood] | |7. Explain briefly how you would teach it in a meaningful context. | |I would go through examples. I would then go through some concept questions to check they have understood the meaning. I would | |then go through some pictures on the board with different situations and ask ‘what should these people do in these situations? ’ | | | | | |8. Discuss the kind of problems you anticipate that the item could cause with regard to form, meaning phonology for learners of| |English and suggest some solutions to these problems. | | | | |problem | |action | | | |meaning: | | | | | |Students may confuse ‘should’ with ‘have to ‘ and ‘must’ | |Explain the differences and do some concept checking questions. | | |form: | | | | | |They may use the gerund by mistake | |Elicit and drill sentences. | | | |phonology: | | | | | |They may dry and pronounce the ‘l’ | |Elicit sound then drill. Possibly go through other words that sound the same. | | | | | | | |9. Reference books used. | | | |www. dictionary. com | |www. longmansdictionary. com | | | To be handed in on Thursday 13th September.

Insure vs. Ensure

Insure vs. Ensure Insure vs. Ensure Insure vs. Ensure By Maeve Maddox When in a recent post I used the word insure in a context that had nothing to do with underwriting, more than one reader wrote to chide me for not using the word ensure. I’ll confess. The rule that insure must be used only in the context of indemnifying against loss is one that has never penetrated to my subconscious. I’ve read the rule. I’ve even written about the rule, but I can’t seem to rid myself of the idea that ensure is British spelling for insure. The verb ensure entered the language in the Middle Ages. The earliest OED citation is 1385. The earliest documentation for insure is 1440. Until the 17th century, the forms ensure and insure were used interchangeably with a variety of meanings, including that of insuring a person’s life or property against loss. According to OED citations, ensure was still being used in the 18th century with the meaning of buying insurance: â€Å"The price of ensuring the Life of a Man of 20 (1693).† And in the late 19th century, insure was still being used in contexts in which the modern rule requires ensure: â€Å"An ardour which could hardly fail to insure success (1862).† The Penguin Writer’s Manual notes that the verb â€Å"generally used in the active form to mean â€Å"make (something) certain† is ensure,† but also notes that ensure is often spelled insure in American English. For modern writers of American English, however, both The Chicago Manual of Style and The AP Stylebook urge the distinction: Ensure is the general term meaning to make sure something will (or won’t) happen. In best usage, insure is reserved for underwriting financial risk. –CMOS Use ensure to mean guarantee. Use insure for references to insurance. –AP Use ensure when you mean guarantee. Reserve insure for talking about a financial arrangement meant to secure the payment of a sum of money in the event of loss or damage: Worn or damaged parts are replaced to ensure the safety. They go all the way to ensure the comfort and satisfaction of their passengers. How to Properly  Insure  Your Home  Against  Winter Weather   Insuring Against  The High Costs Of Cancer   Your renters’ policy will state exactly what youre  insured against. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?Empathy "With" or Empathy "For"?Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Policy Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policy Change - Essay Example Thus, this essay will argue that ideas affect policy change only indirectly, as paradigms frames and determinants of interest, such that its importance in understanding policy change is only secondary to other approaches. To better understand the importance of a study of ideas in policy change, it is first necessary to understand what ideas are. Ideas are shared beliefs held by individuals. However, a distinction must be made between two categories of shared beliefs, particularly "consensual beliefs" and "economic ideas", where although not mutually exclusive differ in their relation to policy. As Jacobsen explains, the difference lies between those of "means" to "ends", where consensual beliefs "shape the legitimate ends of economic activity"; economic ideas are the means to reach these ends. 3 Taking this definition of ideas, the importance of a study of ideas in policy change can be summarised in their roles as paradigms, roadmaps, or ideational frames. Comparing policy change to scientific revolutions, Hall (1989) places emphasis on the role of ideas through "policy paradigms", or "roadmaps" as Goldstein and Keohane (1993) calls them, where ideas guide policies by determining the "tracks" of policymaking and setting constraints in the policy process4. As Hall argues, policy paradigms, determine policy change in acting as "a framework that specifies the goals of policy and the kind of instruments that can be used to attain them", as well as the "nature of the problems they are meant to be addressing."5 Campbell's (1998) and Beland's (2005) ideational frames or programmes also echoes Hall's concept of paradigms, varying only in the manner that ideas are presented and implemented in the policy process. Within this strand of literature, the failures of policies to achieve economic goals are seen as the impetus for policymakers to search for alternative ideas that pave the way for new policy paradigms to be accepted. Hence, in times of uncertainty marked with "exogenous shocks, demographic changes [or] the perception of failed policy", new ideas emerge as either roadmaps or focal points that reduce uncertainty and provide alternatives.6 The policy shift during the first Thatcher government can therefore be explained as the result of a shift in policy paradigms; replacing Keynesian ideas with monetarist ideas (Hall, 1993). Looking at the first Thatcher government, it is evident that the policy shift coincided with an ideational shift from Keynesian to monetarist where Keynesian policies were perceived to have failed in resolving rising inflation (Walsh, 2000). In this respect,

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Marketing Plan - Essay Example Because of this low-key marketing concept with both competing beer products, Drifter can outperform both using innovation with localized and broad niche marketing both in the Oregon region and across the surrounding states. Neither Blue Moon or Sierra Nevada have a solid positioning strategy among other low-cost and higher-cost competing beer products, therefore in terms of positioning, options are virtually endless. For the sake of perceptual mapping and to monitor marketing activities, especially in areas of promotion, Drifter Beer will be positioned in terms of flavor and benefit to the customer, with less focus on pricing structure. Consumer attitudes, on the perceptual map, are noted for each competing brand in relation to pricing and quality. Drifter Beer is working amid a highly competitive environment where lower-cost beer products and the main competition (Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada) saturated the convenience and grocery markets. It works among competing brands where ongoing promotional activities bring higher brand exposure, such as with brands like Coors Light that hosts different sporting events such as the Urban Flats Classic Kickoff Celebration in Orlando, Florida (Marketing Weekly News, 2009). Contests and sweepstakes are often part of their strategies for building better brand equity. Even though Drifter’s two main competitors are higher priced, more luxury-minded beer brands, sales will definitely be impacted by the buying behaviors of consumers in relation to their response to lower-cost beer brand selection marketing. Because of the current economic environment in the U.S. markets, major brands such as Miller, Pabst and Busch (also known as the economy brews) are experiencing higher sales volumes as people defect to lower-cost brands (Kesmodel, 2009). In order to drive any type of brand equity for Drifter, marketing must make the consumer believe that he needs to defect to this upscale brand simply for the sake of

105 Training Essay Example for Free

105 Training Essay Training Principles You will perform the Sit and Reach exercise as described in the lesson and then answer the questions below based on your experiences. Important: Â ·Answer each question in the document by highlighting or bolding your answers. Â ·Save the file as 105training. rtf. Â ·Below the file name is the field for file type. Use the drop down menu to choose Rich Text Format. This will save it with the . rtf file structure required. Â ·Submit the completed assignment for Assessment 1. 05 Training Principles. Complete each exercise below: A. Reach to 0 cm mark and hold 10 seconds B. Reach to 8 cm mark and hold 15 seconds C. Reach to 15 cm mark and hold 10 seconds D. Reach to 22. 5 mark and hold 15 seconds 1. Of the four exercises attempted in the activity I was able to complete A. None of the exercises. B. Item A only C. Items A and B D. Items A, B, and C E. All of the exercises 2. Reaching to 0 cm mark and holding for 10 seconds was: A. Easily done B. Done C. Slightly Difficult D. Very Difficult E. Could not yet reach 3. Reaching to 8 cm mark and holding 15 seconds was: A. Easily Done B. Done C. Slightly Difficult D. Very Difficult E. Could not yet reach 4. Reaching to 15 cm mark and holding 10 seconds was: A. Easily Done B. Done C. Slightly Difficult D. Very Difficult E. Could not yet reach 5. Reaching to 22. 5 mark and hold 15 seconds was: A. Easily Done B. Done C. Slightly Difficult D. Very Difficult E. Could not yet reach Part II: Principle of Overload 1. How frequently would you need to stretch if the sit reach was easily done? A. Very Often – several times a week B. Often – 3 times a week C. Rarely – once a week 2. Which of the above stretches made you work harder (had the greatest intensity)? A. 0 cm B. 8 cm C. 15 cm D. 22. 5 cm

Advertising Ethics :: Article Reviews Essays

Advertising Ethics Dittrich, Liz Ph.D. â€Å"About-face Facts on the Media†. About Face. 1996-2004. This article talks about how advertising promotes the cultures current for body shape and site and the importance of beauty. It talks about women’s magazines and how they include so many adds for weight loss and how many girls own Barbie dolls. The piece also talks about how all of these adds effect people and to what extent they effect people. The author of this piece is the director of Research and Outreach for About- Face and has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Based on those facts alone I feel that this piece is very credible and contains truthful information. Limitations of this piece include only having one side and not pertaining specifically to ethics in advertising. I will be able to utilize this piece mostly because it contains a lot of statistics and good information to help me in the angle I am going to take on how ethics in advertising affect women. This piece is very different from all of my sources because it does not pertain quite so directly to the topic I am writing on. (190) Heller, Lleland Dr. â€Å"Advertising, Children, and Ethics.† Professional Articles. 1990 http://www.drheller.com/april01.html This article talks about psychologists helping advertising companies to help the create effective advertisements that target children. The article asks if this is ethical. Psychologists also help these companies create educational toy advertisements, anti-drug advertisements, â€Å"don’t drink and drive† advertisements, etc. So the article asks if you can really separate out all of the situations and make a statement that includes all of them. The main issue the article talks about is that people feel as though psychologists own that information and can use it as they please but that that is not the case at all. The article says that ultimately parents should be trained and able to say no because after all it is there responsibility. This piece is written by a doctor who seems to be well-know and who has treated a lot of patients. Dr. Leland Heller is the author of 2 books, specializes in treating the borderline personality disorder and has treated over 3000 peo ple with this disorder. The intended audience of this piece is people who are accusing psychologist of using there knowledge unethically by giving it to advertisement companies and others who may be interested in the topic.

How Bp Failed at Crisis Communication

How BP failed at crisis communication British Petroleum (BP) suffered a large-scale public relations and crisis communication disaster, when an oil-drilling rig accident on 20th April 2010 incurred a spillage of several million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This catastrophic spill has been regarded as one of the most severe environmental damages recorded in the U. S. history, causing public animosity and frustration, substantially because of inappropriate BP? s crisis communication plan (Tangley, 2010).The oil spill contaminated local environment and coastline of U. S. states Louisiana and Mississippi. Consequences were severe as the spill crippled heretofore developed Gulf Coast fishing industry for a couple of years. On international scene, it has led to a continued discussion on the safety measures of offshore drilling (Tangley, 2010). On the top of that, BP has been forced to continuously invest into improving of their image in media and on social networking sites , trying to eliminate as much negative PR campaign as they possibly could (McClam, & Weber, 2010).BP reacted promptly in their statements, however, without emphasizing the compassion for those who were harmed and by appearing to be insufficiently determined to clean up the environmental disaster. The company should not have been over-optimistic about the scale of the oil spill. On the other hand, BP should have stepped up their social networking communication and assessment of the right spokesperson to a unique situation. Although that crisis scenario is a unique event that is hard to predict, it is definitely not unexpected, considering what business BP operates in.By the year of 2015, 83 percent of companies will face a crisis that will negatively impact their share price by 20 to 30 percent, according to Oxford-Metrica study. This is more likely to happen to oil producing companies, as they are considered to be operating in a one of the most dangerous industries. Facing such a de ep company crisis is not only about ways of how to minimize negative exposure in the press; however, it is also about reducing the environmental damage in the first place.Company has to confront the situation without any futile delays and send a clear message to the public in its determination to manage the situation as best as possible. Definitely not by holding out on facts and baffle general public, as BP did (Oxford Metrica, 2011). For example, the officers from BP said that the explosion of Deepwater Horizon drilling at Macondo oil field caused an oil spill of about 2. 7 million barrels. In contrary, the US government’s estimate of 4. 9 million barrels spilt into the sea almost doubles BP? s assumption (Oxford Metrica, 2011). There were several companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon accident.The oil rig was not owned by BP, but a contracting company Transocean. The Macondo oil well was owned partially by BP (65%), Anadarko Petroleum (25%) and Mitsui (10%). The defec t of a blowout preventer was supplied by Cameron International (Oxford Metrica, 2011). â€Å"Finally, just before the accident, Halliburton fitted the cement cap intended to seal the well. The number of players involved has given rise to shifting of blame† says the Oxford Metrica study. BP used this opportunity and tried to avoid the spotlight by accusing their contractors and suppliers of being responsible for a Deepwater Horizon accident.George Santayana, a Spanish philosopher, said â€Å"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. † BP? s failure is a perfect example of this dateless quote. As the Exxon Valdez accident badly spoiled the view of general public on oil industry and this case has shown serious under reactions of both Exxon and American government, BP should have devised a risk mitigation plan with various safety features, assuring that similar ecological disaster of these proportions will not happen again.Instead, the company has exch anged a following of a strict safety precautions and minimizing overall safety risk for being a risk-seeking company that is pushing to minimize costs and maximize profit. This accident has proven that the industry has lost a focus on prevention and their control mechanisms could not keep up with the newly acquired technologies in offshore exploration and production. Additionally, the company deliberately overlooked all warning signs that have been present.This game was not worth it, as BP has taken a significant financial hit. Their stock price fell by more than 40% in one week after Deepwater Horizon explosion as it proves Figure 1 which compares a percentage change of stock prices of BP, Transocean, Cameron International and Halliburton early before and after the explosion of Deepwater Horizon. The peak loss of 46% in June 25 resulted into a $95 billion loss in market value capitalization of British Petroleum. Additionally, BP was forced to reserve $39. 9 billion in order to elim inate he consequences of oil spill; also pay $20 billion as a compensation for people directly affected by the spillage; $10. 8 billion as an expense for companies that capped and sealed the oil well and consequent cleaning operations and next $9. 1 billion on additional fees, penalties and fines (Oxford Metrica, 2011). This giving a total of $79. 8 billion entailed a significant decrease in net income for consequent 5 years to come. Figure 1: Comparison of stock prices of companies involved in Deepwater Horizon explosion [pic] Source: Oxford Metrica, 2011.By going back to the PR campaign that has been launched straight after the oil spill, BP has done a very good job when they covered most of the negative publicity. BP? s webpage informed the general public about the will and devotion of the company and how hard they are trying to minimize the environmental damage or help the people affected; while not mentioning a word about the fact that BP takes responsibility for the disaster. Their Facebook account informed the subscribers how the company focuses on using the latest technology available in order to stop the spreading of oil spill.To this moment, BP got a lot of things correctly. Nevertheless, it is not an immediate action which caused the negative exposure on media throughout the world. Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, was actively engaged in the PR campaign, was ready to provide interviews to media and was willing to pay all the penalties and fines to the US government. However, Oxford Metrica review claims that â€Å"a string of clumsy comments and cultural misunderstandings, combined with a seeming inability to cap the well, dominated the media and, understandably, fear and anger took hold† (Oxford Metrica, 2011).Despite the fact that BP is a huge global organization, we can observe that both of their public relations staff and higher management structures clearly did not handle the Deepwater Horizon disaster appropriately, at least from a public r elations and goodwill point of view. Taken a closer look at what makes a global company with size of BP at least neutral in terms of a general audience perception, using common sense would inevitably lead unbiased observer to identify several key parts. Being as honest to public as possible, quick reaction time, correct usage of social networks and media exposure of the right representatives would most ikely be among them. However, BP undergoing their biggest crisis, not only from the technical point of view and the actual damage inflicted on the environment, but mostly image-wise, failed significantly at reacting accordingly; given the fact that the BP case is publicly known as being the biggest PR failure of the recent history. As mentioned before, being sincere about the huge environment tragedy, that was caused by a company, even if indirectly, is something what public audience would certainly expect.It is obviously a bad idea to try to make it appear less serious than the situa tion is in reality, especially when media around the world are posting photos and airing images of an oil rig in flames and spilling thousands of gallons of oil into its surroundings. Mr. Thoma J. Roach, journalist from the magazine Rock Products has made a very good point on this matter, noting that BP`s CEO Tony Hayward reportedly said that the Gulf of Mexico is a big ocean and compared the amount of oil pouring into it as tiny and insignificant.However, Roach claimed that such a statement is dismissive and that it pictures environmentalists and all the people in those industries devastated by the disaster as crybabies. Moreover, instead of placating them, it challenged them to come back strengthened with better evidence, more arguments and intensity. He also concluded that such a public relations strategy is only baiting the enemies (Roach, 2010). In simplicity, if Hayward would say something more sincere and actually true, BP could have looked better and avoided more negative pu blicity not only for the disaster itself, but also for their way of handling it.Even though delivering the information is the most important part of the whole public relations process, one may argue that delivering it too late or in a bad form is as much important. Frederick E. Allen, former CEO of Jacobs Suchard, has made a good point on this matter using the BP? s public relations blunders as an example, mentioning that he would expect hundreds of press release updates from BP Global on Facebook, however during the tough times, BP`s PR section has issued only about hundred of them. On top of that, only few of them had something to do with the spill and its aftermath (Allen, 2012).To improve this part of the strategy, BP clearly needed to utilize all of their resources, including their own web page, to its fullest potential and in appropriate time. What BP shown during their crisis and also afterwards, was clearly a lack of competent people responsible for writing short memos and m essages on one of their main communication channels – their website. On the other hand, even when the PR department is doing a tremendous job on social networks, it does not necessarily mean that it will have actual impact.This is caused by the way how social networks are used by the audience. Basically, company needs a massive amount of followers on given social network prior to the actual case, so they can immediately use it to reach their target audience with tweets or updates. So despite BP had a capable social network manager who succeeded in posting a lot of material, they did not really matter too much as BP lacked followers, as their staff weren’t active on this matter before it became a really needed tool in times of crisis (Allen, 2012).As mentioned earlier, significant blunder of the company in PR area was a wrong choice of a spokesperson. A lot of critique went on Mr. Hayward`s head. Thomas Roach has described BP`s CEO as blunt-speaking, hard-edged and crit icized BP for using him also as a  chief spokersperson for the company, mentioning that American industry already learned a  lesson from Japanese competitors in the 1980s, specifically, that the person who is the best engineer does not necessarily make the best manager.Tony Hayward was thus a  bad hire for BP, as he was not a  outstanding leader with appropriate communication skills (Roach, 2010). Maybe BP wanted to look like they stood behind their CEO, thus even after his publicly known and very unfortunate quotes, they did not want to take him down and replace him by someone with better set of communication skills. However, Mr. Hayward has most likely done more damage with his inappropriate appearances than it helped BP to look like they are maintaining their integrity.Despite the immediate PR reaction after April 2010, the company seemed to be unable to appreciate the cultural context, since BP did not speak the language which the American public wanted to hear. BP did n ot appreciate the political context as well and at that time, they heavily damaged the lingering relationship with US government as exclusive emitter of oil-drilling permits for locations rich on oil. To conclude the case, it can be claimed that BP has run their technical operations during the crisis bad, but their immediate PR reaction was even worse.Moreover, BP? s public relations department was over-optimistic and endlessly reassured the general public by optimistic assessments that the amount of spillage is â€Å"relatively tiny† and the situation will be dealt with soon (Roach, 2010). Additionally, the company should have been more compassionate to the victims of the oil rig explosion and to those who were harmed by the latter oil spill. However, this case can be seen as a valuable lesson for not only petrochemical industry, but the whole multinational companies segment of the businesses around the world.Lessons that BP did not learn from the Exxon Valdez case years ago will hopefully be learned by other companies from BP`s case. On the other hand, this environmental disaster has happened during the Information era, when everything is immediately spread worldwide and when one has to respond to the audience as quickly as humanly possible. Thus, it cannot be isolated in a time period of a year 2010, but it must be viewed as a continuous process. Even after all cleaning work will be done, there still will be a future aspect of the case, as general public will keep demanding a preemptive measures by BP.This will create another playfield where BP can work on their public relations and slowly present itself as they have learned their lessons and from now on, BP will become a whole new company with a new approach to safety and crisis management. This actually seems to be the case, as articles in 2011 and further does not generally mention BP in such a bad light as they were doing previously, which can be accounted to applying new PR strategies.Specifical ly, we can see a good presentation of BP in a NY Times article from the middle of 2011 written by Julia Werdigier, author of more than a thousand articles for NY Times. In the article, BP is given a credit for announcing the new, safer, deep-water drilling standards of BP together with a more general safety measures (Werdigier, 2011). With articles like this, BP is starting to turn their image around. But in the end, only time will reveal if the PR department of one of the biggest multinational companies will learn their lesson.References Allen, F. (2012). The Gulf Spill: BP Still Doesn't Get It. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www. forbes. com/sites/frederickallen/2012/04/20/the-gulf-spill-bp-still-doesnt-get-it/ McClam, E. , & Weber H. R. (2010). BP’s failures made worse by PR mistakes. Retreived October 30, 2012 from website http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/37647218/ns/business-world_business/t/bps-failures-made-worse-pr-mistakes/ Oxford Metrica. (2011). Reputation R eview 2011 [Report]. Retrieved from October 30, 2012, from website: http://www. oxfordmetrica. om/public/CMS/Files/825/Aon_Oxford% 20Metrica%20Reputation%20Review_2011. pdf Roach, T. (2010). BP's PR Lessons. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www. rockproducts. com/index. php/key-issues/community-relations/9719-bps-pr-lessons. html Tangley, L. (2010). Bird Habibats Threatened by Oil Spill. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from website: http://www. nwf. org/News-and Magazines/NationalWildlife/Birds/ Archives/2010/Oil-Spill-Birds. aspx Werdigier, J. (2011). BP to Tighten Deep-Sea Drilling Practices as It Tries to Rebound. Retrieved October 23 from LexisNexis Academic database.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s Childhood and Capture Essay

â€Å"His behavior didn’t change. The object changed.† This is what psychologist at George Washington University, David Silber, stated when asked about the relation between Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood activities and his unspeakable crimes later on in life that traumatized civilians and Milwaukee’s finest law enforcement. The name â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer† conjures images of his numerous brutal murders. However, as his violence was believed to be spurred by his childhood experiences, his court case and his capture involved some of the best, and worst, work done by the American justice system. As a young child, Jeffrey Dahmer had a considerably unusual childhood. In 1964, at the age of four, his father, Lionel Dahmer, noticed Jeffrey was developing an interest in the remains of small animals; while he was sweeping some out from underneath his house and placing them in a bucket, Jeff was thrilled by the sound they made (â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer’s Childhood†). That same year, according to a â€Å"Twisted Minds† web page article, he underwent a double hernia operation, which left him vulnerable and scared for he did not understand what was going on. By age six, Jeff and his family moved to Doylestown, Ohio, where his younger brother, David, was born and, according to Radford University, his teachers began reporting him feeling neglected. Only two years later, his family moved to Bath Township, Ohio, where his father claimed he had been sexually abused by a neighborhood boy (â€Å"Dahmer’s Compulsions†). Such a traumatic experience as this most likely would follow him throughout the rest of his life. By age ten, his hobbies evolved into somewhat of an addiction. Jeff had begun collecting road kill, bleaching chicken bones, decapitating rodents, and even taught himself how to use acid to strip the meat of dead animals from their bones (â€Å"Childhood†). During his teenage life, those around Jeff began to notice some distressing changes occurring within him. According to Radford University, Jeff discovered alcohol at thirteen, and, by the time he was sixteen, he was sneaking scotch into his morning classes. He most likely took to alcohol because he felt unaccepted, as his peers began viewing him as desperate and lonely. His parents, Joyce and Lionel Dahmer, constantly quarreled and, just like any other teenager, he took their arguments to heart (â€Å"Childhood†). In 1978, the same year Jeff graduated high school, his parents divorced and his mother gained custody of Jeff’s younger brother, David (â€Å"Dahmer’s Compulsion†). Former neighbor Susan Lehr spoke on his attitude and personality when these events were occurring, stating that, â€Å"something devastating [was] going on in his life and there wasn’t anybody there to help him,† (â€Å"Cannibal†). This could have possibly been what sparked him to become the monster that the public know him as today. Jeff took his parents’ divorce extremely hard. According to Los Angeles Times, his mother and brother moved to Wisconsin while his father stayed at a motel, leaving him alone in his house, feeling abandoned and developing an intense fear of loneliness. While alone in his house, Jeff claimed his first victim, hitchhiker Steven Hicks (Newton 46). When asked about the incident thirteen years later, 31-year-old Dahmer told police that â€Å"[Hicks] wanted to leave and I didn’t want him to leave,† so, as a result, he killed him in order to keep him from doing so (â€Å"Cannibal†). Jeffrey Dahmer first came to authority’s attention in October 1981 when he was placed under police custody for public intoxication and disorderly manner at a Ramada Inn (Yusof). According to Newton’s serial killer encyclopedia, he was also arrested in 1982 for indecent exposure at the Wisconsin State Fair and again in 1986 for similar charges (47). At this point, his attraction to young individuals was becoming more and more noticeable. On September 26th, 1988, Dahmer was charged for sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old Laotian boy at his Milwaukee apartment (Newton 47). During trial, Assistant District Attorney Gail Shelton urged to get Dahmer imprisoned for five to six years, saying that â€Å"it [was] absolutely crystal clear that the prognosis for treatment of Mr. Dahmer within the community [was] extremely bleak†¦ and just plain [was not] going to work.† However, Judge William D. Gardener refused to send him to prison where psychiatric help was not available, and, instead, sentenced him to a one-year work release program at the Franklin House of Corrections for the rehabilitation of sex offenders (Yusof). On May 16th, 1991, police were informed about a naked and bleeding boy, named Konerak Sinthasomphone (coincidentally the brother of the Laotian boy of 1988), stumbling through the Milwaukee streets that lead back to Dahmer’s apartment (Newton 47). According to Newton’s serial killer encyclopedia, Dahmer falsely told Officers John Balcerzak, Richard Porubcan, and Josheph Gabrish that Konerak was his nineteen-year-old lover who had drank a little too much which resulted in an argument between the two. After a bit of contemplation, the officers returned Konerak to Dahmer’s custody and considered it just a conflict between two homosexual lovers (Yusof). However, law enforcement had no idea that they would find one of the most gruesome scenes at that same location only two short months later. Tracey Edwards approached a Milwaukee police vehicle on July 22nd, 1991, hand-cuffed, drugged, and frightened, claiming to have escaped from Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment (Montaldo). Arriving at his apartment a few moments later, the calm demeaned Dahmer tried to convince the officers that it was only a misunderstanding between him and Edwards. The officers, almost believing him, just narrowly returned Tracey to Dahmer, but, spotting Polaroid photos of bodies in various states of dismemberment, the shocked officers placed him under arrest instead (â€Å"Cannibal†). According to The History Channel Website, authorities found a house of horrors within the walls of the one-bedroom apartment: two human heads in the freezer and refrigerator, a fifty-seven-gallon drum of human torsos, limbs, and other various parts decomposing in acid, evid ence of cannibalism, and much, much more. A sight that startled, sickened, and scarred those investigating it for the rest of their lives. Later, Police Chief Philip Arreola of the Milwaukee Police Department and Mayor John O. Norquist launched an internal investigation, firing officers Balcerzak and Gabrish for failing to perform their police duties properly (in the case of Konerak Sinthasomphone), keeping officer Porubcan under close observation (Yusof). Standing trial in early 1992, of the courtroom’s one hundred seats, thirty four of them were reserved for Dahmer’s victims’ mourning family members, twenty three seats for reporters, and the remaining forty three seats were open to the public while Dahmer was separated from the rest of the gallery by an eight-foot barrier, constructed out of bullet resistant glass and steel (Bardsley). It definitely was not the â€Å"normal† courtroom setting that most legal systems were accustomed to. Partaking in the legal drama was Judge Laurence C. Gram, Jr. , District Attorney Michael McGain, and defense lawyer Gerald Boyle who had defended Dahmer on prior occasions of his offenses (Bardsley). The Majority of the testimony was based on Dahmer’s one hundred and sixty-page confession where he acknowledged that he knew his actions were wrong, coming at a great expense, but, at the same time, was still uncertain of why he did them (Montaldo; â€Å"Confession†). While Boyle stressed that the gruesome nature of his client’s crimes was part of a strategy that only an absolute lunatic were capable of committing, the prosecution labeled Dahmer as â€Å"cold-bloodedly sane† and reasonably frightened of being discovered as he went to great length to avoid detection for so many years (Yusof). There was no question that he was aware of the consequences of his actions. According to the article â€Å"Jeffery Dahmer’s Confession†, Dahmer agreed to help the police in any way he possibly could to identify his victims in order to make restitution for the victims’ families. On January 30th, 1992, according to Montaldo’s article â€Å"Profile of Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer†, Jeffrey Dahmer pleaded guilty by reason of insanity before Judge Laurence C. Gram, Jr. However, as he was found sane enough to stand trial, Dahmer then pleaded not guilty despite the fact that he had already confessed to seventeen murders (Yusof). On February 15th, 1992, after deliberating for over five hours, the jurors found Dahmer fully responsible for his actions and guilty of first-degree intentional homicide on fifteen of the seventeen accounts (â€Å"Childhood†). According to â€Å"Jeffrey Dahmer Case File†, after his sentencing, Dahmer begged to be executed. After the horror he caused, hundreds of others would have been pleased with thtis outcome, as well. However, as Wisconsin had abolished capital punishment years prior to Dahmer’s case, he was instead sentenced to fifteen life sentences (a minimum of 936 years) without parole which he wo uld serve at the Columbian Correctional Institute in Portage, Wisconsin (Newton 48; â€Å"Profile of Serial Killer†). At first, Dahmer was separated from the general population for his own safety, but, despite the many threats against his life, he refused protective custody (â€Å"Profile of Serial Killer†; Newton 48). Later, Dahmer probably should have reconsidered this decision. According to the Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, the first attempt on Dahmer’s life was on July 3rd, 1994, when another inmate tried to slash his throat while he was praying in the prison chapel. Although this attempt failed and he walked away with only minor scratches, the story would not be the same for the next. On November 28th, 1994, only six months later, while Dahmer was cleaning a bathroom near the prison gym, twenty five-year-old inmate Christopher Scarver acquired an iron exercise bar and attacked Dahmer, crushing his skull and killing him (Newton 48). At first, according to Newton’s Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, it was believed that Scarver murdered Dahmer for racial purposes as he, along with the majority of Dahmer’s victims, was African American. However, later, it was proven that this notion was untrue. Scarver was deranged, believing he was on a mission from God and performing his â€Å"Father’s† orders (Newton 48). Jeffrey Dahmer was an extremely, if not the most, notorious serial killer who conducted his misconducts in the United States. Not only did he rape, murder, and dismember his multiple victims, but he also admitted to sampling cannibalism. From experimenting on small animals as a child to doing the same to humans as an adult, some believe that his intense fear of loneliness, derived from his parents’ divorce, drove him to commit these atrocious crimes, while others simply view him as a cold-blooded monster with the intention of destroying lives. Thanks to Wisconsin’s legal system, along with determined police assistance, the clever, resourceful, and calm demeaned Jeffrey Dahmer who had floated through life, undetected for so many years, was incarcerated, removed from a position where he could do additional harm to society.

Small Business Essays - Business Models, Entrepreneurship

Small Business Essays - Business Models, Entrepreneurship Small Business Small business: In our definition we consider that business as a small business, which are registered with Government agencies and requires initial capital of 500,00025,00,000. The turnover for a small business ranges from 25,00,00050,00,000 and number of employees ranges from 550 depending upon the nature of business. Examples of small business in Pakistan: 1. Nagori milk shop 2. Time medico 3. Almas dish washing powder 4. Allahabad stores 5. Kaybees Entrepreneur: An entrepreneur is someone who recognizes his opportunities. He raises the capital and other

Hum/130 Final

The Hsi Lai Temple sits on 15 acres of land and has a floor area of 102,432 sq. ft. nd is located at 3456 Glenmark Drive, Hacienda Heights CA 91745. The architecture when you first drive up is mind blowing and beautiful. The architecture stays true to the traditional styles of buildings, gardens, and statuary of the ancient Chinese monasteries. They started the planning and building of the temple in 1978 and finished the building ten years later in 1988. Hsi Lai means â€Å"coming west† and signifies the dedication of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order to spreading the teachings of the Buddha. Fo Guang Shan is the largest monastery and covers over 370 acres. When you walk up the first set of steps you come to what they call the gate. On the top part of the sign it says Hsi Lai Temple which again means â€Å"coming west† and then on the four pillars it says the four universal vows, which are â€Å"to save all sentient beings, to eradicate all worries, to study the boundless Dharma, and to attain supreme Buddhahood. † After you walk up the steps from the lower parking lot where the gate is you walk up more steps to the upper parking lot and then from their you walk up more steps to what they call the Bodhisattva Hall. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings that made a vow to selflessly serve others with loving-kindness and compassion and are committed to liberating all beings from suffering. It is said that each one of the bodhisattvas represents a virtuous quality essential to all Buddhists. When talking about the bodhisattvas they made a point to make sure that we understood that when we saw that people were bowing to them that they were not bowing to an idol, but rather a sign of showing respect and seeking their guidance to develop the virtuous qualities they represent. Bowing also shows our own humility and the curbing of our ego. There are five bodhisattvas are: Samantabhadra Bodhisattva which is symbolic of great practice, and helping us achieve more discipline in our daily life, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva which was known for his great vow to help all beings in hell and would not stop till hell was emptied of all beings, Maitreya Bodhisattva is the future Buddha and is the symbol of great benevolence and is often referred to as Happy Buddah, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva which symbolizes the perfection and loving-kindness, and Manjusri Bodhisattva which is known for great wisdom which empowers one to distinguish universal morality from wrongdoing. Underneath the five bodhisattva are engraved Chinese characters from the Diamond Sutra. Next to the Heart Sutra the Diamond Sutra is the most widely read of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, and is highly valued among sects in Chan Buddhism. While I was at the His Lai Temple I found that they have an information where you can go on two different types of tours of their temple: the first being a self-guided audio tour where they give you a cd player and it gives you valuable information about the temple and all its rooms and buildings as well as the gardens and information on the statues that are found throughout the temple, The second type of tour they offer is with a docent who is more than willing to answer any questions that may come up during the tour, while they inform you about everything within the temple. The two gardens I was able to see within the temple was: the first being the Arhat Garden where the eighteen arhats are seated. The Arhats have realized the truth of no-self and that all is a composite of the five aggregates dependant on other phenomena originally empty and subject to impermanence. It is said that the eighteen Arharts were able to overcome the difilements of greed, anger, and ignorance. The eighteen Arhats are: Cudapanthaka which is the door watching arhat, Jivaka which is the heart exposing arhat, Vajraputra which is the persuading arhat, Subinda which is the pagoda holding arhat, Panthaka which is the arhat with stretched arms, Kalika which is the dust cleaning arhat, Bhadra which is the arhat that crossed the river, Pindola which is the arhat with long eyebrows, Nakula which is the silently seated arhat, Ajita which is the arhat riding the deer, Maitreya which is the tiger taming arhat, Angaja which is the arhat with a sack, Vananasim which is the arhat under the banana tree, Rahula which is the arhat in deep conversation, Manakassapa which the dragon subduing arhat, Kanakabharadavaja which is the arhat holding the alms bowl, Nagasena which is the ear cleaning arhat, and Kanakavatsa which is the jolly arhat. The second garden is the Avalokitesvara Garden. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is seated on a giant rock with both her attendants, Shanci and Longnu who are stan ding beside her. Surrounding the pond are the four Deva Kings: Virudhaka of the Southern Kingdom which is holding the sword, Virupaksa of the Western Kingdom which is holding the dragon, Dhanada of the Northern Kingdom which is holding the umbrella, and the Dhrtarastra of the Eastern Kingdom which is holding a sitar. The four Deva Kings are revered as guardians who protect devout sentient beings from being harmed by unwholesome elements. Standing around the four Deva Kings are the four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas. The flowing water in the garden is symbolic of the Dharma water flowing everywhere to purify people’s minds. Although the Buddhist love informing people of their religion and teaching you about their beliefs. They are really not very forth coming when it comes to helping someone who is there for a school assignment. I was asked by the individual to leave his name out and was further informed that they do not normally do this kind of interview. When asked about the holidays and traditions he said the most important holiday is Wesak Day which comes in May on the day of the full moon. As for traditions he said that it all depends on the form of Buddhism tradition that you followed. When asked how has his life has been shaped by the Buddhism religion he said that it has made him a more understanding person to what he called the true nature of life. When asked what the biggest challenge is to the Buddhist religion he said that with all beliefs the biggest challenge is changing you. He has been practicing Buddhism since he was born and was taught by monks and other teachers about the Buddhist religion. When asked if there were any dietary restrictions, he did not come out and say that you had to be vegan but stated that it was more wholesome to be vegan. During our interview I found that it was real simple to become a Buddhist and that all you really have to do is follow the teachings. After that question he seemed to be in a real hurry to end the interview but I thanked him for his time and let him know that what I was able to get answered was very helpful. When it came to compairing this religion to another I chose Christianity, not because it was the easier to compare because I found them to have very obvious differences. In Christianity when you become a Christian you accept God into your heart as Lord and Savior and then are baptized as a symbol of the washing of your sins. When you become a Buddhist you just start following the teachings of the Buddha. The other difference that stood out to me was that Christians believe in a heaven and hell and Buddhist believe that hell is only in the mind. Christians believe that when you die you go to heaven to be with your Lord and Savior, Buddhist believe that when you are done with this life you are reincarnated in the next life. I found this religion to be incredibly interesting as well as beautiful. This religion is all about selflessness, which I found in this day and age to be comforting. In order to become a Buddhists you, you are told to give up all your worldly possessions. Today, everything is about worldly possessions from the cell phone that they have the designer clothes they own, to the car that they drive. When the subject of material possessions is brought up it starts making you think about what is really important in your life and how much thought you actually put into material possessions. I have found that people say that their family and friends are important, but if someone were to ask them to give up these possessions what do you think they would say? These people would tell you that you were out of your mind and then proceed to give you every excuse under the sun on why they could not do this. I believe that it takes an amazing person to be able to put someone else’s life before their own and to truly be devoted unconditionally. As I watched the monks interact with people throughout the times I was there it seemed like they were truly at peace and seemed like they had it all figured out when it came to life. When I first started the assignment I thought that it was going to be stuffy and that I would have to deal with someone who did not want to truly be in the place of having to help someone with a school paper. I found that to be completely false and actually found that not only the monks were willing to answer questions, but all the staff members were happy to answer whatever questions that anybody came up with. At the end of this assignment I found that Buddhism not only left you with such a serine feeling not only while you were in the temple but when you left it made you feel like you could accomplish anything if you just believed. They believe that the only way to truly achieve happiness is by giving up yourself and start paying more attention to others. References: An Introduction to Buddhism. (2000). Retrieved from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/buddhaintro. html Religious Tolerance. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. religioustolerance. org/buddhism. htm buddhanet. (2013). Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cwe/citation_generator/web_01_01. asp