Governance and Accountability free essay sample

Accountability is the cornerstone of an effective organization. It begins with the individual, whether a soldier, a civilian, employee, manager, supervisor, CEO, or General Officer. I want to first look at the definition of accountability, its impact on leadership in all walks of life, both civilian and military, and finally, how to implement effective accountability in a organization. Lets first look at the meaning of the word accountability both in its root definition, and current usage . The DoD defines it as â€Å"The obligation imposed by laws or lawful order or regulation on an officer or other person for keeping accurate record of property, documents, or funds. The person having this obligation may or may not have actual possession of the property, documents, or funds. Accountability is concerned primarily with records, while responsibility is concerned primarily with custody, care, and safekeeping. † But on closer look, a simple dictionary defines it as â€Å" According to the Collins World English Dictionary Responsibility is: â€Å"1. We will write a custom essay sample on Governance and Accountability or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page the state or position of being responsible 2. a person or thing for which one is responsible 3. the ability or authority to act or decide on ones own, without supervision. † Traditionally, leaders and other command elites have not seen themselves accountable as individuals. They were either above the law, as sovereign rex non potest peccare (the King can do no wrong) or they had immunity just because they were leaders (immunity rationae materiae). Alternatively, they were considered mere representatives of a state or organization which, it was believed, carried the responsibility for any wrongdoings. Writing in 1915, historian R. Michels was not optimistic about change: Historical evolution mocks all the preventive measures that have been adopted for the prevention of oligarchy. If laws are passed to control the dominion of the leaders, it is the laws which gradually weaken, and not the leaders. . In ethics and governance, accountability is answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public sector, nonprofit and private (corporate) worlds. In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences. In governance, accountability has expanded beyond the basic definition of being called to account for ones actions. It is frequently described as an account-giving relationship between individuals, e. g. A is accountable to B when A is obliged to inform B about A’s (past or future) actions and decisions, to justify them, and to suffer punishment in the case of eventual misconduct. Accountability cannot exist without proper accounting practices; in other words, an absence of accounting means an absence of accountability. Internal rules and norms as well as some independent commission are mechanisms to hold civil servants within the management of government accountable. Within department or agency, firstly, behavior is bound by rules and regulations; secondly, civil servants are subordinates in a hierarchy and accountable to superiors. Nonetheless, there are independent â€Å"watchdog† units to scrutinize and hold departments accountable; legitimacy of these commissions is built upon their independence, as it avoids any conflicts of interests. But the globalization of personal accountability is now catching up with the globalization of personal power. Names such as Milosevic, Estrada, Cheng, Pinochet, Fujimori, Berlusconi, Enron, Union Carbide, and Grace have been brought into the accountability frame, as were Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair. Violence surrounding the 9/11 attacks on America represented retributive accountability by all parties; but this global feuding does not follow the traditional retributive ethic of an eye for an eye and is, therefore, uniquely problematic. A Global Leadership Responsibility Index (GLRI) can assess leadership conduct by using indicators such as ratification of international agreements, aggressive intervention in other countries, perceptions of corruption, and ecological footprint. America comes below China, Japan, and South Korea, and the Index proposes that leadership in smaller countries is more responsible than in large states. We can see this issue brought out in the actions of even large governments, such as Malawi recently. An excerpt from this fascinating article brings home how important even government accountability is. â€Å"A senior official has been shot, millions of dollars are missing and there are suspects at the highest level of government. It sounds like something from a spy thriller, but in fact it is the unfolding Cashgate scandal in Malawi, which has caught the imagination of the worlds media. The hole in the countrys finances and the suspension of donor aid will have a knock-on effect on the ability to pay salaries to teachers, nurses and other public servants. It is likely to result in public service cuts, with district officials potentially left without the resources to fund even the most basic provisions such as ambulances or medicines. † 2 At its core, accountability is the responsibility to act. It is the commitment to do the right thing and stand by your decisions. Perhaps most importantly, it is a quality that must come from within; dishearteningly, even as legislators, shareholders, customers, and community activists are demanding greater accountability from corporate leaders, too many are waiting for some third party to take action. Whatever the endeavor, it is ultimately the individual who must hold himself to the highest standard first. Those who manage by accountability viscerally know that external rules cannot substitute for character. And they know that accountability is a quality that can be developed, honed through practice, and encouraged in others. In some cases it may be Congress (e. g. , Sarbanes-Oxley legislation), the media, the companys legal or communications department, Wall Street, disgruntled customers, or angry community activists. This is not to say that formal accountability programs are useless; they do play an important role. Nevertheless, it is ultimately the individual who must hold himself to the highest standard first—without waiting to be told, pushed, or prodded. Those who manage by accountability viscerally know that external rules cannot substitute for character. And they also know that accountability can be developed, honed through practice, and encouraged in others. Managing by accountability demonstrates how leaders who embark on a management philosophy of personal accountability imbue their organizations with the qualities of integrity and responsibility. Its important to note that social accountabiltity is also on the rise â€Å"â€Å"As we move toward a more social and transparent workplace environment, influence is becoming less dependent on your place in the org chart and more on the real, measurable impact you have on your colleagues,† 3. The word accountability is often inaccurately defined, and ineffectively applied. In the workplace, accountability is defined as the act of holding others responsible or answerable for their actions (good or bad), for exemplary job performance, and achieving business results. Accountability is not demoralizing staff members for the sake of making a point or an example of them. It is not directing staff members in a condescending manner, or by fear and intimidation. Accountability is about setting the expectation, clearly communicating it, and then holding yourself and everyone within your sphere of influence responsible for consistently meeting the established expectations. Accountability is a process, with a beginning and an end. It is not about telling people what you expect them to do, then quickly moving on to the next thing. People cannot be held accountable for what they have not been informed of. Dont assume employees know what a good job looks like. Paint the picture by clarifying, detailing, and outlining what you expect. Keep in mind, you dont clarify expectations after something goes wrong, at that point you should be reinforcing them.

Trading on the Stock Markets

Trading on the Stock Markets Background A stock market can be defined as a â€Å"public entity for trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on stock exchange as well as those traded privately† (Anonymous: â€Å"Capital and derivatives Market† Para 2). At the beginning of the month of October, the year 2008, the global stock market size was determined to be approximately 37 trillion US dollars. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Trading on the Stock Markets specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More so, estimation that has been carried out of the â€Å"total world derivatives market† has shown that the value of the derivatives market is about 790 trillion US dollars; a value which is more than ten times the whole global economy size. On the stock market, there is listing of the stocks and trading them. Both the buyers and sellers are brought together on this market (Anonymous: â€Å"C apital and derivatives Market† Para 3). In the United States, the biggest stock market, basing on the market capitalization, is the NYSE – â€Å"New York Stock Exchange†. In addition to this, in the United States, we also have other stock exchange markets such as the Dow Jones Stock Market and NASDAQ. In Britain, we have the â€Å"London Stock Exchange’. In Japan, there is the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). TSE is number three in size by â€Å"aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies†¦it had 2,414 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $3.1 trillion as of May 2010† (â€Å"China becomes the world’s third largest stock market† Para 7). In the United Kingdom, we have the London Stock exchange market. It is located in the city of London, According to â€Å"Market Highlights for the first half –year 2010† (Para 3), by the month of August last year (2010), â€Å"the exchange had a market capitalization of US$ 2.63 trillion, making it to be the forth largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement and it is the largest in Europe† (â€Å"Market Highlights for the first half –year 2010† 1). In Saudi Arabia, we have the Saudi Stock Exchange, also referred to as â€Å"Tadawul†. It is under the control of the â€Å"Saudi Arabian Monetary agency†Ã¢â‚¬ . This is the largest stock exchange market in the region. As it is pointed out by the â€Å"Saudi Stock Exchange†, it has â€Å"a market capitalization amounting to much more than US55 billion† (Para 1). This market has been increasing over the years beginning from the time it was set up in the year 1954. This stock exchange, being the only major stock exchange in the country, used to operate informally up to the middle of the 1980s.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Le arn More Trading on the stock market Those traders who take part in the stock exchange market may be either just small individuals who wish to invest in stocks or they can be very big â€Å"hedge fund traders†. Among the exchanges that are carried out, there are those in which transactions are entered in to on a â€Å"trading floor† (physically). This is done by a method referred to as â€Å"open outcry†. Such form of sale is employed in both â€Å"stock exchanges† as well as â€Å"commodity exchanges† in which those engaging in trade make bids and offers by word of mouth. However, with advancing technology, there has emerged another form exchange in which trading is carried out in a virtual manner. In this, there is use of computers and transactions are carried out electronically without necessarily having the traders interacting physically. Basically, the trades carried out are on the basis of an â€Å"auction market model†. Unde r this, the buyer engages in bidding for a definite price he is ready to pay and then the prospective seller asks for his or her desirable price from the buyer. This may go on for sometime until the buyer and the seller meet at a common price that is deemed to be desirable for both parties; the buyer and the seller. At this point, a sale occurs. In a situation where we have two or more bidders (buyers) or askers (seller), one who comes first is the one who is sold to. A stock exchange is meant to make it possible for the buyers and sellers to interact in order to exchange securities and by doing this, a marketplace is provided. Considering the New York Stock Exchange, this market is a â€Å"physical exchange† where the traders interact with one another physically, face to face and it is also a â€Å"listed exchange†. Unlike the NYSE, NASDAQ is a â€Å"virtual listed exchange† (Anonymous: â€Å"NASDAQ† Para 2). In this particular market, all the trading activities are carried out electronically, over a â€Å"computer network. The trading process is the same as that followed by the New York Stock exchange market. The only difference between the two is that, in this market, the buyers and sellers interact electronically rather than physically.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Trading on the Stock Markets specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Time and again, there has been deviation of active trading from â€Å"active exchange† (Ortega and Yalman Para 1). Ortega and Yalman point out that, â€Å"Securities firms, led by UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group, already steer 12 percent of U.S security trades away from the exchanges to their internal systems† (Para 2). They further projected that, there was even a probability of the level of that share going up (to eighteen percent) by the year 2010 â€Å"as more investment banks bypass the NY SE and NASDAQ and pair buyers and sellers of securities themselves, according to the data compiled by Boston-based Aite Group LLC, a brokerage consultant† (Ortega and Yalman Para 3). Other than NASDAQ and the NYSE, in the United States’ stock market, there is the Dow Jones stock market. This was set up in the year 1896 and its founder was Charles Dow. This exchange is â€Å"an icon in the trading industry† (â€Å"Dow Jones Stock Market† Para 1). It is further pointed out that, basically â€Å"the Dow commercial average is a market index that provides a fast method to get to an understanding of how the exchange is fairing on any given day† (â€Å"Dow Jones Stock Market† Para 2). This stock market does not provide â€Å"specifics† but instead allows the public to have the knowledge about the overall trends that are being followed by it. Several criticisms have been directed towards the â€Å"Dow Jones Stock Market† and these crit icisms have been coming form the researchers. They have criticized this stock market’s move not to include a large number of firms to carry out the representation of the general â€Å"market performance†. More criticisms have also arisen in which there has been disagreeing that â€Å"trading on all thirty stocks included in the Dow Jones stock market doesn’t always open at the same time each morning, thus skewing the day’s average† ((â€Å"Dow Jones Stock Market† Para 2). However, despite these criticisms, the â€Å"Dow Jones Stock market Business average†, in the course of time, has determinedly performed similarly to the broader United States market and this is the reason why this stock market remains to be preferred by many people to the present day. Considering the case in Saudi Arabia, in March 2010, it was reported in the â€Å"All Headline News† that the stock exchange of this country â€Å"had opened its doors to for eign investors as a leading investment firm announced that foreign investment in the country was expected to grow by 20 percent in the coming year† (â€Å"Saudi Stock Market† Para 1). Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This move was taken to enable the foreigners to â€Å"invest in ‘Exchange Traded Funds’, an index fund traded on an exchange like a stock so as to offer foreign investors the opportunity to obtain broad-based exposure to the Saudi equity market† († (â€Å"Saudi Stock Market† Para 2). In the year 2008, FDI to Saudi Arabia was twenty four million US dollars. This country has also realized â€Å"stable improvement in its ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business index† (â€Å"Saudi Stock Market† Para 11). It moved to position 13 in the year 2010 from position 15 in the previous year and this makes this country to be â€Å"the highest ranked country in the Middle East †¦.the index measures ten different variables ranging from the ease of sharing a business and enforcing contracts to paying taxes and cross border trading†(â€Å"Saudi Stock Market† Para 11). There are some occasions on which trading of particular s hares is stopped; sometimes for a few hours or days or even longer. On an individual level, stopping to trade on a stock can take place during a drop. This step assists in enabling people trading in stock to avoid losing their money. The simplest way to do this is to set â€Å"a stop-loss order on one’s brokerage on each of one’s holding to protect oneself against massive drops in the value of holdings† (Hewitt Para). However, on other occasions, the capital market authority can stop trading a particular stock. It does this for several reasons and among these reasons is that, it may intent to punish inside trading and to regulate the market. This is clearly evident on the Saudi stock exchange market where it is reported that the stock market has â€Å"cleaned up† following the actions taken by the Capital market Authority (â€Å"Saudi Stock Market† Para 5). Lacoma (Para) points out that the most well-known stock market is the NYSE. However, all t he stock markets work in the same way, the NYSE works. In these markets, the Capital Market Authorities can stop trading of a particular stock but this occurs in just some specific cases for certain organizations. This can be carried out in the form of a suspension of a stock market. This implies that those who want to invest shall not have any influence in line with the â€Å"suspended stock†. Those people who are owners of this security have no power to sell it and those ready to buy it can not be able to do so. In addition, the company is prevented from carrying out any adjustments on this stock. Suspensions take place at once and may remain effective, going on for a number of days but not beyond ten days in total (Lacoma Para 2). It is also important to note that suspension is applicable to a single company’s securities and stock and not on the securities and stock of the whole stock market. Closing down the whole stock market can not be easy. The suspension is not aimed at paralyzing the economy in its entirety in whatever way. Those who wish to invest can go on trading on the stock market; buying and selling stocks from other companies on the market. Suspensions are meant to make the companies to engage in reviewing their financial records. This in most cases follows suspicion of existence of fraud in a company or in the cases where big flaws have been committed in regard to making records. In some cases, suspension may occur following the need to make clarification of certain legislation. The suspension of stock is carried out in order to safeguard the investors against any uncertainties while all-inclusive investigation on the company’s activities is carried out. A suspension may have a negative effect on the company’s stock on the stock market. After being suspended, in most cases the stock starts trading at a greatly decreased price. This comes about as a result of the investors being filled with uneasiness in regard to the suspension and look at the company in a suspicious manner even if findings after the suspension were not negative. It is important to draw a distinction between a suspension and â€Å"halts and delays†. A halt takes place when the suspension of the stock is carried out by the company itself and it does this with an intention of sharing some important information with investors. This is always brief and may not go on for even more than an hour. A delay is just like a halt. However, the difference is that it occurs at beginning of the trading day. In whichever the case; whether it is a suspension, a halt or a delay, all of them involve stopping of trading on the stock market. Most of the people who invest have come to learn that the stock market is a quite volatile market for one to put his or her money in it. However, it is this market characteristic (volatility) that brings in returns which the investors obtain. Wagner defines volatility as â€Å"a measure of dispersio n around the mean or average return of a security†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.and Standard deviation can be used to measure volatility† (Para 2). This method of measuring volatility gives out information on â€Å"how tightly the price of a stock is grouped around the mean or moving average† (Wagner Para 2). Wagner further points out that, in considering securities, â€Å"the higher the standard deviation, the greater the dispersion of returns and the higher the risk associated with the investment† (Para 3). Apart from this using this method in measuring volatility, it can also be measured by taking the mean range to every period, â€Å"from the low price value to the high price value† Wagner Para 3). Basing on this, there is expressing of â€Å"the value obtained as a percentage of the starting point of the period†¦.larger movements in the price creating a higher price range result in higher volatility and the lower price ranges result in lower volatilityâ€℠¢ (Wagner Para 5). It is important to note that, there exists a very powerful correlation between â€Å"volatility and market performance†. There is a tendency for the level of volatility to come down while there is an increase in the stock market and the level of volatility goes up while the stock market declines. The risk level moves up with the level of volatility and at the same time the level of returns goes down. To illustrate this clearly, Wagner cites a research that was conducted in 2007 by â€Å"Crestmont Research† which was aimed at evaluating the past records of the relationship that exists between the â€Å"stock market performance† and the â€Å"market volatility†. This research utilized the â€Å"average range for each day to measure the volatility of the Standard Poor’s 500 Index† (Wagner Para 6). The results that were presented from the research report gave out an indication that higher volatility matches up with higher l ikelihood of a decreasing market and lower volatility matches up with a higher likelihood of an increasing market (Wagner Para 6). Considering, the volatility ratio, according to â€Å"Investopedia†, volatility ratio is defined as â€Å"a technical indicator used to identify price ranges and breakouts† (Para). It utilizes a â€Å"true price range† to carry out the determination of a â€Å"true trading range† of a stock and is capable of identifying â€Å"situations where price has moved out of this true range† (Investopedia Para 1). By being familiar with stock volatility as well as the volatility ratio, the investors are in a better position to trade wisely on any stock exchange market. Conclusion The stock exchange market brings together buyers and sellers in order for them to engage in stock trading. The traders on this market may be small individual investors or large business corporations. Most of these traders who have been in this business l ong enough, have come to learn that the stock market is a quite volatile market for one to put money in. However, in whichever the stock exchange market, it is this market characteristic (volatility) that brings in returns which the investors obtain. Among the major stock exchange markets in the world that have been looked at include; the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Dow Jones Stock exchange (all the three found in the U.S), the Tokyo Stock Exchange, The London Stock Exchange and the Saudi Stock Exchange. There comes a time when the capital market authority may stop trading a particular stock. This may lead to the suspension of the stock. This occurs for several reasons and among these reasons is that, the company involved may not be having right records or there is likelihood of having fraud in the company. More so, there might be some legal obligations that are supposed to be met by the company involved. However, not all the trading is stopped on the market but it is only o ne company’s stock and trading will always go on as usual with stocks of other companies that are not affected with the suspension. Anonymous. â€Å"Capital and derivatives Market†. 9 December 2010. Web.. https://sites.google.com/a/rajalakshmi.edu.in/myrec/knowledge-sharing-cell-1/capitalandderivativesmarket. â€Å"China becomes the world’s third largest stock market†. Economic Times. 19 June 2010. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/China-becomes-worlds-third-largest-stock-market/articleshow/6068129.cms â€Å"Dow Jones Stock market†. Cheap Stock Trading. 24 December 2009. Web.. cheapstocktrading.org/dow-jones-stock-market/. Investopedia, â€Å"Volatility Ratio†. 2011. Web. investopedia.com/terms/v/volatility-ratio.asp. Lacoma, Tyler. â€Å"When does the stock market suspend trading?† 3 October 2010. Web.. ehow.com/about_7311092_trading-halt-stocks_.html. â€Å"Market Highlights for the first half –year 2010†. World Federation of Exchanges. July 2010.Web. world-exchanges.org/files/file/stats%20and%20charts/July%202010%20WFE%20Market%20Highlights.pdf. â€Å"NASDAQ – What is NASDAQ? All about NASDAQ stock market†. Hubpages Incl. 2011. Web. http://hubpages.com/hub/NASDAQ-What-is-Nasdaq-All-about-NASDAQ-Stock-Market. Ortega, Edgar, and Yalman Onaran. â€Å"UBS, Goldman threaten NYSE, Nasdaq with rival stock markets†. Bloomberg, 4 December 2006. Web.. bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchiverefer=homesid=al86iws61SPY. â€Å"Saudi Stock Exchange†. Economy Watch. N.d. Web. economywatch.com/stockexchanges/saudi.html. â€Å"Saudi Stock Market Opens to foreigners†. All headline News. Web. allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018236735. Wagner, Hans. â€Å"Volatility’s impact on market returns†. 2010. Web.. investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/08/volatility.asp.

Closing case #2 Chap 6 Zillow Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Closing #2 Chap 6 Zillow - Case Study Example Business intelligence at Zillow allows managers to make better decisions that are beneficial to the company. In Zillow, Zestimate values allow them to use data mining features for spotting trends across property valuations hence creating new products for their customers. Through this technology, they are able to see accurate Zestimate values and allow users to find homes that are for sale and rent based on monthly payment they can afford. Through business intelligence, Zillow launched new products aimed at changing the manner in which Americans shop mortgages by allowing borrowers to use their new mortgage marketplace to get custom loan quotes from lenders without giving their details. The marketing department at Zillow can easily use data mart to release a new product by taking advantage of databases that are stored in details. Through their data warehousing systems, they can store the same information in aggregated form more suited to support decision-making process. The warehouse can then be used to compile information from internal databases and external databases through extraction, transformation, and loading during launching of new products. Accurate information is of great importance to Zillow since they need such information to make accurate choices on how they intend to run their business. Any information that is not accurate misleads the managers as they make their daily choices that can eventually lead to reduced profits in the business. All information needed by Zillow should be complete to ensure that there is no value lacking in the information provided. Incomplete information can also lead the management in making wrong decisions that can eventually bring the company down. Zillow needs information that is ever flowing at a constant speed as they are availed so that they become useful to the management. Inconsistency of information can disrupt the decision-making process that would in

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

English - Essay Example by FIFA, or Federation International de Football Association which organizes the immensely popular FIFA World Cup, the sport’s principal event, once in every four years. It also regulates all levels of soccer- including the professional games on the international level, Olympic competitions and youth leagues. America’s National Football League or NFL is the principal professional league in the world, several other leagues forming later in North America and Europe. On par with them is the Major League Soccer with many teams with fans world over, the most famous ones being A.C. Milan of Italy, Ajax Amsterdam of The Netherlands, Manchester United of England, Real Madrid of Spain, Boca Juniors of Argentina, Sao Paulo of Brazil, and Colo Colo of Chile. There are certain aspects which are common to both games and rhere are some differences. What is common to both forms of soccer -association football, and American football is the fact that both require two teams with 11 players each, in which players try scoring a goal by hitting the ball into the opponents’ goal, using any part of their body other than the hands requiring remarkable skills in use of feet and heads for kicking, dribbling, or passing the ball toward the goal or to another player. Important contrasts are as follows. Firstly the area of the playing fields differs which for soccer, is 90 and 120 m (100 and 130 yd) long and between 45 and 90 m (50 and 100 yd) wide and for American football is 120 yd (110 m) long and 53 yd 1 ft (48.8 m) wide. While in soccer 11 players serve as goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and attacker American football having no such clear definitions, the players have to adapt to many roles. In soccer a referee single handedly decides and is assisted by two linesmen signaling when a player is â€Å"offside† or when a ball crosses the boundary line. In American football however there is a referee, an umpire, a linesman, a field judge, a back judge, a line judge, and a side

Purchasing Power Parity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Purchasing Power Parity - Assignment Example uest to depict the relation between three exchange rate indices, the author goes through all the relevant information pertaining the purchasing power of the chosen countries. The indices include the trade-weighted multilateral indices, import based multilateral indices, and the bilateral indices (Mkenda 39). The theory, PPP, relates a country’s exchange rates to the relative price levels of other respective nations. For this reason, any nation with a high level of inflation has a depreciating currency, and thus loss of its value. The model has been questioned, and it fails to apply in a variety of cases, where the theory does not hold empirical evidence in regards to a country’s economic performance (Taylor 440). In the article, African countries are seen to focus on minimal manufacturing activities, and rather rely on imported products. The countries face a number of limitations, among them being price takers rather than the decision makers. The nations take the market prices, affecting the states of their economy from time to time. Another major hindrance is the fact that these countries often make deals with exporters, where they get foreign aid, but have to rely on the country’s products. At such situations, the African nations have no choice but to take the fixed prices set in markets. Such limitations result to the depreciation of the countries’ currencies in the markets. Consequently, their exchange rates deteriorate and their purchasing power is therefore affected by the weakening currency. The author explains the mechanism of the Purchasing Power Parity Theory and its institution in the African continent. Through the econometric method, the report develops a number of findings, which help develop a conclusion for the research. From the report findings, African nations have a negative multilateral index, in terms of exports, imports and trade weighted indices. The bilateral index is also negative, proving that the countries have a lower

Architectural Style of the Rockefeller Tower

Architectural Style of the Rockefeller Tower Abstract Skyscraper is a vertical small town rising in the sky with thousands of people who work in. And hundreds of thousands more who experience it and subrogate every day. According to (Renzo Piano 2000) tall buildings are firm and cocky symbols of power and ego. The Rockefeller had almost the same approach as Piano 90 years ago. John D Rockefeller had a vision to build a top of the rock monument to Manhattan, and to be his greatest gift for the people of New York. His vision began in 1928 when he least a land from Colombia University in the heart of Manhattan. The land intended to house the metropolitan Opera House. But unfortunately in 1929 a disaster struck in the nation economies. Thousands of men and women lost their savings and their jobs, and people were desperate for work. John D Rockefeller was the resolver, he decided to build the tower and the city he called his own will rise again. In 1930 the construction of the Rockefeller center began, and the project has engaged 75000 men a nd women to work to support their families. Upon its accomplish in 1939, the Rockefeller center became the largest private structure in the modern history. It lives in legend, the mark of a civilization greatest achievement at this time. The tower is no longer a dream center of the art, its a complex were all New Yorkers conjugate. Were business is transacted, were strangers meet, friends and families unite. From the top deck of the Tower, is the ultimate full-film of the Rockefellers dream. New York rose again, to become the acme of the global culture in commerce. The center became an epicenter of community in the heart of New York. Top the rock is more than a breath taking view of Manhattan, it is a testament of the power of this city. The vibrancy of its community, the splendor of its culture and the magnificent diversity of its people. The essay will investigate the Rockefeller tower in details, its architecture and programme. Looking if the building is harmoniously friendly and coherent with the city and in context. Its a city within a city and one of the early skyscrapers of the 20th century and a significant icon of New York. The Seventy stories structure has changed the life of the city. INTRODUCTION By the time the new century began, New York was a city in the process not simply of change but nearly of alchemy. The invention of the elevator in 1853 and the steel framed construction method that was developed in the early 1880s were the most obvious propulsive. The visible forms of a city is created by its architecture and its environment. At the beginning of the twentieth century a city like New York was in the process to define itself and its identity. Over the years Manhattan was testing the type and the form of its vertical style of architecture. First example with the Woolworth building in 1910 and then twenty years later the birth of the Rockefeller center in 1930. Its the example of New Yorks greatest monumental skyscraper that was proclaimed as a national monument in 1987. It was the right time for some development to happen to refresh the economic depression after a nine years crash in 1920s. The project employed almost 75,000 workers, the impact of a massive undertaking was felt even more on the citys morale boosted by Rockefellers smart move. Construction of the original complex began in 1931, and ended in 1939. The site was subsequently enlarged by the construction of the Esso (now Warner Communication) building in 1946 and by the (Manufacturers Hanover) building 1950. Both of these structures were designed in harmony with the complex of the Rockefeller Centers architects. Few years later the complex has been extended with new buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue but not related to the historic core. Its one of the most prestigious mixed used complexes in New York and America. The project was a result of many architects collaboration, the most familiar one is Raymond Hood. Hood was one of the distinguished skyscraper architects of the Americas Metropolitan era. After graduating from MIT, Hood decided traveling to Paris to resume his studies at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. His rise to prominence came as the result of his victory in the international competition of Chicago Tribune Building in 1922 when he was forty years old. After his huge success and a lot of tall buildings under his belt, he was commissioned by John D Rockefeller to work on one of the biggest projects in New York, the Rockefeller center. Hood was the head of the associated architects who worked on the project. Including Harvey Corbett, William H.Macmurray, Wallace Harrison and Hennery Holfmeister. Both Corbett and Harrison studied as at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. And Harrison was very involved in the design work especially after the death of Raymond Hood in 1934. The structure conferred Raymond hood, with the possibility to make one of the best projects of 1930s artistic movement of urban style. John D. Rockefeller was familiar with the clef of the economic actuality in building modern structures. He was looking for architects to explore their full potential of the artistic movement, not tied up to the monotony of architectural modernism. What the Rockefeller center needed is nice attractive plan as much as possible with pure looking exteriors. These specifications were suited nicely with the art deco style, with the advantage of a hopeful architecture that appeared clearly in the Rockefeller tower. The RCA tower The architectural design of the tower was the result of many conditioning factors. On the most primitive level was the accommodation of varied tenant recruitments and the maximum utilization of available land. The architects had considerable freedom in determining the mass of their tower. The solution was the integration of three different buildings into a single structure. With more than 1,000 feet long which spans the full block between the Rockefeller plaza and Sixth Avenue. The coherence results from the limited palette of material and architectural vocabulary. All the buildings are covered with buff colored, Indiana limestone cladding with gray aluminum spandrels in the skyscraper. All have two-over one steel sash recessed slightly behind flat piers to produce a significantly cohesive impression of the precinct as a virtually one structure. The RCA building includes three different types of spandrels, all of which have a delicate Gothic arcades behind. Stepped vertically ridged spandrels appear on the buildings lateral setbacks and at the top of the NBC studios. Leaf clusters rendered in an angular version of the art nouveau style appear in a two eyelet above the setbacks. The building is terminated with similar leafy spandrels, but with four eyelets. Lewis Mumford (A historian of the 20th century) considered these spiky terminations and the arcaded balustrade behind, as no more than architectural tension. The balustrade is usually attributed to Rockefellers preference for Gothic. The leaves however might well derive from the admiration of the Egyptian architecture. Some weight is given to this by the frequent appearance of the Lotusin the centers bronze screens. In the timeless monumentality of the Rockefeller center is the entrance to the building which recalls such a geometric structures and symmetry as at Temple Deir El Baharyof Ancient Egypt. Also the aluminum spandrels were practical as well as decorative features that weighed and cost less than stone. They surmount the buildings 5,817 windows creating a significant decorative pattern within the whole exterior. One of the things that Hood learned during his studies at Ecole de Beaux Arts that the first principle in effective urban composition was the axial plan. Which means a street or boulevard or even a formal garden surrounded by harmonious structures that leads to a clearly defined focal point. So pedestrians are guided through the passage, animating the scene and contributing to the pleasure of the city life. By far the promenade or channel gardens created at the margin of the Rockefeller center, follows the principal of the axial plan. A steeply pedestrian corridors from the East West extends the ambience of Fifth Avenue into the heart of the complex. The RCA West The RCA building west, is a sixteen story extension of the RCA tower that its construction began four month after the 31 story RKO building (now 1270 Avenue of the Americas) to its north. The building served as a backdrop to the Rockefeller center which is oriented to Fifth Avenue, but as the corporate front of the complex. It also shares the same materials and unique four eyelet leafy spandrels at roof levels. The RCA west is distinguished by the fact that its faà §ade rises sheer from the sidewalk and by the stepping back of its faà §ade around two low-rise corner properties. The Elevators Cores One of main factors that conditioned the Rockefeller centers design was the New York Building code and the introduction of new elevators whose high speed reduce the number required for the building service. Actually the tower stood in marked contrast to most contemporaneous skyscrapers were zoning setbacks created a wedding cake effect. The architects were required to group high speed elevators into the center of the tower and ring the center with corridors and offices that surround it on each floor. The architects came up with the solution of grouping elevators on both sides of the corridor which totally eliminate the wedding cake effect. In addition to those regulations that all lifts servicing the building should have a setback from the main streets. The pure geometry of the Rockefellers functional slab was paradoxically distributed by Raymond Hoods desires to give full rational expression. After a big controversy debates between the associated architects, Hood finally succeed in introducing setbacks at each point of elevator elimination. And cutting out all the unnecessary spaces left and letting the building stand on its own. The progressive narrowing of the building mass maintained the 27  ½ foot relationship of offices to building core and clearly expressed the decreased number of elevators required for the upper floors. 42 at ground level narrowing to ten on the 53rd floor. The functional expressions on both the north and the south sides of the RCA building and the setbacks are pure romance on its east faà §ade where their primary function is to dramatize the soaring 850 foot tapered shaft. Ventilation and Illumination John D.Rockefeller had the intentions to build a high quality business spaces. He insisted that all offices doesnt exceed a 27 feet from a window. The main idea was to maximize the amount of daylight and air to be able to penetrate the building. The sixteen story building in the west of the RCA is benefiting with much less light, its almost unpenetrated by daylight. This space is less desirable for office space, it has perfectly fitted NBCs broadcasting studios which needed no windows or any natural light. They needed a large amounts of horizontal layered spaces, the technical details of this unit were specially exacting. In order to insure soundproofing all the studios units were designed with floating insolated walls, floors and ceilings suspended and insulated from the buildings structural frame. They operate twenty six casting studios in the building, with six auditions rooms. One studio is the largest in the world, will be more than three stories high. The studios surrounds a central control room that will be used for complicated productions. One studio for the actors, one for the orchestra and one for the sound effects. This plan of grouping several studios around the central control room, is admirably adaptable. In anticipation of the imminent application of TV technology, NBC conceives the entire block as a single electronic arena that can transmit itself via airwaves into the home of every citizen. The nerve center of an electronic community that would congregate at the Rockefeller center without being there, its the first structure that can be broadcast. This part of the building was a dream, its a media city within a 70 story building, a new instruments of pervasive culture that simply broadcast life. The Sunken Plaza The genesis of Rockefeller Centers sunken plaza dates back to 1927 when Benjamin Wistar Morris was commissioned to prepare designs for the Metropolitan Opera Company. After a trip to Europe where he studied opera designs and such famous Piazzas as the one in front of St.Peters in Rome. Morris argued that the success of the entire project depends on the amount of increased revenue obtainable due to the creation of an open square. The sunken plaza is lactated in front of the RCA building from the east side at Fifth Avenue. A rectangular plaza about 18 feet below ground level. Having made the decent, strollers had the option of entering the shopping concourse or retracing their steps in an uphill direction. As the architects realized most people would avoid the last option. Other stairways were provided along the rear facades of the French and British buildings but these were designed as subsidiary passages. Aside from the open space itself, the Plazas focal point is Paul Manships bronze statue of Prometheus. Which illuminated at night dominated the center a gray granite rectangular fountain. 18 feet high and weighs around eight tons. The sculpture is covered by more than a pound of gold leaf. The plaza is one of the most distinguished achievements of modern urban design. Together with the channel gardens to its east and the private road (Rockefeller Plaza) to its west, it provides nearly two acres of open space in the dense congestion of midtown Manhattan. Rooftop Gardens The introduction of rooftop gardens was one of Raymond Hoods poetic contributions. One which like the building setbacks was a paradoxical outgrowth of his functionalism. Convinced that building from should evolve from interior requirements and not from the exterior appearance. Hood designed for the tenant not for the passer-by on the street. Rooftop landscaping is not a loss of commercial space, they enhance rental values by improving the quality of the visible environment and nature. The gardens were concessions to the office workers who looked down from the skyscraper windows onto what otherwise would have been an unsightly sprawl of neglected roofs. There is a various types of gardens on the rooftops, including vegetable, rock and modern gardens as well as one for children. Inspired by the international theories of such architects as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, this combination of gardens and architecture of the RCA building was quite unique in modern times. Hood also was thi nking financially not only architecturally, since the project theme is to maximize the rental values of spaces, he considered all the offices overlooking the rooftop landscape as a financial asset. Higher rents could be charged for these offices as they are more benefiting from a nice greenery view through their windows. Does the Rockefeller executed all wishes? According to Rem Koolhaas the Rockefeller center has fulfill all the Manhattans desires. Prettiness, utility and service were all combined in one tremendous project that has totally changed the life of the city. The Rockefeller center collected different values, the balance of Greek architecture, the retaining flavor of Babylons magnificence, and the continued qualities of mass and strength of the Romans, as Koolhaas mentioned in (Delirious New York 1978). The vertical form of the whole ensemble was meant to symbolize humanitys progress toward new frontiers, a dear theme to Rockefeller, who sought to advance that cause through his charities. The city is not a single existence, its a combination of many layers that integrates together to formulate the city. These layers includes the architecture with the people that occupies it, the streets, landscaping and monuments. All of these aspects creates the concept of an urban city. In New York, the skyscraper adopts the same concept of the numerous strata but in a different way. Rem Koolhaas described it with the word schism in his book (Delirious New York 1978). Which means a skyscraper consists of many layers that are not connected to each other creating an unlike form of interior urbanism. All together in one single structure that work independently and detached from the city. This concept is called a skyscraper which best described as a city within a city. Raymond Hood believe passionately in the virtues of congestion, the balance between congestion and order. Hood was more pragmatic and willing to have a city that embraced contradictions and differences. What he wanted is to have great tall towers and smaller buildings as well. He envisioned a set-back shape for skyscraper, something that as we have now come lately to realize, was probably the best way to integrate great height and a good form. For Hood, traditions mean nothing to him, he was fascinated by the concept of an architect designed urban future and believed that skyscrapers should be the defining structure and the citys future. Raymond Hoods faith and hopes in the future of tall buildings, that are widely spaced, afforded both advantages of dense and concentration and efficient traffic circulation. He was described as a brilliant bad boy. Hood remained free of any theoretical literary attached to styles, so he went after strong design inhabiting misconceptions about what an architect should be doing. My Argument After the completion of the Rockefeller center, people saw it as a huge success. As it presented a new means of solving the problem of skyscraper congestion. Its not only about the image or the power of the high rise buildings, but the relationship between these structures and the urban composition of a city. As skyscrapers looks nice and tall, they also negatively impact on the city. Crating problems relating to the land, the traffic flow light and air. According to Daniel Okrent in his book (Great Fortune 2003) the skyscraper was nothing more than a machine makes the land pay. The vertical style of architecture that for a centuries had belonged exclusively to the exaltation of the church could now be adapted to the needs of commerce by the transformation power of technology. By the end of the twentieth century, New York has been transformed to a frightful forests of stone and steel high rise structures germinating in Manhattan. Especially in downtown where narrow streets were now s hrunken and shadowed by parallel rows of skyscrapers. When you walk down in Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue you can realize how scary is to be surrounded by tall buildings, Rockefeller Center on your right, facing 1221 Avenue of the Americas by R.Hood, and the Olympic Tower etc. When you look at the Rockefeller center, you can see the prettiness of the design and like Koolhaas described it in (Delirious New York 1978) Beauty, utility, dignity and service are combined in one project. Aside from Koolhaas opinion, I think if you are standing in Sixth Avenue and looking up, you might not be able to see the sky. Because of a three mountain chunks intersecting in one huge structure rising up, which at some point you cant see its end and you start losing the sense of scale. Which was the encouragement of the developer to the architects to utilize their full potential in determining the volume of the tower. As resulting of a gigantic building that even after it was completed, they were struggling at some point to fill many floors with new tenants. The idea of making a sunken plaza was brilliant, a new way of creating a gathering space inspired from the European architecture such as Place Vendome in Paris and the St.Peters square in Rome. But here at the Rockefeller, I think it has failed, for two reasons. First it was unable to retain the intended retail tenants. The main idea was to increase the amount of revenue which didnt happened. Also when you decent 18 feet below ground level, you feel yourself drowning and strangled by the hulking structures that surround you. The sunken plaza shouldnt be sunken it was supposed to be the contrary, a rising plaza with a nice view and a connection with the urbanism rather than an obscured one. The purpose of the glass windows that covers the Rockefeller center is to maximize the amount of natural daylight and ventilation within the office spaces. Nowadays almost a quarter of the building is unpenetrated with light, as a result of super-scaled buildings that became a trend in the 20th and its clear appearance in the urban of New York, especially Manhattan. The consequences led to a negative impact on the city, the 70 stories block is brooding shadow darkening the streets and antagonistic the nature. Conclusion I think the Rockefeller center has affected the normal routine of the city somehow. Its not only about how big or tall or stunning the building is, its what this enormous tower can offer to the city in a friendly way. The main aspects of any architectural developments is how it could use the full potential to be consistent and coherent with the vernacular of the city. This kind of connection and relationship that merges with the urbanization of the city is really important and shouldnt be avoided or ignored. The case here of the Rockefeller center is the contrary, it didnt really succeeded to offer these qualities. A seventy story skyscraper that isolated itself from the city ignoring all the values and meanings of a cohesive and intimate architecture. A complex that tried to separate a hundreds and thousands of people from the circumference and the city life. Aside from the nice exterior looking, if you look at the architectural qualities you can see that some of it failed and didnt worked well and efficiently. The gigantic volume of the tower without a defined reason, the sunken plaza that looks like an obscure hollow with no natural light and air, and many other things. The consequences of Manhattans skyline architecture became a jungle of super-scaled buildings that negatively impacted on the city, according to Daniel Okrent it was an architecture of brutality (Great Fortune 2004).

Working at McDonalds by Amitai Etzioni

In response to â€Å"Working at McDonald's† by Amitai Etzioni I think that Etzioni is way off on his evaluation of the lower skill, lower paying jobs in America. He makes it sound as if the employer must provide some sort of skill along with their jobs that will provide a learning experience. Why? Where in the Constitution does it state that employers must provide their employees with training while paying them to do work? It does not. And what of the people that choose jobs such as those provided by McDonalds simply because they wish to have less responsibility, as is shown in the recent movie â€Å"American Pie†. In this movie the main character quit his corporate, good paying job and applied for a regular burger flipping position at McDonalds because he was tired of the stress. And what about higher pay and benefits? The way the American economic system is set up, there must be some low paying jobs because there is always menial tasks that must be done and unskilled workers to do them. Say for instance, that everyone was guaranteed at least ten dollars an hour, no matter what the job was. There would therefore be no reason for some people to get an education because they knew they would have a decent job paying at least ten dollars an hour. This would also upset the people who had gotten an education only to find out they made little or no more than uneducated people now. Employers, now that they had to pay drastically higher wages, would have to charge much higher prices. Now the people earning the higher wages are right back to where they started, because the extra money they earn now just goes back to the employer. It†s just a vicious cycle, and higher wages or jobs that teach new skills to those who don†t need them are just not practical. As hard as you argue, the simple fact sticks is ugly head out, there are always low pay, low skill jobs for those who have no wish to better themselves in life.

Human motivation Essay

Human Motivation Essay Examination 1. Compare and contrast the theories of overweight and obesity. Describe how the components of Human Motivation relate to the obstacles dieters face today. Analyze why these obstacles exist and, also, motivations role in dieting. (note to student: feel free to use bulleted lists to make a point of comparison/contrast but then provide, in paragraph form, a narrative explanation. ) From the study conducted by the World Health Organization, they have set a standard on the classification of obesity and overweight. According to them, a person is considered overweight if her/his Body Mass Index is in the range 25 to 29. 9, while BMI value above the range is considered obese. There are many theories formulated regarding obesity. These are the Set Point Theory, Enzyme and Hormone Theory, Fat Cell Theory, Theory of Thermogenesis, Thermic Effect of Food, and External Cue Theory. In addition to these, other eating disorders were considered as one of the causes of obesity. Set Point Theory varies among individual since it is the range of weight where one’s body is set to have and will maintain it if the person allows it to. While the Enzyme and Hormone Theory also varies among individual depending on his/her body program, meaning how much or how less his/her body produces hormones and enzymes that are necessary for digestion and gaining weight. However, this theory shows in some studies that some hormonal problems regarding obesity are inherited and can be passed on to their offspring. The Theory of Thermogenesis on the other hand states that obesity may be acquired if the energy intake is exceeds energy used by the body. The energies unused are stored as fat in various parts of the body. Next is Thermic Effect of Food is the term used to express the energies consumed during the digestion and other processes that requires the burning of energy during digestion. Protein requires the highest energy to be consumed, next is carbohydrates then fat. Finally, External Cue Theory simply states the availability of food and the easiness of its access. In contrast, the theories on overweight are not specifically termed like that with obesity since, it is not yet considered a health problem compared to obesity, it is just a horrible warning that a person may reach obesity if being overweight is not controlled. Overweight is having excess fats and looking bigger and rounder than other people their age and at times may affect their physical activities like running and jumping. Though some of obesity’s theory can also be applied to this. Like for example, the availability of food, the energy intake is more than the energy used, and other eating disorders. Human Motivation is a perspective that can influence a man’s performance, however to achieve such goals, a person should have knowledge on how to achieve it and the opportunity and time to achieve such goals. Usually, overweight and obese people who want to achieve a normal weight faces obstacles in the knowledge and opportunity aspects. Also, some obese people are hindered by the disabilities accompanied by obesity, like being not able to walk or stand. However, to those who can still perform well to achieve normal weight, one can have a strict diet plan, exercise regularly, get into sports or other activities pertaining to weight loss. 2. Explain how arousal affects a humans motivation to either perform or procrastinate. Be sure to explain the physiological aspects of arousal. Create the following real-life scenarios to illustrate your understanding. Arousal is the activating of the brain and the body systems in order to be able to perform. It has two arousal systems – cortical (brain system) and autonomic nervous system (body). Arousal affects human motivation to perform or procrastinate since excessive arousal can dim intelligence and may cause a low performance level of a person on a difficult situation, while moderate arousal can cause a better performance. A real-life example for this is, a woman witnessing a car accident, with victims severely injured. If the woman, panics, activating her cortical and autonomic nervous system on its highest level, then she might be responding in a less intelligent way, than to control her emotion, try to relax to diminish the activating her arousal systems so she can think smartly, make right choices and respond wisely to the incident. a) Create a real-life scenario for a teenage male depicting the role of arousal in performance and include the application of one theory of Human Motivation. For example, using the Hierarchy of Needs Theory, a teenage male survives a plane crash and got stuck in a forest. If the male does not control his arousal it may cause panic and it will dim his intelligence on how to act wisely on the situation, and the opposite happens when his arousal in low.

Gravitas

Gravitas Gravitas Gravitas By Maeve Maddox The Latin word gravitas to mean â€Å"the dignity of leadership† came into use as an English word in 1924; since the mid-1980s it has soared in popularity. The literal meaning of the Latin word gravitas is â€Å"weight, heaviness.† Our word gravity derives from that sense. The OnlineEtymologyDictionary observes that gravitas became useful to describe human seriousness when the word gravity acquired a mainly scientific meaning. For the ancient Romans gravitas was the highest of the fourteen virtues. A man who possessed gravitas recognized the importance of the matter at hand. He had a strong sense of responsibility and was not given to frivolous behavior or excessive levity. Even after Christian theology replaced pagan practice, gravitas was still cherished in leaders. Ambrose (c.339-397), a fourth century bishop of Milan, saw gravitas as a quality of mind, but felt that â€Å"the set of a man’s mind can be read in how he carries his body.† He refused to accept priests if he disliked the way they walked: â€Å"their mincing walk revealed their flighty character.† Traditionally, gravitas is a masculine virtue, so it’s not surprising that it is often mentioned as a quality lacking in women seeking high office or other leadership status: Miers Lacks the Necessary Gravitas [for the Supreme Court] [Katy Couric] was perceived as lacking gravitas. [Hillary] Clintonlacks gravitas and integrity, Yellenlacks the â€Å"gravitas† necessary to carry the economy through another financial mess. Karl Rove said that Sarah Palin lacks gravitas. Male politicians have also been criticized for lacking gravitas: Rubio lacks gravitas and seriousness. [Bill] Clinton lacks oriental self-control and maturity, the gravitas and substance one expects in the defining figures of history. Bushsuffers from lack of gravitas hes a likable fellow, casual and friendly, but not the most serious player on the national scene. Pipes says Christie lacks the gravitas and integrity to serve as US Vice President. In 1904 a political commentator opined that Teddy Roosevelt lacked gravitas and provided a list of what gravitas should include: â€Å"honesty, intelligence, energy, willingness to discard untenable views, wisdom, breadth of vision, depth of insight, and that nameless something that enables a man to keep all his faculties in thorough control.† Strong words like gravitas that start out with clear definitions tend to suffer a dilution of meaning once they gain media popularity. From being an expressive term for dignity and strength of character, gravitas is on its way to becoming a throwaway word with any number of vague meanings: Despite an engaging, nuanced performance from Robert De Niro as Frank GoodeEverybody’s Fine inevitably suffers from a lack of real emotional gravitas.   Before the Fall [a play] lacks the gravitas that the subject deserves. As the Academy voters see it, Gravity [a movie] lacks gravitas. While the story [Walking with Dinosaurs] is educational, and obviously geared for children, it lacks any gravitas StarTrek actress lends her gravitas to film promoting ideas that sun revolves around Earth. Gravitas is now so overused that it has become a target for humorists: Suddenly gravitas is what is needed, gravitas is what makes a country strongOh if only we could bottle it, think of the killing we could make! Australian blogger Greg Jericho In the world of popular entertainment–and that includes political commentary–the notion of gravitas has become something of a laughing stock. In another context–the world of corporate advancement–gravitas is taken very seriously. I’ll discuss the business world definition of gravitas in another article. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" 40 Synonyms for â€Å"Lie†5 Erroneously Constructed â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Sentences

Old and Middle English Literature Essays

Old and Middle English Literature Essays Old and Middle English Literature Paper Old and Middle English Literature Paper The Norman conquest of England began In 1066 and with It began a legacy that would transform he English literature entirely and make way for a new culture known as Norman England. The links created with France established sources for dispersing of Ideas and the merging of others. A new acquired taste In art was evident as well as the popular way to tell poetry through a song and dance. Old English Literature rooted from a heroic culture which established a sense of hierarchical system among the people. A heroic culture was different from a Christian culture in the way social organization was established. The King or Lord was supposed to be a courageous and exemplary man while cowardice was abhorred. In a heroic culture women held no status and strongly believed in revenge as if it was a moral obligation. Another belief of during the literary time was that there was no after-life except in song celebrating valor and deeds. The collection of Old English Literature was preserved due to King Alfred. The literature during the time was primarily oral since few people were literate. Texts were copied by hand by monks for monks since it was extremely expensive. The form of an Old English Prosody consisted of a single poetic unit divided in half by a Caesura each half containing two stresses. A main poetic rule was the sole use of alliteration instead of the traditional rhyme. Another popular source for secular Old English Literature was the inability to distinguish between factual history and legend. These characteristics are transcribed well in Beowulf by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. Beowulf, the protagonist, is a brave Seat who heroically battles a monster who has been terrorizing the residents Greened, Grenades mother, and a dragon. The heavily alliterated poem continues today to be one of the most prominent for recognizing the Old English Literature time and structure. After the Norman Invasion the Old English developed Into the new Middle English culture and language. The Impact of the church dominated highly on every aspect Including culture and literature until the government became centralized and the King became head. Poetry now consisted of new terms and Ideas such as Romance, Courtly love, carol, allusion and allegory. Three groups of poetry were born from the Impact of the Invasion which were religious, secular, and translations of Latin poems. Moral poems and devotional poems were structured on Christian beliefs such as he Crucifixion and the grief of the Virgin Mother. Poems Like Ye That Passe by the Wee, and A cry to Mary ask for people to become better Christians and to contemplate ratter than advocate Tort conversion. During ten tale another popular form was the secular poem which was intended to be sung rather than told such as The Cuckoo Song in which six voices celebrate the coming of spring. Courtly love was also dominant in Middle English Literature as it was in Alison by Francesco Patriarch. In the poem the speaker complains of the great pain the love he has for Alison causes him. Male-female romance is exaggerated and written about in most of the poetry from the Middle English period as well. The Anglo-Saxon period did bring a lot of poems during the 1 lath and 15th centuries which can avidly be distinguished as the Norman Invasion took place. When the Norman came, they brought with them a whole new culture and language which can be seen in the poetry that is left behind. The replacement of conventional rules and Old English literature with the Middle English was not a complete loss for tradition but also aided literature in becoming better and innovated.

Ethics in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Ethics in Criminal Justice - Essay Example More worrying than this is the social impact of such high imprisonment rates, on individuals and families. Some worrying trends are also reported, including the great variation in the imprisonment rates according to gender, ethnic origin, and state. Men are more than ten times more likely to be imprisoned than women, and African Amerian men most likely of all to be imprisoned. Additional costs such as the medical care and education costs of prisoners are growing fast. The report explains how changes in policy are causing this alarming growth and sets out many graphs and tables which give a breakdown of these costs between the different states. There is no clear recommendation at the end of the report, but the facts speak for themselves: this trend is in danger of running out of control, and there must be ways to ensure that the costs are kept within reason, and the system is applied more uniformly, and by implication more fairly, across different states. The report ends with a suggestion that it is time to look for new approaches such as reducing sentence lengths and pursuing other forms of crime prevention in order to halt this worrying

Public health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Public health - Essay Example The noxious smokes produced by gasoline grass mowers are toxic and very harmful to both the environment and to the populaces (Williams & Thompson, 2010). Reports on those fumes emitted by the use of the machine are certainly correct. According to the investigation carried out in 2001 by the Sweden, air pollution as a result of cutting grass for about one hour by use of gasoline mechanized mower is very high. The pollution is about the similar as that resulting from the 100 mile car travel. According to the American environmental guarding organization, 54 million citizens cutting their grass every weekend with the gas-powered machines might be adding as much as 5% of the county’s air contamination. It also outlined that a new gas motorized grass cutter machine release nitrogen oxide and organic compounds in one hour of work. The contamination is identical to that produced by 11 new vehicles that are compelled in one hour (Lamarre, 2004). The problem with the use of small engines contributes to large toxic waste challenges. Small engines are believed to produce disproportionately great amounts of volatile organic compound, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide that add to smog. The issue of the high pollution rates related to the use of small grass mowers is a controversial issue. The human health consequences of pollution-laden atmosphere have increased dangers of asthma attacks, inflammation and injuries to the lungs and lesser amounts of oxygen in the blood stream. The reduced amount of oxygen the bloodstream can worsen heart conditions leading to fatalities in the long run. Solution: the utilization of the gas powers is not the only alternative to minimize pollution. Eco-conscious clients looking for new machines should consider electric replicas that are currently available in the market. The electric model is most efficient and has less if not negative impacts on human health and to the surrounding (Lamarre, 2004). The