12 Angry Men Analysis Essay

The movie â€Å"Twelve Angry Men† is a film about twelve jurors in a murder trial deliberating the guilt or acquittal of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. All of the jurors come from very different backgrounds and see things in very different perspectives. This essay will be analyzing the group discussion that was dramatized in the film. The issues that will be brought up in this essay are leadership, participation, climate, conflict, and argumentation. One of the leadership theories that is used in this film is the styles theory. The Styles Theory of Leadership examines a collection of specific behaviors that constitute three distinct leadership styles: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. In the beginning of the movie all of the jurors were going to vote the defendant guilty expect for Juror #8. He was the only one of the jurors that wasn’t in a rush to go home and go about their business. In his opinion they shouldn’t send a man to jail witho ut discussing it first. This is an example of a laissez-faire leader. He was laid back and didn’t demand to be the leader or to control anyone. He simply asked that they share why they beilieed the defendant was guilty. He then asked them to loisten to what he had to say and if they still didn’t believe that there was reasonable doubt he would vote guilty so that they could all go home because that is what they wanted. Although he is the â€Å"odd one out† it is clear to the viewer that he is the leader of the jury not the Forman. By the end of the film he had convinced all of the jurors to believe that there was reasonable doubt and that the defendant was not guilty. Trait theory was another theoretical approach that was used in the film by Juror #8. Read Also:  Good Analytical Essay Topics He possessed a few leadership traits that persuaded some of the other jurors to listen to him. Juror #8 was intelligent, respectful, open-minded, calm, and had good listening skills. At the begioing of the film everyone was yelling at him and telling him that he was crazy. He didn’t fight back or get angry he stayed calm. He just wanted everyone to hear him out and have a discussion before acquitting a possibly innocent man. Juror #8 listened to what everyone had to say and brought up different ways that the evidence could have been wrong. He didn’t force or peer pressure anyone to change thier vote, but he had such compelling arguments that everyone came to the realization that there was a possibility that the defendant did not kill his father.

Why market prices are useful to a financial manager?

The reason why a Financial manager is establish is for them to be able to make investment decisions, make financing decisions, and manage cash flow from operating activities. With that establish is clear that in order to understand the approach that the manager is going to approach, is necessary to study, understand, and develop the market taking into consideration the needs of the company. If he financial manager does not study the market prices, he will not be able to create a good sales strategy that will give the company a profitable product development.Discuss how the Valuation Principle helps a financial manager make decisions. First what the Valuation Principle does, is that it shows how to make the cost and benefits of a decision comparable so we can weight them properly. This principle is the one that the Financial Manager will be able to use to make a better decision of the study of the market based on the market value and the needs of the company.Describe how the Net Prese nt Value is related to cost-benefit analysis. The Net Present Value is the base of the cost-benefit analysis, the reason for this is that the NPV is the difference between costs and benefits, and this NVP is what determine the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis and what direction this Manager and the Company is going to take in that project in which they did the analysis. Explain how an interest rate is just a price.When we use interest rate is based on a future price, an example is that if you have $100 in a bank for one year at 6% interest rate, in a year you will have $106. The present value of your money is $100 but in a year that same $100 is worth $106, why because is just a price given to your money in the future. Describe how a bond is like a loan. In definition the bond is a security sold by governments and corporations to raise money from investors today in exchange for a promised future payment.So yes is like a loan made to the company or government, the reason for this i s to give opportunity to make money in both sides, one the borrower is getting an opportunity to have the income to move forward with projects or products that will generate more income. In the other side we have the investors that gave the money for this project to develop and have the chance to increase their investment through this bond.

Env410 Toxicology Worksheet

University of Phoenix Material Toxicology Worksheet 1. Identify the different resources available for your learning in this course. Available resources during this course includes two textbooks; â€Å"Introduction to ecotoxicology,† and â€Å"A textbook of modern toxicology. † Additional resources include various videos, complimentary transcripts to the videos, supplemental readings, the UOP online Library, and web searches. 2. Define toxicology.Toxicology is defined as that branch of science dealing with poisons. According to Hodgson (2010), a â€Å"poison can be defined as any substance that causes a harmful effect when administered, either by accident or by design, to a living organism† (p. 3). Toxicology also includes the study of harmful effects caused by physical phenomena, such as radiation of various kinds, noise,† and â€Å"the study of the detection, occurrence, properties, effects, and regulation of toxic substances,† (Hodgson, 2010, p. 3) .Rarely defined as a single molecular event, toxicity involves a cascade of events, which start with exposure, and proceeds through distribution and metabolism, and ends with the interaction of cellular macromolecules (such as DNA, or protein) and the expression of a toxic endpoint (Hodgson, 2010). 3. Define environmental toxicology. According to Hodgson (2010), environmental toxicology evaluates the movement of toxicants and their metabolites and degradation products in the environment and in food chains, and with the effect of such contaminants on individuals and, especially, populations† (p. ). A specific area of environmental toxicology dealing with the work environment is industrial toxicology (Hodgson, 2010). 4. What is the difference between environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology? The difference between environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology is that the latter integrates the effects of stressors across all levels of biological organization from the molecular, to whole communities and ecosystems. In contrast, environmental toxicology focuses upon environmental toxic effects (Silverstars, 2010). 5.What knowledge can be gained from dose-response relationships? Dose-response relationships are used to determine a dose-response curve, which quantifies the acute toxicity of a chemical. Dose-response relationships are established by comparing the dose of the administered chemical and the resulting response of the organism. Affects are recorded at defined periods of time after dosing occurs. A dose-response curve is a result of the plotted results, creating various segments. Segment I, has no slope and represents doses of the toxicant that do not evoke mortality.Segment II, represents the doses that affect only the most susceptible members of the exposed population, generally a small percentage. Segment III, reflects the doses at which the majority of the population eliciting some response to the toxicant, and is the steepest slope of all segments. Segment IV, identifies the doses of the toxicant that are toxic to even the most tolerant organisms of the population, which are generally high doses of the toxicant. Segment V, represents the doses at which all of the exposed organisms are affected, and has no slope (Hodgson, 2010).The LD50 of the toxicant is determined by using a well-defined dose-response data, logarithms and percentage effect to determine the probable units. 6. Why are the shape and slope of a dose-response curve important? The shape and slope of a dose-response curve is important because the dose-response curves are used to derive dose estimates of chemical substances. The slope of the linearized data set from a dose-response curve provides information on the specificity of the toxicant. Steep slope elicit toxicity, whereas, shallow slopes elicit nonspecific toxicity.The dose-response line also allows one to estimate the threshold dose, by defining the lowest dose expected to elicit a response. The threshold d ose is one that is lower than the greatest dose at which no affect is detected. This is generally between segments I and II (Hodgson, 2010). 7. What role do they play in environmental toxicology? This helps put toxins into exposure classes. This allows scientist to determine what level the toxins are lethal, or what levels may help prevent undesired medical conditions, such as cancer.These levels are used for regulatory purposes as well, to minimize exposure to harmful toxins and their effects on human health and the environment (Hodgson, 2010). 8. Explain LD50. LD50 refers to the dose level (concentration level) of a toxic substance (poison) required to obtain a lethal dose that kills 50% of a population under stated conditions, such as the controlled variables of the study. This level is typically normalized to the weight of the animal (milligram chemical/kilogram body weight), and the measure of acute toxicity is used to assign of toxicity to the given chemical (Hodgson, 2010). 9 . Explain LD10.LD10 refers to the dose level (concentration level) of a toxic substance (poison) required to obtain a lethal dose that kills 10% of a population under stated conditions, such as the controlled variables of the study. This level is also typically normalized to the weight of the animal (milligram chemical/kilogram body weight), and the measure of acute toxicity is used to assign of toxicity to the given chemical (Hodgson, 2010). Review the following chart and answer the following questions: Based on LD10, which toxicant is more potent? Why? Based on LD10, toxicant B is more potent because the death rate of 70% is higher than 60%.Based on LD50, which toxicant is more potent? Why? Based on LD50, toxicant B is more potent because the death rate of 85% is higher than 70%. At what dose do these toxicants have the same percentage lethality? The dose at which these toxicants have the same percentage of lethality is 0. 5mg because that dose puts the death rate for both Toxican t A and Toxicant B at 40%. Toxicology Chart DoseToxicant AToxicant B mg/kg% lethality% lethality 0. 012025 0. 052530 0. 13035 0. 54040 14550 55565 106070 507085 1007595 50095105 1,000100107 5,000105108 10,000107109

Comparative Cultures- Anthropology- Coffee Essay

Comparative Cultures- Anthropology- Coffee - Essay Example Over the years, coffee has become a profitable tradable commodity and has had great success in most parts of the world. It is bought and sold by roasters, investors and price speculators due to its demand and value. The two main cultivated species are the Robusta coffee and the Arabica coffee. Most Arabica coffee beans originate from either Latin America, eastern Africa, Arabia or Asia. Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, many parts of Asia, and to some extent in Brazil (Wasendorf, R, 2002; p 87). In the beverage market, Coffee holds an important place and makes a majority business in the market. Many millions of people rely on coffee for living and is a very labour-intensive culture in any region of the world. The coffee industry currently has a commodity chain that involves producers, middlemen exporters, importers, roasters, and retailers before reaching the consumer. Middlemen exporters purchase the coffee below market price, keeping a high percentage for them. Large coffee estates and plantations often export their own harvests or have direct arrangements with a transnational coffee processing or distributing company. Under either arrangement, large producers can sell at prices set by the New York Coffee Exchange. Roasters have the highest profit margin in the commodity chain. Large roasters normally sell pre-packaged coffee to large retailers. Coffee reaches the consumers through cafes and specialty stores selling coffee, of which, approximately, 30% are chains, and thr ough supermarkets and traditional retail chains. Supermarkets and traditional retail chains hold about 60% of market share and are the primary channel for both specialty coffee and non-specialty coffee. Twelve billion pounds of coffee is consumed around the globe annually, and the United States alone has over 130 million coffee drinkers. The export market for coffee has been reported to have flourished in the late nineteenth century

Manager's Perspective Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Manager's Perspective Paper - Essay Example In order to get rid of such terrorist activities we need to develop an efficient aviation security program. As we are working in a world that is full of threats and dangers we need proper security programs to reduce the destructive activities that may take place within an airport or aircraft. An aviation security program helps us in setting up the security standards through which we can integrate different factors via which we can improve and enhance the security level of the aircraft and the airport, it also enables us to communicate and collaborate with all the employees in an efficient and fast manner. Aviation security programs also devise strategies through which we can handle our employees and assets in an effective manner. Aviation security became a major part of airports after the accident of 9/11. After the terrorist activities of September 11, 2001, the aviation security rose to a political level and certain mandatory requirements were declared by EurActive which were to be followed internationally.

Learning English in Terms of Globalization Essay

Learning English in Terms of Globalization - Essay Example As such, the advantage in this scenario goes to employees or applicants from countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom, who have been utilizing the English language as their primary language since childhood. However, for one originating from a country such as Iran, in which English is generally not used as the lingua franca, this has some implications. For one thing, these English language learners need are prone to experiencing more difficulty in learning the language that is inversely proportional to its relationship with the student’s mother tongue. For instance, whereas German students should find it easy or at the very least manageable to learn to speak English due to its close relationship with the German tongue, their Chinese peers may have more trouble due to their own language being completely different in comparison (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008). Aside from this, the intricacies of their culture may necessitate favoring one approach to teaching them, as can again be seen in how Chinese students were found to derive more benefit from teacher-led lectures as compared to more unorthodox methods of instruction, such as classroom discussion and learning activities (Jin and Cortazzi, 1998). Needless to say, would-be teachers of English to speakers of other languages need to be especially sensitive to the learning styles and preferences of their students. This being the case, this student has come up with a lesson plan, in line with the standards espoused by TESOL.org, which shall be used in an attempt to teach the English language to speakers of other languages. Besides this, the findings of authoritative studies on the subject were also taken into account in order to come up with a more appropriate, comprehensive and effective lesson plan. The Integration of Content and Language The lesson plan adopted a Content-Language integrated approach, which entails unique structuring of one’s day-to-day lessons. For instance, this require s a working knowledge on the teacher’s part of the 6 characteristics that support learning, as well as of the objectives behind such an approach and the nature of language and content input. The teacher also needs to be able to activate the stock knowledge of his students, in part so he can teach them new words in such a way that they will be retained. The guided practice also needs to be conducted, as do appropriate independent practice activities. Last but not least, the learning achieved by students needs to be assessed, both by the teacher as well as the students themselves. Of course, to better understand what the integration of the Content- and Language-based approach entails, one would be wise to first understand the aims and objectives of the individual approaches.  

Public Patriarchal Authority in Joe Ortons Plays Essay

Public Patriarchal Authority in Joe Ortons Plays - Essay Example In fact, it is considered that "he communicated so successfully his version of the world Ortonesque as implying a peculiar mixture of the violent, the formal, and the amusing" (Orton, 1997). There are so many plays which Orton participated in and which thus could be discussed in his regards, however the aim of this paper is to discuss three plays and three characters in particular, the plays being: Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Loot, and What the Butler Saw; and the three characters being: Kemp, Truscott, and Rance. By addressing and discussing certain issues in this regards, such as the shared characteristics between the three and what they represent, their authority and power over the other characters in the plays and the power of the public patriarchal figures, as well as by examining the issue of Orton's plays being anti-authoritarian and undermining the patriarchal authorities, we will be able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable understanding on this matter overall. Thi s is what will be dissertated in the following. Beginning with the play Entertaining Mr. Sloane, which was given its very first performance at the New Arts Theatre on May 6, 1964, and it ended up winning the London Critics' 'Variety' Award as the best play of the year. This play was said to be of interest 'only to those epicenes who look upon the public humiliation of women as grand sport'. This play includes the character Kemp, who is the father of Eddie who is the homosexual brother to Kath, who is a landlady; the basic plot of this story is that Kath, who is a single woman of 41, and who lives with her decrepit father Kemp, and Eddie, her brother, visits her occasionally, in their scruffy old house that sits on the edge of a rubbish dump. Then one day a man named Sloane comes to the house looking for a place to stay, and both Kath and Ed find themselves immediately attracted to Sloane, and not only that, but we see throughout the play that they are also getting a kick out of the fact of how they are sharing the same lover. Kem p is thus part of a very dysfunctional family, and although he is certainly not fully aware of everything that is taking place in his home, he is in on some of it. Kemp has very traditional values and beliefs, and if he was completely aware of some of the things that were taking place basically right in front of him, he would be horrified and angry. Kemp is absolutely the pubic patriarchal authority in this story, and he has authority and power over the other characters, primarily due to his age and thus seniority, however with Kath and Ed he especially has authority over them as their father. When we look at the play Loot, we see that this play is quite different from the one previously discussed, as this one is more of a dark farce, one which satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and as well the integrity of the police force. The play is described as: "Loot follows the fortunes of two young thieves, Hal and Dennis. Together they rob the bank next to the funeral parlor where Dennis works and return to Hal's home to hide the money. Hal's mother has just died and the money is hidden in her coffin whilst her body keeps on appearing around the house. Upon the arrival of Inspector Truscott the

Managing Organizational Change Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Organizational Change - Term Paper Example Through this report the necessity of a change in organization will be uncovered. Along with it the forces which are responsible for the change will be also identified. Once the requirement of a change is identified the most important task is to implement it successfully. Change is a continuous process and involves several stages. A successful change passes through a number of sequential stages. In simple words, change is defined as the way of making things different. In the context of an organization, change is considered as inevitable. Nowadays, organizations operate in a dynamic business environment and to get adapted with the situation they are forced to implement changes in their system (El-Farra & Badawi, 2012, p.161). The major forces of change in an organization are mainly technological factor, political factor, economical factor, legal factor, social factor, and most importantly the labor market environment (Lewis, 2011, p.5). According to Barney & Griffin (1992), the primary rationale behind the poor performance and reduced productivity of an organization is the failure of the managers to properly identify required change. Therefore to some extent change within organizations is necessary otherwise the organizations may find it difficult to survive in the marketplace. Throughout the world organizations have to deal with certain internal resistance which prohibits the implementation of change. Therefore managing the change or properly implementing the change within the organization is of utmost importance. This report will highlight the rationale behind the organizational change. Apart from that the forces which are responsible for making the changes will also be highlighted. In addition, the project will also shed light on the type of changes, the resistances to changes and how the change can be properly managed and sustained. Finally, based on the findings from the study a conclusion will be drawn. Rationales behind Organizational Change Change is important for any organization as without any change, businesses are likely to lose the competitive edge and eventually fail to meet the needs of the customers. The principal rationale of an organization to embrace change in their current state is mainly the customer needs, economical impact, and growt h opportunities among others. Economical Impact: - Economy can impact an organization, both in a positive and negative way. Increasing demand and a strong economy indicates that the company needs to expand thereby facilitating a change in the organization. Customer Needs: - Companies need to change their strategies in order to meet the multi dimensional need of the customers. Opportunities of Growth: - One of the most significant rationales behind implementing change in organizations is the opportunity of growth. Employees are able to learn new skills, and can explore opportunities in order to exercise their creativity. This in turn helps organizations to increase their productivity (Hagel, 2002, p.18). Forces of Organizational Change Organizations change due to a number of forces operating in its environment. The forces are both internal as well as external to the organization. Any change in these factors

Corporate Finance System of Vodafone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Corporate Finance System of Vodafone - Essay Example Figure 10 Dividend payment of Vodafone as a percentage of net profit/loss (Source: Money.CNN.com) Figure 11 Dividend payment of AT&T as a percentage of net profit/loss (Source: Money.CNN.com) Figure 12 Dividend payment of Verizon & BT as a percentage of net profit/loss (Source: Money.CNN.com) Figure 13 Total Current Assets of Vodafone (Source: CNN Money) Figure 14 Total Current Liabilities of Vodafone (Source: CNN Money) Figure 15 Current Ratio of Vodafone Figure 16 Cash Ratio of Vodafone Figure 17 Total Assets and Total Liabilities of Vodafone (Source: CNN Money) Figure 18 Vodafone's withdrawal from committed facilities in 2004, 2005 and 2006 (Source: Vodafone Annual Report 2008. pp57) 1.0 Executive Summary This report is a comprehensive analysis of the corporate finance system of Vodafone. The analytics presented here is based on the published information by Vodafone on their corporate website and independent market information about the organisation from global financial analysis organisations. Overall, Vodafone is a large group with multiple legal entities. However, the CEOs of all the legal entities report to the group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) manages consolidated finance for the group. The analysis presented herewith is pertaining to the consolidated finance of entire group and not of their individual legal entities. The entire analysis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the background information about the company whereby their corporate objectives, details about finance division, sources of finance, shareholder analysis, and corporate governance have been presented in brief. In the second chapter, the systematic and unsystematic risks associated with Vodafone and... The first chapter deals with the background information about the company whereby their corporate objectives, details about finance division, sources of finance, shareholder analysis, and corporate governance have been presented in brief. In the second chapter, the systematic and unsystematic risks associated with Vodafone and the global telecommunications industry as whole. The risk reports have been taken from Ernst and Young's assessment of global telecommunications industry risks, Deloitte's report on Vodafone's risks (published on the website of Vodafone) and the 2008 annual report of Vodafone. In the third chapter, the Capital Structure of Vodafone and have compared the same with old theories that have been accepted by accounting community largely. The Debt to Equity ratio of Vodafone is compared with similar companies in the telecommunications industry and the results are analyzed. The last part of this chapter deals with application of dividend payment theories in these companies. In the fourth chapter, the empirical theories of Working Capital management of firms and the usage of Money Markets has been presented with the help of literature review. Thereafter, the working capital management of Vodafone and their usage of money market instruments have been analyzed.

Security Technologies for Online Payments Literature review

Security Technologies for Online Payments - Literature review Example There are several security technologies that are adopted by organizations to ensure smooth execution of online payments without any exposure or leakage of data to unreliable third parties. 2. Security Technologies in E-commerce According to figures from Ali (2011), cyber crimes cost Britain around 27 billion pounds every year. Such instances proved to expose the weaknesses of the credit card payment systems. Due to the appalling increase in the instances of data and identity thefts, organizations have started investing significant fractions of their resources to deploy effective security measures for online payments. Several researchers have also exerted their efforts in devising reliable security technologies. Some of the common ones have been discussed below: 2.1 Payment Gateway Get Started with an Ecommerce Payment Gateway (n.d.) defined the payment gateway as the intermediate pathway that encrypts information between the participants and ensures the completion of a transaction in the most secure environment. A payment gateway workflow is considered to be amongst the numerous pathways that are deployed in the whole cycle of an E-commerce transaction; this workflow is responsible for the authorization of the information. The following figure explains the placement and functions of the payment gateway: Figure 1: Workflow of Payment Gateway (Graham, 2006) The payment gateway works on the basis of the following steps: 1. The customer chooses the products and fills in the credit card details. 2. The credit card information is encrypted and verified for its authenticity with the card companies. The encryption function protects the data from being read by intruders and eavesdroppers. 3. Upon the validation of the information, the customer is displayed the summary of his transaction details; otherwise he is checked out of the whole process. 2.2 Geolocation Bratby (2011) stated that geolocation is a technology that identifies the geographic location of the user to en sure that there are no anomalies between his provided information and his location. Such identification is aimed to reduce instances of identity thefts and credit cards frauds. If a credit card issued from UK is being used to initiate an online payment from South Asia then flags will be raised at the respective online shopping website for possible anomalies or attempts for malicious activity. A general approach is to inquire security questions, PINs etc to ensure that the individual issuing the request is the owner of the card or account. The IP address of the user is translated into geographical locations by the geolocation administrators; these service providers maintain extensive database of IP addresses in relation to locations on the planet. Glover et. al (n.d) stated that the technology is so effective that most of the service providers claim to identify the user within 50 miles. The following figure shows a graphical representation of the geolocation technology: Figure 2: Pro cess of identifying the geographic location of the user (Svantesson, 2004) 2.3 Blacklisting and Whitelisting Approach Application Whitelisting: A New Security Paradigm (2008) stated that blacklisting approach follows a reactive strategy by protecting the system against malware. Extensive records are

What do you think is responsible for the political and economic Essay

What do you think is responsible for the political and economic stagnation in many postcolonial states - Essay Example Obtaining independence, many postcolonial states received an opportunity to transform their political and economic systems and improve the structure of the government and social life. Two processes have changed the political and economic map of the world and created new challenges and opportunities for enterprises in the periphery of the global economy. Legitimatization has mainly drawn on the prescriptions of neo-classical economics. Deregulation of domestic economic life, less state intervention in economic activities, and fewerobstacles to international trade: these are the main tenets of neo-liberal policy. Earlier experiments in free market economics have usually led to the revival of regulatory efforts in order to secure social and political stability and the continued legitimacy of the state. Failing this they have generated social revolutions or else 'free' markets have been maintained under the cover of armed dictatorship.The main agents responsible to the political and econ omic stagnation in postcolonial states are local political figures and state leaders concentrated on productivity issues and creation of wealth at the expense of local populations and exploitation of natural resources. Sandbrook & Barker (1995) and Tordoff (2002) state that African countries suffer from so called ‘neopatrimonialism’ or personal rule, promoted and introduced economic and political irrationalities in these postcolonial states. ... he prevalence of household production decreases, opportunities are created for small enterprises, either in rural areas, which leads to an increase in non-agricultural activities, or in urban areas, due to the migration fuelled by increased efficiency of agriculture, land shortage, etc. (Hoogvelt 2001). The increase in informal enterprise is a part of an industrialization process which both creates openings for manufacturing enterprises but also increases the opportunities for trade in their products. Tordoff (2002) suggests that a large part of the problem is to be found in the business environment created before independence. Following Sandbrook & Barker (1995) a transition in Zimbabwe calls for the establishment of a neutral framework for different kinds of enterprises, what has been called 'good governance,' rather than sector specific efforts. Sandbrook & Barker analyze what this would imply for Zimbabwe, focusing on a number of regulations still in force which directly work aga inst the interests of entrepreneurs. However, the structural disadvantages of small enterprises are such that continued efforts to ameliorate the by now well-known problems of small entrepreneurs are needed. However, these tasks do not need to be carried out by central government agencies, and should be entrusted to local governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) both of which can more easily tailor support measures to the manifest needs of their clients. "African states are not, in any real sense, capitalist states. Productive economic activities are impeded by the political instability, systemic corruption and maladministration associated with personal rule" (Sandbrook & Barker 1995, p. 1). The development of enterprises has been discouraged by policies which favoured the

The Impact of Advertising on Customer Satisfaction Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Advertising on Customer Satisfaction Essay Introduction: Mobile technology introduced in 1957 after introduction of first fully automatic mobile phone. Prince Philip was the first consumer to use mobile phone in his car in 1957.He uses that phone to talk with Queen while he was away on the road. Those days mobile technology has considered high end luxury even Dukes not allowed to use mobile, but now trends has changed completely , mobile phone considered as necessity of life. It is now using to communicate and keep in touch. (UK Telephone History 2010) In Sri lanka Luxembourg based Millicom International cellular was first company to introduce and launch its services in Early 1990s called Celltel,  later in 2007 its rebranded as Tigo .Current Etisalat is exist after acquisition of Tigo by Etisalat UAE in 2010.Those days mobiles was used by higher market segment , only Business executives and well paid employees afford to talk using mobiles. Later in 1993 introduction of digital based mobile system by Dialog (Axiata Telecom) Malaysian based mobile phone company ,which provides more secured and clear services than previous analog mobile phones with Sms ( Short Message service) under GSM technology using 2G and 2.5G. In 2004 Mobitel (Subsidiary of Sri lanka telecom)was launched and later introduced first ever 3G services not only in Sri lanka in whole south Asia which ranks Sri lanka first country to launch 3G services, Study Back Ground: Mobile Phone technology in Sri Lanka has grown tremendously during last few years. currently in 2013 all five operators providing 3G coverage almost in every main district with claiming of 70 percent area covered with 3G.Mobile technology in Sri Lanka provides wireless voice and data service at very affordable price. It eases day to day business and personal contact around the Island, with 5 operators and thousands of communication towers, now communication can be done easily from any remote village of Sri lankasuch as Batticolla or Metropolitan city such as Colombo and Galle. Now everyday millions of people making billions of calls and using tons of data service by using telecom operators multimillion dollar infrastructure and giving out revenue to operators in return.( International telecommunication union ITU, 2013) Due to high competition from five operators and heavy tax imposed on imported mobile phones, GSM subscribers market in Sri lanka is highly saturated. Mobile market in Sri Lanka was running with less growth rate during last few years, In 2012 mobile penetration rate reached 91% with Dailog Axiata sharing the large slice of 7 million customers around 40 percent of total mobile subscribers followed by Etisalat Sri Lanka and Mobitel with 20 percent of market share each operator with more than 4 million subscribers and than Comes Hutch Sri Lanka and Airtel with less than 15 percent of market share with less customer satisfaction and poor coverage.( International telecommunication union ITU, 2013) Each mobile operator  looking for more subscribers and increase market share claims best coverage with huge advertisement on mass media. Customer satisfaction is the main target for these operators and by personalized paid advertising and PR they are on the way to create more customer satisfact ion. Table 1- Number of Sri Lankan Mobile Subscribers in Millions Figure 1, Fixed lines and mobile market Growth in Sri lanka Study Area: Hutch Telecom: Hutch Sri Lanka is a mobile operator in Sri Lanka under subsidiary of Hutchison Hong Kong Based Mobile operator. Hutchison telecom not only mobile service provider in Sri lanka they are also providing voice and data 3G services and operating currently around 10 countries worldwide including far east countries Indonesia and Australia , in Europe they are in Italy, Sewden, Denmark, Austria, Ireland and United Kingdom.It was launched in 2004 with the mission of Island wide coverage in a near future. Now Hutch cover more than 70 % Island wide coverage approximately, It claims first operator in Sri Lanka who offers most district covers all around Sri Lanka under 3G coverage. Hutch Sri Lanka provide voice and data service to 1 Million Subscribers around the Island (Hutch.lk). After its launch hutch Sri lanka spends up to 71 million Hong Kong dollars in network expansion and advertising including improving infrastructure and increase number of communication towers for best coverage, apart f rom that huge amount also spend on media promotion and advertising including TV commercials and billboards on streets.(Hutch lose its Customer 2008) Figure 1: Hutch Advertising Claim about 3G coverage Figure2 : Hutch Voice And 3G Coverage Hutch Sri Lanka advertisement: Hutch Sri Lanka like other players invest millions of Sri Lankan rupees in advertising , in which they play jingles to attract its customers and increase their satisfaction in brand. Among other ads Kiyanaa Kiyanna ( say  it) was the first TV commercial of Hutch Sri Lanka , which get much attention due to story of interest in 30 second paid commercial. Famous Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara also earlier attached with Hutch Sri Lanka as a brand ambassador to Hutch for three consecutive years from â€Å"2005 to 2008† in which he quotes about Hutch â€Å"Between July 2005 and August 2008 I had a contract with Hutch only. I enjoyed my three years working with Hutch and the relationship was mutually beneficial†. (Island Cricket 2005) Public Relation activities: Hutch Sri Lanka also besides paid advertising also involves in PR Public Relation activities to satisfy its consumers and create positive image among its consumers in which employee blood donation get much media attention. In this campaign hutch employees donate their blood to Sri Lanka National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) and mention about advantages of blood donation in society in which Hutch Sri Lanka encourage others to donate their blood often to saves life.( Hutch saves life 2010) Least Customer Satisfaction: Hutch telecom Sri Lanka still didn’t achieve its target of 1 million subscribers, currently it comprises last number in customer satisfaction ranking with little subscribers.In 2010 after launch of Etisalat Lanka and Airtel bharti limited .Hutch current ranking comes at number 5 in last among its competitors operators. Hutch Sri Lanka has better infrastructure and quality of service but lack of marketing personals and wrong choice of advertisement media its reputation is going down day by day. Sri Lankan consumers not willing to use its services due to less number of subscribers which force them to pay levy in order to call their family and friends through Hutch Sri Lana to other operators or non hutch numbers. SWOT ANALYSIS OF HUTCH SRI LANKA: Strength: It’s communication tower coverage almost throughout all Sri Lanka. Fast Internet speed through 3G technology with maximum coverage area covered with 3G compared with competitors, such as Jaffna first covered by 3G by Hutch Sri Lanka. Weakness: Less brand exposure among its consumers Low or weak signal coverage in remote areas. Opportunities: Hutch couple sim, which allow call between two numbers at very cheap rate, unique service by hutch Sri Lanka Lowest IDD call rates which attract new customers Threat: Declining in number of subscribers due to poor coverage Mobile market is saturated due to five competitors in Market. Research Objectives and Research Questions: The topic under consideration is â€Å"The impact of Advertising on customer Satisfaction with special reference to Hutch Sri Lanka†. Research Objectives: The objective of this research is to critically analyze least customer satisfaction issue facing by hutch Sri Lanka which pushes back Hutch Sri Lanka at last position in subscribers ranking. Hutch telecom has a potential to get more subscribers through correct advertising with correct selection of advertising media. The following are the main objectives of the research: 1-To study the concept of advertising 2-To Study the concept of Customer Satisfaction 3-To analyze the Relationship between Advertising and customer Satisfaction Research Question: 1-What is advertising? 2-What is the customer satisfaction? 3-What is the relation between Advertising and Customer Satisfaction? Literature Review: Advertising: Advertising is the non personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by  identified sponsors through the various media† (Bovee/Arens, 1992, p7).(Deborah F. Spake M Joseph 2009)advertising is one most fast growing industry in USA and direct to consumer effective advertising has change the way of advertising industry in USA, where consumers demand is monitor before placing of advertisement, this type of advertising is mostly done by pharmaceutical companies. (P Nelson 1974) Advertising delivers the information of product attribute plus message to the target audience on selected media. Advertiser’s priority is to create sales through his message. Often more sales can be achieved by heavy bombardment of seller’s message through traditional and mass media. Any trustworthy and honest information deliver to consumer generate more sales and brand equity.(Julie A. Edell M Chapman 1987) Consumers feeling about any paid advertising create a lot of affect on sales. If advertiser convey the message which create positive feeling in consumer mindset than convincing potential consumer becomes easy else negative feeling creates negative effect. (Charles H Patti 1997) When same seed is cultivated in two different fields with different production of crops or fertility rate even under same climate , one field with more average fertility rate will always give more crops compare with other field. Same case apply in advertising if quality efforts are applied on two different product in which one is high advertisement opportunities and while other is low than revenue generated and sales will differs from each other. He further elaborated that advertising spend should be high only on those products in which product life cycle stage not reach its maturity state. Advertise product and service should be have some uniqueness among its competitors and there f should be large size of potential consumer in that geographical area where product to be advertised.(Robert J L Gary A 1961) In changing environment advertising purpose is to create sales , advertisers put their product or service on advertise to create sales in steps, in which in first is just share information about the product information and create awareness of the product after the launch than second step which comes after some period of time is an extreme buy now ad , design to create immediate sales. (Nikolaos K P1989) The current involvement in advertising consumer products is the Attributes of Advertising message has put great impact on consumer in  decision making process. If advertising message firmly designed and expose to mind of consumer than it went to long term memory of target consumer, such as â€Å"Jingle song of brand during advertising† which create positive affect to change target customer into prospect customers.Advertising is the main source of marketers to introduce their product and services in any geographical market. Electronic media has much considerable progress to help marketers to advertise their products at reasonable cost. Advertisement message reach millions of potential customers which help organization to grow its business and create more revenue. Customer Satisfaction: Any person who spend his income to get good or services through any organization is called as customer or a customer is a person who does the buying of the products and the consumer is the person who ultimately consumes the product (Solomon, 2009, p.34.) Any costumer can be pleased, unhappy or reject the product offered by advertiser, sales person or particular branded organization if its attributes does not match with its requirement and demands. Customer satisfaction definition is defined by (Tse Wilson , 1998, p 204 ) consumer after purchase decision to judge the quality of product totally depend on consumer choice (Fornell, 1992, p.11) After cash transaction and receiving of product , customer satisfaction can be called as post choice evaluation judgment of the consumer after consume the product at very first time(Oliver,1980) According to Schiffman Karun (2004) Any individual consumer feel and look about any particular products or service which he/she judge his expectation after buying the product. Customer satisfaction is also described as the result of human feeling, Marketers in order to measure level of customer satisfaction they have to measure feeling of their customers after buying their product.(Levy,p.6;NBRI,2009). Levy (2009, p.6) mention three type of criteria to measure customer satisfaction 1- Through survey among current consumer of particular product or service in which feedback can be collected to measure customer level of customer satisfaction. 2- Through focus group discussion in which expert moderator can decide the level of costumer satisfaction after discussion with consumers. 3- Reading blogs and direct contact with customers. Satisfied customer is customer who repeats purchase of the product and also refers helps organization to get more customers by words of mouth. Customer satisfaction increases the business of organization, where dissatisfied customer puts negative effect on company image and brand. Relationship between advertising and Customer Satisfaction: Marketers spends millions of dollar every year in advertising budget to create favorable image of their brand, satisfy them and drive them to purchase. satisfaction makes advertising more affected as satisfied customers pay more attention in advertising of product whom they satisfies after previous purchase(E W Anderson 1994) Advertising creates a certain type of feeling in consumer mind which leads to consumer satisfaction of that particular brand in consumer mind.(Ew Anderson 1993) .Customer satisfaction are more essential aspect in any trade as at the end , customer is always the king because they create revenue for the organization. Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction have direct impact on profit of any organization.(Naresh K Malhotra 2007) 2nd edition Marketing research p 92-107.Advertisers should understand the consumer behavior before start work on any advertising campaign, as advertising only be effective and satisfy its consumer if its design to get attention of target market by touch the internal emotion of consumer.(Gustav puth.P Mostert 1999)) Journal of product and brand management, consumers perception of mentioned product and brand attribute in magazine advertising.) References: Anderson, E.W, Sulivan m.W (1993) â€Å" The Antecedents and consequences of Customer Satisfaction for firms†, Marketing science 2, 2 ( spring), pp 125-143 Anderson, E.W,Fornell, C, Lehmann, DR (1994) â€Å" Customer Satisfaction Market share and profitability: Findings from Sweden, Journal of Marketing, 58, 53-66 Bovee, C.l and Arens, W.F, (1992), Contemporary advertising, 4th ed,, Richard P,Irwin Inc,, Homewood,IL. Deborah F Spake, Mathew Joseph, R Zachary Finney. (2009). Journal of Medical Marketing â€Å"Consumer opinion and effectiveness of direct-to-consumer advertising† 21-28 Dr Charles H Patti 1997, University of Sheffield â€Å"Evaluating the role of advertising† 32-35 Fornell,. (1992). â€Å"A National Customer Satisfaction barometer: The Swedish Expereience.†Journal of Marketing, 56, 6-21 Julie A and Marian Chapman Burke (1987), â€Å"The power of feelings in understanding advertising effects,† Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (December), 412-433 Lavidge, Robert J. and Gary A. Steiner. 1961. A model for predictive measurements of advertising effectiveness. Journal of Marketing. 25(October), 59-62. Micheal.R Solomon (2009).Consumer behaviour, buying having and being, 8th edition, Pearson education, inc Naresh K Malhotra 2007 â€Å" A critical view of marketing research of diffusion of new products† 2nd edition Marketing research 92-107. Nikolaos K. Papavassiliou, (1989) The Involvement Model in Advertising Consumer Products Abroad, European Journal of Marketing, 23 ,1 Oliver,Richard L.1980 â€Å"A Cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of Satisfaction Decisions.† Journal of Makreting research 17 (September):p 460-469 Phillip Nelson 1974, Journal of economy University of Chicago â€Å"Advertising as Information† 1 , 2-5 Puth, G, Mostert, P, Ewing, M (1999) Consumer perceptions of mentioned product attributes in magazine advertising. Journal of Product Brand Management, 8 , 61-72 Schiffman,L.G and LazarKanuk, L.(2004) Consumer Behaviour. 8th edition. New Jersy Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle RiverTitus Tse, David K, Petter, C. Wilton. (1998). Models of Consumer satisfaction: An Extension Journal of Marketing Research, 25 .204-212 UK telephone history (2010) British telephone history [online] available fromhttp://www.britishtelephones.com/histuk.htm [10th January 2013] Hutch staff blood Donation (2010) Hutch staff join save a life [online] available From http://www.ceylontoday.lk/22-19553-news-detail-hutch-staff-joins-save-a-life.htm [4th January 2013] International telecommunication union ITU, (2013) Facts and figure Sri Lanka mobile telecom [online] available From http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/newslog/default.aspx [6th January 2013] NBRI (2009) Customer Survey White paper: [online] available From http://www.nbrii.com/customer-surveys/Measure_Satisfaction.html [November 27th, 2012) Hutch Lose its Customer (2008) Lanka Business Online report [online] available From http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=728615133 [5th December2012] Piet Levy, (2009,),Advertising and Customer Satisfaction [Online] available From http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=5hid=12sid=3e223a11-3ffe-4951-b092-735c449be46%40sessionmgr11 [November 5th, 2012) Island Cricket 2005, Sangakkara Quits Hutch [online] available From http://www.islandcricket.lk/blogs/hilal/sangakkara-hutch-or-airtel [November 22th 2012) Figure 1, Fixed lines and mobile market Growth in Sri lanka [online] available from http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1160489410 [5th January 2013] Figure 2, Hutch Voice and Data coverage across Island , [Onlimne] Available from http://srilanka-promotions.com) http://srilanka-promotions.com/telecoms/hutch-sri-lanka-3g-coverage-map-23-may-2012-85/attachment/hutch-23-may-2012/ [2nd January 2013] Figure 3:, Hutch Advertising Claim about 3G Coverage [online] Available from http://www.hutch.lk/aboutus.htm[ 2nd January 2013] Tables * Table 1- * Number of Sri Lankan Mobile Subscribers in Millions

Management Practices Traditional vs Modern Innovative

Management Practices Traditional vs Modern Innovative In last many years, few management accounting innovations has been developed. Managers have to make decision on a daily basis as well make decisions regarding the future and how to survive and grow in an energetic market place with ever growing uncertain circumstances. Traditional or modern management accounting system give relevant information to all levels of management, financial and other information to make decisions about planning, control of operations and identifying opportunities to add value. The modern management accounting practice are typically different from that of traditional management accounting as they enable managers to make sound decisions to minimize cost as well in the same time add value to the products and services by improving the quality of products, which is required by the customers, and reduce waste. In addition, the modern management accounting systems allow the organisation as whole to develop the innovative capacity of the organisation and flexibility so that it can continually change and improve performance financially as well in its non financial areas of performance. Traditional vs. Modern Innovative Traditional will focus on cost control and, in particular, what is recognized as variance analysis and which involves evaluating forecast outcomes with real outcomes for example for costs such as materials and labour. The types of activity, therefore, that management accountants have traditionally involved themselves with include: †¢ Cost analysis †¢ Cost control †¢ Budget preparation †¢ Budgetary control processes †¢ Cost/benefit analysis †¢ Investment appraisal. More modern, innovative approaches include initiatives such as: †¢ Business process re-engineering: This is about rethinking and re-designing business processes as a means of reducing costs and improving delivery †¢ Zero-based budgeting: re-thinking budgets in a way that engage justifying and prioritising all items of expenditure †¢ Activity-based management: looking at what actually causes costs to be incurred, and being better able to forecast and control costs †¢ Life cycle costing: considering a products costs over its entire life cycle (rather than just, for example, the initial building costs) †¢ Total quality management: the process of continuous quality improvement †¢ beyond budgeting: a challenge to traditional budgeting techniques via the use of more flexible and wide ranging processes †¢ Balanced scorecards: the use of key performance indicators within four different perspectives financial, customer, internal business process and learning/growth. Non financial performance measurement approached gained momentum as a result of dissatisfaction with the traditional techniques such as balance sheets and income statement, as technology increasing and increasing global competition, companies able to recognize better their fault and might to improve their existing capabilities and create new ones the most successful of these being Economic Value Added (EVA). Initially Return on Investment (ROI) was used to enhancement the intuition and insight of managers. It was used to send down the goal for division managers to meet from corporate office. Since managers reward and endorsement prospects depended on the ability to meet targets, these core managers has a strong incentive to adjust their information accordingly. Some businesses have built accounting teaching modules for their managers that help them recognize the detailed information they get. Management accountants have a vital responsibility in preparing and distributing training materials. Nowadays multifaceted managerial surroundings technical functions, particularly accounting, need to become more than suppliers of information. They must turn into a kind of an educating where managers can obtain training. So far in numerous organizations, accountants are too hectic to turn out to be instructors and internal reward systems likely depress such performances. As the range of management accounting messages enlarge to contain non-financial presentation indicators, management accountants get an additional challenge. Many managers have complexities visualizing the cause and result relationships that connect cost drivers to financial returns. Yet this is the key information needed to manage value, and education is regularly required to help managers recognize improved the reason and result relations that cause shareholder value. Increasing functional area means that managers are ever more detached from shareholder values. Many managers are powerfully devoted to the association without being dedicated to the financial aim that drives it. Management accountants have a responsibility to take part in instilling financial control and assigning financial values to non-financial managers. One technique is to need operating managers (rather than accountants) to systematically organize and present the financial study of their industry unit. At the similar occasion that the management accounting role must pay great amount of attention to the efficiency of its inner infrastructure processes, other demands are occurring. There is rising pressure to decrease on the whole cost of the finance function as a fraction of revenues. There are gradually more time consuming demands for more comprehensive external reporting. While these final goals are vital and must be achieved, setting the precedence there only boost the risk that internal accounting communications will be unsuccessful to get their objectives and that management accounting system modify will be further postponed. Conclusion As discussed above, the modern  management  accounting  relevant to modern organizational  management  issues as well rectify and reform the   traditional management   accounting  practices  to make decisions and specialized decisions based on relevant financial and non-financial information depending on the nature of activities, size, external circumstances and market conditions, customer profiles, organizational human resource issues, structural issues. Even the modern  management  accounting  is not additional but can be entirely different. As well, some are more appropriate to various organizations and some are not, given the internal  management  practices, size of organizations, top management  support, human resource  practices. Organizational structural issues, employee motivational factors, centralization decentralization issues. In other words, before considering implementing modern  management  accounting practices  the  management  must have a feasibility study considering the above issues and evaluate the cost and benefit of the systems in financial and non-financial terms. Otherwise the benefits are applied  without through evaluation and commitment by top  management, therefore the benefits of these  practices will not be realized fully. If carefully considered based on enough facts and not on emotions, then the modern  management  accounting  with other strategies will certainly help ful for  management  to make sound decisions and therefore contribute to the success of the organization than the  traditional  management accounting  practices.

Common Core is Failing Our Education System

Common Core is Failing Our Education System I feel very connected to the issue of national testing and standards. I went to public school K-8 and private school 9-12 so I was able to see the issue and how classroom learning can go on both sides. My audience is Betsy DeVos. My research went well, there were a lot of topics on the issue so I didnt have a hard time finding a plethora of information from both sides. It took a while to find some really good articles though. My purpose is to try and get a state centered hand in standards and testing and to repeal Common Core. My only constraints are a series of mental health issues that popped up last year, (which is why I am writing my quest essay on that) but it isnt an excuse, just some background I suppose. I feel as if it isnt my best work, but I feel that way a lot because I have never really enjoyed my writing or been able to get into the process. My peer editors were Leo and Nils and they were both helpful to me. I was able to also get a lot of help at the writing center. Ryan ConnerCourtney BrognoEnglish 1453/16/2017 Common Core is Failing Our Education System In 2001, when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, emphasis on standardized testing took the spotlight. No Child Left Behind and its successor, Common Core, created the phrase teaching to test. It implies that educators in K-12 classes are no longer trying to foster learning and critical thinking, but instead making sure their students are able to pass a test, deemed by the nation to be comprehensive of the knowledge they should have. Its intentions may have been to help keep students on a path to success but instead has only hindered the ability of students, myself included, as a whole. I, along with many other millennials, experienced the impact of these standards firsthand. Luckily, from early childhood my family and friends gave me the opportunity grow and develop my mind outside the classroom. I was pushed to excel in all aspects whether it be math, social studies, or art. It is something I deeply cherish and respect, but had it not been for these outside influences I wouldn t be where I am today. Going to public elementary and middle school and later a private high school allowed me to gain insight into the toll the creation of a national standard took on my education. The focus of my early education with standardized testing was heavily influenced by teachers focused on making sure we were prepared solely for the test given to each student at the end of the year. Classes were mundane and cookie cutter, no matter the topic. They all seemed to be teaching similar material in a similar fashion, with no room for students who fell behind. It was as if those who didnt succeed in class were further behind each year, with no way out. My idea of education and classroom dynamic changed when I switched to private high school. There were no national standards imposed on us, no standardized tests to take at the end of the year, and room for individuality when it came to your own education. The school decided where the bar of achievement, for every student, was to be set and helped achieve it by focusing on strengths and weaknesses on a case by case basis, truly allowing us to grow. Those students who were left behind in elementary and middle school were no longer left in a hole impossible to dig out of. These experiences allowed me to see that Common Core is detrimental to the education of students for a plethora of reasons, but primarily because of the students who are behind are in a rut, which is hard to dig out of. Instead, if we repeal Common Core while replacing it with more effective state and locally created standards then we would allow students from all situations and backgrounds to learn and be involved in their own education. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) took away funding from certain programs that had been federally supported and introduced standardized testing for most grades K-12, the scores of these tests to be made public all the way from school to state. Those same scores often determined not only how students were performing based on the standards, but also if instructors and staff would hold their jobs at the end of the year. Although this wasnt the first step towards standardized testing it is arguably the first major stepping stone towards what we have today, Common Core. Common Core can be viewed as a refinement of the NCLB. Common Core takes the issues of unclear and differing standards and boils it down to allow schools to understand where improvement can be made. It sounds great on paper, but in actuality faces many of the same problems NCLB created. It takes the local control and understanding out of the equation and punishes under-performing schools that arent able to teach the material eff ectively due to socio-economic issues in communities across the nation. (Bidwell) In the Sacramento region, 30 percent of economically disadvantaged students met English standards on the latest Common Core tests, compared with 63 percent of wealthier students. About 23 percent of economically disadvantaged students met math standards, compared with 53 percent of wealthier students. (Lambert) Nancy DeVos, I urge you to repeal Common Core, which as you state on your website you are not a supporter-period. Instead of repealing with no replacement, instead, find a new system in which the state governments gain control while the federal system is still involved. You would allow communities to nurture students on an individual level so that they can develop the skills and the mental ability they need to think critically instead of the teaching to the test that Common Core still holds. The article, The Common Core Brake Job And The Need For A National Standards Discussion by Alan Singer, states that Common Core as a whole is failing the nations students by its inability to prepare and teach students in an effective way. Although Singer states that he is an opponent of Common Core, there needs to be an education curriculum in place. Common Core was muddled with corporations and individuals who wanted to profit from education instead of creating, and later refining, a system that would be adopted by 45 of the states. There must be more done before a new system is made to truly try to understand how a childs mind develops and how to create goals that cater towards it. Singer advocates that during his time teaching he was able to learn that Teaching means engaging student interest, not handing out scripted activity sheets with text selected by highly paid consultants using computer algorithms. He believes teaching is successful when you are truthful and cater towards t he real level of your students so that you can challenge them more and they can become invested in their education, not just a score on a test. The idea of replacing Common Core with a different program is thought to be near impossible to supporters. The article, How hard would it be to replace the Common Core with something better? by Valerie Strauss, goes into detail about how changing the standards from Common Core to a different program would not just be possible, but beneficial. She adds a piece to her article by Sandra Stotsky, a professor of academic reform and previous commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Massachusetts standards before Common Core had nothing in common with the program in place today. Yet, they were able to create such a strong education system of standards and teaching that Almost all the students at the Advanced level and about 80 percent of the students at the Proficient level who had enrolled in four-year public colleges and universities in the Bay State in 2005 needed no remediation in mathematics or reading. (Stotsky). Their programs, starting back in 1993, were based around bringing students of all backgrounds to the same level. They overhauled school funding and specifically put a majority of it towards districts with low-income children. The money was used to update textbooks, hire and train teachers, and create new classes among the many other aspects they were able to improve. And with these changes, student test scores and graduation rates slowly improved. Today, the district says nearly 90 percent of its high school graduates go on to some form of post-secondary education up from 70 percent before. (Carapezza) Stotsky believes that their programs and standards allowed minorities to excel and that Common Core does the exact opposite. In her experience, the standards they created were, in fact, easy to implement, contrary to opposing beliefs. Her closing suggestion is to ask each Department of Education to send out an anonymous survey to English, math, and science teachers for information on how to revise the states standards. A more recent example is that Missouri recently replaced Common Core standards. The article Missouri education officials replace Common Core standards by Summer Ballentine explains the changes. The State Board of Education passed a new set of goals for K-12 in four areas. The areas covered are English, Math, Science, and Social Studies, the first two were already covered by Common Core but the last two are new additions. They want to have a more comprehensive education goal while allowing the local schools to plan how to reach them. (Ballentine) They are in the process of creating their own tests to match the learning goals set by the state. This initiative is similar to what Massachusetts did in their public school system to reach the level of proficiency and success they are known for today. Although, it differs slightly in that Missouri is taking what Common Core does and is trying to improve upon it, instead of scrapping the idea as a whole. This seems to be the best of both worl ds, having a standard set of goals for the state as a whole while allowing schools to take control of how the students they teach will be able to reach said goals. In Jennifer Marshall and Lindsey Burkes article Why National Standards Wont Fix American Education: Misalignment of Power and Incentives they go into great detail about the root issue behind national standards and testing. A misconception about national standards is the idea that national standards are necessary for parents to be able to gauge the performance of their child compared to others across the country. Found on the Common Core State Standards Initiatives website, the common core state standards will enable participating states to work together to make expectations clear to parents, teachers, and the general public. Their answer as to why national involvement is the better option fails to address why or how national standards and testing is improving the country. The information parents need is already available through programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Student and school performance is in existence, and has been since NCLB, but there can be a lack of transparency in some states. Marshall states If access to information has been inadequate, that does not justify a national standards and testing regime. Rather, policies should insist on clear reporting of the essential data to parents and other taxpayers. In the same article the authors created a list of what state policymakers should do. Strengthening state standards and tests would challenge students while also being able to have the control to raise the challenge as the years went on, like Massachusetts. Marshall believes States with outstanding standards and tests have taken great pains to ensure proper and precise learning sequencing. This is appropriate at the state level, where teacher certification and other integrated factors of a quality education system are determined. Allowing states control of their standards would foster a better curriculum and higher achieving students, as seen by Massachusetts. Another initiative to be taken is state publishing of school test scores readily available to parents. This would enable transparency and accountability within the state so that schools would push towards the standards outlined by the state. Common Core is failing our students, but if it were to be repealed and replaced with a state centered curriculum and testing we would prosper, not only as a nation, but as individuals. Teaching the test is detrimental to all students but it especially hurts those who dont have the initial drive, internal or external, and fall behind. The promise from my high school was that each and every one of us were to be ready for the daily rigor higher education fosters upon graduation. I firmly believe getting an education based around an individual set of standards, state-made and locally carried out, will help them reach goals they didnt think was possible, no matter the background they come from. Works Cited Ballentine, Summer. Missouri Education Officials Replace Common Core Standards. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. . Bidwell, Allie. The History of Common Core State Standards. U.S. News. U.S. News, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 16. . Carapezza, Kirk. How Massachusetts Schools Went From The Middle Of The Pack To First Place. On Campus. WGBH.org, 24 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Frequently Asked Questions. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Corestandards.org, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Lambert, Diana. Poor Students Lose Ground with Common Core Testing. The Sacramento Bee. Sacbee.com, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Marshall, Jennifer A. Why National Standards Wont Fix American Education: Misalignment of Power and Incentives. The Heritage Foundation. Heritage.org, 21 May 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . McCluskey, Neal. Behind the Curtain: Assessing the Case for National Curriculum Standards. Cato Institute. Cato.org, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Singer, Alan. The Common Core Brake Job And The Need For A National Standards Discussion. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Mar. 2017. .

In An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley has a message to deliver, what :: English Literature

In An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley has a message to deliver, what is this message and how does he deliver this message? In the play 'An Inspector Calls' the playwright John Boynton Priestley, uses real people in artificial situations to create the well-rounded performance, he does this so effectively because the people of the time could relate to these situations, setting and the issues raised but could also place themselves in the play with each person in the audience becoming an actors. We are constantly kept on the edge, never knowing what to expect next. He does this by using many complex dramatic devices in order to give the correct information to the audience and actors and deliver it with pinpoint timing. In this family situation the inspector is able to manipulate it by knowing the significant weaknesses and personalities of the individual family members. He shows the family cannot communicate with each other when put in a tense or uneasy situation. One of the devices he uses is the constant use of small climaxes where the audience believe they have found the major culprit then the line of enquiry jolts off into another direction this makes the play both captivating and interesting. This is shown in the way it holds the audience all the way through, building up slowly with peaks, gathering the complex plot as it goes along, then finally ends in a stunning climax with a twist. Throughout the play the inspector is extracting small threads of information from each member of the family and slowly interweaves the small threads to form one big picture, once the picture is formed the audience can narrow it down to the main culprit this acts as the first conclusion of the play, but once the audience have realised that there isn't one culprit but instead the whole family are guilty for her death this really drives the message home. The inspector uses a photograph very cleverly because the family believe that the inspector is showing the same pictures to everyone, as an alternative these could be pictures of different people. After the inspector has carried out all his investigations the family is split into two sections, one being the people who are sorry for all the hurt and pain they have caused, these are the people that have taken in Priestley's and the inspectors message, the socialists. On the other hand the other group are the elders that are stuck in there old fashioned ways and believe that society functions better as individuals and not a team these are the people that Priestley is rebelling against, the capitalists, the money driven people who don't

Ancient Greece :: Ancient Greece Essays

I found chapter two particularly interesting because it deals with the ancient Greek culture and life. It is so different than the American way of living, yet there are some similarities that are strikingly close. I feel this is especially relevant in their religion. They had oracles, who were these people who delivered messages from the Gods. I think that is kind of like a priest or minister of some sort, but in the Greek world the oracles were the say all ? be all. Apollo was one of the most well known and respected Oracles. I interpreted this as him being like the pope. Everyone respects what the Pope says, and everyone in the ancient Greek world respected what Apollo said. They also had decorative doors to the religious places. Today, many doors to churches are very decorative or have symbols. The way the Greek people justified the world was through their gods and goddesses. They had a god or goddess for everything ? love, war, trouble, sun, the world, the moon, and many other s. My favorite goddess is Pandora. You always hear about Pandora?s Box when someone is about to get into some trouble. To me, she was the rebel goddess. The ?black sheep? if you will. I feel like everyone can relate to her in some way or another. I know there are many times I feel like the odd one out. Or that I am always getting in trouble. Poetry and really good fiction started to flourish in the times of the Greeks. They were very into the whole entertainment thing. Some great pieces of literature came from their time period. For example The Odyssey, The Iliad, and the Trojan War. Homer is the most well known author from the era.

License to Procreate

Caroline McCall Philosophy 211 Stephen Everett, Section 001 October, 12, 2012 License to Procreate The question â€Å"should people procreate† is a very opinionated one. There is no right or wrong answer just a personal opinion based on facts to support it, I happen to side with Hugh Lafollette in his essay â€Å"Licensing Parents†. I will argue that before people are allowed to procreate they should have to obtain a license which gives them the right to produce and raise children. Otherwise they should not be allowed any children until they have the license.First I will look at it from the child’s point of view and explain how it is rational for them. Second I will look at the reasoning and policies of this theory. Finally I will discuss how it would change the modern today and how it would be implemented. The licensing idea came about to protect children from harm. When children are little they cannot defend themselves and have no one but their parents to depen d on. â€Å"Each year more than half a million children are physically abused or neglected by their parents.Many millions more are psychologically abused or neglected, not given love, respect, or a sense of self-worth† (Lafollette 438). Children need constant care and support, some people are just not suitable to give the attention and love that a baby requires. An analogy of this would be a small puppy. My roommates and I really wanted a puppy for our house this year and one of the girls volunteered for it to be mainly hers so she would take it home with her during breaks and continuously watch it.When we went to the pet store they would not let us have a dog because we were college kids and they said we didn’t have the time that the puppy needed devoted to it. A couple weeks later we called and asked if there was any way we could get one still and they said we need to know your schedules, where it will at all times, who will be the main caregiver, and we need parenta l support. So in the end we ended up getting a five week old German Shepherd Lab mix, but only with the consent of someone who had accountable credibility.When I think of this I think of how we had every right to get a dog if we wanted to but we needed to understand what getting a puppy entailed, just like how parents have rights to a child but they need to understand that they have to have accountable credibility to raise a child. â€Å"Both slander and human sacrifices are prohibited by law; both could result from the unrestricted exercise of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Thus, even if people have these rights, they may sometimes be limited in order to protect innocent people. † (Lafollette 440).Parents do have a right to bear children, but children have a right to a good and beneficial life. Are the parent’s rights more valuable or important than the child’s? Is it right to say that the parent is being selfish or self-centered if they bring a chi ld into the world that they cannot securely support? I think so because it is the parent’s duty to provide their child with the best life possible and to make sure they succeed the best they can. Just like with adopting the puppy there are tons of qualifications that you have to meet when adopting a child.My family adopted my sister when we were both six years old. I was very small but I can still remember some of the process that we had to go through. We had to go sign a ton of papers and then we had numerous interviews with both of the families. They wanted to make sure that we could afford another child so they looked at my parent’s incomes, their house, where we lived, how many kids they already had, how much time they could spend with the kids, etc. There were so many questions that we were asked just to make sure that she was going to be safe in our house.My mother was a stay at home mom so she had plenty of time to spend with us and we were able to afford for Ra chel, my sister, to be a part of our family. I know that if you are trying to adopt an infant the regulations are even tighter. Your house has to baby proofed and you have to have everything already ready for the baby when it comes home. If people have to go through those processes to get a puppy or even a child then why are we not requiring the biological families to do the same thing? Despite the trauma children often face before they are finally adopted, they are five times less likely to be abused than children reared by their biological parents. † (Lafollette 446). When you adopt you have planned and dreamed of having this child instead of a mistake that you are now stuck with. When you plan on having a child and are expecting it or wanting it there would be less resentment or frustration towards that child. Having this process or program would definitely change the way the world is today. It would reduce or diminish the babies produced for welfare checks.Seeing as how my sister was one of those babies its terrible for parents to be dependent on the welfare checks which is for the children but it doesn’t end up actually helping the children to an equal or successful life. This just goes to show an example of the parent that would not be given a license because they do not care about the child’s well-being they just want the money that keeps coming in as long as they keep having babies. If this program were to be implemented in order to get your license you would need to take classes and tests.The classes would consist of nutritional information, hygiene information, health hazards, descriptions of behaviors and actions at certain ages, and basic needs for the child. I would also like to include a fake baby session where the couple or parent has to then take home a fake baby, one that can cry and be recorded so that the teacher can later look at the records and determine whether or not they are ready for their license. Some high school students do this experiment but I think it would be highly effective for adults to try as well.After the classes I would like for some tests to be run on the potential parent or couple. A background check for previous violent or abusive records would obviously need to be looked into. Adults with an abusive or violent past from their parents or guardians are more likely to abuse their children than people who had a happy childhood. These adults are also less likely to be overall happy. After considering my third statement some might say that it intrudes on our constitutional rights. However, I do not agree with that because it’s just like having a driver’s license.You have the right to drive a car if you would like to but because It can put someone else that is innocent in danger they make regulations that allow you to drive or not. These regulations are put in place to keep everyone safe and happy. So you may drive a car without a license but if you get pulled over the re are going to be consequences because you may have put others’ lives in danger. Just like with having a child you have the right to have a child but because you are not licensed to have one you may be putting the innocent child’s life at risk and there will be punishments for it. The punishment for having an unlicensed child would e something like adoption. If for some reason you happen to get pregnant you can apply for the license as many times as you would like but if the infant is born without a license then it would be taken into the adoption agencies custody. It doesn’t violate your rights as an adult because that child has a right to fair and equal life just as you did when you were a child. An adult’s life’s choices or rights do not overcome a baby’s right. If you cannot provide the basics for a child then you should not be able to take it into a situation where it will never have an equal chance to succeed or be happy.Overall I hav e argued that people should not be allowed to procreate unless licensed through a process of interviews, tests, and classes where they will be evaluated to whether or not they would be acceptable parents. The children have a right to a successful and happy life because they are innocent people that have to have someone responsible to rely on to help make that happen. If the parents take the classes which teach them about how to be a great parent and help the child there should be no reason for them to fail unless they did not try or had a violent or abusive past and/or present.I couldn’t imagine not having my sister and I know that she would not be the person she is today had she not been adopted by my family. She has had a very successful past and has a very bright future. Situations like this definitely make modern day society better for children. This program would eventually shape this nation to where there would be less abuse and violence towards children and support hap pier adults in the long run. Sources Shafer-Landau, Russ. The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Improving Patient Safety by Utilizing Information Technology Essay

As the push towards patient safety increases with regulatory agencies such as the Florida Agency for Healthcare administration (ACHA) and The Joint Commission (TJC), formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), highlighting the need for higher qualities of standard, hospitals such as Memorial Hospital Pembroke in Hollywood Florida are interested in finding ways of achieving optimal patient care standards and propel themselves up the list of top performers on key quality measures. Of equal importance is the need to optimize the cost effectiveness of this quality of care by reducing length of hospital stay and reducing instances of readmissions for the same or related complaints. Individual department such as pharmacy, radiology and laboratory each have computerized systems specifically aimed at task completion within the department taking no thought of the dissemination of that information across the spectrum of not only medical departments but also to administrative and clerical departments. With the advent of care possesses such as computer physician order entry(CPOE) and electronic medication administration record systems(EMARs) aimed at both quality and cost effectiveness the necessity exist to provide all needed information including medical records, radiological imagery such as CT scans, MRIs, and laboratory results at the immediate disposal of the practitioner. Administrative departments such as billing, medical records, medical supplies, and social services requiring real time updates on care administered, supplies expended in administering this care and follow up required in order to complete the continuum of care. There is therefore the need to integrate all these various clinical and administrative processes into a single efficient hospital based system of delivery of care. Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) are not only designed to provide such services but also information to patients and stores and manages data collected on patients. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided $34 billion via Medicare and Medicaid for the implementation and use of EHRs. Two such systems EpicCare and HCS eMR respectively define themselves as follows. â€Å"The EpicCare Inpatient Clinical System spans all hospital departments and specialties, giving providers the tools they need to deliver safe, high-quality care. EpicCare’s role-based navigators simplify relevant information access for physicians, nurses, therapists, dietitians and any other provider in the hospital setting† â€Å"HCS eMR meaningful use software is a Workflow Driven / Focused solution focused on high User Adoption. HCS eMR works for your hospital because it: Builds on existing processes such as Medication Reconciliation †¢ Integrates with existing technology to streamline processes †¢ Leverages sophisticated rules and timely alerts to drive success †¢ Can be implemented quickly and is fully adopted †¢ Is economical â€Å" Organizational and individual barriers to proposed change Several potential barriers exist to the implementation of an integrated electronic health records system (EHRs), these include structural, financial/business, technical/professional, and cultural. Structural Memorial Hospital Pembroke is not a standalone hospital rather it is one of five hospitals in the Memorial Hospital System (MHS) formerly known as the South Broward Hospital district of Florida, as such much consideration has to be given to the eventual implementation across the system not only to Pembroke itself. Diversity in buyers and payers of supplies and services across the system would impact heavily on integration. There are also different providers of information technology in various departments that would have to be modified to enable integration via a central system of informatics. Financial and business The infrastructural implementation of EHR systems requires initial high dollar investment which in the current economic environment may require budgetary restraints on other services and supplies. Although the intent is clear and the potential promising, there is limited evidence of the economic benefits of EHR systems in healthcare mainly because it is in its infancy, the hospital board of governors may require extensive due diligence studies prior agreeing to any such change. Cultural The cost-benefits across the continuum of providers e. g. octors, nurses and recipients e. g. patients of healthcare have yet to be realized and as such much caution and resistance is to be anticipated. Clinicians inclusive of nurses envision health informatics particularly EHRs as being time consuming and takes away from, autonomy, actual time spent with patients, also old habits are hard to break, and question what personal benefits are to be gain from this intrusive system. Not to be ignored is the additional scrutiny as all processes will be documented at time of process and provides a permanent record, errors cannot be deleted. Departments who previously had autonomy on how information is transferred and disseminated from the individual department to other practitioners may show reluctance to â€Å"opening up† to the scrutiny of others. Patients also will be required to accommodate intrusion, as with the availability of previously restricted information at the bedside from computers on wheels (COWs) more time may be spent at the bedside by practitioners instead of doing time consuming reviews and making notes prior to patients’ rounds. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) which provides federally regulated protection of patients health information held by healthcare professionals, is another possible barrier that impact the implementation of the proposed change, and care has to be taken to limit the unnecessary access of patient’s data. Factors influencing proposed change Important factors that may affect whether implementation of an EHR at Memorial Pembroke is employed include, how receptive management and staff are to the change, the existence of available EHR systems providers versus in-house creation of a system, Cost of purchasing, implementing and maintaining a system and if funding is available, real benefits to be attained, are they measurable, and structural, cultural and financial readiness of the organization for the change. Receptiveness of management and staff If the existing system works for staff or is perceived to work then many questions arise among the participants why does there need to be this intrusive change. Can the proposed benefits to be realized justify the overhaul and inconvenience to come and am I going to be remunerated for my efforts? Available EHR systems There are many systems already on the market including EPICare inpatient-core; HCS eMR and ChartAcess which are ready for implementation have a system of support and maintenance. Although these are expensive systems, to build an in-house system replicating these would be time consuming and require extensive developmental processes that would certainly result in delay in implementing such a system. Cost May be divided into acquisition and maintenance, acquisition cost include cost of software, training, installation, paper to electronic conversion and implementation productivity loss, which may not be measurable. Maintenance cost includes upgrades, replacement of hardware and internal and external support cost. Acquisition cost will be significant and may impact on the ability of the organization to meet other budgetary demands. Maintenance cost are spread out over time and may not be as impacting, also the possibility exist that cost savings from the use of the EHRs employed may offset maintenance cost. Factors influencing organizational readiness There are certain basic requirements of readiness which Memorial Pembroke must meet in order to be ready for health IT without which failure is almost assured. These are Organizational culture, Management and leadership, Operational and Technical readiness. Organizational culture – defined as an assessment of how the organization perceives EHR, general staff and physicians’ perceptions and patient involvement. Does Memorial Pembroke view EHR as a liability or as an asset, is the staff open to what is better for the patient or are they more concerned about turf protection, are nurses prepared to record even the most minor detail if it means a better overall picture of the state of the patient. Management and leadership – does the organization have the management that appreciates the importance of the change to the overall goals of the organization and is there a readiness to apply necessary resources to include human resources, financial resources and information and to manage these resources not only for current but also future EHR needs. Is there an executive team, a strategic plan, quality improvement and care management, and sound financial management? Operational readiness – takes into consideration, protocols, operational procedures, staffing needs for the implementation, training plans and programs, preparedness of project managers and IT staff for the implementation. Technical readiness– considers the organizations technical environment and information technology capabilities to deal with and absorb the change. Is there adequate server capacity, a rational process of procurement also potential for growth and development of the department? In short can they handle it? Theoretical model related to proposed change The model best related to this organizational change which seeks to enhance the institution as a whole in the furtherance of improved quality of care for patients as also to optimize the organizations ability to be effective in the administrative process and other peripheral processes involved in this change is organizational development. Organizational change targets the entire organization and creates a climate of open discussion with valued feedback which helps to reinforce or modify to the change. It depends on the utilization of process consultants to facilitate interventions and to manage the change. Internal and external resources to support change Within the organization several resources may be found which may facilitate or enhance the change to be implemented, these include competent senior management who portray a sense of confidence and facilitate dialogue with staff thus enabling them to be active participants, a strong human resource department that arranges and implement training programs aimed at preparing staff for the change. A vibrant IT department with competent personnel knowledgeable in IT systems that can facilitate incorporation of new technology to its network. Staff that are trainable and who understand the dynamism of the organization and of change and are willing to adapt in order to meet organizational goals. Externally advantage has to be taken of a proven provider of EHRs that has the experience and support infrastructure that will facilitate attainment of the organizational goals. Independent consultants who are experienced in the change to be implemented, and who are able to monitor and manage the change at each stage of implementation. Research data that provide information aimed at making informed decisions, provided by research specialist and not ad hoc pieces of information.

Big city or small town Essay

Good afternoon everyone. Today I’d like to say something about big city and small town. It sounds charming to see stars at night, to plant fruits in the garden, or to picnic on the lawn, rural life distinguished itself in being closer to nature. But truth to be told, living close to nature also means that there will be plenty of animals and insects visiting your home and vegetation. Surely Fish is more inclined to enjoy itself in marine environment instead of being stuck in a small pond. So are humans. City born and city bred, the quiet life of country has never appealed to me and I fancy the adventurous and splendid life of city. To begin with, living in a big city can enjoy the best services and entertainment as well as more opportunities. In a megalopolis, the government and wealthy people have invested lots of capital and resources in providing people with fabulous facilities, services and infrastructure like big cinemas, theatres, stadiums, big shopping malls, the best me dical services, good education resources, uncountable restaurants, theme parks, museums, convenient transport systems, etc, resulting in more job opportunities and choices. These are all rarely found in small towns as most of them are located in suburbs where population density is low and transportation is poor, so it will be very boring and inconvenient to live in a small town. In addition, living in a metropolis can broaden your horizons. With a very dense population, big cities such as New York contain a diverse realm of ideas and innovations, as well as different high valued cultural activities and lifestyles. There are uncountable things to do, thousands of all sorts of unique or strange or interesting people to meet, and numerous places to visit every day, and much more opportunities to explore various cultures and knowledge. On the other hand, a small town has a strong homogeneity, in which all people in the town share similar ideas and attitudes, so what people in a small town can experience and learn is limited to the town: what you can know are only the ideas of your neighbors, who you can meet are only the people from the same town, where you can go are only the areas nearby! Only in the big city can people satisfy their curiosity of the outside world, their thirst for knowledge and their eagerness of gaining different  experiences. Last but not least, a big city is vibrant while a small town is comparatively boring. In small towns, people usually live a stable, slow and simple lifestyle, which consists of very little changes in everyday life. However, in a big city, citizens live and work at a fast pace. People in big cities can therefore enjoy a more exciting, glamorous and productive life. Although a hurrying lifestyle may cause great pressure to the people involved, the invigorating life it brings about is very attractive. Although some people may argue that small towns have less pollution and are close to nature. Life there seems delightful but it will absolutely be very dull for youngsters like us to repeat the same simple and relax living style day and night. I embrace challenges and new things more, so despite the concentrated pollution and distance from the natural world, I still fancy the life in a big city. All in all, the life of a city dweller is more adventurous and splendid, while the life in smal l towns is rather simple and plain. Hence, small towns may be a good choice for retired, but not energetic university students like us. Thank you very much!