Why kids attract towards animation and 3d animated films Essay

Why kids attract towards animation and 3d animated films - Essay Example Bentrancourt and Chassot (2008, p. 3) highlight that the fundamental reason why kids are attracted towards animated films is due to the visualizations they create, which helps in overall understanding of situations. Further, it is claimed that animations are very helpful for kids because they enhance memory of the animated information which later aids to advance comprehension of various situations depicted by the animations. Therefore, it is observed that animations are attractive to children because they create memorization and comprehension of whatever subject they illustrate. Moreover, kids are attracted to animations and 3d animated films because they are funny and entertaining to watch. Therefore, they are very appealing, humorous, motivating and most often capture children’s attention. In their tender age and little comprehension abilities, kids get bored when watching television, hence, they are usually inclined to watch more fun and entertaining programs than TV programs, which are mostly in the form of animations (Shanghai Jianghong Gifts, 2008). For example, if children were doing their homework at home and an adult was watching news, they are likely not to develop any interest in the TV. However, if the channel is changed to a cartoon program, the kids will lose interest in the homework and will be motivated to watch TV. This proves that kids are attracted towards animated films because they are fun and entertaining to watch. In addition, kids are attracted to animation films because animations use space in representing elements in their relations. In this case, animations create characters that kids are able to relate to and themes which make character differences and this attracts them to watch animated films. Therefore, when kids watch animated films, they also develop favourite characters who might be good in the film. Hence, this will give the

Louis Vuitton Expansion Strategy

Louis Vuitton Expansion Strategy Operating in 59 countries, Louis Vuitton is the largest global luxury brand in the world. It is a member of the Louis Vuitton Moà «t Hennessy Group and the main business unit of the conglomerate s fashion and leather goods segment. Louis Vuitton has been very successful in selling its famous handbags, shoes, suitcases and other luxury goods and generated revenues of about $ 4 billion in 2004. Louis Vuitton opened the first store in India in 2003 and one year later the second one in Mumbai, both located in luxury hotels. 2. Problem Statement One main goal for Louis Vuitton is to acquire a customer base of one million Indians by 2010. In order to achieve that it is not only important to serve high-net-worth consumers, but it is also crucial to target the so called cocooners. It is therefore a necessary objective to make the new elite aware of the brand and increase their perception of Louis Vuittons exclusivity. Furthermore, super rich are only willing to pay premium prices for those luxury products which clearly distinguish them from lower tiers of the population. In order to reach these the company can choose among three distinct strategies. 3. Alternatives 3.1. Louis Vuitton in Bollywood In this alternative, Louis Vuitton would have Indian movie actors endorsing its products and a product placement in Bollywood movies. The target segment would not only be the Indian super rich society who is already familiar with the brand, but as well the so called cocooners. Since the Bollywood movies are very popular in India, this strategy would result in general brand awareness in the society. For the celebrity endorsement LV could chose Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan to be the face of Louis Vuitton India. The campaign would comprise posters, billboards and TV commercials with both actors advertising LV products (Exhibit 1). Since Bollywood actors are perceived as role models and have a great influence in Indian society, it is expected that brand awareness will increase while reinforcing the image of Louis Vuitton as a luxury and lifestyle brand. In addition, Louis Vuitton will have its products placed in Indian movies, which depict wealthy and influential characters. This would include as well the characters shopping at the LV store in the new Emporio luxury mall in order to advertise the store itself. Another positive effect would be increasing LVs market share in the long run. Advertising through Bollywood could help develop the taste of luxury and lifestyle in the so called cocooner segment. 3.2. LV Exclusive Another alternative Louis Vuitton could approach would be to offer a special club card with mould-breaking exclusivity. This special club card would be divided into 3 different levels, the LV Exclusive Silver Card (Exhibit 2), LV Exclusive Gold Card (Exhibit 3) and LV Exclusive Platinum Card (Exhibit 4), based on the amount of money the customer spent. The LV Exclusive Club Card provides the customer with exclusive, high-end services and luxury rewards. After the first purchase of a Louis Vuitton item in one of its Indian stores, customers will receive a basic customer card in order to keep track of the sum of money they spent. The targeted segment for this strategy would be the super rich, who seek exclusivity and are already familiar with the brand. This strategy would certainly increase the brand loyalty of the high-class society because of the unique offers provided by the LV Exclusive Club Card. Additionally, Louis Vuitton will be able to track customer buying patterns and obtain key information about buying behavior through this special club card, which allows them to tailor their products to their customers needs. 3.3. Successful Indian Women Another alternative for the company could be that it focuses on a certain segment in particular the women, who represent a vital part of LV s customers. They are becoming more emancipated and as a powerful group have to be taken into consideration. Indian women need a role model to inspire them, so if Louis Vuitton shows them a successful woman wearing one of its products, the outcome would be inspired women, desiring to possess a LV item. Using such an approach they will target not only a segment consisting of individuals divided by their net income, but strong women that need to give utterance to their achievements. In order to increase the brand awareness among this certain segment, the company should invest in advertising its products. The best place would be an elite specified magazine, dealing with business and social issues, for example India Today, Entrepreneurs, The Business Enterprise and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾ Reading Hour . The emphasis should be laid on the one side on a picture of a well-known woman like Indira Nooyi (Exhibit 5), CFO and president of PepsiCo, depicting a typical role model. She will represent the thousands of women in the Indian society who have silently overcome the limitations and stood out for better terms. Billboards and ads in online issues of established feminine magazines would support the idea of women power and that in a world ruled by men, women still can be successful and exclusive. As a result, this strategy will help Louis Vuitton to increase brand awareness among all the Indian women and extend its customer database. 4. Issues 4.1. To what extent will Louis Vuittons marketing activities affect customer awareness in India? Louis Vuitton s targeted Indian customer segment requires a different strategy then the ones used by the company throughout the world. The three proposed alternatives provide different approaches as to how Louis Vuitton can service its new generation of customers. Louis Vuitton in Bollywood targets both high-net-worth individuals and the rising cocooners because of the popularity of the Bollywood industry in India. This strategy, however, implies high advertising resources in order to be able to reach the desired segment through product placement and celebrity endorsement. The LV Exclusive club card targets mainly the high net-worth individuals by offering high-end services which increase the shopping-experiences of the customers. While the number of high-net-worth individuals increases by 19.3% a year, according to the World Wealth Report, it is questionable if this customer segment only will be sufficient for Louis Vuitton to reach the target of a one-million customer base by 2010. The third alternative is about targeting successful women. Concentrating on this segment would target both women from the high-net-worth individuals and the cocooners segment. The main disadvantage is to define how many Indian women are ready to break the cultura l boundaries of the paternalistic family structures that still rule in this country. What is the impact of of Louis Vuittons marketing activities on their brand image in India? According to the purchasing behavior of India s high class, consumers are expecting a brand that stands for exclusivity and provides the owner of a Louis Vuitton product with a powerful status symbol. Working closely with the Bollywood industry through product placement and celebrity endorsement will have a high magnitude on increasing customer awareness. While Bollywood celebrities are seen as part of the high class, Louis Vuitton may need to maintain a close look in what movies they will place their products in order to minimize the risk of a brand association with a common product. The LV Exclusive club card system could increase loyalty among already existing customers, offering the brand image a crà ¨me de la crà ¨me status thus underlining the exclusivity of Louis Vuitton items. Last but not least, by tailoring their advertising on women only will associate the brand with a women s product, so Louis Vuitton products for men (i.e. dress shoes, suits, shirts) may suffer. Since India is a collectivist country, women usually buy clothes for the entire family, so the effect of the brand image being associated with a women s brand will be minimal. 4.3. Will LV face a social-status conflict (conflict of interest) by targeting two different customer segments (i.e. HNW individuals and cocooners)? Through the means of LV Exclusive Cards Louis Vuitton is trying to gain loyalty among super rich Indian customers. However, LV must consider the growing product awareness of the cocooners who are not the target group of the Exclusive Cards but will be of fast growing importance as customers. As positive as new customers are in general this also bears the risk of a conflict between the super rich and the cocooners who are much greater in numbers. HNW consumers may start to perceive LV as a rather common brand and switch to different luxury products as cocooners step up the social hierarchy. Furthermore, the second alternative Louis Vuitton in Bollywood could also result in a conflict between those two segments. If the products popularity increases this may have a negative impact on the buying behavior of the HNW consumers. This would go along with the above-mentioned decrease in exclusivity. Finally, women may be an interesting target group as stated in third alternative but conflict s may also occur between the HNW women who may be coming from rich families and the self-made emancipated cocooner woman. These very different types of women will require different endorsing role models which may are perceived negatively by each other group. How long will Louis Vuitton maintain a competitive advantage considering the proposed alternatives? Louis Vuittons advance on the Indian market will not remain unseen by the competition. Other luxury goods producers could benchmark Louis Vuittons approaches. Companies such as Gucci, Prada and Giorgio Armani could easily copy LVs Bollywood strategy as well as the alternative for attracting Indian women. It might be more challenging though to imitate LVs Exclusive Cards approach successfully because Indian high-net-worth costumers will already be loyal to Louis Vuitton in the ideal case and will not be looking for substitutes or additional luxury products in the same segment. 5. Conclusion All in all, while it may require more advertising resources than for example targeting emancipated women via print media, Louis Vuitton in Bollywood proves to reach the highest number of consumers, underlines the brand s exclusivity, and the company will be able to increase its market share in the long run. First, with the Bollywood industry booming in India, Louis Vuitton can reach a wide array of consumers and thus increase the overall customer awareness of Indians. Second, by using celebrity endorsement and selective product placement in movies, the company will be able to clearly communicate a brand image that advocates its exclusivity thus offering its potential customers a means to showcase their success. Last but not least, Louis Vuitton can educate the nouveau riche towards choosing their brand, which will considerably increase their market share in the long run. It is therefore highly recommended that Louis Vuitton in Bollywood is the most appropriate and effective promotion campaign to reach and nurture the emerging new generation of customers in India.

Whats Love Got To Do With It; Everything! :: essays research papers

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love An excerpt from Readers Digest August, 1997, submitted to Laughter, the Best Medicine, by Adam Christing. A lot of people wonder how you know if you really in love, says comedian Ronnie Shakes. Just ask yourself one question: Would I mind being financially ruined by this person? If you really look at this statement, it is invariably the truth. When it comes to love, money makes no matter, be it past, present or future. Love is love, and nothing can stand in its way. In the following pages I will be discussing Raymond Carvers short story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It is a story that explores all types of love, jealous, brutal, physical and spiritual. Written in 1981, it is very contemporary in its style and its meaning can be applied easily to everyday life. Only love that is true in your heart is love, the rest are other emotions sublimated into love. With this in mind, we should look at people around us, people who are in love. Ask to yourself, Why are they in love?   Then, ask yourself, How are they in love? It may be surprising, but the answers to these questions can be surpassingly different. Only when they are the same will the love be true. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, is set in a house somewhere in Albuquerque NM, some time in the afternoon or early evening, and going into night. As previously stated, the story was written in 1981, and it appears to set in the same time. Two couples are sitting around the kitchen table, drinking gin, and talking, talking about love and the many forms it takes. Teresa (Terri) gives a detailed description of a brutal love she had with her ex-boyfriend, and how he beat her. Mel, Terris husband, gives us his feeling for his ex-wife, and how he loves his kids, that she has custody of. Jealousy, is the love he has for her, she has his children, and he wishes her dead, so he could have custody. Finally, the love they all agree as the universally truest love, the spiritual love, is shown by an elderly couple involved in a bad accident. Both of them refuse to die, until they can be assured the other will be all right. In the very beginning of the story, the two couples are sitting around drinking and talking. As their conversation goes on it develops into one of love. This passage marks the first of several types of love, and gives us an intuitive

Sampedro

A Helping Hand Ramon Sampedro born January 5th 1943 in North Spain fought for his right to kill himself. At age 25 Ramon unknowingly dove into the shallows of the Atlantic Ocean and became a quadriplegic. Thats where this story begins. The Sea Inside follows Ramon in his few decades long battle with with Spanish courts to legally have someone help him kill himself. In the opening scene of the movie, Roman played by Javier Bardem, is listening to Gene ,his caregiver, lead him into meditation, having him imagine his favorite place, the ocean is pictured on the screen, she tells him to, â€Å"allow your whole body to relax†.A woman is introduced Julia, a lawyer in support of Ramon. Her first encounter with Ramon is moving, â€Å"I want to die because, I feel that a life in this condition, has no dignity. † Ramon admits, along with the fact that some other quadriplegics do not agree with him but begs that, â€Å"I’m not trying to judge anyone. Who am I to judge thos e who choose life, so why judge me or anyone who wants to help me die. † The next line struck me, and will always stick with me. He reminds us that,â€Å"Death has always been with us and always will.It catches up to all of us. Everyone. † Many more moving lines are proclaimed in the movie and help picture the debates cruelty in the viewers mind. Julia explores Ramons life, in search of support to present to the courts. She finds out how Ramon accidentally thrust this lonesome life onto himself. A new woman is introduced, Rosa, a hardworking mother of two who sees a story about Ramon on T. V. seeks him out to try and give him hope about life. Their relationship blooms and Ramon has found a friend.Julia too begins to show interest in Ramon. Julia, while living in the Sampedro house fell one day, that is when the audience finds out she has CADISIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, a hereditary stroke syndrome ). W hile in the hospital Ramon and Julia decide to write a book of his poetry and feelings entitled; Letters from Hell. Ramon reluctantly goes to the court hearing where his lawyer mentions, â€Å".. people who attempt suicide and fail are never subsequently prosecuted.However, when the help of another person is needed to die with dignity, the government intervenes and tramples a mans right to decide for himself. † The courts eventually deny his claim. The story continues with Julia leaving Ramon after publishing his book and a hesitant Rosa offers her help in his suicide. Ramon divided the tasks leading to his suicide into quaint actions, for example, picking up the potassium cyanide from the drugstore, mixing the substance in a glass of water, and placing a the glass next to him in bed with a straw.These actions in themselves are not wrong, all Ramon had to do was willingly drink the fatal mixture to peacefully end his life, which he did, on camera, to prove no one forced him t o do it. In 1998 at age 56 Ramon committed suicide. Weeks after his death in real life, a woman named Ramona Maneiro was arrested and charged, but let go just two days later. Our text,Medical Ethics: Accounts of Ground-Breaking Cases, explains, â€Å"Killing is not always wrong†, based on the metaphysics: that God exists, the scriptures do not specifically say unjustified killing is wrong. This movie presents several justifiable reasons.Ramon says, â€Å"It [death] catches up to all of us†, and our book reads, â€Å"dying for each of us is His Will†. Another scene in the movie shows Julia’s increasing interest in taking her own life, I believe this did not happen in real life but instead was added to show the possibility of others following Sampedro in his endeavor showing the slippery slope the book explains about. However, Julia ended up changing her mind. This bring up yet another idea to think about, if suicide is allowed and someone decided to go thr ough with it, what if one more week could have changed their mind?This is yet another argument that is mirrored in the book. The â€Å"Mistakes and Abuses† section of Chapter 3: Physician-Assisted Dying talked about Ana Pou and her decision to peacefully kill her patients in New Orleans. Maybe if she had waited one more day, relief would have come. Killing versus letting die, my final argument. Chapter 3 asks us if the patient is allowed to die, they are killed by their disease but if someone helps kill them, â€Å"isn’t that human agent the cause of death? †.In the movie, Ramon tried making himself the sole â€Å"cause† by drinking, willfully, the lethal concoction put in front of him. Ramon, a quadriplegic, had no way to kill himself besides maybe drowning in a tub, but even then someone had to put him there. The number 5 reason people commit suicide is terminal illness. Chapter 1 of the book provides these staggering statistics, â€Å"one in 50 attemp ts succeeded†. No matter how is it done, it will always still happen, I believe letting a person die on their own terms is more just than making them suffer till death.

Conflict Negotiation Scenario

?Running head: CONFLICT NEGOTIATION SCENARIO Conflict Negotiation Scenario University of Phoenix HCS587 Conflict Negotiation Scenario TradeStation Securities is an online brokerage company where I was employed as the Client Service Director in charge of the Florida and Chicago Client Service Associates which, totaled 90 employees. Due to the strict rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) any employee handling brokerage accounts for customers must have their securities license known as the Series 7. When I was hired in January 2008, my contract included that within the first year of employment I needed to study and obtain this license. I also was in charge of ensuring that each employee within the Client Service Department obtained their licenses as well. My department was extremely unorganized and there were no procedures in place for the employees. My first task was to create a flow chart of the Client Service procedures and how they were linked to providing excellent customer service. I linked the procedures and showed how the procedures were linked to other departments of the company. I presented my chart at the first weekly management meeting and received approval from all department managers that were involved. Everything was going as planned until a scandal between the sales department and a client changed everything. The President of my department was also the President of the Sales Department as well and due to the issue with the sales department he was asked to resign. The Vice President of the company took over both departments until a replacement was found. I met with the Vice President and discussed with him the plan I created and how the implementation was progressing. He was concerned that I was hired without my licenses and expressed to me the importance of obtaining them. I discussed with him my contract and explained to him that I was about two weeks away from being prepared to take the exam. My motivation to succeed was noticeable and at that time I felt he knew that I was dedicated to making my department successful which would be shown by the customer service provided to our clients. I started to notice that I was not being included in important management meetings. I made an appointment to speak with the Vice President to discuss my concerns and the reasons for not being included. At that time, he explained that he was placing another director within the company as director of my department. He explained that I should not have been hired since I didn't not have my securities license and stated that this individual was going to assist me with running the department until I passed the exam. I was taken back because he never discussed this with me previously and I felt that he was attempting to push me out of the department and the company. His behavior demonstrated towards me was unprofessional and came across as cold. My employees noticed that something was transpiring and continued to ask me if something was going. I met with each employee and communicated that change would always occur but the changes were going to be effective and they needed to continue to excel in their position. I started to notice that my employees started to slip with their performance because of the negative communication that was occurring throughout the department. I decided to escalate the issue to the President of the Company. The President was well aware of my employment with his company as well as the action plan I created for my department. He was empathetic of the situation and decided to have a meeting with the Vice President and myself. I knew at this point the Vice President was going to be extremely upset because I went above his head on the situation. After a two hour meeting, the situation was under control and I felt at ease knowing that I had the President of the company agreeing with my employment and the positive changes I have made and continued to make daily with the department. I knew the Vice President was upset so I decided to give him a week to digest the situation and I made an appointment to speak with him. I expressed my loyalty to him and the company and went over my plans again ith him and asked him for his thoughts on the changes I wanted to make. I took the â€Å"team† approach when speaking with him to try and get him to see that I wanted to improve the department which would improve the overall customer satisfaction and the success of the company. He expressed his determination to continue to make the changes that he first discussed with me that didn't include me in the picture. I told him I was unfortunate to hear that he was not going to be a team player and that I expressed that I was going to continue the work that I was hired for. At that time, he also expressed that he would continue to work towards his plan. Over the next couple of weeks, I continued to make the improvements with the policies and procedures in the department even though a new director had been placed in my department. I felt like I was in a battle and saw that the employees were being affected as well as my clients due to the confusion. I asked for another meeting but this time not only with the President and Vice President. I also included the board members, the HR department manager and the legal counsel for the company. During the meeting I started from the beginning walking all of them through the timeline and the flow chart and the disruptions that had been preventing the success. All the board members, the President, the legal counsel and the HR Manager agreed that I was on the right path. The final decision was for me to continue handling my department and my department would be overseen by the President instead of the Vice President of the company. A month later, the Vice President resigned from the company because his future for the company was not aligned with the President and Board Members path.

Greed Essay - Enron and Northern Rock Corporate Collapse The WritePass Journal

Greed Essay - Enron and Northern Rock Corporate Collapse Abstract Greed Essay Enron and Northern Rock Corporate Collapse ). Created as a result of a merger between the North East Building Society and the Northern counties Permanent Building Society and the Rock Building Society, the Northern Rock Building Society was in an ideal position to create and further their own business interests. A key area of concern for investors was the fact that Northern Rock derived its capital from depositors until the deregulation efforts of the 1980’s (Marshall et al, 2012). With the relaxation of oversight, it became possible for entities such as Northern Rock to consider and implement alternate solutions for revenue increase that included heavy investment in the stock market and mortgage industry. Complementing the perception of leadership and dedication to the market were statistics that cited Northern Rock as one of the leading mortgage lenders during the period of the early 2000’s (Mclean and Elkind, 2003). With a wish to capitalize as much as possible on the conditions of the growing market, which i ncluded the American mortgage market prior to 2008, Northern Rock leadership opted to invest heavily in the subprime market that generated so much profit during this period (Dawley et al, 2012). This argument suggests that the old industry region that was home to the company’s operations had a direct impact on the initial success and eventual failure of the Ban. This initial overview demonstrates that there was a real drive to produce revenue on the part of both of these companies, which in turn fuelled their need to succeed at any cost. In both cases, Enron and Northern Rock began with a legitimate business foundation, yet desired a continual increase in power and revenue which led to poor decisions and policy implementation. In a very real way, this brief illustration suggests that the success factor prompted these companies to act in the selfish and rash manner that brought about their downfall. 2.2 Companies 2.2.1 Enron The manner in which leadership creates, endorses and implements a company policy is a critical component to any entities day to day operations (O’Connell, 2004). In this case Enron leadership including Ken Lay, Jeffrey Skilling and Andy Fastow were primarily credited with first leading the company to incredible heights, and then engineering the massive failure due to their own incredible greed. Perhaps a leading indicator of the manner of leadership Ken Lay found appealing lay in his continual support of the oil trading company headed by Borget that was deemed acceptable as long as there was a profit, regardless of method (Swartz and Watkins, 2003). Organizational culture built on greed and corruption will continue to breed these same elements throughout any organization (Solomon et al, 2004). In this case Enron leadership’s goal of creating a nature gas stock exchange was driven by the desire to increase market share and revenue. In the beginning this form of innovatio n and aggressive marketing were deemed acceptable, but with subsequent discoveries of accounts including M. Yass, or My ass, created by Borget there was an acknowledgement of corruption (Fox, 2003). Despite Enron initially endorsing Borget and his practices as the scope of the losses mounted, Ken Lay actively denied any wrong doing, taking advantage of the lack of information that he cultivated. The lack of any serious form of financial oversight allowed Enron to create questionable forms of accounting and bookkeeping that extended their perception of propriety (Solomon, 2004). During deregulation effort of the late twentieth century, there was serious contention on the part of the business community that there was a need to reduce regulation in order to benefit the consumer. Leadership at Enron eagerly campaigned on the notion that deregulation would actively increase the capacity for the worker (Swartz et al, 2003). Blaming regulation for higher electricity the lobbyists were largely successful in their drive to remove any meaningful oversight in the industry. This push included a state by state approach that allowed Enron to utilize their regional positions to great advantage, thereby ensuring a smoother experience (Boje et al, 2004). Skilling created concept of an asset lite strategy, or not actually owning the assets, simply bundling and selling the energy, which in turn provided Enron with a potential method to drastically increase revenue with little to no paper trail (Solomon et al, 2014). The summer of 1998 witnessed a bonanza for Enron as there was a perception of volatility that enabled them to drastically capitalize on the market, leading to the perception that Skilling was a genius (Swartz et al, 2003). During this period following deregulation many of the Enron’s greatest profits were made by employees finding loopholes and exploiting these accounting or business practices to the utmost in order to increase revenue (Arnold and Lange, 2005). Again, this policy of attempting to end run regulation only promotes the false ideal that the company or its employees was smarter than the system. Enron has been credited with employing many questionable accounting techniques during their period of operation in order to bolster expectations (Gordon, 2002). This drive to provide a continuous profit for the company led the leadership to adopt accounting practices that did more to obstruct the revelation of negative data in order to maintain profits. A combination of being at the right place in the form of evolving deregulation and belonging to a culture of greed and corruption created the atmosphere that prompted these increasingly poor accounting practices (Macey, 2003). At the heart of Enron’s trouble rests a lack of strong corporate governance and an increasing disregard for public regulation and investor welfare (Vinten, 2002). Beginning with methods that merely bent the rules, the accounting practices at Enron had to become larger in order to account for the burgeoning debt that was being created (Parker, 2005). This form of creative bookkeeping suggests that there was a strong knowledge that operations at the company were not only limited in scope, but there was a need to make as much money as possible at any cost. This form of accounting was illustrated in the Mark to Market accounting expansion that served to misinform investors on accurate valuations, thereby increasing Enron’s value (Shelly, 2011). While essentially legal, the stretching and reinterpretation of the rules allowed Enron to create a wide margin of profit on paper. Further, the use of limited partnership and outside parties increased the level of secrecy and uncert ainty that surrounded every Enron valuation process including the Credit Default Swaps and Collateralised Debt Obligations (Swartz et al, 2010). These measures became necessary in order to provide the company with the means to maintain expectations, bonuses and pensions. From the outset, Enron was out to make money (Jennings, 2002). Each innovation was aimed at delivering the most revenue to the leadership, not the investors. Each decision and example of culture illustrates the greed and ambition of those behind the Enron debacle. In the accounting profession a fair presentation is regarded as an accurate representation of a working operation, creative accounting is identified as flexible practice that best serves the interests of the clients, with fraudulent accounting made up of those that blatantly step outside the law (Buckley, 2011). Enron has displayed an initial fair value accounting method that degenerated into a fraudulent accounting method with evidence that paints a portrait of unrestrained greed, propped up by poor regulation and aided by tacit indulgence of success. There is a clear need to conduct ethical business in order to sustain opportunities (Gill, 2009). This was does not seem to have happened in the case of Enron. This evidence suggests that no matter how Enron had attempted to compensate for poor practice, there could have been no other plausible outcome than failure. 2.2.2 Northern Rock Initially specialising in residential and commercial mortgages Northern Rock quickly became an industry frontrunner under the leadership of Adam Applegarth in 2001(Marshall et al, 2012). This form of leadership actively profited from the prior methods of operation, utilizing the past profit to invest in the present stock market, primarily the growing sector mortgage securities. Linsley and Slack (2013) argue that prior to 2001 Northern Rock projected a ethic of care, which in turn was cited for the intense feelings of betrayal following the collapse of the Bank. There was a sense that leadership of the Bank was overly ambitious in their efforts to capitalize on their existing assets by putting all of the previous savings at risk (Marshall et al, 2012). This suggests that the clientele of Northern Rock expected their leadership to take greater care and substantially less risk. Three primary points including Northern Rocks previous existence as a building society, the local or regional nature of the bank and the appearance of the Northern Rock Foundation bolstered the perception of a caring institution that was out to serve the populace (Linsley, 2013). With the change in policy brought about by a new leader, there was a palpable sense of anger and disillusionment with both Northern Rock and the direction of their investments. It very much seems as if was this effort from the previous eras, the caring and attentive attitude that served to amplify the negativity as the bank began to crumble under the weight of poor leadership and management. With the onset of the subprime collapse in the United States and the massive international recession that followed, it became impossible for Northern Rock to meet its financial obligations, which in turn prompted the failure of the bank (Linsley et al, 2013). The innovative nature of the investment pattern such as the ‘Together’ investment scenario set out by Northern Rock was a stark departure from the mutualisation process of previous eras (Nesvetailova and Palan, 2013). With the ambitious investment goals set out by Applegarth, it became necessary for the bank to move from the 75% per cent income from depositors to a much more modest 25% with the remaining balance being accounted for by investment and loans (Nesvetailova, 2013). As reflected by consumer discontent with the policy decision, the entire process became disliked and heavily blamed for the eventual run on the bank. The new pattern of investment required Northern Rock to pursue securitization in a fashion that created special purpose vehicles in order to allow these securities to become liquid and thereby tradable (Deegan and Unerman, 2011). This process allowed Northern Rock to obscure their accurate worth by essentially hiding these accounts offshore (Scott, 20 08). With an accounting practice that was creative and innovative at the time, Northern Rock utilized this method in order to expand their projected revenues, thereby further enhancing their operations. In order to continue lending at the bank level, mortgages could be sold, or further funds borrowed on the mortgage securities, which in turn kept Northern Rock liquid initially (Gaffikin, 2008). This culture of greed no matter the cost fuelled the leadership drive to not only continue this practice, but expand it to incorporate up to 50 per cent of the Northern Rock operational platform (Deegan et al, 2011). Depending too heavily on any volatile market has the potential to put any operation at risk at any time (Domhoff, 2013). This evidence suggests that Northern Rock was substantially impacted by the subprime mortgage collapse and the inability to borrow money from the lenders. With a business model that was directly dependant on the interbank lending process, this sudden halt of funding was a severe and crippling blow, only enhanced by the need for the bank to have these funds on hand in order to shore up fading public support. The perception of dismay and lack of trust only increased as Northern Rock found itself undercut by rivals with better loan rates (Deegan et al, 2011). With no ready pool of funding available and no one to purchase the securities, some of which were frozen due to questionable value, the internal situation deteriorated to the point of collapse nearly overnight. Regulation and lack of effective constraints in the financial process has been cited as an element of the Northern Rock collapse (Nesvetailova, 2013). There was a sustained feeling that the explosive pattern of growth quickly overwhelmed any regulation effort, which in turn led to unsatisfactory testing and performance assessments. The caring culture that once benefited operations at Northern Rock was transformed to increased discontent with the announcement of the government bailout, which in turn fuelled the run on the bank (Deegan, et al, 2011). This evidence suggests that it was the very elements of safe investment that had given Northern Rock the opportunity for investment initially and that the prudent course of action would have been to maintain a pattern of considerate investment rather than an all-out bid for industry leadership. With the nationalization of the Northern Rock entity, the government became the only remaining investor, shouldering the substantial loss that had once been a thriving multi-generational company (Deegan et al, 2011). 3 Conclusion Both Enron and Northern Rock exhibited similar and distinctly different traits as this study as illustrated. Each of the companies possessed leadership that was very focused on success and revenue. This culture of greed and ambition served to initially propel both companies into positions of leadership which was demonstrated by their drastic increase in value and recognition during the early phases. While both companies began with fair trade accounting methods, there were driving forces behind each entities operation after that period. Enron began to employ outright fraud in their accounting practices, in some cases going so far as to completely create fictional assets in order to maintain viability. In contrast Northern Rock employed creative accounting methods to legally utilize their existing assets to invest in the subprime mortgage market. While Northern Rocks leadership made poor choices, there was no element of blatant fraud as perpetrated by Enron. There was a distinct organisational culture gap between Enron and Northern Rock. The ethic of care environment enacted a perception of interest in the consumers of Northern Rock aided the long term business efforts and sustained operations over generations. Enron was focused on profit and the means to increase profit from the point of inception, creating management techniques that encouraged a liberal interpretation of any regulation, placing revenue generation above the need to present a high level of honesty during operation. A similarity that binds both companies together was the leadership intention to use the open market to increase their net assets. Further, there was a directed action by both management institutions to hide the debt from the consumer and investors in order to prop up their image and brand. Once considered pioneering, creative and innovative the combination of deregulation, massive growth and complex rules provided a wide range of opportunities that these compa nies chose to exploit for their own gain. Each of these entities found itself in the position that required them to borrow money in order to meet expectations. Lacking the means to borrow money was the death knell for both of these enterprises. Northern Rock found itself caught in the subprime mortgage collapse and Enron found itself the focus of scrutiny concerning their assets and true valuation. In the end both Enron and Northern Rock exhibited poor policy decision as well as experiencing bad luck. While there is no guarantee in the business world, large scale deception and fraud will eventually come back to roost. It was the utilization of questionable practice, greed and ambition that served to derail these companies, teaching us all that honesty is indeed the best policy. 4 References Arnold, B. and De Lange, P. 2004. Enron: an examination of agency problems.  Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15 (6), pp. 751765. Boje, D. M., Rosile, G. A., Durant, R. A. and Luhman, J. T. 2004. Enron spectacles: A critical dramaturgical analysis.  Organization Studies, 25 (5), pp. 751774. Buckley, A. 2011.  Financial crisis. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Dawley, S., Marshall, N., Pike, A., Pollard, J. and Tomaney, J. 2012. Continuity and evolution in an old industrial region: the labour market dynamics of the rise and fall of Northern Rock.  Regional Studies, (ahead-of-print), pp. 119. Deegan, C. and Unerman, J. 2011. Financial Accounting Theory: European Edition, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill. New York, NY. Domhoff, G. W. 2013.  The myth of liberal ascendancy. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers. Fox, L. 2003.  Enron. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Gaffikin, M. 2008. Accounting Theory: Research, Regulation and Accounting Practice, Pearson Education. New York, NY. Gill, M. 2009, Accountant’s Truth: Knowledge and Ethics in the Financial World, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1(1). Gordon, J. N. 2002. What Enron means for the management and control of the modern business corporation: some initial reflections.  The University of Chicago Law Review, 1(1) pp. 12331250. Gordon, R. W. 2002. New Role for Lawyers: The Corporate Counselor after Enron, A.  Conn. L. Rev., 35 p. 1185. Jennings, M. M. 2002. Primer on Enron: Lessons from a Perfect Storm of Financial Reporting, Corporate Governance and Ethical Culture Failures, A.  Cal. WL Rev., 39 p. 163. Khan, M. A. 2011. The Reasons Behind a Corporate Collapse: A Case Study of Enron.Available at SSRN 1923277. Linsley, P. M. and Slack, R. E. 2013. Crisis management and an ethic of care: the case of Northern Rock Bank.  Journal of business ethics, 113 (2), pp. 285295. Macey, J. R. 2003. Efficient capital markets, corporate disclosure, and Enron.  Cornell L. Rev., 89 p. 394. Marshall, J., Pike, A., Pollard, J. S., Tomaney, J., Dawley, S. and Gray, J. 2012. Placing the run on Northern Rock.  Journal of Economic Geography, 12 (1), pp. 157181. Mclean, B. and Elkind, P. 2003.  The smartest guys in the room. New York: Portfolio. Nesvetailova, A. and Palan, R. 2013. Minsky in the Shadows Securitization, Ponzi Finance, and the Crisis of Northern Rock.  Review of Radical Political Economics, 45 (3), pp. 349368. O’Connell, B. T. 2004. Enron. Con:â€Å"He that filches from me my good name†¦ makes me poor indeed†.  Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15 (6), pp. 733749. Parker, L. D. 2005. Corporate governance crisis down under: post-Enron accounting education and research inertia.  European Accounting Review, 14 (2), pp. 383394. Richardson, S. 2011. From the Invisible Hand to CEO Speak: Enron and a Rhetoric of Corporate Collapse. Russell, D. 2013. Critical Studies on Corporate Responsibility, Governance and Sustainability, Vol. 3Business and Sustainability: Concepts Strategies and Changes.  International Journal of Law and Management, 55 (1), pp. 7476. Scott, W. R. 2008 Financial Accounting Theory, 5th Edition, FT Prentice Hall. Solomon, J. and Solomon, A. 2004.  Corporate governance and accountability. New York: John Wiley. Swartz, M. and Watkins, S. 2003.  Power failure. New York: Doubleday. Vinten, G. 2002. The corporate governance lessons of Enron.  Corporate Governance, 2 (4), pp. 49.

Drugs Affect College Students Essays

Drugs Affect College Students Essays Drugs Affect College Students Essay Drugs Affect College Students Essay While advancing to college, countless students begin to possess habits that have a negative effect on his or her health, emotions, and relationships with others. These habits include drugs, lack of sleep, unhealthy eating routines, and numerous others. College can be a very stressful environment for students, causing them to obtain new habits that are very harmful. Students feel as though these habits will help with the stress in their lives, but unfortunately it only makes them sick and harms their emotions and relationships. One major habit that students experiment with is drugs. There are many drugs or harmful substances that only harm college students. These harmful substances include alcohol, ecstasy, meth, and caffeine. Students use these drugs to obtain a â€Å"high† but are unaware of the fact that many times students become addicted. A substance that once gave a student energy, may turn into a substance that drastically changes their life. Alcohol is a major drug abused among college students. This drug has been traced back as early as 3,500 B. C. Experts believe it was first introduced in Egypt in the form of wine. Alcohol has been the main item at social gatherings, religious ceremonies, and for personal use. The students tend to use alcohol to have a good time and to relieve some stress. Although alcohol is used to have a fun time, it is a depressant. It is common that users are unaware of the dangerous side effects of this drug, both short term and long term. The most immediate effect of this drug is mood change. Individuals have different reactions to the drug. These reactions include becoming quiet, loud, funny, or even angry. When an individual is under the influence of alcohol they reduce his or her sensitivity to pain. This effect becomes very dangerous because individuals may become unaware to an injury. The use of alcohol also affects the vision of the user. It is common for individuals to believe they are sober enough to drive or believe they are able to drive under the influence. Studies have shown that one third of all fatalities in New York State involved drivers or pedestrians who were under the influence. Many individuals do not take into consideration that driving under the influence may result in fines, revocation of the license for a year, and even jail time. If alcohol is used regularly over a larger span of time, individuals may cause their body great harm. Alcohol abuse is linked to medical conditions such as organ failure and even cancer. College students begin to drink alcohol very irresponsibly among friends. Alcohol is a common drug among college students and has a negative effect on studying, along with school grades. Seventeen Magazine explains to individuals that alcohol alters their ability to think and causes them to see the world through â€Å"beer goggles. With â€Å"beer goggles† on, students don’t always make the best choices. It is common that an individual under the influence of alcohol takes part in activities he or she normally would not. These activities could include drugs, unprotected sex, and being distracted from school. Individuals often do not remember the activities they were included in under the influence of alcohol. Through research and studies, it is believed that 60 percent of young women wi th sexually transmitted diseases acquired them while having sex under the influence of alcohol (Fine 32). Alcohol causes students to become careless with school and sluggish with school work. It is apparent that alcohol is harmful to an individual’s health and life. Ecstasy, another common drug used by young adults, has some positive effects, along with many negative. Ecstasy, also known as X, MDMA, XTC, Eve, Adam, and the love drug, is part of the Entactogens drug class (Kuhn, Swartzwelder, and Wilson 80). The word entactogens also mean to touch within (Holland 22). Ecstasy was first introduced in 1912 by two German Chemists. It was later made popular in 1978 by Sasha Shulgin and Dave Nichols. The group of psychotherapists believed the drug would be useful in psychotherapy. They thought it would be a useful drug to aide individuals in opening up to counselors and being able to find a state of mutual understanding. Although the drug was meant for psychotherapy use, it found its way into the drug scene (Kuhn, Swartzwelder, and Wilson 81). Ecstasy comes in a tablet form and is usually swallowed or crushed up and snorted. This drug is commonly found at rave parties and other dance parties. It is used to enhance the mood among the party members. Ecstasy is extremely popular among young adults due to the effect it has on an individual. Ecstasy is known as the love drug because of the warm feeling it provides the user with. Kuhn, Swartzwelder, and Wilson note that it causes the user to have good feelings for all those around them (80). It also provides the user with an extreme feeling of empathy. Encarta Dictionary defines empathy as the ability to identify with and understand another persons feelings or difficulties. A first time user described the effect of the pill, ecstasy: What happens is, the drug takes away all your neuroses. It takes away you fear response. You feel open, clear, loving. I cant imagine anyone being angry under its influence, or feeling selfish, or mean, or even defensive. You have a lot of insights into yourself, real insights that stay with you after the experience is over. It doesnt give you anything that isnt already there. Its not a trip. You dont lose touch with the world. You could pick up the phone, call your mother, and shed never know. (83) It is true the drug gives individuals a warm feeling towards others, but it also has negative effects that may harm the user. The short term effects that are associated with ecstasy is involuntary teeth clenching, transfixion on sounds and sights, nausea, chills, and even blurred vision. Ecstasy may also cause an increase in heart rate, which may result in seizures. The drug gives users an increase in energy. This allows users to dance for extended periods of time. This effect is extremely dangerous due to the fact that users are usually in crowded, hot places. The user is unaware of the fact that he or she is becoming dehydrated and may have to be hospitalized. Studies have shown that ecstasy begins to interfere with memory after several uses. This is a dangerous drug for college students since it is easy to find and has negative effects on the body. Next is the drug Methamphetamine, most commonly referred to as meth, also called crank or speed; is a drug which is quickly gaining popularity across the nation. Described as the being the possible crack of our generation; its even been the center of the award winning television show â€Å"Breaking Bad†. The history of methamphetamine is a short one, as it is one of the drugs which has been manufactured by pharmaceuticals. Meth’s history starts in 1919 when it was synthesized in Japan as a recreational drug; that is until its side effects were found out. The drug saw widespread use in World War II with its greatest villain, Hitler, being a meth addict. Japan stockpiled the drug and gave it to kamikaze pilots so they could fly longer and be more alert. In the United States the Mexican drug cartels and the hells angels brought it into mainstream where it remains to this day. One of the biggest draws to using methamphetamines is the hyper focus many people get while using it; this heightened sense of alertness is a huge draw for college students struggling under a heavy school load. Meth can be taken a number of ways including smoking, intravenously and orally through pills. Surprisingly meth pills can actually be prescribed by a doctor; although the prescribed doses are smaller than what the typical drug user digests. Meth causes a release in dopamine’s and block the reuptake of it; making the drug extremely physically addicting. Many college students try the drug and enjoy a quick jump in their grades; as their attention focuses and they sleep less and accomplish a lot more work. However the addiction can quickly take hold in the midst of their studies, and the use of the drug switches from a study drug to a way to get high. The drug changes the brain at a molecular level, with changes persisting for up to a year after the user quits. Although very similar to cocaine to the other stimulants, such as cocaine or amphetamines, the side effects are worse and the addiction more gripping. Long term use can cause weight loss, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, violent behavior and more. Another more obvious effect is the physical transformation which heavy users undergo; with dental problems and gaunt faces, ads of people before and after meth have been pasted all over the internet and television. These ads are one of the reasons why usage has actually been decreasing over the years; however in many poor areas students still get hooked on the drug attempting to help up out their school work. As one of the manufactured drugs meth is made with chemistry equipment and household items. Which brings college students to another issue, the drug is extremely cheap to make, and for a person studying chemistry a seemingly simple one to make. The most difficult ingredient for meth is the common cold drug ephedrine, which has been picked out by the government and made difficult to acquire in mass. However being a effective and popular cold drug named Sudafed the government can’t completely ban it. While searching for the many recipes to make meth, chemicals that commonly show up are sodium hydroxide, also name lye which can be used to dissolve bodies. Ammonia, red phosphorous which are used in match heads, ether another xtremely flammable liquid, Drano, butane, hydrochloric acid, and lithium which probably taken from old batteries rather than a dealer authorized to sell lithium. All of these chemicals could be bought in a trip to Wal-Mart or a local hardware store. Flammable chemicals combined with people using cheap and dirty equipment the odds of disaster increase by a large margin. More alarming are the new methods of making meth are easier and safer, with one using only a few of the above ingredients and a couple of two liter soda bottles. All of these factors make meth a simple drug for college students to acquire. While many will enjoy the quick boost in grades and attention span, the horrible addiction and dangerous ingredients make it an extremely hard drug to quit. Another common harmful substance among college students is caffeine. Caffeine is the most widely consumed substance that has a significant effect on the mind by individuals. Caffeine is a â€Å"potent and quick-acting drug which produces an effect similar to the stress response in our bodies† (pe2000). It was made popular in the 17th century throughout Europe. It was seen as a fashionable, delightful drink and individuals began to produce cravings for the substance (Burchfield). Caffeine is a chemical that is produced naturally in over one hundred plants. It is found in many different beans that are usually crushed up into powder, which is used for numerous different drinks. Caffeine is usually taken in as a drink. It is found in coffee, soft drinks, teas, energy drinks, and several other beverages. Caffeine is extremely popular among college students due to the effects it has among the body. Individuals tend to use caffeine to aide in staying up late to finish homework assignments or studying for tests. College students tend to become dependent upon the substance even as it starts to harm them over time. This substance is found in many different everyday food products and effects individuals differently. Depending upon a person’s sex, weight, and build, caffeine will affect him or her differently than others. This substance has an almost instant effect upon the user’s mind and body. It continues to affect the user for six to eight hours after the initial intake. Caffeine stimulates the heart and nervous system. It causes the users blood pressure to rise and quickens blood circulation throughout the body. Caffeine tends to upset an individual’s stomach due to the fact that it causes the stomach to produce more acid. This causes an individual’s lining in their stomach to become irritated. Short term effects can be accompanied by long term after excessive use. Although caffeine stimulates the brain, too much caffeine may cause the â€Å"jitters. † Individuals who are addicted to caffeine may suffer from headaches, irritability, or agitation (pe2000). Caffeine addiction is very difficult to break. It is best for an individual who is addicted to caffeine to ease off the substance slowly over a period of one to two weeks. It is beneficial to attempt to cut off the greatest source of caffeine to start with, usually coffee. Easing off the use of caffeine reduces the user’s chance of a dramatic drop in blood pressure. Caffeine withdrawals have many side effects of their own. The side effects can begin in as little time as six to eighteen hours after the sudden stop of caffeine intake. Withdrawal effects include drowsiness, irritability, restlessness, and reduced concentration. The user may also suffer from headaches or muscle cramps. It becomes a dangerous substance to be addicted to and is a very difficult addiction to break. Many college students become addicted to this harmful substance and are unaware of the harm they are causing their bodies. Alcohol, ecstasy, meth, and caffeine are all harmful substances that are found among college students. They are substances that at first give students energy to accomplish the tasks at hand. They eventually cause great damage and cause harm to a student’s life. They affect a student’s dedication to school, friends, and family. Harmful substances are difficult to avoid, but a student should set it as a goal to avoid such substances.

Expert Guide to the ACT Format What You Need to Know

Expert Guide to the ACT Format What You Need to Know SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you want to do well on the ACT, it’s not enough to just study test content. You have to know the test inside and out, including what questions to expect, what reading passages to anticipate, and what topic areas you’ll encounter the most. Being this familiar with the test will help you improve your score in a significant way - it’s much more effective than just focusing on test content. In this post, I’ll go over everything you need to know about how the ACT is written, including format, content, and question types. At the end, I’ll tell you exactly what you can do to successfully incorporate this knowledge into your ACT study plan. Why Is Familiarity With the ACT Format Helpful? The ACT is an incredibly predictable test. Although there have been a few recent changes, the test format has (in general) stayed pretty consistent over the past few decades. This works to your advantage for a few very important reasons: Familiarity with the test helps you focus on, and improve on, your weaknesses. The ACT is super predictable when it comes to test content and format, down to the number of questions that test a certain concept. If you’re familiar with the test format and structure as you study, you can narrow your focus to very specific question types and content areas that may be bringing down your score. It helps you improve your ACT strategy, which is just as important as preparing for test content. The ACT writes the test sections, questions, and answer choices in a very particular and consistent style. Familiarizing yourself with the basic structure and format of the ACT is like getting to know the test inside-out - if you can get inside the mind of a test writer, you’ll have a huge advantage on the test. The more experience you have with this style, the better you’ll be able to anticipate which answers are correct and incorrect on test day It helps you work on time management, an important part of succeeding on any standardized test. Knowing the general layout of the test, in addition to knowing what your own strengths and weaknesses are, is an integral part of ACT time management. If you can’t finish the questions on time, you won’t do well, no matter how well you know the material. Finally, the fewer surprises you encounter on test day, the better. When you know exactly what to expect when you take the ACT, you can focus on the most important part of the test: demonstrating what you know in order to get a great score. Knowing the test format and structure inside and out may help alleviate test-taking anxiety, a verycommon problem that impacts many students’ scores. The Basics: The Structure of the ACT The ACT has four mandatory multiple-choice sections which are always presented in the same order: (1) English, (2) Math, (3) Reading, and (4) Science. There’s also an optional (5) Writing section for a total of five test sections. The total test time without the Writing section is 2 hours and 55 minutes. The total test time with the Writing section is 3 hours and 35 minutes. Here’s what you can expect in terms of number of questions, time limit, time per question, and question type for each of the ACT sections: English Number of questions 75 Time limit 45 minutes Approximate time per question 36 seconds Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices Math Number of questions 60 Time limit 60 minutes Approximate time per question 1 minute Question type Multiple choice with five answer choices Reading Number of questions 40 Time limit 35 minutes Approximate time per question 52 seconds Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices Science Number of questions 40 Time limit 35 minutes Approximate time per question 52 seconds Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices Writing Number of questions 1 Time limit 40 minutes Approximate time per question 40 minutes Question type Essay prompt Content and Skills: What Does the ACT Test? The next step in familiarizing yourself with the ACT is knowing exactly what concepts, skills, and content will be tested on the exam. If you know what content will appear, and you know exactly how it will be tested, all of your bases will be covered (remember, the fewer the surprises on test day, the more you can focus on what’s important). The ACT is pretty transparent about test content. Here, I’ll go over what you’ll need to prepare for each section and what these sections will actually look like. English On this section you’ll be presented with passages. You’ll either have to choose the correct version of a sentence within the passage or will have to answer more broad questions about the construction of the passage itself (you’ll see a couple examples shortly). The ACT English section tends to heavily favor a few main grammar and style rules, and just lightly touches on the other minor ones. This means (unless you’re aiming for a very high score), you can focus primarily on these main rules as you prepare for the test. There are two main types of English questions: ones that test usage and/or mechanics, and ones that test rhetorical skills. Below you’ll find approximate breakdowns for the number of each question type you’ll see on the test. When it comes to Usage and Mechanics (about 40 out of a total of 75 questions), the main grammar rules tested on the ACT are: Correctly forming and joining sentences (20.5% of grammar questions) Correct use of commas, dashes, and colons (17.7% of grammar questions) Correctly using nonessential clauses and relative pronouns (9.6% of grammar questions) Correct verb tense and form (9.6% of grammar questions) When it comes to Rhetorical Skills (about 30 out of a total of 75 questions), the main rhetorical rules tested on the ACT are: Logical transitions (18% of rhetorical questions) Adding information (16.7% of rhetorical questions) Conciseness (15.5% of rhetorical questions) Replacing and re-wording information (15.5% of rhetorical questions) Most of the questions on ACT English test this content by asking you to choose the most correct version of a sentence within a passage - you’ll have to choose among four answer choices in this section. For example: A question where you choose the correct version of a sentence. Some questions are formatted a bit differently, and instead ask you about a passage as a whole. For example: For more information on this section, check out our ultimate ACT English prep guide. Math The math section is a little different from other ACT sections. Some math questions are stand-alone - they won’t be linked to any other questions in the section - whereas others are linked â€Å"sets.† You’ll have to choose from five multiple-choice responses instead of four (which obviously makes things more difficult). Math questions are also roughly arranged in order of difficulty. You can generally split the section into three zones: Questions 1-20: Easy Questions 21-40: Medium Questions 41-60: Hard Difficulty is determined by the amount of time you’ll need to solve a problem, the number of steps required, the number of math concepts you must employ, and the likelihood that you’ll be familiar with the material. Learn about how to take advantage of this organization of question by difficulty. Because they’re arranged by difficulty, these questions are also roughly arranged by content, with â€Å"easier† math concepts (i.e. ones you’ve spent more years studying) at the beginning of the section and â€Å"hard† concepts (i.e. ones you’re less familiar with) at the end. Generally, you’ll see more algebra questions toward the beginning and more geometry and trig toward the end of any ACT math section. Here’s a breakdown of the topics you’ll see on ACT math for a general overview: Pre-algebra: about 20-25% of questions Elementary algebra: about 15-20% of questions Intermediate algebra: about 15-20% of questions Coordinate geometry: about 15-20% of questions Plane geometry: about 20-25% of questions Trigonometry: about 5-10% of questions Read our more detailed guide to ACT math content for more information. Now, on to some examples. Most questions on this section are stand-alone questions, meaning they’re in no way related to any other question on the section. A stand-alone question may look like this: You might see some sets of math questions on the ACT where two or more questions are related to each other, or refer to the same figure. Here’s an example of what a prompt like that would look like: For more information on this section, check out our ultimate ACT math prep guide. Reading The ACT Reading test is made up of four different subsections. Each of these subsections has either one long passage or two shorter, paired passages. In this section, every question will ask you to respond to or interpret the passages. The Reading section will present you with one reading passage for each subsection, and the types of passages you’ll see will always be in the same order: Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative Social Science Humanities Natural Science The ACT tests this content with a variety of question types. Fortunately, we have a general idea of how often each question type shows up on the average Reading section - with this information, you can think more critically about question types that you may need to spend more time preparing. Here’s a typical section breakdown by question type: Question Type Average Number of Questions Percentage of Questions Big Picture 4 10% Little Detail 18 45% Vocabulary in Context 3 8% Development and Function 9 22% Inference 6 15% All Questions 40 100% The info above isn’t helpful if you can’t identify the sorts of questions you’ll see on the Reading section, right? Here are the main question types you’ll see on the English section, followed by examples: Big Picture - Deal with the main point of the passage or the narrator’s overall point of view. These types of questions require you to look at the passage holistically rather than focusing on one specific section. Little Picture/Detail - Ask about a small piece of factual information in a passage. They are the most straightforward questions because they’re so literal - you just have to find the correct information. Vocabulary in Context - Ask about the meaning of a word in the context of the passage. They may also reference something in the passage and ask you to choose a vocabulary word that best describes it. Development and Function - Ask about how a certain paragraph, sentence, or phrase functions in the context of the passage, how the argument in the passage was developed, or how the author structured the passage. Inference - Ask you to make inferences based on a logical extension of information found in a passage. Check out our guide to ACT Reading questions for more detailed information and examples. Science The ACT Science section consists of several â€Å"passages† where you’ll have to respond to short paragraphs, charts, graphs, tables, or some combination thereof - they’re not like the passages in the Reading section where you just respond to a wall of text. All of these passages are just different ways of presenting data for you to interpret. Because of the way the section is formatted, you’ll see sets of questions, like you sometimes see on Math, rather than stand-alone questions. The passages themselves may be on a variety of topics, including: Biology Chemistry Earth/space sciences Physics Just like with the Reading section, it’s not necessary for you to have specific background knowledge in these topic areas - you just need the skills to interpret the passages correctly. There are three main passage formats. Each format will present data in a different way - a set of multiple-choice questions after each passage will ask you to interpret and/or analyze this information. Here’s what to expect for each format: Format #1: Data Representation This format presents one or more sets of data in some sort of graphical representation. What you’re asked to do: understand, evaluate, and interpret information presented in graphs, tables, or charts Number of questions: About 15 (38% of total ACT Science questions) Here’s what a â€Å"passage† may look like in a Data Representation format: And here’s what a multiple-choice question may look like in response to the Data Representation format: Passage Format #2: Research Summaries This format presents the results of two or more experiments, usually with text in addition to graphs or charts. What you’re asked to do: understand, evaluate, and analyze one or more experiments Number of questions: About 18 (45% of total ACT Science questions) Here’s what a â€Å"passage† may look like in a Research Summaries format: Here’s what a multiple-choice question may look like in response to the Research Summaries format: Passage Format #3: Conflicting Viewpoints This format presents several different conflicting scientific hypotheses, usually in a text passage. What you’re asked to do: understand and evaluate conflicting viewpoints, theories, or hypotheses on a specific topic Number of questions: About 7 (17% of total ACT Science questions) Here’s what a â€Å"passage† may look like in a Conflicting Viewpoints format: Here’s what a multiple-choice question may look like in response to the Conflicting Viewpoints format: For more information and example questions on the ACT Science section, check out our ultimate prep guide. Writing The ACT Writing section is completely optional - that being said, I’d encourage you to do some research before deciding not to take it (as tempting as that may be)! Students have 40 minutes to plan, write, and edit an essay in response to one writing prompt. Prompts tend to address contemporary issues (e.g. the pros and cons of living in an increasingly automated society). So what exactly do these prompts look like? Well, students are provided with three diverse perspectives on a particular issue. After reading these perspectives, students are asked to develop their own take on the topic and explain the relationships between the original perspectives. Put simply, your jobs are to: Take a position on a topic (and defend it) Address all the diverse perspectives presented to you Explain the relationships between those three perspectives Here’s an example of what an ACT writing prompt looks like: Check out our complete guide to ACT writing and scoring for more information. Using ACT Formatting: How to Prep for the ACT Earlier in this post, I mentioned that familiarizing yourself with the ACT format can help you in a few important areas: Identifying your weaknesses Coming up with a strategic game plan Improving time management Alleviating stress that comes with surprises on test day Here, I’ll address exactly what you can do (in all four of these areas) to use knowledge of ACT format and structure to your advantage. Identify Your Weaknesses When you know exactly what will be tested on the ACT, and exactly how it will be tested, you can use your practice materials to hone in on sections, content areas, question types, and passage types that give you more trouble than others. This strategy only works if you invest a significant amount of time in working through and then analyzing ACT practice materials. Official ACT practice tests are the best for this - ideally, you’ll down under realistic testing conditions with an official practice test to get a baseline score. As you work through your practice material, keep careful track of where you’re losing points - doing a post-mortem on your work is the most important thing you can do to improve your score. I’d encourage you to set up a spreadsheet for easy mistake tracking. For each ACT practice section, for example, you’ll want to ask yourself: Which questions am I getting wrong? Which types of questions am I getting wrong? Do I lose more points on a particular type of passage? (E.g. perhaps Research Summary passages in ACT Science give you a hard time) Do I lose points at the end of a section because I run out of time? Do I lose points in a particular content/knowledge set area? (E.g. maybe you have trouble with absolute value in ACT math) Come Up With a Strategic Game Plan Once you have a better idea of where you need to improve, you can come up with an ACT study plan that’s catered to your weaknesses. If you have a baseline score, you’ll have a sense of how many points you’d like to bring your score up. Here’s a general guideline for how long you need to study based on your improvement goals: 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours 1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours 2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours 4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours 6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ Read more about putting together a study plan that works for you. Improve Time Management If you know what to expect on the ACT, you’ll be better able to work through the test on the fly. If you know what slows you down (e.g. a particular question type or content area) you can plan on doing speed drills during practice or skipping (and then returning) to those questions on the test. For example, reading passages - like the ones you’ll find in ACT Science and ACT Reading - tend to slow down a lot of students. If you know that this is a personal sore spot, you should read our guides to time management on ACT Science and ACT Reading. If you have an idea of what to expect, you’ll be that much better at navigating the stressful time limits of the test. Alleviate Stress Coming up against unexpected obstacles - especially when you’re in a time crunch - is pretty stressful for most people. By engaging in regular practice with official ACT prep materials, you’re doing yourself a huge favor by taking the stress of unexpected content and formatting out of the equation. For more info on alleviating stress, read our guide on what to expect and how to prepare for the ACT test day. What’s Next? Now that you have all this great information about the ACT and how it’s structured, you might be interested in learning more about some other logistical issues - like how it’s scored. Read first about the scoring system with our complete guide to ACT scores. Then, figure out what target score you should be aiming for. For expert tips, read our famous guide on how to get a perfect score on the ACT. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Growing trend in online education Research Paper

Growing trend in online education - Research Paper Example e and usage of computers started to decline and more focus was given to those devices which were more capable of ensuring communication between more than two individuals. For example, it was also intent that, in the clinical advancement, there should be electronic mechanism between patient, doctor, nurse and other medical staff who was directly or indirectly connected with the health of the patient. As a result of such expectations, the recent advancement in the shape of online education has not only facilitated the electronic communication between nursing students and health teaching hospitals facilities but also increased an opportunity for studying and learning through using the medium of the Internet. Overall, this transformation has considerably increased opportunities for online nursing learning and also enabled to adjust their routine study schedule as they want to. In the following parts of this paper, first description about online education has been provided. Moreover, this part also elaborates on the general significance of online education. Subsequently, Significance of online education for nursing students has also been provided. After that part, merits of online education has been included in which accessibility and affordability features have been mainly emphasized and elaborated as well. It is followed by demerits of online education part in which education quality and lack of concentration have been detailed. Before the conclusion part, the significance of magnet status for hospitals and the nursing students has been included. Online education is growing across the world (Shelton and Saltsman, 2005.p.146). Online education is defined as an education mechanism in which information communication technology is used for the purpose of studying different subjects. Fundamentally, there are three different activities used in the online education system: online education provider, medium and online education receivers (students). In addition, online

Independent learning plan 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Independent learning plan 2 - Essay Example ful in solving the children’s learning problems, and making the information (confidentially) available to the people that are directly connected with the children’s learning processes (Snow & Hemel, 2008). [ 2] The common procedure utilized in preparing the questions to determine the level of children with special needs is by preparing both oral and written tests. But whichever test to use depends on the child’s ability to comprehensively reveal itself either only through speaking or writing or by both (Ysseldyke et al., 2006). Age, previous exposure to any form of education and parental cares have been identified as helpful factors in successfully determining the level a child with special needs may be placed (Ysseldyke et al., 2006; Converse, 2009). There are six levels altogether, and each level up represents a more complex stage in the child education. Level one questions are general questions and could cover questions such as the student’s personal information, location of objects, activities and routines, future predictions, etc. (Cline, 1992). Level two questions could cover areas on directions, experiences, preferences, schedules, etc. Level three questions cover past events, polite requests, opinions, logical deductions, future conditions, etc. Level four covers past actions, infinitives, describing, second conditional, etc. Level five has questions on present perfect simple, third conditional, suggestions, defining relative clauses, and generalizations. For the case of level six, the questions focuses on complains, regrets, future perfect simple, reported speech, etc. (Bartlett & Wegner, 1987). The following are the examples of six-levelled questions that could be prepared orally or in written form for children with special needs to answer: 3. Classroom Organization: Each child will seat on a chair across from a wide table and facing each other but not touching each other with their bodies to avoid distraction. I will stand at the middle of

Organizational Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organizational Design - Essay Example Thus structure has a key role in the all-important human dimension of an organization. In recent time, due to failure of old organizational structures new structure though unconventional, coming up. The main criteria for design principal of organizations are speed, flexibility, integration and innovation. Recent time, organizations becoming complex in nature and built upon a foundation composed of purpose and core values but most of them change due to learning response to past weaknesses but nothing significant change in the organizational design has happened which could be termed as path breaking or truly innovating. Another form of Organizational Structure i.e., "Citizen cell structure" (Law, 1998) has been developed in which each cell is self managed by group of 35 people that is able to develop in its own way rather like a micro culture which mirrors the overall culture of the company. The cells keep in touch and in harmony with each other and the overall philosophy of the company by sharing information. If the cell grows successfully than it splits and forms two new cells. Each new cell then is responsible for its new growth and development. This type of structure of the organization supports its dynamic, interactive, team working approach, which is a perfect example of a complex adaptive system operating in the creative zone. (Lewin & Regine, 1991 p. 105). Complex forms of organization have the structure having following characteristics i.e. non-linear, non-hierarchical, holistic, self-organizing, flexible, diverse and networked. Lot of organizational design and structures have been adopted and tested around the world by the organizations nowadays and it has been changing accordingly all the time according to needs of the organizations. Basically it has been understood by the organizations as well as those leading it that nature of the organizations and designs must be understood properly by them and the importance or organizational designs to play in improving performance, sustainability and satisfying human dimensions. Now scanning through the different theories and concepts of structure and designs for the organizations, in the present circumstances of Riordan we can analyze which design will be best suited to the organization. In my opinion Riordan is complex organization and must have non-linear, non-hierarchical, holistic and flexible structure. Riordan must adopt "Citizen Cell Structure" because of its specialty and major emphasis on the teamwork and team building and diverse nature of operations. Riordan has already have three plants located in different locations and its R&D Department & H.O. located in same location. Its customer base is also diversified from Auto industry to Government department as well as manufacturing organizations and beverage organizations. To cater the needs of different customers and to provide better services to them, the Riordan must form the team for different customers having complete responsibility as well as have flat structure with decentralized decision mak ing. Then all the units must be networked and all the groups must maintain the main goals, values as well as ethos of the organization. The team must provide complete solutions to their customers and will be responsible for decisions. They must be innovative to provide innovative ideas, solutions to their

Deep Water Experts Financial Ratios Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Deep Water Experts Financial Ratios - Assignment Example Overall, the picture of the company’s financial health is quite promising, and a potential for expansion seemed to be a likely opportunity to explore. I. Short-term solvency or liquidity ratios Short-term solvency or Liquidity Ratios 2010 2011 Industry 1. Cash Ratio 1.08 1.56 0.21 2. Current Ratio 2.67 3.30 1.43 3. Interval Measure    96.92 n/a   4. Net working capital to total assets 0.12 0.17   n/a 5. Quick Ratio 1.80 2.20 0.38 Liquidity refers to the â€Å"availability of resources to meet short-term cash requirements† of the company (Larson and Jensen). In the case of Deep Water Experts’ finances, it refers to its ability to generate cash and cash-like assets to pay for its expenses as they come due, at least in the short-run horizon. Cash ratio indicates the amount of cash the company has for every unit of current liability falling due. In this area, the company has performed way better than the industry ratio. In 2011, it has a cash ratio of 1.56, whi ch means that it has 1.56 Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) to cover each unit of current liability falling due. This is way better than the industry’s 0.21 per unit of current obligation. ... Interval Measure indicates the company’s current asset per average daily operating cost, which includes cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and interests. While no industry average is available for comparison, on its own, the company seemed to have a large enough current asset compared to its average daily operating cost. It has a very solvent position in this regard, with almost 97 AED for each unit of average daily operating cost. The company has large investment in durable or fixed assets, as can be gleaned from its working capital to total assets ratio. While working capital has increased from 2010 to 2011, in relation to total assets, it is still pretty small, with only 17 percent compared to its total investment on its assets. Finally, the company’s quick ratio further confirms its high degree of solvency. It has a quick acid ratio 1.80 in 2010, improving further to 2.20 in 2011, while the industry performance is only 0.38. This company has lesser risk of defa ulting on its current obligations, as can be seen from its short-term solvency ratios. II. Long-term solvency or financial leverage ratios Long-term solvency has been defined as the â€Å"company’s long-run financial viability and its ability to cover long-term obligations† (Larson and Jensen). Further, it is concerned more on the company’s capital structure, or the composition of the company’s sources of finances to support its business activities, whether in financing, investing, or operating activities. The company’s debt to equity ratio measures the proportion of the company’s assets contributed by its owners, and those assets that are supplied by its creditors. In 2011, the company has one unit of debt for each unit of equity. In 2010, it has a

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's Essay

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's - Essay Example The full effect of the national mobilization, in both countries, was a unique and monumental undertaking that served to provide the technical knowledge that led the staggering innovations of the subsequent generation. Proving that the benefits ran far beyond the military application, this study will confirm that argument that the 1950’s, in specific, marked a turning point in military ingenuity and upper tier scientific exploration. Directly accompanying this rise in technology was the fundamental fact that better education was needed to further any significant works. Birthed of the militaries need for expertise in new and still developing fields of research this study presents arguments that define the effect that need had on the education system of an entire nation. With new demands and ever increasing competition from the Soviet Union, the American education system underwent a substantial upgrade. Such an accomplishment, while made for sake of the brief military need, still serves to provide educated students for a still warring world. Alongside the Military buildup of the 1950’s, the Space Race helped to define a nations pride and determination. In direct competition with the U.S.S.R., American Space technology was thrust into the mainstream of society. Unknown and unremarkable scientists became national heroes and figures of consequence nearly overnight. By proving that the need for the American culture to feel triumphant helped to fuel the drive to space, this research will link the importance of the Space race to the cultural development in the decade of 1950 – 1960 and well beyond. By providing a point of national pride with which an entire population could not only rally around but hold up as role models and heroes, the Space Race provided an outlet for the pent up frustrations that were left simmering from the Second World War. Facing our once ally in a political and exploratory arena served to drive ingenuity and innovation to a never before level, that alone would have been a monumental achievement. Standing alongside the major accomplishments that took place in that decade, the research will show the profound influence that these footholds attained gave to following research. Much like the rest of the culture, competition combined with a sense of potential conflict, will serve to drive an already driven person to every greater height. On the other end of the cultural spectrum, the Space Race and the Arms race respectively are directly responsible for several still extant social movements across the globe. An entire philosophy was spawned by the detonation of the first nuclear bomb. The mere sight of the blue marble of Earth from space helped to cause the environmental movement; this was their first adopted symbol. The technology to see and the knowledge to learn that harm or potential harm would happen was direct result of military and space exploration innovation. This link will serve to show the fundame ntal and utterly connected nature that the movements of a society and their military are. The intertwining nature of a culture encompasses every facet and excludes none. During the 1950’s, there was such momentous tidal wave of change that the facts will make it nearly impossible to argue

Music of Beethoven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music of Beethoven - Essay Example He changed the musical form but not the structure in this period. One of his quartets had 7 movements instead of 4. One sonata had 2 movements: one movement and a set of variations of the theme of the movement. His 9th Symphony, Joy to the World: was based on Schiller's Ode to Joy. He used two principle ideas: universal brotherhood through the love of God. The choral was magnificent. As one point there were 4 solo voices to sing. His late works were so intimate and intimidating. His whole life he considered music as a mode of self expression His compositions of the third period of his life were beyond the understanding of most. We do not consider the compositions avant-garde as we have heard what came afterwards. Beethoven is an excellent introduction into an avant-garde composer of his time. He did not conform to society. He adapted new forms of compositions and orchestrations. He wrote for different groups of instrumentation. He was not understood by his contemporaries; and he comp osed for himself. The last issue in which Beethoven was not affected was the patronage of royalty. Beethoven early in his life decided what he was going to compose and for whom. Most composers had patrons and as artists, they wrote what was asked of them. 19th avant-garde composers compositional or other issues. Berlioz and Liszt were contemporaries. They were forced by the times to be more than just composers. They did not have patrons. They had to work by supplying their incomes through writing (literary).

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's Essay

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's - Essay Example The full effect of the national mobilization, in both countries, was a unique and monumental undertaking that served to provide the technical knowledge that led the staggering innovations of the subsequent generation. Proving that the benefits ran far beyond the military application, this study will confirm that argument that the 1950’s, in specific, marked a turning point in military ingenuity and upper tier scientific exploration. Directly accompanying this rise in technology was the fundamental fact that better education was needed to further any significant works. Birthed of the militaries need for expertise in new and still developing fields of research this study presents arguments that define the effect that need had on the education system of an entire nation. With new demands and ever increasing competition from the Soviet Union, the American education system underwent a substantial upgrade. Such an accomplishment, while made for sake of the brief military need, still serves to provide educated students for a still warring world. Alongside the Military buildup of the 1950’s, the Space Race helped to define a nations pride and determination. In direct competition with the U.S.S.R., American Space technology was thrust into the mainstream of society. Unknown and unremarkable scientists became national heroes and figures of consequence nearly overnight. By proving that the need for the American culture to feel triumphant helped to fuel the drive to space, this research will link the importance of the Space race to the cultural development in the decade of 1950 – 1960 and well beyond. By providing a point of national pride with which an entire population could not only rally around but hold up as role models and heroes, the Space Race provided an outlet for the pent up frustrations that were left simmering from the Second World War. Facing our once ally in a political and exploratory arena served to drive ingenuity and innovation to a never before level, that alone would have been a monumental achievement. Standing alongside the major accomplishments that took place in that decade, the research will show the profound influence that these footholds attained gave to following research. Much like the rest of the culture, competition combined with a sense of potential conflict, will serve to drive an already driven person to every greater height. On the other end of the cultural spectrum, the Space Race and the Arms race respectively are directly responsible for several still extant social movements across the globe. An entire philosophy was spawned by the detonation of the first nuclear bomb. The mere sight of the blue marble of Earth from space helped to cause the environmental movement; this was their first adopted symbol. The technology to see and the knowledge to learn that harm or potential harm would happen was direct result of military and space exploration innovation. This link will serve to show the fundame ntal and utterly connected nature that the movements of a society and their military are. The intertwining nature of a culture encompasses every facet and excludes none. During the 1950’s, there was such momentous tidal wave of change that the facts will make it nearly impossible to argue