What Is an Edge Habitat

Across the globe, human development has fragmented once-continuous landscapes and ecosystems into isolated patches of natural habitat. Roads, towns, fences, canals, reservoirs, and farms are all examples of human artifacts that alter the pattern of the landscape. At the edges of developed areas, where natural habitats meet encroaching human habitats, animals are forced to adapt quickly to their new circumstances--and a closer look at the fate of these so-called edge species can give us sobering insights into the quality of the wild lands that remain. The health of any natural ecosystem depends significantly on two factors: the overall size of the habitat, and what is happening along its edges. For example, when human development cuts into an old-growth forest, the newly exposed edges are subjected to a series of microclimatic changes, including increases in sunlight, temperature, relative humidity, and exposure to wind. Plantlife and Microclimate Create New Habitats Plants are the first living organisms to respond to these changes, usually with increased leaf-fall, elevated tree mortality, and an influx of secondary-successional species. In turn, the combined changes in plant life and microclimate create new habitats for animals. More-reclusive bird species move to the interior of the remaining woodland, while birds better adapted to edge environments develop strongholds on the periphery. Populations of larger mammals like deer or big cats, which require large areas of undisturbed forest to support their numbers, often decrease in size. If their established territories have been destroyed, these mammals must adjust their social structure to accommodate the closer quarters of the remaining forest. Fragmented Forests Resemble Islands Researchers have found that fragmented forests resemble nothing so much as islands. The human development that surrounds a forest island acts as a barrier to animal migration, dispersal, and interbreeding (its very difficult for any animals, even relatively smart ones, to cross a busy highway!) In these island-like communities, species diversity is governed largely by the size of the remaining intact forest. In a way, this is not all bad news; the imposition of artificial constraints can be a major driver of evolution and the flourishing of better-adapted species. The problem is that evolution is a long-term process, unfolding over thousands or millions of years, while a given animal population may disappear in as little as a decade (or even a single year or month) if its ecosystem has been wrecked beyond repair. The changes in animal distribution and population that result from fragmentation and the creation of edge habitats illustrate how dynamic a cut-off ecosystem can be. It would be ideal if—when the bulldozers have disappeared—the environmental damages subsided; unfortunately, this is rarely the case. The animals and wildlife left behind must begin a complex process of adaptation and a long search for a new natural balance. Edited on February 8, 2017, by Bob Strauss

Brittany Portwood. Educ 2130. Dalton State College. March

Brittany Portwood EDUC 2130 Dalton State College March 23, 2017 Introduction Psychology is full of theories that explain why we think the way we think. Of those theories, is the popular Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Jean Piaget introduced a variety of ideas and concepts to the world of psychology describing logical thinking in children and adolescents. To fully comprehend just how valuable his theories are today, it is important to explore the life of Jean Piaget, his educational background, and the stages of cognitive development and how the stages impact the classroom. This will give a further analysis and explanation of how Piaget has helped to shape our viewpoints as teachers today. Biographical Background of (Jean†¦show more content†¦By studying the cognitive development of children and adolescents, Piaget identified four major stages of mental growth which are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete, and formal operational. He believed that all children pass through these phases to advance to the next level of cognitive development and in each stage children demonstrate new intellectual abilities and increasingly complex understanding of the world (Zhou Brown, 2015). He also believes that no stages can be skipped and that the intellectual development always follows the sequence. The first stage of Piaget’s cognitive development is sensorimotor, which begins at birth and last until eighteen months to two years of age. This stage is the use of motor activity without the use of symbols, so when it comes to this stage is based on physical interactions and experiences and knowledge is very limited. Infants cannot predict reactions and therefore must constantly experiment and learn through trial and error (Zhou Brown, 2015). A good example of this would include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth. As infants become more mobile their ability to develop cognitively increases and early language development begins. Object performance also occurs at seven to nine months, demonstrating that memory is developing. The next stage is the pre-operational stage, which usually occurs during the period of twenty-four

The Godfather free essay sample

A brief review of the book The Godfather by Mario Puzo. This paper provides a brief synopsis of this novel, relating the main plot and storyline. It is a story of an immigrant from Italy, who failing to find a reasonable source of income, becomes a Don. The story revolves around the Don and his family. This paper focuses on the character of the Don. The main character of the novel, the Don, had a kind of small kingdom of his own in the localities of New York. The novel starts with a scene of a court where an affluent young man was being accused of torturing a young girl, who was an Italian immigrant. The judge dealing with the case is biased or influenced by the family of the young man and therefore orders to release the guy. Not getting justice from the court, the father of the young girl being tortured goes to the Don and asked him for help. We will write a custom essay sample on The Godfather or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Don responds him with warmth and promises to help him out. In return, he asks the person to be ready to do a favor to the Don in future. This introduction of the novel gives the impression that the character of Don though apparently seems to be an evil one but in actual he is an honest and fair person who tries to help others out through his own ways.

Negotiation Case Essay Example

Negotiation Case Essay Post-Negotiation Analysis For The Paradise Project In this case, I was playing the role of chief project manager of the Paradise Project, and I was negotiating with my Manager of Artistic Design (Angel) and Manager of Client Contracts and Customer Relations (Elion) in order to resolve the conflict between each of them. Overall, I was satisfied with the final agreement, which paid 3,000 more pesos to Angel and ensured that he would change the color of the tiles and finish the job before the deadline. At the same time, Elion would be helping him get the work done. Because we were able to reach a mutually satisfying agreement, I would like to analyze three aspects of our negotiation process; how I implemented it as a chief manager, what I learned from it, and how I can improve my negotiating skills in the future to achieve even better results. First of all, because I was playing the role of chief manager of the project; I assumed that I should be the one that controls the meeting. Therefore, I set up a brief outline for this negotiation before we met each other, and tried to keep our discussion organized. I think this was one of the significant factors that helped me steer the whole meeting toward my target outcome. Secondly, I didn’t spend too much time talking, instead, I spent lots of time asking them questions and listening carefully to their responses. I believe that nobody likes being asked to do something, but people usually like to provide ideas about how to do something. We will write a custom essay sample on Negotiation Case specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Negotiation Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Negotiation Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Third, during the meeting, I tried to encourage the other participants to provide their own solutions. Although some of their proposals weren’t feasible, I didn’t reject them outright, at least not at first. I pointed out the difficulties and allowed them to rethink. In fact, by employing these three strategies as a manager, I achieved a deal that was close to my target outcome, even better than my BATNA. After the meeting, I figured out that I made the mistake of treating both Elion and Angel as subordinates on the same level as each other. In fact, as a manager of client contracts and customer relations, Elion should have a closer relationship to me because it’s both of our jobs to get the project done and satisfy our clients. For Angel, the artistic value of his work is most important. Therefore, I should have considered each individual’s relationship towards me more clearly so that I could control the negotiation process even better. In addition, I figured out finding common interests amongst each party are crucial for finding a mutually agreeable solution. Angel was confident about his design. If I wanted him to change his color choice, I would have needed to convince him that changing his design doesn’t necessarily mean that he made a bad choice, only that it is a client request. Even though I reached an agreement efficiently, I still need to improve my negotiation skills. First, I should have been able to consider if there is another option besides of changing the color. For example, the option of keeping the color, and then convincing our client to accept it. Second, I could have been more aggressive during the meeting in order to save as much money as possible. Because I am the chief manager, and any extra cost will directly create a negative effect on my supervisor’s evaluation of me. To sum up, participating in this case gave me an opportunity to understand how a chief manager should perform in a negotiation process. By reviewing the result, I have learned I considered more clearly each party’s relationship towards me, and I should been more aggressive during the meeting to purse them. I am looking forward to the next one.

Solar Energy - The Energy Of The Future Essays - Energy Conversion

Solar Energy - The Energy Of The Future? About 47 per cent of the energy that the sun releases to the earth actually reaches the ground. About a third is reflected directly back into space by the atmosphere. The time in which solar energy is available, is also the time we least need it least - daytime. Because the sun's energy cannot be stored for use another time, we need to convert the suns energy into an energy that can be stored. One possible method of storing solar energy is by heating water that can be insulated. The water is heated by passing it through hollow panels. Black-coated steal plates are used because dark colours absorb heat more efficiently. However this method only supplies enough energy for activities such as washing and bathing. The solar panels generate "low grade" heat, that is, they generate low temperatures for the amount of heat needed in a day. In order to generate "high grade" heat, intense enough to convert water into high-pressure steam which can then be used to turn electric generators there must be another method. The concentrated beams of sunlight are collected in a device called a solar furnace, which acts on the same principles as a large magnifying glass. The solar furnace takes the sunlight from a large area and by the use of lenses and mirrors can focus the light into a very small area. Very elaborate solar furnaces have machines that angle the mirrors and lenses to the sun all day. This system can provide sizeable amounts of electricity and create extremely high temperatures of over 6000 degrees Fahrenheit. Solar energy generators are very clean, little waste is emitted from the generators into the environment. The use of coal, oil and gasoline is a constant drain, economically and environmentally. Will solar energy be the wave of the future? Could the worlds requirement of energy be fulfilled by the "powerhouse" of our galaxy - the sun? Automobiles in the future will probably run on solar energy, and houses will have solar heaters.

Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Essay Example

Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Essay Example Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Paper Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Paper Essay Topic: Animal Dreams Animal Farm Great Expectations The answer is simple, the use of satire. From the moment Pip is introduced, to the point in which him and Estella supposedly fall in love, Dickens has placed his sense of satire to please the readers sense of feelings for the characters. This young boy named Pip was not raised in the richest family in the world, so he is elated that his uncle has set him on a meeting with one of the wealthiest old woman In England. Upon arrival a beautiful little girl about his age welcomes him. The old woman, Ms. Having, tells this little girl, Estella, to play with Pip and show him the ropes of being In a high-class society. More Importantly Ms. Having tells Estella to somewhat fall for Pip, and It works. As the reader you see the Irony that this Is all a ploy to destroy a little boys state of mind, and to break his heart which Is stated In this passage, Well, I thought I overheard Miss Having answer- only it seemed so unlikely- Well, you can break his heart. (Dickens 61 ) But Dickens wants Pip to feel the irony, so what better way to do it than having the girl of is dreams tell him, You must know, said Estella, condescending to me as a beautiful woman might, that I have no heart. (Dickens 235) It is a perfect way to leave the reader double-checking all that they read, and it is an even better way of introducing a little chaos in the story. Animal Farm, In short, Is about the time and events of World War II and the Russian Revolution. If a reader doesnt know this then they might not have gotten the irony and chaos presented by George Orwell. For example, after Mr.. Jones was over heron from his own far m, the animals took over; more specifically the pigs took charge. The pigs, including Snowball and others, decided they where smarter and Tanat teen snouts run ten Tara. Nine animals as a wangle Ana agreed, ten Irony, ten pigs sat around and encouraged the animals to work while they reaped the benefits. These leaders had become dictators. Orwell was able to take some of the worst stories and people of the time and turned them into animals. By saturating his story, people could distance themselves from the horrors of war. It was almost as if he wrote a fairy tale for adults. Animal Farm is a story full of saturating from point A to point B and is used in what seems to be every last sentence. A simple quote from the book showing satire, All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. (Orwell) The saturating in Outpost of Progress is very easily seen, Just read the title. Even more ironic than the title is that the two main characters, Asserts and Carrier, are probably the laziest people ever put into a story. And of course these lazy men set the stage for a tale meant to be about progression, which, there seems to be none of. When the story takes place, it is during the time of colonialism in Africa, which is where the story is taking place. Through out the book these men are supposed to sell things to the tribesmen and people around their outpost. But due to the lack of people in the area things Just tend to sit in the shop and the two men Just sit. So what happens when there is only one cube of sugar left for their daily cup of coffee? Simple, the lazy men actually have to fight for it. Had this happened at the beginning of the story these men would have stuck to their morals and not have even thought of sighting over something so stupid. But being in this heat, without friends or loved ones tears them down limb by limb. The only progress in the entire story is the death of both of the men, over a cube of sugar. It is like Conrad meant for this story to be written based purely on saturating stating this in the book, The courage, the composure, the confidence; the emotions and principles; every great and every insignificant thought belongs not to the individual but to the crowd: to the crowd that believes blindly in the irresistible force of its institutions and of its morals, in the rower of its police and of its opinion. (Conrad, page 193) It is easy to conclude that satire is something that is placed in many books for the enjoyment of the reader. Without it many story lines would be dull and not worth reading. So for the sake of expressing their inner humor, authors insert satire where they can. As stated, Great Expectations, Animal Farm, and An Outpost of Progress are clear reminders of great and timeless stories that without some of the corruption and irony wouldnt be the classics they are today.

The Evolutionary Changes in Construction Between the De Havilland Essay

The Evolutionary Changes in Construction Between the De Havilland Comet and the Airbus A380 Aircraft - Essay Example In addition, the jetliner also had a large square window and a pressurized fuselage. Regarding the era, the Comets provided a comfortable passenger cabin. It made its first commercial debut in 1952 where it flew without any problem. Its successful debut as a commercial jet helped drew passengers from all parts of the country with an interest in using the Comets as their preferred choice of flight. However, the success stories of the Comets did not last long since the airplane began experiencing problems just a year after its commercial service debut. In fact, three of the Comets broke up while, on flight resulting in an accident, that received wide publication by the media, according to Montagu-Pollock (2012). Investigations that followed showed that the accidents occurred due to catastrophic metal fatigue that the manufacturing engineers did not understand property at the time of its manufacturing. This prompted the withdrawal of the Comet from service after which it was taken for e xtensive testing to unearth the real cause of the accident. Investigations showed that the accident had initially been wrongly blamed on poor weather. Instead, design flaws were identified, which included dangerous installation methodology, and dangerous stresses at the corners of the windows. As a result, the Comet was modified with oval windows and structural reinforcements among many other changes, notes Nolan (2010). The other rival manufacturers of aircrafts learnt from the Comet and began making improvements in their while manufacturing processes avoid the mistakes made during the manufacture of the first Comet. Overview of the construction design of the Comet The first De Havilland Comet was made entirely of metal low-wing cantilever monoplane, observed Montagu-Pollock (2012). They had four engines, two of which were mounted below the wings for powering the plane. The two engines were buried under the wings to prevent the drag of podded engines, as well as to give room for sm aller fin and rudder. The mounting of the engines higher in the wings was also meant to reduce the risk of injection damage, which had been a major problem associated with turbine engines. It also had four-place cockpits for two pilots, navigator, and a flight engineer (Nolan 2010). Unlike the features of the aircrafts of the time, the first Comet had a clean low-drag design, which included the swept-wing leading edge, four-wheel bogies, and integral wing fuel tanks. The original De Havilland Comet measured almost the same length as the later Boeing 737-100. However, it carried fewer people in a spacious environment than the Boeing 737-100 (Birtles 1990, p.11). The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) installed 36 reclining ‘slumber seats’ with center measuring about 45-inches allowing for a greater leg space both behind and in front. Air France, on the other hand, was fitted with 11 rows of seats plus four seats installed on its comets. The plane also had tables where passengers can have the feeling of enjoyment and comfort. Amenities included a large galley capable of serving hot and cold cuisines and drinks, according to Ron and Patterson (2010, p.19). It also had toilets for both men and women. Because of the safety concerns, the airplane had an emergency section, which included several life rafts kept in the wings, just next to the engines. However, after encountering problems while, on flight, several improvements have been made to ensure that such accidents do not occur

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 8

Case study - Essay Example MDCM is in urgent need to take suitable steps for improving its IT setup to save the company from getting into continuous loss. The company has been suffering loss in the market in spite of all its steps and strategy designed for the customers and company’s benefit. The company shares its benefits and losses with the customers in order to form close relations with the customers. With the passage of time, the company has identified the importance of its global status. This paper evaluates the IT projects suitable for the company and presents recommendations for the MDCM Corporate Board. There was a large audit to find out the IT problems with the company in the past five years. This audit was very fruitful as it informed all the seniors about the IT issues with the company. They had some knowhow beforehand but the detailed audit informed them about the situation of the company in depth. According to the audit report, â€Å"MDCM’s IT services had been badly mismanaged† (Jeffery & Norton 2). IT was not working effectively because of this mismanagement. IT was neglected by the management of the company and also wrong investment decisions were taken related to IT due to which, IT suffered a lot and became a reason for giving loss to the company (Jeffery & Norton 2). A global setup for IT was required by the administration of the company. The audit also resulted in some positive outputs such as the customer relationship management (CRM) system and computer assisted design (CAD) system in branches of MDCM working successfully. IT budget was less as compared to its required amount for the upgrade of the company’s IT. There were many project initiatives which were regarded essential for the company’s IT success. Unifying methodology and technological standards was regarded necessary by Atkins and his team. By improving this project initiative, the administration hoped to adjust a sharing knowledge based network and also the future

Aviation security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Aviation security - Research Paper Example Reports from the radar signal imply that, before the crew lost contact with the Air traffic controllers, the flight might have turned around. The international investigators who were searching for the missing plane released a report in which they indicated the prevalence of rough conditions which did not allow for effective search of the plane such as deep water in the Indian Ocean and remote location. The search was commenced in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand since it was the area in which the plane was missed on the secondary surveillance radar. After analysis of the path the flight might have taken, the search team shifted their efforts to the southern part of the Indian Ocean by narrowing their areas to 60,000 km2 of West of Australia. The search on this area was utterly unfruitful. There was no indication of any flight debris or a crash site. As such, the there was no official theory which was formulated by the authorities that could have aided in the search for the missing flight. As a result, there were informal many theories and speculations of what happened to the plain. There are no reports on where the plane might be or whether the passengers and the crew members are still alive despite month of searching. The search effort for this plane is of a multinational dimension which has turned out to be the most expensive and largest search efforts in history. There has been diverse theories and misconception about the causes of disappearance of the Boeing 777. Some of the theories indicate that the plane was shot down due to military conflicts between Thailand and the United States in the South China Sea. This theory is developed in Nigel Cawthorne’s Flight MH370: The Mystery. In his theory, the shoot down might have been accidental. Another theory is the â€Å"9/11 theory† that has been widely spread in the internet. The theory originated from Christopher Green of

Development Of Italian Neorealism Film Studies Essay

Development Of Italian Neorealism Film Studies Essay Italian neorealism developed as a particular form of cinematic expression during the period when Italy was ruled by the Fascists. Italian neorealism developed under onerous circumstances and became a form by which Italian filmmakers could express themselves in a new way. Essentially, the early neorealist filmmakers were doing what they could with the tools at hand and doing it under the watchful eyes of an antagonistic ruling class, From the tensions this arrangement produced, they created something distinctive, allowing them to develop ideas and to do so in a new cinematic style. At the time, Italy was ruled by fascists, who viewed art as valuable only to the degree it was useful. Yet, these films were not made in service of fascist ideas but as a counter to them. The forces that helped shape these films, the style that was produced by these tensions, and some important examples demonstrate the vitality achieved by Italian directors as World War II ended. One of the best-known of what would be called the neo-realist approach to film was Roberto Rossellinis Open City (1945), and many of the characteristics of the movement were evident in this film. These films had an anti-establishment, revolutionary attitude. They had an extemporaneous, documentary quality enhanced in the early era by the materials from which they were madewar-time film stock, cobbled-together equipment, non-professional actors, and location shooting. Open City is a good example of this early period in neorealism, while Vittorio De Sicas The Bicycle Thief (1948) is an expression of the fully developed tradition from the period after the expulsion of the fascists and after the end of World War II. These two films display a challenge to the establishment of the time and a social consciousness that delves into the reality rather than the image of the nation. For this reason, neorealism encountered hostility from the established forces because these films portrayed Italy in a realistic and critical way that was not the sort of image the establishment wanted for the country, particularly to be presented to the outside world. Bondanella sees the development of neorealism as a high point in the history of the film and one that would be highly influential to later works and movements. Bondanella cites critic Andre Bazin, who called neorealism a cinema of fact and reconstituted reportage' which offered a message of fundamental human solidarity fostered by the anti-fascist Resistance. Bazin says that these works often embodied a rejection of both traditional dramatic and cinematic conventions. The filmmakers most often employed on-location shooting rather than studio sets and used nonprofessional actors and documentary effects. Leprohon emphasizes that this cannot be considered a coherent movement in the sense that it created rules or even theories followed by the filmmakers. Rather, the filmmakers were merely trying to express themselves individually in a way that was in the air: Essentially, neo-realism was a product of political and social circumstances. And it is in this revolutionary aspect of neo-realism that I should like to discuss first of all. Before it existed in its own right, with definite aims and sectarian interests, neo-realismwhich was still namelesswas opposed to a state of affairs which increasingly stifled and oppressed the expression of trutha state of affairs that existed . . . long before the Fascist era.   Leprohon notes that the neorealistic style had as its underlying aim making the cinema an extension of the literary realism that had developed at the end of the 19th century. Leprohon looks back at this literary history and finds a precedent for the new form of cinematic expression: Neo-realism was thus a revival of the Risorgimento, the unfinished revolution which the young polemicists intended to complete, while at home and abroad the regime was giving increasingly clear signs of its imminent collapse. Neorealism was itself a revolution. Liehm sees many of the young filmmakers of the time as conscious revolutionaries seeking artistic truth in cinema because the literary scene was too disorganized and scattered to be an effective vehicle:   The struggle had to originate where the strongest weapon was, carried out by film artists whose work was centered in the major cities, mainly in Rome. After twenty-seven years of fascism, no other medium had the stamina to create a social context for a new artistic movement.   Visconti brought the setting of Italy to life, and setting would be an important component in neorealistic films. He made changes from the original Cain story that are significant in showing the intent of the filmmaker. Cains story is naturalistic, with characters encountering the accidental and failing in the face of arbitrary but not divine justice. For Visconti, this is not the way the universe operates; instead, he sees a tragic outcome deriving from the necessary logic of the situation into which the characters are thrown:   Turning Cains parable of arbitrariness into a demonstration of necessity required, however, more than a simple alteration of plot mechanics. It meant creating a new structured framework in which to define the actions of the characters, and consequently making the characters themselves different.   Though the Fascists had accepted the story, they did not accept the finished product, and the censor refused to pass it. The young filmmakers objected and approached Mussolini, who saw nothing objectionable and passed it. However, when the last Mussolini government took refuge in the North, its members took the film with them in a cut version and destroyed the negative. The prints in existence today are from a duplicate possessed by Visconti. Ironically, the film was long unavailable in the West for quite a different reasoncopyright problems because of Cains novel. This element of the social statement was an important component in the leading neo-realist films, and indeed this element was feared by the fascists, who did not want their society depicted in any but the best light. With the end of Italian fascist rule, a different set of critical rulers was put in place. Roberto Rossellinis Open City is a film about Rome during the period of the German occupation, and the conditions under which the film was shot mirror the situation in the film itself.   The film was also important for what it said to the world of film: It so completely reflected the moral and psychological atmosphere of this historical moment that it altered both the public and the critics to a new direction in Italian film. The conditions of its production (relatively little shooting in the studio, film stock bought on the black market and developed without the normal viewing of daily rushes, postsynchronization of sound to avoid laboratory expenses, limited financial backing) did much to create many of the myths concerning neorealism.   Rome at the time was a just-opened city, in that the Germans had just left, and the effects of the Nazi occupation were clearly still felt and contributed to the metaphoric meanings attached to the film. Much of the sense of the title is ironic, in that Rome was not yet an open city at all in the time frame of the film, though that was the condition wished by the people and newly experienced by the filmmakers, who had themselves prayed for that release from the enclosure of the Nazi occupation. The period of the occupation is evoked as a time of great difficulty and trouble, and the term open city then had a different meaning, in that the police wore armbands proclaiming Rome an open city, meaning it was not to be a military target based on the international rules of war. Although the police proclaimed the city open, it was actually a city tightly enclosed by martial law under the Germans. The penalty for nearly every infraction was death, giving the city the aura of an enclosed grave much of the time. Openness thus sometimes has a literal meaning, sometimes a metaphoric meaning, and sometimes an ironic meaning, in that the actuality belies any openness at all.   The contrary nature of the title is evident in the American release version of the film, which begins with an explanation of the problems facing the filmmakers when they made the film, including having to shoot without proper equipment, behind locked doors, and out of sight of the remaining Nazis until the Germans were finally gone from the city. Certainly, this description does not imply openness at all, but it does imply an attempt on the part of the filmmakers to create an openness through their art. In the opening scene, as the Italian partisan, Giorgio, flees his home when the Nazi soldiers arrive, Rossellini contrasts the interior and the exterior, the intrusion of the Germans and the escape of Giorgio, in a way that challenges different ideas about openness. Giorgio has been enclosed in his home, though viewers first see him emerging into the openness of the exterior. He peers down through a crack in the roof to see the Germans as if they were in a small box. In truth, they are standing before his door. The interior of the apartment seems dwarfed by their presence, and they are therefore all the more enclosed by the walls and doorways that seem too small to hold them as they search the apartment. Ironically, the man hunted, a man clearly not free, is out in the open air, while the hunters, who presumably are free, are enclosed within the confines of his apartment. Immediately after this sequence, the explanation of the term open city is given as the commander of the German occupation uses a map to explain that the open city is divided into 14 zones, making controlling the populace with a minimum of force easier. The map itself encloses the open city, and the way the Nazis live in the city also belies its openness as far as they are concerned. Major Bergmann is asked how he met Giorgio, and he says in the usual wayhe met him when he was across the desk from him in the same room, for Bergmann takes pride in being able to bring anyone to his office that he wishes and in himself never leaving that office. He indeed states that he takes a stroll through the city every afternoon without leaving his desk. He is enclosed in his warped task and keeps himself as widely separated from the city and the people as possible. The Nazis in general treat the city as something they pass through, not something of which they are a part. They clearly do not belong, just as they seem out of place in Giorgios apartment, squeezed by the walls as if the walls want them out. The office of Bergmann is no more hospitable, although it is much larger, and he and the Police Commissioner stand and talk together awkwardly, stiffly, with the map of Rome between them, the map divided up by the boundaries of the 14 zones. The Nazis have closed themselves off from the city they occupy, maintaining quarters distant from the people of Rome, avoiding contact, and indeed living separately because that is a mandate imposed on them by their leadership, fearful of fraternization and collaboration on any scale. Scene after scene creates an ironic contrast between the idea of Rome as an open city and the reality of different kinds of closure. The people mass in the streets before shops trying to buy food, yet those shops are closed, with nothing to sell. The streets are open, but the buildings are truly closed, with no provisions and little hope of a changed situation in the near future.   The film presents a certain tension, however, between the realism of its city streets and the underlying attitude taken by the director toward the material: The tone of the work is thus far more indebted to Rossellinis message of Christian humanism than it is to any programmatic attempt at cinematic realism. The good characters are set sharply apart from the corrupt ones by their belief in what Francesco calls an impending springtime in Italy and a better tomorrow: Marina is corrupted by Ingrid not because of political convictions but because she lacks faith in herself and is therefore incapable of loving others.   Cesare Zavattini, who co-wrote The Bicycle Thief with De Sica, is noted as the theoretical founder of Neo-Realism. As early as 1942 he called for a new kind of Italian film that would abolish contrived plots, take to the streets for its material, and do away with professional actors. According to Zavattini, plot was inauthentic because it imposed an artificial structure on everyday life. The unemployed family man in The Bicycle Thief and his son are the lead characters and both are non-actors who were coached by De Sica. Vittorio De Sica directed The Bicycle Thief in 1948, and, although this was after the war and after the expulsion of the Fascists, the film is infused with De Sicas bitterness that few things had changed in society:   While Rossellini was searching for subjective freedom of facts, De Sica tried to find their human face. He discovered it not in the exceptional sorrow of the war but in the misery of daily life where the war was just one aspect of the human lot.   De Sica had trouble interesting any producers in a story about so trifling a subject as the theft of a bicycle, and he had to raise the funding himself by traveling all over Europe.   Though the film is clearly critical of the social conditions of the time and challenged the authorities as a consequence, it is much more than a social document or tract. De Sica sees the problem in the psychology of the people as much as in the structure of their society. He shows bureaucrats, police officials, and church people who have no understanding of the main characters dilemma in having lost his bicycle, and he also shows that members of the mans own class are no more sympathetic towards him.   Bondanella states that De Sica sees a world in which economic solutions are ultimately ineffective in curing what is a meaningless, absurd, human predicament: De Sicas carefully contrived visual effects underline the hopelessness of Riccis struggle, not merely the economic or political aspects of Italian society which have supposedly produced his dilemma.   This is a double indictment of society, including as it does the people themselves as well as the establishment, and such a bleak view had to have an effect on the viewer. Certainly, this was not the picture of Italy that the authorities wanted to have presented to the world. In truth, De Sicas view was not that the authorities themselves were to blame:   Social reform may transform the immediate situation De Sica described in 1948. Economic development will indeed change a society in which a stolen bicycle may signify hunger and deprivation. But no amount of social engineering or even revolution, De Sica seems to imply, will alter the basic facts of lifesolitude, loneliness, and alienation of the individual within the amorphous and unsympathetic body of humanity.   Alfred Bazin was one critic who did not agree with De Sica on this point and who saw The Bicycle Thief as an indictment of the authorities. Bazin called the film the only valid Communist film of the whole past decade. Bazin also said the film represented a new form of pure cinema, a cinema with no actors, no sets, and no storyline in the traditional sense. Open City before had made use of real locations but had included actors and a more traditional storyline. The Bicycle Thief is thus the film that most represents what the world would come to see as the essence of neo-realism. It was also the beginning of a tradition that would be followed by others. The post-war government did not try to exercise the kind of control the fascists had wielded, and the establishment must have felt some ambivalence about a film that, on the one hand, criticized the establishment and all of Italian society in a stark and effective fashion and, on the other hand, brought acclaim and attention to the Italian film industry when it was praised and rewarded around the world. Italian neorealistic directors expressed their antipathy to either the structure of their society or the ways in which that society was controlled and directed in a variety of ways. Rossellini in Open City and De Sica in The Bicycle Thief each created a new form of cinematic expression, related in their underlying intentions and in certain stylistic elements that link them even as other stylistic and thematic elements make them very different from one another. All challenged the prevailing establishment, however, and involved images and themes that many in authority believed did not r eflect well on Italian society. These two films taken together contributed to the mythic view taken of the neorealist period. Open City was shot in a way that was new and different and that inspired a generation of filmmakers, including De Sica, who carried aspects of neorealism to a logical end.

The Impact of Women in The Iliad Essays -- Role of Women in the Trojan

Women have always been recognized for their strong influence on the actions of men. Because of his love for Delia, Samson told his secret of his power and ended up losing it. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth urged Macbeth to commit murder. More recently, Eleanor Roosevelt strongly influenced the decisions that Franklin D. Roosevelt made. Women of Homer's epic, The Iliad, were considered primary instigators of the Trojan war. The characteristics attributed to women in ancient Greek mythology may have been key to the outbreak of the war. But many ask why Homer would choose to reflect so deeply on the feminine roles of this war fought by men. Although the beginning of the war was not spoken of in The Iliad, the origin of the war is traced back to jealous goddesses. The gods and goddesses were feasting together to celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Eris, the goddess of discord, had not been invited. She came, however, and threw among the guests a golden apple, on which was inscribed "For the fairest." Three goddesses claimed the apple. They were Hera, wif...

Teaching as a profession has changed drastically

This is besides a timely issue in southern Florida since one of its school territory ‘s gained national attending late because parents used a societal computing machine web forum to develop the group TINT ( Testing is Not Teaching ) . This grassroots organisation was started by parents who felt that their kids were being overly tested in the public school system. The parents were joined by instructors and pupils and used the societal web to form protests and mass meetings. Two of the groups purposes were to hold the CAO ( Chief Academic Officer ) removed from his place, along with the Superintendent who hired him. The group felt that the CAO was passing out a â€Å" written plan † , particularly in reading, that all instructors were mandated to follow. This plan was designed to increase trial tonss on the FCAT ( Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test ) , given to all pupils in classs 3 through 10. In the terminal both the CAO and Superintendent resigned and TINT is now cl osely watching local and national developments in instruction. In this epoch of high bets proving, territories, schools and instructors depend on the success of their pupils ‘ success on standardised trials. These trials are correlated with national and province criterions and are farther broken down by benchmarks. These benchmarks provide the guidelines for the content instructors cover during the school twelvemonth. Research has shown that effectual instructors participate in the planning and implementing of the course of study but the authorizations from the Federal, province, and local authoritiess take the ownership of learning off and replace it with a course of study that is out of their control. This instance survey will look at the effects of the high-stakes testing motion on single instructors and analyze the functions and duties these instructors believe they have in fixing their pupils for the high-stakes testing. This instance survey was designed to analyze the relationship between the execution of increased high bets proving and teacher efficaciousness and to reply the inquiry do teacher believe they have a function or any duty in determining instructional schemes in fixing their pupils for taking high bets trials? The focal point was on analyzing what educational patterns are working to increase instructor efficaciousness with province mandated standardised testing and looking at schools which have implemented successful plans to help instructors. Three instructors will be interviewed to determine their position in determining instructional schemes within their school that prepare their pupils for the province mandated trials. This qualitative research designed instance survey will interview three instructors in public schools in a territory in South Florida. The interview inquiries will be predetermined and the topics will hold the chance to read these inquiries before being interviewed. There will be four inquiries for each one to reply. These inquiries will be developed by the interviewer and concentrate on the instructor ‘s function sing high bets proving and if it has changed their instruction patterns. They will besides be asked what function they have in their peculiar school in determining instructional schemes for their pupils to win on these trials. The interviewer will both transcribe and tape all the interviews and after the written text is complete it will be given to the instructors for their reappraisal.History of testing:The construct of aptitude testing was introduced during World War II as a method of happening the best and most intelligent soldiers for the United States military, ( Schmidt 2008 ) . In the old ages after the war these trials became incorporated into the American society as a manner to happen persons with superior scholarly capablenesss. The SAT was adapted from Yerkes ‘ trials for the military and was used by colleges and universities as one factor in finding admittances to their installations. By the 1960 ‘s SAT scores began to worsen, raising political and public concerns about the quality of the state ‘s educational system. Before this diminution, many Americans held a positive position of public instruction in the United States. American instruction was thought to both work out society ‘s jobs and besides endeavor to include pupils from diverse backgrounds, ( West & A ; Peterson, 2003, p. 4, as cited in Schmidt, 2008 ) . After publication of the diminution in trial tonss, many Americans became concerned with the province of the American educational system. The standardised testing motion is the consequence of the a series of jurisprudence ‘ passed by the state ‘s Presidents, climaxing in 2001 with the transition of No Child Left Behind ( NCLB ) , by so president George W. Bush. The authorizations of NCLB have proved to be controversial although basic end was â€Å" aˆÂ ¦to create an inducement for pedagogues to guarantee that no one pupil, or group of pupils, is left behind in their reading, linguistic communication, and mathematics abilities † . NCLB had legion demands that provinces and school territories had to follow in order to have federal support. The foundation of the NCLB jurisprudence is that provinces must make AYP ( Annual Yearly Progress ) each twelvemonth. The jurisprudence specified that every province â€Å" aˆÂ ¦must develop, and incorporate into their course of study, a standards-based answerability plan that demonstrates student proficiency degrees in the nucleus capable countries of rea ding, linguistic communication humanistic disciplines, and mathematics † ( Schmidt, 2008 ) . These proficiency degrees are measured by standardised trials given to all pupils one time a twelvemonth and these trials had to be approved by the Department of Education prior to being given ( Abernathy, 2007, p.5 ; Sunderman et. al. , 2005, p. 5 ) . By carry oning one-year testing, territories can closely supervise the advancement, or deficiency thereof, of pupils. No Child Left Behind was the latest reproduction of President Lyndon Johnson ‘s reform of educational reorganisation known as the ESEA ( Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ) . Both steps stressed the thought that public instruction â€Å" aˆÂ ¦requires a federal presence to guarantee academic advancement and academic equality for all pupils † . Schmidt ( 2008 ) Since the ESEA was passed at that place have been alterations made to its base, with the latest being No Child Left Behind ( NCLB ) The federal authorities has played an of import function in altering public instruction in the United States, the motive for these alterations in public schools were motivated because of concerns for America ‘s worsening trial tonss. The two chief drifts for alteration were worsening trial tonss on the Scholastic Aptitude Test ( SAT ) and the publication of A State At Risk by Terrance Bell. Three of import causes were named in the passing of the ESEA statute law. The first was the worsening public presentation of pupils on the SAT test. The second was studies conducted during this clip that repeatedly placed the United States in the lowest percentile of overall academic accomplishment when compared with foreign educational systems, ( West & A ; Peterson, 2003, pp. 4-5 ; Nichols & A ; Berliner, 2007, p. 4 ) . The 3rd factor was the relentless accomplishment spread that separated minorities and low-income pupils ‘ tonss from kids who came from a more affluent background. ( Nichols & A ; Berliner, 2007 ; p.4. & A ; Kantor, 1991, p. 51 ) . A State at Risk was published 18 old ages after the transition of the ESEA and was written by so Secretary of Education, Terrence Bell â€Å" Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform in America ( West & A ; Peterson, 2003 p. 5 ; Berry, 1993, p. 215 ) . This study focused on the United States ‘ low academic accomplishment in malice of the federal authorities ‘s focal point on bettering pupil public presentation in public schools when the ESEA was passed. The study stated that, â€Å" aˆÂ ¦the educational foundations of our society are soon being eroded by a lifting tide of averageness that threatens our really future as a State and a people † ( Bell, 1983 ) . Furthermore, the United States achieved a low academic rank when compared to other states and the authors of the study believed that America ‘s educational system was in demand of a drastic reform. The publication radius of a series of reforms that the writers believed would â€Å" aˆÂ ¦reverse the downward spiral of an unequal educational system, ( Schmidt, 2008 ) . The reforms included parental and community engagement at local schools, engaging instructors with advanced grades who were more motivated to learn, and a higher degree of engagement from all degrees of authorities. Although this publication did non excite any alterations on the federal degree, it still remained an of import factor in American public instruction. In 1994, so President Clinton passed a reauthorization of the ESEA called Goals 2000. This federal reform plan was ambitious in nature since it provided pecuniary inducements for public schools that implemented annually proving to demo student advancement towards proficiency, ( West & A ; Peterson, 2003, p.7 ) . This plan provided Title 1 schools with â€Å" aˆÂ ¦federal support â€Å" for developing ‘local reformsaˆÂ ¦the developme nt of standardsaˆÂ ¦enhanced professional development, bettering in engineering, and alterations in administration for answerability † † with the end of increasing pupil public presentation in the aˆÂ ¦ † nucleus capable countries such as, reading and mathematics ( Fuhrman, 1994, p. 84 ) . Goals 2000 laid the basis for NCLB. It was during this clip that the term â€Å" answerability † became of import since it was used as an inducement for provinces to get federal financess. This thought was added to NCLB, but President Busch extended the significance by doing the relationship stronger between the federal, province, and local bureaus. Although the answerability measures set Forth by NCLB have proved to be controversial, its basic end of the Act was â€Å" aˆÂ ¦to create an inducement for pedagogues to guarantee that no one pupil, or group of pupils, is left behind in their reading, linguistic communication, and mathematics abilities † . NCLB had legion demands that provinces and school territories had to follow in order to have federal support. The foundation of the NCLB jurisprudence is that provinces must make AYP ( Annual Yearly Progress ) each twelvemonth. The jurisprudence specified that every province â€Å" aˆÂ ¦must develop, and incorporate into their course of study, a standards-based answerability plan that demonstrates student proficiency degrees in the nucleus capable countries of reading, linguistic communication humanistic disciplines, and mathematics † ( Schmidt, 2008 ) . These proficiency degrees are measured by standardised trials given to all pupils one time a twelvemonth and these trials had to be approved by the Department of Education prior to being given ( Abernathy, 2007, p.5 ; Sunderman et. al. , 2005, p. 5 ) . By carry oning one-year testing, territories can closely supervise the advancement, or deficiency thereof, of pupils. The standards-based instruction reform and answerability motion started in the mid-1980s and raised outlooks of public presentation for U.S. schools ( Buttram & A ; Waters, 1997 ) . The province of Florida took the enterprise to better K-12 instruction and so Governor Jeb Bush instituted the A+ Plan in 1999. This program was created as a standards-based answerability system, concentrating on bettering the public presentation of all pupils, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, poorness degrees, native linguistic communication or disablement position. The chief premiss of the A+ Plan was that â€Å" every kid can larn and no kid should be left behind † ( Executive Office of the Governor, nd. ) . A brief reappraisal of the literature found a clear division between research workers who found that standardised trials are good vs. those who believe these trials are damaging to education as a whole. Many writers began their Hagiographas by depicting the necessity of standardised testing in today ‘s schools. Bandalos ( 06 ) explained the demand for standardised testing within educational scenes today since these high-stakes trials are the method in which pupil acquisition is assessed and continuously evaluated by instructors, principals, and school territories. Bandalos besides stated that acquisition is the end in all of instruction and the function of appraisal is to assist professionals understand the degree of larning pupils have achieved. Hammeran ( 10 ) besides felt that it was possible to â€Å" learn to the trial † while still covering the of import course of study for a category. This writer studied learning a scientific discipline plan that was aligned to the National Science Education Standards ( NSES ) . She wrote that since the province criterions reflect the national criterions, and standardised trials reflect both the province and national criterions, so concentrating on learning to the trial would guarantee that pupils were having the of import content in scientific discipline category. The significance of the job is clearly discussed The significance of the inquiry of instructor beliefs in their function in determining instructional schemes to fix their pupils for proving is a timely one in the province of Florida. Performance-based appraisal is now compulsory in many schoolrooms but instructors and parents have become concerned about the genuineness of these appraisals and how assessment information can be used as formative feedback to better instruction and acquisition. Although these newer attacks are driven by a motive to do pupil appraisal informations more utile and meaningful than some traditional attacks this alteration was viewed as a positive progress by some research workers while others felt that it was hard to judge the theoretical benefits of these alterations or to get down to consistently research the nature of instructors ‘ schoolroom appraisal patterns. This trouble arises because research workers, protagonists, and specializers in school territories in the state have non arrived at a cons istent definition of what these footings mean or what these patterns look like ( Frey & A ; Schmitt, 2007 ) . Coming to Footings With Classroom Assessment 2007 Bruce B. Frey-University of Kansas, Vicki L. Schmitt-Missouri State University Those who advocate for â€Å" aˆÂ ¦test-based accountabilityaˆÂ ¦ † argue that it increases pupil success by helping instructors to set more accent on the of import content in their capable country, provides wagess for good instruction, and produces informations that is used to do determinations about pupils, instructors, and schools. For such systems to work every bit intended, the policies must advance good direction, and any resulting additions in trial tonss must back up valid illations about increased pupil accomplishment. Research has shown that high-stakes testing does so act upon direction, but these effects are complex and consist both desirable and unwanted alterations in pattern. For illustration, instructors in territories or provinces where high bets are associated with trial consequences tend to concentrate on tried stuff and de-emphasize unseasoned stuff ( see Stecher, 2002 ) . Similarly, research indicates that the additions in tonss on high-stakes trials frequently generalize ill ( or non at all ) to other trials of the same sphere, raising uncertainties about the extent to which these additions provide valid grounds of improved pupil public presentation ( Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey, & A ; Stecher, 2000 ; Koretz & A ; Barron, 1998 ; Koretz, Linn, Dunbar, & A ; Shepard, 1991 ; Linn, 2000 ) . The literature on high bets proving is clear sing the history and development of these trials and how they are being implemented in school territories today. Conversely, the literature is divided into two factions-authors who believe that standardised testing is a good step of pupil acquisition and instruction, and writers who feel that high-stakes proving is a negative influence for instructors and pupils. The function that instructors believe they play in implementing in determining instructional schemes to fix pupils for proving is non a topic that has much coverage in the literature, but the branchings of † learning to the trial † is covered. The research inquiry is designed to understand the function instructors feel they play in determining instructional schemes to guarantee that their pupils achieve success on these compulsory province and authorities needed trials. These are the trials that they themselves are held accountable for the consequences by their schools and territories. If instructors feel they have no function in determining the direction for their ain pupils so for them it will be a affair of â€Å" learning to the trial † . If, on the other manus, they feel in control of direction the term â€Å" teacher efficaciousness † will be applicable to these instructors. Teacher self-efficacy refers to a instructor ‘s belief about his or her competency in holding a positive consequence on pupil larning accomplishment, Ashton, 1984 as cited in Denzilel, 2005. Prior research conducted in the field indicates that teacher self-efficacy is related to a instructor ‘s success in curriculum invention ( Berman & A ; McLaughlin, 1977 ) , beliefs about pupils ‘ capablenesss ( Ashton, 1984 ) and intelligence ( Klein, 1996 ) , quality of pupil relationships ( Ashton & A ; Webb, 1986 ) , assurance in working with parents ( Hoover- Dempsey, Bassler, & A ; Brissie, 1987 ) , clip spent on academic acquisition ( Allinder, 1995 ) , self-efficacy of low-achieving pupils ( Midgley, Feldlaufer, & A ; Eccles, 1989 ) , and the instructor ‘s ability to keep pupils accountable for their acquisition and public presentation ( Ashton & A ; Webb, 1986 ) . In the original Rand surveies, teacher self-efficacy was measured by inquiring two inquiries: ( a ) ‘When it comes right down to it, a instructor truly ca n't make much because most of a pupil ‘s motive and public presentation depends on his or her place environment ‘ , and ( B ) ‘If I try truly difficult, I can acquire through to even the most hard or unmotivated pupils ‘ . The first inquiry was hypothesized to measure instructors ‘ result outlooks, typically labeled learning efficaciousness ( TE ) . In contrast, the 2nd point was hypothesized to reflect personal instruction efficaciousness ( PE ) . From this position, TE relates to a instructor ‘s outcome outlooks and PE is based on the instructor ‘s judgements of his or her personal ability to act upon pupil acquisition. Early Rand research workers grounded teacher self-efficacy in Rotter ‘s ( 1966 ) venue of control concept and placed important accent on outcome outlooks and p ersonal duty when construing efficaciousness tonss. Later, Ashton and Webb aligned the concept with a societal cognitive theoretical position of self-efficacy ( 1977, 1978 ) . In contrast to the venue of control position, the social-cognitive attack emphasizes the dealingss between efficaciousness beliefs and outcome outlooks. Harmonizing to Bandura, result and efficaciousness beliefs are related but can be conceptually and through empirical observation differentiated ( 1986, 1997 ) . For Ashton and Webb, TE and PE represent steps of result outlooks and efficaciousness outlooks, severally. Teacher efficaciousness can be affected by the function they play in fixing pupils for mandated standardised trials. Author Kenneth Vogler ( 2006 ) stated in his article that in the past instructors were merely accountable to their decision makers and local school boards. It was those local boards that developed the course of study every bit good as the criterions for their school system. Now, instructors, every bit good as decision makers, are being held accountable to the populace for the academic public presentation of pupils in their charge. Standardized testing is a world in south Florida and that fact is non altering in the foreseeable hereafter. Students, parents, and instructors have mobilized to alter the importance and weight of these trials, but there is still â€Å" FCAT blackout † where no schools are allowed to take field trips, no personal yearss are given to instructors, and no conferences are held by the territory. After the blackout comes â€Å" FCAT season † where schools are on practical lock-down until all the testing is complete. From personal experience, instructors are ranked by the additions their pupils made, particularly in reading, math, and scientific discipline. When the CAO was in office, each instructor received a â€Å" book † to be completed that twenty-four hours. Sometimes the day-to-day book was 15 pages or longer. All of the control was taken away with respect to instructional schemes and learning to the trial began on the first twenty-four hours of school. The resea rch says that this focussed instruction can be positive or negative. The focal point of this survey is to inquire instructors if they fell they have control fixing their pupils for these high-stakes trials and to analyze what works in their readying and which countries they feel they have no control in direction. The consequences will be good to both the school and territory as we struggle to equilibrate the ends set Forth by the authorities with our pupil ‘s single demands. Teachers ‘ RESPONSES TO HIGH-STAKES TESTING AND THE VALIDITY OF GAINS: A PILOT STUDY. Daniel M. Koretz CRESST/Harvard Graduate School of Education Laura S. Hamilton CRESST/RAND Education Coming to Footings With Classroom Assessment 2007 Bruce B. Frey-University of Kansas, Vicki L. Schmitt-Missouri State University British Journal of Educational Psychology ( 2005 ) , 75, 689-708, 2005 The British Psychological Society www.bpsjournals.co.uk. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Teacher Efficacy Scale for prospective instructors. Gypsy M. Denzine1* , John B. Cooney2 and Rita McKenzie3 1Northern Arizona University, USA 2University of Northern Colorado, USA 3Buena Vista University, USA

buy custom Dreyfus Model essay

buy custom Dreyfus Model essay The Dreyfus model is defined as a model of skills acquisition which was initially developed through observing of nurses while doing their work. The model outlines five stages through which the skills are developed (Bosscher, 2007). The stages are made up of: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and lastly expert. The Dreyfus Model indicates that when skills develop within an individual, their dependence on rules reduce as their ability to make judgments independently increase. It works in such a way that when a person gets to the proficient and expert levels, they can identify patterns within the environment and function (at least) on insight. In explaining the stages involved in the Dreyfus Model, I will use a scenario of an early medical student being trained on how to obtain an Electrocardiogram (EKG) forchest pain. At this stage the learner has no previous experience and has to adhere to particular rules to deal with particular circumstances. Additionally, novice is devoid of modifiers and can be said to be content free. The learner does not feel responsible for their actions other than following the rules of practice. p style="text-align: justify;">The early medical student is trained to take an EKG to establish pain problems, this happens devoid of other modifiers (Stefl, 2008). At this stage, there is identification of new situational elements. The learners start applying rules to associated conditions. However, the judgments are made basing on rule application and they dont experience individual responsibility (Bosscher, 2007). The relatively more experienced medical learner discovers that dyspenea also might be connected to cardiac ischemia and asks for an EKG for that condition too. Competence Stefl (2008) asserts that tt this level, the total rules become extreme hence the student learns principles of organizing or viewpoints. The viewpoints (perspectives) allow arranging information by application. Consequently, the experience of responsibility comes up from lively decision-making. Here, the competent physician acknowledges a number of factors affecting the probability that a single symptom signifies ischemia and is makes use of a decision tree to allot llikelihoods balancing a composition of factors in choosing when to order for an EKG or additional modalities of diagnosis to commence treatment. Proficiency At this point, that physician employs intuitive diagnosis. The approach to a given circumstance is shaped by a perspective originating from a combination of real life experiences. In other words, there is holistic similarity identification. The learner makes use of intuition to recognize whatever is going on. Additionally, there is mindful decision-making and use of rules to formulate plan (Stefl, 2008). The proficient physician acknowledges that it is an infarction hence applies the rules to make decision on thrombolysis. Expertise According to Bosscher (2007), they neither make decisions nor solve problems but perform whatever works. At this stage, there is no decomposition of circumstances in to separate elements. The verdict will be that the situation is an infarction and the expertise will give direction on appropriate therapeutic and diagnostic steps. Buy custom Dreyfus Model essay

Learn more about Babson College MBA Essays

Learn more about Babson College MBA Essays Learn more about Babson College MBA Essay Learn more about Babson College MBA Essay Essay Topic: College application The first thing you need to know about Babson College is that it was established way back in 1919. It offers bachelor or master degrees in various fields in business. There are few other executive educational programs for many organizations to find proper education. According to the latest US News World Report, Babson College has been ranked among the best in Online MBA. This kind of recognition depends on the quality of its offered educational programs. As you can see, this college has an educational system that is highly respected. Starting from 1950, Babson College has been awarded with NEASC accreditation. This college has received accreditation reaffirmation of its MBA degree programs. This means accrediting its business programs with AACSB accreditation. The accreditation is another proof of the educational quality that is offered by this school. Receiving a degree from Babson College means many opportunities in the future. Just by holding it in your hands, you are getting the feeling that you succeeded to get a degree at one of the best business schools located in the Northeast. This college offers: Online MBA in Finance Online MBA in International Business Both of these programs enable the students to get proper knowledge and develop many leadership abilities. Through the courses of Finance and Financial Statement, Managerial Assessment, Leadership and Human Behavior, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Delivery Systems and few others, you will get everything you need to be prepared for the real world challenges. Babson College Online MBA program offers a really big opportunity for the students. They can get their education without the need for putting their professional careers aside. Babson College Online program represents a combination of e-learning and face-to-face instruction. The students need to spend up to 22 hours per week doing course work which is delivered through online learning. The students will be required to attend few sessions at least once every 6 weeks. You are able to choose whether you will attend to Wellesley, Mass. or San Francisco. Those students who are interested into enrolling to this Online MBA program are required to fill an online application. The programs are scheduled to start twice a year. You can choose to sign up in January or September. All students need to make sure they will send the application in advance in order to enroll to their desired semester. Babson College has a really strict selection process as it is accepting 300 students out of 650 applicants. If you want more information about its financial aid and tuition please visit the official website of Babson College.

Network Environment Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Network Environment Management - Essay Example For instance, finance data must be protected and only be accessible to the finance staff. For this purpose, an authentication mechanism i.e. Microsoft Active Directory is implemented. Microsoft Active directory will enable West Products to centralize data in one location and facilitate in audit functions. Moreover, for protecting unauthorized access, audit trails, user account logs are generated. For security aspect, active directory restricts the user from windows components, data sources, and the Internet. To add extra layer for protecting unauthorized access by the internal as well as external employees, Virtual LAN is implemented. The VLAN will divide the departments logically by separate addresses. For instance, Finance department data will not be intermixed with Sales data. For redundant Internet connections, Service Level Agreement (SLA) is established with Internet Service Provider. 2 Introduction The computer networks involved thousands of elements, a variety of devices and protocols, including interactions and relationships between components therefore enhanced network management for large scale systems has developed. In addition, the network has to fully informative and must contain effective management tools in order to make sure efficient and trouble free operations. Now days, non-integrated tools are used for the usual enterprise wide network management. These tools provides incomplete and limited outlook of the network and the management necessities. For this reason, significant problems arise that effect the management techniques. There is a requirement for a Network Management, Analysis and Testing Environment for achieving unified and inclusive software environment that helps to supervise and orchestrate the operations of the devices and protocols within the network management systems. The network management environment management represents the tools that provide knowledge regarding the management techniques. Moreover, effective deployment of the model resolves various network difficulties. The functional behavior of the network objects are confined and distributed equally. For instance, the distribution process and maintenance of data structures via multiple switches and network controls are involved in a virtual-circuit X.25 network. These distributed objects are significantly examined by the individual devices. Therefore, essential data must be handled by this model facility. Likewise, in a multi layered protocol, the behaviors of the network objects and the behavior of an individual layer are extremely correlated. For instance, a telnet session highly depends on the transport-layer (TCP) and network-layer (IP) functions in TCP/IP protocol suite. As a result, the network level connections failure may lead to the failure in the upper layers. This is represented by the network model as the interpretation of correlated behaviors. On the contrary, the statically configurations do not capture all the correlated behavior c hanges as, much correlation are the result of the vibrant interactions between the objects. 3 Proposed Solution for West Products The proposed solution for West products requires a synchronized active directory services along with all the 3 branches including the head office. As shown in fig 1.1, the branches are equipped with an active directory site that is synchronized with all the other sites and the domain

British American Tobacco Company Products Essay

British American Tobacco Company Products - Essay Example BAT Company is listed in the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company reports that as of December 2011, it had market a capitalization of ?59.2 billion. Then, it was ranked sixth largest company listed in London Stock Exchange. The company is not only listed in London Stock Exchange but also in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) and the Nairobi Sock Exchange in Kenya (Britannica Educational Publishing and Rogers 2011 p.177-198). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the demand and supply factors that affect the sales of BAT products. It will also explore what the company needs to do to be able top operate profitably in this market. The essay will also discuss the impacts of the macroeconomic factors: economic growth, unemployment, inflation, the balance of payment and business cycle on the products. Demand and Supply Demand and supply are the most fundamental concepts of economics and the backbone of a market economy. This is due to the fact that they determine how a particular product or service is sold in the market. Demand by definition refers to the quantity of a service or product desired in a market by buyers. The quantity demanded on the other hand refers to the amount of product that buyers are willing to purchase at a given price. Price and quantity demanded exhibits a relationship known as demand relationship. Supply refers to the quantity that the market can offer. In this regard, the quantity supplied means the amount of a given products suppliers are willing to supply at a certain price. The relationship between price and quantity supplied in the market is referred to as the supply relationship. Based on this definitions, it is evident that price is a reflection of demand and supply. Microeconomic Factors Price Price is one of the main factors that affect the demand and supply of a product, which in turn determine the quantity of a product that is sold (Carbaugh 2010 p. 28-42). With regard to deman d, the price charged determines to a great extent the quantity of a product that consumers will buy. This is due to fact that that quantity demanded and the price have an inverse relationship. This implies that the higher the price, the less will be the quantity demanded of the product. This is one factor that has affected the sales of BAT tobacco products. The company management argues that as the cost of product used in the manufacture of tobacco products increases due to drought, they have been forced to adjust their process upwards (Cox 2000 p. 16-39). However, this increase in price did not go well with regard to turnover as many customers reduced the quantity they could purchase. This is probably due to a shift to other cheap close substitutes. The company managers are, however, quick to assert that they are projecting a decrease in price which would enable customers to purchase more, thus increasing their sales. On the other hand, an increase in supply of the company’s product usually lead to a reduction in price, resulting in an increase in sales as consumers are now able to afford the products. Substitutes The price and availability of close substitutes also affects demand for a product. When a product has a close substitute, it is a matter of fact that consumers will be willing to shift in case of an increase in price (Carbaugh 2010 p. 28-42). This is what has affected sales of BAT’s tobacco products. The company managers argue that many people nowadays prefer other forms of depressants

Personal and Professional Development Assignment - 7

Personal and Professional Development - Assignment Example From this study it is clear that  the most common approaches to self-managed learning include workshops, seminars and conferences, social networks, internet, and in-service trainings. It is possible to learn through seminars, conferences and workshops because people use these forums for expressing their experiences and finding new ways of making changes for the future. Seminars, workshops, and conferences are effective in self-managed learning because they provide participants with opportunities for presenting their knowledge about various aspects to other people, who also learn new things from them.This essay declares that social networks provide additional forums for self-managed learning. Social networks include Facebook, Twitter, and My Year Book. People spend time chatting with friends and learning new inventions and information from others through their posts. The internet contains several articles written by various authors and on a variety of subjects, including accounting, management, economics, and marketing. The internet provides the most convenient source of information; knowledge from the internet learners can be transfer and put to practical applications at their workplaces. In-service trainings constitutes learning programs organizations plan, develop and administer to their employees. These programs are effective in self-managed learning because they are provided by the organization that exactly understands its needs and skill requirements.   Ã‚  

Andrea Jung Ceo of Avon Essay Example for Free

Andrea Jung Ceo of Avon Essay Andrea Jung CEO of Avon By: Theresa Bell Andrea Jung CEO of Avon Abstract Andrea Jung has had many executive positions during her career as a vice president, merchandising manager, general merchandising manager, senior vice president and general merchandising manager, executive vice president and is now Avons CEO, a Fortune 500 company, and has been for almost the last decade. She is Avons first female CEO since it began in 1886. Andrea Jung has introduced new technology to the company and a new line of make-up. The cosmetics are now being sold in 143 different countries brining its profits up 41%. She gave Avon a revamp when she took over gaining trust, reliability, and gaining a competitive advantage over their competitors. She used a low-cost business-level strategy to gain the advantage over the competitors. The way Avon sales their product has not changed it still sales product by a door to door method, but they used new technology to go worldwide making the company more profitable. In 2011 Avon profit has dropped 18% making stakeholders question Andrea Jungs business-style management skill today. Avon needs a new plan inorder to gain the advantage over their competitors and this leads the stakeholders to question Andrea Jungs focus on management. Theresa Bell Keiser University Ron Phillips/Principles of Management December 6, 2011 Andrea Jung CEO of Avon From the start, Avon embraced the revolutionary concept of women’s economic empowerment, and this continues to be the driving force for Avon. Building on this rich heritage is Avon’s broader commitment to corporate responsibility and the company’s role as a global citizen. Added to the core commitment to women are two additional pillars of Avon corporate citizenship: philanthropy and environmental stewardship, supported by policies and programs across the companys entire business enterprise to ensure that Avon holds true to its mission and vision. (http://www. avoncompany. com/corporatecitizenship/corporateresponsibility/index. html) Andrea Jung is the Chairman and CEO of Avon and has been for almost a decade, in 2005 she ranked number 5 in the top 50 most powerful women at the age of 48 years old (http://money. nn. com/popups/2006/fortune/mostpowerfulwomen/7. html ). Andrea Jung took over as CEO, after Charles Perrin had problems within the company serving as its CEO for only two years. In 1999, Jung took over as CEO becoming Avons first female CEO since the company began in 1886. Since Jung has taken over as CEO, Avon has gone internationally selling worldwide, instead of just being sold to American women. Jung started a new line of make-up directed at teenage girls and college-age women to build Avons revenue and to gain younger customers. In doing this Jung has taken Avon in a different direction, Avon is now being sold in 143 countries, women selling directly to buyers, and selling worldwide this has brought more business into the company making it a more profitable company. Since Jung started selling worldwide nearly 40 percent of sales are from South and Central America. (http://www. notablebiographies. com/supp/Supplement-Fl-Ka/Jung-Andrea. html). Avon is now being sold in Mexico, Russia, and Canada, taking the company into a more competitive market. Jung has brought technology into the company focusing on the product sold to gain an advantage over their competitors. In her first five years as CEO, Andrea Jung gave Avon a badly needed facelift. Revenues rose from $5. 3 billion to $7. 7 billion, and profits nearly tripled The business style she used was low cost. Avon had taken the advantage over their competitors when Jung took over as CEO in 1999. Jung was responsible for the profits almost tripling using her business style of management. Today Andrea Jung is under fire by the stakeholders due to a drop in sales. Avons sales have dropped by 18% leaving them to question Jungs business management style. The company is in need of a turn around plan to gain the advantage over their competitors. The company is under two different investigations to find out if the company bribed officials overseas from Latin, and China. Jung is working on a long-term plan to fix the problems that the company is suffering from today. http://www. appleinsider. com/articles/11/10/28/apple_board_member_andrea_jung_facing_scrutiny_at_avon. html   http://www. avoncompany. com/corporatecitizenship/corporateresponsibility/index. html   http://money. cnn. com/popups/2006/fortune/mostpowerfulwomen/7. html http://www. notablebiographies. com/supp/Supplement-Fl-Ka/Jung-Andrea. html   http://www. appleinsider. com/articles/11/10/28/apple_board_member_andrea_jung_facing_scrutiny_at_avon. html.

Essay on Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homers Iliad

Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homer's Iliad        Ã‚  Ã‚   Homer's Iliad enthralls readers with its’ valiant heroes who fight for the glory of Greece. The Iliad, however, is not just a story of war; it is also a story of individuals. Through the characters' words and actions, Homer paints portraits of petulant Achilles and vain Agamemnon, doomed Paris and Helen, loyal Patroclus, tragic Priam, versatile Odysseus, and the whole cast of Gods. Ironically, the most complete character in the epic is Hector, enemy hero, and Prince of Troy. Hector is in many ways the ideal Homeric man: he is a man of compassion and piety, a man of integrity and bravery, a man who loves his family, and above all, a man who understands and fulfills his social obligations under the stringent rules of the heroic code.    Hector, returning to the city from a series of ferocious setbacks at the hands of the Acheans, is introduced as a man of compassion and piety. His behavior as a hero and as a son is markedly different from the behavior exhibited by Agamemnon and Achilles. When he enters the Scaean Gates, he is immediately surrounded by "the wives and daughters of Troy...asking about their sons, brothers, friends and husbands" (VI, 150-151). The very fact that the women approach Hector, intimidating as he must be in his bloodstained armor, is revealing. Up to this point, the women in the story have been silent victims of the raging tempers of the men around them. In contrast, the women of Troy display confidence in Hector's character by approaching him without fear. Though he himself is exhausted and discouraged, Hector patiently responds to the anguished women, demonstrating the compassion he feels for his fighting men and their families. So many ... ...ties serve as a foil against the cruelty, arrogance, and self-indulgence that cripples some of the other heroes in the Iliad. To the Greeks of Homer's time, Hector stands out as a symbol of what might have been... and a model for what could be.    Works Cited and Consulted: Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1981. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York: Orion Press, 1962. Homer: Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Nagy, Gregory. Concepts of the Greek Hero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Richardson, Nicholas. The Iliad : A Commentary. Vol. VI: books 21-24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. Segal, Charles. Heroes and Gods in the Odyssey. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.   

Analysis of “You may turn over and begin” by Simon Armitage

â€Å"You may turn over and begin† is an interior monologue of a person who is sitting an exam, seemingly on the subject of General Studies. The title itself lends itself well to this theme as â€Å"you may turn over and begin† are the words an exam invigilator says as an exam begins. The poem follows the thoughts of the speaker who may or may not be Armitage himself as he sits the exam whilst musing over exam questions and other things that enter the speakers thoughts when he has finished the paper. The first line of the poem could be said to be the title itself as it directly links to the first line of the main body of the poem. While the title is said by someone else the remainder of the poem is the thoughts of the speaker, the fact that it is someone's thoughts is reinforced by the seemingly random train of thought and the subjects themselves which are personal in nature- i.e. the speakers thoughts on â€Å"milk white breasts and†¦ virginity† in lines 12 and 13. The questions themselves are not typical of a general studies exam and are seemingly random, much like thought processes often are, though reference to â€Å"the decameron† could be linked to the adolescent and hormonal thoughts of lines 12 and 13. Armitage's reputation for representing and understanding youth culture is highlighted by his reference to the general studies exam as â€Å"..a doddle, a cinch for anyone with an ounce of common sense† in lines 6 and 7. This concept of general stud ies remains true today while the speaker's insight on the use of â€Å"†¦a calculator with a memory feature† to cheat shows the writer's comprehension of such things. Lines 10 and 11 reinforce the idea of general studies being an unimportant exam as the speaker neglects to check the work, instead choosing to let the mind wander. The next few couplets reflect on the injustice of male/female relations at that age whereby the boys are in a frenzied hormonal state while the girls remain untouchable â€Å"long and cool†¦out of reach†. Use of imagery is evident as mention of the â€Å"†¦the heat† in line 14 points to enforced sexual repression on the part of men that age, while â€Å"†¦long and cool like cocktails† indicates the heightened maturity of women (though referred to as girls by the speaker) at that age. There is further imagery shown by the lines describing â€Å"†¦their buns and pigtails only let out for older guys† which makes the link between the exertion of control evident in those hairstyles, which in turn is relaxed for older men. This is a metaphorical representation of sexual control. As is common with thought patterns the subject suddenly changes in line 20 where the speaker reminisces on an occasion when the cold control of teenage girls is lost as a â€Å"jot of consolation†. The following couplets detail a comical situation which dispels some of the faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade the speaker has built up about teenage girls. Lines 24-27 detail the girl primping herself but 28 and 29 tell of the motorbike pulling away, it is a typical of a story which would circulate around a college and the speaker reinforces this in line 30, referring to it as a â€Å"†¦rumour†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The final line answers the first question posed by the exam paper and once again follows the theme of random thoughts as the answer just pops up, much as it would into one's mind. It may also be noted of this poem that, due to strong allusions to the fact, that it is Armitage or at least a male who is writing this, though there are no specific mentions of the speakers sexuality, merely re ferring to his/herself in the first person ‘I'. The structure of the poem is both random and yet structured. The lines are set out in 16 couplets (possibly a connection to the age of the speaker at time). Enjambment is evident in how the lines straddle separate couplets which connotes the theme of random thoughts without structure or regulated progress. The metre itself also reflects this with a seemingly random variance in syllables which reflects the fairly random process of thought. While the majority of the lines within a couplet hold a similar metre (lines 1-2 with a 8 and 9 syllables respectively etc) one couplet that does stand out as breaking that mould that of lines 12 and 13. Line 12 has 14 syllables while 13 has 4 with â€Å"virginity†. The separation of the word from the others and putting it on its own both represents the importance of the subject to adolescent males while also possibly representing the speakers embarrassment about the subject. The use of couplets serves to create a slow methodical rhythm in the poem. Coupled with this, examples of unstressed and stressed syllables within the couplet rhyme create a sense of the multiple choice nature of the paper the speaker is sitting. This is particularly evident in the first and second couplet. The rhythm is fairly structured when read aloud, this is compounded by use of strong para-rhyme- e.g. â€Å"..specifically/virginity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"†¦Honda/amber†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The absence of a strict rhyme scheme or metre is in keeping with the unsystematic nature of the thoughts of a person, though it must be noted that there is some structure to the poem as there is in some sections of the monologue of the speaker. An example of this is line 20 â€Å"One jot of consolation† which seems an unlikely sentence to actually think, though it does serve to create a division in the speaker's thoughts on lusting after girls from the story about the â€Å"†¦spind ly girl riding pillion†. Armitage is very much perceived as being of the ‘poetry is the new rock and roll' era so it is not surprising that much of the vernacular and thoughts are akin to that which people of the college age. As is true of many contemporary poets the use of brands is evident â€Å"†¦her man's new Honda† while much of the lexis, as previously mentioned, is colloquial, I.e. â€Å"†¦a doddle, a cinch†. Particular attention is made to the appearance of the girl in lines 24 to 27 with pre modification evident, â€Å"†¦her tight jeans† which continues the theme of a hormonal teenager lusting after girls. The poem itself is a mixture of teen angst and comedy. We can assume that Armitage writes this poem from personal experience as most men can identify with the thoughts of the speaker, while everyone who has taken the general studies exams will identify with the speakers opinion on it as a bit of a waste of time. As a male I can sympathise with the speaker while a female reading this would be, in my opinion, more likely to focus on the comedy aspect of the poem rather than the hormonal maelstrom that is shown in the first half of the poem. While the structure, rhythm and lexis all support the context of the poem it may be said that while the theme of random thought is well presented there are sections which detract from the success of the attempt to achieve this theme. This mainly manifests itself in the ordered nature of some of the narration and use of simile (â€Å"long and cool like cocktails†) which is not a realistic thought. Despite this the devices used combine to good effect in this perception which is very easy to identify with.

Accounting Made Essay

Managerial Accounting refers to the accumulation and preparation of financial reports for internal users only (e. g. management). Managerial Accounting includes all manipulations of financial information for use by managers in performing their specified organizational functions and additionally in ensuring the proper used and handling of an entity’s resources. â€Å"It is the internal business building role of accounting and finance professionals who work inside organizations. These professionals are involved in designing and evaluating business processes, budgeting and forecasting, implementing and monitoring internal controls and analyzing, synthesizing, and aggregation information – to help drive economic value† (IMA). Financial Accounting vs. Managerial Accounting Financial Accounting is primarily concerned with the recording of business transactions and the eventual preparation of financial statements. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Its purpose is to record the transactions carried out by an organization, principally companies with their environment, in order to summarize at regular intervals their financial position and assets, as well as the net profit or loss on operations. Financial accounting focuses on general purpose reports known as financial statements intended for internal and external users and is subject to reporting according to GAAP (e. g. accrual method of accounting). This financial information is generally for the public, as required by law, and consists of a summary of the company’s past transactions. These all-purpose reports with historical date are prepared for use of different parties and the presentation of the financial statements are done formally, and are still useful even if submitted late. The nature of accounting information is monetary and reports the about the company as a whole. On the other hand, Managerial Accounting is responsible to a lesser degree of financial statement presentations to external users because their reports, which are usually confidential, are primarily for internal purposes or users. Also, it is not subject to reporting according to GAAP (e. g. ash basis). The reports have a strong future orientation, due to the fact that these are used to forecast the company’s health. These, not being required by law, may also be presented informally and timeliness of report is often more important than precision or accuracy and are for specific users only. The nature of its accounting information is both monetary and non-monetary and reports only parts or segments of the company. Other sources refer to Management Accounting as similar to Cost Accounting. However, Cost Accounting is only a subset of both financial and management accounting. This is because management involves many decisions based upon cost information. Accurate product costs must be determined according to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and according to decision relevance for internal purposes. Accounting Basics Accounting standards are needed so that an establishment’s financial statements with fairly and consistently describe its financial performance. Without these vital standards, comparisons and evaluations between companies will be quite difficult since financial statements will be based on individual company accounting rules. The activities that are part of managerial accounting include: (a) explaining manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs and how they are reported in the financial statements; (b) computing the cost of rendering a service or manufacturing a product; (c) determining the behavior of costs and expenses as activity levels change and analyzing cost-volume-profit relationships within a company; (d) assisting management in profit planning and formalizing the plans in the form of budgets; (e) providing a basis for controlling costs and expenses by comparing actual results with planned objectives and standard costs; and (f) accumulating and using relevant data for management decision making. Ethical Standards Managerial accountants recognize that they have an ethical obligation to their companies and the public. The IMA has developed a code of ethical standards entitled Standards of Ethical Conduct for Management Accountants. This code divides the managerial accountant’s responsibilities into four aspects: competence, confidentiality, integrity, and objectivity. Competence includes performing duties in accordance with laws, regulations and the like and preparing complete and clear reports and recommendations. Confidentiality refers to refraining from disclosing confidential information and from using or appearing to use confidential information for unethical or illegal advantage. Integrity involves refusing gifts or favors, recognizing and communicating professional limitations, active or passive subversion of the company’s attainment of objectives, communicating both favorable and unfavorable information, and refraining from activities that would discredit the profession. Lastly, objectivity refers to communicating information fairly and objectively and disclosing fully all relevant information that could influence a decision. Management functions involve performing three broad functions, namely planning, directing and motivating, and controlling. Planning requires the management to look ahead and establish their objectives or goals as a company, keeping in mind that these objectives add value to the business under its control. Directing and motivating involves coordinating diverse activities and human resources to produce a smooth-running operation. Controlling, on the other hand, is the process of keeping the form’s activities on track. In controlling operations, management determines whether planned goals are being met and what changes are necessary when there are deviations from targeted objectives, All these management functions become the foundation for the cause of applying management accounting. To be able to properly account for the success or failure of the business, accounting processes are used and standards are imposed. Ultimately, the purpose or goal is to objectively assess the performance of a corporation to be able to help forecast its future health.