Charity Begins at Home - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 551 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/12 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME Who has coined the proverb Charity begins at home? We can find different versions regarding the author of this proverb. In some texts it is seen as framed by Sir Thomas Browne, an English author, who lived in the 16th century. Some people attribute it to Mr. John Wycliffe, another English theologian of 13th Century. He wrote in one of his texts as Charity should begin at himself. ’ There is also popular belief that the idea of the proverb is originated from the bible. Whatever may be the facts we are not concerned about the author of the proverb. We are more concerned about what does it mean and what is the relevance of this proverb in 21st century. The proverb Charity begins at home is a very vague one. A very primitive meaning of the proverb is Ones own family comes before any other responsibilities. Or even we can say be generous to your family before helping others. Before sorting out the problems outside it is our primary responsibility to sort it out it at one’s own home, if it exists there. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Charity Begins at Home" essay for you Create order In a nutshell sort out your mum dad sister and brother before you start worrying about people in Ethiopia. This happens to be one of the most valuable life lessons, i. e. Take care of yourself first, before you try to help others. William Shakespeare said, To thine own self be true. Your greatest responsibility is towards yourself first. Once that is taken care of, you can start caring for others. As its said ‘If you want to lift somebody up, you have be on higher ground first. Many people may think that this viewpoint is of self-interest and narcissistic. They think that they have to sacrifice themselves for others. If that would have been true then why do you think Jesus Christ say, Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Underline the word ‘as. If you dont love yourself, you just cannot love others. In a broader way if you think, our mentality to help others should start from our own society, state, country and so on. It is our responsibility to help the people in our society or our fellow countrymen first and then start worrying about others. If we are unable to understand the problems and difficulties of those who are living with you how effectively will you be able to look after others? Charity begins at home but should end abroad. Ask yourself this question. If you were 10 times wiser, 10 times healthier and 10 times richer, do you think you would be more valuable to your family, friends and society? Of course, yes! You can only do more, if you be more. You cannot feed the hungry if you yourself are hungry. Thats the way life works. Dont go looking to correct others when you yourself are faulty. In Matthew 7,5 Jesus Christ mentions, First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brothers eye. Thus change yourself before you try to change others. You have to increase your knowledge, read the books, apply the knowledge in your life and finally, teach others. Thats how you increase your value to the society. Thank you all. .

Rejecting the Myth of Colorblindness in Education

Colorblindness is a defect in the perception of colors, caused by a deficiency in specialized cells in the retina that are sensitive to different colors. The term is often used today during political discourse, often by members of some factions of liberalism, when claiming that one’s race should be irrelevant to any decision making process. It is a form of moral posturing; that one should see an individual as simply an individual, but not as part of any larger group or culture. As if this philosophy will enable us to bridge any gaps between races, this thought attempts to focus on how we are all the same, rather than how we differ. Teachers and administrators are required to complete coursework pertaining to multicultural education†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, Christina Judith Hein, in Color-Blindness vs. Race Matters claims that a common goal cannot be that every individual is treated the same, regardless of their race, gender, or age, but rather, these dif ferences require different responses within the social framework with certain norms and values. Reactions to an individual must be specific to that individual’s needs. In the collateral-collectivist cultures (African-American, Hispanic and Asian), emphasis is placed on the family, above all else. This means that in these cultures, even education is second to the needs of a family. When teaching children from these cultures, it is important not be ethnocentric, but rather understand the structure of their cultures. As teachers, we cannot be colorblind; for it is a disservice to those we teach. Hatred, abuse, social injustice, and general dislike of an individual or group will never be controlled or extinguished through any means of education or political mandate. These terrible practices are part of the human frailty of life, and can be found among every ethnicity and culture. While it should never be condoned, it cannot be eradicated. In The Multicultural Cult, Thomas Sowell argues that cultural differences matter and always have. He claims that the â€Å"multicultural cult† is one that believes it can improve the education and economic status of a group simply by immersing them in another’s culture. Trying to equate colorblindness with

Governance Benefits and Risks of GMOs

Question: Discuss about the Governance Benefits and Risks of GMOs. Answer: Introduction: The advantages and disadvantages of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) depend on the interactions made between the ecosystems and agro-systems. These factors are important while considering the assessment of GMOs. We often argue that broadening of GMOs will be helpful and serves as an alternative for the traditional agricultural practices enough to support the hungry population. The world population is expected to double in the next 30-40 years and require adequate food supply to support the booming population that is a major challenge. In such cases, GMOs serves as the boon to meet these expanding needs. Crop losses are huge due to insect pests and leads to devastating economic losses with starving populations. GMO like B.t. cotton is helpful in eliminating the application of chemical pesticides becoming a crop market. It is resistant to colds, diseases and tolerant to drought, salinity and herbicides. Globally, over 11 million people suffer from malnutrition and 45% children dea ths linked to malnutrition. To stop them from dying, Salmon became the first GM animal to enter the food chain supply. This consumes 20-25% less food and helps the world hunger (Nodoushani, Sintay and Stewart 2015). However, there are disadvantages associated with GMOs. The genetic modification of organisms might have long-term health effects by consuming GM foods. It might have genetic consequences in organisms that might encourage destabilization and mutations that could be detrimental to the humans, environment or both. Humans are also at stake as it can unintentionally create antibiotic resistance or create new allergens and can put food supply at risk (Morris 2017). Concisely, there are advantages disadvantages of GMOs, the ultimate choice are to place them properly, which work for the general public interests as their primary goal. References Morris, E.J., 2017. 4 Governance of Benefits and Risks of GMOs in Developing Countries.Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing Countries, p.39. Nodoushani, O., Sintay, J. and Stewart, C., 2015, January. Genetically Engineered Food and Genetically Modified Organisms. InCompetition Forum(Vol. 13, No. 1, p. 136). American Society for Competitiveness.

The effect on the modern audience Essay Example For Students

The effect on the modern audience Essay Discuss the characters of Maggie and Hobson in their dramatic context. Comment on how they illustrate and highlight the social context of the Victorian era and the effect on the modern audience.  Maggie and Hobson, the two main protagonists of the play when viewed in their social, moral and historic contexts act as the fulcrum for the plays humour. Brighouses entertaining play was set in a bootshop in Salford. At that time in Victorian society there were many divisions amongst contrasting groups of people. The Victorians had strong beliefs and values, which are somewhat different to todays modern issues. We will write a custom essay on The effect on the modern audience specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Middle and upper class Victorian women valued the whole ritual of courting, fine extravagant weddings and a well thought of husband- in business not trade. A single woman was considered of little importance in harsh Victorian society, being thought to be inferior to a man. In addition Victorians held rigid beliefs and opinions on racism and the British Empire. Status in the Victorian culture was very important and the lines between these classes were rarely crossed. Brighouses purpose in writing the play was to highlight gender issues, provide comedy incidents and focus on social problems, for example the Victorians attitude to alcohol. Brighouse created Hobsons character to convey the stereotypical middle class family man, whilst introducing humour to the play. Hobson was a respectable businessman who was proud of his position in society. He was a widower, yet still a responsible father, a churchwarden and a member of the masons; certainly a man who would have been looked up to. However Hobson had many flaws in his character, which would have resulted in a mixed audience reaction. He was stubborn and often undermined and bullied people he believed to be less important than himself. This is displayed in Act 1 where Hobson beats Will Mossop to reinforce his solid Victorian values and emphasise his superior power. In contrast his treatment to Mrs Hepworth, an upper class lady, is most different. He praised her and was polite to her. Good morning, Mrs Hepworth. What a lovely day! (He places a chair for her) He was also obstinate and blinkered, especially where the female point of view was concerned- Im not so partial to women. In addition Hobson suffered from chronic alcoholism, which explained why Hobson often exhibited irrational actions and thoughts. Throughout the play the audience would have reacted in different ways illustrating a variety of social contexts relating to Victorian values. In act 1 the modern audiences reaction would have been anger when Hobson beat Will Mossop. Brighouse inserted this part about one man beating another to highlight the clear divisions in status and how it was perceived to be acceptable to do this in the Victorian times. Theres nobbut one to answer to that kind of talk, my lad (He strikes with belt) and youll get a leathering. Act 1 also portrayed his neglect for his business. Maggie who disapproved of this scolded if you stay more than an hour in the Moon-rakers inn, youll be late for it. The audiences reaction would have been disgust that he would leave his three daughters responsible for the shop, while he went out for a drink. Hobsons attitude changed in Act 3, as did the judgement of the audience. Act 3 portrayed Hobsons insecurity and his humiliation of the marriage settlement, when Maggie tricked him into paying for Vickey and Alice to get married. Ive been diddled. Its a plant. The audience reaction to that scene would have been laughter, because Hobson assumed himself to always be right, yet there he was being made a fool of by a woman. In addition, Hobsons fear of lawyers was conveyed by I dodged them, and theyve caught me in the end. Theyll squeeze me dry for it. Whilst he may have invoked a small degree of sympathy from the audience, most would have considered him to be a pathetic old man who deserved everything he that was thrown at him. .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .postImageUrl , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:hover , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:visited , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:active { border:0!important; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:active , .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u48b499481276b4136234f6a4a35a927b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: In what way does act 1 scene 5 of Twelfth Night prepare the audience for events that happen in the rest of the play EssayAct 4 highlighted Hobsons near fatal weakness for alcohol. Many middle class Victorians were involved in temperance societies. Hobson had certainly wanted his daughters to marry temperance men, but he himself was diagnosed as suffering from chronic alcoholism. This could have led him to an early death had he not succeeded in obliterating it from his life. Hobsons ultimate confrontation with Maggie and Will portrayed his loss of power. Youre just my old shoehand he said, yet Will answered back with confidence and self esteem. The audience reaction would h ave been relief and triumph that Will Mossop finally came out on top. While considering Hobsons effect on the audience it is important to also focus on Maggies role. In the late nineteenth century British women held a low position in society. They could not vote and could only work in factories or for their families, and therefore earned very little or nothing at all. They could only escape from their families through marriage, but needed permission and marriage settlements from their fathers in order for this to happen. In addition they could not be perceived to actually searching for a husband. Even if they did break from their fathers strict rules and ideas, there were their husbands expectations to live up to. They were expected to maintain a passive role and conform to their husbands rules, required to run the household without any help. The latest fashions in womens clothing, for example the use of corsets and bustles were impossibly restrictive. Overall in the Victorian period women had few privileges.

Clinical psychology essay part 2

Clinical psychology essay part 2 Clinical psychology essay part 2 Clinical psychology essay part 2Clinical psychology   essay part  1Neuropsychological Testing in the Diagnosis of Dementia.According to the article, neuropsychological tests that focus on the domain of memory impairment are well established with recognized predictive value for dementia diagnoses. What other neuropsychological domains does the author feel are important in dementia diagnoses despite the existence of only a limited number of tools to assess them?Neuropsychological testing proved to be effective for the diagnosis of dementia at its early stage, as it is especially important to recognize the first signs of the disease. The most common diagnosis of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease that is characterized by memory impairment. Neuropsychological tests are effective for assessing this domain and detecting the memory deficit at an early stage of the dementia development. However, other neuropsychological domains are harder to assess as there are fewer tools for their observation.Among other neuropsychological domains mentioned in the article by Mary Sano are executive function and pathophysiological deficits. In order to assess these domains, new technologies and better tools are required. Thus, among the new technologies functional imaging can be mentioned. Improved tools for assessing special cognitive domains might help in identifying a wider range of various cognitive deficits at early stages of the dementia development. However, the author of the article made it clear that neuropsychological testing is an effective tool of detecting cognitive deficits in elderly people and patients who suffer from dementia. Such method proved to be an effective clinical utility, even though there is a need for better assessment tools when investigating other domains such as executive function.In such a way, neuropsychological testing cannot be applied when assessing domains other than memory impairment. And it is up to neuropsychologists to find better mea ns of assessing other domains, mainly executive function and various pathophysiological impairments. Still, neuropsychological testing is undoubtedly a fruitful way of dementia diagnosing at an early stage of the disease development.What weaknesses does the author identify in the current criteria for dementia diagnoses?Although neuropsychological testing proved to be an effective instrument of diagnosing patients who suffer from dementia, it cannot be called efficient in evaluating executive function and other important domains. It is all due to the lack of normative data and unavailability of necessary tools that would help in assessing the domains other than cognitive impairment. This is the first and major weakness of neuropsychological testing.In addition, there is one more limitation as for the current diagnostic criteria. It includes the fact that neuropsychological testing ignores cognitive complaint as it is mostly focused on cognitive impairment. It is probably due to the l ow correlation between the neuropsychological diagnosing and cognitive complaint. However, it is true that cognitive complaint is distressing and thus, it should be included into the criteria for dementia diagnosing.One more weakness of the current criteria is the lack of appropriate methodology to assess the impairment in occupational and social functioning to full extent. In this regard, it is worth saying that the neuropsychological testing lacks tools for evaluating cognitive impairment as they are not fully developed and cannot predict decline. As for executive function, planning and sequencing seem to be more predictive of the functional loss. Thus, to improve the current criteria for dementia diagnosing, there need to be stronger tools, methodology and other instruments of evaluating the cases of dementia at its early stage. However, the current criteria lack many important instruments that would help achieve this goal.In this regard, neuropsychological testing has many weakn esses that should be dealt with in order to provide a fully developed investigation of dementia. Nevertheless, neuropsychological testing undoubtedly has a number of strong sides as well and can be regarded as an effective method of diagnosing patients with dementia.Article 3Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: An Effectiveness Study.This article examined the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy. What experimental design was employed in the study (i.e., between-subjects or within-subjects, longitudinal or cross-sectional)?The article under discussion investigates the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The researchers employed a single-group, within-subjects, longitudinal experimental design. The participants of the psychodynamic psychotherapy were all adults. The study provides important and valuable information in the area of the moderating outcome variables that underwent certain limitations in the previous studies related to psychodynamic psychotherapy. This was carrie d out within a longitudinal context by using the empirical measure. Furthermore, the results of the study indicated the significance of the first three months of treatment. The research has shown considerable effectiveness of the psychodynamic psychotherapy in the above-mentioned context. It is a significant break-through as the previous researches on the matter of psychodynamic treatment have been severely criticized for lacking the longitudinal component, insufficient attention to moderating variables and deficit of the empirical measure. All this makes it clear that the current effectiveness study of the psychodynamic psychotherapy proved to be effective in many ways. It is presumably due to the fact that the authors of the research employed the effective experimental design that is characterized as single-group, longitudinal and within-subjects. This gives an understanding that such experimental design is one of the most efficient ones in evaluating the effectiveness of psychody namic psychotherapy and is advised to be employed in further investigations on this matter. On the whole, the study has given enough evidence of high efficiency of the psychodynamic psychotherapy used for treating various psychological and psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and many other psychological disorders. Finally, it needs to be admitted that the current study proved to be more efficient than all of the previous ones.According to the study, was psychodynamic psychotherapy effective? If so, what was the effect size of the change produced?Findings of the study suggest that the psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective over time. The analysis given in the article makes it clear that such treatment produces a moderate effect over time and it is particularly important to employ psychodynamic psychotherapy during the first three months of treatment. Findings show a general course of recovery with certain between-group variability. Thus, the study proved to be quite e ffective for treating various psychological disorders, mainly depression and anxiety. The psychodynamic psychotherapy has shown moderate effectiveness within different groups of patients. Although the overall effect size of such treatment is moderate, the therapy should be considered effective for treating a number of personality disorders.According to the results of the study, the symptom distress subscale had an effect size of .38, which is the highest among all of the three subscales ranging from .28 to .38. However, the OQ total score managed to produce a significantly stronger effect size comprising .41. It should be admitted, that in all of the cases, most of the changes took place during the first three months of employing the psychodynamic psychotherapy. The first three months of treatment are considered to be the most important period leading to the stronger effect size.However, the actual treatment effect was lower than it was anticipated. The average effect size in the cu rrent study comprised .33, which is less than the effect size described in the existing literature on this matter. On the whole, it is to be admitted that according to the current study, psychodynamic psychotherapy appears to be moderately effective for treating different psychological and personality disorders. However, in most cases, the effectiveness of such therapy becomes especially evident only after the first three months of treatment.

President Obama What You Need to Know Before You Start Your First Job

President Obama What You Need to Know Before You Start Your First Job On paper, President Barack Obama’s story and mine don’t have that much in common. (Our daily lives are pretty different, to say the least- I can’t remember the last time I threw a dinner party for 20 of my closest world leader friends.) You may not think you and President Obama don’t have much in common, either. But both you and I would be incorrect- we all have something very important in common. Everyone, including future presidents, had to start somewhere. In President Obama’s case (and mine!), that start was in the ice cream biz. These days, the President likely has a team of people ready to bring him ice cream whenever he wants it. But once upon a time, he was a teen looking for a foothold in the working world. Like all of us at the very beginning, he was eager for skills and experience that would lead to the next opportunity, then another and another. And while everyone’s path is different, and may not lead to the White House, there are some universal things that we all take from our early job experiences.Work kind of sucks.Sometimes work is great! Sometimes we love our coworkers, and have awesome days. But even in the happiest of times in the best-fitting of jobs, there will be overwhelming days, or times when we hate it. That realism is an unavoidable lesson from one’s first job. Optimism is fantastic, but should always be tempered somewhat with the pragmatic philosophy that sometimes things will be hard, and we need to learn how to power through that.You learn something at every job you’ll ever have.For example, after my own high school summers serving Blizzards, I learned that I was no longer interested in serving food to people. But I also learned skills like how to use a cash register, how to deal with coworkers of varying competence, and how a small business franchise operates.I didn’t pursue a long-term career related to ice cream sales, but I developed a skill base that I can always d raw on, all these years later. Even if you worked someplace for three days before quitting in horror, chances are you learned either something about the workplace in general, or something about yourself.Time management is the key.There are very few jobs out there that are totally unstructured. Whether you got up at 6 a.m. to work a shift, or needed to figure out how to check off your to-do list in order to get out on time at 5 p.m., those early jobs helped instill in us a sense of what time means in the professional world.The workplace is a community.That may sound a little â€Å"I’d like to buy the world a Coke,† but it’s true- working is something all of us have in common. Any workplace is its own little community, with traditions, responsibilities, and a whole bunch of different personalities pushed together for many hours per week. And that little community fits into the broader community somehow, whether it’s providing services or filling needs.At so me point, whether in the near past or the distant past, all of us were green kids with few skills. Looking back and understanding how those early jobs helped us, no matter what path we chose after those earliest opportunities, makes us all the stronger in the future.Source:  LinkedIn

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Human resource - Essay Example ndergoing rapid changes characterised by the emergence of new enterprises, intensification of global competition and the growth of the diverse workforce.2 These pressures are compelling companies to reposition themselves strategically to attract and retain the competent workforce. Management of human resources is intricate and challenging because workers have personal needs, objectives, motivations, interests and desires that conflict with business goals. HR management and planning is a useful tool for reconciling these conflicts and ensuring that organizations resources are utilized effectively.3 Today, human resource managers are faced with issues such as management of diversity, globalisation and work life balance. HR practitioners play a critical role in an organisation to ensure effective acquisition and utilisation of HR. They are tasked with creating and implementing policies for guiding human resource in an organization, controlling HR programmes and guidelines, offering advice and counsel to the workers, and perform other functions that can assist line managers to execute their duties.4 However, in the execution of their duties the HR practitioners encounter innumerable challenges in the modern world. In the modern society, most families in developed countries such as UK have joined the labour force. In circumstances when husband and wife are both in the working class, the human resource managers are faced with a challenge of helping such parents with work-life balance programs to increase their productivity.5 Therefore, it makes sense for the company’s human resource to come up with programmes to assist workers establish a balance between work and family responsibilities. The HR can implement programmes to assist workers achieve their family obligations. For example, programmes such as child care at the workplace, sick leave policies, job sharing education policies, picking or dropping their children at school, etc. For example, Unilever company offer

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Ethics - Essay Example George is responsible for poor time management that forced him to drive above the speed limit, causing the officer to stop him and give him a ticket. His son is part of the problem because of his illness, and George wants to get him home as soon as possible for him to rest. The officer is at fault for forcing George to go down to the station. He may be exercising his duties in a manner that suggests that he would like a financial favor from George, causing him (George) to resent him and waste more time. Regarding the problem, the officer could allow George to pay the ticket the following day, when it is convenient for everybody (given that it is a Sunday). George can report to the station after taking his family home, where he can request to watch the playoffs, as he pays the ticket. The third solution is to pay the bribe and each party of the problem is satisfied (and saving on time). Though it is unethical, my solution would be to pay the bribe. The main problem is time, and the officer offering the bribe that will allow George to attend to his son and watch the playoffs, will benefit everyone involved. It is unlawful to carry out corrupt acts, however in a situation that concerns health it is an ideal solution. It will serve as a reminder on the importance of time management. George should pay the cost for poor time

Appearance of colonies microorganism Essay Example for Free

Appearance of colonies microorganism Essay VRBA |Appearance of Colonies |Microorganisms | |Red, surrounded by reddish precipitation zones, diameter1- 2 mm |Lactose-positive Enterobacteriaceae: coliform bacteria, E. coli | |Pink, pin-point colonies |Enterococci, possibly Klebsiella | |Colorless |Lactose-negative Enterobacteriaceae | CCA E. coli: dark-blue to violet colonies (Salmon-GAL and X-glucuronide reaction). Total coliforms: salmon to red colonies (Salmon-GAL reaction) and dark-blue to violet colonies (E. coli). Other Gram-negatives: colorless colonies, except for some organisms which possess ÃÆ'Ã… ¸-D-glucuronidase activity. These colonies appear light-blue to turquoise. In order to confirm E. coli, coat the dark-blue to violet colonies with a drop of KOVACS indole reagent. If the reagent turns to a cherry-red color after some seconds, a positive indole formation confirms the presence of E. coli. E. coli in Macconkey Agar MACCONKEY AGAR |Appearance of Colonies |Microorganisms | |Colorless, translucent |Salmonella, Shigella, others | |Large, red, surrounded by turbid zones |Escherichia coli | |Large, pink, mucoid |Enterobecter, Klebsiella | |Very small, opaque, isolated colonies |Enterococci, Staphylococci, and others | [pic] [pic] S. aureus in baird-parker agar BAIRD-PARKER AGAR |Appearance of colonies |Microorganisms | |Black, shiny, convex colonies 1-5 m in diameter with a narrow, white edge surrounded by a clear zone 2-5 mm |Staphylococcus aureus | |wide. Opaque rings within the clear zones only appear after 48 hours of incubation | | |Black, shiny, irregular shape. Opaque zone develop around the colonies after 24 hours. |Staphylococcus epidermidis | |Growth sometimes: | | |Very small, brown to black, no clear zones. |Micrococci | |Dark brown, dull, clear zones sometimes appear after 48 hours. |Bacillus species | |White, no clear zones. |Yeasts | [pic] P. aeruginosa in cetrimide agar [pic] [pic] Salmonella in Macconkey Agar [pic]

Contemporary American Lit Essay -- essays research papers

Andre Dubus, Raymond Carver and Shirley Jackson have changed the landscape of contemporary fiction both culturally and stylistically. All three comment about the affect upon the individual whose life circumstances have caused them to act the way that they do. When reading their short stories you can't help but notice that Dubus and Carver have very similar styles. Their use of the first person narrative allows them to step back from the story and have less of an interpretive influence. Their lack of total control leaves the reader to use her own logic and rational, while dealing only with perceptions. The first person narrator does not presume to have insight into each characters feelings and emotions. The minimalist details that emanate from this narrative place an importance on our individual perception. This style throws the reader directly into the middle of a scene without any background information or direction. Without a narrative presence telling the reader what to think abo ut a situation and with only fragments of details, we have to rely on what the narrator may or may not know. The reader is immediately put on guard to question the situation. While not all the stories are in first person, a majority of them are. None of these authors appear to be intellectual writers. Dubus' characters are rarely able to escape into abstraction: they exist, at times irritatingly, in the here and now, they drink, commit adultery and break, often beyond repair. Like Carver, his sto...

Management accounting and decision making Essay

According to Burger (2008) â€Å"Accounting is the language of business. A lot of people think it’s just numbers, but it’s really a lot more than that. There are a lot of areas outside of numbers that need to be looked at, processes and procedures, what the tone of the company is. Accounting will take you in just about any direction in a company.† ~ Wade Becker, CPA, Beard, Miller Co. The job description of many professions is changing nowadays. The skills to perform a certain job require more skills to perform a particular job. If an example of Information Technology is to be taken then it is realized that once they were left to do IT related jobs or make computers work however, in today’s world IT professionals are now moving into higher level management positions which require them to perform many other tasks which may not be directly related to the their profession. Therefore, a stereotypical role of an accountant was once considered a â€Å"number person† but today’s era demands accounting professional to own and use interactive and communication skills to help with the decision making process across all areas of a business. In a managerial accounting world all professionals must communicate their ideas to other companies using ways which are tactful and effective. Siegel (2000) states that â€Å"Management accountants should be great communicators.† Durry C (1992) believes that management accounting is â€Å"concerned with providing information to managers –that is people inside an organization who direct and control the operations.† In the 19th Century financial accounting was considered to be the need of a society which later evolved to Management accounting. Management accounting became a prerequisite for more detailed information for stock control, product costing and decisions affecting the future. Accou nting is facing numerous challenges, as Elkington (1998) states â€Å"business people must increasingly recognise that the challenge now is to help to deliver simultaneously economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity.† All this is making business managers to re-examine the practices that are currently led. Cokins G and Hicks D believe that Managerial accounting is part of an organisations management information system. To follow any business or an organisation aim managers engage in activities which involve an effective cost model as it can be a great asset to an organisation. A business or projects to be a success or failure three things need to be considered, for  example, cost, schedule and performance. A project should be continued within the means provided otherwise stakeholders struggle to finance the project and its abandoned. A success of a manager is when appropriate tools are employed and sound safe decisions are made and follow on with applying substantial level of expertise to have effective cost management. The world today is surrounded by increasingly advanced technology such as computer assisted manufacturing and flexible manufacturing systems. According to Cokins and Hicks organizations to compete effectively need to understand the cost of each product or element of their value chain from product design and purchase of material therefore internal cost is very important as mentioned in Cokins and Hicks article because it becomes critical for competitive action and increasing shareholders wealth in the current globally competitive economy. Management accounting systems are the benefactors of the precarious internal cost information. There has been few criticisms leading to the literature of Management accounting system and it has been labeled outdated and there has been criticisms linked to its consistency as it has been thought that it does not provide consistent information with the current strategic management paradigm. Cokins and Hicks believe that systems designs elements should capture the fundamental technology, promote a business based on effective cost model, quality and lead time. Precise and appropriate cost information is critical to management’s decision making procedures (Cokins and Hicks) and the literature being studied reveals Management accounting system reflects the organizational complications of the current world however traditional Management accounting systems do not replicate current organizational era as all costing procedures were designed around late nineteenth century. In traditional era product line diversity was not very common and cost of materials and direct labour were the main components of production cost but the environment today is surrounded around advanced technology and automation and that has led the prime cost to be the overhead component. The overhead costs are altering product cost because of the old management accounting system techniques. Management accounting needs a unique set of skills and behaviour. According to Cokins and Hicks Accounting Management framework gives business a planned approach to address all factors that will manage accounts interface and todays reality. Cooper and Kaplan believe there are six critical factors which play a crucial role  in Accounting Management framework which also backs Cokins and Hicks journal being studied for this assignment. The first one is organizational structure. It includes factors such as whom and how you manage accounts, why and how you organize around them. The second account management success factor is people as they need the appropriate skills, knowledge and skills to experience and perform the role. The third factor is tools and technology as it must support the account management processes and must balance â€Å"help† as â€Å"control.† The fourth one is compensations structures as they can inhibit change or accelerate adoption. The fifth account management success factors are processes and methodologies as they should align with the customer, drive growth and opportunity plan and the last factor channels and alliances must be managed effectively through the account manager interface.it is up to an organization to structure their useful employees around their key customers and that can create a deep impact on their performance. First few deliberate decisions need to be taken in terms of placement of accounts management resources such as market and territory. Cokins and Hicks believe management team need to plan using methodology a number of factors to create a ranking based on the business goal for the affiliation and ability to deliver. Once these methodologies are selected they can play a vital role in team structure and it will help to deal with issues such as ownership or shareholders Cokins and Hicks discuss the difference between cost accounting and managerial accounting and the strength of their article is that managerial accounting is tied with GAAP whereas cost accounting is used within a business to manage that particular business. Accounting standards of a country provide guidelines to an accountant so they can be used while reporting economic transactions of a business. United Kingdom accounting has improved a lot as mentioned in the journal being studied for this particular assignment. Managers have immense pressure to improve financial management practices to improve service to the community and it is not only done on national level. Managerial accountants have to keep accountant standards fair globally and that is mainly done through Accounting Standards Committee. â€Å"What gets measured gets managed, What needs managed gets measured† (Peter Drucker) famous quotes has cause many criticisms but if the practices and development mentioned in Cokins and Hicks journal are to be analyzed, one can conclude this quote has some truth. Managers of a business  often use this quote indicates that active management of businesses should be given importance instead of accountability to gain desired goals. It w ill lead to survive in today’s world of information age competition therefore businesses should ensure they are using management systems resulting from their strengths. Any business main task is to develop an active measurement system as it is main part of the management process. Good management practices lead to using certain measures to plan, implement and improve certain aspects of an organization. According to Kaplan, (1994) measurement is a difficult task because it is not related to science so there are no facts and does not have rules between variables. Furthermore, systems which are used by management accountants will make sure that actions are taken according to the strategies and objectives developed. There has been an immense amount of research on management accountants and the research evidence has proved that businesses which are using a developed measurement system are developing and gaining profits therefore, Gates (1991) states â€Å"an organizations objectives and severity of measures, varies, depending on people, culture and past experiences of the organization.† The management accountant was developed after 1980s and it was seen a golden era in management accounting research as it saw new techniques and practices beneficial to the management accounting. One of the techniques developed in 80s was strategic management accounting and some of the processes which fall under the category of strategic management accounting are activity based costing and balance scorecard. The balance scorecard emerged after it was realized that there is a need of an integrated system which can be used to measure both financial and non-financial performances. It helps companies to view their performances on a regular basis and it gave a clear view of what should be measured in order to balance a particular business financial perspectives. The balance score card consists of four functions known as learning and growth perspective. It means how to achieve a certain organizations goals and how will a business will sustain its ability to change and improve. the second perspective is financial and its aim is to succeed financially and is mainly concerned with making a good impression to shareholders. Another perspective is based on customers as they can determine sales and to achieve business goals a good impression is to be made upon customers. The last perspective is known as internal business  processes. It mainly deals with how to satisfy customers and shareholders and what business processes must a certain business excel as. (Kaplan and Norton:1996) Balance scorecard is one of the necessities for any organization and it is used by the management to accomplish vision and strategies of an organization and it has few other benefits too such as, making sure managers are managing every single variable within an organization and are not working upon favoritism. If more developments are to be discussed and strength of Cokins and Hicks journal than one must not forget one of the major development in an accounting field known as Activity-based costing. Kaplan and Cooper gave this idea a new beginning as it was not very well known in previous years. According to Kaplan (1996) manufacturing costs are determined by amount of â€Å"activities† and the key to effective cost control is maintaining the effectiveness of the act ivities ABC recognizes better cost pools for indirect costs and then implies cost drivers to relate the expenses in the cost pools to activities of an organization. ABC has become more popular in recent years but faces a lot of criticisms too due to the fact that sometimes businesses face difficulties in implementing this technique. ABC is enhanced further by Activity-based management as they believe in planning and measurement and class them as key factors in a competitive business environment. To conclude, If an organization has accounts managers or not a success can only be achieved if a successful profile is valued. It can be done through an industry as it will help determine to what extent an account manager is an industry expert and the second is through customers as it is vital for an accountant to understand the businesses being worked upon. The profession Accountancy has seen many developments and criticisms however, since 1980s there has been many changes in management accountancy. The new changes are focusing on measurement tools within a business to manage its aims and objectives. Management techniques are discussed briefly in this essay and they emphasize on Cokins and Hicks journal that management decisions can be made better by using effective management measurement tools and it leads to improving the management of an organization. There can be problem with new measurement techniques as nothing in life comes with a guarantee however, new ideas can be used on the basis of guess work and the new contributions could be a way forward.

A Critical Analysis of My Strengths and Weaknesses

A Critical Analysis of My Strengths and Weaknesses in the skills of Assertiveness Assertiveness enables us to act in our own best interests, to stand up for ourselves without undue anxiety, to exercise personal rights without denying the rights of others, and to express our feelings honestly and comfortably (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). Within interpersonal communication, the skill of assertion is absolutely vital; it is a skill we are constantly utilising either consciously or unconsciously.Through nurturing the skill of assertiveness a person may have fruitful relationships with family, friends, peers, superiors and subordinates (Rakos, 1997) based on honesty and equality. The skill of Assertiveness can be viewed in differently within diverse cultures, for example in the highly extraverted, expressive and individualistic culture that is apparent in America; Assertiveness is a particularly important, if not essential skill.However in the much more reserved and introverted culture of Bri tain more emphasis is placed on interpersonal sensitivity, being a rewarding partner and the use of non-verbal signals (Forgas, 1985). The skill of Assertion has 9 main functions, these include; helping individuals to ensure that their personal rights are not violated, make reasonable requests of others, recognise the personal rights of others, avoid unnecessary aggressive conflicts and confidently, and openly communicate their position regarding any issue (Hargie, 2009).Assertiveness is a skill that is learned and training is available for those who may find it hard to assert their feelings within a social context. Assertiveness is a great skill to possess however there are times when an assertive response may in fact be the least responsive, in such times a non assertive or passive response may be what is required. The different levels of response are displayed well by the continuum which ranges from Non Assertive – Assertive – Aggressive.In most instances people sho uld aim to remain as close to assertive on the continuum as possible, as this promotes both standing up for yourself whilst also taking the other persons views into consideration. As a result of my Assertiveness practical I found myself to be just slightly towards the more non-assertive side of the continuum. I was quite pleased with this result as I did not want to be positioned too close to aggressive or non assertive.Throughout the Assertiveness Practical I had a number of Strengths which were outweighed by quite a number of Weaknesses, this is natural as Rakos stated â€Å"Assertion is a learned skill, not a trait that a person has or lacks. † An area throughout the practical in which I was strong was ‘Gesturing’, upon analysing my video I found my gestures to be smooth and fluid, I feel this conveyed a non-verbal message that I was calm within the situation. Accentuating your message with appropriate gestures can add emphasis, openness and warmth.A relaxed u se of gestures can add depth or power to your messages (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). Another area which analysing my practical revealed I was strong was ‘Paralanguage’ this can include an individual’s rate of speech, intensity, tone and volume. I found the tone of my voice to be conversational but not overly friendly and I felt this was perfect for the situation, the other people involved in the practical commented on the intensity of my voice being quite firm but not intimidating as the still felt comfortable.This is quite an important aspect of being assertive as a Kimble and Seidel study showed that those who spoke with a dominant conversational tone where perceived as being confident and therefore more likely to gain a more adequate answers (Richmond & McCroskey, 2000). Analysing my practical led me to see that I excelled in complex direct assertion, most notably the use of embellishments. Embellishments lessen the social risk whilst having a discussion with some one, however if they are used too much they can be seen as false and can dilute a person’s argument. I was particularly well versed in the use of both Praise and Empathy.An example of this in my practical was when the woman, who was trying to return a phone which was out of warranty said â€Å"you must understand where I’m coming from† in response to this I said â€Å"of course I do Miss X, I was in your position just over a year ago before I began to work here and you are handling the situation much better than I did. † The woman who prior to this piece of dialogue was getting rather agitated seemed to calm down and come to terms with what I was trying to explain. Hargie states that empathic assertion conveys sensitivity to the other person thus allowing that person to feel understood and not undermined.Although I had a number of Strengths throughout my practical I also had quite a few weaknesses which are illustrated by my personal assertiveness invento ry score which was +9, although the class average was +2, my score still showed that I can be assertive but find it quite difficult. One of the weaknesses I noticed was that I failed to keep eye contact with the person in my practical; this was a major flaw and undoubtedly hindered my assertiveness. At quite regular intervals, namely when the discussion was getting a bit heated, I tended to look at the desk in front of me rather than focus on the other person.Gaze aversion is typically an intentional act, you may be unsure of yourself and do not want him/her to see it in your eyes (Richmond & McCroskey, 2000). This was probably the case in my practical, I was unfamiliar with the given situation and felt that I was out of my depth thus I avoided eye contact; I can now see that this was a critical mistake. The second major flaw that I had involved my body posture, upon analysing the practical I realised that during our entire interaction my body was never directly facing the other per sons.When talking to another person, notice how much more personal the conversation becomes with a slight turn of the shoulders and torso toward the other person, this suggests confidence and openness to the conversation at hand (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). I now realise from my practical I was portraying quite a defensive posture, thus not putting the other person at ease whilst talking to me. Also from a defensive posture it is a lot harder to be assertive as the other person is likely to already have a certain prejudice about you.My final and most glaring weakness was overuse of the â€Å"broken record† approach, after analysing my practical session I realised that I used the phrase â€Å"I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do† a staggering amount of times. This is not a good tactic to employ as it can frustrate the other person, it can also dilute the argument and take away the relevance of what you are saying. Persistence should not be confused with the broken rec ord method, â€Å"be fair with others and keep after them until they’re fair with you† (Alberti & Emmons, 2008).Throughout my practical I also used too much ‘you language’, this attributed responsibility to the other person and was possibly too aggressive rather than assertive. In conclusion I feel that as a whole my assertiveness practical was a success; there are a number of areas in which I can improve vastly such as posture and eye contact. However I feel that I did do extremely well in a few areas, these being; gesturing and embellishments. Jim Rohn once said â€Å"Every time we speak we choose one of the four basic communication styles: assertive, aggressive, passive and passive aggressive†.This quotation helps me to illustrate that our learning of the skill of Assertion is continuous, throughout this practical research I have realised that Assertiveness is a great facet of an individual’s personality, and when used right can be an outs tanding tool. When a person has mastered the skill they will know when to be assertive, whom to be assertive with and with what intensity to put their message across (Journal of Communication, Volume 19, Issue 03, Pages 257-265). In a minority of places where cultural sensitivity is raw assertion may be deemed somewhat wreck less.Nevertheless, assertion that accommodates cultural norms is an accepted communication style and is widely used the world over. (Hargie, 2002) References Alberti, R. and Emmons, M. (1975) Stand Up, Speak Out, Talk Back: The Key to Assertive Behaviour. Pocket Books, New York Alberti, R. and Emmons, M. (2008) You’re Perfect Right, Assertiveness and Equality in Your Life and Relationships. Impact, San Luis Obisopo American Communication Journal, Volume 10, Issue 01, Spring 2008. Forgas, J. (1985) Interpersonal Bahaviour: The Psychology of Social Interaction. Hargie, O. , Dickson, D.Skilled Interpersonal Communication, Research, Theory and Practice, 7th e dition. Routledge, London. Chapter 11. Journal of Communication, Volume 19, Issue 03, Pages 257-265, September 1969 Knapp, M. and Vangelisti, A. (2006) Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships. Allyn and Bacon, Texas Rakos, R. (2006) Assertive Behaviour: Theory, Research and Training. Routledge, London. Richmond, V. and McCroskey, J. (2000) NonVerbal Behaviour in Interpersonal Relationships, Allyn and Bacon, Texas The Electronic Journal of Communication, Volume 13, Number 4 2003. Townend, A. (2007) Assertiveness and Diversity. Palgrave, Basingstoke.

The symbols of Poes Tales essays

The symbols of Poe's Tales essays Edgar Allan Poe, the founder of detective stories, the master of manipulating the issue of death, and whose tales are filled with all kinds of symbols, allegories that conveys the author ¡s concepts about life. He his equipped with thoughtful, cautious analysis ability, and sufficient imagination. Poe was born in 1809. In his personal life, he had had many encounters with death, starting with the death of his biological mother, adoptive mother, and ending with the death of his beloved wife, Virginia. Although a serious of losses made Poe become a neurotic person; however, that was also the motive power of Poe ¡s creation, and the reason why Poe often discussed the issue of death in his tales. In  ¡ Anthology of American Literature: Colonial Through Romantic, ¡ McMichael points out  ¡ Poe has often seemed an embodiment of the satanic characters of his own fiction ¡(qtd. in Rose 727). This perfectly explains that Poe ¡s works reveal the environmental influences on h is character. In the following study will therefore examine the issue of death and symbols in Poe ¡s tales in  ¡ The Masque of the Red Death, ¡  ¡ The Black Cat, ¡ and  ¡ The Fall of the House of Usher, ¡ which related to his personal experiences and concepts about life. First of all,  ¡ The Masque of the Red Death ¡ is a tale mainly about Prospero, a prince, who wants to escape form a deadly disease that gave people red skin, invites his friends staying in his magnificent castle and locks the doors so no one could bring the disease in. In case of being bored, the prince held a masquerade party for his friends one night. He decorated each of his seven rooms in different colors form blue to black and in the position from east to west. However, at that night, an unknown masked figure appeared wearing all red. After the masked figure ¡s appearance, people at the party began to fall ill of the deadly disease. Finally, the figure mo...

Inspirational Quotes on Getting Better

Inspirational Quotes on Getting Better Somebody once said, The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. We can always make room in our lives to get better, whether that means improving our health, our finances or our personal relationships. Even if we think things are perfect, theres likely a small area or two where we could put in a little extra work. Thats not to say that self-improvement is always easy: Its not. But sometimes the words of others who have been through similar struggles can give us the inspiration to carry on and change our lives for the better. Here are some famous and inspiring quotes about improving and getting better. Quotes on Self-Improvement from Writers Those with a talent for expressing themselves in words frequently offer insights the rest of us might not think of. But any writer whos ever worked with an editor knows all about the need to constantly improve and strive to be better. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.- John Updike Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.- William Faulkner Dont be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. -   Dale Carnegie Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life youve imagined.-   Henry David Thoreau There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and thats your own self.-   Aldous Huxley More Quotes About Getting Better Of course, sometimes inspiration comes from philosophers, business people, and entertainers. No one really has a lock on the self-improvement gig. But its up to you to decide how to apply these quotes in your life. The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.- Confucius Become addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement.- Anthony J. DAngelo Before everything else; getting ready is the secret of success. Dont find fault. Find a remedy.- Henry Ford Dont start living tomorrow, tomorrow never arrives. Start working on your dreams and ambitions today.  -   Unknown Author Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.- Emile Coue Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.-   Stephen Hawking God has entrusted me with myself.-   Epictetus Good, better, best; never let it rest till your good is better and your better is best.- Unknown Author Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.-   Norman Vincent Peale Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.- Lao Tzu

Purchasing & Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Purchasing & Supply Chain Management - Essay Example This article shall focus on the matters regarding the competitive edge in the industry with respect to the group’s purchasing and supply chain management. Body Purchasing and supply chain management entails the performance and coordination of numerous activities that takes place both inside and outside an organisation. Research reveals that besides the supply chain that exists within an organisation, there has to be at least one supply chain with another organization. Further, studies reveal that â€Å"the structure of activities within and between companies is a critical cornerstone of creating unique and superior supply chain performance† (Lambert 2005). For Blacks Leisure Group to have an effective purchasing and supply chain management, key players of the chain should be incorporated with the business processes. The company’s processes should be standardised to ensure that there is harmony in linking up processes by purchase and supply chain managers of diffe rent organisations. As earlier mentioned, Leisure industry is very competitive and like any other business in the leisure industry, it is critical for Blacks to develop and sustain competitive advantage. To begin with, Leisure companies throughout the world are now facing enormous challenges because of the globalisation as a result of the enhanced connectivity brought about by the improved technology and the use of internet in doing business. Consequently, Blacks is currently facing very stiff competition from companies from the rapidly industrialised nations like the United States and those from Asian continent. These rival companies, most of which began less than two decades ago, are now tapping into the Blacks market in their quest to spread out their operation base. This may be mainly attributed to more efficient customer service and better distribution channels, networks and transportation as well as enhanced inventory management, material handling and effective communication o n the side of the rival companies. Initially companies were mainly concerned with their customers alone. However, it is rather obvious that the markets have now evolved and Blacks need to change its approach accordingly. Considering that competition may have dire effects on the group like profit declines and being driven out of the business, efforts should be geared towards effective management of their brands and setting up proper market positions. The modern society is a â€Å"now society† in that just like other customers, leisure consumers also want services and products instantly and in the most convenient means possible. As a result, majority of the customers have opted for internet business involving online transactions and thus abandoning tangible companies such as the Blacks Leisure Group. To remain relevant and profitable in the market, Blacks should exploit more on the online business given that marketing environment has changed substantially. Companies that have v entured into online marketing are now posing real competition to Black’s market and are in fact threatening to force them out of the business. It is therefore critical for the Blacks to uphold competitive edge over the online companies by broadening its distribution base in an economical manner, a strategy which is utilised by the rival compani

Poverty in an Era of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Poverty in an Era of Globalization - Essay Example Seeking to explore poverty and malnutrition across the globe through an analysis of the political and economic situation in Somalia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, this essay will show the linkages between poverty and political instability. Accordingly, this essay will show that political instability perpetuates economic stagnation in Somalia and any attempts to resolve the poverty crisis in the region must address the political causes behind underdevelopment. Underdevelopment breeds poverty in Somalia which is demonstrated through widespread malnutrition, low life expectancies and poor rankings in a variety of indicators of overall health (Spencer 2008). Seeking to explore poverty and malnutrition in Sub Saharan Africa through an analysis of the political and economic situation in Somalia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, this essay will show the linkages between poverty and political instability in an era of globalization. Accordingly, this essay will show that political instability perpetuates economic stagnation in Somalia and any attempts to resolve the poverty crisis in the region must address the political causes behind underdevelopment. Underdevelopment breeds poverty in Somalia which is demonstrated through widespread malnutrition, low life expectancies and poor rankings in a variety of indicators of overall health (Pretty 1999; Spencer 2008). Aiming to address the linkages between underdevelopment characterized by malnutrition and poverty and political instability, this essay will explore the relationship between these two diverse, although seemingly interdependent phenomena. Does poverty breed political instability? Are poor countries more prone to political violence and insecurity? What good is the democracy if people remain poor?

Extended Essay in German.Generationenkonflikt in der Literatur

Extended in German.Generationenkonflikt in der Literatur - Essay Example Als Beispiel sei hier nur kurz der Konflikt Kà ¶nig Davids und seines Thronfolgers Absalom erwà ¤hnt, der in dem Verrat Absaloms und dessen Tod gipfelt. Die Sympathien liegen bei dem Vater, der den Tod seines Sohnes zwar tief betrauert aber den Kampf gegen den Sohn als unvermeidlich und gerechtfertigt ansah. Dies ist nur ein Beispiel in dem die Nachfolge des Sohnes von seinem Vater verwehrt wird – es stellt eine Extremsituation dar, die dem natà ¼rlichen Prinzip der Erbfolge und des Generationenwechsels zu widersprechen scheint, und den Sieg des alternden Tyrannen gegenà ¼ber der jà ¼ngeren Generation schildert. Fà ¼r ein moderneres Beispiel denke man an den Konflikt zwischen dem tyrannischen Kà ¶nig Friedrich Wilhelm I. von Preußen und seinem à ¤ltesten Sohn Friedrich, spà ¤ter "der Große" genannt. Der streng-verstà ¤ndislose Vater trieb den jungen Friedrich dazu, im Jahre 1730 einen Fluchtversuch mit Hilfe seines Adjutanten, Leutnant von Katte, zu unternehmen. Dies kam nach damaliger Ansicht einem Verrat gleich, und der junge Kronprinz wurde von seinem Vater gezwungen der Hinrichtung von Kattes zuzusehen. Er selbt entkam nur knapp dem gleichen Schicksal. Eine andere Konfliktsituation ergibt sich, wenn der Vater die Nachfolge seines Sohnes aktiv fà ¶rdern will, aber den Sohn nach seinem eigenen Charakter zu formen gedenkt, und die Neigungen und Vorstellungen der Lebensgestaltung seines Sohnes entweder aktiv unterdrà ¼ckt oder auch nur nicht zu erkennen vermag. Der Vater wird hier oft als mitten im Leben stehend geschildert, er ist zweifellos eine Respekt und Furcht einflà ¶ssende Figur gegen die der sich als unterlegen und schwach empfindende Sohn nicht anzugehen vermag. Diese Entwicklung in der Literatur begann im spà ¤ten 18. Jahrhundert – eine typische Konstellation ist der empfindsame, kà ¼nstlerisch begabte und sensible Sohn der sich einer nà ¼chternen und strengen Vaterfigur nicht gewachsen

The Motive Behind Mergers And Acquisition

The Motive Behind Mergers And Acquisition INTRODUCTION Background Mergers and Acquisitions have gained substantial importance in todays corporate world. This process is extensively used for restructuring the business organizations. Some well known financial organizations also took the necessary initiatives to restructure the corporate sector of India by adopting the mergers and acquisitions policies. The  Indian economic reform since 1991 has opened up a whole lot of challenges both in the domestic and international spheres. The increased competition in the global market has prompted the Indian companies to go for mergers and acquisitions as an important strategic choice. The trends of mergers and acquisitions in India have changed over the years. The immediate effects of the mergers and acquisitions have also been diverse across the various sectors of the Indian economy. The Indian Economy has been growing at the fast rate and emerging as the most promising economy in the world. Be it in IT, RD, pharmaceutical, infrastructure, energy, consumer retail, telecom, financial services, media, and hospitality etc, there has been a sign of promising boom in the Indian economy. It is the second fastest growing economy in the world with GDP touching 8.9 % in 2010. Investors, big companies, industrial houses view Indian market in a growing and proliferating phase, whereby returns on capital and the shareholder returns are high. Both the inbound and outbound mergers and acquisitions have increased dramatically. According to Investment bankers, Merger Acquisition (MA) deals in India will cross $100 billion this year, which is double last years level and quadruple of 2005. Indias merger and acquisitions deal value in year 2010 reached almost US $50 billion which is three times of the deal value last year 2009. There were MA deals worth about $16 billion in 2009, down from close to US $40 billion in 2008. Definitions: Mergers: Mergers or amalgamation is combination of two or more companies to form as a single new company. In this process no fresh investment is made, however an exchange of shares takes place between the entities. In simple terms, a merger involves the mutual decision of two companies to combine and become one entity. Generally, merger is done between the two entities having similar size. Varieties of Mergers   Mergers can be of various types. But there are 5 main mergers varieties which are valued most in the corporate world.   Horizontal merger   Two companies that are in direct competition and share  the same product lines and markets.   Vertical merger   Two companies which are in the Value Chain. Market-extension merger  Ã‚  Two companies having same product but different target market. Product-extension merger  Ã‚  Two companies selling different but related products in the same market.   Conglomeration   Two companies with unrelated business/ industry.   Acquisitions   Acquisition means buying the ownership of one company by another company, often as the part of the growth strategy. Unlike in merger, acquisition is generally done by a large company to a small one. Acquisitions can be either friendly or hostile. Like mergers, acquisitions are actions through which companies seek economies of scale, efficiencies and enhanced market visibility. Acquisition is done either in cash or acquiring the stock of the target company or both. Distinction between Mergers and Acquisitions   Mergers and Acquisitions are often uttered as one and the same and considered to have the same meaning. But the terms merger and acquisition are two different term meaning.   When one company takes over another independent company and clearly established itself as  the new owner, the purchase is called an acquisition. From a legal point of view, the  target company  ceases to exist and the buyer or the acquirer possesses the full control of the business and the buyers  stock continues to be traded, then it is acquisition.   Regardless of the type of the strategic alliance they all have one purpose in common. They are all meant to create synergy that makes the value of the combined companies greater than the sum of the two parts. Synergy Synergy  is the force that is obtained when two or more components meet together to produces an exceptional result which when done solely cannot be achieved. In a business synergy takes the form of enhanced performance, increased profitability and exceptional cost reduction. By merging, the companies hope to benefit from the following:   Staff reductions Economies of scale   Acquiring new technology Improved market reach and industry visibility Importance of the study When a company wants to expand, there are various ways its can do. They can achieve the growth either by capturing the market share or by growing through strategic alliances. The main objective of the merger or acquisition is to achieve growth and synergy, economies of scale and capture or expand the market share. Buzz of merger and acquisition often creates hype in the financial market about the acquirers stock price. While most empirical research on merger focus on daily stock return surrounding announcement date, a few studies also look at long term performance of term performance of acquiring firm after merger.  [1]  Not only that, the performance of the company as a whole is also a matter of question mark. Will the company be able to perform better than it is doing or not? Problem Statement Many firm prior to merger and acquisition have an expectation to create a synergy from merger and acquisition. The main motive behind MA is to create efficiencies in the business and expansion of the business. But they most of the time ignore the fact that the effect of merger and acquisition has direct correlation with the value of the acquirers company and the stock price. The other problem that is to be considered is the financial risk associated with the MA. Research Objective The objective of this study is to gain the deeper and clear knowledge of the merger and acquisition on the acquiring firm. It also aims at the financial risk that a company may face post merger/ acquisition asa well as the long term performance of the acquirer. The objectives are as follows: To examine the effect of EPS myopia on the return of acquiring firms in mergers. Evaluate the effect on the stock price of the acquiring company post merger and acquisition. Critically evaluating if the shareholders of the acquiring companies experience wealth effect as a result of MA. The expected long term performance of the acquiring firm. Study of the financial risk pertaining to the merger and acquisition. Research Question What is the motive behind Merger and Acquisition? What is the effect on the stock price of the acquirer pre and post MA? Does the buzz create the bubble effect on the market or is it long lasting? What is the wealth effect of the acquirer firm post and pre MA? What is the trend of MA in Indian market? Drivers of MA in India What are the effects of MA to the competitors? Effect of the tax to the government post merger and acquisition. Limitations of the Study No proper information on the companies is found except for their Balance Sheet and Income Statement. This study is based on secondary database, so errors in the data could affect the results of the study. External factors such as economic conditions, regulatory changes etc are not taken into consideration. An overview of the Study This dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the background information, problem statement, objective of the study, importance of study, research question limitation of the study. The second chapter deals with literature review. This chapter indicates the theoretical framework of the valuation method of Merger and Acquisition. It shows the detail description of the past research that has been done on the topic and discusses the outcome of the study. The third chapter deals with the research methodology of the dissertation. It deals with the Research method used for the data and information collection. It includes sample selection/design procedure, data collection and data analysis tools used in the dissertation. In this part assumptions had been made where there is lack of appropriate data and information. The fourth chapter deals with analysis and interpretation of the financial data that are used to achieve the objectives of the dissertation. This section mainly deals with the findings from the study and also focuses on the analysis and its results. The fifth and the last chapter of this dissertation present the findings of the study, recommendation of the study to the investors, financial managers regulators. It also concludes the suggestions for future research. Chapter II Review of the Literature 2. Literature Review Many authors and writers have written lot about merger and acquisition and its impact on the performance of the company as well as on the economy. A great deal of research has been carried out on the performance of the corporations involved in the merger and acquisition. When a company wants to jump start a long term growth or boost up the corporate performance, MA may seem to be the best option. Yet study after study puts the success rate of MA lies just between 20% and 30%. A lot of researcher had tried to explain the abysmal statistics, usually by analyzing the attributes of the deals that worked and those that didnt. What is lacking is the robust theory that identifies the causes of those success and failures.  [2]   2.1 Merger and Acquisition: Conceptual Review Farlex Financial Dictionary  [3]  has defined A decision by two companies to combine all operations, officers, structure, and other functions of business. Mergers are meant to be mutually beneficial for the parties involved. In the case of two publicly-traded companies, a merger usually involves one company giving shareholders in the other its stock in exchange for surrendering the stock of the first company Pratap G. Subramanyam (2005) has stated merger as in the term associated with the integration of one company into another. The merging company should exist thereafter and all its assets and liabilities get legally vested in the merged company. This means that the merger means amalgamation of the assets of the two or more companies to form a new company serving the similar or different purpose. 2.1.1 Recognition of amalgamation (merger) by Indian Statutory Bodies The Company Act of India does not define an amalgamation or a merger. Therefore, the term are being interpreted as being included in the term arrangement as defined in Section 390(b). This is vindicated by the fact that Section 394 talks about arrangement that are in nature of amalgamation of two or more companies. It is possible under Companies Act for two or more companies to amalgamate using the shareholder approval route under Section 293(1)(a) though such route is never adopted. The more appropriate route is to get court order under Section 394 of the Act, which has been specifically enacted to enable amalgamations. Section 390 This section provides that The expression arrangement includes a reorganization of the share capital of the company by the consolidation of shares of different classes, or by the division of shares into shares of different classes, or by both these methods Section 394 This section contains the powers while sanctioning scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation. Under the Income Tax(IT) Act, 1961 Section 2(1B) the word amalgamation in relation to companies means the merger of one or more companies to another company or the merger of two or more companies to form one company so that: All the property of the amalgamating company or companies before the amalgamation becomes the property of amalgamating company by virtue of the amalgamation. All liabilities of the amalgamating company or companies immediately before the amalgamation become the liabilities of amalgamating company by the virtue of amalgamation. Accounting Standard AS-14 defines amalgamations as those pursuant to the provisions of the companies Act or any other statute, which may be applicable to the companies. Therefore, it applies to all transactions that come under the purview of Section 391-394 of the Companies Act that relate to integration of two or more companies. AS-14 categorizes amalgamation into two categories: (a) amalgamation in nature of merger (b) amalgamation in nature of purchase. An amalgamation fall into former category if: All assets and liabilities of transferor company become after amalgamation, the assets and liabilities of the transferee company. Shareholders holding not less than 90% of the face value of the equity share of transferor company (excluding the shares held by the transferee company), become the equity shareholder of the transferee company by virtue of the amalgamation. The consideration for the amalgamation, receivable by those equity shareholders of the transferor company who agree to become the equity shareholder in the transferee company, is discharged wholly by issue of shares (except for fractional shares that may be settled in cash). The business of the transferor company is intended to be carried on by the transferee company. Acquisition is the mechanism by which companies change hands and through transfer of ownership of share or transfer of control. Acquisition means the purchase of or getting access to significant stakes in a company, often making such acquirer a major shareholder or force in the company. According to Dictionary of Financial Term  [4]  If a company buys another company outright, or accumulates enough shares to take a controlling interest, the deal is described as an acquisition. For example, if Corporation A buys 51% or more of Corporation B, then Corporation B becomes a subsidiary of Corporation A, and the activity is called an acquisition. A single investor may buy out a publicly-traded company; one calls this going private. Acquisitions occur in exchange for cash, stock, or both. Acquisitions may be friendly or hostile; a friendly acquisition occurs when the board of directors supports the acquisition and a hostile acquisition occurs when it does not. 2.1.2 The Acquisition and Takeover Code in India After the advent of the SEBI, introduced in 1994, there was a concerted attempt at formulation of a comprehensive framework under which acquisition and takeover could be made in existing listed companies. However the takeover code does not apply to unlisted companies and continue to be regulated by the provision of the Company Act. Listed companies are currently governed by the provision of Takeover Code, clause 40A and 40B of the Listing Agreement of the stock exchange and Section 108B and 108D of the Companies Act as regards acquisition and takeovers. Under the provision of Section 108B, corporate under the same management holding whether singly or in aggrete.10% or more of the nominal value of the subscribed equity share capital of the any other company shall, before transferring one or more such shares, give to the central government an intimation of its proposal to do with the prescribed details. Section 108D provides the similar provision wherein the Central Government can act suo moto of any transfer of a block share in a company. All the Sections under 108 are backed by Section 108G. Section 108G Applicability of the provisions of sections 108A to 108F.†The provisions of sections 108A to 108F (both inclusive) shall apply to the acquisition or transfer of shares or share capital by or to, an individual firm, group, constituent of a group, body corporate or bodies corporate under the same management, who or which† (a) is, in case of acquisition of shares or share capital, the owner in relation to a dominant undertaking and there would be, as a result of such acquisition, any increase†Ã‚   (i) in the production, supply, distribution or control of any goods that are produced, supplied, distributed or controlled in India or any substantial part thereof by that dominant undertaking, or   (ii) in the provision or control of any services that are rendered in India or any substantial part thereof by that dominant undertaking; or   (b) would be, as a result of such acquisition or transfer of shares or share capital, the owner of a dominant undertaking; or   (c) is, in case of transfer of shares or share capital, the owner in relation to a dominant undertaking. The SEBI Takeover Code brought in several new features into acquisition law which were not present in Clause 40A and 40B. The basic theme of the code is to provide for fair play and transparency in acquisition and takeover but at the same time to ensure that they are not stifled into extinction. 2.2 Differentiation of Merger and Acquisition In general Mergers and Acquisitions are used interchangeably, but they have a subtle differentiation in there meaning. Weston and Copeland (1992) distinguished merger and acquisition: merger as a transaction between more or less equal partners, while acquisitions are used to denote a transaction where a substantially bigger firm takes over a smaller firm. Their basis of distinguish was the size. But there are other factors apart from size that denotes the differences between merger and acquisition. Asquith Mullins (1986) define mergers and acquisitions on basis of share distribution. When two firms merge, shares of both are surrendered and new shares in name of the new firm will be issued. Unlike in merger, shares of the acquiring firm are not surrendered but traded in the market prior to the acquisition and continue to be traded by the public after the acquisition. The shares of the target firm cease to exist publicly. Motives behind Merger and Acquisition There are three major motives for the mergers and takeovers: Synergy, Agency, Hubris Synergy motive means that the sum total return/value from the integration of two or more companies should be greater than that from the individual company. Elazar Berkovitch (1993) suggests that the takeovers occur because of economic gains that results by merging the resources of the two firms. They even concluded that total gains from MA are always positive and thus can say that synergy appears. The agency motive suggests that takeovers occur because they enhance the acquirer managements welfare at the expense of acquirer shareholders. Elazar Berkovitch and M. P. Narayanan (1993) suggested three major motives for mergers and acquisitions: synergy, agency and hubris. The synergy motive suggests that the takeovers occur because of economic gains that results by merging the resources of the two firms. The agency motive suggests that takeovers occur because they enhance the acquirer managements welfare at the expense of acquirer shareholders. The hubris hypothesis suggests that managers make mistakes in evaluating target firms, and engaged in acquisitions even when there is no synergy. Khemani (1991) states that there are multiple reasons, motives, economic forces and institutional factors that can be taken together or in isolation, which influence corporate decisions to engage in MAs. It can be assumed that these reasons and motivations have enhanced corporate profitability as the ultimate, long-term objective. It seems reasonable to assume that, even if this is not always the case, the ultimate concern of corporate managers who make acquisitions, regardless of their motives at the outset, is increasing long-term profit. However, this is affected by so many other factors that it can become very difficult to make isolated statistical measurements of the effect of MAs on profit. The free cash flow theory developed by Jensen (1988) provides a good example of intermediate objectives that can lead to greater profitability in the long run. This theory assumes that corporate shareholders do not necessarily share the same objectives as the managers. The conflicts between these differing objectives may well intensify when corporations are profitable enough to generate free cash flow, i.e., profit that cannot be profitably re-invested in the corporations. Under these circumstances, the corporations may decide to make acquisitions in order to use these liquidities. It is therefore higher debt levels that induce managers to take new measures to increase the efficiency of corporate operations. According to Jensen, long-term profit comes from the re-organization and restructuring made necessary by takeovers.

Gilgamesh is a Failure in the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay -- essays resear

After reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, I have come to realize that Gilgamesh is not a hero, but a failure. His journey does not follow the traditional circular hero’s journey and he does not posses the traits that an admirable hero should have. The first part of the hero’s journey is the call to adventure. This is the voyage that the hero is asked to go on in order to accomplish greater good for human kind. This is the hero’s chance to help his or her community, family or friends by embarking on a long journey and challenging his, or herself. Gilgamesh does not go on a journey to help others, he goes to make himself look better. â€Å" I have not established my name stamped on bricks as my destiny decreed, therefore I will go to the country where the cedar is felled† (page 70). This passage shows that the only reason that Gilgamesh wants to go on a journey is for fame and popularity. The next two parts of the hero’s journey are the trials and the mentors. Gilgamesh’s journey has both of these components, however, he does not go through them as a hero should. In his trials, he ends up h... Gilgamesh is a Failure in the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay -- essays resear After reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, I have come to realize that Gilgamesh is not a hero, but a failure. His journey does not follow the traditional circular hero’s journey and he does not posses the traits that an admirable hero should have. The first part of the hero’s journey is the call to adventure. This is the voyage that the hero is asked to go on in order to accomplish greater good for human kind. This is the hero’s chance to help his or her community, family or friends by embarking on a long journey and challenging his, or herself. Gilgamesh does not go on a journey to help others, he goes to make himself look better. â€Å" I have not established my name stamped on bricks as my destiny decreed, therefore I will go to the country where the cedar is felled† (page 70). This passage shows that the only reason that Gilgamesh wants to go on a journey is for fame and popularity. The next two parts of the hero’s journey are the trials and the mentors. Gilgamesh’s journey has both of these components, however, he does not go through them as a hero should. In his trials, he ends up h...

Defining Culture Essay

How can you define culture? What is intercultural communication? How much does the same language used by native and non-native speakers vary? This paper would attempt to answer. Three sources on the subject matter will be used. These are: Jan Blommaert’s â€Å"How much culture is there in intercultural communication? †, â€Å"Talking a Person into Interethnic Distinction: a Discourse Analytic Case Study† by Volker Hinnenkamp and â€Å"Rapport Management Theory and Culture† by Helen Spencer-Oatey. In the first article, Blommaert focused on what theory or theories in the science of linguistic would be most useful to obtain an accurate analysis of intercultural communication as well as the role to the study of linguistics plays in the study of intercultural communication. The author began the article with the thesis that the study of intercultural communication will pose challenges in the science of linguistics due to two reasons. One of these reasons is that each communication by two parties from two different cultures would have certain features that would make it unique that it would need a specific methodology and theory to be elaborated for every communication that occurs. The second reason is that the study of intercultural communication would need the knowledge of other branches of the social sciences such as social psychology and anthropology for it to be properly analyzed (13). Two concepts were used by the author in order to answer the questions stated in the article. The first is that culture is fundamental in the study of intercultural communication, and the primary cause for communication conflicts that may rise in intercultural communication. The author coined this as the â€Å"culture collide perspective. † This is because when two parties belonging to different culture groups meet, their cultures also come across and eventually collide with each other. One example provided by the author to support this is the conflict present in politics. The author considered this perspective as a crude approach in understanding intercultural communication since this concept follows that intercultural communication only occurs when conflict is present in the process and in order for the communication to be successful; the culture of any one of the parties involved would need to be managed. The concept is also seen by the author as ethnocentric in nature in that it assumes that one culture in the intercultural communication process is more superior to the other. Furthermore, it fails to take into consideration the fact that one or both parties involved will try to adjust to the situation prevent intercultural communication conflicts (Blommaert, 14, 17-20). The second concept analyzed in the article is that culture is incorporated into the communication process, depending on the circumstances surrounding the parties involved and represented clearly and without reservation during the process. This makes culture as not only a vital component to the identity of the parties involved, but the situation surrounding the communication in general (Blommaert, 21-22). Based on the information obtained, Blommaert concluded that the non-objective approach is the most appropriate linguistic method to be used in the analysis for intercultural communication. Furthermore, the study of linguistics in intercultural communication should be able to represent a collaborative accord between parties from different cultures (30). The second article is a case study an intercultural communication scenario between a Turk and a German. The case study aimed to show how communication problems arise when two parties communicate using a language which the native to one party and foreign to another as a result of on how the experiences of each party affect how they interpret the message being sent (Hinnenkamp, 91). According to Hinnenkamp, the culture of an individual affects various aspects of the communication process such as the degree of interaction permitted, how often will an individual will allow the other to respond, what topics to discuss, how direct he or she can be in addressing or questioning the other party, and their obligations in reference to their status. Should any of these aspects are not met; one or both parties would attempt to â€Å"repair† the communication by neutralizing and restoring the normative order as dictated by culture who considers the language being used as its native language. This is most exemplified in intercultural communication when an individual speaks in a language that is not native to him or her where the individual tries various methods like mimicking in order to make himself or herself understood (106, 108). The third article focused more on the reactions of the receiver of the message in a communication process. The article aimed to identify factors that affect the judgment of an individual involved interpersonal communication (Spencer-Oatey, 336-337). Spencer-Oatey defined culture as an indistinct collection of attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and values shared by a group of people which influence an individual’s behavior and how the individual views another’s behavior which has a major impact in scenarios where intercultural issues are present (338-339). Contrary to Blommaert’s statement, the author believes that culture is not always manifested depending on the situation when intercultural communication is present. She stated that on some occasions, certain very deep-seeded cultural traits will manifest itself in the intercultural communication process regardless if the situation makes it conducive or not (340). This is because individuals have the freedom to choose whether to uphold, modify or abandon his or her cultural practices when communicating. Culture, then is not manifested in a single encounter. Rather, it becomes only apparent when patterns in communicating develop (342). She did, however, agree that what goes on in an intercultural communication cannot be accurately predicted (345). In the article, John Gumperz specified the variation that occurs in intercultural communication between a native and non-native speaker are the â€Å"different conventions of communication, different speech styles, narrative patterns, in short, the deployment of different communicative repertoires† (qtd. in Spencer-Oatey, 343). The author concluded the article stating that more research is needed in order to fully understand intercultural communication. Unlike Blommaert who recommended that further research must concentrate in being able to gain an agreement between parties in the communication process to occur (30), Spencer-Oatey stated that in order to understand the process, the research should be continuous since intercultural communication occurs in relationships that have spanned for a long period of time (346). To summarize, intercultural communication refers to the interaction between two parties belonging to two different cultures where the culture of each party is manifested in the communication process depending on the length of time the interaction has been taking place and the situation surrounding the communication activity. Culture was defined in the texts as a vague group of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral principles, assumptions and values shared by a group of individuals that influence their conduct as well as how they interpret the behavior another. Finally, certain variations occur in intercultural communication between a native to the language being used and a non-native using the same language in order to be understood by the other. These variations include mimicking, speech styles and narrative patterns. Works Cited