Monday, September 30, 2019

Information and computer technology on banking Essay

For over a decade, the rapid advancement in information and communication technology has significantly affected the banking industry. The banking sector has embraced the use of technology to serve its client’s faster and also to do more with less. Emerging technologies have changed the banking industry from paper and branch based banks to â€Å"digitized and networked banking services†. Unlike before, broadband internet is cheap and it makes the transfer of data easy and first. Technology has changed the accounting and management system of all banks. And it is now changing the way how banks are delivering services to their customers. However this technology comes at a cost, implementing all this technology has been expensive but the rewards are limitless. The banking sector was one of the first to embrace rapid globalization and benefit significantly from IT development. The technological revolution in banking started in the 1950s, with the installation of the first automated bookkeeping machines at banks. This was well before the other industries became IT savvy. However, in Bangladesh the revolution started in 1990s. Present Status: A good number of technology driven services are provided to the customers by the Private Commercial Banks (PCBs), Foreign Commercial Banks (FCBs)and Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCBs). The FCBs operating in Bangladesh like Standard Chartered Bank and HSBCare the pioneers to introduce technology driven banking facilities. Thesebanks provide services like ATM, debit card, credit card, Point of Sale (POS)services, internet banking, phone banking, any branch banking, ElectronicFund Transfer (EFT). Along with these services Standard Chartered Bank isproviding KIOSK service to its customers. Among the local banks, the PCBs are ahead of the NCBs in providingtechnology driven banking services. A limited number of technology drivenservices are being provided by the private Islamic banks in Bangladesh. For sending foreign remittance NCBs and some PCBs are working collaboratively with mobile phone service operators. Application of computer based services in Bangladesh: Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), SWIFT and MICR cheque are being provided by all the banks. All the banks except Uttara Bank are providing any branch banking to the customers. All banks have debit card facilities for their clients except Citi Bank NA. First Security Islami Bank Limited, Uttara Bank Limited and Citi Bank NA have no own ATM booth. First Security Islami BankLimited is going to establish their own ATM booth. They have already selected the palce for 100 ATM booth and expect to launch within very short possible time.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Ethical Decision Making

Ethics-PHI 220 03/16/2012 Ethical Decision Making Paper Case Study: From Santa Clara University There are two types of surrogacy. One type involves a surrogate mother who uses her own egg and carries the baby for someone else. The other type is a â€Å"gestational surrogacy† in which the mother has no genetic tie to the child she carries. In the case presented, a gestational surrogate is used. A woman, after a bout with uterine cancer had a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus). Before, its removal, however, she had several eggs removed for possible fertilization in the future.Now married, the woman wishes to have a child with her husband. Obviously she cannot bear the child herself, so the couple utilizes a company to find a surrogate mother for them. The husband's sperm is used to fertilize one of the wife's eggs, and is implanted in the surrogate mother. The couple pays all of the woman's pregnancy-related expenses and an extra $18,000 as compensation for her surrog acy, and after all expenses are taken into account the couple pays the woman approximately $31,000 and the agency approximately $5,000.Though the surrogate passed stringent mental testing to ensure she was competent to carry another couple's child, after carrying the pregnancy to term, the surrogate says that she has become too attached to â€Å"her† child to give it up to the couple. A legal battle ensues. Step 1: Gather Relevant Information The Surrogate is carrying a baby that has no genetic ties to her. The Surrogate was paid quiet well to do a service and decides not to follow through with the service.The surrogate now decides to keep the baby and the money because she has grown to close to the baby. Step 2: Type of ethical problem According to Markkula center for applied ethics, justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today use d interchangeably. There have, however, also been more distinct understandings of the two terms.While justice usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness, fairness often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one's feelings or interests; fairness has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular case. In any case, a notion of desert is crucial to both justice and fairness. (SCU)The most fundamental principle of justice—one that has been widely accepted since it was first defined by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago—is the principle that â€Å"equals should be treated equally and unequal’s unequally. † In its contemporary form, this principle is sometimes expressed as follows: â€Å"Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involve d. (SCU) By the surrogate keeping this baby, she is going against everything that was in the agreement.This baby has no attachment to the surrogate; it is the egg of the husband and wife who paid her to carry their child. In the United States it is illegal to pay a person for non-replenish able organs. The fear is that money will influence the poor to harm their bodies for the benefit of the rich. Is there a parallel between this case and this law? Can allowing surrogate mothers to be paid for their troubles allow poorer women to be oppressed? On their website, the AMA says â€Å"that surrogacy contracts [when the surrogate uses her own egg], while permissible, should grant the birth other the right to void the contract within a reasonable period of time after the birth of the child. If the contract is voided, custody of the child should be determined according to the child's best interests. † (SCU) However this is not the case with this couple, the couple used their own egg and implanted it into the surrogate so should the same rules apply? Step 3: Apply Ethical Theories and Approaches Ethical theory is divided into two main types or approaches in this case which are virtue and duty ethics.Virtue ethics begins by considering what makes a person (or his/her character or motives) morally good (Aristotle, Hume). Duty Ethics focuses on rules or acts and what makes them right (Mill, Kant, Rawls). (Ethical Theory) According to the both theories the surrogate should hand over the child to the biological parents. This surrogate has no real ties to the child and was paid for a service and is violating a contract by not providing the child she was paid to deliver. Step 4: Exploring Practical AlternativesWith this particular case there are not many alternatives. Option 1- being that the surrogate keeps the child and returns all the money she was paid to do the service and the money put out for her medical bills. The surrogate could also reimburse the couple for t heir time and heart ache. Option 2- The couple and the surrogate could go in front of a judge and have the judge decide what is best for the child and the people involved, and what the outcome shall be. Step 5: Complete the Action This is the most important step in the ethical decision making process.This is where the actions are carried out. After reviewing all the details and options for this case the most ethical thing to be done is for the surrogate mother to give the baby, who has no biological attachments to her back to the biological parents. The surrogate can keep the $18,000 she was paid for compensation for her time and expenses, plus the money put out for all her medical expenses. Works Cited â€Å"Justice and Fairness. † Santa Clara University. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Ethical Theory. † Web. . Ethical Decision Making Ethical Decision Making End of Life Submitted by: Anthony Mcdew Ethical nursing care Nurses are faced with ethical decision making on a daily basis. This could be both stressful and challenging. The following case study I chose to walk through is: Mr. Clarke is a patient who has advanced AIDS with related pain syndromes and is also actively abusing drugs. The nurse is concerned about his abusing his pain medications and is not sure if she should give them to him as he leaves the hospital. It will be my assumption that this patient is nearing the end of their life. The value, be, do ethical decision-making model will provide the framework I need to assess this case study (Schaffer and Norlander). I also will be using ethical decision making tools to guide my decision making process. What should I value? The first step of the value, be, do ethical decision-making model answers the question what should I value? It is time that I look deep into the meaning of my life in regards to my professional nursing practice. What do I value in life? The meaning of life for me involves personal and professional respect for my patient and his physician in charge of his care. This involves respecting my patient and his situation. Also, trusting the prescribing Physicians education and training is something I value. Along with valuing respect; I value quality end of life care for my patient. Every individual deserves a peaceful death with minimal pain and suffering if possible. To obtain this, I also need to value my relationship with my patient. Developing a trusting relationship is important for him and also me when dealing with uncomfortable conversations that may have to take place. Finally, I think that I value my education and critical thinking skills. These skills are important to value because I will have to make a decision if I think my patient can handle taking his own pain medications on his own. My education and critical thinking skills will guide me to problem resolution that has the best outcome for the patient. Who should I be? Not only is it important to understand what values impact my actions and decisions; it is also important to make sure my actions reflect my values. The values I have make sure that I am an advocate for my patient’s comfort as well as their safety. They also help me be an active and compassionate listener as well as a teacher. If I am a trustworthy person; my patient will hopefully feel comfortable talking to me about his addiction. Finally, to ensure a quality end of life experience for my patient, I will stay educated on medication dosages, side effects, and other treatments for pain. By critically thinking, I should be able to educate my patient and help communicate to the Physician about the patients concerns regarding pain addiction and pain control. What should I do? By understanding what I value and who I am; I now should be able to fulfill my actions. First, I feel that I should take time to analyze the patients past medical history and medications that helped his pain. Second, I will review the pain medications with the Physicians to ensure I have a proper understanding of his or her plan. Then I will review what is needed to provide quality end of life care with good pain control to a dying AIDS patient. After I feel that I have a great understanding of the situation; it is time I listen and talk with my patient. Assure them that I am there as their advocate for safe and complete end of life care. This may require me to act as a counselor or bring in interdisciplinary team members to assist my patient. My number one goal is to provide safe end of life care; but as painless and comfortable as possible. Analyze response to case study It is always challenging to give patients medications knowing that they may become, or have become addicted. In my current practice we see many patients who go to pain clinics and have pain contracts to help with their addiction and pain management. The difference is, my patients are not dying. Thiroux’s universal ethical principles allow nurses to take time and review the ethical situation. In my case study, I personally feel the Mr. Clarke has the right to a peaceful death if possible. The problem is that the medications we are giving him may kill him first. Thiroux’s principles allows for individual freedom and valuing life. My patient should have the freedom he needs to decide if the pain if worse or the addiction. Depending on how long he has to live, the addiction may be the least of his problems. I feel that I need to value his life and quality of life. Also, I need to understand that death most likely is going to happen. (Blackboard). Thiroux’s universal ethical principles allow nurses to assess the client situation; as well as the caring and justice model (blackboard). This model enhances how nurses feel about ethical problems. Mr. Clarke’s situations force me as his primary nurse to understand how to be an advocate for him and his situation. It also reminds me to use my compassion and virtue when caring and talking with him about his pain addiction. Finally, I have learned that solving or being part of an ethical dilemma can be easier on a nurse by incorporating spirituality. I think that by assessing Mr. Clarke’s spirituality; I may be able to help him with his addiction or suffering he is facing. Isaiah 43:4-5 says that â€Å"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and people in exchange for your life†. It goes on to say that we should not be afraid because God is with us and will unite us together. This bible verses supports my belief that God is there for us as nurses and that he had a purpose for us. God gave us the power to support all situations. The verses also leads me to believe that the purpose of life is to help others physically, emotionally, or spiritually with whatever gifts you may have. I truly believe that God gave me the guidance I need to make this ethical decision on how to help Mr. Clarke. I believe that with proper education and assessment of his pain protocol; Mr. Clarke deserves to have pain relief. This can be done by having his medications monitored. However, they should not be withheld. God does not want suffering and either do I. Quality guidelines Domains of end of life quality care. The domains of end of life quality care that apply to my case study include: pain and symptom control, achieving a sense of control, and possibly strengthen the relationship with loved ones. It is my goal to provide quality end of life care to Mr. Clarke. This includes symptom and pain management. By allowing him to have a sense of control with his pain medications; he is able to help determine is end of life experience. Finally, by assessing Mr. Clarke’s relationship with his family I will be able to see if they can help him. There help could be support, symptom monitoring, and medication management. They also may be able to help him with alternative measures at times including: guided imagery, music therapy, massage etc. Bill of last rights. Not only is it important to understand the domains of end of life quality care; it is also important to remember the bill of last rights. These rights are consistent reminders of the rights dying patients have or basic human rights. Mr. Clarke has a right to control, to be comfortable, and the right to hear the truth. These rights remind me as his caregiver that he is part of this process as well as his medical care team. Even though I feel we still should prescribe his medications; I also believe that he is entitled to know that he has become addicted and how to work through it. Seven Promises. Another tool to use when assessing Mr. Clarkes case study would be reviewing the Seven Promises. The one promise that stands out the most to me is â€Å"never be overwhelmed by symptoms† (blackboard). This includes never having to â€Å"endure overwhelming pain, shortness of breath, or other symptoms (blackboard). This promise reminds me as his care giver that his care team needs to consistently be assessing his pain protocol and symptom management. The other promise that I feel would be beneficial to remember when caring for Mr. Clarke is â€Å"make the best of everyday† (blackboard). This allows the care team to remember that Mr. Clarke is an individual and each day we need to make sure we are helping him. Not only is it important to offer medications for pain management; it is also important to offer alternatives. Each day as his nurse I can document what time of day his pain is worse, what stimulus increases and decreases pain. Every day, I can do my best to help him make the best of his day. Precepts of Palliative care. The last option I have encountered that I can to do assess my patient’s situation is to analyze the organization. By reviewing the Precepts of care, I will be able to make sure the organization is not lacking in any areas that may help Mr. Clarke. This tools will allow us to make sure the organization is respecting the patients decisions, giving comprehensive care, utilize resources of team members, address caregivers concerns, and analyzing the environment (blackboard). This can ensure that not only I am providing good ethical care to my patient, as well as the organization and medical care team. Actions/Response After analyzing and utilizing all of the tools available to me; I have decided that Mr. Clarke deserves to get his pain medication. He is actively dying and has the right to pain and symptom control. It is easier to monitor his addiction then his suffering. The Physician is prescribing only a certain quantity of medications at a time. This can help the care team to monitor his addiction. I believe that the situation would be different if the patient was not dying. I believe that with my strong understanding of my values; I will be able to allow my actions to be appropriate. This will help guide me through â€Å"what should I do†? Ethical decision making is never an easy process. By having the proper tools, it can help medical care team members make a decision. It is my job to educate, counsel, support, and advocate for Mr. Clarke. I would need to be concerned with his medication addiction if he started to overdose. The case study said he is only having trouble with addiction. However, his medication management still needs to be closely monitored for this scenario. Ethical situations can change depending on the situation. I hold strong to by choice that Mr. Clarke needs his pain medications. Reference Bethel College of Nursing Department (n. d. ). Bethel University NURS344 Blackboard Course modules 2010, St. Paul MN. Schaffer, M. , Norlander, L. (2009) Being present A Nurse’s resource for end of life communication. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. . Ethical Decision Making Ethics-PHI 220 03/16/2012 Ethical Decision Making Paper Case Study: From Santa Clara University There are two types of surrogacy. One type involves a surrogate mother who uses her own egg and carries the baby for someone else. The other type is a â€Å"gestational surrogacy† in which the mother has no genetic tie to the child she carries. In the case presented, a gestational surrogate is used. A woman, after a bout with uterine cancer had a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus). Before, its removal, however, she had several eggs removed for possible fertilization in the future.Now married, the woman wishes to have a child with her husband. Obviously she cannot bear the child herself, so the couple utilizes a company to find a surrogate mother for them. The husband's sperm is used to fertilize one of the wife's eggs, and is implanted in the surrogate mother. The couple pays all of the woman's pregnancy-related expenses and an extra $18,000 as compensation for her surrog acy, and after all expenses are taken into account the couple pays the woman approximately $31,000 and the agency approximately $5,000.Though the surrogate passed stringent mental testing to ensure she was competent to carry another couple's child, after carrying the pregnancy to term, the surrogate says that she has become too attached to â€Å"her† child to give it up to the couple. A legal battle ensues. Step 1: Gather Relevant Information The Surrogate is carrying a baby that has no genetic ties to her. The Surrogate was paid quiet well to do a service and decides not to follow through with the service.The surrogate now decides to keep the baby and the money because she has grown to close to the baby. Step 2: Type of ethical problem According to Markkula center for applied ethics, justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today use d interchangeably. There have, however, also been more distinct understandings of the two terms.While justice usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness, fairness often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one's feelings or interests; fairness has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular case. In any case, a notion of desert is crucial to both justice and fairness. (SCU)The most fundamental principle of justice—one that has been widely accepted since it was first defined by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago—is the principle that â€Å"equals should be treated equally and unequal’s unequally. † In its contemporary form, this principle is sometimes expressed as follows: â€Å"Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involve d. (SCU) By the surrogate keeping this baby, she is going against everything that was in the agreement.This baby has no attachment to the surrogate; it is the egg of the husband and wife who paid her to carry their child. In the United States it is illegal to pay a person for non-replenish able organs. The fear is that money will influence the poor to harm their bodies for the benefit of the rich. Is there a parallel between this case and this law? Can allowing surrogate mothers to be paid for their troubles allow poorer women to be oppressed? On their website, the AMA says â€Å"that surrogacy contracts [when the surrogate uses her own egg], while permissible, should grant the birth other the right to void the contract within a reasonable period of time after the birth of the child. If the contract is voided, custody of the child should be determined according to the child's best interests. † (SCU) However this is not the case with this couple, the couple used their own egg and implanted it into the surrogate so should the same rules apply? Step 3: Apply Ethical Theories and Approaches Ethical theory is divided into two main types or approaches in this case which are virtue and duty ethics.Virtue ethics begins by considering what makes a person (or his/her character or motives) morally good (Aristotle, Hume). Duty Ethics focuses on rules or acts and what makes them right (Mill, Kant, Rawls). (Ethical Theory) According to the both theories the surrogate should hand over the child to the biological parents. This surrogate has no real ties to the child and was paid for a service and is violating a contract by not providing the child she was paid to deliver. Step 4: Exploring Practical AlternativesWith this particular case there are not many alternatives. Option 1- being that the surrogate keeps the child and returns all the money she was paid to do the service and the money put out for her medical bills. The surrogate could also reimburse the couple for t heir time and heart ache. Option 2- The couple and the surrogate could go in front of a judge and have the judge decide what is best for the child and the people involved, and what the outcome shall be. Step 5: Complete the Action This is the most important step in the ethical decision making process.This is where the actions are carried out. After reviewing all the details and options for this case the most ethical thing to be done is for the surrogate mother to give the baby, who has no biological attachments to her back to the biological parents. The surrogate can keep the $18,000 she was paid for compensation for her time and expenses, plus the money put out for all her medical expenses. Works Cited â€Å"Justice and Fairness. † Santa Clara University. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Ethical Theory. † Web. .

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Decisions in Paradise Part II Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Decisions in Paradise Part II - Research Paper Example The current investigation looks at applications and solutions in reference to the case, focusing on specific steps in the Step- ladder method of decision-making. The situation we face in the organization, with my partners, is one in which the company must be careful about its expansion into Kava. Since our company is considering Kava seriously as a location of interest and heightened presence, â€Å"That greater presence could take various forms, based on what’s good for our company and what’s good for the people of Kava. You and I get the chance to analyze, synthesize, and prescribe regarding that decision† (Case, 2009). It is important to remember that what we are doing is going into a new territory. We need to leave some of our assumptions about dominance and leadership behind, and be more collaborative, if we are going to be respected in this new territory. The Step Ladder method of decision-making can help us in Kava, because it equalizes decisions and makes sure that there is full contribution and teamwork among interested parties. â€Å"This results in a wider variety of ideas, it prevents people from "hiding" within the group, and it helps people avoid being "stepped on" or overpowered by stronger, louder group members† (Stepladder, 2009). One of the main problems addressed in the proposed expansion of our company, is that of seeing how the Step- ladder method affects decision-making in organizations. Leaders can creatively help along the team dynamic by making decisions, in defining what they do. There may be a period of quality assessment in which management leaders may discuss various ways in which to help team players feel an increasing sense of motivation and the drive to succeed in a positive context by helping leaders with feedback and taking the initiative to present new ideas. The Stepladder method stresses that a r elaxed and balanced atmosphere is

Friday, September 27, 2019

Employment Law--- case study on Whitakers Fine Wines Limited Essay - 1

Employment Law--- case study on Whitakers Fine Wines Limited - Essay Example Furthermore, the Employment Relations Act (section 44) stipulates that a worker retains the right not to be subjected to detriment as a result of an employer’s action or inaction. In the case of Adam, the company acted in a manner that may have posed risk to Adam by subjecting him to overwork that resulted in his state of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the company failed to act appropriately by not providing an adequate solution to Adam’s problem, which he articulated well in time. One major cause of injury at the workplace relates to negligence as exemplified in Donoghue Vs Stevenson [1932] and Caparo Vs Dickman [1990] (Feinman, 2010). In this case, negligence seems to have been on the part of the company as it failed to take appropriate measures to avoid risking Adam’s life. Adam seems not to have acted in negligence as he seems to have taken his duties seriously. Apparently, express terms of the engagement did not contain any obligation on Adam’s part to take care for the role of the sick manager, leading to a breach of his employment rights. As observed in Garrod v. North Devon NHS Primary Care Trust 2006, passing on the responsibility of the absent employee amounts to breach of employment regulations (Personnel Today 2006, para.4). Additionally, the deliberation on the liability of the employer will illustrate the breach of implied terms, where only the employee seems to comply. Whereas his acceptance to serve in the role of the sick employee was voluntary, the management acted in negligence of the agreement that previously relied on the premise that the leave would take short (Cabrelli 2007, p195). Signs of negligence from the director and human resources officials emerge from the facts given in the case, which can directly relate to the psychological pressure manifested in form of anxiety and depression. According to the employment

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Social Aspects of Alcohol Uses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Social Aspects of Alcohol Uses - Research Paper Example According to the report findings to some people in the society, the preference they give alcohol exceeds that of food. On certain occasions, a number of men and women in today’s societies have lost their lives because of excessive alcohol consumption. Consequently, the increasing need for what is commonly referred as ‘liquid refreshment’ is becoming a major influence on community’s evolution. Many societies consider the drinking behavior as important for the entire social order. Nonetheless, for a modern complex society that has subgroups of people with different ages, the pattern that each group reflects special distinctiveness and the society’s cultural frame. Therefore, the drinking cultural practice ranges from keen immersion to complete rejection.This study discusses that  in many societies, people drink to celebrate, relax, and to socialize. However, its consumption has a strong effect and may vary differently from every user. Conversely, a n umber of factors determine how an individual may act under the influence of alcohol.   These factors include; age, health status, frequency of drinking, amount of alcohol consumed, and the family history. Many people from different societies reason that drinking alcohol in itself is not a problem but drinking excess alcohol may have negative consequences. Also, a variety of risks associated with excess alcohol consumption may result. When both the youth and the old consume alcohol, it enters the bloodstream, and the effects can be felt after about ten minutes of consumption. The concentration of alcohol increases in the body as one continues to consume more alcohol.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Shawow the leader-Leadership Course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shawow the leader-Leadership Course - Essay Example In order to learn more about leadership qualities, I decided to shadow an administration manager of a company with her permission and the details of my observations and analysis is explained in this paper. The administration manager whom I shadowed was a lady in her forties. She has taken his MBA degree in administration from a major university and apart from that she has completed some diploma courses also in administration before joining a company as HR executive. She joined her present company around two years before as an administration manager and made lot of changes in the administration areas of the company. In fact, her innovative strategies helped the company to increase the productivity of the workers. Earlier, the company was suffering a lot because of the shortage of talented employees. After the appointment of this lady administration manager, the recruitment and retention strategies improved a lot and the relationship between the company and the employees was also strengthened. One of my friends working in the above company along with this lady administration manager and with the help of him I succeeded in getting the permission of this administration manager for an interview and the subsequent shadow process. My first question was about her leadership philosophy. In reply, she explained that she values the relationships between the managers and the subordinates a lot. In her opinion, no manager can function effectively if he/she fails to establish warm relationship with the subordinates. She has explained that when the relationships between the manager and the subordinates are of highest quality, the goals of the leader, the subordinates or the followers and that of the organization advance a lot. She has made it clear that relationship building is the core of success for everything in the current organizational climate. My second question was about the qualities of a good leader. In her opinion, good

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Discuss the work of Michael Haneke in relation to realism Essay

Discuss the work of Michael Haneke in relation to realism - Essay Example Haneke is a well-read European intellectual. He has his roots in the theatre and is also proficient in classical music. His musical talent shows in his films too. He was born in 1942 and his career is like an anomaly. He worked in German and Austrian television for 20 years. Then he made his first feature film The Seventh Continent. Since then he has made nine distinctive theatrical films. Michael Haneke uses the technique of staged realism instead of depicting reality in an attempt for developing staged constellations. This magical technique also includes the viewer. His films have a model structure. The purpose of the structure it is to address the viewer as a white Western subject, a person who is guilty in Hanekes opinion (Niessen, 2009). His technique of addressing the viewers is not on an individual basis, he talks about the whole Western society. The film and technique confronts; Michael Haneke’s filming technique usually include characters with abstract white bourgeois names and features. The protagonists are usually portrayed as morally corrupt and self-alienated. Peter Brunette explains this technique in his book Michael Haneke (2010). The alienation from self and others which the modern society is routinely producing and the loss of humanity in a collective basis, the grinding attenuation of human emotion, and the loss of human communication with the technological advancement, all have distorted the relationship between reality and its representation. The reinforcement of this stereotypical image is to make the viewers uncomfortable because they would consider themselves being portrayed in the movie. This is achieved by leaving the matrix open by the film’s abstractions (Niessen, 2009). The small problems that individuals face in his movies are usually representations of larger issues of the Western culture. Hence, the characters become the symbol of Western social issues. Hanekes movies attract wider audiences. Haneke

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Oriole Furniture Inc. (Case Study) Case Study

The Oriole Furniture Inc. ( ) - Case Study Example The sales and production activities of all the three lines are managed by Mr. Mente. Each division’s vice president prepares an annual profit plan, in which the result of estimation for the year has been a profit of $22.7m and the sales volume is $77m. Mr. Menson, the company’s president, has not been satisfied with the submitted profit plan. He wants a profit of $23.9m on a sales volume of $81m. When the actual performance of the division is compared with the budget, Mr. Mente finds that sales remain at 11% below plan and profit is 18% below plan. The challenge before the company is that the division failed to meet the budgeted requirement during the year, and the company may consider action in midyear to ensure it reaches its budget by year-end. What does Mr. Mente need to do? What is he proposing to do about his situation? Mr. Mente should revise the plan to reach up to the new sales budget. He should try to figure out the reason for the difference in actual performa nce with the budgeted performance through a complete analysis of the situation. The reasons he will explain to his top manager for not attaining the expected performance are the tough economic situation and old machineries besides the difficulty in finding good furniture designers. To achieve the company’s profit objectives, Mr. Mente has planned to delay the purchase of some new machinery which costs $500,000 and to forego hiring two new furniture designers. But it is better to replace the old machinery that broke down frequently and led to over time labor, which will decrease the labor efficiency and delayed delivery schedules. This investment, in fact, is an asset for the company and will speed up the production process. He should drop the idea of hiring new furniture designers so that he can save $100,000 in salary expenses. He can give training and counseling to improve the existing workers performance. What are budgets supposed to do and what must Mr. Mente do in the ne xt seven months to (probably) keep his job? Budget is a process of planning the use of resources over a definite period of time. It should motivate individuals to achieve performance levels agreed to and set forth for a better control and coordination of activities, the company may prepare budgets for each and every activity which, in turn, helps in reducing production costs. Mr. Mente has to identify the reason for the variance in actual performance and budgeted performance. Knowing how much is being spent each month will enable him to consider whether further action needs to be taken to spend in future. This process is only worthwhile if the budget is realistic. Analyzing variances against an unrealistic budget is pointless. However, in a well-run organization the comparison between actual costs and budget is used as the means for attaining the set goal. The difference between budget assumptions and actual outcome is the key issue that Mr. Mente faces. He can use variance analysis techniques to solve the issue. Mr. Mente has to start his work from the bottom line. He needs to motivate the personnel and evaluate their performance. The company also needs to invest in better equipment to increase productivity without increasing the cost towards hiring more people. The company also anticipates an increase in price of the raw material up to 6%. So Mr. Mente should ask the factory personnel

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Case Study #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study #4 - Essay Example This again will give me an edge in successfully counsel them as not only will they be more comfortable with me, they will also be able to confide more personal details and important events of their current lives which they normally would not have done so. Now there is a single case in these 12 cases which is proving to be harder to manage. The boy's name is Ray. He was doing well enough till the time came when he started not coming for counseling sessions. On digging deeper into the matter, it was found out that he has started hanging with company which will only worsen his situation of academic hardship. The reason which his mates have given for this behavior is that he is made fun of in school. While the rest of the group of my ''breakfast club'' is doing well enough, I will continue on track with them. But, for Ray, I will have to make an extra effort if a really want to help in making the boy's future successful. The best option I have at the particular moment is to make Ray more comfortable with talking and approaching me with his problems. To do this, I will have to call him for my counseling sessions regularly because, as stated previously, "breakfast clubs" help in unwinding the child and also help in making that atmosphere a little less academic and a bit friendlier. This will give me the required time and place to start my counseling while he is most comfortable with his surroundings. The best theory to

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Thesis Objectives Essay Example for Free

Thesis Objectives Essay An inventory control system is a process for managing and locating objects or materials. In common usage, the term may also refer to just the software components. Modern inventory control systems often rely upon barcodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to provide automatic identification of inventory objects. Inventory objects could include any kind of physical asset: merchandise, consumables, fixed assets, circulating tools, library books, or capital equipment. To record an inventory transaction, the system uses a barcode scanner or RFID reader to automatically identify the inventory object, and then collects additional information from the operators via fixed terminals (workstations), or mobile computers. [1] General Objectives This study aims to make a Programmable system that can give a user the benefits and easy access on their inventory. Specific objective. to identify what kind of system suits to their company, which may help them in many ways. to acknowledge the help of a programmable system. to know how to maintain the specific system, the researcher wants to create a system to propose to xyz company to help employees access their inventory much easier. An inventory control system is a process for managing and locating objects or materials. In common usage, the term may also refer to just the software components. Modern inventory control systems often rely upon barcodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to provide automatic identification of inventory objects. Inventory objects could include any kind of physical asset: merchandise, consumables, fixed assets, circulating tools, library books, or capital equipment. To record an inventory transaction, the system uses a barcode scanner or RFID reader to automatically identify the inventory object, and then collects additional information from the operators via fixed terminals (workstations), or mobile computers.[1] General Objectives This study aims to make a Programmable system that can give a user the  benefits and easy access on their inventory. Specific objective. to identify what kind of system suits to their company, which may help them in many ways. to acknowledge the help of a programmable system. to know how to maintain the specific system, the researcher wants to create a system to propose to xyz company to help employees access their inventory much easier.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Factors Affecting Pakistans Literacy Rate

Factors Affecting Pakistans Literacy Rate LITERATURE REVIEW: The literature review will help in identifying the previous work done in this subject area. It aims to explore the relationship among the different variables and their impact on literacy rate in Pakistan. It would further assist in defining these variables and analyze them according to the published work. Maurice Boissiere (2004) did a research on the determinants of primary education outcomes in developing countries. The research question for this paper is What determines the outcomes of education?According to this paper, In todays world, simply getting children into schools in not enough, governments must also ensure that children complete the primary cycle and attain the basic knowledge and skills needed for personal well-being and national development. Many studies have examined how total resources devoted to education or resources per student affect education outcomes. This paper identified five principal contributors to education effectiveness: Curriculum, learning materials, instructional time, teaching strategies and students learning capacity. According to this paper, education outcomes often are framed in terms of the supply-side factors, but demand-side factors are also important in determining education outcomes. Participation in school is regarded here as an input, and completing primary school with the acquisition of basic knowledge and skills is regarded as a desirable outcome. An important pattern is that the outcomes of primary education in poor countries are far below those of the rich countries. There is now much more known about the basic cognitive skills of literacy in rich and poor countries based upon the growing body of evidence from international and regional education assessments. The gap between the rich and the poor countries on these measures is large, and the distribution of this most basic form of human capital within the poor countries also seems to be more inequitable. Ronald G. Ridker (1997) did a research on the Determinants of Educational Achievement and Attainment in Africa. This paper presents an overview and discussion of nine studies that attempt to explain educational achievement, attainment, and participation in different African countries.Available information on school, household, child, and community characteristics are explored for this purpose. Four of the studies base their analyses on national sample surveys, the remainder on evidence from field investigations of specific interventions at the primary level. This overview discusses the significance, limitations, and policy and research implications of the findings. The studies speak to a variety of issues, such as the importance of socio-economic as opposed to school characteristics in determining educational outcomes, the effect of quality improvements on enrollment, textbooks versus class size, professional versus para-professional teachers, and the role of parent participation. Mo st of the interventions were found to have positive impacts. This overview finds that outcomes can differ significantly depending on the context and status of variables. According to this paper variable are interrelated with each other. They demonstrate that improvements in school quality can have indirect as well as direct effects on achievement, the indirect effects occurring because of the effect on participation (enrollment, attendance, and continuation),which in turn affects achievement. They demonstrate the important mediating effects that household characteristics such as income and parent education can have on educational outcomes in some circumstances. They demonstrate that these influences can be very different in different circumstances. Grant Johnston (2004) did the research on Adult literacy and economic growth. According to this paper, Sustained economic growth is a priority for the government. Investments in human capital are seen as making a key contribution to growth. This paper looks at whether an increase in the basic literacy skills of adults would have a positive effect on the New Zealand economy, through increased employment and workplace productivity. It contributes to a suite of research projects the Treasury is undertaking on specific contributions of human capital that is, the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals Literacy skills are among the most important generic cognitive skills. Literacy was once considered to be the ability to read and write: people who couldnt meet a very basic standard writing their own name, for example were considered illiterate. Contemporary definitions of literacy still include reading and writing, but take the concept a considerable step further and include a range of skills used in work, and at home, which are much broader than the term literacy at first suggests. Workbase, the New Zealand Centre for Workplace Literacy Development, considers that literacy covers not just reading and writing, but speaking, listening, creative thinking, problem solving and numeracy Bruce Fuller, Lucia Dellagnelo and Annelie Strath (1999) did the research on Early Literacy and The Influence of Family, Teacher and Classroom in northeast brazil. Firstly they tried to answer this question How Can Government Raise childrens Early Literacy?Governments throughout the world-whether in the industrialized North or the impoverished South-are searching for effective means of boosting the early literacy of young children. Policy makers may be aiming to raise their societys human capital stock and reduce inequalities inherent across schools. Whatever the motivation, policy makers and local educators are trying to identify investment strategies and local programs that will raise childrens basic literacy rate.what form of government investment raise literacy?. The study of school effectiveness in Third World settings is a field that dates back to the early 1970s, and it continues to mature. Over 120 sound empirical studies that attempt to isolate school or teacher attributes t hat raise the achievement of students have been conducted in diverse countries. According to the paper, the study of school effectiveness within the northeastern states of Bahia and Cearai focuses on three facets of school and teacher quality that may help to explain variability in childrens early literacy skills. These aspects of quality correspond to three policy strategies for raising the effectiveness of primary schools.First point is School infrastructure and instructional inputsformalize school facilities and enrich basic materials.second point is teacher selection and preparation policies-recruit more able teachers and strengthen preservice training and the third point is classroom policies-improving pedagogy and classroom organization. In this case, they also run basic regression model to take findings for how literacy scores are related to childrens own attributes, such as gender and age, and to features of their home environment. Atta Ur Rahman and Salah Uddin (2002) did the research On The Different Socioeconomic factors Affecting the Education of N-W.F.P (Pakistan).According to the case, Education is the basic need of human beings. It is also very important for the development of any country. Education is the responsibility of the state and government who should make every possible effort to provide it on an ever interesting and increasing scale in accordance with the national resources. The community should also realize its role in the development of education. Pakistan is one of the countries of the world where the highest number of illiterates are concentrated. Being illiterate is not only an individual disability, it also has societal implications. Democratic institutions and values can hardly flourish in a society where half of the adult population is illiterate, and most of the voters cannot access information or read newspapers. The situation is particularly alarming for women and those living in rur al areas. Illiteracy not only causes dependence, it deprives people of development of their fullest potential of participation in decision making at different levels, and ultimately rises to breed oppression and exploitation. A number of students in the urban and rural areas of N-W.F.P (Pakistan) and control group were collected to examine the various socio-economic factors which affect our education system. A logistic regression was applied to analyze the data. The response variable for the study is literate (illiterate) persons and the risk factors are Father literacy, Father income Parents attitude towards education, Mother literacy, Present examination system, Present education curriculum. In the conclusion of the paper, they investigated the factors which affect education in the model with one explanatory variable the main effect father education has a significant effect on education. The factor which affects our education is FE*PA, which means that the education of the child i s depend on the education of the father and attitude of parents. The other factor are FI*ME means that father income and mother education also affect the education of the child. The father income and parents attitude also affect the education of the child. Malik Ansab (2003) did the research on the Factors Affecting Literacy Rate in Pakistan. According to the case, multiple factors affect (both positively and negatively) the literacy rate in Pakistan. In Pakistan, allocations for education in general and for enhancement of literacy in particular, have, always been very low with, 2.3 % of GNP being the highest figure in 9th Plan (1998-2003). Allocations for literacy started with the non-plan period (1970-78) in which Rs. 2.3 million were allocated for literacy but actually only Rs. 5.00 million were spent. Rs. 12.5 million and Rs.8.5 millions, were respectively spent during the 7th and 8th plans periods for the first time. The message arising out of EFA 2000 Assessment noted that, Education is characterized by the need to make tough choices between competing options of nearly equal attractiveness. Public expenditure on primary education in any country has a direct bearing on the literacy rate of that country. In Pakistan, like most of t he developing countries, the traditional ascription of feminine and masculine standards of behavior, division of labor and family responsibilities have been the main barriers in achieving a female literacy rate equal to that of males. In the rural areas, the poor people send only their sons to school, and that too make great personal sacrifice, but female children are kept without schooling. The country has not been able to provide adequate opportunities for the girls to acquire education. As a result, the situation has not only hampered the overall process of national development, but has also adversely affected the management of the day-to-day affairs of women, like childcare/child rearing, economic participation and social mobility. Azmat (2003) did the research on factors affecting literacy in Pakistan. According to this paper,The trends in respect of male and female literacy from 1981 to 1998 for various provinces of Pakistan indicate that the male literacy rate in 1981 for Punjab has increased form 36.82 to 57.20 percent against a rise in the female literacy rate from 16.82 to 35.10 percent. in Pakistan the fertility rate is directly dependent on the level of education of mothers. In other words, the educational level of mothers influences family size. The illiterate women in high literacy regions have 4.74 children on an average, while literate and secondary school certificate holder women have 3.63 -3.24 children. This co-relation is quite significant and emphasizes the importance of literacy and schooling because some literature suggest that mere schooling of girls also affects fertility. they also run the regression analysis between fertility and literacy. the result of regression analysis is about both v ariables have strong correlation. Another important finding is Literacy is not only hampered by the low participation rate but a major problem is the retention of children who get admitted to primary schools. The survival rate up to grade 5 in Pakistan is only 49.7 while the repetition rate for each grade in the primary schools in Pakistan is about 15.74 %. The existence of a permanent infrastructure and an institutional set-up also contributes positively in enhancing the literacy rate in developing countries. One of the causes of Pakistans despairing situation in terms of literacy rate is, that adult literacy and non-formal basic education have not been institutionalized. After Balochistan, only Punjab has recently started to shape literacy and mass education in an institutional form. Punjab has constituted the Punjab Commission for Literacy and EFA, but it is still in its infancy. Michael Kremer (2005) did the research on Schools, Teachers, and Education Outcomes in Developing Countries.Eight out of 10 of the worlds children live in developing countries (World Bank, 2003).For economists working on education, the study of developing countries offers both policy questions of fundamental importance and a rich set of experiences to examine.The important policy questions stem from the potential role of education in improving the welfare of the 5 billion people living in developing countries. Many macroeconomists have emphasized the impact of education on economic growth. The rich set of experiences worth examining includes wide variation in input levels and education systems across developing countries and, in recent years, dramatic policy changes and reforms in many developing countries. In addition, in the last 10 years randomized evaluations of education policies (which are rare in developed countries) have been undertaken in several developing countries. All of this makes the study of education in developing countries a potentially fruitful area of research. There are many differences between the education systems of developed and developing countries, so this section provides basic information on education in developing countries. Imran Sharif Chaudhry and Saeed ur Rahman (2009) did the research on The Impact of Gender Inequality on Education in Pakistan.this paper run regression analysis on primary data sets. Gender refers to socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men. The difference in roles and responsibilities among women and men stems from our families, societies and culture. The concept of gender includes our expectations about the characteristics, attitudes and behaviors of women and men, and is vital in facilitating gender analysis. The different roles, rights and resources that both the genders have in society are important determinants of the nature and scope of their inequality and poverty. Inequality in access to resources between women and men is most common in poor and developing countriesThe status of women in Pakistan is somehow different from that of western countries. Gender is one of the organizing principles of Pakistans society. Home has been defined as a women legitimate ideological and physical space where she performs her procreative role as a mother and wife while a man dominates the world outside the home and performs his productive role as a breadwinner. Men and women are conceptually divided into two separate worlds. The household resources are allocated in the favour of sons due to their productive role. Male members of the family are given better education and are equipped with skills to compete for resources in public arena. Education is the most important instrument for human resource development. It has become a universal human right and an important component of opportunities and empowerment of women. A large number of empirical studies find that increase in womens education boosts their wages and that returns to education for women are frequently larger than that of men. There are many empirical evidences that, increase in female education improves human development outcomes such as child survival, health and schooling explored that lower female education had a negative impact on economic growth as it lowered the average level of human capital. According to Knowles etal (2002), in developing countries female education reduces fertility, infant mortality and increases childrens education. Gender inequality in education directly and significantly affects economic growth. Chaudhry(2007) investigated the impact of gender inequality in education on economic growth in Pakistan. The secondary source of time series data drawn from various issues has been used. In his regression analysis, he estima ted a set of regressions which shows a moderate explanatory power. The variables,overall literacy rate, enrolment ratio, ratio of literate female to male have positive and significant impact on economic growth. Dr.Zahid Asghar, Nazia Attique and Amena Urooj (2000) did the research on Measuring impact of education and socio-economic factors on Health for Pakistan. It is a common understanding that people with higher level of education lead a more healthy life due to their enhanced level of awareness compared to the less educated individuals. Two important prerequisites for an effective health policy are; monitoring and forecasting the populations health and its health determinants. Health of any individual or that of a society or community is not dependent on a particular single factor. Education affects health not because of the knowledge and practices one can learn at school, but rather it shapes individuals life and can alter the characteristics of an individual to be healthier. Measurement of health is an abstract concept and health itself is affected by a number of factors. This study aims at exploring whether there is any relation in education, gender, and health for Pakistan. Exploratory data analysis and ordinal logistic regression are used here to assess relationship between health, education and other socio-economic factors. It is evident that individuals with higher education level tend to have better health status than a person with lower levels of education. There is also evidence of gender being an important determinant of health in Pakistan. This study provides a useful piece of information for the policy makers in health and education sectors. The data used in this study was collected by Pakistan and Medical Research Council under National Health Survey of Pakistan.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

Many animals depend on different environments such as lakes, oceans or the forest in order to survive. However due to human intervention such as pollution of the ocean, or heavy deforestation, many animals are at the risk of extinction. One such example is known as the Gundlach Hawk which due to deforestation is currently on the endangered species list. Due to it being on the list, conservation attempts are being made in order to keep the animal alive and save it from extinction. To begin with, The Gundlach hawk was discovered and is only located on the island of Cuba. Before heavy human intervention, the Gundlach hawk was located commonly throughout Cuba however in present day, the Gundlach hawk can only be found in five isolated locations. Two of the larger populations current live in the eastern half of Cuba while the three smaller populations are distributed along the western half. Also the Gundlach hawk also is no very restricted to any particular habitat which allows them to live in forests, swamps or wooded coasts. However since it is a very secretive creature, it makes it v...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Tale of Two Cities Essay: From Abused to Abuser :: Tale Two Cities Essays

From Abused to Abuser in A Tale of Two Cities  Ã‚      Throughout the novel, A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens’ judgment and portrayal of France, the Revolution, and the people themselves undergoes some very basic changes. Dickens is always in control of the reader by successfully reaching his goal of leading the reader by the hand through a series of emotions and ideas emanating from the plot and its characters. During the first few chapters of â€Å"Book the First,† Dickens has the reader sympathize with the plight of the French commoners. However, when the revolution begins, he does an about-face. Through narrative, scenes, and dialogue, the reader starts to consider both the aristocrats and the downtrodden as one and the same in moral and political culpability. Charles Dickens strongly believes that the French Revolution was inevitable because the aristocracy had exploited and plundered the poor until they were driven to extreme measures. Nowhere is that more evident than in Dickens’ portrayal of the Marquis St. Evremonde. This nobleman is the poster-child of selfish privilege. He is uncaring and has no respect for life. This is especially apparent when he cold-heartedly runs down an innocent child with his carriage. â€Å"But for the latter inconvenience, the carriage would probably not have stopped; carriages were often known to drive on, and leave their wounded behind, and why not?† In payment for the inconvenience, Monseigneur throws a single coin to the child’s parent. How well this personifies exactly how cold and unsympathetic too many of the aristocracy had become. Dickens has nothing but scorn for the high-handed behavior of the nobility, with their lack of faith, their selfishness, and their distance from real ity. But Dickens’ all-seeing eye then rivets on the commoners, whom he likens to animals: â€Å"The rats had crept out of their holes to look on, and they remained looking on for hours.† But these qualities were also attributed to the Marquis who, denying the humanity of the poor, became subhuman and beastly himself. â€Å"A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken in the street ... . Some men kneeled down, made scoops with their two hands joined, and sipped ... Others, men and women, dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women’s heads, which were squeezed dry into infants’ mouths.† The metaphor is well taken.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Discursive Written Analysis of Wherever I Hang by Grace Nichols and Reflections by Mario Petrucci

Reflections. Mario Petrucci. On first looking at the two pieces I have chosen, the preference of dialect fluctuate to a great extent, giving each poem a dissimilar insight to the dialect to each author. In Wherever I Hang, the idiom is of a native tongue to the Caribbean, with its seemingly imperfect sentences. ‘Had big rats in de floorboards' V1 Line 5 Where as Mario Petrucci has used Received Pronunciation, giving the reader more complete sentences. ‘Bees will sting like a razor' V1 Line 1 The vocabulary in Petrucci's Reflection is uncomplicated to read although every line is a metaphor, proficiently put together to make the reader observe each line in detail. While also generating a number of connotations in each line, giving the reader room for thought. A good paradigm could be gained from almost every line, but the fourth line is most apt. ‘Hills as old as hats' V1 Line 4 It isn't until one hears this that the thought of hats sat on top of a wardrobe or on shelves in hatboxes, comes into realization of the accuracy that this one sentence becomes clear, giving the line a conceit of its own. On the other side of the scale is Grace Nichols Wherever I Hang, which although clear in its context, can be hard to read if the accent is not known. In the first line there are repetitive determiners with the word use of ‘me' three times. ‘I leave me people, me land, me home' V1 Line 1 Also in this line the writer uses a repetition of nouns with no pre or post modifiers. This could be because the writer is generalising her whole life, and the world she knows rather than saying her family and friends. Also it must be taken into account of the fact this is a Caribbean poem and family and friends could be more thought to come from a European writer and would distort the poem, bringing to much plain English into the first verse, rather than it all being in the second, when she is changing from one culture to another. ‘And is so I sending home photos of myself' V2 Line 1 Within the first line of this rhyme, Nichols has used a repetition of nouns and reiteration determiners to emphasise just what she has given up to come to a new land. Possibly giving the reader the vehicle of travel and a new country and the tenor of a lack of feeling of belongingness. ‘Divided to de bone' V3 Line 2 This poem shows a big distinction in the cultures that Nichols has become in contact with, ‘de sun' along side ‘De misty greyness'. Although one must note that this is a connotation of how the writer sees the two different countries and may not be how a visitor to the Caribbean or a born English person may see the variation. Nichols has used antonyms to empathise the difference in each place. The vast array of bright colours of the ‘Humming-bird' and ‘de sun' compared to the dull grey ‘pigeons', ‘snow' and ‘cold' of this new wonder land. Also Nichols has given the reader a possible alliteration to show how that Nelson's Column is higher than most things she has encountered before. ‘I see Lord Nelson high-too high to lie' V1 Line15 This is also ambiguous sentence as the word lie can be taken to mean that Nelson is to high to lie down or to high to lie to anyone. Nichols gives us a representation of the life she is leaving, with ‘de sun' and ‘de humming-bird spendour' giving the reader a image of hot happy days, where as Petrucci's verse is more a reminder of things that are responsibilities to most people. ‘A nut, tough as a tax form'. The two poems contrast each other with the life they portray, until fifth line in verse two of Wherever I Hang. ‘I begin to change my calypso ways' V 2 Line 5 Here is the change in the poem, from the leaving of a home to come to what the writer has considered a dream country. This is the point that the author starts to become like the people in the land she now lives and take on their lifestyle. But this is also where the writer looses a lot of her homeland traditions and the divide starts. Nichols gives the reader different time spans but has written the whole piece in present tense. The effect this gives is the reader embarking on a journey through the poem with the writer. With her use of a metaphor ‘They solid to de seam', an alliteration on the ‘p', ‘people pouring' and a simile ‘Like beans', Nichols is pushing the reader to realize how different this feels to someone who has never felt or seen things like this. This poem has a non- repetitive rhythm that is filled with personal nouns with the use of ‘me' and ‘I'; it also has no punctuation. Petrucci's Reflections on the other hand, is a blank verse pentameter, with use of copular verse and all written in future tense. The writer has used words like ‘will' rather than ‘is' to give the reader the hint that the poem is about something that will happen in the future, almost saying its impossible to avoid. ‘The air will be clear as glass' V1 Line 2 The whole poem could be considered to have a connotation meaning, in which it is the view of how the author sees things in life, even though it has no narrative. In the second verse, line one there is a possible alliteration within the metaphor. ‘Trees will be sturdy as girders' V 2 Line 1 One could pick out of this poem the subject, verb and object of every line, with a few added fillers to make the whole piece make sense, right up to the last but one line. Here the pattern is broken and the fourth line in verse three is not a metaphor. This could be to express what the possible tenor is. The Internal rhyme differs in this line also, unlike the rest of the poem, which has iambic pentameters in every line. ‘And the button, that big red button' V3 Line 4 This could be taken in two ways, which is what the writer could want from the reader. One could be the threat of nuclear war and the fear of the Red Button that hangs over our heads, giving it an elegy. But another meaning could be linking the final but one, line with the final line of the poem. Petrucci could be using the old metaphor bright as a button, but replacing it with child to express the cycle of things, as in the whole world starts again, and so do the metaphors within the last line. ‘as bright as a child.' V4 Line 1 This is not the first time Petrucci mentions people in his poem. ‘Clockwork regular as citizens' V2 Line3 This line gives the reader the picture of people rushing to work or where ever in the rat race, which could be joined with the same line, giving it an ambiguous meaning. The rat race could be also taken as mice, as they are from the rat family. The mice could be also meaning from the nursery rhyme hickory dickory dock, and the mouse that ran up the clock. In the second verse of Nichols ‘Wherever I Hang', we are given a high level of co- ordination with ‘And is so' used in three lines, almost to show the reader that the change in the writers ways in inevitable. The dialect that is used in this second verse has changed to some extent to what is considered more English with the word ‘I' instead of ‘me', which is continually used in the first verse. Although the Caribbean word use is still present with the occasional use of ‘me' and ‘de'. ‘And waiting me turn in queue' V2 Line 8 The sentences are more complete in this verse, rather than ‘At first I feeling like I in dream', (V1 Line 8) the writer is using more English dialect than her native dialect, ‘I begin to change my calypso ways' (V2 Line 5). The whole of Nichols poem has many personal pronouns, unlike Petrucci's, which has no personal pronouns at all.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Org Behaviou

Table of Contents 1. 0 Introduction2 2. 0 Initial Situation – Case Analysis2 2. 1 The History of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)2 2. 2 Peter R. Dolan3 2. 3 What is Plavix? 3 2. 4 Plavix Generic Drug Agreements4 2. 5 Dolan’s Fate5 3. 0 Questions and Answers6 3. 1 Q1) What principles of distributive Negotiation did Sherman use to gain his advantage? 6 3. 2 Q2 ) Do you think Sherman behaved ethically? Why or why not? 7 3. 3 Q3) What does this incident tell you about the role of deception in negotiation? 9 4. 0 Conclusion10 1. 0 Introduction All organisations form an integral part of the global village. Therefore organisations have become open systems due to deregulation, ever changing technology, lifestyle and demographics. In order to be triumphant in today’s dynamic environment organisations need to focus on the environment it operates in and have to react swiftly to the changes that occur by developing negotiation strategies to stay ahead of competition. Strategy is embedded in any organisations planning process and without strategy the organisation will become a candidate for acquisitions or would become extinct. In this report we have analysed the case of â€Å"DAVID OUT-NEGOTIATIONG GOLIATH: APOTEX AND BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB†, which is based on a real world scenario about the survival of two giants of the pharmaceutical industry at stake. Our main objective is to analyse the main conflicts and negotiation issues which have arisen during the negotiation process between the two giants and also to look at how their internal objectives have driven them to the final result. Therefore, we present some more external information about the elevant case to get a better background knowledge, and also we have analysed the main issues by answering the questions which have been brought up in the case. 2. 0 Initial Situation – Case Analysis 2. 1 The History of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) In early 1887, William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers invested $5,000 into a failing drug manufacturing firm located in Clinton, New York. The company was officially incorporated on December 13, 1887, an d in May 1898 changed its name to the Bristol, Myers Company. According to the records Bristol-Myers merged with Squibb in 1989 and created a global leader in the health care industry as â€Å"Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)†. By this merger it created the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical enterprise. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) Today, Bristol-Myers Squibb has become one of the leading worldwide provider of anti-cancer therapies as well as a leader in the discovery and development of innovative treatments to fight heart disease, stroke, and infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. (http://www. awpagesociety. om/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) 2. 2 Peter R. Dolan Peter R. Dolan has received his BA from Tufts University in 1978, and his MBA from Dartmouth College in 1980. He began his career at General Foods from 1983–1987, but by 1988 had transferred to BMS as Vice-President of Marketing. Dolan was named CEO in Februar y 2001 and made Chairman of the Board in 2002. He was infamous within the company for setting â€Å"Big Hairy Audacious Goals†, such as his 2001 promise to double BMS revenues within five years. He regretted about that particular statement, as 2002 sales totalled came down from $18. billion, which was 1% of a decrease from 2000. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) 2. 3 What is Plavix? Plavix was a FDA-approved anti-platelet daily medication that reduces the risk of heart attack. Plavix was brought to market through a partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb and French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, the world’s third largest pharmaceutical company and the largest in Europe. Plavix 2005 global sales were $5. 9-billion, up more than 15% from 2004. According to Pharmaceutical Business Revenue and Data Monitor, sales were expected to peak at $6-billion in 2011. http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FI NAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) 2. 4 Plavix Generic Drug Agreements In July 2006, BMS announced that the U. S. Justice Department was investigating the company’s March 2006 agreement with Canadian generic drug manufacturer Apotex. The agreement was intended to delay the Apotex’s release of an inexpensive generic version of Plavix. Under the terms of Bristol-Myers’ ill-conceived agreement with Apotex, BMS offered Apotex $40 million to halt production of the generic Plavix until June 1, 2011. This date was five months before the Plavix patent was set to expire. Bristol-Myers also agreed not to release its own non-branded Plavix until six months after Apotex began to sell its generic version of the blood thinner. When asked to approve the agreement, the U. S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state Attorneys General objected to these provisions. They labelled the Bristol-Myers concession anti-competitive because it assured that Apotex would be the sole market vendor of cheap, generic Plavix for at least six months. So, Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to remove the anti-competitive provision from the contract. Nevertheless, the FTC began questioning Apotex regarding the revised agreement. During these questioning sessions, Apotex told the federal regulators that Bristol-Myers had given Apotex private assurance that it would not release a general version of Plavix to the market. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) When the agreement did not receive approval, Apotex quickly introduced its generic version of Plavix (which had obtained FDA approval earlier that year), and the drug became universally available in August 2006. Apotex priced the generic version at an estimated 10 to 20 percent discount. Apotex’s generic Plavix quickly gained 75% market share of new prescriptions. Within the month, Bristol-Myers Squibb was able to get a United States District Judge to order a temporary injunction halting further sales of the generic Plavix. However, the judge did not order a recall of generic Plavix. The District Court ruled that Apotex had the legal right to sell its generic version of Plavix. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) After only one month of generic Plavix competition, BMS was forced to reduce its 2006 earnings forecast by 25%. Bristol-Myers’s reduced per share earnings estimate was below the company dividend, meaning that Bristol would be paying more to shareholders than it actually earned. In sum, over the five years of Dolan’s tenure, the stock price of Bristol-Myers Squibb had declined by over 60%. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) 2. 5 Dolan’s Fate On September 12, 2006, CEO Peter Dolan and General Counsel Richard K. Willard were dismissed by the Bristol-Myers board. Dolan was replaced on an interim basis by James M. Cornelius, a Bristol-Myers director and former executive at Guiding Corporation. (http://www. awpagesociety. com/images/uploads/Case_FINAL3. pdf – Accessed on 21, March 2011) 3. 0 Questions and Answers 3. 1 Q1) What principles of distributive Negotiation did Sherman use to gain his advantage? Negotiation occurs whenever two or more conflicting parties attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence. In, Other Words, People negotiate when they think that iscussion can produce a more satisfactory arrangement (at least for them) in their exchange of goods or services. ( McShane and Travaglione , 2003) A distributive negotiation is a type or process that normally entails a single issue to be negotiated. The single issue often involves price and frequently relates to the bargaining process. Also referred to as ‘Win – Loseâ€⠄¢, or ‘Fixed – Pie’ negotiation because one party generally gains at the expense of another party. (http://www. negotiations. com/definition/distributive-negotiation/) – Accessed on 27, March 2011) Despite the fact that BMS and Apotex entered the negotiation process, with the primary goal of achieving a ‘Win-Win’ situation which will lead to an integrative negotiation. However according to our analysis we feel that the negotiation ended on a ‘Win- Lose’ note, resulting in a distributive negotiation. Dr. Barry Sherman (Apotex) when negotiating with BMS, has used following distributive negotiation principles in order to achieve his Goals. Goal – In this case scenario, Dr. Sherman wanted to direct the negotiation in a way that would maximise his benefits as much as possible. As an example, Dr. Sherman inserted a clause in the deal that would require the BMS to pay Apotex $60 Million â€Å"IF† FTC rejected the deal. Motivation and Focus – When engaged in distributive bargaining one’s tactics are to focus on getting one’s opponent to agree to one’s specific target point or to get as closer as possible. (Robbins, 2005) â€Å"I Win, You lose†- where Apotex’s win is at the expense of BMS. Further it could be noted that the outcome of the negotiation falls outside the BMS’s resistance point indicating a total victory for Dr. Barry Sherman and Apotex . The two Company’s being opposed to each other is another distributive negotiation characteristic seen throughout the situation where BMS’s goal in this negotiation is to delay the launch of Apotex’s generic competitor, where as Apotex’s / Dr Sherman’s motive being its opposite. Information Sharing – In this negotiation process information sharing was low. This was evident through the clause inserted in the deal, and also by Dr. Sherman not disclosing the preparation of launching the generic product before the agreed date. Duration of Relationship – It is visible that the focus of the relationship between BMS and Apotex was â€Å"Short Term† mainly due to fact that Dr Sherman was aware of FTC’s decision and the impact that would have on the negation process. 3. 2 Q2 ) Do you think Sherman behaved ethically? Why or why not? The answer to this question depends on a person’s values, culture, and the situation. What might be acceptable in poker would probably not be acceptable in most business situations. What might be acceptable in New York might not be acceptable in Ottawa. Different cultures and different situations contain inherent â€Å"rules† about the degree to which bluffing or misrepresentation is deemed acceptable. (**** I have attached another PDF – this part is from that article) According to what we see, it’s not ethical to lie in a negotiation, but according to research 28% of negotiators lie about a common interest issue during negotiations, while another study found that 100% of negotiations either failed to reveal a problem or actively lied about it during negotiations if they were not directly asked about the issue. Therefore we have an issue to recognize, when is a lie a lie? Some argue, when exaggerating, downplaying negatives, ignoring flaws, or saying â€Å"I don’t know† we are lying, but today most businessmen look at this, not as unethical practices, but rather as indicators that a negotiator is Strong, Smart, or Savvy. (Robbins, 2005) When we look at this scenario, we can’t agree that Dr. Sherman’s behaviour is ethical; during the negotiation process he was indicating a trustworthy long term relationship towards BMS and indirectly influencing BMS to take certain actions emotionally (for example : carrying out the negotiation at certain times without attorneys ). However in the meanwhile he gets ready to launch the product, which clearly explains the unethical behaviour and his attempt to misguide BMS. Further, another factor to be noted at the same time is if we want to survive in this highly competitive world, we have to be SMART enough to be professional and BMS being the initiator to the negotiation, should have known exactly what they signed. BMS being a large organisation, having the capacity, should have done their ground work prior going for the negotiations. Further, they could have appointed a negotiation panel rather than a one person, which would have increased the chances of winning. The question arisen is why BMS’s industry knowledge and experience didn’t warn them about the FTC decision. This clearly explains poor preparation and their underestimation of Dr Sherman’s negotiation tactics. We believe, Dr Sherman was being technically correct, that does not justify his behaviour as ethical. The question to argue is the acceptability of the tactics used by Dr Sherman in improving his chances of winning. We believe that winning a business negotiation is important, but winning by deceiving the other party is unethical. 3. 3 Q3) What does this incident tell you about the role of deception in negotiation? ‘Deception' is the use of false arguments that leads the other person to an incorrect conclusion. We can see these types of scenarios every day in business world, because when doing these types of important negotiations, we have to make sure, that we have our goals in the sight and work towards achieving it with a well planned process, without getting carried over with emotional bonds or friendships. The BMS vs Apotex negotiation shows misrepresentation occurring in a negotiation, where a person deliberately takes a position on something which is not true in some way. Dr. Sherman deliberately misleads BMS showing them that, he is carrying out negotiations in order to come to a conclusive decision of delaying the launch of the generic product. However, while negotiations are being carried out, Dr Sherman plans to market and launch the generic product deceptively. By use of false arguments and providing not rue information, Dr Sherman misguides the other party in negotiation for a settlement offer. While showing an objective of achieving a â€Å"Win – Win† solution, indicating a trustworthy relationship (which leads the executive of BMS, Bodnar keeping their attorneys out of the discussion in many instances during the negotiation process). Further Dr Sherman including a clause in the deal that would require BMS to pay Apotex $60 Million if FTC rejects the deal, believ ing that FTC would, further explains the deception in this negotiation process. A point to be noted is certain practices carried out by BMS was not professional (example Bodnar keeping the attorneys out of the negotiation) which might lead to further deception. BMS objective was to create a favorable position for themselves by trying to make Dr. Sherman agree to their conditions. Deception plays a major role in this negotiation process. Even though BMS and Apotex entered into negotiation with an objective of coming into a conclusive decision of delaying the launch and the settlement offer. However, the outcome of the negotiation was totally dependant on the deception played by the people involved in the negotiation and the negotiation process had a less impact on the final outcome. 4. 0 Conclusion In today’s context, negotiation plays a vital role in any business organization and its challenges are growing. Every organization has their own goals to achieve, therefore it's important to discuss and resolve conflicts arising by divergent goals. Negotiations are often complex, hence always demand preparation. Lack of preparation and not following a proper process will result in adverse and unexpected results. We can clearly see in the above analyzed Apotax vs BMS case, how important is to pay attention and how well we have to know the rules to play well in the field of negotiation, because even a small mistake can change the end result to a greater extend. We can see lot of similarities between this case and the story David vs. Goliath. As we know David was just a lad, representing the Israeli army and was confronted by a giant Goliath, representing the Philistine army. David managed to strategically defeat and destroy the giant Goliath. When relating the case and the story, Apotex (David) was approached by a corporate giant – BMS (Goliath) to delay the launch of a competitive substitute. Goliath attempted to negotiate an agreement to hold back competition in the market. To be successful, David had to not only get their product into the market, but also to outnumber the giant. This deal brought a huge win for David, because he was able to examine the issues and identify the opportunities he could gain from this negotiation and also he always had a clear goal and a vision to reach it. So in the end, David successfully launched Plavix generic product and capitalized on the downfall of Goliath to build Apotex's market share. In the above case, Goliath (BMS) forgot that they were involved in a business negation, and got carried away with emotions and wanted to have a long term business relationship with David (Apotex), which David used to his advantage. As professional business people we should always predict the worst possible outcome as well, before getting into this type of an immense business deal which involves lot of money, market share and specially reputation. Which affects the business bottom line and in turn risking stake holder funds or returns) MBS was over confident in going to the negotiations, because they thought they are a large company, as we see size does not matter, it’s what strategies you use to negotiate and you attentions to details and how well you prepare, that matters. BMS had the resources to win the negotiation, but was not prepare d to use them effectively and efficiently, that’s where they lost. Before getting in to a negotiation, we have to look at all of the implications of a deal, both for the one’s self and the related party. To be successful, a deal has to make a ‘Win – Win’ situation to the both the parties. But here, Goliath never considered about the economic reality, planning or preparing a negotiation agenda and also entered to the negotiation processes even without carrying out a proper background research. Today, we all go through negotiation in day-to-day life, because it has become a technicality which we use in a daily basis. So, when it comes to these types of immense deals, we have to make sure we follow a proper negotiation process which involves major steps of negotiation such as, preparation and planning, definition of ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem solving, closure and implementation. And also at the same time we should ensure that we make no mistake on our way forward achieving our objective. Further a factor which needs to be kept in our mind throughout our negotiation process is to achieve our goal in an ethical manner making sure we keep no space for others to deceive us. — END OF REPORT – –

Sunday, September 15, 2019

English Literature- Lamb to the Slaughter

Lamb to the slaughter -Roald Dahl     By P. Baburaj, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of English, Sherubtse college, Bhutan Author of: Language and writing, DSB Publication Thimphu Communicative English, P. K. Books, Calicut A perception on Literary Criticism, P. K. Books, Calicut     Black comedy/blackhumour -is concerned with the humorous treatment of the shocking, horrific and macabre. Black comedy is actually a form of drama which displays a marked disillusionment and cynicism.It shows human beings without conviction with little hope, regulated by fate or fortune or comprehensible powers. In fact, human beings in an ‘absurd’ predicament at its darkest, such comedy is pervaded by a kind of sour despair; we can’t do anything. So we may as well laugh. The wit is mordant and the humor sardonic. Dramatic irony When the audience understands the implication and meaning of a situation on stage, or what is being said, but the characters do not. Example-Oedipus does not r ealize his crime. Sir Peter Tezel (in school for scandal) does not know his wife is behind the screen when he is talking about Joseph Surface.Symbols. ? The ‘warm’ and ‘clean’ attic indicates the desire for normal domestic pattern. ? The ‘curtain drawn’- shows a calm atmosphere that foreshadowing of hidden subconscious desires that are yet to surface in the form of murderous action. ? Two lamps alight- point to Mary and Patrick. ? Fresh ice cubes in the thermos points to coldness and heat. Ice is cold and thermos brings heat to the mind. Contemporary story. ? Story tells of how a pregnant woman when faced with the certainty of her husband leaving her, takes control of her situation. ? Powerful woman protagonist -breaking away from the stereotypical role of a woman. Packed with suspense and humor. ? Fast-paced action. ? ? ? ? ? ? Third person omniscient narrative. Conventional and straight forward language. Role reversals- reversal of Maryâ€⠄¢ the merry innocent docile wife to a cruel murderer Dramatic irony, A type of situational irony. A best example of a black comedy. . . Contrasting what a character perceives and what the audience and one or more of the characters know to be true. Revenge, deception and ethics are some of the issues that one could explore in this story. Theme- love- betrayal, revenge and deception. Mary Maloney a victim and a villain. A faithful, docile pregnant wife who gets cheated. Story of? Married and a romantic couple. ? Maloney’s unexplained decision to leave his wife†¦.. ? Violation of the marriage law(deception) ? Mary’s killing of her husband and her ultimate deception ? ? ? ? ? ? Setting-Maloney’s drawing room -Entire room of the house. -Sam’s grocery shop (short scene). ? Lamb is a Biblical Symbol of innocence/ symbol of peace, but here a powerful weapon of murder. ? So lamb symbolizes here violence, death and revenge- topsy-turvy to its conventional bib lical concept. By P. Baburaj, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of English, Sherubtse college, Bhutan *********************************

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Celta Assignment 3

Reasons for choosing text Although a long piece of text, it contains an overall context of animal powers and is an interesting topic. Similar topics students have worked with include qualities of famous people and superheroes. It is an authentic text, containing a wide range of language items and so provides a challenge for intermediate students. The text could also be broken down into sections for specific tasks. Receptive language sub-skills that could be practised using this text include: reading for gist, scanning and reading for specific information.The text could also be adapted for teaching grammar and vocabulary. Match headings to text – skim reading for gist exercise ref p13-p15 Using text with headings blanked out. After pre-teaching the necessary vocabulary such as: telepathy and premonition, the teacher explains: ‘Here are some headings and here is a text. Read the text quickly. Match the correct headings to the correct paragraphs. ’ Concept check with : ‘Do you need to read every word? ’ Give time limit of 2-3 mins. Individuals read text then compare answers in their groups.Headings: Telepathic contact The common features of Animal Telepathy Explaining the Unexplained Heading for Home Premonition During feedback nominate and ask students to justify their reasons. Scanning task p13 and 14 Read the text quickly. Which person does each of these statements refer to? 1. They do not permit any other person to get close to her when she is in this condition. 2. I used to visit quite often, pop in and do all sorts of things 3. She never left my side, and during the night she slept next to my pillow 4.Jaytee started waiting at the window around the time she set off. 5. Horrified, I replaced the bottle top and, genuinely afraid of the dog, I went back into the room and sat on the sofa. 6. When we arrived home the man greeted us and said â€Å"I knew you were on your way home.. † 7. He conducted more than 100 videotaped e xperiments 8. My whole working life has been as a cabin crew member working out of Gatwick Airport True or false – scanning task ref p14. Explain task to students first before handing out handouts. ‘Here are some statements.Some are true, some are false. Read the text quickly and write down: true or false’ Give a 3 minute time limit. During feedback, nominate and get students to justify their answers. Statements Telepathy takes place between a dog and a cat? Christopher Day works in London? When Christopher Day visited as a vet, the dog would whoop with delight? P. Broccard wanted to kill herself? Pamponette is Miss Broccard’s first name? Adele McCormick owned 10 horses? William is a cat? William is 15 years old? Rupert conducted more than 100 videotaped experiments on Jaytee?Pam Smart would leave home and return at the same time each day? Pam Smart would always travel by train? Q &A for detailed comprehension ref p13-14 Perhaps a useful exercise as a foll ow up to a skimming or scanning exercise. Students will have been given the reading text from a previous exercise. Explain to students using the OHT ‘here is a list of numbers. What do they mean? ’ demo the first question. Students work individually then compare answers in pairs. Give students a 5 minute time limit. Nominate students during feedback. What is the significance of the following numbers . 50%In the UK and America 50% of dog owners had noticed their animals anticipating people arriving home. b. 30% c. 100 d. 13 e. 15 f. 50 g. 100,000 h. 18 i. 2000 Productive tasks Freer communicative practise Give students 5-10 minutes. Put background music on during the task. ‘Tell your partner about pets that you have now, had in the past or pets that belonged to friends’ your partner can ask: ‘do you think they were psychic? ’ ‘why? ’ Demo the task with: ‘My friend had a big white alsation that knew when his owner was coming ho me.Did you have any interesting pets? ’ Monitor, avoiding the centre of the room and ensure everyone gets practise speaking. For very quiet students, gently prompt with ‘what do you think? ’ During feedback ask ‘did anyone find out anything interesting? ’ Semi-controlled communicative practise (ref photo of cat p14) Allow 5-10 mins for this exercise. Put background music on during the task. Write target language as a prompt on the white board: Q. If you could have a power what wouId you choose? If I could have a power I would choose. because†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ If I could†¦(communicate telepathically)†¦It would be useful because†¦. Demo by asking a student the question. Ask students to get into pairs and ask each other what ability they would like to have and why, using the target language on the white board. Monitor, avoiding the centre of the room and ensure everyone gets practise speaking. For very quiet students, gently prompt with †˜what do you think? ’ During feedback ask ‘did anyone find out anything interesting? ’ Reference text: Kindred Spirit: Issue 50 Spring 2000 p13-16