Macroeconomic Analysis Essay

Introduction The idea Edgar has for opening up four new gas stations is based on a well based argument making it viable as a profitable business venture. The evaluation on the American consumer to accept the high price for gas oil prices forms the first approach towards establishing a business. Gasoil businesses in the world run as cartel where it supply and prices are determined by the few stakeholders in the industry. The stakeholders form an agreement among their competitors on the price, making and, marketing of the product (Fredy, 2010). The cartel though the production affects the GDP growth rate. Gross domestic product represents the monetary value of the goods produced in the country within a year. The enterprise runs as an oligopoly. An oligopoly represents a business type where there are few sellers in the market. The few sellers are due to the restriction imposed on entry to a monopoly. The production rights are restricted by the producer and the producer also controls the prices of the commodity (Brake, 2011). Unemployment will be apparent as the restriction holds down people with the relevant skills to join in the trade. Price control is done through price fixing and determining the market share. The market shares will go a long way to influencing international trade. International trade represents trade past the nation boundaries (Derik, 2010) . The main purpose of a cartel is profit increment to the individual by reducing competition. Edgar by starting up the gas oil business will gain profit margin from the monopoly. The government is also be involved in the control of the production rights of such a cartel. It is through fiscal policies that the government will regulate such ventures with an aim to protect the public from exploitation. Fiscal policies tools are the government imposition on tax and revenue collections (Tayor, 2007). The focus on the convenience good and assumption  it will make a profit in the society is the reason Edgar insists on the production. Convenience goods are those that are distributed widely and are inexpensive and the gas oil forms one of them (Fredy, 2010). Macroeconomic covers the demographic aspect, as these goods are made available to the population. Demography represents human residents statically (Henry, 2008). Startup capital is a needed by Edgar as he plans to buy the four gas oil station. The fund borrowed from a financial institution will be affected by the interest rate and the financial policies. The monetary policy is a tool used to control the supply of money in the society through affecting the interest rate in the society (Tayor, 2007).The estimates of sales to increase in china and India represents the trade cycles. Business cycles are periodic change in the production and affect the Gross Domestic Product of a country. They cause the GDP to fluctuate and thus an expansion and contraction of the level of economic activities in the country (Tayor, 2007). The business sets itself on time of favorable economic benefits as the bank rates are favoring a business positively. Edgar requires a large capital base to start a business and borrowing from a business organization is paramount. Interest is payable on the loan capital that is taking from such institutions. With a low lending rate, the business organizations enable economic growth as a society can borrow a large sum of money for the investment project. Investment improves the living standard of the society as they earn a profit from the investments. The advice to Edgar is to take up the positive strengthening economy and invest during the low lending rate (Sydney, 2010). Demand is as the amount of a commodity that consumers are willing and can purchase at any given price over a given time (Tayor, 2007). The law states that, at low prices, the need is high. The firm being an oligopoly has rigidity in its price of the gas oil. Rigidity represents stickiness in the prices that does not change regularly. Edgar will enjoy the high prices of the oligopoly market as the American consumer has accepted the prices. The high prices are as due to the kinked demand curve as oligopoly market has two demand curves. A highly elastic demand curve on the price increase and a highly inelastic in the price decrease (Tayor, 2007). DdMC PricedKINK P1EP X Ddy Q1D QuantityQMR The elastic part of the curve is the dd curve thus an increase in price will lead to a rise in demand for the gas oil. A similar case to the market, if China and India increase their market the prices will also increase. A profit in the oil industry enjoys in the point where MR marginal revenue curve cuts the MC marginal cost curve. At this point, marginal revenue is equates the marginal cost and the profit is at maximum (Tayor, 2007). The supply also affects the oil industry, and it is the amount a producer is willing and can sell at a given price in a given time (Derik, 2010). In the supply of the gas oil collusion remains evident to increase market share. Competitors are on the evaluation as they affect the price and profits in the other firm. If one firm drops price the other firm is forced to drop its prices to in order to increase profit. The firms in the oligopoly structures have adopted non-price completion eliminating the pricing war among them. It has enabled international trading as they enjoy the collusion and similar prices and the control from one area. The interest rates within the country will also affect the enterprise. With business policies controlling the levels of interest rate in the area, the business is at a position to borrow funds for expansion with low interest rates on the returns. The central’s bank adversely controls the monitory policy by regulating the lending rates. The government through the fiscal policies regulation protects the survival of the oligopoly. The oligopoly market maintains barrier to entry through the production of large scale adversely improving the Gross Domestic Product within the country as the quantity of well produced increases. Recommendations and Economic Justification The GDP is one of the major issues in macroeconomic through the collusion of  demand and supply in the country the GDP is maintained as the business operates in its equilibrium point (Brake, 2011). Unemployment forms a major challenge but with a low interest rate from the financial sector business can operate and start up in the country. The case example is Edgar if he opens the four stations employment will increase. Demographics is affecting by supply and demand as they affect the chances of improving the living standards of the population. The salaries from the oil industry will maintain the demand and supply of the oil. The interest rate in the country determines monetary policy. Edgar before starting a business should consider this during the start up to maintain profits as he aims to supply the gas oil. Reference Brake, R. (2011). World Monopolies. Summertime Publishers. Derik, K. (2010). International Trading. Kansas Publisher. Fredy, T. (2010). World Businesses. Milestone Publishers. Henry, J. (2008). World Demography. Wimtertime Publishers. Sydney, G. (2010). Money and Banking. Westminister Publishers. Tayor, W. (2007). Introduction to Economics. Riverside Publishers.

The History of Cake Making

Sharon Cassidy DT418/3 The History of Cake Making Lecturer: Mary Kavanagh Introduction The purpose of this essay is to give a brief history of cake. Firstly this essay will begin with the manifestations of the first ‘cakes’ in Egyptian times and it’s evolvement throughout emerging civilisations and their contribution to the notion of cakes as we know them today. Influences such as colonisations, global trading and immigration will also be discussed to illustrate how the movement of ingredients and methods contributed to the fusion of culinary knowledge. This report will also acknowledge advancements in technology to aid both the domestic and commercial baker, and how consumer trends have changed dramatically throughout history. Origin According to Humble(2010) evidence from archaeological digs from our Neolithic ancestors have shown that cakes in some form or other were being made then, although these early endeavours are a far cry from our perception of what a cake is today. These ancient cakes would have been would have been made from little more than crushed grains , mixed with water and made into rounds and baked on a hot stone. They would have been very crude and flat as leavening agents had not yet been discovered; in fact the word cake is also used to describe something that is flat and compacted such as a cake of soap. Humble (2010) also writes that these so called cakes would have been the precursor to the oatcakes we have today but are now categorised as a biscuit. Castella(2010) writes that very little is known about the culinary experiences of these times as there are not much written about food prior to the eighteenth century, however some records exist in the form of tomb drawings, tax records, Greek plays and shipping and military records. It is thought that around 5,000 B. C. the Egyptians accidentally discovered how to make leavened bread. There are some theories surrounding this discovery such as a mixture of flour and water were left outside for some time and â€Å"caught† natural yeast from the air causing bubbles of gas to appear in the mixture which was then used in the making of some bread , or some liquid that was being used to make beer was also used in the making of bread, either scenarios would have resulted in a risen or leavened bread that must have been a huge improvement on the hard and tough bread that had been previously eaten. The Egyptians are credited with sweetening these breads with honey commencing the evolvement of the cake(www. theoldfoodie. com) . The cakes began to be associated with religious ceremonies of which there are tomb paintings showing such scenes involving breads/cakes of various shapes such as rings, fish, crescents and birds being offered to the Gods. The Greeks were very creative with their ‘cakes’ by advancing on the Egyptians innovations by adding fruits like dates and figs and nuts such as pistachio and pine nuts . The Greeks are also being attributed with the invention of cheesecakes which were made with goat’s milk. The Greeks were great innovators when it came to cake making and in fact baking became a trained profession with the emergence of a strict baker’s guild (Castella, 2010) which lasted for several centuries. During the rise of the Roman Empire the Roman’s took what the Greeks had started with baking and improved it further bringing their new techniques with them on military campaigns and thus spreading new methods across Europe, they in turn also collected new ideas, ingredients and tools with which they combined to invent new recipes and formulas. Medieval to Modern Cake Making The beginning of the Medieval period saw an increase in population and the emergence of cities and towns. There was now a greater demand for food and crops were now grown in surplus to supply workers in the towns. Flandrin and Montanari(1999) write that this gave way to markets being set up in the main thoroughfare of towns and crafts such as bread making were developed on a larger scale. As a majority people no longer had land themselves to produce their own food they had to rely on the markets for their food supply. One of the most important ingredient discoveries made in relation to baking was sugar. Although it originated in New Guinea it was the Indians who perfected the methods of processing the sugar cane which the Arab traders brought back to the Middle East. Due to explorers and crusades a huge array of new exotic lavours were being brought back to Europe such as spices, fruits nuts and of course sugar. An example of this was Gingerbread; a spicy sweet cake became enormously popular during the Middle Ages which the crusaders brought back with them. Sugar was highly valued and was thought of a medicinal ingredient during this era and was frequently prescribed by doctors in the form of sweetened cakes to patients to heal many ailments. It was however only available to the upper classes while everyone else still used honey as a sweetener. As sugar became more popular some religious figures deemed it to be evil and was banned however Thomas Aquinas declared that sweets were not actually foods so cakes could now be eaten on religious feast days giving rise to specific cakes being associated with religious holidays. The Medieval Courts encouraged elaborate banquets with highly decorated food, cakes would often be covered in gold leaf, silver and even gemstones (Flandrin and Montanari 1999) . According to Richard Sax (1994) it wasn’t until the 16th century that cakes and sweet dishes were served at the end of the meal, where previously sweet and savoury courses were mixed and often were incorporated into the same meal. From approximately the 13th to 17th century advancements in agricultural improvements and increased overseas trade, the once exotic and uncommon ingredients became widely available and encouraged baking to become more widespread, eating cakes would now become a daily occurrence rather than just for religious or special occasions. Cakes were becoming more and more enriched with butter, eggs, cream and being heavily fruited and spiced, and tinplate hoops were beginning to be used to shape and mould cakes making them easier to bake and serve (Peter Brears 1985). As written by Adamson (2004), using moulds to give cakes a distinctive shape was especially popular in Germany where such tins as a â€Å"Turks Head Pan† were used and continues to be used to this day for making Gugelhupf. ————————————————- During the mid 1700’s yeast was being replaced with eggs as the main source of leavening cakes. This would have taken a huge amount of time in order to whip eggs by hand (sometimes up to an hour) to get to the level of aeration that was needed. This method however resulted in a much lighter cake made possible from the amount of air incorporated during the beating of the eggs. An example of a cake from this era is the pound cake created in England and used equal quantities of flour, butter, and sugar, and of course eggs to be used as the aerating agent, (http://whatscookingamerica. net). ————————————————- The 1800’s saw improvements in milling technologies to give more refined flours, superior ovens were being produced with better temperature control and the creation of baking powder by Alfred Bird when he combined bicarbonate of soda with cream of tartar to formulate one of the most significant inventions which has had long lasting effect on baking be it in the home or in industry. (Pam Corbin 2011) Baking powder took the hard work out of baking and cakes made from around this time are more akin to what we class as modern day cakes today. Other culinary tools such as hand held egg beaters were now being mass produced along with cookbooks which no housewife would be without. ————————————————- By the early 1900’s baking technology made huge advancements and as early as the1920’s the boxed cake mix was invented. General Mills an American company developed the brand â€Å"Betty Crocker† which by the 1940’s exploded on to the market with their â€Å"just add water and mix† method. They became hugely popular with housewives as they were timesaving and cost effective. ———————————————— The 1900’s also saw the rise in home cake decorating which previously had only been done by professionals, cake decorator Dewey McKinley Wilton set up a cake decorating school, and e ventually manufactured and sold decorating products which paved the way for the booming multi billion dollar businesses that exists today. ————————————————- ————————————————- Ingredients ————————————————- Baking employs carefully balanced formulas. What goes into a flour based baked good either strengthens/toughens (proteins and starches), weakens/tenderizes (fats and sugars), moistens (any water containing ingredient), dries, or leavens it, however without heat and water, the important chemical and physical reactions wouldn’t take place. There are four basic ingredients that are used in cake baking: flour, fat, sugar and eggs, however any combination of these added with leavening agents, liquids and flavourings can result in thousands of recipes with completely different look, feel and taste from each other. ———————————————— Flour: ————————————————- Flour is the primary structure builder in cakes and is used to bind all of the other ingredients together. Cake flour is milled from soft wheat giving it a protein content of approximately 6-8%. Wheat flour  contains two very important proteins, glutenin and gliadin, when mixed with moisture and stirred, create gluten strands, which set when baked, however these gluten strands can also lead to a tough, dry cake if the flour is mixed for too long. There are many types of flour used in cake making the most popular being cream flour (contains and acid), plain flour and self raising flour (contains baking powder), However there are numerous other flours on the market today that can be used. Hi-ratio flour has been specially formulated for the commercial bakery which can allow maximum sugar and liquid absorption resulting in higher yield and increased profits. ————————————————- ————————————————- Fat: ————————————————- Fats come in two forms: solid(butter, shortening and margarine) and liquid(oil). Adding fat to a cake mixture can do several things, the action of beating/creaming the fat , such as butter with sugar will incorporate air bubbles allowing the batter to be light and aid in the leavening process. Fat also has a tenderising effect and increases the keeping qualities of the cake. Fats also have a shortening effect as it shortens the gluten strands. It contributes to a smooth mouth feel and flavour especially in the case of butter. Fats help to keep food products moist and extend shelf life. ————————————————- ————————————————- Eggs: ————————————————- Eggs add colour, flavour and nutrition to baked goods. The protein in the egg holds air and acts as a raising agent when whipped before other ingredients are added. The lecithin in egg yolks is an emulsifying agent that acts during mixing to assist with binding the ingredients together and tenderising. When baked, eggs coagulate causing them to set. ————————————————- ————————————————- Sugar: ————————————————- Sugar plays a vital role in cake baking as it imparts Sweetness to the cake mixture. Usually Caster sugar is used as their smaller granules dissolve quickly especially when it’s creamed together with fat; this action causes the sugar to hold air and acts as a raising agent. During baking the sugar caramelises causing the cake to colour and brown because sugar is also a  hygroscopic substance; it helps with a recipe's moisture retention and thus increases its shelf life by slowing the staling process (www. baking911. com) ————————————————- Other ingredients that can be incorporated with the ones listed above are endless, some examples are: ————————————————- Dairy: milk, buttermilk, cream, cheese and sour cream ———————————————— Fruits: lemons, oranges, limes, dried fruits, cherries and mixed peel ————————————————- Nuts: almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, coconut and walnuts ————————————————- Flavourings: Chocolate, Vanilla, almond extract, spices and alcohol ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- International Practices ———————————————— Krystina Castella (2010) writes in her book A world of Cake that every celebration around the world is accompanied by cake that embodies the rituals of that particular society, and that every culture globally has their own version of cakes that symbolize the customs and traditions of their respective histories. Ancient civilisations all offered cakes to their gods and so throughout history became an integral part of religious and other holiday customs of different ethnicities. Of course the recipes change from country to country and even from town to town but generally these traditional cake customs are still alive today if though slightly evolved from their first beginnings. Here are some samples of celebrations from around the world and an example of the type of cakes that are still eaten at that time: ————————————————- China: Mid-autumn festival: Mooncakes ————————————————- Mexico: Day of the Dead: Pan de Meurto ————————————————- India: Diwali: Gulab Jamun ———————————————— France: Bastille Day: Opera Gateaux †”———————————————- Italy: Liberation Day: Cassata U. S. A: Shrove Tuesday: New Orleans King Cake Ireland: Easter: Hot Cross Buns Many recipes were developed because of the ingredients that were available in that particular region and what methods were accessible at the time, mass immigration/emigration globally played an enormous part as can be seen with the discovery of the New World which brought with it a diversity of people from all corners of the globe to contribute to the birth of America. This assortment of cultures resulted in the amalgamation of traditional recipes brought from the home country such as Scottish scones becoming American shortcakes, Dutch fried cakes became doughnuts and German streusel became American buckle cake. The Amish community, who were German settlers, brought their no frills baking concept with them and famous â€Å"American† cakes such as Funnel cakes and Angel food cakes derive from the Amish people. The Jewish settlers from middle and Eastern Europe have made a huge impact on baking practices especially in America where a great proportion of them made a new home in New York. The renowned New York cheesecake can be attributed to Reuben’s Deli which were the first to substitute cottage cheese for cream cheese and according to Amander Hessner (2010) was a detail that defined the New York cheesecake that went on to win them a gold medal at the 1929 World Fair. Jacob Kenedy (2011) writes that turbulent histories have left a positive impact in culinary terms in some regions such as the French leaving behind the techniques of fine viennoiserie and patisseries, helping to make Naples one of the capitals of Italian desserts. In Britain Queen Victoria made popular the custom of high tea, a very dignified tradition of eating sweet dishes and drinking tea which initiated the development of numerous new recipes for cakes and sweet treats, and although the ritual is not part of every day life today, people still associate having something sweet to eat while having a cup of tea. Domestic, Plant and Boutique Style Bakeries Up until the mid 20th Century the majority of cakes that were baked were made by housewives and small local bakeries, however the emergence of the supermarket had a massive impact on the buying and eating patterns of the public. As mentioned above such products as cake mixes were now available to help the harried housewife, along with frozen desserts which were now available due to advances in technology allowing every home to have refrigeration and freezer capabilities. The establishment of Women’s Lib afforded women the freedom to work outside of the home contributing to the now emerging gap in the market for convenience foods. By the 1960’s huge advances were been made to eliminate fermentation time in bread making by mechanical and chemical means, and naturally methods were also being developed to â€Å"improve† cake production on a mass scale. Unfortunately in order to produce cake viable for sale for longer periods of time involved the introduction of emulsifiers, stabilisers and other additives to increase their shelf life. Flour was also been chlorinated to produce a high ratio flour that could absorb higher quantities of sugar and liquid allowing a higher profit margin for producers. High demand for ready made baked goods saw the rise of small bakeries in Ireland nonetheless it has been argued that Ireland’s entry into the EEC played a part in the decline of these bakeries due to European large plant bakeries flooding the market with cheaper products. The Celtic tiger years of Ireland however saw a revival of sorts to the traditional and artisan baking. This resurgence can be attributed to several reasons, Kavanagh(2008) states her beliefs as follows: â€Å"individuals have travelled and are aware of standards and choice elsewhere thus seeking variety on their return† she also explains â€Å"increased disposable income has meant that the consumer is more quality and health conscious and seeks organic, fresh, and local produce an indication of the increase in the number of farmer’s markets emerging† Chef Clodagh McKenna explains that artisan producers and farmers markets have played their part in revitalising local economies by encouraging employment and bringing forth a new generation of interested people. Health, nutrition and consumption trends In an article written by Miriam Tuomey(2011) for Bord bia, it has been found that the sale of home baking products in Ireland, has grown by 8. 1% to reach a value of almost â‚ ¬63m in the year ended 23 Jan 2011, according to Kantar. (www. bordbia. e) This trend in ho me baking can also be attributed to enormous food dedicated programmes on television where chefs and bakers are now afforded celebrity status and home baking has now become officially â€Å"cool† Another aspect driving consumption trends is the increased awareness of health implications from certain ingredients used in baked products. There is greater demand for natural ingredients as apposed to some of the ingredients in massed produced goods such as preservatives, flavourings, colourings, artificial sweeteners, stabilisers and modified starches. Through scientific and medical advances, more is known about wheat intolerance and coeliac disease and the baking industry has responded by producing gluten-free baked products, other products are also being produced to suit the dietary needs of people who are lactose intolerant, have allergies such as egg and nuts, for diabetics and for people who generally want to follow a healthy lifestyle. Conclusion Cake has started off as a basic nutritional addition to the diet of ancient civilisations and has progressed to play a vital role in the development of cultures and traditions and visa versa. They are an integral part of modern and traditional celebrations, bringing people together, be it for a religious festival, a wedding, or a birthday. The fusion of cultures and the opening of global markets have meant that everyone now has access to ingredients, recipes, tools and knowledge from every nation and the modern baker has the world of cake at their feet. ————————————————- ————————————————- References: ————————————————- ————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€ Adamson,M. (2004) Food in Medieval Times Greenwood Press, London ————————————————- Brears, P. (1985) Food and Cooking in 17th Century Britain History and Recipes Peter Brears and English Heritage, London ————————————————- Castella,K, (2010) A World of Cake, Storey Publishing, M. A. ————————————————- Corbin, P. (2011) The River Cottage Cakes Handbook Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London ————————————————- Flandrin, J,L, and Montanari,M (1999) Food a Culinar y History, Columbia University Press, New York ————————————————- Hessner, A. (2010) The Essential New York Times Cook Book, Classic Recipes for a New Century W. W. Norton and company, New York ————————————————- Humble,N. (2010) Cake a Global History, Reaktion books, London ————————————————- Kavanagh, M. (2008) Curriculum Evolution at the Department of Baking Technology (National Bakery School), D. I. T, Kevin Street,1998-2008: What Factors Have Brought About a Change in the Curriculum M. A thesis Dublin Institute of Technology ————————————————- Kenedy, J. 2011) Bo cca Cookbook Bloomsbury, London ————————————————- McKenna, C. (n. d. ) The Irish Farmers Market Cookbook, Collins ————————————————- Sax, R. (1994) Classic Home Desserts Houghton Mifflin Company, New York ————————————————- How Baking works (n. d. ) [online} Available: http://www. baking911. com/howto/how_baking_works. htm [Accessed 5th October, 2011] ————————————————- Toumey, M. (2011) Homebaking Products show further Growth [online] Available: http://www. bordbia. ie/industryservices/information/alerts/Pages/Homebakingstillgrowing. spx [Access ed 21st October, 2011] ————————————————- http://whatscookingamerica. net/history/cakes {[online] [accessed 4th October, 2011] ————————————————- www. theoldfoodie. com/2010/10/brief-history-ofcakes. html [online] [Accessed 4th October, 2011] ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- —â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ———————————————— ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ———————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- ————————————————- ———————————————— ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- — Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————-

Russian literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Russian literature - Essay Example It clearly showed that the very "simple Soviet man" by whose name all the Stalinists sworn suffered from Stalinism most of all. The main character of Solzhenitsyn’s story is Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, the ordinary prisoner of Stalin's camps. In this story the author on behalf of his hero tells on just one day out of three thousand six hundred and fifty-three days of term of Ivan Denisovich. But that day will be enough to understand what conditions prevailed in the camp, which law existed, learn about the lives of prisoners to get terrified by all this. Camp is a special world that exists separately, in parallel to that of other people. Here there are other laws that differ from our usual ones; everyone here survives in its own way. Life in the camp is shown not from the outside, but from inside by the person who knows about it firsthand, from his personal experience. That is why the story is startling in its realism. The question is whether it is possible to survive in these ter rible conditions, to survive not only as a being, but as a personality. The main character with all his life proves that it is possible. "Thank you, Lord, another day is gone!" - Ivan Denisovich concludes his story, - "A day passed, unalloyed, almost happy". On this day, Shukhov was really lucky: a team was not driven to Sotsgorodok to pull wire in the cold without heat, passed through the cooler, got off with just washing the floors in the guard room, received an extra portion of dinner meals, the work was familiar to him – he had to put the wall in the TPP, he worked lively, passed the jail shakedown safely and carried the saw to the camp, earned some money in the evening at Caesar's and bought two glasses of Latvian home-grown tobacco, and, which was most important, he did not get sick, he coped the cold. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov was sentenced to ten years on trumped-up case: he was accused that he had returned from captivity with the secret German job assignment, and nobod y could state exactly what exactly this job was. As a man he cannot help causing respect: in spite of all the conditions he managed to keep kindness and friendly attitude to people, he has not got bloody-minded, has not lost humanity. Shukhov is willing to share the latest with a good man, even just to please him. Ivan Denisovich gives cookies to Alyosha-Baptists to pamper and support him, because he "caters to all, and can not earn. " And how well Ivan Denisovich treats Gopchik! For him Gopchik is almost as a native son. I feel deep respect to this man, unlike, for example, to the jackal Fetyukov, a former high chief, accustomed to command, who does not even hesitate to get butts out of the spittoon. This is a real jackal, who lives at the expense of other’s leftovers. To lick someone else's plates, to look into someone’s mouth in anticipation that he would get something - for him it is quite common. He causes only disgust, even convicts refuse to work with him. In th e camp he had not left even a drop of male pride, he openly wept when he was beaten for licking plates. Indeed, everyone chooses a lifeline for himself, but the most undignified way is the way of an informer Panteleev living through squealing to other prisoners. These people are hated in the camp, and the fact that the three were killed, did not surprise anybody. Death here is common, and life turns into nothing. It scares the most. Unlike them, Ivan Denisovich "was not a jackal, even after eight years of

Cost of Capital Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9500 words

Cost of Capital - Dissertation Example Cost of capital is the minimum returns that a company can give shareholders on their investments and accordingly the company has to earn the minimum returns. If merging happens between one company that has high cash flows and another company that has low internally generated cash flows, then such merger can reduce the cost of capital. Introduction In today’s economic world, mergers and acquisitions (M & A) have become common strategy for growth and diversification of companies. During the 1990s, M & A activities broke all previous records both in terms of the number of such transactions and also the size of the mergers or acquisitions. In the early 2000s, there were major setbacks in the economies all over the world with global recession setting in. This resulted in drop of M & As worldwide although the volume still remains at a high level (Stahl & Voigt, 2003, p.2). The terms mergers and acquisitions involve a large number of transactions. Mergers can be of different forms li ke one firm can take over a different firm resulting in both the firms ceasing to exist individually to create a new firm. The principle purposes of merger of two companies are to strengthen their hold in the market and also to earn a competitive advantage in the industry. There are five common types of mergers. ... This type of merger is done to reduce the manufacturing cost and to acquire a larger share of the market. For instance, merger between Coca-Cola and Pepsi will be a horizontal merger and will allow both companies to acquire large share of the soft drink market. The third type of merger is market extension merger. This happens between two firms dealing with similar products but in different markets. The goal is to capture greater portion of the market. For instance, acquisition of Eagle Bancshares Inc by the RBC Centura has allowed RBC to extend its operations in the North American market. The fourth kind of merger is vertical merger which occurs between two firms that manufacture different types of products, but the products are manufactured for the purpose of common finished products. Vertical merger is done between firms in different stages of the industry’s supply chain to increase efficiency of their production process. For instance, vertical merger can take place between an automobile manufacturing firm and its supplier firm. The fifth and final kind of merger is production extension merger which takes place between firms manufacturing associated products in the same market. One example is the acquisition of Mobilink Telecom Inc. by Broadcom. Here it is expected that the products of the two firms will compliment each other (5 types of Company Mergers, 2013; Vadapalli, 2007, p.1). The processes involved in mergers and acquisitions are complicated and needs a complex web of preparations. Series of negotiations are needed along with due diligence which means the buyer company needs to be aware of any obstacles that may arise because of the merger. Activities also include

The role of Nursing Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The role of Nursing Theory - Assignment Example The significance of having a clear defined body of theory in nursing consist of improved professional status for nurses, better patient care, guidance for research and education, and enhanced communication between nurses. This is because nursing aims at developing a unique body of knowledge. Chinn and Kramer (2010) add that theory: helps nurses to explain, describe, and predict everyday experiences; aid come up with a criteria to measure the quality of nursing care; improve nursing autonomy; and offer a basis for collecting valid and reliable data in relation to clients’ health status that are crucial for efficient decision-making together with implementation; assist build a common terminology in home health to be used to communicate with other health practitioners. There are various theories of nursing. Burns and Grove (2009) affirm that since the purpose of nursing education is to train competent nurses, it usually relies on theory. The nursing theory plays a very crucial role in drawing attention to the vital elements of nursing, for instance, the concept of home health, patient, and the environment of the patient, as well as the care nurses give. In this regard, in nursing education the nursing theory offers a more general focus for curriculum design. The study of theory by any nursing student is essential since it assist one to comprehend the career they have chosen, its motivation, vibrancy, and fluidity. Moreover, the nursing theory also guides curricular decision making. The relationship between theory and research is undoubted. Nurses require the results of nursing research if they are to offer the best care (Alligood & Tomey, 2009). To that effect, the applicability of the role of theory in nursing research, it provides a framework for generating new ideas and knowledge. According to Burns and Grove (2009), research without theory leads to in discreet information that does not add to the accumulated knowledge of the

Kraft Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kraft Foods - Essay Example This form of marketing is recognized as internet marketing or online marketing in addition, there are several types of internet marketing. Internet marketing has several merits and demerits. Internet marketing is quite cheap to reach the target audience and it can also allow for online shopping. In this case, Krapf Foods uses its website as part of their marketing strategy. A website is considered as one of the most effective marketing tools. According to most business analysts, a high-impact website is regarded as a remarkably potent marketing tool. Apart from acting as a marketing tool, websites enhance the image of an organization; they educate about the business and also serve as a communication tool with the customers (Moran & Hunt, 2008). All these features are included in Krapf Foods’ website. Krapf Foods’ website contains summarized information about the organizations’ business. This notifies the customers of what they are supposed to expect from this organization. The website also includes a news center whereby all the latest news regarding the organization is detailed. Furthermore, Krapf Foods has also included prior information about the company which also includes some of the major brands that the business deals with. This information is extremely critical in ensuring that the company attracts its target market. Moreover, Krapf also included an investor center section which allows investors to buy shares from the company. All the sections included in their website can significantly increase customer traffic.

Serpico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Serpico - Essay Example Fresh-faced and eager Serpico is ready for his first day on the beat where he is paired with an older, more experienced officer. On the very beginning, Serpico observes how the older man steps into a neighborhood coffee shop and gets the two of them fed for free. Even though he knows this is petty crime, he is somewhat troubled and is determined to set things right. As time passes, Serpico starts working as an under-cover cop, dressed in plain clothes, sporting a beard and love beads. His duty is to bust all sorts of criminals but unlike others from the department, Serpico cannot be bribed and nor can his honesty be bought and thus, they genuinely ostracize him. Serpico is generally happy though, with lots of friends outside the force, girlfriends and everything is just fine except for the impounding irritation he feels associated with the police corruption. He is determined to do something about it and along with a colleague from his early days, officer Bob Blair, Serpico sets out t o put things right. He tries raising the problem of corruption with those in authority but all goes in vain, until he meets a reporter from New York Times, who helps put light on the scenario. Serpico is further alienated, while some peers turn against him. The authorities try their best to keep the matter internal and all Serpico can do is apply for transfers, until his dream of becoming a detective is fulfilled. He receives the final blow when, after being transferred to the narcotics, he is shot in the face, the reason being reluctance from his partners' side to come and save him. When he recovers from the injury, he resigns from the NYPD and immigrates to Switzerland. Serpico, in the movie, breaks the 'code of silence.' The blue code of silence is an unwritten oath amongst police officers in the United States not to report on another colleague's misconduct or crimes. Serpico goes against the system by reporting the flaws in the police department and breaks the code. The intensit y of breaking the code of silence is understood when the entire department turns against Serpico. Crime always starts at a small scale and if it is ignored, it is injected in the system as a slow poison, infecting the system and yet, at the same time, making people either ignorant or too lazy to make amendments. They do not realize it and corruption becomes a part of the system, almost impossible to separate. In such a situation, when a person talks about righteousness, truth and honesty, and rejects the idea of being a part of the corruption, the code of silence, a promise to withhold what is believed, is broken. Serpico is complete alienated because when he speaks against the system, he is opposing everyone he works with. Since everyone else has either joined hands with the misconduct and crimes, or is ignoring its existence, Serpico happens to be the only one supporting the cause. The nature of the code of silence was such that none had spoken against the department before Serpic o, and what he did to bring out in the spotlight the amount of errors the officers were making, was ground-shaking for the authorities. However, once that Serpico had chosen to fight for what he believed in, it was vital to get those in more superior positions to take action against it so as to not let his efforts go futile. But the authorities want to hush him down, so that word does not get out, the unspoken truth

NO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

NO - Essay Example multinational firms have to deeply look into the tax regulations that govern the prospective foreign nations, blocked funds and currency exchange rates among other factors. One of the mechanisms through which organizations can incorporate key political and economic risks in evaluating capital budgeting is to adjust the discount rate payback period (Shapiro et al 2009). Similarly, establishments can slot in the risks by adjusting the expected net cash flows, and at the same time calculating the net present value by using the exchange rates of the prospective nations, for such acts provide the administrators with more comprehensive estimations. The unpredictability of the global economy has undeniably prompted investors to be on the lookout for safe investment options (Hill, 2014). Capital budgeting is an integral process in the course of undertaking an investment, for it ensures that the entities involved settle on the best opportunities. Consequently, I presume that adjusting the expected net cash flows is the most preferred method of incorporating both political and economic risks in capital budget analysis. This is because such an adjustment ensures that the investors understand the dynamics of the political and economic factors, and the mechanisms they can employ to avoid

Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Obesity - Essay Example A Health Survey in England showed that 24.5% of adolescents above the age of 15 were suffering from obesity. It also showed that 13.9% of the children between the age group of 2 and 10 years were suffering from obesity (Department of Health 2009). Similarly other researches show that the rate of obesity in UK has increased to 22.1% in males and 21.9% in females (Information Center 2006). Obesity is defined as â€Å"an excess of body fat accumulation or adiposity with multiple organ specific adaptive or maladaptive consequences† (Iacobellis 2009). Causes: Obesity can be caused by both genetical and environmental factors. Genetical factors relate to the genes of the human body and any mutation in them. In human beings there is a gene known as the Ob gene. This gene is responsible for the risk of obesity in many individuals. Any change in the gene leads to obesity in the general population. The gene is related to a hormone known as leptin in the body. Leptin is a hormone or trans mitter which helps in conveying specific signals to the brain. The body fat has to be maintained by this hormone as it sends signals to the brain to regulate the metabolism of fat (NCBI 1998). Other than the genetic factors the disease also occurs because of the environmental factors involved. ... Increased fat in the diet is a reason because of which people get obese. Obesity has also been known to be related to psychological pathologies. Depression and eating disorders such as binge eating increases the level of stress individuals. Obesity itself causes a person to face from several psychological disorders too. These include the lowered self confidence of an individual along with less motivation to carry out specific tasks (Biddle et al 2009). Effects: The effects of obesity are spread all over the body and can result in several health conditions. It is a pathological state which has a huge effect on the cardiovascular system. The increased fat in the body leads to elevated blood pressure and hence increases the risk of stroke and coronary heart diseases. The blood flow in the individual increases and the lumen of the vessels in which the blood flows, decreases simultaneously because of excessive deposition of fat and cholesterol. This excessive deposition of cholesterol and fat is also known as plaques and leads to emboli. Emboli are clots which have been moved from one position to the other. These clots can reach areas far from the heart such as the brain. Emboli can lead to immediate death if they reach a certain part of the brain. Obesity also increases the risk of cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer and endometrial cancer. It is known to be a major cause of diabetes mellitus as it results in the resistance of insulin within the cells. The musculoskeletal system is also affected as the joints become immoveable and this result in osteoarthritis. The respiratory system can also be affected by obesity as an obese individual may have difficulty in breathing he is sleeping. This condition is referred to as Sleep

Qualitative Article Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Qualitative Article Review - Research Paper Example The case method can be effective in conducting an in depth analysis of the classroom activities. Case based method of instruction provides teachers with several opportunities to consider the difficulties of teaching and learning process from a different point of view. This method also develops critical thinking and reflection in teachers. Therefore, Stevens et al used a case study to elicit teachers content knowledge, their ability to identify student misconceptions as well as conducting critical reflection. Stevens et al drew nine participants five women and four men, with ages ranging from 31 to over 60 years. These participants participated in the workshop and completed the Q methodology. The participants had an experience of over seven years teaching at public schools and eleven years of higher education teaching. Stevens et al developed concourse statements relevant to the mathematics development workshop. The team members discussed the teaching strategies and materials that wer e to be used. The members developed 12 statements that represented the activities related to the conceptual knowledge. The participants arranged the statement in terms of preference. They arranged the ones they feel helped them in conceptual development. Stevens et al conducted Correlation coefficients to compare the manner in which individual participants sorted the statements for each Q set. He conducted Principal components Analysis to identify the number of components present in the data.

Federal v. State Power Essay Example for Free

Federal v. State Power Essay As citizens of the United States we exist under a federal system of government. There are different levels of the system, each cooperating with the next and each having some form of formal authority over the people. The age long argument has been: â€Å"more state power is most effective – no, more federal power is most effective†. There are also those who believe that an equal cooperation between both state and federal governments, our current way of separating power, is the most effective. So where should the line be drawn and which is most effective? The Constitution gave us a basic outline for how we should run our government. The bottom line is cooperative federalism – powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government and they may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly (Edwards 81). The idea of cooperative federalism has raised an important question: Where do the boundaries of national government end and where do the boundaries of state governments begin? The tenth amendment has somewhat of an answer to where the state boundaries begin. It says that if a state is not given a power directly by the constitution but is not prohibited from using that power then it is the state’s right to use and regulate that power. As for the boundaries of the national government, the supreme court case of McCulloch v. Maryland gives a good example. In 1791 the government established a national bank. This bank could print money and make loans as well as a number of other banking responsibilities. Many people who believed that the government should have a limited amount of control over the economy were opposed to the idea of a national bank. Eventually the government stopped funding the bank, but not long after came the second national bank. Out of defiance to the bank, the state of Maryland passed a law taxing the Baltimore branch $15,000 a year which it refused to pay. Maryland decided to sue the branch’s cashier, James McCulloch, and after the state’s law was upheld McCulloch took the case to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of the bank on the grounds that Congress has certain implied powers and that because of these implied powers creating a national bank was perfectly acceptable. Just like the state governments, the powers of the national government are not always clear and can be interpreted rather narrowly or quite broadly. In Article 1 Section 8 of the constitution the powers of congress are specifically listed-enumerated powers-but this section of the constitution also includes the â€Å"necessary and proper clause† This clause states that Congress may create any laws or policies it sees fit to apply the powers specifically spelled out. Going hand-in-hand with implied powers and the â€Å"necessary and proper clause† is the commerce clause. The commerce clause gives congress the right to regulate commerce. Commerce can be defined today as the movement of goods, radio signals, electricity, telephone messages, the internet, insurance transactions, and more (Edwards 77). Congress regulates the movement of all of these between the U. S and foreign nations, between states, and between Indian Tribes. With an extremely broad definition of commerce people have become concerned with how much power the national government actually has. Contributing to this concern are grants-in-aid and unfunded mandates. Grants-in-aid are grants given to state government from the federal government to aid in different programs and projects. Concern arises because grants often come with strings attached and sometimes are not given to states until they fulfill certain requirements (this would be an example of a mandate). Sometimes the government passes a law and expects states to follow that law and fund it without help from the government; this is an unfunded mandate. The federal government often uses grants-in-aid and unfunded mandates to have more control over what happens within the states which is where the concern of cooperation and boundaries comes from. In addition to the different components of federalism, there are pieces of legislature that also make people question whether more, less, or the same amount of power to the states is most effective. Among these pieces of legislature are the Affordable Care Act and the Clean Air Act. The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was designed to make health insurance more readily available and more affordable. Obamacare, has two key components: an individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. People who do not have health insurance, either through their employer or personally, are required to purchase health care before 2014. Anyone who does not follow this mandate will be required to pay a â€Å"shared responsibility payment† to the Federal government. As of right now Medicaid covers pregnant women, children, needy families, the blind, the elderly, and the disabled. Obamacare would expand this by requiring states to provide care to adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. This act also increases the amount of money states will receive for this mandate. In the case that a state does not follow the Medicaid expansion it may lose all funding for both the requirements and Medicaid. The Clean Air Act regulates the amount of pollutants floating in the air, the amount of pollutants released by industrial and mobile sources, and the types of fines and sanctions levied against pollution violators (Potoski 335). The environmental protection agency allows states to take responsibility of the requirements in their state and as long as they follow the minimum requirements the state will receive funding from the government. If a state does not comply with the minimum standards for clean air, the Clean Air Act will become an unfunded mandate just the same as Obamacare would become an unfunded mandate. Where Obamacare and the Clean Air Act are concerned, policymaking is most effective through state and federal cooperation. First and foremost if a state decided not to follow the requirements of expanding Medicaid, the burden of an unfunded mandate would rest on the shoulders of its citizens and its government. The same would go for the Clean Air Act. This may even be worse considering the point of the Clean Air Act is to keep our air clean. Without the cooperation of the states we don’t have clean air and without clean air we have sickness and unhealthy conditions for our citizens. This being said cooperation is extremely important between the levels of government. If the federal government were to have more control, at least where these policies are concerned, there is the potential danger of the government issuing these policies and not providing funding for them because they don’t want to spend the money or they want to show how powerful they are or for whatever reason. In the event that this happens the states are stuck with a pretty large burden of making sure that they have enough money to meet the standards of Medicaid expansion and the clean air act. In the case that states had more power, inconsistency would become a reality. Every state is different. They want different things and not all are willing to meet the same standards. If enough inconsistency occurs and each state creates different standards for their policies, there’s almost no point to having the federal government because states start to believe themselves to be independent. With all of that being said, policymaking is most effective through state and federal cooperation. With more power to one or the other we lose sight of a democracy. Our country was designed on the basis of cooperative federalism. We wouldn’t be the United States anymore without the federal government, without the states, or with one having more power over the other. Our system of checks and balances provides us with an effective way of accomplishing our goals and staying united. Federalism In America

Psychological approaches to child development

Psychological approaches to child development Learning theory comes from the Cognitive, Behaviourist and Social approaches in the field of psychology. Each of these approaches has assumptions that can be used to how it applies its approach to understanding human behaviour. The basic assumptions of the Behaviourist approaches are firstly classical conditioning this is learning through the process of association between a particular stimulus and response. Classical conditioning involves conditioned reflexes: all animals have this reflexive behaviour which is not a conscious control but is a response to a specific stimuli for example a kneejerk reflex will only jerk if is tapped in the correct place while your lower leg is freely swinging this reflex is controlled by the spinal cord and not by the brain this is a straightforward response to the stimuli another example is the production of saliva in response to food when hungry. This was studied in great detail by Pavlov, (1911). Pavlov had been studying the digestive process in dog s, in order to do this he placed dogs in harnesses and set a tube up inside their cheek, he did this so he could measure the rate and production of saliva. He observed that the dogs would start to salivate not only when they were given food but when they first caught sight of the food pail. Pavlov set up many studies to investigate whether or not a dog could learn to associate salivation with another response the ringing of a bell, Pavlov found that after associating the sound of the bell with the presentation of food the dogs would salivate when they heard the bell. The reflex of salivation had become conditioned. Pavlov found there to be a tendency to generalise the learning to other stimuli if a different bell was rang the dogs would still salivate and the more similar the sound of bell was to the original one the stronger the response this is known as the generalisation gradient. Although Pavlov studied dogs it became apparent that it was also a form of human learning. (HayesOre ll, 1996) (Pearce, 1987) Menzies (1937) showed how completely unconscious response could be conditioned response to the sound of a buzzer, the response was vasoconstriction which is the process of blood vessels withdrawing from the surface of the skin in the cold. Menzies got his participants to immerse their hands in a bucket of ice cold water when the buzzer was sounded this would cause vasoconstriction in their hands after a while vasoconstriction would take place when the buzzer sounded even though their hands were not immerged in the water meaning their reflex had been conditioned. This study is important as it illustrates that classical conditioning is nothing to do with our conscious decisions. (HayesOrell, 1996) In 1920 Watson and Rayner performed a conditioning experiment on a little boy who became known as little Albert; He was given a white rat and it was observed that Albert was playful with the rodent he had no fear of it and was even comfortable picking it up. The next time the rat was given to Albert he reacted in the same way but then the psychologists made a loud sound it was so sudden it made little Albert cry they did this on numerous occasions and so finally the mere sight of the rat would make Little Albert cry next they introduced a white rabbit and a Santa Claus mask which also made him cry, Little Albert had been conditioned to cry at the sight of the white rat but during the process had made a connection that anything white and furry would make a loud noise. This experiment gives us an insight into the human mind however this experiment would be unethical in todays standards. (HayesOrell, 1996)(Pearce , 1987) Traditionally, psychologists believed that responses that can be classically conditioned are involuntary responses for example: heart rate changes, gastric motility, sweating, eye blinks and sexual arousal. This is in contrast to operant conditioning, in which voluntary responses are molded through their rewarding and punishing consequence Pavlovs studies demonstrated how animals and humans can acquire new behaviors beyond the rather limited repertoire of their innate reflexes. (Davey, G 1981) Pavlov believed that the conditioned response could explain all kinds of learning. For many years, learning theorists believed that virtually any perceivable neutral stimulus could become a Conditioned Stimulus and that just about any response could be conditioned this view of classical conditioning has been modified as a variety of research studies have identified limitations to animals and humans adaptability through classical conditioning .( Davey 1981) Stimulus generalization allows you to respond to similarities between environmental stimuli, while stimulus discrimination allows you to respond differently to stimuli that have some features in common with other stimuli. You generalize first, and then, through additional experience, you learn which stimuli are functionally similar and which stimuli require different responses. (Hayes, 1994)(McFarland, 1999) Another type of learning is Operant Conditioning which involves learning to repeat or totally stop certain behaviours, although is more complex than classical conditioning it is still a simple form of learning. In 1911 Thorndike argued that some responses were learned not simply because they are associated with a stimulus response but because they had unpleasant consequences. This was known as the law of effect which is the investigation of different types of learning it is now known as operant conditioning the psychologist responsible for developing it was Skinner. Like Pavlov, Skinner investigated learning by using animals he did this because he wanted to study simple forms of learning whereas human learning is generally complicated. By using a Skinner box which is a device that contained simple elements that were needed for learning a response, he would place a hungry animal either a rat or a pigeon into the box and observe their behaviour the box would contain three things a leve r a food delivery chute and a light, as the animal began to move around the box it would eventually press the lever and food would be delivered meaning that the behaviour was being rewarded and would have an affect in reinforcing that behaviour which in turn would make it happen again. (HayesOrell, 1996) (Blackwell Skinner, 1951) Skinner introduced the term operant or operant response to distinguish the responses in operant conditioning from those in classical conditioning. In classical conditioning the conditioned response does not affect whether or when the stimulus occurs. Supernanny uses positive reinforcement and rewards and this is most effective in producing good behaviour. Positive rein forcers are events that strengthen a response if they are experienced after that response occurs. They are roughly equivalent to rewards. For children, positive rein forcers can include food, smiles, money, or other desirable outcomes. The presentation of positive re-enforcers after a response is called positive reinforcement. The process of strengthening behavior by following it with the removal of an aversive stimulus is called negative reinforcement and other desirable outcomes. Negative rein forcers are stimuli such as pain, threats, or a disapproving frown that strengthen a response if they are removed after the response occurs. Whether it takes the form of presenting something pleasant or removing something aversive, reinforcement always increases the likelihood of the behavior that precedes it. (supernanny.com). Developmental psychologists are interested in how parents impact upon a childs development, furthermore sourcing actual cause and effect links between the actions of parents and childrens development can be very difficult. Baumrind (1967) conducted a study on more than 100 preschool age children using naturalistic observation and parental interviews she was able to identify four important dimensions of parenting which are disciplinary strategies, warmth and nurturance, communication and expectations of maturity and control. Baumrind (1967) stated that the majority of parents display one of four parenting styles which are: Authoritarian parenting which is where the parent controls, shapes and evaluates the attitude and behaviour of a child using strict rules established by the parents they believe in keeping the child in their place. They also do not encourage verbal give and take, believing that the child should accept their word for what is right. Next is the Authoritative parent th ey attempt to direct the childs activities but in a rational, issue-oriented manner. They encourage verbal give and take and share with the child the reasoning. This type of parenting can result in children being obedient but lack happiness and self esteem. The authoritative parent affirms the childs present qualities, but also sets standards for future conduct. These parents want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible. This type of parenting can result in children being happy capable and successful. Permissive parents have very few demands to make on their children the parent consults with the child about decisions and gives explanations as to why they have to be implemented. They avoid control and use reason and manipulation not to overt power but to accomplish mature behaviour permissive parents are nurturing and commutative and are more than a friend than a parent to their children. This parenting style can result in children having low happiness and self esteem but also have problems with authority and sometimes can do poor at school. Finally the uninvolved parent has few demands and has very low responsiveness and communication with their child even though these parents may fulfil their childs basic needs they are more likely to be detached from their childs life in extreme cases this can lead to reject r neglect of their children. This parenting style lacks lowest in all life domains and children lack in self esteem and are less competent. (Baumrind, 1967) The BBC news reported on a study Tough Love is good for children It states a balance of warmth and discipline improved social skills more that an authoritarian or disengaged upbringing. It says children aged five with Tough Love parents were twice as likely to show good character capabilities. However according to the report qualities such as application, self regulation and empathy were more likely to be developed in children whose parents were of the Tough Love category, it found that these qualities make a vital contribution to life chances and opportunity. The building character data came from more than 9000 households in the United Kingdom, it found that children from the richest backgrounds were twice as likely to develop key characteristics, additionally children whose parents were married were also twice as likely to show such traits than children from lone parent or step-families., it added that when parental style and confidence were tailored in the difference in child char acter development between richer and poorer families disappeared. They recommended that the governments sure start programme should be refocused for the use as a tool in early intervention and urge for more information and support for families and children with disengaged or low income parents. This report concluded that it indicated that parenting was the most important influence. (BBC News) One could argue that no matter what parenting style is given throughout childhood it reflects on a childs decision making attitude and behaviour, and has a great impact on a childs development. After learning about parenting styles on child development it is apparent that all parents should simply use the authoritative parenting style after all it is more likely to produce happy confident and capable children. The theories that Freud studied stressed the importance of childhood experiences, according to Freud child development is described as a series of psychosexual stages Freud outlined these stages as oral, anal, phallic, latency period, and genital. Each stage involves the satisfaction of a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. Erickson developed Freuds theories on development throughout human lifespan. Erikson believed that each stage of development is focused on overcoming a conflict. Theorist Jean Piaget suggested that children think differently than adults. Piagets stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piagets view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses into changes in mental operations. Piagets focus on qualitative development had an important impact on education, although he did not specifically apply his theory to education but has been used in that children should taught at the level for which they are developmentally prepared. A criticism of Piaget is his research methods in he used his own three children for his experiments, other children in Piagets small research sample were all from well-educated professionals of high socio-economic status. Because of this unrepresentative sample, it is difficult to generalise his findings to a larger population and research has shown that Piagets argument that all children will automatically move to the next stage of development as they mature. Some data found shows that environmental factors may play a role in the development of formal operations. (About.com) Social learning theory is occurs within social context and is observational learning, imitation and modelling meaning people observe learning behaviour of others. Behaviourists say that learning has to be represented by a permanent change in behaviour; in contrast social learning theorists say that because people can learn through observation alone. Social learning theory has become increasingly cognitive in its interpretation of human learning. Awareness and expectations of reinforcements or punishments have a major effect on behaviours that people display. There is also a transition between behaviourist learning theories and cognitive learning theories. The environment reinforces and punishes modelling. Much behaviour can be learned through modelling: Aggression can be learned through models. Much research indicates that children become more aggressive when they observed aggressive or violent models. Moral thinking and moral behaviour are influenced by observation and modelling, in cluding moral judgments regarding right and wrong. Bandura (1961) designed a study which he named the Bobo Doll experiment, His study used three groups of children the first being the control group which did not include an adult. The other two groups included adult actors with one group being exposed to an adult displaying verbal and physical aggressive behaviour to an inflatable doll and the other witnessing a passive adult, Bandura (1961) found that the group of children who were exposed to the adult showing aggression were more likely to demonstrate the same behaviour when left alone in a room to play than those whose groups had a passive adult or no adult at all, The three groups were also divided equally between boys and girls and the results also showed that boys were three times more likely to imitate the physical aggressive behaviour than girls, although it was discovered that the level of imitative verbal aggression was about the same for males and females in the group, Bandura (1961) demonstrates that children have a tenden cy to imitate the behaviour of an adult role model so are acting in the same manner that an adult does.(Shuttleworth,2008) However there are extreme examples that show that a human child will imitate the behaviour of whatever it comes into contact with the most, exposure to a model behaving aggressively results in observational learning and aggressive behaviour. Refs http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/character_sites/steve/Little%20Albert.htm http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/childdevtheory.htm Shuttleworth, M. (2008). EXPERIMENT-RECOURCES : Online. Available: http://www.experiment-resources.com/bobo-doll-experiment.html#Hypothesis [Accessed: 15/10/09] Davey, G (1981) Animal Learning and Conditioning MacMillan Press. Hayes, N. (1994) Principles of Comparative Psychology Lawrence Erlbaum. Martin, P. Bateson, P. (1993) Measuring Behaviour (2nd ed.) Cambridge University Press McFarland, D. (1999) Animal Behaviour (3rd ed.) Longman Pearce J.M. (1987) An Introduction to Animal Cognition Lawrence Erlbaum Ridley, M. (1995) Animal Behaviour: a concise introduction (2nd Ed.) Blackwell Skinner, B.F. (1951) How to Teach Animals Scientific American December 1951 pp http://www.supernanny.com/Advice/-/Supernanny-techniques/-/Discipline-and-reward.aspx http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/parent/baumrind_styles.html http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/h

The concept of leadership in US and japan

The concept of leadership in US and japan Introduction United States and Japan are two giant economic powers in the pacific region. Each country has developed their own management and leadership practice that is suitable for their culture. Gupta, Hanges Dorfman (2002) found that United States is clustered in the same group as Australia, New Zealand and England in the Anglo Culture while Japan is in the same group as Korea, China and Taiwan in the Confucian Asia. The argument is that the nations in the same cluster have more closely related culture than the other cluster. Despite the cultural differences there is one significant aspect where United States and Japan are similar; both countries embrace the capitalism ideology. However Ralson, Holt, Terpstra Cheng (2008) suggest that the Japanese interpretation of capitalist idea is not identical to their US counterpart. That is one reason why Japan can still preserve their culture regardless the westernization enforced by globalization. Leadership is one of the areas where the Japanese is still different compared to United States. Due to long economic and political relation between Japan and United States, it can be argued that there are some exchanges of values and belief. Which raise the question whether the leadership across the different culture is different in its entirety or have similarities? This essay is aimed to compare and contrast the western approach to leadership represented by United States and the eastern approach to leadership represented by Japan by using Hofstedes five dimension of culture as the factor of comparison. The essay will first explain the culture and its dimensions and then followed by the detailed description of each dimension by comparing both United States and Japan in each section. After that the suggested leadership style based on path-goal theory and rewarding system will be provided for each country on the framework of five culture dimension. Also the issue where leadership transcends the cultural boundaries which is possessed by transformational leaders will be discussed and to be concluded in the end. However it is important to note that the culture dimension of Hofstede is only a general perspective of a countrys culture. Cultural dimension Luthans and Doh (2009) define culture as a system that is integrated into the society where the accumulated experience of behavior and characteristics of the members is the foundation. Therefore the culture affects legal system, education, economic system, management practice and leadership style and perception. Some culture requires a leader to be democratic, where in other culture an autocratic leadership style is more appropriate (Hartog, House, Hanges Ruiz-Quintanilla, 1999). That is why it is important to understand the similarities and differences across culture, especially the Japanese and United States to compare and contrast both nation approaches to leadership. To compare the leadership of United States and Japanese culture the model that will be used is Hofstedes (1980, 2001) cultural dimension which consist of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism collectivism, masculinity femininity, and future orientation. Even though there has been much criticism for the generalization of a nations culture and its inability to represent the cultural differences within each country (Siyakumar Nakata, 2001), this model still can be used to compare the differences of leadership in United States and Japanese culture because the behavior and characteristics of leaders in one country is relatively the same compared to the other regardless. Power distance The concept of leadership is closely related to the power distance between the leaders and their followers. This is because the role of a leader is related to power, influence and status in the society or in organization (Lord Maher, 1991 as cited in Hartog et al., 1999). Power distance itself is the degree of acceptance from the society of the power and authority distribution in organizations and institutions, defined by Hofstede (1980, 2001). Power distance and decision making process and authority are related together in inversely manner (Schuler Rogoysky, 1998). United States is regarded as a country with low power distance in the culture dimension. Therefore the decision making and responsibility is more likely to be more directed from the leaders. On the counterpart the Japanese decision making process is unique where the process has to go through peer consultation before it is approved. This is also related to the responsibility of leaders in each country. Glinow, Huo and Lowe (1999) assert that pursuing goals and degree of responsibility varies depends on the degree of leaders authoritarianism. Individualist Collectivist This dimension is defined as a degree of framework where society is closely related to their group or not (Hofstede, 1980, 2001). In individualist countries where people are more concerned about their own interest and needs, leaders tend to take credit of their success. Compared to the countries where collectivism is more valued the credit of success goes to the group. This is similar to the argument of Yan and Hunts (2005) argument where: â€Å"Individualistic cultures, such as the U.S., where leaders often take credit for their organizations success, inference-based perceptions dominate. However, in collective cultures, such as Japan, where self-effacement is valued, leaders often keep a low profile when their organizations succeed, and recognition-based perceptions dominate†. Lack of insensitivity towards the culture which ignores the expected behavior, value and assumptions can put leaders at stake, especially leaders that expatriate to another country where the cultural dimension is different. This dimension is well affected by the socioeconomic development of a country and also its democratization which increase the independent thought and action, concern of others, acceptance to change, self indulgence and pleasure and decrease the conformity, tradition and security (Schwarz Sagie, 2000). Masculinity Femininity The values that is dominant in masculine societies are the materialistic objectives, not caring for others and assertiveness while feminine society have different values such as quality of life, social relationship and caring for others (Hofstede, 2001). Again the U.S and Japan is in the opposite side of this dimension. Leadership in U.S does not tolerate poor performance in the organization while its counterpart the Japanese allow poor performance if the subordinate is to learn from the mistakes. This dimension is also linked explicitly with the gender differences. In the research conducted by Wu Minor (1997) comparing female managers in United States Japan and Taiwan they found out those female managers in United States tend to be more practical and aggressive compared to their counterpart in Japan and Taiwan. Even though there are significant differences in leadership of female managers in United States and Japan, it seems that in both countries leadership role is dominated by male compared to female, despite both nation acceptance of equality in gender. Uncertainty avoidance Uncertainty avoidance is defined as the degree to which certain culture willing to take or reject the risk associated with the decision (Hofstede, 1980, 2001). In relation to leadership this dimension does not explain directly how a leader in certain culture, rather it explain on one of the aspect of leaders criteria based on their loyalty to the organization. Glinow et al. (1999) suggest that in a country where the uncertainty avoidance is high loyalty is significant factor and leaders is perceived as giving a behavioral model for their subordinate, however in the countries where uncertainty avoidance is low this is not a factor. For instance Japanese workers which is categorized in culture with high uncertainty avoidance values their job highly and most likely to be the important part of their personal life, especially if they work in large corporation (Ouchi Jaeger, 1978). This phenomenon will not be found in United States where the uncertainty avoidance is low. The system in most western countries is based on a person achievement. One can be a leader as long as they have sufficient ability and capability to regardless the period of working in the company. Future orientation The final culture dimension added by Hofstede (2001) and it is simply state that certain countrys cultural orientation is on the long term while other is short term. Japan is one of the countries that are categorized in the long term. As pointed out by Alston (1989) that the Japanese leaders evaluate the activities in term on the long term development of organization. This is in congruence with their high loyalty to organization. On the other hand the United States is mostly oriented to the short term because of their achievement based value. United States Leadership United States has been the subject in this essay as the country that highly represents the low context culture. The culture has the characteristics of low power distance, high individualistic, masculine, low uncertainty avoidance and short term oriented in the cultural dimension. Therefore it is more suitable for United States leaders to use participative, supportive leadership and implement the reward and punishment (Dorfman, Hibino, Lee, Tate Bautista, 1997). Participative leadership can be used because the fact that United States is a country with high individualistic and also strongly hold to democratic system. However it is not the case for directive leadership because most workers in United States are highly educated with skills and experience (Kerr Jermier, 1978). Supportive leadership is also acceptable due to moderate to strong relationship of leaders and followers (Indvik, 1986 cited in Dorfman, et al., 1997).Due to the materialistic nature of United States culture the reward and punishment system is effective. According McClelland Boyatzis (1982) high individualism and high achievement is also factors leveraging the effectiveness of reward and punishment in United States. Thus leaders in this country should use these different leadership styles depending on the demand of situations to effectively lead the people in the organization. Japanese Leadership Japanese is regarded as a country with high power distance, moderately collectivist, more feminine, low uncertainty avoidance and long term orientated. Arguably, external pressure arising from the expansion of globalization will eventually force Japanese to converge towards the western values and norms that are deemed to be global and standardized (Frenkel, 1994 as cited in Dalton Benson, 2002). Ornatowski (1998) also concurred to the notion of forces of globalization of creating one world market will lead to standardization of management practice across the globe including ending Japanese-style Leadership. However, Dalton Benson (2002) observed although Japanese firms are undergoing transformational phase of â€Å"westernize† management practices, the effort fall short as constraints exist by strong employment security enforced and supported by legal framework, traditional management values, government policy and advocating position from enterprise union prevail. Therefore Japanese leaders, directive, supportive, rewarding system is more appropriate (Dorfman, et al., 1997). Directive and supportive leadership style is acceptable because of the Japanese has their own mentor relationship system â€Å"sempai-kohai† which can not be found in United States. This relationship system can increase the personal bond between leaders and followers (Chen, 1995 as cited in Dorfman, et al., 1997). The participative leadership style is not acceptable because the power distance of leaders and followers in Japan is relatively high. And because of the cultural value and the loyalty to the company, rewarding can have more influence rather than punishing system. Transformational Leadership Transformational leaders have several attributes that are universally seen as contributing to outstanding leadership (Hartog et al., 1999). Luthans Doh (2009) suggest that those attributes can be characterized into four interrelated factors: idealized influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual stimulation and Individualized consideration. Transformational leaders are the source of charisma and they increase the confidence, loyalty or followers by providing vision that the later accept. The effectiveness of leaders charisma is follower dependent especially if there was a significant change or crisis preceding (Northouse, 2001 as cited in Reave, 2005). Moreover Yukl (1998) as cited in Hartog et al. (1999) stressed that there is a negative consequences for followers to follow the leader if they have low self esteem. Nevertheless this factor of transformational leadership is accepted across culture. Transformational leaders are also extremely effective in articulating their vision and providing sense of purpose to the followers to idealize their influence. There are certain ways to communicate a vision leaders vision the followers such as soft spoken manner of Ghandi and bold manner of J.F. Kennedy (Hartog et al., 1999). These leaders have the capacity to stimulate their followers mind in challenging the old paradigm and accept new one in order to bring change and fulfill the vision. This can also mean that followers in organization are empowered by leaders to be more creative and by doing so bring more value to organization itself and being closer to the desired vision (Fry, 2003). Lastly the leaders that are categorized as transformational leaders are able to recognize the needs of their followers and fulfill those needs by their individualized consideration. This will enhance the trust and loyalty of their followers. High loyalty of followers can realize the achievement or vision and mission in more effective manner which is build by trust between leaders and their followers. This trust is one of the most important variables in leadership (Yukl, 2006 as cited in Jung, Yammarino Lee, 2009). Conclusions Firstly it can be concluded that despite Japan and United States have the same ideology of capitalism, the cultural value of each country have a very significant impact on the Japanese and United States Leadership style. Though the cultural dimension is treated one by one in contrasting Japan and United states, it is also true that those five dimensions can simultaneously affect the value and belief that is important for both leaders and followers (Offermann Hellmann, 1997). And congruence in value and belief with the culture increase the effectiveness and acceptance of the contingency theory (House Aditya, 1997).Secondly there are some aspects of leadership that is acceptable across the cultural differences. For instance the Transformational leadership mentioned earlier. That is affected not only by leaders but also the followers are important factor to consider. These findings can be used by leaders and managers in organization, especially when they are faced with situation to lead people from different cultural background. It is also not limited only in organizational level but also for personal understanding to better learn and develop their leadership quality. References Alston, J. P. (1989). Wa, Guanxi, and Inhwa: managerial principles in Japan, China and Korea. Business Horizons, 32(2), 26-31. Dalton, N. Benson, J. (2002). Innovation and change in Japanese Human Resource Management. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 40, 345-362. Dorfman, P. 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