Liberal arts in our life Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Liberal arts in our life - Research Paper Example Another branch of the liberal arts is known as the humanities which cover literature, languages, history, and philosophy. The third branch is the creative arts – theater, fine art, creative writing and others. All these broad subjects are what are known as the liberal arts and they are, as you can see, quite wide and varied. They are usually available to students at an undergraduate level right at the beginning and at more advanced levels as we move up the higher education chain (Sigurdson 14). II. What I know about the topic 1. The main task of liberal arts Liberal arts are not designed to equip you or enable you to specialize in a specific profession. Rather, they are there to prepare the students for life in the working world. Liberal arts equip you with the ability, first and foremost, to have lifelong learning. Learning does not just end in the classroom or after graduation. It is a process through which we acquire knowledge skills and expertise throughout our life. It is , therefore, necessary for one to have courses that equip you to do exactly that – essentially be a student for life, learning and adapting to new knowledge, new aspects of life and learning how to adapt, live and even thrive with change. 2. The main capacities of liberal arts The liberal arts also give one the ability and capacity for free thinking. It teaches the student how to think, how to question and how to expand your horizons. The liberal arts also enable one to communicate effectively (Schall 7). It is not just a matter of learning how to speak a foreign language or two – though that is also covered in liberal arts – but how to interpret nonverbal communications, how to communicate in cultures other than your own, and how to express yourself in contexts that are different from your traditional ones (Sigurdson 18). The liberal arts give students a chance to not only explore and get their head round a large variety of subjects but also an ability to look at the world, themselves and others in a totally new light. It gives students an appreciation of different points of view and different modes of thought. It is an opportunity to learn about the evolution of human society, how it started out, how it came through civilization, what civilization is all about and what in the world has changed and how it has changed since this civilization came about. In liberal arts one learns what previous generations have learned, thought and experienced (Schall 11). III. Research 1. The main questions of liberal arts What questions did they ask? What answers did the great philosophers seek? Liberal arts give you an opportunity to wrestle with abstract concepts and ideas. There arose questions such as: What is beauty and how does one decide that something is beautiful and the other one is not? Does this color or make-up look good on me? How did our history shape us and our thinking? How did we interact with the environment and what impact has it had o n us and us about it? What acts constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and why and how should they be reported? Thus, liberal arts result in a person who has a more rounded appreciation of himself, others and his environment. A classic story is told to explain the importance of the liberal arts. Three blind men who were told to touch an elephant and then describe what it looked like. The first one touched the elephant’s main body and decided because it was so big, this creature must be like a wall. The second blind man touched the elephant’s tusk and after racing it all the way to the tip, decided that the elephant must be shaped like a spear, like some

Transnational Strategy Essay Example for Free

Transnational Strategy Essay This paper is about transnational strategy used by transnational companies in developing their business. The strategy will be shown on the specific example of globalizing an Australian wine company BRL Hardy. But first it worth determining transnational strategy as it is. During recent years much have changed in the world business economy, and most big companies started orienting towards globalization of their business. And host countries in their turn were first suspicious to such organizations and made a lot of restrictions for providing their business on the territory of the host country. There are ‘positive contributions that TNCs (transnational corporations) make to host states and encourages this trend, as well as the tensions that have existed between TNCs and host states and endeavors to provide legal responses that take into account the legitimate interests of these two main actors.’ (Ebow Bondzi-Simpson 1990, p. xiii). The main demand was to be responsive to local market and political needs of the country. ‘As a result of these developments, many worldwide companies recognized that the demands to be responsive to local market and political needs and the pressures to develop global-scale competitive efficiency were simultaneous, if sometimes conflicting. Under these conditions, the either/or attitude reflected in both the multinational and the global strategic mentalities were increasingly inappropriate. The emerging requirement was for companies to become more responsive to local needs while retaining their global efficiency—an emerging approach to worldwide management that we call the transnational strategic mentality.’(Bartlett 2004, p. 12). As for the way of management in such companies their key activities and resources are dispersed and specialized to reach competence and flexibility at the same time. Moreover, these dispersed resources are included into an interdependent network of worldwide operations. So, as we see ‘key activities and resources are neither centralized in the parent company, nor decentralized so that each subsidiary can carry out its own tasks on a local-for-local basis.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 12). The main aim of all companies working on transnational level is to achieve the global leadership in the sphere of its business. And one of the qualities of such leadership is openness to new ideas that is most clearly and forcibly. Globalisation has given most organisations an international dimension. Concerning transnational network it is determined to be three-dimensional: supports a hybrid strategy of both product and market development across national borders; firm seeks both global efficiency and local responsiveness; excellent communications help managers to share vision and support learning. (Harrison 2003, p. 315). Governments of many countries support the idea of transnational companies and develop the appropriate documents, which sometimes appear to be a bit controversial. ‘The European Commission’s 1993 White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, together with the 1994 White Paper on Social Policy (and the subsequent Medium Term Action Programme) have assigned a greater role and responsibility to the social partners at European level: this may generate more intensive transnational cooperation—but possibly also greater conflict.’ (Lecher 1998 p. xiii). So, let us speak about the example mentioned above to explain the strategy used in the company. First, we compare and contrast the influence of changes in internal management perspectives and the international business environment upon the strategic development of BRL Hardy in the 1990s. Applying to the history we may say that vines were first introduced into Australia in 1788 by Captain Arthur Phillip, who was the leader of the group of convicts and settlers, comprised the first fleet of migrants to inhabit the new British colony. During next two centuries wine became very popular and by 1996 there were two greatest companies involved in this business. First one was Southcorp and ‘the number two company was BRL Hardy Ltd. (BRLH), selling under the Hardy, Houghton, Leasingham, and other labels.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 679). Earlier Hardy and BRL were different companies. But due to recession-driven market slowdown at home and problems in three of the European acquisitions in Hardy as well as struggle and search for ways to expand and upgrade its business in BRL led for the merge of these two companies in June 1992. Certain changes in the international business environment influenced the strategy development of the BRLH Company: A rationalization and consolidation among wine wholesalers and retailers. Exploiting modern viticulture and more scientific winemaking practices to produce more consistent high-quality wine by wine suppliers from New World. The first priority for the company after merging was the financial situation and domestic market as ‘both companies performed poorly the previous year†¦and the Australian market accounted for the vast bulk of their profit†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Bartlett 2004, p. 681). The emerged strategy was that the company would protect its share of the bulk cask business but concentrate on branded bottle sales for growth. This required a commitment to quality. To implement this strategy there was the need to change the company’s culture and management style, in other words to create a more decentralized approach, but to hold management accountable. ‘The results were impressive with both domestic bottle market share and profitability increasing significantly in the first two tears of BRLH’s operation.’ (Bartlett 2004, 682). As to the international experience, the company understood that ‘globalization of competition is triggered both by the emergence of Triad industrialized markets with relatively homogeneous demands, comprising the United States, the European Community, and Japan.’ (Ohmae 1985). Thus the key export markets were the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Japan. To expand on its U.K. sale Hardy believed it should stop relying on importers, distributors, and agents. This led management to the decision of buying European wineries to give Hardy’s wines greater access to Europe. But unfortunately, such decision and the appeared problems had negative impact on the company and led it to the merge as was mentioned above. New management began to realize the situation and work out possible strategies to improve the company’s presentation on the foreign market. For that moment ‘a U.K. business selling a small volume of Hardy wines and just breaking even, a rapidly eroding BRL bulk business in Sweden, a weak Hardy-U.S. presence supported by a single representative, and a virtually nonexistent presence in Asia or the rest of Europe.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 682). Realizing such situation the strategy was based on the strong quality brand image with the company’s marketing slogan ‘Quality Wines for the World’. As the implementation of such a strategy a group marketing and export manager Stephen Davies initiated a programme to rationalize the line and reposition a few key brands in a stepstair hierarchy from simple entry level products to fine wines for connoisseurs. In U.K. the company recently acquired two distributors, but their financial situation was disastrous. So the managing director Carson reported such a situation to the Australian management and proposed a series of cost-cutting steps, installed strong systems, controls, and policies that put him firmly in charge of key decisions. As the result in 1992 the company promised to be profitable on the European market again. Despite improving results in the same year the company was facing several key problems: the need to build quickly on the 178,000 cases of Hardy-brand products that has represented less than a quarter of his total volume in 1991; the need to restore the financial health of its French winemaker, Domaine de la Baume; the need to protect an unstable imported Chilean product that had come as a Whiclar and Gordon agency. Though the headquarters understood the significance of the appeared problems the relationship was an uneasy one as they supported delegation only to those who ‘earned their stripes’. The next difficulty was weather the BRL management understood international marketing. To expand the sales in Europe Carson clearly understood the need to relabel, reposition, and relaunch the brands as current image had eroded in the U.K., but the Australian office did not want to hear of it. In the long run they agreed to such an offer and in 1993 they relabled and relaunched Nottage Hill and repositioned Stamps. In this case the initial negative attitude towards relabling the product brought only delay in expanding sales in the Europe. Fortunately, the changes were made and the company quadrupled the volume of Hardy’s brand from 1992 by 1994. By the mid-1990s the headquarters began to imagine the company not just as a ‘quality exporter’ but as an ‘international wine company’. Though the international environment hardly believed in the possibility of wine to become global brand, the company management believed that ‘changes in wine-making, the opening of global markets, and the changing consumer profile would all support their objective to become a truly international wine company built on a global branding capability.’ (Bartlett 2004, 687). This was the right choice though difficult because it is clearly stated ‘in response to global competition, successful companies are evolving from a product policy of offering customized products to that of offering globally standardized ones.’ (Kotabe 1992). In this case the company strategy was built on decentralization and wish to listen to and to support overseas ideas and proposals, but the role of headquarters should be as brand owners. And it is clear that ‘global companies conduct research wherever necessary, develop products in several countries, promote key executives regardless of nationality, and even have shareholders on three continents.’ (Eom 1994 p. 1). 2.In 1995-1998 managing director Christopher Carson developed certain strategy to build and sustain BRL Hardy’s competitive advantage in the UK wine market as in 1995 he was appointed chief executive of BRL Hardy Europe. We shall try to identify his approach and discuss its likely advantages and disadvantages. Carson had focused most of his attention on building sales of the Hardy brand wines but remained acutely aware of the importance of the other non-Australian product lines. It is obvious that quality of grapes as an agricultural product depends upon weather, disease and other factors. Carson proposed that one way to minimize that risk was the sourcing from multiple regions. Moreover, major retailers wanted to simplify wine buying dealing with a few key suppliers providing a broad line of quality products. For all these reasons Carson began to concentrate much of his attention on two non-Australian wine sources: Jose Canopa y CIA Limitada (Chile, Mapocho brand) and Casa Vinicola Calatrasi (Siciliy, D’istinto brand). These two projects were based on partnership relations and were a kind of transnational relations. ‘Transnational relations are understood as regular interactions across national borders in which either the administration itself or the actors with whom the administration maintains contacts act without a specific and clear national mandate when participating in negotiations and decision-making processes.’ (Jacobsson 2003). In both projects Carson offered the grape growers to send the winemaking specialist to enhance the value of their harvest through more productive vineyard techniques and new winemaking methods. Moreover branding could give the producers security of demand and eventually better prices for their fruit. The approach he used to develop his strategy was customer-focused,   a shareholder value approach as he saw the company as the private property of it s owners, linked to the concept of competitive advantage offering high-quality wines produced with the help of new technologies of winemaking. The advantageous goal of these projects was to offset projected Australian red wine shortages with alternative sources and to develop a brand responding to the average wine consumer interested in wine but not necessarily very knowledgeable about it. The new product was to give easy-to read labels with a pronounceable brand name. D’istinto line ‘can help us build BRLH Europe in size, impact, and reputation,’ said Carson. ‘We need to become known as a first-class branding company – a company able to leverage great distribution and strong marketing into recognized consumer brands.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 690). As for disadvantages of Carson’s strategy, the Mapocho project was disappointing. The first samples were bad and the reason was controversial from both sides: ‘The Chileans thought the problem was due to the winemaker sent from BRL Hardy being unfamiliar with Chilean wine, while he insisted they had not provided him with quality fruit.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 690). Canepa managers claimed the costs went up, and wanted to change the supply price, and then the new venture lost opportunity to get early access to the pick of the 1997 grape harvest. All this led to low sales contrary to expected (15,000 cases against 80,000 planned). As to the D’istinto, initialy it was planned to fill the price points that had been vacated as Stamps and Nottage Hill had become more expensive. But for the moment of discussion the Sicilian line clearly overlapped with Hardy’s core offerings. Nevertheless, D’istinto sales rose from 16,000 to 500,000 by year four and could have global potential. But despite such success and relatively small investment in the branding, packaging and launch expenses, the real financial risk could come later in the form of contract commitments and excess inventory because of continued difficulty with Mapocho sales. As a result the chosen strategy led to the brand fighting. The next step within the company was the strategic decision to promote Banrock Station as a global brand. As the Stamps and Nottage Hill brands became more expensive, Carson believed there was an opening for a new low-end Australian brand to fill the vacant price position, representing more than 80% of sales volume. The person in charge for this question was Paul Browne. He felt the market was ready for a brand which would appeal to a younger consumer gradually coming to buy Stamps and Nottage Hill later. ‘The brand he came up with was Kelly’s Revenge.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 692). Meanwhile, in Australia, BRLH was developing a major new product targeted at a similar price point. The name of the new brand positioned as an environmentally responsible product and launched in Australia in 1996 came from the place named Banrock Station (a 1,800-hectare cattle grazing property partially converting by the company to viticulture) and acquired by the company in 1995. ‘Good Earth, Fine Wine’ was the motto of the brand. ‘The nomination process for the Banrock Station Wetland Complex was initiated by the sites owner, BRL Hardy Wine Company. Extensive consultation on the nomination was undertaken and coordinated by the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage.’ (Wetlands Australia 2003). After the increasing success in Australia, convinced in its potential as a global brand, headquarters management decided to promote Banrock Station as a global brand in the countries of this company’s presence. In Canada and the U.S. there were no significant difficulties of implementing such a decision, but in Europe the management team expressed serious doubts as they already finished the Kelly’s Revenge project. In this particular question headquarters and European management appeared to be arguing parties. As Australians blocked Kelly’s Revenge and Europeans tried to block Banrock Station because they were projects worked out in these two organizations to satisfy the customer. But, Banrock Station was more successive in the market and Kelly’s Revenge was examined by the customers’ reaction, as the result ‘when we took it to ASDA, the UK grocery chain, they were not enthralled. ’(Bartlett 2004, p. 694). So this was the opportunity to give Banrock Station a try in European market. If determining this process deliberate or emergent we should say that to much more extent it was deliberate because the trial to launch D’istinto on a low price level was a failure and Banrock Station brand appeared to be much more successive on this level because of its devoutness to nature. Initially the program aimed ‘to restore the natural elements such as soil, water, natural vegetation and animals as they existed at Banrock Station over 200 years ago.’ (Banrock Station – Environmental). For this purpose the company bought the property in South Australia’s Riverland district. The deliberateness of the promoting process underlines one more fact that ‘during the planning and development phase, visitors’ universally positive reaction to BRLH’s ongoing conservation efforts – planting only 400 hectares while returning the remaining land to its native state including the restoration of natural wetlands – convinced management that the property had brand potential.’ (Bartlett 2004, p. 693). Emerging in all the process may be only the fact of acquiring the property. ‘Banrock Station now also supports wetlands restoration projects in other countries where it sells its wines including New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.’ (Landcare Australia 2001). For example in Canada ‘for every bottle sold, a donation is made to the Banrock Station Wetlands Foundation Canada to support wetland conservation projects.’ (Banrock Station Shiraz). The region under BRLH care in this project developed and increased its potential. ‘During 1998 Richard Stafford architects developed this project for the BRL Hardy Corporation as a combined wine tasting, visitor destination and information centre, to be known as the Wine Wetland Centre.’ (Banrock Station). ‘Banrock Station is an exemplary example of an innovative cellar door that truly reflects the brand.’ (Richard Stafford). The BRLH Company made a lot of successive affords to expand its production on the world market, though there were some faults and mishaps as it always happens when managers start doing greater business. The most significant is that the company should see its mistakes and try to overcome them with less looses for the company profit. And it is clear that ‘in the future, a companys ability to develop a transnational organizational capability will be the key factor that separates the winners from the mere survivors in the international competitive environment.’ (Rugman 1992, p. 1). The question of transnational companies was of great concern to many countries even in 1980s. ‘Discussions on the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the current international economic situation and on the modern phenomenon of transborder data flows highlighted the work of the Commission on Transnational Corporations at its tenth regular session, held from 17 to 27 April in New York.’ (UN Chronicle 1984, p.1). The idea of transnational companies became very significant in the twentieth century as ‘in the last quarter of the twentieth century the international flows of goods and capital increasingly broke down the notion of sovereign nation-states.’ (Pries 2001 p. 5).    References. ‘Banrock Station’ Available on http://www.emilis.sa.on.net/projects/emil_63.htm (Accessed August, 9 2005). ‘Banrock Station – Environmental rehabilitation of wetlands’. Available on http://www.austrade.gov.au/corporate/layout/0,,0_-1_-2_-3_PWB110405321-4_-5_-6_-7_DOCUMENT,00.html. (Accessed August, 9 2005). ‘Banrock Station Shiraz’ Available on http://www.churchillcellars.com/banrock_shiraz.shtml   (Accessed August, 9 2005). Bartlett, CA Ghoshal, S Birkinshaw, J 2004, ‘Transnational Management: Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management’,Fourth edition, New York and London: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. ‘Commission Discusses Role of Transnational Corporations in World Development’ 1984, Magazine article, UN Chronicle, Vol. 21, July. Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, P 1990, ‘Legal Relationships between Transnational Corporations and Host States’, Quorum Books. Eom, SB 1994, ‘Transnational Management Systems: An Emerging Tool for Global Strategic Management’, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 59. Harrison, JS 2003, ‘Strategic management of resources and relationships: concepts and cases’, New York and Chichester: Wiley, p. 315. Jacobsson, B Là ¦greid, P Pedersen OK 2003, ‘Europeanization and Transnational States: Comparing Nordic Central Governments’, Routledge. Kotabe, M 1992, ‘Global Sourcing Strategy: RD, Manufacturing, and Marketing Interfaces’, Quorum Books. ‘Landcare Australia’ 2001. Available on http://www.landcareaustralia.com.au/sponsordisplay.asp?SponsorID=23 (Accessed August, 9 2005). Lecher, W Platzer, HW 1998, ‘European Union European Industrial Relations? Global Challenges, National Developments and Transnational Dynamics’, Routledge. Ohmae, K 1985, ‘Triad Power’, New York: The Free Press.   Pries, L 2001, ‘New Transnational Social Spaces: International Migration and Transnational Companies in the Early Twenty-First Century’, Routledge. ‘Richard Stafford Banrock Station’ Available on http://www.offthevine.com.au/ep27/industry_ep27.html (Accessed August, 9 2005). Rugman, AM and Verbeke, A 1992, ‘Note on the Transnational Solution and the Transaction Cost Theory of Multinational Strategic Management’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 23. ‘Wetlands Australia — National Wetlands Update 2003’ 2003, Environment Australia for the Australian Wetlands Information Network (AWIN), Environment Australia, February, Issue No. 11, ISBN 0642549052.Available on http://www.deh.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/wa11/banrock.html (Accessed August, 9 2005).

St. Benedict Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith. It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God . These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St. Benedict created three main characteristics that a Christian who truly seeks God should do. The first is live in peace with others, not always wanting his own way, or having an exaggerated idea of himself. The second is to live simply, not wanting to own many things in order to feel important and secure. The third and final main theme of St. Benedict is to pray often and read the bible. These characteristics were added upon, but the main three were the basis of the belief. From these original three the foundation of the monastery was built. Another saint who played a major influence on the church was St. Augistine. St. Augistine held the idea that Christianity gave ones life meaning and purpose. He believed that â€Å"Christians are not born but made. † St. Augistine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church. This book was â€Å"The City of God.† This book told the history of the church and proved it to be a historically valid one. He believed that there was no use to civilization, and as faith increases civilization should decrease. The â€Å"City of the World† is the opposite of the â€Å"City of God†, and brings temptation and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed towards Rome. St. Cuthbert also added to the monastic tradition. He also took himself into isolation to assert his faith. Following his death, after many years of loyalty to the faith, it was fo... ...he centuries following them, they did not work nearly as hard, or did they suffer the same sacrifice and separation from materialistic possessions and luxuries. The church and congregation itself also underwent a dramatic change. The church progressed with the times to be not only a powerful institution religiously, but also politically, economically and also socially. With this rise in power in many different areas besides religion came the involvement in many different areas in society. These ties in society created involvement in the â€Å"City of the World† which took away from aspects of the â€Å"City of God.† In closing, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the â€Å"City of God† was due to the rise in the â€Å"City of the World.† The â€Å"City of the World† was the anti thesis of the â€Å"City of God.† They can be seen otherwise as church and state. When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So therefore the stronger survived, and with the change of the times, this was the â€Å"City of the World.† The king, who at one time in history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Durham Priory, and all its worldly possessions.

Gender-Related Issues Essay

Many people think that the difference between gender and sexuality reflect innate differences between men and women. I believed however, that these two concepts are more a creation of society than biology. To begin, I shall discuss the key concepts of sexuality and gender. The failure to define basic terms precisely has created much of the confusion over the concepts of gender and sexuality. Hence, we must establish a clear meaning for each term. From birth until death, human feelings, thoughts, and actions reflect social definitions of the sexes. Children quickly learn that their society defines females and males as different kinds of human beings and, by about the age of three or four, they begin to apply gender standards to themselves (Kohlberg cited in Lengermann & Wallace, 2005). Sociologists define gender as the significance a society attaches to biological categories of female and male which we often refer as sex (Weeks,2006). Thus, sex is a biological distinction that develops prior to birth while gender are the human traits linked by culture to each sex that guides how females and males think about themselves, how they interact with others, and what positions they occupy in society as a whole. Hence, gender is not synonymous with sex; as â€Å"scholars use the word sex to refer to attributes of men and women created by their biological characteristics and gender to refer to the distinctive qualities of men and women (or masculinity and femininity) that are culturally created† (Epstein, 1998). Sexuality on the other hand, covers gender identity, sexual orientation, and actual practices, as well as one’s acceptance of these aspects of one’s personality, which may be more important than their specifics (Beasley, 2005). By gender identity we mean â€Å"an individual’s own feeling of whether she or he is a woman or a man, or a girl or a boy† (Kessler and McKenna, 1998). Sexual orientation is the manner in which people experience sexual arousal and achieve sexual pleasure. For most living things, sexuality is biologically programmed. In humans, however, sexual orientation is bound up in the complex web of cultural attitudes and rules. A well known psychologist, Sigmund Freud (1985) assumed that â€Å"biology is destiny† and that children learn their gender by observing whether they have a penis or a vagina. But modern science has shown that the situation is somewhat more complicated. The development of gender identity occurs during a critical period of every child’s socialization. There is a time before which the child is too young to have a gender identity and after which â€Å"whatever gender identity has developed cannot be changed† (Kessler and McKenna, 2002). Most of the evidence in support of this conclusion comes from studies of children who were assigned to the wrong gender in infancy. In all cases in which adults attempt to change the child’s gender identity after the age of three, â€Å"the individual either retains her/his original gender identity or becomes extremely confused and ambivalent† (Kimmel, 2000). Gender and sexuality guides how females and males think about themselves. It is evident throughout the social world, shaping how we think about ourselves, guiding our interaction with others, and influencing our work and family life (Adams, & Savran, 2002). Gender is at work in our society’s expectations for us as well as our aspirations for ourselves. Different and unequal sex roles have long been a part of Western culture. In the United States and most other western countries, social positions involving leadership, power, decision making, and interacting with the larger world have traditionally gone to men. Positions centering around dependency, family concerns, child care, and self-adornment have traditionally gone to women. Further, these unequal sex roles mean that men and women are expected to behave differently in a number of situations (Lorber, 2000). Gender and sexuality deals not only with difference but also with power. Gender and sexuality affects who makes decisions in families as well as in politics, it shapes patterns of income, and it influences who gains opportunities in the workplace. Like class, race, and ethnicity, therefore, gender and sexuality is a major dimension of social inequality (Lorber, 2000). This inequality, which has historically favored males, is no simple matter of biological differences between the two sexes. Males and females do differ biologically, of course, but these variations are complex and inconsistent. Nevertheless, the deeply rooted cultural notion of male superiority may seem so natural that we assume it is the inevitable consequence of sex itself. Hence, many societies have yet to fully eliminate either distinct sex roles or gender inequality. Thus, as was stated earlier, gender roles, as they exist in the United Kingdom and many other nations, are not just different; they are also unequal. Whether you consider power, income, occupational status, research, and even access to health and quality of health care, men in the United Kingdom are an advantaged group compared to women People may assume that gender and sexuality simply reflects biological differences between females and males. But there is no â€Å"superior sex. † Beyond the primary and secondary sex characteristics, men have more muscle in the arms and shoulders, and the average man can lift more weight than the average woman can. Furthermore, the typical man has greater strength over short periods of time. Yet, women do better than men in some tests of long-term endurance because they can draw on the energy derived from grater body fat. Women also outperform men in life itself as the average life expectancy for males is 72. years, while females can expect to live 79. 0 years (Alsop, Fitzsimons & Lennon, 2002). Moreover, researchers have found that adolescent males exhibit greater mathematical ability, while adolescent females outperform males in verbal skills. But there is no difference in overall intelligence between females and males (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1994; Baker et al. , 1990; Lengermann & Wallace, 2005). When scholars ask why people are treated differently because of their gender or sexuality, biological explanations often come up first. To a causal observer it seems obvious that men are stronger than women and are less tied to the home because they do not bear children. We need only to accept this simple biological truth to understand why societies assign different roles to women (Beasley,1999). Thus, sociologist Desmond Morris (1986) argued that gender and sexuality developed early in human evolution, when apes began hunting. â€Å"The females were busy rearing the young to be able too play major roles in chasing and catching prey,† he wrote. They maintained the home base, where the young were reared and the gains of the hunt shared. Once this division of labor was established, it was maintained throughout human evolution. These biological arguments often anger sociologists, who, as noted earlier, have found that gender and sexuality are culturally conditioned rather than biologically determined. For example, the British sociologist Ann Oakley (1994) contends that attempts to explain gender stratification on the basis of analogies to nonhuman societies are fallacious. Worse still, they are used to justify a view of women in which their confinement to domestic roles is validated by â€Å"an image of Mrs.  Pregnant-or- Nursing Ape, waiting gratefully with a cooking pot in her hand for the return of Mr. Hunting Ape with this spoil. Mr. Hunting Ape then kept the home fires burning,† just as women are expected or encouraged to do today, long after such a division of roles has ceased to be necessary. In a thorough review of both biological and sociological evidence on differences between the sexes, neurophysiologist Ruth Bleier (1994) evaluated research on the question of whether women’s hormones establish brain functions that make them more emotional than men, or more intuitive, or less aggressive, or less skilled at mathematics. Even though many biologists and some sociologists suggest that there are clear differences between the sexes in these traits. Bleier found that â€Å"whatever characteristic is being measured, the range of variation is far greater among males or among females than between the two sexes. † For example, the difference between tennis champion Martina Navratilova and the average woman playing tennis at the country club is much greater than the difference between most male and female tennis players. Biologically, then, females and males have limited differences, with neither sex naturally superior. Nevertheless, the deep-rooted cultural notion of male superiority may seem so natural that we assume it proceeds inevitably from sex itself. But society, much more than biology is at work here, as the global variability of gender attests. Neurophysiologists and other medical researchers often draw sociological conclusions from their findings. They begin by seeking evidence to challenge or support biological hypotheses and end by pointing to such factors as culture, role behavior, and socialization as the most persuasive explanations for gender and sexuality differences. Further, researchers investigating the roots of gender and sexuality were drawn to collective settlements in Israel called kibbutzim. The kibbutz (the singular form) is important for gender and sexuality research because its members historically have embraced social equality, with men and women sharing in both work and decision making. There, people have deliberately organized themselves to give females and males comparable social standing. In the kibbutz, both sexes perform a range of work including child care, building repair, cooking, and cleaning. Boys and girls are raised in the same way and, from the first weeks of life, live in dormitories under the care of specially trained personnel. To members of kibbutzim, then, gender and sexuality is defined as irrelevant to much of everyday life. But here, again, we find reason for caution about completely discounting any biological forces. Some observers note that women in the kibbutzim have resisted spending much of the day away from their own children; more generally, many of these collections have returned to more traditional social roles over the years. But even if this is so-and this research has its critics-the kibbutzim certainly stand as evidence of wide cultural latitude in defining what is feminine and masculine. They also exemplify how, through conscious efforts, a society can pursue sexual equality just as it can encourage the domination of one sex by the other. Hence, sociologists wonder if subtle but persistent biological dispositions may undermine efforts at gender equality (Tiger & Shepher, 2005). Even if this were so, the kibbutzim clearly show that cultures have wide latitude in defining what is feminine and masculine. They also exemplify how, through conscious efforts, a society can promote sexual equality. Another way to determine whether gender and sexuality reflect social constructs or biological givens is to take a global view of how the two sexes interact in many societies. To the extent that gender reflects the biological facts of sex, the human traits defined as feminine and masculine should be the same everywhere; to the extent that gender is cultural, these conceptions should vary (Brod & Kaufman, 2004). The best-known research of this kind is a classic study of gender in three societies of New Guinea by anthropologist Margaret Mead. Trekking high into the mountains of New Guinea, Mead observed men and women of the Arapesh, with remarkably similar attitudes and behavior. Both sexes, she reported, were cooperative and sensitive to others – in short, what our culture would term â€Å"feminine. † Moving south, Mead then studied the Mundugumor, who found females and males to be alike; however, the Mundugumor culture of head hunting and cannibalism stood in striking contrasts to the gentle ways of the Arapesh. Both sexes were typically selfish and aggressive, traits we define as more â€Å"masculine. † Finally, traveling west to observe the Tchambuli, Mead discovered a culture that, like our own, defined females and males differently. Yet the Tchambuli reversed many of our notions of gender, raising females to be dominant and rational, while males were taught to be submissive, emotional, and nurturing toward children. From this comparison , Mead concluded, first , that culture determines the extent to which the sexes differ and, second , what one culture defines as masculine may be considered feminine by the other . Further she noted that societies can exaggerate or minimize social distinctions based on sex. Meads research, therefore, supports the conclusion that gender is a variable creation of society.

Summary of Auditing Theory Chap 1 & 2

Assurance services – deal with audit or review of historical financial information and assurances dealing with subject matters other than historical financial information. * designed to enhance the degree of confindence of the intended users other than the responsible party about the outcome of the evaluation or measurement of a subject matter against criteria FF. are the broad categories of services under the umbrella of assurance services: 1. Risk assessment 2. Information system reliability 3.Adequacy of security over Electronic commerce transactions, electronic documents, and support systems 4. Effectiveness of Health care performance measurement systems 5. Reliability and relevance of Business performance measurement * it evolves naturally from Attestation services, which in turn evolve from audit * The root of all three is independent verification Non-assurance services (Related Services) – pertain to compilation of financial information , agreed-upon-procedures a nd other related services which do not result in the expression of conclusion that provides a level of assurance.Auditing – is a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding selected assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between those assertions and established criteria and communicating the result to interested users. * determining whether recorded information properly reflects the economic events that occurred during the accounting period. Elements: * Systematic process * Objectivity * Obtaining and evaluating evidence * Assertions about economic actions and events * Degree of correspondence†¦ stablished criteria * Communicating results * Interested users Attestation – refers to an expert’s written communication of a conclusion about the reliability of someone else’s assertions. * when a practitioner is engaged to issue a written communication that expresses a conclus ion about the reliability of a written assertion * a type of assurance service whose subject matter (both FS and non-FS in nature) * offering some level of assurance Ex. of attest services: 1. Future-oriented financial information 2. Management’s discussion and analysis 3.Effectiveness of internal control 4. Compliance with statutory, regulatory and contractual obligations Consulting services (Management Advisory Services) – professional services that provide advice and assistance concerning an entity’s organization, personnel, finances, operations, systems, or other activities. * an analytical process that typically involves some combination of activities relating to: a) objective-setting b) fact-finding c) definition of problems or opportunities d) evaluation of alternatives e) development of recommendations including actions ) communication of results g) implementation h) follow-up – reports are generally written in a narrative style – nature an d scope is determined by agreement between the professional accountant and the client Areas of consulting services: 1. Consultations 2. Advisory 3. Implementation 4. Transaction 5. Staff and other support 6. Product AssuranceConsulting * three party-two party contractscontracts * to improve quality-to recommend of informationuses for infos. * decision makers & -Outcomes info. used for optimum decisions * intended to improve-designed to ecision maker’s improve client’s condition indirectly condition’s thru directly thru recommendationsfindings, conclusions and recommendation Four conditions that create demand for audits: 1. Potential conflict of interest between those who prepare information & those who use information. 2. Information can have substantial economic consequences for a decision maker. 3. Expertise is often required for preparing and verifying information 4. Users of information frequently are prevented from directly assessing the quality of informat ionStewardship or agency Theory – implies that the manager, as well as the owner, wants the credibility an audit adds to the financial statement assertions. Types of Audits 1. Compliance Audits – to determine compliance with criteria, standards, or rules set by an authoritative body 2. Management Audit (Effectiveness of Performance) – an examination and evaluation of the activities of management 3. Performance Audit – analyzes an organization’s structure, internal systems, work flow and managerial performance 4. Comprehensive Audit – includes the components of compliance, performance and financial statements udit 5. Operational Audit – to determine the extent to which some aspect of an organization’s operating activities is functioning effectively 6. Internal Audit – an independent, ovjective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. Helps by bringing a syste matic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance process 7. Environmental Audit – environmental matters which may have an impact on the financial statements 8.Forensic Audit – examination of evidence 9. Financial Statements Audit Types of Auditors 1. External (independent) auditors – public accountants, both individuals or firms 2. Internal auditors – services for a single organization for which they are employed on a full-time basis, typically reporting to the board of directors 3. Government auditors – full-time employees of the government tasked to determine compliance with laws, statutes, policies and procedures 4. Forensic auditors – financial auditing specialists who focus on unearthing the truthAuditing and Assurance Standards Council (AASC) – body authorized to establish and promulgate generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) in the Philippines * The main dist inguishing feature of auditing and related services is the level of assurance provided by the auditor in the engagement. * An auditor becomes associated with the financial information through the attachment of a report or when consenting to the use of auditor’s name in professional connection. Remedies if known that the auditor’s name is inappropriately used: 1.Request management to stop the inappropriate association of auditor’s name 2. Inform any known third party users 3. Seek legal advice Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) – legislation passed in the USA in response to increased occurrence of corporate fraud. * gave Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) authority to establish auditing standards, quality control standards and independence standards for auditor of public companies * Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its Resolution No. 135 Series of 2002 – Code of Corporate GovernanceAssurance Engagement – a n engagement in which a practitioner expresses a conclusion designed to enhance the degree of confidence of the intended users other that the responsible party about the outcome of evaluation or measurement of a subject matter against criteria. â€Å"Subject matter information† – the outcome of the evaluation or measurement of a subject matter. Types of Assurance Engagement Objective Conclusion 1. Reasonable – risk reductionPositive to an acceptably low level 2. Limited – risk reduction to a level Negative that is acceptable in the circumstancesElements of an Assurance Engagements 1. A three-party relationship – practitioner – responsible party – intended users 2. An appropriate subject matter a) identifiable and capable of consistent evaluation or measurement against the identified criteria b) information about it can be subjected to procedures for gathering sufficient appropriate evidence to support a reasonable assurance or limited assurance conclusion 3. Suitable criteria – benchmarks used to evaluate or measure the subject matter, including where relevant, benchmarks for presentation and disclosure. . Sufficient appropriate evidence – an attitude of professional scepticism to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence 5. A written assurance report in the form appropriate to a reasonable assurance engagement or a limited assurance engagement – a conclusion that conveys the assurance obtained about the subject matter information Assertion-based engagement: * In terms of the responsible party’s assertion * Directly in terms of the subject matter and the criteria Non-assurance Engagements Engagements covered by ISRS/PSRS, such as agreed-upon procedures engagements and compilation of financial or other info * preparation of tax returns where no conclusion conveying assurance is expressed * consulting engagements, e. g. Management and Tax consulting Reports on Non-assurance Engagements â⠂¬â€œ clearly distinguishes that report from an assurance report Philippine Standards on Assurance Engagements – covers assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial infos. Acronyms: * AASC – Auditing and Assurance Standards Council * ASPC – Auditing Standards and Practice Council GAAS – Generally Accepted Auditing Standards * PICPA – Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants * ACPAPP – Association of CPAs in Public Practice * ISAEs – International Standards on Assurance Engagements * PCAOB – Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board * AAS – Auditing and Assurance Services * FRF – Financial Reporting Framework * PAS – Philippine Accounting Standards * PFRS – Philippine Financial Reporting Standards * PSA – Philippine Standards on Auditing * PRC – Professional Regulation Commission * BOA – Board of Accountancy Chapter 2 Objectives of Finan cial Statement Audit to enable the auditor to express an opinion whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework -Auditor is responsible for forming and expressing opinion on the FS and should determine whether such financial reporting framework adopted by management is acceptable -Management those charged with governance and has the primary responsibility of preparing and presenting these FS in accordance with frameworks and responsible for identifying the financial reporting framework to be usedComplete Set of FS: * Statement of Financial position * Statement of Comprehensive Income * Statement of Changes in Equity * Statement of Cash Flows * Notes General Principle of Audit 1. Ethical Requirements – Quality control 2. Audit in accordance with PSA 3. Professional scepticism – questioning mind 4. Objectives – reduce audit risk to an acceptable level Assurance Provided by Aud itor 1. Basis of evidence gathered (which include sampling) 2. Auditor provides reasonable assurance 3.Financial statements are free from material misstatements (materiality) * Sampling – used to gather evidence on financial statement amounts and disclosures * Reasonable Assurance – alludes to the concept of audit risk which is implicit in the audit function and implied in the scope paragraph of auditor’s report * Material misstatements – no guarantee that the FS are accurate. Auditor provides reasonable assurance concerning material misstatements and an opinion on fairness, in all material aspects.Collusions – when two or more individuals work together to effect misappropriation or concealment. Assertions – representations by managements, explicit or otherwise, that are embodied in the financial statements * Internal control assertions – an implied assertions by management that such internal control procedures are effective as to bot h their design and operation * Financial Statement assertions – management asserts that the financial statements, and by implication the financial statement items and underlying account balances and classes of transaction, are free of material misstatement.Level of Aggregation Category of FS Assertions per the AASC’s Glossary of Terms: 1. Existence 2. Rights and Obligations 3. Occurrence 4. Completeness 5. Valuation 6. Measurement 7. Presentation and disclosure Audit Objectives * to gather and evaluate audit evidence of sufficient quantity and appropriate quality in order to form an opinion on the financial statements prepared by management. Three Fundamental Concepts in Conducting an Audit 1. Materiality – degree of misstatement or omission . Audit risk – auditors may inappropriately express his opinion 3. Evidence – refers to the necessary information that an auditor gathers in order to form a credible opinion on the assertions Audit Report 1. Ti tle 2. Addressee 3. Introductory paragraph 4. Management’s responsibility 5. Auditor’s responsibility 6. Auditor’s opinion 7. Other reporting responsibilities 8. Auditor’s signature 9. Date of the auditor’s report 10. Auditor’s address Other Types of OpinionsQualified – expressed when the auditor concludes that an unqualified opinion cannot be expressed but that the effect of any disagreement with management, or limitation on scope is not so material and pervasive Adverse – issued when the effect of a disagreement is so material and pervasive to the FS that the auditor concludes that a qualification of the report is not adequate Disclaimer – issued when the possible effect of a limitation on scope is so material and pervasive to the FS

How to Add Resource Files in Delphi Executables

How to Add Resource Files in Delphi Executables Games and other types of applications which use multimedia files like sounds and animations must either distribute the extra multimedia files along with the application or embed the files within the executable. Rather than distribute separate files for your applications use, you can add the raw data to your application as a resource. You can then retrieve the data from your application when it is needed. This technique is generally more desirable because it can keep others from manipulating those add-in files. This article will show you how to embed (and use) sound files, video clips, animations and more generally any kind of binary files in a Delphi executable. For the most general purpose, youll see how to put an MP3 file inside a Delphi exe. Resource Files (.RES) In the Resource Files Made Easy article you were presented with several examples of the use of bitmaps, icons, and cursors from resources. As stated in that article we can use the Image Editor to create and edit resources that consist of such types of files. Now, when we are interested in storing various types of (binary) files inside a Delphi executable well have to deal with resource script files (.rc), the Borland Resource Compiler tool and other. Including several binary files in your executable consists of 5 steps: Create and/or collect all the files you wish to put in an exe.Create a resource script file (.rc) that describes those resources used by your application,Compile the resource script file (.rc) file to create a resource file (.res),Link the compiled resource file into the application’s executable file,Use individual resource element. The first step should be simple, simply decide what types of files you would like to store in your executable. For example, we will store two .wav songs, one .ani animations and one .mp3 song. Before we move on, here are a few important statements concerning limitations when working with resources: Loading and unloading resources is not a time-consuming operation. Resources are part of the applications executable file and are loaded at the same time the application runs.All the (free) memory can be used when loading/unloading resources. In other words, there are no limits on the number of resources loaded at the same time.Of course, resource files do double the size of an executable. If you want smaller executables, consider placing resources and parts of your project in a dynamic link library (DLL) or its more specialized variation. Lets now see how to create a file that describes resources. Creating a Resource Script File (.RC) A resource script file is a just a simple text file with the extension .rc that lists resources. The script file is in this format: ResName1 ResTYPE1 ResFileName1ResName2 ResTYPE2 ResFileName2...ResNameX ResTYPEX ResFileNameX... RexName specifies either a unique name or an integer value (ID) that identifies the resource. ResType describes the type of resource and the ResFileName is the full path and file name to the individual resource file. To create a new resource script file, simply do the following: Create a new text file in your projects directory.Rename it to AboutDelphi.rc. In the AboutDelphi.rc file, have the following lines: Clock WAVE c:\mysounds\projects\clock.wavMailBeep WAVE c:\windows\media\newmail.wavCool AVI cool.aviIntro RCDATA introsong.mp3 The script file simply defines resources. Following the given format the AboutDelphi.rc script lists two .wav files, one .avi animation, and one .mp3 song. All statements in a .rc file associate an identifying name, type and file name for a given resource. There are about a dozen predefined resource types. These include icons, bitmaps, cursors, animations, songs, etc. The RCDATA defines generic data resources. RCDATA let you include a raw data resource for an application. Raw data resources permit the inclusion of binary data directly in the executable file. For example, the RCDATA statement above names the application’s binary resource Intro and specifies the file introsong.mp3, which contains the song for that MP3 file. Note: make sure you have all the resources you list in your .rc file available. If the files are inside your projects directory you dont have to include the full file name. In my .rc file .wav songs are located *somewhere* on the disk and both the animation and MP3 song are located in the projects directory. Creating a Resource File (.RES) To use the resources defined in the resource script file, we must compile it to a .res file with the Borlands Resource Compiler. The resource compiler creates a new file based on the contents of the resource script file. This file usually has an .res extension. The Delphi linker will later reformat the .res file into a resource object file and then link it to the executable file of an application. The Borlands Resource Compiler command line tool is located in the Delphi Bin directory. The name is BRCC32.exe. Simply go to the command prompt and type brcc32 then press Enter. Since the Delphi\Bin directory is in your Path the Brcc32 compiler is invoked and displays the usage help (since it was called with no parameters). To compile the AboutDelphi.rc file to a .res file execute this command at the command prompt (in the projects directory): BRCC32 AboutDelphi.RC By default, when compiling resources, BRCC32 names the compiled resource (.RES) file with the base name of the .RC file and places it in the same directory as the .RC file. You can name the resource file anything you want, as long as it has the extension .RES and the filename without the extension is not the same as any unit or project filename. This is important because, by default, each Delphi project that compiles into an application has a resource file with the same name as the project file, but with the extension .RES. Its best to save the file to the same directory as your project file. Including (Linking/Embedding) Resources to Executables After the .RES file is linked to the executable file, the application can load its resources at run time as needed. To actually use the resource, youll have to make a few Windows API calls. In order to follow the article, youll need a new Delphi project with a blank form (the default new project). Of course add the {$R AboutDelphi.RES} directive to the main forms unit. Its finally time to see how to use resources in a Delphi application. As mentioned above, in order to use resources stored inside an exe file we have to deal with API. However, several methods can be found in the Delphi help files that are resource enabled. For example, take a look at the LoadFromResourceName method of a TBitmap object. This method extracts the specified bitmap resource and assigns it TBitmap object. This is *exactly* what LoadBitmap API call does. As always Delphi has improved an API function call to suit your needs better. Now, add the TMediaPlayer component to a form (name: MediaPlayer1) and add a TButton (Button2). Let the OnClick event look like: One minor *problem* is that the application creates an MP3 song on a user machine. You could add a code that deletes that file before the application is terminated. Extracting *. Of course, every other type of a binary file can be stored as a RCDATA type. The TRsourceStream is designed specially to help us extract such file from an executable. The possibilities are endless: HTML in an exe, EXE in exe, empty database in an exe, and so and so forth.

Bonkers and Remix Essays

Bonkers and Remix Essays Bonkers and Remix Essay Bonkers and Remix Essay Jingle Bell Rock 2. Armand Van Helden You dont know me (Dave Silcox Remix) 3. Showtek Justin Prime Cannonball 4. Kaskade Ft. Neon Trees Lessons in Love (Headhunterz remix) 5. Isaac DJ Ease My Mind 6. The Prodigy Smack my bitch up (Noisia Remix) 7. Alex Prospect Becci Like it loud (Gammer Alex Prospect remix) 8. N-Force Darren Styles Right by your side (Gammer remix) Scott Brown Definition of a Badboy (Cheever Remix) Compulsion Orbit 1 Got Any Rushins Hixxy Styles It aint hard to tell The Acolyte Electric Styles Breeze Elysium Plus Scott Brown Product of the Devil 2006 Sy Unknown Sky High (Technoboy Remix) DJ Zany 1. Cristian Marchi I Got My Eyes On You [DJ Chuckie Remix] 2. Afrojack feat. Gregor Salto Ill Be There [Original Mix] 3. Tiga You Gonna Want Me [Hey Today Remix] 4. Yolanda Be Cool DCup We No Speak Americano [Original Mix] 5. Yolanda Be Cool DCup We No Speak Americano [High Rankin Dubstep Remix] 6. Doctor P Sweet Shop [Original Mix] 7. Flux Pavilion Got 2 Know [Original Mix] 8. Nero -? Innocence [Original Mix] Intro Miles Dyson Hey Baby Deadmau5 feat. Melleefresh Reward is More Cheese Deadmau5 Riverside Sidney Samson Love is gone (Joachim Garraud Fred Rister remix) David Guetta Bounce (Bloody Beetroots Remix) MSTRKRFT l Kaskade feat. Haley Dynasty (Dada Life Remix) 4:54 Chuckie Cant Hear Anyboody Out There 7:22 No Comment! Sorry I Remember the song and? now that was 2010 I forgot the song 9:05 Afrojack Satisfaction (Afrojack Remix 10:33 Tiesto Comon 12:19 Afrojack Banduck 14:34 Skrillex Harstyle ft. Little Wolfers DJ Kid Medina Deadmau5 and Hardwell (Kid Medina Edit)

How to Write a Good Psychology Essay

How to Write a Good Psychology Essay How to Write a Good Psychology Essay Writing a good psychology essay is not an essay task, as it depends on adhering to appropriate psychology guidelines for writing. The psychology essay topic should be thoroughly researched with qualified and credible academic sources, such as reputable websites, peer-reviewed journals and other reputable publications. In addition, the essay should be properly formatted according to APA style, which is the most widely used writing style by psychology writers. This style is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA). Choosing a Psychology Topic Although you may be allowed to choose your own topic, the professor often assigns psychology essay topics to students. These topics are often in the form of research questions. If you choose the topic, make sure it is course relevant and one that is interesting to you. If it doesn’t interest you, then chances are it won’t interest your readers either. Structuring the Psychology Essay Be sure to follow all required guidelines given by the professor and ask questions if anything is unclear about the assignment. Your first task should be determining an argument for your essay and presenting it well. You need a concise thesis statement explaining what the essay will highlight and attempt to prove, and this should be backed up with credible sources offering evidence and theories which support and oppose the argument. Once the argument has been determined, it can be used as a blueprint for completing the essay. The psychology essay structure should basically consist of six portions: 1) the title, 2) the abstract, 3) the introduction, 4) the body, 5) the conclusion, and 6) the reference page. Title – Make the title concise and interesting enough to capture the reader’s attention and convince the reader to continue reading your essay. Abstract – This is a summary of the essay argument, explaining how the argument will be proven. You should also include what conclusion you aim to come to in the abstract. Introduction – The introduction gives a brief outline of the topic and pertinent issues leading into the argument. It should be no longer than 10% to 12% of the total essay content. Body – This portion is where the essay topic and ideas are organized and is the bulk of the essay content. The body presents the argument and evidence for and against it, and it examines and highlights theoretical research pertaining to the topic. Conclusion – This portion is a concise summary of the main points of the essay. The argument is restated and information on alternative thoughts and reasons for further research are included. References – Be sure to use the proper citation and referencing style assigned by your professor. Psychology essays are usually in APA style.

Ethics Issues in Elderly Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethics Issues in Elderly Care - Essay Example A common dilemma is the evaluation of an old person's capability of decision making, both about management of his affairs, or regarding approval to treatment, or contribution in study. Because cognitive capability is not always indistinguishable with competency, meaningful tools have recently been developed in which the stress is on the precise situation to be examined. The changed interactions among the elderly patient and his or her environment may bring about ethical dilemmas in the behavioral patterns as the result of the pressure of sickness and care giving. Dependence due to physical, emotional, or mental disability in the aged infirm person is often provoked by earlier and coexisting dysfunction. This has effect also on the family who may be responsible for his supervision, and also troubled with the old person's care, and there is often an insistent need for strengthening of the social help needed for this condition. Likewise, the weakness of elderly persons may present delicate ethical issues in the determination of their ability to agree to join forces in clinical research in old age. This paper discusses some of these dilemmas in the management of disability and in the practice of clinical research in old people. These units revolve round the psychology of "I", the subjective insight of identity, and the "Me", the objective perception of the person by others. The question of personhood and what constitutes a "person" must also be addressed if infirmity and illness become dominant features of old age. In a debate defining personhood, it was noticed that the theory of psychological continuity and connectedness would be liable to understand the frenzied person as having a different individuality, because this condition is fundamentally one of disengagement. The sign of the loss of personality is often uttered by the relations: "This is not the father/mother that I have always known". In this situation, his dementia causes him almost to lose his unique sovereignty. According to Hughes, conversely, it is important to see the person as one who is "acting and interacting in a cultural historical context in which he is embedded" This vision of the person as a "situated embedded agent" could therefor e involve that even if he suffers from dementia he is not involuntarily detached from his historical ancestry and, until or unless he reaches a vegetative phase of total ignorance of his environment, he should be considered as keeping hold of some measure of self-sufficiency. AUTONOMY Autonomy is a person's capability and chance to make decisions involving his/her own desires. In a self-governing culture, many sovereign people are self-directed, but not all people with autonomy are unavoidably autonomous. A wheelchair bound person for example, can hold the power to order someone to carry out his requirements, and present communication equipment

Reality Internet Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reality Internet Assignment - Essay Example First of all, reality television is famous for its unexpected twists (Saade & Borgenicht 14). Indeed, the producers argue that there is no script written for the characters and they are absolutely free in their actions. All this results in the fact that it is virtually impossible to predict what happens in an episode since reality television tries to capture life as it is. Secondly, it is obvious that reality television provides the viewers with the content that they really want to see (Slade 156). In other words, there has been a tendency that shows on television reinforce the conventional values in one way or another; so, people get easily fed up with it. They want to see something that is being condemned by the society, but exists in real life. Finally, it may be important to note that the concept of elitism has long been abandoned by the contemporary media (Wyatt & Bunton 1). In other words, the views do not want to see beautiful looking celebrities on the screen: they are willin g to see ordinary people who are engaged in ordinary activities. That is why reality television fully satisfies this desire and shows that people on the screen and in real life are much alike. It may be quite interesting to learn that reality television was able to influence non reality shows. For example, nowadays, when a talk show features a interview in one of the characters, it is conducted in a manner as if the latter confesses some of the most inner thoughts to the camera. This has a certain effect: the audience is touched by the genuine feelings that are expressed and watches the show with a greater interest. Speaking of an example of a recent popular reality show, one might note The Bachelor. There are several reasons why it has attracted so much attention of the people. To begin with, one might note that it reflects dreams of many people which is marrying a wealthy and successful spouse. That is why when

Test#1, Part #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Test#1, Part #2 - Essay Example He objected most people moral norm – that is to â€Å"never† steal ones property, not minding much about giving their excess resources or wealth to the famine victims. He wanted to spread the â€Å"news† that its a moral norm to help and save â€Å"anyone† within your capacity. If one has plenty of money, he can therefore help somebody whos stomach is starving. How about Garrett Hardins remedy? Its more convincing and practical in many ways. Since we all share life on this planet, no single person or institution has the right to destroy, waste, or use more than a fair share of its resources. He clearly explained the ethics of a spaceship with those of a lifeboat. He clearly depicted the system of the commons where no one take control of the major resources that needed to be preserved for some significant reasons. One has to save, one has to protect, and one has to take control in order to preserve room for life in the future. A lifeboat, for instance, is l imited in capacity. Few would survive or else all of them will die. Going to Jonathan Swifts modest proposal – for preventing the children of poor people (in Ireland), from being a burden to their parents, or country, and for making them beneficial for the public – their mother will nurse them, make them fat, and sell them as a nutritious foods for the rich men. So instead of giving additional expenditures, they will turn to be an income to their families, time would eventually come that there is no more beggar, or woman in rag along the street that begs for food. Let me tell you what I comprehended: giving fair share to the famine victims, for example in Bengal refugees cant help them, because its impossible for all of us to act by heart. It was then shown by the amount actually contributed that time by richer nations. If we will talk about the moral norm suggested by Singer, all of

Critically assess what reprehensible behaviour means in section 112 Essay

Critically assess what reprehensible behaviour means in section 112 Criminal Justice Act 2003 - Essay Example Prior to this law, the courts were following complex systems. The 2003 Act was aimed at supplanting these complex systems by establishing a new set of rules. Legislative reforms involve several lacunae, and the new Act is no exception2. It has been observed that the Criminal Justice Act 2003 lacks certainty in various aspects. The chief drawback with this statute is the obscurity that plagues several of its more important principles. This Act states that evidence of reprehensible behaviour is bad character evidence, in the context of criminal proceedings. This definition has been criticised by several legal commentators, who contend that this definition is obscure and uncertain3. The UK’s Parliament had initiated some changes to its criminal justice system. As part of this initiative, it enacted the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This Act was aimed at completely changing the systems established, in respect of criminal convictions4. It made vast and far reaching changes to the admissibility of prior convictions and bad behaviour, as evidence in criminal trials. Before the enactment of the Act, the Courts were reluctant to admit evidence of a defendant’s previous convictions and reprehensible behaviour. This was beneficial to the criminal, whilst being prejudicial to the interests of the victim5. Consequently, Parliament made this legislation, in order to restore justice to the victims, while ensuring fair treatment of defendants. This shift in policy had generated new problems, and there has been widespread criticism against the Act, by many legal scholars. They have contended that this Act reflected the intention of the government to systematically destroy the justice system in the country, in a step by step manner. These debates raise a number of questions, regarding the viability of this new Act, and whether it aims to drastically change the justice system6. Considerable apprehension has also been expressed, as to whether the Act

How plants communicate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How plants communicate - Essay Example They adopt measures that control the resources in the environment, perceive themselves and distinguish between non-self and self thus enabling them to protect their territory. They would process the information and evaluate it and consequently modify their behaviour appropriately. These competencies indicate parallel communication processes in the body of plants, referred to as intraorganismic; between different and same species, referred to as interorganismic; and between plants and their non-plant counterparts, referred to as transorganismic (Witzany, 2010). Intraorganismic communication entails sign-mediated interactions between cells and within cells, referred to as intercellular and intracellular respectively. Intercellular communication processes particularly coordinate growth and development, dynamics and shape, allowing plants to differentially react to physiological influences and developmental status. Witzany and Baluska (2012) observe that finding meaning functions of sign alling molecules would be pegged on coherently investigating interactional patterns where signalling occurs. In these interactions, there would be active coordination and organization of various ordered steps conveyed by signs. These signs encompass a wide array of physical influences and chemical substances. According to Witzany (2010), these chemical molecules used as signs function as memory media, information carriers, messenger substances and signals. With different biotic and abiotic influences, there would be need for different behaviours which determine the set of signs in a given genera, family or species of plants and their production, combination and transportation. Therefore, different communicative processes would be executed with same chemical molecules thus optimizing energy cost. Foraging and Movement in Plants Plants are known to move in response to physical stimuli. Sensitive legumes would fold their leaflets when disturbed by insects with neighbouring leaves foldi ng up upon being wounded. Adler (2011) cites some tropical legumes which lower leaves during heavy but not light rains or alighting insects, a response that accelerates the drying up of the leaf surface. Carnivorous plants would rapidly catch insects and trigger hairs that would take up the meal. These responses in plants could be attributed to osmotic changes in the concentration of ions, action potentials, electrical signals and turgor, compared to actinmyosin system in animals. Through circumnutation, plant organs would undergo subtle movements at their elongation axes, explaining directed and conspicuous movement of plants in response to gravity, light and similar stimuli, thus capturing the required resources (Witzany 2006). Through morphological plasticity, plants efficiently forage for light. Karban (2008) observes that vertical shoots would branch more and elongate less in adequate lighting as opposed to those in limited light. Witzany (2010) further indicates that light tra nsmitted through leaves would have a lower red: far red than unfiltered illumination ratio. Roots would be more abundant in soils with higher nutrients in an attempt to increase the acquisition of resources. Bais, Park, Weir, Callaway, and Vivanco (2004) refer to the underground with densely populated roots which face competition for water, mineral nutrients and space from invading neighbouring root systems as the rhizosphere. Mating and Germination Other than acquisition for resources, plants’ reproductive behaviours show how they respond to environmental cues. Plants that do not get pollinated respond by increasing

Critically assess what reprehensible behaviour means in section 112 Essay

Critically assess what reprehensible behaviour means in section 112 Criminal Justice Act 2003 - Essay Example Prior to this law, the courts were following complex systems. The 2003 Act was aimed at supplanting these complex systems by establishing a new set of rules. Legislative reforms involve several lacunae, and the new Act is no exception2. It has been observed that the Criminal Justice Act 2003 lacks certainty in various aspects. The chief drawback with this statute is the obscurity that plagues several of its more important principles. This Act states that evidence of reprehensible behaviour is bad character evidence, in the context of criminal proceedings. This definition has been criticised by several legal commentators, who contend that this definition is obscure and uncertain3. The UK’s Parliament had initiated some changes to its criminal justice system. As part of this initiative, it enacted the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This Act was aimed at completely changing the systems established, in respect of criminal convictions4. It made vast and far reaching changes to the admissibility of prior convictions and bad behaviour, as evidence in criminal trials. Before the enactment of the Act, the Courts were reluctant to admit evidence of a defendant’s previous convictions and reprehensible behaviour. This was beneficial to the criminal, whilst being prejudicial to the interests of the victim5. Consequently, Parliament made this legislation, in order to restore justice to the victims, while ensuring fair treatment of defendants. This shift in policy had generated new problems, and there has been widespread criticism against the Act, by many legal scholars. They have contended that this Act reflected the intention of the government to systematically destroy the justice system in the country, in a step by step manner. These debates raise a number of questions, regarding the viability of this new Act, and whether it aims to drastically change the justice system6. Considerable apprehension has also been expressed, as to whether the Act

The Case of Coca Cola Gaining a Stake in Innocent Drinks Assignment

The Case of Coca Cola Gaining a Stake in Innocent Drinks - Assignment Example The management body of Innocent however confided that in terms of consumer responsibility they would remain the same in terms of generating natural and healthy products to the consumers while rendering valuable information as to the contents on the product packages and also working in terms of rendering charitable funds. They further mentioned that gaining of funds through the selling of a certain portion of the company’s stake would contribute in enhancing the potential of the concern to fulfill responsibilities related to the consumers and the society in general (Sweney, 2009). Evaluation of the Selling Activity of Innocent’s Stake to Coca Cola The evaluation of the impact of the corporate sell out of Innocent’s Stake to Coca Cola on Innocent’s own image can be made based along certain views and ideologies related to marketing and consumer philosophy. Firstly it needs to be understood that the current age of consumption does not only relate to customer s atisfaction at the subsistence level. Rather it tends to stream out from the level of subsistence to the level of maximization of consumer benefits and other parameters related to leisure, comfort and luxury. This era of change in consumer’s demand patterns has greatly emerged owing to the abundance of resources not only relate to the physical and economic level but where such resources relate to the sociological and cultural triggers that in turn is governing the changes in consumption ideologies. This era of abundance in terms of psychological, sociological and physical resources has also led the consumers to gain a breakthrough from the traditional notions where a move to gain luxurious and comfortable products was taken on an erroneous note. Changes in the economic and societal lifestyle of the consumers act as potential triggers in making them gain interest in new product categories that would help them gain new taste and rise along their social status (Lazer, 1969, p.8) . The case of selling of Innocent’s Stake to Coca Cola relating to the above discussion holds a positive outlook for it would assist Innocent in enhancing its brand and product portfolio. Enhancement of the product portfolio of the juice and smoothie manufacturer would in turn assist the company in penetrating a larger consumer base in the existing markets. Further in addition to gaining funds the above decision of Innocent would largely contribute in its market development activities in foreign markets relating to European regions. Consumers of Innocent through the above change would also gain the chance of earning a taste of other beverages from under the same brand umbrella. The management body of Innocent in the light of selling of a certain portion of the company’s stake to Coca Cola also worked largely in the dimension of public relation activities to help in enhancing and sustaining a positive relationship base with the consumer sphere. Richard Reed, Co-Founder of Innocent through public relation activities tended to reassure the consumers that in spite of the sell-off of the company’s stake every other thing related to product attributes, packaging and

The Search for Spiritual Identity in Adolescents Essay Example for Free

The Search for Spiritual Identity in Adolescents Essay It’s a puzzle with us trying to find the right fit, size and shape where the pieces will fit to make us whole. So we begin by growing, and developing, and learning and moving, and thinking and tasting, and touching and testing, and hugging and loving! We go through different stages of growth and growing, and learning and maturing and changing and aging and ultimately death. This writer believes we are searching for our spiritual identity. The NIV Bible says that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Man’s spiritual identity comes from God! Jesus was about twelve years old according to the NIV Bible when he began his quest for spiritual identity. Luke 2:49 reads: Why were you searching for me? he asked. Didnt you know I had to be in my Fathers house? After a female egg becomes fertilized by a male sperm it becomes a zygote. This living organism is a product of each parent’s chromosomes. This zygote begins a two week period of rapid cell division which eventually becomes an embryo. Eventually, this embryo will become a living being which was produced and created by its two parents. This child’s physical identity comes from his parents! I use the term parent’s very loosely because I am aware that his identity comes from his bloodline or his genes. I am making a point. By far the most provocative theory of identity development is Erik Erikson’s. It was Erikson who first understood how central questions about identity are to understanding adolescent development. Erikson’s fifth developmental stage (identity versus identity confusion) says during this time adolescents (between the ages of eleven to young adult hood) are faced with who they are, what they are all about and where they are going. Erikson framed the best of maturity in the ego identity of what he called the moral-ethical, spiritual human. This human is one with a horizontal, earthly identity and a vertical, transcendent identity, meaning an identity both religious and spiritual that embraces non-physical manifestation. As adolescents search for their spiritual identity researchers have found that various aspects of religion are linked to positive outcomes in adolescents. Religion has been proven to play a role in adolescent’s health and whether or not they engage in problem behaviors (Cotton amp; others, 2006). For example, in a recent national random sample of 2000 11-18 year olds, those who were higher in religiosity were less likely to smoke, drink alcohol, use marijuana, not be truant in school, not engage in delinquent behavior and not be depressed as compared to their counterparts with lower religiosity (Sinha, Cnaan, amp; Gelles, 2006). The initiator of the Baha†i movement, Baha†Ã¢â‚¬ u â€Å"llah in 1863 believed that there were seven mystical stages to human development and he believed as does most Muslims today that human development is closely linked to religious development. He referred to those stages as â€Å"The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys†. They are: * The Valley of Search * The Valley of Love * The Valley of Knowledge * The Valley of Unity * The Valley of Contentment * The Valley of Wonderment * The Valley of the True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness He believed that one has not truly developed unless he has entered in or experienced each of hese stages. During my years of adolescence I was considered somewhat of a spoiled child. My mother sent me to a modeling school to become a trained runway model. By the time I was 13 I have performed in more than 100 different fashion shows in and around Michigan, Illinois and New York. Needless to say my environment consisted of my peers b eing much older than myself. I was constantly traveling and partying and dating older men. When I would return home I would become angry with my mother because she forced me to attend church. Church was always the center of our home. My mother was the secretary at our church for over forty years so we were always there. It seemed as if we were preparing our clothes for church 7 days in advance. So I ravished the opportunity to be out of town or on a modeling assignment on Sundays. When were taught to pray daily, morning, noon and night. My mother always told us the story of Daniel in the bible who prayed three times a day every day. And that is what she expected of us. I was a typical teenager who thought it was a waste of time. By the time I was 16 years old I became pregnant. My worst nightmare had come true. I remember my mother telling us that we should always pray. I began to pray daily asking God to show me how to tell my mother that I had ruined my life. I can almost remember the calm that would come over me whenever I was in prayer. Soon I realized that if God could listen to me and love me and allow that peace to come over me that there really was a God, an everlasting father and a true friend. I got the courage to talk to my mother and tell her how sorry I was and confess to God about the things that I had done knowing that they were not His will. This was the beginning of my transformation. My search had just begun. This began to give me answers to all of my seeking and questioning of myself, my world, my purpose. This bought purpose and stability into my life. Today I can say that I am a Minister of the Gospel and I do not believe I would be where I am not had not I gone through the experience of searching, seeking and finding during my adolescent and young adult years. This is just my story, no theory, just the facts. As man seeks and searches for his spiritual identity his mortality also surfaces. The NIV Bible allows us a peek into ourselves in I Corinthians 13:12, for now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully. As we are seeking to understand adolescent behavior we must remember that they are seeking and searching for who they are and whose they are. During this search they shall encounter experiences that they may not understand, they may even become people that you don’t understand, but with patience, love, guidance, education and prayer you can help them become the person they are looking for and want to become. Sometimes we as parents forget that our children not only need to be educated in the ways of the world and how to become successful healthy, productive adults but they also need to be taught about their spirit man. That part of them they cannot see but they can project in their life style. The part of them that no one else can even know or understand. The loving giving life that was breathed into them by the lover of their soul. The concept of a higher being. The ability to know and to understand that they have to answer to someone greater than themselves. The knowledge of understanding that life does not just revolve around them. This seeking and searching has a beginning but should never have an end. James Fowler believed that one had to go through 6 stages of Faith in order to find their own spiritual identity. | Stage| Description| Simplified version by M. Scott Peck| Stage 1| Intuitive-Projective| This is the stage of preschool children in which fantasy and reality often get mixed together. However, during this stage, our most basic ideas about God are usually picked up from our parents and/or society. | I. Chaotic-Antisocial| People stuck at this stage are usually self-centered and often find themselves in trouble due to their unprincipled living. If they do end up converting to the next stage, it often occurs in a very dramatic way. | Stage 2| Mythic-Literal| When children become school-age, they start understanding the world in more logical ways. They generally accept the stories told to them by their faith community but tend to understand them in very literal ways. [A few people remain in this stage through adulthood. ]| | | Stage 3| Synthetic-Conventional| Most people move on to this stage as teenagers. At this point, their life has grown to include several different social circles and there is a need to pull it all together. When this happens, a person usually adopts some sort of all-encompassing belief system. However, at this stage, people tend to have a hard time seeing outside their box and dont recognize that they are inside a belief system. At this stage, authority is usually placed in individuals or groups that represent ones beliefs. [This is the stage in which many people remain. ]| II. Formal-Institutional| At this stage people rely on some sort of institution (such as a church) to give them stability. They become attached to the forms of their religion and get extremely upset when these are called into question. Stage 4| Individuative-Reflective| This is the tough stage, often begun in young adulthood, when people start seeing outside the box and realizing that there are other boxes. They begin to critically examine their beliefs on their own and often become disillusioned with their former faith. Ironically, the Stage 3 people usually think that Stage 4 people have become backsliders when in reality they have actually moved forward. | III. Skeptic-Individual| Those who break out of the previous stage usually do so when they start seriously questioning things on their own. A lot of the time, this stage ends up being very non-religious and some people stay in it permanently| Stage 5| Conjunctive Faith| It is rare for people to reach this stage before mid-life. This is the point when people begin to realize the limits of logic and start to accept the paradoxes in life. They begin to see life as a mystery and often return to sacred stories and symbols but this time without being stuck in a theological box. | IV. Mystical-Communal| People who reach this stage start to realize that there is truth to be found in both the previous two stages and that life can be paradoxical and full of mystery.

Impact of Credit Risk Management on Profitability

Impact of Credit Risk Management on Profitability Credit Risk arises because there is a possibility of a risk that the counterparty defaults on the loans and bonds held by the institution (Cornett) The Ultimate advantages of Credit Risk Management are being accepted by Financial Institutions now and Risk Managers are focusing on different Risk Management Models in looking for different Business Opportunities (Heinemann). However in general Financial Institutions that make Loans or buy bonds with long maturities are more exposed than Financial Institutions that make loans or buy bonds with short maturities. This means for example that banks, thrifts and life insurance companies are more exposed to Credit Risk than are money market mutual funds, since Banks and life insurance companies tend to hold longer maturity assets in their Portfolios than mutual funds. (Cornett) Basel is an agreement that requires the imposition of risk-based capital ratios on banks in major industrialized countries. Considering the weaknesses of the simple capital-to-assets ratio, members of Bank for International Settlements (BIS) along with U.S decided to implement two new risk-based capital ratios for all commercial banks under their jurisdiction in 1988. The BIS phased in and fully implemented these risk based capital ratios on January 1, 1993, under what has been known as the Basel Accord (now called Basel I). Credit risks of assets are included into Capital adequacy ratio into Basel Agreement of 1993. This was followed with a revision in 1998 in which market risk was incorporated into risk-based capital in the form of an add-on to the 8 percent ratio for credit risk exposure. In 2001, the BIS issued a consultative document, It was proposed in the basel-II or the new basel system that the operational risk should be the part of Capital requirements with effect from 2007 and updated the credit risk assessments in 1993 agreement. This agreement was adopted in June, 2004. (Cornett) Basel-II or the new basel system consists of three pillars which are discussed below, these three pillars play a vital role in the safety and soundness of the entire financial system. PILLAR 1 CREDIT RISK: On Balance Sheet and Off Balance Sheet (Standardized vs. Internal Ratings Based approach) MARKET RISK: Standardized vs. Internal Ratings Based approach OPERATIONAL RISK: Basic Indicator vs. Standardized vs. Advance measurement approach) PILLAR II Regulatory supervisory review so as to complement and enforce minimum Capital Requirements calculated under Pillar 1 PILLAR III Requirements on rules for disclosure of Capital Structure, risk exposures, and Capital Adequacy so as to increase Financial Institutions transparency and Enhance Market/Investor Discipline. Like in every other Country in Pakistan also the State Bank of Pakistan issued a Road Map or Guidelines for Implementation of Basel-II in Pakistan and the deadline issued by State bank for the completion was December 2006. PROBLEM STATEMENT Capital Regulation, Supervision and Market Discipline are the foundation of Basel-II, and to improve the Risk Management Procedures for bringing stability in the financial System, the Banks and Financial Institutions were required to establish an adequate setup and report to SBP the name and other Particulars of the Person responsible for Implementation before 31st May 2005 We will study the impact of Basel II on the credit risk management by considering two parameters i.e. NPLR and CAR. By studying these ratios, we find out that how Basel II is useful in management and reduction of risk and finally determine the role of credit risk management in increasing the profits of banks. RESEARCH QUESTION As per the background discussed earlier, out task is to research: The impact of credit risk management on the profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan. PURPOSE Our research will find out the importance credit risk management in the profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan and how Basel II helps in reduction of credit risk and management by using some techniques and methods that will control the amount of non-performing loans. The purpose of the research is to explain the impact of credit risk management on profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan, that what is the role of BASEL-II in the management and reduction of credit risk by controlling the amount of non performing loans through methods, Processes and limits imposed in BASEL II. JUSTIFICATION Our research will explain the influence of credit risk management on the profitability of commercial banks. This research will be very helpful for the banking industry in Pakistan as it is directly related to the profitability of banks. It will provide them with the guidelines that how they could manage and minimize the credit as per the rules and regulations provided in Basel document. SCOPE Our research is significant and important in a way that it will determine the dependency of profitability on credit risk management and it will study Basel I and Basel II and determine their difference and whether the regulations in Basel II puts any betterment in managing the risk. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY We are conducting our research on the private commercial banks of Pakistan based on the conventional banking system. It will help us on concentrating and focusing only on one sector of banking industry and determine valid and authentic results. Public sector banks, Islamic banks, investment banks, micro-finance banks are included in the research. Basel II was put into account from December 2006 that is why we have included the data from financial statements of 2007 to 2009 as we have studying the relation between profitability and credit risk management after Basel II is implemented. The study is limited to two independent variables for measuring credit risk management that are NPLR and CAR, and one dependent variable for measuring profitability which is ROE, the reason for choosing the above mentioned variables will be discussed in the methodology. LITERATURE REVIEW ROE PROFITABILITY INDICATOR ROE (Return on Equity) refers to the ratio of Net Income to the Total equity capital. ROE indicates that how much the bank has earned with the investors capital. It measures that how well and efficiently a company uses its investors funds to generate profit. It is used as a comparative too between two companies or banks. Its the ratio of net income and share holders equity. But in the Case of Bank ROE can be increased if the Capital decreases, but as the Capital decreases, the bank is exposed to risk of insolvency, and thats the reason that regulators continuously monitor the minimum capital requirements for Banks. ROA(Return on Assets) indicates that how efficiently the management uses its assets to generate income. Its the ratio of net income and total assets. Both ROA and ROE are expressed in percentage. CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT INDICATORS According to a research of Risk management practices followed by commercial banks in Pakistan. It was identified that the major risk faced by banks in Pakistan as well as internationally is the Credit Risk. Because the core banking business is all about creation of Credit, through which commercial banks generate their Profits. When it comes to Credit Risk, the most important aspect are the financing decisions followed by the commercial banks, because ultimately it ends into Credit risk. The State bank has also introduced some tough regulations when financing individual as well as SMEs and Corporate Customers, such as obtaining the BBFS(Borrowers basic fact sheet) and other restrictions as mentioned in the Prudential Regulations. Now what indicates that Credit Risk is increasing for the Banks is the NPLR(Non Performing Loans Ratio) which indicates that the financing generated by the banks are not recovering and as such the Non performing Loans are increasing which ultimately leads to Credit Risk. (Nasr, 2009) CAPITAL TO ASSETS RATIO It measures the Ratio of a Banks Book value of core Capital to the Assets book value. The Lower this Ratio, the more highly leveraged the bank is. Primary or core Capital Banks common Equity (book value) and perpetual preferred stock plus minority interests in consolidated subsidiaries (Cornett). RISK IN BANKS As Banks perform different financial services to their Clients they face many types of risk. There are number of assets in a banks Portfolio which are subject to different types of risks, such as default or Credit Risk. As Banks expand their services, they are exposed to foreign exchange risk. When the Assets and Liabilities in the Balance Sheet of Banks mismatch, they are further exposed to a risk known as Interest Rate Risk. If financial institutions actively trade these assets they are further exposed to Market Risk or asset price risk. Increasingly FIs hold contingent assets and liabilities off the balance sheet which represents off balance sheet risk, Moreover some all Financial Institution and Banks are exposed to some degree of Liability or withdrawal which exposes them to Liquidity risk. Finally the Risk that the Bank may not have enough Capital reserves to offset a sudden loss incurred as a result of one or more of the risks they face creates insolvency risk for the Banks. ( HOUSTON, 2008) CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is used by Regulators of Banking System to assess the Banks financial Position especially the Capital to Assets Ratio as it does not falls below the required level so the bank is stable enough against the losses. State Bank of Pakistan the Regulator of Commercial Banks in Pakistan Monitor the Capital Adequacy Ratio of Commercial Banks to Provide Protection to the Depositors. A minimum Capital Ratio affects the leverage of Commercial Bank since highly leverage commercial Banks are more towards the chance of Credit and Interest rate risk and ultimately falling into Bankruptcy There are major 2 types of Capital for Banks. Tier-I Capital is closely linked to banks book value of equity, reflecting the contribution of a banks owners. Tier two is a broad array of secondary capital resources, which includes the loan reserves upto 1.25 % of risk adjusted assets plus various debt instruments. BENEFITS OF CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIO In the initial Phase capital adequacy ratio does not take into account different risk Profiles of different class of Money market instruments, since some assets are highly risky and some debt instruments are almost risk free, such as Government bonds, where as the some instruments such as loans granted to Individual by a commercial bank can result in a default which accounts for Risk. So the advantage of Capital adequacy is as it takes into account risk profiles of all investment. (Schweser, 2008) BANKING REGULATIONS IN PAKISTAN The banks in Pakistan works under the BANKING COMPANIES ORDINANCE, 1962 (L VII OF 1962) and THE BANKING COMPANIES RULES 1963 made under the ordinance. (As amended up to 30th June, 2007) (State Bank of Pakistan, 2007)) METHODOLOGY RESEARCH APPROACH While doing the research, we are focusing on our research task and not to go beyond our specified boundary. Thus, were using deductive approach. We are also referring previous researches and theories related to our field of interest because we are studying a general phenomena i.e. relationship between profitability and credit risk management in conventional banking system of Pakistan. We are using quantitative method of study. We analyze the data with the help of regression model and the annual reports of the selected banks. The regression output makes us answer our research question. RESEARCH RESIGN We are conducting the research based on two factors i.e. profitability of banks and credit risk management thats why the design of research is co-relational. Our research will explain the relationship between the two and how credit risk management affects the profitability of banks in Pakistan. RESEARCH STRATEGY We are identifying the impact of credit risk management on profitability and For it, we have adopted the strategy of taking help from the previous records, studies and researches in this field and the statistics and data required for performing the test is obtained from the annual reports of the respective banks available on their websites. SAMPLING The population for the research consists of 20 private commercial banks out of the 54 banks operating in Pakistan. All the 20 chosen banks are working under conventional banking system as we are only focusing on conventional banks and all other banks such as Islamic banks, investment banks, micro-finance banks and public sector banks are not included in our research. The reason for this is to appropriately focus on one sector. On the basis of random sampling, 15 commercial banks are selected: Habib bank Ltd, MCB Bank ltd, Allied Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, Standard Chartered, Bank Alfalah, Faysal Bank Ltd, Bank Al-Habib, NIB Bank ltd, My Bank, RBS, Atlas bank, Arif habib Bank, Habib Metropoliton bank, JS Bank and Askari Bank ltd. In this research we are establishing the relation between profitability and credit risk management after implementation of BASEL II in Dec2006, therefore data is obtained from annual reports of 2007 to 2009. There are total 30 observations for each of the var iable used in this research. DATA COLLECTION Data and statistics for the tests are obtained from annual reports of 2007 to 2009. Well consider credit risk management disclosure, financial statements and notes to financial statements within the annual reports of the sample banks. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS No research instrument is required in our research because the data used to conduct tests is secondary obtained from the annual reports of the banks from 2007 to 2009. DATA ANALYSIS Multiple regression analysis is used in our research i.e. the relationship of one dependent variable to multiple independent variables. The regression outputs are obtained by using SPSS APPLIED REGRESSION MODEL Dependent variable ROE and independent variables NPLR and CAR are considered in our study and all of them are numeric type. Therefore, multiple linear regression model is applied. DEPENDENT VARIABLE In many of the previous researches, ROE is used for the profitability of banks, Therefore, we have also used it as the indicator of profitability in the regression analysis.. According to Foong Kee K. (2008) indicated that the efficiency of banks can be measured by using the ROE which illustrates to what extent banks use reinvested income to generate future profits. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE NPLR and CAR are the indicators of credit risk management and they chosen as the independent variables because credit risk management affects the profitability of banks. NPLR, in particular, indicates how banks manage their credit risk because it defines the proportion of NPL amount in relation to TL amount. NPL amount is provided in the Notes to financial statements under Loans section. And the total loan amount is provided in the balance sheet of the banks in their annual reports. TL amount, the denominator of the ratio, has been gathered by adding two types of loans: loans to institutions and loans to the public. Thus, calculation of the NPLR has been accomplished in following way: NPLR = (NPL amount) Ã · (TL amount) CAR, CAR is regulatory capital requirement (Tier 1 + Tier 2) as the percentage of Risk weighted asset. The bank has to maintain a specific percentage of CAR to manage their Credit risk according to requirement of State bank of Pakistan. The minimum requirement for Banks on consolidated as well as standalone basis has been increased to 10%. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY While doing the research two concepts must be taken into account i.e. reliability and validity. Reliability refers that the data is consistent and whatever be the conditions, it would be remain same. But its not necessary that every reliable and consistent data is valid. If we have any systematic error in the instrument then every time it would be encountered in the measurement, thus the observations would be reliable but not valid. In our research, we have taken the data from the annual reports of banks available at their websites. These are the official reports made by the rigorous efforts by the management of banks and authenticated by the higher management; therefore the facts and figures in it would be valid as well as reliable and will help us in getting true results. CONCLUSION The aim of the study is to determine the impact of credit risk management on profitability. It is important to note that sample size represents 75% of the total population i.e. private commercial banks. That covers the major portion of the population, giving more accurate results. The results obtained from the regression model show that there is an affect of credit risk management on profitability on reasonable level with 41.8% possibility of NPLR and CAR in predicting the variance in ROE. So, the credit risk management strategy defines profitability level to an important extent. Especially, NPL amount appears to be adding the most weight to that than CAR. CAR is having negative impact on ROE, but on the other hand the significance value of CAR is 0.171which is greater than the p-value i.e. 0.05, which means that the value of coefficient for CAR is zero, making the affect of CAR on ROE nil. Only NPLR is significantly affecting the value of ROE. In the end it is to be recommended that bank should focus on maintaining and controlling amount of non performing loans to ultimately getting higher ROE, which ensures the better profitability.