Essay about Hiv and Aids in Prisons - 1629 Words

Running head: HIV and AIDS in Prison HIV and AIDS in Prisons Heather Cooper CJ242 Mr. Thompson April 24, 2013 Kaplan College-Southeast Abstract The following pages contain information on the AIDS and HIV epidemic within the United States prison system. The characteristics of these inmates will be discussed and how well this population adjusts to the environment. There are some treatments and services provided to these inmates in and outside the walls of the prison. The public views are not very friendly, but the criminal justice system is trying to make it easy for the inmates to return back to society with help on how to cope with the disease. HIV and AIDS in Prisons HIV and AIDS are a serious threat for prison†¦show more content†¦The Public’s View This population is not one population that the public ridicules so much. However they are in fear of these inmates getting out of prison and transferring the disease without notifying the other person that they are infected with HIV or AIDS. This can be a bigger problem than what people think especially if the partner to the inmate is unaware of the disease and goes to another partner with the disease they now unknowingly carry. This can become a huge threat to society. These inmates need to also know that knowingly having intercourse with someone and knowingly being infected during intercourse without telling the other person can be a felony which could land them back behind bars. People need to learn that there is no such thing as safe sex and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking your partner to get tested for STDs. It protects you as well as the m. Condoms are there for a reason not just to prevent pregnancy but also to keep many STDs from being passed from one person to another. There should be programs in place to educate people about the transference of STDs and to let them know that most of these STDs are being passed around in our prison systems unknowingly. Case Study In 1995, a man walked into a Minneapolis convenience store with his fingers in his pocket pointed like a gun. He was hoping the police would shoot him and kill him. This man was Aaron Burks, Sr. whoShow MoreRelatedControlling Managing Hiv/Aids In Prisons. Hiv/Aids Is1376 Words   |  6 PagesManaging HIV/AIDS in Prisons HIV/AIDS is a serious health threat for prison populations, and presents significant challenges for prison management to control. In prison populations around the world, the prevalence of HIV is often higher than that of the general population. In some cases, the prevalence of HIV infection in prisons is up to a hundred times higher than in the community. Even in countries with large heterosexual HIV epidemics, such as in Africa, studies have shown that rates of HIV infectionRead MoreThe Prevalence Of Hiv Among Offenders1750 Words   |  7 Pagesescalating incidences of HIV among offenders are primarily the result of their involvement in high-risk behaviours, such as needle sharing and unsafe sex (Dolan et al., 2014). Studies have shown that for various reasons, offenders engage in more frequent high-risk behaviours than people in the general population (Canadian Aids Society, 2000). For example AVERT, an HIV and AIDS charity, states that: â€Å"prison conditions are often ideal b reeding grounds for onward transmission of HIV infection. They areRead MorePresident Obama And His Agencies826 Words   |  4 PagesPresident Obama and his agencies: President Obama has made an assertive effort to address this epidemic. He tasked the Office of National HIV/AIDS Policy (ONAP) to develop and implement a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The NHAS is has three goals. Firstly, to reduce HIV incidence, next to increase access to care and to optimize health outcomes, and lastly to reduce HIV related health disparities. In the opening page of the NHAS President Obama urges us all to get involved, the states, cities and localRead MoreLowering the Risk of Spreading HIV1269 Words   |  5 Pagestoo detailed? Executive Summary HIV, also known as the human immunodeficiency virus, can have diminishing effects on the body’s immune system. Unlike other viruses, such as the flu, the body cannot get rid of HIV. This virus attacks T-cells (T-cells play a huge role in cell immunity), and replicates itself among the attacked T-cells. When too many of the cells have been attacked, and the body can longer fight infection, the HIV infection can then transform into AIDS. (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome)Read MoreThe Effects of HIV Related Stigma841 Words   |  3 PagesMSM, all of which reproduce stigma. For this reason, prisons have been generally neglected in government priorities and public action; in Zambia, it was not until 1990 when efforts began to address these problems, long after developments for other high risk groups such as sex workers and truck drivers (Simooya Sanjobo 2001: 241). This section focuses on stigma toward PLWHIV and MSM to explore the intersecting dimensions of stigma in prisons and how they contribute to differential health outcomesRead MoreThe Incarcerated Individuals Within The Correctional Facilities711 Words   |  3 Pagesfacilities in Canada make up one of the highest risk population groups for HIV and it continues to be a significant problem within the Canadian correctional facilities (Chu, Elliott, Canadian HIV/AIDS network, 2009). Canadian prisoners make up a substantial chunk of the individuals infected with HIV as whole, inside and outside of the prison system (Chu, Peddle, Canadian HIV-AIDS Legal Network, 2010). The HIV rate in Canadian prisons remains relatively stable, which is good news, however, there is notRead MoreResearch Proposal, Part I977 Words   |  4 Pagesinmates engage in drug-related and sexual risk behaviors, and the transmission of HIV, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted diseases occurs in correctional facilities. However, there is uncertainty about the extent of transmission, and hyperbolic descriptions of its extent ma y further stigmatize inmates and elicit punitive responses. Whether infection was acquired within or outside correctional facilities, the prevalence of HIV and other infectious diseases is much higher among inmates than among thoseRead MoreCorrections Trends1053 Words   |  5 PagesCorrections Trend Evolution Roshanda Washington CJA/394 July 10, 2013 Tamra Washington Correction Trends Evolution Prisons are at a higher demand in this economy. As our world expands there are more crimes that are on rise and more individuals who are being sloppy and being caught for the crimes that they are committing. With more people being captured that leaves less space to house these criminals. We face more problems now than we did in the earlier years, now individuals are committingRead MoreAbstract. In This Paper, We Will Identify One Of The Healthy1541 Words   |  7 Pagesmajor role in the prison system is disease prevention. Nurses have a crucial role in disease prevention by their involvement in the screening, identification, treatment, and education of diseases that may affect entire populations or communities. In this paper, we will discuss one of these diseases that Healthy People 20/20 have identified. Objective Healthy People 20/20 identified HIV disease as one of their objectives to be successful in the prevention and transmission of the HIV infection amongRead MoreThe Epidemic Of Hiv And Hiv1361 Words   |  6 PagesThe first cases of AIDS that were reported in the United States began in the early 1980s. Today, more than 1.1 million people are living with HIV. In response to this HIV epidemic, at least 35 states have implemented HIV-specific criminal laws that penalize HIV-positive people for exposing others to the virus. These laws impose criminal penalties to HIV positive people that knowingly and potentially expose others to the virus. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, also known

Should Student Athletes Be Paid - 1323 Words

A topic that is very controversial for everyone is, should student-athletes in college be compensated? There numerous evidence that supports in favor and many against the proposition of paying student- athletes who play sports for their university. As a college athlete, students are putting their bodies on the line each game they play. There’s possibility of suffering a traumatic brain injury or being paralyze after physical contact. These athletes are sacrificing their bodies and physical health at an opportunity to play a game which they love, and hopefully play it in the professional level. While that’s taking place, college football and basketball are big business that keep expanding. College sports bring in a large amount of revenues. The result is that many of them fail to graduate. Paying college athletes would not ruin amateur sport because even though most college athletes do get scholarship and should focus on their education it doesn’t help them if mo st of the time they are not attending classes to be in practice or games. College sports do make a high-income and athletes deserve a portion of the revenue they bring their programs. Throughout out the sport, colleges over the United States cash in millions of dollars because of shoe and apparel sponsorship deals but Athletes aren t get any part of it when they deserve a fair amount. Even though of the students go to college on full scholarship and when there done with school their debt-free. In an article, CollegeShow MoreRelatedStudent Athletes Should Not Be Paid934 Words   |  4 Pagessomebody to work two fulltime jobs and not get paid for it. Nobody would think it would be fair to work so hard and not receive any form of compensation. This is exactly what is happening to student athletes. Student athletes are not only fulltime students, but also are fulltime athletes. There are two very decisive sides to this argument. On one side the NCAA claims that the student athletes are amateurs and cannot be paid. They also claim they are paid in other ways such as a full ride scholarshipRead MoreStudent Athletes Should Be Paid1299 Words   |  6 Pagesof dollars of f of student athletes every year. Should the NCAA start sharing the profits with these student athletes, which every year help grow the NCAA brand? It’s an important question that seems to come up every day on television, the internet, and even in the newspaper. Student athletes are going to college on scholarships which are sold to them by coaches, scouts, and other school administration as a commitment to the student’s future. All they ask is for the student athlete to make a commitmentRead MoreStudent Athletes Should Be Paid1314 Words   |  6 PagesStudent athletes in college are held to a higher standard than normal students since they are juggling a lot more in their lives. Student athletes have to set aside a lot of time for practice while still maintaining good grades and a social life. Some people believe that because of this demanding schedule that student athletes should be paid. Where on the other hand many believe that they shouldn’t since they cho ose to be on a sports team, this is a topic that is debated upon by many. One solutionRead MoreStudent Athletes Should Not Be Paid927 Words   |  4 Pagesthe average cost of college for a student to go attend an in-state four year public university (â€Å"College Costs†). This amount does not include housing, food, books, or supplies; this can end up totaling near $10,000, but imagine if both of these figures were paid for you. This would mean you would pay nothing to attend a four year college, and this is the reality for many individuals today; these people are commonly known as student-athletes. Many student-athletes receive full scholarships to schoolsRead MoreShould Student Athletes Be Paid?1270 Words   |  6 PagesAthletic Association (NCAA), it also contributes to the income of colleges and the NCAA. Without student athletes, these colleges and the NCAA would not reap the benefits of college athletics, such as: increased awareness of colleges, higher application ra tes, and of course the revenue brought in from game and event tickets, apparel, and contracts for licensing and television rights. Since the student athletes, who devote a great deal of time to their sport, are the cog in the machine that is the NCAARead MoreShould Student Athletes Be Paid?1159 Words   |  5 PagesTyson Hartnett says, â€Å"Contrary to what all the opponents believe, being an athlete is a full-time job. On a typical day, a player will wake up before classes, get a lift or conditioning session in, go to class until 3 or 4 p.m., go to practice, go to mandatory study hall, and then finish homework or study for a test.For a little extra money to see a movie or go out to dinner once a week, my freshman roommate worked a job at the university, earning about $7/hour. He would work his butt off all dayRead MoreShould Student Athletes Be Paid?1577 Words   |  7 Pages Whether or not student-athletes should be paid has been a hotly debated topic since the 1900s. College athletes spend just as much time, if not more time, practicing and devoting time and energy to sports as they do academics. For this, many athletes are rewarded with scholarship money. However, many people believe it is not enough. Should we pay student-athletes a slice of the wealth or is a full-ride scholarship enough? (Business Insider). What if the athlete gets injured? Where does the moneyRead MoreShould Student Athlete Be Paid?1837 Words   |  8 PagesShould student-athlete be paid? The idea of paying college athletes to compete is not new, unlike most people think. This debate has been around since the 1800’s. The college sports industry makes about $11 billion in annual revenues. Fifty colleges report annual revenues that exceed $50 million. Nationally in 2010-11, the top 15 college basketball programs generated roughly $293 million, less than a third of what the top 15 football programs generated, baseball makes very little money compare toRead MoreShould Student Athletes Be Paid?1691 Words   |  7 PagesIt is mid-February and for college athletes and fans everywhere that means that the College Football â€Å"Bowl† season is over and â€Å"March Madness† is around the corner. The â€Å"Bowl† Season is a series of college football games from the elite teams, sponsored by various corporations and â€Å"March Madness† is a 68 team single elimination tournament to decide who the best team in college basketball is. For the stud ents involved they get a chance to have their legacy live on forever and for some it is a chanceRead MoreEssay on Student Athletes Should Not Be Paid941 Words   |  4 PagesStudent Athletes Should Not Be Paid In the world of college athletics there are endless topics discussed daily and most pertain to money. An issue that falls under this category includes the heated debate involving whether or not student athletes should receive money. Many people say student athletes should receive compensation according to their specific needs because they spend so much time earning their scholarship and have no time to work. On the other hand, the stronger argument is student

Cultural Differences Free Essays

Human resources (HR) face several dilemmas on the international stage. Often, these dilemmas are related to cultural determinants that may deeply affect HR strategies and practices. The main aim of this study is to address the topic of cultural diversity within organisations operating in highly divergent cultures. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultural Differences or any similar topic only for you Order Now In particular, the analysis will be focused on the strategies and practices implemented by Italian companies to manage HR in China, by estimating the growing influence of Chinese cultural values on the dynamics and complexity of intercultural human resource management (HRM) and suggesting that different approaches should characterise companies’ strategies when dealing with distinct cultural backgrounds. The study, which was undertaken with 149 executives from Italian companies in Mainland China, demonstrates the degree of knowledge of a cultural environment has a direct correlation with HR strategies and practices. The results show that a better knowledge of cultural values of Chinese individuals may represent a strategic tool to Italian companies in China. The findings of the study have potential to help decision makers of Italian companies to develop strategies able to overcome cultural barriers, to formulate effective HRM policies and to increase company competitive advantage. Introduction Observing an image in a mirror is the common example used by several scholars to represent a business relationship between Western and Chinese counterparts (Hofstede Bond 1988, Trompenaars Hampden-Turner 1998). Actually, operating in China could be better represented by the reflection in a pond. Like the image reflected by the water, the edges of the intercultural business relationship may appear not clearly defined. What is considered usual or common in the Western experience may involve distinct and non easily comprehensible meanings in China. This is mainly due to the fact that individuals tend to use their own cultural values to interpret actions and behaviours of other members of different cultures. This often leads to serious miscommunication problems. As a consequence, business relationships between Western and Chinese companies may be affected by different degrees of cultural conflicts and misunderstandings. The main literature has identified a set of critical determinants that are linked to the economic success of Western companies in China (Hofstede Bond 1988, Ward, Pearson Entrekin 2002, Fang 2006, Chinta Capar 2007). The most part of them is related to cultural issues, business etiquette, language skills, Chinese politics and history, negotiation strategies, communication and logistics. In particular, knowledge and comprehension of Chinese culture and etiquette represent a fundamental key to unlock the opportunities offered by the Chinese market. The significance of family and group ties, the concepts of guanxi, ‘face’ and harmony, Confucian ethics and philosophy deeply characterise the Chinese socio cultural framework and influence individuals’ and group behaviour as well as interpersonal and business relationships. Therefore, companies interested in penetrating the Chinese market should carefully comprise a proper evaluation of the potential outcomes of cultural aspects when planning their strategies. As stated by Adler (2002), one of the most important challenges of the 21st century is to create multinational organisations able to support an economically vibrant and culturally diverse global society. In an international context, characterised by tendencies of global integration and local differentiation, several scholars have stressed the need to develop HR strategies and practices as fundamental sources of competitive advantage (De Cieri 2003, Schuler Jackson 2007). In spite of the significant changes of the international markets, many organisations tend to use traditional tools to manage human capital on global scenarios, based on the mere transfer of HRM solutions from the home country to the international markets. This choice often leads the firm to face several problems that may affect its economic results in the foreign market. Therefore, in order to trace a long term path on distant and different markets it is necessary to develop strategies to manage human capital able to encompass a particular attention to cultural issues (Dowling, Schuler Welch 1994). Cultural determinants still have a deep influence on the Chinese society, and by means of shaping individuals’ behaviour and their ways of thinking and acting, they also affect business and organisational relationships (Su Nie 2008). Therefore, the knowledge of these aspects and their correct management within an organisation is a lever that may lead the company towards successful paths in China. Nonetheless, Western firms tend to give negligible importance to the problems that may arise in a cultural different universe. This short sighted position does not consider that these difficulties may generate barriers able to negatively influence the economic and financial management of the firm. This study aims at suggesting a study model, in order to analyse the relations between the degree of knowledge of the main Chinese cultural values and HRM in China, by providing empirical evidence of the central role that should characterise cultural sensitivity in leading HR strategies and practices. In particular, the analysis will be focused on Italian companies in China. The choice of Italian firms lies in their peculiar socio cultural framework. As suggested by Hofstede (1991), the results calculated for Italy, in terms of power distance, individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance are remarkably different from those computed for China. Indeed, there is widespread understanding the cultural background of a country affects the organisational structure of a company, with particular reference to the strategies, policies and practices followed to manage the human capital. Therefore, more powerful company strategies are likely to integrate cultural sensitivity and adaptation when dealing with different cultural environments. Merely transferring HRM policies to cultural diverse markets often means generating unsolvable problems for the firm. With reference to these issues, the study addresses how Italian firms manage culturally diverse HR in order to reconcile the cultural dilemma and develop successful paths in the Chinese market. Literature Review and Hypotheses Cultural differences influence the organisational performance of a firm by a complex interaction between individuals and environment. The environment can be considered as the sum of organisational and group forces (Cox 1993). Group assumptions can affect motivation and satisfaction degrees as well as behaviour and results of individuals. Besides, the individual level can influence the organisational dimension, in terms of quality, productivity, absenteeism, turnover, profitability and market shares. Together with these indirect effects, it is possible to stress a direct impact of cultural divergence on organisational performance. More precisely, the degree of diversity, within formal and informal structures of an organisation, affects creativity levels, problem solving capabilities and intra organisational communication (Gilbert, Stead Ivancevich 1999). Several authors have suggested the growing impact of cultural issues on HRM. In particular, Laurent (1986) stated that HRM reflects culturally determined patterns. Newman and Nollen (1996) pointed out that work teams can achieve better results if their management practices are compatible with national cultures. In order to develop human capital results and improve firm performance, companies should adapt their HRM practices to the culture of the host country. Cultural issues deeply affect HRM, especially in international markets (De Cieri 2003, Erez 2006). The determinants of international human resource management (IHRM) are influenced by the tension between global integration and market peculiarities (Hannon, Huang Jaw 1995). As a result, a standardised approach to HRM can create significant problems for companies, mainly due to the lack attention towards cultural diversity (Adler 1983). Chinese Cultural Values Although several scholars have analysed the influence of cultural diversity on managerial issues in China (Hofstede Bond 1984, Boisot Child 1999, Martin Larsen 1999, Jaw, et al. 2007), and most of them have mainly examined the role played by guanxi (Alston 1989, Fan 2002, Luo 2007, Gu, Hung Tse 2008), only few have focused on other fundamental Chinese cultural determinants: jiating, renqing, ganqing, lian and mianzi, li jie and ke qi as well as feng su xi guan (Garrott 1995, Leung Chan 2003, Fang 2006, Qian, Razzaque Keng 2007). Guanxi is based on interpersonal ties and can be described as a personal connection, in which an individual is able to persuade another to accomplish a favour or service, or be persuaded. It can also be interpreted as a network of contacts, to which a person can appeal when something is needed and through which he or she can exercise influence on behalf of another. Guanxi obligations can sometimes be described in terms of an extended family and the relationships created through the guanxi medium are personal and not transferable (Boisot Child 1999, Fan 2002, Gu, et al. 2008). However, guanxi cannot be considered as the only value of the entire Chinese culture. Other fundamental elements should be deeply analysed. In particular, jiating reflects Chinese familiar relations. Boisot and Child (1999) suggested that the family represents the foundation of the Chinese society. Faure and Fang (2008) considered that family and group links deeply influence individual behaviour in China. Renqing represents the moral obligation to maintain the relationship and deals with the exchange of favours, in respect of social norms and behavioural codes. Wang (2007) defined renqing in terms of empathy between two people. Ganqing reflects the depth of feeling within an interpersonal relationship. Adler, Campbell and Laurent (1989), and Haley and Haley (2006a) pointed out its importance within working groups: ganqing plays a central role in maintaining and developing the relations based on guanxi, changing impersonal business relationships into more personal links. Lian and mianzi are concepts related to the idea of ‘face’. Lian can be described as the confidence of a society in the moral character of a person, while mianzi represents the social perceptions of the prestige of a person. ‘Face’ is important within Chinese social relations because it affects goodwill and is related to power and influence. The loss of lian would result in a loss of trust within a social network, while the loss of mianzi would result in a loss of authority (Ho 1976, Fang 2006, Faure Fang 2008). Li jie and ke qi refer to customs and etiquette. Leung and Chan (2003), and Faure and Fang (2008) identified the strict relationship between these values and the concept of harmony: group harmony should always be protected; personal emotions are hidden under a surface of harmony. Feng su xi guan reflects tradition and past orientation of the Chinese society. Garrott (1995), and Qian, et al. (2007) considered that tradition and past orientation may impact on the behaviour of Chinese individuals. Even though it is particularly difficult to reduce the complexity of a cultural universe to a finite number of determinants, it is believed that these seven Chinese cultural dimensions are able to provide an adequate representation of the main Chinese cultural values, beliefs and principles. Knowledge of Chinese Culture and HR Training and Development Several scholars have stressed the relationship between a better comprehension of local cultural traits and HR training and development schemes. In particular, it is believed that Italian companies should improve their cultural training and motivational programmes as well as the international experience of expatriate managers, in order to increase workforce performance levels in China. Black and Mendenhall (1990) suggested that cultural training strategies and policies promote higher levels of interaction within multicultural working groups. Cushner and Brislin (1997) showed that cultural training leads working teams towards better results. Along with training policies, Reuber and Fischer (1997) considered the international experience gained by expatriate managers as a crucial factor to foster integration within group functioning. And Adler, et al. (1989) stressed that international experience allows expatriate managers to better understand the emotional and cultural aspects of local staff, fostering a better relationship with them and the hierarchy as well as a better job commitment. In addition, Schwartz and Bilsky (2008) suggested that motivation policies of local staff can promote better results within working groups. The relationship between the knowledge of the main Chinese cultural values (CC) and HR training and development policies and practices in China (TD) has not been empirically tested. However, following the studies by Triandis, Brislin and Hui (1988), Black and Mendenhall (1990), and Cushner and Brislin (1997), it is believed that a better comprehension of local culture, as well as cultural training strategies and programmes, should be considered as crucial factors in order to support the interaction between individuals from different cultures as well as the relationship with the sociocultural environment of the host country and to improve the potential results for multicultural working groups. As a result, a positive relationship is likely to exist between CC and TD. H1: CC has a positive influence on TD Knowledge of Chinese Culture and HR Appraisal and Control Recent evidence has pointed out that cultural differences may influence work team management and functioning (Gibson Zellmer-Bruhn 2001). A number of links can be observed with regard to potential conflicts (Cox, Lobel McLeod 1991, Oetzel 1998), leadership issues (Ayman Chemers 1983, Pillai Meindl 1998), goal definition (Earley Erez 1987), group performance (Gibson 1999, Miah Bird 2007), and team organisation (Kirkman Shapiro 2001). A better knowledge of local culture can be considered as a fundamental factor in order to develop proper HR appraisal and control techniques in the host country. This conclusion is believed to be correct also in the Chinese market, where the concepts of ‘face’ and harmony have a deep impact on individual and group behaviour. It is reasonable to assume that Italian companies should comprise high levels of cultural awareness when planning HR appraisal and control practices in China. Wilkins and Ouchi (1983), and Adler, et al. (1989) analysed the role of HR control practices within multinational companies. In particular, Gilbert, et al. (1999) suggested that a human capital division in the host country is an important determinant to manage cultural diversity and can to lead local HR towards expected results. This could be achieved if multinational companies are able to incorporate a particular attention towards cultural issues when dealing with the dynamics of IHRM. Schwartz and Bilsky (2008) stressed the central role played by HR managers when leading multicultural teams. In fact, as stated by Adler, Brahm and Graham (1992), cultural distance between HR manager and local staff can generate significant problems of integration and high power distance, in particular with reference to the Chinese market. As a result, employees’ motivation and appraisal as well as organisational and control systems should encompass cultural sensitivity. Consequently, a better comprehension of Chinese cultural values (CC) is believed to have a positive relationship with HR appraisal and control techniques of Italian companies in China (OA). This conclusion is supported by the work of Maznevski, et al. (2002). They showed that a HR manager, who shares cultural values with local workforce, can lead to a better relationship between employees and the hierarchical organisation. These considerations jointly support a potential positive relationship between CC and OA. H2: CC has a positive influence on OA Knowledge of Chinese Culture and HR Attitude and Qualifications Recent studies have emphasised the influence of culture on HRM, both from the motivational as well as the behavioural point of view (Jackson Bak 1998, Wang Cowham 2008, Wright, Berrell Gloet 2008). Several scholars have also stressed how Chinese cultural factors can affect organisational culture (Boisot Child 1999, Jaw, et al. 2007), group and leadership issues (Satow Wang 1994, Littrel 2002), job satisfaction and commitment (Wang 2007). In particular, these studies have showed that a better comprehension of the host culture may lead Western companies to develop more suitable HRM strategies and practises, and be able to improve HR attitude and skills. Consequently, it is possible to assume that a stronger understanding of local cultural traits should support Italian companies in enhancing Chinese HR work behaviour. Nes, Solberg and Silkoset (2007) suggested that cultural distance may affect the degree of job commitment and responsibility of HR, by identifying four items. These items have been listed as (a) importance, (b) attachment, (c) maximum effort to maintain the relationship, and (d) maintain forever the relationship. Wang (2007) studied the attitude and qualifications of employees on the basis of two items: (a) job satisfaction, (b) and organisational commitment. Haley and Haley (2006b) pointed out that the attitude of human capital is influenced by job commitment and communication skills, while Adler, et al. (1989) suggested that hierarchy, attitudes toward authority and rules compliance deeply influence employees’ work behaviour and qualifications in China. Alas (2008) focused on job commitment, punctuality and rules compliance. In addition, Selvarajah and Meyer (2008) analysed the employees’ behaviour, with reference to communication and language skills, and Dyer and Reeves (1995) analysed the results achieved by employees and the influence of cultural issues on them, by considering workforce attitudes and behaviours, absenteeism and turnover rates. If a better knowledge of the local cultural system enhances HR attitude and qualifications, then it is possible to assume that a better harmony between cultural values and HR behaviour should lead to increased HR performance levels. Furthermore, Chinta and Capar (2007) described the behaviour of Chinese staff and its relationship with authority and power distance perception by suggesting that the comprehension of cultural differences is essential, since culture influences the way HR behave. As a consequence, these facts support a positive relationship between CC and HR attitude and qualifications in China (HO). H3: CC has a positive influence on HO HRM and HR Attitude and Qualifications Several scholars have analysed the relationship between HRM strategies and practises and HR attitude and qualifications. Becker and Huselid (1998) suggested that HRM systems directly influence employees’ attitude and qualifications and working groups structures. These factors affect employees’ behaviour and performance. Neelankavil, Mathur and Zhang (2000) also suggested that a proper appraisal of local HR is a fundamental solution in order to ensure higher levels of job commitment. Additionally, Huselid (1995), and Schuler and Jackson (2007) considered that training, motivation, appraisal and control represent fundamental tools in HRM practices. Moreover, Dickie (2009) stressed that organisational systems of training and development, social support, job involvement and job rotation are designed to influence job satisfaction and organisational commitment. With reference to the Chinese market, many scholars have emphasised the impact of HRM on HR attitude and qualifications (Zhu Warner 2004, Wang 2007, Selvarajah Meyer 2008, Wright, et al. 2008). In particular, these studies have stressed some issues related to HRM in China that deeply affect HR performance levels: training and motivation, degree of employees’ commitment, turnover and job hopping rates as well as multicultural working groups management. It is reasonable to assume that HRM policies and practices of Italian companies in the Chinese marketplace should impact on the degree of attitude and qualifications of local HR. In particular, it is believed that HR training and development policies (TD) as well as HR appraisal and control practices in China could affect employees’ behaviour, attitude and qualifications. This will imply that TD and OA may be positively related to HO Sample and Site Data were collected from a population of 1,464 Italian companies operating in China, analysed by Prodi and Ronzoni in 2007. After deleting firms with only representative offices (368), a total of 1,096 companies were identified. A total of 67 per cent of them was located in three main economic areas: the Beijing Hub (BJH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The BJH consists of the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, YRD comprises the municipality of Shanghai and part of the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and PRD consists of Hong Kong and the province of Guangdong. The study focused on Italian companies located in these three main areas (734). The reason for this choice lies in the fact that these areas represent the main economic hubs of China, where most Western companies have their headquarters. Data were obtained from 149 respondents, who represented a convenience sample of Italian business executives of the top five senior managerial levels of Italian business organisations in Mainland China. Procedure The study was undertaken during the period April to June 2008 and involved the submission of questionnaires by email and fax to the business executives of the identified Italian companies in Mainland China. An explanatory letter highlighting the aim of the survey and the time frame for data collection accompanied all the questionnaires. ‘Follow up’ emails and calls were made  to the respondents in order to confirm the receipt of the questionnaires, to obtain suggestions about the study and to remind them of the time frame involved. A total of 734 questionnaires were distributed and 173 replies were initially collected. However, due to incomplete information, 24 questionnaires were rejected. Therefore, 149 replies were finally surveyed, with a net response rate of 20.3 per cent. Measures The questionnaire showed 21 items adapted from the main literature that collectively provided responses for the four study variables. These variables were: (a) knowledge of Chinese culture, (b) HR training and development in China, (c) HR appraisal and control in China, and (d) HR attitude and qualifications in China. Knowledge of Chinese Culture (CC) The knowledge of Chinese culture construct measures the degree of knowledge that every Italian company has with reference to the suggested cultural elements: guanxà ¬, jiatà ­ng, rà ©nqà ­ng, ganqà ­ng, lian and mià  nzi, li jià © and kà ¨ qà ¬ as well as feng sà º xà ­ guà  n. The seven items in the scale refer to perceptual phenomena and are rated on a four point interval scale from a very low level of knowledge of the item (scored as one) to a high level of knowledge of the item (scored as four). The Cronbachalpha of the construct was 0.94. HR Training and Development in China (TD) The HR training and development in China construct measures the extent to which Italian companies develop cultural training and HR motivation schemes as important levers to mitigate negative cultural effects within multicultural working groups. The construct was scored with a four item scale adapted from the studies by Schwartz and Bilsky (2008), Cushner and Brislin (1997), and Reuber and Fischer (1997): Chinese workforce training, Chinese workforce motivation, Italian expatriates training and international experience of Italian expatriates. The four items in the scale are measured as dummy variables (1 = yes, 0 = no). The Cronbach alpha of the construct was 0.80. HR Appraisal and Control in China (OA) The HR appraisal and control in China construct studies the role of Italian companies’ appraisal and control practices in leading local HR towards expected results. It was evaluated with a three item measure adapted from the work of Gilbert, et al. (1999), Maznevski, et al. (2002), and Neelankavil, et al. (2000): existence of a HR division in China, HR manager country of origin and appraisal of local workforce to firm performance. Items one and three are measured as dummy variables (1 = yes, 0 = no), item two is measured by defining different scales for different countries of origin. The Cronbach alpha of the construct was 0.81. HR Attitude and Qualifications in China (HO) HR attitude and qualifications in China was assessed with a seven item scale adapted from the studies by Haley and Haley (2006b), Alas (2008), Selvarajah and Meyer (2008), and Dyer and Reeves (1995): job commitment, attitude toward authority, punctuality, absenteeism, rules compliance, language skills and degree of satisfaction of workforce qualifications in China. The construct measures attitude levels and qualifications of HR in China as seen by Italian companies’ executives. Items one to six are rated on a four point interval scale from a negative value (scored as one) to a significant positive value (scored as four). Factor analysis, incorporating the varimax rotation, was implemented to reduce the set of items. Two dimensions were identified: work behaviour and language skills. The reliability of each dimension was tested with the Cronbach alpha coefficient. Table 2 provides the results of factor and reliability analyses. Item 7 is measured as a dummy variable. The Cronbach alpha of the complete construct was 0.85. Analysis Multiple statistical analysis techniques were used in this study. These procedures include exploratory factor analysis and a two level Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Prior to testing and estimating causal relationships between observed and latent variables, an exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to determine whether or not earlier research findings on the identified constructs could be confirmed. The factor analysis, incorporating the varimax option, assessed the validity of the measurement. Internal consistency reliability was tested and the Cronbach alpha results of 0.94, 0.80, 0.81; and 0.85 were obtained for the constructs of CC, TD, OA and HO constructs; respectively. The analysis supported the dimensional concepts used and provided fullest evidence of construct validity. The five hypotheses were tested with SEM techniques based on a latent structure model with explicit causal relations. The estimated SEM, developed with LISREL (LInear Structural RELationship) 8. 51 (Joreskog Sorbom 2001), follows a logic based on two steps. The first one is related to the process of estimating parameters, based on an interactive procedure aimed at minimising the gap between data produced by the model and observed data. The second step is based on a comparison of the theoretical model with the data observed. If the gap between the matrix of the observed covariance and the expected matrix, generated by the programme, is higher than the gap attributable to the stochastic error, the model is rejected. The analysis will then determine if the model is able to represent the examined phenomenon, through four different sets of fit indices. These indices are represented by the ?2 test, the Overall model fit indices, the Incremental fit indices and the Residuals indices. Prior to testing the complete model, several scholars have suggested that it should be useful to test each latent variable in order to provide the fullest evidence of measurement efficacy (Segars Grover 1998, Apigian, et al. 2005). The TD latent variable has been conceptualised as a second order model, explained by four observed variables. The fit statistics for the model are the Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0; Confidence Interval for RMSEA (0; 0. 098), Normed fit index (NFI) = 0. 99, Non normed fit index (NNFI) = 1. 08, Goodness of fit index (GFI) = 1 and Adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) = 0. 99, confirming a very good model data fit. The OA latent variable has been conceptualised as a second order model, explained by three observed variables. The fit statistics for the model show a perfect fit. HO latent variable has been conceptualised as a second order model, explained by three observed variables. The fit statistics for the model show a perfect fit. The CC latent variable has been conceptualised as a second order model, explained by seven observed variables. The fit statistics for the model are RMSEA = 0. 24; Confidence Interval for RMSEA (0. 20; 0. 27), NFI = 0. 86, NNFI = 0. 80, GFI = 0. 80, AGFI = 0. 60, confirming a sufficient model data fit. Results The integrated exam of the fit indices confirms whether the model is able to fit the data or not. ?2 scores 249 with 114 degrees of freedom, p value 0. Overall model fit indices show reasonable fit results. GFI scores 0. 83, while AGFI 0. 78. CN (Critical N) scores 75. 39. Incremental fit indices show even better values, able to support the conceptual model. NFI scores 0. 81, NNFI 0. 84, while CFI (Comparative fit index) scores 0. 87. Residuals indices confirm that the assumed model is able to explain most of the observed data. The RMR (Root mean square residual) index scores 0. 016, standardised RMR 0. 065, while the RMSEA index 0. 089, with 90 per cent confidence interval between 0. 074 and 0. 1. Figure 2 and Figure 3 provide the main fit indices of the model and the path diagram with their regressors and stochastic errors estimation. How to cite Cultural Differences, Papers Cultural Differences Free Essays string(34) " his feelings to her assumptions\." Cultural Differences COM/360 November 12, 2012 The movie Crash (2004) is about a handful of disparate people’s lives intertwined as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city of Los Angelos over a thirty-six hour period. All the players involved in the movie are: a Caucasian district attorney, his Caucasian wife who believes her stereotypical views are justified, therefore they’re not racist; two black carjackers that use their race to their advantage; two Caucasian police officers, one who is racist and abuses his authority to non-whites, and the other who hates his partner for his racist views; a black film director and his black wife, who feels her husband does not support their own culture enough especially with the wife being violated by the racist cop; the two detectives and sometimes lovers, one Hispanic female and a black male; an East Asian man who gets hit by a car, but is hiding valuable cargo in his van; a Persian store owner who feels he is not getting enough satisfaction or respect from American society when his store is continuously robbed; and a Hispanic locksmith who is just trying to keep his family safe out of harm’s way (Imbd, 2012). Each person’s story interl ocks in some way as they all crash into one another through a series of racist endeavors and stereotypical judgments. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultural Differences or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hall argues that every human being is faced with so many perceptual stimuli—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and bodily sensations—that it is impossible to pay attention to them all. Therefore, one of the functions of culture is to provide a screen between the person and all of those stimuli to indicate what perceptions to notice and how to interpret them (Lustig Koester, pg. 109, 2012). Hall splits cultures into high/low context and describes how high context cultures use high-context messages where the meaning is implied by physical setting or presumed to be part of the individual’s beliefs, values, norms, and social practices; very little is in the coded message. These cultures include; Japanese, African American, Mexican, and Latino. The low-context cultures prefer to use low-context messages, where the majority of the information is vested in the explicit code. These cultures include German, Swedish, European American, and English (Lustig Koester, pg. 109, 2012). An example of high-context communication; is when the two black carjackers interpret the same meaning and gestures in all their actions. Their actions do not need to be discussed explicitly because they both act the same and carry the shared understanding based on their relationship. An example of the low-context communication is when the Hispanic locksmith goes into the Caucasian attorney’s house to fix the locks and deals with the wife. She harasses him on how she needs every statement to be precise and all his actions to be accounted for. She is looking for his every move to be overt and very explicit because she immediately judges his performance and morale on his race. Hofstede’s five dimensions were identified in his early research when he came to find which dominant patterns of a culture can be ordered, these are; power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, and long- term versus short-term orientation to time. His findings have provided an excellent synthesis of the relationships between cultural values and social behaviors, which are identifiable throughout this movie. Power distance is one dimension believed to be most present throughout the movie Crash. One basic concern to all cultures is the issue of human inequality and knowing that all people in a culture do not have equal levels of status or social power. A persons power and social status depends more upon their culture and things such as; wealth, age, gender, education, physical strength, etc. As Hofstede’s research expresses; â€Å"cultures also differ in the extent to which they view such status inequalities as good or bad, right or wrong, just of unjust, and fair or unfair. That is, all cultures have particular value orientations about the appropriateness or importance of status differences and social hierarchies† (Lustig Koester, pg. 114, 2012). Power distance is extremely visible in this movie as far as each race having their individual degree of institutional and organizational power, and how to distribute it. For example, when the two Caucasian cops pull the black film maker and his wife over after leaving a work party and are blatantly playing the authority card based on their race and job description. The one racist white cop violates the black woman right in front of her husband for no apparent reason, while the husband is made to feel that if he makes one move he will be punished for his actions. Another example is when the Persian store owner walks into the Caucasian male’s gun store and wants to buy a gun. He has his daughter with him to help translate and pick the right weapon. As they are exchanges words in their language, the white man insults him by referring to him as â€Å"Osama† and tells him to leave his store immediately. The Persian man yells that he is an American citizen and has every right to purchase a gun, the white man replies with, â€Å"not in my store you don’t, now get the fuck out. That of uncertainty avoidance is also seen within the movie from the more foreign cultures that feel they may be presented â€Å"under† the more dominant white race. For example, when the Hispanic locksmith is in the Caucasian attorney’s home changing the locks on the doors, the wife flips out on her husband about how the locksmith is going to go sell their house keys to his â€Å"amigos† and she wants them changed again. She storms off to the kitchen where she looks up to see the locksmith starring at her with a look of shame. He walks to her counter, drops the spare sets down and expects nothing from her, feels no room to express his feelings to her assumptions. You read "Cultural Differences" in category "Essay examples" Because of his race he is immediately seen by the dominant race as being untrustworthy and sneaky. â€Å"Cultural Identity refers to one’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group. It is formed in a process that results from membership in a particular culture, and it involves learning about and accepting the traditions, heritage, language, religion, ancestry, aesthetics, thinking patterns, and social structures of a culture (Lustig Koester, pg. 142-43, 2012). The formation of one’s cultural identity is known to form from three different stages known as; unexamined cultural identity, cultural identity search, and cultural identity achievement. The first stage is one’s cultural characteristics being taken for granted and not much interest in exploring cultural issues. The second stage is that of wanting to explore and question one’s culture in order to learn of the strengths and learn acceptance of both themselves and their culture. Last stage, is known as being the clear and confident stage of acceptance to one’s culture and self-identity. In this stage, a person has learned to develop ways of dealing with stereotypes and discrimination as well as being clear about the personal meanings of their culture. Throughout this film, it is justifiable through all the characters actions and perceived self-identity that all three stages are experienced by everyone. A good example is the two black carjackers, in the beginning they questionable as to why their appearance caused them to wait over an hour to eat at a restaurant†¦they were paying customers like everyone else. The two men began to question their race and cultural backgrounds with one another, where they found it justifiable to carjack a white couples’ vehicle (being the attorney and his wife) when spotted in the streets. Towards the end, it became clear to the one black male that he can accept what cultural identity may be fixated on him, but he does not need to follow a society’s outlook, he can learn to deal with stereotypes and discrimination. At this point of his realization, he took the stolen van he had planned to sell, filled with Chinese/Japanese people, and let them go free with $40 of his own money for them to eat. Cultural similarity and fluency allows different cultures to reduce that cultural bias aspect that many of us suffer from when interacting with people of a different race or culture. It has been pointed out that culture really does exist in the minds of people, but that the consequences of culture—the sared interpretations—can be seen in people’s communication behaviors. These provide people with guidelines on how they should behave, and indicate what to expect when interacting with others (Lustig Koester, pg. 148, 2012). This film indicates how each culture is so self- involved with their own beliefs and cultural patterns that they all seem as if they are unfamiliar with different cultures surrounding them. This is not the truth though. Each race and culture is assumed by those who are different because it’s the unknown, those who act similar to one another share interpretations that reduced uncertainty; create predictability, and also stability in their lives. Although, there are several different scenarios in the movie where interracial mixes are seen working together such as; the black and Latino police detectives, the Caucasian attorney working with the police (white and black) about their car being stolen. Although, these type of interactions are solely based on the individual’s interpretation of the unknown culture. â€Å"Interaction only within one’s culture produces a number of obvious benefits. Because the culture provides predictability, it reduces the threat of the unknown. When something or someone that is unknown or unpredictable enters a culture, the culture’s beliefs, values, norms, and social practices tell people how to interpret and respond appropriately, thus reducing the perceived threat of the intrusion† (Lustig Koester, pg. 148, 2012). â€Å"Your beliefs become your thoughts, thoughts become your words, words become your actions, actions become your habits, habits become your values, values become your destiny. † (Mahatma Gandhi). A good example of trusting those with similar cultural patterns is the white cop and his father; The frustrated and racist cop with a chronically ill father who believed, that only a â€Å"white† supervisor or person was competent enough to help him with his ill father’s medical needs (Wolfe, 2010). Another cultural pattern in the film is seen by the two black carjackers, â€Å"systematic and repetitive instead of random and irregular. † The two young men and their discussion of why they should be scared being the only black people in an all-white restaurant, even though they were not, instead others being scared of them because of the color of their skin. This in turn led them both to steal the car because it was expected of their race to steal. Nonverbal communication can send messages to the receiver just as loud and clear as any verbal communication message. There are many different instances of both these concepts being utilized in the film making each culture really â€Å"pop out† in their identity. Nonverbal messages can work to either complement or contradict the intended verbal message. They also help maintain the back-and-fourth sequencing of conversations, which function to regulate the interaction. Nonverbal messages can also work to substitute for the verbal channel by replacing verbal words. In intercultural communication, difficulties in achieving competence in another verbal code are compounded by variations in the nonverbal codes that accompany the spoken word† (Lustig Koester, pg. 200, 2012). An example of nonverbal and verbal message in the film is a message of action that expresses emotion as well as s pecific information; How the racist white cop unprofessionally conducted himself after pulling the black Buddhist film maker and his wife over for a traffic violation. He physically man-handled and shamefully performed his search on the wife up against the vehicle. He aggressively communicated that he was in charge and he can do what he wants (Wolfe, 2010). Another example of nonverbal and verbal communication is toward the end of the movie where the young white cop picks up the young black boy hitchhiking and they begin to discuss where the black guy has been, seeing how he was covered in dirt and visible blood spots. The white off duty cop continuously looks him over for evidence, when the boy starts laughing out loud about the statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard. The cop kept asking what was wrong and as the boy went to reach inside his pocket, the cop grew nervous, grabbed for his gun, and shot the boy. Only to realize that the boy was carrying the same statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard (Wolfe, 2010). The film Crash, is a remarkable, must see film with bravery and honesty in showing fear, prejudice and the dismembered society that people live in. It truly expresses the characters in a way that they are able to see the ugliness inside them as well as others who work to redeem themselves after realizing their cultural beliefs and ways. This movie is socially important in teaching its viewers the meaning and emotions behind the lives people realistically walk through on a daily basis. It teaches the importance of understanding cultural identity and working through cultural bias. Far too often, people are quick to make judgments simply based on someone’s physical appearance. It is imperative that people learn to accept their cultural identity but be mindful and respectful of those who are different around them. Initial perspectives, such as those presented by Hall, can be deadly towards others and lead to Hofstede’s dimensions that can destroy a relationship in many ways. References: Imbd. (2012). Crash. http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0375679/plotsummary Lustig, M. and Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures (6th ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon Wolfe, J. (2010). Cramberry. Intercultural communication Indentifies in Movie- â€Å"Crash. † https://cramberry. net/sets/28641-intercultural-communication-indentifies-in-movie-crash-by-j-wolfe How to cite Cultural Differences, Essay examples

Iron Man Financial and Social Predator

Question: Dsicuss about theIron Manfor Financial and Social Predator. Answer: Introduction Iron man movie is all about a millionaire playboy whose involvement asan imprisonedcaptivemakes him to change from a financialand social predator to a reinvigorated pacifist. As a result Starkrealizes the faults of his ways and goes back home to challengehis business by spending the rest of the movie striving to do good both at home and away. Stark is injured and arrested, however his life is protected by an captive Afghani physician; and in one of the more operationaldescriptions of the movie, the medic has to eliminate bits of Stark Industries shrapnel, fragments of the shards of his professional life, that are intimidating his heart. The physician tells Stark that shrapnel targets are called the walking dead for the reason that how the shrapnel travels through the body and slowly kills them a week later. Stark questions why he should do anything to prolong his life if he only has a week to live; but the doctor responds by telling him that the remaining weak in the most significant period of his life and therefore he should waste it all costs (Enthaler, Spilker, Erre, Junge, Tse, and Beller, 2008). When Tony Starkhears about this it becomes his turning point that makes him to create a new heart. This is what occurs to Stark and from that point he is resolute to change the destructivefeatures of his life, whether it concerns winning financial markets or seducing beautiful women. Tony shows less concern about his wealth, for his character as a businessperson. Stark is truly transformed and looks at the world from side to side asan ethical lens that involves not just financial and political issues but moral matters as well. The film starts with a flash back that provides information on who Tony Stark is and how he got into his point of mastermind and power. Later whenTony wins and nearly instantly gives away his Apogee award to a Roman. A demonstration documents Tony's background: Tony is born from legendary family that develops weapons. As a child Tony constructed his initially circuit board when he just was four years old, at six years he built his first V8 engine and later on at 17 he graduate summa cum laude. In the year 1991 Tonys parents get involved in an accident and pass on and when he attains 21, he becomes the CEO of Stark Manufacturing, up to date. Colonel James arranges to present Tony the gift, but Tony fails to show up himself. As a result Toneys right-hand man takesthe reward on his behalf. Later James finds Tony celebrating in a casino. While Tony is on his way out meets with Christine Everhart who asks Stark concerning the ethics of his weapons but Stark pretends not to have heard her enquirieswith some rapidjokes and they end up spending the night together at Tonys place(Zhang, Lin, and Chen, 2009). On the following day Christine is woken by a voice by the processermonitor which is Paul Bettanys voice an artificial intelligent program that runs Tonys house together with his research lab. On her way out she is greeted by Virginia Pepper Tonys human assistant who assists Tony to keep time to his business as he heads to the airport where he is being waited. While in the plane, Tony have a conversation with James Rhodey although Rhodey is calamitousconcerning Tonys negligent approach. Tonys journey to Afghanistanis to determinehis corporationshottest projectas well as the progressivesuper-missile system. Later on Tony recoversperception while in a cavern when his chest is bent up to anextraordinary device. Doctor Ho Yinsen tells him that while carrying out an operation on him he was not able to get rid of all the shrapnel. Therefore, Yensincreates an electromagnetic device run by a vehicle battery in order to keep the outstandingremainsfrom moving and producingfurther harm to Tonys heart. Unfortunately the terrorist that earlier on captured Tony and Yinsen pop up the room and asks Tony to construct them a Jericho canister but Tony declines and is given suffering by immersing his head in the water. After some time, these terrorists known by the name Ten Rings open a big supply of armsall of them manufactured by Stark Company. On seeing this Stark gives in and begins to build the missiles but he comes up with a new plan. She plansa way out for them to escape by making use of palladium gathered from his weapons to build a small arc reactor. The reactor has enough power to run his heart for quite some time and thus is enough to keep the shrapnel stilland avoid harming him. The arc reactor is used to fight the terrorists. In the meantime theleaders of the Ten Rings arrives and threaten to torture Yinsen since he is annoyed and feels that Stark is not working on the Jericho system they are in need of. Accordingly Tony bargains for his friend by telling that he is a good assistant to him which makes Raza to give them additional time. This makes Tony to work tirelessly even through the night so as to complete the project. Yinsen then strike a deal on how they can escape from the cave. They fixeexplosives inside the cell entranceas a way to draw the attention of the safeguards while Tony musclesup his outfit. On realizing that they do not have sufficient time left Yinsen takes a gun in order to confuse surviving bouncers. When Tony is fully equippedhe sway his way out of the cave, bouncersstrain to stop him but his costumedeflects easily their firearm fire and blows off them. While half way out Tony meets Yinsen who is badly wounded, but Yinsen tells him that it was his plan to help him escape. Tony then thanks Yinsen for saving his life (Savova, Coden, Sominsky, Johnson, Ogren, Groen, and Chute, 2008). Consequently Tony turns his suit on the remaining terrorists, by firing flame-throwers and missiles. This destroys the terrorists stock of weapons. However, some of the huge caliber weapons damages Tonys suit, nonetheless Tony uses a basic jet-pack to liftoff himselffrom the valley. Subsequently, a short time after dismissal, his jet-pack breaks down and he endures a crash and lands in the desert. Tony verdures the outfitbehind and walks through the desert until when a number of US helicopters fly over him where a team of armed forcesled by Rhodey saves him. Quickly Tony is flown to the United States for treatment but Tony tells them that there is only a single thing he needs: the American cheeseburger and a corporationmediaforum. When Tony performs before the journalists he is humiliated and no more the egotistical CEO that he used to be before his capture. Tony proclaims that his intention is to close down Stark Industries armsindustrial division as soon as possible. It is true that some people on hearing Tonys mind are not happy for instance Obadiah is not happy at all since he understands that as a result of closure of Stark industry their company value will drop. Tony intention is to see the company move on with arc reactor technology, conversely, Obadiahfeels the arc reactor has no importance but just a public relations stunt(Zhang, Lin, and Chen, 2009). Tony creates a more dominantmini arc reactor, the Mark II chest piece but he is able to installit into his chest without assistance. Tony is thus forced to look for assistance from Rhodes but Rhodey fails to agree with his approach claiming that Tony may be suffering from post-traumatic stress as a result being captured and require time to recover. Tong then gives a visit to his best friend JARVIS for help and reveals to him his plan to upgrade his armored suit, Mark II. On the other hand, Raza having enduredthe fight with Stark and the Mark I, is looking and collecting all the remnants of the Mark I suit left behind by Tony. Tony on the other side decides to perfect the bulletproof vest flight system. Soon the Mark II armored suit is completed. Tony links with JARVIS to watch on the development of the outfit (Park, Kersey, Geppert, Story, Cutts, and Himes, 2009). Tony goes against JARVIS advice to test the flight where he smashes through three floors of the house and gets injured. On recovering from the crash Tony comes across a box left by Pepper that contain the Mark I arc reactor, covered by a medalwith a letter proof that Tony Stark has a heart After analyzing more data Tonyrebuilds the suit using titanium from the old project to solve the weight and icing challenge. Tony asks for Pepper help, by understanding that there is no any other thing that matter but to save individuals. Pepper agreesand moves to Obadiahs place of workwith a flash drive with the intention to copy fileshis processor. As he goes through the documents he comes across a video from terrorists that proof that Obadiah was fully accountable for Tonys incarceration. By bad lack Obadiah finds Pepper in his officeand finds out that she had access to the file showing him as responsible for Tonys attack. On hearing this Tony and Obadiah come to a huge battle that spills to the streets. Bibliography Enthaler, S., Spilker, B., Erre, G., Junge, K., Tse, M.K. and Beller, M., 2008. Biomimetic transfer hydrogenation of 2-alkoxy-and 2-aryloxyketones with ironporphyrin catalysts. Tetrahedron, 64(17), pp.3867-3876. Park, K., Kersey, M., Geppert, J., Story, M., Cutts, D. and Himes, J.H., 2009. Household food insecurity is a risk factor for iron-deficiency anaemia in a multi-ethnic, low-income sample of infants and toddlers. Public health nutrition, 12(11), pp.2120-2128. Savova, G.K., Coden, A.R., Sominsky, I.L., Johnson, R., Ogren, P.V., De Groen, P.C. and Chute, C.G., 2008. Word sense disambiguation across two domains: biomedical literature and clinical notes. Journal of biomedical informatics, 41(6), pp.1088-1100. Zhang, X., Lin, Y.M. and Chen, Z.L., 2009. 2, 4, 6-Trinitrotoluene reduction kinetics in aqueous solution using nanoscale zero-valent iron. Journal of hazardous materials, 165(1), pp.923-927.

Short story by John Updike free essay sample

As people age, maturity and wisdom is gained through every experiences. From the time a child turns eighteen and becomes an adult, they are required to deal with the realities of the real world and learn how to handle its responsibilities. In John Updikes short story, Aamp;P, the narrator Sammy, a young boy of nineteen, makes a major change to his life fueled by nothing more than his immaturity and desire to do what he wants and because of that, he has do deal with the consequences. From the beginning of the story, it is clear that Sammy does not likes his job, nor is he fond of the customers and people he is surrounded by each day. To Sammy, they are nothing more than sheep going through the motions of life. I bet you could set off dynamite in an Aamp;P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering ‘Let me see, there was a third thing, began with A, asparagus, no, ah, yes, applesauce! or whatever it was they do mutter. We will write a custom essay sample on Short story by John Updike or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Updike 616). He view them negatively; to him they are boring and useless, living dull and unimportant lives and its obvious through Sammy that he doesnt want to ever become one of them, nor does he want to be around them. It is also clear through Sammy and everyone else who works at the Aamp;P that the job is boring, simply by the way they react to the arrival of the three unique teenage girls. Granted the only people working in the store are men, they still find the arrival of the girls to be extremely exciting and an event worth waiting for. The stores pretty empty, it being Thursday afternoon, so there was nothing much to do except lean on the register and wait for the girls to show up again(Updike 617). They take pleasure in the girls visits, and when they do arrive, Sammy makes it clear that he is not the only one captivated by them; McMahon at the meat counter is seen sizing up their joints (Updike 617) and Stokesie expresses a constant fixation with the girls as well, which he shares with Sammy the first time they come into the store. Also, in contrast to the sheep, he views the girls as though they are superior to everyone else in the store. They stand out amongst the customers, walking against the usual traffic(Updike 616), and not blending in, and Sammy almost idolizes that; he sees the way their simplistic yet unique appearance and actions distinguish them and he seems to really appreciate it. About the Queenie he says, I mean, it was more than pretty(Updike 619). And in reference to the other customers reaction Sammy says, †¦ there was no doubt, this jiggled them. A few houseslaves in pin curlers even looked around after pushing their carts past to make sure what they had seen was correct (Updike 616). Although Sammy isnt really voicing a positive or negative stance on the issue here, he makes an effort to point out how unique and almost distracting they are to everyone in the store. It also becomes clear that Sammy wants to know more about them through his fixation with them, which may add to the reason he wanted to quit; he hoped to captivate their attention and gain their praise. When Sammy sees the store manager, Lengel, embarrass the girls, not only does Sammy see the ability to look heroic in front of his three mystery girls, like an unsuspected hero (Updike 618), he also sees the ability to get out of his boring nine to five job. Partially, because he is only nineteen and very immature in the way he views the world, he may have thought the girls would find him heroic. However, as soon as he quits his job he realizes that they didnt seem to care; it was just a silly childish fantasy he hoped would come true. After leaving the store, Sammy says I look around for my girls, but theyre gone of course (Updike 619) as though he knew from the beginning that although in his mind it may have seemed like something worth praise, they really wouldnt care at all. However, Sammy’s quit is more for himself that the girls in the long run, after all if it was really for the girls he wouldve ceased quitting the moment the girls rushed out and flicker[ed] across the lot to their car (Updike 618). However he proceeds even with the negative aspects attached. â€Å" ‘Sammy, you dont want to do this to your Mom and Dad,’ he tells me. Its true, I dont. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture its fatal not to go through with it. (Updike 618). Even though he knows this will be difficult for his family he continues to quit. On one hand, he is being mature by not backing down and changing his mind once he realizes the girls are gone, because he is right in that when you make decisions you must follow through with them. However the decision to quit was stupid, drastic, and an immature one to begin with. The story ends with Sammy looking back at Lengel in the store, saying His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if hed just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter (Updike 619). The dark and unappealing imagery he uses to portray Lengel and the store hints that he still views it negatively and he is most likely content with his decision to leave. However he ends realizing how much damage this silly impulse can and will cause him. This may be a lesson for Sammy in which he learns from and gains some maturity; he learns that there are consequences and positives to every situation and it is his responsibility to deal with them as they arise. In this particular situation, although he is happy to not be in his job, he now has to deal with telling his parents he quit and telling them why he made such a rash decision. Then he must deal with their feelings on the matter and what actions they take; they may not care, or its possible, as the story and Lengel suggest, that they will be upset and he will have to deal with that. Regardless, he will definitely learn from this. Overall, the story of Aamp;P summarizes for Sammy, as Bruce Kellner states, â€Å"On first reading or last, the words on the pages of ‘Aamp;P’ do not change, but Sammy changes. Sammy takes a step towards maturity and towards learning; he learns about reality and how for every step you take there are consequences, and if you want something you have to deal with the issues that come with it.

The ways Steinbeck creates dislike of and sympathy for Curley’s wife in his novel “Of Mice and Men” Essay Essay Example

The ways Steinbeck creates dislike of and sympathy for Curley’s wife in his novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† Essay Essay Example The ways Steinbeck creates dislike of and sympathy for Curley’s wife in his novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† Essay Paper The ways Steinbeck creates dislike of and sympathy for Curley’s wife in his novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† Essay Paper ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a short novel by John Steinbeck. which is set in 1930s America. At this clip in American History they were enduring from a difficult striking economic depression. This book is set on a spread in Soledad. California. Throughout this novelette. Steinbeck addresses cardinal subject. for illustration favoritism. solitariness and the American Dream. Curley’s married woman is a complex character. She is the lone adult female on the spread. Curley’s married woman is used as a secret plan device by Steinbeck to research subjects like favoritism and attitudes toward adult females in the 1930s. Although. she is thought of as a ‘tart’ at the beginning. throughout the novel we develop our sentiment of Curley’s married woman. Steinbeck introduces us to Curley’s married woman through the sentiment of Candy. His positions and sentiments are misogynous. when he calls her a ‘tart’ . doing the reader prejudiced tow ards Curley’s married woman before we even meet her. Candy references that she ‘got the eye’ explicating that she is being coquettish and immoral as we are told that she is flirt with other work forces directly after we are told that she married to Curley. Candy makes us expect her entryway ‘Wait boulder clay you see Curley’s wife’ . Steinbeck uses this technique to do the reader want to read on and happen out more. When Curley’s married woman is foremost introduced we gain a colored feeling from her description ‘She wore a cotton house frock and ruddy mules’ reenforcing our original sentiment of a ‘tart’ . The vesture she wears is besides incongruous on a on the job spread and expensive during the economic depression demoing that she wants to affect. She is high care as ‘She had full roughed lips and wide-spaced eyes. to a great extent made up’ screening to the reader that she has to look perfect before go forthing the house and needs to look reasonably to the work forces. Steinbeck to the full describes the actions of Curley’s married woman. This shows physical awareness the work forces have towards her. ‘She put her custodies behind her back and leaned ag ainst the door frame so that her organic structure was thrown forward’ Steinbeck’s description of Curley’s married woman actions is non merely to depict the men’s physical consciousness of the character but to demo the despair of Curley’s married woman and other adult females in the 1930s. Throughout the address between George and Curley’s married woman. she doesn’t sustain oculus contact. ‘She looked at her fingernails’ this implies that she is seeking to chat up with her eyes. This usage of organic structure linguistic communication is in a coquettish and provocative manner. When Curley’s married woman enters ‘The rectangle of sunlight in the door manner is cut off’ Steinbeck uses this barricading visible radiation to propose that Curley’s married woman is an obstruction. to Lennie’s and George’s ‘light’ which is mentioning to their dream. This means we do non like Curley’s married woman as she poses a menace. The fact that George calls Curley’s married woman ‘tramp’ makes us instantly dislike her as we trust George’s sentiments. As her visual aspect is described foremost this suggests that others judge her on the manner she looks and her visual aspect i s regarded as her most of import characteristic. This thought is developed through Curley’s wife’s gender which is apparent in her obvious flirtation when she moves so that ‘her organic structure was thrown forward’ and speaks ‘playfully’ . Through Curley’s married woman actions. Steinbeck suggests that her gender is the lone signifier of power she has and is the lone manner she knows to derive attending. The first entryway for Curley’s married woman lives up to and corroborate the feelings created by Candy. Although ab initio we believe what Candy said. as the novelette progresses more of her character is revealed. When Slim finds Curley’s married woman. at the terminal of her first entryway ‘She was all of a sudden apprehensive’ which could propose that Curley’s married woman is scared of Curley and suggests that he is aggressive towards her associating to the subject of force. The reader is discerning of Curley’s married woman and the harm she may do. The work forces of the spread think she is ‘jailbait’ . and they are scared that they may lose their occupation. The reader agrees with what the work forces on the spread think as she may take to the ruin of George and Lennie. At this point in the novel. Curley’s married woman is seen with disdain and there is small sympathy for her. The repeat of the coloring material ‘red’ suggests danger and passion. supported by similarities between her and the miss in Weed. Not merel y is Curley’s married woman described as a streetwalker. but besides as endangering. When she enters the barn where Crook and Candy are. they are both afraid and ‘were scowling down off from her eyes’ this bar of oculus contact could be seen that she is exercising power over the work forces. She exercises her power by endangering to hang Crooks. ‘I could acquire you stung up on a tree so easy’ . this links to the subject of force as she acts nastily and cruelly which reflects the societal hierarchy of the clip. She goes from being bullied by the work forces to strong-arming the ‘weak ones’ . Curley’s married woman gets frustrated by their unresponsive behavior towards her. She is used to foreground the racialist society and to demo the position of black people at that clip in America. The reader possibly discerning toward Curley’s Wife. yet it is obvious that she may be lonely. Curley’s married woman has excessively much clip on her custodies ‘Her face was to a great extent made up’ this is shown by how much do up she is ever have oning. None of the work forces on the spread will speak to her as they are scared that they may be tempted ‘Maybe you better travel along to your ain house now’ The ground they don’t talk to her is that they are scared that they could acquire into problem with Curley. Steinbeck does this to demo how stray adult females were in the 1930s. Even though Curley’s married woman has merely been married two hebdomad we get told that Curley is at the ‘Cat house’ and isn’t w ith his new married woman with would propose that he has no clip for her and a deficiency of love. When she is in the barn with Crooks. Candy and Lennie ‘talkin’ to a clump of bindle stiffs –a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a icky ol’ sheep- an ‘liken’ it because they ain’t cipher else’ this show she will travel to great lengths to speak to person and will even speak to the ‘weak ones’ when cipher is about. When she is entirely in the barn with Lennie. she expresses her solitariness ‘I get atrocious lonely’ she does this to derive understanding from the reader. although she is stating the one individual who won’t understand what she is stating. Curley’s married woman is the lone adult females on the spread and this could associate to her solitariness. This links to one of Steinbeck subject. solitariness and how Curley’s married woman being female agencies that she is invariably segregated and isolated because of her gender. As the reader reads on we start to gain that Curley’s married woman isn’t what we expected. We start to see that she is more of a victim. Her name Curley’s married woman suggest that she is a ownership of Curley’s ‘Curley’s is even cockier’n of all time since he got married’ this suggest that she is something that Curley can demo off to the other work forces on the spread. Besides Slims Canis familiaris and Aunt Clara all have name but Curley’s married woman doesn’t which even more suggests that she is object in society. She is besides married to Curley who isn’t spends his Saturday eventide in the ‘Cat houseà ¢â‚¬â„¢ which does propose that Curley has no love for his new married woman. Curley’s married woman has an unconditioned apprehension of society. She understands her places and knows what she can and can’t do. ‘nobody’d listen to you’ they are all incapacitated as society is rough and what Curley’s married woman says applies to all of them in the barn. Curley’s married woman is merely coquettish and average to work forces because it is the lone manner she knows who to speak to work forces. Although she is portrayed as a victim and as lonely. we still see as manipulative when she speaking to Lennie nears the terminal of the novel. As Curley’s married woman describes to utilize the ground why she is married to Curley it come apparent that she married Curley to acquire off from her Mother and so she wants to utilize Lennie to acquire off from Curley. Steinbeck has used this to do the reader feel that Curley’s married woman is naif and has hapless opinion. The reader can state that Curley’s married woman has thought through what she wants Lennie to make and she thinks that she can utilize him to her advantage. In this subdivision she is being manipulative ‘you can interrupt his other han’’ She can see that Lennie can stand up to Curley even if it is merely to a basic degree. Although you could reason that Curleys’s married woman was described as a ‘girl’ which suggests artlessness and naivete. She is in some ways like Lennie in that she doesn’t think before the action. The apparels she wear can be seen as to be dressing up to look like graven images and is concealing under her make-up. If this is all true so Curley’s married woman suffered a horrid decease which she doesn’t merit the decease she was given. Throughout the novelette. Steinbeck looks at the thought of the ‘American Dream’ . like George and Lennie. Curley’s married woman has a dream and that was to be in the ‘pitchers’ . Her dream is to be actress but is it truly the thought of being an actress or the ground was that she wanted the money so she would be able to purchase the apparels but non to make the work. She met a adult male who said she could be in the films but neer got missive. she blames her female parent for neer acquiring missive but it is possible that the work forces neer really was from the films and if he was at the films so why was he a unknown riverbank dance. Besides the fact that we are told about the rhinal voice ‘Her voice had a nasal. brittle quality’ show to the reader that she is deluded and that she will neer do her dream but has them to maintain traveling in what is a suffering life. Work force are prejudice towards Curley’s married woman on the manner in which she looks. Steinbeck’s initial portraiture of Curley’s married woman shows her to be a average and seductive enchantress. and alive she is the connexion to Eve. she brings evil in to m en’s lives. She is besides blamed for many of the action of Curley’s and she is thought of merely by how she looks non by how she is. The concluding scene for Curley’s married woman is her decease. When she is acquiring murdered. the understanding lies with Lennie. Steinbeck did this to make more sympathy from the reader for Curley’s married woman. This is what Steinbeck has been taking up throughout the book and to the ruin of the relationship between George and Lennie. HEr beauty is shown though when she is dead ‘she was really reasonably and simple’ . this creates more sympathy from the reader by demoing how simple and pretty she was. Besides the to associate with the description the word ‘girl’ is used. to make artlessness. The reader perceptual experience of her has changed ‘Ache for attending all gone’ Steinbeck wrote this to do the readers realise the abnormalcy of what has been done and how we can merely see her artlessness. simpleness and beauty. The concluding description of Curley’s married woman shows us the miss beneath what the universe she lived in made her. Although we see this different side to Curley’s married woman. Candy still has his misogynous sentiment of Curley’s married woman. ‘Ever’body knowed you’d muss things up’ this show that Candy blames Curley’s married woman for what has happened even though Lennie was the 1 who murdered Curley’s married woman. Candy’s deficiency of sympathy towards her creates more sympathy from the reader. Steinbeck does this to demo that Women got blamed for what the work forces did even if they had nil to make with it. In decision. Curley’s married woman was in fact the victim of her society and although some of her action were in some ways indecent for a freshly married adult females it. in some manner this shows how much she was really a victim. Besides she was occupation copying the action and dressing like the histrions which she idolised. I personal believe that Curley’s married woman was non all to fault for her action s and hence she did non merit the decease that she got as it was harsh a brutal.

Psychotherapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychotherapy - Essay Example Using this technique requires the therapist or counsellor to have unconditional positive regard, genuineness and empathic understanding. (Wikipedia "Psychotherapy" 3) Carl Rogers in the 1950's was the proponent of this system and he became very controversial because he used the term "counselling" to connote a softer and more positive and humanistic approach to psychotherapy. The technique used in PCT is non-directive, where the therapists use effective listening skills in facilitating the face-to-face communication. "Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy based on modifying everyday thoughts and behaviours, with the aim of positively influencing emotions." (Wikipedia: "Cognitive" 1) According to Wikipedia, CBT is based on the thoughts, the emotions and the behaviour, which are, how we think, how we feel and therefore how we act as a result of the interactions of how we think and feel. In other words, how we think influence how we feel and behave on a certain situation. The problem is created because of some irrational or unrealistic thinking that gives rise to a negative a feeling and leads to a problematic behaviour. An example of which, is a child who thinks his mother does not love him because he is "dumb" therefore keeps getting his mother's attention by being excessively naughty. CBT is applied to situations like this, sometimes ranging from ordinary problems to abnormal psychological conditions and are treated through series of face-to-face sessions with a trained psychoth erapist.Other Similar Approaches Person-Centred Therapy, considered "a founding work in the humanistic schools of psychotherapies" (Wikipedia "Client-Centred" 1), is a positive approach to psychotherapy that uses the concept "here and now" and self awareness. Carl Rogers patterned his works from the existentialism theories of Abraham Maslow and the hierarchy of human needs. Other approaches that were developed from this concept but branched out to more specific systems were the Feminist therapy, Somatic Psychology, Expressive therapy, Brief therapy, Systems therapy, all of which use the modern approach of valuing the client's will to heal himself. (Wikipedia "Psychotherapy" 3) The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy does not stand on its own. In other words, it is a general term for a classification of techniques, an "umbrella term for many different therapies that share common elements" (Wikipedia "Cognitive" 2). Albert Ellis in the 1950's was the first to develop the combination of cognitive and behavioural approaches, the Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) and Aaron T. Beck developed the Cognitive Therapy. Richard Heimberg based his Cognitive Behavioural Group Therapy (CBGT) on CBT applying group therapy which made patients feel better when they knew that

Cultural Change and Transformation Throughout Military History Essay

Cultural Change and Transformation Throughout Military History - Essay Example The role of cultural understanding as a factor influencing military operations is examined in this paper. Reference is made to two particular military operations: the American Civil War and the Operation Iraqi...... The economic development between the North and the South was not equal; the North, based on the principle of freedom of all people no matter their race, was able to absorb the immigrants and support a rapid industrial development. On the contrary, the South where immigrants were needed for supporting the farming activities of the local population, different rules – in terms of equality among people – existed. In South, farmers were asking for more slaves in order to respond to the needs of the continuously increased production. For example, the production of cotton in South was increased to ‘2.3 billion pounds in 1860, i.e. at about 230 percent during the 1850s’ (Macrohistory and World Report 2011, online article). Under the above terms, the number of slaves in USA was continuously increased, reaching in 1860 the 3,953,760 – from 1.2 million in 1800s (Macrohistory and World Report 2011, online article). Almost all slaves were living in South, a fact that led to the clear cultural differentiation between North and South. In South, the political and military authorities respected the principles of equality and freedom; in South, slavery was the rule for black and people in minorities. In terms of the characteristics of the society also, North was different from South; in North, middleclass people represented the high percentage of the population, a fact that led to the development of different ethics and culture compared to the South where the distinction between the classes was significant; two main social classes could be identified in South: the farmers and the poor people (Macrohistory and World Report 2011, online article). On the other hand, in North people did not have many chances for entertainment. They

Forensic Accountants as Fraud Buggers Case Study

Forensic Accountants as Fraud Buggers - Case Study Example A forensic accountant must be equipped with investigative skills. These skills are important in gathering, evaluating and analyzing accounting data and audited information from business organizations (Ramaswamy, 2010). It is through these skills that a forensic accountant will be able to determine possible discrepancies and loopholes within audited accounting data and information (Carnes & Gierlasinski, 2001; DiGabriele, 2008). The effectiveness of a forensic accountant is measured by the ability to apply investigative skills to interpret accounting information and financial evidence to back misappropriation of resources within a business organization or company (Fleming, Pearson, Riley & Richard, 2008). Fraudsters within companies and business organizations often devise methods of embezzlement or fraud that are hard to detect. It is in this regard that a forensic accountant must have effective investigative skills to detect accounting problems which would not be determined by ordina ry auditing and accounting approaches (Bawaneh, 2011). Investigative skills also allow a forensic accountant to adhere to the ethics and regulations that govern investigations of criminal cases. Computing or technical skills are required for an effective forensic accountant. This is due to the fact that contemporary companies and business environments have adopted and implemented information technology methods in accounting and finance (Fleming, Pearson, Riley & Richard, 2008).... This is due to the fact that contemporary companies and business environments have adopted and implemented information technology methods in accounting and finance (Fleming, Pearson, Riley & Richard, 2008). Through computing skills, a forensic accountant is able to retrieve, analyzed and report financial evidence in electronic formats (Topping, 2008). More importantly a forensic accountant must be able to apply computer software and applications and other computer assisted tools to detect fraud or embezzlement of resources within companies (Fleming, Pearson, Riley & Richard, 2008). Modern business organizations are characterized by what is referred to as white collar crime in which technology is used to defraud or embezzle resources and hide evidence. It is in this sense that computing skills of a forensic accountant become significant (Carnes & Gierlasinski, 2001). Litigation skills area also required for effective forensic accountants. These skills are significant in the role of a forensic accountant as an arbitrator or mediator in legal accounting problems. These skills are also important because they enable forensic accountants to be effective experts and credible consultants who could be used by companies to detect and report fraud or embezzlement of resources. Through litigation skills, forensic accountants are able to evaluate damages and losses and find ways of resolving disputes among the disputants (Topping, 2008). Other important skills of a forensic accountant include analytical and forensic skills. Effective forensic accountants must have analytical skills that will empower them to determine the importance of the gathered financial evidence in reporting fraud (DiGabriele, 2008). Through analytical skills, forensic accountants analyze and professionally

Efficient Streaming Protocol for Transmitting Video Files

Efficient Streaming Protocol for Transmitting Video Files Chapter one Introduction Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Motivation Information in computer science might be represented in multiple forms. In the beginning the first used forms of information were text and images, after the huge increase of using computers and internet another type of information appears, it is the hyper text which is the combination of text and images. Hyper text is text pages that connected by hyper links (hyper link provide non linear access to the text pages no need to view all the pages sequentially to access a specific page) and then new forms are used like Audio and motion pictures or videos, nowadays a combination of these representations as well as the traditional forms (text and images) is called multimedia [LIZ04]. Multimediais a data type may contain multiple types of information like: audio, video, and animation in addition to traditional media (text, graphics, drawings and images), Digital multimedia is a data type represented by series of bits and manipulated by some multimedia applications and stored on some storage units like on CD or DVD or in multimedia servers. Digital multimedia can be interactive (non linear access) that can be manipulated with computer programs (create, edit, transfer), or non interactive (linear access) where the viewer is unable to control the multimedia like the presentation of movie in the cinema [LIZ04]. Hypermedia is a collection of many types of information like text, images even videos in one website or more that are connected together by some hyper links that provide non linear access to the media like encyclopedia which user can jump from article to the other or jump to the next mark in DVD. The figure 1.1 below shows the structure of Hypermedia. Figure 1.1 Hypermedia Multimedia applications are a computer based programs that are designed to manipulate multimedia data with different sources like text, graphics, audio and video [NIE07]. Multimedia applications can be found in many areas such as: Education, nowadays computer based training applications that designed to simulate the scientific experiments by creating the reactions environment and show the hypothetical results that should be produced from the row materials that will react in the reaction environment, these applications are safer for students from some experiments in real world as well they use some visual effects to explain some phenomenon like physical, chemical and geographic learning applications. Advertising, multimedia applications can be found in advertising and journalism like the advertising of products and places like restaurants and companies, in journalism nowadays electronic copies of magazines and journals. Entertainment, in this field multimedia is used to design video games and visual effects of games and movies, interactive multimedia is used heavily in video games that the user participates alone or with others on the same computer or over the internet not just sit and watch. Industrial sector, multimedia is used as a way to help present information to shareholders, superiors and coworkers. Multimedia is also helpful for providing employee training, advertising and selling products all over the world via virtually unlimited web-based technology. Mathematical  and  scientific research, multimedia is mainly used for modeling and simulation. For example, a  scientist  can look at a  molecular model  of a particular substance and manipulate it to arrive at a new substance. Representative research can be found in journals such as the  Journal of Multimedia, in engineering multimedia applications now used to design buildings and machines before implementing them in real world [LIZ04]. Since multimedia represents some motion captured and stored on some remote place there must be some kind of delivery mechanism to transfer multimedia files from its source (producer) to the destination (consumer) [LIZ04]. Multimedia delivery can be divided into two categories offline and online delivery, offline delivery means transferring multimedia, without using internet, by using removable storage medium like CD-ROM to the hard disk on one station, multimedia was spread widely after the increase using of CD’s DVD’s and now Blue ray which are large storage media can hold the large size of multimedia files, online delivery (also called Streaming) uses the internet for transferring the multimedia from the producer which is usually a server with bulky storage to the consumer which is the client who can be any terminal mobile phone, personal computer or television and takes into consideration the statues of the network the client and server are connected to. Online delivery transmits video files for events happened at the same time like video conferences, football games or video calls; or already processed and stored videos like video clips and movie trailers, online delivery multimedia and websites should be written in an efficient way to transmit or deliver the multimedia files and they are able to be read by the client, also there must be enough resources for the network and the client (which are available bandwidth, network throughput, congestion, and for the client the available buffer and client’s device speed, etc..) in order to transmit the multimedia file efficiently and the client has a successful experience [NIE07][LIZ04]. The adaptive streaming is the process of transmitting videos from the server to the client over internet in an efficient way depending on the network and client’s statues; to deliver videos faster and fewer pauses different qualities are saved to the same video and the server switches between these qualities according to the network and client’s statues. In this thesis, a proposed protocol for streaming videos in adaptive way is introduced; the protocol has two sides the server or the sending parity which is responsible of transmitting the video files to the client in an adaptive way and the receiving party known as the client who receives the videos and displays them on his screen, adaptive means taking into consideration the statues of network like the available bandwidth in order to transmit the video file to the client smoothly, the processing of the video files is done on line, in other words the video frames are processed during the transmission according to the available bandwidth measured at the moment, dislike the used technologies nowadays which they save more than one copy of the video file with different bitrates and transmit the proper bitrate version of the video to the client according to the available bandwidth. Literature Review In this section reviews to some related work for this thesis about the dynamic video streaming over the internet â€Å"A Buffer-Driven Approach to Adaptively Stream Stored Video over Internet†, by Dejian Ye [YED02], In dynamic video streaming technique many parameters can affect the streaming operation of video from a server to client one of these parameters is the buffer size of the sending and receiving parts, authors focused on the server and client buffer size and according to their statues server decide the quality of transmitted video, the buffer size and amount of available buffer size in the sender and receiver sides decide the quality of the transmitted video from the server to the client. â€Å"ENet Dynamic QoS Controller for Video Streaming Application†, by Qingyang Wang [WAN10], the popularity of video on demand and streaming over the internet increased and the limitations between the server and the client that may appear during streaming like supporting data type or bandwidth or computer speed and throughput and how to maintain a good QOS the authors design Enet which is a tool added to the server. Enet is a simple Fuzzy System used to switch between multiple bit rate versions of video, it picks the most appropriate bit rate to the client’s properties, this method takes a large storage space since it stores multiple versions of video with different bit rate for each video copy. â€Å"Adaptation Algorithm for Adaptive Streaming over HTTP†, by Konstantin Miller [MIL12]. Internet videos (live or on demand) take a large amount of internet traffic, in this paper authors build an algorithm for the client side which tries to improve the delivery of video to the client by making client selects the appropriate bit rate depending on the client and network conditions like bandwidth available buffer and network throughput. They integrated the algorithm with a prototype implementation of a streaming client based on the MPEG DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) standard which divide the video file into segments and each segment is saved in a number of different bit rates and client take the responsibility of selecting the most appropriate bit rate depending on the clients and network state. The design of the algorithm download the video file as segments one after the other and it uses one buffer that results client cannot receive the segment N unless it com plete receiving segment N-1. â€Å"Confused, Timid, and Unstable: Picking a Video Streaming Rate is Hard†, by Te-Yuan Huang [HUN12], Hulu, Vudu and Net Flux are three video streaming service providers that provide videos with high quality to the users with some fee. Videos provided by these services are divided to chunks with multiple bit rates for each chunk (when bit rate is slow chunk size is small and high bit rate the chunk size is big) and server switches between these chunks with different bit rates according to the available bandwidth. The problem is when requesting a video and start watching it and after some time another video requested a downward spiral effect appears which is bit rate goes down to the lowest level despite there is enough bandwidth for higher bit rate. â€Å"USING SCALABLE VIDEO CODING FOR DYNAMIC ADAPTIVE TREAMING OVER HTTP IN MOBILE ENVIRONMENTS†, by Christopher Muller [MUL12], DASH is the approach that is used to transfer video over the internet in dynamic way to the user, it’s done by saving multiple copies of the video each copy with different bit rate and the server starts switching between these copies or bitrates according to client’s specifications. In this paper authors uses scalable video coding (SVC) instead of advanced video coding (AVC or H264) which provide more flexibility to the system with the available bandwidth and the buffer size, But if the client switches from one bit rate to the other (higher or lower) and he already requested a chunk before, this chunk will be canceled. The server will save multiple copies of video as a group of chunks. SVC experiment and code depend on windows so it’s not available to other operating systems. â€Å"OPTIMIZING HTTP-BASED ADAPTIVE VIDEO STREAMING FOR WIRELESS ACCESS NETWORKS† by Xiaoling Qiu [Qui 13], Authors in this paper propose new approach for dynamic streaming videos over HTTP; their approach measure the available bandwidth of the network and client’s CPU speed and old measurements into account to select the best video quality using an optimization algorithm. This method contains optimization algorithm to select quality of segments to be sent to the client, but this method suffer from high computation rate. Aim of thesis The aim of this thesis is to build an efficient streaming protocol for transmitting video files from the server to the client with accepted waiting time at the client side. The work in the thesis focuses on video files transmission to provide the accepted delivery time, videos usually are large size files this needs compression method to be used to reduce the video file size when the available bandwidth is below the required level for transmitting videos without compression, also this thesis takes into consideration the quality of the delivered video, the quality of the received video is maintained since the used compression technique in the proposed protocol is lossless technique so there is no loss in the transmitted video file quality at the client side. Another important side in video streaming technique is the buffer management; the proposed streaming protocol uses a variable size for the buffers at the server side and the client side. This approach guarantees the efficient delivery of the required video file without take more than the required memory space. The limitations that affect the proposed protocol execution are: The execution on the internet is hard because it needs to reserve domain in a server over the internet, so the proposed protocol implemented on Local Area Network. The bandwidth values are not real and they were generated randomly to simulate the change on the available bandwidth in real world but the limit of bandwidth was selected depending on used LAN defined bandwidth. Outlines of the thesis This thesis is organized in five chapters as follows: Chapter one: â€Å"Introduction† This chapter begins with explanation of the meaning of multimedia and its applications in real world and also contains a list of reviews works related to this work. Chapter two: â€Å"Theoretical Background† This chapter contains description of the main concepts of video file, video streaming, compression and quality. Chapter Three: â€Å"Video Streaming Protocol† This chapter contains the proposed streaming protocol between the server and the client that satisfy the aim of this thesis of delivering video from the server to the client with little or no pauses and with acceptable quality. Chapter Four: â€Å"Experimental Results† This chapter contains the results of the video streaming protocol introduced in the thesis. Chapter Five â€Å"Conclusion and Future work† This chapter contains the conclusions and the future work for the thesis. 1