Character Analysis Of Robert Brownings My Last Duchess

The most attractive slice of the poem is the speaker himself, the Duke. Initially, its easy to identify him as a villain, since he had his wife murdered for what seems to be innocent crimes. And yet he is strikingly charming, both in his use of language and his genial speech. A remarkably immoral man nevertheless has a sense of beauty and of how to reel in his listener. In the dramatic monologue My Last Duchess by Robert Browning we see the grim character of the Duke that hides behind his charm and power. The Dukes extreme demand for control comes across as his most noteworthy characteristic. The obvious manifestation of this is not only the murder of his wife but also the way the Duke keeps her under the curtain. Her crime is hardly†¦show more content†¦The entirety of the poem has a skilful dramatic flair, from the unveiling of the curtain that is implied to precede the opening, to the way he gradually reveals the details of his tale, to his assuming of the envoys interest in the tale strangers like you†¦. would ask me, if they durst, How such a glance came there, (line 7) to his final shift in subject back to the issue of the awaiting marriage. He pretends to belittle his speaking ability Even had you skill In speech – which I have not –† (line 35) later revealing that he believes the opposite to be true, even at one point explicitly acknowledging how controlled his story is when he admits he said Fra Pandolf by design to peak the envoys interest. The envoy is the Dukes audience, as we are Brownings, and the Duke exercises a comparable control over his story that Browning uses in fashioning the ironic divide. An element of the noble life that Browning approaches in the poem is that of recurrence. The Dukes life seems to be made of repeated gestures. The most apparent being his marriage, the use of the word last in the title implies that there are possibly others. Maybe each with their own curtain-covered paintings along the same hallway where this one rests. The obvious overall theme of this dramatic monologue can be simply summed up in one word, power. The Duke is obsessed with hisShow MoreRelatedRobert Browning and the Dramatic Monologue1390 Words   |  6 Pages13, 2004 Robert Browning and the Dramatic Monologue Controlling Purpose: to analyze selected works of Robert Browning. I. Brief overview of Browning A. Greatest Poet B. Family Life II. Brief overview of My Last Duchess A. Descriptive adjectives B. Cause for death C. Description of his wife III. Definition of Dramatic Monologue IV. Comments by Glenn Everett A. Point of View B. Tone C. Audience Imagination V. Comments by Terry Bohannon A. No Christianity B. Evil Characters Robert BrowningRead MoreSimilarities Between My Last Duchess And Porphyrias Lover1113 Words   |  5 PagesTrue Love (A Discussion on Robert Brownings My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover.) Robert Browning wrote many amazing dramatic monologues during his time in the 1800’s. â€Å"The English poet Robert Browning (1812-1889) is best known for his dramatic monologues. By vividly portraying a central character against a social background, these poems probed complex human motives in a variety of historical periods†(Gale). Browning was super influential with his monologues during the Victorian period and evenRead MorePorphyrias Lover And My Last Duchess Comparison789 Words   |  4 PagesMeaning Of Brownings Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess (An Analysis of Comparing and Contrasting Brownings poems called Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess) Robert Browning was a Victorian poet. He portrayed an understanding of gender rules in his poems. Browning’s poems are similar to a puzzle, which makes the reader have to figure out what is really being said in the poem. Browning wrote two famous dramatic monologue poems called Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess. His poems createRead MoreAnalysis of Dramatic Monologue in My Last Duchess1866 Words   |  8 PagesThe Analysis of Dramatic monologue In My Last Duchess Abstract: Dramatic monologue which is an important poetic form which invented and practiced principally by Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Matthew Arnold in the Victorian Period. Though the technique is evident in many ancient Greek dramas, the dramatic monologue as a poetic form achieved its first era of distinction in the work of Victorian poet Robert Browning. Brownings poems My Last Duchess and Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, thoughRead More Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning Essay examples1222 Words   |  5 Pages Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning Murder mystery intrigue. All describe Robert Brownings poem, My Last Duchess. From the speakers indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader might easily think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His flowery speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, however, and the mystery is left unsolved. The poem is a great example of dramatic dialogue, a poetic form used to narrate and dramatize. It consistsRead MoreBrowning And Morality : The Victorian Era976 Words   |  4 Pageselements of the Victorian era can be seen through the analysis and emphasis of morality, particularly in regards to sexuality and the gender equality. Robert Browning is renowned writer of Victorian literature who despite critical reception, produced many pieces of literature that questioned the underlying values of society through dramatic verse. Through analysis of Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover, Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, and My Last Duchess, and a review of the literature, a relationship betweenRead More Relationships Between Women and Men in Brownings Poems Essay2589 Words   |  11 PagesRelationships Between Women and Men in Brownings Poems Robert Browning is described as ‘a love poet who was acutely aware of how women and men can be separated by jealousy or the passing of time’. In studying his poetry, what did you notice about the relationships he explores? What is revealed about the time in which Browning was writing? The ‘Love Poet’ Robert Browning was born in London in 1812. In 1846 Browning married the poet Elizabeth Barrett and eloped with her to Italy. AfterRead More On the Entrapment and Incarceration of the Victorian Woman Essay2388 Words   |  10 PagesThomas Blackburn describes the two Victorian poets, Robert Browning and Alfred, Lord Tennyson as being great contemporaries (47). As such it is apt that their works should muse upon and explore similar topics and themes. Their connection is especially evident in Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess† and Tennyson’s â€Å"The Lady of Shalott†. The themes of entrapment and incarceration feature heavily in both of these works. Specifically, it is the entrapment and incarceration of women which pervade their respectiveRead MoreAchievement of Self-Expression Through Concealment in Dramatic Monologue2761 Words   |  12 Pageswith and its usage attributed to the poet Robert Browning. Robert Browning has been considered the master of the dramatic monologue. Although some critics are sceptical of his invention of the form, for dramatic monologue is evidenc ed in poetry preceding Browning, it is believed that his extensive and varied use of the dramatic monologue has significantly contributed to the form and has had an enormous impact on modern poetry. The dramatic monologues of Robert Browning represent the most significantRead More Comparing the Male Characters of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess1720 Words   |  7 PagesComparing the Male Characters of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess The creation of a plausible character within literature is one of the most difficult challenges to a writer, and development to a level at which the reader identifies with them can take a long time. However, through the masterful use of poetic devices and language Browning is able to create two living and breathing characters in sixty or less lines. When one examines these works one has to that they are quite the achievements

The Failure Of The American Prison System - 1302 Words

The Failure of the American Prison System The subject of prison evokes fearful and violent images seen in movies or on television; outdated clichà ©s consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water that are intended to repulse people and deter them from committing crimes and ending up in such a position. Unfortunately, the reality of the American prison system is just as troubling as the dated stereotypes surrounding it. Despite its success in keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, the modern prison system fails in fulfilling its original design of restoring criminals to being productive members of society. It has proven to be an inefficient and ineffective system by focusing on punishment over rehabilitation, leading to issues such as overcrowding, wasting taxpayers’ money and a high recidivism rate. As children, most people learn obedience through punishment. When we do something â€Å"wrong† one or several privileges are taken away by our parents . Depending on the severity of a mistake, such punishment may last for a very short time or in some cases it may even be permanent. Many parents inflict the common punishment of not allowing their children to watch television for a certain amount of time. Such disciplinary methods often prove to be positive learning experiences that teach children right from wrong and instill them with values that prevent them from doing it again. Similarly, the United States prison system was initially designed with the same basicShow MoreRelatedThe Failure Of The American Prison System1344 Words   |  6 PagesThe Failure of the American Prison System Whenever you imagine prison, you think up ideas and violent images that you have seen in the movies or on TV.    Outdated clichà ©s consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water are only a small fraction of the number of horrible, yet â€Å"just† occurrences which are stereotypical of everyday life in prison.    Perhaps it could be a combination of your upbringing, horrific ideas about the punishment which our nation inflicts on those who violateRead MoreThe Failure Of The American Prison System940 Words   |  4 PagesThe Failure of the American Prison System What if someone broke into your house and stole everything of value and sold it so they could buy their next dose of heroin? Would you rather see them spend the next ten to fifteen years in prison? Or would you prefer the crime never happened because they got the rehabilitation they needed so they never robbed you for drug money?   The United States correctional system uses both punishment and rehabilitation when dealing with offenders. There are many waysRead MoreEssay about Therapy, Not Punishment843 Words   |  4 Pagesalways been a concern to society. There are many different ideas about what causes it and even more ideas about how to stop it. Dr. Karl Menninger believes that our current prison system is not adequately addressing the motivation behind crime. In his article Therapy, Not Punishment, Menninger says of the old prison system, In its place should go a quiet, dignified, therapeutic programÉ (544). He sets forth the claim of policy that criminals need to be tre ated with professional therapy. I dontRead MoreWhat Is Going On With The American Criminal Justice System?1645 Words   |  7 Pageson with the American Criminal Justice System? Incarceration is happening more frequently than ever before. Incarcerating our people is not the answer to helping our society, mainly those whom are incarcerated for non-violent crimes. Non-violent offenders make up over 60% of prison and jail population. America imprisons more people than any other country in the world. It’s time for prison reform to take place in America. Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, establishRead MoreThe Failure Of The Modern Prison : Understanding The Politicization Of A Total Institution Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pages The Failure of the Modern Prison: Understanding the Politicization of a Total Institution Juan Valdes UTPB Dr. Joanna Hadjicostandi Sociology 1301 Fall Semester Are prisons effective total institutions or do they more commonly fail in their goal of resocialization? In considering the effectiveness of prisons as total institutions, it is critical to examine the degree to which they successfully rehabilitate those who spend time within their walls. While prisons most certainly protect citizensRead MoreThe Rehabilitation System Is On Converting Criminals On Productive Members Of Society1384 Words   |  6 PagesThe rehabilitation system focuses on converting criminals to productive members of society. While there is a certain level of punishment in being forced to go through such a system, the goal is conversion, not revenge. This leads to a more moral society where those being released are less dangerous and less likely to return to prison. A rehabilitation system’s goal is to reintegrate every inmate back into society. A life sentence is a death sentence, and a death sentence helps no one. One NorwegianRead MorePrivatization Of A Capitalist Society1699 Words   |  7 PagesA criminal is easier to deal with when they’re found dead. A living criminal must be tried in court of their peers, provided legal representation, and then must have whatever prison time they receive - if any - paid for by the Government. Meanwhile a dead criminal just needs to be acknowledged then buried. When it comes to dealing with live criminals, a government finds itself in a position where it must provide for the safety and wellbeing of members of society that are often ignored, which canRead MoreDefining Accreditation675 Words   |  3 PagesAccreditation is defined as a verification system in which correctional agencies must comply with under the American Correctional Association. Privatization brings about competition between prisons and jails in the community. As a result, prisons and jails are encouraged to make improvements as deemed necessary. In addition to affecting prisons and jails, accreditation and privatization also has an effect on the professional development of corrections officers. In recent years, the correctionalRead MoreThe Flawed Drug Policy of America1691 Words   |  7 PagesAmericas Flawed Drug Policy Introduction: As a major policy issue in the United States, the War on Drugs has been one of the most monumental failures on modern record. At a cost of billions of taxpayer dollars, thousands of lives lost and many thousands of others ruined by untreated addiction or incarceration, Americas policy orientation concerning drug laws is due for reconsideration. Indeed, the very philosophical orientation of the War on Drugs and of the current drug policy in the UnitedRead MoreThe Incarceration Of The Correctional System910 Words   |  4 PagesThe correctional system in America is an umbrella term referring to a range of mandates that entails the management, supervision, and rehabilitation of convicted offenders. These mandates are often carried out through incarceration, probation, or parole, while prisons are the most popular correctional agency in America. Prisons in America were among some of the first public buildings established in the New World. Early prisons were not considered â€Å"houses of punishment,† but were rather referred to

Cultures Theoretical Models Free Essays

Cultures: Theoretical Models Walden University Cross-Cultural psychology examines human activities in various cultural settings, by engaging several approaches. Some of these approaches were self evident from the course video dealing with the Thailand women cultural wear of brass neck shackles. Evolutionary Perspective The culture of wearing brass neck shackles by the Thailand women is described by the relative evolutionary factors affecting human behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultures: Theoretical Models or any similar topic only for you Order Now Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection postulates that organism evolve with the pursuit of the biological traits that will promote longevity and survival. Such traits—aggressiveness, initiative, curiosity, obedience, intelligence, etc. , are so selected to reproduce offspring that will permeate and advance same competitive, advantageous genes to unending generations. These desired or preferred genetic—biological inheritance, elicited or interpreted in the form of beauty, reproductive behavior, proportional body size, bodily hormones, etc. form the bases for the cultural persuasion, (Shiraev Levy, 2010). The sexes utilize these endowments as a measure of selection or discrimination for or against opposite sexes. Applicably, in the case of the Thailand women, the evolutionary perspective will continue to maintain and uphold this culture of elongating the neck by wearing the brass-neck shackles, because the culture promotes the selection of mates with long neck as a desired gene and shows altruism in a woman; the women, on the other hand, display the feature of a long neck as an attraction for the right mate. By right mate, the woman, who, by nature, longs for stability and security, targets material support in a partner. Sociological Approach Sociological Approach is a â€Å"general view of human behavior that focuses on broad social structures that influence society as a whole, and subsequently its individuals;† (Shiraev Levy, 2010). Society as an entity creates social structures that are purposefully designed to assure its stability and conformity among its citizens. By creating these social norms, the society then imposes acceptance and subordination on the people. By default, the citizens of the society are nurtured and naturalized by the prescribed ethics and values. Consequently, these cultural norms and values are upheld in high esteem as a regulator of its citizen ideals, moral behaviors, ethics and expectations. Resultantly, the citizens pass on these cultural values or traditions from generation to generation, (Shiraev Levy, 2010). Upon the above premises, the traditional Thailand custom—women wear of neck shackles to elongate the neck, reinforces the societal expectations by subjectively promoting the act as a required and desirable form of beauty; the transference of the norm to posterity. Ecocultural Approach Using the ecocultural approach, explain how the woman’s interaction with the environment supports the actions she takes. The above approach coincides with the principle that entities are the product of their environment. In essence, individuals interact with the domain environmental factors; have the ability to transform it and to be transformed by it. These environmental factors relate to ecological context—the economic activity of the population in reference to austerity of food, quality of nutrition, homeostasis, as well as, the density of the population. All these exert a considerable impact on individual. Another factor is the sociopolitical context—relates to the degree of the people’s involvement in both global and local decisions. Inclusive in this context are the presence or absence of political freedoms, ideological values and organization of government, (Shiraev Levy, 2010). Thus, economically hostile environment creates cross-cultural differences, hence, the less privileged will be concerned or consumed with fending for daily scour; as a result, retain a culture of their own environment. As well, in politically unstable environments, long term customs are affected adversely. In the case of the action of the woman in the video, fleeing her country of origin to Thailand, to preserve her custom of wearing brass neck shackles intended to stretch the neck, was prompted by political instability and hostile environment, when in 1962, the Military Government decided to modernize the society and get rid of all primitive and tribal customs. All three approaches of examining human activities in human cultural settings—evolutionary, sociological and ecocultural approaches share similarities, among which are: They human organisms in a given setting maintain a defining culture or custom that governs their ways of life. These customs uphold their value system and detect their moral and ethical behaviors. Secondly, all three approaches show that these traditions, customs or culture are die-hard; and they are passed on from generation to generation. Nonetheless, certain differences exist among them. Firstly, while evolutionary approach observes culture or custom development from a natural selective—biological, principle and its outcome or foundation remains solid, the sociological approach deals with the development of culture through the impart of large social groups or institutions. The customs from the preceding setup are prone to undergo changes or reformations that produce societal disorder, economic disenfranchisement and dual-social order. Evidently, every society is regulated by one form of culture or the other. Such culture can be denoted with modernization, traditional or both. The clearer understanding of the custom of wearing brass neck shackles—for neck elongation, as shown on the video, was provided evolutionary approach. This is because of theory of natural selection; in which a desired trait is preserved and showcased. Such that, in the case of the Thailand women, the custom is the means of being selected by and attracted to the well-off men for economic security. Reference: Shiraev, E. , Levy, D. (2010). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications (4th ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Pearson Education, Inc. How to cite Cultures: Theoretical Models, Papers

What Is a Professional free essay sample

What is a professional? After a week of research I think it is safe to say its not Just someone who possesses a marketable skill as I thought. According to Michael Bayle a profession has three necessary criteria. First he says there is extensive training required to practice any profession. For example, to become a doctor in the United States you have to graduate from a 4 year college in a strong pre-med program, you have to take and pass the medical College Admissions Test (MICA) then you have to do 3-7 years residency. The second element to any profession has to have a significant intellectual component. For example if you want to be a successful physician, you must have a true intellectual curiosity and devotion about medicine and the sciences and to have the self-determination and motivation to go after it. And third element Bayle said that the trained ability has to provide an important service in society to be classified as a profession. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is a Professional or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If we were to use the physician again as an example obviously he carries out duties every day in order to help others and save peoples lives. Some other common features Bayle associates with reversions is having good Judgment, autonomy in his or her work, organization of members, and credentialing (earning a license or certificate in your occupation). Once again, a physician would be a great example in this case. Only an educated, professional physician with qualified credentials is permitted to treat patients as a medical doctor in the United States. Referring back to my discussion paper this week I had mentioned a professor named DRY. Same Salts, he was a biology instructor at Portland State University. He is a brilliant, self-determined, well-educated doctor room India. When he lived in India he had attended college then med-school and even worked as a doctor for many years. However, when he moved to the United States the U. S. Did not recognize the medical school he attended in India so he is not allowed to practice medicine here in the United States. He was informed he would need to complete medical school all over if he wanted to be a doctor here. He was however, allowed to teach undergraduate classes at multiple colleges in the area. What are your thoughts on this? Dry. Salts does have 3 out of the 3 criteria that Bales identifies as necessary. Yet he cant get licensed here to practice. So is he now considered a professional teacher? What if he doesnt make the best teacher however, was an amazing doctor? Although I feel bad for Dry. Salts I would not want to use him as my physician or surgeon unless he was licensed in the United States. As I would have no way to hold him accountable if something went wrong which brings me to my next point, The fact that professionals in certain occupations can be held accountable to the public is an important distinction from those who may do the Job s an amateur or on a non-professional basis. Take this scenario for example, if Im a homeowner and my toilet starts backing up as well and my tub is not draining. I could look on scraggliest for a non-licensed plumber and hire him to save me a little money, however what happens when he comes out and snakes the drain and appears to fix the problem yet, the next day I start the washer in the laundry room and I go in the bathroom and there is poop everywhere overflowing from the toilet and coming up in the tub? I call the non-licensed plumber back and he says Oh must be he main line I cant taxi that. I would d be very upset but I wouldnt be able to hold TN plumber I hired to the same standards as I would a licensed professional plumber. Another example is a carpenter worker who builds houses to meet his basic needs. I think he could meet two of the three criteria. Although he may have extensive hands on training and have and provides an important service in society he doesnt always have the significant intellectual component it takes to become an architect to build sky scrapers. I have learned from this assignment that Just having a title, or working n a certain field, being trained in a certain field, providing an important service in society does not make you a professional. If you want to be a professional you have to be an expertise in your field, and be educated and continue to keep your education up to date and be licensed or governed accordingly as well as you might have different ethical responsibilities. I believe a professional is someone who has an extraordinary skill set and can use those skills to do important things for the public and their well-being. Such as doctors providing effective medical treatment by applying their medical knowledge to diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, or the chief engineers, ensuring that the plans for construction of the Max transit system are safe for the mass public to utilize on daily basis for years to come.

Royal Dutch Shell

Table of Contents Introduction Political risks Stakeholders Needs of the Locals Code of conduct Reference List Introduction Royal Dutch Shell is the largest oil producer company in Europe whose origin can be traced in Netherlands and Great Britain. The firm’s corporate headquarters are located in Hague, Netherlands while its registered office is in London, United Kingdom. The energy and petrochemical giant is listed in Amsterdam’s Euronext and London Stock Exchange.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Royal Dutch Shell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Fortune Global 500, Royal Dutch Shell ranks as the second largest multinational company with Wal-Mart being the number one. With a massive $285,129,000 in revenues, $12,518,000 after-tax profits and $292,181,000 assets in according to its 2010 financial statements, Shell overtook global giant Exxon Mobil to be the market leader wi thin the petroleum refining industry. The firm’s incumbent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Peter R. Voser. Shell has a human resource base of 102,000 employees and operates in more than 90countries. Its biggest operations are in United States and it operates as Shell Oil Company with its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas. Other major countries where the firm operates include Japan, Nigeria, Qatar, and Australia and so on. Political risks There are a number of political risks affecting the firm’s operations in its international operation. Nigeria has one of the biggest oil and natural reserves in the world estimated to last at least forty years. Shell is facing unending crisis of militants in the Niger Delta. Niger Delta, the largest producer of oil and natural gas in Africa has been facing attacks from armed militia men leading to the company losing millions of dollars (Frynas, 1998, pp.457-478). Kidnapping and ransom is rampant in this volatile region, forcing shell and other oil and petroleum multinationals such as Agip, Total, Chevron and ExxonMobil to spend millions of dollars in beefing up security. For instance from 2005, Shell Nigeria reported bombings of major pipelines followed by pockets of attacks on the installations and facilities. The people being targeted are mainly the contractors and the staff. Demands for monster share of oil revenues from the region and release of militants arrested by government authorities are Main reasons for the sporadic attacks (Shell report, 2005). However in 2009, amnesty program was introduced to encourage ceasefire and make the militants to voluntarily surrender the weapons (Tatersall, 2010, para. 2). Another factor affecting the firm’s operations in Nigeria relates to the upcoming general elections. With the next presidential elections scheduled to be held in April 2011, the country is bound experience intense political tension. This would negatively impact the operations of oil conglom erates in the region.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is unknown if the current head of state, President Goodluck Jonathan, will run for the top seat. Considering that he hails from Niger Delta, his supporters expect him to contest for the race. Elections have had effect on Shells operations. Nigerian Government struck a deal with the armed militants in the Niger Delta to stop sabotage against pipelines belonging to Shell, but there are reports that the militants are not satisfied with government promises of jobs and other financial aids. Therefore, there is a high probability that the militants will be used by the politicians for intimidation purposes. As a political consultant for Shell Company with regard to its operation in Nigeria, the company in conjunction with the government should increase monetary rewards to the militants in addition to creating more em ployment opportunities for the locals. This will have an effect of reducing poverty by providing steady income to the people of Niger delta. Stakeholders Royal Dutch Shell has various stakeholders. A stakeholder refers to a party with a vested interest in a firm’s course of operation. The stakeholder can be either an internal such as the shareholders and the employees or external such as the customers and local communities (Docstoc, 2010, pp.4-13). Other stakeholders include oil producing countries. Satisfying the needs of all stakeholders is not an easy task as simple as it appears. For example, setting the pricing of fuel has been challenging for the company. Natural gas and crude petroleum prices have been rising steadily leading to an increase in profits from the company (Press TV, 2010). Such price increases affects the demand of petroleum by motorists. This arises from the fact that local gas stations hike gas prices. Needs of the Locals Shell must also satisfy the need s of the local communities. However it comes at a cost. For instance in Nigeria, Shell has been forced to embark on environmental rehabilitation occasioned by oil spills. Clean ups and remediation is costing the company million of dollars (Shell report, 2005, pp.29). These cleanups are meant to restore the land which has been polluted heavily by decade of oil spills. The government and Shell have been forced to pay people of Niger Delta $1.5 million for causing environmental damage.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Royal Dutch Shell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Code of conduct The Shell code of conduct clearly stipulates the beliefs and values which are applied in the daily operation of the company . The general business principles are eight and they include principle of economics, principles of competition, principle of business integrity, principle of political activities of companies and of employ ees, principle of health, safety, security and environment, principle of local communities, principle of communication and engagement, and principle of compliance (Shell international limited, 2006, pp. 15-16). It’s mandatory for Royal Dutch Shell to follow the code of conduct when operating in the foreign countries. For instance, it must comply with laws of the foreign country it operates otherwise it risks facing legal actions. It must pay corporation tax as expected by the governments, and also abide to environmental laws existing in the countries. Shell BP has many social programs in the countries of operations. For example in Nigeria, Shell is tackling issue s related to corruption (Shell report, 2005, pp. 28). In addition, the company has embarked on serious anti corruption campaigns in Nigeria to sensitize the people on the need to eradicate the vice. In the recent past, Shell has investigated its contractors and consequently interdicted those found guilty. Royal Dutch Shell management team must monitor politics and economic performance so as to make effective operational decisions. Reference List Docstoc. (2010). Balancing stakeholders needs @ shell-Business Ethics. Web. Frynas, J. (1998). Political Instability and business: Focus on Shell in Nigeria. Third World Quarterly. Volume 19, Issue 3. New York: Butterworth.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Press TV. (2010). Shell profits hike 50% on oil price. Web. Shell. (2005). The Shell sustainability report 2005. Web. Shell International Company. (2010). Shell code of conduct: How to live by the Shell General Business principles. London: St lves Westertham Press. Tatersall, N. (2010). Factbox- Key political risks to watch in Nigeria. Web. This research paper on Royal Dutch Shell was written and submitted by user Trey H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Royal Dutch Shell RDS plc, commonly referred as Shell, is a well known multinational oil corporation of British and Dutch beginning. Globally, it is 2nd largest privately owned energy firm, and one of the principal energy superiors (vertically amalgamated private segment oil exploration, natural gas, and oil product marketing firms). The corporation has its principal offices in The Hague, Netherlands, with its official offices in Shell Centre, London.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Royal Dutch Shell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Royal Dutch Shell core business involves exploration, production, processing, transporting and marketing of oil and gas products. Also the firm has considerable petrochemicals investments (Shell Chemicals), as well as nascent renewable energy sector developing wind, solar and hydrogen energy opportunities. RDS plc is incorporated in Britain with its commercial headquarters in The Hague (Bahgat 2003; M ishkin 1998). Also its tax residence is based in Netherlands, while its primary listings are on both London Stock Exchange as well as Euronext Amsterdam (only â€Å"A† stock shares are recognized as part of AEX index). On global perspective, Shell runs its businesses in over 140 countries. While Shell Oil Company based in Houston, Texas, is one of the group’s principal division. RDS principal business is basically the management of vertically incorporated oil corporation. The establishment of technical, financial and commercial expertise in all the spheres of this core vertical integration from the scope of exploration, production, transportation, refining in addition to marketing, forms the principal capabilities on which the group was founded. The company has applied these aspects to its production and marketing segment and this contributed to its stable and proportional profit margins (Peters 2000). Also the vertical business blueprint has given the company consider able economies allowing establishing explicit barriers to entry both geographically and on worldwide levels in specific areas of the energy market. However, the company noted vertical integration was diminishing in value despites the profound structures (Miller 2007).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Delivering value shareholders Royal Dutch Shell plc has been described as a unique due to its organizational structure. This has made to be one of the most prominent organizations in the world such as the Roman Catholic and the UN. However, the group’s organizational structure is more complex than either of the two mentioned organizations. From its inception the group has over the years strived to provide the best services to its clients as well as its shareholders (Wang 2005). Considering that the group is an incorporation of Royal Dutch and Shell, the group has formulat ed an approach that is unique in structure and execution. The said approach is referred as governance responsibilities. From management perspective this approach has helped in the manner Royal Dutch Shell handles are issues regarding shareholder satisfaction. Though, the groups approach to diverse attributes regarding shareholders do not correlate to the ordinary managerial scope, it has over the years proved to be one of the most rewarding organizations despite its controversial undertakings around the world. Royal Dutch Shell plc, common business principles determines how this group conducts its external and internal affairs. The objectives of the group are to efficiently and effectively engage, responsibly and profitably in gas, chemicals, oil and other preferred investments. This includes exploring and developing other dynamic sources of energy so as to meet the mounting requirements of energy in the world. Equally, the group maintains a high standard of performance as well as a profound long-term position in the business environment. Also the corporation works closely with its clients, partners and policy-makers so as to advance more reliable and sustainable use of energy and other natural resources. In order to deliver value to its shareholders RDS plc has established set of principal values-openness, veracity and respect for people. Also the group strongly believes in the fundamental essence of trust, honesty, teamwork as well as professionalism, including pride in what they do. These objectives are reflected in the group’s business principles. And as part of its obligation to quality delivery they have initiated acts of balancing short as well as long term interests, incorporating monetary, environmental and civic considerations into group’s decision-making.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Royal Dutch Shell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These parameters have been reflected in the manner the group has succeeded in delivering value to its shareholders for the last five years (Pilbeam 2005). According to the market analysts, the company managed to deliver an average TR (TOTAL RETURN) of 2.55 to its shareholders (See Table 1). Delivering value to shareholders plays a critical role to each and every commercial organization. Perhaps it is from such understanding that Royal Dutch Shell opted to diversify and provide its shares into two distinct classes-A and B (RDS-A and RDS-B). From 2005-to-2010 RDS-B was better placed in regard to use investors and shareholders (Emilio 2009). The scope of this was that the shareholders enjoyed 15% tax exemption in that they were not Danish citizens. Also to sustain the value allied to service delivery, every RDS American Depository Receipt was valued at two shares traded either at Amsterdam or London. Also, the group managed to deliver a 0.55% average yearly increase in its EPS commencing from 2005. The mounting increase in crude oil as well as gas prices played a role in boosting the group’s earnings. However, the swift fall in energy prices in 2008 and 2009 including to feeble global demand saw a 26 % decrease in anticipated earnings per share in early 2009 to $ 3.09 (Haley 2006). While for 2010 fiscal year analysts had anticipated the earnings to mount by almost41% to $5.77/share. Equally the company was expecting EPS to reach 25%. The scope of this observation was trained at providing the shareholders with satisfactory results. Also these results were anticipated to provide the shareholders with the best returns in regard to their investment in the group. To improve on its service delivery and the scope of increasing its profit margin the company initiated a process of disposing some of its unprofitable properties and refineries. Due to the shareholders demands the group has since 2005-2010 embarked on cutting down its global labor force in order to secure $1 billion in savings. However, as is with strong and uninterrupted focus being on company’s economic discipline including capital efficiency, Royal Dutch Shell has over the last five years been positioned to move on generating shareholder value in its operations and service delivery.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The groups strategies from 2005-2010 was on stringent approach to diversified capital investment, creating a stable balance sheet as well as enhancing service delivery and distribution to its shareholders. This resulted in RDS setting its goals within this period on the scope of prioritizing on the to-most returning investments as a measure of improving the ROCE (return on capital employed) and capital efficiency. Equally, the group optimized its portfolio within this period by disposing its non-core investments. The proceeds were employed in enhancing debt reductions as well as improving the service delivery to her shareholders. This resulted in establishing profound financial positions, competitive market control as well as laying emphasis on cost control and operating excellence, hence providing the shareholders with the topmost value and profitable returns. The success of Royal Dutch Shell plc in delivering value to her shareholders lies to the group’s concept of inspired leadership. The scope of leadership influenced its market position, annual returns as well as its stability in the stock markets. With sound leadership, solid management procedures and disciplined financial control helped the corporation in providing the shareholders with the expected services reflected in the value of the group. Despite the unstable global energy markets RDS plc continued to explore diverse areas by which the delivery of value was reflected in the group’s profit margin including the groups share index in the leading stock markets globally. And this is illustrated by the fact that the company has persistently doubled its dividend payment after every six years. The 2009 shares reports testifies to this observation (See Table 2).and this is a instrumental pointer of the groups success in delivering value to its shareholders. How and why the market value of Royal Dutch Shell plc equity has changed over the past 12 months The groups combination of strewed execut ive power together with groups operating authority including its financial responsibility which has been evenly dispersed through its 250 operating organizations, shows that, evaluated against any other oil corporation, its services are compactly decentralized. However, the economic dynamics and technical realities present in the energy sector have seen it that the group embraces the best service approaches. The group’s matrix system indicates that the group had undergone unprecedented changes within the scope of past 12 months. The scope of these changes touched on the organizations market value affecting the anticipated market capitalization heavily. Economic instability and the group’s performance have over the period of last one year resulted in decimal RDS market value. As is testified by the group’s quarterly report it is emerging that the group is attempting to reverse the current decline in its sales. For instance, the group’s total revenue moved from 45.66% to $ 130 billion in mid June 2009 (Richardson 2011). The reason the market value of RDS plc equity has changed can thus be attributed to slow consumption of oil products globally. Also the rate at which shares are plummeting at all major stock markets can be another major reason contributing to these changes. Equally, the scope of production and price fluctuations has compelled the RDS equity to acquire a new dimension within the 2nd quarter of 2010 which has persistently crossed 2011 1st quarter. As established by 2nd quarter of 2010 the company’s market equity was anchored within the range of $ 434 billion which was substantially lower by 3.0% as compared to $ 447 billion three years earlier. The drop in value can be attributed to the group’s stock loss which stood at 29.22% from the previous financial year (Iftekhar, et al 2010). Thus, the manner investors are purchasing the groups share can be described as being cautious. This has resulted in the decima l market performance. Though the company is on the path of restoring its falling market supremacy, it is evident that its market value increased substantially with 115.1% within the 1st quarter of 2011. In essence, within the span of 12 month the group has shown unstable move, despite the fact that its operational margins increased with an average of 29.0% from the previous year. Return on capital employed as well as ROE (return on equity) were considerably low and this affected the market value of the company’s equity as compared to other competitors in the same 12 months period-June 2010 to June 2011. Basically, it is difficult to simplify the factors affecting the RDS equity value due to the diverse conditions enveloping the entire stock market. However, the group’s fundamentals which touch on revenues as well as valuation factors are core factors that affected its equity value during this period. Though other factors such as inflation, the groups market behavior, i nvestor behavior, market liquidity and economic circumstances affected the group’s market value negatively. The manner this occurred can be attributed to RDS plc internal factors such EPS, DPS (dividend per share), as well as the group’s book value (Richardson 2011). Hence, the investor’s reaction to the group’s dividend resulted in the group’s equity devaluation. It ought to be noted that inflation as well as interests during the twelve months had a negative impact on the group’s stock prices. This observation can be supported by the instances of higher consumer prices, low money supply, as well as interest rates (Haley 2006). Exploring the relationship between inflation and industrial production as well as the stock prices relating to RDS, the monthly results covering June 2010, to June 2011 indicates that the relation of the group’s stock prices and inflation was all time negative. Also, this can be explained by the group’s poor relationship exposed by macroeconomic factors which are typical within the equity market. Despite the changes that have affected RDS market capitalization within this period, it is evident that the group had exhibited attractive attributes relative to other energy corporations within the leading stock markets such as London, New York, and Amsterdam. Though, the group’s shares have for the last nine been low due to markets and economic crisis which was experienced in the 2nd quarter of 2009. The group has thus realized that differentials in equity market, differentials growth in stock market and differentials in evaluations distinguish the performances of equity markets globally. The group’s market capitalization has witnessed massive negative results as is with other super majors. This has resulted in the group inability to enlarge its production and this has considerably affected its market value. Equally, the dwindling investable resource quotas have played a co nsiderable role in the corporation’s profitability in relation to its equities. Thus, much of the groups remaining pools that are easily accessible and are resourceful to the corporation have been taken by governments which are anticipating controlling the oil production in their distinct regions. And this has resulted RDS plc equity being undervalued. However, RDS has opted to invest in other venues of energy such as natural gas as well as liquefied natural gas in order to boost its market value (Aaseng 2000). Net Asset Value Net Asset Value refers to a groups or a company’s total excluding its total liabilities. For instance, if RDS has securities including other assets worth (total assets and total equity) $ 470.573 billion, the group’s total liabilities are $172.78 billion. Thus, the group’s Net Asset Values is $297.793 billion. Net Asset Value is paramount in regard to valuation of any organization shares especially in areas where the value of the gi ven organization comes from the assets it attains rather that the earnings generated by the given business (Leffler 2010). Price/ Earnings Ratio Basically, valuation ratio of any organization current share price evaluated to its PS earnings is typically calculated as: Earnings per Share (EPS) Noting that RDS was trading at $20.46 a share while it’s earning over the last 12 months were $ 3.09 per share,thus,the P/E ratio for RDS would be $ 6.60 ($20.46/$3.09). All in all, higher P/E may illustrate that investors are anticipating for higher earnings in the days to come in relation to organizations with lower Price Earnings Ratio. Discounted Cash Flow Royal Dutch Shell reported a 30.2 growth in regard to cash flow as per the latest quarter indicators standing at $9.7 billion, a remarkable increment from $7.40 billion in the similar period a year ago. When evaluated against year over year growth in duration of one year trailing cash flow of 30.04%, the quarterly increase depicts a decrease in the groups operating income progression, which may likely contribute to fewer earnings. This may compel the organization to cut its operating costs so as to sustain its profit margins. The groups debts, defined as TD (total debts) minus COH (cash on hand) ranging from $20.03 billion is plainly 1.23 times greater than in relation to the groups last financial period EBITDA calculated to be $19.09 billion (Leffler 2010). What this depicts is that the apparent ratio standing at 41.82% less than it was at the end of the similar quarter a year before, and this is a noteworthy decrease. Equally, this provides the group with substantial flexibility in the manner it manages its balance sheet so as to stimulate instances of future growth, paying out for it dividend as well as pursuing its premeditated goals such as acquisitions. In addition, minor signs indicate that Royal Dutch Shell is managing its balance sheet conservatively, its overall debt as a proportion of total capital was lessened during the last 12 months while its COH increased. The entire debt currently stands for 20.40% of overall capital as compared to 23.5% twelve months earlier, while it had $ 19.40 billion in COH last financial period, 62.04% more than as it was recorded at the end of the previous year. These key developments have enhanced the group’s fundamental flexibility in preparing the ground for the future growth and development opportunities so as to enhance its overall returns to its shareholders. Also, to measure the true economic income generated by Royal Dutch Shell during the past twelve months, operational costs as well as cost of capital, both debt and equity are considered. Hence, based on the twelve month period trailing operating revenue, the group had a sum of 17.81% return on its $196.95 billion of sum invested capital, which comprise ordinary and preferred equity, in addition to long term debt (Leffler 2010). Its total subsequent to tax cost of capital is prof oundly slanted towards equity, through a total after tax expenditure of 6.70% weighed against to a 0.21% cost of arrears The group’s EVA (economic value added), which is attained from deducting the 7.00% overall cost of assets from its ROI (return on investment), is 10.80%. This is a concrete return to investors for a twelve months period. The corporation increased its monthly common share on December 31, 2010 by 5.01%, to 85.00 cents a share from 79.05 cents (Iftekhar,et al 2010). It has at this moment spread dividends continually for the past five years and based on this latest disbursement the stock is now yielding 5.00%. The $10.40 billion in ordinary dividends remunerated by the corporation last quarter was responsible for 32.0% of its cash flow in addition to 16.0% of overall earnings after taxes. This comparatively reserved payout was lesser than the 19.10% of revenues paid out in the twelve months which had ended immediately a quarter earlier (Tabak 2010). Combined wi th commonly positive fundamentals, the present payout point affords the corporation suppleness in raising its share in the future devoid of eating into its balance sheet should it desire to do so (Tabak 2010). Basically, there are diverse methods employed by firms to critically evaluate their performances. Hence, there those procedures which are fit for specific businesses. Thus, in as far as the Royal Dutch Shell is concerned the above explored procedures shed light on the best method which can be employed to provide the reliable results. Looking at the values provided it is apparent that all the procedures examined have each provided a distinct value for the company. However, correlating the market performance with the groups equity discounted cash flow can be said to have provided the utmost value for the group. The significance of the value provided by discounted cash flow is that it generates values close to ISV (intrinsic stock value) (Shaxson 2010). Also, the groups DCF can b e said to be relative to the diverse evaluation procedures, which are in essence exploits multiples to evaluate stocks as demonstrated in the stock markets. Some of these relative valuations favoring DCF are linked to price earnings, price-to-sales as well as EV/EBITDA ratios which are essential in evaluating the group’s performance. What this depicts is that DCF depends on the scope of free cash flow (Davidson 2009). More so, free cash flow has been established to be a reliable measure that easily penetrates through the stock market estimates commonly embraced in groups reported earnings. Thus, regardless of whether the scope of cash outlay is considered as an expense or equally declared as an asset on the balance sheet, as per DCF, free cash flow is employed to track the groups fund left over for the shareholders. And this makes the value arrived at through a DCF to be the most appropriate for the group (RDP 2006; Teall 2004). Conclusion Between early 2009 and 2011 the petr oleum industry experienced unprecedented economic challenges due to the unstable global economy. This has also been attributed the Arab revolution and civil instability in some of the oil producing countries. From the fundamental perspective of global economy Royal Dutch Shell faced compact competition from other sources and this affected its market performance including the value of its equity (Brown,2007). Also the parallel loss of control over certain sources in both Africa and Caribbean saw its profit margin decreasing over the last 12 months. However, as the world economic powers are in the verge of restructuring the global economy the group has since the last quarter of 2010 posted positive results as demonstrated by its shares in all major stock markets. References Aaseng, N.,(2000). Business Builders in Oil. NY:OUP. Alvarez, A.,(2004) Offshore: a North Sea Journey. Rome:TN. Bahgat, G.,(2003) American Oil Diplomacy .NY:Prentice. Haley, J.,(2006). Foreign Oil Dependence. Rome. McMillan. Brown, J.,(2007)Oil and Revolution. Berkeley: University of California. Davidson, P.,(2009) Financial markets, money and the real world. NY:Edward Elgar Emilio, C., and Stanca,L.,(2009) Financial Market Imperfections. Springer. Leffler, G.,(2005) The Stock Market. NY:Ronald Press. Levinson,M.,(2010) Guide to Financial Markets.NY: Bloomberg Press. Miller, J.,(2007) Oil Prices: Backward to the Future. Cleveland:FRB. Mishkin, F., (1998). The economics of money, banking, and financial markets. Addison Wesley. Iftekhar,H and William, H., (2010). Bank and financial market efficiency. Emerald Group. Peters, E. (2000)Fractal Market Analysis.NY: John Wiley and Sons. Pilbeam, K.,(2005). Finance and Financial Markets. Palgrave Macmillan. Richardson, B.,(2011)Energy and Security Revolution.Oxford:OUP. Royal Dutch Petroleum (2006) Annual Report 2005.the Haag: the Netherlands, 2004 Shaxson, N.,(2006) Poisoned Wells : the Dirty Politics of African Oil.NY:OUP Tabak, J.,(2010) Natural Gas and Hydrogen. NY: TP. Teall, J.,(2004) Financial market analytics. Greenwood Publishing Group. Wang, G.,(2005) Real Options: the Key to Values. Oxford: Imperial College University. Tables Table 1 source: Levinson (2010) Table 2 Source: Richardson (2011) This report on Royal Dutch Shell was written and submitted by user Paula E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Howard Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligence

Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence The next time you walk into a classroom full of students leaping mid-air, painting passionately, singing soulfully, or writing madly, its likely you have Howard Gardners groundbreaking  Frame of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences  to thank. When Gardners theory on multiple intelligences came out in 1983, it radically transformed teaching and learning in the U.S. and around the world with the notion that  there is more than one way to learn -   in fact, there are at least eight! The theory was a huge departure from the more traditional banking method of education in which the teacher simply deposits knowledge into the learners mind and the learner must receive, memorize and repeat.   Instead, Gardner broke open the idea that a disengaged learner might learn better by using a different form of intelligence, defined as a biophysical potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture. This defied the previous consensus on the existence of a single, general intelligence or g factor that could be easily tested. On the contrary, Gardners theory posits that each of us has at least one dominant intelligence that informs how we learn. Some of us are more verbal or musical. Others are more logical, visual, or kinesthetic. Some learners are highly introspective while others learn through social dynamics. Some learners are especially attuned to the natural world whereas others are deeply receptive to the spiritual world.   Gardners 8 Intelligence   What exactly are the eight types of intelligence  posited in Howard Gardners theory? The seven original intelligence  are:   Visual-Aesthetic  learners think in terms of physical space and like to read or visualize their words.  Bodily-Kinesthetic  learners are keenly aware of their physical bodies and like creative movement and making things with their hands.  Musical  learners are sensitive to all kinds of sound and often access learning through or from music, however, one may define it.  Intrapersonal  learners are introspective and reflective. They learn through independent study and self-guided experiences.  Interpersonal learners learn through social interaction with others and enjoy group dynamics, collaboration, and encounters.Linguistic learners love language and words and enjoy learning through verbal expression.Logical-Mathematical  learners think conceptually, logically, and mathematically about the world and enjoy exploring patterns and relationships.   In the mid-1990s, Gardner added an eighth intelligence:   Naturalistic  learners have a sensitivity to the natural world and can easily relate to plant and animal life, enjoying  patterns found in the environment.   Theory in Practice: Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom For many educators and parents working with learners who struggled in traditional classrooms, Gardners theory came as a relief. While a learners intelligence was previously questioned when he or she found it challenging to grasp concepts, the theory pushed educators to recognize that each student has myriad potential. Multiple intelligences served as a call to action to differentiate learning experiences in order to accommodate the multiple modalities in any given learning context. By modifying the content, process, and expectations for a final product, teachers and educators can reach learners who otherwise present as reluctant or incapable. A student may dread learning vocabulary through test-taking but lighten up when asked to dance, paint, sing, plant, or build.   The theory invites a great deal of creativity in teaching and learning and over the last 35 years, arts educators, in particular, have used the theory to develop arts-integrated curricula that acknowledge the power of artistic processes to produce and share knowledge across core subject areas. Arts integration took off as an approach to teaching and learning because it taps artistic processes not only as subjects in and of themselves but also as tools for processing knowledge in other subject areas. For example, a verbal, social learner lights up when they learn about conflict in stories through activities like theater. A logical, musical learner stays engaged when they learn about math through music production.   In fact, Gardners colleagues at Project Zero at Harvard University spent years researching the habits of artists at work in their studios to discover how artistic processes may inform best practices in teaching and learning. Lead researcher  Lois Hetland and her team identified eight Studio Habits of Mind that can be applied to learning across the curriculum at any age with any kind of learner. From learning to use tools and materials to engage with complex philosophical questions, these habits release learners from the fear of failure and focus instead on the pleasures of learning.   Are There Limits to Containing Multitudes?   Multiple intelligences invite limitless possibilities for teaching and learning, but one of the biggest challenges is determining a learners primary intelligences in the first place. While many of us have an  instinct about how we prefer to learn, being able to identify ones dominant learning style can be a lifelong process that requires experimentation and adaptation over time.   Schools in the United States, as a reflection of society at large, often place imbalanced value on linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligence, and learners with intelligence in other modalities risk getting lost, undervalued, or ignored. Learning trends like experiential learning, or ‘learning by doing’ attempts to counter and correct this bias by creating the conditions to tap as many intelligence as possible in the production of new knowledge. Educators sometimes lament a lack of partnership with families and note that unless the theory extends to learning at home, the methods don’t always hold in the classroom and learners continue to struggle against stacked expectations.   Gardner also warns against labeling learners with any given intelligence over another or implying unintended hierarchies of value among the eight types of intelligence. While each of us may lean toward one intelligence over another, we also have the potential to change and transform over time. Multiple intelligences applied to teaching and learning contexts should empower rather than limit learners. On the contrary, the theory of multiple intelligences radically expands our immense and untapped potential. In the spirit of Walt Whitman, multiple intelligences reminds us that we are complex, and we contain multitudes.   Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein is a poet, writer, and educator from Chicago, IL (USA) who currently splits her time in East Africa. Her essays on arts, culture, and education appear in Teaching Artist Journal, Art in the Public Interest, Teachers Writers Magazine, Teaching Tolerance, The Equity Collective, AramcoWorld, Selamta, The Forward, among others. Visit her website.

Identify on a local or national level how terrorism is financed Research Paper

Identify on a local or national level how terrorism is financed - Research Paper Example Since contemporary age has witnessed large scale terrorism particularly in the wake of cold war between the USA and the former USSR and the advent of purported New World Order, which has divided the globe into different groups on the basis of religion, economic condition and geographical location. The 9/11 catastrophe has determined new dimensions of international relations, where different nations and societies declared their opponents as terrorists in the light of the attacks on WTC, New York. Though the intellectuals view the catastrophe as a nefarious act designed by the US intelligentsia to capture the resources existing in the Islamic world, the western world found the hand of Osama Ben Laden and his companions in the entire catastrophe, which looked for taking revenge of the American and Israeli atrocities on the Muslim population of various countries. Tarpley (2004) observes that 9/11 was an example of state-sponsored, false-flag, synthetic terrorism, and hereinafter called s ynthetic terrorism. Consequently, the Gulf based Al Qaeda was unanimously declared as the most notorious terrorist organization busy in challenging the very peace of the world. ... Somehow, it is also is a reality beyond suspicion that no corporate firm or organization intentionally provides any terrorist group with the financial support; rather, the planning cell of terrorist organizations manages to receive the same in the sacred name of religious institutions, humanity, health, education and other humanistic purposes; the same is applied on the anti US reactionary militant group Al Qaeda. Financial Action Task Force (2008) is of the view that terrorist financing requirements fall into two general areas: (1) funding specific terrorist operations, such as direct costs associated with specific operations and (2) broader organizational costs to develop and maintain an infrastructure of organizational support and to promote the ideology of a terrorist organization. Like all other militant groups, the organization under investigation also requires financing to run its administrative or structural as well as operational activities. The administrative activities inc lude the expenditures spent on the establishment of offices, staff recruitment, co-ordination with media, communication and propaganda activities and payments and salaries of staff members. They also include the payments of utility bills, sharing and exchanging of information and recruitment and hiring of the militants. Moreover, arrangement of residence, health and medical facilities related to the top leadership is also the part of administrative expenditures. While discussing the operational activities, allocation, appointment and placement of the militants is one of the most significant operational activities of the terrorist organization. Since Al Qaeda has to

CNN International and Al-Jazeera Arabic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

CNN International and Al-Jazeera Arabic - Essay Example CNN International started transmissions on January 1, 1984 at first broadcasting to American business travelers in hotels. The huge bulk of the network's programming primitively consisted of simulcasts of the two domestic CNN channels, CNN/US and Headline News. However, the quantity of news programming created by CNN International especially for international viewers significantly enhanced, in 1990, which came forth as an internationally oriented news channel with staff members of various national backgrounds. On July 4, 1997, CNN International was awarded the Liberty Medal and in accepting the medal on behalf of the network, Ted Turner said: "My idea was, we're just going to give people the facts†¦We didn't have to show liberty and democracy as good, and show socialism or totalitarianism as bad. If we just showed them both the way they were†¦clearly everybody's going to choose liberty and democracy." ... ates was launched on January 11, 2009 and CNN International adjusted half an hour in its schedule with a new evening prime program for the Middle East viewers â€Å"Prism†. From January till September 2009, CNN International conformed more programs that went pitched to a primetime European audience with a few titled after CNN International charismas especially the interview program Amanpour. The channel plunged a new tagline "Go Beyond Borders", accenting the international view that gives the information in this string and the plurality of the audiences and also referring to the various platforms to broadcast their contents, along with a new logo on September 21, 2009. The Channel amalgamated its general newscasts (CNN Today, Your World Today, World News, World News Europe and World News Asia) into a single newscast entitled World Report. CNN International has launched new programs for evening-prime and meliorated its schedule from 2010. The Domestic CNN has increased the CNN International schedule by adding the new talk show program â€Å"Piers Morgan Tonight† in 2011. Today, CNN International has six variants namely: CNN International Europe/Middle East/Africa, based in London, England, United Kingdom; CNN International Latin America based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; CNN International North America based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; CNN International Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong SAR, China; CNN International South Asia based in Hong Kong SAR, China; and CNN International Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.3 Al-Jazeera Owned by the state of Qatar and headquartered in Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster through the Qatar Media Corporation. Al Jazeera was initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel and

CARING AS AN ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CARING AS AN ART - Essay Example In Bernice’s book â€Å"from silence to voice: what nurses know and must communicate to the public† the definition of a patient is expanded to include a person who is not aware of the requirements to improve and protect his health and therefore nurses must help him pass the information on his health needs. Health is the psychological, physical and societal well being of an individual, which cannot be taken to mean absence of an illness. Bernice expands this definition of health to include the right of a patient to have his needs understood as this helps in increasing speed of recovery and protection against illnesses. Environment is defined as the surrounding or the conditions that an individual lives in; this definition does not deviate very much from the one that is meant in Bernice’s book. The only difference is that Bernice has used the word environment in a health setting to include all stakeholders in health care. Caring can be defined as an art since it re quires an individual, who is probably the nurse to perform several functions at the same time, for instance, a nurse is required to answer questions that a patient might ask, show compassion, provide a patient with food and at the same time provide medical attention. In addition, a nurse is also responsible for communicating the condition of a patient to the physician, pass information to the family and community on how to care for the patient to help him recover fully and any other information that is required by stakeholders. Performing these responsibilities at the same time define nursing as an art. As a science, nursing is concerned with the results of the process of health care; what is wrong with the patient? Why is the patient in the hospital? What information is needed in order to plan the care that is to be given to patient? In addition, when should the doctor intervene? Are some of the practises that need to be supported with evidence therefore making nursing a science. T he interaction of the two aspects of nursing is critical to the provision of quality nursing care since omission of one aspect may hinder fast and full recovery of the patient. For instance, when performing a certain procedure, such as feeding a patient on a certain type of food, explaining to the patient why your are giving him that type of food will enable him to have confidence in you therefore he is likely to cooperate. A friend of mine who has been in the nursing profession for the last 10 year had several experiences with patients that shaped her career in nursing. One of the experiences she had involved a patient suffering from cerebral malaria whom she had been allocated to take care of. The patient was always violent and did not want anybody close to him including the physician who was treating him. Attempts to tie him to his bed or give him sedatives had proven futile since his violence tendencies did not stop. As the nurse in charge, my friend decided to use a different a pproach; she would go to the patient’s bedside and try to talk to him in a bid to convince him they were trying to help him. Initially the patient was violent towards my friend but after some few days, he calmed down and was willing to listen to what my friend had to say. She would explain to him about the condition he was suffering and how the doctor would help him and after sometime, the patient was very

History of sony ericsson as a company

History of sony ericsson as a company EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sony Ericsson is a joint venture of Sony and Ericsson which take place in October 1st, 2001. They starts work together because they wants to become the communication entertainment brand, by inspiring people to do more than just communicate, and enabling everyone to create and participate in entertainment experiences. Experiences that blur the lines between communication and entertainment.    Sony Ericssons main head office is in London. In this report we cover topics like main objective behind this joint venture, main strategies behind this joint venture, what motivates them to make this joint venture, why this joint venture was not as much successful, what problems they faced in the start of this joint venture and how they could make this successful by considering strategies which we describe. INTRODUCTION Sony Ericsson got in to alliance on 1st October 2001 and the main objective of this alliance was to be the worlds leading position in mobile phones. SONY In 1946 Sony Corporation were founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. G-TYPE recorder (Tape player or recorder) was the first hardware device created by Ibuka and Morita in 1950.   From Western Electric they earned licensing rights to transistor. Sony released first pocket transistor radio in 1957. There engineers completed cathode-ray tube in October 15, 1967 that helps them in video innovation. They introduced Trinitron television for picture quality and for the penetration in the global market they design this in 1968. Its Japanese multinational company, and its one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, products for the consumer and professional markets. Basically it is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony is uniquely positioned to be a leading personal broadband entertainment company in the world. ERICSSON Ericsson was founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus. He started making phones with the potential of improvements in technology. Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership, like they are providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries. Ericsson is the only company in the world offering systems for all major mobile communication standards, actively promoting standardization and open systems. REASONS FOR JOINT VENTURE The main reason for the venture was to integrate Sonys consumer electronics expertise with Ericssons technological knowledge in the communications sector. Ericsson was the buying chips from single source that was Philips. A fire erupted causing a huge loose at Philips, due to which Philips was unable to provide the chips to Ericsson. Ericsson faced a huge loss due to this incident. There were rumors that Ericsson might sale its handset division but it found a way to join hands with Sony which could help it to recover. The Vision of the Company is: â€Å"To become the communication entertainment brand, by inspiring people to do more than just communicate, and enabling everyone to create and participate in entertainment experiences. Experiences that blur the lines between communication and entertainment.† HISTORY OF SONY ERICSSON AS A COMPANY Joint Venture of Sony Ericsson starts from October 1st, 2001. The basic ambition behind this joint venture is to provide their expertise for the establishment of Sony Ericsson products in the mobile phone manufacturing industry. Sony was the marginal player in the mobile phone market with the share of less than one percent, but Ericsson was at 3rd position and was successful in mobile phone manufacturing industry. Due to fire at the Philips factory who were the single source supplier of Ericsson, this incident creates a huge impact at the performance of Ericsson. Company couldnt fulfill the dead lines of orders completion and due to this Ericssons market share fell down, because they were relining on only one supplier. MOTIVATION BEHIND THIS JOINT VENTURE Joint venture often taken place because of Transaction Cost Economics, because in this cost of sole ownership of an organization is greater than the joint ownership of an organization. This is also the main reason of this joint venture because Sony wanted some edge in mobile phone industry and Ericsson wanted to save its mobile phone manufacturing business. Resource-based view is another factor that motivates Sony and Ericsson to make a joint venture. According to this point of view firm make alliance because of tangible and intangible valuable resources this creates a unique competitive edge in the industry that couldnt be imitable by any other competitor; this could also help for the improvement of performance. Like Sony wanted technical knowhow of communication technology from Ericsson and Ericssons wanted new technology of Sony that will help them in the market competition, thats why they starts work together and make combination of both company technologies. Another motivational factor is organizational learning or knowledge because this also motivates Sony and Ericsson for making this alliance. With the help of this companys could easily acquire each others skills and capabilities that could also help organizations to make a new and innovative product with low cost that is also Sony Ericssons objective of alliance. Strategic Management is also the motivational factor of this alliance, which were used by both Sony and Ericsson companies. Both companies make this alliance because they wanted to make a competitive edge in the mobile phone manufacturing industry and also to maximize profits. Thats why they design symmetrical strategy for the attainment of final goal. Sony were interested in this joint venture because they wanted to entre in mobile phone manufacturing industry and Ericsson entered in this joint venture because they were worlds number three mobile phone maker and they were facing huge loss due to fire at Philips plant who was the sole supplier of Ericsson, so they wanted to become a successful in mobile phone manufacturing industry. Sony knows that Ericsson have access knowledge about technology in communication sector and this could help them in entrance of this industry. Sony Ericsson after making this joint venture stopped making their separate mobile products and starts working together. Sony form alliance with LM Ericsson. Before formal announcement of this joint venture, many news papers published that this joint venture will cover the wide range of areas such as development, manufacturing and marketing of mobile phones. They sets target of expansion of Sony Ericsson products to the major markets of Europe, Japan, other parts of Asia and United States. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this joint venture is â€Å"to develop an alliance that would allow Ericsson to reduce spending on the costly development of next generation mobile phones at a time when many European telecom companies see their inventories piling up as the worlds cell phone market is growing much more slowly.† STRATEGY Sony Ericssons strategy was to release new models capable of digital photography as well as other multimedia capabilities such as downloading and viewing video clips and personal information management capabilities. When they start as a Sony Ericsson company they released many models which were new and innovative mobiles, main features of those mobiles were digital photography, downloading facilities etc. There key innovations are cheap camera phones, cross platform technology, operating system experimentation and there milestone handsets are Sony Ericsson T610 in 2003, Sony Ericsson P900 in 2003, Sony Ericsson W800i in 2005, Sony Ericsson K800i Cyber-shot in 2007, Sony Ericsson W910i in 2007. Up till 2008 Sony Ericssons numbers of employees are approximately 9,400 worldwide and their employees on contract bases are 2,500. Since October 2009, president of company is Bert Nordberg and CEO and President is Sir Howard Stringer. Chairman of the board is Sony Corporation. PROBLEMS THE JV HAS ENCOUNTERED SINCE THE FORMATION The joint venture faces losses in the start, their targeted date of making profit were shifted from 2002 to 2003. They couldnt fight the main competitors of mobile phone manufacturing industry and came at fifth position in the market. The main problem behind this loss was there misrepresentation of their product in the market. Its necessary that companies go for innovations and provide satisfied product to customers but its also important that we should also know that customers always want something new and different. So to provide them new and different mobiles company should always go for best Research and Development tools and techniques. Because if your R D department is not up-to-date, it means that you are not providing products to customers which they really want. The second main problem which they were facing that they could not catered different markets effectively, because after making joint venture they starts working without get to know that what really customer needs and wants are. So due to this lack of information their products starts facing losses and then they had to remove their product line from the markets. Like in 2002 they stop manufacturing Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile phones for the market of United States and starts focusing on GSM as a dominant technology, due to this change in US and Germany number of jobs cut in research and development department. The third problem they were facing was they invest a lot without get to know that what market situations now-a-days are. Like in 2003 mobile phone prices starts declining but still Sony Ericsson were making expensive mobiles, due to this they couldnt make as much profits as they were expected. They are facing problems because they are focusing at cost-cutting programs and job losses. In June 2008, they were having 12,000 employees and after launched this cost-cutting program it had slashed its global workforce by around 5,000 people. R D is an important department for any organization and it play an important role for mobile phone manufacturing companies, but Sony Ericsson take this as a cost and closed R D departments which were working globally like Chadwick House, Birchwood (Warrington) in UK; Miami, Seattle, San Diego and RTP (Raleigh, NC) in the USA; the Chennai Unit (Tamil Nadu) in India; Hassleholm and Kista in Sweden and operations in the Netherland, UIQ centers in London and Budapest were also closed. Due to this change they couldnt manufacture innovative products for customers and this is the main reason behind the failure of this joint venture. WHY JOINT VENTURE IS NOT SUCCESSFUL? Joint ventures often failed because company not build customer base products, due to which customers switched to other competitive products that provides them more reliable and innovative products. This is also the main reason of failure of joint venture of Sony Ericsson. They were providing innovative products but marketing strategy was not as much effective that they could attract customers. They were not providing the advanced versions of mobiles as much early as other competitors of mobile phone manufacturing were providing. There R D was slow as compared to other mobile phone manufacturers. They were not focusing at proactive approach, they were also not productive reactive. So due to this they were facing problems.  Ã‚   Joint venture always successful if company set a target, because it shows that in which direction they are moving. Sony Ericsson also faces the problem of not meeting the set date profit, due to which they face loss. So its necessary that target should already be explained and company works together for the achievement of target. This joint venture is also not as much successful because Sony wants results as early as possible and Ericssons were not making profits as per expectations, so due to this they starts cut number of jobs and also remove Research and Development departments which were working globally, due to this they couldnt make innovative products according to customer needs. And when any technical business dont have R D department that helps organization in the development then how they could move in the industry successfully. Sony Ericsson s joint venture was not as much successful because they were not working for the attainment of goals which were designed after the joint venture, both were worried for their individual goals like Sony was worried because they wanted market share in mobile phone manufacturing industry and Ericsson was worried because they wanted their industry reputation back. So thats why they were facing problems. STRATEGIESUSED TO ADDRESS THE JV PROBLEMS According to our analysis Sony Ericsson must follow these strategies that will help them to gain a long term market share and it will also help them to make a successful joint venture in future: First step they should have to take place that they conduct the depth analysis of different markets according to different countries, that will help them to get to know that what particular region related customers are expected from them and what they could provide them according to customer expectations. Sony Ericsson must make a connection to customers that will help them to get market share in the mobile phone manufacturing industry. They should have to conduct regular meetings to their customers, with the help of this they could get to know that what their customers really think about their business, what type of products they really want and how they could provide them products according to their perceptions that satisfies them. By listening process they could find that what potential needs are of customers and how they could provide them effective solutions. By using feedback technique they could also remain in connection to their potential customers, this could be more effective if it could be done periodically. There must be a coordination among all business units this will help them to bring a product that will satisfy needs of customers and that will be unique. They must have a strong marketing campaign that will create a positive impact on overall business, because good representation of product attracts customer. They should also have to use social marketing outlets like Facebook, Google etc for the promotion of their products; this will enhance its public exposure.

Growth and Maturity in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay -- essays research

Building Blocks of Growth and Maturity In To Kill a Mockingbird Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudice. As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults. Boo Radley’s maturity is depicted in the novel when he overcomes his fear and interacts with Scout, Jem and Dill. Boo, who is notorious for being a recluse, is a shy, lonely man who rarely leaves his house and does not understand the world around him. However, when he finally comes to interact with the children, he matures both mentally and socially. One example of when Boo matured physically was when Boo rescued Jem from Mr. Ewell. Boo finally found his inner strength and decided to enter the woods and save Jem. By doing this, he demonstrated that he learned to overcome his fear and be around others. A second example is when Boo laughed at Scout, Jem and Dill. When Boo laughed, the author does not tell us the type of laugh. â€Å"Through all the head-shaking, quelling of nausea and Jem-yelling, I had heard another sound, so low I could not have heard it from the sidewalk. Someone inside the house was laughing† (Pg.41). The laugh could have a variety of different implications. The laugh could be foreshadowing that Boo will come out of his house and talk with Scout, Dill, and Jem.... ...st in school by learning about Hitler and the horrible historical events that have happened in the world. Her maturity is expressed by what she has learned about the world around her and can apply those things to her every day life. Moreover, Scout has matured greatly in the novel and she has learned many lessons about life, family, and womanhood. Over all, the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee have grown and matured throughout the whole novel. Boo’s maturity development is shown when he faces his fear of being with the outside world, Aunt Alexandra having some difficulties facing prejudice but, becoming more accepting of others, and Scout developing and learning lessons that she could apply to her everyday life. It shows that no matter whom the person is or what their troubles are, they all grow and mature in their own unique ways.