Alternative Approaches to Discipline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alternative Approaches to Discipline - Essay Example In a world fraught with strife and violence, Non Violent Communication (NVC) comes as a welcome change. NVC is a unique communication process as it is based on the principle of giving and receiving with compassion. It comprises four essential components such as: observations, feelings, needs and requests. In order to communicate non-violently or rather compassionately, one has to incorporate the aforementioned components while speaking to others. For instance, if one feels hurt about some incident and wants to talk about it, he or she must first state the incident, then talk about how he or she felt about it, followed by what particular need in him or her triggered such a feeling and also, follow it up with a request so that the person feels he or she is understood. NVC is an effective communication process as it draws the listener to an individual’s feelings, needs and expectations in such a way that the former feels compassion and tries to empathize with the speaker. Alterna tively, if someone is in trouble, a person who practices NVC can go a long way in redressing grievances by lending a patient ear and supporting with an empathetic heart. Rosenberg mentions an incident wherein he was called a ‘murderer’ and in a short while, was honored by the accuser, through an invitation as a guest for Ramadan dinner. The reason for this is that incident clearly manifests he had listened to him compassionately and had a heart-to-heart conversation with him (Rosenberg & Gandhi, p. 13, 2003). This shows that NVC is an effective and reliable mode of communication. On the other hand Polland’s discipline approach is extensive in nature where he gives an overview of the behaviors that children and adolescents exhibit at various stages of their development. Therefore, formulating a disciplinary action involves considering the age of the child or adolescent, the particular situation he or she is in and also arriving at a decision based on logical groun ds. For example, according to Polland, it is not a suitable punishment when a parent prevents a child from watching TV for dirtying the ceiling because such a punishment has no link with the misdeed. Instead, suggests a punishment of making the child clean up the ceiling so that he or she realizes how tedious a job it is and refrains from repeating it. A lot of insight goes into choosing a disciplinary action. It is made very clear in this discipline approach that there is no right way of disciplining. Parents by way of reasoning are expected to choose the right disciplinary action. The NVC approach and the discipline approach for children and adolescents share commonalities as well as differences. Both the approaches encourage open communication through questioning, listening and acknowledging the feelings of others. For example, in NVC one doesn’t not assume reasons for the other person being unhappy , but constantly questions and patiently listens to all that the person ha s to say and then arrives at a conclusion as to what needs and feelings made the person think or feel so. Similarly, in the discipline approach adopted by Poland, parents are always instructed to listen to everything the children have to say, even though they might lie. Therefore, the underlying principle on which both the approaches are based is the same: acknowledging individual’s feelings and then responding. The NVC process can

Herbert Marcuse: One Dimensional Man

Herbert Marcuse: One Dimensional Man This thinking paper will examine Brookfields interpretations of the above article, and endeavour to explain from the empirical writings of Herbert Marcuse, his thoughts on emancipating Ideological beliefs and encouraging Liberation. Marcuse beliefs highlighted further what he saw was a One Dimensional Society with only a One Dimensional Thought. Their way or the high way! This predisposes challenges in these social movements to combat oppression and thus encourage Liberation, in a genuine socialist society. Although Marcuses writings signify he was a fan of elements to Marxs Ideology, he also found Marx, in his day, was not a true libertarian who did not consider or connect himself with the individual. As a result, if Marxs theory was to continue to remain credible, Marcuse decided to act as a catalyst for the reassessing and re-examination of oppositional social movements in combating oppression and domination. His movement directed us through three pathways Rebellious subjectivity, liberating tolerance and Conceptual thought in Criticality, from the perspectives of reassessing Marxism and in the practices of Adult Education. Marcuse, found the concept of socialism, to be the most important issue, which precipitated and gave rise to his movement. He felt the concept of socialism had taken Marxs theory and developed it to become more focussed on the development of the productive forces Capitalisation and promotion of learning as a commodity, into another higher productive society which alienated and isolated individuals. Furthering his view, this could generate critical dispositions which he termed as rebellious subjectivity. To alleviate rebellious subjectivity, encouraging liberation of aesthetics from the demands of capitalism within classrooms, adult educators endeavour daily to create conducive learning environments Ultimately inspiring liberation in a genuine socialist society today! Concurring with Brookfields resonation to Marcuses idea of repressive tolerance, diversity in education could be construed as the dominant culture appearing to be more open to the learners voices, when in fact it is a refined way of reasserting its control over public discourse remoulding the junior and leaving certificates and with the introduction of CAS (common awards system) in 2010, into adult education. We can, as adults be resistant to change but we also recognise manipulation. Thus surmising as adult educators, in the field, we need to critically be very carefully in our classrooms too! In the practice of liberating tolerance, Marcuse identified to be inclusive, fair and equal to all running discussions, listening to the voice of the learner and developing curricula to accommodate different learning styles, was of paramount importance in critical adult education. However, is this really in existence and to what level of acceptance is it? Brookfield highlighted Marcuses disagreement for those who did possess radical opinions and rebellious perspectives and argued that such tolerance is repressive, not liberating. (Brookfield, 2002) Although concurring with the majority of the literature and Marcuses ideas, as an advocate of listening to the voice of the learners, with the freedom to express their viewpoints, are educators allowing this to selfishly improve their own practices? However, I too am dancing to the tune of somebody elses fiddle, by issuing a disciplinary for time keeping, attendance, disruptive behaviours. Could this not subtly be perceived as a contradi ction to my beliefs, reasserting control over public discourse too, and constricting freedom more and more? Unwittingly serving to reinforce an unfair status quo (Brookfield, 2002) concluding that dominant mainstream perspectives still overshadow the minority in practice! Lastly, Brookfield reviewed the writings of Newman and his view on conceptual thought in Criticality. Newman(1994) states that critical thinking is about laying blame and defining enemies, both are necessary precursors to informed social change. (Brookfield, 2002). It can be argued that to liberate learners, accountability and ownership are crucial to develop individual positive visions. Yes, criticality can be both positive and negative. Negative feedback in the classroom can motivate learners! Concurring with Marcuse, in order to truly feel great liberation, we need to get great refusal. We get knocked down, but we get back up again! Onwards, upwards and forwards Change and liberation does not happen without the forwards. However, in general, adults are not always receiving of constructive criticism, previous experiences can cloud judgements! Brookfield states that Marcuse is at odds with those adult educators who emphasize that the road of criticality begins with examining the sp ecific experiences of adult learners. (Brookfield, 2002). On the other hand, it can be argued that this view is crucial in criticality in order to enable the learners to self-correct. References Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), p. 274. Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), pp. 265-280. Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), p. 271. Brookfield, S. D., 2005. Critical Theory for Adult Learning and Teaching. Berkshire: Open University Press. Brookfield, S. D., 2005. Learning Liberation. In: Critical Theory for Adult Learning and Teaching. Berkshire: Open University Press, p. 182. Graham Cagney, A., 2016. Reading No. 10 Marcuse on Liberation, Waterford: s.n. Does Hip Hop Culture Influence Youth Gangs? Does Hip Hop Culture Influence Youth Gangs? Gang violence and the use of violent weapons have been highlighted by the media recently. The government have initiated aims in order to curb and deal with gang violence in the United Kingdom. In order deal with this issue, influencing factors have been acknowledged. This research explores the supposed influence that the hip hop culture has on young males engaged in gangs, and their willingness to use violent weapons. a systematic review of the literature and a qualitative content analysis of four songs lyrics have confirmed that there are themes which are consistent with the attitudes and behaviours that young people express due to the music they listen to. A significant proportion of the literature that surround young people and youth gangs in the UK focuses on possession and use of weapons (e.g. Bullock and Tilley, 2002; Bennett and Holloway, 2004b; Marshall et al, 2005). Research by Lemos (2004) found that some young people were likely to carry weapons through fear of being attacked by other gang members or more worryingly because they associated it with being cool. This was also reflected in Kinsellaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s (2011) report for the government, following the murder of her brother Ben during a knife attack in 2008. Through visiting several projects across the country, Kinsella found two prominent motivational factors that were highlighted in each project. Those were à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fashionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Some young people in the projects explained that they carried knives because they feared that others were also weapons, and so felt it necessary to carry knifes as a method of self-protecti on. Chapter 1:  Introduction Youth gangs and the attitudes and behaviours of young males have been a major issue in the United Kingdom. Researches and theories have been conducted in order to evaluate the emergence of youth street gangs. The murders of innocent young people in the last decade have urged the government and academics to conduct reports and research on gang and post code gang feuds. Due to an increase of gang violence the government introduced the Gang Injunction within the Police and Crime Act 2009. The gang Injunction is aimed at preventing young people from engaging in, encouraging and assisting gang related violence (Home Office). Research from the Associations of Chief Police Officers (2007) and Pickle (2009) show that apart from gang members being involved in gangs, they are also engaging in the use and possession of violent weapons. Hip hop artists have been criticised by politicians and the media for influencing young males to engage in violent behaviour. However this idea is not supported by research and can be rejected, because when looking at research from government reports and academics there is no evidence to support the idea that hip hop influencing young males behaviour and attitudes. However research from Kubrin (2005) and Miranda and Claes (2004) who are both Canadian and American, suggest that some of the themes in hip hop are reflected in the behaviour of young males. So therefore there is a relationship between hip hop and young males, but unfortunately this research has not been conducted in the United Kingdom. In the response to the lack of research on the link between hip hop and youth gangs and violence, the aim of this study is to the answer the research question: Youth Gangs: Does the Hip Hop culture Influence Young Males in the UK to Join Street Gangs and the Use of Violent Weapons? In order to answer this research question and to find out whether there is a link between youth gangs and hip hop culture, this research will explore if the use and possession of violent weapons is really glamorised by hip hop, or whether the claims by the government and media are unjustified. The main aims in this research are to: Find out if beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of young gang members can be attributed to the lifestyle portrayed by hip hop artists. Establish where prominent behaviours in the literature, song lyrics and images of hip hop artists can be associated with the influence of violent weapons Apply theory to the attitudes, behaviours and the prominent themes associated with gangs in order to provide a more holistic approach. These aims will be conducted through a discussion of literature from books, journals, government reports, newspapers and media articles. A content analysis will be conducted on hip hop (Grime UK) song that young males may listen to, and a semiotic analysis on images of hip hop artists. Chapter 2 of this research provides a literature review looking into the problems with gang definition, the UK new gang culture, the background of gangs, gang membership, the possession and use of violent weapons and the hip hop culture and the influence of hip hop. Chapter 3 focuses on the methodology and outlines the approach that has been conducted during the research process. The research design and the analyses are included in this chapter, alongside the ethical considerations. Chapter 4 discusses and evaluates the analysis of the hip hop song lyrics, the signs that images from hip hop portray using a semiotic approach and then finally the themes that emerged from the literature and lyrics. These three themes are drug dealing, which is discussed in relation to rational choice theory, strain theory and differential association theory. The second theme is street credibility and this is discussed in relation to social identity theory and masculine theories. The final theme is the Territorial post code wars, this theme is discussed in relation to social capital theory and social learning theory. Chapter 2:  Literature Review This chapter will be exploring the literature surrounding young males, gangs, violence and weapons. As well as the influence the hip hop culture can have on these young males. Different literature such as books, journals, government reports, newspaper articles and research studies will be examined and reviewed in order to view the current state of gang culture and violence in the UK. The following issues will be discussed in order to examine relevant literature on the study. Gang definition, the UK gang culture, gang membership, and the background of gangs in general, the possession and use of violent weapons and finally the influence of hip hop culture on young people. The problem with definition The term Gang has had some issues surrounding its definition, and this is a problem that remains dominant within the UK based literature. The definition of the term has been mainly developed with reference to American gang culture. Some theorists argued that a new definition of the term gang should be given for the new gang culture in the UK. The reason behind some definitions given to describe the gang culture in America was investigated by Ball and Curry (1995) they believed that although it is easy to identify a gang, the real issue arises when attempting to create a definition. After engaging in a lengthy linguistic analysis of various ways to define gang, they proposed that gang definitions would do better to focus on the abstract, formal characteristics of the phenomenon rather than connotative, normative content (Ball Curry, 1995:240). Ball and Curry (1995) also stated that old definitions for the term are acceptable but due to the frequent changes in sociological, political and cultural changes it is important to have a new definition for the term, because the changes may affect the phenomenon of gang culture. Despite the need for a current definition, government and academic organisations believe that a fixed definition is essential in order to develop further research into gangs. For example the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) stated that it was difficult to determine the proportion of crime that contributed to gangs, because the agreed definition of gangs on the data base was non-existent (ACPO, 2007:14). The Metropolitan Police Service (2008) also identified several other factors that differentiate a gang from relatively small, unorganised and transient peer groups. These factors include names, an organisable structure, and the use of violence and delinquent behaviour to promote group identity and to acquire social capital (Metropolitan Police Service, 2007: 21) The UK New Gang Culture The media, government and professional academics have all raised their concerns about the growing perception of gang culture in the UK. The media frequently report criminal activity, and in response some academics have argued that the media sensationalises the gang problem in the UK (Alexander, 2008:4). Other academics such as Bullock and Tiley (2002) have also suggested that the need to understand and tackle the gang violence is more important instead of sectionalising gang violence. Following the medias numerous reports regarding the increase in high profile gang related crimes since 2007, Heale (2008) stated that youth gangs have been frequently highlighted in the media. The fatal shooting of an innocent five year old girl in Stockwell in 2012, Is another incident that caught the medias attention. Thusha Kamaleswaran was left permanently paralysed after a gang related shooting occurred at her aunts shop (Telegraph, 2012). The media suggested that the shooting was linked to youth g ang violence; the metropolitan police gave a statement stating, It is believed two black youths ran into the shop before shots were fired. Peter Robbins who is the counsellor from Lambeth council also gave a statement, there is a fairly well known problem with gangs and guns in Lambeth (Daily Mail, 2012). Gangs are not only running into shops and causing injury to innocent individuals, they are also engaging in the American style drive by shootings. For example, the Telegraph (2011) reported a drive by shooting in west London which injured three teenage girls and left one girl in critical condition. These shootings also attracted the media and public attention and the they believed that the American style drive by shootings performed by UK gangs where indeed becoming a lot more like the American gangs. Academics have criticised the media despite there being evidence of growing youth violence taking place in the UK, academics believe that the media solely focuses on the dramatic consequences of gang violence, instead of how it can be prevented and tackled (Fitch, 2009: 2). Deuchar (2008) suggested that the majority of gang members tend to predominantly be from black or ethnic minority groups, despite this suggestion Bennett and Holloway (2004a: 319) found that the majority of gang members were white, followed by Caribbean and Bangladeshi. Due to this inconsistency in literature surrounding the race and ethnic minority of gang members, it is clear that the race and ethnicity of gang members is not an important factor in researching gangs. So therefore this study will not focus on race and ethnicity. Instead this study will focus on why young people join gangs and the characteristics of gang members. Background Studies and research where conducted in order to give an insight into the increase of gang membership. Bennett and Holloway (2004a: 305) found evidence from governments reports, newspapers, local agencies and national bodies that suggested gangs in the UK and the number of gang members where increasing. Bennett and Holloway (2004a) argued that with the obvious increase in violent weapons and the possessions and the use of guns, the British gangs where not that different to the American stereotype that the UK often rejected. Research into gangs in America could not be generalised to the rising youth gang culture in Britain, despite the early research into gangs and youth groups. Subculture theorists in America have largely focused on the study of youth groups and gangs for almost over a century. Research into gangs in America mainly focused on the Chicago city, which is a research that has provided what is known as the first study into the gang culture phenomena. After the research in Chicago gang culture, subculture theorist Merton began his research into delinquent groups, with the help of Cohen (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin (1961). Mertons (1938) research on the Social structure and Anomie thesis anticipated that the American Dream was at the forefront of every individuals aspirations in life. But not every individual would be able to acquire this. For example education was only accessible to some people and this led to anomie. Also deviant behaviours such as violence and petty crimes amongst young working class males who were most affect were caused by the feeling of strain. Cohen (1955: 66) extended the concept of social structure and anomie by explaining that in order to explain non instrumental vandalism and violence was due to status frustration. He stated that the individuals who felt frustrated would, gravitate towards one another to establish new norms and new criteria of status, and this would then form a delinquent subculture. This statement was furt her extended by Cloward and Ohlin (1961:1), they believed that every individual had access to legitimate and illegitimate opportunities and suggested three types of subculture. The retreatist subculture which fails to find legitimate or illegitimate means in order to succeed, so therefore the individual turns to alcohol or drug abuse while the conflict subculture is when individuals use manipulation of violence as a way of winning status. The criminal subculture describes a group of individuals who rely on theft and extortion as a means of getting income. The subculture that is most relevant to this research on the young males and the influence of hip hop is the Conflict subculture. Downes (1966) systematic review found no evidence that Cloward and Ohlin (1961) retreats, conflict and criminal subcultures existed in the UK because the young males lacked structured cohesion that the American gangs boasted about. Cohen (1955) notion of status frustration was criticised by Downes who believed that by Cohen conducting his research in only one borough meant that his findings may not be generalised to the rest of the UK. Despite this Downes concluded that the research into gang delinquency in the UK is a reflection of its absence (Downes, 1966:116). In addition to this Campbell et al (1989) believed that the gang notion belonged to America, whilst the subculture notion belonged to the UK. As a result of this Campbell et al (1982) felt that a separate definition and research for youth gangs in the UK would need to be developed in order to provide a better framework for future research into gangs Campbell et al, 1989: 276) Gang Membership It is believed that young people especially males are known to join gang memberships for different psychological or social reasons (Bennett and Holloway, 2004a: 307). Some of the psychological reasons for young people joining gangs are believed to be because they have a desire for money, to gain status and respect from other gang members and the feeling of being protected and having a connection within the gang membership. Psychological reasons for young people joining gangs usually develop from lack of effective support from their parents, family, teachers and the police (Harris et al, 2001: 9). Sociological reasons have been heavily focused on in terms of explaining gang membership. Research by the NASUWT Teachers union (2008) found that if there is an absence or lack of positive role models in a young individuals life, then in order to build a social identity they will look towards accessible role models. Also the study found that young people from broken families where a father f igure was not present are more likely to look up to individuals in gangs or family members involved in gang memberships (NASUWT Teachers union, 2008: 11). Wood and Alleyne (2009) found evidence that gang membership gives young people a chance to acquire powerful status amongst their friends, opportunity for excitement especially if they live a boring life. Protection from other gang members and most importantly it offers social support that is lacking in young peoples lives from their family. Whereas Marshall et al (2005) suggests that the reason for young people engaging in gang membership is due to their exclusion and alienation from mainstream society, particularly education and employment. Whilst most theorists offer an explanation as to why young people join gangs, they have failed to outline the specific features and characteristics of gang members. Evidence from Bennett and Holloway (2004a) suggests that gang members tend to me male, involved in drug taking and supplying, mor e likely to carry weapons and are criminally active. Possession and the violent use of weapons There are various literatures that focus on youth gangs and the use of violent weapons amongst young people in the UK. Lemos (2004) report on Fear and Fashion: The use of knives and other weapons by young people believed that most young people were more likely to carry violent weapons due to the fear of being attacked by other young individuals or just because they believed that carrying a violent weapon made them look cool. The home office affairs select committee published a knife crime report which investigated the levels and causes of knife crime and the attitudes of the offenders. Knife crime has been and still is a persistent and worrying concern that has a huge impact on young people in the UK. During June 2012 there were approximately 29,513 recorded offences involving knives and other sharp instruments, accounting for 7% of selected offences (Berman: Knife Crime Statistics, 2012). In the UK more than 70 teenagers were violently killed by the use of violent weapons. Majority of these deaths were gang related violences. In 2008 gang and knife crime were regularly featured in the media headlines, these crimes were mapped out in various locations around the UK, but London suffered the highest number of crime amongst young people. Dr Bob Golding, who is a criminal justice lecturer at the university of Portsmouth, stated that knife crime is simply a symptom; you have associated with this a development of gang culture (Golding, BBC News: 2008). The possession and the use of violent weapons were also reflected in Brooke Kinsellas (2011) Tackling Knife Crime Together report. Kinsella report was conducted following the death of her brother in a knife attack in 2008. The report also gave the public an insight into the seriousness of violent weapon crimes. Kinsella found that motivational factors influence young people into carrying violent weapons, these two factors were fear and fashion. In the report it was also discovered that youths reasons for carrying weapons was due to the fear of being attacked by other individuals, so therefore they felt the need to protect themselves. The reason that was more worrying was the need to be in possession of violent weapons because they believed it was fashionable or a cool thing to do (Kinsella, 2011: 2). Recently the media reported two incidents that allegedly occurred with five hours. The first incident was the shooting of a 19 year old male in Clapton, east London and the stabbing of a 16 year old male in Wandsworth, south west London. Although the police believe that these crimes where not linked to gangs, it just shows the frequent use of violent weapons within the community. (BBC, 2013) Although it is difficult to determine the link between violent weapon crimes and gangs, recent research into gangs has noted the relationship between firearms and gangs (Squires et al, 2008). A research report was carried out by Bullock and Tilley (2002), they found that 60% of firearm crimes can be linked to gangs meanwhile; the Home Office 2009/2010 reported 5% increase of injuries as a result of firearms. In order for the government to tackle the possession and use of violent weapons, they need to establish the main reasons why young people engage in violent weapons. As this could enable them or it could be a starting point for them to limit gang violence. The Hip Hop Culture and the Influence of Hip Hop Hip hop today is known as a cultural reform and social reconstruction. Hip hop first developed in the drug infested gang streets of the Bronx in New York City. Apart from the glamorous and provocative nature of hip hop, it is mainly associated with and for freedom, peace, equality and social harmony. Alongside creating a successful industry hip hop also gave ethnic minorities in America a chance to voice their opinions internationally, a civil rights movement that is still relevant today. Price (2006:1) defines hip hop as a liberation movement in the form of a diverse culture, it was a next generation civil (human) rights movement sparked by ostracized, marginalized and oppressed inner- city youths. Hip hop culture has grown to represent urban, rural, suburban and global communities of all ages, genders, religions and races. One main factor that is mainly held responsible for the increase in gang violence is the hip hop culture. It is believed that the hip hop has a negative influence on young people. David Blunkett reportedly made a statement about gang violence, stating idiots like so solid crew are glorifying gun culture and violence. This statement was made a year after one of the members from So Solid Crew Ashley Walters was sentenced to 18 months for the possession of a firearm (Telegraph, Sally Pook: 2003). David Cameroon also voiced his opinions on violent music. In the British society (2006) he asked BBC radio station 1, do you realise some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives? Despite the perception that the hip hop culture glamorises gang and violence, there is very little research on this concept. United Kingdom based research has dismissed the concept that hip hop influences young males into gangs and violent weapon. Hallsworth and Silverstone (2009: 362) suggested that style and music do not define the relationships between the individuals and the violence that they do, or the weapon they carry. There is no empirical support for the statement; however they do believe that those who carry weapons tend to imitate the American hip hop style by carrying guns. Well-known hip hop artists spoke about the comparison between hip hop and the trend of violence amongst young people in the communities. 50 Cent who has recently turned to acting and has become an entrepreneur refuted claims of there being a connection between hip hop and gun violence. He stated in his interview that his music was more a reflection of his experiences in life, rather than a glorificati on of assault weapons (CBS News, 2013). Hip hop and gangs have always been linked in some form. It is believed that the hip hop culture has created and influenced gang violence over the decades. Literature in the UK regarding the effect of hip hop music on young males and gangs on focuses on deviant behaviour in adolescence, whereas literature in the USA have a wider range of research and literature. Miranda and Claes (2009) researched the possible link between preference of rap music and deviant behaviours such as, drug use, violence and street gang involvement amongst French Canadian adolescents. Miranda and Claes found that despite trying to control the adolescent deviancy, a significant link can still be found between rap music and deviant behaviour. However despite their finding they did not find a link between hip hop and street gang involvement. This shows that there needs to be future research in order to come to a conclusion as to whether or not there is an association between hip hop and gang violence (Miranda a nd Claes, 2009). The issue of hip hop music lyrics and how they may have an effect on young people has been approached by Kubrins (2005) study. Kubrin conducted a content analysis of rap songs in America and also addressed the use of violent weapons suggesting that the gun becomes a symbol of power and a remedy for disputes (Kubrin, 2005:363). Research from Miranda, Claes and Kubrin, found that young people joined street gangs in order to acquire status and a social identity, which is seen and stated in the music they listen to. Because the majority of these studies are based on American and Canadian individuals, it is possible that the findings cannot be generalised to gangs in the UK. Chapter 3:  Methodology This section will explain the methodological approach that this research has adopted in order to establish if the hip hop culture has an influence on youth gangs and the use of violent weapons in the UK. The method which was chosen for the purpose of this paper was desk research, sometimes known as secondary data or secondary research (Bryman, 2008). This research involves gathering data that already exists from internal sources, publications of governmental and non-governmental institutions, free access data from the internet, in articles, newspapers and other relevant sources (Bryman, 2008:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..). A systematic review of literature, a qualitative content analysis on four hip hop song lyrics, and a semiotic analysis on a hip hop image will be conducted in order to establish if a relationship between hip hop culture, youth gang and the use of violent weapons exists. At first a qualitative research was initially considered in order to gather data and in order to answer the research question. The majority of research in to gangs and the use of violent weapons are normally conducted through qualitative surveys and interviews with current or previous gang members and offenders. These types of primary research would be dangerous and difficult to replicate as an undergraduate student. Research Design The research design of this study discusses the literature in the form of a systematic review. Government reports, journal articles and published texts on gangs and the use of violent weapons from the last decade have all been reviewed. Secondary data has been used to conduct this study. The secondary data has been used with caution and all literature used are from trustworthy sources. Literature based research has its strengths, and they mainly fall on the fact that the research is able to analyse data that is already available because the time consuming research has already been conducted by academics. There will be no contact with current or previous offenders who have been involved in gangs or crimes involving violent weapons, so the potential harm and risk involved in this research is minimised. However as explained by Bryman, (2008) not conducting a primary research means that there will be no control over the variables and so it is acknowledged that the grounds may be differen t to the present study. therefore this research has been conducted carefully in order not to manipulate the literature to support the hypothesis of the present study By conducting a content analysis of hip hop song lyrics, this study will be able to establish whether the genre of music can be held responsible for the behaviour of youth gang members or whether claims by the media are false. Out of the four songs that have been analysed, two demonstrate how the hip hop culture can influence young males, particularly in regards to joining gangs and the use of violent weapons. The two other songs acknowledge social exclusion as a reason for delinquency. The Song lyrics where obtained from lyric databases such as, Metro lyrics, sweet lyrics, urban lyrics and AZ lyrics. Even though the validity and reliability of these lyrics are questionable, all the songs used are from official version on YouTube, a reliable video broadcasting website. Due to the fact that majority of the songs analysed are likely to contain words and languages that are likely to be difficult to understand, a slang website called Urban Dictionary was used as a means to translate any difficult words. Analysis Key themes have been highlighted in the literature articles through a process of thematic analysis during a systematic review. These themes include repetition, differences and similarities. The following analytical chapters will be discussing these themes in relation to theories in order to give a better understanding as to why young males may seek these identities. Firstly the song lyrics will be discussed in relation to the themes that have been highlighted through the thematic analysis. This will be done using a similar approach conducted by Kubrin (2005) study on Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas. Song lyrics will be discussed and the images will be discussed using a semiotic approach in order to evaluate whether or not the music that is marketed to youths encourages the use of violent weapons. This will then be followed by a discussion of the themes in relation to the literature. Theory will be included in order to provide a more holistic understanding as to why young people join youth gangs, their behaviour and attitudes. In order to identify the themes within the literature a critical discussion of the findings will provide a foundation for recommendation on future research on this topic. By using these analytical methods a detailed account of the influence the hip hop culture has on young males can be generated from the literature. Ethical Considerations Due to this research being a secondary research, it does involve as many ethical issues as a primary research. For example no participants will be interviewed, so there is no need for informed consents and there are no issues regarding deception and invasion of privacy. Also there is no need to consider data protection or storage because the research studies reports are available and have been published for public viewing. The following ethical considerations from the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Code of Ethics have been considered and relate to this research. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, there will be no contact with previous or current gang members so the emotional and physical well-being of the researcher will be maintained (BSC 3: iii). As the BSC states, researchers should promote equal opportunity in all aspects of their professional work and actively seek to avoid discriminatory behaviour (BSC, 3: iv).Whilst doing this research every effort has been m ade not to address young male gang members in terms of age, and racial or ethnic group sensitively and to use non-biased language. Also this research has made every effort not to disrespect the views and beliefs of young gang members, as one of the aims for this dissertation is to focus on developing a theoretical and holistic understanding of the behaviour of gang members. Also the views and beliefs of the gang members have not been disrespected whilst conducting a systematic review of the literature and analysing the literature through the themes that developed in the content analysis, alongside the arguments for and against hip hop culture influencing violence, the use and possession of violent weapons. Research studies by academics include young gang members who have consented to taking part in a published research study, so it is believed that any data from interviews conducted in previous reports are acceptable to use for secondary data. This therefore means that the ethical c ode (4: iii) will not be breached. However, if an entire data set was used for the present research, a Research Ethics Committee would have been required to conduct an expedited review (Economic and Social Research Council). Because this is a secondary research one of the major limitations is that some sources, especially internet sources may not be reliable, so a serious amount of importance was placed when using reliable data and sources from the internet as well as sources where the reliability of the internet information was uncertain. In addition to this No favoured judgement has been made towards certain research findings and a conscious effort has been made by the researcher not to manipulate or misinterpret the findings to suit the research question. By doing so a one sided argumen

The Day I Found Joy Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -- Oscar Wilde One of the things that has always puzzled me is human nature, our joys, fears and madness. The very source of the painful cramps of the soul that we call sadness, and the source of the multicolor soft parade that we call happiness. Those feelings have been with us since we saw the light, and are going to be there until the dark and graceful death decides to cover the light of life with her soft wings. They shape everything that makes us, our face, our expression, our spirit, our minds, our future and our past. Those feelings are what drive us to construct and to destroy, make us love something deeply, or with a little bit of poison (like one of the Borgias), make us hate something with passion. The source of happiness and sadness is the missing link that I've always looked for, something so strong that will wake up my senses and show me the mystery that surrounds life. And one day, I found IT. It happened almost a year ago, on a bright spring day. The name of the day was Saturday and the place was Smallville, the city where I was born and raised. I woke up early for a Saturday, around nine a.m. I had breakfast and decided to go downtown for a walk. It was a very beautiful morning, a very beautiful sky, birds singing over the trees, falling in love because of the spring. It was as good as it was going to get in a big town. Of course I wasn't alone; there were hundreds of people walking in those same streets. There were young people, businessmen, many different people, and they were all in a hurry, probably to go to work. I could hear short steps, TAP-TAP-TAP, and I could see many feet walking fast, very fast. Wh... ...all of that but the only thing I could say was, "Yes, brother, do it, dance, dance!!" We smiled together; the people around did too. It was glorious! I don't know if he was an angel, a dream, or a real person, I never will, but that Saturday morning he taught us all a lesson of life, of love, of all the beautiful things that exist in the world. He reminded me of the words of Jesus Christ: "Heaven is not here or there, it's inside of you." It's a state of mind, it's the ecstacy of breathing, is inner peace, is happiness. So you, whoever reads this, smile, hug a friend, go home and kiss your parents, the ones that gave you the great gift of life. Shake hands for no reason--maybe he needs it. Be thankful for everything that you have, for your eyes, for your legs, for your existence. Be joyful and be in peace. And have lots of faith, please.

My Brilliant Career

Miles Franklin English 1106-001 3 July 2012 Sybylla Melvyn argues that as a woman she has few options in life, whereas, men have many more possibilities. I chose this topic because; I am a woman who feels strongly that woman should have the same advantages in life as men. Also, there are still many countries today that do not treat woman and men the same which in my opinion is very grave. In today’s modern world most would agree that men and woman have equal rights when it comes to career choices.Over the years society has accepted and encouraged woman to become professionals in the work place. Long were the days when woman were considered only worthy for child bearing. Unfortunately, many years ago things were not as easy for woman who dreamt of a fulfilling career. The novel, â€Å"My Brilliant Career† by Miles Franklin explores the journey of a young woman passionate to become something more than a wife.However, because woman had few options in career than men during this time, they are often forced to become wives, or caregivers while their deepest ambitions were left unachieved. 1. Society expects woman to become wives instead being career minded. â€Å"If you feel that you are afflicted with more than ordinary intelligence and especially if you are plain with it, hide your brains, cramp your mind, study to appear unintellectual-it’s your only Olson 2 chance†(Franklin,78) A. Obey husbands order B.Be beautiful not clever C. Look after all household duties D. Not be companions but caretakers to spouse 11. Education was limited for woman. â€Å"You are not old enough to be a general servant or a cook; you have not experience enough to be a housemaid; you don’t take to sewing, and there is no chance of being accepted as a hospital nurse: you must confess there is nothing you can do†(Franklin,71).A. Had to be wealthy to pay for education B. Woman had few choices for career C. Most professional jobs were open to men only 111. Career’s in the Arts as an actress or singer were not considered womanly â€Å"An actress-a vile, low, brazen hussy! Use the gifts God has given her with which to do good in showing off to a crowd of vile bad men† (Franklin,107). A. Actress’s and singers considered hussies not respected B. Defiled by God C. Frowned upon by society

Satirical Essay

11/19/12 English III Homelessness has been an issue of much dispute throughout time, regardless of whether it is in present day Portland, Maine or in the ancient city of Rome, Italy. People have been trying to aid the wanderers for a very long time, but clearly, have never found a good solution to the problem. People are sick and tired of walking out of their door in the morning and finding a vagrant, still reeking of alcohol which they purchased with a good Samaritan’s donation, on their stoop.The people fortunate enough to have a home and a good job should not have to suffer when they walk down the street past hobos begging for a few dollars. It is not fair that the wealthy have to interact with the dregs of society on a daily basis. This problem has to be dealt with. That is why I propose that our society is in much need of the program, Clean Up The Streets (CUTS). The program resolves many different aspects of the issue . If the homeless are sent to landfills to collect ca rdboard and other material in which they can build their own houses with, this gets them out of sight of the wealthy.In addition to removing the homeless from our lives, it also aids the environment. With this new program, hobos are given a job in which they remove materials from landfills which they can then use to build shelters with. Yearly, Americans throw away 30. 9 tons of good food; this will make wasteful people feel as if they are actually helping people when they throw away unappreciated food. This also means that there will be plenty of food for the newly housed and employed people. Also, about $1 billion dollars worth of medicine is thrown out each year, so illness will be quelled as well.The new CUTS program is flawless; it resolves the issues of Grinnell 2 vagabondage, employment, and environmental problems. In today’s society, the homeless only get in our way. This is why it is imperative that the CUTS program be accepted. The first step in cleaning up our stre ets is housing the homeless. We can do this without donating half of our yearly salary to some hopeless program that supposedly builds fancy houses for the lesser people. With the CUTS program, all homeless are sent to landfills where they salvage our waste. This is very beneficiary to both arties of society. The primary goal of the CUTS program is to house every single homeless person in America, and we can do this without taxing the rich to give to the poor. They (society’s privileged few) can now feel good about themselves when they throw away their trash, knowing it’s going to a good place. In our current economic state, it is more important than ever to improve employment rates. The homeless are to blame for a good portion of the unemployment rate. If the CUTS program was to be accepted, the unemployment rate would drop, drastically.A secondary goal of CUTS, which goes hand in hand with the other objectives, is to employ the homeless at landfills across America. T heir work would entail searching for waste products. They would only have to salvage 100 lbs of trash a week in order to stay employed and housed. Due to the age of technology, we are learning more and more about our planet. For example, we have learned about how bad America’s gluttony is. With only 6% of the world's population, Americans generate 35% of the trash and consume 35% of the world's resources.With the introduction of the CUTS program, who knows what those statistics will look like in just ten years. The program’s participants will be working, getting free Grinnell 3 food, and also helping save the world in the process. With hundreds of people in their own little community landfills sifting through trash and filth, unimaginable amounts of waste could be reused in the future. The CUTS program could resolve three very current issues if it were to be accepted; homelessness, employment, and environmental problems. Although the flawless solution could be consider ed inhumane, this couldn’t be further from the truth.The humanity comes in because the homeless are not equal to the citizens residing in the upper class, mostly because they do not pay taxes or work. Why should good tax paying people (who work hard for what they have) be forced to give money to people who have nothing and don’t work? Why should those who work hard have to suffer because of the slackers of society? They shouldn’t. They are much better suited working hard, just like the upper class does, and contributing to society, instead of bumming on the streets. Remember, â€Å"one mans trash is another mans treasure†.

University of Phoenix Material Essays (706 words) - Writing

University of Phoenix Material Essays (706 words) - Writing University of Phoenix Material Thesis Statement and Informal Outline Worksheet In this course, you will write a 700- to 1,050-word comprehensive Continuing Academic Success essay, due in Week 5. The Week 5 essay will help you apply what you learned in this course and take responsibility for your success in your education and your career. Please review the requirements for the Week 5 assignment to become familiar with the instructions. Starting this week, and in the weeks to come, we will be building upon an outline with a thesis statement, subtopics, and research to assist in your final paper. For this week, using the Center for Writing Excellence resources, provide your thesis statement and begin creating the informal outline for your Continuing Academic Success essay assignment. Include the following in your outline this week: 0. The benefit of creating educational goals, including at least one educational goal you set for yourself 0. Your personal learning style, as well as how knowing your learning style can help you be successful as you move through your program and career 0. How the writing process can help you advance your education and career 0. Which resources, inside and outside of the university, you can use to help you reach your goals and make you more successful 0. An explanation of the importance of academic integrity Thesis Statement This is a one-sentence summary of your Week 5 paper that will be based on the bulleted items above. Not setting goals to excel in school; is setting goals to fail. I can agree that goal setting is helpful, but how could you convey the "big" idea, not just one aspect? Also, how could you turn this into a complete sentence? Informal Outline Each topic below should be a main idea for a paragraph that might be in your Week 5 assignment (see bulleted items above). Each support point should be something that you plan to write about that relates to the corresponding topic. 1. Topic 1- Don't Procrastinate a. Support- Waiting until the last minute never works out b. Support-Set a schedule and follow it 2. Topic 2- Set your goals a. Support- determine what is long term b. Support-determine what is short term 3. Topic 3- My personal education goal a. Support-Self achievement b. Support-Family success 4. Topic 4- Planning ahead a. Support-Achievement from planning ahead b. Support-Disadvantage of not planning ahead 5. Topic 5- Putting your goals in action a. Support- Develop a plan of action b. Support-Attaining your goals Rubric for Thesis Statement and Informal Outline |Rubric | | |Thesis Statement |2/4 | |The thesis statement utilized the |You struggled a bit with the thesis.| |format from the Thesis Statement |I see that you mentioned goal | |Generator and included: |setting, but how could you include | |-Benefits of goals |the rest of the topics? I know that| |-Writing Process |thesis statements seem like a BIG | |-Resources you will be using |concept initially, but once you | |-Importance of academic integrity |determine the importance of this | | |cornerstone in your writing, it | | |becomes so much easier! Also, make | | |sure to includethe benefits of | | |goals, as well as the importance of | | |academic integrity, and the | | |university resources. You can do | | |this! | |Informal Outline |2/4 | |The format in the Sample Outline was|Good work on using the outline | |utilized (10) |format! However, you did not | |The outline includes: |include the introduction or | |-An introduction /conclusion point |conclusion point, nor did you | |-At least three additional main |include all the needed points. I | |points, with two details per point. |know that it seems to be a good | | |amount of work, but, in the future, | | |having this detail will be very | | |useful in writing your final draft! | | |For additional detail on outlining, | | |check out: | | |easybib.com/guides/studen| | |ts/writing-guide/iii-outline/c-creat| | |ing-an-outline/. How will utilizing| | |this step in writing be beneficial | | |to you? | |Mechanics |2/2 | |Appropriate grammar, punctuation, |Good work on utilizing overall | |and sentence structure is utilized. |appropriate grammar and sentence | | |structure! Make sure that your | | |thesis statement is a complete | | |sentence-It is easy to forget the | | |details when working with a big | | |idea. You can do this! | |Total |6/10 |

A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Essays

A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Essays A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Paper A Critical Review of Yahoo! Corporate Governance Paper A recommendation is then given followed by a conclusion to the analysis. L. Introduction Corporate governance has come along way since the 1 9th century. What was once an elite fraternity based on little more than cronyism and family connections has now taken on a new shape, resulting from greed and deceitful corporate breakdowns of iconic companies in the first part of the 21 SST century. If the 19th century was the century of the entrepreneur; and the 20th century was the century of management; then the 21 SST century is the century of corporate governance. This paper seeks to review the governance in a publicly listed company whose equines performance has been criticized publicly and to report about its governance protocols and practices. A brief description of the company in question followed by the criteria for the review of governance will be presented. Then, a critical review of their existing practices will be forwarded. Finally a list or recommendations will conclude the review. The goal is to shed light on boardroom practices and to better understand past events so to prevent them from reoccurring. 2. Background Yahoo! S a SIS based multinational Internet company headquartered in Californians silicon valley. It is widely known for its Web portal, search engine, Yahoo! Mail, advertising, online mapping, social media and a myriad of other services, including popular acquisitions such as Alabama, flicker and Tumble. Yahoo! Was founded in 1 994 and was once one of the most popular sites in the US. However, in recent years, its been plagued by poor governance. Between 2009- 2012, the board had dismissed 5 Chief Executive Officers, indicating a history of CEO problems with dire need of stability at the top. The current CEQ Marimbas Mayer has been in place since 201 2 and has also been heavily criticized; however, her leadership has changed the dynamic and ultra of the company, resulting in a tripling of the stock price and acquisitions worth over $1 billion. (Geol. 2014) The next section will explore the criteria for the review of governance. 3. Criteria for review In light of on-going setbacks at Yahoo! , the following criteria have been identified, including a discussion on their importance and why it is appropriate to use them. Yahoo! As a section addressing my criteria in their Corporate Governance Guidelines and nothing appears out of place, in other words, the guidelines are concise and appropriate, according to the textbook. (Trickier 2012) 3. Board membership criteria Although this may seem basic at first glance, it is not. Boards operate differently company to company. In theory, an active board oversees the formation of strategy in shareholder favor, they develop incentives fo r the CEO and other managers to tackle whilst also working toward the agreed upon strategic objectives. The board also critiques the performance of management against such objectives throughout the year and also formally once annually. It is important for boards to run smoothly, as outlined above so to monitor the business, stay abreast with changes in the marketplace so to be in a session to act quickly when required. There is always work to be done by board and committee members, (independent or external) law also requires regular reporting and shareholders require updates. This is an appropriate way to operate because if a board becomes passive, the effects will trickle down and a change in company culture will ensue. To avoid this, and to follow best practice, boards and committees are voted in by shareholders and reviewed annually by the chairman. 3. 2 Selection of the Chief Executive Officer Selection of the Chief Executive of the company is reserved for an active road committee (often independent) who is nominated to do the legwork in the nomination process. The idea is that the nomination committee, headed by its own chairman accept suitable referrals and vet said referrals (and leads) based on the board requirements. Best practice suggests that by the time a nomination is put forth to the chairman, the audit committee has already approved the candidates background and confirmed that no known conflict of interest exists. Not only is it important that each board member be given a specific task or project, its also important to have clear guidelines in place to undertake one f the most important board obligations. Chief Executives are typically not identified easily or hired quickly and the search itself is often expensive. For this reason, shortcuts cannot be made or left up to assumption. It is appropriate for a board to have nomination guidelines in place for top-level positions before exploring the market even begins and well before candidate engagement. By having such guidelines approved and published, it lessens the possibility of oversight by committee members who may feel pressured to tick all the boxes before a formal nomination can be presented, with a genuine seal of approval. . 3 Independence of the Board As a result of the breakdown in governance of iconic companies such as Enron and Arthur Anderson, governments from each country have been forced to take action to preserve the rights of shareholders and employees. An example of this can be found in the US, UK and Australia who operate as a unitary board, unlike Europe, which operate on a two tier board consisting of the executive board and the supervisory board. By law, the unitary board must include independent directors (INDEED) and committees. The paradox of the unitary board is the greater a directors independence, the less he/she is keel to know about the company. The more the INDEED knows about the company, the greater his/her potential contribution, the less his/her perceived independence. According to the textbook, an independent board is one that is capable of performing under the direction and leadership of a non-executive chairman or lead director so no to fall prey on initiatives from management or internal directors. (Trickier 201 2) Independent directors have periodic meetings of independent directors to evaluate management against the strategic goals. They follow strict rules to keep a fair, unbiased balance between the board ND management. This is important because it demonstrates greater transparency to the shareholders and to the SEC, SOX and other government regulators. A lack of transparency was a pattern followed by every board of companies that have since been found guilty in criminal court. It is appropriate to adopt an INDEED board not only to satisfy laws but also to demonstrate that action has been taken to ensure that the board as a whole is fair, that board members come from diverse backgrounds with unique areas of expertise, including industries. Independent Directors are equally accountable to the chairman of the board, hat they are offering is another a new way to view challenges faced by the company and offering the best solutions. . Critical review of Yahoo! Governance Yahoo! Has experienced tumultuous board movement over years, considering that the company is only 20 years old. Many past board members have held their seats for only one year. As of this day, there have been thirteen past board directors which suggests a critical lack of congruence within the business. There are currently ten board directors, including Mayer, CEO. Each director boasts a diverse set of skills and experience from companies that align with Yahoo! , which is ideal and half appear to be independent, also a good thing. It has been acknowledged however, that half the board were replaced following Mayors induction in what is reported to be a buyout. Its been reported that those she bought out would have become made her new post difficult as they likely would have clashed at some point and that it would likely be due to character first and strategy direction, second. (Yarrow 2013) According to Yahoo! Corporate governance guidelines, The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible for assessing the appropriate balance of criteria required of Board members. It is true that a board will often nominate new members with the induction of a new CEO; however, it is reported that Mayer handpicked this board to support her. (Swisher 2014) If this is the case, then it brings up many concerns and questions. The textbook identifies nine concepts and principles for corporate governance. (Trickier 2012) In the case of board selection, believe the following principles sing out: judgment, and accountability. The execution Of best judgment is expected in any nomination. The boards decisions should e made for the greater good of the company, rather than to promote personal agendas. Records show that although Mayer may have nominated half her board, the shareholders and existing board directors have approved it. In other words, they appear to have gone through due process as stated in the company guidelines. One would hope that the current board will prove not to be yes-men and that they will be supportive yet unbiased and even critical as required as cronyism has lead many a company down slippery slopes. The concept of accountability suggests that directors are answerable for their actions and decisions. Mayer must have already known that as one of the first changes she initiated at Yahoo! Was a weekly meeting that everyone was invited to attend to have their questions answered based on recent decisions, changes in the business and write ups in the press. Employees submitted questions online and the first 5 questions with 50 votes would be addressed. Mayer even allowed employees to submit anonymously, which naturally invited in the tougher questions. From an outside perspective, this was a genius move on her part and showed that she was being transparent and penny willing to put herself on the line. This next topic goes without saying that Yahoo! Has been hit hard by the mismanagement of their Chief Executive Officers in recent years. As stated above, the selection of the CEO is a critical task of the board and its committees. Yahoo! Has terminated four Chief Executives in three years. Mayer took the reins in 2012 following Scott Thompson resume embellishment that was made public only four months into his tenure. Each of the two interim Chief Executives had been deemed unsuitable to take the role on permanently. This is an example of poor governance; the situation tit Thompson may have gone away more rapidly had Yahoo! Not already terminated the 3 Chief Executives before him. This is also a problem of succession planning as 2 of the interim Chief Executives were internal. On the other hand, how might a company be prepared to nominate two internal Chief Executive candidates who are ready for the role in such a short space of time? Chief Executives are not interchangeable. It is believed that Yahoo! Did the best with what they had to work with, it just wasnt enough. To make matters worse, at the time of the Thompson revelation, the chair of he nomination committee, Patti Hart (who approved Thompson) was also found to have an embellishment on her resume. This is was an embarrassment for Yahoo! As the filing had already gone to the SEC to which the board was accountable. The concepts that stand out in this instance are: honesty, meaning not misleading and of strong morality and integrity, mean inning of high moral value and professionalism; such principles are expected by a board of a ($billion) company. One article describes the dilemma well. Should we be focused more on education or on ethics? Enders 201 2) As an outsider, I believe ethics weigh stronger than education; especially as top executives receive ongoing, relevant training and development. In Thompson case, he resume claimed a computer science degree from the asss which would have added little value to the company. Makes one wonder if it was really worth the risk. Oversights do happen, yet this particular one had been following him around since the early asss. Based on the updated company nomination guidelines, such mistake will likely never happen again as better, more appropriate checks and balances have been set in place. The final topic is around independence. As outlined above, a unitary board just have independent directors and committees to ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the company. At the time of Thompson and Harts tenure, the only thing that makes sense is that the board became too comfortable and exercised gross oversight and incompetence. The trouble here was that the board didnt question the independent committees findings. Independence is important, though so is due process. (Labeled Sillies 2003) The audit committee was not involved and the chairman at the time was known for not rocking the boat. Brenner 2014) The results were crippling for the company. The concepts that require discussion and analysis are: responsibility, having clearly defined roles and reputation, an estimation of having done something well. Although each board member looked adequate on paper, there were many gaps that could have been avoided if the directors had been diverse enough or willing t o take a stand to ensure that all the boxes have been ticked. It seems that each was relying on the other to do the right thing and each accepted the general consensus without further query. This proved damaging to the reputation of the entire board and some lost their appointments as a result. On a positive note, Yahoo! Now have a new guideline in place to ensure that three committees review and approve a nomination before it goes to the board for further review. This is consistent with best practice for unitary boards. 5. Recommendation Mayer has been CEO for a little more than two years. Since then, she has driven more than 30 acquisitions worth more than $1 billion; she has also initiated a monthly bell curve review of all staff which determines merit for bonuses and in some cases, termination. Stock price has tripled under her tenure. Her decisions are not always popular, yet shes doing what few before her were able to. Therefore, its recommended that the board continue to give her money for acquisitions and also for RD to make Yahoo! Known for its products, not just its acquisitions. Mayer has been heavily criticized in the press for making decision based on feeling. Not all her decisions have worked out well, yet she has not yet created a pattern of poor decisions making. I recommend that she remain CEO for another two years to bring her strategy to fruition. That way, shareholders will continue to reap the rewards of the tock price whilst Mayer continues to harness energies toward customer experience, which is where her expertise lies. 6. Conclusion The past several years have been tough for the company. The good news is that Yahoo! Appears to be turning things around for the better. It was a big risk for the board to hire a green CEO. Her successful track record at Google as well as her industry contacts and networking skills will prove invaluable. Meyers gender, age and rapid ascent into executive management have earned her a national celebrity status.

Creating Chinese Calligraphy

Creating Chinese Calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the art of creating aesthetically pleasing writing or tangible representations of the Chinese languages. It can take years to learn the art because students have to master  writing Chinese characters, which is a daunting task in itself, and they have to write them beautifully and with an unforgiving tool: the brush. History The art of calligraphy in China can be traced to ancient Chinese signs and symbols that appeared as early as 6,000 years ago according to Wei Lu and Max Aiken in their essay, Origins and Evolution of Chinese Writing Systems and Preliminary Counting Relationships. However, its modern form didnt emerge until a few thousand years later, between the 14th and 11th centuries B.C. There are seven main categories of traditional Chinese calligraphy- which include Hhsin (pronounced xing), Sao (cao), Zuan (zhuan), Li, and Kai- each with its own slight variations in style and symbolism. As a result, the skill of writing beautiful calligraphy may be difficult for some learners to grasp, but fortunately, there are a variety of online resources for creating and editing Chinese calligraphy.   Although the earliest-known calligraphy-like symbols date to around 4000 B.C., the traditional style of calligraphy thats still practiced today first appeared in Xiaoshuangqiao between 1400 and 1100 B.C. in modern-day Zhengzhou, China. Standardization Around 220 B.C., during the reign of Qin Shi Huang in Imperial China, a standard Chinese calligraphy system was adopted. As the first conqueror of a majority of land in China, Huang created a series of reforms including a character unification that yielded 3,300 standardized characters known as  XiÇŽozhun (zhuan). From that point forward, writing in China went through a series of reforms that yielded a new set of standardized characters and lettering. Over the next two centuries, other styles developed: the  Là ¬shÃ… « (li) style was followed by the KÇŽishÃ… « (kai), which was in turn followed by the Xà ­ngshÃ… « (xing), and CÇŽoshÃ… « (cao) cursive styles. Today, each of these forms is still used in traditional Chinese calligraphy practices, depending on the teacher and his preferences for style and aesthetics. Online Resources If you live in China, its easy to find calligraphers who sell their work or who can create custom calligraphy just for you. There is an easier way, though: tools that convert pasted text into calligraphy using various fonts. Some of the best include: The  Chinese Calligraphy Editor, which allows you to enter or paste your Chinese characters (simplified or traditional) and choose between 19 different styles in four different groups. You can also adjust the size of the generated picture, the orientation (horizontal or vertical), and direction (left to right or right to left). When you click calligraphy, a picture is generated that you can save.The  Chinese Calligraphy,  Model of Chinese Calligraphy, and  Chinese Text to Images Converter, which offer different fonts, though these only accept simplified characters and offer fewer features and customization than the Chinese Calligraphy Editor.The  Free Chinese Calligraphy Fonts, which allows you to download fonts, many of which resemble handwriting, to use on your computer.

The Impact of Globalisation on BRIC Economises Literature review - 1

The Impact of Globalisation on BRIC Economises - Literature review Example Therefore, BRIC is expected to bring forth changes in the list of the greatest world economies in the near future. On the other hand, BRIC economies are not similar, though they are in the investment classification, whereby others having political and economic alliances, which are from the groups. Nevertheless, among these countries, China has made significant achievement, thereby making them eliminate the need for alliances. BRIC has made a significant effort in conversion of the growing economic influence into a political power, through summits comprising of analysts (The State University of New York, 2011, 1). In this case, the analyst work together in the BRIC countries in order to establish a future economic partnersip in these countries, whereby China will dominate in manufactured goods, provision of services is dominated by India while the field of material supply is dominated by Russia and Brazil (EconomyWatch, 2010, 1). Globalisation has been attributed to the acceleration of international economic integration, which has been unexpected in numerous ways. However, there are expectations that this might contribute to the vulnerability of workers in BRIC economies. There are resenting developments in the world concerning the increased importance of emerging economies, for instance, China has become a large exporter, whereby it has raised its reputation in international production networks entailing off shore business. Therefore, globalisation has enabled these countries to work together in order to counter well-established interests and organizational structures. The relationship between America and Europe has been substantial in facilitating the developments between the BRIC countries. Globalization in BRIC countries that are attributed to integration with the inputs, finished goods and services, which are underscored by increased business transactions in the world trade. In fact, the ratio of trade-to –trade GDP and the shares of

JP Morgan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

JP Morgan - Case Study Example These laws are meant to regulate the financial markets in US. Impact of Federal interest rate hikes may deter investment because it costs more to borrow. Interest rates in USA remained in between 4%-5% in 2009. Strong dollar may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in terms of foreign currency. Declining personal savings rate.In September 2005, the personal saving rate as a percentage of disposable income was negative implying US consumers spent more than 100% of their monthly income. 3. Social Factors determine the way the society in groups behaves because of cultural factors. In US Increasing minority Population, increasing retiree Population, have their impact on the financial behaviour of the US saving and expenditure rate and ways. Customer Loyalty is very much determining sustenance of a business for long. J P Morgan has built this customer loyalty by strong brand equity.. 4. Technological Factors: The fast changing financial world of US and UK such as highly computerised service, online banking, insurance and IT integration of lending institutions have sizeable impact on the financial services of JP Morgan. 5. Ecological: Every business today is responsible for maintaining the ecological balance directly or indirectly. J P Morgan is active in taking up and investing in environmental projects to carry out this responsibility 6.Legal framework of US, UK and other countries where J P Morgan function has undergone fundamental changes on account of introduction of stringent law after sub-prime lending debacle having impact on the financial services of the company. Impact of insurance industry after deregulations has strong effect on the business operation US Financial Services Industry: An Analysis www.researchandmarkets.com/.../us_financial_services_industry_an_analysis.pdf SWOT analysis is to make a long list of every factor that defines the company's situation. JP Morgan as financial global company has several strength that sustained the company against tough competition. Strengths JP Morgan is a leading global financial brand with recorded revenues of $71,372 million during the fiscal year ended December 2007, an increase of 15.1% over 2006. The operating profit of the company was $22,805 million during the fiscal year 2007, an increase of 14.7% over 2006. The net profit was $15,365 million during the fiscal year 2007, an increase of 6.4% over 2006. They have extensive retail distribution network, high quality asset investments and Capital strength. Weaknesses Sub-prime exposure in the US and UK shook the entire financial world. Several months before the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis surfaced, JP Morgan had detected accumulated such sub- prime risks associated with mortgage securities. The company dumped those risky assets and could avoid being trapped deeper. Opportunities J P Morgan diversified in banking and brokerage global

Laboratory Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Laboratory - Lab Report Example In addition, The PACS system is equipped with a central core consisting of a 300-gigabyte central server; a set of 1.25-terabyte optical jukebox archive together with adjustable wavelet compression or PacsPro II that is an EMED Technologies, Lexington, MA; some workstations which are four-panel 2.5 2.0K monitors (average rate image display time is less than 2 sec/full-resolution computed radiography image. The Images in PACS system are routed to individual workstations based on the algorithm that applies a synthesis of patient location, image source, day of week, time of day, imaging type, and Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) code (Gale, Gale, Schwartz, Muse and Walker, 2000). Oracle is a new networking infrastructures and applications that provides highly available integrated and high level of performance software components that meets the demands of most industries. The Oracle empowers applications with very high throughput and instant responsiveness and performance-critical functions faster. The combination of programs are delivered on the data management requirements important to realize service agility like: Superior combination of batch performance and real-time for data located in call control as well as back office applications; Intelligent caching; Providing support geographically for "fail over" and load balancing; full adherence to standard interfaces; Easy manageability and low maintenance requirements; and non-stop operations capable of achieving carrier-grade availability (Oracle Corporation, 2007).All PACS products (The Royal College of Radiologists, 2002) consist of database that can store information of patients, at the same time, cataloguing their imaging studies. Several PACS installations integrate and use a single relational Oracle databases to data storage. The user then, interacts instantly with the Oracle

Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Starbucks - Essay Example The company sources approximately 50% of its beans from South America, 35% from the Pacific Rim, and 15% from East Africa. The company chooses its location very carefully in order to ensure the maximum customer traffic possible. The firm enjoys a tremendous competitive advantage in terms of reach due to the fact that the firm has 16,635 franchises worldwide. The real estate strategy focuses on flexibility which allows the firm’s retail stores to fit in any type of area including corners, trapezoids, or triangles. The firm has built a tremendous corporate culture by empowering its employees. The employees of the company are referred to as baristas. The firm promotes diversity among its staff. â€Å"As partners, we embrace diversity to create a place each of us can be ourselves† (Starbucks). The corporation realizes that its employees are a critical success factor that enables the firm to offer its customer a unique experience. Some of the guiding principles of the compan y’s culture include providing a great work environment, applying the highest standard of excellence, satisfying the customer, and recognizing profitability is essential to the future success of the business. Starbucks has a tremendous variety of delicious coffees and hot drinks. The baristas have the freedom to customize the customer drinks to comply with the needs.

An individual report which debates a contemporary issue in E-Business Case Study

An individual report which debates a contemporary issue in E-Business - Case Study Example Moreover, the case studies that will be utilized will be that of the 2013 annual reports from Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. By analyzing these recent annual reports, it is the hope of this particular student that the reader will be able to gain a level of inference concerning how security issues and legal issues are represented within these and serve to define the approach to the market that these companies are taking. Rather than these two particular issues serving as considerations for the way in which business is conducted within three of the largest tech companies within the United States, is the understanding of this particular analyst that these see concerns are so intrinsically important that they are not only represented as focus point for business development but serve as a fundamental definition for how these companies engage with the market and develop their current and existing, as well as future, strategies for continuing to remain profitable. As one of the most profitable and successful pioneers of the computer operating system, Microsoft has long placed a high emphasis on the importance of security and dedicated entire teams and departments towards ensuring that this particular goal is accomplished (Dvorak, 2012). However, as with many companies, the failures of Microsoft to ensure a completely and entirely secure experience for its users, and the lapses in overall security that have come to be tabloid sensations over the past several decades, has created a difficult situation for Microsoft as it seeks to transition towards a new dynamic for engaging profitability. As the annual report of 2013 for the Microsoft Corporation indicates, the company is deliberately shifting towards a more service oriented approach to the market (Foley, 2012). This does not indicate that Microsoft windows or other long time/profitable engagements will cease to exist; however, the means by which the user engages

Effective Talent Management Processes And Management Development Essay

Effective Talent Management Processes And Management Development Programme - Essay Example Talent intelligence refers to the insight that a company needs to capitalize on its most key asset – its employees – by capturing meaningful information on people within the organization and outside (within competitors) for appropriate action towards driving the business of the organization forward (Lawler III & Ulrich, 2008). Talent management (and development), on the other hand, refers to a body of theories (including models and empirical studies) that offer managerial insights on how to identify such talent systematically and provides mechanisms on how to nurture and utilize the talent so acquired towards fulfilling the organizational objectives (Berger & Berger, 2010). In practice, talent management requires every individual organization to design, develop, and implement its own unique and adaptive talent management strategy in line with the organization’s objectives, operations, culture and environmental influencers (Berger & Berger, 2010). Talent managemen t has become a core human resource function. Trends and Emergent Issues in Global Management Globalization has led to a radical paradigm shift in how organizations conduct their business. Similarly, managerial focus has now broadened from a restricted focus on how the organization can achieve profitability and survive within the domestic and regional market. It now includes the emergent issues in global business today and the way they affect the organization’s profitability, as well as the way an organization impacts both its internal members and the communities where it is situated. The emergence of Brazil, India, China, and Russia as economic giants has led to increased focus of industries and top quality human resource skills on these markets due to the shortage of managerial talent elsewhere. The number of excellent leaders and managers has not increase (at least not at par) while the level of companies and industries seeking these crucial human resources has (Goldsmith & Carter, 2009). Talent management has increasingly grown from the need to find individuals whose competencies ‘fit’ within the organizational agenda in times of growth and expansion. It is clear from the recent, historical effects that the globalization of former national markets has not only brought opportunities forth for economies of scale and, therefore, more profits, but also created an integrated system that channels a ripple effect, in case of a collapse of one segment of its market, onto the rest of the global system (Carnall, 2007). Global recessions like the one experienced in 2008 had the effect of cutting down jobs globally. A focus of managers now shifts to identification and development of individuals with the ability to lead during such lean times, talents which can consolidate, engage, and sustain a proactive yet consistent approach to operational business cycles. Finally, global business means that multinationals need to obtain employees with different skills and competencies, which blend together to provide synergistic benefits for the organization (Schiemann & Meisinger, 2009). The differentiation amongst individuals in terms of behaviors, culture, attitudes, and interests means that a delicate and deliberate effort is required in obtaining a harmonious fusion of all these elements (the list is by no means conclusive) that is self-sustaining and provides an environment suitable for creativity, innovation, and employee growth. Present managers have exposed a high

An individual report which debates a contemporary issue in E-Business Case Study

An individual report which debates a contemporary issue in E-Business - Case Study Example Moreover, the case studies that will be utilized will be that of the 2013 annual reports from Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. By analyzing these recent annual reports, it is the hope of this particular student that the reader will be able to gain a level of inference concerning how security issues and legal issues are represented within these and serve to define the approach to the market that these companies are taking. Rather than these two particular issues serving as considerations for the way in which business is conducted within three of the largest tech companies within the United States, is the understanding of this particular analyst that these see concerns are so intrinsically important that they are not only represented as focus point for business development but serve as a fundamental definition for how these companies engage with the market and develop their current and existing, as well as future, strategies for continuing to remain profitable. As one of the most profitable and successful pioneers of the computer operating system, Microsoft has long placed a high emphasis on the importance of security and dedicated entire teams and departments towards ensuring that this particular goal is accomplished (Dvorak, 2012). However, as with many companies, the failures of Microsoft to ensure a completely and entirely secure experience for its users, and the lapses in overall security that have come to be tabloid sensations over the past several decades, has created a difficult situation for Microsoft as it seeks to transition towards a new dynamic for engaging profitability. As the annual report of 2013 for the Microsoft Corporation indicates, the company is deliberately shifting towards a more service oriented approach to the market (Foley, 2012). This does not indicate that Microsoft windows or other long time/profitable engagements will cease to exist; however, the means by which the user engages

HR Planning 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HR Planning 3 - Research Paper Example ce of support into a confined niche market.’ This forms the basis of this paper which seeks to answer the question of why rapid growing industries should hire from the outside rather than develop internally. Acquisition of knowledge and experience that does not exist in your organization about specific areas is undoubtedly a major reason for hiring from outside. Getting someone who has the expertise in what you intend to do is crucial as it will help your team rapidly speed up on time to success. This is so because an expert from outside will bring along a vast experience which will help in identifying challenges and communicating the potential outcomes which are important for rapidly changing industries. According to a new survey of 400 employers conducted by the non-profit COLLEGE FOR AMERICA (2014), study revealed that most employers preferred strongly developing existing employees as opposed to hiring from outside. However, the research also showed that the major challenge for these surveyed employers show that there is a hurdle in the lack of promotable skills to enable develop internally. According to Kristine Clerkin, the Executive Director of College for America, â€Å"American employers are almost universally in agreement about the importance of building talent and leadership within the organization. That being said, nearly nine out of ten employers report a gap where their current employees are missing key promotable skills† (COLLEGE FOR AMERICA, 2014). This study shows that there is a big problem in talent development internally owing to the gap of the missing promotable skills among employees in organizations. This has seen many employers outsource to fill this gap among its employees to enable countering the pull of the market. On the same vein, hiring enables an organization to access knowledge that could have been developed over a long time. According to research conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research from December 6 – 16 2013, â€Å"76% of

Reliance Group | International Business Environment

Reliance Group | International Business Environment The Reliance Group, founded by Late Dhirubhai H. Ambani, and is one of the largest private sector companies in India, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Reliance Groups annual revenues are in excess of US $ 58 billion. Reliance Industries Limited has become a Fortune Global 500 Company. Reliance Group is a highly diversified group and is in to multiproduct business like oil and gas exploration, retail of petro and consumer products and manufacturing of petrochemicals / refining and textile products. Here I have summarised how Globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of Reliance Industries Ltd. Reliance Group is a highly diversified group and is in to multiproduct business like oil/gas exploration, retail of petro/consumer products and mfg. of petrochemical/refining and textile products. Here I have summarised how Globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of Reliance Industries Ltd. GLOBALISATION If I was to summarise in one word as to what is Globalisation Liberalisation is leading to I will say Competition. Globalisation has a significant impact on entrepreneurial enterprises in many ways. Globalisation provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures to expand their business internationally. With the help of local governments, large corporations, and international organisations, entrepreneurial enterprises are able to confront the challenges posed by globalisation and economic liberalisation, to improve their competitiveness in the global market, and better serve the global consumers. A number of hypotheses are examined to understand how globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of entrepreneurial enterprises. Globalisation has forced Reliance in the following ways It has aligned with the global trends Development policies and compensation systems were put in place. Built leaders within organisation, within this talent pool. International Business Environment affects the development of RIL Exploration and production of oil and gas is critical for Indias energy security and economic growth. India imports almost two-thirds of its crude oil requirement. Reliances oil and gas exploration and production business is therefore inevitably linked with the national imperative. Exploration and production, the initial link in the energy and materials value chain, remains a major growth area and Reliance envisions evolving as a global energy major. With growing competition and ever growing demand for energy, especially from developing countries, the focus is on energy security. Over the years the EP industry has registered significant growth, primarily due to spiralling crude oil and gas prices. RIL began gas production within six and a half years of gas discovery, in comparison to the world average of 9-10 years for similar deep water production facilities. Continuous gas production for about a year, with 100% uptime, once again demonstrates the Companys flawless commissioning and execution capabilities. In April 2010, RIL entered into a joint venture with the USA based Atlas Energy, Inc. (Atlas) under which RIL acquired 40% interest in Atlas core Marcellus Shale acreage position. RIL has become a partner in approximately 300,000 net acres of undeveloped leasehold in the core area of the Marcellus Shale region in south western Pennsylvania for an acquisition cost of $ 339 million and an additional $ 1.36 billion capital costs under a carry arrangement for 75% of Atlass capital costs over an anticipated seven and a half year development programme. Low operating costs and proximity to USA northeast gas markets combine to make the Marcellus Shale region one of the most economically attractive, unconventional natural gas resources play in North America. The acreage will support the drilling of over 3,000 wells with a resource potential of approximately 13.3 Trillion Cubic Feet equivalent (TCFe). While Atlas will serve as the development operator for the joint venture, RIL is expected to become a development operator in certain regions in the coming years in the JV. Atlas will continue acquiring leasehold in the Marcellus Shale region and RIL will have the option to acquire 40% share in all new acreages. RIL also obtained the right of first offer with respect to potential future sales by Atlas of around 280,000 additional Appalachian acres currently controlled by Atlas (not included in the present joint venture). The RIL-Atlas joint venture has the potential to become one of the largest prime acreage holders in the Marcellus Shale region. This joint venture will materially increase RILs resource base and provide an entirely new platform from which to grow its exploration and production business while simultaneously enhancing its ability to operate unconventional projects in the future. Additionally, RIL has farmed out 20% PI in the blocks Borojo North and Borojo South in Colombia; and 30% PI in block 18 and 25% PI in block 41 in Oman. The Regional Government of Kurdistan has assigned third party participating interest of 20% each in blocks Rovi and Sarta to M/s OVM; the assigned agreement is yet to be signed by RIL. RIL now has 13 blocks in its international EP portfolio including 2 in Peru, 3 in Yemen (1 producing and 2 exploratory), 2 each in Oman, Kurdistan and Colombia, 1 each in East Timor and Australia; amounting to a total acreage of over 93,500 sq. kms. Sustainability Strategy adopted/used by RIL in Global Markets Reliance has made sustainable development a cornerstone of its business strategy to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. RIL adopted principle of materiality and prioritized key issues after collective deliberation by management and key stakeholders. These issues include; Energy Security, Health Safety, Corporate Governance and Transparency, Product Responsibility, Climate Change and Waste Management. RIL sustainable development strategy draws on proven technology and risk management framework and evolves from the materiality analysis that has been performing over the years. The focus areas under sustainability development strategy include the following: Energy Security As a company RIL involved in the energy and materials value chain, so it is committed to responsible use of energy. Its systems and processes ensure optimum energy usage by continuous monitoring of all forms of energy and increasing the efficiency of operations. Growth through Innovation RIL firmly believe that growth through innovation will give a big competitive advantage and will be a key differentiator. Companys goal is to make RIL one of the most innovative companies in the world and to achieve breakthrough growth in revenues and profits by creating and implementing sustainable solutions. RIL is developing an innovative ecosystem that builds on organisational systems and processes, talent management, open innovation and world class RD facilities. Health and Safety Safety overrides all production targets this vision drives RIL to continuously look for ways to achieve zero accident at workplace. RILs vision is to develop a dedicated pool of safety professionals and lead in safety performance across its operations by focusing on process safety and behavioural safety.. Environment Protecting the environment and preserving natural resources is a high priority area. Through annual environment plan and business targets, RIL identify projects and take action to reduce water consumption and become carbon neutral and achieve maximum possible recycling and reuse of wastes. RIL set targets for key environment-related performance indicators such as material intensity, GHG emissions, air quality, water consumption, effluent discharge, waste generation and disposal, and conservation of bio-diversity. Product Responsibility For RIL, product responsibility is to offer efficient and reliable product and services with minimum environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the product from the cradle to the grave. Its product and services are designed, manufactured and delivered with principle consideration of customer safety. Social Institution Building Social welfare and community development is at the core of RILs Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) philosophy. RILs strategy is to have close and continuous interaction with the people and communities around our manufacturing divisions to bring qualitative changes and support the underprivileged.