Poverty In US Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Poverty In US Poverty in the United States is getting worse each day and not enough is getting done about it. The readings from "Babies and Benefits" by Sheila Holbrook-White, the article on poverty by Michael J. Paquette, and "Keeping Women And Children Last" by Ruth Sidel made me view the issues of poverty in a different way. I never realised what kind of people were living in poverty, and the true reasons why they are there. What amazes me the most is how much these people need help, and how little the government is doing to help them. The government should set up work programs for these people to help them get better jobs and make enough money to survive. The politicians in Washington D.C. and all over the U.S. want nothing more than to cut back on government funding for the people in poverty. The government doesn't believe that most of the people actually need this money from AFDC. They can't get it because they don't meet the proper criteria set by the government. Either they're not poor enough, they're not poor in the right way ? or they need the money for the wrong reasons. The reading in the book Keeping Woman and Children Last, showed time and time again the shocking stories of how people fall into poverty after living a middle class life for decades. Reasons pertaining to illness, death, unemployment, divorce and accidents left these people with nothing and the government would refuse to help them. These people are called the "New Poor"(Sidel, 1998, p.60). Their social security and pensions are not enough for them to live on so they must rely on these funds to help. "With marriage being touted today as a central route out of poverty, few critics of the choices and behaviour of poor woman speak about marriage as a path into poverty."(Sidel, 1998, p.60) I never thought that marriage could lead to poverty until I read this story from "Keeping Women And Children Last". A welfare worker married one of her clients and ended up on welfare because of her marriage. She married a man who had " little education, a drug problem and an alcohol problem."(Sidel, 1998, p.60) Their marriage fell apart because of his abuse to his wife and children and the woman was forced to go for help from the place where she used to work, a welfare office. They got back together eventually after he came out of a rehabilitation program. He then started with the drugs and alcohol again and she was force to leave him to apply for AFDC. "Those who are stigmatising welfare recipients do not point to all those young mothers who are valiantly caring for their children on meager AFDC checks while struggling to complete their education."(Sidel, 1998, p.63) Parent who receive AFDC checks that are going back to school to better qualify themselves for better jobs in order to better provide for their families. One woman came off the streets of New York City and went from begging at supermarkets to attending Columbia University through their Higher Education Opportunities Program (HEOP). " She is constantly fearful that HEOP will be cut back and that "welfare reform" will force her to quit school and go back to work full time." (Sidel, 1998, p.64) These people need help while they are in school, but welfare reform is not the kind of help they need. These programs should receive more government funding to not just better the people and help the children but to better society. Some people are also saying that single mothers have more children to receive more money from the AFDC. This is where the term "woman have babies for benefits"(Holbrook-white, 1998, p.1) comes from. Politicians like Bob James and Robert Rector believes that these women are cheating the system. Study's have shown that even though AFDC benefits have fallen across the nation 47% since 1970, single mother childbearing has nearly doubled. Statistics in Alabama show that more than half the babies born in Alabama are unplanned. I feel that these cutbacks on welfare reform are just excuses to spend less on the poor and more on the wealthy. The statistics on specific ethnic groups are ridiculous. 33% of Hispanics live in poverty. Sidel shows that that the average white family income is $20,000 more than the average black family income. She also shows that "Connecticut, one of the richest states in the nation, has since passed one of the most restricted welfare bills adopted by any

buy custom Business Legal Issues essay

buy custom Business Legal Issues essay In any kind of business engagement, the legal structure plays a very significant role in determining its success. This is more typical of the restaurant business outlet in this context. The legal structure of the restaurant business is of utmost importance, as far as it touches on various aspects (Starting a Business 1-5). What concerns a sole proprietorship restaurant, the legal structure would be different from that case, when the business is a large corporation or a partnership. Each legal structure has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is a very prudent idea for a business to develop a plan for that kind of the legal structure, which serves the aims and objectives of getting engaged in this business. There are the following aspects of a legal structure: capital, business continuity, liability, management control, regulations of the government and taxes imposed on income. The realization of them is an important step to an actionable choice of the structure approp riate for the business. It is always advisable to consult an attorney before making this decision. This business engagement has a sole-proprietorship structure. It involves the investment of a small amount of capital. Being an owner, an individual retains full control and management of every decision that is to be made. It will not be a wise idea for this restaurant business to get engaged in large legal structures, such as a partnership with large corporations. This is because the vision and mission of the business outlet may die out and end up without gaining profit. The power to raise the initial capital in this or that kind of business is limited entirely both by the resources of finance and the creditworthiness of the owner of business. It is good for the owner to be ultimately liable for every action and business debts. Taking full responsibility helps to solve the issues at hand soberly. Involving many partners can make some people shy away from these liabilities and, as a result, cease all business operations. These definitions and clarifications are important as they affect the ultimate outlook of the legal structure of the restaurant business. Thats why, this restaurant business is to be recognized by the federal government by means of registration, notwithstanding the size of the operation. This ensures that the business runs without interruptions on the part of the central government (Starting a Business 1-5). Customers need a reliable supply source for their needs and supplies. When the business is closed down because of a lack of the required legal documents, customers may find other places to get their goods. This has a very big impact on the success of business. Many customers may look at the business as being unreliable to offer what they want. Therefore, it is imperative that plans are to be made to get a legal license that guarantees business operation. Permits and licenses are grants given by the federal or local government to people, partnerships or corporations to carry out specific activities. It involves payment of a non-refundable feebeing a proof of certification on the basis of examination. Therefore, a person is required to carry out research into applicable local and state laws. Thus, the establishment of the restaurant business requires the use of legal professional services. The use of legal professional services is very important for the restaurant business to kick start without experiencing any challenges. It is also of great importance to make use of these services as they give the business a go ahead and again will be required at times when the business expands its operations (Starting a Restaurant 3-6). Seeking the intervention of a professional lawyer can provide expertise and knowledge in the areas that could be limited to the business owner. The professional lawyer can round out operation procedures for the business to operate in the most efficient manner. Thus, it is important to consult the lawyer in order to start up the business. Lawyers are professionals that are highly trained dealing with a wide scope of business and personal legal matters. The company should deal with a lawyer specializing in business matters and this will guarantee an effective service and a right advice for the business. Most transactions in business have legal implications. Therefore, it is important to contact a lawyer who can be treated as a trusted and a dependable business advisor. When looking for a lawyer, it is important to consult friends, family and business associates for references of law firms that can be used as credible sources. There have been a lot of fraudulent activities during the registration of business. Therefore, this process ought to be very carefully thought out. Prior to meeting the lawyer, it is important to be prepared with the explanations concerning specific legal requirements for the business and to enquire the cost of these services. It is also advisable to contact several sources to ascertain these courts (Starting a Business 1-5). After selecting the structure of the business and performing necessary instructions for the registration process, the services of a professional accountant are also needed. Consultations of professional accountants also meet legal requirements. Their advice is important for matters concerning tax implications of the chosen restaurant business structure. It is important for the restaurant business to be tax compliant. Any operations that do not meet the legal tax implications are under a threat of closure and fine imposed on the top of that. Another factor meeting legal requirements would be based on whether the premises will be leased or not. The business, which uses leased premises rather than own buildings, is to go through a legal process. Leases constitute one of the biggest expenses and normally represent a lasting commitment. As such, the signed lease agreement is a very significant legal requirement. Leases can be different depending on their content. They can be a mere one-page agreement or a long complex document. This is normally determined by the space that is going to be leased. The realtor assists in comprehending the basic terms and the costt of a lease. However, it is advisable to consult a lawyer to describe the legal implications prior to signing the document (Starting a Restaurant 3-6). If the initial establishment of the restaurant business would require buying of an existing business, legal procedures are to be followed. In case there is an acquisition of assets of an existing company, the transactions taking place are to be certified as a part of the legal requirement. It is required by the law to sign a buy/sell agreement by the parties involved in the transaction. Consulting an accountant at this level is also very important when purchasing assets conversant with various tax implications. In case the restaurant business takes over the operations of existing hotel premises, it is important for an entrepreneur to be protected from the breach of law or contract. Following the advice of a competent lawyer, valid contracts are to be reviewed after the buy-in need. This is be very important in order to save the business from future losses in case there is a lack of any of these caused by the legal authority of the town. A restaurant is a very sensitive area of operation that requires careful procedures and processes used before the onset of operations. Therefore, it is required by the law to comply with the occupational, health and safety policy concerning the welfare of employees and even to ensure the health safety of esteemed customers. Workers must be provided with the correct personal protective equipment required by the law. Hygiene is a very important aspect and, thus, the restaurant business must meet minimum legal requirements. Generally, the occupational health and safety committee should be involved both in running business operations and meeting legal requirements (Starting a Restaurant 1-6). For the hotel and hospitality industry, it is a legal requirement for any hired employee to go through a medical examination. The medical examination must be conducted by a recognized health institution. They are normally carried out at least once in a given time period predetermined by legal requirements of the government. All employees should also been trained health and safety measures. Health measures are very important for running the restaurant business and, therefore, must be taken very seriously. It is one of the significant legal requirements, without which the business cannot operate. The running of a restaurant business often involves a lot of physical risks and hazards. The requirements of the law advocate for measures to be taken as precautionary steps to counteract the onset of any hazard within premises. There could be accidental fires and, thus, the management should install fire fighting equipment where necessary. Finally, the management should have a proper environmental management system. This will call for the establishment of proper waste disposal and the treatment of any effluent material from the business (Sullivan 35-62). The law requires the environment to be protected and the breach of this would interfere with normal business procedures. Buy custom Business Legal Issues essay

Donald Trump Biography

Donald Trump Biography Donald Trump is a wealthy businessman, entertainer, real estate developer and president-elect of the United States  whose political aspirations made him one of the most polarizing and controversial figures of the 2016  election. Trump ended up winning the election  against all odds, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton, and took office on Jan. 20, 2017. Trumps candidacy for the White House began amid the largest field of presidential hopefuls in 100 years and was quickly dismissed as a lark. But he won primary after primary and quickly became the most unlikely presidential front-runner in modern political history, vexing the pundit class and his opponents alike. Presidential Campaign of 2016 Trump announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination on June 16, 2015. His speech was mostly negative and touched on themes such as illegal immigration, terrorism and the loss of jobs that would resonate throughout his campaign over the course of the election cycle.   The darkest lines of Trumps speech include: The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them.When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.Sadly, the American dream is dead. Trump largely funded the campaign himself. He was criticized by many leading conservatives who questioned whether he was really a Republican. In fact,  Trump had been registered as a Democrat for more than eight years in the 2000s. And he contributed money to the campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton.   Trump  flirted with the idea of running for president in 2012, too, and was leading that years field of Republican White House hopefuls until he polls showed his popularity sinking and he decided against launching a campaign. Trump made headlines when he paid private investigators to travel to Hawaii to search for President Barack Obamas birth certificate amid the height of the birther movement, which questioned his eligibility to serve in the White House. Where Donald Trump Lives Trumps home address is 725 Fifth Avenue in New York City, according to a statement of candidacy he filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2015. The address is the location of Trump Tower, a 68-story residential and commercial building in Manhattan. Trump lives on the top three floors of the building. He owns several other residential properties, however. How Donald Trump Makes His Money Trump runs dozens of companies and serves of numerous corporate boards, according to a personal financial disclosure he filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics when he ran for president.  He has said he is worth as much as $10 billion, though critics have suggested he is worth much less.   And four of Trumps companies sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the years. They include the  Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey;  Trump Plaza in Atlantic City;  Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts;  and Trump Entertainment Resorts. Donald Trumps bankruptcy was his way of using the law  to save those companies. â€Å"Because I have used the laws of this country just like the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, my employees, myself and my family,† Trump said at a debate in 2015. Trump has disclosed tens of millions of dollars in earnings from: Residential and commercial real estate ventures, his most lucrative occupation.  Operating the Trump National Golf Club, which maintains 17 golf courses and golf resorts across the world including those in Scotland, Ireland, Dubai.Running the Mar-A-Lago Club resort in Palm Beach, Florida.Owning the Miss Universe pageant, from which he reported $3.4 million in income.Operating restaurants.Operating an ice skating rink in New York City, for which he listed $8.7 million in income.Speaking engagements, some of which bring in $450,000.A pension from the Screen Actors Guild that pays him $110,228 a year, from his roles in movies on television dating back to  The Jeffersons in 1981. Trump also appeared in Zoolander and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.His appearances on the reality television show  The Apprentice  and Celebrity Apprentice, which paid him $214 million over 11 years, the campaign said. Books By Donald Trump Trump has written at least 15 books about business and golf. The most widely read and successful of his books is The Art of the Deal, published in 1987 by Random House. Trump receives annual royalties valued between $15,001 and $50,000 from sales of the book, according to federal records. He also receives $50,000 and $100,000 in income a year from sales of  Time to Get Tough, published in 2011 by Regnery Publishing. Trumps other books include: Trump: Surviving at the Top, published in 1990 by Random HouseThe Art of the Comeback, published in 1997 by Random HouseThe America We Deserve, published in 2000 by Renaissance BooksHow to Get Rich, published in 2004 by Random HouseThink Like a Billionaire, published in 2004 by Random HouseThe Way to the Top, published in 2004 by Bill Adler BooksThe Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Thomas Nelson Inc.  The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Random HouseThink Big and Kick Ass, published in 2007 by HarperCollins PublishersTrump 101: The Way to Success, published in 2007 by John Wiley SonsWhy We Want You to Be Rich, published in 2008 by Plata PublishingNever Give Up, published in 2008 by  John Wiley SonsThink Like a Champion, published in 2009 by Vanguard Press Education Trump earned a bachelors degree in economics from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Trump graduated from the university in 1968. He had previously attended Fordham University in New York City. As a child, he went to school at the New York Military Academy. Personal Life Trump was born in the New York City borough of Queens, New York,  to  Frederick C. and Mary MacLeod Trump  on June 14, 1946. Trump is one of five children. He has said he learned much of his business acumen from his father. I started off in a small office with my father in Brooklyn and Queens, and my father said - and I love my father. I learned so much. He was a great negotiator. I learned so much just sitting at his feet playing with blocks listening to him negotiate with subcontractors, Trump said in 2015. Trump has been married to Melania Knauss since January 2005. Trump was married twice before, and both relationships ended in divorce. Trumps first marriage, to  Ivana Marie Zelnà ­Ã„ kov, lasted about 15 years before the couple divorced in March 1992. His second marriage, to  Marla Maples, an lasted less than six years before the couple divorced in June 1999. Trump has five children. They are: Donald Trump Jr. with first wife Ivana.Eric Trump  with first wife Ivana.Ivanka Trump  with first wife Ivana.Tiffany Trump with second wife Marla.Barron Trump with third wife Melania.

Researsc proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Researsc proposal - Essay Example In line with guiding pediatric nurses, the study will determine the general knowledge and practices of the pediatric nurses within the secondary and tertiary hospitals and provide information with regards to the benefits and consequences of using a pacifier. What are the benefits and consequences of using a pacifier (Non-Nutritive Sucking) in newly born infants? Is there any past researches done on the use of a pacifier to prove that it could reduce the cases of SIDS or its effect on the breastfeeding promotion? When is the best time to use and stop the use of a pacifier? Are all pediatric nurses in different health care setting well knowledgeable about the importance of using a pacifier? Is there a difference between the practices of pediatric nurses when it comes to the use of a pacifier in secondary and tertiary hospitals. Considering the fact that SIDS is still considered as the leading cause of postneonatal infant death within the United States and other countries (Hauck, 2004; Mathews et al., 2002; Malloy and MacDorman, 2005), it is critical to give the readers a better understanding about the causes of SIDS (Baddock et al., 2007) and the importance of non-nutritive sucking in decreasing the cases of SIDS, the literature reviews will discuss about the physiological explanation behind the need of prematurely born infants to be fed through a tube inserted in the nose up to the stomach (gavage feeding), the adverse effect of using a pacifier (Hauck, Omojokun, and Siadaty, 2005); and how the use of a pacifier can be used in training the infant to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing. (Pinelli and Symington, 2007) In line with exploring the benefits of the using a pacifier (non-nutritive sucking), its role in keeping the rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) low will be elaborated. (Heinig and Baňelos, 2006; Hauck, Omojokun, and Siadaty, 2005) The possible causes of SIDS will also be

Religious persecution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Religious persecution - Essay Example In regard to these, there exist three different forms of religious facets that are of particular vitality in defining religion (Gunn 392). These are: religion as a belief, religion as an identity and religious as a way of life. In any religious persecution or discrimination, any of these three facets might come into play. On the other hand, a combination of all the there faces might sometimes take the center stage. Although the three facets are the ones most commonly associated with religious persecutions and conflicts, other facets of religion not identified here can also be of some relevance. The definition of faith as a belief is based on the convictions that people have concerning God, honest, truth or faith doctrines (Hamlet 265). A religion based on belief emphasizes the adherence to doctrines such as the five pillars of Islam, the transmigration of souls and the Nicene Creed among others. Typically, belief religion is characterized by the emphasis on understanding religious doctrines. Belief based religion is enhanced by conversion and adoption of new doctrines of belief. According to Gunn, from the perspective of the persecutor, the religious behaviors of others are considered as heresy and blasphemy and are therefore superstitiously held. Consequently, the religious leaders of the targeted religion are considered as false prophets, cult leaders and tricksters. In some instances, the whole group is subjected to persecution even if the group shares the same ethnicity with the persecutors. Good examples are cases from countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Iran (Gunn 394). The definition of religion as an identity is based on affiliation to a particular group (Hamlet 267). In this instance, a given religion is associated with a family, a tribe, an ethnic group, race, nationality or statehood. In identity religion, followers believe that they were born in their religion and did not just subscribe to it as

Sony company Essay Example for Free

Sony company Essay One of the most recognized brand names in the world today, Sony Corporation, Japan, established its India operations in November 1994, focusing on the sales and marketing of Sony products in the country. In a span of 16 years, Sony India has exemplified the quest for excellence in the world of digital lifestyle becoming the country’s foremost consumer electronics brand. With relentless commitment to quality, consistent dedication to customer satisfaction and unparalleled standards of service, Sony India is recognized as a benchmark for new age technology, superior quality, digital concepts and personalized service that has ensured loyal customers and nationwide acclaim in the industry. With brands names such as BRAVIA, VAIO, Tablet, Handycam ®, Cyber-shot, Walkman ®, Xplodâ„ ¢, Sony hi-fi, Memory stick ® and PlayStation ®, Sony has established itself as a value leader across its various product categories of Audio/Visual Entertainment products, Information and Communications, Recording Media, Business and Professional products. Sony India is one of the most recognized consumer electronics brand in the country, with a reputation for new age technology, digital concepts and excellent after sales service. In India, Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in the country through a distribution network comprising of over 10,400 dealers and distributors, 270 exclusive Sony outlets and 23 direct branch locations. Sony India also has a strong service presence across the country with 255 service outlets. Manned by customer friendly and informed sales persons, Sony’s exclusive stores ‘Sony Center’ are fast becoming the most visible face of the company in India. A distinctive feature of Sony’s service is its highly motivated and well-trained staff that provides the kind of attentive and sensitive service that is rare today. Sony is committed to ensuring that both the products and the marketing activities employed truly make a difference to people’s lifestyles and offer them new dimensions of enjoyment. Relentless commitment to quality, continuous dedication to customer satisfaction and unparalleled standards of service is what differentiates us from countless competitors and reflects a true image of all that is Sony. HISTORY It was in 1946 that Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita together with a small team of passionate and committed group of employees started to build â€Å"Tokyo Tsushin Kenkyujo† (Totsuko), or â€Å"Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute† into the billion dollar global conglomerate that it is today. The main objective of the company was to design and create innovative products which would benefit the people. From early attempts at creating products like the rice-cooker to the later success of creating Japan’s first magnetic recorder, the innovative company went on to create other hit products which won the company widespread recognition and international acclaim as a truly global company known for its quality and innovative products. Significant product milestones included Japan’s first transistor radio (1955), Trinitron colour television (1968), Walkman personal stereo (1979), Handycam videocamera (1989), PlayStation (1994), Blu-ray Disc recorder (2003) and PlayStation 3 (2006). The company name of Sony was created by combining two words of â€Å"sonus† and â€Å"sonny†. The word â€Å"sonus† in Latin represents words like sound and sonic. The other word â€Å"sonny† means little son. Used in combination, Sony is supposed to represent a very small group of young people who have the energy and passion towards unlimited creations and innovative ideas. With the far-sight of expanding worldwide, it was in 1958 that the company formally adopted â€Å"Sony Corporation† as its corporate name. Easy to pronounce and read in any language, the name Sony, which has a lively ring to it, fits comfortably with the spirit of freedom and open-mindedness. FORMATS AND TECHNOLOGIES Sony has historically been notable for creating its own in-house standards for new recording and storage technologies, instead of adopting those of other manufacturers and standards bodies. The most infamous of these was the videotape format war of the early 1980s, when Sony marketed the Betamax system for video cassette recorders against the VHS format developed by JVC. In the end, VHS gained critical mass in the marketbase and became the worldwide standard for consumer VCRs and Sony adopted the format. While Betamax is for all practical purposes an obsolete format, a professional-oriented component video format called Betacam that was derived from Betamax is still used today, especially in the television industry, although far less so in recent years with the introduction of digital and high definition. Sony launched the Betamax videocassette recording format in 1975. In 1979 the Walkman brand was introduced, in the form of the worlds first portable music player. 1982 saw the launch of Sonys professional Betacam videotape format and the collaborative Compact Disc (CD) format. In 1983 Sony introduced 90 mm micro diskettes (better known as 3.5-inch (89 mm) floppy disks), which it had developed at a time when there were 4 floppy disks and a lot of variations from different companies to replace the then on-going 5.25 floppy disks. Sony had great success and the format became dominant; 3.5 floppy disks gradually became obsolete as they were replaced by current media formats. In 1983 Sony launched the MSX, a home computer system, and introduced the world (with their counterpart Philips) to the Compact Disc (CD). In 1984 Sony launched the Discman series which extended their Walkman brand to portable CD products. In 1985 Sony launched their Handycam products and the Video8 format. Video8 and the follow-on hi-band Hi8 format became popular in the consumer camcorder market. In 1987 Sony launched the 4 mm DAT or Digital Audio Tape as a new digital audio tape standard. In addition to developing consumer-based recording media, after the launch of the CD Sony began development of commercially based recording media. In 1986 they launched Write-Once optical discs (WO) and in 1988 launched Magneto-optical discs which were around 125MB size for the specific use of archival data storage. In the early 1990s two high-density optical storage standards were being developed: one was the MultiMedia Compact Disc (MMCD), backed by Philips and Sony, and the other was the Super Density disc (SD), supported by Toshiba and many others. Philips and Sony abandoned their MMCD format and agreed upon Toshibas SD format with only one modification based on MMCD technology, viz EFMPlus. The unified disc format was called DVD which was marketed in 1997. Sony introduced the MiniDisc format in 1993 as an alternative to Philips DCC or Digital Compact Cassette. Since the introduction of MiniDisc, Sony has attempted to promote its own audio compression technologies under the ATRAC brand, against the more widely used MP3. Until late 2004, Sonys Network Walkman line of digital portable music players did not support the MP3 de facto standard natively, although the provided software SonicStage would convert MP3 files into the ATRAC or ATRAC3 formats. In 1993, Sony challenged the industry standard Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound format with a newer and more advanced proprietary motion picture digital audio format called SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound). This format employed eight channels (7.1) of audio opposed to just six used in Dolby Digital 5.1 at the time. Unlike Dolby Digital, SDDS utilized a method of backup by having mirrored arrays of bits on both sides of the film which acted as a measure of reliability in case the film was partially damaged. Ultimately, SDDS has been vastly overshadowed by the preferred DTS (Digital Theatre System) and Dolby Digital standards in the motion picture industry. SDDS was solely developed for use in the theatre circuit; Sony never intended to develop a home theatre version of SDDS. In 1998, Sony launched their Memory Stick format; flash memory cards for use in Sony lines of digital cameras and portable music players. It has seen little support outside of Sonys own products with Secure Digital cards (SD) commanding considerably greater popularity. This is due in part to the SD formats greater throughput (which allows faster recording and access), higher capacities, and significantly lower price per unit capacity compared to Memory Sticks available at the same time. Sony has made updates to the Memory Stick format with Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Micro. Sony and Philips jointly developed the Sony-Philips digital interface format (S/PDIF) and the high-fidelity audio system SACD. The latter has since been entrenched in a format war with DVD-Audio. At present, neither has gained a major foothold with the general public. CDs are preferred by consumers because of ubiquitous presence of CD drives in consumer devices. In 2004, Sony built upon the MiniDisc format by releasing Hi-MD. Hi-MD allows the playback and recording of audio on newly introduced 1 GB Hi-MD discs in addition to playback and recording on regular MiniDiscs. Recordings on the Hi-MD Walkmans can be transferred to and from the computer virtually unrestricted, unlike earlier NetMD. In addition to saving audio on the discs, Hi-MD allows the storage of computer files such as documents, videos and photos. Hi-MD introduced the ability to record CD-quality audio with a linear PCM recording feature. It was the first time since MiniDiscs introduction in 1992 that the ATRAC codec could be bypassed and lossless CD-quality audio could be recorded on the small discs. Sony was one of the leading developers of the Blu-ray Disc optical disc format, the newest standard for disc-based content delivery. The format emerged as the market leader over the competing standard, Toshibas HD DVD, after a 2 year-long format war. The first Blu-ray players became commercially available in 2006. By the end of 2007 the format had the backing of every major motion picture studio except Universal, Paramount, and DreamWorks The Blu-ray formats popularity continued to increase, solidifying its position as the dominant HD media format, and Toshiba announced its decision to stop supporting HD DVD in 2008. Now, all major studios support Blu-ray and release their films on the format. CORPORATE INFORMATION Finances Sony is one of Japans largest corporations by revenue. It had revenues of  ¥6.395 trillion in 2012. It also maintains large reserves of cash, with  ¥13.29 trillion on hand as of 2012. In May 2012, Sony shares were valued at about $15 billion. The company was immensely profitable throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, in part because of the success of its new PlayStation line. The company encountered financial difficulty in the mid- to late-2000s due to a number of factors: the global financial crisis, increased competition for PlayStation, and the Japanese earthquake. The company faced three consecutive years of losses leading up to 2011. While noting the negative effects of intervening circumstances such as natural disasters and fluctuating currency exchange rates, the Financial Times criticized the company for its lack of resilience and inability to gauge the economy. The newspaper voiced skepticism about Sonys revitalization efforts, given a lack of tangible results. In September 2000 Sony had a market capitalization of $100 billion; but by December 2011 it had plunged to $18 billion, reflecting falling prospects for Sony but also reflecting grossly inflated share prices of the dot.com years. Net worth, as measured by stockholder equity, has steadily grown from $17.9 billion in March 2002 to $35.6 billion through December 2011. Earnings yield (inverse of the price to earnings ratio) has never been more than 5% and usually much less; thus Sony has always traded in over-priced ranges with the exception of the 2009 market bottom. In April 2012, Sony announced that it would reduce its workforce by 10,000 (6% of its employee base) as part of CEO Hirais effort to get the company back into the green. This came after a loss of 520 billion yen (roughly US$6.36 billion) for fiscal 2012, the worst since the company was founded. Accumulation loss for the past four years was 919.32 billion-yen. Sony plans to increase its marketing expenses by 30% in 2012. 1,000 of the jobs cut come from the companys mobile phone units workforce. 700 jobs will be cut in the 2012-2013 fiscal year and the remaining 300 in the following fiscal year. On 9 December 2008, Sony Corporation announced that it would be cutting 8,000 jobs, dropping 8,000 contractors and reducing its global manufacturing sites by 10% to save $1.1 billion per year. Environmental record In November 2011, Sony was ranked 9th (jointly with Panasonic) in Greenpeaces Guide to Greener Electronics. This chart grades major electronics companies on their environmental work. The company scored 3.6/10, incurring a penalty point for comments it has made in opposition to energy efficiency standards in California. It also risks a further penalty point in future editions for being a member of trade associations that have commented against energy efficiency standards. Together with Philips, Sony receives the highest score for energy policy advocacy after calling on the EU to adopt an unconditional 30% reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Meanwhile, it receives full marks for the efficiency of its products. In 2007, Sony ranked 14th on the Greenpeace guide. Sony fell from its earlier 11th place ranking due to Greenpeaces claims that Sony had double standards in their waste policies. Since 1976, Sony has had an Environmental Conference. Sonys policies address their effects on global warming, the environment, and resources. They are taking steps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that they put out as well as regulating the products they get from their suppliers in a process that they call green procurement. Sony has said that they have signed on to have about 75 percent of their Sony Building running on geothermal power. The Sony Take Back Recycling Program allow consumers to recycle the electronics products that they buy from Sony by taking them to eCycle (Recycling) drop-off points around the U.S. The company has also developed a biobattery that runs on sugars and carbohydrates that works similarly to the way living creatures work. This is the most powerful small biobattery to date. In 2000, Sony faced criticism for a document entitled NGO Strategy that was leaked to the press. The document involved the companys surveillance of environmental activists in an attempt to plan how to counter their movements. It specifically mentioned environmental groups that were trying to pass laws that held electronics-producing companies responsible for the clean up of the toxic chemicals contained in their merchandise. EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION Employee Data The addition of employees of its mobile communications business, included in the scope of consolidation effective from fiscal year 2011, was offset by substantial personnel reductions at production sites in the East Asia and Asia/Pacific regions (i.e., excluding Japan) accompanying the implementation of production adjustments. As a consequence, as of March 31, 2012, the Sony Group had approximately 162,700 employees on its books, down 5,500 from the previous fiscal year-end. Sony Corporations headcount peaked at 23,000 in 1993, after which it remained fairly consistent at approximately 17,000. As of March 31, 2012, Sony Corporations headcount was approximately 16,000. Composition of Sony Corporations Directors and Corporate Executive Officers ELECTRONICS Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group. It primarily conducts strategic business planning of the group, research and development (RD), planning, designing and marketing for electronics products. Its subsidiaries such as Sony EMCS Corporation (6 plants in Japan), Sony Semiconductor Corporation (7 plants in Japan) and its subsidiaries outside Japan (Brazil, China, England, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and United States) are responsible for manufacturing as well as product engineering (Sony EMCS is also responsible for customer service operations). In 2012, Sony incorporated rolled most of its consumer content services (including video, music, and gaming) into the Sony Entertainment Network. Sony produced the worlds first portable music player, the Walkman in 1979. This line fostered a fundamental change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and listen to music through lightweight headphones. Walkman originally referred to portable audio cassette players. Sony utilized a related brand, Discman, to refer to its CD players. It dropped this name in the late 1990s. Sony sells many of its computer products using the VAIO brand. Sony entered again into the global computer market under the new VAIO brand, began in 1996. Short for Video Audio Integrated Operation, the line was the first computer brand to highlight visual-audio features. Sony faced considerable controversy when some of its laptop batteries exploded and caught fire in 2006 resulting in the largest computer-related recall to that point in history. In a bid to join the tablet computer market, the company launched its Sony Tablet series in 2011. The machines run on Google Android software. Sony offers a range of digital cameras. Point-and-shoot models adopt the Cyber-shot name, while digital single-lens reflex models are branded using Alpha. The first Cyber-shot was introduced in 1996. At the time, digital cameras were a relative novelty. Sonys market share of the digital camera market fell from a high of 20% to 9% by 2005 Sony entered the market for digital single-lens reflex cameras in 2006 when it acquired the camera business of Konica Minolta. Sony rebranded the companys line of cameras as its Alpha line. Sony is the worlds third largest manufacturer of the cameras, behind leaders Canon and Nikon. Sony used the LCD WEGA name for its LCD TVs until summer 2005. The company then introduced the BRAVIA name. BRAVIA is an in house brand owned by Sony which produces high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors, home cinemas and the BRAVIA home theatre range. All Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD televisions in North America have carried the logo for BRAVIA since 2005. Sony is the third-largest maker of televisions in the world. As of 2012[update], Sonys television business has been unprofitable for eight year. In December 2011, Sony agreed to sell all stake in an LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics for about $940 million. On 28 March 2012, Sony Corporation and Sharp Corporation announced that they have agreed to further amend the joint venture agreement originally executed by the parties in July 2009, as amended in April 2011, for the establishment and operation of Sharp Display Products Corporation (SDP), a joint venture to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels and modules. Sony also sells a range of DVD players. It has shifted its focus in recent years to promoting the Blu-ray format, including discs and players. Sony produces a wide range of semiconductors and electronic components including image sensors, laser diodes, system LSIs, mixed-signal LSIs, OLED panels, etc. The company has a strong presence in image sensor market. Sony-manufactured CCD and CMOS image sensors are widely used in digital cameras, smartphones, tablet computers. Sony Ericsson distinguished itself with multimedia-capable mobile phones, which included features such as cameras. These were unusual for the time. Despite their innovations, SMC faced intense competition from Apples iPhone, released in 2007. From 2008 to 2010, amid a global recession, SMC slashed its workforce by several thousand. Sony acquired Ericssons share of the venture in 2012 for over US$1 billion. In 2009, SMC was the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world (after Nokia, Samsung and LG). By 2010, its market share had fallen to sixth place. Sony Mobile Communications now focuses exclusively on the smart phone market. Launched in 1994, the first PlayStation gained 61% of global console sales and broke Nintendos long-standing lead in the market. The console has become the most successful of all time, selling over 150 million units as of 2011[update]. Early on, poor sales performance resulted in significant losses for the company, pushing it to sell the console at a loss. It later introduced the PlayStation Move, an accessory that allows players to control video games using motion gestures.Early on, the format was used for movies, but it has since lost major studio support. Sony released a disc-less version of its PlayStation Portable, the PSP Go. The company went on to release its second portable video game system, PlayStation Vita, in 2011 and 2012. Sony Online Entertainment operates online services for PlayStation, as well as several other online games. In 2011 hackers broke into the PlayStation Network online service, stealing the personal information of 77 million account holders. ENTERTAINMENT Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) is the television and film production/distribution unit of Sony. With 12.5% box office market share in 2011, the company was ranked 3rd among movie studios. Its group sales in 2010 were US$7.2 billion. The company has produced many notable movie franchises, including Spider-Man, The Karate Kid, and Men in Black. It has also produced popular television game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Sony entered the television and film production market when it acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment in 1989 for $3.4 billion. SPEs television division is known as Sony Pictures Television. For the first several years of its existence, Sony Pictures Entertainment performed poorly, leading many to suspect the company would sell off the division. In July 2000, a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation created a fictitious film critic, David Manning, who gave consistently good reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures that generally received poor reviews amongst real critics. Sony Music Entertainment (also known as SME or Sony Music) is the second-largest global recorded music company of the big four record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japans Sony Corporation. The company owns full or partial rights to the catalogues of Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Usher, Eminem, Akon, and others. In one of its largest-ever acquisitions, Sony purchased CBS Record Group in 1987 for US$2 billion. In the process, Sony gained the rights to the catalogue of Michael Jackson, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the most successful entertainer of all time. In 2004, Sony entered into a joint venture with Bertelsmann AG, merging Sony Music Entertainment with Bertelsmann Music Group to create Sony BMG. In 2005, Sony BMG faced a copy protection scandal, because its music CDs had installed a controversial feature on users computer that posing a security risk to affected users. In 2007, the company acquired Famous Music for US$370 million, gaining the rights to the catalogues of Eminem and Akon, among others. Sony bought out Bertelsmanns share in the company and formed a new Sony Music Entertainment in 2008. Since then, the company has undergone management changes.

Racism: A Historical and Social Construct in America Essay -- racism,

Racism, will it ever end? The answer is probably not. The United States of America was set up on the basis of race. Even many years ago European settlers looked down upon the Native Americans as inferior. Years later in today’s modern society, racism still exists, although we may not fully realize it. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. Using our sociological imagination, we are capable of applying the role of race to any situation. However, in some situations, race does not play a covert role; it plays a crucial and obvious role. In â€Å"Film Shows Students Battle Racism for Mixed Prom†, Michelle Nichols stated, â€Å"As Barack Obama campaigned to become the first black U.S. President, teenagers in the small Mississippi hometown of Hollywood star Morgan Freeman battled racism to hold their high school’s first integrated prom.† The assumption that racism n o longer exists is false. Racism still exists to the highest degree. Even in the 21st century, prom -- an annual dance for graduating students, is divided and integrated for black and white students at Charleston high school. It’s always about race. Why is racism still rampant in American society? The reason is that even though race is not founded through science, this institution of American society is simply an obsolete combination of historical, social, and cultural construction. It is highly believed by individuals that discrimination in the U.S. has dramatically changed since the 1900s. Blacks were once discriminated against via Jim Crow laws. Today, black Americans have gained the right to eat at public lunch counters, vote, ride public buses, and attend public schools. While the... ...ut hope will happen sometime in our lifetime. Nakashima, Cynthia L. â€Å"Servants of Culture: The Symbolic Role of Mixed-Race in American Discourse,† Pp.35-57 in The Sum of Our Parts: Mixed Heritage. Ed. Teresa Williams-Leà ³n and Cynthia L. Nakashima. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. "Racial Clash In Texas" CBS Online. July 22. 2009 Web. 4 June 2015. http://aishamusic.com/Judiciary_Report/racial_clash_in_texas.htm Jane Elliott "Blue Eyes Brown Eyes" Web. 4 June 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQAmdZvKf6M Pounder, C. et.al. "Race: the Power of An Illusion" Corporation for Public Broadcasting,. (2003). San Francisco, Calif. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm Shelby Steele â€Å"Jefferson’s Blood†, Transcript Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/etc/script.html

Music in My Life

Music in my life Can you think of a day without music? We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops and in the parks. People all over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, they dance to music, they learn to play musical instruments. But what is music? Specialists explain that music isn't only a combination of pleasant sounds. There are a lot of different kinds of music. Some of them appeared long ago, and some are modern. For example, folk music appeared long ago, but it is still alive. There are many local performers, choirs and folk groups in Russia; but perhaps the most famous singer is Nadezhda Babkina. Folk songs are very tuneful and pleasant to listen to. Classical music is often associated with the music of the past. However, this style also includes music being written now, and we may speak of modern classical music. Rap is a modern musical style where the singer speaks or shouts the words in time to music with a steady beat. Such artist as Eminem or group House of Pain are leaders in this style. Tastes differ. So people's musical interests range from pop and rock music, which are extremely popular nowadays, especially among young people, to classical music and opera. When I have free time I listen to their records. I also like having background music while I am working. It's a pity that many young people like to listen only to modern music. As for me, I also enjoy listening to classical music. Classical music is always a complex of emotions. It gives me delight, pleasure and a sense of happiness. Not long ago I listened to the Polonez – Goodbye to the nature land, composed by Oginsky. This music is sad, but I like sad music too. The music I hate is heavy metal. I find it noisy and dreadful. Though some young people are fond of this style of music, it is not to everyone's taste. To my mind, music too loud can destroy our ears. I am indifferent to other styles of music. For example, I don't mind listening to jazz. Each generation has its own tastes. Music in My Life Music in my life Can you think of a day without music? We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops and in the parks. People all over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, they dance to music, they learn to play musical instruments. But what is music? Specialists explain that music isn't only a combination of pleasant sounds. There are a lot of different kinds of music. Some of them appeared long ago, and some are modern. For example, folk music appeared long ago, but it is still alive. There are many local performers, choirs and folk groups in Russia; but perhaps the most famous singer is Nadezhda Babkina. Folk songs are very tuneful and pleasant to listen to. Classical music is often associated with the music of the past. However, this style also includes music being written now, and we may speak of modern classical music. Rap is a modern musical style where the singer speaks or shouts the words in time to music with a steady beat. Such artist as Eminem or group House of Pain are leaders in this style. Tastes differ. So people's musical interests range from pop and rock music, which are extremely popular nowadays, especially among young people, to classical music and opera. When I have free time I listen to their records. I also like having background music while I am working. It's a pity that many young people like to listen only to modern music. As for me, I also enjoy listening to classical music. Classical music is always a complex of emotions. It gives me delight, pleasure and a sense of happiness. Not long ago I listened to the Polonez – Goodbye to the nature land, composed by Oginsky. This music is sad, but I like sad music too. The music I hate is heavy metal. I find it noisy and dreadful. Though some young people are fond of this style of music, it is not to everyone's taste. To my mind, music too loud can destroy our ears. I am indifferent to other styles of music. For example, I don't mind listening to jazz. Each generation has its own tastes.

Adult Learning Theory on Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare organizations need regular updates on their instructional designs on their employees and staff. This instructional designs or curriculums are much needed to inform the manpower of the organization on recent developments on technologies and applications on cases and situations, new regulations needed to be implemented or any other pertinent information for the organization’s and its staff’s needs to know.However, the method of educating the staff, whom majority are already on their adult stage, should be effective for them, and for the company. One applicable theory on educating the adult is Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy.  It outlines effective methodologies for adult learning. On his theory, adults need to know why they should learn. On this case, the educator or administrator of the organization should make it a point that the staff understood the importance of the new information they should learn. Moreover, adults tend to ask when and where they will be able to use their new learning on real-life situations.Again, the educator should explain that the series of discussions to be made is for their self-improvement inside the organization towards the company’s goal and vision. Finally, adult learners should be well motivated on their new experience and learning. Incentives such as increased, self-esteem, job satisfaction and quality of life are significant in giving adults a basis to learn.  The various methodologies on adult learning and adult education are important for every educator. They should be also be knowledgeable on different approaches and techniques on educating an adult. Knowles’ theory is imperative for an educator developing an educational program so that we can address the consistent growing demands of adult education.ReferenceHolton, E. F., Swanson, D. A., & Knowles, M. S. (2005). The Adult Learner.Butterworth-Heinemann

Sample Timber Sale Contract Template

Sample Timber Sale Contract Template After your potential timber sale has been shown and all bids are received, you should notify the highest acceptable bidder and arrange to execute a written timber contract. Use the sample template below only to flesh out the first draft of your contract. The information you collect in the draft process will be used so this  exercise  is not wasted effort. Always have it reviewed by both a forester and a lawyer, and abide by their suggestions for changes and fine-tuning.   A word of warning: always be careful when using a sample timber sale contract. Do not duplicate it word for word. Its easy to copy an example thinking that it will cover all of your conditions, but in many cases, it will not be adequate. Here are a few reasons below: State forestry and environmental laws differ and a contract should be specifically written to reflect those differences.Conditions of the sale are never the same from one situation to the next. These conditions should be customized in every contract.Property located in and around the sale area may be subject to damage. Language in the contract should indicate penalties if damage to that particular property should occur.Your legal ownership status- individual, partnership, or corporate- may not be the same from one sale to the next and should be implied through the contract. The following template will start you in the right direction toward creating just the right contract.   Sample Timber Sale Contract This contract made and entered into this __day of__ ,20__ by and between __of__ , hereinafter referred to as the seller, and__ of__ , hereinafter referred to as the buyer agrees to purchase from the seller the designated timber from the area described below.I. The tract of timber located in Section__ ,Township __ , Range __ , County__ , State__.II. The trees designated for cutting _______________________NOW THEREFORE THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH:The seller for and in consideration of the sum of $___ on or before ___ to be paid in advance of cutting as required by the seller.THE BUYER AGREES:1. To cut only the trees marked with paint.2. To make payment for each tree unnecessarily cut or wantonly injured at treble the bid price for that species.3. To leave all streams and all public road right-of-ways free of logs, brush, and other obstructions.4. To assume liability for damage to fences, crops, cropland, and other property.5. To travel to and from and work in the timber only when the gro und is firm.6. That all timber included in this agreement shall remain the property of the seller until paid for in full.7. That the buyer has inspected the area and timber concerned, has estimated to his/her own satisfaction the quantity, quality, and value of the timber to be removed and accepts the goods with all faults.8. Unless an extension of time is granted by the seller, this contract shall terminate on (date) after which all logs and trees remaining on the tract revert to the ownership of the seller unless otherwise specified in paragraph 9.9. Special provisions:THE SELLER FURTHER OFFERS AND THE BUYER AGREES:1. To enter upon and allow access to the above described tract for the purpose of cutting and removing therefrom such timber as is included in the terms of this contract.2. To guarantee title to the forest products covered by this agreement and to defend it against all claims at the sellers expense.In witness whereof, the parties hereto have executed this contract this ___ (month), ___ (day), 20__(year).Signature of Seller___________ Signature of Buyer____________Post Office Address __________ Post Office Address __________Witness ______________________ Witness ______________________

Business Communication

Identify characteristics of nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication refers to the interpretations that are made of bodily actions, vocal qualities, use of space, and self-presentation cues. 2 Identify channels through which we communicate nonverbally Nonverbal communication is continuous, multichanneled, intentional or unintentional, possibly ambiguous, and the primary means by which we convey our emotions. The sources of nonverbal messages include use of body motions (kinesics: gestures, eye contact, facial expression, posture, and touch); use of voice (vocalics: pitch, volume, rate, quality and intonation, vocalized pauses); and use of space (proxemics: personal space, physical space, use of artifacts). 3 Discuss how our self-presentation affects communication People gather information about us based on how they interpret our self-presentation cues. Self-presentation cues include physical appearance (for instance, body shape), clothing and grooming, and use of time (or our temporal orientation). Examine how nonverbal communication varies based on culture and gender The nonverbal behaviors that we enact and how we interpret the nonverbal messages of others depends on our culture and gender. Regardless of our cultural background or gender, however, we can become more adept at interpreting others’ nonverbal messages we receive by not jumping to conclusions, by considering cultural and gender differences, by paying attention to all aspects of nonverbal communication and their relationship to verbal communication, and by perception checking. Understand guidelines for improving nonverbal communication We can improve our encoding of nonverbal communication by being conscious of the nonverbal behavior we are displaying, by being purposeful or strategic in its use, by making sure that our nonverbal cues do not distract from our message, by making our nonverbal communication match our verbal messages, and by adapting our nonverbal behavior to the situation. Key Terms nonverbal communication behaviors |body orientation |proxemics | |kinesics |haptics |personal space | |gestures |vocalics |physical space | |illustrators |paralanguage |artifacts | |emblems |pitch |endomorph | |adaptors |volume |mesomorph | |eye contact or gaze |rate |ectomorph | |facial expression |quality |chronemics | |emoticons |intonation |monochronic time orientation | |posture |vocalized pauses |polychronic time orientation | Lesson Plan for Lecture The goal for this chapter is that students understand nonverbal communication, the types of nonverbal signals used, and how they are used to communicate along with verbal messages. In this chapter, students will identify the characteristics of nonverbal communication, describe the sources of nonverbal information, and explain how gender, sex, and cultural context affect how different nonverbal messages will be received. The chapter concludes by offering suggestions to improve both the construction and the interpretation of nonverbal messages. Chapter Outline with Accompanying Power Point Slides 1 Characteristics of Nonverbal Behavior (See Power Point Slides 3-5) A. Nonverbal communication is continuous B. Nonverbal communication is multi-channeled C. Nonverbal communication can be intentional or unintentional D. Nonverbal communication meaning can be ambiguous E. Nonverbal communication is the primary conveyor of our emotions 2 Sources of Nonverbal Communication (See Power Point Slides 6-7) A. Kinesics: the interpretation of body motions used in communication (See Power Point Slide 8) 1)Gestures: movements of our hands, arms, and fingers that we use to describe or to emphasize a. Illustrators: gestures that augment a verbal message b. Emblems: gestures that substitute for words c. Adaptors: gestures that respond to a physical need 2) Eye contact, or gaze: how and how much we look at people with whom we are communicating 3) Facial expression: the arrangement of facial muscles to communicate emotional states or reactions to messages 4)Emoticons: typed symbols that convey emotional aspects of an online message. 5)Posture: the position and movement of the body; body orientation: posture in relation to another person 6) Haptics: the interpretation of touch a. Reaction to touch is affected by individual preference, family background, and culture. b. Reaction to touch differs within context (public versus private) B. Vocalics: the interpretation of the message based on the paralinguistic features; paralanguage: the voiced but not verbal part of a spoken message. (See Power Point Slide 9) 1)Pitch: the highness or lowness of vocal tone 2)Volume: the loudness of softness of tone 3)Rate: the speed at which a person speaks 4) Quality: the sound of a person’s voice 5)Intonation: the variety, melody, or inflection in one’s voice 6)Vocalized pauses: extraneous sounds or words that interrupt fluent speech C. Proxemics: the interpretation of a person’s use of space (See Power Point Slide 10) )Personal space: the distance you try to maintain when you interact with other people 2)Physical space: the part of the physical environment over which you exert control 3)Artifacts: objects and possessions we use to decorate the physical space we control 3 Self-Presentation Cues (See Power Point Slides 11-13) A. Physical appearanc e 1)Endomorph: round and heavy body type 2)Mesomorph: muscular and athletic body type 3)Ectomorph: tall and thin body type B. Clothing and personal grooming: physical appearance sends a message and one should adapt their style of clothing and personal grooming techniques to the setting C. Use of time; chronemics: the way others interpret your use of time 1)Monochronic time orientation: a time orientation that emphasizes doing one thing at a time, adheres to schedules and rigid appointment times, and schedules interpersonal relationships )Polychronic time orientation: a time orientation that emphasizes doing multiple things at once, views schedules as flexible, and subordinates scheduled activities to interpersonal relationships 4 Cultural and Gender Variations in Nonverbal Communication (See Power Point Slides 14-16) A. Kinesics 1)Eye contact is not universally appropriate and differs in cultures and subcultures 2) Facial expressions and gestures a. Many similarities in facial expre ssions across cultures b. Gestures differ across cultures c. Displays of emotion differ based on culture and gender; gesture style is often used to label masculinity or femininity 3) Haptics, or touch, is closely linked to culture. Some cultures encourage contact and touch, others do not. The meaning of touch also differs by gender. B. Paralanguage 1)Volume varies greatly by culture 2)United States stereotypes masculine voices as low-pitched and loud, and feminine voices as high-pitched and expressive C. Proxemics and territory refer to the difference between individualistic and collectivistic concepts of personal space D. Artifacts and physical appearance: culture and gender influence clothing choices E. Chronemics: The dominant U. S. culture has a monochromic time orientation, while many Latin American and Arab cultures have polychronic orientation. 5 Guidelines for Improving Nonverbal Communication (See Power Point Slides 17-19) A. Interpreting nonverbal messages )Don’t automatically assume a particular behavior means something specific 2)Consider cultural, gender, and individual influences on behavior when interpreting nonverbal cues 3)Nonverbal messages should be interpreted in context 4)Use perception checking B. Sending nonverbal messages 1)Be conscious of your own nonverbal behavior 2)Be purposeful i n your use of nonverbal communication 3)Don’t let your nonverbal cues distract from your message 4)Make sure your nonverbal cues match your verbal communication 5)Adapt nonverbal behavior to the situation Lesson Plan for Group Work Discussion and Assignment Ideas 1Visit the website http://www. ree-hugs. com and read about the campaign to promote more conscious touch. Why do you think this campaign has received such a strong reaction? Do you think our society is more or less open to touch than a generation ago? Would this campaign have been possible 50 years ago? 100 years ago? 2Quotes: These can be used to introduce topics, questions perspectives, or gain individual opinion. Providing students with a quote and prompting them to write or reflect on their personal feelings about the quote can help to spark discussion and interest. Suggested prompts may include â€Å"Define this concept in your own words†; â€Å"Do you agree with this statement? Explain†; â€Å"What text material can be used to support or refute this idea? † Voices: I think they must go deeper into us than other things. —George Elliot The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said. —John Stuart Mill Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. —Leo Buscaglia 3At what age were you able to detect sarcasm? When is sarcasm inappropriate even if the intent of the paralanguage is known? How does sarcasm affect electronically mediated communication? Chapter Activities |4. : Gender and Nonverbal | | |Communication | | |Purpose: |To illustrate differing cultural rules regarding appropriate nonverbal behavior for males and | | |females | |Time: |50 minutes | |Process: |Have men and women reverse role-play (women playing men, men playing women) in the f ollowing | | |situations: | | |a. Two male friends who haven’t seen each other for some time meeting on the street. | | |b. Two female friends who haven’t seen each other for some time meeting on the street. | | |c. Three women sitting around a table in a bar and talking. | | |d. Three men sitting around a table in a bar and talking. | | |e. A male student telling his roommate about his significant other breaking up with him. | | |f. A female student telling her roommate about her significant other breaking up with her. | |When all simulations have been presented, discuss them in terms of proxemics, haptics, kinesics, | | |and paralanguage using the following questions: | | |1. What were women’s perceptions of men’s typical nonverbal behavior? | | |2. What were men’s perceptions of women’s typical nonverbal behavior? | | |3. What are the sources of these perceptions? Are they accurate or stereotypical? | | |4. Do such behaviors and perceptions of behaviors affect same-sex com munication? How? | | |5. If you could change anything about these perceptions, what would you change? Why? How? | |4. : Understanding Kinesics | | |Purpose: |To help students understand both the usefulness and the limitations of relying too heavily on | | |body language for meaning | |Time: |15 to 20 minutes | |Process: |Working in teams of two, three, and four, have students enact a two-minute conversation entirely | | |through body motions (such as gestures, facial expression, eye contact) and touch. You can have | | |them pick from the following scripts or make one up for themselves: | | |(3 students) Cheating student. Two group members don’t want to let you cheat. | | |(2 students) Someone is blind. Another person is in a rush, trying to sneak by the blind person, | | |not knowing that person is blind. | | |(4 students) Three people are in the waiting room of a hospital. One is a nurse, trying to get | | |ahead of the others in line. | | |(2 students) Two people are in church. One is falling asleep, and the other is embarrassed and | | |trying to keep that person awake. | | |(2 students) One is showing the other how to change a baby’s diaper. | | |Give the students a few minutes to work out how they will convey the message of their skit | | |without words. Make sure the groups do not share the scripts with one other, as you will be | | |asking the class to guess what each group’s message is. Ask for student volunteers to share a few| | |of the skits with the class. At the end of each skit, every student should write their own script| | |of what messages were conveyed and understood. Have the class compare scripts. How accurately did| | |the students communicate their messages? Which of the body motion categories were most helpful in| | |conveying meaning? When there were inaccuracies, can you identify why? What kinds of information | | |did you feel the greatest frustration in communicating? | |4. : The Versatility of | | |Paralanguage | | |Purpose: |To help students recognize that often it is the paralanguage that conveys the message | |Time: |15 minutes | |Process: |Provide students with a very generic dialogue involving two participants that relies on | | |historical context, emits descriptive words, and can be applied to many situations. Have two | | |students volunteer to perform the scene. Give these students a setting and situation (e. g. , you | | |meet an old friend in the grocery store). Have them use the dialogue and paralanguage to convey | | |this setting. Have other students guess what is going on. Continue to provide different | | |situations for different volunteers, allowing all students to see that a verbal message might | | |apply to any situation but that paralanguage is often the determining, descriptive factor. | |4. 4: Paralanguage Practice | |Purpose: |To have students practice using paralanguage to communicate emotion | |Time: |15 minutes | |Process: |Bring the following items to class: a DVD player manual, a bottle of bubbles, a cake mix box, a | | |shampoo bottle, and a drug prescription information sheet. Write the following emotions on small | | |pieces of paper: anger, disgust, embarrassment, elation, despair, contentment, and loneliness. | | |Have volunteer students select a product and an emotion. Instruct them to read the printed | | |material while communicating the assigned emotion through their paralanguage. Ask the class to | | |guess the emotion being communicated. | |4. 5: The Messages of Artifacts | | |Purpose: |For students to recognize the intentional and unconscious messages that artifacts convey | |Time: |15 minutes | |Process: |Ask students to get into pairs, and ask them to choose as a partner the person in class they know| | |least well. Each student will share one of the following personal artifacts with his or her | | |partner: key chain, wallet, or a purse. Without saying anything, both partners should take a few | | |minutes to silently familiarize themselves with the artifact that belongs to their partner. They | | |will then take turns and share with each other any conclusions they have drawn about the owner of| | |the artifact: Is this person organized? Romantic? Interested in politics? This exercise will | | |demonstrate the conscious and unconscious messages that our artifacts convey. | Video Materials Movies Movies and movie clips can be used to help students grasp concepts. Clips can be shown in class, or movies can be assigned as homework. Following the movie clips, ask students written or oral questions. These questions should address pertinent concepts, thereby actively engaging students in discussion. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Rated: PG-13 (Language, mature themes) Synopsis: Daniel and Miranda are in the middle of divorce proceedings. When Daniel realizes he is about to lose access to his children, he takes action by enlisting the help of his make-up artist brother, Frank, to create a character, Mrs. Doubtfire, whom he uses to interview for the position of family housekeeper. In the process, he learns about himself and his family. Questions for discussion 1. What role does the song â€Å"Dude Looks Like a Lady† have on the interpretation of the nonverbal communication? 2. What is your reaction to the â€Å"dance†? Why do you think it has such an effect? 3. How does clothing affect the reactions of the bus driver? The purse snatcher? 4. How are Mrs. Doubtfire’s emotions communicated? Pleasantville (1998) Rated: PG13 (Mature themes, sexual situations, mild profanity) Synopsis: David and Jennifer, two children of a broken marriage, are mysteriously transported into the set of a fictional 1950s black-and-white TV series called Pleasantville. As they experience the quaint family-oriented reality of this fictional community, their attitudes and actions bring about a radical change to the landscape. Slowly but surely, the community’s veneer of perfection starts slipping away. As their presence introduces jealousy, anger, and passion, the movie slowly shifts from the monochromatic background into a vibrant landscape of color. Questions for discussion 1. How does the absence of color serve as a means of nonverbal expression throughout the movie? 2. This movie makes a very blatant statement about society and social changes through the use of color, but in real life the effects of the use of color are much more subtle. What are some examples of the effects of the use of color, whether subtle or blatant, in other movies? The use of color in society? Additional suggested movies: Philadelphia (1993) (perception, nonverbal); Before Sunrise (1994) (nonverbal); In and Out (1997) (nonverbal, co-culture, gender); Freaky Friday (2003) (personality expression via nonverbal communication); Tootsie (1982) (masculine and feminine nonverbal behaviors) Student Assignments The following activities can be assigned for students to work on independently or in some cases as in-class or group activities. Unless otherwise noted, students will have access to these assignments through the Critical Thinking Activities online. Activities marked with a yellow icon can also be found on the Instructor Prep Card. Some of these activities may have accompanying worksheets, which you will want to make available to students if you choose to assign them; these worksheets can be found in the Chapter 4 Handouts section online at www. 4ltrpress. cengage. com/comm. Case Assignment: What Would You Do? Use the following case assignment (also found on the Instructor Resource Card) to get your students to consider how different nonverbal behaviors convey different messages. You might use this as a handout, for which students can provide short answers, or you might use this to create an opportunity for class discussion. A Question of Ethics AFTER THE INTRAMURAL, MIXED-DOUBLES TENNIS MATCHES ON TUESDAY EVENING, MOST OF THE PLAYERS ADJOURNED TO THE CAMPUS GRILL FOR A DRINK AND A CHAT. MARQUEZ AND LISA SAT DOWN WITH BARRY AND ELANA, THE COUPLE THEY HAD LOST A MATCH TO THAT NIGHT LARGELY BECAUSE OF ELANA’S IMPROVED PLAY. ALTHOUGH MARQUEZ AND LISA WERE ONLY TENNIS FRIENDS, BARRY AND ELANA HAD BEEN GOING OUT TOGETHER FOR MUCH OF THE SEASON. After some general conversation about the tournament, Marquez said, â€Å"Elana, your serve today was the best I’ve seen it this year. † â€Å"Yeah, I was really impressed. And as you saw, I had trouble handling it,† Lisa added. â€Å"And you’re getting to the net a lot better too,† Marquez added. â€Å"Thanks, guys,† Elana said in a tone of gratitude, â€Å"I’ve really been working on it. † â€Å"Well, aren’t we getting the compliments today,† sneered Barry in a sarcastic tone. Then after a pause, he said, â€Å"Oh, Elana, would you get my sweater—I left it on that chair by the other table. † â€Å"Come on, Barry; you’re closer than I am,† Elana replied. Barry got a cold look on his face, moved slightly closer to Elana, and said emphatically, â€Å"Get my sweater for me, Elana—now. † Elana quickly backed away from Barry as she said, â€Å"OK, Barry—it’s cool,† and she then quickly got the sweater for him. â€Å"Gee, isn’t she sweet,† Barry said to Marquez and Lisa as he grabbed the sweater from Elana. Lisa and Marquez both looked down at the floor. Then Lisa glanced at Marquez and said, â€Å"Well, I’m out of here—I’ve got a lot to do this evening. † â€Å"Let me walk you to your car,† Marquez said as he stood up. See you next week,† they both said in unison as they hurried out the door, leaving Barry and Elana alone at the table. 1. Analyze Barry’s nonverbal behavior. What was he attempting to achieve? 2. How do you interpret Lisa’s and Marquez’s nonverbal reactions to Barry? 3. Was Barry’s behavior ethically acceptable? Explain. Journal Assignments A. Distracting Mannerisms Describe any distracting mannerisms that you may have. Ask someone who knows you well to provide input. Compare your perception with that of the person you asked. How aware of your nonverbal communication behaviors are you? What, if any, changes would you like to make? B. Touch Preferences and Personal Space Are you a person who likes or dislikes being touched? Why? How do you communicate your preference to others? How does this correlate to personal space? Through observation, see if you can distinguish your preferred distance for intimate space. How does your preference for personal space and touch change when interacting with acquaintances, friends, and strangers? C. Environment How does your home, apartment, or dorm room communicate information about you? What is it saying right now? Why? D. The Multi-Channeled nature of Nonverbal Communication For this assignment, select a popular syndicated talk show host who has both a radio and a TV or Internet broadcast. First listen to the host you chose speak on the radio. Then watch him or her on TV or the Internet. Pay attention to how you receive the message over the radio, when only paralanguage is available, versus when you watch the broadcast over a medium in which you can see facial expressions, eye contact, and other nonverbal channels. How is the message affected by the presence or absence of certain nonverbal channels? Do you interpret the message differently when you see it with paralanguage alone, or was the message the same when it was accompanied by other nonverbals? E. Body Motions Find a public setting (for example, a restaurant) where you can observe two people having a conversation. They should be close enough to you so that you can observe their eye contact, facial expression, and gestures, but not close enough that you can hear what they are saying. Carefully observe the interaction, with the goal of answering the following questions: What is their relationship? What seemed to be the nature of the conversation (social chitchat, plan making, problem solving, argument, intimate discussion)? How did each person feel about the conversation? Did feelings change over the course of the conversation? Was one person more dominant? Take note of the specific nonverbal behaviors that led you to each conclusion, and write a paragraph describing this experience and what you have learned. See Chapter 4 Handouts for accompanying Observation Form. Experiential Assignments 4. 1 Vocal Characteristics Spend a few hours listening to public or talk radio. If possible, listen to a station that broadcasts in a language with which you are unfamiliar. Attempt to block out your awareness of the speakers’ words and instead, focus on the meaning communicated by the pitch, volume, rate, and quality of their speech. Be sure to listen to a number of different speakers and record your results in a log. Can you detect any variations in the vocal characteristics of the different speakers? If so, what do you make of these variations and what they say about each speaker’s message? See Chapter 4 Handouts to find a list of observable vocal characteristics. 4. 2 Self-Presentation Audit The Self-Presentation Audit allows you to analyze the image you project, using the dimensions you have studied in your textbook. These include body type, clothing and personal grooming, poise, touch, and use of time. You can find the audit in your Student Workbook or online. Once you have completed the audit, review how you have described yourself with respect to each of the self-presentation dimensions. Then write a short essay in which you describe how you present yourself, evaluate how satisfied you are with this image, and list what, if any, adjustments to your self-presentation you would like to make so that your self-presentation matches the image you are trying to project. See Chapter 4 Handouts for accompanying Self-Presentation Audit Worksheet. 4. 3 Gender Variations in Body Motions Find a place in the cafeteria or another public spot where you can observe the conversation of others. You are to observe the nonverbal behaviors of three dyads for at least five minutes each. First, observe the interaction of two men, then the interaction of two women, and finally, the interaction of a man and a woman. Using the Observation Tally Sheet provided here, record each participant’s behavior and any other behavioral cues you note. Using these observation notes, review the material on male and female use of body motions. Did your observations confirm these trends? If they did not, evelop an explanation about why they didn’t, using the sheet that follows. See Chapter 4 Handouts for accompanying Gender Variations Observation Form. Using their observation notes, students may review the material on male and female use of body motions with the following questions in mind: †¢ Did your observations confirm these trends? †¢ If they did not, develop an explanation about why they didn’t? 4. 4 Vocal Interferences Tape record yourself talking for several minutes about any subject. When you finish, estimate the number of vocal interferences you used. Then replay the tape and compare the actual number with your estimate. How close was your estimate? Wait a day or two and try it again. As your ear becomes trained, your estimates will be closer to the actual number. Keep a record of your improvement using the worksheet provided. Now that you have raised your awareness, identify the vocal interference you use most frequently and develop a communication improvement plan (see sample in Chapter 1) to reduce your use of that vocal interference. See Chapter 4 Handouts for accompanying Vocal Interference Worksheet. 4. 5 Topical Research Touching behavior can be perceived as a sign of comforting, affection, or harassment. Using online resources or your campus library, locate the article â€Å"Just the Right Touch,† Patrick McCormick (June 1999) from U. S. Catholic for a discussion of the use of touch in providing comforting. Under what circumstances is touch most comforting? 4. 6 Researching Periodicals A great deal of research has been done on the importance of touch in healing and health care. Use databases found online or at the campus library to locate this article: â€Å"Studies Give New Meaning to Hands-on Healing†, Psychology Today, March 2000 v33 i2, p. 25. After reading the article, research other articles on the topic and summarize their findings. Were you surprised at what you found? 4. 7 Using Technology As you watch a tape or DVD of a movie or a television program, select a segment where two people are talking with each other for a couple of minutes. The first time you watch, mute the audio (turn off the sound). Based on nonverbal behaviors alone, determine the climate of the conversation (Are the people flirting? In conflict? Discussing an issue? Kidding around? Making small talk? ). What nonverbal behaviors and reactions led you that conclusion? Watch the video a second time, observing nonverbals but also listening to vocal variations in volume, pitch, and rate of speed. Do any of these vocal cues add to your assessment? Then watch it a third time, focusing on what the characters are saying. Now analyze the segment. What percentage of meaning came from nonverbal elements? What did you learn from this exercise? . 8 Using the Internet Using e-mail, chat room, discussion board or online instant messaging software, conduct a running conversation with a friend, classmate or other acquaintance. Do not use videoconferencing software. Be sure to discuss several issues, engaging in both serious and humorous interactions. Analyze the con versation and its outcomes. Were there any ambiguities or misunderstandings? Were there any moments when you could not tell if your partner was being funny, serious, sarcastic, or emotional? Were there any times when your partner could not tell your level of sarcasm, humor, or emotion? Were these problems resolved? If so, how? Would a face-to-face conversation have avoided some or all of these problems? Why? Online Resources http://www. csun. edu/~vcecn006/nonverb. html â€Å"Nonverbal Communication Helps Us Live† A helpful review of the importance of nonverbal communication in everyday life. From California State University Northridge. http://members. aol. com/nonverbal3/eyecon. htm Eye Contact This site that looks at eye contact from a variety of different perspectives, some with photos for examples. From the Center for Nonverbal Studies http://members. aol. com/nonverbal2/index. htm The Center for Nonverbal Studies homepage (Created by David Givens. ) http://www. natcom. org/ctronline/nonverb. tm ComResources Onlines provides information on the various nonverbal behaviors discussed in the textbook including some information on notable nonverbal communication scholars. http://members. aol. com/nonverbal2/center. htm The Center for Nonverbal Studies also includes a nonverbal dictionary. http:/ /www. geocities. com/marvin_hecht/nonverbal. html Nonverbal Communication Research Page http://www3. usal. es/~nonverbal/varios. htm Nonverbal Behavior: Nonverbal Communication Links http://www. free-hugs. com/ Free Hugs Campaign http://featuredreports. monster. com/firstimpression/actions/ Nonverbal Communication Tips for Interviews Supplementary Student Assignments The following activities are additional experiential exercises and assignments that students will not have access to online. Violating Intimate Space Norms Enter a crowded elevator. Get on it and face the back. Make direct eye contact with the person you are standing in front of. When you disembark, record the person’s reactions. On the return trip, introduce yourself to the person who is standing next to you and engage in an animated conversation. Record the reaction of the person and others around you. Get on an empty elevator and stand in the exact center. Do not move when others board. Record their reactions. Be prepared to share what you have observed with your classmates. See Chapter 4 Handouts to find a sheet for recording reactions. Cultural Differences in Self-Presentation Interview or converse with two international students from different countries. Try to select students whose cultures differ from one another and from the culture with which you are most familiar. Write down a list of questions related to the self-presentation behaviors discussed in your text. Try to understand how people in the international student’s country differ from you in their use of nonverbal self-presentation behaviors. Prepare to share what you have learned with your classmates. Essay Assignments 1. Discuss some cultural variations in self-presentation 2. Discuss how vocal interferences can influence the perception you make on others. 3. Describe the four distances of informal space found in Hall’s research. Give an example of when each would be appropriate. 4. What are the elements of paralanguage, and how does each element affect message meaning? Provide examples to illustrate your points. 5. Discuss why effective communicators need to understand cultural and gender differences in the interpretation of nonverbal behaviors. PART I:Self-Review Self-Review materials are designed to help students process and integrate the concepts from multiple chapters.

Global climate change is invetable Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global climate change is invetable - Essay Example Some people are of the opinion that climate change has occurred because of man’s activities that have interfered with nature. Others argue that the climate changes are natural cycles that occur after certain periods, and they have nothing to do with human activities. The essay will focus on both sides of the opposing viewpoints. It will examine why there is global warming and also its causes. The essay will also focus on the views against global warming. Because global temperature changes occurred mostly during the rapid industrial period, global warming is real, and its effects are tremendous. The presence of greenhouse gases causes global warming. A certain percentage of global warming occurs naturally because of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. Such naturally present greenhouse gases trap radiation within the atmosphere, causing a rise in temperature and changes in climatic patterns. The rise due to such natural causes is usually minimal and negligible. However, noticeable changes in global climatic patterns occur due to the heightened concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Gulledge, 2012, 6). The increase in concentration of greenhouse gases is attributed to increased industrial activities since the start of 20th century. The increase in concentration implies that more radiation will be trapped in the atmosphere. Industrial activities, which lead to increased carbon emission into the atmosphere, have risen throughout the 20th and 21st centuries causing global warming. For instance, the highest warming has occurred during the last decade with gl obal average temperature rising by 0.51o C relative to 1950s to 1980s (Huang, Wang, Luo, Zhao & Wen, 2012, 39). Model simulations of the greenhouse effect have also indicated that increased greenhouse gases cause global warming. When global average temperature variations are reproduced in model