Feminism Essay

Feminist ideas of freedom suggest that outside social forces that are repressive can corrupt an individual’s desires and limits their thinking abilities. Jean Grimshaw was a feminist philosopher who analyzed this concept. Grimshaw with other feminists believed that these repressive forces come from male domination in society. Questions about the self are important to feminists because they are constantly trying to figure out a woman’s autonomy. Feminist philosophers have come up with many approaches to the self. Jean Grimshaw goes back to an argument from Aristotle. Aristotle questions what makes people do things voluntarily and out of free will. Aristotle says that that actions that originate from inside the self are desires or intentions and actions that originate from outside are not. Jean Grimshaw however questions whether those desires that come from outside are not really one’s own desires. There is a constant conflict between internal and external constraints. Feminist authors such as Mary Daly, Marilyn Frye and Kate Millet wrote books on how women have been conditioned in their thinking by men, therefore cannot have their own desires. Feminists agree that women are deprived of their free will because men treat them as robots and this changes a woman’s personality. Based on the books of these three authors there is many things to conclude about the self. The self is aware of its interests, it is altered because of the interference of male domination and the only way to really have a true self is to fight against those social effects of domination. A woman must understand the changes they are going through by men in society in order to reveal the self. I believe that if someone is constantly thinking that there are outside forces that disable form being they they must change that. If the male society undermines women, and women continue to accept it then they are not following their own desires. One must understand the constraints that they are dealing with in order to make independent choices to be liberated.

Celebrating the Piano

This finest wood made this stringed low keyed, quiet musical instrument in 1157 Continuously sings quiet flowing harmonies Monotone pianississimo, pianoissimo, piano and mezzo piano lullaby’s Keep sounding from the piano’s vibrations. Flutes, saxophones and original pianos were used to create this harmonic based musical piece. The piano provided the ongoing harmonic sounds throughout the song. The overall tone was very simple, smooth and unaccented. The saxophone played lines four and five to highlight the action of the piano. The altos and tenors sang lines four and five adding more emphases on the pianos purpose. The sopranos sang the entire song. The flutes played the first three lines, to provide the introduction. Classical Musical Era; Play that funky music and make me dance with piano forte musical notes The strings are becoming more versatile through musical eras Play harmonic soft flowing lullaby’s for me The strings are taking us from the baroque to classical eras Still producing monotones, the musical sounds are altering my moods The harpsichord is taking us from one musical era into another Now adding more confusion and options to musicians The string dominated instrument is changing and creating musical history Dual musical instrument resulted from economic changes The string dominated musical instrument is requiring multitasking The 1750-1825 musical era developed The string dominated musical instrument is progressing through musical eras The harpsichord, now allowing the vibrations from the piano sounds to be heard by plucking strings, emphasized all even numbered lines. During the classical musical era, the bass played throughout the song, also providing the harmonic structure. An additional regular piano provided ongoing melody. To emphasize the variety and contrast, the violin interchanged with wind instruments, flutes, saxophones and xylophones. This musical piece used sopranos, since it was an opera. Romantic Era; Playing softly flowing harmonic sailing music In childrens darkened quiet room late at night Playing energetic, jazzy, upbeat, high and low notes While running through the water on a brightly lit sunny beach in mid daylight Quiet romantic monotone music piano music with lights down low Loud blaring music in nightclubs Comes from the piano progressing into a clavichord Playing dual notes or sounds simultaneously Various brass, or wind, instruments; trumpets, horns, trombone and tuba’s were used to bring out the obvious contrasts, and highlight the extreme tempos in this musical selection. Several different pianos were used, the classical piano, the clavichord and harpsichord in this piano concerto. The softer musical versions or the melodies were played on the lyrics accenting softness, lightness. The louder piano’s, horns and trumpets accented the â€Å"louder† lyrics, which played slower, bass notes. No singers were used for this musical selection. The focus was primarily on musical instrumentation. Modern Music; Play me a pop, rap, jazz, classical tune A ballad and a tempo Fom jazzy ragtime To Classical Chariots of Fire Play me a tune with lots of percussion Play me a tune with whole notes, quarter notes, half notes eighth and sixteenth notes Play it in 4/4   2/4 3/4 and 6/8 time Play the classic take five in 5/4 time This amazing piece of wood From the piano, harpsichord, clavichord to the organ Never fails to entertain in these modern times This was a full modern concert including various sheet music with mixture of   time signatures and strings, percussions wind, electronic instruments. Tap dancers were used contributing their won percussion. Singers, sopranos, altos, tenors and bass singing voices were used, each given specific roles to show the versatility of the different versions of the piano.   Ã‚  Tambourines, drums and clavichord were used to provide percussion on every line.   Belters were used everytime the purpose of the piano contrasted. There are no specific standards for modern music. It is whatever the musician wants to play. Originating in Paris, modern music can be primitivism, impressionism and expressionism, a combination of all historical musical era’s.

Job's Friends, and their Contribution to the Message of Job Research Paper

Job's Friends, and their Contribution to the Message of Job - Research Paper Example Resultantly, Satan is allowed to destroy Job’s wealth, family and health. Stripped of all his wealth, children and smitten with a malignant boil that covers him head-to-toe, three of Job’s friends Bildad, Zophar and Eliphaz come to comfort him. Their company opens a lengthy dialogue that covers four-fifths of the book. The dialogue among these four friends is interrupted by Elihu and ultimately, God. As shall be seen forthwith, it is not in doubt that the friends play critical roles in the Book of Job- that they fail miserably to comfort Job, notwithstanding.1 In the discourse, Job’s friends attributed Job’s great suffering to sin. Among many other instances, this can be seen in Job 4:1 and 7 where Eliphaz tells Job that those who are innocent cannot suffer harm. Again, in Job 5:17-18, Eliphaz exhorts Job to appreciate the chastising discipline of God. The import of Eliphaz’s reasoning is that misfortunes overtake the evildoers while good things hap pen to the upright in conduct. Therefore, the conclusion that Eliphaz is making is that the misfortunes that have befallen Job are as a result of Job’s sins.2 The flipside of the three friends’ rationale is that so-called bad people cannot get good things. This line of thought is seen in the same book’s references such as 5:5, 15:29 and 18:9. ... To tell such a child that because of his sins, he will have to face life in his parents’ absence and bear the overwhelming sense of loss would be the height of unfathomable insensitivity and shallowness. This makes Eliphaz’s idea on suffering very hard to provide comfort for the suffering innocent. This mentality is the same reason why Job’s comforters inadvertently became his tormentors. Because of the case above, Job’s friends open up a door for the rethinking of the theology that suffering is solely caused by sin. In Christian theology, although Adam’s sin opened the world to suffering, yet, not all suffering that an individual may experience are necessitated by that individual’s sin. On the contrary, instead of lumping suffering as a result of sin, theologians such as Boadt and Ellis have become poignant that suffering is a mystery. In an attempt to reconstruct the meaning of suffering, Boadt and Ellis give insightful standpoints which se parate followers of Christ and those outside Christ. Like Adam who initiated a new system which opened up a Pandora Box of suffering, Christ also initiated a new system through His sacrificial suffering during His Passion. Thus, suffering unites the people of God with Christ.3 Job’s friends also open a door for the discussion on God. Particularly, the false charges that Eliphaz, Zophar and Bildad bring to Job’s charge only foster a siege mentality on the side of Job. Because of this, in his attempt to defend himself, Job insinuates that God is unfairly treating him. Given that Job’s three friends have very limited insight on the nature of God and the developments materializing in Job’s life, it behooved God to stand up for Himself (from Job 38-42:6). God’s

How to keep yourself motivated for college life Essay

How to keep yourself motivated for college life - Essay Example Time management involves taking control of the time spent while doing every activity in the college. Effective time management can be achieved by considering the following options. Firstly, students should prepare a to-do list to guide them on different day-to-day activities. By following the program on the list, students get motivated by the accomplishment done on each activity. Secondly, students can achieve effective time management by scheduling dedicated time for different activities. For example, students should create dedicated study time where they only carryout personal studies. Further, students should identify committed time such as times spend in commuting to the lecture rooms or times spend in class work. By identifying committed time, students can be able to program different activities that do not clash in terms of time of occurrence hence enabling the students to perform the different activities at ease. Lastly, students can save time by developing good study habits and using the spare time available to them. Good study habits include taking necessary notes while in class and attending to all the lectures as required. This way, students can carry out exam revision very effectively using a short time. Farther, students can effectively manage their time by carrying small portions of class work to study during spare time such as time available while waiting in lines. On the other hand, students can be motivated for their college life by being focused on their studies. Identifying the reasons and benefits of being in the college forms the basis of motivation that result good focus on college goals. However, for students to develop good focus on college studies, they should consider implementing the following activities. Firstly, students should think about why they want to graduate on a particular course. Before joining college education, most students are motivated to work

Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Homework - Assignment Example Instead of acknowledging him as a treasure for his long service to the industry, his organizations hired a younger and more capable worker to oversee and assess his work (Schlossberg 57). He probably felt greatly unappreciated after all he had done for the company. Hank should first have taken time for a lengthy period of reflection in which to consider his options before returning to work. He might have asked for a few days for this. During this time, he could have confided in a counselor about his concerns and worries in the workplace. He could also have confided in support groups for elderly workers who are confronted by changes in the workplace that could very well portend their dismissal if they are unable to keep up with the changes. Elaine could have been more compassionate and given Hank more time to adapt to the changes in the workplace. She, as well as the other executives could also have started a support group as well as a training group specifically aimed at elderly workers such as Hank who were confounded by the new expectations that made them appear obsolete. No. I would have pleaded for more time to learn about the new methods of operation that were necessary to succeed in the changing market. I would openly have sought the help of other more productive workers in reaching the numbers of accounts that the company

Moral Permissibility of Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Moral Permissibility of Abortion - Essay Example Finally, moderate view supporters will consider the stage of fetus development and suggest that abortion is possible at the early term. In this essay, I will argue that despite the fact that Deb has a legal right to terminate the pregnancy, she needs to choose a solution which would give more positive consequences that the opposite one. Pro-life critics would oppose this argument saying that there is not case where human life can be taken away by other people. Human life is the biggest value. However, challenging the way people define ‘human’ and ‘sentience’ can lead to acceptance of abortion under some circumstances. In many ways, moral permissibility of abortion depends on the state of fetus development. According to Sumner (1981), human fetus is not static in its development. First of all it is constantly developing. Second, it is developing gradually and, third, there is a huge difference between the beginning of the pregnancy and the end of pregnancy where fetus is well-developed (Sumner, 1981). When a woman becomes pregnant, there is only a zygote in her body which does not look and act as a human being. In the process of development, zygote transforms becoming more developed and human-like. During late stages of pregnancy, the fetus is already well-developed. If a child is born being seven, eight or nine months, it can survive with the help of doctors. This fact proves that sentient characteristics in fetus develop in time; they are not presented in zygote initially. Thus, abortion during at the early term is permissible. These three characteristics used by Sumner (1981) in moral reasoning of abortion lead to the rejection of the main argument of prohibitionists as it does not consider that fact that pregnancy is a dynamic process. Conservatives argues that abortion is evil under any circumstances because it is the act of killing a

Wabashiki river report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wabashiki river report - Essay Example The materials required for testing in the field included a pencil or pen, notebook, sunscreen, bug repellant, water bottle, field appropriate clothing, weather appropriate clothing and closed shoes for walking in the dumpy area. The sampling strategies used in the field involved stratified random sample where the test objects were categorized into groups and various test conducted on them. The test conducted on the different soils types were aimed at determining the presence of gases like nitrogen and other minerals like potassium and phosphorus in the soil. These samples were taken from different areas like Taken at the top of a hill on the path near the parking lot. Closest to the parking lot, Further down the hill that sample one was taken, down the levi path. Halfway between the parking lot and sharp bend in the path and down past the storm drains on the levi near where the storm drains empty. Moreover, the bottles were used to carry other samples which were tested in the classro om using laboratory apparatus. The results obtained from determining the soil color, soil texture and the acidity or alkalinity of the soil were as follows; the soils texture of the samples tested revealed that the soil was sandy clay because of the sizes of particles of the samples. This sample was collected in an area which was surrounded by trees, small rocks and old grass. The second sample revealed that the soil was clay loam as the soil color value was three. There was presence of soil color and soil chroma, moreover, the Ph was seven. This sample was taken from the lake side and its characteristics were sandy and small rocks. Silty Clay was discovered to posses soil pH between three to four, contained minerals like phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium value at pH value of seven. The experiment proved successful as I established the soil texture, soil Ph, soil acidity

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

Pathopharmacology - Essay Example There are left-ventricular, right-ventricular, acute, and chronic heart failures. An estimated 70 percent of the patient populations have been found to have systolic heart failure (Mann, 2010). Additionally, the most common etiology of the systolic heart failure is ischemic heart disease. The pure diastolic heart failure may be caused by hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and both hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathies. Clinical manifestation of heart failure include weight gain, dyspnea, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, peripheral edema, JVD, tachycardia, hepatosplenomegaly, ascites, fatigue, weakness, nausea, poor appetite, renal hypoperfusion, and chachexia. Neurohormonal responses to heart failure are adaptive at first, and then become deleterious when they are sustained. Modern treatment of heart failure is based on neurohormonal modulation. (Steimle, 2007) Management of heart failure is a very complex issue that is why heart failure care needs to be delivered in a multi-professional manner. Although the standard of practise of managing heart failure has some consensus among healthcare providers, I based my heart failure disease management on the clinical guidelines that I developed at my organization. Using the clinical guidelines I was able to identify, summarize, and evaluate the highest quality evidence and most current data about prevention, diagnose, prognoses, and provide therapy including medications and cost-effectiveness. Using my clinical guidelines that I developed in the place I worked, I noted that there are four stages in the heart failure development namely stage A, B, C, and D. According to McDonagh et al. (2011), those patients who are in stage A and B usually do not have heart failure. However, they have risk factors that predispose them towards heart failure development. Patients in stage C comprise of those people with current or past

Finanical Planning Final Study Case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finanical Planning Final - Case Study Example Moreover, in most cases budget building opt for simplicity where budget construction relies on simple tools like excel spreadsheets, software programs and the manual way of pen and paper (Hussey, pp123-167). The sole objective of budgetary control is to map out whether there is need to redirect your finances towards selected priorities or rather dreams you consider important. Budget making always tends towards a goal such as buying a home, trip vacation, the budget helps one finds out the discipline he needs to squirrel away finance within a certain time limit. Personnel ought to reflect on a goal to be accomplished and resolve to make it come true. Majority of the populace have no clear idea on the amount of money they spend on dining out, gifts, clothing, travel and other personal care (Hussey, pp123-167). Always track such kind of expenses in specific ways and come find out actual monthly allocations for every category Susan works at Wal-mart as a cashier on the day shift (38 hours a week @ $12 hour 38 hours is full-time and Susan recently received a $0.50 per hour raise). Susan files her taxes under filing status Head of Household Medical insurance is pre-tax and covers Susan and the children 10% per month Susan considers that this is most important expense each month (Maynard, pp167-223). She will not eliminate or reduce this $82000 and 26 years remaining; 5.25% interest; original balance $87,000. Current appraised value $88,000 For Jeffrey will need to pay this until age six of balance $2200 with credit limit of $3000 and 12.6% APR with a balance of $16,000 Standard payment plan; 6.8% APR. All Direct loans of -$10,000 subsidized and $6000 unsubsidized Susan shops mainly at Aldi and buys off-brand food Susan drives a paid for 2000 Ford Escort with 92,000 miles on it. She wants to become an elementary school teacher. She has 18 credits to finish up. She did all previous credits at Columbia College in Elementary Education. Operating income in households

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay Charles Dickens is best known as a writer of novels, many of which are read today and regularly used in stage productions, on television and in the cinema. He was also a journalist, he used his stories to get across what he felt were important messages.  Although he tried to get his message across he wanted his work to be entertaining. In so doing, he created some of the most well remembered characters of English literature, such as Mr Pickwick, Oliver Twist and Ebenezer Scrooge. Dickens wrote about Victorian life and particularly Victorian life in London. Dickens campaigned for things he believed in like the welfare and education of children. He addressed the public in public speakings and through his writings.  Great Expectations  Chapter one  At the start of Great Expectations Charles Dickens introduces us to a boy called Pip. This name is explained in the novels very first sentence and stated that this is the name he is commonly called by in the second.  My fathers family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. Pip goes onto explain that he never saw his mother or father and so the audience straight away feels very sorry for this young boy. As I never saw my father or my mother,  The setting in the first chapter is a graveyard with Pip looking at his father and mothers tombstones. Pip must be quite imaginative as he uses the shape of the letters on his fathers tombstone to create a mental picture of what he and his mother was like. The shape of the letters on my fathers, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, Also Georgina Wife of the Above , I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. We go on to learn that he also had five brothers that must of all died at an early age.  To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine-who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle  Throughout this novel the narrator is a young Pip and this is to make the reader feel empathy for the character for the whole of the novel. It also means there is a childish view on things and a lack of understanding. For example in the graveyard he cant really understand why his father, mother and five brothers were dead and he was still alive. Although the reader feels sad because of this Pip is not that sad as he cant understand the situation fully. When the focus switches to the scenery and Pip starts to describe the churchyard and its view. Pip begins to cry and almost out of nowhere Hold your noise! Cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at he side of the church porch. Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your throat!  This is the introduction of Magwitch an escaped convict from a nearby jail. In Charles Dickens days capital punishment was enforced in the United Kingdom and conditions in jails were very poor an so Magwitch would have been n a terrible condition. First impressions of Magwitch are that he is an evil man for the obvious reason of him being a convict. He has no sympathy for others. A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. The iron is the giveaway that he is an escaped convict. The iron is like a clamp that will have maybe been connected to a ball and chain.  A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, with an old rag tied round his head. This shows the terrible condition that he is in.  A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and those teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. These things are what make me think he has escaped.  Magwitch is also quite a violent man, Pip is only a young boy and he feels it necessary to grab him by the throat and threaten him. He bullies a young child into getting things for him.  After darkly looking at his leg and at me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me both arms, tilted me back as far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.  You know what a file is?  And you know what wittles is?

Advantages of Online Banking

Advantages of Online Banking Introduction In the recent years online banking has shot up where by making 21.5 million customers satisfied in using it easy, fast and most of all free services set up by banks in 2009 stated by the UK payments administration. All high tech banks offer the online banking system and most bank do not have branches only existing online. It is quite for a person to change to online banking, first the persons has to open an account with a bank or if they already have an account then just sign up for online banking with our current existing account. For security reasons the bank will provide we with a password which will enable us to activate our online banking system. These after they could log in any time they want. It is easy to open an online bank account and well worth the small amount of effort required. Even when some people are not that familiar with online applications, it is worth persisting through the process. The advantages of using online banking transactions include convenience, easier financial management, and time and cost savings. Even the environment benefits because vast quantities of paperwork doesnt need to be generated. Online banking transactions can simplify our life by reducing the stress of managing our bills and savings. They are easy to use and from the banks point of view, secure. We can have our pay deposited directly into our account and disburse it online. The old way of lining up in bank queues and keeping a track of paperwork is no longer necessary. All banks make it easier to manage our checking account by allowing our set up e-mail alerts so our can be notified when checks clear or when our balance slips below a certain level. There is also a detailed listing of our cancelled checks. Banks describe online banking as a powerful value added tool to attract and retain new customers while helping to eliminate costly paper handling, in an increasingly competitive banking environment. Nowdays, most large banks, many regional banks and even smaller banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking, variously known as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or Internet banking. Advantages On Online Banking Online banking in this generation is becoming more and more common. Customers can do plenty of transaction just through Internet. Online banking also allows customers to keep track of record on our accounts. Customers can check on it in everywhere and anytime they want. Online banking makes their life easier and faster. Below are a few advantages of using online banking: 1. Pay Your Bills Online For the past 5 years back, bank allowing their customers to pay their bills online. By paying their bills online, customers are starting to eliminate the method by post. It is faster and users are allowed to know did their payment made or not. Customers will just have to register once and they are allowed to use it in everywhere. The banks may charge them a small amount of interest but it will be faster and immediately payment will be made. This will make their life much easier. 2. View Your Transactions Online banking does allow customers to view or check their history payment just in seconds. By now, they do not need to make phone calls to the bank and wait for the bank officer to check for our account. This also will be safer compare to make phone calls or send letters to check their payment. If any lost during the sending process by post, their password or ID will seen by strangers. 3. Transfer Money Between Accounts Online banking allows them to transfer money from one account to another account more quickly. Nowadays, many people are doing business and it may involve million millions of dollars. It will be safer if they can make transfer just from online banking. Online banking also can automated to the service centre that they are using example, phone bills, house loan, monthly purchasing newspaper and many others. 4. Download Banking Transactions If they are using ATM cards often this is a must to download their banking transactions to make sure the balances in their account are correct. This will make sure they are always on track with their account balances. They also do not have to worry about finding a place to keep all our receipts. 5. Protect Yourself Online Using online banking there are a few things that they have to take it serious. It is important that they have to protect their own informations. If they are downloading their account transaction from internet, they must remember to clear up the cookies. Passwords and user ID will seen by other people if they are not aware of this. It is very important to make sure they clear everything before they leave the website. Disadvantages Of Online Banking There are also disadvantages to online banking services. The biggest problem is that most people lack of trust, many people have doubts about the transaction, how can people believe a machine, many things can go wrong during the process. How many times have you performed transactions online and wondered whether you did the right thing? Of course, we can overcome the problem by printing the transaction receipt. This receipt will conform whether the transaction has gone through successfully. Online banking can be difficult to learn for a beginner and a site could take time to start up. Some sites ask for photo identification, which can be very inconvenient. Many people have poor eyesight. Most online banking sites provide tutorials for online banking. Some sites provide live online customer support to provide solutions for all the problems. The cases of online banking frauds are considerably low so we dont have to worry about the safety of our money. For some people, online banking is very convenient and useful, there is also people who afraid to handle the banking system. All these have been taken care of now, most banks have now started offering online banking services and a manual transaction could be done also. Maybank Online Banking Malayan Banking Berhad or Maybank is the biggest commercial bank in Malaysia. It holds many financial holders in Malaysia as well as internationally, including Indonesia and Singapore. It was founded by Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat in 1960. Maybank has grown to the competitive advantage over the years and has more thank 300 branches in Malaysia alone. Few ages ago, the client of Maybank had to at all times go to the Maybank centre and wait for long queues to do their transaction. Nowadays, Maybank is reaching to the top and has become the first commercial bank in Malaysia to run its own on-line banking system. Maybank2u.com was created in early 2001. Not too long after that, many banking institution now has followed Maybanks step to on-line transaction. Maybank2u.com offers outstanding services to its clients, such as internet banking, on-line Islamic banking, as well as services for credit and charge cards holders, and many more. Of the entire services offer by Maybank2u busiest service is the on-line banking transaction. These consist of making payments and transferring funds by the internet. Maybank2u.com runs their own policy under the Maybank Berhad terms and regulations to make sure the security of their service is reliable to the clients. Although the security policy is not publicly stated, as it is confidential, the same security policy is being used in each and every Maybank branches in the world. This is to ensure the safety of the clients information and their satisfaction. It is clear that Maybank2u uses the Transaction Processing System (TPS) for their general information system. A Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a type of information system that helps to collect, modifies stores and retrieves collection of data transaction of an individual entity as well as an enterprise. E-business, e-commerce or other commercial businesses depend on the data reliability of their transaction processing system. This is to make sure that their client get what was asked for and payment are made on time. With Maybank2u, any kind of transaction can be made there and then. It is very time efficient especially for busy people. Transaction processing system involves the financial department. This is because most transaction occur within Maybank2u revolves around cash, credit, charges and account balances. Financial department are responsible on knowing what goes in and out of the bank and clients account. Transaction Processing System The transaction processing system offers features that could relieve enterprise transaction system to process data transactions faster in order to manage the whole enterprise data. There are particular characteristics to operate transaction processing system. A TPS is a very fast way to processing transaction virtually and is very reliable as it is designed with safeguards to manage disaster attack, so customers will not worry of data loss during a sudden disaster. It can easily be retrieved using the customers id and password at the particular service centre. Not only it is reliable, TPS is also standardized by the Transaction Processing Performance Council, meaning that the system will always process every transaction made by the user with the same way every time there is a transaction. This is to ensure the security of the system. Restricted access is implemented to TPS, so that it can only be used by the employees authorized by the system to avoid system errors. There are two types of transaction, which are batch time processing and real time processing. Batch time processing differs from real time processing because batch time processing only processes transactions once a month automatically and stores the resources later for future transaction. This is usually needed when processing credit card transaction. Meanwhile, real time processing is the kind that will update every transaction made immediately. This is important because when a withdrawal of money is being made, bank and customers account need to be updated immediately so that both parties can keep track of their funds. Therefore, both types of transaction are being applied by Maybank2u to serve the public in giving what they need. Another TPS characteristic is its durability which means that when the transaction is successful, no further changes can be made. However, in any case of failure of the system, a log will be created to store all the transaction that has been completed. Th ese common characteristic of a Transaction Processing System will make sure that the system is run systematically and standardized. Security System Nevertheless, security is a major priority to every big enterprises, especially successful commercial banking. There is a lot of security issues involved especially with dealing with on-line transaction such as purchasing items or paying for services on-line. One of the main security threats of internet banking is identity fraud. Identity fraud is not a new threat, as it has been mentioned most of the time. But, there are still people who refuse to follow rules made out to avoid this type of threat. Some retailers and stores are lacking the awareness of identity fraud. Most cases of identity fraud are having their pin code or password duplicated. Purchases by credit and charges card are made by other people but not by the genuine owner or the account. This kind of behaviour can happen anywhere at any time, especially when shopping on-line, purchasing airline and movie tickets. Maybank2u is ready for this kind of situation. For example, before processing a payment, it is shown above to the users on how to find the billing account number, so that the client will not accidentally input the wrong account number. To avoid identity thief or any other kind of identity mischief, Maybank2u requires a Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) to undergo the payment process .Therefore, in each and every transaction made by the user, a TAC will be sent to the clients cell phone number, and once received it should be input within 2 hours into the TAC box before completing the process. The Transaction Authorisation Code will automatically expire every 2 hours to avoid any security breach to the account. When the transaction is processed is successful, it will be automatically saved into the Maybank2u.com transaction history for future user reference. Its payment receipt can also be printed for keeps. Maybank has introduced this system to be used in all Maybank centres worldwide. Maybank2u.com requires only easy set up in creating a maybank2u.com account. User can log in using their existing Maybank account. However, user needs to create an on-line password and user name to access their existing bank account. By logging into the system, meaning that the user of the account is aware of the terms and condition applied by Maybank2u.com, and is aware that the site is secure as shown on the top right of the website. Once logged in, user can access everything regarding of their account information, such as account balance, transaction history, Maybank debit transactions and banking statements. The most interesting thing about Maybank2u is that the client can access their account from home, office or anywhere with an internet connection, without worrying about the hustle of waiting especially on busy hours. Best part is, the site offers billing payment services to all main general services. Almost 300 major payees are now available including Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Telekom Malaysia Berhad, MAXIS and ASTRO. It is wise to say Maybank has chosen a great transaction processing system in order to fulfill all its clients need just by one click a way. Instructions On How To Use Maybank2u Step 1. For Maybank customers, simply just create a Maybank2u username and password at the nearest ATM machine. For Non Maybank customers, the first step is to open up a Maybank bank account at the nearest Maybank service centre before creating the Maybank2u username and password. Step 2. Go to www.maybank2u.com Step 3 At the top right hand side of the website, theres an access to the login page. Click the login icon and it will direct the user to the login page. Log in as a first time user using the username and password created from Maybank ATM machine. Step 4. Once logged in, customers can access the entire account. The customer can now process their transactions by following the instructions. However, for customers that log in using public or shared computers, dare to be reminded to log out properly to avoid another mischief of identity fraud. Maybank2u also add a logout summary to guide users of Maybank2u on how to safely logout from the site Conclusion Looking at the research done we can come to a conclusion that online banking has make everyones lives easy and convenient and mostly saving a lot of their time when it comes to banking. There are a few false in online banking but there are more advantages of using online banking. In todays world technology has improved vastly and many banks have taken the upper hand on it and made banking not only banking paying bills, doing transactions, checking account balances and even online shopping easy for their customers convenience.

An Inside Look at Shark Finning Essay -- detrimental practices, environ

Every summer, when parents take off work and kids are out of school, families plan a summer vacation. 42% of those vacations take place on sandy beaches underneath the summer sun. Americans splash in the waves, sip refreshing drinks under their oversized umbrellas, build sandcastles, and revel in a beach tan that will hopefully last them all summer. While eating seafood and enjoying the beach can be viewed as the ultimate summer vacation, humans impact our oceans more than we think, and it’s much more catastrophic than spending our summer vacations at our favorite beaches. There are currently over 440 species of sharks in our Earth’s oceans, but despite roaming our ocean’s waters for millions of years, sharks are constantly at risk of extinction. It is estimated that one hundred million sharks are killed by humans each year. To put it into perspective, that’s 11,417 sharks killed every hour. Meanwhile, only 12 humans were killed worldwide by sharks in 2011. The culprit behind the extremely high rate of shark deaths is the practice of shark finning. â€Å"Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark’s fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die, which must be an agonizing death.† The shark fins are used in an Asian delicacy known as â€Å"shark fin soup.† In many Asian countries, it is a sign of wealth and prosperity and is often served and banquets and weddings to impress the guests. Just one bowl of shark fin soup can cost u p to $100. Because of the high demand for shark fin soup, fishermen and middlemen alike have been finning sharks any chance they get. Although the shark fins are used in shark fin soup, they are also sold frozen, canned or dried. The... ...cean Bycatch Campaign. N.p., 31 Oct. 2002. Web. 10 May 2014. "Mercury Contamination in Fish : Mercury and Its Effects." NRDC. Natural Resource Defense Council, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. Mosbergen, Dominique. "How Many Sharks Are Killed Per Hour? This Graphic Will Shock You (INFOGRAPHIC)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Orchant, Rebecca. "Threatened Species Used In Shark Fin Soup Across U.S." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. "Sea Shepherd Conservation Society." Sea Shepherd. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . "Stop Killing Our Sharks!" Shark Angels. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . "What You Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish." US EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 June 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.

Essay --

Why Is Managing Inbound Logistics Important To An Organization? Inbound logistics relates to the movement of goods or the materials from suppliers and vendors into manufacturing procedures or storeroom facilities. Inbound logistics basically comprises of two functions that are the purchase of materials and the logistics that are the procurement and planning. The management of inbound logistics is important to organizations for two major reasons, one that relates to the organization and the other that relates to the suppliers and vendors. Of course, reducing costs by effective management of inbound logistics does not mean that suppliers and vendors are effective negatively. There got to be a way where both take advantage of effective management of inbound logistics otherwise there would be costs increment at other instances (Gonzalez, 2002). Managing inbound logistics is important because managing the expenses of movement of goods all the way through the supply chain is an enormous t ask for both the shippers and deliverers.  A particular consignment comprises of both inter and the intra organizational dealings and exchanges. During this interchange and communication, data and information is required by different people in addition to customers, vendors, transporters, customer service agents, secretarial, acquisition, product management, inventory supervision, storehouse administration, and completion. Companies procure transportation services with specific carrier partners that both meet their requirements for price & service and have a solid understanding of the nuances of their business needs.   Additionally, these companies establish business processes and rules of engagement to facilitate the efficient flow of information and m... ..." References Aldrich, D. (1998) The new value chain – Today’s digital age means companies must rethink how they deliver what their customers value. Information Week, September 14, 1998. Gonzalez, Adrian (2002) Inbound logistics drives strong demand for transportation systems Warehousing Management; Radnor McGinnis, Michael A. and Cancro, J. Patrick (2003) â€Å"Logistics Basics for Purchasing and Supply Professionals†, http://www.google.com.pk/search?q=cache:bviDnM1ZSCYJ:www.ism.ws/ResourceArticles/Proceedings/2003/McGinnisHH.pdf+inbound+logistics+important+to+an+organization&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Rayport, J.F. & Sviokla, J.J. (1995) Exploiting the virtual value chain. Harvard Business Review, 73(6): 75-86. Tyran, Craig K. and James Coakley (2000) Supplemental Class Notes: The Value Chain, http://www2.bus.orst.edu/faculty/coakley/BA471_web/Lectures/Value_Chain_Class_Notes.htm

Capitalism :: essays research papers

Capitalism and the Renaissance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market. Capitalism lead to great changes in banking and business for Europeans It came to Europe after the devastating black death and while Europe was suffering from poor economic growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By looking at this definition, it is hard to see how this economic systems is linked to the Renaissance, which occurred in Europe. These two events in western civilization have great links which tie the two event together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Renaissance was a period of time in Europe when craftsmen, mostly artists, broke away from craft guilds to pursue their own ventures in their trade. It is also know as the rebirth of the classics. Artists began painting and sculpting for the royal and wealthy. Most of the masterpieces had to do with religion or portraits of royalty to make the patron that was paying for the service merely immortal since this painting would be famous and around for as long as it could be preserved. Religious scenes were painted to give people a visual idea of events that took place. Artist also put their own design into artwork in order to express feelings that were felt at this time in their life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After comparing the Renaissance and the type of economic system that capitalism is, you can see that they both allow to entrepreneurs to operate as a single unit rather than be a part of the state of part of a guild. The word that pulls both the Renaissance and capitalism together is individualism. Both events were to events helped individuals to prosper immensely for themselves and move away from government and religious controlled work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Renaissance and capitalism both brought about a way for individuals to make money. Capitalism allowed for sole proprietors to run businesses and make a living for themselves. In a similar way, artists were able to make money buy using their talent and providing a service to others on an individual basis. The artists were looked up to my even the most wealthy merchants because of the power the had to make them know forever though their work. Both the businessmen and artists both earned respect and were well known in society and also earned a certain status for themselves.

Appropriateness, Reinforcement, Preferences and Transformation Essay

Question: According to Eunson (2006, p.15) there are four main criteria to be considered when choosing the medium/s of communication to best articulate an argument: Appropriateness, Reinforcement, Preferences and Transformation. Select one of the criteria and discuss its importance to a communication situation. Any successful communication process requires the presence of a message, appropriate medium   and the desired message’s effect on the receiver.   Ã‚  To effect success in communication, it is important to use a suitable medium based on the Preferences criterion. Modern technologies have greatly facilitated human communication. However, as Priestley’s Paradox illustrates, people get to actually communicate less as communication technologies further advance (Eunson 2006, p.4). Hence, for effective communication, it is more important to consider the message and the effect of that message on the receiver (Eunson 2006, p.7). The successful transfer of message and its effect, however, largely depends on the communication mode used or â€Å"preferred†. The medium is crucial to the effect of a message because as emphasized by Marshall McLuhan (Lister 2003), â€Å"societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media† . In other words, the medium is the message. A case in point would be a Human Resource Department in an office where the HR Manager normally ‘prefers’ communicating with his staff through memos and e-mail notifications. But being a smart manager, he or she will not hesitate to utilize other media as needed, according to the importance of the message and the desired effect to the recipients. He or she may ‘prefer’ to personally discuss an individual’s unsatisfactory ‘Performance Assessment Report’, earlier sent as is via individual e-mail, through   one-on-one review. The richness of media (Daft & Lengel 1986, p.557) effected by direct face-to-face discussion is ‘preferred’ to the e-mail channel, which in this case plays a secondary role as preparatory medium of documentation. Herein, interpersonal communication appropriate to a small group (Baker, Barrett & Roberts 2002, p.11), is considered and selected to amplify the Report’s â€Å"warning† content with the goal of effecting the desired change in the staffer’s behaviour. Exploring â€Å"Preferences† in choosing media is vital to effectively convey the message. Since the medium, which helps shape the content, is mostly the message itself and that the message’s effect on the receiver is affected by the medium, selecting the suitable channel from a range of Preferences becomes crucial to any effective communication.    Bibliography Baker, E. Barrett, M. & Roberts, L 2002, Working Communication, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd., Milton Qld. Daft, R. L. and Lengel, R. H. 1986 â€Å"Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design,† Management Sci., Vol. 32, No.5, pp. 554–571. Eunson, B. 2006, Communicating in the 21st Century, John Wiley & Sons, Australia Ltd., Milton Qld. Lister, M 2003, New Media: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, London.

How does Mass Media affect people in society? Essay

So far, there’re various media for people to choose and access the information such as television, radio, Internet, or even mobile phone, consequently, media have a full capacity to set a social subject for mass audience to think and talk about. Often, media do not deliberately set the agenda and determine the pros and cons of that particular issue, so it repeatedly causes bad consequences towards public as well as establishes ‘moral panics’, which can sometimes lead to mob violence. The studies point that there is a correlation between violence on media and violent behavior. The reason that violent programs go well on the global market is violent imagery on television gets high ratings; therefore, producers are forced onto market to make a profit. But more significantly, television has taken the place of other forms of communication that at one time tied us together in families and communities, and gave us all the opportunity to participate in creating and passing along our cultural story. Since mass media as crucial vehicles to influence public opinion, the government is likely to control and dominate the press and broadcasting. There was a wide range of restrictions on reporting and in many countries in the region at the time, we had a number of governments that were authoritarian governments that used press control as one of their political tools. Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, just to name a few; all had restrictions on their own domestic media, restrictions on foreign journalists working within those countries, and restrictions on what news could be sent out. As example in Malaysia, during the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, authorities controlled all major newspapers and broadcast outlets, ensuring a substantial degree of official influence over news published in the country. The only exception was the Internet, which had so far remained censorship-free. Additionally, under Malaysian law, authorities are required to screen foreign publications prior to their distribution in the country. For instance, Malaysian government blocked the distribution of some U.S. newsmagazines in 2002, apparently because the government considered some stories inaccurate and untrue, including reports on alleged links between the al-Qaeda terrorist network and groups in Malaysia. On the other side, Thailand, as the democratic society, is still in the criticism about the current Prime minister, Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, regarding his policies and style of leadership whether they’re against the constitution and good moral or not particularly ‘War on Drugs’ policy. Furthermore, many people mentioned that he attempted to cover his critics by taking control of the country’s independent television station since 23 ITV staffs dismissed due to they â€Å"damaged the station’s reputation† by openly criticizing the station’s buyout by the Prime Minister. Not very long, the press violently reacted and declared that he was as dictator. Even more serious, some journalists believed that they were exposed to serious reprisals when they disclose the corruption of local authorities. Although Dr. Thaksin sharply uses media effect to structure individuals’ thinking and increase efficiency of mass communication for the governm ent, his propaganda shouldn’t be contrary to the legal constrains in terms of the right of expression. Media play an important role as a showcase that reveals trait of a certain area through outsiders. Obviously, when the press emphasizes on any topic and criticize people would be instantly interested in and rapidly spreading out till sometimes hardly cope with it. In conclusion, mass communication can affect cognitive change among individuals, mentally order and organize the world for us and also simply create conflict or violence among people in society. Therefore, authorities or interest groups who extremely control on media especially the government, television program producers and newspaper need a proper consideration for media use as well as being responsible for consequences.

Determinants of Dividend Policy of Cement Industy of Pakistan

RESEARCH PROPOSAL DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY OF CEMENT INDUSTY OF PAKISTAN Submitted To: Dr. Ahmed Faisal Imtiaz Siddiqi Submitted By: Muhammad Waqar Akram ID # 12002096-010 Programme: MS-Finance Batch-02 INTRODUCTION Dividend Policy refers to the explicit or implicit decision of the Board of Directors regarding the amount of residual earnings (past or present) that should be distributed to the shareholders of the corporation This decision is considered a financing decision because the profits of the corporation are an important source of financing available to the firm.Dividend policy is a one of the most debated topics and a core theory of corporate finance which still keeps its prominent place. Many researchers presented various theories and uncountable empirical evidences, but the issue is still unresolved and open for further discussion. It is among top ten unresolved problems in the finance literature and we have not an adequate explanation for the observed dividend behavi or of the firms There are several reasons whether firms should pay dividends or not. The â€Å"dividend puzzle† why firms pay dividends and stock holders pay attention to dividends and still unresolved.Many hypotheses have been drawn to shed some light on this puzzle but the problem still exists. Normally a firm faces the problem of allocation of earnings, whether to distribute among shareholders or retaining for reinvestment and promote the firm growth. Retained earnings are a main internal source of financing, but higher retained earning mean fewer dividends and vice versa. The cement sector is a prominent sector of Pakistan and works as an engine of economic growth in the economy. It provides employment to a large number of people (directly & indirectly).Cement production capacity in Pakistan is 44 million tons annually while local demand is only 24 million tons, leaving a surplus of 20 million tons. Cement manufactured in Pakistan is being exported to Afghanistan and Cent ral Asian States below cost. During FY-11 cement industry exported over 4 million tons to these markets and the industry is optimistic that exports to Afghanistan and Central Asian States shall increase further since these countries are landlocked and Pakistan is the only country which is able to supply cement at competitive rates.So, it is important to find the factors that determine and affecting the dividend payout policy of this sector. LITERTURE REVIEW Over the past 50 years a great attention was given to determine the factors influencing dividend payout policy. A vast literature is available in this regard, however, the puzzle is still unresolved and open for further discussion. â€Å"Why do firms pay dividends? † further he raises a second question, â€Å"Why do investors pay attention to dividends? † although, the answers may appear clear, (Black 1998)but Black concludes that they are not.As we try to explain the fact, the more it seems like a puzzle, with piec es that just do not fit together. Various factors can be considered as the determinants of dividend payout policy and a number of logics for dividend payout policy have been declared in the literature, however, the researchers are not agreed on a single point. In developed economies, the decision whether paying dividends or keep as retained earnings has been taken very carefully by both investors and the management of the firm. (Adaoglu 2000) By paying a sufficient amount of dividend firms can prevent from the agency problem.The dividend payouts are helpful to keep firms in the market, where monitoring of managers is available at low cost. The managers make financial policy trade-offs to control agency cost in an effective way(Amidu and Abor 2006) A free cash flow is helpful for a firm to share it with stockholders as dividends and pay the debt in order to reduce the possibility of these funds being wasted on unprofitable projects(Pettit 1972) Firms’ investment policies have a significant impact on its dividend payout policy; the firms with less investment plans has greater amount to distribute as dividends.Due to the higher investment opportunities firms deprive from higher dividends to lower. So the investment opportunities has a negative relationship to the dividend payouts(Farinha 2003) Another factor affecting the dividend policy is the ownership of firm; state owned firms follow a smooth dividend pattern as compare to family owned firms. The family owned firms are uneager to pay dividends, whereas the state owned firms are more reluctant to diminish the dividend amount.The insider ownership also play a significant role in dividend policy(Imran 1997; Okpara 2010) The dividend policy is quite different in emerging markets as compare to developed economies, and seems to be affected by a number of factors(Al-Kuwari 2009) Due to several reasons like taxes pay procedure, stock market volatility and certain asymmetryinformation the dividend payout patter n is different in emerging markets as compare to developed nations.Another reason is that in emerging markets the firms focus on dividend payout ratios as compare to the level of dividends paid(Al-Kuwari 2009; Terra 2011) Higher the earnings of a firm, greater the size and firms with foreign ownership prefer to distribute a higher and constant amount in dividend payouts according to their earnings and size(Eriotis 2011) The liquidity of the firm leaves a negative impact on the firms dividend payout decision.The stock market liquidity and dividend are substitutes in the sight of investors, so the firm’s dividend policy is associated to the liquidity of its common stock. As a result firms with more liquid common stock, distribute less cash dividend(Amidu 2007) The more profitable firms are willing to distribute a higher amount of dividend payouts. The greater profitability not only positively affects the firms’ current dividend but dividend yield also. Whereas, the riski er firms distribute lower dividends and hence lower dividend yields.The firms which can easily fulfill their short term needs and want to improve their current payouts than last year are more willing to pay dividend(Fama and French 2002) OBJECTIVE †¢Companies pays dividend smoothly on regular basis †¢Dividend payout policy depend on size of firm †¢Profitability(Net Profit) of company effect dividend policy †¢Growing companies (Growth in sale) pays dividend on regular basis †¢Investment opportunity (Retained earnings) effect the dividend policy †¢Impact of liquidity (cash flows) on dividend policy †¢Impact of leverage (Debt to Equity ratio) on dividend policyTHEORITICAL FRAM WORK DATA COLLECTION & PROPOSED METHODOLOGY Investigates the factors determine the dividend payout policy of Pakistani cement companies listed on KSE. The data employed is derived from Balance Sheet Analysis of KSE listed companies published by companies, covered the ten year pe riod 2001 to 2010 of 26 companies. (companies depends upon availability of data) The nature of the data allows us the use regression analysis to build relationship between dividend payout policy and factors which influence dividend policy HYPOTHESISH1: Cement companies pays smooth or stable in paying dividend H2: Positive relationship of dividend payout and size(Total Assets) of company H3: Positive relationship between Profitability(Net Profit) of company & dividend payout H4: Positive relationship between growth(Growth in sale) and dividend payout H5: There is positive relationship between liquidity (Quick Ratio) & dividend payout. H6: There is negative relationship of leverage (Debt to Equity ratio) & dividend payments H7: There is negative relationship between Investment opportunity (retained earnings/total asset) and dividend payout Limitation Due to unavailability of all companies data listed on KSE to construct a balance panel and for selected time period, the study used data for twenty companies which represent more than 80 % of total cement industry. ?This study includes both types of firms (e. g. dividend paying and non paying firms). ?There are many determinants of dividend policy but only six determinates have been taken. References Adaoglu, C. (2000). â€Å"Instability in the dividend policy of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) corporations: evidence from an emerging market. Emerging Markets Review 1(3): 252-270. Al-Kuwari, D. (2009). â€Å"Determinants of the dividend policy in emerging stock exchanges: The case of GCC countries. † Global Economy & Finance Journal 2(2): 38-63. Amidu, M. (2007). â€Å"How does dividend policy affect performance of the firm on Ghana Tock exchange? † Investment Management and Financial Innovations 4(2): 103-112. Amidu, M. and J. Abor (2006). â€Å"Determinants of dividend payout ratios in Ghana. † Journal of Risk Finance, The 7(2): 136-145. Black, F. (1998). â€Å"The dividend puzzle. Streetwi se: the best of the Journal of portfolio management: 10. Eriotis, N. (2011). â€Å"The Effect Of Distributed Earnings And Size Of The Firm To Its Dividend Policy: Some Greek Data. † International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) 4(1). Fama, E. F. and K. R. French (2002). â€Å"Testing trade? off and pecking order predictions about dividends and debt. † Review of financial studies 15(1): 1-33. Farinha, J. (2003). â€Å"Dividend policy, corporate governance and the managerial entrenchment hypothesis: an empirical analysis. † Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 30(9? 0): 1173-1209. Imran, K. (1997). â€Å"Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy: A Case of Pakistan Engineering Sector. † Romanian Economic Journal 14(41): 47-60. Okpara, G. C. (2010). â€Å"Investigation of the critical sources of investment finance in Nigeria: a factor analytical approach. † Pettit, R. R. (1972). â€Å"Dividend announcements, security performance, and ca pital market efficiency. † The Journal of Finance 27(5): 993-1007. Terra, P. R. S. (2011). â€Å"Determinants of corporate debt maturity in Latin America. † European Business Review 23(1): 45-70.

Reflective Essay on Teaching

This assignment will critically reflect and analyse a microteaching session I presented to my peers in a clinical placement regarding Nursing management of chest drains. I will define reflection; teaching, learning and the rationale for choosing this topic will be clearly outlined in this paper. The preparation, planning, implementation and evaluation will also be incorporated. This assignment will be structured using Gibbs (1988) reflective model cited in Modular Training Course, 2003 because of its simplicity. Analysis will permeate through each stage of the Gibbs reflective model. Finally I will conclude by reflecting on my role as a joint practitioner outlining areas of personal, professional growth, identifying my strength, weakness and put forward an action plan for my future development in teaching. Reflection is an important human activity in which people re-capture their experience, mull it over and evaluate it. It is working with experience that is important in learning (Boud et al, 1985). Teaching is defined as a system of activities intended to induce learning, comprising the deliberate, methodical creation and control of those conditions in which learning does occur (Curzon, 1997). In Nursing, teaching is said to be the change in behaviour that we wish to bring about if we are to enhance and improve care for patients and client (Hinchliff, 2004) The term teaching and learning are often used interchangeably. Curzon (1990) cited by Nicklin and Kenworthy (2000) define learning as the apparent modification of a person’s behaviour through his activities and experiences so that his knowledge, skills and attitudes, including modes of adjustment towards his environment, are changed, more or less permanently. The rationale of choosing my topic was due to its relevance to the area of my clinical placement (Cardio thoracic) and the Unique learning needs of nursing management of chest drains amongst Nursing students as realised while working with them. As mentioned above, I will be using the Gibbs reflective model, which follows a cyclical pattern from description, feelings, evaluation, to conclusion and action plan. See in the Appendice. Each of these is sub-headed in the next sections to maintain clarity. Description This is the first stage of the Gibbs model. The value of micro sessions is for planning and delivering a short presentation where by feedback can be gathered before embarking on longer sessions (Walkin, 1990). Planning is about thinking things through it requires imagination and lateral as well as logical thinking (Kiger, 1995). It is a process that directs the teacher and the learner towards certain actions, which will facilitate learning. During the preparation of my teaching presentation I researched my chosen subject using databases like British Nursing Index (BNI), Nursing practice text books as well as Journals as recommended by Hinchliff (2004) who contend that using evidence-based practice can help to ensure that the subject is fully researched and this will provide support practice and view. I set out the aims and objectives of the teaching session. This view is supported by (Daines et al, 1993) who state that the teacher must know what it is that he or she intends to teach and what the students are expected to learn as an outcome for the joint effort. I drafted a lesson plan see in the appendice, which I highlighted that I was going to use an overhead projector and give handouts to the group. Ewan and White (1996) suggest it is necessary to understand learners’ different learning styles for learning and teaching to be effective. I devised my teaching plan bearing in mind that there were pragmatists, activists, theorists and reflectors among my peers. After putting the content of my presentation together I began printing and photocopying my acetates and handouts for my peers. The next step I did was to start rehearsing my presentation at home. On the day of the presentation I gave out handouts to my peers prior to the microteaching session. I used an overhead projector as a guide for my discussion even though my acetates were cluttered with too much information. I also used some equipment like different types of chest drains, water and a dame in of a person to demonstrate to my peers. I used psychomotor learning domain as it was described by Bloom (1956) cited by De Tornyay & Thompson (1987) to be most important domain compared with Cognitive and Affective domains as it enabling the learner to learn through the demonstrated skill. As I encouraged my peers to carry out the skill that I had demonstrated, I had to bear in mind that many adult learners are self-conscious about trying new psychomotor skills as contended by De Tornyay & Thompson (1987). They worry about looking foolish and making errors. And therefore it is crucial that the learning environment is warm and accepting, inviting the learners to try things, take risks and experiment. Feelings Planning on its own caused a lot of anxiety, as I was not really sure of how well I will do in delivering and presenting my topic to my peers. Although I had some idea about management of chest drains from both the practical bit that I had gained during my first two weeks on the ward and the theory that I had gathered, I was nervous prior to my presentation. It is argued by some commentators that having nerves can improve your performance (Lancaster and Janes, 1994). Feelings of nervousness helped me to focus on my presentation however things did not go the way I planned them. I can only attribute my feelings of nervousness due to inadequate preparation. During the presentation I had mixed feelings of nervousness compounded by feelings of confidence and I was not sure about how the audience perceived my presentation. I was feeling confident at times because I knew a lot about the topic and my peers through evaluation echoed this. Evaluation Evaluation can be seen as a process of making personalised judgements and decisions about achievements, expectations, the effectiveness and evaluation of what we are doing (Hanchliff, 2001). It occurs at different stages of learning experience, is ongoing, vital to development, evolution of teaching and learning. It is emphasised that if you do not self evaluate there is a tendency to carry on as usual (Hinchliff, 2004). As part of my preparation, I decided that I was going to use the SWOT analysis to evaluate myself. And with this, I was going to be able to identify my Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. My strengths included giving handouts first before starting my presentation. My peers in the feedback sheets echoed these remarks. This is supported by (Boyd et al, 1997) who states that handouts provide organisation, enable students to listen rather than taking notes and serve as a reminder of what the students have heard in the classroom or lecture. I linked the theory to practice as I was using acetates on an overhead projector as well as demonstrating and some of my peers commented that this helped them to understand the topic better. De Tornyay & Thompson (1987), recommend the use of an overhead projector by the teacher as this avoids distracting instructions and can integrate the material from the transparency with the presentation naturally and without losing eye contact with class. My voice was loud and clear throughout my presentation to enable my peers to hear the topic. Oliver and Endersby (1994) emphasise that if people cannot hear you during presentations they will not listen to you hence it is important to have a good voice projection when teaching or presenting. I had also met my aims and objectives that I had set up and my peers had learnt from them following the feedback. Aim & Objectives can provide a logical sequence for both you & your students enable you to check whether your teaching has been effective and also help to make decision about what exactly the student should learn as recommended by (Hinchliff, 2004). My weaknesses included confusing some surgical terms that I had used and therefore giving the wrong explanation of the word, not giving all my peers a chance to practice the skill and also not involving my peers to participate in terms of the questioning technique. Some of my peers commented on the feedback sheets that I had the tendency to read my acetates, I should have brought in prompt cards just to remind me of the main points which needed to be discussed further. It is argued by (Baume and Baume, 1996) that reading from transparencies will give a stilted feel to a presentation and does not give the presenter much credibility. In essence as a presenter you should know most of what you want to say otherwise you should not be teaching or presenting to the audience. And also some of my peers commented that I had rushed my presentation despite the fact that I finished within the expected time. I didn’t have all my teaching equipments as I had planned. In organizing the materials for teaching, Oliver & Endersby (1994) stated that the responsibility of teaching does not only lie on accuracy of the information presented but also in the manner and order in which it is presented. The opportunity of being familiar with my peers and knowing the subject area that I was going to present strengthened my confidence as I began to teach. My threat was not being able to finish on time and being so nervous that I would not give the best to my group. Analysis On analysis, I thought I choose the right topic that was relevant to my course and my clinical area of placement. â€Å"As joint practitioners we will encounter carers in our working life, so giving information on carers assessment, their limitation and effect of caring will prepare us for future practice† (Hinchliff, 2004). As I was preparing my presentation, I thought about adult learning as all my peers were going to be adults. I decided to use Androgogy approach of teaching as recommended by Knowles (1990) who defined it as the art and science of supporting students particularly, adult learner in their own learning process. In retrospect, I feel that this helped to promote the students’ concentration and I believe that my peers felt valued, as I was able to include them in the teaching by acknowledging each and everyone who participated by using their names and praised them. The teaching session took place in a seminar room near the ward where everyone was familiar with the environment. It is believed that a good learning environment allows a more positive attitude to study and desire to learn (Kiger, 1995). Overhead projector was used during the teaching, this was benefiting to my peers, it help to clarify and explain key points. The use of overhead projector encouraged motivation from peers and makes it more interesting (Larrivee, 2000). The teaching session was aimed to facilitate humanistic or cognitive domain as well as psychomotor where cognitive domain is student centred. This permit student perception and thinking, it also incorporate student participation which gave the chance to ascertain peers’ knowledge of the topic been taught. I used Abbatt & Mc Mahon (1993) 3 aspects of evaluation i. e. Plan, Process and Product as a form of evaluating my peers learning and effectiveness of my teaching. With this, there was use of evaluation checklists See in the Appendices that were used by my peers to evaluate my teaching in form of feedback. These can enable the teach to identify aspects of his/her teaching that could improve on. Although the feedback from my peers and mentor was informative and good, from my own reflection afterwards made me realise that I had not taught I had planned. I didn’t involve all my peers to practice the skill, which would have helped them to learn more as recommended by Hinchliff (2004). I should have informed them of how long the session was to take in order to avoid them from thinking that I had rushed. I should not have read my presentation from the acetates because it is argued that the audience will probably understand very little and will loose concentration quickly (Nicklin and Kenworthy, 2000). Body language communicates different impressions to the audience; I maintained eye contact on some occasions this helps to regulate the flow of communication. This is supported by (Oliver and Endersby, 1994) who state that presenters who make eye contact covey interest, concern, warmth and credibility. Conclusion I seem to have learned more from the reflective process than the actual presentation. Presenting to the group was one of the most nerves wrecking experiences as well as waiting for feedback from my peers and mentor. However, carrying out this teaching session has broadened my knowledge in management of chest drains and given me the courage and confidence for my future teaching and presentations. Action Plan I endeavour to perceive weakness as opportunities for future development rather than as failures. In essence the act of reflecting on the microteaching presentation has deepened my understanding of the importance of having a good preparation, a good plan, including having rehearsals prior to the presentation, the importance of having a good learning environment, and being familiar with the material you are going to use before presenting. It is imperative to evaluate each teaching session or presentation, as this is the only way we can learn to improve our practice.

The growth of cities and their past Research Paper

The growth of cities and their past - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of urban growth as the process of expansion of economic agglomerations. Urbanization, structure of cities, organization of economic activities and overall economic growth of a country are important determinants of this expansion. The past always forms the foundation for the future and this is true to the growth of cities as well. The present research has identified that Venice, one of the oldest cities in the world had centered the planning of its transport system on water-ways that are in use to this day. This transport system was not only efficient but also safe in the modern context of carbon emissions. It did not occur to the planers of the city at the time but present inhabitants of Venice have one of the least carbon emission modes of transport in the world with human navigated boats forming a significant fraction of the transport vessels. From the planning of Venice, modern cities have an opportunity to gather new ideas on having du rable, low carbon emission transport networks. This paper illustrates that the 21-century cities may not have waterways but could come up with systems founded on the concept of the waterways of Venice. The high-speed rail network, for example, is an improvement of 18th century rail networks that presently solve most cities’ transport problems but were developed from these early transportation rail networks that were not very fast at the time of their initial use.

Fundamentals of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fundamentals of Finance - Essay Example The company’s current drill and platform was purchased 3 years ago for  £10M. The firm depreciates the machine using MACRS over a 5 year recovery period when the assets are replaced due to very high maintenance costs. The company’s management estimates that after removal costs are taken into consideration, this platform can be sold for  £3.5M. The company can also buy a new high specification platform at a cost of  £14M plus installation costs of  £1M and still has an estimated life of 5 years. If they decide to go ahead with this purchase then the company’s working capital needs will change; accounts receivable will increase to  £1.5M, accounts payable will also increase to  £1M and inventory will increase to  £2M. Swindon is expected to be able to sell the new, proposed machine at the end of the 5-year period for  £4M while the present machine at the end of the same period is expected to generate  £2.5M. All else equal, the company expects to recover their Net Working Capital Investment at the end of the same period. The company’s tax rate is at 40%. The existing machine is expected to net  £3,500,000 each year for the next 5 years. Along with the C.F.O, the Operations Officer has also laid down the estimated cash flows of the company from the new drilling platform as follows: 1) DEBT: the company can raise an unlimited amount of debt by selling  £1,000 par value, 6.5% coupon interest rate, 10 year bonds on which annual interest payments will be made. To sell the issue, an average discount of  £20 per bond needs to be given. There also is an associated flotation cost of 2% of par value. 2) PREFERRED STOCK: the company can raise an unlimited amount of preferred stock under the following terms; (a) the security has a par value of  £100/share, (b) the annual dividend rate is 6% of the par value, (c) the flotation cost is expected to be  £4 per share. The preferred stock is expected to sell for  £102 before cost considerations.

Gatsby and his mask Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gatsby and his mask - Essay Example We may not want to admit it but we are different in one way or another at times. We could be the obedient and hardworking son or daughter to our parents, the witty or adventurous person with our friends, or the caring and understanding individual in a romantic relationship. James Gatz realized after desperately losing his greatest love to someone well-off with a notable pedigree that he needed to be someone else, someone other than himself. He wanted to be accepted by Daisy Fay and to be taken seriously as someone worthy to be her better half. Someone better than whom he truly is in the name of the famous (or rather infamous) Jay Gatsby. It had been necessary for him to put on a mask and carry on an alternate reality just to be able to move in the same circles as her. These efforts are all in the plot to gain Daisy’s attention as he became fixated to the idea of a life he was supposed to live with her. Nick was a pawn in all of the games that he played and their first extensiv e personal conversation revealed the flaws in the lies that Gatsby has weaved to convince people of his affluence. He had been seemingly consistent in his stories but Nick had been a good judge of character in taking things with a grain of salt and relating to the reader that Gatsby was by no means a great man but there is always more to his stories and the truth reveals itself almost anti-climactically in the end. Their meeting that morning in July revealed more to Gatsby and how the audience starts to perceive him as a character. There had been plenty of gossips and assumptions as to who the man who threw extravagant parties is and as to where he came from. In this scene Gatsby himself seem to divulge more about himself. But just like Nick the reader has to read between the lines and comprehend the context accordingly. The car parked in front of Nick’s door and he jumped right in, much like the heightened anticipation the reader has into wanting to know more about this man in order to understand him. Lurching forward and not caring whatever comes next so long as the enigma somehow reveals himself more. Gatsby starts off the conversation too fittingly by asking â€Å"What’s your opinion of me, anyhow?† (Fitzgerald 70). This signifies the persona’s great regard for what people think of him. He is careful to form a perception in people’s minds of who he is and he wants them to regard him in high esteem. This question consequently took Nick for quite a surprise though it did not entirely rattle him as he knew that Gatsby must also be aware of the ideas floating around about him. Then Gatsby went on to tell about his past. That he was the son of a wealthy family from the Midwest, San Francisco to be exact and that his entire family had died already. This led him to a journey in different parts of the world and then off to war where he claimed he intended to die. These stories complete with embellishments in how he tells his stor ies and complete with evidence through articles such as a medal of valor and a photograph from Oxford with his contemporaries. Nick took this all with some sense of doubt realizing what Jordan first found to be insincerities. â€Å"He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford,’ or swallowed it or choked on it as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt his whole statement fell to pieces and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him after all† (ibid). The study in the syntax and the intonation of Gatsby gives a deeper understanding on what Nick had established early on in his narration, that he is a good judge of character by not forthrightly concluding on their personalities and trying to understand where they are coming from. This is something which is almost

Role of social media for business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Role of social media for business - Essay Example All this information is of great value to websites that we visit. Social networks operate on the development of tools to help marketers reach their goals through a time where people spend a significant penalty of their time in the use of these sites as Facebook Twitter Instagram etc. To begin with, social media helps to know the target customers, such as data that put by them in Facebook, such as age, nationality, geographical location, educational attainment, and tastes in entertainment choices and brands Favorites. All of these data allows marketers to get close to their customers and more than enable companies marketing their products easily. An example of this is the oil companies, Apple, television channels, magazines and newspapers companies, perfumes, makeup health tools, medicines and slimming products. Moreover, Social networking sites help to improve the quality because it can compare each company between its products and products of other companies and read peoples opinions and comments on networking sites. For example comparisons between Smartphone companies like Apple and Samsung. Not only the major companies that will promote itself through social networking sites, but also ordinary people who have small businesses or working from inside their homes and who cannot afford to pay huge amounts of money for advertising about their companies or do not have sufficient funds to support their business, So social media is a very effective tool for them. To support this fact I would like to share my own example. Two years back I started working as freelancer for cake decoration. I did not have enough sources to run my freelancing work but at that time social media helped me to reach at the people and I generated so many customers online for me. I started promoting my work on Instagram I open an account and I added some photographs of

Central bank for GCC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Central bank for GCC - Essay Example say that the central bank enhances oil price stability and economic efficiency in the region while those who argue against it argue that it may be influenced by political pressure and the independence of national central banks will be affected. The report also suggests that the main objective of the GCB is to achieve price stability, economic stability and economic efficiency while its function is to implement monetary policies. GCC is an economic integration of six countries that have come together for easy exchange and trade among each other. The six country members of the GCC include: Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The members of the integration have benefited a lot from the integration through reduced barriers of trade and good diplomatic and economic relationships with other members of the union. GCC Monetary union has been one of the key objectives of the GCC members since 1980s (Lycett et al, 1984). Towards the goal of monetary union, the members have encouraged regional integration and intraregional movement of goods, services, technology and capital. As a way of encouraging the development of the monetary union, some member countries have suggested the introduction of a common currency that can be used as a common means of exchange among all countries just like the Euro used in the European Union. The need for one currency then called for a common monetary policy implementation in the gulf region. Because monetary policy is the work of a central bank, the Gulf Cooperation Council suggested the formation of a central bank of the union. The central bank would implement the monetary policy of the union and issue a common currency for all member countries to use for exchange amongst each other. This project report highlights the structure of this proposed central bank of the GCC and explains some of the similarities and differences between it and the Central Bank of the EU. The report will then highlight the arguments

The Impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the Sustainability Essay

The Impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the Sustainability of Competitiveness of the Petrochemical Industry in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example o establish the rules to harmonize the rule associate with the chemical industry in Saudi Arabia (Al-Alamy, 2003; Zuhd, 2005l; Al Zuhd, 2005; Al-Sadoun, 2008). According to the GATT says Yu, this â€Å"Harmonize System would ensure greater ability for countries to monitor and protect the values of tariff concession† (Yu, 2008, p. 8). It ensures that there is only One General Rules to be applied to all Members but these rules also cover the specific commitments made by all members. For example, in the part one of the agreement concession called the Most Favored Nation Tariffs, there is a clause known as â€Å"bonded tariff† or the maximum tariff the members should levy. If the tariff levied is higher than the maximum tariff stated, the country has to compensate other parties for the excess amount, but it is based on line-by-line according to national nomenclatures of the time when concession took place. How the tariff is calculated? It is based on the description of the product base rate duty before any tariff, rate of bonded tariff, implementation period, initial negotiation, and other duties and charges (Robinson, 2004; Al-S adoun, 2008). In his paper to the World Bank, Saudi Arabia and WTO in the light of Mena Experience, (http://worldbank.org/idf/ndf3/papers/global/Al-Sahlawi.pdf.) Professor Al-Sahlawi, indicates that compare to the growth of manufacturing industry in the global market, the growth of petrochemical industry in the Middle East and Arab Regions is considered slow. He suggests that it is important to follow Egypt and Morocco to improve petrochemical industry and make it to be more competitive than the manufacturing industry in the global market or to create petrochemical products as export merchandise. In terms of joint ventures in the petrochemical industry, Al-Salawi (ibid) claims that furthering the process of privatization eases the process of foreign direct investment such as in Egypt where the rate of foreign direct investment has increased

Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys Research Paper

Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys - Research Paper Example The Dark Triad personality is a highly visible, extroverted, charismatic, and antisocial personality that preys on normal people to feed their egotistical imbalances. This creates maladaptive relationships that cause great emotional pain and suffering long after the relationship is ended. Dark Triad personalities are particularly drawn to co-dependent personalities that take care of them and feed their egos. What the media glorifies as the most desirable type of partner is, in reality, a dysfunctional one. Healthy relationships that are emotionally fulfilling and long lasting depend on them being composed of healthy partners; not dysfunctional ones. Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys It always seems like the good guys finish last and the good girls like the bad boys; why is that? Throughout history there are so many accounts of relationships where one was destructive and the other was nearly sainted. It’s often said that opposites attract, yet how is it that those opposites also nearly destroy each other in the relationship process? The dating process is aimed at bringing compatible people together, yet what often happens is that compatibility is based on something other than normal relations. The fact that good guys finish last is largely due to the fact that good girls like bad boys. What’s the attraction? What makes a nice girl choose someone who either cheats on her or hurts her in one way or another? Why do so many women put up with that? It almost seems like a nice guy can’t win. There is a term, the Dark Triad of Personality, (Paulhus, Williams, & Hare, 2002) that was created in the late 20th century to describe a group of three distinctly different, yet related personality traits Machiavellianism, narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy. All three are exploitative, short-term and socially negative. People with this personality triad are very attractive, charismatic people who, for some reason, never seem to la ck for either excitement, or someone to share it with. They are people who view the world in terms of how it benefits them, favoring immediate gratification over the sacrifice of waiting for long term gains. This relationship personality is described as having an arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style, deficient affective experience, and, impulsive and irresponsible behavioral style. (Jonason, Kavanaugh, 2010) Individuals who have the Dark Triad personality prefer a short-term style of relating; they keep people at an emotional distance through game playing and cerebral approach to personal relationships. The game playing approach is what is known as ludus; these relationships are marked by high turn over of partners; a cat and mouse kind of game. The pragma approach is a cerebral style where relationships are mind or head oriented instead of involving the heart. People in these kinds of relationships have limited abilities to show empathy; their emotional systems don’t p rocess the flow of the relationship. These relationships are superficial, often practical, and usually based on eros as opposed to agape. They are not long lasting, fulfilling relationships, just a means to an end. There is very little closeness, selflessness, or intimacy. It is thought these individuals experienced little empathy and caring, as well as having inconsistent early childhood interactions with caregivers. Twin studies have shown moderate-to-large inherited traits for both narcissism and psychopathy, and a smaller genetic influence on Machiavellianism; largely due to environmental factors. (Jonason & Kavanaugh, 2010) Numerous researchers have agreed that there are five common personality indicators through which all personalities can be described; they

The !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert Essay Example for Free

The !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert Essay The !Kung Bushmen of Botswana inhabit the semi-arid northwest region of the Kalahari Desert. Their average annual rainfall is poor, only six to nine inches a year. Field work for this article written by Richard B. Lee, was done in the Dobe area, which is a line of eight permanent waterholes. The Dobe area has a population of 466 Bushmen. This includes 379 permanent residents living in independent camps or associated with Bantu cattle posts, as well as 87 seasonal visitors. The Bushmen living in independent camps lack firearms, livestock, and agriculture. The !Kung are entirely dependent upon hunting and gathering for subsistence. Although Dobe-area !Kung have had some contact with outsiders since the 1880s, the majority of them continue to hunt and gather because there is no viable alternatives locally available to them. During the dry season (May-October) the entire population is clustered around the water wells. There are camps around each well, which is an open aggregate of cooperating persons which changes in size and composition from day to day. The members move out each day to hunt and gather, and return in the evening to pool the collected foods in such a way that every person present receives an equitable share. Vegetable foods comprise from 60 to 80 percent of the total diet by weight, and collecting involves two or three days of work per woman per week. The major contribution of the male bushmen to their diet is the hunting of medium and large game. Although mens and womens work input is roughly equivalent in terms of man/day of effort, the women provide two to three times as much food by weight as the men. For the greater part of the year, food is plentiful and easily collected. Although during the end of the dry season people have to hike farther for food, the food still remains constant. The most important food is the mongongo nut. This nut accounts for 50 percent of the vegetable diet by weight. Although tens of thousands of pounds of these nuts are eaten every year, thousands more are left on the ground to rot. Also, a diet based on mongongo nut is more beneficial health-wise as cereal crops such as maize or rice. In addition to the mongongo, the Bushmen have available eighty-four other species of fruits, berries, and melons, and another thirty species of roots and bulbs. There are 54 species of animals classified as edible by the Bushmen, but only 17 species were hunted on a regular basis. All of the !Kungs food supply can be obtained in a six-mile radius of camp, and usually takes a full day to travel the twelve mile round-trip. The !Kung Bushmen of the Dobe area live a long productive, and seemingly satisfying lives. Longevity compares favorably to any industrialized society. The old people are fed and cared for by their children and grandchildren. The old people are also actively involved indecision making and ritual curing. Young people are not expected to provide food regularly until they are married. Girls usually marry between the ages of fifteen and twenty, and boys about five years later. It is not unusual to find healthy, active teenagers visiting from camp to camp while their older relatives provide food for them. The people in the age group of twenty to sixty support the nonproductive and old. These productive members work about two and a half days a week, about twelve to nineteen hours a week to get food. A woman gathers enough food in one day to feed her family for three days, and spends the rest of the time relaxing and enjoying her leisure time. The men hunt for a week and then do nothing for two or three weeks and spend their leisure time visiting and dancing. In a camp with five or more hunters, two or three are actively hunting while others are inactive. The amount and the type of food the !Kung hunt and gather is sufficient enough calorie-wise to supply all the nutrients required for good health.