The Analysis of the Song Run Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Analysis of the Song Run - Essay Example The song is written in a way to highlight a strong or unique vocalist, as it becomes the primary responsibility of the vocalist to imbue the song with life. Similar styles have been witnessed with such vocalists as Nico from the Velvet Underground, or the underground alternative rock artist Cat Power. The music begins with the song’s lyrics start. A snare drum is heard playing slow and hushed-like. An electric guitar plays a minimalist melody. Two to three chords are played, currently, there is no bass being used. After a few minutes, the guitar and drum combo ends. The bass guitar and the drums continue as the vocals finally started. The first three lines state, â€Å"I go away to a place/ Way far out in space/ That is away from the things I know†. This line refers to the imaginative process that I go under when I play music or think in lyrical terms. Additionally, the reference to space refers to the aesthetic qualities of the universe as the great unknown of human experience. The lyrics here are relayed in a subdued tone in accordance with the minimalist melody that has already been established by the bass guitar and drums. Overrated/ But can’t think of/ What to do about it † Here the bass guitar and snare drums continue in a minimalist style along with the vocals. The lyrics are composed in a purposely meandering way. In this way, they do not follow the strict pattern of grammatically correct discourse, but instead, adopt a logic that is acceptable within the confines of music. The lyrics additionally reflect a general existential malaise that is recurrent throughout the track. One imagines the vocalist spending the day alone and lazily reaching over and grabbing a guitar. The music in terms of the vocals and the melody is then improvisational in an aesthetic sense. The bass guitar melody as does not need to be incredibly consistent. Instead, this could even be reinvented for each song.

Politics of Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Politics of Development - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that improvement comes in terms of services offered, facilities available in a country for public use and the kind or level of production in the industries of that country. Development of this kind could be termed as economic improvement or growth. Development, especially economic development associates itself with the kind of life people of a particular nation or state lead long and healthy lives. This is where access to the necessary resources that guarantee a civilized standard of living is possible and practical. On the other hand, development revolves around the empowerment where people of a particular nation control their live through finding solutions to their demands and problems. This reflects on the availability of necessities to the nationals of a given nation. In other terms, development is the upward movement of social systems, which include economic and non-economic factors. Development works in a way that creates social, econ omic and political frameworks that are able to stimulate growth in the said area of development. Development fosters easy access to resources, through transformation, or modification of the available facilities to suit the needs of individuals or the nation as a whole. Development of any kind has its own failures and successes associated with it. The various examples of political; development range from good governance that results to better lives through laid down frameworks that ensure provision of the basic necessities in a better and appropriate way. However, the success of economic development is when there is growth in economic sectors where more businesses flourish and production processes yield products with good quality and can be availed to the market at moderate or fare prices. On the other hand, the failures of economic development may result to high rates of inflation, unemployment and high living standards that a country may experience. Economic development has a direc t impact on the lives of people in a country and it affects almost all activities carried out in a country. This is because, the areas of there economy like the lending of money form banks would highly be affected by economic growth, where more people may be encouraged to borrow money or production processes may seem favored by the availability of raw materials at low prices. Improved living standards would be indicators of economic growth. Thus, economic development is more fundamental and appropriate bin understanding what it means by development as the whole world focuses on economic development in various ways. Many countries engage in economic development strategies to improve living standards of people within the countries. Every country has its own history on how it deals with economic matters (Shane 2005). Economic Development in America America was discovered in the year fourteen ninety-two by Christoph Kolumbus, where the first settlers came from Europe and precisely Engla nd. After the arrival of the English people, they began to build colonies that resulted into new cities. In early sixteen nineteen tobacco industry establishment meant that labor force was required and as a result, slaves from Netherlands had to work on the new established tobacco industry plantation and factory. The Americans started fighting and becoming rebellious to the British minority after the Britons formulated unfavorable economic regulations. In the late seventeen seventies, the Americans overpowered the British forces and as a result, the then British King honored a peace agreement signing that granted the Americans independence and George Washington became the first president. Due to his interest in economic affairs, slavery influenced the history of America during his time. Slavery ended with the civil war after Abraham Lincoln who was against became the next American president by

Rising interest on entrepreneurship

Rising interest on entrepreneurship 1.0 INTRODUCTION The rising interest on entrepreneurship has become a regular topics discussed among academician and politician and there are many evidence can be seen worldwide (Levenburg and Schwarz, 2008). In the U.S alone, for the past 10 years, on averaged 600,000 new businesses was incorporated each year (Kuratko, 2005). There is also a significant increase in endowment received by business schools in the U.S. for entrepreneurship activities. Since 1995 US$10 million had been contributed compared to an average US$500,000 to US$1 million in early 1990s (Katz, 2003). Studies on forty countries entrepreneurship activities by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) have seen the sharp increased from 2 per cent to 29 per had confirm this fact (Levenburg and Schwarz, 2008). There are many reasons for it and why it is becoming more important nowadays. Due to the advantages and attractiveness of entrepreneurship in the economy, Lambing and Kuehl (2007) noted a remarkable increase in new business in the U.S. for the past 10 15 years. The practice of downsizing by big firms also believed to contribute into the increasing number of people considering entrepreneurship as a career not only because of unemployment but also decreasing interest of people pursuing career in a big corporation. They feel that the organizations have no longer provided the job security and career opportunities that they once did. The use of technology in the working places had taking away many jobs in the organization and reduced the need for labor and manager in big firms. Due to these factors, many people deciding to become independent in pursuing their economic needs (Lambing and Kuehl, 2007). Entrepreneurial firms had a crucial contribution into the economy as they become a part of renewal process of declining economies with its innovation which lead to technological change and growth in productivity. Not only that, they also become the main employment provider which enable all walk of life to access the economic accomplishment (Kuratko, 2005). In Malaysia, the seriousness of the government in promoting entrepreneurship among Malaysian can be seen with various programs and incentives offered to the current and future entrepreneur. In 2007, Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato Seri Abdullah bin Hj. Ahmad Badawi had presented in the National budget a special agenda that cater to develop competitive Bumiputera entrepreneur. Several public and private agencies had also be formed such as the formation of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) in 1991 which has successfully developed Bumiputera entrepreneurs in strategic industries and trade sectors such as in oil and gas, electrical and electronics and ICT (2007 Budget Speech by Prime Minister). In order to support this effort financially, financial institutions such as Bank Simpanan Malaysia and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia will providing micro credit facilities to Bumiputera entrepreneur and become one of the proof to the government effort to promote entrepreneurial quest among its citizens. There is no doubt on the important of entrepreneurship for the nations economy as Ibrahim and Soufani (2002) found in their research. The small business sector in Canada plays a significant role in the economy. However, without proper training and guidance there is a likelihood that the entrepreneur will face the business failure as found out by Ibrahim and Soufani (2002). They had identified the major cause of the high failure rate in a new business venture is the entrepreneur lack of managerial skills and competencies and agreed that entrepreneurship training is a key strategy to reduce the high failure rate in the small business sector. This is supported by Sullivan (2000) who stated that entrepreneurial learning is of critical importance to the survival and growth of SMEs in most marketplaces. Henry et al (2005) suggested that in order for entrepreneurial development programs to be effective, learning must be based in real work situations so that a person can implement what they have learnt better. The use of Kolbs learning cycle that is involved in experiencing, reflecting, conceptualizing, and experimentation concept during the process of learning will help them to apply what they have learnt in the real organizational or business setting into their own venture. This is when the entrepreneurship education can play its role and becoming the instrument in creating more and more entrepreneur in the society. However it is crucial to understand who is entrepreneur and what are their traits so that the learning process can be programmed in such a way that benefit to the target audience and able to reach its objectives. 2.0 THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP To better understand the topic, this part will explain the theoretical concept of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship traits, and motivation factors of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic subject to discuss and there are many angles it can be viewed, critics, and studied and there is no one fixed definition for it (Zimmerer et al, 2008; Brooks, 2009; Barringer and Ireland, 2008). The definitions are different from one writer to another where most of it are derived from their readings or research they had conducted. Brooks (2009) viewed entrepreneurship from the classical economic model and defined entrepreneurship as a factor of production, or an input to production such as labor, physical capital, human capital, and land and entrepreneur is an individual who put the element of skills and risk that they add into the inputs. Joseph Schumpeter (an Austrian economist) describes entrepreneurship as an economic force that had droved capitalism in the western world which mainly characterize by the will to succeed, competitiveness and success in the economic activity (Brooks, 2009). Brooks (2009) adds that entrepreneurship success comes from the creativity and innovativeness of an individual or organization which gives enormous impact to the economy by creating of new jobs and employment opportunity. According to Wenneker and Thurik (1999) entrepreneur can be divided â€Å"into three intellectual traditions according to the German, neo-classical, and Austrian†which summarized the function of entrepreneur as a leader to market stability through entrepreneurial activities, profitability opportunist, and â€Å"creator of instability through its creative destruction†. Based on this study Hebert and Link (1989) defined the entrepreneur as â€Å"someone who specializes in taking responsibility for and making judgmental decisions that affect the location, form, and the use of goods, resources, or institutions†(Wenneker and Thurik, 1999). Entrepreneurship is made of entrepreneur that is an individual who creates new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for achieving profit and growth opportunities (Zimmerer et al, 2008). These individuals than assembles necessary resources to capitalize those opportunities in order to materialize its goals. There are different views on which entrepreneurship traits that really turn someone to become successful entrepreneur. Table 1 summarized some of the entrepreneurship traits in the view of different writers and researchers. Author Entrepreneurship Traits Zimmerer et al (2008) from David McClelland 1. Desire for responsibility 2. Preference for moderate risk (risk eliminators) 3. Confidence in their ability to succeed 4. Desire for immediate feedback 5. High level of energy 6. Future orientation (serial entrepreneurs) 7. Skill in organization 8. Value of achievement over money Zimmerer et al (2008) 1. High degree of commitment 2. Willingness to accept risk, work hard and take action 3. Flexibility Barringer and Ireland (2008) 1. Passion for the Business 2. Product/Customer Focus 3. Tenacity Despite Failure 4. Execution Intelligence David A. Kirby (2004) 1. Risk-taking capability 2. Need for achievement 3. Locus control 4. Desire for autonomy 5. Deviancy 6. Creativity and opportunism 7. Intuition Timmons et al from David A. Kirby (2004) 1. Total commitment, determination, and perseverance 2. Drive to achieve and grow 3. Orientation to goals and opportunities 4. Taking initiative and personal responsibility 5. Veridical awareness and a sense of humour 6. Seeking and using feedback 7. Internal locus control 8. Tolerance of ambiguity, stress and uncertainty 9. Calculated risk-taking and risk sharing 10. Low need for status and power 11. Integrity and reliability 12. Decisiveness, urgency and patience 13. Learning from failure 14. Team builder and hero maker Mario Rutten (2001) on Chinese entrepreneur 1. Strong emphasis on personal advancement 2. Hard work and self-sacrifice for the family honour, community, and ancestors. Alina M. Zapalska and Will Edwards (2001) on traditional authority and entrepreneurial culture for direction in life 1. Confucian culture to the family 2. A strong tendency to promote the collective or the group 3. A deep respect for age, hierarchy, and authority 4. Importance of reputation achieved through hard work and successful enterprise Colette Henry, Frances Hill, and Claire Leitch (2005) 1. Entrepreneur is someone who involved in the process of creating something different in the business. Donald F. Kuratko (2005) on entrepreneurship characteristics 1. Opportunities seekers 2. Beyond security risk taker 3. Tenacity to   push idea through reality Table 1: The summarize entrepreneurship traits What motivate individual to become an entrepreneur? What motivate a person to become an entrepreneur? There are many authors or researchers that had conducted on such matter had varies in views from the aspect of psychology, sociology and economic anthropology. From the view of psychology, this research try to look into the mental model of an entrepreneur whether their motivation or behavior is based on thought that they see from surrounding which relate one part to another that finally have the consequences to their actions. For example, research by Autere and Autio (2000) had found that from their qualitative study on the small software firms in Finland, mimicking behavior of success businesses plays a role in creating new entrepreneur and their behavior orientation can be acquired through imitation. The mental model of the management in the big firms also influenced the behavior of new and small firms, and therefore can be learned through experience and external influences. The growth-oriented of the external model perceived by the new entrepreneur also influence their behavior toward advancement of their business. By exposing the growth-oriented mental models into the management of the new business, this will induce greater growth orientation among their managers. They also found that if the exposure to growth-oriented mental models is introduce earlier in the business life, this will instill a growth-oriented culture in the firm and lead to faster growth in the future. There are also many questions on whether there are different motivating factors on individual from different culture. Many researchers try to explain this human economic behavior and this is what the economic anthropology comes into the picture. Economic anthropology is a description and analysis of economic life, using an anthropological perspective which approaches and locates aspects of peoples individual and collective lives (personal and society) and how its linking with one another (Carrier, 2005).   Durrenberger (2005) describe the economic anthropology as a system in which people produce, distribute, and consume goods in order to meet their material needs and this systems look into how   it was organized, operate, created, and connected to other systems. Dalton (1968) mentioned that the economic anthropology is concerned with the organization of economy and its connection between economic and social organization and the results of economic process which relates to productivity. Because of this reasons, the entrepreneur exist due to the needs of the society that need to be filled and this existence benefit the society with systematically organized economy where the exchange of needs can be met. What drive an entrepreneur can be said that human wants are no longer limited and LeClair Jr. (1962) mentioned that contemporary economist have long since adopted a broader view of human wants. A person has to deal with the fact that their aspirations always exceed their capabilities and they have to economize their capabilities with the significance of meeting their desires to the fullest extent possible (LeClair Jr., 1962). This can be filled with the association of economic process which described by LeClair Jr. (1962) as an event of producing goods or services for utilization or consumption of the produce goods or services for the satisfaction of human wants. One of the major paradigms in economic anthropology is culturalism. One of the focus in this study would be trying to determine whether culture play an important role in encouraging the entrepreneurship behavior among member of its society. It is crucial to understand what culture is all about before we know what role it plays in the entrepreneurship. Schein (2004) defined culture as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that group learned as it solved its problems through external adaptation with the internal integrations. When this has worked well enough to be considered valid, therefore it is taught to new members as it is a correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to the problems. Schein (2004) classified the level of culture from the surface to the deepest level based on the degree of visibility of the cultural phenomenon to the observer. Artifacts such as architecture, language, technology, products, etc. are at the surface of cultural level which is the visible organizational structures and processes that can be sees, hears, and feels (Schein 2004). A person interpretation on others will be predictably being the projections of his feelings and reactions from his experienced. Related to this, a person motivation to become an entrepreneur can be from his experienced by looking what the benefits and rewards that entrepreneurship can offer from his surrounding. If he saw it as a positive experienced, there is a positive tendency that he will also motivated to do the same and vice versa. The motivation to become an entrepreneur can also cause by the personality of different individual. Different culture does have different perception on how a person develops their personality. People from Asia are known as less focused on differentiating the individual from the group and put less emphasis on self-actualization compare to the westerners which have a strong concepts of the individualistic where being different from the group is not being seen as indifferent (Schein, 2004). Asian sees group opinion or values is more important than taking own actions and benefits to the group is more important than their own and always put their own interest last. For example, Asian Chinese entrepreneurs hold a strong belief in collective organization management and see challenges as a group endeavors rather than individual objectives (Zapalska and Edwards, 2001). This is why some successful entrepreneur is found to come from a group or families. Berger (1991) explains that family entrepreneurship is directly responsible for Hong Kongs extraordinary economic success. Paternalistic management style in the traditional Chinese family where the father in the family had the autocratic power is responsible for adding family wealth had become the reason of the family economic advancement. This creates competition among families and this style was brought into the business which finally creates vicious competition among firms. However because of this competition, researchers found that family based firm does not last long. Their estimation is between two and a half to three generations (Berger, 1991). The role of family as the most critical element in developing individual entrepreneurial character was also supported by Gupta (1991) from her interviews on Indian entrepreneurs. The rise of economic success of Chinese businessmen in recent years also being said to be contributed by the solidarity, closeness and strong ties between family and clan that they had portrayed. Unlike their counterpart on the West which emphasized more on individualistic spirit, collectivism is being the core values that they hold in doing business. Rutten (2001) believed that combining with personal loyalty to family and group welfare, social and family environment with strong traditional values and practices, has contributed to the development of entrepreneurship in Asia. However, a country advancement and progress do not take place in a single society as a whole but through the network of diversified collective of its social life. To flourish, small-scale entrepreneurs have to develop their technical and social skills. They have to build the external networks between suppliers, sellers, customers, entrepreneur and others and made them become part of the institutional structures that they had built (Berger, 1991). In order to success, network had become an element which play an important role in doing business (Gidsell, 1991). This institutional structure is not only in the form of family relations but also in the ethnic group they belong. It is believed that entrepreneur from the same ethnic had the advantages and benefited from belonging to the group because of they shared same ethics and cultural norms. Landa (1991) found that the shared ethics and cultural norms had functioned as social capital where they can reduce cost of business by receiving low interest or even interest free loan from fellow ethnic entrepreneur. Gidsell (1991) found that entrepreneur from the same ethnic groups not only providing initial capital and stock but also the running the day-to-day operation of business.   Social capital is not the only capital that this ethnic entrepreneur received. Godsell (1991) mentioned that network built in the ethnic groups did provide the entrepreneur with spiritual capital. This network becomes the way of their survival and as a result prospering the community. Tangible recognition in the form of honorary doctorates and other public awards (Godsell, 1991) and the structural factors such as religion, culture and socio-political conditions of community support (Gupta, 1991) would also help the entrepreneur to move forward. The cultural aspect had become the interest of many researchers that study entrepreneurship and had emerged as study of ethnic entrepreneurship (Light, 2004; Greene and Chaganti, 2004; Iyer, 2004). This study had ranged from the entrepreneurial behavior into the financial aspect of the business. Light (2004) seen ethnic entrepreneurship as an economic activity that had result from the actions of minority ethnic group to reduce their disadvantage and exclusion from the labor market. Self-employment or entrepreneurship had played a major role in this community and as a result, ethnic entrepreneur are always seen as an employment provider to fellow co-ethnic when the employment opportunities is limited for them.   3.0ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION Because of the challenges and uncertain future face by the people today, there will be a greater need for them to have entrepreneurial skills and abilities so they can deal it with. Factors such as reduction of trade barriers due to the globalization of economy, technology advancement, privatisation of public service has created complexity and uncertainty in the society which cause changes in organisational management and even individual perception towards employment (Henry et al, 2005). The changing landscapes of economic environment give important role for entrepreneurship education to play. The important of entrepreneurship education can be seen as it becomes the political agenda and the priority for both industrially developed and developing countries. It is agree that the entrepreneurship education can increase the quality and quantity of graduate entrepreneurs which enter into the country economy. Education they received in the higher education institutions had absolutely influence their attitude towards entrepreneurship and equips them with necessary knowledge and skills for entrepreneurial activities (Matlay, 2006). With the increasing demand for study of entrepreneurship, there have been seen the explosion of sudden increase in the number of entrepreneurship courses offered in the higher education institution where 2,200 courses had been offered at over 1,600 schools in the United States alone (Katz, 2003), and it also believed the same growth of interest had occurred in other countries as well such as in Europe and Asia. There are also a number of major academic institutions in the U.S which had developed programs in entrepreneurship research. With the research conducted combined with symposium and conference, it has become the means of acquiring for latest developments in entrepreneurship (Kuratko, 2005). Even though the gaining popularity and interest of entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions, this field is said to be at its early life phase which debates are still continuing on conceptual and methodological issues. Henry et al (2005) said that previous research from various disciplines had been conducted without developing its theoretical framework had cause many different analyses and outcomes from the research conducted on the subject. Until now, the different views prolonged because each of researchers or experts involved do not use each others work and the huge knowledge generated on entrepreneurship research had cause the discipline to be fragmented and never been cumulated (Henry et al, 2005). There are continuous debate (Henry et al, 2005) on entrepreneurship definition and interchangeable term use to describe entrepreneurship such as entrepreneur, enterprise and small business may not give advantage for the studies of entrepreneurship and as a result it is difficult to assess the current situation of entrepreneurship education. Matlay (2006) suggested the need for better review for such programmes because of the existence of content difference and its quality among business schools that had offered such courses and had continuously creating debates among academician related to its appropriateness and effectiveness. In addition of the difficulties of conceptualizing and contextualizing the field of entrepreneurship education, will lead to a puzzle and mislead policy maker which cause the credibility of academician involves affected and questions the need for further funding in this field. However, the effort to centralize the studies on entrepreneurship for its excellence can be seen with the establishment of consortium of research center across the U.S. (Kuratko, 2005). According Kurako (2005) among the sources of understanding on entrepreneurial activities are coming from academic research and publications, observation on entrepreneurs, speeches and presentations from conferences or seminars. Kuratko from literature reviewed had seen suggestion from various researchers regarding the entrepreneurship education pedagogy which among it is the important to deal with the ambiguous nature of business entry, developing skill-building courses such as negotiation, leadership, new product development, creative thinking, and exposure to technological innovation. Awareness programs such as entrepreneurship as employment choice, financial and legal aspects of business management, into out of the class approach such as field trips, consultation with practicing entrepreneurs and even competitions can also be seen as a good approach in educating future entrepreneurs. There are also suggestions on the important of considering who the target audience is in designing such programs. There will be different learning needs of entrepreneur at different stages of business development they currently have. It is necessary to have different pedagogic approach for different target audience so the educators and trainer or training provider can improve their approach in entrepreneurial learning. And it is important to match and characterized between what are perceived by entrepreneurial characteristics and how to educate it (Henry et al, 2005). As illustrated by the following table, the framework of entrepreneurship education can be divided into three level. Approach on Entrepreneurship Education Jamieson (1984) Garavan and OCinneide (1994) Cox (1996) McMullan and Boberg (1991) Level 1 Graduate or undergraduate students awareness creation specific objectives on various aspects of setting up and running a business theoretically perspective foster skills, attitude, and values to increase number of people who knowledgeable about small business and will consider it as a career in the future objectives : promoting self-efficacy with regard to new venture creation provides mastery experience to entrepreneurship experience or opportunities exposure to real-life entrepreneur Case method was effective in developing analytical skills and ability to synthesise information. Project method perceived to develop and enhance knowledge and understanding of subject area. Level 2 preparation of aspiring entrepreneur career of self-employment specific objective :   setting up a business and running the business practical skills for small business set-up and management preparation of business plan provide practical help to those who want to make transition from traditional employment to self-employment focus : raising finance, marketing problem, and legal issues. Level 3 management training for establish entrepreneurs focused on growth and future business development product development and marketing training will provides skills, knowledge and attitudes continuing small business education. Focused to enhance and update their skills. Table 2 : The framework of entrepreneurship education Role of academic entrepreneurship must orientated towards innovative and need to change rapidly in order to become the leader in creating entrepreneur effort (Kirby, 2004). He feels it is important for the business school to look into the process of developing entrepreneurial skills, attributes, and behaviours of its student in addition to their understanding on the business management by specifically designed the modules and courses and by changing the learning environment that can help to develop their awareness and strengthen their entrepreneurial characteristics and skills. He proposed that the traditional way of learning had to be shifted to more students oriented which gives â€Å"students ownership of their learning, more involvement in real word situation, encourages students to formulate decisions on incomplete data, immediate and dubious, and providing role models to them.† Education is not the only factors that had motivate graduates to become entrepreneur   as Matlay (2006) found that other reasons for such as the current socio-economy and educational conditions together with personal, family and peer influences often affect their desires, motivation, and prospect. 4.0RESEARCH QUESTIONS The question now is whether entrepreneurship education can be developed based on the entrepreneurship traits? And is it possible to teach entrepreneurship to others? Zimmerer (2008) argues that entrepreneurship can not be taught to others but the necessary skills of small business management are teachable and as Kirby (2004) noted that â€Å"entrepreneurship is about possessing or acquiring a particular set of attributes, skills and behaviors† and this can be possessed by learning. The following will be the sub-questions for this research; What is the motivation for an individual to become an entrepreneur based on cultural perspective? Are there any differences in motivation factors between ethnic in Malaysia? What are the required traits by the entrepreneur in the industry? Can entrepreneurship traits be transferred? Is the entrepreneurship program in the higher technical institutions address the requirements by the entrepreneur involve in the industries? If the required traits are addressed by the higher technical institutions, what is the right way to transfer it to the students? 5.0EMPIRICAL STUDIES The choice of research method depends on the nature of the research problems. It is proposed that the research will be using both qualitative and quantitative methods.   Based on the literature review and the theoretical c

relationships and the media :: essays research papers fc

Reflecting on the past three months, I find that the most interesting topic was those with some sort of relation to romantic relationships. I find these interesting because I am in a romantic relationship and it seems that a lot of previously unknown knowledge has been bestowed upon me about these relationships. Romantic relationships involve various aspects such as commitment, intimacy and passion according Julia Wood, the author of Interpersonal Communication. It is agreeable that a relationship is based on these ideals, but one must inquire, is that all a relationship is based upon? In her definition, Wood seems to leave out two important aspect of a relationship, trust and investment. One thing that Wood states in her writings is that commitment is a pivotal part of a relationship. Commitment is not a feeling, correcting many misconceptions of this thought. Commitment is a decision. It is the choice to remain within the relationship and it links two partners to a future. When two people decide to commit, conflict is not seen as a time to end the relationship but as a resource to make the relationship stronger by working through their conflicts. Commitment involves the choice to speak and listen effectively to one’s partner. When two people commit, they take responsibility for continuing to invest in and care for their bond (Wood 267-268). With commitment comes challenge. Various items can affect two people’s choice to commit and their future within that commitment. One of these challenges includes distance. With distance two people are not able to share the small events of their day with their partner. Distance disables two people share their ordinary comings and goings that helps relationship stay woven together. Another challenge is unrealistic expectations for time together. Partners who are distant tend to expect each moment that they spend together to be perfect. They believe that conflict should be avoided and that they should be joyfully focused on their partner not realizing that conflict no matter what type of relationship is inevitable. Another challenge with this type of relationship is unequal effort that the two partners invest to make and maintain their connection. One of the main reasons distant relationships do not work is because one person feels as if they are doing all of the work to keep the relationship solid and ongoing. (Wood, 407) I call these challenges because they can be overcome.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

There are various Christian sects that deviated from the Roman Catholic religion. One of them is the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. The organization was formally established around 1870's in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (Watchtower, 1984, p. 203). â€Å"At first they were known only as Bible Students, but in 1931 they adopted the Scriptural name Jehovah's Witnesses†¦ Their beliefs are†¦ a restoration of first-century Christianity† (Watchtower, 1984, p. 203). Jehovah's Witnesses base their beliefs in accordance to the New World Translation bible. Thus, they refrain from celebrating popular, pagan practices such birthday celebrations and holidays. They also remain neutral in government affairs and abstain from blood transfusion. Witnesses do not partake in pagan festivities and activities that humans have decided for themselves. This is because they firmly believe that it contradicts bible principles and teachings. They also desire to have an everlasting life and live under God's kingdom. In order to do this they have to disassociate from anything that is not in relation to the bible. In addition, Witnesses' concept of soul, hell and baptism are also derived from the bible. Witnesses immerse themselves in religious activities such as regular bible study, publication study, and attendance meetings to gain more knowledge about Jehovah. This enables them to effectively vindicate his name, which they do by actively participating in service-also known as door to door preaching. Witnesses have thoroughly researched the origin of birthdays. In their publication, Reasoning from the Scriptures, it states that [t]he various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating- complete with lighted candles- in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year†¦ (Schwabische Zeitung [German magazine] cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 69). Also, [t]he custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks†¦ Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowned with special magic for granting wishes†¦. Birthday greetings have the power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day (The Lore of Birthdays cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 69-70). In addition, holidays such as Christmas, New Year and Easter also come from pagan traditions. Christmas was set on December 25 because it correspond[s] to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, †¦ to celebrate the rebirth of the sun†¦ The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time†¦ Encyclopedia Americana cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 176). Also, â€Å" ‘[d]uring the Saturnalia†¦ feasting prevailed, and gifts were exchanged. ‘† (Encyclopedia Americana cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 178). Moreover, the early Christians considered the celebration of anyone's birth to be a pagan custom†¦. [This is because] [b]irthday celebrations were held in honor of pa gan deities. For example, on May 24 Romans celebrated the birthday of the goddess Diana. On the following day, they observed the birthday of their sun-god, Apollo. Hence, birthday celebrations were associated with paganism, not with Christianity (The World Book Encyclopedia cited in Watchtower, 2005, p. 157). This does not mean that Witnesses do not engage in gift-giving. Witnesses give gifts to other people but they just practice this throughout the year, when it is not expected, instead of just a couple of occasions in a year such as Christmas and birthdays. To put it in line with the scriptures, 2 Corinthians 9:7 states â€Å"Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver† (New World Bible, 1984, p. 447). Thus, occasions such as Christmas and birthdays forces a person to get something for another individual even though they may not want to. Generally, people are expected to do this because the occasion expects them to do so. Likewise, New Year was established by Julius Caesar on January 1 in 46 B. C. to dedicate a day to the Roman god Janus- deity of gates, door s, and beginnings (The World Book Encyclopedia cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 180). Besides, the eggs associated with Easter â€Å"is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring†¦ The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility† (Watchtower, 1989, p. 179). Easter in fact â€Å"bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte†¦ the queen of heaven†¦ [also] the dyed eggs of†¦ Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now† (The Catholic Encyclopedia cited in Watchtower, 1989, p. 180). In short, Witnesses do not condone merry-making, gathering of family members and close friends and even gift-giving. The only thing that they have a problem with is in regards to the origin of birthdays and holidays. To stress the importance of the fact that origins do matter, [s]uppose you saw a piece of candy lying in the gutter. Would you pick up that candy and eat it? Of course not! That candy is unclean. Like that candy, holidays may seem sweet, but they have been picked up from unclean places (Watchtower, 2005, p. 159). Another matter that Witnesses do not engage in is political affairs and anything that is related to it such as saluting the flag, singing the national anthem and being enlisted in military service. Witnesses emphasize the scripture in John 18:36 to support this belief. John 18:36 states what Jesus said when he was on trial before the Roman ruler Pilate, â€Å" ‘My kingdom is no part of this world, [because if it is] my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But†¦ my kingdom is not from this source† (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1356). This clearly shows that earthly kingdoms of any government entity do not deserve utmost devotion because they will not be able to provide eternal salvation (N. Sarmiento, 2008). In addition, Witnesses avoid blood transfusion at any cost. Abstaining from blood is stated in Acts 15:28, 29 The holy spirit and we ourselves [the governing body of the Christian congregation] have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep from abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper†¦ (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1383). Notice that blood is in the same category as idolatry and fornication. Therefore, [i]n God's eyes, our doing that [abstaining from blood] is as important as our avoiding idolatry and sexual immorality†¦ w]e are wise, then, to put our trust in the rightness of God's law†¦ [Witnesses] are sure that the Creator of blood knows what is best for them† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 130-131). Thus, the gravity of the matter is considered a very serious offense once it is committed. In addition, the only proper use of blood is to atone for one's sins. Leviticus 17:11 states, â€Å"For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have put it upon the altar for you to make atonement for your souls, because it is the blood that makes atonement†¦ † (New World Bible, 1984, p. 159). Hence, Israelites used to sacrifice animal blood to atone for their sins. In earlier times, people have refrained from eating animal's blood. Considering this is the case, how much more so should people avoid human blood? â€Å"Minicius Felix (third century C. E. ) [says that]: ‘So much do we shrink from human blood, that we do not use the blood even of eatable animals in our food. ‘† (Watchtower, 1989, p. 72). Thus, Witnesses reason that In a hospital, when a patient cannot eat through his mouth, he is fed intravenously. Now, would a person who never put blood into his mouth but who accepted blood by transfusion really be obeying the command to ‘keep abstaining from†¦ blood'? Acts 15:29) To use a comparison, consider a man who is told by the doctor that he must abstain from alcohol. Would he be obedient if he quit drinking alcohol but had it put directly into his vein? (Watchtower, 1989, p. 73). Witnesses stick to their convictions because they follow what the bible says. Thus, they deem that â€Å"beliefs and practices of t rue religion are not based on human views and tradition. They originate in God's inspired Word, the Bible† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 146). Also, by observing God’s word they know that they will gain everlasting life and will be there to be apart of God’s Kingdom. This is an appealing concept to them because in God’s Kingdom â€Å"humans will no longer get sick and die†¦ under Kingdom rule they will be able to live forever. The earth will be made into paradise† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 84). Equally important is that Witnesses do not abide by popular notions about the soul. Based on research, Witnesses found out that the soul’s â€Å"immortality† started with the â€Å"Babylonians [who] believed that humans have an immortal soul that survives the body after death and can suffer in a place of torment† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 52). As for the concept of hell, scriptures such as the one in Ezekiel 18:4 mentions that â€Å"†¦The soul that is sinning-it itself will die† (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1079). Romans 6: 23 also states â€Å"The wages sin pays is death†¦ † (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1411). And 1 Thessalonian 1:8-9 says â€Å"those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength† (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1476-77). These scriptures just illustrate the fact that the concept of hell, which most people perceive as a fiery place of torment, is not really stated anywhere in the bible as the punishment of people who constantly go against bible principles. The only outcome of their disobedient act is that they will perish. Hence, they will not be able to live in paradise earth for eternity and enjoy the wonderful blessings that will be bestowed upon the people who make it to this place. In addition, hell does not reflect God’s true personality. Witnesses further explain this by saying, What would you think of a parent who held his child's hand over a fire to punish the child for wrongdoing? ‘God is love' [according to 1 John 4:8] Would he do what no right-minded parent would do? Certainly not! † (Watchtower, 1984, p. 174). Another argument that is used to support this can be found in Jeremiah 7:31 which states, They [apostate Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart (New World Bible, 1984, p. 75). Also, the other plausible reason is that In ancient Babylo[n] and Assyri[a,] beliefs [about] the ‘nether world†¦ is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness'†¦ Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom's hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt (Religion of Babylonia and Assyria ci ted in Watchtower, 1984, p. 175). While Witnesses take the idea of baptism very seriously. The Reasoning from the Scriptures publication of the Watchtower defines baptism as â€Å"an outward symbol that the one being baptized has made a complete, unreserved, and unconditional dedication through Jesus Christ to do the will of Jehovah God† (Watchtower, 1984, p. 54). Hence, the decision to dedicate one's life to Jehovah requires mature thinking even by children. Witnesses have certain requirements before a child can be baptized. First of all, the child has to study the bible and Witness publications. This is because the child has to understand and accept Christian teachings and beliefs so he or she will know how to serve Jehovah properly. The child also has to talk to an elder-an adult Witness who carries numerous religious responsibilities- to discuss his or her desire to be baptized. The elder will then ask the child, when the child is ready, questions regarding Christian teachings and beliefs to see if the child can take on the responsibility of serving Jehovah. After baptism, the child is formally apart of the congregation. Witnesses go through this process because they have strict and demanding spiritual activities. Witnesses do not take spiritual activities lightly. People who have been baptized as a Witness know all too well that being a Christian becomes their main priority. They are responsible to do the will of â€Å"Jehovah God [and] it must be [their] main purpose in life† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 179). Thus, people make sure that they are living their life in accordance to bible principles. In addition, baptism â€Å"publicly indicates your desire to serve God. It shows that you are delighted to do Jehovah's Will† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 175). Being a true Christian is not easy because the world is full of temptations. To maintain strict adherence to bible principles, studying the bible and Witness publications reinforces what they know so that they can keep themselves grounded. This enables them to self-police themselves† (N. Sarmiento, 2008). While meetings-scheduled during a weekday and one every Sunday- allow Christians to know more about God through the bible (N. Sarmiento, 2008). Thus, attending meetings helps a perso n spiritually because it â€Å"increase[s] your knowledge of God† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 176). Finally, the extensive knowledge that they have accumulated is used to preach the word of God. Witnesses stress the importance of service because as â€Å"true followers of Jesus Christ [Witnesses] proclaim God's heavenly Kingdom as the only hope for mankind† (Watchtower, 2005, p. 151). Also, â€Å"most Witnesses are excited to share what they have learned and can’t wait to share it to everyone they know† (N. Sarmiento, 2008). Thus, Witnesses naturally â€Å"find it hard to keep what [they] have learned to [themselves]†¦ † (Watchtower, 2005, p. 177). Therefore, service is a way to impart what one has learned to others. Engaging in service also shows that a person is following God's teaching. Acts 10:42 states, â€Å"he ordered us to preach and to give a thorough witness† (New World Bible, 1984, p. 1376). In addition, people will not hear the good news of the kingdom if they do not go out there and preach it to people everywhere (N. Sarmiento, 2008). Jehovah’s Witnesses is an organization that has been misunderstood by most people. Indeed, most people will act indifferent-even discriminate-towards Jehovah’s Witnesses because they do not partake in birthdays, holidays, political affairs and even accept blood transfusion for their own health. Many people also think that their door to door preaching is their way of imposing their belief upon others. However, even though these people are targets of ridicule; they remain strong in their beliefs and active in their religious activities because they know that it is in accordance with bible principles. They also know that obeying God’s teachings will enable them to have everlasting life and be apart of God’s Kingdom that will come.

Auto World Inc Essay

Auto World Inc. (AWI) is a leading automotive retail and service chain. They have many operating segments comprised of two different centers 10 miles apart from each other. Pit Stop Centers (PSC) offer service labor, installed merchandise, and tires while their Auto Boyz Centers (ABC) sells automotive merchandise. AWI has a plan to close their operating segment PSC to change their current operating structure to improve and efficiently deliver retail products and automotive services by providing their customers with a ‘one stop’ shopping for ‘do-it-yourself’ retail customers and ‘do-it-for-me’ customers† (PSC Case). AWI expects this change to enhance their ability to increase market share, improve sales, and company earnings. This change in restructuring will have an effect on current earnings and will need to be reported properly in their 2007 Income Statement. AWI must report this continuing activity properly under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), commonly known as GAAP has specific standards that must be followed in order to classify the disposal of an entity as discontinued or continues operation of a component of an entity. Under the guidance of numerous ASC’s, AWI does not meet the two conditions to report their PSC closures as discontinued operations. The criteria used, assessment period, presentation, and disclosure for this retail company will be explained in detail when applying proper GAAP. A component of an entity comprises operations and cash flows that can be clearly distinguished, operationally and for financial reporting purposes, from the rest of the entity; it may be a reportable segment or an operating segment, a reporting unit, a subsidiary, or an asset group in which Auto World determined correctly under the first requirement that the PSC met the definition of a â€Å"component of an entity† (ASC 205-20-20). The two conditions for reporting the disposed transaction as discontinued operations are: The results of operations of a component of an entity that either has been disposed of or is classified as held for sale under the requirements of paragraph 360-10-45-9, shall be reported in discontinued operations in accordance with paragraph 205-20-45-3 if both of the following conditions are met: 1. The operations and cash flows of the component have been (or will be) eliminated from the ongoing operations of the entity as a result of the disposal transaction. 2. The entity will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction (ASC 205-20-45-1). Several steps below will be used to explain why the disposal of the PSC stores should be considered a continuation of operations rather than discontinue of operations (ASC 205-20-55-3). These three steps along with their respective answers are also depicted in a flow chart (see Appendix A). Step one asks are continuing cash flows expected to be generated by the ongoing entity? Yes, the continuing cash flows are being generated by ABC from transactions with customers from PSC. Step two asks if the continuing cash flows result from a migration or continuation of activities. The continuing cash flows are the result of a migration from the closed PSC’s to the â€Å"one stop† ABC. ABC sells products similar to those sold in the closed retail stores. After the closure of the Pit Stop Centers, Auto World estimates that there will be continuing cash flows from the sale of automotive services and tires by the ongoing ABC’s of approximately $600 million. Auto World estimates that the Pit Stop Centers would have generated approximately $700 million of sales absent the disposal transaction (PSC Case). Step three asks if the continuing cash flows are significant. Yes, the ongoing ABC estimates the continuing cash inflows will approximate 86 percent (see Appendix B) of that would have been generated by PSC’s absent the disposal transaction. AWI is expecting these actions to generate significant cash flow in 2007 and to increase free cash flow in 2008. AWI is also expecting to yield improvements in operating earnings of approximately $58 million in 2008 to be significant leading to the classification as a discontinued operation to be inappropriate (ASC 205-20-55-70). Since stakeholders rely on financial statements to base their decisions and to project future cash flows, current information presented must be accurate under GAAP Under the second requirement, one issue I have identified is the intentions of management’s decisions to improve their company’s net earnings. The professional literature I relied on are these two statements, â€Å"the actions we are announcing today will further enhance our ability to increase market share and improve sales and earnings at our company† and â€Å"in this regard, we remain committed to the automotive business and we expect to deliver significant additional profitable growth† were made by Mr. Bobby, chairman and chief executive officer. When considering the use and disclosure of restructuring charges, depending on the industry, there should not be re-occurring â€Å"restructuring cost† line item on the Income Statement year after year. Closing the PSC stores as of the second quarter in June 2007 is an event taking place in 2007 which can happen only once. If management continues to show this type of special/unusual charge in future periods, the question of integrity should be raised. Management does not want to give off the impression of possibly smoothing earnings by using restructuring charges. â€Å"Once a decision to restructure is made, GAAP requires companies to estimate the future costs they expect to incur to carry out the restructuring for such things as plant closings (AWI currently estimates it will incur restructuring and other charges totaling $52 million pre-tax). These estimated restructuring costs are then charged to an expense account with an offsetting credit to a liability account (Restructuring reserve) in the current period† (Revsine, pg 155). In developing my recommendation and conclusion for resolving this issue, management should make a foot note explaining these changes which will allow stakeholders to make better decisions. The new re-structured ABC will continue to sell automotive parts that were previously sold through the PSC’s, and under the ASC, PSC store closures are not considered and cannot be reported as a discontinued operation in AWI’s second quarter financial statements. The continuing cash flows are being generated by ABC from transactions with customers from PSC, given by the level of significance of 86 percent for this continuing cash flow subsequent to the disposal transaction.